Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - Mission #5: Slay Ride

[Duvors]

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Guess I've got you lot to thank, though I'm sure we could have handled it just fine."

"Go to hell.  If you had no legal authority to stop those two then all you are is a thug with a gun, regardless of whether you were right or not.  You're more of a rat than they are, and a bigoted twat to boot."  Enson turned away in disgust.  "Come on," he said, "we have nothing more to do here."

14 minutes ago, Yzalirk said:

"Do you by chance have a device or something to super heat a lake?  There is a giant polar gator not too far from here that we could use a little help in dealing with.  It is a fierce creature, too powerful to deal with head on.  Perhaps if you help assist us in killing the beast it will help build better relations between you and the locals."

"Ronin, they don't care about having a positive relationship with anyone.  And I doubt they could help anyway."

[Waterbrick Down]

26 minutes ago, Yzalirk said:

As the pair of Cricet were found to be guilty of theft, Ronin feels some slight satisfaction as he had a hunch that they were thieves.  With the miners talking about there technology just a bit, he begins to formulate another idea in his head to combat the polar gator.

"Perhaps you could have, but no thanks are required.  I am satisfied that you got your part back from those thieves peacefully." 
Ronin bows.
"Do you by chance have a device or something to super heat a lake?  There is a giant polar gator not too far from here that we could use a little help in dealing with.  It is a fierce creature, too powerful to deal with head on.  Perhaps if you help assist us in killing the beast it will help build better relations between you and the locals."

"If you're talking about Hriensa Lake that thing is at least a couple miles around, that'd take a machine as big as a intergalactic freighter. The locals can stay away from our equipment and that'll be fine enough. If they've got a problem, they can bring it up with their Council."

10 minutes ago, Duvors said:

"Go to hell.  If you had no legal authority to stop those two then all you are is a thug with a gun, regardless of whether you were right or not.  You're more of a rat than they are, and a bigoted twat to boot."  Enson turned away in disgust.  "Come on," he said, "we have nothing more to do here."

"Figured, you're traveling with one after all. I'm glad you can afford some semblance of law and order where-ever you're from. Out here, you protect what belongs to you, you give an inch and they'll take a mile."

[Duvors]

2 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Figured, you're traveling with one after all. I'm glad you can afford some semblance of law and order where-ever you're from. Out here, you protect what belongs to you, you give an inch and they'll take a mile."

Enson stopped, turning around slowly to face the man.  "On the contrary, one can always afford law and order.  It is its absence that comes at too high a cost.  I have seen what happens when people believe that rules of conduct do not apply to them, when compromise is rejected out of hand, it just causes needless suffering - war, even.  You all really should consider being more flexible, I find that when you're willing to give an inch, the other side is too.  It takes more strength of will to do that than to kill a man."
As he spoke, Enson seemed to deflate slightly, his face bore a tired, distressed expression that made him look twice his age, his upright posture bent slightly, and as he resumed walking away he wasn't moving with his usual brisk energy.  As he reached the sled he practically collapsed into it, lying against the pile of equipment in the back with a pained expression on his features.

[Endgame]

Decker felt a little twang of pity, seeing that metal device tumble to the ground. He kind of wanted to believe they were just hunting cryo storks. Being lied to never felt great. But there was no blood shed during the situation, so he had to suppose that was a win. Even if the reality of it all betrayed how ugly things had gotten on this world.

4 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"If you're talking about Hriensa Lake that thing is at least a couple miles around, that'd take a machine as big as a intergalactic freighter. The locals can stay away from our equipment and that'll be fine enough. If they've got a problem, they can bring it up with their Council."

"Can't really do that if they're shot dead, now, can they." Decker muses aloud, before shaking his head. "Whatever. Y'all have a good day now. Stay warm."

Decker retreats to the sled and notices Enson's demeanor. "You gonna make it?" He asks, somewhat in jest, somewhat seriously.

[Waterbrick Down]

1 hour ago, Duvors said:

As he spoke, Enson seemed to deflate slightly, his face bore a tired, distressed expression that made him look twice his age, his upright posture bent slightly, and as he resumed walking away he wasn't moving with his usual brisk energy.  As he reached the sled he practically collapsed into it, lying against the pile of equipment in the back with a pained expression on his features.

"I've got to say, heroes, that's probably the first time I've seen a situation like that not come to blows. You may not have slain any beasts out here on the Waste, but you might have just slain a different kind of monster."

+1 CP to all Heroes for solving the conflict peaceably

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigrun checks the sled wyrms ensure they're still fresh and ready to pull.

"If any of you want to do any sort of scrounging or foraging, I'd suggest now's the time. The snow looks to be lessening so your visibility is going to be better for a little while at least."

 

[samurai-turtle]

6 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

 

"Bah, not worth the trouble."

"I was right, all you Rats are the same."

Ipwin starts to walk off followed by his companion.

"Your Council is going to hear about this, our management will be pressing charges."

Corwan turns to the heroes as the Cricet leave in a sled.

"Guess I've got you lot to thank, though I'm sure we could have handled it just fine."

You can say that again, on multiple levels. 

You know what is funny they might say something similar about you. 

Be sure to get everyone involved, I might just tell my government to avoid the Krystal Mining corporation. 

From the looks of it we would of patched up you four just fine, with all your self inflicted wounds. It almost seems like a waste of resources, good thing it didn't happen. 

1 hour ago, Duvors said:

As he spoke, Enson seemed to deflate slightly, his face bore a tired, distressed expression that made him look twice his age, his upright posture bent slightly, and as he resumed walking away he wasn't moving with his usual brisk energy.  As he reached the sled he practically collapsed into it, lying against the pile of equipment in the back with a pained expression on his features.

Do you need me to check you over? 

35 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"I've got to say, heroes, that's probably the first time I've seen a situation like that not come to blows. You may not have slain any beasts out here on the Waste, but you might have just slain a different kind of monster."

 

Sigrun checks the sled wyrms ensure they're still fresh and ready to pull.

"If any of you want to do any sort of scrounging or foraging, I'd suggest now's the time. The snow looks to be lessening so your visibility is going to be better for a little while at least."

 

Time will tell, time will tell. 

I guess I try to look for some plants out here. From the looks of it though it might be a chore to find anything (of plant life). 

 

[Peppermint_M]

"Not fancying any scavenging here. Those guys still look trigger happy." Aysu muttered. At least this wasn't ship-to-ship combat out in space.

[Duvors]

14 hours ago, Endgame said:

Decker retreats to the sled and notices Enson's demeanor. "You gonna make it?" He asks, somewhat in jest, somewhat seriously.

13 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

Do you need me to check you over? 

"No, no thank you."  Enson shifted slightly further upright.  "There isn't anything physically wrong with me I think, just... bad memories and stress.  I need to rest for a while."  He laughed slightly.  "Did you see what I just did?  I just pointed two loaded guns at myself!  That was insane!"  He began to laugh again, the sound starting to take a slightly hysterical edge.  All of a sudden he stopped, grasped his hands together, and closed his eyes with a look of intense concentration.  "No," he said, "no histrionics, no time for it."

Enson is at full Spirit, but he'll meditate anyway.

[Endgame]

15 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

"Not fancying any scavenging here. Those guys still look trigger happy." Aysu muttered. At least this wasn't ship-to-ship combat out in space.

"Yeah, I'm kinda with ya on this one, Aysu," Decker shrugged. "Poking around here seems like a good way of restarting whatever conflict here that we just lucked outta. I'm ready to move on when everyone else is."

7 hours ago, Duvors said:

"No, no thank you."  Enson shifted slightly further upright.  "There isn't anything physically wrong with me I think, just... bad memories and stress.  I need to rest for a while."  He laughed slightly.  "Did you see what I just did?  I just pointed two loaded guns at myself!  That was insane!"  He began to laugh again, the sound starting to take a slightly hysterical edge.  All of a sudden he stopped, grasped his hands together, and closed his eyes with a look of intense concentration.  "No," he said, "no histrionics, no time for it."

Enson is at full Spirit, but he'll meditate anyway.

"Yeah, that... That was a little nuts," Decker laughs. "...I think it goes to show how much faith ya have. Not in them, not in those people specifically, but just... People in general?" Decker has himself a seat. "My ma would slap me upside the head if I ever did that."

[Waterbrick Down]

On 10/20/2021 at 11:27 PM, samurai-turtle said:

I guess I try to look for some plants out here. From the looks of it though it might be a chore to find anything (of plant life). 

Polaris Nature Proficiency Check (DC 1,3) - (4,4,3,4) 3 Successes

Polaris notes a few slight depressions in the snow near the geothermal transfer unit and finds growing in the heat of the equipment a few sparse irises and sorrels and a yellow flowering plant.

"Well I'll be, you actually managed to find some wyrmsfoot. While not a lethal poison, that stuff will make any reptile rather sluggish if they get enough of it in their system."

 Wyrmsfoot x3 - Apply to a weapon to cause Slow* when damage is dealt (Poison) (Consumable)

“We heading back to the Lake or somewhere else, next?”

 

*Slow: Velocity is halved for 3 Rounds

[samurai-turtle]

On 10/22/2021 at 1:07 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

 

Polaris notes a few slight depressions in the snow near the geothermal transfer unit and finds growing in the heat of the equipment a few sparse irises and sorrels and a yellow flowering plant.

"Well I'll be, you actually managed to find some wyrmsfoot. While not a lethal poison, that stuff will make any reptile rather sluggish if they get enough of it in their system."

 Wyrmsfoot x3 - Apply to a weapon to cause Slow* when damage is dealt (Poison) (Consumable)

“We heading back to the Lake or somewhere else, next?”

 

Here you three take one. I am probably not be able to use them most effectively. 

Gives one Wyrmsfoot flower to Aysu, Ronin and Decker. 

[Yzalirk]

"Good finds, Polaris.  These should certainly help."

Ronin double checks for any suspicious-looking plants or fungi.

[Waterbrick Down]

3 hours ago, Yzalirk said:

"Good finds, Polaris.  These should certainly help."

Ronin double checks for any suspicious-looking plants or fungi.

Ronin Nature Proficiency Check (DC 1, 3) - (3,3,4) 1 Success

Ronin's foraging turns up some red lichen, but not much else.

"Ah, Crimson Wart, a mildly digestion upsetting toxin. Sorry it's hard "

 Crimson Wart - Apply to a weapon to cause Poisoned 1 when damage is dealt (Poison) (Consumable)

[Duvors]

On 10/21/2021 at 8:42 PM, Endgame said:

"Yeah, that... That was a little nuts," Decker laughs. "...I think it goes to show how much faith ya have. Not in them, not in those people specifically, but just... People in general?" Decker has himself a seat. "My ma would slap me upside the head if I ever did that."

"Do you see me as someone who has faith in others?  I do not really think of myself as having faith in some sort of innate goodness."  Enson shifted slightly.  "I often think I should be more cynical and pragmatic, but it never feels quite right.  I have to make myself think in that particular way, it just does not seem to come to me naturally.  To tell the truth I often feel that I make my worst decisions whenever I do that."

On 10/22/2021 at 1:07 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

“We heading back to the Lake or somewhere else, next?”

"Well, I do in fact have a plan to deal with the gator.  I have had it since this morning in fact, but no-one wanted to hear me out then.  If you are all willing to listen now I feel I could make a case for it."

[Endgame]

2 hours ago, Duvors said:

"Do you see me as someone who has faith in others?  I do not really think of myself as having faith in some sort of innate goodness."  Enson shifted slightly.  "I often think I should be more cynical and pragmatic, but it never feels quite right.  I have to make myself think in that particular way, it just does not seem to come to me naturally.  To tell the truth I often feel that I make my worst decisions whenever I do that."

"Well, I do in fact have a plan to deal with the gator.  I have had it since this morning in fact, but no-one wanted to hear me out then.  If you are all willing to listen now I feel I could make a case for it."

"I dunno, Enson," Decker shrugs. "Something made ya run in there and trust that you could grab those guns and not get a limb or two blown off. Ya gotta figure out what that something is and figure out if ya want to keep it or not," Decker pauses. "I'm not one for philosophy and the like, but I happen to think you did the right thing."

"Hit us with that plan." Decker confirms, accepting the foraged plant. "Thanks, Polaris, this'll be handy. And good on ya Ronin. This could really make a difference."

[Peppermint_M]

"If you have a plan and we have something to tackle that big beastie, I'm up for round 2!" Aysu was happy to hear Enson out, it had worked out right back at the station.

[Duvors]

Enson smiled a little at this show of confidence.  "Well then..."

OoC: As I can't really say the this in character, I'll talk about it here instead. Firstly, the Gator:

On 10/5/2021 at 3:22 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

 Polar Gator *Large*
Vitality: 15/15
Velocity: 2
Strength: 4
Skill: 3
Smarts: 1
Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 4, Short Range Weapons 4, Athletics 2, Perception 2
Equipment: None
Innate: Gripping Maw (Calibrated Kinetic Melee Weapon), Swiping Tail (Calibrated Kinetic Short Range Weapon), Toughened Hide (Standard Kinetic Armor)
Passive Abilities:
Feast - The Polar Gator restores 2 Vitality whenever it drops a hero to 0 Vitality
Aquatic - The Polar Gator can move through water squares unimpeded

As you can see, the Gator's skill is three. That's high at this point in the game. High enough in fact that three of us - Polaris, Decker, and Myself - can't realistically expect to damage it. For me and Polaris the reason is simple; we're using standard weapons and our weapon skills are all one, for an aggregate of two. The odds are against us. For Decker it's a bit more complex, his calibrated melee weapon would probably have skewed the odds in his favor a little, but since the Gator has standard armor of the same type as his weapon it ends up negating that advantage and reducing him to the same state as me and Polaris. His two in short range and a standard weapon does bring him up to an aggregate of three, but he's still more reliant on the Gator rolling poorly than on himself rolling well. If he attacks at all he'd have to be rallied beforehand.
Now I'll talk about each of you specifically:

@samurai-turtle
Polaris is tough. with a higher vitality than any other player and an average skill on top of it Polaris is both somewhat difficult to hit and can take hits with little issue. That aforementioned skill, combined with a smarts of two and actually having a medicine score means they're an excellent melee support character: able to stick to a melee fighter and rally, defend, and heal as needed with minimal risk to themselves.

@Peppermint_M
While technically one of the group's best defenders, and fairly tough as a result, this really isn't very useful here except if they're caught out by themselves. Having a weapon score of three and and a calibrated weapon makes them the best damage-dealer in the party, and if you've read the above, then you'll see that they're pretty much obliged to attack the gator as often as possible (especially as our second-best attacker will probably be tied up doing other things). While poor rolls are always a danger, () the odds are still largely in her favor.

@Endgame
Skipping Ronin for a moment, we'll move on to Decker. Quite frankly, Decker isn't very good for anything in this fight. They can defend... averagely, and they'll likely be doing a deal of that, but they can't rally for peanuts and I've already addressed the difficulties they face attacking. They're actually rather tough (thank that armor) but that'll be better used to protect themself from the tail here. Of all the people here who need rallying before they can risk hitting the Gator, Decker is the one I'd say would benefit most from it, but shouldn't attack otherwise.

@Yzalirk
Ronin occupies the awkward position of being best or second-best at a whole host of things that I'd prefer to be split up between multiple people, which ironically makes him the lynchpin of the plan. He's as good as Aysu at defending, the best rally-er in the party, and second-best attacker. He's also the only person here with any athletics score, and as any attempts to hogtie the big lizard will certainly be opposed athletics checks he's basically the guy for the job. He'll still be pitting his score of one against the Gator's two, so it's still not great, but it's the best we have.

As for the plan, it's not that complicated and doesn't really extend much beyond the second round. To start with, I'll be pulling something of a repeat performance - doing something to attract the gator to the shore - while the rest of you all try to ambush the Gator the way Polaris tried to the first time. I don't quite know what benefit this would grant, but it'll give us something if we pull it off, so no reason to not try. Now, unlike last time, I'll be ready with a flare while Ronin will be carrying a length of rope. My first action will be to throw the Flare in the Gator's face in an attempt to blind it while Ronin attempts to tie its jaws together. I suggest Polaris helps him with this, making it a combined check and giving us the advantage (as WBD's proposed change to combined checks hasn't been implemented yet we can still get away with this ). Aysu will simply sit at range and shoot repeatedly while Decker occupies a place between her and the melee group and defends as needed. On the second round, if successful in binding its jaws Polaris and Ronin will make another combined check to flip the Gator on its back and hogtie it (if unsuccessful, repeat step one). This should restrain it completely. At this point it should be incapable of anything except trying to break free and slapping Decker with its tail... which is a good thing, because the latter grants opportunistic attacks to everyone in range. After that Polaris shifts primarily to rallying Decker so he can attack (more attacks per round is good) or defending whoever they see fit, Ronin shifts to attacking, and I spend the fight running around healing, rallying, and defending as needed. If the Gator breaks free or looks like it then Ronin and myself or Polaris will attempt an athletics check to restore its former condition.

For starting positioning, I'll be at D2 to lure the lizard as far down that divot as possible, while Polaris and Ronin ought to hide in C3 and C4. Decker and Aysu can adopt appropriate positions relative to that.

As y'all have been rather successful in finding poisons of all sorts, it would be foolish not to use them. I'd suggest Aysu applies a Wyrmsfoot to their weapon, as they're the only person guaranteed to attack in the first round and hopefully slowing the gator to hamper its ability to retreat into the icy water between rounds one and two is a tad more important than raw damage in this scenario. Ronin can apply the Crimson Wart if he wants, but it's not that necessary. Both of these should be done before the battle, so as not to waste actions during.

Finally, no plan survives contact with the enemy. If the dice go against us or the Gator acts differently then we expect then everything can change in a moment. I fully expect one or more of us to go down during the fight. Do not worry, we have enough potions between us to handle it even if I go down. Injury is to be expected and the plan failing is not the end of the world.

[Peppermint_M]

Sounds good to me, apply poison to weapon, shoot shoot shoot!

[Duvors]

OoC: Slight correction; @Yzalirk @samurai-turtle, it turns out that the alteration to combined checks has gone into effect (see most recent addition to FAQ). Thankfully, the new version allows for combined checks to use multiple proficiencies, so I'd suggest Polaris assists Ronin using either survival or nature as those are the easiest to justify. This won't give an advantage like I'd hoped, but it will even the odds.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Duvors

[Endgame]

I suppose part of Decker's pedestrian usage in this fight is what I get for essentially rolling up a joke character, proficiency wise.

I'm pretty much on board with all of this. I was originally going to wonder if it was worth Slowing the gator if hogtying it would render it immobile,but we have enough and the battle is tough enough that I feel this warrants it.

Does Poison stack on repeated applications H2.0 like it did back in H1.0? And let's say that in the weapons check, we match/exceed the target's Skill but fail to deal Damage due to their Armor... Does that still count as a zero damage hit that applies poison? If both are true Aysu can sit back with her Long Ranged weapon, and every time she hits him our odds get exponentially better. A couple stacks of poison plus hog tying it and stepping back could be enough to win this flat out.

Let's do it!

Decker crosses his arms and nods along with the plane. "I think ya got something good here. The flares, the rope, the poisons... If we can't make this happen now, I don't know if we ever can. Let's bag a gator."

[Waterbrick Down]

3 hours ago, Endgame said:

I suppose part of Decker's pedestrian usage in this fight is what I get for essentially rolling up a joke character, proficiency wise.

I'm pretty much on board with all of this. I was originally going to wonder if it was worth Slowing the gator if hogtying it would render it immobile,but we have enough and the battle is tough enough that I feel this warrants it.

Does Poison stack on repeated applications H2.0 like it did back in H1.0? And let's say that in the weapons check, we match/exceed the target's Skill but fail to deal Damage due to their Armor... Does that still count as a zero damage hit that applies poison? If both are true Aysu can sit back with her Long Ranged weapon, and every time she hits him our odds get exponentially better. A couple stacks of poison plus hog tying it and stepping back could be enough to win this flat out.

Let's do it!

Decker crosses his arms and nods along with the plane. "I think ya got something good here. The flares, the rope, the poisons... If we can't make this happen now, I don't know if we ever can. Let's bag a gator."

MM Note: So the poisons take effect if the target takes damage, For the Crimson Wart the Damage per turn doesn't currently stack as it's an effect i.e. Poisoned 1.

Just to be clear this is the current positioning, correct?

I'd like to get this kicking off, so if there are particular actions you'd like to do before the battle begins, i.e. apply poisons please do so within the next 24hrs. My understanding is everyone will try to be hiding and trying to ambush the croc in the first turn and Enson will be trying to attract it to his position.

[Duvors]

OoC: Yes, that's correct as far as positioning goes.

[samurai-turtle]

As she applies snow and mud to herself (and MILES) at some attempt to camouflage herself. Now should I jump on the head or the tail of this gator? 

[Endgame]

Looks solid to me!

[Peppermint_M]

"Can I have some of that Wyrmsfoot for my rifle?" Aysu called, ready for action. The poison could give her the edge she needed.