The Ballad of Echo Company - Episode 1B - The Best Laid Plans

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger raises his hand in affirmation.

With his other arm he pulls out his weasel class explosives.

Get me close enough and I will crack it open.

[MrAbdiel]

You search your immediate surroundings for more allies or enemies, but find none - this small understrength squad appears to be all you can depend on, for now. You take a moment to catch your breath, receive Doc's deft medical attention, and then begin slinking toward the nearest enemy structure - the rear of the Defiant Wall, and the bunker mounted on this protruding fold of the cliff.

Your squad hunkers in the brush at the treeline about a hundred and fifty feet from the trench running along the clifftop connecting the bunkers, and other concrete siegeworks. You can't hear it, but you know that bunker must have some high powered, rail mounted machine guns sufficient to hose down the cliff in devastating plunging fire at the troops below. Curiously, there are surprisingly few enemy soldiers running back and forth in those trenches - you see a pair hustling north just now, but there are plenty of moments where you could make a run for it to cross the distance and be at the trenchline, probably, before you were noticed, so long as no one made some boneheaded stumble and drew attention to themselves.

The bunker nearest to you is huge, and built to be resistant to massive naval shells and aerial bombardment - but a well placed Weasel will open the door, since you can't make -those- from reinforced concrete. Additionally, about fifty feet south of that bunker is the next feature of the Defiant Wall - a walled, open platform featuring the pounding rhythm of a quad-array anti-aircraft turret. Its upper and lower barrels flash and pump in a rapid two-by-two sequence, throwing their high velocity flak munitions into the sky against the huge assembly of allied aircraft. Two soldiers are operating the gun, while four stand about in loose defence of it - though their attention is mostly on the air, tracking the progress of their charge. Even as you watch, the turret claims a kill on an Albinonese Tempest fighter plane, having dipped low to strafe ground forces only to receive close fire and blooming into orange flame, losing a wing and spiraling to explode on the beach below. The Kreigvolk cheer, and slap the backs of the gunners in approval.

Near to you, unfortunately, is another discovery you wish you hadn't made. Wolf finds her first - it's Pvt. Marguerite Curry, her red curls splayed around her head like a halo. She seems to have been far enough away from the mid air detonation to have avoided damage entirely, but at a guess, when the wind blew her here, her feet made enough contact with the bough of a tree that the Featherfall spell gave out prematurely, and she plunged some thirty feet spinning, hitting the soft earth with such force that she broke her neck, and shoulder. There's a small trickle of blood at the corner of her lips, and the angle of her neck brooks no fear of a death of slow suffering; but aside from those distortions, and a little dirt on her right cheek where she struck the ground, she looks almost peaceful, if quietly surprised in her repose. There will be no dancing for the half-elf, after all.

[Waistcoatwill]

Damn...someone give me a hand.

Doc clenches his fists in anger for a few seconds then gently closes her eyes. With help, he moves her body further out of sight and breaks off a dog tag to give to the sarge.

As much as I hate how smug those AA bastards are, I reckon that bunker is dishing out worse hurt on our pals on the beach. What do you think?

[Continental Op]

Wolf shakes his head and helps Doc move Maggy.

At Doc's question, Wolf looks at where they came from, and responds, "You think some of our unit got blown that far? I guess that makes sense. He gets out the binoculars, to see if there is anything else between them and the bunker. He also looks to see if the four guarding the anti-air gun could theoretically see the bunker door from their position.

"I agree we should take out the machine guns in that bunker. But do you think those soldiers would hear us blowing open the door?"

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger
Not with the AA running. Lets crack that bunker open.

[PartyOfRogues]

”I can cover you from up in the trees back here, and if you make a distraction, I could start taking out the AA gunners.”

[Waistcoatwill]

Right, I can try to jimmy the lock like my old man's liquor cabinet if you guys cover me against that lot?

He gestures towards the AA gun.

If it ain't a goer I'll try the bomb. We can try to sneak in and spike the machine gun before they know what's happening.


He hunkers down and does his best cross country impression towards the bunker. At the door, he pulls out a stethoscope to listen to the mechanism and tiny surgical picks and retractors, then sets to at the lock.

Spoiler

Show

He can cover 75 feat a round with a double dash. If troop movements are more frequent than that he'll do dash action and hide as a bonus, working his way to the door cover to cover

Hide (1d20+7)[16] humbug, should only have been +4, 13 total.

Thieves' tools (1d20+7)[25]

[Continental Op]

Wolf watches Doc sprint to the door with a small smile. "Huh, and the lieutenant called me impulsive."

He gets his M1 ready and watches the trenches for any movement in Doc's way. "If the crap hits the fan and Doc gets into trouble, I'll try to make it to him."

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger escorts.
I'm not an officer, if the doctor wants to try his hand at the lock, might as well let him.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Stealth: (1d20+10)[18]

[MrAbdiel]

Click.

Under Doc’s careful ministrations, the lock yields and opens. The door is now unlocked, ready for you to swing inward at your choosing; and as of the moment, the AA gunners nearby have not so much as looked in your patchwork squad’s direction.

[PartyOfRogues]

K’ral takes position up in the trees and watches for signs of movement from the AA crew and any soldiers moving through the trenches

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception if needed: (1d20+9)[25]

[Waistcoatwill]

Doc suddenly realises that he should have concentrated when being taught the company's non-verbal communication methods, or at least not been so hungover. Frantically he gives a thumbs up towards his comrades and waves them towards him.

If no-one in his team seems to respond, he risks flashing his torch towards them in a dot dot, dash dot pattern to say 'IN'.

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger motions for Doc to stop.
Ive got this
(Message cantrip)
Door is prepared, get over here.

[Continental Op]

Wolf starts a little at Gabe's message, then smiles. "I've got to start getting used to all this," he says under his breath. He turns to the others with him, "Right, let's head over there quickly and quietly. Everyone stay with me, and we'll get this done." Wolf then starts for the bunker, staying low and (hopefully) quiet.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Stealth roll: (1d20+7)[10]

[MrAbdiel]

The patchwork squad slinks across the open ground and into the obscurity of the trench, while the AT gun blazes away at its targets and its attendant soldiers are transfixed in their task of reloading the deadly machine.

Spoiler: OOC: Stealth Success

Show

With no one really beefing their stealth rolls at all and Doc popping the lock in one slick turn of effort, your attempt to breach the bunker quietly enough not to be noticed and quickly enough not to get stumbled on by enemy soldiers seems to have worked out!

The bunker door is finely machined and maintained; it swings in on its hinges quietly, revealing several things. First, the bar the door should be secured by to prevent just this kind of invasion is negligently left leaning against the concrete doorframe, where its defensive applications are significantly limited. The interior of the bunker is quite roomy, for a defensive installation; with a sealed hatch in the floor of one corner, crates of ammunition and supply stacked on the left, a small card table and chairs with a half-played game of Dragon-Bluff on the right. There are four soldiers in the room - two humans, an orc and a dwarf - along with another huge blink dog. Incredibly, this dog is snoozing despite the actual war going on around it, and it seems the soldiers haven't had the heart to wake it. Traditionally, with a bunker, soldiers stay away from the firing aperture to minimize the chances for them to be shot by enemy fire wandering into that vulnerable line. But you hear the scream of heavy shells incoming and then a great bloom of fire and smoke a dozen meters out from the front of the bunker; the Kreigshield doing its job and keeping the bunker safe from incoming fire. The purple membrane manifests, ripples with the impact, and then becomes invisible again.

The human and the dwarf are operating the machine gun smoothly, sliding the pintle back and forth on a rail the length of the aperture, pumping streams of lead and light into the assailants below. The other human and the orc are watching, shouting to each other over the din of the gun.

Spoiler: Kreigspiel

Show

"Look, see? Someone up the chain has pulled the ripcord for repulsion posture. The trenchers have doored up to the beach. They're supposed to wait until the reserves are woken and moved in."
"Bloody glory-hounds. Can't wait another half hour to get your tokens and souvenirs? Adran, if I'm ever that eager to exchange bullets with the enemies of the Homeland, I want you to punch me in the face."
The orc, apparently 'Adran', laughs gruffly. "It'd be my pleasure. Holy hellfire, the goliath is still there. Just standing there. Kenvald, put some pepper on him - the one near the flag."

The triggerdwarf, apparently 'Kenvald', swivels the machine gun, squints down the iron sights, and begins squeezing off a streamer of high impact rounds toward the beach below.

Spoiler: Surprise Round

Show

Presuming you want to engage right away, it's surprise round time. There are five targets in the room - Kenvald and Rutger on the gun, Adran and Garmash providing commentary, and the sleeping (maybe deaf?) Kreighound. Depending on how sneaky you want to be, you have options. The munitions in the room may well go up if you set off a grenade in here; but if you're quick and deadly enough, you might not even need to do that. As long as you're all moving into the bunker this turn, there's no stealth roll required to remain outside. If you don't want to attack yet, I'll need stealth rolls from everyone to not be noticed standing in the doorway!

[Continental Op]

Wolf enters the room, and quickly slides to his left to make room for the others. He quickly points to the dog for someone else to handle, while he aims his M1 and starts mowing down the dwarf and human operating the machine gun. He doesn't say anything, he just opens fire on their unprotected backs.

As he is firing, Wolf's features grow more animalistic. Hair sprouts from the sides of his face, and the normally black hair on his head grows three peculiar white stripes, one down the center of his head and one on either side. His nose elongates into something of a snout, and his fingers look more like claws, though he still seems fairly adept with them. As much as he wants the company to call him "Wolf", right now he looks more like a badger than anything else.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

Wolf is going to use his action surge and extra attack to attack four times here. Not sure if we have advantage from the surprise or not, but I will roll twice just in case. And he is ready to use some superiority dice, if the opportunity presents itself. Since that involves more die rolling, I will put that in the OOC thread. Wolf focuses first on the dwarf manning the machine gun; if he goes down, he will turn to the human helping the dwarf.
Attack 1: [1d20+9]
Attack 1(adv?): [1d20+9] and potential damage: [1d10+4]
Attack 2: [1d20+9]
Attack 2(adv?): [1d20+9] and potential damage: [1d10+4]
Attack 3: [1d20+9]
Attack 3(adv?): [1d20+9] and potential damage: [1d10+4]
Attack 4: [1d20+9]
Attack 4(adv?): [1d20+9] and potential damage: [1d10+4]

And Wolf's bonus action is to shift, so he gets [1d6+9] temp HP and +1 to AC for the next minute.

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger takes aim at one of the individuals that was not previously targetting, and fires as he moves into the room.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Att: (1d20+7)[8]
(If advantage) (1d20+7)[23]

Dmg: (1d6+4)[5] Sneak attack: (3d6)[16]

[Waistcoatwill]

Doc silently sighs in relief at Wolf's gesture. He wouldn't lose any sleep over painlessly killing a mutt. Halfling's best friend they ain't. He rolls between Wolf's legs and takes careful aim, holding the pistol in both hands.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Attack with advantage (1d20+7)[20] or (1d20+7)[24] for (1d6+4)[8] piercing damage plus (3d6)[17] sneak attack.

[PartyOfRogues]

K’ral aims at one of the guards at the AA gun, preparing to fire if they notice the attack in the bunker.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Steady aim then readied action to attack one of the AA gun guards if they seem to notice the group in the bunker.
Attack: (1d20+2)[9], (1d20+2)[5], (1d20+2)[21], best of 3
Damage: (1d8+14)[22]
Sneak Attack: (3d6)[9]

[MrAbdiel]

Into the bunker they go, guns blazing; and the Kreigers don't even see it coming.

Wolf is first through the door, carbine barking its Amcaran wrath three times into the back of the triggerdwarf. He has enough time to release a coughing grunt as he jerks in his seat then falls off its side, still and bleeding. Wolf's fourth round walks into the human beside him, spinning as he drops the ammo box in his arms and yowling as the round punches through his forearm.

Spoiler: OOC: Wolf Attacks!

Show

You took down the dwarf and had a final round to spend on his buddy. My reading of your post about using Menacing Attack suggests you'd hold on to the Superiority Dice at this point, but let me know if you want to spend it at all.

Gabriel and Doc move into the room, Gabriel fading left and Doc tumbling through the arch of Wolf's moving legs in a practised maneuver that gives the Kreighound not even enough time to stir before a precision round puts it to sleep forever. Gabriel's shot catches the orc full in the chest, and he blinks in shock at the mortal strike; but seems either too surprised or too touch to acknowledge it and die as good manners would dictate. The orc and the human observers fight to overcome the natural instinct to curl up in the killbox, mustering their senses against the ambush for a desperate effort to come. The ammo-feeder stumbles to where his carbine leans unattended against the wall nearby, trying to bring it to bear with bloodslick hands.

Outside, K'ral's crosshair nods patiently over the helmets of the AA gunners and their minders. It's the machine gun nearby falling silent, not the sudden burst of gunfire, that's more likely to draw their attention; but so far, they seem to have not understood the doom is upon them. Patience a little longer, then.

Spoiler: OOC Ambush Progress!

Show

The trigger dwarf is down, as is the kreighound; the orc is badly injured, one of the humans has a flesh wound, and the other has been spared to witness the carnage. Their turn is spent in surprise, so it's back around to yours. If any of them are able to raise an alarm at the end of your actions, there's a much higher chance the nearby AA gunners will get wise, at which point K'ral's action (presuming he repeats it) will go off and he'll start taking heads. But if you're slick enough, you can silence the MG nest and have a moment to regroup before planning your next move!

[Waistcoatwill]

Seeing the carnage unfold, Doc's eyes widen in panic as several Kreigers remain sta ding, fumbling for their guns.

He hesitates slightly, having to stop his hands shaking as he turns his gun on the injured human.

He let's out a weak Sorry buddy and winces as he squeezes the trigger, aiming just under the guy's chin, towards his brainstem.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Bonus action Steady Aim for advantage if Tasha's optional class rules are in effect.

[roll]1d20+7[/roll or ](1d20+7)[13]
(1d6+4)[6] damage plus (3d6)[11] sneak attack if at advantage.

[PartyOfRogues]

K’ral talks quietly to Catchell while waiting for the AA gunners to become alerted ”I’ll start with the left gunner and you take the right, if you can’t get a clear shot, try to keep them pinned down until the crew in the bunker cleans up.”

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Still aiming and holding action
Rolls:
To Hit: (1d20+2)[3], (1d20+2)[20], (1d20+2)[21]
Damage: (1d8+14)[17]
Sneak Attack: (3d6)[6]

[Continental Op]

Wolf continues his barrage against the Kriegers, aiming first at the human near the machine gun. If that human is down, Wolf moves his fire to the orc. He snarls, inadvertently showing his sharp teeth as he squeezes the trigger.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

I doubt Wolf has advantage for these attacks, but I will roll twice, just in case.
First attack: (1d20+9)[17]
If adv: (1d20+9)[15] and damage: (1d10+4)[13]

Second attack: (1d20+9)[22]
If adv: (1d20+9)[16] and damage: (1d10+4)[6]

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger
Seeing the shocked Krieg Orc go down, he shifts gears. Pointing at the the two in the back, a green orb swiftly heads in that direction.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Gabriel casts acid splash, if I understand the context correctly the two by the machine gun ought to be close enough to both be hit.
Kriegs need to make a dex save of 14 or take (2d6)[6] acid damage

[MrAbdiel]

Incredibly, obscenely, the AA gunners do not become aware of the combat nearby. Perhaps blazing away with their enormous weapon has inured them, or even deafened them, to nearby combat; but for now, it seems the scrappy clifftop team will continue to get away with it.

Then K'ral hears the crack of Catchell's rifle, and a moment later the mingled exclamation of the struck soldier toppling off the gun with a wounded arm, and Catchell swearing profusely at his own mistake. "Crap! Aw, crap! I didn't- I wasn't-" But it's too late. It did, and he was, and the men at the AA gun begin howling and looking around for their target.

Spoiler: OOC for K'ral:

Show

The soldiers already beefed their perception check to know what was going on, so they're still disoriented for your next shot, enabling advantage. Even though this isn't exactly the trigger K'ral was waiting for, I'll assume he knows now's the time to follow through.

Then K'ral's rifle cracks from his hiding place. With an audible ping, the main gunner's helmet careens off the cliff, along with a steamer of extruded grey matter; and his corpse sloughs off to the side onto the top of his screaming, wounded comrade.

Meanwhile...

Ssassten's low clicking hiss becomes a fullblown roar as he barrels into the room, bayonet first, looking to skewer the injured human ammoloader; but the Kreigsman hurls himself to the side, bowling through the carcass of his dwarven ally. In the air, however, he receives a worst fate - one of Wolf's rounds pips through his lung and out through the loophole of the bunker, and the soldier tumbles to the ground wheezing and bringing up his rifle to bear on the invaders in one almost gallant act of defiance.

Then he is staring down the barrel of a pistol in the relucant halfling medic's hands; hears an apology that genuinely seems to lighten his mortal load for the instant before the trigger is pulled, and then his troubles are ended forever.

The snarling shifter's second round thumps into the badly wounded orc, and the thick bodied, grey skinned soldier drops his gun and slides down the wall with a pitiable death gasp.

This leaves just one soldier holding the bullethole in his stomach, heaving breathes in panic and anger, and then pain as he catches a burst of acid that corrodes away the uniform around his right pectoral, then begins to bubble and melt the skin. He screams as Amcaran violence engulfs the room, and does the only thing his spiteful, panicking mind can think - produces a stielhandgrenate, and throws it - perhaps a touch prematurely - over at the munitions dump in the corner of the room.

Spoiler: Perception DC 20:

Show

The orc - he's still alive! The tenacity with which that race clings to life after mortal blows is sustaining him, long enough to produce a small copper sphere the size of a knucklebone, depress an inset circle on its surface, and then bleed out.

Spoiler: OOC: Grenade! Grenade!

Show

You're close enough to this grenade as it's thrown, with too much fuse, to maybe make a difference. So I'm giving you two options.

Option 1: a DC10 Reflex Save will get you out of the bunker and reduce the damage the ensuing blast will cause you significantly. That is, by half, or completely if you have evasion.

Option 2: a DC 20 Reflex Save will permit you to throw yourself toward the grenade, and with a subsequent Dex check, DC 10, throw it out the loophole. Failing that check means you only throw it far enough across the bunker that it doesn't light up the munition dump.

As many folks who want to dive for the grenade can do so. If you get it away from the munitions, someone can still dive at it to try to get it out the window.

Good luck!

[Waistcoatwill]

Doc feels a terrible wrenching in his gut as he fires on the Kriegsman, the Krieger's near mortal wounds and rising rifle barely softening the blow to his soul. The silhouette of the grenade flying past mercifully stops him dwelling in the casualty.

Hours and hours of playing catch with his pop and brother in the park start him moving without thinking. His small form dives after the twirling ordinance and smoothly flicks it out of the loophole into the void.

A flood of adrenaline finally kicks in as he lays on his back, dumbly looking around at his comrades and hyperventilating. The blood pounding in his ears sounds oddly like the roar of the crowd in the Golem's stadium. Did...you...guys...see...that?

[Novabomb]

Pvt Gabriel Ginger
That would make a pretty blossom, maybe another time. he says as he snatches the grenade with his magic and shoves it out the window. His eyes follow its descent, and he is distracted by the fire bloom. A large smile on his face.

[Continental Op]

As Wolf registers the danger from the grenade flying towards the ammunition, he sees Doc already spring into action and Gab cast some sort of spell. As the grenade flies out of the loophole, he stands there and blinks. "Well, that happened."

He then notices the orc and rushes over to him. Wolf makes sure the orc is dead by poking his eye with the M1, pulling the trigger if there is any movement. He then looks at the copper sphere. He shouts, "Hey, does anyone know what this is?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Unless Wolf knows what the sphere is, then he reacts accordingly. If he thinks it is going to explode, he will try to imitate Doc to the extent he is able. Or is it some kind of panic button?

[MrAbdiel]

Spoiler: Wolf's Intuitions

Show

It doesn't... seem like an explosive device. It's passed any reasonable delay for detonation. If it's a chemical explosive, there's barely enough to take off a hand; not exactly a great last minute gambit. But a panic button? Maybe. It's just not big enough to be any kind of radio, or sophisticated broadcast device. Is it?

Understanding more will either require the use of the Identify spell, or some time to look it over - ideally, by someone specialized in magical and mechanical things.

[PartyOfRogues]

K’ral lines up another shot and fires at one of the guards on the AA platform, talking quietly to Catchell again. ”Truck is coming up behind us, about 20 seconds out, keep firing for now but be ready to get down”

Spoiler: OOC

Show

20 seconds is three rounds counting this one if I’m not mistaken, also rolls
Hit: (1d20+2)[3], (1d20+2)[8], (1d20+2)[9]
Damage: (1d8+14)[17]
Sneak Attack: (3d6)[16]