Friday, August 26, 2016

Wordslingin'

Into the mines of Moria Epsilon! Almost! This week, Our Heroes (tm) investigate the mysterious packages being sent to the Epsilon Mine near Port Arthur, and discover that the rabbit hole goes deeper than they know… literally.


[We are scoping out the Epsilon Mine and trying to decide if we should infiltrate further.]
Brock: “The only way we can know if we want to do it is after we’ve done it.”

[We discover that there is an outpost with a watchtower and some abandoned-looking buildings on the mountain-top above the mine entrance.]
Brock: “Well, I like our chances.”
Zac: “You want to hit the outpost?”
Brock: “I want to silently infiltrate it.”

[We figure out who’s going to take responsibility for this part of the mission.]
Georges the GM: “Who’s your infiltration team?”
Julie: (looking at Ariel) “I vote for the guy in light flak.”

[Within the abandoned buildings, we discover a narrow-ish drilled bore hole into the mountain above the mine.]
Brock: “Zac, would you say Fennec is more than 50 cm wide or less than 50 cm wide?”
Zac: “You’re gonna send me down a hole, aren’t you?”
Brock: “You just volunteered!”

[We consider what to do about the bore hole.]
Brock: “Because I’m feeling generous, you don’t have to go down first. The drone can.”

[We send the drone down. It turns out it’s just a narrow-bore hole all the way done, not opening into any sort of chamber.]
Brock: “Okay, so I’m glad we didn’t send a person down. Right decision!”

[We send Fennec and Torgath down the mountain to an exhaust vent right above the mine entrance. There, they see that the packages we have been tracking seem to be large tanks of some highly volatile substance.]
Brock: “We could fuck them up right now!”
Julie: “Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Pinky?”

[One of the tanks has already been taken inside the mine. The other starts rolling. Fennec and Torgath have about a minute before it’s inside.]
Julie: “I don’t think we’re gonna get an explosive onto this thing.”
Brock: “I think that’s a defeatist attitude… I say from atop my command bunker.”

[The players discuss what Fennec and Torgath could potentially accomplish in a single minute.]
Zac: “The flip side is that we set an explosive and blow ourselves up.”
Brock: “I’d say that’s the most likely outcome.”

[Another option involves going back to Major Stone and telling him what we found.]
Brock: “Look, I like the plan that involves other people assaulting the facility.”

[The tanks are being guarded by masked security agents from Zelanis Security.]
Brock: “I might be handy to know if Mark Kim is one of the guards. It’s not like we can ID him with a mask on.”
Zac: “So should I scan for a webble?”
Brock: “I dunno. I’m not there. What do you want to do?”
Julie: “…You’re a master. Teach me your ways.”
Brock: “I make it known what I want and then absolve myself of all responsibility.”

[There are no signs of a webble. The tank is brought inside the mine. The team contemplates their next move.]
Georges the GM: “Within two days you’ll have a score of people.”
Julie: “And Mads.”
Brock: “For whatever that’s worth.”
Julie: “Quite a lot if we have a computer we want to get into.”

[As we consider the mine, we realize that it looks like some sort of prison operation. Which may or may not change the calculus on whether we want to blow it up.]
Brock: “They may be political prisoners, innocent of any crime!”
Zac: “That doesn’t sound like you.”
Julie: “That sounds like a man who was arrested yesterday.”

[We return to Minnie’s Bar to regroup. High on the list of things we don’t know is what was actually in the tanks.]
Lukas: “Does anyone know a rocket scientist?”
Minnie: “Only the one who’s been abducted.”

[We consider what to do about the mine, where we expect Gustafson is building his weapon.]
Zac: “Any reason we shouldn’t blow up the mine?”
Julie: “All the innocent people?”

[Of course, to blow up the mine, or indeed to get any intel at all, we will have to infiltrate it.]
Lukas: “The last time we were in a diamond mine, it didn’t end will.”
Lyta: (pointedly) “You weren’t there.”

[We have informed Stone of what we learned at the mine, but he considers it circumstantial evidence.]
Georges the GM: “Stone needs more intel if he’s going to act.”
Brock: “But if it were to blow up, how upset would he be?”

[Brock has a simple plan for what we should do next.]
Brock: “We want maximum boom.”
Zac: “What does maximum boom get us?”
Brock: “I thought that was obvious.”

[Fennec contemplates the latest challenge put before her.]
Zac: “What would make a tank of rocket fuel explode in the most spectacular fashion?”
Georges the GM: “I’ll tell you if you roll well.”

[Fennec has come up with some particularly large boom ideas.]
Georges the GM: “Fireballs out of every corner…”
Zac: “Everybody dies?”
Brock: “Do you want to save the world or not?”

[More of the same.]
Georges the GM: “Currently the plan you’ve designed murders everyone who requires air.”
Brock: “Almost maximum boom. It’s okay – I’m satisfied with penultimate boom.”

[Fennec gets to work.]
Zac: “Once again, I’m having a research and building montage.”
Georges the GM: “Meanwhile, the rest of you are resting.”

[Planning took a long time.]
Georges the GM: “Let’s see if we can get to…”
Zac: “The second page of your notes?”
Georges the GM: “Let’s try the second line.”

[We return to the mine. Instead of heading towards the mine proper, we have determined that there is a connecting shaft from a now-disused nearby mine, which is likely where Gustafson is building his rocket. We approach on foot, at night. Which has certain complications.]
Torgath: *puts his foot down on a landmine*
Zac: “It’s okay. We can do this with three people.”

[Fennec heads into the minefield to get Torgath out. Zac rolls… less well than he’d like.]
Zac: “What’s our policy on using tactics dice?”
Brock: “Getting blown up is mission fail.”

[We get everyone out of the minefield and back to starting positions. We also manage to avoid getting noticed by the routine patrol. Now back on safe ground, we do some back-of-the-envelope calculations.]
Brock: “I think we can be confident they didn’t lay 13,000 mines.”
Zac: “This is Gustafson we’re talking about.”





Heavy Gear Roleplaying Game

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