Our first mission is with Wong Kang, the commander of a small anti-tank team.
Session 1
Central Plot at stake
Peril starts at 1
Adventure: recover ancient artifact at +1 Peril for Standard Stakes, with Reward is Dwindling! (-10% per unit of time) thats Nearby (12 hour tick)
So we are recovering information from before the end, and the matter is time sensative. Lets find out more about why this data is time sensative.
Is it no longer useful after time is up? No.
So its no longer recoverable after time is up? No
Is this about politics? Yes. Very Yes. Oh bother.
Is the problem with infinity, centrum, or internal? centrum.
Is this some sort of race to prove something to centrum? Yes.
Ok, this breifing is getting interesting, lets generate an NPC:
Xing Yongrui: Travler/Tansit, In no Hurry at All, Weak, Fashionable Clothes, Tight Cramped Gestures, Has true freind or Ally, Hope/Fear: Love
Xing is giving this briefing, so he's either the commanding officer or he's a government agent explaining why this mission is so important.
Is Xing Yongrui government? Yes, but.. he's also kind of military. Civilian oversight then.
Xing explains that the glorious leadership of china thinks it will be of use to bring along a Centrum observer on this mission, mostly so that he can be impressed by the Chinese performance of the mission. The target is a government data station that should contain information on where various military bunkers are. Wong and his team are sent to bring back the data. He has his team, an Infinity computer cracking expert, and an observer from Centrum.
Observer:Traveler/Transit, Dismissive, Tall, Catchphrase, Fiddles with Object, Surprisingly open-minded, Hope/Fear:Politics
Ok, we'll call him Fredrick Maxwell, of Centrum. He investigates lots of different operations in Centrum, seeing how they function, and has political ambitions
Data Expert: Foreign, In Transit, One hand or arm, Forceful Voice, Taps nose or ear, Has children somewhere, Hope/Fear:Ethics
Yamauchi Taya is Japanese, and lost a hand a while back. She has a strong sense of ethics, and is fond of children back home. If she lost a hand, she's probably got a lot of experience working in tough situations. We'll replace her hand with a near cybernetic prosthetic, and remember she's go a fair amount of experience in tough spots.
Wong asks what Xing knows about his two pieces of 'cargo'. Xing says that Fredrick appears to be what in centrum passes for a career politician. He's spent a lot of time touring various off-world operations and inspecting them. "so a civilian who thinks he knows our business better than we do." Wong sums up. "What about Agent Taya?"
"Oh, you'll handle Fredrick just fine." Xing rolls a pen in his fingers. "Taya should take care of herself. Infinity says they trust her. She's missing a hand, for whatever that's worth. Can't find anything on her. She speaks mandarin, unlike Fredrick, but we know little about her. We'll know more after your mission."
The journey is short -- they will pop in, travel a few dozen miles, take
the objective, travel a few dozen miles and pop back out again. This
will be an intense mission, but should be worth it. The peril roll for
the journey indicates they have the expected peril of 2.
The chineese soldiers have at least hiking 10, and Wong shaves off -2 to cope for Yamauchi's inexperience. They attempt to make good time... and succeed -- 7 is a really good roll! A unit of time is shaved off. They're hiking through forest with some villages. One of his soldiers has woodland training -- we need to build this guy up more now!
Tsao Yongnian: Military, Solid, Distinctive Book, Head cocked sideways, Weighs things carefully before deciding, Hope/Fear:Power
Yongnian will guide the team:
Navigation 11 -2 (Peril)+3 (GPS)=12 vs 8 is a sucess.
Survival has specific gear that can help, but no general gear.
Survival (forest)* 12 - 2 (peril) = 10 vs 11 -- +2 to the next event roll. dang it.
The event roll gives us a choice of mishaps. Negotiate an obstacle or .. a different obstacle.
We roll for two generic outdoor obstacles.
The first requires Jumping/DX/Acrobatics to overcome.
The second is a barrier of some kind.
It appears they need to either batter down an obstacle or jump across a ravine of some sort.
Is this a natural or artificial obstacle? Yes, its articial, but is an abbandoned feature.
So a very deep irrigation ditch and the fence/control station at the natural crossing.
*of course, most of the team has naturalist from bushwacker. This should probably be translated to survival in some form. Hmm.
Well, they have plenty of rope, so Wong picks one guy to cross first and anchor everyone else. The decision of what to do could be a crisis moment for Wong.. but a leadership roll determines he handles it well.
He needs a guy to make the jump, and picks one -- one with the 'quick' template, so he can jump farther. We have another named soldier!
Lum Zihao: Religion, Small, Catchphrase, Rythimical Speech, Richer than they seem, Hope/Fear:Politics
Lum takes off all his gear, they tie a rope around him, and he jumps across the ravine: 11(DX)-2 (peril)+1 (speed) =10 vs 12 -- he fails. A second DX roll can save him from hitting something hard... and 11(DX) -2 (peril) = 9 vs 10 fails. Its a close fail, though, and as the damage is to his left leg, we'll let him get by with just a bruised shin-- 3 points of damage. Lum hobbles over to a tree, ties off the rope thrown across, and then each person slowly descends into the ravine and is pulled up the other side. No one rolls too bad on this, (its simple once the ropes on both sides are up and we have time), so everyone is across.
Now Lum needs a medic. Of course there is a medic on the team.These troops are fleshing out quickly..
Li An: Entertainment, Wiry, Cruel Face, Quick staccato Gestures, Poorer than they seem, Hope/Fear:Family
Li has a terrible bedside manner, but applies salve, wraps up the leg, and with 11 (first aid) vs 10 and a healing roll of 5, the leg is as good as new. Or at least can be run on while properly wrapped.
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| Li wasted a bunch of points on doctor stuff. we hope |
Despite the delay, the good hiking means they get to their destination before dark. We're trying to impress Fredrick, so we'll roll vs. the lowest soldier skill, with leadership and administration as complimentary rolls. with a base roll of 9, and two successes on complimentary rolls, Fredrick is duly impressed so far.
Now its time to sneak up close to the location. Wong takes two soliders (lets say Lum and Tsao) with him to investigate the base. All have stealth at 12, camoflage at 10 (though Wong has it at 13), and naturalist at 10 (Wong has it at 11). Stealth rolls are 12 (bare success), camoflauge by wong (13 vs 13) and survival (woods) (12 vs 4) help to bring that to sucess by 3. Now we get to find out about the site!
Peril is one lower than we thought
Is this site abandoned or in use? rephrased: solo6, is it abandoned? No. So its in use.
And our roll tells us that the entrance is concealed.
That's tricky. No wonder this site is still here. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be guarded. We'll let camouflage act as a complementary skill to searching for the hidden entrance, but its going to take a
unit of time: this is a big area, if it takes 12 hours to look for the entrance! They call everyone to come help.
Is it a spot of forest (alternative ruined town)? no, but ...
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| We know its around here somewhere... |
ok, its a ruined town, but overgrown. We waive the N rule on the roll and just say everyone gets a single roll. we need to succeed by peril, or one... 11 (perception) -1 (Peril) +1 (Camoflague roll) =11 vs 13. They don't find the entrance, and night is falling. We use the camping rules from ATE (we are in a post apocolyptic wasteland). Tsao looks for a spot and finds 12 (survival) vs 11 success - a decent camping spot. In enemey territory, they go for concealment and lines of sight, but not comfort. 1 LFP down for everyone.
Now is probably a good time to see how Fredrick is reacting to Wong. ouch, reaction roll of 5. the +2 from charisma helps, but the two are not getting along.
And as they sleep, a navigation/survival/event sequence is in order. (we roll every 12 hours, remember!)
Navigation is waived , as they're not moving
12 (survival) -1 (Peril)= 11 vs 10 sucess.
And a high event roll indicates we have more mishaps coming in anyways...
A bad social experience, or a Obstacle/Hazard/Ward/Trap.
This sounds like a hazard suited for an ATE setting. We have weather, Disease, or Bots. Lets just say its disease -- some how the team was exposed to infections. They could turn to centrum for help, but they're trying to impress centrum right now. Lets roll at HT - peril (original) and find what we have.
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| reign of steel isn't just about robots... |
Wong: 11 -2 vs 6 -- no infection!
Li An: 11 -2 vs 4 -- no infection!
Lum Zihao: 10 -2 vs 11 -- sick!
Tsao Tongnian: 11 -2 vs 9 -- no infection!
Fredrick Maxwell 10? -2 +3 (centrum bonus) vs 14 -- sick!
Yamauchi Taya 10? -2 vs 14 --sick!
Soldier 1 10? -2 vs 8 -- no infection
Soldier 2 10? -4 vs 11 -- sick!
Soldier 3 10? -4 vs 16 -- sick!
Half the team is sick. Li looks at the symptoms and tries to diagnose the disease.
10 vs 9 is a success.
Rolling on reign of steel disease list: Mega-flu.
Ideally they would go back and get treated, but to do so would be to loose face with centrum, who has the cure to the problem. Soldiering on will require a leadership roll 13 vs 9-- success. They will suffer no penalties for being sick while their commander is at the helm! The second search for the entrance yields 11(per) -1(peril) +1 (camouflage) vs 8 -- they find the entrance!
Heading inside the compound, they 'look ahead' to the first area. Its an "Information area" -- the entrance to the place. Detail Round (5 details): Its full of desiccated corpses. Robotic tracks are on the floor. Lots of computers are present. Everyone is wearing eerily familiar Chinese uniforms. The lights are out -- there is no power. Rolling for if things are what they seem, the answer is yes. The mishap roll turns up nothing, and neither does the Opportunity roll.
Next we have an 'Area split': one is more information rich area, the other is a safe area -- lets call it the mess hall. They decide to investigate the safe area first. A perception roll and an 'all is as it seems' answer later, the safe area is entered. There is no mishap, and no opportunities. This was a service food area. The robots don't seem to have been here. Fewer people have died here. The route out doubles back To the first area.
Going down the second information area, it is what it promises to be, but the group has a trivial encounter! They encounter 8 robots at Peril-1. Eight Myrmidons essentially powered down and parked -- one is still up and running. They're sweeping the place room by room with weapons, so lets roll the per/stealth contest. Its time to flesh out the team a little more. We want one guy with urban combat, and to make sure we don't forget him, one guy who handles communications and Demolitions -- but the demolitions will replace heavy weapons, not supplement it.
Qin Guang: Entertainment, Miserly, Unblemished, Practical Clothes, Tight Cramped Gestures, Has strong feelings about the neighbors, Hope/Fear:Sex
Pei Huojin: Underclass, Welcoming, Petite, Distinctive Grooming implement, Frowns, Is a real connoisseur of something, Hope/Fear:Disease
Oh wow, Pei fears disease. This is not the place for him to be to be right now.
Qin is a big man: big enough to use and anti-material riffle (ok, a Barret .50 Browning) without the tripod. Lum, Li, and the last soldier have one shot LAWs out, while Wong has a recoilless riffle (re-loadable), and Tsao and Pei have Assault Riffles. All the folks with assault riffles are using SLAP Ammo. Lum goes in first, Followed by Qin.
Stealth 12 vs 13 failure by 1. Myrmidon Per: 10 vs 9 success by 1. Lum Per: 11 vs 17.
Lum's small frame whips around the corner. "All clear."
And then Myrmidon starts moving. The whine of its servos give it away, but it gets off a shot at Lum. At a mere 5 yards away. Its armed with an assault carbine. 12(skill)+2 (rof) -2 (range) vs 13 = a bare miss!
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| Nope, all clear. No enemies |
"Deer Droppings!" Lum knows this one isn't his target though ... he aims at one of the other Myrmidons...
The active robot belongs to Qin, who fires off a shot from his massive weapon. 13-2 vs 8 = success! 3dx5 (2) coming up -- 35(2) is fairly low damage, but 20 points get through armor, and do 6 points of wounding to the robot. Combat robots don't take shock, and that's not a major wound -- fairly disappointing as a hit goes.
A good tactics roll by Wong (12 vs 7) lets him make a good snap decision. The robots have them at a choke point as it is, and the element of surprise was lost. "Pull Back!".
The Myrmidon aims another burst at Qin. 12(skill)-2(range)+2 (rof) gives another bare miss. Qin takes another shot as he backs up, while Lum just hurries in. Qin has a move and attack, and so misses (his 10 isn't even close) while his bagging clothes sway as he moves in. The Myrmidons are all powering up, but the door is slammed closed. Wong directs the team to head back in good order. His tactics roll is good, but his leadership is a natural 16! Its a route! half the soldiers run back for cover, while the other half ready themselves along the wall. Wong does get everyone in good order, but gets no time to set up the response he wanted for when the Myrmidons open the door.
We realize that we really want to be able to jam these guys, and Pei doesn't have that skill -- but he has a slush fund and the basic background needed. We'll let him take 2 points in electronics operation (Electronic Warfare), for skill 14. 14 vs 8 -- the jamming is well underway.
The myrmidons are NAI, and have to supervisor. So they either will stay put, or will follow the soldiers.
Will they stay put? No, but...
some will stay behind, presumably to continue guarding and establish contact with possible supervisors. The myrmidons stride through the door, looking for humans. The soldiers have the jump on them. A successful leadership role means only Lum fires his LAW. 13 (skill)-3 (range) +3 (aim)vs 12 is a hit! 3d*6 (10) to the chest+ 3d*4 ex. with 78 damage, the myrmidon is toast. The 8*4=32 blast damage is ignored by its heavily armored comrades. Qin attacks with his riffle 13-3+8 vs 9 is a definite hit. 12*5(2) to the torso is much better than the last hit: 45 gets through armor, for 15 damage -- not full HP, but enough to get a major wound. The robot makes its HT roll, and stays up and keeps coming. It fires at the undetermined solder. 12(skill) -3 (range) + 2(rof) vs 7 is hit by 4 -- two bullets hit! Another robot steps up to take the place of the one that is fallen, and sprays bullets in the general direction of Quin and Li. Both are misses.
We need information about the last soldier. Lets say he's quick, and that he's the star of the heavy weapons crew: He's taken it twice, and he's 'physical'.
Xing Fang: Entertainment, Welcoming, Powerful, Few Words, Scowls, Poorer than they seem, Hope/Fear:Violence
Xing rolls dodge, and an 8 is only enough to dodge one bullet (this is the first time in combat). The bullet that hits strikes his vitals -- and trauma plates -- squarely. He feels a solid thud in his chest, but nothing more. It doesn't effect him -- he's happy to be be unleashing destruction here.
Wong calls for a shot by Li at the one that just stepped up, while Qin and Tsao hammer the one that got hit before. Li attacks: 13 (skill)-3(range) +3 (Aim) vs 12 is a hit! -- but in the foot. 3d*6 (10) is expended on a foot. Excess damage is wasted. The Knockdown roll succeeds, but the myrmidon still tumbles to the ground.
Quin rolls an 18 -- his weapon misfires! of all things! Tsao: 12-2(range)+1(rof)+6(aim) vs 9 -- three hits! 3d*3 (2) pi- ends up doing: 5 to the neck, 2 to the torso, and 3 to the right arm. The robot is at 0HP. The consciousness check... succeeds. Wow, HT 13. These are trivial opponents?
Another Robot Steps up and sprays, this time at Qin and li. As the bullet ridden robot tries to keep going, it breaks something and topples. Two robots down, one is footless.
Wong fires himself this time, a recoilless riffle. 12(skill)-3(range)+4 (aim) vs 11 is a hit! 3d*12 (10) becomes 144(10) through the torso. the 30 damage around the blast of energy is ignored by the other bots, who are armored. Qin ducks behind cover to work with his weapon. Tsao aims at the robot on the ground. Lum grabs his second LAW. Li Stashes his used law. Xing continues aiming at the spot where the next one will come.
The Bot on the ground Fires at Lum. 12 -3 (range)+2(rof) vs 13 is a miss. Two bots step up to spray fire: both at Tsao and Xing. Each of them get hit... by two bullets! They're both in cover of sorts. Tsao leg shot lands in a computer. the left arm shot... strikes true, for the full 6d pi. And does 28 damage rounded down to HP. Its a crippling injury, and a major wound, and Tsao goes down. Xing's shots are also aimed at his arms.. but his dodge roll of 8 vs 7 is enough to avoid them both.
This is a moment of crisis! The leadership roll is 13 vs 11: the troops remain calm "Man down! keep steady!". Lum brings up another LAW and aims it. Wong is reloading the riffle. Li grabs a replacement Law. Xing lost his aim, but fires anyways -- they've got to keep their fire up, and he's the best aim. And He's tired of not shooting. 14(skill)-3 (range) vs 8 is a torso hit, and 11*12 =121 (10) damage sings through the foe on the left. He's immensely pleased with the shot, but merely grunts in satisfaction.
The two remaining attack Li and Qin, with success 12-3+2 vs 8 each. Both are intended to be torso hits. Quin is in cover, and the bullets slam into the computers and furniture all around him. Li takes a torso hit in the trauma plates -- its not a strong hit, only 10 damage, not close to penetrating. Li gets an ugly look on his face.
No more robots have showed up! victory is close! Wong is still loading his next shot. Quin rolls vs. IQ-based guns skill. An 8 is enough! He's returned the weapon to firing capability. Lum takes a shot: 12 -3(range)+1 (aim) vs 5 is a hit -- but only in the right arm. The massive amount of damage is wasted as the hit only disarms the robot. The robot doesn't go down... but its not armed either. Lum curses again "Deer Droppings". Li aims for the last robot. Xing is grabbing his next LAW.
The two crippled robots are much less of a threat now. The one with no arm moves back towards the old room (where there are still two more), while the footless one fires at Xing. With a 6. Wow. 12-3(range)+2(rof) vs 6-- two more bullets fly at him. His dodge of 8 vs 11 doens't help anything -- but his cover does. The left arm and torso get an additional 10 DR from the objects the bullets fly through first. The trauma plates are not hit -- but the cover is enough to stop the path. He does take a 6 point wound in his left arm though -- just enough to not be major. He grunts, but that's all.
With one left, and no more coming, there is no reason to expose themselves. "Hide!" The command causes everyone to duck out of site and behind cover.
The robot can't see anyone, and so sprays the room with bullets. A bullet goes crashing through their cover and hits Li in the trauma plates as the robot fires away.
Wong has a thought: "Ever wondered how big the clips on their guns are?" And as it turned out, the firing stopped: The robot is out of ammo. "Take out his gun Qin! Lets save our ammo!" The big man pops up, aims at the weapon being reloaded, and fires, as his uninjured teammates all point heavier weapons at the thing. 12(skill)-3(range)+6(acc) -3 (hitting a weapon) vs 12. The weapon takes 12*5(2) damage, and is now useless. The robot begins trying to stand up. Quin keeps shooting, and after five bullets, the thing is no longer able to maintain its hobble back to safety.
There are still three robots on the other side of the door (though one is missing an arm). Tsao is down, and Li is already looking him over. Xing got winged in the arm. Li goes to try and patch it up: Full physician skill at 13 succeeds and restores 3 points of damage -- Tsao is back up, though the arm is pretty bad. But first Pei's frown face warns them that "I can't keep them from communicating forever! I need them down quick."
Wong agrees. The door is open, but the myrmidons have moved out of the line of fire. They need a way to get the jump on the Myrmidons in the defensive position. Wong suggests perhaps their is another way in. Pei is busy jamming the robots and isn't available to look at the layout of the place though. Tactics says that the two robots have guns pointed at the entrance. By training a grenade is most appropriate, but that won't really hurt the robots. Quin, with the urban assault training, suggests that shooting around corners may be a valid strategy. They don't have weapons that fire enough for that to be effective, but Wong then suggests tricking them into firing all their shots-- they can count the shots and then go in.
Its a dangerous idea, but even that takes a full minute to come up with. Pei must roll Electronics Warfare again, and he succeeds. No one present (including agent Taya) is good with AI, but she is good with computers, and evaluates the idea.
We need information about Yamauchi Taya now. Lets say she's Brainy(70), Computer Intrusion (realistic), and of course the basic infinity package. She has computer programming at 13 vs 10, which complements the tactics roll. Tactics rolls 12 +1 (complementary)-2(unfamiliar foes) vs 11 is a success! They use the weapons the other myrmidons were using, and only expose those. DX Rolls by Lum and Wong (the fastest two soldiers) Are successful (11 and 8 against a target of 11).
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| take that, oh mighty robots! |
The robots expend all of their bullets! Xing and Qin pop in, aim their LAWs, and fire. Xing rolls 14+1(aim)-2(range)vs 13 = success. Quin rolls 12 +1(aim)-2(range) vs 9 is success. Xing hits the left leg, Qin hits the torso, and his does down. The one Xing hit fails knockdown but succeeds at the consciousness check. The one with only one arm moves towards Lum and swings an iron fist -- But misses. Lum only has the weapon that he has luring the fire with, but he fires with that. 12+2(rate of fire) vs 9-- two hits, at 24 damage each -- they bounce off of the armor. The others rush to get a weapon out that can hurt it -- those with LAWs drop their spent husks and start grabbing for more -- except for Qin, who readies his massive gun. The second swing also misses, and Lum drops his weapon and reverts to all out defense "Buddha's Bowls!". A third attack comes -- a critical failure, and right next to Qin, who pumps a bullet into its back. the roll of 6 hits, and 55(2) damage to the torso, for 13 injury -- a major wound. Knockdown fails. The one that fell down from the lost leg has recovered, and is trying to reload. Quin carefully shoots up first the gun and then the robot.
Li comes up and patches Xing. its 13 vs 13, but she heals 5 points of damage -- he's down three points, one from the wound and two from disease.
We end the session in the base, with everyone conscious, one minor wound, one major wound, a bunch of sick, and 6 Expended LAWS and 2 expended recoilless riffle shots. They only have 10 laws and five recoilless shots to start with, so half their heavy ammo is gone. We've fleshed out all the characters, but we don't know what's at stake yet... we'll resolve that first thing next session!
Session 2
Personal Plot Element
Peril 1 inside, Peril 2 outside
We have a new plot at stake this session: a Personal Plot element! We get to start Wong's personal plot today. But first, the central plot should be adressed.
The area has been all shot up, and his men all patched up. Wong approaches Frederick the observer. "How was that for a fight? One wounded, Eight enemy soldiers dispatched. Essentially no wasted ammunition. It may have been rough before, but you can't doubt our combat performance."
Saviore-Fairre (military) 13 vs 15 to convince of miltary performance
Diplomacy 12 vs 9 to do so tactfully
Frederick is unimpressed. "You took causalities against idiot robots. That doesn't take any skill at all. I'd expect as much from any troops."
They're still in an info area, so they roll on that table, and find 'treasure'. Huh? What could that be? given that they are in a military installation of a high tech facility, maybe there is some Ultra Tech gear in here.
Is there high tech gear here? No and ...
I suppose the robots would have taken it if there were.
Perhaps the treasure is a way to get in on the robot's communications system? Yes, and...
It allows data to be read.
This place is hooked up to Beijing's version of the internet, for some strange reason. If they can request a bunch of data about Beijing from here, it would be a brilliant find. But how do they log in on the web, and how do they convincingly fake being robots? This is a huge opportunity AND a huge challenge.
Pei Huojin: "The web is up people! They were trying to send messages via wifi, not via radio. I stopped both though"
Yamauchi Taya: "Wait, this building is hooked up to the internet?" She taps her nose. "Are we in a trap?"
Wong: "Its a secure government facility that fell to disease. I'm not surprised its still got some things running"
Pei Huojin: "We can't stay too long, Or we'll die of disease too"
Wong: "Shouldn't take that long to try to get data off of it."
Yamauchi: "It will take that long if we have to learn to fake logging on as a robot"
Wong: "Any chance one of these normal computers houses an AI?"
Yanauchi: "That's quite possible"
Wong: "So then how do we figure out if it is, and co-opt it? There are dozens of machines around here..."
Yanauchi: "We listen to the signal, and see if any computer is talking. Its possible that its wired in though, so we have two routes to check"
Pei: "Or we could just check power consumption"
Wong debates if they should chase an AI that may or may not exist, and decides that if the AI is around, it is a threat to the main mission. Pei moniters the wifi for activity, and Yaumauchi starts checking which computers are actually consuming power.
Yamauchi is build on Brainy (70), infinity package, computer survalience-realisic (x2), and Electronics, with Electrician as one of her 1 point skills.
Does Yaumauchi find the AI? Electrician (lowest required skill) 13 -1(peril) vs 16). She can't tell... there are just too many computers. So they have t
o go riskier. A second electrician roll is needed to find where the lines leave the building so they can be interrupted. success. Are they in an explored area? No. Dang it. We have to move on.
As a segway, I believe that each dungeon in this system has a set 'size' a distance to the goal. Lets say the last area is the goal: one more mishap, one more opportunity. This area is full of traps, wards, ect. and Pei checks for traps (security cameras) and gets rid of them (two traps roll at 13(skill -1 (peril)). No idea if they actually hooked up to an AI. There are no further mishaps. This area looks much like the other areas, but its higher tech -- and the internet can be cut off properly from here. Does this area have internet as well? Yes it does. Its time to log on and try to flush an AI.
First they will disconnect a computer and Yuamauchi will break onto it, copy the hard drive, inspect the OS, tamper with it properly, and so on. This is Expert Skill (computer security) and Electronics Repair (computer) in combination. Yaumauchi rolls and with 12's she suceeds on both attempts. A follow up computer operation (16-1(peril) - 2 (unfamiliar system) vs 7) gets her in on an account. A cryptography roll succeeds 16-1 vs 13 and she's hacked the admin account of the computer and is ready to roll. She programs a script that will probe for the other AI, collect the data they need from the network, and 'fake' being an AI and ask Beijing for key information. Her computer programming is 15, but this is tricky -- she's working with protocols she's only seen a little of. In the mean time, the rest of the team is standing by the servers, ready to crack them open and take data or cut the internet connection if all goes wrong.
And now we roll Computer Programming to find a whole bunch of info rapidly:
Is their an AI? 15-3 vs 8... No, but... oooh, this is fun.
Is there AI code or presence here? No, but...
what now? We don't know yet. script hasn't triggered that.
Did we get the local data were looking for? 15-1 Succeeds, and the question: Yes
As the AI was not found, the script didn't trigger the "Send queries to beijing". They found the data they're looking for. The mission is a success!
They have the data-- normally, It'd be time to head out. But there is more. Yamauchi wants to know if there is no AI, if this system is still being used. This seems to be obscure, so the GM accesses another -4 to the computer operation roll: 16-1-4 vs 8.
Is this station used for something related to the area outside? No.
Is it valuable for research, data stored, manufacturing, or other internal facing purposes? Yes, and ...
that's why all of the computers are up and talking to each other -- its necessary. Its a research station, working on...
a large scale physical simulation? Yes, but...
Computer and human psychology enter into it as well.
Is the data real? No. Its just a simulation. All theory.
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| Did they get what they needed? |
Yamauchi looks at the information calls by the computer, and decides to try faking her own. They need a list of things to ask. Frederick rolls information analysis (at 11), and Wong rolls strategy (at 11) in hopes of getting good questions. These rolls are secret though: we don't know what they are until the high command look them over.
They're worried the zone mind will start looking for them after the questions get asked, and they don't want any robot footage of them. They take some of the circuit boards and memory boards of the defeated robots (very crudely) -- the roll of 9 indicates only a few boards are undamaged, and get ready to head out. Yamauchi runs the script, gets her answers (Research 8-1 vs 8, computer operations 16-1 vs 15) and then they all head out into the wilderness.
Does the zonemind look for them? No, but.. They see a vulture hovering overhead anyways. The camoflauge roll of 8 is sufficent to escape notice. The journey back will be just as hard as the first. In fact, it will be harder. Many people are sick, and Tsao is very wounded-- he gets a -4 to hiking. They decide to take things both slowly and carefully. Navigation 11 -2 (Peril)+3 (GPS)=12 vs 13 -- Tsao gets turned around a few times, and takes the 'taking it slow' part to heart. Survival 12-2(peril) vs 9 is successful. But the event roll is a 15. (what the heck!). They run into a patrol of robots. Their scout at that point is.. Xing. Xing Has stealth 12, camouflage 11, and per 10. Camouflage suceeds and gives stealth a needed +1 (it barely succeeds with that), but his perception is 15 -- failure by five. Still, they're not hiding and he is, so that counts for +5 to his per roll. As their perception roll is 10 vs 14, Xing sees the robots.
They are N/2 Peril 4 troops, or N peril 2 troops.
They are TL10 exterminators and Industrial robots, respectively.
Exterminators shift up a category (N/4 Peril 5) and Industrials down one (1.5N Peril 1)
The industrials are a boss bot and a bunch of loaders.
In the area is a juggernaut.
Xing brings back the news: they can either sneak through the work crew (busily looting a ruined town for metal) or they can shoot their way through (Xing likes killing things). Tsao points out they can also go the long way around -- they're of course way behind already. Fredrick expresses the thought that they should just play it safe -- they could barely handle a few foot soldiers. At which point Wong takes offense decides that this is an anti-tank team, and that those juggernauts are nothing but tanks. "The recoilless riffle will handle them just fine. Or the missile."
Wong needs a personal Plot, and this feels like a standup moment for him. we can at least start giving him some of his promised disadvantages: Selfish. And bloodthirsty (tanks). But is this a real personal plot? something he really needs? that will probably have to wait.
Xing, being the best shot, takes the recoilless riffle (which is the easiest to aim and does twice as much damage), while Wong stays in the rear with the missile -- a just in case precaution. Xing attempts to stealthily creep up on the juggernaut. with a stealth of 9, he's successful. His skill is 15, and aiming give him +6, and juggernauts are SM 6 so he feels comfortable with -13 in range penalties: 300 yards away -- a nice long shot. He sets up, takes aim, and takes his shot. and 14 vs 5 is a success. 12*12 (10) damage is dealt -- enough to hit the juicy innards, but 64 damage is a long ways from a kill. The massive tank stops to look around for its target -- the massive plume of hot air from the blast is one indication. Xing runs for it, as a beam of plasma heads for his location. The forest behind him erupts in flame as a beam of fire bears down on him. Then the laser carbines start up. ROF 10, with four
of them firing. The juggernaut isn't quite sure where he is, but its tearing up the forest, and has a good chance of hitting him, in the long run.
EW goes up, from both the juggernaut and from Pei. With Pei rolling 13 and it rolling 9, they're just about equal -- but it has more powerful tools at its disposal. The message is out. Xing has had two close calls with the laser carbine, but is running towards the tank: he figures he just need to be closer. His stealth against 14 brings him out into the open, and it gets a perception of 12 -- they both fail by two, leaving his movement uncovered, and while it hasn't pin pointed him, its tracking him.
Wong throws up his hands and fires the missile "I'm not loosing anyone today!" its will take a few seconds for the missile to hit -- he's at a longer range than Xing was. The Juggernaut makes its perception skill check (10 vs 5) and fires at the incoming projectile. 11 +2 (rof) -4 size - 2 range vs 14 is a miss! The missile hits the tank with 18*3d (10) damage -- 180 to be exact. This is a major wound for the tank -- but it makes the HT roll to avoid knockdown. a Perception test confirms this: Major damage done, but still very much up and running. Wong snatches the bipod and runs as the particle beam lances out at his old position and lights it aflame. The attempt to fire cover goes awry (stealth roll fails), and laser fire cuts up the area around Wong. Crouching down and crawling away, he manages to escape the area before a stray laser beam finds him -- but he's left the firing platform for the missile (Bunch of stealth rolls and indirect fire rolls)
Xing, in the mean time, has set up for another shot with the Recoilless riffle. He rolls stealth at 10 (success by two) and its perception roll is 10 +10(fairly clear line of sight) - 12 (range penalties) =8. Time will help its search. Xing takes the full three seconds to aim, giving is foe another +2 to see him. 10 vs 9 -- it sees him with 2 seconds left, aims, and fires. 11 - 12 +12 + 2(rof) = 13 vs 9 -- 4 hits. Xing sees the laser coming and attempts to dodge, throwing himself to the ground, and increasing his dodge from 8 to 11. rolling a 9, he only takes a single hit, to the chest. 18(2) is not to be stopped by 30 points of armor, but it does reduce the damage to 3. Xing at this point is 6 HP down, 1 from a myrmidon bullet, 2 from disease, and 6 just now, but he's still up and rearing. He rolls with his weapon to get away from the fire as well as he can. A successful stealth roll indicates he's not in direct line of sight. He still comes under heavy suppressing fire, and gets at hit -- and while he's prone has little chance of dodging vs 8-3 vs 13. its a skull hit. His ballistic helmet only has DR 12. damage is 15(2) -- of which a mere 12/2(helmet)+2/2(skull)+ cover. What cover? well, lets see if we have good cover... come on solo 6! Yes. But just yes. The beam nicks a 2 inch branch that takes off another 2/2. so he takes 7 damage to the skull. That's 28 wounding. added to his 6... that's 34 damage. He has 13 HP, so he needs to roll knockdown, unconsciousness, and two death checks.
Knockdown: rolled 14
Consciousness: rolled 9
Death Check 1: 11 vs 11 -- made it
Death Check 2: 11 vs 9 -- made it.
Umm... wow. He's alive and conscious.
Xing has the presence of mind to squeeze the radio and let his allies know he's in trouble "I'm hit". Wong feels a surge of anger and fear. Xing had the only remaining weapon capable of hurting the thing, and now its lying next to him, and he's near useless.
Wong is faced with the decision to either save the men he has, or to risk the safe lives to recover the lives of the soldier dying in the forest. He resolves to save the life of his friend and comrade. And he'll do so nobly. "Lum, Qin! I need you to get to Xing. Lum, get the riffle and kill this monster. Qin, get Xing out of there. Li! stand by to see how bad Xing's hurt! I'm going to distract the juggernaut!"
Frederick snarls over the comm "This is all because.." Wong: "No chit chat! Move! A man's life is at stake!" Leadership 15 vs 11. Wong needs to be a distraction, without getting himself killed. He takes three LAWs and when far enough away from his men, fires one of them off. He wasn't aiming, just trying to attract attention, but with a roll of 5 -- 12 (range) - 12 + 6(SM) vs 5 is a hit! It only does 8*6(10) damage, not enough to pierce the armor, but it does get the thing's attention. His stealth roll is enough to drop back out of sight as the lasers bear down on his position. The churning lasers don't see him. His second attack is a miss (9 is not enough), but his excellent stealth roll (7) and more high rolls on the suppression fire let him distract it yet more.
Lum and Qin roll decent on their stealth, and make it to Xing's location. He's in a lot of pain, and Qin lifts the big man (being a large fellow himself), while Lum grabs the weapon and the two remaining shots. "I've got the weapon! now what?". Wong is ready for the last step of everything: "I'm exposing myself one more time! After I shoot, take aim and get rid of that thing!
Wong takes his last shot. By a small miracle (a crit) it hits solidly (table says does maximum normal damage). 18*6 (10) is 84(10) damage -- just enough to penetrate the armor and do 4 points of damage! He has its attention now... which was the point. But his stealth fails when he rolls a 15. Four lasers fire on his position -- though he is far enough away to force a round of aiming and then a mere suppression fire. one of them hits by two! -- torso and left leg. the torso hit, doing 24(2) points of damage, does hit a trauma plate, which drops the damage by 15 points. No cover was hit, and he takes a 9 point wound to the chest. The knockdown roll fails. The leg attack does have cover, which reduces the 16 to a mere 15 -- but it just hits the leg. Wong fails his consciousness roll, and everything goes black.
Lum has had a distraction with which to aim his weapon, and he rolls a 9 on stealth. He aims the shot, and fires away: skill 13 -12 (range) +6 SM + 6(aim). His roll of 10 is a hit! 11*12=121(10) damage does 41 additional damage -- enough to drop the thing below 0 HP! (41+4+100+64 > 200). It makes its consciousness roll though, and looks around for Lum. Lum has gone to ground, and the searching lasers only pass close to him once. The lasers continue scouring the forest, until with a clattering clunk, the thing stops.
No one says anything. Did they actually defeat the incredibly resilient tank! After a few more moments, a cheer goes up. They did it! Of course, its certainly sent for help, and there are the other robots to consider. Its urgent to find Wong where he went down. With a per roll of 12, the answer is 'too long'. The troops are still in the area when the investigating vulture craft shows up. The stealth and camouflage rolls succeed, and all it finds is the husk of the juggernaut -- but they've got to get out of there.
First aid to Wong and Xing heal 2 and 6 points of damage each -- Neither will be able to walk out of here on their own. Tsao is still going quite slow. Tsao is technically second in command. He's sitting, considering what to do next, when Fredrick decides to take charge. Or would have if not for the language barrier. He ends up merely talking to Yamauchi Taya : "We've got to get out here! they're coming. Tell them to get moving!"
Taya is calm "Who's second in command?".
"I am." Tsao says, breaking the silence of his thoughts. "I'm considering where we're going next."
Leadership from 11-5(default) vs 5 -- the soldiers all know Tsao is next in command. Tsao stands up, and organizes people into stretcher teams. Tsao has the heavy recoilless riffle left behind (along with its last shot), and the group continues Frederick is satisfied with not having to carry anyone, and indeed, he's sick and not skilled at hiking.
Another successful stealth roll (barely!) gets them out of the area, with vultures still patrolling. They march painfully towards their goal. They will need to spend yet another night in the wild. Survival by their replacement leader succeeds, and he finds a concealed location where they can rest in comfort -- he feels they need it.
Survival 12 vs 11 success
Event: 4 -- golden opportunity
Do good, be virtuous, or help someone, but without reward.
Are the people to help present? No
Is the opportunity military in nature? Yes, and...
They find an old campsite used by some of the unfortunate locals. Tsao looks at how recent it was used (survival 12 vs 12), and knows if anyone was there within a few days. No, but its regularly used. Tsao leaves directions to where he buried the recoilless riffle -- someone is going to love that find fairly soon. There is still one shot left -- hopefully that means another robot dead. The camouflage roll for the night is successful and the robots don't see the crew.
The night is spent comfortably, but there is still disease to worry about -- and with all this carrying around, everyone has been exposed to the disease.
Wong Kang vs 9 -- infected!
Li An vs 18 -- infected!
Tsao Yongnian -- infected!
Lum Zihao -- still sick!
Pei Huojin -- infected!
Qin Guang -- still sick!
Xing Fang -- still sick!
Yamauchi Taya -- still sick!
Frederick Maxwell -- still sick!
This is not good. Not good at all. They've got to get back. The damage isn't enough to force Xing or Wong to make more death checks, but they're pretty close. Fortunately, its just one more hike until they make it back to the pick up location.
Navigation 11+3 -2 vs 5
Survival 12 vs 12
Event: 10-- uneventful.
Wong is conscious for some of the trip, but can't do more than encourage Tsao to keep going. Frederick continues complaining, but their is little point -- the only person he can complain to is agent Taya. The band of soldiers straggles in, infected with a bioweapon, half their number wounded and a quarter on stretchers.
They're taken back to cease fire, put in quarantine, and treated by centrum experts -- who can actually combat viruses. This is really 'background' info, and we simply roll to find out if something went critically wrong, and it doesn't: everyone spends time being treated and recovering. The data they got from the lab turned out to be good! Both of the two rolls by Frederick and Wong succeed (barely), and the data will tell us a lot about how Beijing is organized. Frederick goes ahead and writes his report. Wong is in the hospital when the report is written, and never gets to change Frederick's foul opinion of him.The report is slightly tempered by the value of the data gained: infinity is one step closer to the strike on all citadels that will take out the Beijing zonemind.
Wong gains a personal goal and mission: he blames the disasters on not having adequate weapons for the job: it took four hits from "Weapons deemed suitable" to take out robots. He believes that to succeed, they'll need better weapons -- weapons designed specifically to fight robots. He's started a personal campaign to get the weapons improved.
As for experience, two sessions were a success. 8-4 = 4 gives each character 2 points. Additionally, these troops have now seen some combat ... in some ways a personal goal. We'll see how they do when we come back to this group. For now, we'll let them heal from this trip through the ringer.
