Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Crusade: Issue 65 - Self-Destruct Protocol Initiated



Deck A of the Doomsday Robot.

[13] Adamas decided to forget the hatch and just go through the floor, straight down.  He realized without Manta-Man and Laserfire as distractions Doom was going to focus on Adamas, but so far he's weathered those attacks almost as well as he withstood Adamas'.

BAM! Adams punched a fist into the floor.

{GM Note: Adamas needed to roll anything but a 20 to hit. He rolled a 2. Adamas rolled 13 points of damage, the floor’s structure rating was 9. He did 4 points of damage to the floor.}

BAM! Adams punched his other fist into the floor.

{GM Note: Adamas needed to roll anything but a 20 to hit. He rolled a 2. Adamas rolled 11 points of damage, the floor’s structure rating was 9. He did 2 points of damage to the floor. The combined damage of 6 points of damage together opened a 3 foot hole.}

Adamas flew through the hole down into the heart of the Doomsday Robot.

[ 2] CyberDoom reviewed the damage to the head unit of his Robot. He realized it wouldn’t be long before the New Crusaders put the robot out of commission once and for all. CyberDoom activated his thrusters and flew into the sky. He took evasive maneuvers and prepared counter measures in case he was pursued.

Deck E of the Doomsday Robot.

 Dr. Wildman stared at the energy pistol and then at Hawkins, then back to the energy pistol.
 
"That's it! I've had enough of this!" sighed Dr Wildman.
 
"Bloody technology..." He threw the pistol over his shoulder..."I've seen Storm Troopers on Star Wars with better aim than me! - I'd do more damage with a stick!"
 
"A stick you say? They've worked out pretty well for me my friend. If you were looking for a lesson, I'd be glad to oblige when we get done with all of this." StrikeForce replied.
 
Suddenly the whole robot seemed to rock as if struck by a vast force..."Well someone’s doing something helpful at least" he mused picking himself off the floor. StrikeForce thought to himself, "Wow, great job, keep up the good work."
 
[ 7] The Cyberion focused its targeting systems on StrikeForce. The Guardian Robot fired dual blasts at the Bionic Brawler.
 
BRRZZT! StrikeForce rolled with the blast. He rolled with it barely feeling any pain the Bionic Brawler was still standing. He could continue fighting.
 
{GM Note: Cyberion needed a 17 to hit or less, it rolled a 9. CyberDoom did 7 points of damage. StrikeForce’s armor protected him from 6 points. The Bionic Brawler rolled with 1 point, -1PP.}
 
BRRZZT! The Nanite Enhanced Hero withstood the second blast. It was stronger than the first. StrikeForce was still standing; soon he would launch his attack.
 
{GM Note: Cyberion needed a 17 to hit or less, he rolled a 12. CyberDoom did 15 points of damage. StrikeForce’s armor protected him from 6 points. The Bionic Brawler rolled with 6 points, -6 PP. StrikeForce lost -3 Hit Points. Cyberion’s power blast does not cause knock back.}
 
[ 6] StrikeForce changed his attack from defensive to offensive.
 
Turning his attention to his opponent, he said. "Looks like it's just you and me now."
 
WHIF! The escrima missed the right side of the Cyberion.
 
{GM Note: StrikeForce needed a 13 to hit or less, he rolled a 19. StrikeForce missed with his first attack.}
 
KRAK! The escrima smashed into the chest of the Cyberion. Pieces of its armor flew into the air. The Robotic Guardian smashed into the wall behind it but it was still standing. StrikeForce could tell that its armor was weakened but he knew the Cyberion was still able to fight.
 
{GM Note: StrikeForce needed a 13 to hit or less, he rolled a 5. He rolled 21 points of damage. Cyberion’s armor protected him from some of it. The Cyberion has ablative armor which StrikeForce’s total damage points exceeded its total Armor value. This caused the armor to be reduced by 1. A random roll determined which damage type of protection was reduced by 1. The Cyberion rolled with about half of the remaining damage, The Hit Point loss was greater than its mass roll. The Cyberion was knocked back into the wall.}
 
KRAK! The escrima smashed into the head of the Cyberion. Pieces of its armor flew into the air. The Robotic Guardian smashed into the wall behind it and fell to the ground. StrikeForce could tell that its armor was weakened and he knew the Cyberion was done. It was out of the fight.
 
{GM Note: StrikeForce needed a 13 to hit or less, he rolled a 11. He rolled 23 points of damage. Cyberion’s armor protected him from some of it. The Cyberion has ablative armor which StrikeForce’s total damage points exceeded its total Armor value. This caused the armor to be reduced by 1. A random roll determined which damage type of protection was reduced by 1. The Cyberion rolled with about half of the remaining damage, The Hit Point loss was greater than its mass roll. The Cyberion was knocked back into the wall.}
 
WHIF! The escrima missed the head of the Cyberion.
 
{GM Note: StrikeForce needed a 13 to hit or less, he rolled a 14. StrikeForce missed with his fourth attack.}
 
[ 3] Dr Wildman looked again at his watch - nine minutes until dawn.
 
He thought 'OK, let's at least be outside before this thing does something stupid and I'm stuck in here!'
 
"Sorry Hawkins, you're on your own buddy..." he gave a friendly tap on the back of the android and grabbed the First Aid bag.” Strike, I've had enough, I'm no use to anyone at the moment so I'm getting out of here. See you outside in a bit."
 
Dr Wildman walked to the entrance he came in from and made his way downstairs, muttering and grumbling to himself - clearly in a very foul mood with himself and his situation. He checked his watch for the umpteenth time...still another 8 and a half minutes to go!
 
As Dr. Wildman exited, StrikeForce called back, "Watch your back, I'll join you as soon as I can."

Deck C of the Doomsday Robot.


[13] Adamas came through the ceiling hatch into C Deck.
 
[ 7] The Black Orchid saw the new addition next to Patty. "Who is that? Hmm, Looks like he's on our side though. Good."
 
She then turned her attention to the operators at the console and smiled as she thought to herself "Amateurs! They don't know the meaning of disruption." She moved over to block the self destruct button the best she could and then proceeded to fill the room with the complete blackness of nothing. The Black Orchid then said to the group from within the darkness as automatically and authoritatively as she could.
 
"Attention. Self-destruct protocol has been initiated. Darkness is a counter measure to prevent disabling the sequence. Please be at least 1000 feet away to minimize danger to your personal safety. 30 second countdown starts now: 30..., 29...,"
 
[5] The crew of the Doomsday Robot heard the countdown as the Command Center’s microphones was on. The majority of the crew panic fleeing from the robot. Cavagnaro and Androvich wasn’t fooled. They tried yelling that it was a trick but the others wouldn’t listen.
 
{GM Note: Black Orchid’s trick required all the crew of the Doomsday Robot to make as Intelligence save to see through her trick. All of them had an IN save of 11. Black Orchid can apply here IN save minus 10 (14-10) as opposition to their save. They needed a 7 or less to making their saving throw to perceive this was a trick. Only 2 of the crew made their saves.}
 
Caufield and Krajovic ran through the exit in the back of the Command Center. Hawkins became lost in the darkness, he couldn’t find the door. Even though the others had opened it Black Orchid’s powers prevented the light from penetrating the darkness.
 
{GM Note: The crew had to make a perception test to make their way through the darkness. The difficulty rating provided a -3 to the save because Black Orchid’s darkness is beyond normal. All of them had an IN save of 8. Only 2 of the crew made their save.}
 
Cavagnaro did not abandon her post. She knew the self destruction device had not been activated. She listened closely to the voice tricking the others. If she could find where the sound was coming from …
 
{GM Note: The Cavagnaro had to make a perception test to be able to attack Black Orchid. Black Orchid speaking allowed her to roll using her hearing for the perception test.  She needed an IN save of 11 or less. She rolled a 6. This is a normal success. Cavagnaro could attack Black Orchid with a -3 difficulty to her attack.}
 
BAM! Cavagnaro’s fist connected with flesh. She punched Black Orchid. Black Orchid rolled with the punch. She was still standing and guarding the self destruct switch.
 
{GM Note: Cavagnaro needed to roll 10 or less to hit. She rolled a 10. Cavagnaro rolled 9 points of damage. Black Orchid rolled with 9 points of damage, -9 PP.}

 


Outside of the Doomsday Robot


[ 9]  Demolisher was trapped in the grip of the giant left hand of the Doomsday Robot. The Giant Mechanical Menace squeezed its fist in an attempt to crush Demolisher. He withstood the attempt rolling with the damage.

{GM Note: Doomsday Robot did not need to roll to hit since it has Demolisher grappled. It rolled 24 points of damage. Demolisher’s invulnerability protected him from 18 points. He rolled with the remaining 6 points of damage, -6 PP}

The Doomsday Robot swatted Manta-Man with its other hand. Manta-Man attempted to avoid the massive hand.

BABAM! Manta-Man was hit hard by the giant hand. He fell from the sky down to the street below. Manta-Man slumped to the ground knocked out.

{GM Note: Manta-Man needed a 13 to hit or less to fly out of the way of the area attack, he rolled a 16. The Doomsday Robot’s attack hits. The Doomsday Robot did 16 points of damage. Manta-Man has variable aura protection. He rolled 5 points of protection. The Aquatic Avenger rolled with 6 points, -6 PP. Manta-Man lost -5 Hit Points. This is more than ½ of his 8 Hit Points. Manta-Man is KO. His mass roll was a 4. The attack does 1 point of knock back Manta-Man traveled 1 square before stopping. He is now on the ground.}

Patty looked the newcomer up and down. "I get a good vibe off you, kid."

She cocked a thumb towards the giant hand holding Demolisher. "You got any tricks up your stylish sleeve that could help with that?"

[ 6] Erdbeben's jaw dropped. He looked down at his hands and thought, "That's incredible! I must have blasted that giant robot back over 50 feet!"

This was the first time that Erdbeben really had a chance to let loose with his powers. "I've got to try that again!" he yelled as he ran to catch up with the robot.

As soon as he was close enough, he braced himself again for another blast. Focusing on center mass and just trying to make sure he hit, he'd hat to see what kind of damage he'd do to the surrounding area on a miss, he let loose with another blast.

VARR! The vibe blast of Erdbeben smashed into the chest of the Doomsday Robot. It shock under the force of the blast. The Doomsday Robot’s armor wasn’t sufficient to withstand the blow. While visibly pieces were shaken off it was still standing, continued to hold the Demolisher, and could continue to fight.

{GM Note: Last issue I used 5 inventing points to get Erdbeben’s vibe blast knockback. This is to cover the fact I forgot that vibration attacks don’t cause knockback at the basic level. To have would be a 5 CP modification adder or permanent use of the Inventing Points. Paul didn’t want to keep the knock back modifier. The Inventing Points were returned to Erdbeben’s IP pool.  That is why this blast didn’t knockback this time.

Erdbeben would have needed an 18 or less to hit the Doomsday Robot but since it is a mechanical target, Erdbeben when using his vibe attack could switch the ability from to hit for extra damage. So every reduction to hit of -1 will receive a +1 to damage, if it hits. He decided to switch 5 points from to hit to damage. Erdbeben needed a 13 or less to hit. He rolled an 8. Erdbeben rolled 13 points of damage plus 5 points of switched vibration for a total of 18 points of damage. The Doomsday Robot’s armor protected it from some of the damage. Vehicles (which the robot is) can’t roll with damage.}

[ 6] Laserfire flew around the robot bringing himself around to fire once again. “Second time’s the charm Demolisher, This should cut you free” Laserfire fired twin laser beams at the left hand of the Doomsday Robot.

ZZAM! The laser struck the armored hand. The laser cut away more of the hand but it didn’t free anyone.

{GM Note: Laserfire needed an 11 or less to hit. He rolled a 2. Laserfire did 14 points of damage. The Doomsday Robot’s armor protected it from some of the damage. }

ZZAM! The second laser struck the armored hand but did no damage.

{GM Note: Laserfire needed an 11 or less to hit. He rolled an 8. Laserfire did 5 points of damage. The Doomsday Robot’s armor protected it from all of the damage. }

[5] Crew members of the Doomsday Robot came running out of it. Two came down its back where there was as an access hatch in the middle of it. Two others came out of its feet, one from each foot. All were in a massive panic attempting to run away from the giant robot.

Two other exited a hatch on the Doomsday Robot’s shoulder. They did not climb down, instead they withdrew pistols. Both fired on Laserfire.

BZZANNK! Baker fired at Laserfire. Her shot missed as she stumbled, twisting her leg. She stifled her groan from the pain. Baker didn’t want anyone to hear she was in pain. Baker could still fight

{GM Note: Baker needs a 12 or less to hit. She rolled a 20 and then a 16 that is a fumble. The fumble roll was damage to her leg. She couldn’t roll with it. She took 1 point of damage, -1 HP}

BZZANNK! Shanley fired at Laserfire. Her shot hit Laserfire. His flame aura stopped the energy beam. He took no damage and could still fight.

{GM Note: Shanley needs a 12 or less to hit. She rolled a 7. Shanley rolled 3 points of damage. Laserfire has a variable aura protection. He rolled 5 points of protection. It stopped all of the damage. Nothing got past his protection.}

[ 3] Dr. Wildman exited the Doomsday Robot. He spotted Manta-Man who was knocked out. The Druidic Shapechanger ran to the unconscious Aquatic Avenger.

[ 2] Patty ran to Manta-Man. She attempted to wake him up.

{GM Note: To wake others it is an IN save -7 plus remaining hits points of unconscious character. For Patty Plus the save target calculation is IN save of 12 -7 +3 for 8. Patty needs an 8 or less to wake Manta-Man. She rolled a 5. He is awake. He won’t get an action this turn but he will be awake for the next turn.}

She was successful. Manta-Man thanked Patty. He then looked at Dr Wildman. “Hey, Doc. Do you anything that will help me get back on my feet?”

[ 2] “Urgh!” Demolisher pushed; slowly the left hand opened up and released him. He dropped to the payment. He swung his hammer around and stared at the Giant Robot.

{GM Note: Demolisher need to make a Strength save against a Grapple Hold. A Strength save is made by rolling his basic HtH against the opponent he was making the save against. The Doomsday Robot rolled 16 for its basic HtH, because the crew had fled and only one crew member was handling the arms. The roll was halved. Demolisher needed an 8 or more to free himself. Demolisher was in a Grapple Lock which is a -2 to his roll. He pushed his strength by spending 2 Power Points for a +2. These offset so it is his basic HtH roll, he rolled a 13. Demolisher freed himself from the giant robot’s hand.}

 


In the shadows another watched the fight. He was silently tracking the crew of the Doomsday Robot. Soon he would take action. Not now but soon.

 <Turns and Actions due July 20th >

 Battle Conditions (Mighty Protectors character data):

Adamas                        Hit Points:   19 Power Points:   36       

Black Orchid                Hit Points:   24 Power Points:   81        Invisible

StrikeForce                 Hit Points:   16 Power Points:   55        Combat Stance: Offensive

The Skink                    Hit Points:     4 Power Points:   74        KO!

Manta-Man                   Hit Points:     3 Power Points:   54       

Dr. Wildman                 Hit Points:   12 Power Points:   60        Form of: Man

Demolisher                  Hit Points:   28 Power Points:   58        Absorption: Fortitude (2x rolling dmg)

Patty Plus                    Hit Points:   15 Power Points:   50       

Laserfire                       Hit Points:   12 Power Points:   34        Flame Aura Defense: On

Erdbeben                     Hit Points:   46 Power Points:   56        Flame Aura Defense: On

Phase of Action for next turn:

[10]       Adamas

[10]       Demolisher

[  8]      Manta-Man

[  6]      Erdbeben

[  6]      Laserfire

[  5]      Black Orchid

[  4]      StrikeForce

[  3]      Dr. Wildman

[  3]      Patty Plus

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 Great issue Tom. Welcome to the game Paul.

 Jamey

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 Welcome Paul!

 Loved the issue, lady luck had her way with a lot of us this round. Loved the reaction to four misses...

 Adamas decides to forget the hatch and just go through the floor, straight down.  He realizes without Manta Man and Laserfire as distractions Doom is going to focus on Adamas, but so far he's weathered those attacks almost as well as he withstood Adamas'.

 Jon

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Erdbeben's jaw dropped. He looked down at his hands and thought, "That's incredible! I must have blasted that giant robot back over 50 feet!"

 This was the first time that Erdbeben really had a chance to let loose with his powers. "I've got to try that again!" he yelled as he ran to catch up with the robot.

 As soon as he was close enough, he braced himself again for another blast. Focusing on center mass and just trying to make sure he hit, he'd hat to see what kind of damage he'd do to the surrounding area on a miss, he let lose with another blast.

 OOC: Just focusing on center mass.

 Paul

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 Are you switching to hit for damage, like you did with 7 points last turn?

 Tom

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 Let's go with five points of extra damage this time.

 Paul

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 Dr. Wildman stared at the energy pistol and then at Hawkins, then back to the energy pistol.

 "That's it! I've had enough of this!" sighed Dr Wildman.

 "Bloody technology..." He throws the pistol over his shoulder..."I've seen Storm Troopers on Star Wars with better aim than me! - I'd do more damage with a stick!"

 Suddenly the whole robot seemed to rock as if struck by a vast force..."Well someone’s doing something helpful at least" he mused picking himself off the floor. He looked again at his watch - nine minutes until dawn.

 Dr Wildman thought 'OK, let's at least be outside before this thing does something stupid and I'm stuck in here!'

 "Sorry Hawkins, you're on your own buddy..." he gives a friendly tap on the back of the android and grabs the First Aid bag.”Strike, I've had enough, I'm no use to anyone at the moment so I'm getting out of here. See you outside in a bit."

 Dr Wildman walks to the entrance he came in from and makes his way downstairs, muttering and grumbling to himself - clearly in a very foul mood with himself and his situation. He checks his watch for the umpteenth time...still another 8 and a half minutes to go!

 Steve

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 OOC: StrikeForce will change his attack from defensive to offensive.

 "A stick you say? They've worked out pretty well for me my friend. If you were looking for a lesson, I'd be glad to oblige when we get done with all of this." StrikeForce replies.

 As the giant robot moves, he thinks to himself, "Wow, great job, keep up the good work."

 As Dr. Wildman exits, StrikeForce helps back, "Watch your back, I'll join you as soon as I can."

 Turning his attention to his opponent, he says. "Looks like it's just you and me now."

 OOC: Steve, I threw the training statement in because you had mentioned it as an option for your character advancement. It seemed like an in character opportunity. Hope you don't mind.

 Jamey

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 Steve,

 You crack me up!  Way to play a weakness, and make it just as much a part of the story as Dr. Wildman's powers.

 Great writing...

 Jon

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 I agree. Great work Steve.

 Jamey

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 Thanks guys,

 Appreciate the encouragement! Maybe one day John Byrne will read the blog and draw the comic...now that would be fun!

 Take care

 Steve

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 Love John Byrne, when he retconned Superman...

 Jon

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 Welcome Paul!

 The Black Orchid saw the new addition next to Patty. "Who is that? Hmm, Looks like he's on our side though. Good."  She then turned her attention to the operators at the console and smiled as she thought to herself "Amateurs! They don't know the meaning of disruption." She moved over to block the self destruct button the best she could and then proceeded to fill the room with the complete blackness of nothing. The Black Orchid then says to the group from within the darkness as automatically and authoritatively as she can. "Attention. Self-destruct protocol has been initiated. Darkness is a counter measure to prevent disabling the sequence. Please be at least 1000 feet away to minimize danger to your personal safety. 30 second countdown starts now: 30..., 29...,"

 Marc

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Tom,

 I was looking over Erdbeben's character sheet, and I think it says his blasts do no Knockback, its sharp damage.  I know in the issue the knockback he did was a big part of his introduction... just thought I'd mention it.  Wow, 2d12+d10 damage... that is beast. 

 Jon

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Good catch. I seem unable to envision vibration powers not causing knockback.

 Hmmm.

 I will have to think on that.

 Tom

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 Happy Birthday, Tom!!!!!

 Welcome, Paul

 Love the intro and character art for Erdbeben. It's off the richter scale

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Patty looks the newcomer up and down. "I get a good vibe off you, kid."

She cocks a thumb towards the giant hand holding Demolisher. "You got any tricks up your stylish sleeve that could help with that?"

OOC: Patty will continue looking for opportunities to intercept the robot's punches. If none present themselves, she will help first responders or bystanders if possible.

 Shane

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 What I have for this turn.

Adamas will barrel through the floor to get to the torso of the Robot

StrikeForce will fight defensively and attack 4 times.

Black Orchid will attempt to trick the crew into believing the Robot is self-destructing

Dr. Wildman is exiting the Robot and will have a held action.

Patty will reflect Robot physical attack.

Demolisher will attempt to break free of the grip. If freed, he will jump to the ground as hit the leg.

Erdbeben will blast the Robot center mass again.

Skink is KO. What is his action if he makes his wake up roll?

I will be gone this weekend to North Texas RPG Con. Please confirm I have your PC's actions correct for this turn.

Thanks

Tom

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 That is an accurate representation of Erdbeben's actions for this turn.

And, have fun at the Con!

Paul

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 All good for the good doctor...

Steve

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Tom,

Good luck, and have fun. Let us know how it goes when you return.

StrikeForce switches from defensive to offensive this round. I thought that I would change it up, and maybe catch the robot off guard.

Jamey

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Correct for The Black Orchid

Marc

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That works for the demolisher, Happy birthday!  That's cool that a convention is still happening, everything here in Colorado is still getting cancelled.  Comic Con in Denver got moved, then cancelled for this year.  Have fun at the the Con!

Chris

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Hi, I wanted to let you know I made a small mistake with Erdbeben's turn. His vibe blast shouldn't have caused knockback. When I publish the next issue I am going to state that Erdbeben used 5 Inventing Points to add knockback for that attack only. If you want instead we can permanently adjust the power to always do knockback. I would assign the 5 Inventing Points and as you can CPs we would replace the IP with the CPs until all IPs are recovered.

Let me know if you want the knockback to be a 1 time thing (until you decided to use IPs again for that purpose) or if you want to make it permanent.

Thanks

Tom

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Let's just go with a onetime thing. This is actually my first opportunity to really play this version. My previous experience was with V&V 1st edition. I'd like to get my hands around the basic rules before getting into more of the 'options'.

Paul

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