RT2.0 Playtest IC - Team Scum

[The Glyphstone]

You have come to Port Wander in search of trade, profit, and most important of all, glory. Perched on the edge of the Calixis Sector, in the far reaches of the Drusian Marches, Port Wander is the gateway to the Koronus Expanse and the vast untamed void beyond. The station itself hangs massive and silent in the baleful light of Rubycon II, surrounded by the shattered remnants of ancient asteroids and serviced by a flotilla of Imperial vessels both large and small.

Your Rogue Trader announces that he will visit the station later after finishing his third banquet dinner of the day, and orders you to go ahead to the station and deal with all the boring, mundane administrative problems and issues. Upon your arrival you have been greeted by several formal envoys and salutations from both the Imperial Authority and other Rogue Traders, welcoming your dynasty to port and honouring your right to passage. This kind of reception is one you have grown used to and is no less than you would expect. However, one vox message stands out and demands your attention. Recorded in your dynasty’s personal cipher, the message is from a man who calls himself Orbest Dray. He says he has been waiting a long time for a member of the family line to return, and carries a message and a gift from your Rogue Trader’s great-grandfather. He would meet with you as soon as you have docked at a specified location in the Court of the Dead; Port Wander’s vast markets. It is a matter, he says, that promises great glory.

Spoiler: Group Roster

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Haval - Seth, Arch-Militant
Potato_Golem - Markus Vesk, Seneschal
Xenopax - Tyrion Tyreal, Rogue TraderMissionary
Genth - Bvranya Jaado, Psyker

[Haval]

Seth has come to know Rogue Traders and their families well enough to know how easily they can get tied up in petty vendettas. To be prudent he will try to look into this Dray person before the actual meeting. In the bars of Port Wander there were always those willing to share information for rhe cost of a few thrones.

Spoiler: ooc

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Inquiry vs. Fel 36
(1d100)[42]

[Genth]

After the necessary precautions made, an imposing figure made her way down the long, thin umbillical from the ship into Port Wander. Clad in strong Power Armor, a rather rounded helmet covering her features, and small amounts of coolant gas seemingly escaping from the breathing vents, Lady Jaado does not cut the usual picture of a Psyker, and more like some martially-inclined Noble, if it were not for the lack of weapons at her hip. At her side slinks a white-furred fox, blue-toned feathered wings coming from its shoulders. She looks across to Markus and Tyrion.

"Where is Commander Seth? He is supposed to join us, is he not?" she says, voice clipped, a hint of a mechanical tone to it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry if I made any clashing things in my post regarding placement of people and Seth's title. Figured it was quicker and easier to just do it.

[PotatoGolem]

With a ripple in the air, Marcus is there. The holo-suit shimmered as he moved and the eye seemed to resist focusing on him. Those who did rarely remembered the man himself, focusing more on the strange suit. He was taller than average, lean and muscular, with dark hair and gray eyes. More than that, people tended to forget. It suited him just fine.

He said something about inquiring ahead. Finding out about this guy. Not a bad idea. I'll follow behind you, watch for an ambush. You two tend to draw attention. They'll focus on you until it's too late.

He smiles at his colleagues and fades back into the press of bodies, almost vanishing from sight.

[Xenopax]

Tyrion stood with his eyes closed murmuring prayers to the Emperor for Luck and Fortune upon this new venture. He opened them as Marcus appeared and looked at him distastefully. Filthy Xenos tech. Despite getting it through a legal channel, it still disgusted him.
Tyrion hair was laced with soot and ash from his holy fires. As a member of the Incinerant Conclave, he always kept a flame on him. He leaned on his staff-brazier, dislodging a few coals from the top that nearly fell off before being stuck in the grill. I do wish he would hurry up. We are wasting our emperor given time simply standing here.

[Genth]

"Then let us not waste any more. If Seth has gone ahead, he shall meet us there. Come." the Lady says, and starts off, striding purposefully through the station towards their destination. She walks without looking at the various traders and mundanes who might try to grab the attention of such a figure, but within her mind, she reaches out.

Spoiler: OOC

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Heading towards the designated meeting area. Making a Psiniscience Test as a precaution (1d100)[95] base Perception =40

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Haval

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Judging that test as Easy +10, so you pass.

At first, Seth's efforts to identify Orbus Dray are met with indifference or confusion, but it becomes much easier once someone catches sight of his House sigil. It seems Dray is in fact fairly well-known on Port Wander, if not by name - with the current Rogue Trader's complete indifference towards actually managing the affairs of his dynasty in favor of enjoying the sybaritic excess it permits him, that tedious business has fallen to the dynasty's not-so-small army of factotums and oathsworn retainers. Dray is the House factotum on the station, doing the busywork that keeps profit flowing into the dynasty coffers.

The Court of the Dead is a massive, open-air (for what little the term is worth on a space station) bazaar in one of the lower levels of Port Wander. Crowds of people swarm hither and yon, their simple garb variously marking them as traders, merchants, or common workers. The stench of concentrated humanity is strong here, and it takes several moments of scanning the crowds before the man who must be Orbus Dray stands out near a row of booths close to an exit tunnel. He is an old man dressed no differently than anyone else in the bazaar, the simple and extensively mended robes of a Administratum scribe hanging loose on his frame. The House sigil gleams from a badge clipped to the neck of his tunic.

[Xenopax]

Tyrion made a beeline for Dray. As soon as he reaches, he grasps the old man's hand and shakes it firmly with a massive grin on his face. He looked like a proper follower of the Emperor unlike some of his own crew mates. Greetings from the House, the Rogue Trader and myself personally! I assume you are one Dray? Wondrous!

[Haval]

His caution somewhat satisfied Seth will join the others at the Court of the Dead. He is unusually tall and thin looking for a Tech Priest. All the better to loom over others when he needed to. Only the combat shield at his side and the plasma rifle slung over his back might give any indication of what he was. Expecting trouble or not, there was no reason for him to be subtle here. He will arrive quietly behind his colleagues as Tyrion introduced himself.

[PotatoGolem]

Marcus does not join the group. He finds cover nearby and stands still, allowing his reactive camouflage to blend him in with the surroundings. He watches the crowd intently for signs of an ambush. He whispers softly into the vox-bead. Marcus in position. Will alert if I see anything.

[Genth]

Lady Jaado remains quiet as the priest introduces the three of them, hands neatly folded in front of her, scrutinizing Dray carefully.

[The Glyphstone]

Dray is clearly caught off guard by Tyrion's enthusiastic greeting, but recovers quickly despite visible disappointment.

"Ah - um - yes, well met good sir. I was expecting to see my Lord Rogue Trader, but if he has sent you as his representatives while he attends more important matters, such is his will and I will comply. I have been waiting nearly my entire life for this moment, you see. Ever since my youth as a deck-boy on the Emperor's Testament under Captain Karlorn, who served in the Lord's great-grandfather's fleet many years ago. I was but fourteen when we set out on the expedition, only to be driven apart from the others by a terrible storm and cast adrift into an empty star system. There, our ship's witches heard a faint echo we hoped was a sign of the fleet, but it turned out instead to be a single ship adrift and dead, hundreds of years old, and aboard it a star-map. The Captain believed it first to be a forgery, for it claimed to note the location of the Righteous Path."

He pauses, as if expecting the group to recognize the name given so portentously.

[Haval]

He pauses, as if expecting the group to recognize the name given so portentously.

The name of the ship doesn't ring any bells with Seth, but he'll assume that the others know what Dray was talking about. In context he obviously considered it valuable information.

++'What can you tell us about the wreck? How did they come to have this map in the first place?'++

Spoiler

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In case these Knowledge tests tell me anything about the Righteous Path
Common Lore (War) vs. Int 50
(1d100)[76]

Common Lore (AdMech) vs. Int 50
(1d100)[59]

[The Glyphstone]

Dray's eyes go out of focus as he thinks, dredging back through ancient memories. At last he shakes his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know, I wasn't part of the boarding teams. But the men who came back with the map looked haunted, I'll never forget the look on their faces. Whatever had been on that ship, they hadn't liked seeing it. Afterward, the captain had us stand off and our gunners blew the wreck into plasma clouds, so he must not have liked hearing about it either. But word spread of what we'd discovered. Captain Karlorn knew the Lord Rogue Trader had to know about it, so he detoured just far enough to reach the port here, and dropped me and a few older crew members off to wait while he caught up to the fleet. Something bad must have happened to him, because he never came back. No one else from the dynasty ever came to look for us either. When the old factotum died, Strelzi took over his job, and when he finally passed on I starting doing the work in turn. We knew a dynasty ship would visit eventually."

"Just think...the Righteous Path. House Ryn's flagship. Loaded to the deckplates with the loot of entire worlds, decades worth of plunder from one of the Angevin Crusade's greatest captains. If anyone else had found it, word would have spread...it's still out there somewhere, I'm sure. And you've got the only other copy of the map right here."

He pulls a small stasis-casket from under his robes. "It'll only open for the Lord Rogue Trader, or anyone carrying his signet ring. He must have given that to you for signing paperwork and such things."

[Haval]

Seth is somewhat disappointed but not surprised at the lack of detail over what had happened on the wreck. Those outside the Mechanicus never bothered to sufficiently document all that happened to them for those that came after. If the wreck was destroyed though it was of little consequence.

The mention of the Angevain Crusade was more interesting to Seth as one who had been there, although in truth there had been many ships and he had had little reason to keep track of them all. Then there was the matter of the ship's alleged cargo. ++'If what you say about it's cargo is true, it should not be left for just anyone to find.'++ The value of the cargo should be judged by proper agents of the Mechanicus.

Spoiler

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Just in case, Common Lore (War) on House Ryn to see if Seth remembers anything from the Crusade
vs. Int 50
(1d100)[97]

[Xenopax]

Tyrion takes the Stasis Casket in his hand and pulls out the signet ring from his robes. He uses the lock with it to make it open and takes a look on the inside.

[The Glyphstone]

The gene-scanner's needle slides out when the ring is placed into its receptacle, sampling the tiny reservoir of fresh blood stored within and confirming the owner's identity (and relative proximity). Ancient mechanisms hum as the casket's stasis field disengages, the lid popping open to reveal two objects - a small black stone and a miniaturized pict-projector. Lady Jaado can immediately sense a psychic resonance from the stone, but it is the projector that comes to life first. The image of a middle-aged, craggy-jawed man in the uniform of a starship captain appears in the air above it, giving a sweeping bow and beginning to speak.


"My Lord Rogue Trader, if you are hearing this message than I have not survived to bring it to you in person. Yet however long it has been since I was separated from your fleet, time is of the essence. I have found credible evidence of the location of the fabled Righteous Path, the treasures of which could secure your dynasty's place in the stars for all time. This evidence has been encoded upon the stone contained in this casket, decipherable by any witch or astropath amongst your retinue. Make haste, My Lord, for no doubt many others will seek out this treasure for their own ends. I am Captain Vios Karlorn, commanding the cruiser Emperor's Testament, in your service till the day I die."

Dray looks almost mesmerized, whether from the sight of his long-dead captain or the words spoken by the mechanical echo. "Just think, Lords...the Righteous Path. More wealth in one place than any man could possibly imagine...except for a Rogue Trader."

[Haval]

++'Wealth is a tool. Nothing more.'++ Seth gazes into the black stone. Since the unpleasantness of that journey his perceptions had been expanded. However it had come to be it was a useful ability that occasionally made him more effective at his job.

Spoiler

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Psyncience vs. Per 37
(1d100)[100]

Used fate to get 68 on discord

[Genth]

From behind her frosted helmet, Lady Jaado surveys the man closely, carefully. "Wealth is the reason we are here, Explorator." she replies, voice a touch more cool than usual. "If we are to talk further, we should take this.. Dray to a more secluded location."

[Genth]

Spoiler: OOC

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Edited in because forgot in previous post - Forbidden Lore (Psykers) to know what the stone is (1d100)[48] vs 37

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Seth and Tyrion

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An anomalous glint of light from above catches Seth's eye - he looks up to see a cyber-augmented bird of some kind swooping down from the beams high above towards the open casket and its contents. Tyrion also notices the diving bird.

Both characters can take a single Half Action in response to this.

Spoiler: Marcus

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Keeping a careful eye on the crowd from his vantage point, Marcus notices some odd movements in the shifting mass of people. What looks like five men, all in matching armor and carrying autoguns, are converging on the command crew and Drey from different angles. None of them have noticed him.

Spoiler: Lady Jaado

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It's a rock.

[Haval]

Ah, others might be interested in the stone. This would be the competition. Over the micro-bead. ++'We are ambushed.'++

Unworried about any threat the bird or it's handlers might represent, Seth will first hold his power shield over the stone to try to keep the bird away from it.

Spoiler

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Free half action - cover the stone

I'm not sure if this is something I need to Ready. If it is I'll just try to pocket the stone instead.

In case I need an Ag roll
vs. Ag 45
(1d100)[73]

[PotatoGolem]

Marcus levels his Neural Catalyzer, taking careful aim at the man closest to him. Once he's lined up the perfect shot, he whispers into the vox. The bird was a distraction. Hostiles approaching. Five men with autoguns. I'll start the fun. He wills his gun to fire.

Spoiler: OOC

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Full Aim before combat, then firing at the closest guy. (1d100)[65] vs I believe 103 (53+20 full aim +30 unaware target)

Rolling damage dice separately for RF purposes. (1d10)[1](1d10)[3]. NC shots ignore all armor and are resisted with WP instead of T.

[PotatoGolem]

Spoiler: Things I forgot in my first post

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Seneschal Sneak Attack {roll]1d10[/roll]
He needs to test T at -30 or be stunned for one round per DoF. He's prone if the damage is more than SB.

EDIT: got the roller to work on discord. Total of 13 damage. Sneak Attack saves the day.

[Xenopax]

Tyrion grabs the stone and drops it down one of his many robe pockets. He then hears the call of Marcus. Tyrion turns around and lets his hydra flamer arrays begin burning the first attacker he sees.

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d100)[70] v 35 if i need to roll agility. I'm backing off if Seth grabs it though
Flamer with Proven 3, Spray and Flame qualities.
Damage: (1d10+4)[10] unless they succeed at a +0 toughness test.
He'll spend his second half action attempting to grab the stone if he hadn't already. (1d100)[31] v 35

[The Glyphstone]

Seemingly out of nowhere, the placid chaos of a busy marketplace erupts into the sheer insanity of an active combat zone. A cyber-augmented raven swoops down from the beams high above, neatly twisting past both Seth and Tyrion's hands. The latter tries to drop the stone into a pocket, but accidentally drops it onto the ground instead where the bird snatches it up in one talon.

At the same time, a team of five armored men with unfamiliar livery emerge from the crowd in a semicircle, leveling their autoguns at the group of Explorers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Initiatives:
Marcus @13
Seth @13
Jaado @ 10
Tyrion @9
Bad Guys @ 8
Drey @ 5

Battlemap:

https://i.imgur.com/XGBl33Z.png

For scaling purposes, each square is 5 meters.

[Genth]

Bvanya's eyes widen behind the frosted glass of her helmet, backing away from the approaching autoguns, trying to make for cover behind one of the stalls, when she sees the bird swoop down for the stone, and with a curse, raises her hand, attempting to pull together icy cold power. At almost the exact same time, she makes a noise, and a blur of white fur and feathers bursts into the air.

Spoiler: Ohgodusingpschicpowersinacrowdedplacethisisgonnagobad

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Half action moving towards the nearest stall for cover (2m If I'm thinking rightly?) and then Half Power Focus Test to use The Void's Touch.

(1d100)[16] vs 72 (53 Base WP +10 Psy Focus +PR*3 (3 because of Familiiar)

If Successful, (1d5+3)[5] Energy Damage, and 1 Level of Fatigue. DoS inflicts -25 to Dodge test, and the bird must make a -25 Toughness Test or 1/2 Speed

Then the Familiar will fly up (Flyer 6) in a Charge action to attack

(1d100)[11] vs 38,
(1d10+2)[6] Damage

[Haval]

Seth is briefly frustrated by not being quick enough to take the stone. It was regrettable inefficiency on his part. But then all these targets showed up. He will move towards the nearest, using the crowd as cover. Over the microbead, ++'Try to leave one alive.'++ There were other ways to follow a trail.

Spoiler

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Half Action - Ready Power Axe
Half Action - Move 4 metres in the direction of the nearest enemy using the crowd for cover

[Xenopax]

Tyrion whirls around with His Brazier and unleashed a flurry of blows, with both the firey end and the hard metal knob at the bottom.

Spoiler

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(1d100)[65] v 56 (41 base + 10 aim + 5 good)Swift attack so 1 hit per 2 dos. All attacks have Flame.
Damage 1: (1d10+8)[16], Damage 2: (1d10+8)[12], Damage 3: (1d10+8)[12]

[The Glyphstone]

The blue-white energy beam of Marcus's catalyzer lashes out through the seething crowd, eliciting a tortured scream from the armored trooper, even as Seth starts to forge through the shoppers - for the moment using his power axe as a threat rather than a tool. Bvanya, seeing a closer target at hand, draws on the dark power of the Warp and lashes out at the cyber-raven; icy crystals form along the edges of its wings, and the creature shrieks with anger even as her familiar springs upward to scrape its own claws against the raven's iron mantle. The black stone falls out of its grasp under the assault and lands somewhere in the milling crowd below.

Then all hell truly breaks loose as Tyrion unhesitatingly clears the barrels of his hydra flamers and bathes the fleeing crowd in righteous fire. Over a dozen people are instantly transformed into flailing, shrieking torches, and several of the closest stalls are set alight. Three of the attacking troopers are caught in the wide-angle spray as well - the right-most attacker ducks around the corner of a stall and is unharmed, the other two are both burned and ignited.

One of the two burning ambushers has the presence of mind to drop and roll about on the ground, smothering the flames licking at his body. The other is too distracted by the pain of being on fire and continues to flail. One of those who escaped the flames entirely is still panicked by the horrifying sight, turning to flee and be lost amidst the civilians; the one who dodged entirely is held rigid with terror.

Labored down by its icy wings, the cyber-raven nonethless flees upward, back towards the concealing safety of the beams high above. Drey dives to the ground, pulling out a hotshot laspistol as he does so.

Spoiler: OOC

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Tyrion needs to make a Dodge check; if he fails, he takes 12 damage with a Penetration value of 2.

https://i.imgur.com/0BbkQPO.png

The red-ringed enemy is On Fire, the yellow-ringed enemies are suffering from Fear as described.