[GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection

[Stegyre]

Originally Posted by historiasdeosos

Spoiler

You missed the first pin roll, but I did several others for you in the seconds afterward: 12, 13, and finally 8. All the woman's attacks missed due to being grappled and on the floor.

Spoiler

Yeah, that's the "defense" I was counting on: give her enough minuses so she will probably miss me: a lot easier than trying to dodge or block her.

The grey-haired man yells as the fat man throws him off. He scrambles backward but the fat man lashes out, grazing his exposed legs and leaving shallow cuts.

"Oh, crap! DANIELLE!" he yells out.

Pummeling them isn't working. Something to tie them with isn't fast enough. I don't know what to do! He will try to slip his forearm across b-s w's throat and choke her into unconsciousness. Just 'til she collapses. I don't want to kill anyone. The grey-haired man is on his own for now, Tal cannot afford to leave his own fight, but he tries to keep his eye on the fat man, for his own protection.

Spoiler

Still AFB. Here are a couple of rolls for a chokehold. Discard the second if unnecessary. As per practice, make additional ones if necessary.
chokehold, 1st try (3d6)[11] 2nd try (3d6)[8].

Well, at least the second one should make it? He will just try to choke her into unconsciousness. @$#*! that's going to take a while . . . .

EDIT: "Little girl! Go into your mother's cabin and hide in the bathroom!"

[Inglenook]

Spoiler

To do a choke hold you have to be behind someone (i.e. the woman is on her stomach and you're on top of her), and you have to use Judo or Wrestling (neither of which you have, so your skill level would default. You could plain-old choke her, though, if you grapple her neck. Rules for it are on pg. 370. You only have one free hand, though.

[xen0phile]

As they are approaching the elevator, Ese realizes he has not given Rendahl his name. "I'm Ese, by the way."

[Stegyre]

Originally Posted by historiasdeosos

Spoiler

To do a choke hold you have to be behind someone (i.e. the woman is on her stomach and you're on top of her), and you have to use Judo or Wrestling (neither of which you have, so your skill level would default. You could plain-old choke her, though, if you grapple her neck. Rules for it are on pg. 370. You only have one free hand, though.

Spoiler

Plain-old choke it is, then.

[Corrino]

Maxwell looks with disgust at the drunk as the elevator descends, and waits for the thing to stop, and open.

"You mentioned Rob, was it? You know someone who's had this disease?" he directs this comment her direction.

Spoiler

/waiting for catchup just wanted him to ask that before I forgot

[Inglenook]

ESE

Captain Rendahl gives you a quick handshake. "Morten."

---

MAXWELL

"Don," Brenda corrects you. Her eyes are glazed over, and you suddenly realize that she's close to tears. With her stomach emptied, her voice is much less slurred.

"We were in the casino. Last night. I went to the bathroom and one of those things was there. Some woman dead on the floor. I ran, but it was so fast. Don heard me screaming and he saved me, but … I couldn't save him."

She refuses to look at you. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

---

TAL

The little girl yells from the other side of the door: "I can't get out, the door's broke!"

You grab at the woman's throat, but she's thrashing so hard that it's difficult to do so. You finally manage to get your free hand around her windpipe and begin to squeeze.

Spoiler

You failed the first two attempts (it's your ST+4-5 vs. her ST unmodified). I rolled twice more for you, though, and you succeed on your fourth attempt (a roll of 8).

The grey-haired man puts all his force into a kick aimed at the face of the fat man who's crawling toward him. You hear an audible crack as the front of his face crunches inwards; he collapses to the floor and doesn't move.

Danielle runs out of 6556 with three leather belts. "Pete, help me!" she screams at the grey-haired man. He's shaken, but he crawls over and helps you pin the suited woman down. As you and Pete tie one of the belts around the woman's arms and another around her legs, Danielle tries to use the final belt to gag the woman. The woman stares up at her with hate-filled eyes and expels an impressive torrent of pink vomit directly into Danielle's face.

Danielle gags, falling backward and scrambling into 6556, where you hear her throw up—and then the sound of the sink and scrubbing.

You finish gagging the woman with the belt; she's entirely secured now and wriggles like a worm across the carpet. You let go of her.

With both attackers subdued, Pete stands and throws his weight against the door to 6554; it bursts inward, and a girl no older than 9 or 10 rushes out and into his arms. "Dad, what happened?! Do we have to abandon ship?! I got ready just like I—" She catches sight of the crumpled fat man and squirming woman and is struck speechless.

Danielle emerges from 6556 still gagging, her face and hair wet from where she washed off the vomit. She roughly embraces her husband and daughter.

Pete stares at the fat man's motionless form. "I—I think I killed him." But Danielle has noticed something else.

"Emma, where's your brother?" she asks the little girl, a note of panic in her voice.

Emma looks at the ground. "I'm sorry, Mom! He said he'd be back in just a little bit and he told me not to say anything and—"

"Emma. Where. Is. He."

"He said we was going up to the arcade."

Danielle rounds on Pete, her eyes flashing. "We have to go get him now. I want off this boat, Pete. I don't care if we have to get helicoptered out or if I have to carry you all on my back and swim to shore, I'm not staying on this boat for the rest of the night!"

She turns to you, shaking. "Thank you, Mr. …?"

[Stegyre]

"Tal. Tal Faulkner. And no, none of us are going anywhere just yet ma'am. Whatever these folks have," waving at the two bodies, "It seems to be highly contagious, and if any one of us gets infected, we may be as good as dead.

"First, your husband and I are going to lock these two up in the bathroom of that cabin, he motions toward 6554. "Then we are going to wash every cut, scrape, bite mark, vomit -- anything -- on any one of the four of us with soap and hot water. Start tearing some sheets into strips to use as bandages . . . and for more ties, in case we need them.

"I give you my word, once we've done all that, I will go find your son, wherever he is."

Spoiler

Diplomacy roll, if needed: (3d6)[12]
First aid rolls, as needed, for
Pete: (3d6)[10]
Danielle: (3d6)[11]
Emma: (3d6)[8]
Self: (3d6)[13]

If any of those should be secret, feel free to re-roll them, and we'll treat these as how well Tal thinks he did.

He asks if they have any rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer and will use them as sterilizer while treating them. All this assumes, of course, that he successfully persuades them to stay.

I just remembered he has the Luck feat. As necessary, he will use his Luck rerolls to avoid infection. He's hoping that he's lucky in that regard.

Edit: Crikey! It's hard doing first aid on yourself, I guess. Still, I am assuming that good first aid will just give a bonus against infection, while the really important roll is the infection roll, so still saving Luck for the infections roll.

[Drynwyn]

John will take Richard with him to go collect his rifle. He will follow the route he took before, as it is hopefully still zombie-free (mostly) but at a moderate jog, watching and listening closely for infected, peering around corners, etc.

[Inglenook]

Spoiler

I've got a big programming assignment to finish tonight, but I'll try to update before I go to bed. Sorry about the slight delay!

[Inglenook]

ESE & MAXWELL

Your elevators arrive at Deck 01 at almost the exact same time, with Maxwell's arriving maybe a second or two earlier. They open with a ding, revealing the horrifying tableau before you.

You are in a smallish room that serves as an antechamber for the security office and a waiting room for the medical facility. To the left is the door to the security office: it is covered in blood. It's been pushed open from the inside, and you can more blood on the floor, trailing behind the security desk inside.

To the right of the security office is the medical facility. There is a row of chairs here, and several have been knocked over.

Two people are trapped inside the medical facility, both of them wearing doctor's smocks. Through the window where the receptionist would sit, you can see a man with receding grey hair, a mustache and glasses with his back against a door, trying desperately to keep it closed. It vibrates as though it's being beaten at by many hands. On the far side of the door leading into the medical center is a blonde woman, pressing up against the plexiglass of the door with her hands to brace it. "Help us!" she screams.

You can see why she's bracing the door: in the room with you, pounding at the medical facility door, are two of the infected. One is a woman in a sundress, the other a man wearing the black shirt and pants of a security officer. Ese, you notice a pistol and taser in the belt of the security officer.

The two turn at the sound of the ding! and the door opening. As they spot you, they both lunge forward. The security officer leaps into the elevator with Ese and Morten, lunging at Morten's neck. The woman in the sundress lunges into the elevator with Maxwell and the women, clawing at Maxwell's face. Her swing goes wide, though, and her hand slams into the wall. You hear the crunch of breaking fingers.

Spoiler

I drew a really ugly picture because I'm horrible at describing scenes. Hopefully this helps. The black people-blobs there are supposed to be the infected.

The infected got first attack because of their higher average Basic Speed. Maxwell's elevator has been called down; the doors will close in about 4 seconds, and anyone still in the elevator will be carried down to the Engine Room.

---

JOHN

You and Speck quietly leave Schultz's room. As you make your way back down the corridor, you notice that the man who was sitting in front of the door to the bridge is now gone … although the thumping and yelling behind the door continues.

Both of the main elevators are in use when you get to them, but after calling one and waiting for a bit, it arrives and takes you down to Deck 07.

"Why are we going this way?" Speck hisses. "We should just take the elevator down to your—"

He's cut off as you turn the corner. The top floor of the Centrum is directly ahead of you, its staircase and glass elevator going down all the way to Deck 03. Just past it is the Bolero Lounge. A starboard-side door to the open-air deck outside bursts suddenly off its hinges, and a man lurches in.

It appears to have once been one of the crewmen, but you instantly recognize it as one of the things that were in Time Square—the bruised face is a dead giveaway.

The thing spots you and screams, running at you. You are currently separated by the Centrum, and the man is 40 yards away. You and Speck have the option to attack first, if you chose to fight it.

---

STEVE

The digital display of the elevator reads "01". It should be down any moment now. If there's anything you'd like to do before it arrives, now would be the time to do so.

Spoiler

Sorry, I got behind. You'll be able to act very shortly.

---

TAL

"You think these people were sick, like the ones who got off the ship?" Pete asks.

"Pete, we don't have time for this!" Danielle cries. "Adam's alone and there could be more—"

Pete put a hand on her shoulder. "If this guy—uh, Tal—is right, we need to make sure we didn't get exposed to whatever they have. It'll only take a minute. Go see if we have some iodine or something in the cabin or something, okay?"

Pete helps you drag the two bodies into the bathroom of 6554. The fat man definitely doesn't appear to be breathing, but the woman glares at you with mad eyes as you close the door on her and return to 6556. Danielle holds out a bottle of hand sanitizer as you enter. "This is all we have. There's no first aid kit or anything in here."

While Danielle thoroughly scrubs her face and hair and Emma washes her hands (although she didn't come in contact with either of the attackers), you douse Pete's legs in hand sanitizer and help him wrap his wounds with torn bedsheets. He winces at the burning but says nothing. Lastly, you all slather your hands and arms in sanitizer.

From next door, the suited woman locked in the bathroom suddenly lets out a loud, almost wolf-like cry. You hear several other voices roar in the distance, as if responding to her.

Emma's eyes go wide. "What are they doing?!"

"Pete, we have to leave now. More of those things are coming," Danielel snaps. She turns to you. "Will you help us? We have to find my son. Emma, you said Adam was going to the arcade on Deck 11, right? I don't know what's happening on this ship, but we need to leave."

You size them up. Danielle is a short, black-haired woman with full lips and an eagle-like nose. She looks like she might be of Italian ancestry. She's wearing a set of ridiculous Snoopy pajamas that are at odds with her proud and stubborn face.

Pete is a tall, lean man with a narrow face and watchful eyes. He and his wife both look to be in their early forties, and his hair (once brown) is almost completely grey. He's wearing nothing but a grey T-shirt and boxers.

Emma is perhaps 9 or 10, with long brown hair. The shape of her face is like her mother's, but otherwise she takes after Pete. She's wearing a winter hat and coat over her pajamas—strange clothing for a Caribbean cruise.

Spoiler

You may take the mostly-empty bottle of hand sanitizer if you wish. The roars in the distance seem to be growing closer.



If you allow them to, Danielle, Emma and Pete Carver will join your party.

[Stegyre]

Tal debates in his head. I'd be faster going alone, and they'd be safer in their cabin with the door locked and barricaded. As long as they were quite, I don't think "the infected" would know they were there. These crazies don't seem all that rational and probably have no way of knowing which cabins are still occupied.

On the other hand, the boy -- Adam -- will be more willing to go with his family than a complete stranger, and my chances are probably better with their help.

"Okay. Let's go," he says, picking up his hiking stick. Grab the bed sheet to take with us."

He smiles to Emma, "We're having an adventure. You may see some scary things, but we're going to get through this alright. Don't be scared."

Tal tears a strip from the bed sheet to tie over his mouth, like a face mask. "I don't know how this infection is being transmitted. Better safe than sorry," he explains, with a look in his eye suggesting that they do the same.

He will listen to see if he can tell which direction the noise of other infected is coming from.

Spoiler

Perception (3d6)[11]

Assuming he doesn't hear anything too close coming from that direction, he will head stern-ward toward the central stairs and elevators. If he does hear something approaching from that way, he will take one of the cross-wise hallways to the starboard side and try to reach the same route.

Spoiler

If he ends up back on the starboard side of the ship, he'll try to make a quick stop in his cabin to grab his daypack, iPad, jacket and hat. I wish I'd thought to bring a first aid kit on this trip.

Whether they try to take the stairs or an elevator to Deck 11 is going to depend on where the elevators are and where they hear any infected.

[Inglenook]

TAL

Emma looks uncertain but smiles in spite of herself.

Pete nods as you tie the bed sheet around your face. "Good idea." He rips off a few strips, handing one to Danielle and helping his daughter put hers on before affixing his own.

You stick your head out the door and listen intently. The screaming has stopped, and you can't hear anything at the moment … except for the grunting and thrashing of the woman in the bathroom of 6554. It seems to be clear.

You grab your walking stick and motion for the family to follow you down the hall, and you make it to the elevators without incident. Your room is only twenty-five feet away, and you hear nothing coming. You can stop by your room and gather some things if you'd like to do so.

Spoiler

Technically you're in the center of the ship, not the starboard side, so I wanted to make sure. For reference, the map of Deck 06.

[Stegyre]

Originally Posted by historiasdeosos

Spoiler

Technically you're in the center of the ship, not the starboard side, so I wanted to make sure. For reference, the map of Deck 06.

Spoiler

If I'm reading the map right, and "up" is the bow, my deck is on the starboard side. I meant that, if we'd had reason to take one of those cross-wise hallways (such as the one running between cabins 6573 and 6565), we'd then be on the starboard side and very close to my cabin by the time we reached the elevators.

Tal whispers to Pete, "You call the elevator. I want to grab some things from my cabin," pointing in the direction of 6094. "I won't be long."

Spoiler

As stated, he will grab his jacket, ipad, day pack, and hat from the cabin. If the elevator still hasn't arrived, he'll also try to grab a change of clothes.

He will stuff as much as he can - including the hat - into the pack. That's probably not the best thing for the hat, but he doesn't want it getting knocked off, and he knows he'll want the sun protection if they ever abandon ship.

He will wear the jacket, notwithstanding the warmth. Armor, he thinks to himself, such as it is.

[xen0phile]

Shocked by the bloody tableau, he lets out the start of a curse, "¡Asu madre ch-" but is cut off as the deranged man charges in, attacking Morten. This loquisimo is on Morten so damn quick, but still Ese reacts as switfly as he can, lunging at the guard, trying to break him away from the captain.

Spoiler

All-Out Attack: Determined. Grappling Attack. Base DX of 11 + 4 for Determined = 15
[roll0]

edit: trying that dice roller again:
[roll]3d6[/roll]

[xen0phile]

Spoiler

trying the dice roll, again. To-hit for grappling attack:
(3d6)[10]

[Stegyre]

Originally Posted by xen0phile

Spoiler

All-Out Attack: Determined. Grappling Attack. Base DX of 11 + 4 for Determined = 15
[roll0]

edit: trying that dice roller again:
[roll0]

Spoiler

Probably unnecessary, pedantic observation: one cannot "preview" die rolls nor "edit" them into an existing post.

[Inglenook]

ESE

Morten gasps and steps backward, causing the security officer's attack to fall inches short. You take the opportunity and rush at the man, knocking him against the wall of the elevator and pinning his arms to his sides.

Spoiler

Your elevator has been called up; the doors will close in about 5 seconds, and anyone still in the elevator will be carried up to Deck 06.

---

TAL

You leave the Pete, Danielle and Emma at the elevators, listening intently for the ding! that means it's arrived. Entering your cabin, you rush over to your dresser and throw as much as you can into your pack. You go back out to the elevator.

The display above the elevator showing the deck it's currently at reads "01". It should be up in a few moments.

Spoiler

— short downtime —

[xen0phile]

[b]"Grab the gun!"[b] he shouts as he continues to grapple with the guard. He attempts to to slam his knee into the guard's groin.

Spoiler

Knee Strike (core book, page 404), targeting groin. Brawling skill of 11, -1 for Knee Stike. I assume I am grappling from front, so no location target penalty--if I am actually grappling on his side, I should get a -3 for targeting the groin.

tl;dr, roll versus 10 if we are facing each other, versus 7 otherwise:
(3d6)[9]

[Corrino]

Maxwell takes in the scene with a flash, noting those in trouble, and that there's another elevator here, although he probably cannot see its contents, he notices one of the infected moving that way.

Panicked as the second attacks him, he yells "Rebecca, help!" and then swings the ice pick instinctively at the woman.

Spoiler

Maxwell has no intention, necessarily, of killing this woman, but he's aware that she's crazed, sick, and obviously not responding to pain (re: the broken sounding fingers) and is willing to do whatever necessary to put her down, subdue her, or stop her from harming him (and the others).

Ice Pick (3d6)[4][3][3](10)

[Inglenook]

ESE

The man tries to tear at your neck with his teeth, but only catches the collar of your jumpsuit. You respond with a solid knee to his groin.

Spoiler

Damage: (1d6-1)[1]

Morten grabs at the gun on the man's holster with trembling hands, and just barely succeeds at pulling it free before the man thrashes again, almost causing you to lose your grip.

Spoiler

You attacked from the front, yep. Also, I just realized I've been doing grapples wrong, my bad—you only have ahold of the torso unless you specifically go for the arms. It hasn't affected anything thus far, though.

The door will close in 4 seconds.

---

MAXWELL

Your instinctual jab with the ice pick misses. Out of the corner of your eye you see that Rebecca is frozen in place with fear, her knife clutched to her chest and her eyes wide.

But then Brenda is there, crying and screaming: "Don!" With all her might she thrusts the jagged end of her broken bottle into the woman's face. The woman's cheek tears to shreds, spraying blood over all of you. But the woman hardly seems to notice; she punches Brenda in the throat with incredible force. Brenda staggers backward, clutching her windpipe.

Spoiler

Brenda is doubly shocked. Rebecca is in the throes of Combat Paralysis.

The door will close in 3 seconds.

[Corrino]

Maxwell is stunned, both by Brenda's actions, and by the tenacity of this infected person, and is beginning to question what exactly these people have. I'm not a disease expert, but **** if this is just ebola. This really is like a zombie movie.

He yells at Brenda and Rebecca - "Get out of the elevator, it's a death trap with this thing!"

Spoiler

Maxwell will attempt to step out of the elevator. Unsure what he has to do to get by the infected, re: positioning. If he can step out of the elevator, he will attempt to keep the zombie IN the elevator. If he has to fight past or go around or etc, he will do that. If any checks need made, or if it's possible or needed for him to strike again, you can roll it if you'd like. His goal is to get them out, and leave the zombie inside. Perhaps in the back of his mind he knows the elevator is going to where other people are... but all he's worried about is his own survival at the moment, and perhaps that of those people around him.

Note: If the others are incapable of getting out of the elevator quickly enough, he will hold it as long as his life does not seem jeopardized. If the thing is still attacking him, he will do what he can to save himself with no regard for the others

[Inglenook]

Spoiler

Since the infected woman is busy punching Brenda, you should be able to move past her without being harmed. And it's possible to attack as well, in order to knock her further toward the back of the elevator and give the girls more time. So you could either "Move and Attack" (which would mean you'd only make a successful hit on a 3 or 4, eek) or "All-Out Attack", which (depending on which type you use) is much more likely to hit but would also mean you can't defend if she manages to attack you her next turn.

[Corrino]

Spoiler

Move and Attack, then: (3d6)[3][2][1](6)

[xen0phile]

Ese offers a quick, silent prayer to Mary. He goes for another knee to the groin, but he is quite worried his opponent no longer responds to such pain in the manner of a human.

Spoiler

roll versus 10 (Brawling - 1) for knee strike:
(3d6)[12]

Crushing damage to the groin of a human male normally inflicts twice the shock effect, but I assume the zombie virus makes an NPC immune to shock

[Inglenook]

ESE

You strike at the man's groin again, but he squirms and your strike barely grazes his thigh instead. Out of the corner of your eye you see Morten step back out of the elevator and click the safety of the pistol off, readying it.

Spoiler

The man seems mostly unfazed by the knee to the groin, yep.

You are inside the elevator grappling the guard. Morten is outside the doors to the elevator. The doors will close in 3 seconds.

---

MAXWELL

As the woman attacks Brenda, you slip past and attempt to swing at her from the behind. Unfortunately, she steps forward during her attack, meaning you jab at the air where she was just standing.

Rebecca remains frozen and bug-eyed.

Brenda lashes out again with her broken bottle, catching the woman in the stomach this time. The woman should have fallen by now, but it's almost as if she feels no pain; she slashes Brenda across the face with her well-manicured fingernails.

Spoiler

You are outside of the elevator, facing the woman's back. The woman, Brenda and Rebecca are still inside the elevator.

The doors will close in 2 seconds.

[Corrino]

Maxwell looks around to take in any further details of the situation, then attempts once more to hit the woman with the pick, this time to the back of the head.

Spoiler

Perception: (3d6)[5][6][2](13)
Attack: (3d6)[5][3][1](9)

He then yells, especially at Rebecca, who is not engaged with the monster "LADIES! Get off the elevator!"

[Inglenook]

MAXWELL

In front of the elevator to your right, you see a tall, balding, grey-haired man. He's preparing to raise the pistol in his hands at something inside the elevator. Behind you, the blonde doctor appears to be fumbling with the lock to the medical facility door.

Your attack misses again. However, your cry seems to bring Rebecca back to reality. Screaming, she edges past the sundress woman and out of the elevator.

Brenda's having none of it, though; she's entirely focused on taking this woman down. She jabs again with the broken bottle and slashes open the woman's bicep. She looks like she might have hit an artery, but the woman keeps coming. Brenda narrowly dodges her attack.

Spoiler

Brenda and the woman are still in the elevator. The doors will close in 1 second.

[Corrino]

Maxwell will make one last futile effort to strike the infected, then will step clear of the elevator doors and allow them to close. "Brenda! Now!"

Spoiler

Attack: (3d6)[5][6][2](13)
Fast Talk (or Diplo?): (3d6)[3][4][1](8) if it will help Brenda

[Inglenook]

MAXWELL

Your attack misses.

Brenda hears your cry and realizes what's about to happen. She shoves past the sundress woman and leaps off the elevator, the doors closing behind her.

Spoiler

The sundress woman is out of the way for now. Brenda is somewhat injured, but you and Rebecca are fine. Slight downtime until Ese's battle is finished.

---

STEVE

The elevator dings as it arrives. "About time," Yolanda says quietly. The doors open.

The inside of the elevator is drenched in blood. Standing within is a woman in a yellow sundress: blood spurts from her arm and stomach, and her right cheek is torn to shreds. Before you can even react, she leaps at Lurch and claws violently at his chest.

Spoiler

The lady had the higher average Basic Speed, so she gets first strike. You may act now.

[dekova]

"Watch out!"

Seeing the blood, Steve can think of only one thing. Contagion.

He hesitates for a split second, then lunges at the bloodied woman to restrain her.

Spoiler

Steve's making a determined, all out attack (+4 to hit, up to 1/2 move), attempting a standard torso grapple.

He's going to grapple from rear or side if he's got the option.

Unmodified Wrestling skill is 13
(3d6)[1][5][2](8)