[DH1e] The Damocles Contingency (RPG IC)

[Mazer Rackham]

Saint's Cut:

 

Reynard's molotov clatters down onto the rusted and grimy deck of the marketplace, and twists and tumbles backwards where it collides with the stalls and baskets. The sheer impetus carries it further, careening from the solid wall at the foot of the boarding house before bouncing back once more.

 

Shock and panic erupt from the townsfolk, and Nicios' face is suddenly bathed with a wash of light and heat spilling down Saints' Cut, as the bomb erupts, engulfing the Brute leader, two of his colleagues, and Hef in the blast.

 

Townsfolk:

Spoiler

Hef AG Test: PASS

Brute AG Test: FAIL (On Fire)

Thug 1 AG Test: PASS

Thug 5 AG Test: FAIL (On Fire)

Townie 1 AG Test: FAIL (On Fire)

 

The screams of the burning men add to the crackle and thunder of gunfire, the sickly-sweet smell of crisping flesh haunting the street, and leeching into the open door of the boarding house.

 

No need to roll damage for the Townie, but go ahead and roll damage for the Brute and the Thug targets.

 

Nicios [ ]

Edited October 18, 2022 by Mazer Rackham
Corrected grenade/scatter

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

With the sudden flames lighting up part of the street, Nicios can somewhat see. He Moves from the door way to the edge of the Grox's south wall. Spying the leader of the enemy, Nicios slams his mind forward.

Spoiler

Manifest Pyschic Power  - Spasm

Threshold- 7

Roll- 10+1+4 +5(WPB)= 20

Overbleed x 2 (5 each over threshold)- second target affected (random thug closest to Brute), both targets' Willpower test at -10

Result- all targets need to take a Willpower test, failure means that they twitch uncontrollably and fall down (if they are holding a weapon it fires randomly). No Psychic Phenomenon occur (no 9s rolled).

 

[Mazer Rackham]

The Market:

Spoiler

Brute WP: PASS (Is still on Fire)

Thug 1 WP: FAIL

 

Nicios can feel his mind slide around the steel ball formed in the Brute's mind. No doubt the focus and adrenaline keep him upright. In the background though, he can see one of the armoured men in the market collapse, autogun clattering onto the ground only a heartbeat before he does.

 

Thug 1:

Spoiler

Convulsing on floor, stunned.

 

Thug 2:

Spoiler

Half Action: Prep Frag Half Action: Throw Frag Townie 5. MISS D100: 90!

Scatter: Behind, 4m

Hits Thrower!

Damage: 4 Wounds.

 

Brute: 3 Wounds

Thug 1: 5 Wounds

Thug 5: 2 Wounds

 

It seems even with superior training and gear, one of the intruders completely fluffs his grenade, and explosion from nowhere erupts at the back of the market, painting the targets for a half-blink.

 

Restal [ ]

Edited October 18, 2022 by Mazer Rackham
Corrected grenade/scatter and moved Psychic Power target so Player gets benefit

[Machine God]

Kerr Restal:

 

The flames of a hurled molotov device bathed two targets, one the large brute.

 

Now interfering with his vision, Kerr Restal targeted another thug through his open window.

 

 

 

Combat Shotgun SAB Vs Thug #5

BS 35 +10 (SAB) +10 (Close Range) = 55. Result: 25, Pass 2DoS. 1d10+4, Pen 0.

Hit #1: Body, 6 + 4 = 10 Damage.

Hit #2: Body, 10 (Righteous Fury check: 38, Success = 7) + 4 = 21 Damage

Edited October 20, 2022 by Machine God
Typo

[Mazer Rackham]

The Market:

 

The powerful shot rips into Thug 5, his equipment unable to save him.

 

Spoiler

Thug 5 is eliminated.

 

Thug 3: 

Noticing the angle his comrade was shot from, the thug, already with weapon in shoulder, opens fire in a burst at the window.

Spoiler

Full Action: FAB at Falk/Tarrant

BS: PASS + 3 DoS (4 Hits)

 

2 vs Falk

1st Body, Dam 11, Pen 0

2nd Body, Dam 10, Pen 0

 

2 vs Tarrant

1st Body, Dam 9, Pen 0

2nd Body, Dam 13 Pen 0

 

Falk [ ]

[A.T.]

Falk:

 

Keep moving.

 

Falk snaps off a shot at the nearest men, already moving as the return fire misses by inches. Hit and run, don't allow them to pause and think - one frag grenade now is all it would take. Keep them fighting the shadows. Keep moving.

 

Dodge 4 = pass

 

Half action shot at thug 1: 35 = vs BS34, +10/30 Short/Point blank range? +20 target stunned, +10 attacking from higher ground, -?? environmental - hit

Damage 2+4 = 6, Pen 3 (body)

 

Half action move away from the window - if Tarrant goes down he'll drag him along

 

 

[Machine God]

Kerr Restal:

 

His charm of hair around his neck tickled causing Tarrant to flinch backwards as the return came in, hitting the window frame.

 

He crouched back and scuttled off to the stairs.

 

 

AGL 30 + Dodge = 30. Result: 07, Pass 2DoS - 0 Damage

[Mazer Rackham]

The Market:

 

Thug 1:

Spoiler

The man, near insensate, flinches as Falk's shot strikes him, the round rupturing armour and flesh, but the blood isn't much.

Thug 1: 1 Wound (Total 6).

 

Thug 4:

Keeping discipline, the thug opens up, adding to the hail of steel swamping the market place.

Spoiler

Full Action: FAB At Townies 5 & 6

HIT + 2 DoS, 3 Hits. Targets 2m apart.

Dam: 13, 6, 12

Townies 5 & 6 are eliminated.

 

Thug 5: DEAD (lol)

 

Bardas [ ]

[Trokair]

Spoiler

Full move out of boarding house and across ally towards wall between Grox and Wrak, turn to face were the fighting is ready for enemy to walk into line of sight.

 

[Mazer Rackham]

++ STRUCTURED TIME CONTINUES ++

 

Townie 3:

Spoiler

Half Action Half Aim, Half Action Attack Thug 2

MISS

 

+ ROUND 2 +

 

+ Initiative Order +

Spoiler

Brute Leader: 13 (9 Wounds sustained)

Reynard: 12 (15/15)

Nicios: 11 (PC Takes Priority) (12/12)

Thug 1: 11 (STUNNED) (6 Wounds Sustained)

Thug 2: 9 (4 Wounds Sustained)

Restal/Tarrant: 8 PC takes Priority) (15/15)

Thug 3: 8 

Falk: 7 (17/17)

Thug 4: 6

Bardas: 4 (16/19)

 

Townsfolk: 3

Civilians: 1

 

MAP:

Spoiler

 

There is enough light to see the civilians and generally everything else by. However, smoke is becoming thick enough to become a hazard. The market stalls are burning, and black clouds of burning plastek, foodstuffs and canvas billow across the marketplace.

 

I put everyone where I thought they would end up from their posts, let me know if this is wrong. AFAIK everyone is either now below or away from the window enough not to get shot or shoot out.

 

Brute Leader:

Through aggressive swatting at his arms and legs, the Brute finally gets the flames under control.

Spoiler

Full Action: Put out flames AG test -20 +10 from FP: PASS, barely!

+ 1 Level Fatigue.

 

Reynard [ ]

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Reynard risked a peek out the window. The whole market was ablaze. At least they could all see their targets though. Whatever destruction had been caused, it was better than trying to fight blind against men wearing photovisors!

 

Dark smoke was rising from the stalls, and Emperor knew what kind of toxins were within it. The gas would gather up against the roof of the chamber, so better to be closer to the ground. Plus the enemy couldn't know for sure that they'd moved away, so one of them might decide to lob a grenade in through the window.

 

Without a backward glance, Reynard raced down the stairs and out of the boarding house. He hustled across the alley and into the cover of the Grox. He knew the bar had another exit on the far side, which might be useful if things went even further south. Also, Restal had said the locals were arming up here. Maybe there was something he could use?

 

As he pushed through the doorway, one of Hef's men looked up from his position in cover at one of the windows overlooking the market.

 

"Friendly!" Reynard yelled to the ganger, holding his laspistol up. "I'm a friendly! Just looking for a better place to shoot from!"

 

 

Spoiler

Full: Run (up to 24m) to be inside the doorway of the Grox (1m south of the red stripy square?)

 

Awareness Test to see if there are any extra weapons or anything else of use on the tables inside the bar?
Per28 +10(Awareness+10) = 38, Roll: 31, Success

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Lysimachus

[Mazer Rackham]

The Grox:

 

Reynard: It is fear that saves your life, nothing more. The young man holds his fire only because he hasn't taken off the safety stud on his laspistol. As you look around, you can see the lad who nearly shot you cowers beneath a window which has a view of the marketplace, although that is rapidly filling with thick smoke. Another corpse half hangs from a second window (Townie 4) which would give a long gallery shot all the way to Rivet City, but how exposed a man would be is tragically obvious.

 

Glass, plastek and scabs of old plascrete and plasteel litter the floor as you crunch in, and the walls and ceiling carry the scarred lesions of fragments from one of the grenades employed. Scattered on the floor and table are handfuls of ammunition. In the shadows, you can see the huddled civilians, some nursing wounds, others clutching loved ones or friends in terror. A large vidscreen which may have hosted holopict media broadcasts or sporting events is smashed by a handful of stray bullets.

 

They light becomes dirty with smoke.

 

There is enough for:

• 1 x full reload for a Las or SP weapon (rifle, pistol) or;
• 1D10 Shotgun Shells
• And, either (pick one):
  • 1 x Laspistol
  • 1 x Autogun
  • 1 x Pump-action Shotgun

 

Nicios [ ]

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

Moving a few steps forward, Nicios yells at Bardas and the remaining townsfolk.

"Shoot the leader!"

 

He wrenches his mind harder, flailing the brutish leader's nervous system with shards of Warp energy. Go down, you fragger!

 

Spoiler

Manifest Pyschic Power  - Spasm

Threshold- 7

Roll- 9+8+3 +5(WPB)= 25

Overbleed x 3 (5 each over threshold)- second target affected (random thug- can'tsee which to target), both targets' Willpower test at -20

 

Result- both targets need to take a Willpower test, failure means that they twitch uncontrollably and fall down (if they are holding a weapon it fires randomly). One Psychic Phenomenon occurs (one 9 rolled).

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Lord_Ikka

[Mazer Rackham]

The Market:

 

Brute Leader: (The long-suffering and completely misunderstood chap, who just wants an appointment with a doctor...!)

Spoiler

WP Test: FAIL

 

The heavily armoured man, fatigued, bloodied and singed around the edges cannot prevail against the torture levied by his own flesh, now in the hands of Nicios. The man sinks to his knees as he contorts, clutching his chest with his free hand, vox-grille echoing with a terrible cry of anguish as the Psyker wrenches his organs, nerves and sinews.

 

The random convulsions result in discharging his bolt pistol in a throaty bark, the shell scudding across the smoke-stained street and burying in the head of the youth looking out of the window in the Grox, which exists for a moment, before exploding in a red watermelon pop, the gore splattering everyone behind.

 

The second target, (I chose at random) Thug 2, seems to stagger, but fails to go down. He grunts in pain, but shakes off the constricting will of the Witch-hunting Nicios, but indeed, even as the psyker draws deep, the warp rebels...

 

The air turns cold, and things begin to rattle. Hair lifts in electrostatic push, smoke spinning wildly, spiralling the way anything does in zero-g. All heft in weapons vanishes, cartridges clink as they free from tables and the deck, bottles pull from clamps. Liquid, blood and oil begin to drain upwards, balling into perfect spheres, before rocketing towards the ceiling and splatting there.

 

Nicios feels it first...

 

All Players (within 2D10 metres of Nicios - 17m, basically everyone on the map!) levitate (1D10 metres - 6m) and then drop, taking falling damage (1D10+5). Armour offers no protection. Please roll 1D100 to determine which location takes the damage. TB protects as normal. Catfall operates as normal.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Mazer Rackham

[Trokair]

D100: 27 - Left Arm
Edit: Damage 1d10 (10) + 5 = 15 - 3TB = 12, Down to 4 left.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Trokair

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Reynard was reaching out to take the loaded autogun when everything seemed to happen at once.

 

The side of the poor juve's head suddenly exploded outwards, showering those near him in grey and crimson. But before any of the civs could even scream, the world… lifted.

 

What the hell…?

 

Tables and chairs, human bodies, pieces of skull - all floated upwards for one terrifyingly long moment. Reynard had to push his long coat down to stop it enveloping his upper body. As he reached the ceiling, the autogun floated up beside him and out of reflex he made a grab for it. Then, even as his fingers wrapped around the barrel, reality reasserted itself and everything plummeted back to the deck. Reynard managed to swing himself around so that he stayed on his feet, but it was a poor landing. He felt something twist in his left ankle, a lightning bolt shooting up his leg. With a grimace of pain, he dropped to one knee.

 

Hissing and swearing under his breath, he pulled himself to his feet. They had knocked out the lights, but how could they possibly cut the gravity on the surface of a planet? Then it hit him and he felt a chill. Not technology. Something else, something beyond the understanding of mortal wisdom.

 

Nicios. It had to be. The damned psyker would be damned lucky if they didn't shoot him in the head! Assuming they all actually survived this...

 

Then he grinned suddenly. At least the enemy must have been caught in it too, whatever 'it' was. Body armour was all well and good, but it didn't protect you much when you fell in it!

 

Spoiler

Location: 88, Left leg.
Dam: (d10=5) +5 -TB2 = 8 Wounds, 7 remaining.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Lysimachus

[Machine God]

Kerr Restal:

 

Scuttling around on the floor in an attempt to find cover, Tarrant was momentarily subjected to a grav change.

 

When the grav-plates came back online, he was ready.

 

He stretched out his limbs as he fell in an attempt to rob the fall of some of its potency.

 

 

 

 

Levitate: 1d10 = 2m (Up). Damage = 1d10 +5.

4 + 5 = 9, Body.

AGL 30 + Catfall = 30. Result: 01 - Pass, 2DoS. 9 - 9 (Catfall Pass + 2DoS x AGL Bonus) = 0 Wounds

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Machine God
Catfall Falling Damage

[A.T.]

Falk:

 

The world spins as everything lifts into the air, ascent mercifully stopped by the low ceiling of the building... a mercy that does not last long as gravity twists once more and throws him sideways into the stairwell. For a brief moment Falks heart fell in the thought that the hive had suffered the same fate as tertius, but no wave of destruction followed.

 

The screams outside made it evident he was not the target of whatever had happened. Nicios words flashed into his mind, the oath that was asked of him, and Falk quickly grabbed up his shotgun and sought out the psyker.

 

Location right arm, damage 5+3? -TB = 5 wounds - lightly damaged

 

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

Nicios felt the edges of his power fray, and knew something was going to happen. It had happened before, this fraying, and he grimaced. Too much, too fast!

 

The Warp energy coalesced into a gravity nexus, erasing nature laws and making everything "fall" upward. Before he could warn the others, the nexus expanded and instantly disappated, dropping everything back to the ground. 

 

Unfortunately, that meant Nicios as well. He twisted, trying to fall with grace, but landed on his right shoulder hard. With a thud, he rolled to a kneeling position, cradling his wounded shoulder.

Spoiler

Damage- 4+5 -2(TB)= 7

Location (15)- right arm

[Mazer Rackham]

++ STRUCTURED TIME ENDS ++

++ NARRATIVE TIME BEGINS ++

 

The Corpse Town:

 

The groaning in the aftermath of smashed glass and loose brass scuttling across the floor is a strangely painful sound. The crackling of flames in the background, and the smog of burnt material, propellant and ozone from the lasguns is a riot of different acidic tangs. At least everyone is below the level of choking fumes. Most of the civs are unconscious from the airborne malignancy, others are smashed and broken under heavy objects tossed up in the air by angry god in a bad juggling act.

 

Out on the street, the thugs, and the brute, nurse injuries, one of them is dead, another near comatose.

 

An alarm klaxon begins to sound, deep and mournful, it is the sound every hiver dreads, for it means a collapse in the substructure, a prelude to a hive quake, which could see whole strata fall. Crimson light spilled from emergency bulkheads which emerge from the walls and spine structure, ancient devices the builders knew would one-day be needed.

 

This then, signals the end of the battle, for the thugs pick each other up, and begin to head back for Rivet City, and the fastest way out.  Behind them, they form a hedge of autogun barrels, for anyone stupid enough to try to follow.

 

Hef picks himself up, but he's coughing blood up onto his chest, stunned and battered, singed by the fire from Reynard's improvised bomb. Anyone can tell he's badly wounded.

 

Emergency power overrides the lockdown, and the doors open, the fans suddenly stir.

 

A small man, looking more like a scribe than a gang boss or bounty hunter emerges from Dug's Skullery, surveying the damage, stopping here and there to check pulses. His face is hard, flint. He lets out a long sigh as he stands over the body of one hiver, turning his head, looking into his dead eyes.

 

"Throne Kurt, I warned you."

 

It is then, he sees Hef, and he rushes to the big man's side, assessing. He seems oblivious to the klaxons.

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Limping slightly, Reynard hurried from the Grox to check over the battlefield. As he passed Hef, he nodded to him and the smaller man, then pointed at Nicios and Bardas where they stood in the alley.

 

"We have a couple of people who know a little bit about healing, if you wish?"

 

He moved on across the smoldering market, paying particular attention to where several of the black armoured soldiers had fallen. Despite the fact that their comrades had dragged their bodies away, he was hoping that they might have left behind some indication of who they were or who gave them their orders.

 

Not to mention that their kit had looked to be of high quality, too.

 

 

Spoiler

Awareness Test: Per28 +10(Awareness+10) = 38, Roll: 25, 1DoS

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Lysimachus

[Machine God]

++Von Graen look for anything useful that has been left behind++ said Tarrant as he ran out into the street.

[Trokair]

Bradas picks himself up, and stumbles towards Nicios, wincing from the renewed injury he helps the other onto his feet.

 

Nicios only

Spoiler

As he dose he draws Nicios close so that none else would see, laspistol drawn, barrel pressed against the psykers head his speaker whispered.

+Do you need the Omnissiah’s Peace?+

 

[Mazer Rackham]

The Corpse-haunted Streets:

 

The smaller man looks up, watches Reynard run past, listens to Tarrant's voice, absorbs what he's heard, and sighs, before pulling on a pair of spectacles and getting his hands under Hef's shoulders, with the man able to help with some of his power, he brings Hef down the street, over the carnage and through the pock-marked alley of Saint's Cut.

 

He watches Nicios and Bardas working, but does not interrupt.

 

Out in front of the market, Reynard searches the gear. It's fairly clean, but the webbing is modular, set up for individual use. You can tell for example that one of the men was left-handed from his arrangement of pouches in order. Each set carries a modification where a sturdy wire loop and hoop just out at the back of the neck, between the shoulders, somewhat reminiscent of a safety harness. A small kitbag hangs at the back, where it would sit low, around the wearer's kidneys. Inside there's an array of stuff, anti-rad pills, catoplasm patches, medi-injectors.

 

No names, no manufacturer labels.

 

There are loaded autogun magazines in the webbing pouches, three to a pouch. They are a slimmer fit than normal, carrying slightly fewer rounds, but easier to handle and lighter. All the carabiners, buckles and strap hoops are taped over or down, no jiggle or noise. One of the rigs carries a laspistol, still holstered. It is of Good Quality, the barrel shortened and the body scalloped to remove weight.

 

The serial number has been obliterated.

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

"I'm fine Bardas. Pushed too hard, but in control."