Chapter 1: An Ill Guest Arrives

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

With the cold of early morning seeping into his bones, Malakai rustles himself up and begins to quietly gather his gear. He does his best to put aside any worry about whether he'll walk away from the next hours event or not. That was all in Fate's hands at this point. If he'd wanted to avoid all this he should've kept to his own business back at the train. Most folk would've just road away at the sound of gunfire. But runnin' from a fight, just wasn't in his blood. He didn't relish killing. Not after the war. Youthful blood lust had long since been drained from his soul onto the fields and hills of Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia.

But some men never lost that desire to bring pain and death into the world. Never tired of takin' from others. Davy and his bunch were those kind of men. And as far as Malakai was concerned nothing stops men like that except other men who were willin' to say a hard no usually with a bullet or length of rope. Today Malakai and his partners were the ones who were going to stand their ground against Davy or die tryin'.

After checking his rifle one last time, Malakai gathers his share of the dynamite from Mickey and sets out once again for the ridge over looking the bandit camp.

Stealth (10)

Demolitions (10)

Edited April 11 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

[matt_s]

The trio wait for the last grasp of the sun to fade. Inky black darkness descended as a curtain on the landscape the night feebly contested by the narrow sliver of the moon up in the firmament heavenly. One bandit sat idly by the fire, sitting rather than standing watch. The other paced the perimeter of the camp at an easy walk, squinting into the shadows of their flickering oil lamps with light dulled eyes. Quietly, with furtive gestures rather than words, the charges were set and wires led from blasting cap to blasting cap. All the while, they barely made a sound thanks to the fastidious of their efforts.

The dull red of the dynamite was only gray and rested almost completely recessed in the cliff that at close examination was an old riverbed long since dried up.

After a few tense, very tense, minutes, the dynamite was ready. Last preparations then the charges were set, the wires running like the water once did here long ago.

Now was the time to take their final places and then press the plunger.

 

ooc

Final preparations and placement on the map. The detonation isn't quite instant so if you shot now you'll give a moment or two of alarm to everyone in the camp. The explosion won't damage you but it will completely throw off your aim so everyone starts from scratch afterwards combat wise. I need to put together final map soon-ish hopefully but not guaranteed tomorrow...

 

[matt_s]

Two bandits are visible, the rest are presumably in the tents. One (Greenhorn) is sitting by the fire, idling away the time on a harmonica. The other (Red Boots) is skipping small stones into the river.

crunch...

I'm going to run the fight with no penalty for darkness going either way. Let's just say the pyrotechnics sufficiently light up the area e.g. by setting tents and so forth aflame. Because of the ranges, I think it makes sense to let everyone take two turns so they can aim/fire in a single round of posting. If that is objectionable let me know. You can start the fight sitting/prone/standing as your choice.

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

Malakai tucks himself behind a solid patch of rock and cactus. At the moment he can draw a solid bead on the scoundrel busy filling the river full of rocks. But knowing the blast is going to send up a big cloud of dirt and dust he doesn't worry about keeping tabs on the bandit for too long. Instead he reaches over to grab the plunger for the explosives. Getting the nod from his two partners he takes a deep breath and then pushes the handle down while ducking back behind the protection of the rocks.

[matt_s]

KABOOM!

The deputies did not so much as hear the blast but felt it. The concussion threw a thick cloud of dust and rocks into the air that pattered down as a lithogenic rainstorm upon their hats and their torsos. The telltale stench of explosives was in the air. And there was screaming below. Horses ran wild in the encampment panicked and not without reason. Flames rippled from the torn up tents casting a horrific facsimile of daylight upon the carnage.

As vision cleared and the ringing ceased almost entire the trio could see the two lucky bandits who had been on watch stagger to their feet. Covered in dirt, yes, blood, no. And they were mad and they were holding rifles and they began to raise those selfsame rifles to take aim...

crunch

Players go first. I'll give "double rounds" a shot so you can take aim action and fire action in a single post (or move and aim or whatever suit your fancy). Player and bandit positions as in the map above. Clear vision/sightlines.

 

[Bobcloclimar]

Lying on the ground and peeking just over the ridge, Mickey aims his pistol at the closest bandit and pulls the trigger.

 

Mechanics

Mickey only has Guns (Pistol), so he'll be using that instead of the rifle since I think the range penalties are still better than DX-4.

 

First round Aim at Green bandit, second round All-Out Attack. Base skill is 11, range looks like 12 yards (-5), against a standing target (-0), +3 Acc, +1 AOA for modified skill 10. His current posture is Prone.

 

Edited April 23 by Bobcloclimar (see edit history)

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

Once the hillside stops tumbling from the sky, Malakai quickly braces his rifle on the rock and takes aim at the bandit near the river. He really didn't care for spilling blood. He'd done plenty of that during the war. But then he recalls the bodies sprawled out next to the train. Recalls the old man and how they surely would have killed him and his wife if he hadn't acted quick enough. Recalls the natives and all the other stories he'd heard about these men. Sure enough the uncertainty left his mind and he put the crosshairs of his rifle direct on the bandits chest. A quick pause. Breathe. Fire.

MechanicsAttack Modifiers:

Distance 15-19 yards: -5
Size and Speed: 0
Accuracy: +6
Braced: +1
Total: +2

Base Rifle Skill: 13
Modified Skill: 15

Kneeling and firing from partial cover.

Rifle Attack(15)

Rifle Damage

 

 

Edited April 23 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

[prophane]

Sloan "Sledgehand" Turlough pugilist

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HP: 6/13 FP: 11/11

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As the dust and smoke clears, Sloan takes aim and fires at the bandit to his left.

---

OOC

Shotgun 11

Range looks to be -5

ACC is +5 so that cancels out...

Shotgun 11

my shotgun damage says Var

[matt_s]

The burst of gunfire and the issuing smoke of black powder is far less impressive than the roar of dynamite a few heartbeats earlier. But it is purposeful in a way that the raw violence of those few small sticks was not...

Mickey's shot seems well aimed but only serves to raise the ire. Yet the luck of the fellow would not last. Malakai's rifle shot tears a small hole in the bandit's gut, and this does have the effect that perforation by lead has on a man. The bandit staggers. Then Sloan fires. And the bandit dies.

The remaining bandit can count. One is less than three. He vaults into the ferry boat resting on the riverbank and begins to cast off. He will need to push off from the soft soil however to get free. An easy task when not accompanied by incoming gunfire...

crunch

3 dodge rolls for Green

if its an 8 gauge (the highest damage) its 5d+2. You have the ST for it (ST 15 in 3E converts down to 12 STR in 4E) and RCL doesn't matter if you are shooting one barrel at a time. Mickey does no dmg (duster has DR 1), Malakai sends negative, then Sloan causes a failed HT roll and death.

 

[Bobcloclimar]

Mickey sends another round downrange and yells out, "Stop an' ye'll live, ye fool!"

 

Mechanics

Aim+All-out Attack at Red. Base skill is 11, range looks like 14 yards (-5), against a standing target (-0), +3 Acc, +1 AOA for modified skill 10. His current posture is Prone.

 

Edited May 2 by Bobcloclimar (see edit history)

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

Not seeing any other bandits emerging from the camp, Malakai pivots the barrel of his rifle to catch the man attempting to vamoose on the ferry. Shortly after Mickey's shot cracks through the early morning air, the bark of Malakai's rifle echoes across the valley.

MechanicsAttack Modifiers:

Distance 15-19 yards: -5
Size and Speed: 0
Accuracy: +6
Braced: +1
Total: +2

Base Rifle Skill: 13
Modified Skill: 15

Kneeling and firing from partial cover.

Rifle Attack

Rifle Damage

 

Edited May 2 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

[matt_s]

The bandit in the boat was still wary as he attempted to slip his moorings... But his wariness was not enough as two bullets torn into him, one in the upper right arm, the other in the chest and that was a grievous wound indeed. Reeling, barely standing, somehow he shoves off the boat and collapses into it in a bloody heap as the boat begins to make its way away - slowly, slowly ebbing in the current. You see him then lay back in the shadowy recesses of the rowboat and seem to consign himself to whatever fate shall come.

ooc

basically the guy is at a bit lower than -1xHP and threw himself into the boat in an attempt to basically float away. But he's really going nowhere fast and no longer able to effectively shoot back at all but the shortest of ranges.

 

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

Seeing the second bandit begin to slowly drift downstream, Malakai focuses his gaze back toward the burning tents and encampment. Peering through the smoke and settling dust, he looks for any sign of the remaining bandits, his finger resting lightly on the trigger of his rifle.

Perception

Edited Sunday at 04:37 PM by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

[matt_s]

On 5/5/2024 at 12:37 PM, DM-Tareth said:

Peering through the smoke and settling dust, he looks for any sign of the remaining bandits, his finger resting lightly on the trigger of his rifle.

Besides the bandit you shot, you don't see any bandits that are in any form fit to fight - but you can't be sure. The battlefield is more than a little chaotic with night vying back and forth with guttering flames consuming the wreckage of the camp.

[DM-Tareth]

Malakai Wallace

ST: 11 | DX: 11 IQ: 10 | HT: 10 | Will: 11 | PER: 11 | Speed: 5.25 | Move: 5

HP: 11/11 | FP: 10/10 | Dodge: 8 | Parry: 9 (Brawling) / 8 (Knife) | Thr: 1d-1 | Sw: 1d+1

---

With no other threat immediately obvious, Malakai quietly works his way down the hill toward the camp. Keeping low and his rifle at the ready, he begins a methodical search to root out the rest of Davy's ill fated brood.

Stealth (Base 10)

MechanicsBreaking cover and cautiously moving toward the nearest tent. If possible will use any smoke, debris or other cover to provide a potential bonus to either Stealth or a needed Dodge roll.

Edited 7 hours ago by DM-Tareth (see edit history)