Megalopolis: Phantom: A Knock at the Door

The Sons of James are a new gang in Megalopolis. They had recently opened their first Saloon. It was starting to pick up a regular clientele of drinkers, gamblers and riders. Their stable entertained upsides while Poker and Texas Hold ‘em was downstairs. They thought things were looking up when they should had been looking out. Tonight they received a visit from the Phantom.

After working the perimeter of the Sons of James’s ‘house of sin’ and checking the security measures they had in place, he decided it was time to make his move. There were no fancy words or speeches, no dramatic internal dialogues, no looks of determination or angst . . . there was nothing. Phantom moved like a professional; clean and quickly, with no signs of fear, regret or remorse for what he was about to do.

As he made his way from the front of the house to side of it he heard the buildings patrons laughing and carrying on as if this was the best night of their lives. Phantom couldn’t help but think to himself,” . . . it’s all fun and games . . . right up until the scream’n starts . . .”

Carefully making his way to the back door of the building and then stopped just a few feet away from it. He stood there for a few moments, motionless and firm. His face was devoid of expression or emotion, but the look in his eyes told a completely different story.

His cold, lifeless eyes just stared blankly at the back door of the building. Eyes as soulless as a dolls eyes, filled with nothing but emptiness and pain just staring into infinity. As if mesmerized by the shadows cast by the soft glow of nearby streetlights, Phantoms eye lids closed.

He found himself back in a place that made sense, a place that he hoped he would never forget. It was several months ago and he was coming up the front walk of his house. The sun was shining warmly, the birds and squirrels were playing in the trees, and the sound of a neighbor’s dog barking playfully could be heard as it chased a bunch of kids around the yard. He stopped halfway down the walk and looked down at the flowers he had picked up for his wife. “She’s gonna love these!” he thought to himself. A sly smile then ran across his face as he decided that it might be more fun to sneak in the backdoor and surprise her. Making his way around the side of the house he couldn’t help but chuckle as he envisioned the yelp of surprise his wife would let out as he came through the backdoor unexpectedly with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. As the flowers dropped to the ground, his heart raced as he noticed the backdoor of his house was smash in.

A half a moment later Phantom’s eyes snapped open. The emptiness that once filled his eyes was suddenly replaced with a look of rage and determination. Reaching for his weapons he quickly made his way up to the backdoor of the gangs gambling hall.

In a single swift move he smashed his first through the Plexiglas window in the door, releasing the concussion grenade in his hand. As the grenade flew across the room the deadly avenger was moving to position himself to kick in the door. After the grenade goes off, in practiced fluid motion he drew both of his FN Five-seveN Pistols and launched himself at the door. KRASH! His foot struck the door. The door frame gave way and the door swung open with the door still locked tight. [GM note: second action of turn 2 PR]

Steeping through the doorway the Avatar of Death quickly identified his next targets. To his right was a Son of James banger frozen. His job had been to watch the backyard and guard the door. His mind still didn’t comprehend what had happened. His gun was still in his holster.

Straight in front of the Death Dealer was another member. He was turning his body toward the backdoor and was reaching for his gun. Phantom fired on both men with his twin Pistols two shots each. On the right two slugs ripped into the backdoor guard’s chest. The gangster drops to the floor having completely failed at his job. In front the first shot from the left pistol strikes the dealer in his right thigh. He doesn’t scream but gave a loud grunt when the second shot strikes his left shoulder. Wincing in pain, the Son of James dealer manages to stay in his chair without falling or being able to draw his Pistol.

[GM note: continuation of multiple attacks for second action. PR =4, 2 for each attack with Pistols. Second shots treated as auto-fire. Two rounds expended from each, 18 rounds left. No luck points used.]

Quickly scanning the room a second time he see that the grenade knockout the third gang member in the room and three patrons. The hostess attempts to hide. The gambler is sitting perfectly still making sure that it is seen that his hands are flat on the table. The sounds in the rest of the house are of confusion, everything has happened too fast for others. They now know they are under attack but they are calling out to find out where. When the name Dallas is called, Phantom sees the wounded gangster try to respond but all that comes out is a yelp of pain. The calls to Lester and Clint go unanswered.

Current Conditions:

Phantom Hit Points: 61 Power Points: 55 Invulnerability: 5

Right FN Five-seveN Pistol: 18 rounds

Left FN Five-seveN Pistol: 18 rounds

MK3A2 Concussion Grenades: 5

<Actions, Goal, Reply?>

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>OOC RESPONSE & QUESTIONS<

Tom Wrote:

The Phantom makes his move on the outside guard …

Response:

The outside guard? The front door? If that’s the way you would like me to go – I’ll do it, but I was thinking something a little different to be honest ;)

But first I have a few . . .

Questions:

You mentioned that I saw the gang members on the inside of the building – were they armed with anything that I could see? I’m guessing that these losers are just carrying small, concealable weapons, I figured I would ask.

You mentioned that there was a gang member in the kitchen – would that be a full kitchen? By ‘full kitchen’ I mean, a stove, refrigerator, sink, etc.

Which room is the kitchen?

The map you made ( great job with that by the way ) shows what appears to be a back door – is that a back door? Is it fortified at all what I can see? I’m guessing from what you said about the building not being fortified yet that it’s just your basic run of the mill back door, but I figured I would ask any way.

Does the back door have window glass in it or is it a solid wooden slab door?

The customers – do they appear to be blue collar, middle class types just ‘slum’n it’ on the seedy part of town OR are do they appear to be ‘hood rats’ from around the neighborhood?

Am I correct in assuming that the people that have names under them are the gang members?

The women on the first floor, are they hooker types from upstairs or customers?

Which of the two gang members are the ones that are moving around?

Am I correct in assuming that the police presence in this part of town is pretty light?

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GM Reply

No problem on the questions. Moving on the front guard was my being dramatic, enter however you want.

I have labeled the map. I figured that would be the best way. I did pick the pictures of the guests to give you clues to who they are. No gang bangers but middle class and neighborhood thugs (bikers, Cons, Con artist types).

All the entertainers are upstairs, there are 3 down stairs Hostesses. They don't pull tricks but they warm up the customers and help to spend money.

The kitchen is not a full kitchen. They don't do food but sell booze with only a few mixed drinks. So the kitchen has a mini-fridge and so ice chests.

A few of the Son of James have western style pistols in holsters but you would need another turn of surveillance to proper know what weapons each gang member is packing. All the weapons are in character with their motiff, so the Phantom is dealing with fools who would turn down power to stay in theme (gotta have some Comic Book flair to this )

You are right, No police in the area, it is almost like they are being paid to stay away.

I think that answers all your questions, if I missed one please ask it again and if you get new ones from the labeled map, let me know.

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Sounds good - thanks Tom. If you could, I was still wondering about those two back door questions:

Does the back door have window glass in it or is it a solid wooden slab door?

. . . and I have one new question.

Are there gas and electric meters outside the house?

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GM Reply

That is a backdoor behind the fence. It is not a standard door but a solid hard wood door with a 1 ft by 1ft window cut in it. You do see a deadbolt lock in the door. The window is Plexiglas. No additional fortifications to the door or door frame are visible from the outside.

Are there gas and electric meters outside the house?

Okay, you stumped me. So what does a good GM do? Roll dice. I gave you a 20% bonus to your detect hidden score to see if you can find the gas and electric meters. So with a 50%, the Phantom was not able to find either.

So based on that, the answer is there are not any meters outside the house. There are illegal lines running either to neighbor meters or direct into the company's lines (as you taught me). Phantom is not able to find the lines and trace them to a meter or other access point.

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So the back door is slight re-enforced and the meters are in the basement - damn. You're really gonna make me work for this one aren't ya? lol =P

Thanks for the info, Tom =)

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IC RESPONSE:

As he made his way from the front of the house to side of it he heard the buildings patrons laughing and carrying on as if this was the best night of their lives. Phantom couldn’t help but think to himself,” . . . its all fun and games . . . right up until the scream’n starts . . .”

GOAL(S):

Phantom is hoping to take the Sons of James gang by complete surprise by attacking from the rear of the house. If he is able to secure the back room of the first floor he is hoping that he will be able to control the flow of combat on that floor by using the hallway to bottle neck the gang members coming at him from the other rooms.

Phantom has no intention to kill or harm any of the patrons unless he is attacked by one. He is hoping that he’ll be able to get the majority of them out of the house before the fighting gets too thick. He’s also hoping that some of the ‘survivors’ will spread the word about his attack on the Sons of James to the other gangs in the community.

OOC RESPONSE:

I’m not sure how many things Phantoms going to be able to do during his turn, but hopefully he’ll be able to get off the following:

- Punch out the window on the backdoor and slam a concussion grenade through it.

- As the concussion grenade goes off, he’ll pull out both his pistols, kick in the back door and double tap each of his weapons at their targets – Dallas and Clint ( I think that his name – it’s a little hard to tell ).

If nothing else, I’m hoping that surprise will allow me to get both these actions off. If need be I’ll spend a Luck Point to make sure that I can kick the door in. I’m guessing that the door; although a solid exterior door, wasn’t put up by expert carpenters and that the lock wasn’t set by a master locksmith lol. Its been my experience that although most of these types of knuckleheads are somewhat creative when it comes to jury-rigging things up, they’re not usually skilled at anything other then breaking the law lol. I’m also hoping that even though they threw a solid slab door up – they didn’t replace or reinforce the door frame ( which probably has some measure of water damage or rot, because most of these gang house are vacant for months or years before the gang moves in ). So - with any luck - the door shouldn’t be too hard to kick in . . . hopefully.

Again – I’ll use a Luck Point if needed to make this happen.

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Oh and Tom before I forget - when I said " . . . and double tap each of his weapons at their targets . . . " I just wanted to be clear that I meant he would take two shots at each gang member ( Dallas and Clint ).

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GM reply

The phantom can tell that the door frame is not properly reinforced. The door and locks were not installed by professionals.

[OOC] I agree with the critical nature of the door frame. I will make sure to consider that in the attack on the door.

I need a clarification on the actions for the turn. Phantom has two actions.

Action 1: Punch out the window on the backdoor and slam a concussion grenade through it.

[GM - the window is weak enough that I am counting that part as movement only]

Action 2: As the concussion grenade goes off, he’ll pull out both his pistols, kick in the back door and double tap each of his weapons at their targets – Dallas and Clint [You read correctly]

[Did you mean to write this a multi-attack action? What that means is 10 Power points will be spent but first miss means the remaining attacks miss as well. Example, Phantom successfully kicks in the back door. He fires both hands at the same time. The right hand shot hits Clint but the left hand shot misses Dallas, therefore the second rounds automatically miss]

Action 2: As the concussion grenade goes off, he’ll pull out both his pistols, kick in the back door

[This would be the second action if written as a single attack. It would use 2 Power points. Disadvantage less is done this turn, Advantage Phantom would see the results of concussion grenade and his entrance {Presence rolls for everyone in the room}.

Please let me know which Action 2 you desire.

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Here’s what I had in mind initially ( adding in the info you gave ):

With an Agility of ‘16’ I’m assuming that I’ll be able to get off two actions this turn. Hopefully I’ll have the element of surprise for this turn and the gang members won’t get any actions this turn.

Movement: Slamming the concussion grenade through the window ( 1 Power Point )

Action 1: Kicking in the backdoor ( 1 Power Point )

Action 2: Firing two shots from both pistols; at two different targets, using the auto-fire rules ( 1 Power Point for each pistol attack and 2 additional Power Points for doing a multi-attack )

Power Cost for the turn: 6

As for the chance that I may miss – that’s a chance I’m willing to take. There’s a lot riding on this first round like John said earlier – this turn could ‘make or break’ how the rest of the fight goes – I have to make sure that it counts ;)

-Kev

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GM reply

With an Agility of ‘16’ I’m assuming that I’ll be able to get off two actions this turn. [That is correct, you always have 2 actions per turn]

Hopefully I’ll have the element of surprise for this turn and the gang members won’t get any actions this turn. [Very likely, it will all depend on if Clint makes his Detect Danger roll which I haven't done yet.]

Movement: Slamming the concussion grenade through the window ( 1 Power Point )

[Unfortunately no, throwing a concussion grenade is a muscle powered range attack and has to be your first action. 0 Power Points - first action always free if the power doesn't have a power poit cost associated]

[So lets rework the turn, I did forget that your pistols had auto-fire ability]

Action 1: Slamming the concussion grenade through the window ( 0 Power Point )

Action 2: Kicking in the backdoor (2 Power Point). Firing two shots from both pistols; at two different targets, using the auto-fire rules ( 2 Power Points per each pistol attack as multi-attack and 0 additional Power Points for auto-fire on second shots {+1/-1} )

Power Cost for the turn: 6 [still]

Since the second shots are auto-fire shots then the multi-attack rule does not apply and all four shots will be resolve per their own rolls.

Don't worry about kicking the backdoor in. Since you are spending a Luck Point, Phantom will succeed. I have to roll to see if he is successful without using the Luck Point. So either way the Phantom comes in guns a blazing.

Thanks

Tom

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Ok - cool - sounds good to me =)

My apologies for not wording that all a little better the first time. I had the vision in my head of what I had wanted Phantom to do, so when I did a quick proof read of my response it all made sense to me - the keywords there being 'to me'. Sorry again for the confusion.

I do have a question though - you listed each attack as costing 2 Power Points - is that how they work it in the 2.1 rules? I haven't picked them up yet by the way - suffering from the dreaded infliction 'funds-r-low'. I ask because I thought I broke down the Power Point costs the way they're outlined in the revised rules ( 2.0 ) fairly accurately ( although its quite possible I messed it up somehow ). For some reason I thought a basic attack like a kick, a punch, shooting a gun, etc, - was only 1 Power Point =/

Either way I'm glad we were able to sort that all out and that you asked for a clarification - thanks Tom =)

Talk to you all soon,

-Kev

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Further GM Clarification

First Action

- Slam a concussion grenade through it - No PR cost for first action and No PR cost associated Hand to Hand range attack using a Grenade.

Second Action

- Kicking in the backdoor - 2 PR cost for second action, No PR cost associated with Hand to Hand

- Firing Right Hand Pistol Auto-fire 2 rounds; 1st round - 2 PR cost for additional attack, No PR cost associated with Pistol, 1 round (weapon charge spent) used - 19 remaining.

- Firing Right Hand Pistol Auto-fire 2 rounds; 2nd round - 0 PR cost because this is not an additional attack, No PR cost associated with Pistol, 1 round (weapon charge spent) used - 18 remaining.

- Firing Left Hand Pistol Auto-fire 2 rounds; 1st round - 2 PR cost for additional attack, No PR cost associated with Pistol, 1 round (weapon charge spent) used - 19 remaining.

- Firing Left Hand Pistol Auto-fire 2 rounds; 2nd round - 0 PR cost because this is not an additional attack, No PR cost associated with Pistol, 1 round (weapon charge spent) used - 18 remaining.

Total PR costs for turn is 6.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Phantom: A Knock at the Door – Issue 3