[DH1e] The Damocles Contingency (RPG IC)

[Mazer Rackham]

The Wreck of the Gladius:

 

Cutter brings the gunship in, dangerously low, for Restal's dynamic landing.

 

As the Assassin recovers, he can see several targets running around him, fleeing for their lives from heavy bolter rounds chewing them up, or sending razor slivers of crystalline from the solar panels scything bloodily through their tents. Cephas stops the Astartes bike, and engine idling, he surveys the carnage without comment, instead, dropping the bike stand and drawing a battered Astartes Boltgun from a saddle bucket, and holding it at the ready. His robe protects his plate against the savage wind and howling grit.

 

+Auspex scans reveal it is tight in there,+ he says, voice devoid of any exertion or emotion. +I will stand sentinel.+

 

The Dreg work gang is completely broken by the thunder of advanced Imperial guns, and either run away, or duck into the scant cover provided by the wreck.

 

+Bardas,+ Cutter comes online. +You need to split or quit. We're a sitting duck for any idiot with something bigger than stones.+

 

Players can handle any follow-up combat or entry to the wreck narratively.

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

 

"The Emperor protects the faithful and condemns the heretic!"

Spoiler

Opposed Willpower test 

Target - 53

Roll - 17

Result = Pass, 3 DoS

Nicios raised his left hand, ring spinning on his finger.  "The Warp take you, witch, let the child go!"

Spoiler

Manifest Pyschic Power (Spasm)

Threshold - 7

Roll - 5 + 10 + 6 + 5(WPB) + 5(Invocation) = 31

Overbleed × 4 (5 each over test) - target Willpower test at -40 (-10 for each Overbleed)

Result - Target 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).

Righteous fury fills Nicios as his power is unleashed.

[Mazer Rackham]

The Free Markets:

 

Right, things have escalated here, on the 'Control' WP Test, she loses by 2 DoS

 

The deposed Governess snarls as the combined wills of her prey rebuke and deny her attempts to turn them into willing servants, before the hammer of Nicios' justice piles into her defences, hard pressing her to resist.

 

Nicios ONLY:

Spoiler

You meet a wall of force. It stains your mind with strange oily grime, a crude oil, cloying. Your will lances through, but only just, for the layers of psychic armour wrapped around this scarlet harpy are formidable indeed.

 

Helene Aldario shrieks as she convulses, hurling the child with all her incredible strength right at Reynard.

 

Reynard must now make a Difficult (-10) Strength Test or be knocked over. Alternatively, Reynard can dodge, which will send the girl flying, but she should survive.

 

The Red Queen scrapes divots out of the steel deck she thrashes on, although due to her nature, she also lifts off the ground, levitating by metre. Her claws thrash out and she vomits blood onto the floor, spraying it up the wall and spattering the lower arches of the ceiling as the psychic power crushes and twists her innards.

 

(Counts as prone, but she's a floating blender, so be careful.....)

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

He could have easily avoided the small missile, but when the Aldario witch hurled the girl in his direction, Reynard found himself stepping into her path.

 

Spoiler

Strength Test: Str26 -10 = 16, Roll: 58, Fail. No surprises there... 

 

Flailing limbs smashed into him as he caught her, tumbling them both to the deck. He did his best to wrap his arms around her head and body as they rolled away from Helene, even trying to keep the roll going in order to get them away from the torrent of firepower he was certain was about to erupt.

 

As they came to a stop, he spoke quickly, with as much calmness as he could muster.

 

"Easy, little one, I've got you! Now go, find a safe spot to hide. You're good at that, I remember? I'll come get you when it's over."

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Lysimachus

[Mazer Rackham]

The Free Market:

 

Reynard:

 

She clambers over and away from you, gasping and groping on all-fours, keeping low. It's apparent she's seen a gunfight or three.

 

Gentlemen.

 

Initiatives.

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Initiative: Ag5 +1(Wary) +7(d10) = 13

[A.T.]

Falk

 

Initiative AG3 + 3 = 6

[Necronaut]

Scourge:

 

Initiative: 1d10 6 + Ag4 = 10

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Necronaut

[Lord_Ikka]

Initiative - 3 + 3 = 6  (continuing Nicios' bad Initiative)

Edited April 3, 2023 by Lord_Ikka

[Trokair]

Bardas

 

There had been no time to explore the Cutter, though Bardas had spied some stowed supplies in a semi enclosed space tucked into a nook of the interior. The table on which the supplies had been secured looked like it could serve as a makeshift bed for the crew.

 

Securely strapped in he conveyed more of his earliest lessons to the Voidsman, or as much as memory would recollect, it had been more than a life time ago since those times. In fact it had nearly been a life time since he last had been on an air or void craft, the day he had arrived here on Damocles in fact, and taken up his duty as the guardian of the shrine in the high mountains. the disappointment in not having made it to the next level of apprentice to the Magi had stung for a while, but as he later had admitted to himself even then he had known that he was not the equal to some of the others in skill, and more importantly that he had had no desire to partake in the vicious politics that so infested the mid tier of the Forgeworld. Have the skill to reach the upper quickly and safely, or be contend in the lower echelons of the priesthood.

 

Seeing the Seraph descend on his bike and into battle was surprisingly, dissatisfying. Yes the locals, if they survived, would tell the tale for centuries of how the wrath of the emperor had paid them a visit, assuming they had even seen Cephas and not just the sandstorm his pike kicked up. Perhaps all they would tell was of sand spirits.  Then again against the scale of the downed ship, and from the perspective of the Cutter, anything short of a God-Engine would be dwarfed into insignificants.   

 

 As they prepared for their own disembarkation he noted that the Voidsman clearly was more familiar with the gear on offer and what to take, outpacing Bardas and departing before he had even fully geared up.

 

+Bardas,+ Cutter comes online. +You need to split or quit. We're a sitting duck for any idiot with something bigger than stones.+

 

Taking up the lascutter Bardas headed for the ramp. He had likewise prepared as best he could against the environment; heavy duty grade rebreather, a enviro-suite layer that went nicely between his mesh garment and longcoat, lastly some anti-rad just in case.

 

+You cannot take the Sky from me.+ he replied to the pilot as he stepped off.

 

The Voidsman hand not used the repelling rope, likely for a good reason, so he would follow the experienced example. For a brief moment the rush of the wind and noise of the engine put him in mind of a train, but then he was on the ground, the sand giving way ad forcing him into a slight rolling tumble but he quickly regaining his feet, while unplanned it had helped safely dispose of his momentum.  

Edited April 4, 2023 by Trokair
Typo

[Mazer Rackham]

++ NARRATIVE TIME ENDS ++

++ STRUCTURED TIME BEGINS ++

 

+Initiative Order+

Spoiler

Reynard = 13

Scourge = 10

Falk = 6

Nicios = 6

Helene = 6 (??/??) (PC Takes Priority)

 

MAP:

Spoiler

 

Reynard: [ ]

 

Map notes: Scale is 1 x 2m (Outdoors/street), 1 x 1m (indoors). I've put you in the middle for simplicity, and to allow you avenues of escape.

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Reynard rose swiftly and took his place in the firing line. He pumped the action on his shotgun and started firing into the floating, convulsing psyker.

 

Spoiler

Quickdraw Shotgun

Full:
SAB at Helene.
BS41 +30(Point Blank) = 71, Roll: 29, Hit with 4DoS on (29=92) Left Leg.
SAB = +2 Hits
Scatter = +2 Hits
Total 5 Hits
Dam Rolls:
1d10+4 I Pen0
1: 3+4=7
2: 10(!)+4=14, RF Roll: 65, Success (just!) Extra d10 = 4, total =18.
3: 5+4=9
4: 6+4=10
5: 2+4=6

 

Move 2m North.
 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Lysimachus

[Mazer Rackham]

The Free Market:

 

Helene is peppered with shot, limbs and torso flayed by the hail.

Spoiler

LL/RL/B/LA/RA

 

She is slammed to the deck by the impacts and violence, limbs and body ripped open, pale, beautiful flesh ruptured and instantly bruised from the myriad buckshot pellets.

 

Scourge [ ]

Edited April 3, 2023 by Mazer Rackham
Updates

[Necronaut]

Scourge:

 

Scourge did not hesitate; taking the geyser of blood and levitating woman in stride, he took a further step forward, planted himself and squeezed the trigger. The bolter kicked and thudded in his iron grip as it roared and spewed out mass-reactive shells at extreme close range; the judicious use of ammunition be damned. The ignition charges from the bolt shells scarcely had time to light up his slitted helm as they screamed across the narrow gap; the fyceline flames danced briefly in his eyes reflecting the madness of religious fervor that gripped him.

 

Purge the Mutant. Burn the Heretic. Slay the Witch. 

 

 

Full Action; Semi-Auto Burst (BS): 37 + 10 (SAB) + 30 (Point-Blank) = 77 (right leg)

 

Semi-auto Burst: 1d100 46

46: success, 3 DoS – 2 hits total

 

Hit locations: Right Leg, Right Leg (d2)

 

Damage (Boltgun): 1d10+5X, Pen 4, Tearing

Bolter Damage: 2#1d10 1 6

Bolter Damage: 2#1d10 1 7

 

Hit 1: 1 6 + 5 = 11 damage, Pen 4

Hit 2: 1 7 + 5 = 12 damage, Pen 4

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Necronaut

[Mazer Rackham]

The Free Market:

 

Already torn open and bleeding, Helene merely shrieks as her leg is blown off at the thigh and knee, in a howl of explosive bolt rounds, the bleeding stump pumps vital fluids and black ichor over the steel plating, adding a noxious smell to the already offal, and corpse stink.

 

She writhes with agony and vile hatred, spitting venomous ropes of saliva from scything fangs.

 

Her wail is utterly piercing, ringing the inside of you sallet helmet.

 

Falk: [ ] 

[A.T.]

Falk

 

"Bring fire, end her suffering."

 

He held his own watchful of the surroundings. No human could have survived that yet something sustained her, he could only hope fire would be enough.

 

Ready action - to fire if Helene attacks or flees

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

 

Ncios slowly aimed his pistol at the witch's wailing head. 

Spoiler

Half Action - Aim

 

Half Action - Standard Attack (called shot - head)

Target- 36 + 10 (red-dot) + 30 (Point Blank) + 10 (Aim) - 20 (Called Shot) = 66

Roll - 43

Result = Hit,  head

Damage - 6 + 3 = 9 , pen 3 (manstopper round)

"Begone witch and heretic. We send thee to the beyond in the Emperor’s holy name!"

[Mazer Rackham]

The Free Market:

 

Nicios imprecation and bullet put an end to the Witch's suffering, blasting the back of her head off.

 

Her body lies very still, eyes staring, claws open, chest unmoving, her dismembered body looking just as broken as the ones spilled and rent around her. The outpouring of brains, slime, and blood forma steady pool around her, slowly dripping into the drains along the street. Her body quickly begins to dissolve, mixing with the ghastly fluid.

 

The woman who was being used as a swing slowly pulls herself upright, struggling to get the ligature from around her neck. She sits back against the wall, panting.

[Necronaut]

Scourge:

 

He looked down at the rapidly disintegrating remains of Helene Aldario, his brow furrowed in a ridge of contemptuous disgust. The stench was unbelievable, and the sight utterly profane. Still holding the boltgun, he stepped over to what little remained of Helene, and stared uncomprehendingly at what remained of the… thing… that felled Lady Costanza. 

 

He lifted his helm and spat upon her remains before looking to the others, a puzzled look upon his weathered countenance. 

 

“I had expected more… resistance… from the scarlet witch. Such matters are beyond my ken, but this dost not sit well with me."

 

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

Something's not right.

 

Reynard looked up, saw Falk scanning the area, heard Scourge's words. He backed away from the corpse, a sense of sudden foreboding gripping him.

 

"Girl!" he yelled, his shout echoing across the marketplace. "Where are you? We're outta here, now!"

 

 

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

 

Something wasn't right. No witch of the power he had felt before would have taken so little to fell, even with a surprise assault.

Spoiler

 

 

 

Manifest Pyschic Power (Sense Presence)

Threshold - 7

Roll - 8 + 5(WPB) = 13

Overbleed x 1 (5 over threshold) - 10m further distance

Result - 60m (50 + 10) distance, can sense the presence of living creatures. Walls 1m thick block the power.

 

We will find what is hiding here.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Lord_Ikka

[Mazer Rackham]

Nicios ONLY:

Spoiler

Your extra-senses creep out into the murky atmosphere. Psychic residuals invisibly clot the air, each a mote of something beyond dust. You detect a small mind, wise but also young, scared. It is obviously the girl. The whole area is alive with...something. As your gift stretches against a weird kind of molasses...a gluey slop with a coppery tang, you notice your breath.

 

The Free Markets:

 

The temperature plummets. You can see your breath misting in the cutting beams of your stablights.

 

Pop. One of the emergency bulbs blows, throwing sudden shadow across the doorway of the Imperial Knights. The woman sitting, still trussed into the lunatic swing, begins to shudder.

 

Pop.

 

Another light doused.

 

Pop.

 

The lights blow in sequence as you follow them around the walls and cieling.

 

The last one goes out above a small bundle. The girl pops her head up, and cries out into the sudden dark, sliced apart only by your stablights, giving a very low level of light.

 

All Players (in this zone/instance):

In your right ear, you can hear a low, intense voice. Female, whispering hotly, loud enough to fill your senses. No breath tickles your ears, nor does any plume of breath billow around you.

All the King's whoresons, and all the King's men...

The voice switches to your right ear, moving behind you.

Ripped the poor wretches apart, again...

 

Something large, hefty, moves in the darkness at the centre of where the free market stood. The scuff of boots, the rustle of clothes echoes in the chill shade. The sound of something thick, oily, begins dripping from vents nearby. A flick of your stablights reveals blood is oozing through the walls, welling up through floor grates. Sweeping the zone, your beams light up several human shapes, standing up in the dark.

 

Motionless.

 

In unison, they all turn, painfully slowly, to look at you.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Mazer Rackham
Clarified

[Machine God]

Wreck of the Gladius:

 

Kerr Restal heard Cutter telling Bardas to disembark. Finding cover he didn't have to long to wait..

 

+You cannot take the Sky from me.+ he heard Bardas utter over the Vox.

 

Looking skyward he saw Bardas step off the ramp of their bird. Giving it to Murphy. He could say that Bardas had guts, but not his skills. The techseer landed heavily, but narrowly missed an outcrop of rocks landing on a dune and rolled towards his direction.

 

Luckily he didn't have too far to stretch to pull Bardas into cover, which he did with a hard jerk. He showed Bardas his route down the dune, pointing out the rocks.

 

+I have skills my friend, whereas you are just lucky. I haven't seen a Crazy Ivan performed so naturally+ 

 

He pointed out Cephas' location on sentry and the entrance to the ship's drive section.

 

+Hopefully the heavy bolters and Cephas trimmed down the Dregs on the ground, but we still have to be careful. What are your plans for destroying the engines?+ He asked.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Machine God
Wrong Ship

[Lord_Ikka]

Nicios

 

"I can't find what is doing this. Prepare yourselves." 

 

With his pistol aimed at the dim figures, Nicios speaks softly to his companions. 

[Lysimachus]

Reynard:

 

The final light popped and the child revealed herself. Instinctively, Reynard hurried sideways along the wall* to stand above her.

 

"Come on, girl. Get behind our line."

 

 

Spoiler

*OOC: If I've read and understood correctly, the first light that popped was where we are by the Imperial Knights, and then they popped in order going all around the market? So the last light (where she was hiding) must have been all the way around and back close to where we are standing?

 

Edit: Unless I've misunderstood and the lights all popped moving outwards, in which case is she on the opposite side of the market? And in that case I'll edit/delete the above?

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Lysimachus