Archeotech 2 – Treasure Hunt (RPG IC)

[A.T.]

Aria

 

Aria knelt at the edge looking, igniting a small stretch of bandage and allowing it to drive into the darkness below. With no sign of workings here beyond the tunnel itself it seemed likely that the earth had split following the evacuation or perhaps it had been the cause.

 

"We might try grapples, or if time is not a concern we can burn a length of the track free" she suggested.

[Trokair]

The burning bandage snags briefly on an outcrop some meters down before falling apart and raining multiple lit fragments into the darkness.

 

If you wish to use a grapple gun it will require a Challenging (+0) Shooting attack (as you are not in combat I am assuming aiming and planning will negate the darkness penalties). A miss means the grapple fails to take find purchase, and if it is 2 or more DoF then the grapple is lost. You have 4 grapples to start with. The number of DoS on a hit will inform how well it is anchored. I’ll get to climbing across once we know if you have secured a grapple line.

 

If you want to cut and free some length of rails as makeshift bridge making material it will require a Challenging (+0) Tech Use test per cut. Failure on the first cut just means you pick another spot and try again. Once you have a successful first cut specify a length in meters (whole numbers only for simplicity) you are intending to cut. Then roll for the second cut, a pass means you have made the cut, a failure means it hasn’t worked and you can try again but with a shorter specified length. The longer the rail is the more difficult it will be to maneuver, but if it is to short it won’t bridge the gap or be more difficult to secure and stabilize.  You can cut free any number of lengths of rail, thought the more you do the longer it takes and the further back the tunnel you have to go to get them.

[Machine God]

Varn:

 

Varn looked at the gap and where the section of track continued onwards. They had some grapples affixed to long coils of rope, he took one of the grapples and tied the end off on one of the rails.

 

"Please stand back, I can make it. Make bridge."

 

Kaz stepped forward and stopped Varn's crazy idea.

 

"No it is too far, you'll never make it."

 

 

Varn untied the grapple and gave it back to the party.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26 by Machine God
Physics got in the way of 40K cinematic effect.

[A.T.]

Aria

 

Taking the grapple back from Varn, Aria re-secured it to the launcher and fired into the darkness. A bridge would be far safer but time consuming and this was at least no more than a chasm unlike the dark passageways of her home ship where the walls might burn or freeze or where imperfections in the gravity could play tricks with distance.

 

Her own equipment tied down and a heavier rope secured about her body lest the grapple gave way. Let out little by little it could be secured firmly with pitons on the far side, or perhaps Helene would have her scout ahead.

 

Double aim, fire grapnel - Roll 33 vs BS 40+20 +?  - hit

 

Climb (moving cautiously) - Roll 09 vs Climb 36 +10 +?(I don't think the clip harness bonus applies here)  - pass

[Trokair]

The Grapple has successfully anchored itself, however win no DoS (darkness penalties and the like cancelled out the aim benefits) it is not the most secure. This means that if one of you fail your climb test as you cross it may come loose on the far side depending on the DoF of the climb test.

 

To Cross you will need an Ordinary (+10) Climb test, I will allow a further +15 from clip harness (as opposed to the normal +30) as it still helps keeping you secure and attached to the rope as you cross.  If you have climb it is your S + 25, if you do not have climb it is 1/2 S + 25 (I think)

 

Based on this Aria is successfully across, just the three of you to go.

[Machine God]

Varn:

 

Varn followed Aria across the chasm. He secured his gear and then took hold of the rope and then climbed along it hand over hand.

 

The rope swayed but he made it across.

 

 

Aided by the Sestas!

 

 

 

STR 36/2 +25 (Climb) +10 (Ordinary Difficulty) = 53. Result: 22, Pass 3DoS

 

 

 

 

 

[Lord_Ikka]

Ravia

 

Climbing wasn't her strong suit, but Ravia managed to work her way to the other side without too much difficulty.

 

 

Spoiler

Climb Test

Target - 16 + 25 = 41

Roll - 38

Result = Pass, no DoS

 

Edited June 28 by Lord_Ikka

[Trokair]

I haven’t seen Petragor around for a few weeks so will roll for Helene to keep us going.

Spoiler

Climb S: 33 /2 = 16.5 becomes 17 +15 = 32

D100: 67, Fail, 3 DoF

 

With the others already across it was Helene’s turn. Tentatively she moved out over the chasam, secured only by her hands and the harness kit that they had all taken form Davids store. Ahead of her the others watched on, one holding a torch to light her way.

 

An involuntary exclamation and the twang of the rope as it suddenly vibrates. Helene was in trouble, perhaps she had glanced into the abyss and a bout of vertigo ailed her, perhaps her hand had sliped or some other momentary lapse in attention.

 

Spoiler

Agility test to see if Helene can maintain her hold on the rope

Ag:35

D100: 21, Pass

 

As you watch helplessly for a moment all that holds your companion from plummeting into darkness are the karabiners on the harness, but then she gets her grip on the rope again. Slowly she inches the remainder of the way across.

 

Visibly shaken Helene is helped by Aria of the rope and walked a few meters down the tunnel before sliding down one wall to sit on the floor.

[A.T.]

Aria

 

It was a pity they did not possess any of the servo skulls or cherubs used by the mechanicum to survey such locations, such things were common aboard her home ship but perhaps reserved for service to such mighty vessels.

 

The gap was at least large enough to ensure little living would have made its home here, still it was best to be cautious.

[Trokair]

As you proceed it quickly becomes apparent that the tunnel was sloping downwards. At first just a few degrees but it soon got steep enough that you all proceeded with caution and one hand on the wall for support. Safety lines were readied in case it got even steeper.

 

The first sign of change was an increase of dust and debris scattered across the floor. Then marks along all surface, long scratches and impact dents. Within a few steps the walls had roughened, something had churned up the smooth cut of the mining machine. It was all directional away from where you are heading.

 

The gleam of metal, even under the general dust and grime, replaced the rockface. It just as shredded as the walls, more so even. The floor dropped away. The rest of the tunnel followed. In all direction emptiness loomed.  

 

A Survey Servo Skull would indeed have been useful to see what the new cavern held. Instead you try your best with your torches. It becomes apparent that your tunnel has breached a larger very spherical tunnel on the upper side. From the curvature of the walls you can see Ravia estimates the diameter of this new tunnel, as 53 meter, plus or minus a few. That would put the bottom some 40ish odd meters below you.

 

Do you descend into this tunnel or do you go back to seek a different route? (or even split up?)

[Lord_Ikka]

Ravia

 

"We should move forward- this cavern may hold some answers." 

 

More and more Ravia was feeling that they were walking into some sort of trap. Why else would the Archmagos have put her on an expeditionary team; she was a hunter of heretics and a killer of men, not a typical tech-explorator. 

[A.T.]

Aria

 

The descent would be easy enough with clip harnesses but even more so than the ravine this place would make escape slow and difficult.

 

Aria brushed back the dust and scraped her knife across the surface to test its hardness, "this metal, what is it?"

[Trokair]

Your knife did not even leave a hint of a scratch. Wiping away more grime reveal that the metal is of a light grey tone, though looking a bit further shows heat induces discoloration and striations. In the deepest gouges there is a further discoloration and a darker silver grey tone. Whatever it is it is not uniform.

[A.T.]

Aria

 

Looking towards Ravia, "adamantine perhaps?". Could this be a buried ship or the wreckage of one?

[Lord_Ikka]

Ravia

 

"It is possible, but we have not the proper tools to tell. If we explore further we may be able to tell if it is natural or something more. If natural, a metal this strong would be very valuable to Imperium and the Mechanicus."

 

Ravia looked over the edge and into the cavern. Climbing down would take time, but it looked like they would be able to anchor ropes properly and not be in any significant danger.

Edited July 5 by Lord_Ikka

[Trokair]

As Ravia said securing decent lines is not going to be a problem. As such to descend you need an Ordinary (+10) AG test, a pass lets you move 10m down, a fail only 5. 2 or More DoF means you lose your grip unless you pass a strength test (See abseiling on p213 of the core book). You do have clip harnesses so that’s an additional +30.

 

The descent as previously described is about 40m and as we are not in structured time I am going to say that 2 passed test will get you down (ie a pass lets you go down 20 instead of 10, but a fail is still only 5 meters (and perhaps a fall)).

 

Who is going first?

[A.T.]

Aria

 

The descent was simple enough with the equipment they had, though it was clearly wise to have left the ab-human guarding the entrance as his weight may have tested the strength of their grapnels.

 

Before descending she made sure to pad cloth between the rope and the metal surface lest the chewed and sharp edges cut through their only means of escape.

 

Aria testing against 86 - rolls of 07 and 61 - pass

 

IIRC a clip harness will prevent falls - failing just means no progress unless you somehow break the rope or harness itself

[Trokair]

As the first to reach the bottom Aria looked around with caution to secure the area. The floor was smooth aside from a little bit of dust and debris, but far less then up in the tunnel. While it was hard to say for sure the curvature observed above seemed to hold true, this tunnel was tubular.  

 

One ordinary (+10) Perception test please.

                                                                                    

Re Clip Harness, in general it will stop falls even on failed roll, but if someone fluffs their rolls bad enough then who knows ...

[A.T.]

Aria

 

Perception: 40 vs 43 (+10 if hearing) - barely a pass

[Lord_Ikka]

Ravia

 

After Aria went down so smoothly, she couldn't do less. Ravia gripped the rope and lowered herself down.

 

Spoiler

 

Ag test

Target - 33 + 10 (difficulty) + 30 (clip harness) = 73

1st Roll - 67

Result = Pass, no DoS

 

2nd Roll - 38

Result = Pass, 3 DoS

 

It wasn't pretty, but the descent happened without any issue. Once down, she unslung her carbine and studied the area.

 

Edited July 7 by Lord_Ikka
Edited for 2nd roll

[Trokair]

Aria

 

As you cast your torch around your attention is drawn to a shimmer, a momentary glint, a straight line. Crouching down to get a closer look it disappears. Brushing the little dust aside you find nothing. No not quite, there. A corner, a height difference, not much of one. Feeling along there is another a little way away, the two for a recess into the ground. It runs along the length of the tunnel, though not quite, there is a slight slant. Moving sideways you find another, equally spaced. Perhaps leftovers from the machine that made this round tunnel.

 

Ravia – technically one pass only gets you half way down, just edit in your rolls when you have a moment.  

[Trokair]

Was rather busy weeks, so sorry for the late update.

 

Spoiler

Clibming down rolls for Helene and Varn

H: Ag: 35 + 10 +30 = 75, D100: 47, 33 Safely down

V: AG: 23 + 10 +30 = 63, D100: 63 Pass, 69 Fail (but no DoF) so fine, 95 Fail with 3 DoF- Str Test, S:36, D100:10 Fail but only 1 DoF so Clip harness stops fall. Varn has covered 30m so far, Ag test:  12 Pass Safely Down.

 

With two direction open to you now you collectively turn the way that the undug fourth tunnel would have been, or at least that general directions. Walking side by side, torches sweeping back and forth, the tunnel remains unchanging for several minutes.  Then however you path is blocked, perhaps a cave in, or sealed off, it is hard to say. As you explore and see if there is a way through you can see that in places you can see that the main tunnel wall continues and what blocks your path is a combination of rock and metal.

 

In time perhaps you could shift enough debris out of the way to find a path through. However there was still the other direction. Passing your original ingress point and the dangling rope you slow your walk again, torches sweeping the way ahead as before. This time you walk for quite a bit longer before the way is blocked. However unlike last time this is no rabble from a collapse, the tunnel just ends.

 

Closer inspection however reveals a grove around the edge of the tunnel, a groove that widens ever so slightly going rightwards. Climbing up the sloped wall on the right side shows that the grove widens further. Your torchlight shows you that there is space beyond. While the side of the tunnel gets increasingly stepper as it curves upwards it looks like the gap widens enough for all of you to squeeze through, with some difficulty.

 

As the first of you wiggle through the gap you find an empty void on the other side, with your torch light fading into darkness. With the other three securing the rope back in the tunnel the first of you descends into this fresh darkness.  Having stopped every few meters to sweep the torch around to no avail it was a relief and the glint of a floor begun to appear. All in all your decent out of the tunnel is a little over 60m. The others follow one at a time and despite a few hair-raising moments all of you make it down unharmed.

 

What you have deduced so far is that you are now in a vast chamber, the floor entirely metallic, with the subtle pattern of rises and groves in it to help provide grip compared to a perfectly smooth surface.  At various distances there are walls or other obstructions that you get glimpses of as you cast your light around, but none that seem to constitute an edge to this space. There are no echoes and the air is stale and undisturbed.

 

Over the next hour and a bit as you explore you begin to get an idea of your surroundings. There are cranes and conveyer belts, massive structures that reach into the darkness. Then realization, that tunnel that you walked along, that was no tunnel.  You had been inside the barrel of a Void ships Macro Cannon, entering the gunnery deck through the slightly ajar breach.  

 

 Where would you like to try and go now?

[A.T.]

Aria

 

The fresh surroundings felt almost like home, formative years spent crawling between decks and the void spaces of a starship. Whether it had landed here by choice or by force the vessels bulkheads would have automatically sealed but miles of interconnected service-ways cut through them and the gaps beyond.

 

Aria gazed up seeking any sign of the nature of the gun, shell loaders or power feeds. "Beneath the main deck is access to the secondary manufactorums and crew recyclers, casualties and run-off from the weapons are sorted and recovered from all gun decks. They may provide access of other paths are blocked".

[Lord_Ikka]

Ravia

 

"Yes, further in is good. I hope.we can find a functioning terminal or some more information to understand what this ship is and why it is here. This is not exactly archeotech, but may be something that the Arch-Magos can use."

 

 

Ravia's thoughts were moving fast, attempting to understand how a voidship would come to be on the surface of a planet and no one be aware of it. 

[Machine God]

Varn:

 

He'd been in a shuttle craft before and had survived in the bottom of a hive, so being inside a ship didn't really faze him.

 

Just ham up the 'me lost native' for a while.

 

 

"So we inna Big Metal Skyship den? Wow. How it not arkytek Ravia?"