THE NEW VANGUARD! HAUNT Issue #11 with Special Guest Star Steeplejack!

DavidMcMahon wrote:"Let's see if we can figure out what the danger is first," the Haunt suggests.  "If we can bypass it or turn it off, we could go straight in.  I'm thinking that we may want to come from below otherwise since they seem to like hiding things below ground."

Using Thief skill.  Thinking the two of us together with that skill could handle it but just in case, be ready to go below.  And Stealth to approach unnoticed.


"By the way, if you see a tall skinny guy armed only with a gun?  Kill him in one shot, pound him into paste or run away.  That gun can take away your powers.  Ignore anyone else until he is down.  It's like the rule in Dungeons and Dragons, take out the mage first then the frontline.  That's how I got caught and spent a year as a test subject for the Advent.  They do that to us here, I doubt that we will be captured and used as test and torture subjects."

Gibb stood back, looked long at Carter and then nodded his understanding, grateful that his hitherto encounters with these thin men had so far gone his way.

OOC: OK Using our thief skills and other abilities we'll circle in on the garden. If it looks necessary to do so, we might think about a discreet way to go in from underneath, creating a tunnel to then come up near the spot if that seems to be a better approach.

Sj

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 4 HP 84 and HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 92

OOC Haunt is the 'clumsiest' of the pair and so we default to his Dex/Thief skill

Perception AV7 + Sharp Eye 2 + Diff 3 + Roll(6d12)+0: 3,5,11,2,1,11,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 10,9,+0 Total:41 (53) vs
Dex 10 + 4D Thief/Stealth + Roll(6d12)+0: 10,11,7,10,1,5,+0 Total:20 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 5,6,+0 Total:31 (41)
+5 (to 12) vs RV10 - Diff 3 so RV7=5RAPs. Stealth FAILS!!!

Creeping through the garden the pair get a few paces in... and the ground starts to rumble!

Claws burst forth from the soil and are followed by a creature from nightmare!



The ground rumbled some twenty feet to the left.. .and away to the right!

Two more creatures burst from the floor, three in total!

OOC Initiative...

Roll(5d12)+0:
8 Haunt (34)
9 Steeplejack (43)
1 Chrysallid #1 (24)
3 Chrysallid #2 (26)
9 Chrysallid #3 (32)

You two act first...

Gibb wanted to add something...but decided to punctuate his sentence with an attack instead.

Leaping against the nearest of the creatures, he used his skills to find a point of contact beyond its carapace armoured form.

OOC: OK leading with Martial Arts and splitting the die even stevens, I am wondering about using earth control, can I form a shell around them to leave them exposed to attack but 'grapple them' to stop them moving and encumbering their limbs etc? Would that be a dice action, if so obviously not this round, but if using Earth Control doesn't require dice I'll do that as I leap at them etc.

Sj

Two more creatures burst from the floor, three in total!

OOC Initiative...

Roll(5d12)+0:
8 Haunt (34)
9 Steeplejack (43)
1 Chrysallid #1 (24)
3 Chrysallid #2 (26)
9 Chrysallid #3 (32)

You two act first...




Taking the target furthermost from us The Haunt turns his hands into giant bug-smashing mallets and stretches out from where he is [unless he takes range penalties, then he moves a bit closer, unless he can grow some sports glasses around his eyes for enough telescopic vision to negate range penalties] and attempts to play "Smash The Bug"


ooc:  SO I guess stretching, omni-arm and weaponry. And maybe shapechange for the sports glasses?

https://www.magnifiercity.com/eschenbach1624-31maxeventtelescopicmagnifyingglasses.aspx



These almost look like a futuristic version of Plastic Man's goggles though a different color.  Maybe I should make them the standard to place over the tiny black mask he wears with his all white costume?  With stretching, having the telescopic vision all the time would be a great asset so as to not have range penalties for "short range" distances.

Here's a clunkier more old fashion style that's been in use with folks who have low vision for decades.  As well as sports enthusiasts who are up in the cheap seats unable to get a clear view of the action on the field.

https://www.magnifyingaids.com/2.8X_Sports_Glasses

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 4 HP 84 and HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 92

OOC I assume the following:

Steeplejack 3D Attack/2D defence
Haunt 3D attack (weaponry)/3D defence

Steeplejack's best attack (by far) is Dex 13/Str 11 + M Arts so Earth Control might be a struggle to hit with that hefty Difficulty 4!

Dex 13 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 5,12,6,11,5,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 4,8,+0 Total:22 (Proof doubles don't always win!) (35) vs
OV9 + Diff 4 + 2D Acro (1D Attack) + Roll(4d12)+0: 4,5,5,1,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 2,11,+0 Total:23 (36) attack missed

Steeplejack leaps through the air with a Karate kick... that strange 'time' distortion sees him mistime his kick so he sails past the Chrysallid (#1 1D attack) without making contact!

Haunt tries to do better with his giant mallet hands!

OOC Dex 10 + 3D Weaponry (3D Acro) + Roll(5d12)+0: 10,2,1,4,1,+0 Total:14 (24) vs
OV9 + Diff 3 + 2D Acro (1d m arts) + Roll(4d12)+0: 12,11,7,6,+0 Total:23 (35) Attack Missed

Haunt is an ineffective when the creature ducks aside and launches at him!

OOC Chrysallid #1 AV9 + 1D + Roll(3d12)+0: 4,6,2,+0 Total:10 (19) vs
Steeplejack OV13 - Diff 4 + 2D Acro + Roll(4d12)+0: 12,6,5,4,+0 Total:18 (27) attack missed

Chrysallid #3 AV9 + 3D attack + Roll(5d12)+0: 2,12,9,1,11,+0 Total:13 (22) vs
Steeplejack OV13 - Diff 4 + 2D Acro + Roll(4d12)+0: 10,5,1,6,+0 Total:16 (25) attack missed

Despite that distortion effect, Steeplejack's incredible reflexes see him saved not once but twice when the creatures attack, all hissing claws and scything poison tips!

OOC Chrysallid #2 AV9 + 1D + Roll(3d12)+0: 8,7,2,+0 Total:15 (24) vs
Haunt OV10 + 3D acro - diff 3 + Roll(5d12)+0: 9,6,9,8,4,+0 Total:18 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 12,1,+0 Total:31 (38) attack missed

Haunt is as dextrous, more so even than Steeplejack and avoids the creatures slathering jaws!

OOC Honours even this round. Next...?

Haunt has a potential of 6D attack and 4D Defence. Whatever you use for one reduces the other.
Steeplejack has 5D attack and 4D defence, again, whatever you use for one, the other is reduced.



Same as last round for initiative...

The Haunt will keep doing the same including the skill dice as you had set it.

DavidMcMahon wrote:The Haunt will keep doing the same including the skill dice as you had set it.

OOC: Likewise, what else can I do ;-)

Sj

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 4 HP 84 and HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 92

OOC You can allocate more dice to attack or defence, or go for a crit blow/dev attack (hitting them would be a start though...)

Steeplejack vs
Chrys #1
AV13 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 12,11,9,7,11,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 4,1,+0 Total:27 (40) vs
OV9 + Diff 4 + 2D Acro (1d att) + Roll(4d12)+0: 3,10,5,4,+0 Total:15 (28)
+5 (to 16) vs RV13 + Diff 4 so RV17=No damage

Despite landing a meaty blow Steeplejack gets the idea the Chrysallid wasn't impressed!

OOC Haunt vs
Chrys #2
AV10 + 3D Weap + Roll(6d12)+0: 8,9,2,7,1,9,+0 Total:18 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 9,1,+0 Total:28 (38) vs
OV9 + Diff 3 + 2D Acro + Roll(4d12)+0: 3,6,3,4,+0 Total:6 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 9,6,+0 Total:21 (33)
+3 (to 18) vs Rv13 + Diff 3 so RV16=2 RAPs damage to Chrys #2 which is on Body 7/9

Chrys #1 vs Steeplejack
AV9 + Diff 4 + 1D m arts + Roll(3d12)+0: 4,10,10,+0 Total:20 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 6,1,+0 Total:27 (40) vs
Steeplejack OV13 + 2D Acro + Roll(4d12)+0: 7,3,2,7,+0 Total:14 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 6,10,+0 Total:30 (43) attack missed

Chrys #2 and #3 on Haunt
AV9 + diff 3 + 1D M Arts + Roll(3d12)+0: 1,10,9,+0 Total:19 (31) vs
OV10 + 3D acro + Roll(5d12)+0: 4,2,6,7,11,+0 Total:18 (28) Hit +2 (to 13) + diff 3 (16) vs RV14= 2 POISON damage to Haunt on Body 12/14.

AV9 + diff 3 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 7,5,8,7,7,+0 Total:14 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 9,7,+0 Total:30 (42) vs
OV10 + 3D acro + Roll(5d12)+0: 8,2,6,8,10,+0 Total:16 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 9,5,+0 Total:30 (40)
+2 (to 13) + diff 3 (16) vs RV14=2 POISON damage to Haunt on 10/14 Body

Absorb the damage? That would cost a total of 6 HP leave Haunt on full health and 86HP

This is a tight scrap because of that difficulty level, and in normal circumstances I'd expect you to clean their clocks. In order to break the deadlock you may have to ditch your defence dice and go for Crit Blow or Dev attack then use HP to soak up any damage you get walloped by...



Same order. Just.

Use HP to absorb all the damage. Move all dice to offense, try multi-attacking all three.
Haunt

DavidMcMahon wrote:Use HP to absorb all the damage.  Move all dice to offense, try multi-attacking all three.
Haunt

OOC: I think going from 3 -4 difficulty was a mistake, it seems we've moved from difficult to dang deadlock. So I will go for Devastating attack and ditch defence dice.

Sj

OOC Dave (E) I'll switch you to Difficulty 3 if you want otherwise we'll be at it for weeks in every fight...

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 84 and HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 86

Finding the strange time distortion to be creating a larger challenge than expected, the heroes knew they had to throw caution to the wind!

OOC Steeplejack vs Chrysallid #1
DEV ATTACK AV13 + 5D M Arts + Roll(7d12)+0: 7,3,7,11,6,2,12,+0 Total:14 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 7,8,+0 Total:29 (42) vs
OV9 + Diff 3 + Dev Att 8 + Acro 1D (M Arts 2D) + Roll(3d12)+0: 3,9,12,+0 Total:21 (41)
+1 (to 12EV) vs RV13 - 12 Dev Att + 3 Diff so RV4=8 RAPs damage. Chrysallid #1 is on Body 1/9

Landing a powerful blow Steeplejack hopes to see his opponent stagger... but is disappointed! Nonetheless he knows the target has taken a battering and only needs another hit to take it down!

Haunt tries to batter all three with his mighty mallet hands!

OOC MULTI Dex 10 + 6D Weaponry + Roll(8d12)+0: 10,12,5,1,10,9,5,8,+0 Total:20 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 4,12,+0 Total:36 (46) vs
OV9 + Diff 3 + Multi 4 + Acro 2D (1D M Arts on Chrys #2) + Roll(4d12)+0: 2,4,5,2,+0 Total:4 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0:
10,7,+0 Total:21 (37)
+4 (to 19) vs RV13 + Diff 3 + Multi 4 so RV20=No damage!

Frustratingly, Haunt's massive hammers swing wide and the creatures scatter then dive in at the pair!

OOC This round two on Steep, 1 on Haunt...

#1 AV9 + 2D M Arts + 3 Diff + Roll(4d12)+0: 11,10,12,1,+0 Total:23 (35) vs
OV13 + Roll(2d12)+0: 9,12,+0 Total:21 (34) +1 (to 12 EV + 3 Diff so EV15) vs RV20 (using Force Shield) No damage.

#3 AV9 + Diff 3 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 5,9,11,2,8,+0 Total:20 (32) vs
OV13 + Roll(2d12)+0: 9,6,+0 Total:15 (28)
+3 (to 14EV) vs RV9= 5 RAPs POISON damage. Steeplejack is on Body 4/9 and is poisoned. You can absorb this damage for 15HP (putting you on 69HP) if reqd.

A Chrysallid smashes against the force shield (formed of earth) that Steeplejack throws up but it protects only one direction and he grunts as a razor sharp slash of a poison tipped leg slashes into his back!

Haunt is attacked by the creature that he faces and he grits his teeth as the creature lunges!

OOC #2 AV9 + Diff 3 + 1D M Arts + Roll(3d12)+0: 5,5,10,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 9,11,+0 Total:30 (42) vs
OV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 10,1,+0 Total:11 (21)
+6 (to 17EV +3 Diff so EV20) vs RV14=6 RAPs POISON damage to HAUNT leaving him on 8/14 Body. Absorb this or just some of it?

Haunt feels the creature slash at him and knows the heroes need to thin the creatures out or they may fall at this hurdle!

OOC Initiative...

Where the numbers are in red are the Body stat if you take the damage (and the poison will affect you round on round unless you resist it, 5 points for Steeplejack and 6 points for Haunt) whilst the Hp total in red shows what Hp you have left if you absorb all damage. You can absorb less, but the poison will still have a chance to affect you...

At this point the fight could go either way!

Admin wrote:OOC Dave (E) I'll switch you to Difficulty 3 if you want otherwise we'll be at it for weeks in every fight...

Where the numbers are in red are the Body stat if you take the damage (and the poison will affect you round on round unless you resist it, 5 points for Steeplejack and 6 points for Haunt) whilst the Hp total in red shows what Hp you have left if you absorb all damage. You can absorb less, but the poison will still have a chance to affect you...

At this point the fight could go either way!

OOC: Thank goodness you can adjust the difficulty on the fly. Phew! And yes I will absorb all poison damage or be done in, round by round anyway. As regards the attack keep on pressing in, first on the one who is almost down and then turn on the others.

DavidMcMahon wrote:ooc:  Um ... why is Multi at +4, shouldn't it have been +2 since the Haunt was only attacking 3 of them?
I was thinking of multi attack again this round with critical blow but those dice are so close together I'm a bit leery of it.  That's another +2 against me.  But I will go with multi-crit on all three or how ever many are standing after Steeplejack is done with his actions.



And yes, he will use HP to absorb all the damage.

OOC With the House rules all the 'column shifts' in the back of the book no longer apply. Instead multiply them by 2APs per 'column' so 2 opponents are +2APs OV/RV and 3-4 are +4 OV/RV, 5-8 opponents are +6APs OV/RV. Far faster and easier to figure out without messing about with tables, and we've played this way for a few years now... These things are giving you so much trouble because a) Their Dex is only 1AP different to Haunt b) that difficulty level adding +3 c) Multi attacks add extra difficulty to attack/resist damage.



Can't remember if I sent you guys a copy of the house rules document (which needs updating with the 'powers as skills' thing you use for detection with those funky goggle eyes Haunt uses) and there was another in Kid Kinetics game which rings a bell, with have a look. There's only so much stuff I can fit in my head...

You both absorb the damage and Steeplejack takes down (hopefully) the one he's injured...

Steep DEV ATTACK Dex 13 + 5D M Arts + Roll(7d12)+0: 8,8,2,5,10,4,9,+0 Total:16 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 11,6,+0 Total:33 (46) vs
#1 OV9 + Diff 3 + Dev Att 8 + Acro 2D (1D M Arts) + Roll(4d12)+0: 6,4,1,9,+0 Total:15 (35)
+5 (to 16) vs RV13 + Diff 3 - 12 D Att so 4RV=12 RAPs. Chrysallid #1 is DOWN and OUT!

Finally the creature succumbs to a terrific karate kick from Steeplejack and he spins in his now shredded tuxedo, ready to repel the next attack... and sees two creatures on Haunt this time!

OOC Haunt attacks Crit Blow Multi on two Dex 10 + 6D Weaponry + Roll(8d12)+0: 7,9,4,5,10,11,10,5,+0 Total:20 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 7,3,+0 Total:30 (40) vs
OV9 + Diff 3 + Multi 2 + 1D Acro (#2 has 2D M Arts #3 has 3D) + Crit Blow 4 + Roll(3d12)+0: 8,7,9,+0 Total:17 (33)
+4 (to 19) vs RV13 + Diff 3 + multi 2 - Crit Blow 6 so RV12=7 RAPs to each of #2 and #3. Chrysallid #2 GOES DOWN and is OUT whilst #3 is on Body 2/9

Swinging those mighty hammer hands Haunt smashes one of the creatures into the dirt, sending the other reeling. It glances about and sees it is now outnumbered and heads towards the house at speed!

The heroes give chase and suddenly the creature springs up! Bounding up into the air over the height of the house it lands on the sloped roof three storeys up and heads to a skylight in the sloped roof where it slithers inside!

Steeplejack can easily leap that high and lands lightly on the roof whilst Haunt stretches up and retracts his lower body onto the rooftop. The creature was fast, and it's out of sight now, but may be waiting in the loft of this building to attack!

ooc: Just had this weird idea but could the Haunt shapechange into an X-Ray machine and try to get a picture of where living beings are in the building? If we could find someone whose skeletal structure is human we would know where to go first.
Or something like it.

Admin wrote:OOC Hmmm... I suppose so, like a screen that allows you to see stuff, but beyond a few feet it wouldn't be much use (the power itself has a max range of 1AP I think off the top of my head). Huh, mixed it up with another power apparently, range is normal. At any rate seeing through walls would reveal into the room beyond rather than making a room transparent... But then Byrne changed the rules of how X Ray Vision worked for Superman and he was apparently able to make a city transparent to his sight so... go for it.

X Ray vision 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,11,+0 Total:17 (27) vs
Brick Wall OV8 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,12,+0 Total:23 (34) Huh. Failed.

Haunt morphed into an X Ray machine only for Steeplejack to raise an eyebrow. Haunt stretched his eyes to glance through his own body and frowned. So much for that idea...

OOC: This is a game based off DC heroes, so nothing you do is weird ;-)

Steeplejack saw Haunt morph and a fuzzy indistinct picture formed, which might as well be a painting by some abstract artist for all he could work out. Not for him, he crawled to space by the skylight, examining it for traps, giving himself time to check with his precognitive sense to pick up any danger as well as taking a look inside before getting ready to jump to the attack.

Sj

Steeplejacks danger sense did not warn him of immediate danger as he crawled into the loft of the townhouse.

Instead he gaped as he saw spheres... well, more like large eggs, a foot high in places. He counted four of them, and one was ... pulsing... The place stank of rotting flesh and slime oozed from the eggs and pooled around them. Light from a hatch to a landing below (and the house proper) suggested the creature had dashed straight into the house to escape from the battering the two heroes had handed out.

OOC Danger Sense 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,12,+0 Total:18 (28) vs
OV4 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,5,+0 Total:6 (13)
+5 (to 15) vs RV4 +3 so RV7=8 RAPs

Steeplejack senses considerable danger from within the house, though not on the top (3rd) floor, on the middle floor.

Admin wrote:Steeplejacks danger sense did not warn him of immediate danger as he crawled into the loft of the townhouse.

Instead he gaped as he saw spheres... well, more like large eggs, a foot high in places. He counted four of them, and one was ... pulsing... The place stank of rotting flesh and slime oozed from the eggs and pooled around them. Light from a hatch to a landing below (and the house proper) suggested the creature had dashed straight into the house to escape from the battering the two heroes had handed out.

OOC Danger Sense 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,12,+0 Total:18 (28) vs
OV4 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,5,+0 Total:6 (13)
+5 (to 15) vs RV4 +3 so RV7=8 RAPs

Steeplejack senses considerable danger from within the house, though not on the top (3rd) floor, on the middle floor.

Informing Haunt, he crawled in and suggested that proceed down, time was clearly of the essence.

Sj

"Can we bypass the floors of the house instead," the Haunt asks. "Use your earth powers to dig straight down to the cellar or the sewers under the house? I bet the princeling would be there instead of in the house."

DavidMcMahon wrote:"Can we bypass the floors of the house instead," the Haunt asks.  "Use your earth powers to dig straight down to the cellar or the sewers under the house?  I bet the princeling would be there instead of in the house."

Steeplejack wasn't sure, why did the Chrysalid creature jump up to the roof. Undoubtedly it had gone to get reinforcements. At the same time, Steeplejack was loath to split the team, that had not gone well, they fought better together. It wasn't a time for debate, this was really Haunt's gig and so he deferred to him. Righto.

And with that, he lept down and excavated through the floor and down under the foundations to find the underside of the house.

OOC: OK following orders boss, let's see what we can see down here.

Sj

ooc: Since we have moved to Blood of Heroes book two, they have a new power called Digging. You might want to look into it. BC 5, FC 2. Diamond has a OV/RV of 15. Rocky soil of 6, Limestone of 8, Granite of 10, steel of 12.
Just a thought.
And I figured he went in high to have us a run a gauntlet of traps before reaching our goal. May be totally wrong in that idea but ...

Coming out of the loft and dropping to the floor Steeplejack raised his hands and 'did his thing'...

OOC Earth Control 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 3,6,+0 Total:9 (19) vs
OV7 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,10,+0 Total:17 (27)

technically there's no point Steep getting digging. his power allows a volume of earth, rock, stone to be moved rather than trying to gouge through the hardness of a substance. Of course, the dice have a say in things...

Once more the strange distortion came into play (OOC plus decent roll for the opposition) and frustrated Steeplejack.

Haunt glanced about. The ground floor windows were curtained but... stretching his neck around and up he looked and saw some kind of cellar doors, presumably for deliveries of coal and such. A way in?

Admin wrote:Coming out of the loft and dropping to the floor Steeplejack raised his hands and 'did his thing'...

OOC Earth Control 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 3,6,+0 Total:9 (19) vs
OV7 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,10,+0 Total:17 (27)

technically there's no point Steep getting digging. his power allows a volume of earth, rock, stone to be moved rather than trying to gouge through the hardness of a substance. Of course, the dice have a say in things...

Once more the strange distortion came into play (OOC plus decent roll for the opposition) and frustrated Steeplejack.

Haunt glanced about. The ground floor windows were curtained but... stretching his neck around and up he looked and saw some kind of cellar doors, presumably for deliveries of coal and such. A way in?

"Ughhh!" Steeplejack said exasperated. "Stupid time travel, my powers were never this feeble or this unpredictable...well apart from that time when... Oh never mind. Let's try that way over there." Moving over to the doors he checked for booby traps, the lock and anything else that might have been 'modified' of late. Before working on getting them in.

Sj