[DW] The Desolation of Innocence (RPG IC Thread)

[Trokair]

‘Oh no you don’t’ Nergüi thought at the encroaching darkness, ‘I will not let this hulk sap my spirit’.

Out loud he recited a cant of fortitude, amplified by the vox oh his helm so that others could take heart as well. He had served with the Deathwatch long enough to know which teaching of the Chaplaincy where universal enough amongst the Astartes to be of use in mixed company and it was one of these he recited.

Spoiler

WP: 46 + 10 (Resistance (Psychic Powers))=56

D100: 46, Pass, 1 Dos

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Philemon/Arcturion/Nergüi:

The presence leaves you, although it goes meekly.  Perhaps language did not matter as much as your intent.  Whatever the formless dark was, it does not cling to you.  As it withdraws, your stablights flash back into being, but your technology registers no difference - except a small, negative temperature shift.

It is obvious to you that Korvaan - remaining in his place at the back of the column, remains unmoving, his charts and life signs static on your HUDs.

Otherwise he is whole.

Physically he describes no trauma.  Perhaps, as Faith and Will have triumphed, the matter is more a spiritual one.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Mazer Rackham

[Trokair]

As the darkness fled Nergüi could see that most of the others had also resisted the hulks presence, but the Mars-sworn was still enthralled, had his mind been weekend by his engagement with the machine demon, or had that left and opening in his defences, either way he was in need of assistance.

Stepping over to Korvaan Nergüi laid one hand on the others shoulder, as if to steady him, or greet him. As a Chaplain of the Deathwatch he knew a little of the myriad of Cahpters that were scattered across the galaxy. Drawing on what he knew of Korvaan kin he spoke to him in calm reassuring tone in the accent of gothic prevalent near the Eyeand as well as his best effort at the others native tongue based on his limited knowledge.

Spoiler

Language skill test – Polyglot – to see if he can sounds enough like something that the Brazen Claw would find comforting/remind him of home.

Int: 43 – 10 (Polyglot, he is no native speaker after all)= 33

D100:25, Pass

A mantra of resistance, a prayer of focus, mixing in fragments of Omnissiah diction given the others duel heritage of marine and Mars-sworn. He was aware that the others had gathered round but this took all his concentration.

Spoiler

Fellowship test:

Fel 45 – 10 (as per GM direction)= 35

D100:45, Fail

 

[Necronaut]

The chaplain's words and Philemon's defiant prayers cut through to Arcturion's awareness as the tendrils of darkness started to recede from his mind, further strengthening his resolve. He opened his eyes to see the others crowded into the passageway, each recovering from the psychic assault to varying degrees. All save Brother Korvaan, who leaned heavily upon his mighty halberd, appearing to still be bewitched by the dread psychic presence.

The White Wolf had already moved to stand in front of Korvaan, recognizing the techmarine's plight and was attempting to rouse his spirits. Sensing he might be of assistance, Arcturion reached out to link minds with the Iron Father, hoping to boost Nergüi's signal, as it were… 

 

 

Focus Power (Short Range Telepathy) to assist Nergüi with dispelling the malaise cast upon Korvaan. 

 

WP60 + 5 (Psychic Hood) + 5xPR3 (Fettered) = 80

Focus Power: 1d100 37

37: success with 4 DoS

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Necronaut

[Mazer Rackham]

Nergüi/Arcturion/Korvaan:

With a psychic light being held in front of him, Nergüi chants and prays, delving into the crypts imprisoning his charge.

The rooms within the shared mind are strange, abstract.  At first Nergüi has impressions of shining metal pistons, reflecting in the Lamenter's torchlight.  Cranking gears have stilled. Yet, with the White Wolf's ministrations, the pistons lurch into motion, the cogs whir. As the Chaplain and Epistolary watch on, the Forgemaster once again comes online, helm lenses flaring and stablight blossoming into brilliance.

Iron Father Korvaan shakes whatever lethargy dared to hold him, banging the butt of his axe onto the deck.

He is restored.

[Machine God]

Iron Father Korvaan is a Son of Ferrus Manus, he is a Forge Master in the Deathwatch. 

He has been tested before and got through, this time had been different. 

Oaths sworn to many parties. He admitted to himself that he owed thanks to the Chaplains effort and kind words in the tongue of his childhood. Admittedly the words were spoken in the accent of the foreign southern continent. 

Nevertheless a reply was needed, however he was loathe to show weakness. 

+The Flesh is Weak, but Iron Endures!+

[Mazer Rackham]

Since Lysi is Kill Team Leader, I'll direct this post mainly to hm to leave room for AT's rolls etc, but effectively you all get it.

Almost in tandem with the fog lifting, the communications lines are restored, and the vox-link dataloop opens to receive the directions and written orders to accompany them.

REGENT:

+Lost contact several Teams: +Ordo Xenos Scans of Hulk utterly out of true: +Follow Nav Point to emergency rally position 'Knight': +Beware ambushes: +Emperor guide your steps:

- Sophis.

I'll upload another map shortly, but feel free to discuss IC/OOC as you will.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Mazer Rackham

[Necronaut]

+Brothers of Regent,+ Arcturion intoned over the squad-level vox as order seemed to restore itself amongst the Kill-Team, +there is a dread and malevolent psychic presence upon this hulk. Flesh and blood xenos are not the only things lurking aboard the Death of Innocence. Guard your minds well.+

 

We must face the long dark of the Death of Innocence. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orks in the deep places of the galaxy.

 

Wait, what?

 

[Lysimachus]

Philemon transmitted a confirmation signal even as he replied over the vox.

 

+++Rally position 'Knight'. Received and understood. On our way.+++

 

Then he nodded at the Librarian's words. If contact had already been lost with other teams, the threat was even greater than any of them had thought.

 

"The Epistolary is right. Move out. Carefully." 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Lysimachus

[Machine God]

 

Int 40 =40. Result: 13, Pass 2DoS

+Yes thank you Arcturion. An ancient foe for an ancient hulk, an Enslaver or a fragment.+ answered Iron Father Korvaan. 

+Omnissiah we entreat thee to gird our spirits in this heathen place. Strengthen the Indomitus and the holy Tartaros so that we might smite the unholy in thine name+

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Machine God
Got rid of the big gap

[A.T.]

A voice carried on the wind, like a whisper, Luthais sought out its source but it faded without trace. The others sensed it too, a witch? He moved to the fore once more ready to strike down any in his path.

Abhor the Witch

Roll 38 - pass

[Mazer Rackham]

The Kill Team continues onwards, following the holographic beacon marked in each HUD, the rendezvous distance of two kilometres dropping steadily.  The enforced lethargy of the past hour vanishes with movement as you all make your way down tightening corridors, squeeze through gaps where two spacefaring craft which were never meant to meet, are now conjoined.  Arcturion's chainfist has many times been employed to widen the gap, or surly machine spirits long slumbering forced into reticent activity, partially opening bulkhead doors and hatches.

The others have not been idle either, adding their brute strength or relative nimbleness to the path forward, a cautious, but nervous energy pushing you on to Rally Point Knight.

Darkness, and eerie grey-light seep through ruined portholes, vents and grates as you trudge along, checking your auspexes, each man carrying four miniature views, one from each of his fellows, giving some semblance of vision beyond the thick helms, and bulky frames trussing your bodies into the fastness of armour.

You are unaccompanied, but for the scampering of scraprats, or furtive movements just outside your view. Regardless, you cross from what Korvaan identified as an old bulk hauler into the structured, broader passageways of some larger hull.

There is a terrific rumble in the depths below your feet, then settle, reminding you of the size of the mighty beast whose bones you stalk.

Then, hard auspex pings greet your advance.  You doubt they are a rescue party.

Gentlemen.

Initiatives.

MAP:

Spoiler

It's MONDAY.  Let the Violence begin!

[A.T.]

On the hunt for that which sought to hunt them Luthais responded quickly to this new threat, though the source of the whispers seemed to elude them yet.

Initiative 8+4+1 = 13

[Necronaut]

Arcturion sensed the xenos before his auspex confirmed their presence, their vile, malformed minds pressing against his past the walls of the hulk. His sunken eyes narrowed to twin points of incandescent fury at this affront to his senses, and the sweet oblivion of the black rage sang to him as blood thundered in his ears.

 

Initiative:

Initiative: 1d10 10

10 (d10) + AG3 = 13

 

[Machine God]

AGL 50. 5 +1 (Armour History) +1 (D10) = 7

 

Korvaan greeted the Auspex pings with caution. It would not help matters if the team were ambushed by the entity again. He ran diagnostics on his suit. 

[Lysimachus]

Kill-Team Regent needed no orders from Philemon as to the proper response to the sudden auspex returns, each one instinctively readying weapons as their genehanced bodies flooded their systems with combat hormones. With quick, decisive flicks of his relic axe, he silently gestured for Luthais and Arcturion - perhaps the most deadly members of the team at close quarters - to take the lead.

 

Initiative: Ag3 +1(Armour History) +2(SigWM effect) +4(d10) = 10.
 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Lysimachus

[Mazer Rackham]

++ NARRATIVE TIME ENDS ++

++ STRUCTURED TIME BEGINS ++

ROUND ONE

The various thoughts or semi-conscious concerns fade to the background, the kill-urge is flowing in your veins, the spicy sweet tang of combat stimulants released by your multiple genhanced glands. 

MAP:

Spoiler

+ Initiative Order +

Spoiler

Until they are revealed, the Blips will move together at highest Initiative. An updated map with the new positions of the kill team will also be uploaded.

Blips = 17 [X]

Luthais = 13 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Arcturion = 13 (20/20) (3/3) [ ]

Philemon = 10 (23/23) (3/4) [ ]

Nergüi = 8 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Korvaan = 7 (21/21) (4/4) [ ]

Squad Cohesion 13/15 Current Sustained SQD: Lead By Example.

+[STANDY BY, STAND BY]+

Waiting for Brothers...

Luthais [ ]

Edited July 11, 2022 by Mazer Rackham
Initiative Order now completed.

[Trokair]

D10: 5 + AG3 = 8

[A.T.]

It was unwise to surrender the initiative, even to unseen foes. Luthais advanced quickly, gaining momentum with each step as he used the weight of his armour and the uneven gravity of the hulk to his advantage.

The xenoforms were unmistakable in appearance, "Enemy sighted, designation Genestealer". Both moved quickly to attack perhaps expectant of their foe to hesitate in the face of their strikes and razor-sharp claws, but Luthais had encountered their kind before and smashed through the vanguard without hesitation and he sought a greater foe.

 

 

Full Action : Banzai!


Roll to hit = 74 (vs 77 - just about a hit)
Opposed Strength = 68 (vs 140) = 9 DoS (including unnatural strength)  - target needs to roll to oppose this
Attack = 98 (vs 87) - so only a hit if the target failed the opposed strength check and was knocked down.

Thunder charge damage (if not dodged) = 3+19 = 22, Pen 0, Toxic(5)
Knockdown Damage (if opposed strength test passed by 2 or more DoS) = 10+10+2+16 = 38, Pen 0 (crazy pinball knockdown)

Lightning Claws (only hit if opponent knocked prone) = 4+25 = 29, Pen 8 (Toxic 10+3? = 13?)

Edited July 12, 2022 by A.T.

[Mazer Rackham]

ROUND ONE CONTINUES

As Luthais rounds the corner in a brave dash, his autosenses and Occulobe pierce the gloom to reveal the hulking, deformed shape of two Purestrain Genestealers, who stare at him with gleaming eyes, malign intelligence pinpricks of hatred in the darkness.  The lead monster growls as the Storm Warden closes.

MAP:

Spoiler

+ Initiative Order +

Spoiler

Genestealer 2 = 22 (20/20) [X]

DODGE (FAIL - 98)

Genestealer 1 = 19 (20/20) [X]

DODGE (FAIL - 90 LOLWUT?)

Blips = 17 [X]

Luthais = 13 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Arcturion = 13 (20/20) (3/3) [ ]

Philemon = 10 (23/23) (3/4) [ ]

Nergüi = 8 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Korvaan = 7 (21/21) (4/4) [ ]

Squad Cohesion 13/15

Waiting for Brothers...

Luthais [X]

Both Genestealers must have been momentarily taken aback by the mountain of angry adamantium charging them, Luthais storms ahead, like the Chapter of his birth, smashing the first adversary into the steel wall, punching it into the metal and leaving a dent which is rapidly filled with pulverised meat.

The second Stealer fairs no better, being tossed broken, like a ragdoll to the end of the passageway, one of it's legs and arms torn off by the sheer force of the Marine, powering through it, punching it clear into the air, to ricochet along the corridor in a twirling, bouncing sack.

Arcturion [ ]

Edited July 11, 2022 by Mazer Rackham

[Mazer Rackham]

++ STRUCTURED TIME ENDS ++

++ NARRATIVE TIME BEGINS ++

Kill Team Regent sees the fleeting departure of the foes who tried to delay them, the blood of the wounded and weeping pus from the sores of the profaned.  On the deck, the spilled rounds from an ammunition hopper still rattle, rolling under their own weight.

Autocannon shells, and autogun rounds.  An ambush by fire indeed.

Over the vox comes the call to arms, in the deep, steady tones of Watch-Commander Cordovan.

++All Deathwatch Brethren, all Kill Teams, hasten to my position, we are being overrun!++

Your progress puts you one kilometre from the beacon.  You must hurry.

You may post any encounters you wish with Hybrids, or even Stealers, but your post should emphasise the nature of the rush.  Your brothers require aid against this alien menace.  Your post should finish with your entry into a wide, boxy room, and confronted by a door, which you find is sealed, bodies piled in front of it, deep gouges in the metal.  Other doors will be to your left (clogged with debris) and right, which is indicated as functioning by a small power charge keeping the door working (it is closed).

You have closed the door behind you to buy time, but have not yet sealed it.

Do not go further than this.

You may consult the map below for reference.  Once you have made your IC posts with your narratives:

Gentlemen.

Initiatives.

RALLY POINT KNIGHT:

Spoiler

MAP INFO:

Spoiler

Each square is 2m x 2m.

Red Triangle = Sealed Door

Green Triangle = Open (not opened) Door.

+ Initiative Order COMPLETE +

Spoiler

Blips = 19 [X]

Korvaan = 16 (21/21) (4/4) [ ]

Luthais = 15 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Nergüi = 13 (26/26) (3/3) [ ]

Philemon = 9 (23/23) (3/4) [ ]

Arcturion = 5 (20/20) (3/3) [ ]

Squad Cohesion 13/15

+ STAND BY, STAND BY +

Edited July 13, 2022 by Mazer Rackham

[Trokair]

The heavy thud of running Tactical Dreadnought Armour, the scuttle of xenos feets, the bark of storm bolters and hiss of power wepons cleaving the hulks denizen in twain could almost have been a battle-hymn for the Kill team to march to, but alas this was a Hulk and all joy of battle was drained by its very nature.

Instead their stumped down the corridors, scraping narrow corridors in places, eating the distance in the open areas, was but one long weary draining chores. The slain denizens but nuisance and air, no challenge and no thread while the squad moved.  

 

Spoiler

Initiative:
10: 10! + AG3 = 13

 

[Lysimachus]

Genestealers. Not unexpected, but still an entirely unwelcome development. The alien filth were a deadly foe, a threat even to the holy Terminator warplate they all wore. It was key that the squad maintained its formation, that they protected each other's flanks. The Storm Warden's charge had turned the first two xenoforms into paste, but surely there were more coming.

 

"Regent, advance! Show no mercy!"

 

The rest was a blur. A call to arms, and a rush through darkness, full of glimmering yellow eyes and flashing, razor-edged claws. Regent had fought well, blooding the xenos brood. Vindicta Dei had claimed one Purestrain, spearing the unholy thing on its spike, then severing its head from its thick neck as it tried to crawl away. A good kill, a worthy offering to the God-Emperor.

 

Now they had arrived here, wherever here was. No sign of Cordovan or their other brethren. Doors waited to be opened. But which way?

 

+++Brother-Captain. Are you receiving me? Please confirm your location.+++

 

Initiative: Ag3 +1(Armour History) +2(SigWM effect) +3(d10) = 9.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Lysimachus

[A.T.]

As soon as they had appeared the xenos vanished once more into tunnels and crawlspaces too small to follow and too numerous to guard. Luthais resisted the call to battle, the urge to chase each and every one of them down. He was the Emperors sword, but also his shield and duty bound to protect the advance of his squad on their objective. The enemy would not be permitted to lead them astray.

Initiative: 10+4+1 = 15

[Necronaut]

Arcturion growled in disgust and rage as the xenos fled to their warrens and tunnels following the Storm Warden's brutal rampage into their midst. He had been prepared to spill their blood, to rend them apart with blade and gauntlet, but just as soon as they had appeared on their auspex, the insidious aliens had disappeared, chittering at the kill-team maddeningly through the walls and air ducts. They had managed to slay a few of the slower and less intelligent of the species they encountered while tramping through the endless twisting corridors en route to Rally Point Knight, but they felt like empty triumphs to the Lamenter, who brooded and ruminated on battle fought and lost long ago.

 

Eventually they spilled out of the cramped hallway into a large, boxy room. The bulkhead slammed shut behind them, and the kill-team had a few moments to gather themselves, now free of the winding, claustrophobic passageway. Arcturion looked about, examining the walls for possible entrance points for the pack of xenos which has trailed Regent for most of its transit, their vile alien minds regularly brushing against the epistolary's. It had required every fiber, every ounce of control he could muster to avoid summoning cascading sheets of wap-lightning to obliterate all around him.

His eyes eventually settled upon the door in front of them gouged, clawed and dented. The mangled and defiled bodies of gene-stealers were piled high in front of it.

The message was clear: the way is shut; it was made by those who are dead.

 

Contacts started to appear in his HUD and the sibilant trills of the alien swarm raised to a fever pitch. He tightened his grip on Doombringer and peered into the gloom with a furrowed brow.

 

They were coming.

 

 

Initiative

Initiative: 1d10 2

2 (d10) + AG3 = 5

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Necronaut