Post date: Jan 22, 2012 8:11:56 PM
GM gave recap, but also had lots of administrivia items to go over with the players so gave them all a Benny for spending 45 minutes going over rule changes and such.
The Yao Guai Bear cubs name is Kojack
Grim played the "We meet again" Adventure card - she gains an enemy, and will get an extra adventure card until this enemy is "retired"
[6/13 cont]
With this information in hand the Knights sent the Bulls "home" for a 5 hour rest while they discussed their next move. After much debate the group decided that trying to bait in the killer would not make any sense. Because either they knew it was dead (either by being a Doctor or having familiarity with Super Mutants), or if it was due to hatred or some other then they really couldn't blame them for doing wasteland justice.
So with that they dragged the dead corpse of Barry into town after adding some additional damage to make it look like the Knights took their time with him. The community was very excited and took the corpse and strung it up on an old telephone pole to the south as a warning to any supermutants coming that way.
From here the group planned their next move which was to go to Umpqua to deal with the mutant problem there.
Going to their rooms for a bit of shut eye and persue, there the Knights first observed the Tribal kids alternating between teasing/taunting the Yao Guai and feeding it scraps. Wayne expalined that taunting was a bad idea as it would make the animal more feral than friendly, so the kids backed off, a little.
When Grim and Ace went into their room, Nukey explained he was good and didn't shoot anyone, but did scare off one "cleaning lady" this caused some alarm as the group had explicitly told Cheryl not to send any cleaning people to their rooms.
So Ace, Wayne, and BW went to talk to Cheryl and confirmed that their instructions were followed while enjoying a cool Nuka Cola (and BW got a rum and Cola). After some further investigation they determined that it could have been any woman in slave garb, they are not sure who could have done it, was it one of the cleaning ladies who forgot, was it Caroline from the Children of the Cathedral, was it one of the Connor Sisters?
Still while they had their drink of Nuka Cola, which shook off the fatigue they were feeling, they got some dirt of the region.
"Supermutants coming up from California, have taken over the Grants Pass area, cutting off travel south and raiding our farms."
"About 15 years ago a group of scientists from Corvallis went east into the mountains claiming to be searching for some wizards on an island to help make it rain."
"We trade heavily with coastal tribes on the west coast. But recently they have been claiming that tribes have been having members vanishing in the surf, perhaps a new terror stalks the sea."
"Storms of great wind and lightning have been more frequent in the last few years, about half the time we actually get a hot rain, like taking a hot shower, but at least we have water for our crops and it supplements our underground water supply. I wonder if those wizards are behind this."
"Have you heard about the Deathclaw in the mountins? No? Okay. Well, it's like a damn big man, is what it is. Got spikes and claws that can cut through the heaviest armor. But don't let the size fool ya, it's quick."
"I wish you could meet my Fiance, Luke, he is the greatest trapper and scout of the region and is responsible for most of the valuable intel. He is also obsessed with finding the Golden Yao Guai, and keeps searching up near Vulture Rock for his greatest prize, but he has been gone far too long, and I am worried about him."
After trading in their mutant ears and getting a meal and some rest they started the next day bright and early.
[6/14]
After a 10 hour trek to Umpqua, they decided this time to capture one of the smarter super mutants, which they observed two of them amongst the nine there, busy building defenses around the flowing creek. The attack was very well planned and in moments three mutants were dead the rest sought cover, one ducked into a ruined building another kicked the box of tire bits into the fire. A few moments later BW captured one by cutting off its arm, though the one in the building seems to have gotten away with great stealth.
Questioning the one they captured they found his name was Enriquez from the City of Bones and after Doc made it clear that he could be killed painfully and slowly if he refused to cooperate or quickly and painlessly if he did cooperate and explained that they were responsible for the massacre at Sutherlin, Enrqiuez seemed to cooperate as they learned the following from him:
He was once a human who joined the Master Army and was blessed by those who serve the master by being baptised in the font of unity, he remembers little other than being wrapped in cloth and then lifted from his feet and dropped in a warm liquid that then changed him
Then he served the master until the General said the Master's Vision is sending them north for conquest. He is very loyal to the Master. The General is somewhere to the south. They have moved as far north as they can, but now are very hungry and are waiting for the harvest of Thorn before continuing their conquest to find a home for themselves. He learned that there were messengers who were smaller than the regular supermutants and had bluish skin and were very agile and sneaky. That was the one that got away.
Doc thanked him and as he pulled the trigger to finish him off he heard the Mutant whisper "to unity."
With that they burned the bodies and "tagged" the territory with their brand before resting that night.
The next day was a 15 hour hike over rough terrain to Vulture rock to get a jump on camp at Reston, but also see if they could find Luke, Cheryls Fiance, who might be in the region. That night while on watch ACE spotted a trio of fires spring up to the south of Thorn, they last for about an hour then go away. ACE and Doc determine that it was near where Thorn had hung the body of Barry.
[6/15]
After resting at the base of Vulture rock, ACE realized by looking at their map they determined the real name of this mountain, pre-war, was Bear Mountain,so with that clue Wayne and BW spent time searching the region for tracks and found some recent Yao Guai tracks that lead them to the south face of the mountain's peak. By making enough noise to draw the attention of a Yao Guai the group quickly put that beast down. Then entering the caves they found a winding series of paths and a waterfall that went deep into the mountain where the scent of sulfer was strong, they realized then that Bear Mountain was probably a not so inactive volcano.
Cautiously moving forward the group found that due to the nature of the caverns while Doc's Pipboy enchancement gave them the layout of the place it did not give them good reading on the foes in the caverns until they entered one area where the Yao Guai sprang into action, literally. In a matter of moments, Grim was down, BW was hurting and two Yao Guai were dead, a few seconds later two more joined the fray but ACE healed Grim enough to allow her to finish off the last two with some lucky shots.
It was then they they heard the distant cry for help. Moving forward with caution they found a large chamber beyond, once in they saw, in the dim light coming from strange crystaline structures around the area, the following scene. First and foremost they saw 6 large Yao Guai circling a figure that was hanging high above from the ceiling. One of the bears was golden in coloration. The figure hanging above was clearly human and was just high enough out of reach to avoid the jumping claws of the yao guai.
The group quickly fanned out at BW moved up to take point. A few bears went away quickly under concentrated fire, but others kept up the onslaught until only the Golden Bear remained, who proved to be a very tough opponent. ACE put to use her newly modified Railway rifle to great effect as its knockback capabilities kept foes from getting too close. While the battle was long eventually the tide turned to favor the Gotham Knights as BW slew the beast with his swords.
Here they rescued Luke, who gave them his story, that he normally can move amongst the animals without fear, except in the presence of the Golden Yao Guai. So he knew he was something special and so waited them to leave their cave, and he snuck in and was setting a lure to catch the Golden Yao Guai except they returned before he could get out. In a panic he stepped into his own trap and was strung up from the ceiling. Doc determined that he could not save Lukes foot and so cut it off to stop any spread of infection.
Luke was so greatful and seeing that his trapping and scouting days were over he saw a kindred spirit in Wayne and gave Wayne his lucky Malachite Bear Pendant. (this unlocks for Wayne the ability to get Beast Master Edge)
Meanwhile BW and Wayne skinned their kills with great expertise (success and two raises) and got 7 pelts in total, including the golden one, and 7 peices of Yao Guai meat. that night they rested.
[6/16]
With the hobbled Luke in tow, it took a bit longer than expected but by near sunset they arrived at Reston and observed the supermutants on high alert and assaulted the location. Grim and BW did amazingly well and emerged without a scratch. Wayne took a small beating, as did ACE. But Doc was nearly killed if it were not for the use of a Super Stimpak to avoid the grim after effects of the battle. In the end it was clearly a one sided battle. After resting up here that night and marking the territory with their brand the group was ready to go back to Thorn.
[6/17]
After 7 hours of walking and hobbling the group returned to Thorn. Word spread fast of the return of Luke and they were met with a stretcher where Luke was taken to Doc Hardy's. Cheryl learned of this quickly and rushed to his side, while the Gotham Knights went to Rosebud and hung the Golden Pelt in its place of honor above the bar. Then Wayne regaled the crowd with their story, making only embellishments where necessary and hiding flaws when appropriate. The crowd hung on his every word. It was clear there was some heavy discussion amongst the trappers in the community, but clearly those in the name of fairness came forth and told them that since they got the golden bear they won a pool that was amongst the trappers and to please wait there in Rosebud. A little while later the trappers presented the group a long rifle case. Opening it up they found a pristine pre-war sniper rifle that was clearly special. It was a Gobi Campaign sniper rifle. It weighed half as much as a regular sniper rile, it was scoped, and had a Bipod, which allowed for long range shots with great accuracy (the Bipod on the rifle negate the -2 penalty for Long range shots, combined with the scope it meant that if the sniper aimed for a full turn there would be no range penalties.) This excited Doc to no end.
[6/18]
After good nights rest they went into the warehouse and sold their pelts for a good price and heard the familiar deep voice of Die Cast and turned to find him there. He explained that he and Wynn Chester have gone into business together to provide better ammo to the wasteland. He came with a sampling of their wares to see if there would be any buyers here in the war zone of Thorn. He also brought a gift from Dr. Preacher for Grim, 20 cells of Overcharged Energy cells. At 5 caps each the special ammo was expensive but considered worth it by some as he had even the rarer ammos such as .308 and .44 as well as 5mm. So after haggling and eating and being interviewed by Keri the group felt like they were in a whirlwind of activity before calling it a night.
[6/19 - 6/22]
Next the group decided to determine if the "yellow" pin up at Red Butte had anything there to worry about. It took two whole days to get there due to the remote nature of the location. There they found the remains of a super mutant encampment, there was a bonfire, but it was long cold and burned out. There was a shack, but it looked either half completed or half-destroyed. There was blood splatters everywhere and lots of assault rifle brass on the ground, but there was no bodies. A careful search found large 3 clawed footprints around the area and after some consideration they guessed there were three deathclaws vs. six or so supermutants. Clearly the Deathclaws won. Still seeing this an oppotunity, they marked the camp with their brand using charcoal from the fire before beating a hastey retreat back to Thorn arriving two days later to quite the hubub.
(Note: With the Northern Front defeated, the Band sends Trapper/Scouts to get eyes on some of the other "Yellow Pins" as far south as "Devils Camp" around 6/29 to a one they are all confirmed to be the same as the one at Red Butte, demolished with slaughter.)
+2XP +1 Fame
NOTE:
Made several large updates to game - See updated Players Guide, Wierd Science Rules, Armory, and Beastiary.