Full Version: OOC: Vein of Truth
I don't know what we can do against high Force spirits. Does everyone at least have some sort of weapon that does elemental damage?
Rocks.
I've got incendiary rounds for my Five-seveN's. That should work.
Tasers and flame throwers deal elemental damage. The burn damage from incendiary rounds does elemental damage (but not the shot itself). Rocks do not.
As a reminder, if you want Paris coming in with you, you're going to ask him to come down via the radio.
What I need by tomorrow morning:
- Who is going into the mines.
- What they are going to be using for a weapon (keep in mind that there are some small spirits which are vulnerable to small arms fire).
- A general strategy.
All Hellcow brought were gel and EX rounds. I have a respirator, for my own use or someone else if they need it.
There were gas masks in the gear, by the way.
Evans will volunteer to go in. I'll be using the Ares Alpha, but I won't hesitate to drop it and quick-draw the flamer (Alpha has a sling) if things get hairy. Sadly, I've got no incendiary shots for the Alpha. I don't suppose anyone has spare? I have EXEX though, so it's another GM call on that one.
I don't have any idea of a general strategy - I'll take point if needed since Evans is a sammy. What exactly are our objectives when we go down there? Find the golden soul of the earth? Kill all the spirits around?
Edit: okay great, I'll grab a gas mask.
I don't have any idea of a general strategy - I'll take point if needed since Evans is a sammy. What exactly are our objectives when we go down there? Find the golden soul of the earth? Kill all the spirits around?
Edit: okay great, I'll grab a gas mask.
I'll wear a gas mask. Is the miniblimp still invisible? If it is, you should probably drop that spell.
Map! Map! Map! MAP!
Sense of scale. The main shaft goes on for about .4 km before turning sharply. That area is about 50m or so of space.
Sense of scale. The main shaft goes on for about .4 km before turning sharply. That area is about 50m or so of space.
What's the bridge? An underground stream?
Yep. Rather, a very deep crevase with water at the bottom. They bridged it, though it's not particularly important.
Excellent. <strums his fingertips together>
I'll post my personal strategy and try to get an IC post or two up sometime today.
I'll post my personal strategy and try to get an IC post or two up sometime today.
Hey since the spirits seem to be inhabiting only one section of the mine, any chance we could just run the survey in the parts that aren't being patrolled.
You certainly could do it that way. The question becomes, is there anything in the rest of the mine worth surveying.
Isn't that the whole point of doing a survey? 
Well, the purpose behind the survey is apparently to find something worth mining. If you don't survey the spot where there's something worth mining, then the survey won't be as useful to anyone as if you do.
Tinker... would you consider EX rounds to be elemental damage (fire) or no?
At any rate, Paris has 10 taser darts, an AK-97 with regular ammo (not too effective against weapon immune spirits) and a sniper rifle with a good number of EX rounds. He can go in if invited, or remain on overwatch, as needed.
At any rate, Paris has 10 taser darts, an AK-97 with regular ammo (not too effective against weapon immune spirits) and a sniper rifle with a good number of EX rounds. He can go in if invited, or remain on overwatch, as needed.
Nope, the taser should work pretty well, though.
I am going in, I will be using hte Five-seveN with the INC. rounds.
as for strategy... we protect Bel while he banishes all the spirits. :)
as for strategy... we protect Bel while he banishes all the spirits. :)
It'd be best to take out the spirits anyway. Just because their crowded in one area, that doesn't mean they won't attack us if we go in other parts. Especially any parts worth surveying.
Anyway, if my assumptions are correct, there's only going to be two of them you guys won't be able to take out with conventional weaponry (if anyone has a shotgun with explosive slugs, now's the time to pull it out as that'll affect anything up to Force 5). Standard heavy pistols should be able to handle anything up to Force 4. Also note that armor piercing rounds won't be any use of you here so don't waste any of that type of ammo if you have it (it's treated as regular ammo against Immunity to Normal Weapons).
As for my personal plan, I'm probably going to have Bel rustle up all his spirits and then summon a full entourage of Force 5 watchers as backup. He'll then channel one of his Force 5 great forms with the least remaining services and, once they're close enough, throw a Trid Phantasm (the voluntary version) into his sustaining focus and have it create an illusion that illuminates everything within its extended area as if it were a bright sunny day. So no darkness penalties to worry about for us.
After that, his remaining spirits (except for the Force 9 one he had to recapture; he's not even bringing him in with him right now) will be told to swarm over the two most powerful spirits there. His watchers will be ordered to stay grouped around him and act as "friends in melee" against any spirits that try to hassle him.
Just before the attack, however, Red Tom, entering in his materialized form as a ring on Bel's finger, will unleash a Sleep (Stunball) spell on the astral as soon as he is in range. It'll be targeted so that it bashes the bajeevus out of the hostile spirits before Bel's are in the area. Hopefully that'll take out the majority of the lesser ones so everyone else won't be completely overwhelmed.
Once all of that is set up, Bel will focus on Banishing any remaining spirits starting with the most powerful one he can find (which I believe was the gnome that was speaking to him originally).
And then from there I'll be winging it.
Anyway, if my assumptions are correct, there's only going to be two of them you guys won't be able to take out with conventional weaponry (if anyone has a shotgun with explosive slugs, now's the time to pull it out as that'll affect anything up to Force 5). Standard heavy pistols should be able to handle anything up to Force 4. Also note that armor piercing rounds won't be any use of you here so don't waste any of that type of ammo if you have it (it's treated as regular ammo against Immunity to Normal Weapons).
As for my personal plan, I'm probably going to have Bel rustle up all his spirits and then summon a full entourage of Force 5 watchers as backup. He'll then channel one of his Force 5 great forms with the least remaining services and, once they're close enough, throw a Trid Phantasm (the voluntary version) into his sustaining focus and have it create an illusion that illuminates everything within its extended area as if it were a bright sunny day. So no darkness penalties to worry about for us.
After that, his remaining spirits (except for the Force 9 one he had to recapture; he's not even bringing him in with him right now) will be told to swarm over the two most powerful spirits there. His watchers will be ordered to stay grouped around him and act as "friends in melee" against any spirits that try to hassle him.
Just before the attack, however, Red Tom, entering in his materialized form as a ring on Bel's finger, will unleash a Sleep (Stunball) spell on the astral as soon as he is in range. It'll be targeted so that it bashes the bajeevus out of the hostile spirits before Bel's are in the area. Hopefully that'll take out the majority of the lesser ones so everyone else won't be completely overwhelmed.
Once all of that is set up, Bel will focus on Banishing any remaining spirits starting with the most powerful one he can find (which I believe was the gnome that was speaking to him originally).
And then from there I'll be winging it.
Oh, and just because I know how you like to assume TKG 
, Bel's going to use his gestalt form to throw Guard and Magical Guard over the group and Shielding will be set up as mentioned in previous PMs.
, Bel's going to use his gestalt form to throw Guard and Magical Guard over the group and Shielding will be set up as mentioned in previous PMs.
Well, with a damage code of 16S (with EX rounds), Paris can use his sniper rifle effectively against elementals if asked to go in. Of course, it's not the best use for a sniper rifle, and he'll have to retune it after a fight.
Alright, so when we see the spirits, we hang back for a sec as Red Tom casts stunball, then we can rush into melee. Swift Eagle was born for this. Force 1 Ares Monosword weapon focus, dual-wielding, skill of 6. That gives me 11 dice to roll, doing 11M damage against these spirits, bypassing their immunity. Oh yes; it is a good day to hunt spirits. Just make sure you don't stunball me. In fact, why not stay on the surface and project down there? That way your area effect spells won't be able to hurt the rest of the team. Of course, you can't channel like that, so perhaps it's not such a good idea.
You don't have to hang back unless you're dual natured or astrally perceiving. The spell won't affect mundanes in the slightest since he's casting it on the astral. But if you guys would rather have me hang out on the surface, I'm game. Fewer survivors means a bigger paycheck for me. 
I think if you cast a mana spell while astrally perceiving, it has to affect both the physical and astral planes; I don't think you can choose to have it affect one or the other. Astrally perceiving, you still see the physical plane simultaneously with the astral, right?
Trust me on this one.
Alright.
| QUOTE (Panzergeist) |
| Astrally perceiving, you still see the physical plane simultaneously with the astral, right? |
I'm not sure what page or anything, but basically when you are astrally perceiving you lose your vision. There is no overlay like thermal or low light vision. It has to do with the fact that astral vision isn't really vision, it is an all encompassing sense.
Anyways I am not an expert by no means. But I am pretty sure about that.
Astral perception makes you dual-natured. While dual-natured, you both exist and perceive both planes (though there's a distraction penalty of +2 for purely physical actions). When casting a spell, you choose which plane the effect is going to be on and can target anyone you can see on either plane. Basically, you get the best of both worlds when it comes to targeting, but can only target one plane or the other.
Unless someone else is using astral perception or is otherwise dual-natured, none of you will have any idea what's going on unless you see some of the materialized spirits pop like a balloon if/when they get disrupted.
Unless someone else is using astral perception or is otherwise dual-natured, none of you will have any idea what's going on unless you see some of the materialized spirits pop like a balloon if/when they get disrupted.
Now would be a good time for everyone to roll initiative. Bel's got a lot of rolling to do on that 
[ Spoiler ]
I'm switching my minigrenades in the Alpha to white phosphorus before we go in, and ammo to Regular.
Operating the condor in primary mode, with the van and strato-9 as secondary drones. FYI, the van has sensor 4 flux 8, sig 6, and pilot 2. All three drones have active sensors active. All of my drones except the van have clearsight and datalink autosofts at rating 1, and the strato and condor have sharpshooter autosofts at rating 1. Tell me if you need me to look up anything else.
Initiative: 25
Active sensor check for the condor: 3
Passive sensor check for the condor: 1 2 3 4 5 5 14
Initiative: 25
Active sensor check for the condor: 3
Passive sensor check for the condor: 1 2 3 4 5 5 14
Bleh! If any of his watchers are still around, he'll Banish them (if you need me to roll, just let me know) so he can get them all back up to snuff.
<pant pant pant>
Exact details for what each spirit is doing coming soon... I just need a break.
EDIT: Forgot to increase Bel's Reaction due to the Channeling again. And yes, his Masking is still hiding his dual-natured state just as before. All of his Physical Attributes have jumped up by +5 and he has the equivalence of Immunity to Normal Weapons at Force 5 (not that it's going to matter much here) with a +2 Armor Great Form bonus.
[ Spoiler ]
<pant pant pant>
Exact details for what each spirit is doing coming soon... I just need a break.
EDIT: Forgot to increase Bel's Reaction due to the Channeling again. And yes, his Masking is still hiding his dual-natured state just as before. All of his Physical Attributes have jumped up by +5 and he has the equivalence of Immunity to Normal Weapons at Force 5 (not that it's going to matter much here) with a +2 Armor Great Form bonus.
Preparation Tactics
Tryste: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for five people (namely Bel, Red Tom, Raven, and the other Great Forms)
Ninevah: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for five others
Tsifira: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for anyone else who needs it
Note: The above assumes that spirits don't have a Concentration penalty for maintaining powers.
Note: -3 services for each. If Tryste and Ninevah can handle the job for everyone going in, Tsifira isn't asked to waste any services.
Bel: As soon as they're close enough, he's going to increase the light level in the battle zone to full daylight proportions using his variant of Trid Phantasm that only works on allies. It'll be sustained in its focus.
Combat Pass #1 Tactics
31 Boddynock: Holds action until after Red Tom's action, then attacks most powerful spirit still standing or joins one of the runners as a Friend in Melee. -1 Service
31-26 Watcher Spirits: Four stay to defend Bel (holding actions) while the other two do the same as Boddynock.
25 Bel: Aww heck, screw banishing. Ectoplasmic Clout. Serious. Max dice in the spellcasting, targeting most powerful spirit present.
21 Tsifira: Uses Accident against the hostile spirits. -1 Service.
21 Red Tom: Casting Sleep (Stunball). Cast at Serious with all but 2 dice in the Spellcasting Test.
19 Tryste: Engulfs any remaining spirits to hold them immobile. -1 Service.
17 Brother of the Mine: <left outside unless needed> Effectively holding his actions.
Those that aren't attacking are close to Bel and will take their free melee attack for any spirits passing by to attack their master (-1 service if used). At least those that aren't openly hostile to him like the gnomes. If any spirits end up with only 1 service remaining, Bel will pull them out of the fight alongside the Brother of the Mine. He's not going to risk them joining the other side.
Tryste: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for five people (namely Bel, Red Tom, Raven, and the other Great Forms)
Ninevah: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for five others
Tsifira: Concealment, Guard, and Magical Guard for anyone else who needs it
Note: The above assumes that spirits don't have a Concentration penalty for maintaining powers.
Note: -3 services for each. If Tryste and Ninevah can handle the job for everyone going in, Tsifira isn't asked to waste any services.
Bel: As soon as they're close enough, he's going to increase the light level in the battle zone to full daylight proportions using his variant of Trid Phantasm that only works on allies. It'll be sustained in its focus.
Combat Pass #1 Tactics
31 Boddynock: Holds action until after Red Tom's action, then attacks most powerful spirit still standing or joins one of the runners as a Friend in Melee. -1 Service
31-26 Watcher Spirits: Four stay to defend Bel (holding actions) while the other two do the same as Boddynock.
25 Bel: Aww heck, screw banishing. Ectoplasmic Clout. Serious. Max dice in the spellcasting, targeting most powerful spirit present.
21 Tsifira: Uses Accident against the hostile spirits. -1 Service.
21 Red Tom: Casting Sleep (Stunball). Cast at Serious with all but 2 dice in the Spellcasting Test.
19 Tryste: Engulfs any remaining spirits to hold them immobile. -1 Service.
17 Brother of the Mine: <left outside unless needed> Effectively holding his actions.
Those that aren't attacking are close to Bel and will take their free melee attack for any spirits passing by to attack their master (-1 service if used). At least those that aren't openly hostile to him like the gnomes. If any spirits end up with only 1 service remaining, Bel will pull them out of the fight alongside the Brother of the Mine. He's not going to risk them joining the other side.
Raven is going to load INC. rounds into her pistol.
[ Spoiler ]
brand's loading her ex ex rounds into her shotgun.
[ Spoiler ]
Swift Eagle is going in with his swords drawn. Initiative 25. Perception: 2 3 5 5 Complementary awareness roll: 1 2 2 2 3 8 He has low-light vision, flare comp, vision magnification, amplified hearing, and improved smell.
Not sure why we're rolling initiative, but Paris rolled a 16. He'll be staying topside unless someone asks him over radio to move in.
Hellcow will go with EX rounds too, after hearing we're facing spirits instead of regular mortals.
Assault Rifle, Stealth, and Paranormal Animals jacked in and running.
[ Spoiler ]
Assault Rifle, Stealth, and Paranormal Animals jacked in and running.
Initiative: 23
Assault rifle, grenade launcher, heavy pistol, sawed off shotrun, and incase things get nasty, a LAW.
Assault rifle, grenade launcher, heavy pistol, sawed off shotrun, and incase things get nasty, a LAW.
Skeeter is still in the guard shack unless someone wants him somewhere else.
Init.: 9 + 3D6: 9+5+2+1=17
Init.: 9 + 3D6: 9+5+2+1=17
Spirits didn't notice Tom until he got his spell off. Feel free to shoot a spirit during this first pass, since they are too distant to get to the group and cause trouble just yet.
The spell disrupted 15 spirits, and greatly annoyed one other (gnome). The biggest 5 all shruged it off without effect. There are two gnomes and one mountain spirit only present in the astral and another two mountain spirit and the injured gnome which are present on both planes.
Tom took Light drain from the spell.
The spirits spend their first pass in surprise.
Initiatives for the spirits:
Mountain Spirit 1 (astral) 30
Gnome 1 (astral) 28
Mountain Spirit 2 (material) 18
Gnome 2 (astral) 32
Mountain Spirit 3 (material) 17
Gnome 3 (material, wounded) 16
The spell disrupted 15 spirits, and greatly annoyed one other (gnome). The biggest 5 all shruged it off without effect. There are two gnomes and one mountain spirit only present in the astral and another two mountain spirit and the injured gnome which are present on both planes.
Tom took Light drain from the spell.
The spirits spend their first pass in surprise.
Initiatives for the spirits:
Mountain Spirit 1 (astral) 30
Gnome 1 (astral) 28
Mountain Spirit 2 (material) 18
Gnome 2 (astral) 32
Mountain Spirit 3 (material) 17
Gnome 3 (material, wounded) 16
For the record, that was a bleeding nice shot.
I'll try to do what I can against the Injured Gnome (3). Just realized W Phosphorus is not going to be much fun for us in a mine.
I'll try to do what I can against the Injured Gnome (3). Just realized W Phosphorus is not going to be much fun for us in a mine.
[ Spoiler ]
How sound does the structure of these tunnels look?
Pass 1, Init 19
Pass 2, Init 9
Those should do 11S damage with the EX rounds. TN is probably a 2 at short range (smartlink) or a 3 if it's medium or long (sounds like it from the description). Saving the Combat Pool dice for dodges/soaking.
EDIT: Added the round type, and got rid of the recoil mod. I have more compensation than I thought.
Pass 1, Init 19
[ Spoiler ]
Pass 2, Init 9
[ Spoiler ]
Those should do 11S damage with the EX rounds. TN is probably a 2 at short range (smartlink) or a 3 if it's medium or long (sounds like it from the description). Saving the Combat Pool dice for dodges/soaking.
EDIT: Added the round type, and got rid of the recoil mod. I have more compensation than I thought.
Structural stability is fair. I wouldn't advise any strong blasts or anything. Also, please note the ammo type you're using where possible.
Raven is going to use her back up weapon (more recoil comp) in her main hand and her regular in her off hand. Note, she is not firing them at the same time, just carrying it so she doesn't have to reload.
[ Spoiler ]
Minor Correction: Red Tom materialized in his ring form and is fit snuggly around Belfast's finger.
If the spirits are in surprise this pass, then I'm assuming everyone's getting to act as mentioned above. Here's the resolutions for those that need rolls.
If the spirits are in surprise this pass, then I'm assuming everyone's getting to act as mentioned above. Here's the resolutions for those that need rolls.
[ Spoiler ]
Holy crap, I didn't realize there were that many spirits. Good thing most of them were low force. If the spirits are not very close to us, then I'll just stand ready at the front of our formation and hold my action. I'll intercept the first spirit to come within 3 meters. Someone at the rear should watch behind us, in case they get smart and try to meterialize behind us.
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