Post date: Jun 21, 2010 1:32:5 AM
4/22/84
DM Note: To see the rules I used for the train fight, see the GM Blog section [Train Rules]
From their vantage point of the over pass, and quickly sensing the situation the group determined where they were would not allow them to stop that train, but if they were able to board the beast they had a chance. Looking along the rails they spotted a pedestrian over pass guarded by a couple of raiders not far away.
ACE turned to Nukey and told the robot to take Bessie "Home" to Vault 33 before dashing off to join her friends.
From here the group dashed through the rubble, with Grim taking the lead, Doc cleared the first of the raiders with a head shot with his sniper rifle, allowing Grim a chance to drop the second at close range. With a mad dash the group did leap from the crumbling concrete onto the accelerating train, landing on the caboose. Doc and BW landed prone while Grim, ACE, and Wayne landed on their feet. No sooner than they landed than raiders started pouring out of the windows on the rail cars and presented a challenge to the PCs with railway rifles (non-mad scientist) and sawed off shotguns (stronger). While the first few were easily dispatched, the rest of the raiders encountered seemed to be well doped with Med-X making them formidable foes to deal with (harder). Still with great care they group advance under gusty wind and hail of lead and railway spikes.
Finally advancing from the caboose to the cattle car, where ACE disconnected the car as Doc sprang from it to the wooden enclosure of the cattle car. Here, ACE's Nuka Dispenser proved invaluable as she washed wave after wave of raiders with burning acid, keeping the tide from completely turning against them, despite the the arrival of reinforcements. Doc was kept very busy keeping everyone patched up as Wayne fired mostly warning shots to keep the foes at bay, as BW went in swinging with his Shishkabob and Chinese Officer Sword. Grim continued to slay all who approached her but even in time she was wounded as the raiders poured forth like a unending tide of angry ants. One raider even emerged with a flame thrower but a mechanical failure (thanks to an adventure card) saved the party from a bit of "turn about is fair play" before becoming the focus of the Gotham Knight's withering fire.
Suddenly just as the top of the Railyard water tower came into view a cannister was shot high into the air from the locomotive causing a bright flash, sending Docs and BWs pip-boys into reboot mode, ACE guessed it was a large variant of a Pulse Grenade weapon that would prevent them from radioing ahead a warning to Railyard (even though they didn't have such means).
Finally a toe hold was made on the final car to which Wayne provided the disconnect sending yet another rail car to rapidly fall behind them. Once on top of the last car a mysterious metal clad figure place a pair of claymores on the roof in an attempt to dislodge the assault, but to no avail as Grim, Wayne, ACE and Doc advanced upon the locomotive, while BW kept their sword fighting champion at bay (despite the fact that this raider only had a sawed off shotgun, he apparently was very hard to hit - BW's dice betrayed him a lot here). Suddenly from the locomotive came the blaring music of the Flight of the Valkyries.
Upon reaching the coupling between the "passenger car" and the steel encased engine, Grim noticed the explosive charges around the coupling and worked on disarming it such that the passenger car could not be disengaged from either the engine or the passenger car. Meanwhile Doc, not realizing the peril of radiation (as his pip-boy was not functioning right now), stood upon the locomotives exposed engine core and looked inside the engineers compartment, seeing an individual pounding his hands with futility against the door out of the engine compartment, before turning and spotting Doc at the open window. The individual cocked his head and walked closer putting his helmet up to the window, as if begging to be shot, but not before Doc saw that stitched to the outside of the environmental suit was the name Marcone, the same name of the escaped slave from Fast Gary's past. That and he hit some red button, before ducking out of sight. Meanwhile Grim spotted several recently used containers of Wonderglue scattered around and realized the door to the engine room had been glued shut, trying the handle to the door the passenger car found the handle was dripping in glue as well, loosing her gloves in the process. Nimbly she swung through a side window and began a room by room search for any adversaries.
ACE using her Nuka Dispenser began to dissolve the glue upon the door, allowing Wayne to perform an acrobatic stunt that would have made BW proud and crashed through the door to confront Marcone who was busy trying to "dig" his way out. Meanwhile Doc moved to the front of the train to try to derail it and rescue the guards before the locomotive slammed into the walls of Railyard. Meanwhile up top on the Passenger Car, BW finally dispatched the laughing raider with a powerful strike with his Shishkabob as it finally sputtered out of fuel. Inside the Passenger Car, Grim found a false floor had been removed. Peering beneath she saw rapidly falling behind the train, a figure on a board up on wheels. Taking a quick aim hanging out beneath the train she put two well aimed and powerful shots into the figure, knocking it from it's perch.
Back to the locomotive. Marcone tried to escape but was blocked by the strong frame of BW who then put the Chinese officers blade deep into his golden helmet, ensuring a quick death. Meanwhile Wayne started to apply the breaks as ACE (with the help of others) began to work on a way to disable the engine that was clearly over heating to the point of exploding. Using all their talents ACE found a way to jettison the core in a nuclear fireworks display as Wayne applied the breaks in a manner that did not send the fast moving engine into tumble.
As sparks flew from the wheels and bursts of nuclear fire exploded overhead, the trains slowed to a stop with but inches to spare. Suddenly a cheer went up from the tops of the rail cars in Railyard as Wayne stepped up onto the engine compartment and called out, "Railyard is Saved!" (and played the Folk Hero card to boot).
(One thing I noticed, combat takes longer to play than to write, but in a jist, for a while there they PCs were making progress and then stalled out when one of them played the Reinforcements Adventure Card, but in turn it did grant them an extra adventure card to choose from, but with hardened and strong foes, this was probably the toughest fight the group had ever had).
A couple hours later spotters noted a large group of raiders on the horizon, but upon seeing that the doom train had failed turned tail back into the ruins of Eugene.
From here, the group found itself receiving a heroes welcome and food and drink and temporary lodging was free to them (sadly no permanent room like at Corvallis), as Wayne regaled the gathered with the tale of the Doom Train, as each retelling made the story grow in magnitude and bravery. BW took advantage of the one night free hospitality of the Station personnel, as Doc ensured that the surviving Guards were well taken care of, meanwhile Grim and ACE just enjoyed watching the impromptu festivities.
04/23/10
After a good nights rest and the good use of Rad Away, the group returned down the rail line to find the mysterious figure that Grim had shot, very dead. They looted him and took his head back into town, where none could identify him. Bill Terra gladly signed the free city agreement thus ensuring no Gotham Citizens would be purchased here ever again (assuming they were properly marked). Bill Pullman was able to convince the slightly inebriated powers that be, to convert the Passenger Car into a true hotel, that existed within the walls for guests. He was thinking of calling it the "Good Knights Rest". During that day the group saw the talent of the engineers as they disassembled the Doom Train for spare parts.
From here the group thanked Bill, and traveled west to the Fern Ridge Reservoir Pumping station and after hours of grimy work brought a good supply of pipes to Vault 33, where they regaled the fellow vault dwellers tales of their adventure, and made sure that Lenny was fitting in nicely. John did inform them the pipe given, while helpful, was not enough, but would at least allow them to continue the digging process.
04/24/10
The group then made their way into Eugene and to Things for Things, to see if any knew about this mysterious man in spiked armor. Tom Ato was able to identify him as a very charismatic raider leader named Spike, who was often in the company of a very egg-head chap who would frequently come here for various odds and ends. The group traded a sawed off shotgun for some pipe that could be used by John, and as they made to leave Things for Things to perhaps go and check out Med-Tek Research labs, they found a robed and gas-masked Agent of the Shadow Man waiting for them.
"Greetings Gotham Knights", wheeze "The Shadow Man would like an audience with you."
To which the group followed the agent toward the towering basalt hill, the core of a former volcano, and the former center of Eugene, and now the center of Shadow Man's power. Wandering through the rubble they reached the base of the butte where a long road began its ascent upwards. At the base a scrap metal and lumber barricade was found to be manned by your typical raider scum, uncouth and unorganized they still gave the agent and the players a wide berth. Further up the road the players found a second gatehouse/barbican at a sharp turn in the road with both sides of the road bordered by a steep cliff. This one was manned by far more professional looking individuals, in leather armor with combat shotguns and assault rifles being the norm here. The party noticed the stamped leather bracelet of the mercenary was seen on several of these guards. Finally arriving at the top the players found a walled area about the size of a football field. Once the gate was slid aside, they entered Shadow Man's domain.
Inside they found Shadow Man's gang inside being fairly civilized, and also noticed that all the spotting towers they had seen were unmanned, instead they noticed that all the telescopes are linked by cables that lead to an inner keep. Also they noticed there are all sorts of antenna (from simple home type to cobbeled together towers) and a few signal boosters. Someone has rebuilt a few fission generators that seem to power the inside of the place. Most housing are ramshakle tin sheds made with scrap lumber and corrugated metal, but there are a few military grade tents. Most of the raiders here wore metal armor and were armed with Assault rifles and combat shotguns, and as the group entered, it was clear they were ready for trouble moving around the group in a cool manner, as though clearly anticipating the group doing something brash. Before the inner keep stood ten agents of the Shadow Man, silent in their manner.
Beyond the metal barricades of the inner keep they found the biggest tent, the agent lead the group into the shaded inner sanctum where they found themselves seated on cool metal seats with thin slits to look through to a chamber beyond (think peep show wall) here they could a man upon a large throne of what appears to be made of curcuit boards, behind him the mass of cables they saw coming into the tent seem to tie into the back of the throne. Shadow Man himself was cloaked in a Black robe, trimmed in silver thread, and wearing a gas mask. His hands and well muscled arms are clearly visible and show intensive scarring (which Doc identified to be a mapping of major nerve ways). When he finally spoke it is with a deep voice that the mask does not seem to muffle.
Shadow he has been impressed with their work and their accumulation of power and perhaps they can work together. He proposed that they alone could do what no one else can, and that is to capture "alive and unharmed" his son and his woman, in exchange he can grant them certain gifts, to make them faster or harder (wired reflexes or subdermal plates). He explained that his son and his woman will tell them all sorts of outrageous stories, that Shadow Man is a monster or souless, but do not believe them, that sometimes he needs to do what is best for the people under him. He will provide them a powerful sedative that takes moments (2 turns) to set in, that will not kill them (instead doing 4 points of fatigue damage.) If they agree,they are not to return without Coal and Ice.
In the conversation, Shadow Man explained that order needed to be restored to Eugene and that it was his goal to do so, at whatever the cost. That do-gooders like the Postal Clan are misguided, and that Things for Things were just there for the money. When asked about Spike or other power players, Shadow Man said there is unguided rabble everywhere, but right now he needs to bring them under his control to prepare for a problem that is growing to the south that has been occupying his mind a lot lately. The reports of giants grow more steadily, that and the slavers are about to experience some problems of their own from the eastern mountains, but that they might be able to handle it due to their recent trading partner, a group that has some sort of aerial capabilities.
When confronted about being "connected" Shadow Man seemed evasive but did admit that he has ways of controlling his agents and that it is not perfect but it works. He admitted that his son was also connected but has somehow defeated that connectivity. They got a promise, that if they accepted his reward that Doc would be able to observe the procedure to ensure no funny business was included above and beyond the promised "upgrade".
To which the group agreed (with some reluctance) to help Shadow Man find his son, which Shadow Man believes might be hiding in one to two locations - the Eugene Power Plant northeast of here, or in some buildings to the far east of the crater, where there were some research facilities of several former companies that might make great hide outs as few make the trek across the radiation to there.
Thus the group was escorted off of the butte and started to plan their next move.
Players gained 2xp (44)
Players gained 2 Fame
To Do next session:
Plasma Rifles get upgraded: Damage is now 2d8+2 and AP3