Iron Stars - paul

Paul awakens in his small home in Central, the main human city on the UNW's capital of Gudrun. For it being a major city, this neighborhood is somewhat quiet so the sharp ping of the wall mounted compad going off disturbs him from his rest with a start. Outside, children are playing in the street. A few cars go by on the main road at the end of the block, and overhead it looks as though there is a grav flyer taking passengers west to the Taros cities. Everything here is clean and beautiful, but this city has always felt too big for the amount of people living in it. The pad chimes again. Insistent this time.

4

3

3

Paul stumbles out of bed and slowly walks to the compad. Curious as to what could be so important he activates the compad. (edited)

1 new message dances on the screen marked with Priority tags from the United Nations of Worlds Government. Outside, someone kicks a bouncy ball against your window and the children out on the street laugh.

“Priority tags?” he thinks. Paul opens the message anticipating that his plans to ambush the kids with water balloons may be on hold.

Mr. Duncan. 

You have been selected for a private security assignment with the United Nations of Worlds expeditionary troubleshooter forces. We require you to come to the town center for a meeting with the away team leader- who will explain the assignment to you. This mission will be off world, and lethal force will be authorized for it.

After finishing the message, Paul downs his normal cup of coffee. Realizing the moment is perfect he grabs a single “water bomb”. Careful to ensure the kids are fully distracted with the game he opens the window. “Fire in the hole” can be heard down the street and the kids duck for cover as the balloon flies in. Knowing this may be one of the last opportunities for the morning ritual with the neighborhood kids, he smiles as he shuts the window and heads out for the meeting at the town center. (edited)

There is a roadster sent to you and the automated driver greets you. It makes small talk almost constantly on your way to the town center where the large admin building stands tall and imposing Two figures emerge to get the door as the car pulls up and you can see a scarred looking veteran at the top of the stairs.

Relived at the escape from “small talk Siri”, Paul walks up to the veteran, realizing the irony that the small talk scared him more than the idea of this next conversation. Recognizing the veteran Paul immediately quips “Please don’t ask me if I wanna know how you got those scars!”. After a moment Paul begins to ask about the com he received. (edited)

He bristles at the insult but sighs. “Bandit problem on a world just a short jump from here and we haven’t had word from the last operative we sent that way. We know he made it to the ground and made contact with the world’s governor, but he’s gone silent since then. Asgapur is an important world and it’s a short spike trip from here. It’s improving but the countryside needs to be safe for goods and people to travel. Most of the conventional military is scattered keeping the villages and cities safe”

“Expected resistance, timeline and pay?”

)I normally don’t give the pay so I can adjust it depending on effort/difficulty. It wouldn’t be less than 5k)

(Ok. In the future I’ll refrain from asking. Figured there’s be the normal banter of X amount…..well double it lol.)

6:18 PM

“How big is the team?”

“Just you. Anything bigger might get spotted out there, probably will get spotted out there. We aren’t asking you to fight an army. Just take out a handful. Remind them they’re not safe L

“When do I leave?”

“If you’ve got nothing pressing here we would like to send you as soon as possible. This is a pressing security concern”

“I can leave on the next ship out”. (Not entirely sure how the travel system works. Just go to a space port or is there a specific system to follow here?)

(The polities have agreed that travel within and among them is going to be free, so there is a shuttle that can bring you there, if you ddidn't want to do anything else here I'll move us along)

After his meeting with the away-team leader Paul heads home to gather everything he'd need for the mission and heads to the shuttle. Boarding the shuttle, Paul comfortably sits down noticing how natural he feels beginning these trips.

(2 days of downtime to the destination, I'll post the world info here which is stuff paul would know with a quick space internet search, and the rules for downtime are in our rulebook, i can nab them for you if you cant get ahold of them

2:04 PM

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/iron-stars-nekosmash/a/asgapur-article

Asgapur

(Ok familiar with downtime. One question I have is if Paul is wanting to work on multiple skills during the trip does the time of trip get split between skills. Ex: If he wants to work on Piloting and Sneak, would each get 1 day towards the 90 it would take to raise the skill 1 point or would both get 2 days. Thinking of something a long the lines of Paul spending his downtime observing the pilots, discussing the intro to flight/interplanetary travel, and practicing pick pocketing but wasn't sure how it would all work and would rather just focus a single stat to be efficient on the training time.) (edited)

(Only 1 skill (or language) can be trained per day, you can split your downtime between skills but generally yes it is just more efficient to focus on one at a time. And skills can only be raised to level 0 in this way.)

(Awesome! Thanks)

1

As the travel to Asgapur begins, Paul realizes how boring interstellar travel is for someone of his occupation. During the time aboard the ship, Paul approached a couple other passengers and proposes a friendly competition. Throughout the time aboard, the passenger who could acquire the most trinkets (non-valuable, yet personal) items from the other passengers would be declared the sneakiest on board the ship. To participate in the games, all participants agree to hand over any stolen items to the ships captain to ensure accurate counting and more importantly to ensure all participants received their items back. The passengers all seem to enjoy the friendly competition, however Paul realized how inadequate he is when he wakes up one morning to a stolen pillow. “How the hell did someone steal this and I not wake up?”. (edited)

(Is there a good place to track days spent on skills?)

(The notes section at the bottom of your character sheet works for most, also post it in your thread for a record.) (edited)

(For posting in thread should I just have an editable message pinned to channel with skill development? Or more of a post a SS of notes each time you spend downtime)

(Keeping a cumulative total in your sheet notes, and posting the new total in thread every time it goes up is what seems to work best.)

(Perfect! Thanks @Aurelia | Venser ! And I assume @Nekosmash has the final say on if activities on the ship qualify or is it pretty much a given provided the activities are reasonable?) (edited)

(Neko will stop you if it makes no sense, but for the most part if it's something you could reasonably accomplish under the circumstances, you're good. No problem Paul! But just for future reference putting your questions in #help will likely yield a faster response and keep your thread clear.)

1

(Copying for ease of reference @Neko ). As the travel to Asgapur begins, Paul realizes how boring interstellar travel is for someone of his occupation. During the time aboard the ship, Paul approached a couple other passengers and proposes a friendly competition. Throughout the time aboard, the passenger who could acquire the most trinkets (non-valuable, yet personal) items from the other passengers would be declared the sneakiest on board the ship. To participate in the games, all participants agree to hand over any stolen items to the ships captain to ensure accurate counting and more importantly to ensure all participants received their items back. The passengers all seem to enjoy the friendly competition, however Paul realized how inadequate he is when he wakes up one morning to a stolen pillow. “How the hell did someone steal this and I not wake up?”.

(There's generally no need to ping Neko since he checks all the threads, just FYI.)

1

Upon arriving in the system, the captain calls you the makeshift shuttle bridge as he gets a transmission related to your mission from the planet's surface. He seems worried, both for his ship and for you.

Paul walks to the shuttle bridge. Noticing the captain’s worried expressions Paul asks what information they received from the transmission.

"Governor Neverwinter is worried. Cayne's a good man, confident too, worked with him before many times on some cargo runs during the Remnant War. If he's shaken up by the bandit activity, things are probably getting a touch worse down there. We're going to bypass landing in town and move right for the wilderness. There's another agent, a Slyth named Flint who has a small camp in the area. We'll have the two of you link up and maybe you can put some pressure on the bandits. He says he's found a small camp of them"

Paul asks the captain if there is any way to get a com to Flint and check on the status of the landing area. “We need to be prepared to find a quiet land zone if possible. I can always find a way to meet up with Flint.”

9:10 AM

Paul asks if we have any more thorough information on potential landing areas. In the back of his mind Paul isn’t completely comfortable with the change of itinerary. Remembering the last operative Paul wants as few surprises as possible.

He is able to open a channel but advises you the message needs to be quick. The longer you talk now, the easier it will be for someone to notice the transmission.

“Message for Flint: please advise on landing conditions”

The conditions on the ground are clear weather, bandits encamped within 5k of landing zone. Flint has counted six of them here, and two small buggies they have been using to raid the supply road nearby. He believes others are based further east and this is a link on a supply chain leading back to them.

Feeling confident of the landing conditions Paul readies his things for arrivals. Prepared to get straight to work Paul anxiously awaits the feeling of the ship to touchdown. As his adrenaline is surging Paul hears the captain signal that they’ve landed and as the doors open Paul begins to head for the Slyth he believes to be Flint. “Paul Duncan”, he states. “What’s the plan for these bandits?”

Flint is waiting in the woods close by and waits for the shuttle to depart before leading you on a hike to rapidly relocate , just in case anyone saw the ship. “Six bandits. We go in at night , get to take out the watch quietly and cut the other ones down in their sleep”

7:36 PM

“We take the Buggies and push east , follow the road and see if we can find more camps to shoot up. We do this desert rat style. We stay mobile , we pick soft targets. We make life difficult for them “

“Any idea what happened to the last operative that the UNW sent?”

“That…might be me…” flint says. ,” I haven’t been the best at communicating. Running a pad for too long is asking for some hacker to find you and tell his well armed friends where you are”

“Good to know you made it. Everyone assumed the worst! The camp we are raiding tonight, what’s the mission info? Lighting conditions within their camp? Buildings? Expected weapons? Sneak and stab aren’t my strengths so we need to find some ways to minimize my weaknesses here.”

"Rimworlder rifles. They're not great, but they'll do the job. Probably lit just by a campfire, with a few tents, and their vehicles"

Feeling anxious to get the nights activities started, Paul readies his knife and stows his backpack.

(I'll get you a map, Flint is going to take you to his overlook position first and we can watch them while we wait for nightfall)

“Great spot for watching the raiders,” Paul tells Flint. We can see the entire camp from here and should have complete knowledge of their capabilities by the time night falls. “So how’d you end here? You get sent from Gudrun or are you from somewhere else?”

"Gudrun. I was one of the Slyth that was woken up in the Rebirth facility. I didn't fancy starting over on Ilaria as a colonist, took some contracts from the UNW instead. Pays well, the comforts of home are better, and I enjoy meeting new people and seeing new things. Not going to see much but more of me on some drafty colony somewhere. Still, glad there are more of us around to pick up the torch. Being the last of anything.... I don't know how Gheist and Jexad did it for so long. "

8:31 AM

He sounds like he is almost getting lost in thought as he settles into his overlook, and he passes you the binoculars.

"I feel the same. Life in our line of work is much more exciting than civ life." Paul recognizes Flint's introspection and can't help but feel like there is more conversation to be had. Knowing how often he opens up to new people, he decides it's a conversation for another time. "Notice any changes to our current situation?" (Is the map the same as the one of Asgapur or one specifically for the camp that would be more of a reflection of what's being seen in the binoculars?)

(I was going to make you something smaller)

8:53 AM

8:53 AM

You can see a large work tent with some tool spaces scattered around it. Their buggies (Wagons in this picture) are the sites of most of their gear being unpacked and set up. They look to have been here for some time. There are three bandits walking around camp right now, but fresh tire tracks on the ground show a buggy has left recently.

(Dude! This is dope. Cool that you make resources like this on the fly)

9:15 AM

Paul realizing the opportunities available in the camp asks Flint about our current stock of resources. “How much of the camp are you hoping to be able to claim once we clear out the bandits?”

9:22 AM

(How far is the overlook from the camp?)

(this one i found but inkarnate lets you make maps like this)

10:37 AM

(about 500m from the camp) "I don't want to claim it. I think we need to handle whoever is here, burn everything but one buggy that we will take, and we'll grab extra fuel and parts for it"

"Alright. What's your plan for taking this over?"

11:50 AM

(cool. I'll have to take a look at that)

"Wait for evening. They'll leave a watch and it'll be too dark for their friends to get back. We take out any sentry, get the rest while they sleep, and then we can take our time picking through the camp . Not much of a plan, but none survive contact with the enemy"

Noting the only thing left to do was wait, Paul checked his gear making sure everything was in working order. Finding ways to keep his mind focused on the events for the evening Paul calms his nerves and steels his mind for the mission at hand.

1

(Let’s get a sneak/dex as we make our way down to their camp )

(8)

You and flint make your way through the woods to the bottom of the hillside just as darkness begins to fall. You can see the cherry of the bandit sentry smoking in the distance , about 50m from you as he begins settling in to keep an eye on things for the next few hours. The woods you are sheltering in end soon and there will be a large area of open grassland to cross before getting to him

Realizes the distance is far enough for the sentry to raise an alarm before he can be taken out, Paul begins to think of potential distractions . Searching the ground Paul finds a few rocks that easily fit in the palm of his hand. Waiting for a moment when the sentry’s attention isn’t directly at Paul and Flint, Paul prepares to throw the rock amongst the rubble in the camp. (edited)

9:55 AM

(Thinking there would be check for this action but not sure. Rubble would get the sentry’s attention focused on the opposite direction Paul and Flint are approaching. Also once this action happens Paul will immediately sneak to the sentry and do a stab so thinking there might be a couple more rolls but I’m a noob so let me know what all I’ll need to roll)

(there is an execution attack but the enemy has to be aware of you, and you have to be present in the area for a full minute, so I don't think we're going to hit the criteria there. We're talking about a 50m throw if you're planning on doing it from where you're at, so 165 feet, I'd imagine we'd need to move closer to be able to make any kind of check for that)

9:29 AM

(I think the best we'd manage is a surprise round in combat when we finally close the distance) (edited)

(Hahah Paul would have to have a cannon for an arm for that throw. Let me adjust my previous statements some) (edited)

Using the woods to remain in cover, Paul circles the camp noting the points the bandits would be sleeping, and scouting for secondary sentries. Upon arriving back at the original point Paul determines the best location for approaching the sentry unnoticed. Paul waits for Flint's signal and then begins to sneak towards the sentry. I am a leaf on the wind, the stillness that comes at midnight. I am the shadows deepest secrets and silence is the music I create. Paul continues to recite the liturgy over and over drawing on what his training has prepared him for. Feeling the electricity in the air and the adrenaline surge in his muscles he readies his knife for the work it's about to perform.

1

Closing in on the sentry you see Flint nod once before entering the first tent you come to. You don’t want to think about the fate of the people inside. You slowly close in on the figure from behind , knife ready. (Sentry bricked his notice check so You get a surprise round before we do initiative ) (edited)

Now well within striking range Paul reaches out with the knife, ready to bring death to the unsuspecting bandit.

9:32 AM

(Stab + ? Check)

(this would be regular combat, so instead of a skill check we'd be making an attack roll. If you click the small advanced weapon box on your weapons side of your sheet it will bring up a dialogue box asking for a modifier. Leave that as 0 or blank, and then click submit or roll, whatever it says there. It will roll a d20+ your stab level+ your attack bonus and do all the math for you. The enemy has an Armor class, or AC, that your total needs to meet or beat in order to 'hit' them, and if you hit, we'll apply the damage that also gets rolled )

(Perfect. I’ll do that and post it)

(Attack 12, Damage 6) (Also 3 shock damage against AC<- 15)

(awesome. Do you need a quick run-down of how shock damage works)

(Yeah)

(Shock is representative of how scrappy real life fights can be in the sense that even if he didn't stab you in the gut with a knife, he might've got your arm or something and done some lighter damage. Mechanically, Shock is damage you'll do to a target in case you miss your attack. For example, if this enemy has an Armor Class (AC) of 14, your 12 wouldn't have been enough to hit him, but he'd still take Shock damage since he's under your Shock AC of 15.)

(Also, if you hit and your damage rolled is less than your shock damage you do the shock damage instead. So in your case you’ll never do less than three damage in melee if their armor is at or under 15, hit or miss. If you decide to carry a shield be it like an iron kiteshield or some high tech force pavis type thing you also ignore the first instance of shock damage you’d take in combat ) (edited)

(That all makes sense. Do people normally post the shock damage or just wait to see if the roll connects?)

(Posting it all at once is a time saver so there's less back and forth. Neko can resolve it himself because the enemy's AC is usually hidden/obscured to you) (edited)

(You did your post excellent Paul)

7:49 AM

The sentry is taken by surprise. Your knife fails to find anything vital, but you've stabbed him, and as he calls for help you can hear someone gurgling in the nearby as Flint handles his own portion of the night's knifework. (that was our surprise round. Now we roll initiative to see the order in which everyone fights. There is a link on the top right of your character sheet and it will roll that for you)

(9)

(the sentry got a 6, so you are first)

Knowing the fight needs to end now Paul strikes out with his knife again. This better work or I’ll have brought a knife to a gun fight

4:49 PM

(12/8/3 shock) (edited)

(The shock will go through) The knife punches deep into the man’s chest, although you were aiming higher. He tries to say something to you but it comes out as a gurgle before he slides off the knife to collapse onto the ground. You hear the sound of a blade being pulled across another throat inside the tent before Flint emerges , nodding once at your job well done

Death comes for us all. Welcome to the final slumber. Rest In Peace. Paul wipes the blade down, and moves the body into the tent before silently meeting up with Flint. Holding up 3 fingers to indicate the bandits down Paul waits for the customary response of number of bandits left. All 3 from the overlook are down but there’s still the issue of the tracks leaving the camp. A problem to discuss once I’ve confirmed everyone in camp is dead.

EVeryone in camp is down, and Flint finally takes a breath out. "Check their buggy. make sure its got fuel, ammo, and water in it. We can find food ourselves. I'll gather anything we can use from the bodies and then we'll burn the place"

"When you are checking the bodies, I hid the sentry behind a pile of rubble near the tent to keep it from being seen." Paul begins searching the buggy for all of the needed items. "We should gather their weapons. Might be useful if we can find anyone on Asgapur who is willing to help clear out these bandits. Between the two of us we have plenty of experience to develop a force here. Besides if no one wants to join us we can at least sell the weapons for credits." Paul continues to get the buggy prepared to leave. Curious about their reasoning for the recent bandit asks Flint, "Have any of the camps you've raided had any communications about these bandits? They feel a little to organized to just be thugs looking for easy scores."

"This is the first one I've raided. We got lucky only a few of them were here. Not worried about the weapons either. The governor is a UNW official, he can request all the guns he would ever need. It's getting people willing to do the work"

“Buggy is ready to go. Let’s burn this camp to the ground!”

(3xp, 5000 credits)

(this should level you up. i can help with that if you need it)

**Level Up**
Level: 2
Focus: Weapons Unity
Old HP: 8
HP Roll: 8 = 4 (roll) + 4 (warrior modifier @ 2 levels)
New HP: 9
New Skills: Charisma + 1sp (7 to 8), Sneak to 0 for 1sp, Survive to 0 for 1sp
Current AB: 1

1:25 PM

(How does that look?)

1:31 PM

( I was talking to Shriven and my HP was originally in Roll20 as 10 but he said that shouldn't have possible so we adjusted it to 8 then did the roll) (edited)

(That's mostly correct. Your AB will be 2 now since it's equal to your character level for a Warrior. Also, I set your current XP to 3 since it's cumulative and doesn't reset on level up.)

2:08 PM

(Handy chart for reference)

(Thanks!!)

Watching the camp begin to blaze and taking in the sweet smokey smell of success, Paul asks Flint “Know any good joints for a drink and a good meal? Or is it straight back to work because I think there’s a hacker problem on the planet we can solve?” (edited)

"A hacker problem? What do you mean?" he asks, dragging one of the bodies to be thrown into the burning tent.

“When I first got here and mentioned comms you said running comms for too long usually ends up getting hacked and intel getting passed on to well armed friends. Why don’t we try to solve that.”

"There isn't a mole in our own ranks. The bandits just have skilled slicers out there working for them. There are all kinds of freeholds that the UNW has no claim over. I'm sure the bandits have picked up some skilled people there who are trading service for being left alone"

(Maybe this is just lack of knowledge of how the world works and comms go but wouldn’t hackers be on planet that we could neutralize? That’s what I was hinting at instead of a mole)

(That's also what Flint is saying, there are hackers here somewhere in the countryside working for the bandits)

(I was thinking of having Paul suggest setting up some sort of trap/back trace to figure out where the hackers are operating and then trying to get rid of the hackers on world/or recruiting them for the UNW. Is that a plausible mission or not something that is actually able to be done?)

(Probably something we can do as a mission. )

3:01 PM

(I'll pm you)

1

“Maybe Governor Cayne will have some additional information for us about the general climate of the entire bandit situation and could give us some leads for the hackers. What do you say we head back to the city?” Paul ask Flint as he heads to the buggy calling out shotgun. As Flint immediately searches for cover, Paul laughs at the realization that the idiom isn’t universal. After providing some explanation to Flint the two chuckle and as they reach the car Paul asks “But really, who’s driving?” (edited)

"I will, Keep an eye out on the road, especially behind us. We have a long drive back to the settlement. I'll try to contact the governor on the way back"

As Paul continuously scans the area behind the buggy for signs of anyone following them. “Handy knife work back there Flint. How’d you get started in our line of work?”

"I was something of a Troubleshooter before the Great Freeze. When I was woken from cryo and cured, it was pretty easy to slip back into it, killing the enemies of the government I found myself in service of. The more things change, the more they stay the same" he says, as much to himself and the universe as to you;.

“The beauty of our work…..it doesn’t change. Just who we do it for. There is a simplicity in it. The irony in what we do is the killing is simple but regular life outside our work feels more complex. Relating to anyone outside of work is near impossible.”

“Fear the old man in a craft where most die young. I hope we both live to be the old man in that situation. This is for the greater good though. These people have seen the rule of law come to Asgapur and had the chance for opportunity. They took things into their own hands. Going your own way would have been fine. The UNW isn’t an autocracy , but things changed when they started using violence and coercion on anyone outside the walls. These people survived The Scream and an undead plague. They deserve peace now”

“Well our odds of getting old are better if we stick together. “

He laughs at that as the city lights of Cayne's settlement come into view. The governor is waiting for you as your buggy enters the town gates, and it looks like he has taken a few pulls of whiskey already from the flask on his belt.

(Before I keep going with this I figured I’d just say here that I’m planning on doing the group mission)

(sounds good! we leveled up, and we did some roleplay, we can pause here for the group mission)

8:43 AM

(I'll be getting that going shortly

!roll 3d6+6

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 4, 1] Result: 17

(once we're done with the leveling and I can help if needed, we can figure out what to do, I know we had a budding story arc on Asgapur with Flint, taking down those bandit clans, or we can do soemthing else)

(Yeah I’m working through leveling up now. Have had some conversations with Shriven to help make sure what I’m doing is correct. I’ll let you know if I have any other question. Definitely want to get back to the bandit quest. Was loving where that was going.)

(Alright, once we're square on the level stuff we will kick that off)

**Level Up**
Level: 3
Focus: No Foci
Old HP: 8
HP Roll: 17
New HP: 17
New Skills: 3 to Shoot for +2
Current AB: 3

(edited)

1

(Awesome! Okay so if you’re heading back to Asgapur we have 13 days of downtime)

Ready to enjoy the downtime after dealing with the terrorists on Chloe Paul immediately gets familiar with the best places on the ship to enjoy a cold drink. While enjoying his drink Paul would chat with the patrons around him. Luckily enough, through one such conversation Paul met one of the pilots of the ship. After briefly mentioning an interest in flying, the pilot invited Paul to sit in on some of the flight time. Each day during the pilot’s shift Paul was allowed to sit in the command center to observe the pilot and begin picking up the basics of space flight. Each night Paul and the pilot would meet at the bar to relax and trade stories. Paul shared war stories and the pilot shared stories about outrunning pirates, escorting important diplomats and even one story about crash landing on a very primitive planet.

5:36 PM

(Putting all 13 days into Pilot)

(Anything we want to buy before we get into the mission)

(It was recommended that I look into getting a taros rifle. Any available?)

(You do not have enough face for one, nor have rendered enough aid to the taros to get one)

(Sounds good. Think I'll hold off on buying anything at the moment. Feel like I'm still fleshing out exactly what I want to do with Paul to really start buying too much. I'll probably add a small blurb to end the trip. Want make sure all weapons are checked and loaded prior to getting back into anything)

11:30 AM

Realizing the downtime would be coming to an end over the next day or 2, Paul decides to spend some time with his equipment to ensure everything is in working order. Nothing like gear checks and weapons cleaning to get me back into the work mentality Realizing the previous missions had almost emptied his rifle, Paul adds 20 rounds. In an effort to keep his back pack organized Paul also unbundles 1 stack of ammo and keeps it on his person, ready for use should a situation call for a gun fight and additional ammo is needed.

Flint is waiting for you on the ground at Asgapur and looks to be similarly kitted out and ready for field work. Some of his coloring has returned and it looks like he has been eating well and resting here between long journeys into the field. The city seems to be a bit more relaxed without the constant bandit raids now, but pressure is a two way street and he looks ready to head back out and do what he can to stir up more trouble.

Paul smiles as he sees Flint. "Glad to see you've been getting some downtime after we dealt with those bandits. How are things going here? Any progress with the hackers?"

"I've spent the last couple weeks getting some specialists together, all under one roof. Cayne and his Wolves are protecting them, we were waiting for you to get back before we got going since we heard you survived the attack on Chloe. Good work there by the way, we're all safer for your actions, and you're going to make a difference on this world too"

“Definitely will have some stories to share from that mission. A few guys had some crazy abilities. Felt like a child amongst giants.” Paul laughs as he thinks back on just how little he was able to do compared to Venser and Rey. “Honestly I felt bad for the guys on the other end of our mission. Anyways, stories for the next downtime we have. How about we go meet the team you’ve pulled together?”

"Sure. I think you're going to like some of them. We're working out of an old warehouse right now and we've done what we can to make it a home. "

“Can’t wait to see it and get settled in. What’s the breakdown of our team, capability wise?”

"Scraping the bottom of the barrel, but the bandits don't seem all that put together. Just to refresh you on the plan, we're going to start encrypting outgoing orders and we're going to see if we can pinpoint more advanced rebel camps in the region. Our success has also allowed me to recruit something of a militia" Flint says with pride "Other raiders like us. We prove to these bandits they're not safe in the countryside anymore, and we forgive any who throw themselves on our mercy, and we're going to have this planet put right before long. "

"Maybe for now we are but give these guys time and who knows what they'll be capable of. You and I started somewhere and have come a long way. Our team will get there too. Especially with some help from the two of us." The excitement of eventually having a working team bleeding through is words. Keeping our team member alive is gonna be a priority. Need to gain their trust and build their confidence..

9:46 AM

"Great work on the militia. The sooner we can get this planet to take ownership in its defense the sooner we can put our talents to use against bigger fish. Hopefully soon we can recruit a few hackers from their ranks. In my experience, individuals with their talents are either bored or got mixed in with the wrong crowd early in their career. We give them an outlet for them to continue to use their skills, maybe even find a way to monetize that for them, and they could do some real good around Asgapur."

Entering the building you can smell the ozone and burned rubber smell that comes from computers working overtime close to one another. The building is also very warm and you can see even with the windows open everyone working within is some manner of uncomfortable. Massive amounts of data are being sifted through and you see at least one person is controlling some kind of monitoring drone making racetrack patterns over what used to be some kind of crude oil pumping field.

Thoroughly impressed at the sight of everything they’ve put together, Paul’s face takes a moment or two to clear itself of the shock. “Quite a lot you’ve been able to out together over such a short time!” Walking over to the drone pilot, Paul observes the process while waiting for a good moment to introduce himself. “What are you looking for with the drone?”

"Signals, the drone has an observation suite, and major computer activity or power in the field and we should be able to spot it from up here. We think we might have found an encampment, and we're circling the area now to see if we can get a clean return on what might be happening down there" (edited)

“Sounds like we will really be able to pin point specific areas of interest. Great work on this! By the way, the names Paul. I was sent here after Flint to help free this area of the bandits and am glad we’ve got a team around us now. We definitely wouldn’t be as successful without you all.”

6:19 PM

(Is there any kind of equipment that could be purchased to help with the temperatures in our warehouse? Less wanting it for Paul and more wanting to do it as a good will gesture to our team.)

(Not off the top of my head. I’ll have to see if Distant Lights has anything in it since it’s for small projects like this.

(All good. I’m not concerned with that from a story standpoint just trying to have Paul be a team player. Since I got some credits in my terrorist mission figured I put them to use. No worries there.)

10:23 AM

“Flint, when are we heading out next? And what’s our next target?”, Paul asks eager to get back to work. I’m equally eager to get out of this warehouse. (edited)

"We think we've found one of their listening posts, now it's just a matter of getting out there. You came back just in time, we're getting ready to head out"

“Awesome! Let’s get to it then. I’m good to go and ready for action.”

Outside . the raiding buggy you've used once before is still parked out front and is ready for action. The seat doesn't look to have been adjusted from last time you sat in the gunners position, though the driver side has been elongated to help fit Flints' bulk.

“You know Flint, if this buggy keeps surviving our missions we might have to find a name for it………and maybe a modification or two. We will have to see how it holds up under contact cause eventually we may have to use it as more than a get away vehicle.”

"I was thinking of asking for something heavier if this keeps up" Flint says as he settles into the driver seat. "One or two more of these raids and they are going to start knowing what to expect. We've got to adapt before the enemy does"

"Even better idea." Paul concedes. "This buggy will definitely still have its uses but pairing its capabilities with something even heavier will increase our mission's chance of success exponentially."

“Alright. Hop on the gun. I haven’t let anyone touch it since you were here last. Seat might still be warm”

“Locked an loaded. Ready to roll out if you are.”

(notice/wis for our drive)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X4q4ZiHseJrGOPoec4wbpR6FO_RluFMpcCIVWgqske4/edit?usp=sharing

Paul Duncan

Welcome/Changelog Welcome to the Iron Stars Character Sheet!,ver 1.0 The character sheet will automate the same things that were normally automated on the Roll20 Character sheet plus some! Everything should work very similar to how it did on Roll20 with one very noticeable difference, Skills. Wh...

4:38 PM

(Posting here for ease of access. Any chance we could Pin this to the channel @Moderator?)

Nekosmash pinned a message to this channel. 4/14/2022 4:38 PM

(Wanting to confirm my roll before I use roll maiden cause I’m wanting to actually understand how Roll20 did rolls behind the scenes. 2d6 for the skill check +1 for wisdom +0 for notice level. Is that correct?)

(Yessir)

4:48 PM

(You posted the "Edit" link, btw. That means anyone can click on and mess with your sheet.)

(You are correct Paul, and nobody should be messing with your sheet who isn't you, so if you want to leave this up that is okay)

!roll 2d6 (edited)

11:51 AM

!roll 2d6

Paul Duncan Roll: [5, 4] Result: 9

!roll 2d6+1

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 6] Result: 13

(Sorry for the multiple rolls trying to figure out the format. The actually roll should be the 9 then add the +1 for 10) (edited)

Moving out of the camp you drive down the rough road before it vanishes into just a dirt flat area where pavement used to be, but is long gone now. As the afternoon light passes over the horizon you come to a forrested are and notice a faint set of tire tracks leading into the woods in the opposite direction. Flint has not noticed them, more focused on driving.

“Flint, tracks ahead going into the woods. We may want to take some caution here since visibility into the woods is limited. Would be a great place for bandits to set up an ambush point”

Flint brings the vehicle to a slow halt, and motions for you to keep the gun trained on the tracks, while he goes to investigate. Fronds of pine and low hanging branches must have been moved aside by the passage of the vehicle, and block line of site to where these tracks end. Reaching out with both of his right arms, he grabs the leaves and pulls back hard, revealing a bandit sniper team and their small off road vehicle, caught amid setting up

(Did the sniper team see Flint? Also, how far are they?) (edited)

(They cannot see him, but they saw the branches move back so he is concealed but not outside their notice, the sniper team are 50m away

(So flint has concealment but not cover )

(Just to confirm I’m in the gunner seat but it’s my own gun correct?)

(the heavy machine gun can also be used. It's the same as a normal attack roll, just 3d6 for damage)

Paul motions for Flint to sneak back to the vehicle and get in a covered firing position. Knowing the sniper team is well within range, Paul stands ready with the heavy machine gun trained on the branches Flint previously had moved.

You can see both snipers, and the charging handle racks in your hand, you've got the drop on them.

10:46 AM

(you can fire)

Ready to seize the opportunity Paul fires the heavy machine gun and one of the snipers.

5:49 PM

!roll d20+7

Paul Duncan Roll: [11] Result: 18

!roll 3d6

Paul Duncan Roll: [3, 3, 2] Result: 8

The heavy rounds punch into their cover, shredding it and the first of the two snipers behind it. The quick display of violence and the fact that he is now looking down the barrel of a heavy machine gun has him trying to surrender.

Paul quickly moves toward the sniper to remove any weapons. “As long as you remain calm and refrain from any sudden movements we can get through the rest of this peacefully.” Paul pats down the remaining sniper to ensure no additional weapons are hidden on his personal. “Any information you could provide us on additional teams in the area would go a long way towards making life easier on you.” Looking towards Flint, Paul adds “Anything specific you think we need?”

The second sniper had a knife and a handgun on him, but otherwise is not trying to conceal anything once the various pieces of his kit are taken from him.

“Do you have any information on additional teams here on Asgapur? Also are there any bigger plans in play here?” Paul asks the sniper as he secures his hands behind his back. Hopefully we can start getting the bigger picture of why everything is happening on Asgapur. With the second sniper secured Paul moves to the first sniper to check for any supplies, weapons or intel that might indicate what this team was up to. (edited)

8:47 PM

(Do I need any skill checks for any of those things?)

(I think a talk/cha might be prudent here, since he's not going to willingly divulge anything)

!roll d20-1

Paul Duncan Roll: [17] Result: 16

(It’s 2d6, go ahead and re roll that when you’ve got a second )

!roll 2d6-1

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 1] Result: 6

(Ouch! Sorry about the first roll)

"I don't know about any other scouts" He says, thinking for a long moment. He is also not sure about any bigger plans but a map on him reveals they have a base camp 5 kilometers from here, in the ruins of an old truck stop where the gas pumps still work and are able to keep feeding their war buggies. You now have one of your own, and denying more to the enemy cannot be a bad thing.

Pulling Flint aside Paul asks, “what’s the protocol from here? You’ve mentioned a willingness to bring in additional skilled hands and based on the weapons from this team I’d say he’s got some skill with rifles.”

"He might, but is he loyal?" Flint asks, looking the man up and down. "For now, he is a prisoner. Bind him, we'll be back for him in a few hours when the rest of our job is done. If he is still here when we return we might bring him back with us"

As Paul ties the remaining sniper to a tree, he begins to ponder what the reasoning behind all this banditry could be. “What made you want to join the bandits here on Asgapur?” Paul asks the sniper. (edited)

"Governor was safe in his estate, had his own private army, and the walking dead were everywhere. New person in the governor's seat doesn't mean they're going to be any better. Countryside hasn't changed a bit,he doesn't care about us, so I've got to care about myself"

“Whether the Governor will help the people here or not, I give my word I will do what I can for the people of this planet. You don’t know me from anyone but I don’t give a damn about positions. People are what makes a planet. We have been hired to make this planet safe and that’s what we are going to do.” Turning to Flint Paul gives a concerned look, indicating we should discuss this more when we are alone. Insuring the snipers bonds are tight enough to hold, but loose enough to easy the discomfort of being tied to a tree Paul begins to walk back to the buggy. “Flint when you are ready let’s head out.”

(d10!)

!roll d10

Paul Duncan Roll: [5] Result: 5

Moving further north you enter a large forest where the trees are tall and thick enough to make something of a natural road between them. You can see nesting animals in the branches and something large that looks like a buffalo grazing ahead, happily munching on the moss growing on the bark of a tree before you, about 40m up the path. It sees your vehicle, and does not care that it is in your way, or that it is here.

Curious about the wildlife on Asgapur, Paul asks Flint “Are these animals anything we need to be concerned about? Eating moss usually indicates a more peaceful animal but the size of that creature has me concerned if it would get aggressive?”

"There aren't many wild creatures left. The roaming packs of dead ate them when there were no people left within easy reach to eat, though like people, not all the animals died. It might be aggressive if we get close, if it thinks we might be a threat.

“Let’s give it a wide berth then. Don’t want to spook it.”

The creature sets its feet into the ground, and turns to face the vehicle, stamping and snorting as it seems to be making up its mind on charging or not.

“Flint be ready to throw this in reverse if it charges. I don’t want to be responsible for kill the last of any wild creature here.” Paul begins to scan his surroundings to see if there would be any non lethal solutions to getting this creature subdued.

There are rocks, and you see a stun rod clipped into the gear bag that Flint has brought with you for the trip.

(How does the mechanic work for grabbing the stun gun? Stow current weapon and ready the stun gun? Can I even do both of this with a single action?)

(you can have multiple readied items so long as your readied score is lower or equal to the amount of items you'd like readied. Some items like rifles or heavy weapons take 2 points, as do some kinds of armor. Stowed weapons require a main action to ready, and readied items can be freely switched between without needing to do anything, but we're also not in combat at the moment so we're not real worried about the action economy here)

Noticing the stun rod and hoping it’s enough Paul stows his rifle and keeps the stun gun at the ready. Hoping the creature doesn’t charge but preparing the worst Paul feels the adrenaline kick in.

(Sneak:dex)

!roll 2d6+2

Paul Duncan Roll: [3, 1] Result: 6

You're able to cautiously move and the creature does not seem to be as inclined to charge, for the moment. You both look at one another, waiting to see who will do what next.

Noticing he’d been holding his breath the entire time Paul carefully let’s put a quiet exhale and tries to normalize his breathing. Waiting until the creature gives his attention back to eating, Paul looks to Flint relieved for the situation didn’t escalate. “Hopefully that’s the most excitement we have until we run in to additional bandits.”

"A beautiful creature" Flint says, admiring it. "I wonder if they could be domesticated someday"

“You know the thought crossed my mind. However, my skills with animals are…….let’s just say the odds are more likely for the creature to teach me it’s language than me to domesticate it. Maybe someone here would have the necessary skills though. Would be a great method of getting around, and based on the size I bet they could carry a decent amount as well.” For a brief moment Paul and Flint are silent and enjoy the peacefulness of their surroundings. “So what are your thoughts on the current Governor here? Obviously we are being paid to do a job but it seems like the problems here really are directly correlated to his actions. Don’t get me wrong, the bandits resolving to violence and plundering have made the planet worse off for everyone, but I can’t help but wonder about what the sniper said. Is there a chance these “bandits” may just care about Asgapur and are showing it in the wrong way?”

'Cayne Neverwinter is a good man, he is doing what he thinks is right to bring stability here, but he and his men are hundreds where the survivors of this planet and the plague of the dead are many times that. Even with the L-gate here, the UNW didn't seem to be interested in security much beyond the immediate complex where the gate resides. He was asked to do a lot with very little "

“Sounds like the Governor has a perception problem the . Undoubtedly the flask that is ever present on his hip doesn’t help with that. Maybe through our efforts we can help bridge the gap between the complex and the people that reside outside of it. Maybe even those creatures from earlier could help. Just think of the how many applications those could have for the people that don’t have much.”

"That's where we come in. We bridge the gap and try to fix some of these problems. We handle the mission and then maybe it's time to discuss this with the governor directly"

“That sounds like a good plan.”

(One more D10, and we're there)

!roll d10

Paul Duncan Roll: [9] Result: 9

You move through the dense forest to a large field where the survey scanner detects high concentrations of an unknown mineral. Nothing similar to it is found in any existing databases. Flint brings the vehicle to a slow, and then a halt as you get close to the area where the bandits are known to operate, looking for a place where he can park and unfurl the camp netting.

“Hey Flint, look at this! The scanner is picking up a mineral but has no information. My skill sets don’t exactly line up with nature and rocks so any idea what this stuff is?” Paul begins to help Flint with the netting to make sure the buggy stays out of sight.

"I'm not sure, we can follow the signal, or we can handle the bandits first and try to mop this up after. What do you think?"

“Bandits first. We may need to pass the information on to more scientific people and the planet should be safe for them when we do.”

He nods, and after stowing the vehicle you begin sneaking through the woods 500m ahead, to a small overlook where the bandits have made another raid camp in the clearing below. Three bubble like pressure tents have been constructed here, and piles of goods have been thrown onto the back of a battered looking flatbed truck. You can see a collection of dirt bikes, and a larger four wheeler with a trailer have been parked here, and this looks to be a more nimble raiding force than the last camp you and Flint handled.

“This camp is definitely more organized then our last. Scouting from this position will be worthwhile so we know their exact number. Also, any equipment we can salvage here could be extremely helpful for your crew. I bet we could manage to bring all of it back with that flatbed truck.”

“Maybe so” Flint agrees. He begins screwing a daylight filter on to the end of his telescope so the glint of the passing sun won’t reflect off the spyglass lens. “Let’s saddle in did a while. We have a long afternoon ahead of us “

9:01 AM

Ten guards seem to manage the camp and just before evening a bike with two men on it departs into the woods heading north, a leather Ruck sack on the passenger ‘s shoulders.

“I count 8 left guards left. Waiting till night falls and we can capitalize on some guards being asleep will help our numbers situation. May need to be careful of the 2 that left coming back in the middle of our op and things getting difficult. What’s the plan on this? Stab first or we looking for diplomatic solutions with any of the camps?

"Anything short of them coming back with us, disarmed, and throwing themselves on the Governor's mercy makes them no better than if they were shooting at us. We're not out here to hand out a free pass. Your call on it, but if they dont like what we have to say, we're going to be outnumbered four to one"

"I'm willing to back you up if you want to try talking to them first though" Flint says, checking his weapon quickly to make sure everything is working and it will not fail if needed quickly

“Let’s neutralize this camp. At this point they know we are out here working to stop the terrorist threat. If they are willing to keep engaging in these types of activities then they are willing to risk their lives doing so. Im ready to go whenever you are.”

9:36 PM

(Sorry it took me so long to respond. Recently had our 3rd child so it’s been a bit hectic here with family in and guests and getting used to being a family of 5)

(all good! Discord has been shitty about channel notifications so I've just been dropping extras if things are quiet)

(Are you waiting for me on this?)

(I just didn't get to come back to this, so to clarify, you're good with just ambushing them?)

(Yep I'm good with that.)

Flint loads his weapon. "Alright, glad you see it my way. Darkness will be here in an hour, and we can handle things from there. Same play as last time, watch for the two coming back, and we take down any sleepers as quietly as we can. Destroy all we can, and then escape"

“If we can, we should try to recover some of this equipment. This could go a long way in keeping our squad armed and capable without putting all cost responsibility on the Governor.”

"Just like last time. Looks like we're going to be driving independent buggies back. Flint is prepared to move into the local area, upon seeing their camp, he draws his knife with both of you at the treeline, ready to spring.

8:53 AM

(sneak/dex)

(Was checking in on my@character sheet to do my rolls but it looks like someone has gone through and zero’d everything out on it? Not sure if there’s any kind of version control) (edited)

(Where are you looking, roll20?)

(No the excel sheet we created. It’s pinned to the channel)

1:37 PM

Heres a picture

(Is it possible maybe you didn’t finish it? I can check the versions but I know I haven’t been in there )

(No. I had it all done. It looks like on June 1 someone deleted all the information. But it was anonymous)

1:41 PM

(I think I have it restored now. Should be good to go.)

1:41 PM

!roll 2d6+2

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 4] Result: 12

Paul readies his knife and begins to close the distance to the camp. Scanning the camp for the best angle to approach a guard on watch duty to remain unseen.

You are silent moving through the brush and plot a route that will take you behind him.

Upon closing the distance to the target Paul uses the knife in an effort to silently dispatch the nearest guard.

2:27 PM

(Stab/dex?)

(melee executions automatically succeed if the enemy has not noticed you)

2:47 PM

The knife flashes out, and there is a quick thrust into brain stem, before the guard goes limp and the dead weight bears down on you.

(Sweet!)

8:59 AM

Removing the knife as the body begins to fall, Paul catches the dead guard to ensure he hits the ground as silently as possible. Paul looks around for a good place to hide the body should any guards be wandering the camp.

There is plenty of brush around the camp and it seems as though this is as good a place as any, at least at night. You'll need to conclude your work before the hard light of the morning illuminates the shadowy places of the brush and trees around you.

After pulling the dead guard in the brush Paul scans the came for his next target. Completely focused on clearing out this camp Paul stays singularly focused.

8:19 AM

(Sorry for my delay in posting lately. Recently had a new child and haven’t gotten back into the swing of things yet. Trying to get back to it though)

(You mentioned, no rush!)

8:22 AM

Flint has circled around to the north edge of the camp and two taps ont he micro bead radio confirm he has handled the sentry there as well. Everyone else looks to be asleep, arrayed in four tents with their transportation bikes in the middle of the camp.

Motion to Flint indicating which two tents were his intended target, Paul movies quietly towards the closest tent. Continually scanning the camp to ensure no guards returned without the noticing Paul prepares himself for the additonal carnage that is just moments away. As Paul begins to move he keeps his knife ready strike at a moments notice.

Entering the first, you see two men sleeping inside soundly, One of them is curled up around a sawn off shotgun that probably was once at home on a ship armory somewhere, but he is making use of it here on the ground. The other doesn't look to have any kind of visible weapon, but their gear looks newer, and they've been supplying themselves well from the countryside and whatever they've managed to steal from others.

Moving towards the guard curled around shotgun Paul prepares to assassinate him as quietly as possible.

1

2

!Roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 1] Result: 6

(He has not detected you) (edited)

(Any skill checks for me regarding the assassination?)

(they did not notice you, and melee executions always hit if they do not, we've met the conditions for it)

(Ok perfect)

The glittering knife catches the sunlight once again, punching deeply into the exposed throat of the sleeping sentry.

After quietly dispatching the first guard, Paul reaches for the shotgun to move it out of reach from the second. Not planning on giving the guard a chance to grab it, however Paul has learned from experience to expect the best and plan for the worst. After moving it out of reach Paul prepares to assassinate the second guard..

!roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 2] Result: 7

Likewise sleeping heavily and not awoken by the sounds of his companion gurgling on their last breaths, this other bandit does not awaken.

Finding the vulnerable spots with his knife, Paul neutralizes the remaining threat in this tent. Knowing there is still work to be done, Paul leaves the tent and scans the camp for any new threats. He also scans for Flint to see if his work was as successful.

Flint emerges , likewise covered in blood, the work successful. There are the distant sounds of a small engine, and after stopping to listen for a few seconds it is undoubtedly getting closer.

"Looks like we have a few extra joining the party. We should consider moving to the tree line until we know how many are coming back to the camp. This may be a fight we don't want to take. We've done enough to send a message to the survivors at this camp."

Flint grunts, dragging one of the bodies out and impaling it on one of the long branches coming out of a nearby tree, a message indeed sent, if this fight is something you do not want.

11:34 AM

(sneak/dex as we conceal ourselves in the woods)

!roll 2d6+2

Paul Duncan Roll: [5, 4] Result: 11

!roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [6, 3] Result: 9

Returning to camp the other bandits do not notice you but do notice the grisly sights of the impales body and the dead men in the tents. Unwilling to face whatever is out here, they make ready to leave

Paul continues to watch as the bandits prepare to leave. Waiting to see what supplies or vehicles will be left behind. Paul motions to Flint that they should still plan on burning the remaining camp to ensure nothing is able to be recovered. Giving the camp or quick check to ensure everyone is out of range to hear a slight whisper Paul begins to talk softly to Flint. Once they leave we may have some time to scavenge the camp to search for any additional intel on these bandits.

They have left nothing behind as they fled, only what was originally in the camp which looks to be some extra ammunition, a few days of food, and nothing else.

“Well Flint looks like we won’t have any extra buggies to bring back this time. What’s the plan from here? Back to base or can we track these bandits down?”

"I think the message has been sent, but we need to stay on task while we're out here. That hacking farm is still in the countryside. We find them, and take them down, and we can call this a win. I didn't get time to look over our victims to see if we could pick up any information on that"

“With the rest of the bandits cleared out let’s go check the bodies for any information. If that turns up empty maybe we will have some luck tracking the buggy that just left.”

“I’m sure they left in a hurry and have made it easy for us. Let’s look” Flint agrees.

Paul walks back into the now deserted came. Searching each of the lifeless bodies Paul hopes he will find something that will help provide intel on the bandits or hackers.

(Notice /wis

!roll 2d6+1

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 3] Result: 10

You find a fallen compad tucked amid bloody sheets. The charge level remains at 5%, and you imagine you only have a few moments to pick through it before the power dies.

Motioning for Flint to join him, Paul quickly goes through the recent communiques for any pertinent information. Mentally prioritizing any details that include locations or troop intel. “With only 5% we won’t have very long to get relevant information we will need tonight. After the mission our team might be able to turn this into a good mine!”

There is a dropped pin on a map showing a barn and disused farm about five kilometers east of here where the bandits have made several recent trips.

Showing Flint the compad Paul knows the work on this mission is just getting started. “This farm may be a tougher target for us and likely more defensible. Hopefully this is a high value target and will get us one step closer to solving the bandit issue.”

“What do you want to do?” Flint asks “should we try to get eyes on it ?”

“Let’s try to get a drone going in that area but let’s try to go scout it in person and see what information we can gather. We can spend some time monitoring it to get an idea of numbers and capabilities before we decide to go forward with anything. One of us should probably bring the compad back to base so they can see if they can gather any extra information. We can set a designated rendezvous spot to meet back up.”

(Which do you want to do, observe or get the Intel home?)

(I’ll observe)

(sneak/dex as we move over to the site)

!roll 2d6+2

Paul Duncan Roll: [4, 1] Result: 7

1

!roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [6, 1] Result: 7

(tie goes to the player)

8:04 AM

8:06 AM

Observing the site you can see a large industrial scale generator has been hooked up to provide power to this place and it looks like it runs on biofuels. A small tanker truck is parked outside the eastern wall currently, loading its plundered energy source into the generator. Cables and other scraps of technology also run into the barn and it looks like this place might be responsible for the electronic interference hitting the city and keeping Governor Cayne from seeing what is happening in the countryside. It looks as though about twenty of the bandits live here, split about evenly between programmers and security type folks. The barn itself looks reinforced, and able to withstand an unplanned assault.

Paul notes his surroundings and begins to plan a potential attack on the outpost once Flint returns. Knowing it will be crucial to create distractions around the property, Paul notes the tanker truck as the easier and loudest way to disable the barn. Paul also begins to take note of the traffic patterns of the bandits trying to identify the exits that would likely be problematic to enter through, as well as the activity level of the bandits throughout the day. Paul also tries to identify any potential surveillance equipment around the barn. (edited)

Almost all ingress and egress comes through the front of the property, to the main doors to the left of the property by two large trees. You do not see any other ways in, at least nothing visible. This building has been turned into a fortress, and is acting like one. (edited)

Knowing the fortress will be too much for a single person to take Paul begins to settle in until Flint’s return. Using the downtime Paul begins to work the problem of the fortress over in his mind. The truck should be easy enough to disable and an explosion there would certainly take out a section of the barn, but getting access to it will be tricky, not to mention getting away from it before it explodes. Crashing our buggy into the barn could also create the chaos we’d need to start our attack but could limit our ability to escape, in turn making the trek back to base a lot longer. Maybe Flint will also have some suggestions when he gets here

(We can ask for support from the city too, if we want to. We couldn't find the place was our main problem but now that we did, Cayne is not sending out 100 men on patrols, more like 10 to help you)

Continuing to watch bandits coming and going from the barn, Paul realizes that the sheer number of bandits will be problematic. Realizing sending a com out may compromise the intel on the barn, Paul decides to wait until Flint returns to discuss everything he has seen. Hopefully the governor can spare a few people for us to neutralize the barn. This seems like a high priority target for us and could be the start of the end to the problems with the bandits

Flint is gone for two days before you get a faint comms message, some of the text is missing but youre able to fill out the words that don;t quite come through properly. He is closeby and is alone, as the city did not know if you had been captured or not.

(Was there any information with this comms other than just text? Since Flint and Paul predetermined a meeting spot once he was back this is pretty sus. Basically trying to decide if there’s a location I could sneak to to tell if it’s a trap.) (edited)

(Its not a trap per-se, the bandits are using this place, so they're not making an elaborate trap and putting specialist trained people here for you to stumble into. It's well defended and the bandits here seem like they have more of a grasp of what they're doing than the raiding groups, but its not specifically designed to be a reverse uno card against the two of you)

Skeptical of the received comm, Paul begins to scout the area around the barn. While maintaining a safe distance from the barn and attempting to stay concealed in any available trees, he constantly scans for any signs of Flint, bandits, or any potential traps that might serve as an early warning sign for the bandits.

Flint signals from a nearby tree, just below the berm you are observing from. There is still no trap you can see

8:14 AM

(I'm not trying to trick you)

2

1

1

(Hahahah I just had a healthy distrust for comms since hackers have been such a big problem on Asgapur lol) “Ok so this fortress is definitely not gonna be able to taken with just the 2 of us. Extremely well guarded and high numbers of bandits. The main weak point is fuel truck on the side. I think we could disable that and cripple anything drawing power inside. If we can get a few extra bodies out here from Governor Cayne, we should be able to neutralize this barn.

'I wonder if the governor would be alright just dropping a bomb on this place..." Flint says, thinkingto himself about the best way to get inside

“That would definitely be the easiest solution, but we’d lose a great opportunity to gather any additional intel. This barn could potentially have a trove of intel on this group. With a barn setup as securely as this, it seems like these could be more than just bandits looking to cause problems for the local government. Ultimately we should see how the governor wishes to move forward.” (edited)

“He’s not risking communications with us. I’ve got a tight beam link I’m supposed to turn on if we want him to drop a bomb this way, but if we take the place ourselves we have to find something else “

“Let’s use the tight beam as a fail safe. I think there could be a lot of value to capturing the barn. Any chance you have any explosives? I’ve got the start of a plan but it will involve explosives. The truck in the side of the building is fueling the power for this entire facility. Even just a small explosive should gain power from the fuel they are unloading. When it explodes it will create a new opening into the facility. It should also knock out any power they have. If we coordinate everything correctly we can capitalize on the distraction it will create. I’m also hoping these bandits aren’t specialized enough to have any training kick in once the explosion goes off. They should be very disorganized inside and that should play to our advantage.”

Flint has one demolition charge on him and he can configure it to detonate via remote. He can also make it a shaped charged for spare most of the building

(Is the implication in the above that the remote charge on the truck would explode and destroy most of the target and the shaped charge would still allow for the building to be looted?)

(correct)

7:17 AM

(regular demo charges are a 40m radius heavy weapon blast, shaped charges is 2m in three directions, and 40m in one)

Paul notes the shapes charged would be the best way to neutralize the fuel source while also creating a secondary entrance in the building. “Flint, we need to make sure we keep the building as intact as possible but we also want to catch them off guard. In the chaos of the moment we should be able to gain access to the building and neutralize at least a few targets.” Feeling the familiar energy sweet before the heat of an engagement, Paul begins to feel muscles loosen in preparation of the nights work. Hopefully this barn lends some useful information. Hopefully I don’t regret not having the Governor just flatten it. Well here’s goes nothing (edited)

(Nudge. Also I realize I took way to long to respond so understand if a response also takes a while)

(this never lit up for me)

2:29 PM

(Sneak/dex as we move in)

!roll 2d6+2

Paul Duncan Roll: [5, 4] Result: 11

Sneaking close to the facility you’re able to place the charge without being seen. You don’t notice any bandits patrolling right now but guess they’ll be along soon.

After finding a safe place from the blast Paul and Flint prepare themselves the coming storm. Paul checks the magazine and looks over his gear to ensure it’s also ready for the coming work. I am a leaf on the wind, the stillness that comes at midnight. I am the shadows deepest secrets and silence is the music I create.

Entering the building you see small fires still burn on the corners of the wood interior walls where the blast punched a hole. Two dead bandits are among the wreckage and you can hear shouting and the sounds of fire extinguishers in the computer room beyond.

Paul scans the room for signs of movement. Moving towards the sounds of fire extinguishers Paul remains on high alert ready for violence on demand. As he nears the entrance to the computer room he attempts to identify targets that would put up the most resistance.

There are three bandits trying to maintain order along with seven techs who are either breaking down their electronics to move , or are helping to put out the fires.

(Are there any covered positions to be taken like doorways or rubble?)

(the doorway is probably the best bet you have right now)

Using the doorway to cover the bulk of his mass, Paul steadies his gun and aims for the nearest bandit.

10:25 AM

(Wanting to confirm my roll here. Is it 1d12+4+7? And since it’s burst mode it’ll cost 3 ammo.) (edited)

(D20+7 for your hit roll) (edited)

(And then after that the 1d12+4 for damage? Provided I successfully hit.) (edited)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Roll: [8] Result: 15 Request: [1d20+7]

(that is correct, we did hit with a 15)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Roll: [12] Result: 16 Request: [1d12+4]

1

One of the bandits is hit by the sudden burst of unexpected fire, and collapses onto their face.

7:42 AM

shouts of panic and alarm fill the room as Flint opens up, sending beams of energy into one of the techs with the extinguisher. The tank pops, sending clouds of fire retardant into the air, making further sight into the room impossible.

Seizing the opportunity crested by the cloud of fire retardant, Paul pushed into the room to close the distance to the where the bandits had been. Paul searches for his next target through the cloud, hoping that as the remaining 2 bandits go down the techs wont put up any resistance.

(notice/wis)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Roll: [6, 3] Result: 10 Request: [2d6+1]

You see one of the bandits charging out of the smoke toward you, knife drawn. He almost barrels into you in the confusion.

Stepping aside to get clearance form the bandit Paul quickly raises his gun at the bandit and fires his next burst.

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Roll: [14] Result: 21 Request: [1d20+7]

(hits)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Roll: [6] Result: 10 Request: [1d12+4]

The bandit falls, shot through just before he can come to knife range with you. The sounds of gunfire cannot be mistaken now and you hear the sounds of people being alarmed deeper within the hacker farm

Hoping to quickly eliminate the final bandit, Paul continues to scan the room for the final of the 3 bandits. Feeling the steady beating of his heart, Paul notes the adrenalines familiar buzz through his system. Knowing this is just the start of the engagement, Paul slows his breathing and finds a steady pace.

The remaining one seems to have collapsed back deeper into the facility, caught the furthest back from the extinguisher cloud. If he has an energy weapon the particles in the air have made it next to useless now.

Paul scans the room for any of the remaining techs hoping they had been so focused on fighting the fire and taken off guard by the sudden violence. He also looks to Flint to note the immediate threat in the room appears to have been neutralized. With the disappearance of the third bandit Paul anticipates reinforcements coming soon. Coming close to Flint, Paul quietly notes, "Our greatest chance of success here would be to push hard and quick through the remaining building. If we continue to move we may be able to keep the bandits from truly knowing our position. Hopefully we can find one of the techs and intimidate them into giving us intel on the remaining forces and capabilities within the building."

The techs are here, focused on fighting the fires and not into getting into a shooting fight with you, where they'd die more or less right away

“Listen up, the first person to give us intel in the numbers and strength of this building gets to live.” Paul tells the techs while centering his rifle on the chest of the first tech he sees. Hopefully these are the heads down and following order type of people

(Talk/cha)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [2d6-1] Roll: [4, 3] Result: 6

1

Two of the techs begin backing away, trying to distance themselves from you, and the fight, showing they are complying. The last tries to run deeper into the facility to raise the alarm.

Knowing the sounds of shots couldn’t have been missed Paul aims at the tech trying to flee and gently pulls the trigger.

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [1d20+7] Roll: [2] Result: 9

1

The shot is missed, and the tech vanishes into the extinguisher smoke into the darkness of the room beyond. Even with what you have done so far, it looks as though thei roperations are going to be offline for some time.

Looking to Flint, Paul asks “Based in the destruction of the explosive, these facilities aren’t going to be operational for awhile. The way I see it we can either push on and neutralize everyone or we can scrap together any intel here that survived and bug out before this room gets any hotter. If we fortify the room I think we can def hold our position for awhile but that option only makes sense if the governor wants this facility fully neutralized. Has he given you any specifics?”

"He wants them out of action, however we decide best. Theyre just going to re-appear somewhere else if we don't capture or kill them. Maybe not soon, but eventually"

“We push on then. Let’s check the two dead bandits to see if they are carrying any sort of comms or intel that would give us an edge as we try to clear the remainder of the building.”

Each of them has a personal compad device on them, and each also has a line shunt with some small tools, just in case.

(going to put this in Archive until you're ready to return)

(I know we talked in PM. Feeling a triumphant return? )

@Paul Duncan

(Yes. Let’s do this!!!I’ll make a more detailed post after dinner tonight.)

(sounds great! (

1

Picking up the compad and stowing it, Paul keeps alert to the forces in the remaining building. Continuously listening for any enemy communications. Moving close to the nearest exit, Paul stays ready in combat for additional forces to appear. Once at the door Paul looks for any new targets outside of the room. Surely some of these bandits are going to see this show of force as a reason to lay down their weapons. We must keep the pressure on a clear the rest of the building.

outside, you can hear a crack of gunfire as Flint handles a bandit who tried to run. Another appears at the door, coming out of the smoke, and looks to be blinded by all the smoke in the room. Their hands are up.

"How many are left?" Veiled shouts at the bandit, keeping the rifle centered dead mass. "I expect full cooperation or there will be one less."

He holds up three fingers, making himself the fourth of those who remain here.

“Where are they? And what type of weapons are we going to encounter?” Paul keeps the gun readied not willing to portray any easing of the severity of the situation.

He holds up his own combat rifle, though you see its magazine is nearly empty. He is missing a sidearm. Wrenching coughs drive him to his hands and knees as the smoke chokes his lungs.

"Toss the rifle aside, SLOWLY. Flint, sending an unarmed bandit your way. Going to start clearing the remainder of the building. Get him secured and meet me in as soon as possible." Flint motions to the bandit to head out of the room and get his lungs cleared. Yelling into the building, "Any remaining bandits, now is your chance to surrender. If we have to come to you, it will be with force. Defend your position and die, or surrender now and live. Your choice."

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [2d6] Roll: [4, 2] Result: 6

FLint reports seeing the others emerging from the building unarmed. The fire is spreading and to some degree each of them is debilitated by the smoke they've inhaled already

Seeing the degree of smoke build and begging to feel the heat of the spreading fire Paul quickly exits the barn to rejoin Flint. Noting the group of unarmed bandits Paul eases feeling the engagement begin to wind down. “Who is in charge here?” Flint asks authoritatively to the group. (edited)

"Dead!" one of them chokes out, falling onto their side to get sick as the smoke makes a mess of their insides. They're going to need medical attention if you're not planning on executing them Flint sends to your compad, not wanting to undermine what you are trying to do and the authority you're trying to build in front of the captives

“Do you have a large vehicle we can use for transport? By the look of it you could all use some medical attention and I plan on making sure that happens?”

We need to get them medical without the Governor finding out.  These men are guilty but they are also a wealth of knowledge.  I have a feeling if the Governor knows they are in our care they are as good as dead.

Paul responds to Flint hoping his loyalties are clear. (edited)

I'm a merc, not a murderer. I agree, we should do something for them, to give them a chance. We have those buggies, each of us could take two, but we'd need to find a clinic somewhere

“My partner and I are going to accompany you to get medical attention. Assuming you are all locals and somewhat familiar with the area, where can get you treated and get there quickly? We have a couple buggies available and could each take two of you.”

We will need to drive as close together as possible.   Two each means we are both out numbered.  While they all look to be struggling with smoke inhalation, if they feel like we are a continued threat they may risk the chance to take control and run.

(connect/cha, to see if we can get some leads outof them)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [2d6 - 1] Roll: [3, 3] Result: 5

Flint is not sure of any clinics operating here in the woods, and this was the main operations area for most of the bandits, this is where they would have come if they needed medical care. The only thing he can remember is the actual capital itself.

“You and you,” Paul points at the closest two bandits, “you’ll ride with my companion. You and You,” pointing to the next two, “ With me. We need to get to a clinic as quickly as possible or this smoke inhalation may prove fatal. I have no plans of letting you die.” Moving quickly to the buddies Paul readies it to leave. (edited)

(risking the city then? )

12:54 PM

(just for me moving the scene in a sensible way)

(Yeah sadly with that roll not giving info I don’t think I have the skills to do much for them)

The two buggies race toward the city. The capital is walled, though there are sections that are not patrolled -none are big enough to get a vehicle through, however. Flint drives the other, compad open so the both of you can communicate while you drive.

I’ve got a plan for@once we hit the clinic. Just follow my lead on the story and make it convincing. Looking back at the bandits Paul adds, “You two, here’s how this is gonna go. As a team we disabled the barn. In the fight that ensued you both breathed in a lot of smoke. We rushed back here as quickly as possible once we determined the facility was entirely disabled but are in dire need of medical attention. If the two of you want to have good medical care I suggest you follow that story. Also, try to act like the you haven’t been fighting against the capital and that you belong there. It may not work but it’s our best chance at getting you fair medical attention.” (edited)

(ThGs what the connect roll was for. He wouldn’t have a plan for that so much as figuring out how to try to smuggle these unfortunates in)

(Ohhhh. My bad. Let me edit the above……edit made) (edited)

Neither of the people on your vehicle look to be planning to go against your plan, because they'll die as a result. At the gate, you are both stopped as the guards do their job of asking who you are, and why you're comign into the city.

“We work for the Governor and are helping to resolve the issues he’s been having with bandits. Our team suffered some severe injuries in our latest mission and are in desperate need of medical attention.”

(oooh good bluff) They look over you for a long moment. Everyone is in combat gear and there is no official registry of mercs working for the governor's office or not, with a wave you're both let into the city.

(Thank you! It’s a long shot but I’m hoping to gain some credit with the bandits as well). After being waved on, Paul continues to head to the clinic. “Before we get much further, is there anything I need to know about either of you, or your friends with my partner, that could cause problems for us here in the city?”

They've inhaled a lot of smoke, and are overcome by shock from their burns and other injuries. Neither of them are in good enough shape for conversation.

Noting the seriousness of the situation implied by their silence, Paul picks up the pace of the buggy. After arriving at the clinic, Paul quickly exits the buggy and heads inside to hopefully start the process for the injured bandits.

You find one of the emergency clinics nearby, close to the gate in order to help refugees admitted to the city from the countryside who need it. The clinic is a small building, only one step removed from a field hospital. There are thirty beds in the thin walled building, and half of them are filled. A doctor, two nurses, and two aides are responsible for running the facility, and each of them look tired. As you pull up, their professionalism takes over, and they begin running over to meet you.

“We are a team working for the Governor and responsible for protecting the city and its people from recent bandit activity. My team and I were neutralizing a major facility when 4 of my team members had pretty severe smoke inhalation. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated? I’ll also be the person responsible for any related billings.”

"You, and not the governor's office?" the charge nurse asks, a bit quizzically. (edited)

(Is she asking why we didn’t go to the governors office?)

(she's asking why his office isn't paying the bill since you;'re mercs under his employ and that's the normal arrangement)

“It’s my team, and my responsibility. If I need to I can always bill the Governor for services performed. But I’d still appreciate any negotiated rates you might have with the Governor.”

It will cost 400 credits for associated medical costs is what the nurse can best project right now. The work of saving the former bandits begins, and you see the slightly bloody operating room curtain pulled so you cannot see what is happening on the other side. Flint is out front, and you can see the tension leaving his body.

Easing over to Flint, Paul strikes up a debrief conversation. “Well, mission accomplished on the base. But I definitely need to learn more precision. I think we handled ourselves great once the explosion happened. It could be us in there with them.”

"You're right. Some skill, some luck. I'm just glad everyone's okay, and that we accomplished our mission. We should report in before long. "

“Yeah we definitely should. The Governor should know about the base we took out. Things seem to have stabilized here. We can check back on ‘our teammates’ after checking in with him. Shall we head over to him now?” (edited)

(that might be days in game, enough time where the governor might ask questions on his own)

(Ahhh ok. I’ve edited the above) (edited)

"Better get this over with" Flint agrees. Using his vehicle, you are ushered into the motor pool outside the large building holding the Governor's office. You're not searched for weapons on the way in,as most mercs and other polity operatives normally aren't - though the governor is not a pushover himself. After a long elevator ride to the top few floors of the office, the doors open, and Governor Cayne's assistant lets you into the office where the Governor is perched behind his desk , refreshing a map showing scout data from around the capital slowly coming in and updating on a large holo screen.

“Governor Cayne, pleasure to see you again. We have some good news to share about a high value target.” Paul opens immediately to ge the conversation going so he can get back to the wounded bandits. “We found a major base of operations for the bandits and neutralized it.”

Looking over your report, he looks pleased. "Our techs noticed the cyberattacks on city systems stopped almost at once. I figured one of my teams hit something big out there. You did well getting that rat's nest handled. We can actually focus on developing some communications infrastructure now, and I can direct my techs to start getting out into the city to do their other assignments. The people here owe you a great deal of gratitude"

“Do you have any other missions you’ll be needing our services for?” Paul asks knowing these situations often evolve over the course of a deployment.

(If you want to keep doing things here we can, if you want to see some new planets, we can do that too)

(Lets stay here for no. I like how this story is developing)

(3xp, 5000 credits)

"We're still picking through the pieces here. Recon data is coming in from the countryside all the time as new hotspots come up, but not everything needs to be met with violence. We've also got a number of refugee communities out there who stood their ground against the tide of the living dead. I'd like to welcome as many as we can into the city, but for those who say behind, we need to see what they want, and what they need"

(Sorry for the delay on my end. I’m needing to get in front of my computer and get my character sheet updated. I’ll posted something later tonight and then do a separate post for my character.)

(no rush!)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [4d6+8] Roll: [6, 4, 3, 1] Result: 22

**Level Up**
Level: 4
Focus: No Foci
Old HP: 17
HP Roll: 22
New HP: 22
New Skills: 1 to Talk for +0
Current AB: 4

11:33 AM

"I do have something that may help us in the recon department. On the last mission we were able to take a compad from one of the bandits. Hopefully it will still receive new communications and give us some decent intel. I plan on handing this off to the team we've started to create for them to run more analysis on and for continuous monitoring." Thinking through the options from the Governor, Paul feels a tug towards the relief efforts. "How could I help with the relief efforts at the city?" Relief work will be a nice break from the action we've been having. (edited)

11:36 AM

(sorry that took so long. Took me a while to have the bandwidth and be on my computer instead of just my phone)

(you should be getting 3 skill points per level, going from -1 to 0 only costs you 1, so you have two left to spend if you want to put it towrds anything else)

(Yeah. I'm thinking I'm going to bank those and put them into shoot skill to get it to 3 next level. Hoping to pair that with the second level of Weapon Unity to basically make me an all around fighter)

(Not sure if you saw my post after my level up but wanted to check if you needed anything from me?)

(I did, was looking to see of Adha was moving into a new hex or not since they're also here, but since they're gonna spend some extra time on their project, I can send you where I wanted to send you now.) "You've done well so far, and wanted a bit of a change, I can do that for you. You think escort duty is something you might get refreshment out of? Got word of a refugee community who wants to come in. Their settlement folded , sounded political to me, but the survivors had nowhere to go, and are going to organize a convoy to come in. It's quite a distance from here, , on our western coast. Can fly you there , with vehicle, but we're looking at about four days overland to get to the city. We don't have much information beyond 400km or so from Donara"

“That sounds great! We can make sure they get here safely. I take it we should head out immediately? I have a few things to check on before we’d head out.” Looking to Flint, Paul asks “Will you join on this one too? We need to check on the team before leaving.”

"Been a good run so far, lets keep it going. Been enjoying coming home in one piece. " Flint says, "Where do you want to meet? I've got a few things to look into myself while we're here"

“We’ve definitely got a good thing going. Let’s meet back at the base when we are ready to go. I’ll sort out the few things around the city I need to handle and then meet you there.” Before heading out Paul addresses the Governor. “Any other intel you have on the politics behind this convoy, or any social niceties we need to be aware of with this village?” (edited)

"Not really. They didn't have the battery power for a long broadcast ,just that they were coming, and hoped it would be okay"

“Got it. Is there anything you’d like to me convey to them as a personal message from you?”

"Not much to say" Cayne says" But I'll see them at the gate to set the expectations then "

"A man of few words. We will get going as soon as we take care of a few housekeeping things around the city." Paul begins to head towards the exit. "If any additional intel comes in while we are out have it sent to our compads. Going around blind in these scenarios is less than ideal" Paul leaves the Governors office and heads back to the clinic to check in on the bandits, hopefully they've been the process of recovery from their last engagement. Hopefully once they see that we are able to provide a level of care they've previously never experienced they might be will to work with us instead of against us

(if there's any shopping we want to do, now is a good time for it as well) The bandits are recovering. All but one of them is in a medical coma for now to help them deal with the pain of the ordeal, but they are all expected to survive despite their injuries. It is anticipated they'll need to be here for another couple of weeks before they're strong enough for dischage.

(I don't think I have any shopping to do at this point.) Walking over to the non-comatose bandit, Paul strikes up a conversation. "How is the recovery going?"

(ammo and meds and all that are in good shape?(

9:01 AM

He gives a weary thumbs up, and as much of a nod of thanks as he can manage. He is heavily bandaged and looks to be struggling with the pain despite being medicated.

(I’ll reload from one of stowed ammos right before we leave. Other than that I think I’ve got plenty of ammo.) Give the bandit a smile, Paul nods in response to the thumbs up. “Rest up. I’ll be gone for a few days. Take your time recovering and don’t worry about the cost. I take care of my team.” Paul says a little louder than normal for the room to hear and slyly gives the bandit a wink. “I’ll check back in a few days. Speedy recoveries.” Paul searches the room for a medical staff member who isn’t busy. After finally managing to flag one down Paul asks, “how are the recoveries of my team members? I’ll be leaving town for a few days. Please make sure they take the recovery easy and get back fully into shape. I’ll also be available by compad if there are any developments.” (edited)

The aide thinks the most well off of them will be discharged in about five days. The rest will need longer, and you will be back in town likely before anyone clears the area.

Nodding along with the information Paul feels content that he will be able to connect with the bandits after the escort is completed. Upon leaving the clinic, Paul heads to meet back up with Flint. When he reaches the warehouse Paul immediately finds the tech guys. Handing off the compad he took off the bandits at the barn he notes, “Took this off a terrorist that would no longer need it. We may be able to monitor it for further chatter and gather intel on other activities.”

12:10 PM

(Was going back through the thread and realized we left a sniper tied to a tree. The break I took away from posting kinda lead to me forgetting about that. I don’t think Paul would’ve forgotten about it but at this point is it even worth going back for him? Aka is it likely he’s still alive?)

(We can say Flint took care of it off screen. I forgot about it too during the break but I agree Paul wouldn't have forgotten or intentionally left him there) (edited)

(Sounds good!)

The techs will do what they can to scrape data from it, but leads will be sometihng that takes days, not hours. They'll forward anything gleaned from this to you, and to the governor's office.

After debriefing the techs on the previous mission, and thanking them for all the work they did to make it a success, Paul finds somewhere comfy to relax while waiting for Flint to return.

Flint is gone for several hours, returning in the wee hours of the night with a new set of combat armor, replacement ammunition, and a Designated Marksmans rifle to replace the battered combat rifle he was using in his last mission with you. He gives a nod, making for his bunk before falling asleep. Come morning, the governor has assigned a flyer to get you close to where the convoy said they were gathering. The buggies you rode in on will also be transported there, and the Governor seem to be fine considering them your property rather than claimed battlefield plunder for the settlement, a subtle way of saying thanks for the help.

2:52 PM

(if we want to put fittings on the ground car, we can, The builder we use has a vehicle builder on it, and any fittings we add we can say are free, either were already on it or paid for by the governor out of his security budget)

(Been trying to get with Shriven on this but where is the builder at? Wanting to take a look through it and familiarize myself with it cause at this point I don’t even know what all I could put on the buggy lol)

(it is on the resource doc in #rules-and-books , its pinned on it, just make yourself a copy. The buggy counts as a grav car in terms of the type of vehicle it is)

(Sweet! I’ll get it all sorted today.)

(I think this is what I'm going to land with on the buggy. If it looks good I'll post the Vehicle Summary and pin it here.)

(Post the condensed view in #vehicle-garage-channel , and we will be good to go )

10:18 AM

(The two spare mass gives you 500 kilograms For storage as well )

(Oh sweet! Ok. I’ll post it there and then do another character post. Thanks for the help on this!)

(sounds great! and happy to help!)

1:38 PM

(also its 1000 KG, forgot this does it automatically for you, its 500 per spare mass)

Feeling refreshed from the downtime, Paul feels the excitement unique to a missions commencement. This time the excitement is a new feeling of providing relief and help in supporting a convoy. Prior to boarding the flyer Paul readies his gear, checks over and reloads his weapons, and performs a few morning calisthenics to wake his body up. Meeting Flint at the flyer, Paul nods in greeting. "Good morning sunshine. Hope you're ready for some convoy protection detail. Hopefully it's as straight forward and boring as a drive through the country side, but based on this being politically motivated who knows what we might experience." Looking over Flint and noticing the new gear Paul's eyes widen. "Nice upgrades. Hopefully you found a good price on all that! Otherwise I'm gotta think you have a better compensation arrangement with the governor than I do." Paul gives Flint a wink on the last statement and chuckles lightly.

"You've done well for yourself" Flint nods approvingly. His own buggy is similar, but with a heavy machine gun and generous looking ammo box instead of a laser weapon. Between you, there are a number of options for taking on bandits, even if they also have vehicles, or something heavier than hand weapons.

“Between the two of us our buggies should be able to handle most problems we’d encounter. If not we can push the speed limits of the bad boys.” Flint emphasizes the last point while patting on the hood of his buggy. “If you are ready to go I see no reason to linger here.” Paul begins to head towards the flyer and find a place to get ‘comfortable’ for the flight.

The flyer is a boxy model with a ramp down for both of your buggies to drive up. Winches and cables keep it secured to the deck so they will not roll as the plane flies and turns. The crew is dutiful and respectful, and tell you to make yourselves comfortable for the long flight. They are expecting to be able to land on some ruins of highway in the area where there is enough space to land, unload, turn around and take off again, but the buggies may need to be paradropped in if conditions on the ground prevent this. As you and Flint buckle in to cargo jump seats, you hear the powerful engines begin to fire up, and the plane begins moving. Flint immediately nods off to sleep, and the plane takes to the air. A few hours later, the hatch to the cockpit opens and the crew chief signals for you to join him.

Unbuckling from the jump seat Paul moves towards the cockpit unsure of what to expect.

The roar of powerful engines quiets down as the hatch closes behind you. Circling the area the plane is not going to be able to land on the interstate as planned. You, flint , and your vehicles are going to be paradropped into the area , as soon as they can find a clearing

“Not ideal but we will make it work. What all will we need to do to prepare for the jump? Should be straight forward right?”

“Should be. Your buggies are on sleds already for an occasion like this. We just have to rig the chutes and give you your own. You don’t want to be in that when it hits the ground. Your tailbone will thank me. Get your friend up too. “

“10-4. I’ll wake him and get him up to speed on the situation.” Paul leaves the cockpit and heads over to Flint. After taking a seat next to Flint, Paul gently nudges him with his elbow. “Pilot says we are nearing the drop zone. Sadly no roads are good options for landing this bird so we are gonna take the fun way down. Buggies are already rigged so we just need to get our own chutes on.” Excitedly Paul turns to the other crew members to find which chutes they’ll be using.

Flint swears under his breath and stands ,as the crew begins making their way over to get the chutes onto you. They are not high tech, things of canvas and cord, but they are reliable and will do the job in getting you to the ground safely and unharmed. Several long minutes go by of tightening ropes and fasteners, before there is a final adjustment and you feel the pack sitting properly across your back and shoulders. You are shown the handles for the main chute, and the back up in case the main one does not work, and ytour buggies will handle the descent on their own- those chutes work differently and will know by themselves what height to deploy at. You're advised to give them some room upon descending.

Paul sees the tension in Flint and asks, “Flint, are you ok?” Paul notes to give the buggies a wide berth in the air and prepares for the jump.

"I hate heights. I hate them so much" he says. You know Slyth are cold blooded, but you swear you see his dark face go a bit pale. "When this is done, no more heights. Next time we need to jump somewhere I'm staying on the plane" He nods once, steeling his courage, and lets the flight crew finish strapping him in to his large jump harness. With all in readiness the jump master stands at the side of the rear ramp.

“You’ve got this Flint! This’ll be a routine jump and then we will be back on the ground.” Paul pulls on his harness to test its fit. After looking around the plane one final time Paul nods to the jump master and readies himself for the jump.

(Let’s get a pilot /dex for staying on course as we jump!)

!roll 2d6+1

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [2d6+1] Roll: [1, 1] Result: 3

(and a d4 for number of kilometers off course!)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [1d4] Roll: [1] Result: 1

The landing is bumpy and you can see your new ride, Flint, and his ride all make it to the ground safely a kilometer away from you. Dense woods separate you from the side of the highway they chuted down to, and the crosswinds on landing blow you around through the upper tree limbs before your chute finally gets tangled just a few meters from the ground.

Feel a bit shaken up from the trip through the foliage, Paul slowly starts moving his limbs to ensure everything moves correctly and free of pain. Patting himself down to check for his gear, Paul finds his knife and begins to cut his chute loose. After cutting through the final cord, Paul descends to the ground and lands as softly as his knees can allow. Thankful things didn’t go worse than they did Paul looks up one last time. That was definitely one for the memories. Guess I’m a bit rusty on my jumps.. Focusing back to the task at hand Paul surveys his surroundings and begins to head in Flints direction.

You close half the distance to Flint when you get the first evidence of bandit presence in the area. A local has been hung from the tree here with a sign around their neck. There are symbols on it, written in whatever passes for the local cant of the armed groups working outside the government. You're ultimately not sure what it says. This was done recently, and on further inspection the paint is still wet. Scouts must be in the woods somewhere close.

Quickly glancing around to ensure no bandits are lingering near by, Paul begins to work on getting the local down from the tree. This has to stop. These bandits are getting more bold and certainly willing to use violence against innocents. If I find the ones responsible for this they will certainly regret it.. Paul uses his compad to take a quick picture of the sign and send it to Flint with a quick message: Bandits near. OMW to you. Quick setting the local against a tree, Paul works his way carefully through the forest to meet up with Flint. (edited)

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [1d10] Roll: [7] Result: 7

You evade being detected by the bandits though you hear people walkign in the woods around you. They are not being quiet or careful, cracking sticks and breaking tree limbs on the ground. You emerge from the woods to find Flint getting both vehicles off their landing skids at the edge of the woods. He looks a bit pale from the descent, but otherwise is back to business as normal.

Once clear from the woods Paul runs to Flint. “There are bandits being very active in the woods. Killed a local and hung them with the sign I sent you. I couldn’t tell how many but based on the noise they are making they are concerned with being noticed. We should prep the vehicles as quickly as possible get moving.” As he finished the last part he was already beginning to help get the vehicles ready.

"You're right. Column just rolled past here. Told them we'd catch up since we're faster. Lets get moving" your vehicle has survived the fall. Everything looks to be in the right place and where it belongs. The engine turns over smoothly and the weapon system comes online showing you have a full charge. Flint takes the point position since he saw the convoy pass, and your radio tunes in to his open frequency so you can talk while driving without needing to look down. The remains of cars and other debris are piled on the freeway. There is a path through, but it will take time and a low speed to weave through.

Climbing into the buggy and getting it started Paul prepares to head towards the rest of the column. Paul holds his hand in the air and circles a finger to indicate to signal Flint to move out. Scanning the road ahead Paul keeps his eyes peeled for any signs of danger or impending violence against the column.

(notice/wis) (edited)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [2d6+1] Roll: [6, 3] Result: 10

You manage to find the column which consists of a semi truck carrying supplies, and nine vans or trucks full of locals moving south toward the capital. They wave and exchange pleasantries for you on another radio channel , and express how grateful they are to you and Flint for coming out here to help bring them in. You take position in front of the column and put some space between you and the lead vehicle. Looking toward the horizon, there is a pile up of cars, and an off ramp to the expressway that leads through a small hamlet consisting of an abandoned gas station and a few homes, before the ramp on the other side brings you back on to the expressway after the pile up.

2:45 PM

The placement of the blocking cars seems deliberate.

Noting the pile up ahead Paul eases the brakes of his buggy and radios for the rest of the column to do the same. "We've got a pile up ahead. Give Flint and I a few moments to get a plan together for the best way to proceed. For now everyone just stay aware of our surroundings and be prepared to move out quickly should the need arise." Using his compad to keep the conversation between Flint and himself Paul writes:

Pileup ahead that is forcing us to use an off ramp.  It looks like this has been intentionally set up.  I'm think we may want to stop the column for now and decide on a best course of action.  With just you and I having the military capabilities, we may need to clear out the off ramp area before the rest of the column goes through.  I don't want to bring them into a killbox if we don't have to.

(edited)

I agree. I think this is a trap too. No way to know for sure until we go to investigate. How do you want to approach this?

Flint says. The column begins coming to a halt and the locals dismount their vehicles to take cover and watch , forming a defensive circle.

We may want to leave the vehicles and sneak over to the gas station.  The homes or gas stations are the only places that could house our potential ambushers.  Also, depending on how heavy handed we want to be, the offer from the Governor to provide 'explosive support' for the last mission could still be a potential option.  However, based on the escalation I've seen recently I'm starting to think the level of violence we use will be reciprocated and sadly the locals may pay the price for us.

They'll be expecting vehicles and probably won't be looking for people sneaking up on foot, you're right Flint agrees. You can hear the cough of the engine as his vehicle shuts off, and he unlimbers his new heavy cutter from a hardened case worked into the back of his vehicle. There is a hiss and then a dull whine for a few seconds as the heavy weapon powers up.

Following suit, Paul turns off his buggy and hops out. Walking over to Flint, eyes wide he notes “I’m sorry for the bandit that ends up on the opposite end of that.” After briefly letting the locals know that everything is under control and also noting for them to stay aware and ready to move out in an i stats notice, Paul begins to sneak towards the gas station.

(sneak/dex)

Paul Duncan

used /roll

Paul Duncan Request: [2d6+2] Roll: [4, 4] Result: 10

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [2d6] Roll: [5, 1] Result: 6

You are not noticed as you leave your vehicles behind and slink down the exit ramp to the wall of the gas station and its base. You can hear commotion inside but there are no windows on the brick side of the building. You noticed a back door on the way down from the overpass that looks to only have a simple mechanical lock on it.

Pulling close to Flint, Paul whispers, "Definitely a team inside the gas station. Back door is locked and a pretty simple lock but I'm no locksmith. I doubt I'll be able to break in without them knowing." For as often as I have to get in places unnoticed you'd think I'd have spent some time learning how to break in effectively. Guess I spent to much time learning how to break things and not breaking into things. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the team in the gas station is probably not the entirety of the threat in the area. Those houses could also be holding a team or two, so we should expect reinforcements if we engage. I'm also worried these are the same bandits that strung up the local I found after our jump, so I don't think we can talk our way through this issue. I think we really only have two viable options; option one: we bring the buggies and unload on every building; option two, we use the governors tight beam and just preemptively level any potential ambush. Both have the risk that we aren't dealing with bandits in the area. Though the only way we find that out is if we are willing to spring the trap and find out who we are dealing with. Do you see any other viable options that I'm missing?"

"He did say we had his support. We could call in air support like you said. It'll keep all of us alive. I think we have a duty to make sure there aren'y any innocent people hiding out in any of these buildings though before we call for the town to be leveled. I don't think I could live with myself if we didn't do our due diligence, but I know I'm risking your life too, not just mine, so you make the call, and I'll support you. "

"I completely agree. We are getting compensated for the risk to our lives. And we both already know that death is part of our line of work. Let's stick together on scouting the area. If an opportunity arises for us to neutralize a building quietly we should attempt that before leveling. While getting the convoy to the capital is our first priority, we also won't win the Governor any love by leveling villages." Paul points out the first house for them to check and begins to sneak towards it.

11:16 AM

(Another sneak/dex check?)

(We're going to keep the 10 ,and I'll just use that as the DC for anyone who might need to roll a notice. If we do something like abandon being stealthy, fight people , make a lot of noise, ect , basically anything to fundamentally change the scene, we might need a new one, but right now we'll keep the 10. I'll get you a map of the village so we can keep track of where we have been and what is left to go so we're not stuck in theatre of the mind. I'll have that for you soon)

(Sounds good)

(I didn’t find any professional maps that I liked so I doodled this one)

From the Gas Station Paul motions towards the houses. He continues to sneak around the area and heads towards the houses hoping that at least some of the buildings in the area are clear.

(The ones across the road to the west, or the ones north behind the store? )

(Across the road)

You come to the first house and crouch under a kitchen window set into the ground floor of the home with Flint. There is a wooden porch that leads to the back rood, and gives access to said kitchen. It sounds like someone is inside rustling around through the cabinets looking for good or anything elseof value.

Paul continues to sneak inside the building, slowly getting closer to the sound in the kitchen. Hoping to get an idea of total number of residents in the house Paul continues to listen for signs of additional occupants and scans the house continually.

You hear one person shuffling around inside. Waiting for a few moments and circling the house does not reveal more than the one person moving around and making noise.

Paul sneaks into the kitchen and attempts to grab the occupant and restrain and silence them.

Nekosmash

used /roll

Nekosmash Request: [2d6] Roll: [4, 3] Result: 7

They do not notice you as you sneak into the room and manage to grab them from behind. Holding them in a chokehold for a moment of struggle eventually has them go limp and silent. They will wake up in a moment.

As the occupant goes limp Paul searches the house for rope to restrain him. Noting in a quiet whisper to Flint “we need to find a way to keep him restrained so that we can ask questions and gather information on the numbers in the area.”

Never without rope, Flint obliges and ties a knot after looping the rope around the bandit several times. With a nod, he is satisfied this is as good as the work is going to be.

12:58 PM

(I think either of you would have like a rag or sock you could tie into his mouth in a pinch too or something for now)

12:58 PM

(Or tape if you have a tool kit)

Paul ties a rag around the mouth of the now limp occupant. Knowing he will eventually regain consciousness Paul gets him into a comfortable position. Whispering to Flint "Once he wakes we can get the information we need. It's important he knows his compliance will keep him alive. If he decides to yell we will be in a tricky situation. But should that happen we at least have a defensible position from this house."

After a few moments the knocked out bandit wakes up, Their eyes are cloudy and unfocused but they pull themselves together after a moment and take stock of their situation. They look at you intensely, waiting to see what will become of them.