The Return of Malfeas IC

[Maugan Ra]

Watson, for his part, merely gazed at the assorted Malfeans with an inquisitive air. Can he work out exactly how many there are?

[horus42]

Watson, for his part, merely gazed at the assorted Malfeans with an inquisitive air. Can he work out exactly how many there are?

There is one Skraeling, and ten Blood-Apes.

[sun_tzu]

He replies, "You can try, but be prepared to fight."

Quickly, Erin programmed her computer to amplify her voice, making her sound more imposing.
All right, let's see. From what I know of the Stellar Intelligences, they tended to foster social Darwinism among their troops, and a culture of "might makes right". Authority derives from power, and Malfeas was big on destructive power. If these guys worship Malfeas or were indoctrinated by him, then they have absorbed this kind of culture of strength. My best approach, as such, is to be too powerful for them - powerful enough to become an authority figure.
Major Berger herself remained behind cover at first - the psychological effect would be ruined if they shot at her the moment she showed - but a golden anima of expanding fractals exploded outward as she spoke in her amplified voice, putting her enhanced charisma to work as she sought to turn her words into an irresistibly compelling ultimatum:
"Stand down, soldiers.
You have thrown yourself into the maw of danger by coming here. You had little choice in the matter. You obeyed the will of those greater than you. But this is imperial space, and my kind," she said as she stepped out of cover at last, weapon aimed at them, "have killed Malfeas's ilk before and sent him running. Do not hope for victory. I will not allow it. Obey and stand down, or be disintegrated."

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Spending 10 motes (all peripheral) for the 2nd Presence Excellency, and 1 mote for Mastery of Small Manners. That means she instantly understands the motivation of anyone present, effectively affects the mannerisms of their society, and gets 5 auto-successes on the...Charisma+Presence roll, I think? Effective Appearance is 5. Up to you if she gets stunt dice.

[horus42]

(Very nice description. Take 3 Stunt dice.)

[sun_tzu]

(Very nice description. Take 3 Stunt dice.)

((Yay!))

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Charisma+Presence: (13d10)[7][5][6][4][9][7][4][9][7][5][10][6][4](83)
Add 5 auto-successes, plus what she gets from the effective Appearance 5. I'll be taking the 6 motes. ;)

[horus42]

The Blood-Apes back down cowed by Major Berger's powerful display. The Skraeling, however, seems amused.

He speaks in that same, deep voice, but now in Galactic Standard. "A Dawn Caste. We were not expecting a Solar here. But it makes no difference." An aura of green erupts around him, a harsh, baleful light. Two ragged, bloody feathers appear behind him, and his eyes shine like twin green suns. Two crossed swords of brass flash on his brow, and green smoke rises from his lips as he speaks, forming a crown upon his head.

"Do not listen to the Solar Wench. You have all seen what I can do, with the harnessed power of our Master! Kill her!"

The Erymanthoi seem emboldened by his words, and snarl in fury.

(Roll Join battle!)

[sun_tzu]

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Join Battle: (3d10)[4][2][9](15)
Does the fact she had a weapon drawn on them change anything?

[horus42]

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Join Battle: [roll0]
Does the fact she had a weapon drawn on them change anything?

It just means you won't need to draw your weapon on your first tick, if I remember correctly.

[Maugan Ra]

"Yup. Saw that coming. Bloody Malfeans." Watson says, sounding more amused than concerned, even as his pistol comes up and he steps into view.

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Join Battle, which is hilariously high on account of the Martial Arts ability.
(16d10)[2][4][3][5][3][1][3][5][5][9][7][2][8][1][2][5](65)

[horus42]

(Ok, I did the rolls, and here's our order of combat:
Tick 0: Watson
Tick 1: Commander Tarkas and the Skraeling
Tick 2: Major Berger
Tick 3: No one
Tick 4: Blood Apes.
Tick 5: lather, rinse, repeat, etc.

Also, since it appears to be just the two of you now, should I reduce the number of Blood Apes, or do you want to stick with 10?)

[Maugan Ra]

(Well, my first question is... What happened to our Dragon-Blooded commandos? Still, I reckon we can deal with this. Or at least try.)

"Not just a Dawn caste, actually." Watson says calmly to the Skraeling. He makes a slightly mocking bow, one hand held over his heart, the other pointing his pistol distinctly away from any of the combatants. "James Watson, Sidereal Chosen of Journeys. We're a little less famous than our celestial peers, so it is perhaps forgivable if you don't know what that means. Allow me to demonstrate."

With that, he pulled the trigger on his pistol precisely once. The shot shouldn't have done anything, the path of the bullet naturally carrying it away from the fight. But every path, even the trajectory of a bullet, lies under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Journeys, and it's agent exercised that authority now. He didn't change the course of the bullet - he changed the bent of space-time, so that the perfectly linear gunshot path somehow managed to carry it through the heads of no less than eight of the Erymanthus.

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Making a combo of the Firearms charm 'Steel and Smoke Mandala', which lets me roll a single Firearms attack and apply the result to Dexterity+3 targets, and the Fateful Firearms Excellency, which lets me lower the difficulty on the roll. I'll spend four motes and a willpower point on the excellency, thus converting all the dice in the pool to automatic successes.

Thus I apply a hit from an exceptional blaster pistol (Damage 5L normally, raised to 6L by the quality) to all eight targets, with a total of 12 successes (Firearms and Dexterity 5, accuracy bonus of +2, possibly more with stunt dice). Total raw damage is therefore at least 18L. Since I don't know what the soak of a Blood Ape is, I'll pause here.

Speed of my attack overall was 5.

Ongoing combat stats:
Personal motes: 2/14
Peripheral motes: 29 (33)/33
Willpower: 7/8
Current DV: 6 (7 -1 for making an attack

[horus42]

(Erm... The Dragon-Blooded commandos are... standing guard outside the Manse. By which I mean, I totally forgot about them. Also, Blood Apes have a soak of 6L, and have 9 health levels. So... they're dead.)

Each of the eight Erymanthoi falls to the floor, quite obviously dead from the wounds Watson gave them.

Commander Tarkas' skin turns from green to silver, his huge frame melts into a lithe, agile Barsoomian Feline called a Banth. (It's pretty much like a lion, but with 8 legs)

The Skraeling draws an Autoklave from behind his back, ignoring his deceased troops. The same green fire from his Anima flows around the blade.

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger stood her ground, pointing her gun at the skraeling.

Memories from combat training flashed through her head. "Being able to draw your weapon fast can save your life. But knowing NOT to shoot fast can do the same."

She ignored the whirling gunshots around her. She ignored the survival instincts screaming at her to get behind cover. All that mattered now was getting a precise aim.

"In a shootout with no good cover, it usually won't be the fastest shooter who survives. It'll be the one with the strongest nerves."

Weapon aimed. Trajectory perfect. Target's movements accounted for.

"The gunman who keeps his cool while bullets are whirling around him can take those few precious seconds to aim. It takes courage and guts to wait for the right time, but a GOOD shot is better than a LUCKY one. Don't be the first to shoot - be the first to HIT."

Aiming complete. Her finger pressed on the trigger.

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Berger is taking an Aim action, meaning she'll take her shot in tick 5, right after the surviving Blood Apes but before anyone else's DV refreshes. When she does, she'll have several Charms to apply to the shot.
Speaking of which, since she's going to do a Flurry to shoot as many times as allowed by her weapon's Rate, I wanted to ask...Do the bonus dice from Aim, or from the Stunt in this post, apply to the entire Flurry? Or just the first shot?

[horus42]

The Blood Apes charge forward, slashing at Watson and Major Berger with their ragged claws.

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Raw damage is 12 to Major Berger, and 9 to Watson.

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger kept her golden weapon aimed precisely as she fired free shots. No words. No unnecessary movements. Just deadly accuracy. As she did, her exaltation powered her attack, turning it into something far deadlier than a mortal soldier would have been capable of.

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flurry with the Orichalcum Shellcaster. Three attacks.
Using the First Firearms Excellency to add 3 dice to the 1st attack, 4 to the 2nd, 5 to the 3rd, effectively nullifying the Flurry penalties.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on each attack to halve the Infernal's DV.
Total dice are 15 for each attack. The weapon has a damage of +9L.
First attack: (15d10)[7][3][3][3][4][3][7][3][7][9][6][2][4][9][2](72)
Second attack:(15d10)[6][7][3][10][1][4][3][9][3][9][3][6][3][1][7](75)
Third attack: (15d10)[9][5][8][7][10][6][4][2][6][7][4][8][2][9][6](93)

[sun_tzu]

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D'oh! Forgot the stunt dice. Adding them here for each attack:
(2d10)[3][7](10)
(2d10)[9][10](19)
(2d10)[1][1](2)

[Maugan Ra]

(Because you can stunt defenses as well, and I get the feeling that I might well need every mote of essence before this fight is through)

As the gigantic crimson ape-thing charged towards him, Watson's eyes narrowed. Sidereals didn't fight the same as other people - they were trained to do the unexpected, to think in different ways, to defy predictions. In short, they fought by cheating.

He let the ape get within a few feet, and just as it was drawing back it's arm to swing, he moved. Not away, as the thing clearly expected, given their relative masses, but directly towards it, throwing himself into a graceful bound. One outstretched hand made contact with the Ape's forehead, and he used the leverage to flip himself up and into the air, away from its glittering claws.

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That being an, ideally, two-dice stunt description of the evasion. Assuming it was, my combat stats now stand like so:
Personal motes: 10/14
Peripheral motes: 29 (33)/33
Willpower: 7/8

(And for my action on tick five)

The vault carried him neatly over the charging foe and left him on top of a computer tower of some sort, a glittering array of dials and electronic displays that he did not have nearly enough time to properly study right now. He pivoted smoothly, somehow keeping his footing despite the bizarre perch, and raised the gun again.

"Come on then, you monkey bastards. Try and catch me." he taunted, doing his best to draw their ire towards him and away from his comrades, sending a hail of shots into the Blood Apes.

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No charms right now - saving my essence for the Infernal. Instead, a two shot flurry into the Ape attacking Berger. Twelve dice base as before, so rolling ten and nine dice against the Ape's listed dodge DV of five.
(10d10)[2][3][1][10][7][5][5][3][2][10](48)
(9d10)[7][5][5][2][9][2][3][9][6](48)
And assuming that was a one-dice stunt, my personal essence pool is now at 12/14 motes.

[horus42]

Major Berger's shots tear through the Skraeling's flesh. It slows him, but doesn't stop him. He charges forward, his skin bursting and sloughing off, being replaced by a harsh-looking brassy metal, inscribed with whorls of ancient text.

Commander Tarkas meets him in the middle, claws slashing futilely at his metal flesh.

(Ok, so if my calculations are correct, it should be the blood apes now, then Watson and Berger again)

Both blood apes are enraged at Watson for killing their comrades and wounding them. Each tries to make a killing blow, and manages to achieve nothing.

[Maugan Ra]

As the Blood Apes snarl and try to rend him apart, Watson leans sideways and willingly topples off the computer bank that he'd been standing upon. He held his weapon ready as he fell, waiting for just the right moment... There. For the briefest of instants, his aim could draw a straight line through the heads of both Apes as they turned towards him, before continuing on to meet the Skraeling roughly where his heart should be. In that moment, Watson pulled the trigger.

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So, once again making a combo of Iron and Smoke Mandala and the Fateful Firearms excellency. The Mandala is being used to shoot both apes and the Infernal, while I'll use the Excellency to lower the difficulty of the hits against the apes to 4's, and auto-confirm everything on the Infernal. Total cost is 8+3+3+4 motes and a willpower point. Also assuming a one-dice stunt bonus.

Blood Ape 1: (13d10)[10][1][5][10][5][2][3][9][8][2][7][10][1](73)
Blood Ape 2: (13d10)[10][8][10][2][3][10][6][2][1][5][2][3][3](65)
And I score thirteen successes on my attack against the Infernal.

Personal motes: 0/14
Peripheral motes: 25(29)/33
Willpower: 6/8

[sun_tzu]

Hm. Tough guy. Let's see if I can pierce through his armor. Ignore the apes - even if they get a lucky hit, it won't be fatal to any of us.
Major Berger aimed her gun with one hand, waving the other hand behind it. It was a very simple trick, really - but to an opponent watching for a fraction of a second, it would briefly provide an illusion that the weapon itself was moving. Just enough to slightly falsify dodging instincts.
But that in itself might not suffice. So she gave it her all, focusing like only a special operative could on making the perfect shots.

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Flurry of three attacks with the Shellcaster.
Spending one Willpower to improve her attack roll - all of them if you rule that WP/Vritue expenditures apply to entire flurries, to the first attack otherwise.
Using Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique on each attack.
Using the First Excellency to reduce the Flurry Penalties to -2 on each attack.
To sum up: Three attacks at 10 dice (+possible stunt dice) +1 auto-success. Damage is 11L, Piercing. The Infernal's DV is halved.

Atack 1: (10d10)[4][5][6][1][7][7][6][1][4][10](51)
Atack 2: (10d10)[5][7][3][4][6][3][6][9][5][5](53)
Atack 3: (10d10)[8][4][4][5][9][1][7][6][8][2](54)
((If I get stunt dice, I won't be upset if you roll them yourself to save time XD))

Remaining motes (not counting any from Stunt): 8

[horus42]

The two remaining Blood Apes fall to the ground, dead.

The Skraeling staggers, clearly very severely wounded. Enraged, he slashes at Commander Tarkas with his Autoklaive, nearly bisecting the Lunar.

Commander Tarkas lands on the floor, blue blood flowing freely from his wound. He shifts back to his true form.

[Maugan Ra]

"Son of a bitch!" Watson spits out as he watches the Commander fall.

Yellow light flares around the room as he takes careful aim at the Infernal and fires. The first shot strikes the Skraeling in the left eye, a boiling lance of energy cooking the gelatinous flesh and causing it to explode in a gory torrent. The second shot strikes the left eye, inflicting yet more ruination. And the third and final shot, Watson places straight in his foe's heart.

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Spending 12 motes and three willpower to use Fateful Firearms Excellency on all three attacks in a flurry. Kicks my anima banner up to fully totemic level, and resolves as ten, nine and eight successes on the shots. Base damage is 6L, again since I don't know the DV of the Infernal.

[sun_tzu]

Tarkas!
...Don't act impulsively, Erin. Losing your **** won't help Tarkas. If he's still alive, your best bet at keeping him alive is taking the Infernal out NOW.
Major Berger made a mad dash toward her fallen commander, as if to check up on him...then, a few yards away, suddenly turned to face the Infernal instead, crouching, sliding with her remaining inertia as she placed three shots on the skraeling.

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Flurry of 3 attacks.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on the first two attacks. If my actions in the previous round counted as a stunt of any sort, then I use it on the third attack, two.
Attacks: (With enemy's DV halved where LTT is used)
(9d10)[7][1][2][4][8][4][10][7][9](52)
(8d10)[7][10][7][6][10][3][10][7](60)
(7d10)[2][8][8][8][4][10][5](45)
You tell me if there's any stunt. ;)
Also, I'm spending one Willpower, again, to add auto-success. Does it apply only to the first attack, or the entire Flurry?

[horus42]

Tarkas!
...Don't act impulsively, Erin. Losing your **** won't help Tarkas. If he's still alive, your best bet at keeping him alive is taking the Infernal out NOW.
Major Berger made a mad dash toward her fallen commander, as if to check up on him...then, a few yards away, suddenly turned to face the Infernal instead, crouching, sliding with her remaining inertia as she placed three shots on the skraeling.

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Flurry of 3 attacks.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on the first two attacks. If my actions in the previous round counted as a stunt of any sort, then I use it on the third attack, two.
Attacks: (With enemy's DV halved where LTT is used)
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
You tell me if there's any stunt. ;)
Also, I'm spending one Willpower, again, to add auto-success. Does it apply only to the first attack, or the entire Flurry?

(two dice stunt. :D Also, I'm letting it apply to the whole flurry)

[sun_tzu]

(two dice stunt. :D Also, I'm letting it apply to the whole flurry)

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OK, rolling the stunt dice for each attack then:
(2d10)[1][9](10)
(2d10)[3][7](10)
(2d10)[1][1](2)

[horus42]

The Infernal falls to his knees, his Caste Mark and Anima Banner fade away to nothingness as his eyes close. Blood pools around his broken corpse.

Tarkas moves his head, looking up at the scene. "...Berger..."

[Maugan Ra]

"Damn it." Watson hisses, and activates the comm link to the team outside. "Medic, in here now. Commander Tarkus has been severely wounded."

That done, he moves over to check the terminal the Malfeans had been working on. Nothing like an active task to take your mind off the fact that your commander had been horribly bisected by an autoklaive...

[sun_tzu]

The Infernal falls to his knees, his Caste Mark and Anima Banner fade away to nothingness as his eyes close. Blood pools around his broken corpse.

Tarkas moves his head, looking up at the scene. "...Berger..."

Berger ran toward the commander, while radioing the Dragon-Blooded: "Anyone with medical skills, get here now!"
She kneeled next to Tarakas, immediately starting to apply first aid. "Computer, search first aid procedures for Tharks." Applying pressure to keep more blood from escaping. Keeping blood from clogging the respiratory system. Stimulating the cardiovascular system where she could. I can't prevent every death, but I'll be damned if I don't do what I can.
Well, at least his exaltation should make it easier for him to keep alive.
"Restrict talking to the strict minimum necessary, sir. I'm not a good enough medic that you can afford wasting your breath."

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Channeling Compassion on an Intelligence+Medicine roll. Add stunts at Storyteller's leisure.
(8d10)[9][8][9][9][9][10][9][5](68)

[horus42]

"Damn it." Watson hisses, and activates the comm link to the team outside. "Medic, in here now. Commander Tarkus has been severely wounded."

That done, he moves over to check the terminal the Malfeans had been working on. Nothing like an active task to take your mind off the fact that your commander had been horribly bisected by an autoklaive...

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The interface is pretty straightforward. The Infernal seems to have left a data storage device plugged into the terminal. The download is complete.

[horus42]

Berger ran toward the commander, while radioing the Dragon-Blooded: "Anyone with medical skills, get here now!"
She kneeled next to Tarakas, immediately starting to apply first aid. "Computer, search first aid procedures for Tharks." Applying pressure to keep more blood from escaping. Keeping blood from clogging the respiratory system. Stimulating the cardiovascular system where she could. I can't prevent every death, but I'll be damned if I don't do what I can.
Well, at least his exaltation should make it easier for him to keep alive.
"Restrict talking to the strict minimum necessary, sir. I'm not a good enough medic that you can afford wasting your breath."

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Channeling Compassion on an Intelligence+Medicine roll. Add stunts at Storyteller's leisure.
[roll0]

He coughs up a bit of blood. "It's no good, Major. I'm done for. Win this war for me. You're an ugly pink monkey, but you fight like a Thark. It's up to you now... Commander Berger."

He goes limp, the life going out in his eyes.