Why not
Oh btw, I forgot I had shielding, when I resisted the Mind Mob, so I would have had 4 more dice if I had needed it.
Willpower(7)+CounterSpell(4)+Shielding(4)=15d6 3 5 2 5 2 4 4 2 6 6 6 3 2 1 5 (6) hits!

Alyena, your husband is a BAD BAD man.

I trust you will let them know why

Only after you answer my pm

Glad you told me...I thought I had...only to find messenger is full. Fortunately I have a backup, so I will send it again

Hi Sabs



Really? You noticed

You think this (what ever it is) is bad? You should try it when he's GM-ing table top and you only have a minute or two to counter his diabolical plans!

Seth
You said I could ask simple and hard questions, what do I roll? Assensing? arcana? (please say arcana)

Hmmmm... I just realized Mandala has no way of receiving the info Marduk is sending the team. Hmmm....

Oh wait, Marduk would know that though. I can fix that. Two astral presences can speak in Astral correct?

Check out the fixed IC thread

I think we might be stretching things, as Mandala is around a corner in the hallway, but I'll go with it!

Um, I don't know what a cadaverman is, though obviously Mandala would. Can someone fill me in, so Mandala can reply appropriately?

Is there a 4th world Wiki somewhere I can access so I don't keep asking the obvious questions?

Well, it might require a 4th world remnants roll, not sure. Especially since marduk said the word in Throalic and none of ya'll took Throalic.

Marduk is cheating like a bastard using an artifact you don'tknow about
The reaction to a misty Marduk appearing out of nowhere in Astral Space, when he tends not to astrally project, ever.. is weird.

@sabs
Happy with arcana

@Pbangarth
You have known Marduk for thousands of years...he cannot astrally project

What about the cadavermen reference, do they get to know, or do they need to roll 4thworld remnants?

You all remember a bit about cadaver men:


The main thing about them though is that they get cross. They shamble along until they get hurt...then they turn from zombies limping along saying "brains" to killer zombies on a mixture of speed and pcps.

The basic point of them is that they are undead constructs created by horrors.

I will try to have my IC post and Fearghas's actions for the next rounds up sometime tomorrow.

also OHGODOHGODOHGODYSRTHGRATHEOHGODYSRTHGRATHEOHGODOHGODOHGODYSRTH-F***ING-GRATHEISCOMINGFORUSOHGODOHGODOHGOD

Umm... at least it's not Verjigorm??


@pbangarth: I have a feeling you and I will find this very helpful as this game continues- http://books.google.com/books?id=hBo5Nz96P...ver&f=false


By the way, since he/it isn't mentioned in that book, could someone tell me more about Thais? I know he's the son of Ysrthgrathe and Aine Dupree, and I know he's a half-horror, but I've never found anything else on who he is, what he's like, etc.

Seth would Magic Theory work better than Arcana in this case? For asking questions of the Artifact?

Logic(8)+Arcana(4)+Encephalon(1)+PuSHeD(1)+Analytics(3)=17d6 [3,5,6,2,5,2,4,4,2,1,5,3,5,6,1,4,1] (6) hits
Logic(8)+Magic Theory(6)+encephalon(1)+PuSHeD(1)+Analytics(3)=19d6 [1,1,4,2,4,1,6,3,3,3,6,6,4,5,6,6,1,5,4] (7) hits

I'll roll 19d6 and you can shave the last 2 off if Arcana fits better? Or I can roll both?

Questions:
1) Where are the Cadavermen and what other magical threats are headed this way.
2) What is the easiest way to destroy the outerward.

I'm pretty sure between talking and that, that's going to be my turn for round 14 ;)

I'm not sure of the difference between Magic Theory and Arcana. The difference is only a couple of die, and as this is "what you do" I am happy to go with the bigger die.

Where are the Cadavermen is a simple questions, 5 hits needed. So you have worked out how to identify them in the magical tac net. They are currently shambling out of the temple and heading to the research floor. Even more interesting than identifying them: they are not all the same: The one at the back is more powerful than the others.

A way to destroy the outer ward is to contaminate the blood with some other liquid. Something that would make it clot (chemistry/medicine roll will give you that). From the view of the ward, there are three places where you can inject the blood, I will mark them on a map and publish that tonight. You probably would need chemistry, or some suitable make/repair skill.

The three places are:

• on the research floor (above ground floor) in room 11, which is across the hall from room 12 (where Angel currently is)
• in the temple area
• and one at the top area.

I still need 1 more magic theory roll to get the last part of the info right? because I need 15 hits total? to get both pieces of information?

here's my chemistry roll, I have the knowledge skill, not the active skill. (Full Disclosure)

Logic(8)+Chemistry(5)+encephalon(1)+PuSHeD(1)+Analytics(3)+College Educated(1)=19d6 5 6 1 2 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 6 3 2 3 4 5 4 4 6 (5) hits (man i rolled bad, coulda gotten the same amount by just buying hits)

Here's my second Magic Theory roll (this is for round 15? I believe?) (I get 1 roll per IP)
19d6: 3 1 6 6 2 1 5 4 6 3 1 4 6 1 4 4 4 5 5 (7) hits

I had forgotten how mondo this character is at figuring puzzles/gleaning information from the smallest of clues.

Not sure this is something Mandala will have time to do, but is the outer ward something he can attack with the Shattershield spell? In astral space, he could attack the ward three times before it would have a chance to regenerate.

@Sephiroth: Thanks! That looks like a good resource.

Assume that ward has a force rating upwards of 30/40. It's being powered by literally 1000's of gallons of blood running through pipes. (Think about how they said 10,000 people a week were being deported to Stalag 13 just outside, and yet the place could only hold about 1000 tops?) for MONTHS.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Just checking.

Round 13, IP#1:

Mandala casts Heal on Aren: (I'm assuming 11 Damage to Aren, otherwise with a BOD of 2 he would already be dead)

Force 6 Heal spell: Magic 6 + Spellcasting 3 - 2 for damage = 7 dice. Yuck!
==> 2 HITS ... well... he's alive and going to stay that way, but I don't think he's awake.

Drain (11-4) = 7S DV
Drain resistance: WIL 7 + CHA 8 + Centering 4 = 19 dice ==> 6 HITS add 1S to current damage makes 7S Mandala is suffering from.

Round 13, IP#2:

Mandala scoops up Aren and flies at 50 m/sec past the guards and down the stairs to his friends in front of Room 27A.

This is quite a nice party:

We have a good tank, damage doers, healers and thinkers for doing puzzles. Mind you Bjeorn is wondering why think about doing damage when you can just hit them..



On the subject of just hitting:

Fighting warder
INitiative 13
Attack 1: Dropping a grenade
Attack 2: Punch him anyway if there is anything left to punch

My damage from the grenade
Soak 3 successes

@Pbangarth
That IC post was so sweet Pbangarth...I have a little tear in my eye...sniff. Can I ask you to remove your signatures from your last two IC posts?

As far as attacking the ward goes: this is a ward of the same power level as the Kaers. Currently you cannot see it (although you can feel the effects as it prevents you returning to your metaplane), so you cannot guess as to its level: buts its big. Mind you there are probably a lot of things smashing it from the outside, so every little helps.

The ward has to be enough to stop dragons and Harliquin and co, otherwise its not worth having.

@sabs
I'm not treating chemistry as an active skill as I understand it thats an optional rule. You will be glad to know that you don't have to make a chemistry role until you actually get to the pump rooms (only in an Aztech pyramid would you get blood pump rooms) and try and work out what you can do to clot the blood with the tools to hand. That means you can do your second magic theory roll instead of the chemistry roll (for the 7 hits).

@Sephiroth and Sabs
Thank you for the recent posts about me being a bad man, and OHGODOHGOD.... A few people at work are watching this (they play pen and paper with me) and it caused no end of hilarity.

@Bjeorn, Sabs
You are in the room with warder when the grenade goes off The good news is that the physical barrier keeps a lot of the blast contained (...looking up the rules for the chunky salsa effect...) in addition the grenade was only a flash bang. That does a base of 6S AP -3. Warder will be taking 12S. Bjeorn you are hit for 6S (with your soak roll thats 3 stun you take, which you will heal at the end of the round). Sabs you are hit for 3S, as the blast is mostly taken by Bjeorn. Can you roll me a soak?

@Bjeorn, Sabs, Alyena
Can you also both make me an assensing roll to work out "what on earth happened"

@Everyone
We are approaching the end of these two rounds. Ryl will probably have a chat with Jonathan. Fearghas will probably finish of the few remaining guards. Alyena was on magic suppression overwatch, and probably will be cleansing the room. I'll write up up the end of these two rounds tomorrow.


Rolling for Warder
INitiative: 13 Bjeorn you have edge 4, as does warder...so I guess we will treat that as simultaneous.
Spellcasting on <unknown spell> http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2960467/
Drain for the <unknown spell> http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2960468/

I'll write up what happens IC

@soak:
body(4) 4d6: 5 1 2 6 (2) hits.

We talked about respecing, and can I do a partial respec
Drop Encephalon II, (which only helps for matrix actions)
Get: Encephalon I, Trauma Dampener, Platelet Factory
It still puts me at the same essence loss, so it's a watch.

If we can than I take 0 damage woot

My Dicepool for Chemistry is the same as Magic Theory, so can I just use that roll?

@Sabs:
No problem. It wasn't much of a blast, just leakage around Bjeorn. Yes you can use the same roll.

Do I still owe you an answer?

Don't forget to assense and/or magical theory and/or arcana to work out what happened to Warder. One thing for sure: he didn't teleport, but there is no sign of him.

I'll do that now
Magic Theory: 19d6 3 5 4 3 6 1 5 5 1 1 5 3 3 5 3 4 5 5 4 (8) Hits

I'll change my sheet to reflect the cyber changes.

What rounds will I have all these answers in? I admit to having slightly lost track.

Done. I might just get rid of that signature. I'm getting bored with it.

The problem is I don't see an easy way to get at the ward from the inside. The pyramid walls seem to be quite thick and I bet the outer surface is warded. I don't think Mandala could see it until he actually touched it. Not a good idea, I think.

OK, well I better think up what Mandala is doing in Round 14, then.

!!!!..... Wait a minute.... the blood is being pumped... which means it is moving!

OK, there's a number of ways the movement of the blood can be used against it.... and the ward it powers. If the blood stops moving, I bet the ward suffers. The electrical power from the reactor is certainly crucial to the operation of the pump. Furthermore, Mandala can also slow the blood dramatically, if he can find where a pipe is. Or direct the use of a certain ring to where a pipe is buried.

Round 14 Initiative: 12 dice (on the physical plane where Mandala has to be for the coming spell) ==> 3 HITS
==> 15 - 2 for damage = Initiative score 13

While waiting for other team members to show up for a Mindnet spell:

Round 14, IP#1:

Mandala will ask those present to remember what he tells them about the spatial relationships in the pyramid, especially the blood channels.

Force 5 Spatial Sense (extended) spell: Magic 9 (down here it has been Cleansed) + Spellcasting (Detection) 5 - 2 for damage = 12 dice ==> 5 HITS

Drain (5/2) + 4 = 6S
Drain Resistance WIL 7 + CHA 8 + Centering 4=19 dice ==> 6 HITS

No Drain.

Round 14, IP#2:

Relay detailed information about the surrounding space, range (Force 5 X Magic 9 X 10 Meters) = 450 Meters in all directions. Blood pipe locations will be of particular interest, but other stuff as well.

Sorry for my lack of posting. I have two exams to deal with tomorrow, and have spent all my free time today studying for them. I'll try to get my Fearghas affairs in order around midday tomorrow.

Round 13, IP #1
Fearghas used an interrupt action last turn to go on full defense, so he cannot act during this IP. So instead, he will take a Free Action to engage in pleasant conversation with the three remaining guards, and continue levitating back down the stairs and out of the background count.

Round 13, IP #2
Fearghas waits for the guards to follow him down the stairs, so that they can "have more space to stretch our muscles." If the guards follow behind him and are in melee range at this point, Fearghas will attack the first one to come down once he's clear of the stairs.

Agility 5 [7] + Blades (Spears) 6 + Weapon Focus 4 + Reach Bonus 2 - Wound Modifier 1 = 18d6 = HAHAHAHAHA 9 hits

Damage is 3P + net hits.

At this point, I need some clarification. Now that Fearghas is out of the BGC, does he get his other two IPs back? I know that normally, when you cast something that increases your IP's or shift from physical to astral projection, you do not get the extra IP's on that turn (although I can't find a reference for that in the book). However, Fearghas already has Increase Reflexes going, it was just being suppressed by the Aztec domain. It is no longer suppressed once he arrives in the basement; does he get the IP's this turn, then?

At beginning of round 13, when Bjeorn throws the grenade at Warder, Alyena will cleanse to see if she can get a better look at what's happening. The only problem is it's going to take some time.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2962232/

4 successes so background goes down by 2.

Will now try to assense with fewer minuses.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2962246/

Zero successes

Not a clue what's going on! As the ward is still up across the door must assume that Warder is still up and running (literally?) somewhere.

Round 14
As people seem to be regrouping and I would like to be in the mind net Alyena will return to her body ready to go back to the basement.

@Pbangarth
Good idea for the spatial sense. Unfortunately the ward extends out about 1 metre either direction from the blood, so you can see the structure of the pyramid, but not details of its structure. You get the same information that Marduk had about the three blood pump rooms. You can also feel where the corridors are, and the other wards. About half the areas on the second floor have their own ward. The third floor and above rooms are warded.

Just so that you know, Bjeorn/Alyena and Marduk are on the other side of one of Warder's wards. I'd probably hold off on that mind net...your choice though

@Sephiroth
Best of luck with exams again: I guess its exam season at the moment. The guards are fleeing back to the barracks. They are laying down suppressing fire as they go. If you throw yourself flat you can ignore the fire. If you want to move make a reactions/edge/combat sense roll to avoid the fire. The difficulty is 2 2 and 2. Don't forgot the -1 per extra defence roll. I suspect you cannot fail even with the 4:1 roll.

When you get out of the background count you get your IPs back (the cleansed area in the basement is down to zero). When your IPs increase in a combat round you don't get them until the next round. When they go down you loose them immediately.

@sabs
As far as combat rounds go, by the time you have got the answers to those questions, we'll say its the start of the next 2 rounds. Don't forget to make an assensing / magical theory / arcana roll to see what Warder did (remember background count trashes assensing)

@Bjeorn
Bad luck you don't see warder...you are sure that he's here somewhere. The smoke is hindering your vision, and the crazy astral background is causing problems as well.

@alyena
bad luck: you can see no sign of Warder.

@excuses
I've had a busy day: loads of work, and I ended up GMing a pen and paper game (stargate meets cthulhu), so I will do the summary of these two rounds tomorrow morning, draw up a revised tactical map, and show where the baddies are.

Mostly the handful of guards that were with Zeia are fleeing, some zombies are on the way, Warder has vanished, Jonathan is being talked into defecting. It's actually looking quite bad for the local bad guys. A suggestion for you to think about: you are currently in little or no armour: the store room in the basement is also the armoury...

@sabs
As far as combat rounds go, by the time you have got the answers to those questions, we'll say its the start of the next 2 rounds. Don't forget to make an assensing / magical theory / arcana roll to see what Warder did (remember background count trashes assensing)

I did? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=&a...t&p=1056397
I got 8 hits? on the Magic Theory

I'll assense as well intuition(3)+Assensing(6)-BG(2)=7d6: 5 6 1 5 5 5 5 (6) hits. HOLY CRAP

I also have the sensing metamagic.. which doesn't do what I thought it did.. but is still pretty cool
I'll make a roll for that in case you wanna muck with me :)
intuition(3)+Magic(9)-BG(2)=10d6 4 3 6 2 5 1 6 6 2 4 (4) hits much more reasonable.

Can I do both? I'm really liking the 3D tactical potential of Levitate. Couldn't Fearghas just hover on his stomach an inch or two above the floor and follow them that way? If so, he will use his available action this turn during IP #2 to attack the closest guard, using the same attack roll as above.

Dodging once he has hit the guard: Reaction 2 [4] + Edge 3 + Combat Sense 3 = 10d6. I'll just buy hits on all three (two?) of them, I have enough left after the second -1.

@sabs
Warder's pulling off a cheap trick, obviously prepared. The edge of the room has vertical slots in the concrete, similar to those used in bunkers, so that any grendades thrown into the room can be kicked into the slots. Warder has researched a variant of "turn to goo" / "turn to stone". Lots of small parts of him are rolling on the floor directly away from the door towards these slots. He is masking like mad, and there is a lot of smoke /astral background in the room. About three quarters of him has made it to the slots by the time you notice. Congratulations on noticing you needed 6 successes. I think sensing is more of a ritual kind of thing.

@fearghas
Sadly not. You could against fixed emplacements, but these are soldiers who want you dead and are filling the air with lead concentrating on "where you are", and trying also to get whatever invisible thing it was that took out Captain Zeia (not realizing that the invisible thing has moved away). The moves cool though, and you can have the benefits of being prone while few of the downsides, so I think you would get a sizable bonus to your defense roll,

Current situation:

• It is the start of rounds 15&16
• The time is 00:00:56
• The background count is zero in the reactor corridor, up the stairs and on the ground floor it is Aztech 4. In Warder's room it is Aztech 2
• Aren is being NPCed, and has been recovered by Mandala. His condition has stabilized, although he is still unconscious
• Bjeorn, Alyena and Marduk are still inside room 5 with a shape-shifted / fleeing Warder. Room 5 still has it's hideous ward on it's door.
• Marduk has identified that the codex in Warder's room is a magical tacnet, and worked out how to use it.
• Mandala has a mental map of the lower half of the pyramid (minus areas covered by wards)
• Ol'Scratch is being NPCed, and is performing the ritual to open door 27a. The ritual will be concluded when the flashback discovers the secret.
• Fearghas is now down the stairs. His three guards have fled to join their colleagues in the barracks
• Ryl is still in the basement corridor
• Red lights are flashing, but there are no audible alarms

Matrix

• Ryl has revoked all the accounts in the internal matrix
• There are no Aztechs visible in the matrix (having been kicked out) apart from maybe Jonathan
• Jonathan has arrived and is has found Ryl. He is currently talking to Ryl about "rescue my daughter" options
• There is no reason why you lot cannot communicate via commlink (except Mandala)

Issues

• You have identified that the blood ward is not maintained by Warder (although you think he has still done many of the internal wards), and there are three blood pump rooms.
• Warder is trying a cheesy escape plan
• Zero has said "THEY ARE COMING FOR ANGEL"
• Ryl is negotiating with Jonathan
• A number of zombies have been dispatched to deal with you, although given their rate of progress you have several rounds to prepare for them
• You can expect a visit from the guards in the Barracks
• Its actually a "lull" in the fight, no one is shooting at you right now

WWII

• Its up to you what happens: go get Hitler if you want

Click here for map

Just to point out, Ryl is hiding in the store room, preferably behind something that won't go bang if someone shoots it...

Thats why maps are a win: we can sort that out now before bad things happen. NP go ahead. You decide that the room is as much an armory as a store room. It has food stores, weapon stores, armour on racks. It even has some drones at the back.

While you are there can I get a perception roll?

That ring Ambrose has (the digging one) is mighty useful. Can any of us use it?

I've been thinking of how that digging ring could be used to negate the ward. Stop the blood flow directly by interrupting the channel(s), or stop the electricity to the pumps.

Interrupting the electricity would screw with what Ryl is doing, so that is likely not a good idea. Maybe if we could figure which electrical cables feed the pumps, we could sever just those. I suspect the Artisan Skill doesn't include Electrician, though it does include Carpenter, so Mandala probably doesn't have much skill for figuring the wiring out. Does someone else have such a Skill?

Most of the channels of blood are themselves covered by a double layer of ward. Two of the three pumps are inside wards.

One pump, however, appears in our map to be in Room 11, which is not protected by any ward. Either on an angle from in front of Room 27A, or straight up from the reactor room, through the security room, we could drill a hole into Room 11 and access the one pump there. There are tons of security personnel in the security room, but I suspect a hole drilled up from the reactor room would not be something they would want to stand around.

Mandala could generate another radiation barrier for anyone in the reactor room doing the drilling.

Does any of this make sense?

What if we used the digging ring to expose a nearby pipe to the intense radiation from the reactor room, irradiating the blood and thereby contaminating it?

that might work. Although uh they've been using the radiation chamber as a death ritual chamber

I don't think radiation is a real problem

Different rituals, I think. Possibly even different 'magic' if the Horror is involved in the outer ward. As I understand it, the outer ward is sort of double layered, and the pipes in between. That may make drilling to the pipes with a magical effect difficult.

@Sephiroth

A cunning plan. Unfortunately the radiation levels are actually quite low. The main effect on humans at these levels is to damage reproducing cells. At much higher levels its the same as cooking, but those are seriously higher. At these levels it would take hours to cook.

@Mandala
It's not double layered, it just has a "thickness" of about 2m, and the pipes are at the center of the thickness.

If you get to (say) room 11, anyone with a good level of hardware or chemistry (Ryl or Marduk IIRC) could do very unpleasant things.

@Aria
That was a stirring speech. <<Very well, says Jonathan. Proceed with your plan ZERO. I am located "here" (he marks the security room in the top left part of the map). There are 10 guards in here including Major Nopaltzin. He is assembling a group and coming for you personally. I would not be present when he arrives: I do not think you will survive the encounter. I do not think anything could survive that encounter. He is just allocating roles, and has gone all OCD, so you have maybe 20 seconds. When he clears out, I can move. Where shall I join you?>>

@General
If its OK I will fast forward it to the meeting with Hitler. I'll do that on Wednesday giving you a few more days to agree on a plan.

If we can get to the pump could we introduce something directly into the blood? Does the store room in the basement have anything that would cause it to clot? There might be cleaning products, bleach etc which probably wouldn't do blood much good. Someone with medicine or chemistry should be able to cook up a nasty cocktail of some sort

I really like the idea of tunneling up into rooms using the ring or Bjeorn's natural talent. Could we go up from the reactor into security just after Major Nopaltzin leaves? Then up to the pump room, with Angel just across the corridor.

Jonathan can tell us when they leave and even lock the door behind them!

So what do we want to do with our insider? Locking the Major out of the sec room is a start...

At least he isn't using his uber matrix programs to pulp me! Seth, I don't suppose there are any automated defenses in here I can take charge of? Failing that it might be time to start hacking guards smartlinks when we make our move...

You can have a conversation with Jonathan: time in the matrix is much quicker than meat time. He is a physical adept specialising in cyberwarfare and infiltration. He sneaks really well, writes software and hacks really well. Although he has a facard of coolness, you have the feeling that he is deeply terrified of the Major. Most internal doors are 3 inches of steel with a pseudo stone exterior. Jonathan thinks such a door will last precisely one second vs the Major (maybe 2 if you push it). The best way to deal with him is by avoiding him.

There are four IT systems:

• External matrix access from the security room, and an area in the top level
• The main security system that you are in
• The external defence system: controls cameras, and SAM, and external troops and...
• Two rooms on the second floot, the temple and the fourth floor: cameras, machines, magical grimoires, experimental

There are other spiders in each system, but Jonathan is far and away better than the rest.

Jonathan's "official" position is that he can access anyone of the first three from his current rigger cocoon: he has a robot arm that can unplug him from one, and plug him into any of the others. So at anyone time he is only in one of them. In practice however, he has installed a switch that allows him access to any of them, all at the same time. He sends you a file with usernames and passwords to all the systems, and presses the switch...

I wasn't sure that the grenades would work, maybe I should have asked Alyena to counterspell. Still anyway you look at it, it is going to be messy.

Its fair.

Hmm. Captain Zeia down, Jonathan turncoated, Warder defeated, all the internal wards down, lost control of their internal security network...not looking good for the poor Aztechs. Still when Major Nopaltzin turns up I can have my vengeance.


I missed this question earlier. Jonathan tells you that the machine gun nests at the end of the corridors on the research level are actually controlled by sentry guns, with a metahuman crew to ensure that nothing goes wrong, and can take over if the guns get hacked. They are not normally linked to the network, and have low signal transmitters (typically 3').

Jonathan says that theoretically Major Nopaltzin is hackable. However he is seriously good at hacking himself, and the one time Jonathan tried it...it went...bad. Major Nopaltzin is connected to the network 3: the external defense system, as will the troops that he will be bringing in. The network doesn't normally extend to the ground floor / basement level, but in times of loss of network security, they have portable repeaters that they can drop every few metres. This means that they will have their tacnet back.

This conversation takes you 2 combat rounds, but you can be doing other things as well as you have multi tasking.