Rifts Adventure IC

[Psychie]

Terra looks over at Eron and pats Tiny's shoulder affectionately. "We dealt with the two Maggots as a team, and will face off against the Vampire Intelligence and this demon that you are hunting. If everyone has had a moment to catch their breath, we can move on."

 

[Sherwood]

How long do you wish to wait before confronting the Vampire Intelligence? Keep in mind that your various powers will stop before the fight if you wait for too long.

 

[Silanon]

Terra looks over at Eron and pats Tiny's shoulder affectionately. "We dealt with the two Maggots as a team, and will face off against the Vampire Intelligence and this demon that you are hunting. If everyone has had a moment to catch their breath, we can move on."

"Good, good. No need to hurry, now. That's for when he tries to get away, not take us on." Despite the words, the Crazy seems restless. So close, again, to end it once and for all.

He turns towards the techno wizard. "You threw that flashy thing right now, there? Got more of those, by any chance? Quite good at throwing, myself, if I may say so."

To answer the question, a short break to catch our breath and make any necessary preparations will do.

 

[Sherwood]

Since the fight was so quick with a melee being only 15 seconds, most of your attack and defense boosting powers will still be in effect for your next encounter if you start to move quickly. Otherwise, you'll need to reactivate the shorter duration powers that don't last more than a few minutes.

By now, everyone has caught their breath and those that wish to have the special ear protection from Snowfall has them in place, although your ears are still ringing from the roar of the Boom Gun.

How long do you guys wait before moving on?

Rykon D. Rex Psychie Mirgris Purr Silanon

 

[Rykon]

I don't think it'd take more than a few seconds for Zephiron to restore his PPE. So not a long wait for him at least.

 

[Psychie]

So long as everyone is set, Terra would push to move forward and engage the next challenge.

 

[Sherwood]

With your decision made to move forward, the party advances.

Soon, you find yourselves in a massive chamber, easily over two football fields long and with a ceiling reaching up about a hundred feet high. There are bones of human victims scattered across the floor, and for those that don't have sealed armor can smell a horrid stench of rotting flesh assails your nostrils, bad enough to almost make you gag. The room is dimly lit by a series of torches that are burning around the chamber, and in this flickering light you can see that there is a stone staircase rising up out of sight.

But all of that is secondary to the huge mass of flesh that dominates the very center of the room, a hideous thing of pulsating lumps and pseudopods. It is roughly one hundred fifty feet in diameter, and at its center, it is thirty feet high. Ten tentacles lazily wave in the air, spread across the body. Dozens of small eyes dot the body, with one huge eye that is protruding from the top center of the thing. It is the Vampire Intelligence, and it is truly a horror to behold.

Before you can launch into action and attack, a voice calls out, "HOLD! Do not move!" Looking over at the source of the voice, you can see a well dressed man in a fancy suit coming down the stairs flanked by four of the nasty Brodkil demons that are all packing rifles and some kind of humanoid semi-skeletal figure that looks like a rotting corpse. It is packing a sword that it carries easily in one hand. The man in the lead of the Brodkil and the corpse-thing does not appear to have any weapons or armor at all, but he does move with confidence that you will do what he says.

The man steps forward slowly, looking at each of you in turn, his eyes briefly lingering on Eron a bit longer than the rest of you. "You have defeated the two Maggots. Very impressive. Nasty things, those Maggots. You have actually done me a favor in killing them. I was looking for a way to have them replaced by something a bit less . . . unpleasant . . . to deal with. I am now in the market for a new set of entrepreneurs that are looking to make a good living working for me. The benefits of being in my employ are many, with sizable perks. You have obviously proven yourselves to be skillful fighters for defeating the Maggots, and I would not be adverse to having you in my employ."

As the man talks, his eyes keep flickering over to look at Eron, as if he recognizes you.

What do you do?

D. Rex Silanon Rykon Purr Psychie Mirgris

 

[Psychie]

Terra looks at the well dressed man with surprise. "You have got to be kidding me, right? Do you really expect us to stop what we are doing and actually work with you? Get real! If you stand with the demons that have taken this pyramid and have laid fear across the land here, you too shall fall to our righteous wrath!"

Time for an initiative roll yet?

 

[Rykon]

Zephiron echoes Terra's sentiment. It's a rare sight to see a dragon raise a brow in befuddlement. "Why would a king bow to a peasant? I appreciate you breathing life into my bedtime stories with your predictable offer of employment but even you aren't dumb enough to think I can be kept on your pitiful leash. So here is my offer to you. Get out of this temple I grace with my regal divinity. Take your stench with you, and I may forgive the offense of your presence for a few moments. Otherwise, I'll be depositing you in the chrome turtle's porcelain throne in the morning." After a moment the cogs began to turn in the hatchlings head. His confidence started to slip amidst a moment of second-guessing. Wait, those mecha-nuggets did have depositories, didn't they? I can't remember...

 

[Silanon]

That stench - in moments like these, it truly sucks to have supernatural senses. The Crazy coughs, blinks twice, and moves on. It'll take more to stop him than just this reek. He's on a mission, after all. And as close to its conclusion, one way or another. The vampire thing; an inconvenience. But that man is the real deal, or seems to be, at least. Eron grabs the pouch, calls for its strength, tries to make out Salnesh within the pyramid. Is this him - this foolsih, arrogant speaker? Or is it just a minion, or illusion? One never knows, with him...

Let me use the psionic seeking again, just to be sure.

In either case, the Crazy's response is the same. "No deal. Never. There's nothing your kind could ever offer." A pause as he spits out, a wordless challenge. He backs it up with more talk, shortly after. "In the name of Sir Duncan Cooley, I demand justice. This reign will end here and now, once and for all. No words will stop us. No force will stop us. Try if you need to, it won't make a difference. You know me, fiend, you know I'm committed."

 

[Sherwood]

The man shakes his head, but does not look surprised, just disappointed. He says, "That is . . . unfortunate. I had hoped you would be reasonable, but instead, you will have to be destroyed." He then turns his attention to Eron, and says with a bit of a smirk on his face, "'In the name of Sir Duncan Cooley?' Was the man just too cowardly to appear himself, or has the weakling finally been killed? Either way, it is a shame. He did work for me, you know. At least he was smart enough to know when to toss in the towel and work for the true power in the region and not waste his time trying to stop me."


Eron looks at the man and with your psychic senses, you know it is Salnesh, the vile shapeshifter himself. He is standing before you right now, mocking the memory of Sir Cooley. Here is your chance to end his evil.

 

[Silanon]

It's him, no doubt about it now. Even without his senses, he could tell; with those blatant lies, so far from the truth that that only he could speak them and still appear somewhat believable. Sir Cooley, that hero, serving him? Ridiculous, the thought alone. Unless, perhaps... no. never. And even if, it wouldn't matter. It's his way to cast doubts whenever he speaks. Best to never let him speak, or ignore what he says. Would've been good advice, before meeting him. Oh well, Eron's companions are doing fine...

"True power, hiding between brutes and rotting corpses. Salnesh, your might and reach must be really impressive if you don't even know what happens at your doorstep."

Granted, the Sir died some distance away; but not far enough for him to not notice. "Sir Duncan Cooley accomplished more than you'll ever manage, in all those hundreds of years you had. Once his sword has ended your pesky existence, the people will remember his heroic deeds, not the chicken-hearted demon who failed to make any lasting impact. I bet this ugly thing over there" - he points out the vampire intelligence - "already wonders why it welcomed you here; I mean, you had one job, and you allowed us to walk right into this chamber with those token guards of yours."

 

[Sherwood]

The well dressed demon shakes his head as if in sorrow. "It is too bad. If you were willing to work with us, you could have had everything. Now, it is unfortunate, but you will be put to death." He then motions to the Brodkil demons and the skeletal thing next to him to engage. While he Salnesh does that, he looks directly at Eron. "Come, little man. Let us see what you can do against me." He suddenly shifts his form into a horrible humanoid thing:


View attachment 1608669918121.png

Initiative rolls, everyone!

 

[Sherwood]

The demon Salnesh.

 

[Psychie]

Roll for Terra

Total of 20

Spoiler

Hit Points: 48
SDC: 135
PPE: 126 / 106
PPE Battery: 50
PPE Battery: 50 / 0

MDC: 525 from Invulnerability
100 from talisman

Bonus Points: 9

When Piloting Automations
Number of Attacks: 10 / 5 / 1
Strike: +5 (+7 with Sword)
Parry: +6 (+8 with Sword)
Dodge: +2
Roll: +2
Initiative: +5
Damage: +1
Critical Strike on a 19-20
Critical Strike from behind
Death Blow on a natural 19-20

Tiny
MDC: 1000 /
PPE: 200 / 0

Junior
MDC: 500 / 330
PPE: 120 /

Baby
MDC: 500 /
PPE: 120 /

 

[Rykon]

Rolling Initiative...

21

 

[Sherwood]

Current Initiative Order
21 - Zephiron
20 - Terra
18 - Snowfall

Waiting on Silanon , D. Rex , and Mirgris to roll.

 

[Sherwood]

Now that Christmas has passed and the new year is nearly upon us, lets kick this game back into motion.

D. Rex Silanon and Mirgris need to post Initiative rolls.

 

[Silanon]

"Really, now? All the different options out there, and that's the form you're going with? Thought you'd have at least some sort of fashion... shows the truth for once, at least." Words that don't matter, obviously. But they stall for just a few more seconds, or that's the plan at least. Time for the Crazy's mind to catch up, understand what's happening. Simple, really, but also too huge for any mind to grasp. This isn't just another fight, this is the fight. The end of his hunt. The end of Salnesh, the darkest darkness - potentially. Hopefully. Eron spits out as if to purge those words from his mind. There's doubt in those, but doubt's got no place in his thoughts, now. 'Certainly' sounds better. More guaranteed. He grabs his sword just a little tighter. Deep breaths. Eyes on the only foe that matters.

"You know, Salnesh," - the name very much sounds like an insult, coming from the Crazy - "it's almost sad. All your trickery, your treacheries, and the only one you manage to fool is yourself. Still convinced that this is under your control, that you can offer the world as if it belongs to you. But it doesn't. Never did, never will. With all your strength, and all your plans, you'll still be little more than just a faint memory in a bit."


Well, that ain't a good roll... ini of 11, or 14 if enhanced reflexes are still active (not quite sure about the passed time right now).

 

[D. Rex]

Rolling Initiative!

25

 

[Sherwood]

To sum up, you have a bunch of big nasties in front of you right now. There are four Brodkil Demons armed with rail guns, the Murder Wraith (basically an undead Juicer; very fast and nasty to fight), Salnesh, and the squishy pile of protoplasm that is the Vampire Intelligence.

D. Rex is up first with Daisy.

Current Initiative Order
25 - Daisy -70 MD<====
22 - Murder Wraith Juicer
21 - Zephiron
20 - Terra
20 - Tiny
20 - Junior -170 MD
20 - Baby
19 - Salnesh
18 - Snowfall
16 - Brodkil 1-4
11 - Eron
8 - Vampire Intelligence

 

[D. Rex]

As the signal that the fight had began reached Daisy, she was overjoyed. She couldn't wait any longer. She had been sizing up the intelligence, and she was highly anticipating how pleasing it would be to shoot it. Like blasting a tomato with a fifty caliber or an exploding round into ballistic gel. That soft squishy bag of vampire. She could picture it in her mind now in slow motion. The Shockwave. The splatter. The hole.

Aiming her cannon at the thing. She pulled the trigger. Blasting an anti vampire round at its center of mass.


Strike: nat 1
Damage:

 

[Sherwood]

Daisy levels her Boom Gun, but a sudden temperature spike makes the computer inside the suit override your firing order and makes the weapon go off line for a moment. Fortunately, there is no damage done to the rail gun.

The undead Juicer charges at Zephiron, a long and nasty looking sword in its hand swinging at you. It will hit unless you dodge or parry.

Rykon is up with Zephiron, and you have a defense to declare.

Current Initiative Order
25 - Daisy -70 MD [1]
22 - Murder Wraith Juicer [1]
21 - Zephiron <====
20 - Terra
20 - Tiny
20 - Junior -170 MD
20 - Baby
19 - Salnesh
18 - Snowfall
16 - Brodkil 1-4
11 - Eron
8 - Vampire Intelligence

 

[Rykon]

Zephiron attempts a parry to swat aside the Juicer's advance. He follows up with a retaliating strike at the Juicer with his halberd.

Unsure about the parry, but that's a 200MD crit on the strike. Ouch.

Spoiler: Prepared Spells and Powers

ISP 59 total: Enhance Reflexes (10 ISP for 10 minutes), Resist Damage (25 ISP for 25 minutes), Strength of Mind (10 ISP for 10 minutes), Enhanced Perception(10 ISP for 25 minutes), Sense Psionics (4 ISP for 10 minutes)
Effect Summary: +1 Attack per melee, +3 initiative, +1 to strike, +2 to parry and dodge, +2 to P.P, +15% to all Physical skills that rely on coordination or balance. All damage taken is halved. 10 PS, +5PE, enhance all natural senses by 50% with the ability to prevent sensory overload. Can sense the use of psionics.

PPE 70 total: Armor of Ithan (10 PPE for 5 minutes), Invulnerability (25 PPE for 5 melees / 75 seconds), Power Weapon on Cutting Squall (35 PPE for 10 melees / 150 seconds)
Effect Summary: +50MDC, Magic Fire, lightning, and cold do half damage. Another +50MDC energy field, impervious to fire, cold, all energy attacks, disease, poisons, gases, and drugs, +10 to magic and psionic saves and horror factor (21 to 23 with frills now). +25% damage increase to Cutting Squall the Rune Halberd (given that its base damage is 1d4 x 10 before the natural 1d6 x 10 I'm not sure what that should ultimately look like).

Spoiler: Current Combat Stats

MDC: 500 (+50 energy field) (halve all incoming damage)
Horror Factor: 21-23

Impervious: Fire, Cold, Energy, Disease, Poison, Gas, Drugs

Number of Attacks: 8
Strike: +13 (+2 Weapon)
Parry: +18 (+2 Weapon)
Dodge: +18
Roll: +7
Pull: +7
Perception: +4
Initiative: +5
Damage: 1D6 x 10 MD Natural (Weapon +1d6x10 MD)
Horror Save: +19
Psionics Save: +21
Magic Save: ? +10
Other Saves: +1

 

[Sherwood]

The sword that the Murder Wraith is using is clearly some sort of magic weapon, and as he hits you, you can feel a bone-chilling cold sink into you doing 80 MD damage. Fortunately, your Invulnerability cuts that down to just 40, but it still hurts!

When you make your counterstrike against the undead monstrosity, your aim is true and you strike a powerful blow against the thing. Thanks to its magical nature, it is an MDC being, and very much resistant to attack. But you are wielding a rune weapon of your own, cutting through the monster, rending its armor and sinking your blade deep into it. It is critically injured, with its ruined armor being the only thing that kept it from being destroyed in a single hit.

Psychie is up next with Terra and her trio

Current Initiative Order
25 - Daisy -70 MD [1]
22 - Murder Wraith Juicer [1] Critically Injured
21 - Zephiron -40 MD [1]
20 - Terra <====
20 - Tiny <====
20 - Junior -170 MD <====
20 - Baby <====
19 - Salnesh
18 - Snowfall
16 - Brodkil 1-4
11 - Eron
8 - Vampire Intelligence