Iron Stars - skraa

(what would Skraa want to accomplish. longer term? just trying to think of a good spin up mission)

(they'd want try and improve living standards/improve availability of medicine to Dremlas, whether that be by scouting, fighting for it or attempting to make it themselves. Skraa would spend time in any medical facilities dremlas has if not being sent out.) (They'd also be interested in Null storms/termies, if the IA has any leads on that front.) (edited)

(generating some would probably be a great first choice. Would you want to head to that town they just got the resonator working in to set up some facilities?)

(yessir.)

Skraa is one of several specialists who receive a telegram from the capital building, requesting skilled help in setting up the first wave of infrastructure in the recently uncovered settlement to the west. It has been secured and the first explorers are beginning to map the countryside and town itself, but there will undoubtedly be injuries and a need for technical support.

Skraa returns to their dwelling after a work shift to the telegram. They read it a few times before gathering their few personnel effects before departing to join with the rest of those being sent. (edited)

With a industrial looking gas mask cover there face, along with a dark fabriced cowl covering most of the rest of their head, although a few strands of dark hair can be seen where it does not cover. The most prominent feature of them is the rather makeshift looking glaive strapped to their back which looks it would be about 2 Skraas in length or about 6 foot long. The metal of their hands and arms stick out when compared to the dark colours of their clothing.

(I'm only going to measure things in Skraa units from now on)

14:50

Five others have been requested and the meeting hall inside the Dremlas capital building is bereft of anyone but you six, for the first few moments at least. Food and drink have been laid out, with a simple paper placard that says to make yourself comfortable and enjoy as much refreshment as you like. They're buttering you up, evidently. No doubt a hard assignment is ahead

(This is acceptable.) Skraa waits with others, eating a small bit and making small talk with the others while they wait for whoever is coming.

There is a fanfare of trumpets, and the doors open revealing the city magistrate and two guards. He motions for everyone to sit down, and takes a small plate himself. "Thank you all for waiting. I am sorry for my last meeting running over"

The sudden fanfare surprises Skraa, jumping slightly as the doors open. As they see the magister come in they shift to sit taller in their chair and paying rapt attention.

The group begins sitting down. "You all were given a summons i suspect. Details are the same, we need to begin settling into the town we claimed. Doesn't even have a name yet, but more space means more land, and more resources, and hopefully a return to something approaching normal.

Skraa raises their hand slightly before speaking (Let me know if the method of speach is too much and I can tone it down/say it properly OOCly) "What is needed at new town?"

(you're good!)

01:43

"Clinics, farms, maybe some light manufacturing if we get the numbers supported out there. We're intending to stay. We'll also need defenses. Watchtowers along the overland route , or roadhouses keeping smaller resonators safe so there is not a chance for a single terrorist attach to cut off the new village. You're going to be given a massive amount of latitude for this build, and project"

01:43

"if this route and this settlement fall, Dremlas is going to stagnate and die before the end of the decade"

Skraa winces at the estimated fall of Dremlas "Falling bad, new city necessary." Skraa nods.

“The corridor between here and that settlement usually is buried in null field for at least some of the time. We have a special Buggy you’ll be traveling in with a miniature stability field. Stay within 15m of it and you’ll be fine. There are also kits aboard to produce smaller resonators , once you begin making watch towers or road houses. Your decision on how this route will look”

(Are the smaller resonators meant to protect the people in the buildings or people travelling on the road?) (edited)

(Both. It’s a big radius )

(oooh, we werent using the buggy's as the relative for 'Smaller' lol,

)the buggy has one on it since you’d need a stability field while you’re working to set the next one up)

"We to build them en route, or when established?"

"And we will be the decision-makers when there, yes?"

"En route would be preferred, and you would be the on site decision makers"

15:15

"The roadhouses need to be walled, and should be able to hold about 100 within the walls, even if not comfortably. You don't need to make the entire compound a building, and it might be better to leave some outside space for animals or vehicles, but I'll let you decide on site"

Skraa nods and waits for the rest of the briefing.

"Well, aside from leaving tonight with the first load of materials, you dont need anything else from me. Everything else can be manufactured in the field, or found. Make them safe, make them dry, and warm. We can always go back and remodel when you're done"

"Thank for choosing us, we will not fail." Skraa dips their head in a slight bow as the magistrate finishes.

(if you need to shop or do anything we can, otherwise we'll head out)

(I believe I am good to go.)

The group makes their way to one of the two expedition vehicles, this one is larger , essentially a covered flatbed truck loaded with supplies and tools for the first roadhouse, and enough materials for resonators along the route. One day, maybe, they won’t be needed anymore - but that is a long time in coming

Skraa climbs into the passenger section of the flatbed, sitting on their knees to be able to see out, and makes sure everyone else is ready before they head out.

15:47

(So we have enough materials for as many resonators we would need to cover the route, and enough stuff to turn a roadhouse into a small compound?) (edited)

(we have enough to build the first of the compounds, after that we'll have to explore forests and smelt and stuff

22:41

Iron stars minecraft)

(yee-haw!)

(Do we have a map or has the route been pre-determined?)

À(Also happy new years Neko!)

(The route is pre determined. Mac, Einers old character, Cathal and kiaw have traveled this way recently )

14:35

(And it’s been cleared of immediate hazard )

Skraa sits in the passenger seat of the front vehicle, waiting for the final preparations to be made and making small talk with the rest of crew, talking to them about their professions and interests.

You’ve got a mix of craftsmen and soldiers with tou. It’s about an even split and between everyone theres enough talent to make a true go of this. The truck turns over as the batter reserve back begins moving the engine pieces that need to. The transmission shifts into gear and the city gates begin opening as the vehicle moves out into the dark and rainy countryside

Skraa keeps an eye out as the convoy trundles along its path, hoping no threats or obstacles come to block their path.

(Sites of interest along the way are an old farm where they found a book about null storms. Cathal has that now, followed by a set of windmills and then finally a spot where that giant bird that kept bothering everyone was brought down

15:33

(If we wanted to do this based on land marks)

(Lets go with the Old Farm.)

The old farm is the first landmark on the way. There’s a dilatory two story farmhouse, a barn, and a tractor rusting in a field that is choked with weeds in very different stages of growth

"Here is good place for the first outpost. We can set up a compound here and then continue once it is fully established."

“We should check the place out first t make sure it’s even safe to set down here”

"Good point." Provided the others agree, Skraa takes a team of soldiers into the farm, leaving the craftsmen and a guard or two for each vehicle. (How many people are in this expedition?)

(Same six we started with)

18:25

(Well you plus five)

(ah, in that 2 soldiers with me, and a soldier and the experts stay behind.) (edited)

(3 soldiers and 2 experts since you’re kind of an in between)

(Lets leave the experts and a soldier behind in the vehicles and then two soldiers and myself to scout out the farmhouse.)

Two bodies have been left to rot near the front door, wearing regalia not standard to Dremlas or its armies. Their descriptions and state of decomposition match a reported encounter here on the road about a week ago. There has not been further contact with Brother Gamma or any of his followers.

"Should move them, dont want to sleep next to dead."

The soldiers begin getting tarps from the vehicle to wrap them. It’ll take time but the vehicle crew can dig the graves so they’re not idle for hours

Once they are taken care of and the team is back together Skraa will open the door to farmhouse, taken a quick glance then stepping in.

The ground floor is worn by time, and you dont see the bodies of the former inhabitants anywhere down here. There is fine china, seasoned iron pans, and other homey elements that are aged, but otherwise can be made serviceable again with a bit of work. A slow trickle of water is coming in from upstairs, and you can feel a significant draft from broken back windows.

21:01

this might be a nice hostel for travelers once restored and fortified

"Will need fixing-up, but will make a nice place to see." Skraa looks for any evidence of a sub-level before rising to the second story if there isnt one.

There’s not a traditional basement but there is a root cellar that’s been eaten through. The second floor as cult graffiti on every surface , some of it with charcoal, some with blood, some carved with knives

Skraa scoffs at graffiti covering the walls as they finish searching the bottom flow and begin to head upstairs.

(we were on the second floor) The bedrooms have been trashed, and you dont find anymore bodies in here. There arent many personal effects either- looted or carried off by the former inhabitants at the signs of trouble that occurred before the scream.

(Woops, lmao.) "House appears safe, We can bring team in now or wait to search rest." Skraa turns around and speaks to the two soldiers.

They wave the others in, and the experts waste no time tutting about the state of the house. A decrepit windmill near the barn might be an ideal place to reinforce and raise a resonator, and once its up, some trees can be felled, and other materials can be brought in to restore the house

As the team sits in the dining room, hopefully with a slightly more structurally intact farmhouse, Skraa begs to lay out the plans (Im just going to drop the speech pattern since that was taxing to use.) "Once we get farmhouse up to a more manage-able state we can eventually get the resonator working up in the old windmill. Once we have that running we can start working on clearing trees and planting to get the house fully repaired and food coming in, then we can start turning this into a proper outpost with some fortifications."

"so tomorrow, we go out there and get started on setting it up? We should try to get the vehicles close to the farm house tonight too, and under guard. right now its the only thing keeping us safe"

(if we were to park it into barn would it be close enough to cover us?)

(you'd be sort of at the edge of its field here in the house, so yes but also no)

"We can park it next the house until we get the big resonator set up, then we can put them into the barn. I can go first for watch until we get decent fortifications."

This seems to be good enough. (Which watch would you take. First or second)

(First.)

Skraa spends the first four hours of the night at first cleaning and maintaining their holy weapon, a glaive, as they keep watch over the vehicles and some of the compound.

(d10)

(3)

No cult activity or curious animals arrive during the night, though it doesnt prevent you all from feeling like there were eyes on you. It's dis-settling for people who until a week ago had been living behind the walls for years.

Skraa and the team reconvenes in the morning, to discuss today's agenda

"So, we need to get the resonator going as soon as possible, so, [Two experts names] can work on that and the windmill, once we get the resonator working is when we can start properly working."

(What would you be doing ?)

(Checking out the barn probably.)

The barn hasn’t been explored and it would be a good idea to know what’s in it. You take two soldiers with you to the collapsing structures

Skraa stands there for a moment before trying to open one of the large doors. (edited)

The doors creak as they open, and the smell of death wafts out now that the open air has been exposed to it. Horses, or cows, you can't tell what, have died of starvation in their stalls, and the dry remains are the only things left. bugs have feasted on the corpses and have long since moved off, leaving nothing but scattered bones and dry straw behind

"That is... unfortunate, a poor way to die, lets see if anything else was left behind, a cursory glance."

There are rusted wooden framed tools and some woodworking equipment here like hand awls. There is a ladder leading up to a dark hay loft above.

'You two ferry the tools back to the engineers, I will pop upstairs." (Can I 'recall' My sunblade weapon if I set it down, or is that explicitly for throwing a small melee weapon?)

(for a small melee weapon that is thrown)

Skraa secures their weapon before climbing up the ladder.

The loft is black and you can see dark squares that must be hay bales. Something up here is breathing deeply, and wetly.

Skraa begins tryping a message requesting for the soldiers to double time it back, before grabbing their glaive.

(initiative)

(4)

(2)

03:29

A large yellow eye 10m from you at the center of an inky ball of tentacles and teeth begins regarding you for a moment before screeching violently

Skraa makes a similar, albeit less intimidating and more feminine shriek in suprise before lunging forward and attempting to poke the creature in the eye. (15/5, 3 shock vs AC 20.) (edited)

(shock hits) The creature winces as the blade punches close to the eye, but doesn't penetrate it. Stunned as it is, its own snapping beak misses in return. you can hear your support beginning to climb the ladder

Skraa pushes the momentum, driving the butt of the glaive into the creatures beak. (3 shock.)

The first of the marines reaches the top of the ladder, and fires his own weapon, sending a massive wave of gore coating both of you as the shot connects squarely with its eye.

(is it down?)

(yes, he got a good hit on it, its dead)

Skraa wipes viscera off of their mask as they examine the remaining sections of the creature. "Good shot."

(if you're trying to do an analysis we'd need a know/int or survive/wis)

15:20

(otherwise,w e just know its dead and was unnatural )

(Know/int 8)

The beast has some commonality with a squid, though adaptions for being on land. A beak and teeth within it point it out as a meat eater, or at least an omnivore. Most of the viscera stinks of the lake.

Skraa takes a sample of one of its tentacle limbs, trying to get a good portion of both exterior sections and the interior fleshy sections for later study.

19:46

"If I had to guess it seems to have originated from a body of water, likely the near by lake, wonder how long its been here."

“Weeks. Maybe. Well, what should w do about the body?”

Skraa looks at the soldiers, then at the squid creature. "Think its edible?"

The medical specialist arrives, unsure if anyone was hurt and needs assisting. Her bio scanner is on a metal cord loop hanging from her pack and she won’t be using it for a few moments while she tends to everyone

(So that makes our party 7?) Skraa asks the medic kindly for her bio-scanner (edited)

(One of the soldiers just had heal )

04:54

(Heal 0)

Skraa takes the remains of the squid creature to a table and runs the bio scanner over it

It is very mutated version of normal pond life. In a pinch you could eat it but more than once or twice would lead to complications

Skraa also runs the scanner over its hide, looking for any abnormalities or structures related to existence in a null-field

It’s heavily mutated to grow far bigger than normal and a to be able to spend time on land which normal aquatic creatures usuallly cannot do

Content, Skraa returns to the engineers to check their progress.

They’ve only just woken up but a resonator can be completed within an hour, and you can move on. This is probably the easiest of the builds

21:54

(3xp, 5000 credits )

Skraa, Partial Healer/ Partial Sunblade, Level 2
3 SP gained:
  WIS raised, 1 SP
  CHA raised, 2 SP
Focus Gained: Die Hard
HP: 7 -> 15
Healer Art Gained: Facile Healer: Effort no longer needed to heal.
Sunblade Effort 0/2.

(edited)

(Is there anything that im missing that we can do in the mean time, as most of my ideas pivot around the resonator being established.)

(We can just skip the next hour)

(Aighty)

There is a bang and you can see the mist is displaced for 5km around as the resonator comes to life, now connected with the transit way. The pond, and forests around here are now safe to travel without a stability belt, which none of you have as it stands

Skraa breathes a sigh of relief as the sky clears, the team reconvening. "Immediate concern: Food, less immediate of a concern would be defenses and/or getting work going, with an additional question of whats around us. Im not the greatest at shooting, and I doubt most things will let me stab them. Not sure if the cult fanatics actively search for resonators, but they have a vendetta against them. And seeing as how the squid abomination was nested in the barn, i'd like to find out whats in the resonator field so we dont accidently step on a whole nest of them, and perhaps find some ruins."

(alrighty, lets generate this hex beyond the immediate confines, D10 please, and with this being established as a safe area now, a garrison of soldiers will help keep watch for cult stuff)

(Sweet, 6)

A patrol by the soldiers has them returning to the home around lunchtime, when the resonator completes its final test-fire. An old silo was seen in the woods, about an hour's walk from here and at the edge of the stability field. They didn't approach , jkust in case, but it seems relatively intact

Skraa arranges for an expedition to be arranged, taking two other soldiers and an engineer-expert in case technical difficulties arise.

The two soldiers who found it will come with you as a natural choice , since they found it. Setting out into the woods if you’re efficient you can be there and back before nightfall. The forest is quiet. Animals are getting used to the stability field and those who have adapted to need metaspace have fled the region , allowing others to live in

Skraa attempts to make haste while admiring the more peaceful scenery around them, reasonably free from spontaneous red mistification.

05:19

Arriving at the site you can see they entirely mis explained the concept of silo, and it looks like a missile silo rather than farm equipment.

(... Thats a big difference.)

Skraa stops, implanting their glaive in the ground as they behold the unexpected structure. "...You said it was a silo." Skraa looks at them, glaring slightly beneath the mask. "What is this?"

"A silo, like we said" one of the scouts says back to you , looking out over the landscape

".... This is for explosives, probably, not for grain." Skraa shrugs and continues forward. (edited)

There is a large blast door next to the divided metal hatch cover , shielding the missile from the elements. The door presumably leads down into the depths of the silo.

23:16

It is reinforced and is looking for a keycard to force a normal entry (edited)

"We can attempt to brute force it, but given the nature of this facility that will most likely be difficult, or we could attempt to bypass the scanner."

“What would you recommend ? Do you know how to do that?”

"Probably not brute force, and im better at hacking apart squishy things then computer things."

One of the tech's begins setting some sort of pad into the wall, pressing a few buttons, before the blast doors open, exposing a ladder leading down into the guts of the silo

"Well done, much than I could have managed, forwards on?"

They're ready, covering you with rifles and flashlights as you look down the ladder-hole. The descent and entry chamber below looks clear

Skraa straps their glaive to he back before descending down the ladder into the dark.

Entering the interior door to the silo, you can see the control room on the opposite side of the large space. The missile is still in the silo, though you're unsure if its capable of launching anymore, or how you'd even manage it. Something like a captain's chair, with a set of goggles and remote inputs is bound up and wound together, and represents the only controls for some reason. The other two rooms look to be an empty but clean simple bunk room, a supply bunker with only a few unopened tins of food left, and a generator room where the machinery is humming along with plenty of fuel left in it.

(So like a VR headset, and does it look like someone was here recently, or just an unreasonably large fuel supply?

(Just a lot of fuel and yes about the headset)

Skraa sends a solider to gather the supplies and the technician and a soldier to the generator room to see if there is anything there they could potentially use once they finish here. Tentatively Skraa puts on the controls

There is a blinding flash of light as the screen resolves to a logo, indicating a designers name and that this is their “playhouse” You’re transported to a lobby with a gift shop, and 8 doors arrayed around you that look entirely mundane

Skraa examines their person before looking at the gift shop.

Dozens of “upgrades” are available. They’re video game power up in appearance though promise “extended and permanent improvement for your life in the real world, at home and at play. Beware of glitches!”

Skraa opens the left most door compared to the shop, mentalling labeling it as 1 (edited)

(I’ve got a map for you. I will grab it after the game when I can get to my computer)

1

Skraa enters the Moon Shrine

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

15:03

entering the Moon Shrine, a statue to MR. Goodnight stands in the center. Ads for Goodnight Soda scroll across the walls and floors. A large panel on the back wall reads USE CODE GOODNIGHT1 FOR YOUR FREE MR. GOODNIGHT PLAYER SKIN. A sounder sleep, with MR. GOODNIGHT!

15:04

A few blank polygons, a sphere, a cube, and a pyramid seem to be left here as an offering, though no one has ever come to collect them.

Skraa reaches towards where a small pouch that would carry credit chits or other small objects would be if this were their physical person, making a flipping motion, having intended to leave an offering

there are five coins inside, deposited to you when you downloaded into the game

Skraa leaves an offering of one coin before proceeding to the Achievement Hall.

Thousands of shining gold medals and a banner that says 99% complete. One is missing , entitled "Make a friend". From above, a loop of glitching material trickles down into a pool, on a loop that gathers and spreads from the middle of the room

Skraa edges around the present glitch zone, advancing towards the Glitched Room.

The glitched room is above you and there doesn’t seem to be a way up there at the moment without entering the glitch sea

Seeing no other way, Skraa attempts to climb/swim to the above floor.

(And a d10 when you get time)

(6)

You become clipped, able to pass through solid objects though out in the main room you can hear something that sounds like a man screaming from far away. There is a rumbling sound as the moon shrine is drowned in a sea of bugs and program corruption, cut adrift from the rest of the strange virtual world you find yourself in

02:33

Awash In a sea of data some of it passively works its way into your AO net. This is a prototype of something called “slickware” , a virtual world that could allow the user to work or game while sleeping in place of the users dreams. It’s founder Hideo, vanished at the time of the scream though there have been numerous incursions by others who knew of the project , eager to explore this dream world while the programming holds

Skraa winces in empathy as the scream cuts through, and the sudden ability to ignore physics. They read through the data popping into their vision as they traverse into the next room.

Pink pixels and half rendered polygons jut from the walls and floor of the glitched room like shards of glass. You seem to be immune for at least a few moments longer from coming in contact with a glitch. A bug, a cockroach looking creature sits, half stuck into the floor in the center of the room. It screams and thrashes at the sight of you, wanting to come to blows, but unable to as it is stuck

Skraa takes inventory of her avatar before proceeding.

It seems your items from the real world have copied over with you, pixelated somewhat but otherwise as you’d expect them to be

Skraa grips her glaive, finding comfort in its familiarity as she brings in a wide swing towards the bug. (19/8, 4 shock < Ac 20)

It shrieks violently, lashing its half formed claws back out at you. (19/mental save)

14:56

You can see you've harmed it, and tere might be something underneath it

(failure, 5v13)

There is another cry , as below you some sort of doorway materializes and a trio of slickware raiders wearing fox masks enter, and they begin looking around

Skraa looks at the raiders, then back at the malformed roach before taking an over head swing. (14/11, 4 shock.)

The roach shrieks a final time, before glitching out, revealing a hidden portal

Skraa hefts their weapon and faces the raiders, glaring at them and prepared for violence. (edited)

They’re reluctant to enter the glitch zone as they see you above it looking down at them, having braced the glitch sea. They talk among themselves and decide instead to camp the exit, knowing youll have to leave eventually. Above you the sky turns from stormy to a sunny 2d sky with pixelated balloons and airplanes flying by. One of them advertises “Hyonomo Manufacturing Concern: Your Stars Are Concern”. There is another plane flying a banner for the same Mr. Goodnight drink you saw earlier

02:00

The portal in front of you where the bug was cut away still glimmers

Skraa turns around, and tentatively pokes the portal, before stepping into it. (edited)

Music begins to play as you feel yourself materialize through it

15:01

15:02

And you emerge in a room listed as the De-bugger. This room is grey, dimly lit, and with enormous stacks of blank polygons in the southwest corner that you can change into any shape, texture, or materials

15:02

"Deep Blue Bathhouse: An Oasis for Mind, Body, and Spirit" has a banner on broken repeat

Skraa frowns for a moment, concentrating, before attempting to manipulate the polygons into a vaguely humanoid form.

You’re able to form them into a humanoid you’re happy with, and the effort is done easily. You feel like something of a sculptor here I. This virtual realm

Skraa fashions a pointy weapon similar to their own, before looking around for more advanced objects to utilize. (edited)

(That’s all that’s in here but there’s enough to shape into other things)

(What are the limits of what I could do here, can the objects Skraa can create defy logic and/or standard physics?)

(Standard real world rules )

Thinking of little that they could make here that would be useful, Skraa looks for an exit.

You can go back down into the room you came from without causing another glitch. There is also a single door to another room on this level

(Is the no clip glitch still affecting Skraa?)

18:10

Skraa turns and enters the single door leading to a other room. (edited)

(No it was just the moment. The only permanent thing that happened is one of the rooms are cut off now )

Skraa enters the room adjacent to one they are on, wary of anymore bugs.

The bedroom has a sleeping man in the bed as the menacing caricature half moon of Mr. Goodnight hangs on the ceiling. The entire room is a mixture is broken ads , glitched polygons and a ruined sky that looks like the result of a nighttime nuclear fire

02:55

His resting face matches the face printed on the masks the raiders are wearing

Skraa slams the butt of their weapon, intending to wake whomever lays in the bed.

He does not stir, or even move, but it seems like the eye of the moon on the ceiling is following you

Skraa shivers under the watchful gaze, examining the room carefully before assessing the resting human.

(what specifically did you want to know about them)

(Are they alive and physical appearance/clothing/gear/etc) (edited)

He is Alive but seems to be in a sleep so deep it could be compared to a coma. He is a human male of Terran Asian descent. He is wearing white bedclothes but almost all of it aside from the head neck and hands are covered by the cream silk like bed sheet that covers him

05:57

He has no other gear

Skraa glances through his other effects before returning to him, laying her metal hand near his jaw and attempting utilize some of their healing abilities present in the real world.

06:03

(Dont really have any fancy effects to my heal yet, moreso a question of how things react.)

As you reach out to interact with him, there is a creak that seems to run down the entire room, and you could swear Mr. Goodnight is a bit closer now, at least a meter closer to the floor

Skraa 's breathing quickens as she grips their glaive tightly, they speak, voice shakey at first.

22:13

"Leave him alone, what ever you may be."

Spider like legs emerge from the crescent moon shape as a slow lullaby begins to play, to the distorted and vague tune of twinkle little star. You're reminded very much of a fly in a spiders web as it begins descending

Skraa takes a swing at one of its limbs, before backing up. (7/8, 4 shock.)

(Against what ac)

(20 AC or lower, sorry.)

Mr. Goodnight rocks back from the glancing blow, angrily grimacing as it extends itself down to the floor. It rocks back and forth in the middle of its spider legs like an old time cartoon, and its two forward limbs lash out at you. (21/1, 20/1)

(Not worth spending effort to tank those. 13/15 HP.)

21:42

(Ill roll my attack in a moment.)

(no problem, i know you have obligations during the day again)

Skraa swings their glaive again, the rhythms of battle coming back to them as they take a firm swing at one of its limbs. (15/13, 4 shock AC ≤ 20)

23:11

(Phoenix: 2 plot point(s) 0 Re-roll token(s)) (edited)

23:11

(if one of you lovely mods could pin that for me, since my character sheet is a mess.

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

Mr. Goodnight takes additional shock, as it reels back, hissing like an actual spider would.

20:33

(18/2 the other is a clear miss) The two tendrils flash out again, razor limbs singing as they cut through the simulated air

(11/15 HP) (edited)

20:54

(21/4) Skraa swings again bringing their glaive around their body and skillfully chopping into one of its limbs. "Go back to what ever hellscape you came from."

One of them ends up writhing on the floor, the textures changing between metal, flesh, bubbles, wood, grass, sand, and dozens of others, too quick to follow before it simply de-spawns. (19/3) the remaining limb circles wide, whip-cracking in from the right, the blade on the end of it hissing

(This is a slap fight if I've ever seen one.)

21:00

(9/15) Skraa stares at the creature as their wounds regenerate and knit back together. (Healing touch'ing my self for 9 healing and 1 sys strain.)

(Evasion save)

(pass, 15v13)

Mr Goodnight Flips onto his back, using his rounded shape like a millstone, grinding toward you. You're able to throw yourself out of the way, just barely, though slashing talons across your back as he passes you cut deep. (4 damage)

21:02

(did not recharge. 1v6)

"I. Said. Leave." Skraa drives her glaive into its abdomen as it recovers (20/6)

21:04

(back to 11/15 HP) (edited)

Mr. Good night’s eyebrow raises twice in a comical gesture as the halberd embeds in its chest mass. It dances twice with its fists in the sky before falling back into a normal attack position

02:21

(20/2)

(9/15 HP.) Skraa lunges with her weapon towards the creature. (10/8)

02:22

(4 shock AC 20.)

Mr goodnight begins to curl up again though with slowness and pain (Evasion save)

(Fail, 10v13)

(6 damage) the scything arms of mr goodnight spread in all directions and he spins like a top, slicing, cutting, crunching, and punching

(Spending my one Healer Effort to negate that hit.) The scything limbs tear across Skraa, nearly severing pixelated. They stagger, nearly falling before catching themselves, ragged breathing emanating from behind their mask as they struggle to get up. They swipe with their glaive, the stuff of Mr. Goodnight flowing into the blade and into Skraa, deep wounds re-knitting as they recover. (15/4, 4 Shock AC 20. Can I roll above minimum damage please?)

Mr. Goodnight begins to flicker through various textures , taking a step back. His smile is of broken teeth and mirrored glass before he collapses into pieces.

15:51

Hideo wakes up , and screams.

(Good grief that was a long fight, 7 rounds of combat.)I

15:54

Skraa turns to look at the sleeping man, who is now awake.

15:55

"Worked too well?"

He is continuing to scream, looking down at his hands and the slickware simulation ends, restoring you to the real world. (3xp, 5000 credits. )

23:32

You think with enough time you might be able to build a piece of slickware cyberware. There is enormous application to being able to work or game while sleeping , in place of your dreams

(Would this be a thing i work on during DT or more complicated, that levels me up which i will work on in the mor ning.)

 Skraa, level 3, Partial Sunblade Partial Healer
Old HP: 15
New HP: 19
Sunblade AB +1
Heal 0 -> 1, 1SP banked
Sunblade Art Gained: Self-Sustenance: The Sunblade needs neither eat nor
drink, and is impervious to hostile environments as if they were wearing a vacc suit at all times.
Healer effort -> 2

(edited)

(More complicated )

Skraa takes off the headset, mildy disoriented, and looks around.

(Level up done, no Foci or Healer arts at level 3 unfortunately.)

The silo has lights on again now. The rocket inside will never work again but you’re able to disarm the warhead and make this a safe place to bunker down if it was ever needed.

03:08

When you return to civilization , tracking down a workshop might allow you to tinker more with the device you’ve taken from this place, chair and consoles included

Skraa gathers what Slickware they can into a pack before reconvening with the rest of expedition team to gather what supplies remain here and to return to the barn.

Upon return, you set down in your room as night falls. You're more tired than you should be for someone who sat in a chair with goggles on for most of the day

(Do the wounds carry over?)

21:43

Skraa performs the maintenance required, cleaning and sharpening, before sleeping for the night, thinking through the events that had occurred.

(they do)

The next morning Skraa gathers the expedition team together for a shared meal and how progress has been.

04:37

(Need an IRL reminder of what else we need to do since the Slick Matrix hellscape and school has addled my memory.)

(Setting up one more resonator and exploring at the logging camp between here and the windmills)

(How far away is the Logging Camp?

(Half a day)

Skraa confers with the group, putting forth that themself, a soldier and another expert go to the logging site, while the remainder stay at the camp and woek on improvements.

(Id say about a day of downtime while you’re resting here and then driven out there)

00:53

The logging camp is a cleared area of a saw mill, a two story workers lodge, a field kitchen and a row of latrines dug against a ditch that thankfully do not smell as they’ve not been used in a very long time.

00:54

Tree stumps for 100m around lead up to a thinned out but increasingly dense forest

(Cant mod my sun-blade, can I?)

Skraa spends the trip maintaining their pair of cybernetic arms, replacing faulty pieces and cleaning others. (Exert 1/90)

(Don’t believe so)

02:38

The logging camp is a cleared area of a saw mill, a two story workers lodge, a field kitchen and a row of latrines dug against a ditch that thankfully do not smell as they’ve not been used in a very long time. Tree stumps for 100m around lead up to a thinned out but increasingly dense forest

"Standard breach and clear, once again?"

04:41

Skraa asks their team, gazing towards the camp.

(The camp was cleared but the area around it hasn’t been explored. They’ll build the resonator over the course of a day with your help

(Ahhhh, thought those were separate.)

(ignore that last bit then, maybe should have brought more experts.) "Well, lets set down for a bit and get situated before we begin searching the woods."

As you finish cleaning your faulty pieces, you feel the familiar "pass through" sensation of the resonator being set off. A massive thunderclap and explosion 2km away at the triggering of the resonator draws everyone's attention.

"Was that... One of us?"

21:40

Skraa says, looking up, hand resting reflexively on the hilt of their glaive

"I think so. Something set off by what we did, rather"

"We should check out who set it off, at least. I didnt know of anyone else working here and I dont think the Cult approves of the towers."

(Taking the whole team with you?)

(Yeah,)

Heading into the woods and following the smoke you can see birds and smaller animals feeling back toward you. The fire may be spreading and you’re not sure what set it off

(Ooooh, did a resonator explode, rather than being activated?)

(We don’t know what was out in the wilderness yet but it wasn’t yours that blew up)

"Conflict? Laser weaponry perhaps? Something is wrong." Skraa continues to push forward, trying to find the origin.

A burning village ahead is visible through the trees after another few minutes of walking. You don’t dee any Termies here and you’re not sure if the place was inhabited, but there is a shadowy humanoid figure setting flames, before darting in and out of them as though a swimmer in a liquid ocean

(~~agni?~~) "What the hell... do you know what that is?" Skraa hefts their glaive into a stance more applicable to fighting (edited)

(Not angi. I’ll find the art)

(Thats terrifying, like some sort of aurora soul demon.)

(yes) Skraa hefts her glaive into a combat stance, and the rest of the group stands with her 100m from the settlement edge, waiting to see what she does

(i push up my m ask and charge the gunline (; ) "Some demon manifest from null storms? My weapon sanctified against such things, although i do not know if fighting is wise."

"What do we do then, if we don't fight it?"

19:42

"It doesnt seem to have noticed us"

"Perhaps with the three of us we could take it?"

They seem uneasy all the same despite your numerical advantage

" you'd have the lucky job of standing behind me and shooting at it, " Skraa chides. " lets observe it for a moment, see if it has any patterns. "

The creature emerges from the flames one more time before plunging into another building , setting it alight

Skraa looks intently at the buildings, trying to gauge if theynwere inhabited recently

It’s hard to tell as they’re on fire

(Valid.)

"I feel as thought it is best we try to remove it or kill it in some way, it seems bent on destruction, and who knows how far the fire will spread."

Hefting their weapons, they prepare to spread out into whatever cover they can find to screen for you and provide overwatch as you advance on the aurora like beast

(Sorry for the slow posting, classes are sapping me.)

21:47

Once there is distance between Skraa and the group they try amd attract the attention of the entity.

(initiaitve)

(5)

(2) at 20m from the village edge the aurora like creature takes notice of you.

Skraa stands their ground, and observes how it reacts towards their presence for a moment, before speaking. "What even are you, can you speak?"

It coils like a snake, the head in the front of its floating eel body howls a challenge

"Well, back to whatever hellscape you came from, not wanted here, thanks." Skraa readies their glaive waiting for it to make the first move. (Held action I guess, stab it when it gets close enough.)

It shrieks toward you, closing the distance rapidly into your readied weapon

(22/5.)

21:49

Skraa lunges into its charge with their glaive.

The creature howls as sparks are knocked off of it and ashes scatter on the wind. It howls in reply, the death cries of twenty voices at once

19:39

( mental save )

(pass, 18v12)

(Back to you)

"Hnn, none of that." Skraa swings upward through the entity (Finally a good hit, 21/12, do I need to roll for the blokes behind me?) (edited)

(Yes please )

( what do I roll for them?)

(d20+3)

15:20

(1 shoot, 1 Attack Bonus, 1 Dex)

(7, 22, and 14 for the too hits)

(oh, and what weapon, las rifles?)

(combat rifles)

(22/8, 14/12 for to hit/ damage

The solid rounds lose some of their kinetic power as the amount of heat partially melts and deforms some of the rounds before they strike home. Chunks of skull and bone tumble away, burned black and embed in the ground. The creature surges forward, setting the ground alight as it passes over, its jaws yearn open wide, firing a jet of flame at you that sails over your shoulder and engulfs the tree behind you

22:52

(11 misses entirely)

Skraa takes advantage of its charge, raking through its underside with an aimed swing. Meanwhile the creatures charge throws off the aim of her compatriots. (19/8 for me. And clear misses for the rest, unless an 11 hits.)

There is a shower of sparks and flame as the blow hits the body of the aurora like creature. The soldiers with you miss and burning embers light the dry tinder in the ground around you (Evasion save)

(fail, 7 v 12)

(16 damage )

04:30

The fireball from its mouth detonates at point blank range almost now with the force of an artillery shell.

04:31

All plants within meters are utterly reduced to cinders and some of the looser elements of your kit catch alight (edited)

(yoooouch, would I have healed after the last fight)

(Your lvl of HP for the overnight is the only thing that was actually mentioned in the thread)

(wew, that doesn't RKO me. Can I block it with Vital Furnace? I can get the wording in a sec )

04:38

(Vital Furnace: Your tremendous life energy can be used to instantly regenerate any non-mortal wound you have received. Commit Effort for the day as an Instant action to negate the damage from an injury you just received that did not reduce you to zero hit points. Aside from this ability, you automatically stabilize if reduced to zero hit points and awaken ten minutes later with 1 hit point. This ability cannot undo damage you intentionally inflict on yourself via some power or magical exchange)

04:40

( it would take me to 1 HP exactly,)

(Essentially we need to use it now , because going down to 0 just is going to turn into it hitting you next round for the KO anyway)

(just didn't know if the damage needed to be an actual attack, :+1: ) Skraa is hit full blown by the flames, skin melting and bubbling away. As the discharge of fire subsides they still stand, skin knitting back together and reforming. Once they are back in one piece they speak. "I said. None of that" (20/7 for Skraa, and the only hit is a 21/8 for the backup.)

(It says "any non mortal wound" , so i would read that broader than just an attack)

15:04

most of the skulls that make up this aurora horribolialis have taken damage. Many are just chunks of bone floating amid the suspended metadimensional fire, and your next two hits knock some more of them apart. This is a desperate scrap that has become a do or die moment for everyone involved. (21/1) A jet of flame from the lead skull rakes the grass at your feet, trying to destroy you for good

(19/16 HP. 17/4 for my attack, and 18/11 for my one competent ~~imperial guardsman~~ soldier. One rolled a nat 1 for the too hit if that matters.) Skraa jabs one handed with their glaive while the soldiers behind them continue to fire.

The creature falls, the magical flames holding it together begin folding on on themselves as smoking pieces of charred black bone turn into smoking dust upon hitting the ground

Skraa dusts off particulate from their shawl turning to face the group again. "Easy, right?" Their face is still a pinkish red from the burns.

(3xp, 5000 credits)

Skraa bends down and fills a glass container with the dust. "Think anything remains in the fire? Or should we press on towards the fallen resonator?

21:41

(Would this provide immunity/resistance to null storms or PAFO? Self-Sustenance: The Sunblade needs neither eat nor drink, and is impervious to hostile environments as if they were wearing a vacc suit at all times.)

(It would not provide immunity since a vac suit won’t save you from that

"We're going to have to hike around this place. You hurt? Are you okay?

"Other than being momentarily burnt to a crisp, yes. But it is nothing that won't heal on its own semi-naturally. We're any of you caught in the blast?"

Everyone seems okay, and well enough to travel if necessary

Skraa and company press on towards the fallen resonator, healing any that need it and them self. (I only need three health back which is the minimum I can roll.)

04:05

The resonator has collapsed and a canvas sheet from one of the interior spaces is all that remains. Some of it is overgrown, and a large tree has sprouted from irs roof. It looks like most of the arcane components have been removed.

Skraa tile their head in slight confusion at the state of the resonator. "It looks old... Despite it being destroyed so soon? We should see if anything is left."

"Time sometimes acts differently in the Nul Storm. Probably the cause. Maybe why it fell. Lets make sure"

Skraa advances the final distance towards the fallen resonator

Closing in doesnt seem to yield any additional data

(sorry meant to write more then I had to do something.) Skraa and the team fan out in the structure looking for signs of conflict or any other evident cause of it's fall within the tower

The high tech and archeotech components are missing now entirely. It’s hard to determine if the theft was recent or not as the null storm the empty tower was exposed to has aged it considerably.

Skraa sighs, disheartened slightly at the state of the life giving resonator. "Any thoughts on how to track something through malformed time?"

"Maybe a psychic, or a mage could handle this. Not sure what else we could really do"

"Indeed, we will have to hope anything left to find remains when we come back." (Was there anything else of note this way before we return to the camp)

21:06

(Also would a specific brand of mage be required?)

(the burning town and the resonator, and no, just someone who can sense magic)

(Would It be alright If Kiaw came along? I know they have Svenka going, but they expressed interest in DM's and I feel as though their last group mission put them off a bit) (edited)

(Put them off a bit?)

(Of playing Kiaw.)

(I don’t really want to fiat a pc here who isn’t)

03:43

(We also can’t have someone playing two characters at once)

(Aight, im ready to proceed.)

(3xp, 5000 credits )

(That levels me.)

Skraa: Partial Sunblade Partial Healer, level 4
+3 SP gained, 1 banked from Previous level
Healer Art gained: Healer’s Eye: Commit Effort as an On Turn action; while the Effort remains committed, you can use a Main Action to visually detect diseases and poisons, diagnose creatures flawlessly, perceive their physi-ology, and learn their current hit point totals. As aside effect, you can detect living creatures by sight regardless of available light or obscuring mists.
AB improved to +2.
Heal 1->2, 3 SP
Fix -1->0 1 SP
Healer Effort = 0/3 
Old HP: 19
New HP: 28

(edited)

04:26

(Since I forgot to add the +2 from die hard in the hit dice box, should I add +8 to what it rolled or roll again with the proper modifer?)

(dont re roll all your health just add the modifiers you should have added)

(new health is 28.

This seems to be all you're going to be able to glean from the site for now. At long last the scouting and exploring along this linkage road is coming to an end

"I believe it is time to turn back, I am sure the rest of our party is eagerly expecting our return. I have business to attend too in Dremlas once our objective here is complete." (edited)

the trek back is uneventful. You’re able to make it to the vehicle without trouble although you’re forced to skirt around the still burning village again.

"I hope that no souls remained for the demons rampage, but if not, we at least gave them peace."

(I’m up for anything that you want to get into. This mission is basically concluded )