3:16: Mission 1: Caravaggio

[BigJonno]

The Briefing

There is a loud, metallic "KER-CHUNK!" and a pneumatic hiss as the restraints lock, firmly anchoring your MandelBrite armour to the seat. The monitor in the drop pod flickers to life and Lieutenant Berkin's oily, rodent-like features fill the screen.

"Okay, maggots," he barks in a nasal tone, "the picturesque dirt ball you're about to smash in to is Caravaggio. The brainiacs know precious little about the place, which must be a little bit like being one of you grunts. Our scouting force has failed to return or check in and our instruments are telling us precisely fuck all. We do know that the planet has almost total cloud cover and strong electrical storms are common. It's the huge amount of EM energy that's playing havoc with our sensors. Insertion will be by drop pod..."

"Really?" Trooper Greenwood interjects through the squad's closed com-link, looking around the pod in an exaggerated fashion, "I thought we were taking the bus!"

"...and your standing orders apply. Gunny, your miserable wretches will be coming down close to the original scout's LZ. Ostensibly it's in case there are any survivors, but I think it's to keep you from getting in our way. Berkin out."

As the monitor switches to a view of the planet, clearly showing frequent bursts of lightning in the tumultuous indigo clouds, you hear the familiar whine of the rail guns charging. In a few moments, you'll be hurtling towards the planet's surface faster than you dare think about.

For ease of reading, I'm going to put all description and in-game stuff in bold, while everything else will be standard text. It's probably a good idea for everyone to do the same.

You may have noticed a lack of detailed information on guns, your armour and that kind of thing. That's deliberate. The point is that we're supposed to come up with that sort of stuff as we play. The MandelBrite armour, for example, is sealed, hard armour with a visored helmet which can keep you comfortable in just about any environment. Beyond that, it's up to us. If you want to add details about your character, your kit or anything else in your posts, go right ahead. 3:16 is one of a number of modern RPGs with a much stronger focus on player-led narrative than your typical D&D dungeon crawl. Round these parts, it's affectionately known as "dirty, hippy indie crap".

Now it's over to you. Feel free to describe your character, talk amongst yourselves or tell us what you're doing. During non-combat scenes, there is no need for formal turns, GM interference or dice rolls unless someone wants to do something with a reasonable chance of failure. I'll post if you're interacting with NPCs, to give information and to move the action along. Things will get more structured once you hit the first encounter.

By the way, the planet names, environments, alien types encountered and alien special powers all come from the book and are randomly rolled. I just flesh them out.

[Panthera]

"Why the blue balls are we even touching down on this vomiting hellhole then, huh?" He spat his tobacco at the ground in disgust. "Fuckin' COs don't know their asses from a launch hole."

"Well, fuck that. We're gettin' this job done and we're gonna show these assholes what we're made of."

[hunterx280]

"From what I hear, this shit hole is a prime piece of real estate. Considering Vex's mother is back on Earth, I can't imagine what is so valuable down there that we can't just crack the core from orbit." He said with a smile and chuckle.

"What's the plan when we hit the ground, Boss? We going in quiet or are we going to light the place on fire like we usually do?"

[Scaryfaced]

Double and triple checking the chain linking his favorite paint stick to his hip pouch, Goon continued to draw happy faces on his armor's jointed knee caps. Those dickless techs always cleaned the pretty pictures off of his armor between missions, ruining all of his hard work. The colorful, blood red designs were the only way to distract him from the coppery taste that filled the back of his throat before every drop. "Soon", he quietly whispered to himself over and over. Soon, he'd be adding the 49th mark cut on to his left wrist guard. The 49th and many, many more.

[Shrinn]

"That Berkin sure is one pile of rat dick, eh Goon? Figure he's just afraid of us lookin' too good. Goon? Ah, whatever." Vex turns to Wren..

"You'd best watch your lust, boy. Hear my mom's off on Tarlax killin' scum with her stench. I say we light em up. More chance of me actually hittin something, eh?"

[Panthera]

Gunny stared out the static-clouded hull feed that doubled as a window. "Here's what were goin' to do. HQ thinks this mission is a joke, but we're going to bring those scouts back. Dead or alive, they're goin' home. We're gonna get down there fast, and when we find them, we ain't budging an inch until everything that's movin' round us stops movin'."

[hunterx280]

Wren laughs boisterously at Vex's good humor. "Good to hear she can put herself to good use!" Turns to Gunny and says, "Just once I'd like to come back from these missions not smelling like an alien barbecue! It takes a week in Valkarian Bath Houses just to get the ugly girls to pay attention to me again. You know what a personal slight it is if I have to put up with ugly girls. Could we, just for once, try things my way and use the tried and true method as plan B?"

[Scaryfaced]

Staring glassy eyed at his crude drawings, Goon suddenly pulls his tongue back into his mouth and stares at Wren. A look of curiosity quickly shadows his blunt features. A big grin crosses his face as he blurts out, "Plan? I got a great plan! Kill em all an fuck ther mothers! Whatcha think of that plan, Wren?"

[BigJonno]

All of a sudden, the lights in the pod switch a dull amber and, just in case you forgot what was happening, a loud, pleasant female voice announces "Prepare for drop in ten...nine...eight..."

Greenwood grins at the rest of the squad "Time to see what everyone had for lunch!"

Just to clarify, the 3:16th don't go home. None of you have been back to Earth since you left. You're out there until Earth is safe forever. That said, Wren could quite easily be referring to girls that are also members of the 3:16th. Future Earth is a completely egalitarian society.

Also, this is perfect, keep it up. :)

[TheKeck]

Marx finishes checking his weapon and locks the bolt into place. His gray hair is freshly buzzed, causing the skin beneath to give off a reflective shine from a light blinking above his head. He rubs a thumb across the largest scar on his cheek as he speaks, "Just stick to what Gunny tells ya." His voice is grim but calm as he fixes his eyes on the portal of their soon to be violent exit.

[BigJonno]

"...seven...six..."

[Panthera]

"Hold on to your asses, lads and lasses. Time for another goddamn bughunt."

[hunterx280]

Hmmm, I'm thinking it's time to switch from third person to first person.

"Well gents, it's time to put our game faces on." My face changes from cock-sure smirk to a grim mask of concentration. "What is the plan anyway? As wonderful as Goon's plan of 'Kill em all an fuck ther mothers!' is, there seems to be precious little intel. What exactly are these buggers we're up against? Eleven eyed tentacle beasts? Tripod runners with tits for eyes? Do they have bows and arrows, old fashioned blunderbusses, or energy weapons or something in between?"

[Scaryfaced]

As the countdown began, Goon attempts to lift his arms up in joy. Drops always reminded him of the poorly made coaster rides he loved so much, especially the Grinning Skull back at the Carnival on Majorius Prime. He'd spent half a day riding that rust bucket, as not even the normally gruff carnival folk were brave enough to tell him to get off. Just like the last half dozen times he'd attempted the motion, the restraints only allowed him to raise his hands to head height. Fingers held out splayed like an excited child, Goon managed to let out a "Wee..." before the loud BOOM of the pod's release mechanism drowned out his cry.

[BigJonno]

"...five...four...three..."

[hunterx280]

"I really hate this part..."

[LongStepMantis]

"Never say shit." That's always been my motto. As we hurtle toward our next fuckfest, I remind myself that being sneaky and working the shadows is how I've made it this far. I check the magazine in my slug rifle and check my knife blade. Sharp as a razor or it won't do. I eye my fellow grunts and wonder which of us will be making it to the dust-off point, if any. I always assume I will. I'm a survivor. When push comes to shove, actions speak louder than words, and I let mine do the talking. When we need recon, intel, or scavenging, I spring to life. It's go time.

[BigJonno]

"...two...one...launch."

The acceleration is indescribable as you rocket towards the planet. There is little turbulence; the speed at which you are going leaves scant opportunity for the atmosphere to jostle the pod. Advanced shielding and gravitational compensators are all that prevent you from being torn apart from the friction or the sheer speed involved. Designed to be too fast for any planetary defences to track, the high-burn retro rockets don't kick in until the last possible moment, a violent jolt into rapid deceleration which can empty the strongest stomach.

The landing is remarkably soft in comparison to the harsh descent. After a few moments, the monitor kicks in again, displaying your immediate surroundings; a sea of what appears to be dark, blue-green grass, sculpted into vast waves by the wind. The sky is the same roiling mass of indigo cloud it appeared to be from above and you can see distant flashes of lightning.

The restraints disengage with a klunk and a hiss. It's time to collect yourselves and prepare for whatever awaits you outside.

Gunny, Wren and Vex have all survived the drop in one piece. Congratulations! The rest of you spew your guts all over the pod.

[hunterx280]

I grab my trusty energy rifle, Mirabelle. It's a ragged, well used weapon. On it is a sexy, redheaded pin-up girl. Also, on the rifle is painted a set of ruby red lipstick prints. As I step out of the pod, I kiss the lips for luck. "Come on Mirabelle, we've got some work to do."

[Scaryfaced]

Wiping the last bit of rations off of his chin, Goon gently disconnects his trusty E-cannon from it's harness. It's one of the few things he knows how to do gently. Watching the others start to disembark, he takes a moment to examine the weapon. No matter how many times he's asked, it always comes back to him as clean as the day he'd got it. Quickly, he draws a skull and crossbones with an arrow pointing to the cannon's muzzle. Better safe than sorry. Again.

"I swear, those rations taste better coming up".

So for the narrative, is the 3rd person stuff working or should I switch over to 1st? And whats an e-cannon resemble? Just a rough outline would be cool, like do i hold it like a mini gun, a bazooka or a regular rifle?

[Shrinn]

I guess skipping meals for sleep is one way to keep yourself in one piece during the fall. Didn't stop me from hitting my head on the one count. Tradition, by now, I suppose.

As I climb out of my pod I check my rifle, my fists, and my skull, and yell, "Everyone make it?" It trails off into a chuckle as I notice the tell-tales signs of post vomit. "Where to, Boss?"

[TheKeck]

"I guess you never really get used to that," Marx says to himself as he wipes some bile away with his sleeve. He steps out of his launch pod and goes into a low crouch, scanning the horizon and waiting for orders.

[Panthera]

Gunny spits on the rainy ground and gets out a small box from his back, pointedly ignoring all the vomit. No sense in making the squad's life any harder. That's the job for the bugs. He clicked it and a topographic map appeared. He squinted it, then at the rolling hills around him. "I think we're about... here, and we gotta be -here-. Let's move."

[hunterx280]

If I have questions, should I ask them here or in the rules thread (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=22743)?

[LongStepMantis]

I can't help but stare at my vomit soaked boots and wonder...corn!? I can't even remember the last time I ate corn. I feel this is just the beginning of the fucked up things to come. I secure my pack and check to make sure it was closed tight when the wave of bile splashed over the interior of the pod. I give one quick glance at the old recorded image in my holo-cube nestled in the bottom of my pack and think to myself "I'll make this universe safe for people like you yet, Mom." If someone had done the same years ago, she might have survived the colonist massacre by Tundra Vipers on Pluto. I cover the cube and secure my gear, silently, scanning the horizon immediately outside the pod and await our next move.

I've added a little more character background into my last two posts than I would have liked, but I feel it helps me identify better with my character on the whole. I felt the need to mention this because I won't interject personal background into many posts after this, I just wanted to make something of a frame for the character and his motivations to possibly tie into strengths/weaknesses for later.

[BigJonno]

Either first or third person narration is absolutely fine. Just as in tabletop, go with whatever you feel comfortable with. There is no problem with going overboard on details either; we don't have the time constraints of playing a typical game session, so go wild. So far, everyone's been great, I think you've all nailed the tone of the game.

Asking questions in this thread is cool. As for the E-Cannon, it's absolutely up to you what it looks like. It's essentially a larger, more powerful Energy Rifle, but they aren't exactly described in detail either.

You can barely make out the landscape; no starlight pierces the thick clouds and the frequent flashes of lightning keep throwing out your visor's night vision. The lamps built into your armour illuminate your immediate surroundings, but beyond that you may as well be blind. The rumble of thunder is near-constant. Armour readouts indicate the atmosphere is breathable and temperatures are within human-tolerable ranges, however it's hot, muggy and oppressive. Perhaps keeping your visor down might be the best idea.

Your sensors ping - there is a TEF locator beacon going off a few klicks to the West! Timely lightning silhouette's the area for an instant, allowing you to make out a forest bordering the steppe. Suddenly, there is a burst of bright light from behind you as electricity buries itself into the drop pod, which glows orange, then white, then explodes, showering the area with razor sharp shards of superheated metal. The last two troopers off the shuttle absorb much of the blast, which shreds armour and flesh with equal ease. The rest of the squad is unharmed, although you've all got a few new nicks in your MandelBrite.

Two troopers down already and you've seen neither hide nor hair of the enemy.

[TheKeck]

So, is there some amount of NPC troopers with us or did two of us just kick the bucket?

[BigJonno]

My bad, I forgot that I'd edited out an earlier line I'd written about other troopers. There squad consists of an indeterminate number of troopers other than the PCs, probably around twenty. They'll just be participating in a vague and unremarkable fashion unless I need a NPC trooper for some reason or want to kill someone off on a whim.

[TheKeck]

Marx bows his head slightly and shakes his head and the random loss of life. It's a wonder I've lived this long, he muses. The old veteran shakes away the thought and focuses on the mission. He takes a few quick and deliberate steps toward Gunny before returning to his crouch, waiting for further orders.

[Panthera]

Gunny makes a motion in the direction of the beacon, then clicks off his holograph. "No time to waste. Every second we spend on this death trap is more hell we gotta go through." No way he was going to lose any more men to a planet that sounded like the fifth ninja turtle. "Guns up. Goon, wipe your goddamn chin and take point."

[Scaryfaced]

Following the Sarg's orders, Goon steps out in front of the pack, his E-cannon slung low under his shoulder. Gunny's the only man Goon liked to listen to these days. Years of being called names by the other troopers and the many broken bones he'd inflicted on them as a result had taught him to trust very few. But the Sarg knew what he was doing, making plans and stuff. That wasn't a talent Goon possessed. His talents tended to be more...hands on.

"Did I get it all off, Sarg? Ah well, fuck it. Lets get this shitfest on the road!". Still covered in his own sick, Goon aims the skull and crossbones at the direction Gunny had pointed and begins to follow his gun towards his 49th mark.

I'm really enjoying this RP stuff so far. I should've tried DnD a long time ago. I'm probably going to be busy for most of the day, but I'll check in when I get home tonight to see where we end up. Feel free to boss Goon around, though. He likes to take orders, no matter how vulgar or dangerous.

[Shrinn]

Vex takes a deep breath, releasing it and the wave of relief that comes over him. "We lived through another one, eh boys?" But he knows not to get complacent. Complacency kills. He follows Goon's lead, keeping himself in the middle of the pack and watching both flanks with more caution than necessary, gun locked and charged. It's just not as satisfying slamming a new battery into these things.

[hunterx280]

I step in behind Vex, giving him an extra couple of meters. I warily scan the surrounding by systematically switching through visual, infra-red, UV and EM bands.

I'm assuming our suits are sort of Starship Troopers where I can get a ton of info from my visor. Is there any way to make rolled scan of the surroundings? Like a perception check?

[BigJonno]

Yep, that's cool. Like I said, feel free to make assumptions about the armour, the weapons, everything. As for stuff like perception checks, if I feel like something requires a roll, I'll make a NFA roll for you. Please do ask questions about, well, anything.

In this case, I gave you a bonus to your NFA on the Dominance roll I just made. A Dominance roll happens at the start of an encounter and is a NFA/AA roll. Whoever gets the highest success (quick note about high successes; to succeed at something, you need to roll equal to or less than the appropriate stat, but higher numbers are always better. I really like RPGs that use this mechanic, because it means that higher stats improve the quality of successes and not just the frequency of them) decides the starting range. If one side all succeeds and the other side fails, an ambush occurs.

In this case, the highest success was Gunny, so Panthera will choose whether you will start at Close, Near or Far range (obvious hint: At which range are the squad's weapons going to be most effective?) The aliens actually failed and you came very close to ambushing them, but Goon failed his NFA roll, no surprise there. ;)

You move in the direction of the beacon, struggling through the chest-high grass. Continually switching between utter darkness and searing light, the landscape play tricks with your perception. Too irregular to acclimatise to, like a slow, random strobe light, you're convinced that you see shapes out in the grass, just beyond the range of your suit lamps. The next time the lightning flashes, they're gone.

Flicking through his visor's various bands, Wren manages to snap a still of something moving across the steppe, circling the squad. It's big - real big, at least three times the height of Goon in his MandelBrite. The holo is blurry, but it looks kinda like a tyrannosaur, except that instead of those silly fucking arms, it has large, muscular appendages with massive, scythe-like claws.

You sense that they're about to attack.

Okay, here's how this is going to work. As Gunny won the Dominance roll, Panthera can tell me what range you're going to start at, narrate how he warns the squad and barks out some orders. Then you're all going to say, out of character, what you want to do this round. Once everyone has done that, I'll make the appropriate rolls and give you the results. Then everyone will narrate their actions in order, starting with the highest success and working through those and then going through the failures, who still get to provide a bit of colour narration. I'll be acting and posting for the aliens, natch.

Even when we're acting in a strict turn order, keeping up OOC chatter is absolutely fine. It's what would happen in a tabletop game, so I'm expecting it here.

[LongStepMantis]

Quick question: How does the range work in relation to how it changes in combat? What I'm asking is essentially, assuming that the scythe-armed dinosaurs attack in melee range, would picking the furthest range allow us more time to attack while they close in? For example, we attack at long range, they have to move closer, and it buys us an additional attack in medium range as well, or would they close the gap fast enough to negate the obvious advantage of firing all throughout the ranges as they close in? Weapon stats aside, I'm just wondering what the benefit would be of waiting until they get closer if they don't have any ranged attacks.

[BigJonno]

The range thing is pretty abstract. The aliens cause the same wounds to you at any range, so you generally want to concentrate on maximising your kills.

[LongStepMantis]

Ok, I get it now. Range determines our attack types and strength but we trade hits regardless. Do we generally get to dictate ranges as long as we aren't surprised, or could there be situations where we are forced into using a specific range (like if we were ambushed at melee range we couldn't fire at longer ranges, etc.)?

I just want to make sure I fully understand the usage of ranges in combat. Don't mean to turn this into a Q&A. ;)

[Shrinn]

Vex feels adrenaline start to pump when Wren shows them the newest face of death. He ducks behind the nearest chest high wall while waiting for orders. Vex places his hand against his chest, touching his lucky coin through his MandelBrite and says "Well, they're certainly not the biggest piles of shit we've faced out here."

[Shrinn]

Everyone works best at mid range, if I'm reading it right.

[LongStepMantis]

I know a couple of us have slug rifles (I do) and they are d6 at mid and long. Most of the weapons are bad at anything above mid, I believe. Yep, everything else is either shit or useless at long.

Dragos spies the hulking forms closing the distance and readies his slug rifle. God damn lizards think they're gonna get any easy meal out of us!? Ha! They got another thing coming. He grips the rifle tight and readies to fire as he draws a bead on the closest approaching hostile. "Let's show these fuckers what we can do" he thinks to himself, and awaits the order to fire. "Should I crack a flare!?" he calls out.

the narrative implies that it's a lightning storm and dark between flashes, so I'm not sure if the extra lighting would help us out or not.

[Panthera]

Alright, I'm going to setup the squad at mid-range.

"Copy that, get those flares out. When I call for it, I want you to start squeezin' that trigger and don't you stop until nothing's comin' out the other end any more. Ready... ready... looks good... hold for it... give 'em hell!" I dig my MG in against my hip and start throwing slugs downrange at anything moves.

[Shrinn]

I am going to fire at as many piece of shit lizards as possible.

[LongStepMantis]

I throw out a flare (or two depending on how bright they are) and open up with slug rounds on those commie muto' t-rex.

[hunterx280]

I take some cover behind the second biggest thing I can find, since Goon tends to move around too much. I set my energy rifle into a comfortable position and begin firing smoothly and efficiently. My breathing over the comm links slows to a steady, practiced pace.

"Don't get sloppy guys. Remember the last time, when Rodriguez freaked out? I swear I'm still finding chunks of him in my armor!"

OOC: Do we have enough flares at this point? If not, I can toss one out, too.

[TheKeck]

Marx will go once again to his crouching position and fire on the aliens.

[BigJonno]

If one of you wins the Dominance roll, then that person will set the initial range. If the aliens win, I set the range. If one side all succeed and the other all fails, there is a special Ambush round, then the winner sets range and combat continues as usual. It's quite possible for you guys to wipe out an entire encounter in one if you Ambush.

You can change range, one step at a time, in combat, either with a NFA roll or after a successful FA roll that is before any of your opponents. (For example, Goon isn't going to succeed on NFA checks very often, so if he gets stuck at Close range, he's much better off just punching one of them and hoping he gets a better success than the they do.)

After your first mission, you'll be able to make requisition attempts for different guns (it's possibly a good idea to try for them early as one of your guns automatically gets a damage improvement after every mission) some of which are best at Close or Far range. You might want to move out to Far range so that you can leave the encounter (which is done by moving beyond Far range.) The bad guys can change range too.

Your immediate surroundings are lit by the lights built in to your armour (which I did mention. Twice. :P) but the flares won't hurt.

As Scary said he wasn't going to be able to post, I'll assume he's going to open fire, so it's FA rolls all round for you guys.

ENCOUNTER 1 ROUND 1

Encounter Threat: 3 Planet Threat: 27

SUCCESSES

2. Wren, scoring 9 kills
2. Marx, scoring 6 kills
1. Vex, scoring 1 kill

FAILURES

10. Goon
9. Gunny
8. Aliens
5. Dragos

Hopefully that's all clear. I have a total of 30 threat tokens for the entire planet (it's calculated as the number of troopers times five) and have committed three to this encounter. That doesn't represent three aliens, the actual number is determined by the kills that you get. Think of each threat as a blip on your motion scanner; it signifies some aliens, but you don't know how many.

So Wren, Vex and Marx all succeeded, so I rolled kills for them. They will now narrate their actions in order (which, the attentive among you will have noticed is enough to end the encounter, giving Shrinn a great opportunity to narrate how Vex kills the last one.) Then the failures, me included, all narrate their unsuccessful actions. Despite the turn order, this all happens more or less simultaneously, so it's not like the aliens are all dead before Goon, Gunny and Dragos get a chance to act. They're blazing away like everyone else, except that they miss, or only wound a dino, or their gun jams or whatever other action they wish to narrate.

Just for reference purposes, Wren, Vex and Marx would all have been able to change range after their action as they had succeeded on a FA roll when the aliens had failed.

[Panthera]

Does the number of kills at each range band of your gun have any effect on how effective you are at eliminating tokens?

[Shrinn]

I'm going to have to borrow one of you for my action. How do we know 16 is enough to end the encounter? Apparently I'm not very attentive.

Edit: Nevermind. I saw it now. How do kills correlate to combat then? Just making the enemies weaker even if they have more threat tokens left? (So 10 kills helps us more than 1 kill, even if they both eliminate a token? How?

[hunterx280]

I crouch low behind my cover and move quickly and quietly off to flank the dinos. As I'm doing this I dim my lamps and go to infra-red. Once in position, I take careful aim and begin picking them off from their flank. One by one, they drop and nine fall before they take notice of my new position. Throughout the whole thing I don't say an entire word.

[Scaryfaced]

So since all of this happens simultaneousness, should we wait for the people to post in order or should I just get my RPing about a miss out of the way? Also, when we get our characters fleshed out, I'm gonna make a few sketches of everyone.

[TheKeck]

So since all of this happens simultaneousness, should we wait for the people to post in order or should I just get my RPing about a miss out of the way?
Very much this. Many people see it as essential in play by post, and that's even WHEN turn order matters. What do you think, Jonno, can we post descriptions out of order?

[LongStepMantis]

I was going to wait until the successful players had made their RP posts first, so I agree that we should come to a consensus about posting order now for ease in the inevitable fights to come.

[BigJonno]

In actual combat, you need to post in order because someone might make the decision to cancel their success (which you can do on your turn if you score a success, this is explained in the other thread) or someone can choose to activate a strength or a weakness, which can happen at any time.

Does the number of kills at each range band of your gun have any effect on how effective you are at eliminating tokens?

No. As long as your weapon can score at least one kill at whatever range you're at (and remembering you can always switch to hand-to-hand or, if you have them, grenades without having to make a NFA roll) a successful FA roll will remove a threat token from the encounter.

In practical gameplay terms, your kills don't really do anything. Whether you're doing one kill at close range with your fist or d100 kills at near range with a fully upgraded E-Cannon, you'd still only remove one threat token. Kills are important because killing more aliens than everyone else is clearly a big deal. Plus getting the most kills on a mission means you get an automatic level up.

[TheKeck]

In actual combat, you need to post in order because someone might make the decision to cancel their success (which you can do on your turn if you score a success, this is explained in the other thread) or someone can choose to activate a strength or a weakness, which can happen at any time.
Oh, I see. Even so, just a warning that posting in order can take a VERY long time in these games, (as evidenced by today.) I've learned to be patient, though. :)

[Ink Asylum]

Yeah, I'm not playing but I would suggest modifying the rules a bit to allow anyone to post in any order during a round. You want things moving as quickly as possible. Slow posting will lead to the death of the game surer than anything else.

[BigJonno]

We can try being a bit more flexible, as long as everyone is okay with it. The game does have more of a competitive element than most RPGs, but I don't see it being a problem.

[Scaryfaced]

I'd just rather avoid us getting stuck not being able to post if someone's unable to keep up. It's going to happen from time to time. So yeah, i'm cool with it.

[Shrinn]

We could post in spoiler tags or PM Jonno if we want to post before it's our turn.

[hunterx280]

We can always go back and edit the posts based on the order. Half the week I work 12 hour days in a busy NOC so I'm not entirely sure how punctual my combat posts will be but I'll sure as hell try. Coupled with the fact that I'm in Pacific time zone, I'll probably be one of the latest posters.

[TheKeck]

Also... I am retarded and apologize profusely!!! I have been waiting for Panthera to post, thinking he was the first one to go. I just now realized it's been my turn to post for ages. So sorry! (If people have been biting their tongues wondering why I wasn't posting, just let me have it in the future. :o)




Marx steadies himself on one knee and breathes slowly. The old vet isn't the best gunman around, but he knows how to keep his head and has seen enough battles to know that this one is a walk in the park. Methodically, he pulls the trigger six times, lining up his shots and taking down a nasty bugger with every pull.

[Scaryfaced]

You're up Shrinn!

[Shrinn]

Vex opens fire before anyone else. He's quick to the trigger, especially once the order has been given. But, like always, he's off his mark. Once the others finish their barrages of slugs and energy he walks up to the last enemy, shot in the leg, wounded, cowering, assumed dead by the others, and finishes him off with a point blank blast to the head. He can't miss that one.

[Scaryfaced]

Rolling needlessly from cover to cover, Goon makes his way across the battlefield. Seeing his opportunity window closing, he leaps to his feet, bellows a war cry and squeezes out 10 tightly packed bursts from his e-cannon.

As the smoke clears and a big grin crosses his face, Goon asks the only question he can think of. "Hey Computer Lady! How many did I kill?". The dull monotone of his armor's computer quickly chimes back, "Ten Shots fired, no kills confirmed". After a few muffled cusses about the computer's mother, he continues, "I thought you computer people were helpin' me aim! How'd I miss ten damn times?". "You ripped out our targeting AI last mission, Sir. Something about 'using the force', whatever that is."

As he walked away from the rest of the group, all that could be heard was a steady string of "Uppity, know it all bitch. I'll show you the force!"

[hunterx280]

OOC: Bravo Scary! I love your last post!!! LOL!

[Scaryfaced]

Thanks! I even made myself laugh a little with the force line. This RP stuff is the tits.

[Panthera]

Gunny keeps a very close eye on his tactical overlay as he bites down on another hunk of his endless supply of chewing tobacco. He's throwing lots of rounds downrange, but he can't keep walking his fire with Goon jumping from cover to cover in front of him. "Fucking hell... that boy's gonna get ate."

[TheKeck]

Do the aliens go now?

[Panthera]

I think the aliens are on GMT.

[BigJonno]

The aliens were on a train today. :o

The area is lit up by muzzle flash and energy discharge as the squad pours round after round into the oncoming dinosaurs. One manages to sweep the head off a trooper with a lazy swipe of a claw before going down to a slug in its eye.

After a few moments, you realise that they're all dead and no more are coming. One by one, troopers stop firing until the omnipresent thunder is the only sound left.

That's when the dinosaurs explode.

Greenwood was standing right over one, poking it with his rifle when it was ripped apart by an electrical blast, apparently originating from inside the creature itself. Shards of bone tear chunks out of him and he drops to the floor, lifeless. Suddenly, the rest of the corpses do the same thing, showering you all with bone shards, digestive juices and chunks of gore.

That was me spending a threat to activate the aliens' explosive special power. That causes a wound to each of you, but as the encounter's over, none of you were previously wounded and you heal a wound afterwards, nothing really happens. I just wanted you to know that you were dealing with EXPLODING FUCKING DINOSAURS.

[LongStepMantis]

So have all of the successful troops gone? If so, should the rest of us fail troopers narrate said fail?

[TheKeck]

I think everyone has gone now except Dragos.

[hunterx280]

BigJonno, you've been sigged!

[LongStepMantis]

Dragos fires into the charging dinos as the whole squad opens up on them, making mounds of instant jerky. His heart races as the adrenaline flows through his system. Suddenly, a dino pops up directly in front of his cover and swipes towards his face in an instant...

What seems like an eternity later, and Dragos gains his bearings again as his head stops ringing. Fuckin' cold blood took a chunk out of his helmet and left him dazed, but he escapes major injury. At least those dinos will probably be good eating. "Wait...where the fuck are their bodies?" he wonders. "Did a fuckin' meat packing plant explode? Oh well, I'll go bum a smoke off of Greenwood and get my head together. He still owes me a few packs."

[Scaryfaced]

Unable to wipe the shit eating grin off of his face as the cold bloods went BOOM, Goon spits pieces of gore out of his mouth like a hover biker who'd forgotten his splat mask. After a few moments of stunned silence, only two words come to mind. He screams "Fuck yeah!" at the top of his lunges.

"Up high!" he yells, hand up in the air aimed at Marx. Greeted with a blank stare, but undetoured, he tries another. "Uh, high five Sarg!". Glancing back at the serious faces of his squad mates, Goon quick changes tone. "Ahem, I mean...good work boys. Stay focused, there are probably more awesome exploding dinos out there. Hopefully."

[TheKeck]

"They never covered that in the manual," Marx remarks dryly at the spectacle of exploding dinosaurs. The never covered half the crud I've seen in that lousy manual. The vet comes up from his knee to a low but standing crouch and turns in a slow circle, scanning the perimeter. Satisfied that the threat is really over for now, he spends a little time trying to clean the guts off of himself. He quickly decides it's a futile effort.

[hunterx280]

i wipe some of the residual gunk from my visor. I mutter to myself, "Fucking exploding dinosaurs..."

I click on the broadcast channel and bark, "Hey Goon! If they explode when you shoot 'em, how to do you think they'll react if we fucked their mothers?"

[Shrinn]

Vex rights himself after being surprised by the exploding pieces of shit from close range.
He opens the broadcast channel to muse about what might trigger the explosion when Wren interrupts him.

"I imagine they'd be pretty pissed off," Vex responds, "But I'd be too worried about the bitch exploding my dick off. But by all means, try it out and let me know."

[hunterx280]

"Knowing your luck, exploding your dick off seems like it would be a run of the mill sexual experience for you. I was going to let you have first stab, Vex. Gods know it's probably been since, what? Kahlthera? Halthraan? "

[hunterx280]

Hmmm, lots of crickets around here. Where did everyone go?

[Scaryfaced]

I'm around, just waiting for a story update.

"Hey, yall remember that little whore house on Kenisaw? Now that was a dick exploding good time! I just wish those poor, poor whores weren't out of a house after that tragic incendiary grenade fire. Now, I swear we should be doing somethin' other than talking about whores right now." Scratching his chin vigorously, deep in thought, Goon stares at the exploded remains surrounding the group. "Hah! It kinda looks like a plucked rooster with a puss on it's stoma....WAIT! A beacon or something. We're definitely following something."

[Shrinn]

You think those tiny-dicked scouts survived EXPLODING FUCKING DINOSAURS? Let's get on with the killing. If every exploding shit on this planet is dead they'll have nothin to worry about.

I think I'm slowly drifting towards Bulletstorm. I should stop that. Dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks murderboner dicks.

[TheKeck]

"You boys sure can talk," Marx intones dryly.

[Shrinn]

I think our guide has disappeared. Let's take the game into our own hands.

Boss, Goon, let's get this show on the road. Lead on to the murder!

And then we all decimated the planet by causing chain reaction exploding dinosaurs, trained by the scores of idiots who hide behind exploding barrels. And we didn't suffer a wound again. And we all did so well that we can now launch tactical nukes like footballs. GET SOME!

[BigJonno]

I was just letting you guys shoot the shit. With the dinos dead, you're free to keep heading towards the beacon, or whatever else you feel like doing.

[TheKeck]

Marx, as always, forms up behind Gunny, awaiting command.

[Panthera]

"Well boys, this is pretty much the worst thing. Time to go find something even shittier to deal with: a whole lot more of èm." Gunny barely stopped to wipe gooey remains from his visor as he started trudging towards the beacon, making a hand motion to the squad to fall in.

[LongStepMantis]

Dragos falls in line after taking a few more moments to finish smoothing out the jagged edge of his helmet, thanks to the dino's blade. "Guess there isn't shit else to do." He smirks as he checks his magazine and awaits the next assault that will probably be worse than exploding blade-armed dinosaurs. It's just going to be one of those days.

[hunterx280]

I set my sensors to a passive sweep and I fall inline and bust out my field manual. I could use a good laugh right about now. I intermittently flip a few pages and chuckle every couple of minutes.

[TheKeck]

Marx continues in formation, ever keeping a watchful eye in as many directions as he can manage. As he goes, he takes a brief moment to tighten the ammo release bolt on his rifle. This bugger's never falling out on me again, he thinks for the umpteenth time.

[Shrinn]

While walking, Vex starts taking potshots rock formations that seem like good targets. "Them scouts are obviously dead by now. Seems like there's nothing but dead and about to be dead on this planet. Hey Goon, you think the geeks back home could make a bomb so I could be just like these assholes and explode when I die?"

[Scaryfaced]

Paint stick in hand, Goon was busy scribbling out the mission's goals on the back of his left glove. He could never remember their orders after a gun fight. Something about the teeth gnashing rage that overtook him seemed to wipe his mind clean. Vex's question broke him out of his mesmerized state.

Staring up and to the right, Goon bites his tongue deep in thought. He liked to give good questions, especially ones about blowing things up, his full attention. After a few silent moments, a devious through suddenly strikes him. "Hey Vexy, hand me one of yer 'nades. Ten credits says I can rig you up somethin' fancy. Just don't come crying to me if splits your chest open like those damn heart worms on Gordellis."

[BigJonno]

Two things. Firstly, I'm completely behind Goon attempting to rig Vex up with a self-destruct mechanism. Secondly, apologies for the lack of story-moving, I've been kinda spacey for the past few days. I'll post something tomorrow.

[LongStepMantis]

Two things. Firstly, I'm completely behind Goon attempting to rig Vex up with a self-destruct mechanism. Secondly, apologies for the lack of story-moving, I've been kinda spacey for the past few days. I'll post something tomorrow.

No need to apologize Jonno. When we started this we were all pretty excited about it and moved fast. I haven't seen many PbP games where there was a flurry of activity on a daily basis all throughout, and don't expect it. When you post details, we will respond. Until then, don't worry about it. :D

[Shrinn]

"I'll never get why they're called heart worms when they can eat a man whole..." 'Vexy' muses. "But I'll tell ya what, Goon. One of these shithead lizards finishes me off I want you to make sure my corpse explodes. None of that set off into the stars on a burning ship bullshit. Make it a good one too!"

[Shrinn]

And yeah. I know how play by post goes. Any criticism from me is entirely tongue in cheek. :D Post when you're up to it!

[TheKeck]

"You should do it," Marx talks to Vex and Goon, "I'm sure there will be an explosion right about the same time that both of you die." He spits a large wad through the express ventilation grill on his helmet. "Just make sure I'm back a way before you do."

[Scaryfaced]

Can I just RP MacGyver-ing an explosive device together for Shrinn? Or will my tragically low non combat skills have to be checked? Actually, I kinda want the check. The chance of it blowing up in my face sounds funny.

[TheKeck]

I'm sure you'd have to roll a check. :)

[hunterx280]

"This is going to backfire, I just know it... Please keep Vex as far away from him and me as possible."

[hunterx280]

Was there a SPAM bot posting in here earlier?

[LongStepMantis]

Should we stop to take a short rest? We've been marching for nearly 2 weeks straight. ;)

[TheKeck]

Pansy. I can do this all day month.

[Scaryfaced]

And we'll KEEP marchin' until the jobs done! Now step back in line, Maggot!

[LongStepMantis]

We're gonna march all day, all day, alll dayyyyy...
where there's a whip, there's a way! *whipcrack*

[TheKeck]

So, it's probably safe to say that this game isn't going anywhere? :p

[Scaryfaced]

I'm kinda sad about it, too. I was enjoying RPing an idiot.

[Pale Ale]

So, it's probably safe to say that this game isn't going anywhere? :p

How many of the core group is still paying attention?

How many points are you in?

[TheKeck]

How many points are you in?

Three ?

[Scaryfaced]

BigJonno just disappeared from this thread at some point, which is making it hard for us to progress.

[Pale Ale]

It's a good thread, died before it's time. I was thinking of taking it home and polishing it up.

[Scaryfaced]

I, for one, would be pleased if you did.

[Pale Ale]

Alright I'll reread the rules
Procrastinate
Panic and then throw out a scene.

[Dahzer the Cosmic Fool]

ya there is a few of us marines just waiting in the drop pods here :P

[BigJonno]

I apologise profusely for letting this die. Seriously, I suck. I'd be more than happy to see Pale get it back on its feet.

[Shrinn]

Meh, don't worry about it, Jonno. You've got some shit going on.

[TheKeck]

I apologise profusely for letting this die. Seriously, I suck. I'd be more than happy to see Pale get it back on its feet.

I've been in games that fizzled out quicker. ;)

[Scaryfaced]

Yeah, no big deal Jonno. Our little squad that could will keep on chuggin' along.

[Pale Ale]

A few consideration.

1.Some rules may not be clear, forgotten, or never discussed. Feel free to ask question in the thread. Don't feel to worried about it, for this is basically a beta.

2. I am aware that their is a banked interest outside the squad. I plan to over promise and under deliver!


Vanguard.

Again.

The fire team is a hauling the sensor array. A coffin sized collection of antennae, blinking lights, and obtuse meters. If it was not for the all pervasive fog you would not be standing anywhere near it. The SOL Troopers tasked to hold the damn thing have had the enamel of their gauntlets flake off.

Even though it as been scant hours in the march it feel like months. The chronometer in your armor HUD agrees with you. Grinding your teeth at the thought of other firmware bugging out and idly wonder if the docs are going to have to pull out grape sized tumors out of your intestines.

Again.

Trooper Goremann, the one tasked with "understanding" the scanner, turns to say something but sneezes blood over the inside of his facescreen. One hand free the clean the mess, his other arm overwhelmed drops is corner with a thud. Aplified of course by the stattaco slamss as the other three Troopers almost instantly follow.

A hush falls over fire team, weapon stocks grinding into pauldrons. Hostiles yes, but more far reaching fear of Berkin's reedy fury.



After all the worst thing the indig threat can do is just make you dead.

[Ink Asylum]

One hand free the clean the mess, his other arm overwhelmed drops is corner with a thud.

For the life of me I can't parse this sentence.

[Pale Ale]

For the life of me I can't parse this sentence.

Ahh yes, it sounded better when I was half asleep.