HP: 19/20 Military Grade Weapon Novice Tactics Training Leadership
Cerpin is healing the group with leadership Each team member restores 1d4+1 (rolled separately) hp. 8/16 advances 1/3 minibosses defeated
Her angry voice cut through whatever thoughts he was having about their victory over the gerbil army. Cerpin looked to see what had Aerona in such a frenzy this time and froze. He'd seen this sight before. Hell, even the broken door. Sascha's bleeding face under the water, his nose bleeding everywhere. Bruises and cuts from smashing through walls and a broken motorcycle helmet smeared a vibrant yellow. He swallowed, dropping his blade and rushing over as fast as he could run.
The blood was alarming but worse was the awkward way Sascha's shoulder stuck out. He tried to be gentle in touching the area to test if he had any range of motion. It was bad.
"Don't worry. I put you back together once. I can do it again." He mumbled, a grim expression on his face. He felt like such an a*****e, goofing around while the others were getting chewed to shreds or dislocating their limbs. Aerona had every right to give him that seething glare and he knew he'd ******** up.
"Aerona, we're gonna borrow your lap." He forced Sascha to lie down, pushing the commander's head to rest on her thighs. The pillow was for comfort to get him to relax but also would allow the redblood to help control the other boy's movements. Cerpin wasn't sure how the two of them knew each other but they seemed to be friends.
"This is gonna suck. But it's gonna get better. You just gotta trust me." Taking hold of Sascha's wrist, he slowly pulled the arm outstretched from Sascha's side before bending it and inching it above his head. Pushing it behind the yellowblood's head, he instructed him to reach towards his opposite shoulder. Aerona would be able to help shift him or stop him if the pain became visibly obvious.
"I know. You're fine. We're just making sure of that." His pump biscuit was beating uncomfortably faster than he wanted it to be.
HP: 9/20 Military Weapon: +1 DMG Trinkets: 3/3 Defense Style A: 2 damage is detracted from last incoming attack. 1/1 Defense Style B: Nullify damage from the last attack. Telekinesis: 1/2 Offensive Style B: Attack does double damage, and detracts 1 health from opponent every remaining turn. Recurring damage effect stacks.
Sascha felt inclined to argue with Aerona. He was fine. He wasn't going to be responsible for bringing down the mood. Yet here he was, kneeling on the floor among a pile of undead gerbil detritus. Every time he opened his mouth to complain, he got distracted by the taste of metal on his tongue. "I'm fi-"
Cerpin cut Sascha off with his goddamn fussing. Sascha toppled over onto Aerona under less force than he would ever admit. He groaned from equal parts fury and pain. He hadn't yet caught on to what Cerpin was doing. The purpleblood was moving too fast for him to track with the awful headache he was developing. "What are you- Get o-"
POP
"AAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"
Sascha convulsed in Aerona's lap, fighting against resistance from both her and Cerpin. Sascha grimaced, then pulled himself back to his knees. His off arm remained pinned to his chest protectively. It ached like nothing else, but was no longer limp. Sascha fixed Cerpin with a deeply suspicious glower.
"Tch," Sascha broke eye contact. "Good work. If you're gonna insist on being helpful, help me up." Sascha made a vague searching gesture with his good hand.
She did as Cerpin recommended, holding her tongue long enough to hold Sascha as still as she could.
"Shh, hey - c'mon, Sasch--" she muttered, fretting as he struggled and writhed. Her frustration was rising - temper bubbling up inside of her as Sascha's state began to affect her psyche. Calm had never been her strongsuit. Now, with a wounded commanding officer demanding to be left alone in a wounded state, it was difficult for her to contain herself. As Sascha was helped up, she slid out from under him and snapped.
"Hey - hey! You're no good to us armless, especially when your helmsman s**t makes your brain explode. Cerpin, pay more attention, gog!" She tugged at her braid. Jaw taut, hands raised to her temples to rub away the pressure. Aerona stomped over to Mahmud.
"...How're you doing? Okay?" She managed through gritted teeth.
style A -2 damage taken, 3x per battle., used 0 times
Hair clips, Agility Type B (novice)
style B 2 2d6 hits with +1 to accuracy to each on this attack, 1x per battle* *roll 4d6, first two numbers are the 'hit or miss' determiners, second two are the damage done., used 0 times!
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Useless. Compared to everyone else in this state, he was absolutely useless. Even when they had been fighting, Mahmud had proven useless. Clearly this fact made him uncomfortable, as he started to itch at his own arms. All he was trying to do was not be stupid, not get in everyone's way, and instead Sascha got hurt and everyone else got aggravated. And hurt. Everyone was aggravated, including himself. There was a lot of tension that only made him scratch harder. This s**t went from fun to foul real quickly.
Mahmud hung back and watched the scene unfold, as Cerpin did something to their brother in arms to put that arm back in place. Aerona, meanwhile, seemed rather... angry. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of the trip? Everyone snipping at each other?
He itched even harder, leaving little white lines on his arm where the nails dug in.
Once Aerona came to check up on him, Mahmud quickly spat out "M'fine. You guys are the ones worse for wear." As if to emphasize his point, Mahmud nodded his head over to the other two guys. "I'm more worried about you all." It was true, but the way Mahmud muttered and looked away, it was clear he was shutting down fast. "I'm... sorry I didn't do more for you guys."
HP: 19/20 Military Grade Weapon Novice Tactics Training Leadership
Cerpin is advancing down a hallway 9/16 advances 1/3 minibosses defeated
Cerpin nodded in response to Aerona's grumblings. He did need to pay more attention even if he didn't especially need the scolding right now. He grasped Sascha's hand and yanked him upwards. The commander still looked like s**t but at least he'd be able to catch himself with both hands if he fell again. He gave him a glare in response.
"She's right, you know. No more psionics." An angry finger jabbed the yellowblood in the chest as Cerpin overstepped to give an order. He didn't understand how the powers worked. All he knew was this was the second time he'd seen Sascha bleeding because of them. Maybe they were too dangerous to use. If he continued using them, would he fall unconsicous? Cerpin felt an immense fear for Tevini and what they might do to her as a result.
"We gotta keep moving." Aerona was talking to Mahmud and he felt bad that the orangeblood was probably suffering through major anxiety right now. Cerpin just didn't know if they had the time to help him through it when it felt like they couldn't catch a break between these zombies and injuries. The two of them were just far away enough that Cerpin couldn't make out what they were saying but he did recognize the body language Mahmud was putting out. Crap.
"Guys, it's another door." He pointed ahead. "Check if it's locked. I'll- no you shut up- I'll break it down if it is." Any protests or heroics from their leader were talked over with as much volume as was necessary.
Sascha checks the state of the door... It's locked!
HP: 9/20 Military Weapon: +1 DMG Trinkets: 3/3 Defense Style A: 2 damage is detracted from last incoming attack. 1/1 Defense Style B: Nullify damage from the last attack. Telekinesis: 1/2 Offensive Style B: Attack does double damage, and detracts 1 health from opponent every remaining turn. Recurring damage effect stacks.
Sascha was already starting to feel better, or at least more woozy and less in-excruciating-pain. His bad arm remained close and immobile. He didn't trust it to stay put, or not just drop off completely with how sore it was. He really overdid it with that dance move.
With that in mind, Sascha didn't do more than narrow his eyes at Cerpin's command. It was the right call, and as commander, Sascha was required to follow through. "Fine," he grumbled after a tense moment of silence. "I'll save it for the salvage." He made one last swipe at the drying blood on his face. His nose had finally stopped all of its bleeding nonsense.
While Sascha was opposed to taking orders from Cerpin, he'd rather be at the forefront of the party. Sascha approached the door and examined it. He tried tugging on the handle with his good arm. He ended up hanging off of it at a 45-degree angle. Not so much as a creaking noise. "Looks like you're up, sarge," Sascha said to Cerpin as he stepped out of the way.
HP: 14/20 Military Grade Weapon Novice Tactics Training Leadership
Cerpin is breaking down the door (-5 HP) 9/16 advances 1/3 minibosses defeated
Cerpin did a mock salute before stepping forward to size up the door. It looked sturdy despite wasting away in space for several sweeps. He wanted a crowbar to pry it open but then didn't have time to search for one. His sword could have worked in a pinch but he didn't want to possibly damage it. Looked like they'd have to do this the tedious way.
"Here we go." Cerpin took in a breath before lifting his foot to kick the s**t out of the door. These weren't the flimsy kinds of doors installed in a troll's hive. They were built to withstand space travel. He began to kick furiously, trying to break through the weak parts of the door, if only he knew where they were! Stumbling off balance, he growled and caught himself on the wall. Against better judgment, he took a run and jumped at it with a kick aimed at the dent in the door.
"Shiiiit!" He grasped, his leg smashing through and earning himself some long scrapes from the inner components of the door. Tugging his leg back through, he surveyed the damage with a groan and waved the others to pass through first. It didn't look bad enough to be fatal but it was painful enough to slow his speed and bleed through some of his pants.
This is a mini-boss battle, the full rules and mechanics of which can be reviewed here. The room beyond the door seems empty from the hallway, but stepping inside you are swiftly aware that you are not alone! For lurking in the corner is a dark groaning shape. As it turns towards you, you realize you are entering strife! You have encountered a ...
Dice 1 1. ... Enraged... (-1 to all attacks) 2. ... Jawless... (+1 on accuracy rolls) 3. ... Putrid... (-1 on all accuracy rolls) 4. ... Decomposing ... (+1 on all attacks) Dice 2 1. ... Skeletal... (-5 miniboss HP) 2. ... Bellicose... (players take 2x the amount of damage on their first turn) 3. ... Armoured... (only 2 players per turn may use a special artifact/ability/item) 4. ... Burning... (take an extra 1 dmg each time you deal max damage (highest roll possible for weapon or damage-dealing skill)) Dice 3 1. ...Undead Ship Cook! 2. ... Mutated Daywalker! 3. ... Zombie Gerbil Pack! 4. ... Daywalker on Fire! MINIBOSS STARTING HP: 30/30 If you rolled a 1, take 4 dmg. If you rolled a 2, take 4 dmg. If you rolled a 3, take 3 dmg. If you rolled a 4, take 3 dmg. If you rolled a 5, take 2 dmg. If you rolled a 6, take 2 dmg. Your attack this turn does double damage.
Miniboss HP: 25/30
If all party members reach 0hp, look below:
You must make a tactical retreat! Scrambling back out of the room, you barely make it to the pod with all your limbs attached. Better luck next time! You have retreated from your mission and returned back to the docking area! Squad commanders, be sure to report in!
If the mini-boss reaches 0hp, look below:
If this is your first or second mini-boss fight look below:
If a member of your team is a trained Discipline or Endurace specialist OR registered as in-training for either:
You can close your eyes and draw on inner reserves to keep going. This can only be done once per ship exploration per troll trained. If you are a Journeytroll or higher in your skill: Restore 1d10+3 OR 1/3rd (rounded down) of your hp. If you are a Novice in your skill: Restore 1d8+2 OR 1/4th (rounded down) of your hp. If you are training your skill: Restore 1d6+1 hp. You cannot roll the dice then choose the flat restoration, one must be picked beforehand.
If a member of your team is a trained Troll Relations or Leadership specialist OR registered as in-training for either:
You can manage to cheer, rally, or cajole your teammates into finding more energy. This can only be done once per ship exploration per troll trained. If you are a Journeytroll or higher in your skill: Each team member restores 1d6+3 (rolled separately) hp. If you are a Novice in your skill: Each team member restores 1d6+2 (rolled separately) hp. If you are training your skill: Each team member restores 1d4+1 (rolled separately) hp.
If this is your third mini-boss fight, you have reached the control room! Roll 1d4 and look in the spoiler below:
1 - Powering on the ship is easy enough, with the instructions from headquarters in your ear. The screens show that the ship is functioning perfectly, and headquarters patches in the control of a remote helmsman. They wait until you have returned to your boarding pod and leave, before steering the ship away.* 2 - Powering on the ship is easy enough, with the instructions from headquarters in your ear. As the screens boot up however, dozens of red warnings and errors flash across the screen. It seems like there has been critical damage to the ship in multiple places. Your team is instructed to leave the small black boxes containing deadly explosives in key positions on your return path to the exit. 3- The ship refuses to power on, even after you follow headquarters instructions to make sure they are plugged in, and hitting ctrl-alt-del. It looks like something core is not functioning. Your team is instructed to leave the small black boxes containing deadly explosives in key positions on your return path to the exit. 4- Powering on the ship is easy enough, with the instructions from headquarters in your ear. The screens show that the ship is functioning perfectly, and headquarters patches in the control of a remote helmsman. They wait until you have returned to your boarding pod and leave, before steering the boarding vessel away.* If any troll in the party has helmsman authority, they can steer the ship to given coordinates, then return to the boarding vessel with the rest of the team. Congratulations! You have completed your mission and returned back to the docking area! Squad commanders, be sure to report in!
style A -2 damage taken, 3x per battle., used 0 times
Hair clips, Agility Type B (novice)
style B 2 2d6 hits with +1 to accuracy to each on this attack, 1x per battle* *roll 4d6, first two numbers are the 'hit or miss' determiners, second two are the damage done., used 0 times!
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For a moment Mahmud just... stared at Cerpin, expression unreadable. Why he hadn't asked the troll who enjoyed building to find the weak point in a door was beyond him. Did they really think he was that useless at this point? Gog damn! Well, his 'boss friend's' stupid move was enough to get Mahmud to stop itching at the very least, as he just slowly shook his head and cleared his throat. "So uh..."
He'd have to be brave now. Have to take the lead now. If he didn't start pulling his weight...
Without further word he strode over to the door, stepping inside only to call back out "Gerbils! Lots of them! Skinny little buggers!" They weren't the prettiest gerbs, nor were they the strongest looking. Certainly didn't have tiny little armor like last time. He could do this. It wasn't like they had been trolls ever at any point. It wouldn't be like... well... yeah.
With a deep breath, and strangely no war-cry, Mahmud charged headfirst into the pack, gripping the screwdrivers in his pocket. There was loud crunching and screaming where he literally trampled over these poor creatures in his steel-toe boots and stomped them, all the while flinching. Gerbils just... made the most pathetic, horrible squeaks while dying... and it was really getting to him bad. But it had to be done.
All the gerbils he stabbed, All the gerbils he stomped, It had to be done.
There was a stench in the room, and he was finally giving out little shouts of exertion as he stabbed through skulls and stomped through piles of them. After a while though, Mahmud finally called back, voice notably shaky and distraught "A little help guys? Somebody? There's a lot of em... ACK!"
Miniboss HP: 15/30
Sypon rolled 2 6-sided dice:
3, 1Total: 4 (2-12)
Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 6:40 pm
Aerona 10/20 Military Weapon +1! Adept Agility B
2 dmg (using agi again)
Mahmud was a timid sort, the kinda-sorta pacifistic that ground Aerona's gears. They were here on a mission with a high probability of combat- if he couldn't handle it, then--
No, Aerona. Calm. The redblood kneaded again at her temples. Things had been going so well until the first horde attack - how quickly she unracelwd had her on edge. It was a reality check. They were thousands of miles from land, trapped in a vacuum and under an Imperial microscope. Her features hardened, but before she carried on she clapped a hand on Mahmud's shoulder. "Hey. You're okay."
She hardly registered her team finding the door, and breaking it down. She was busy preparing for the creatures on the other side.
Mahmud went in first, to her surprise. He was out of his element, using his tools as weapons oddly enough. Aerona called out.
"I'm lobbing a poison grenade! Don't get knocked over or get close to the floor!"
She rolled a thin canister into the fray, where a white veil of smoke began to pour out. It was too dense to gain altitude, snd seemed to eventually absorb into beaded liquid drops on the floor. In no time, the small bodies began to stop in their tracks after consuming the poison.
Sypon Vice Captain
Offline
Sypon rolled 2 6-sided dice:
5, 3Total: 8 (2-12)
Sypon Vice Captain
Offline
Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 6:43 pm
(rolling 2d6 bc with trinket and boss bonus its autohit)
Sascha attacks the jawless, skeletal zombie gerbils!
HP: 7/20 Military Weapon: +1 DMG Trinkets: 3/3 Defense Style A: 2 damage is detracted from last incoming attack. 1/1 Defense Style B: Nullify damage from the last attack. Telekinesis: 1/2 Offensive Style B: Attack does double damage, and detracts 1 health from opponent every remaining turn. Recurring damage effect stacks.
"Not so easy, is it?" Sascha chuckled. He stepped over the remains of the door. He shot Cerpin a smile that was exhausted, but genuine.
Mahmud had already set to work dispatching the newest wave of undead gerbils. He wasn't sure if he respected or feared the tenacity of these bizarre rodents. Not even sweeps of isolation in space or death itself seemed capable of stopping them. Sascha shuddered. The sounds of Mahmud frantically stamping out their tiny bodies wasn't helping the gruesome scenario.
"I'm good here. You're doing great, man!" He called to Mahmud from his end of the room. Luckily for the orangeblood, Aerona was willing to step in and lend a frond.
The use of poison was diabolical, Sascha realized. Without jawbones, most of the gerbils were incapable of not consuming the vapors, regardless of whether or not they breathed. The horde became sluggish. Sascha figured he'd left his charges hanging long enough. He joined Aerona and Mahmud, crushing particularly resilient gerbils as he walked. "Ever consider dance battling? Your instincts aren't bad, but you could use some finesse."
HP: 14/20 Military Grade Weapon Novice Tactics Training Leadership
Cerpin is advancing 10/16 advances 2/3 minibosses defeated
"Nice work, team." Cerpin clapped for the rest of them, having staggered in on his aching leg after them. He grabbed a hold of Mahmud's shoulder as the carnage finished and gave it a squeeze in hopes of pulling the orangeblood out of his own head. He tended to get stuck in there if faced with something traumatic. Like stomping the life out of little creatures. Or getting eaten alive.
"You're doing good, dude. Just a little longer, okay?" He nodded his head forward to get the group moving. "After this, what do you say we do something fun when we get back? We'll get Tevini and make omelettes like back home." Sometimes routine rituals helped you feel safe again. Maybe Mahmud needed some time back in his normal element.
"I'll even get some fancy stuff to put in em. I know a guy who could get something good." A girl, actually, but he didn't want to give out any truthful details about her in case the others picked up on the conversation. Chiara was good at smuggling basically anything you wanted but that only worked if you didn't reveal her identity. He still didn't know how she got her hands on the stuff she did but hey, he was going to take advantage of the friendship.
style A -2 damage taken, 3x per battle., used 0 times
Hair clips, Agility Type B (novice)
style B 2 2d6 hits with +1 to accuracy to each on this attack, 1x per battle* *roll 4d6, first two numbers are the 'hit or miss' determiners, second two are the damage done., used 0 times!
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Stomp, stomp, stomp. Stab stab stab. He was trying his best to keep up with the throngs of creatures at his feet. The only change in plan Aerona's poison grenade had posed was that he didn't dare get close to the floor. So instead of concentrating on his screwdrivers, Mahmud went further into his stomping.
He hated this. He hated this he hated this he hated the sounds they made, the little pathetic squeaks, the crunch of bones... The only thing that kept him fighting was this primal urge for self preservation, one that he recognized all too well.
When Sascha came forward and started talking, Mahmud didn't even register what he said at first. Only that with talking, he had to stop crushing. Immediately afterwards, Mahmud started to tremble and gasp a bit, now that reason was coming back to him. "Wh-wha?" He finally managed to stammer out, now that he wasn't desperately destroying gerbils. Dance battling? Dance battling... his head was swimming, trying to piece that idea together...
Then he felt a squeeze, and whipped his head around to look at Cerpin. Omelettes... Omelettes with Tevini... sounded good about now. With fancy fixin's. There was a moment where he tried to catch himself, and then Mahmud nodded a bit. "Okay" he muttered, reaching over to squeeze Cerpin's shoulder back. "If you make it outta here with a leg." Mahmud did his best to tease Cerpin, let him know that he was going to be okay. There'd be time to process all this once they were out of the thick of things. "Next time... I'll take care of the door." With that he clapped him once on the back, and then started walking towards the group. Sort of. He still hung back a little bit, to make sure Cerpin could catch up.
Damn, their group may just be ********. Cerpin had a shitty leg, and Sascha was doing this bleeding thing...
As the walked down the hallway, something seemed... off. There were noises. Not the normal creeky ship noises, but... something else.
"Guys, check it out. I think... I think we're not alone again."
If there were more daywalkers, he sweared to gog...
HP: 7/20 Military Weapon: +1 DMG Trinkets: 3/3 Defense Style A: 2 damage is detracted from last incoming attack. 1/1 Defense Style B: Nullify damage from the last attack. Telekinesis: 1/2 Offensive Style B: Attack does double damage, and detracts 1 health from opponent every remaining turn. Recurring damage effect stacks.
Mahmud was unresponsive to Sascha's suggestion. At least he was as far as Sascha could tell with all the stammering and muttering. He didn't seem to be suffering pan damage and was doing his share of zombie-slaying, so Sascha couldn't be bothered to complain.
Cerpin's presence seemed to calm the other lowblood down. Sascha rolled his eyes and clapped the both of them on the back. "Congrats all around. Maybe next time you can disassemble to door before one of us barbarians breaks a horn on it, handyman."
Sascha heard the sound of shuffling approach from the hall. He followed Mahmud's attention. Sure enough, more daywalkers had found them, likely attracted by the commotion they were making. "...Hey, at least it's only... one, two... nine of them! Single digits!" Sascha smiled and shrugged at his team, grimacing immediately at the strain on his shoulder.
