Fwurg

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Since this is the first combat in a while, I am being very generous this round. Because of this, I have approved all your actions, and have taken them into account in my post (This means: Nathan is in cover, the soldiers don't get their high ground advantage.)

The comments below reflect what I would have said if I would be less generous. Take note, because in the rest of the mission I will not be as lenient:

• Trigiel: Removal of an advantage action can only be done once the advantage is actually established! Therefore, your check is denied.
• Ariana: Circle of Shelter does not allow you to protect the ship, next to it not being an ally it is simply too big. That being said: check approved.
• Nathan: Attacking is done through the combat system, and not by taking a check. Checks are used to execute Direct Combat Actions or Advantage Actions. Since your check does not correspond to your claimed advantage action: check denied. Because your advantage action has no check: denied.

Please post your checks for DCAs and advantage actions inside the combat block (like how it is done during the Lightsaber championship)))

Trigiel rushes forward splashing up sea water as he bounds through the wetness on the beach, leaping onto the balcony with ease. His sudden rush forwards combined with his fierce battlecry startles the soldiers for a moment before they react. In this time, Trigiel takes out one of soldiers. The soldier's arm is cut off and flies through the air, the held blaster still firing the last two shots of its automatic three-shot burst uselessly into the air.

Ariana, her shout muffled by the breathing equipment she wears, expertly deflects all incoming blaster fire. A sweep of her hand steers the incoming rocket away to explode harmlessly up in the air. Ariana's protection clears the air for Nathan to line up his shot, taking out the rocket soldier with a single round straight into his visor.

((OOC: Round 2, go!))

[Ariana Danacia]

((OOC: Are the goons all dead already? Why are they not attacking? Could you describe the new situation that we are now in.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

((OOC: By my count there should be two more goons shooting at us.

However I'm still confused by the fact they have suddenly stopped doing anything. You declare round 2 of combat while not stating what the enemy does. Roleplaying against that isn't very fun. :())

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC:

It seems that I have failed to clarify the situation. Please allow me to clarify what's going on: just like all other parties, the goons have to take an action in the combat round. As noted in the Rounds section of the combat rules, the NPCs go last as a general rule.

Previous turn, I erred and made them go first. Now, they will go last as they should have been doing. You might want to know why this is better: because if they go last, the PCs get a little more input into the direction of the combat. If they post first, you have the advantage of reacting, but you also have the problem that you'll be mainly reacting to the NPCs. So, I let them go last, allowing you more freedom in dictating the narrative of the battle.

And while writing the above quote I checked several other jedi missions (including some run by me) and found that the rules are saying nonsense. The combats I see in other missions have the NPCs go first.

So, I'll rectify the situation tomorrow evening, as I don't have the time right now. I felt guilty and wanted to provide you with a good and interesting battle scene, so I fixed it immediately.

My apologies, my brain seems to have failed at making sense. (Even though I run another combat in paralel T_T) I hope you can be generous with your opinion of me as well, in this first round of combat ^_^))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: My previous (collapsed) post explains what happened.))

With one soldier disabled by Trigiel and the rocket soldier taken out with military precision, there seem to be only two soldiers remaining from what Nathan and Ariana observe.

These two soldiers on the balcony react to Trigiel's presence with practiced efficiency. One of them takes a few shots at Trigiel while he dives for cover to the left, the second one makes effective use of the distracting shots to prime and drop a grenade just before making a roll to take cover to the right. The grenade is set to 'short fuse', as is evident from the high-pitched sound. And that's not all. Trigiel's situation is not improving as he spots the fifth soldier of the squad walking into view. It's clear now why the last soldier is a little slow. He is weighed down with a power cell backpack powering a Merr-Sonn Z-6 rotary blaster cannon, the gun already spinning up.

"Hasta la vista, droidy", is the dry remark of the soldier just before the Z-6 starts spewing 166 discrete full-powered shots per second. The soldier's timing is impeccable, as the grenade's fuse runs out just as the soldier opens fire!


From their vantage point, Nathan and Ariana are treated to the sound and dust cloud of a thermal grenade exploding on the balcony, combined with stream of red blaster bolts spraying away from the balcony, as if fifty soldiers are all aiming at Trigiel and just opened fire. Unfortunately, with both soldiers having moved to cover, Nathan no longer his a line of fire on the enemy, the balcony blocking his vision.

((Combat, round 2: Attack Trigiel, Direct Combat Action (Attack +0/+0/+2): Well-timed rotary blaster barrage
Attack: 9 / - / 10 - Trained Combatant Style + Blasters/Rotary blaster cannon
Defence: 5 / 5 / 5 - Trained Combatant Style + Blasters/Rotary blaster cannon ))

[Ariana Danacia]

Seeing the mess that Trigiel made of the balcony Ariana reacted immediately. She jumped up while spreading her wings and rushed towards the balcony. Using the force to guide her flight Ariana was there in a matter of seconds. While she arrived over the balcony she circled right and dived in at the soldier carrying the rotary blaster and stabbed him in his back with her lightsaber. While landing on top of him she immediately activated her dagger blade in her other hand and moved into a aggressive pose. Upon impact she said: "Death from above."

((Check: 15 = 8 Force Level + 4 Fitness + 2 Flight + 1 Force Speed -- Maneuvering towards the balcony and attacking from high ground.))

((Combat, round 2: Attacking soldier with Rotary blaster cannon, Taking Offensive Advantage Action: High Ground
Attack: 9 / 11 / 8 - Soresu + regular blade (short handle)
Defence: 9 / 9 / 11 - Ataru + regular blade and dagger blade (short handles)

))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Now he had a moment of pause, Nathan moved for the case. Pulling it out of the hornet, he pulled it toward the cliff so it couldn't be seen from the balcony. While he moved he looked around, scanning the area for potential threats. He held his DMR in one hand, pulling the case with the other.

Once he was at the cliff he focused on the force. He tried to sense where his opponents and his teammates were. Meanwhile he grabbed a thermal grenade. But he didn't activate it yet.

((Combat, round 2: Not attacking, ((Check: 13 = 6 Force Level + 5 Strength + 2 Athletics -- moving case)),((Check: 11 = 6 Force Level + 4 Intuition + 1 Life Energy Manipulation -- Sensing the location of all combatants relative to Nathan))
Defence: 7 / 7 / 7 - Trained Combatant + DMR

• Defensive advantage action (in cover)

))

((OOC: This is much more fun.))

[Fecta Trigiel]

Trigiel deflects the shots taken at him with ease. Then he sees the fifth soldier joining the game.

"And why do you have a z-6 rotary blaster and I don't?"

Trigiel dives behind cover for the explosion, only to jump out of it again the second the explosion is finished going *kaboomski*. On landing, he immediately rolls forward towards the soldier with the rotary blaster. There, with a swift double strike, Trigiel first cut the legs, and then the torso of the soldier, making sure not to damage the awesome blaster 2.0.

((Check: 16 = 7 Force Level + 5 Fitness + 2 Acrobatics + 2 Force Jump -- For jumping behind cover))

((Combat, round 2: Attack soldier with the z-6, taking defensive DCA: dodge for cover.
Attack: 10 / 12 / 10 - Ataru + Tonfa handle, regular blade
Defence: 10 / 10 / 8 - Ataru + Tonfa handle, regular blade

• +2 defensive DCA: dodge for cover.

))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC:

• Ariana: Landing on top of someone does not give you High Ground, nor does it give you an advantage. Therefore: denied
• Nathan: Not attacking gives a +5 bonus to your action, with that you score of 18 is easily high enough to move the case with you: approved. However, not only are you are limited to one action per round, sensing combatants is done with Force Vision and not with Life Energy Manipulation (which is literally only for manipulation), so your second check is denied.
• Trigiel: Your check is approved

))

With Trigiel and Ariana both going full destroyer mode on the soldier with the Z-6, his lifeless body slams into the ground with a thud as the dust of the explosion settles. Their focussed attention has allowed the other two soldiers to create some distance. Using their flanking positions, they focussed their fire on Trigiel, even though their previous efforts have proven ineffective...

In the meantime, Nathan quickly pulls out the case in its transport harness and towards the balcony, using it for cover.

((Combat, round 3: Attack Trigiel.
Attack: - / - / 8 - Trained Combatant Style + Blasters
Defence: 5 / 5 / 5 - Trained Combatant Style + Blasters ))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

((OOC: The sixth line of the Combat Actions states:

You may choose not to attack to gain a +5 bonus on your check. Note that not attacking is a dangerous thing, see Not Attacking. Alternatively, you may take two actions, but one such action must be a Non-Combat Action.

This is also the reason I didn't include the +5 in my check.

I reasoned that, since I couldn't see them, that I would be sensing their life energy. Which is why I used Life Energy Manipulation. I'll keep in mind to use Vision for that next time.))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Ah yes. You're right, you can indeed take two actions. Strange though, I can't find any mention of this in Combat Rules (though it clearly is stated on the page you quote).

The Vision attribute is a misnomer. It would've been better called Perception. Rank 1 of Force VIsion explicitly allows you to percept others' force signatures through cover, so in effect it allows you to sense their life energy ^_^

That being said, without the +5 your check is also high enough, so we don't have to retroactively change posts.))

[Fecta Trigiel]

((OOC: I believe the 'two actions' are meant to be one combat action and one non combat action. So during combat for example, you can choose to attack and do something else like peeking around, switching a lever etc. This so your jedi actually can make progress in a fight, instead his head will be chopped of the moment you try to look for a weak spot.

The +5 bonus is to cancel the increased difficulty you face during combat. Moving a crate while duelling with a lightsaber is incredibly difficult. Not combating and just pushing makes it much easier.))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: I think that some things became less well-defined when we reworked the combat pages, because that sounds more logical. I will be going by that explanation.

@Elmer: Could you make OOC topic with your conclusion on that part of the rules? That way we can handle the rules editting outside of this mission ^_^))

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana looked at Trigiel and quickly said: "I will take the left one."

Ariana rushed towards the soldier on the left that was flanking Trigiel. Just before she was ready to hit him with her lightsaber she stopped for a second, looked him directly in the eyes and said: "Your mine!"

After finishing the last word she started chopping the soldier into pieces with her two lightsabers. She attacked his arms with her regular blade while quickly stabbing him in the chest multiple times with her dagger blade.

((Combat, round 2: Attacking the left soldier, using Saber Swarm manoeuvre
Attack: 13 / 11 / 16 - Ataru + regular blade and dagger blade (short handles)
Defence: 9 / 9 / 11 - Ataru + regular blade and dagger blade (short handles)

))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan kept scanning his surroundings, looking for any sign of a threat. Using his hearing to estimate how Trigiel and Ariana where doing. It didn't sound like they needed back up.

"I'll bring the case up there as soon as you call the all clear." Nathan informed his fellow jedi over the radio.

Waiting for the all clear, he continued guarding the case.

((Combat, round 2: Non-combat action,((Check: 15 = 6 Force Level + 4 Vision + 5 Non-combat bonus -- looking for any additional threats))
Defence: 7 / 7 / 7 - Trained combatant style + DMR

• Defensive advantage action (in cover)

))

[Fecta Trigiel]

"Then I'll take the right."

While Trigiel closes in on the right soldier, he concentrates to neatly deflect every shot of the soldier back to him: "Silly soldier, stop shooting yourself."

"Here a laser extra plus deluxe, if you like them so much." The padawan says once he is at the soldier. With one trust of the lightsaber trough the heart he finishes the poor and very dead guy.

((Check: 11 = 7 Force Level + 4 Intuition -- redirecting shots for offensive DCA))

((Combat, round 2: Attack the right soldier, taking offensive DCA: (0/0/+2), redirecting blaster shots, with a finished trust.
Attack: 10 / 12 / 12 - Ataru + Tonfa handle, regular blade
Defence: 8 / 10 / 8 - Ataru + Tonfa handle, regular blade ))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: All checks appoved!))

After dispatching the last two soldiers, Trigiel and Ariana surveyed the carnage on the balcony. three of the five dead soldiers had their limbs strewn about. As the dust settles, the scene resembles a brutal massacre more than a place where combat was had...

The balcony they had just 'liberated' from the soldiers lies adjacent to the road into the base. The base's gate is open and has seen beter days, just like the bridge it is in disrepair and large patches of rust clearly show that the two turrets next to the gate have not seen any use either. Other than the lighting inside the base, with one of the nearby lamps flickering on and off, the base appears to be deserted from their vantage point. The second squad of five is nowhere to be seen.

Nathan's easiest route, from the cover on the beach just below the balcony to topside, would be a short walk over the beach to the stairs leading up. He spots no new threats on the beach, so he can move out the moment he gets the all clear!

((OOC: Yay early post. That concludes the first combat!))

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana tapped her communicator. "This group of soldiers is gone. I will scout for the other group."

Ariana started a scouting flight. She circled around the balcony at a reasonable height to get a better overview of the island. She looked for the other soldiers and possible other creatures that are hidden from sight from the ground.

((Check: 13 = 8 Force Level + 3 Vision + 2 Flight -- Scouting flight.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

"Solid copy. Bringing the package up." Nathan replied.

He started hauling the case to and up the stairs.

Once he was there, he looked at Trigiel. Then he shook his head slightly. "Pilots." Nathan muttered.

((Check: 13 = 6 Force Level + 5 Strength + 2 Athletics -- Hauling the case up the stairs.))

[Fecta Trigiel]

"Yes, all clear. By the way, can you pick up any missile launchers you pass along the way? With ammo of course." Trigiel walks towards the Z-6 rotary blaster and inspects the weapon to see if it is not damaged. "Awesome, this thing is sooo cool, not ship-to-ship-super-heavy-turboquadlasercannon cool, but still, pret-ty cool." If the weapon is still in good shape, he picks up the thing and equips it.

The missile launcher with ammo just have to make place for the power-pack for now. "Ariana, I've got a missile launcher for you." He says with great joy in his voice.

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Both checks approved. Trigiel, next time you'll have to post your own (Force Level + Reason + Weapons Engineer) check if you want to inspect weapons. You scored a 13 by the way, which is enough.))

Nathan easily lugged the case onto the stairs and upwards. The transport harness helped, but pulling the case up the stairs alone still required him to exert a lot of force with his mechanical body. It's a good thing that the threat is already eliminated, if he would have done this during combat, he would definitely be open to attack without a way to defend himself.

As Ariana takes off, Trigiel inspects the Z-6. Even though Ariana banged it into the ground pretty heavy during her attack on the soldier, it did not appear to be broken. The ammo display shows 498. Trigiel knows from his training and experience that the cheap displays on weapons such as these are usually off by a few tens of shots, so it might be a litlle more or less. The power pack backpack weighs more than expected and, together with the weight of the gun, Trigiel feels 'comfortably' weighed down to the point of impairing his ability to make sudden movements.

While Trigiel busies himself with the grabbing of loot and Nathan is pulling the case onto the balcony, Ariana flies upwards to a better vantage point. From up high, she has a clear view of the layout of the base. The base appears to be built around a central area, with some roads leading out. One of the roads from the area leading to the bridge near the balcony they are on right now.

She spots several large hangars around the square centre, a second shuttle platform is off in the distance (without a shuttle on it). Behind the shuttle platform she spots an entrance to an underground part of the base. Jutting up from the rocks on the far side of the island are two large radio dishes. There is no sign of further life on the island. However, while high up, she spots two incoming vessels bursting through the clouds on the far side of the island. She estimates that they are at about 3 kilometers distance, and will arrive within two minutes!

((OOC: A Jedi can do a lot in 2 minutes. To allow you some time to think and talk (remember that discussions take up time :P), I'll leave a week of OOC time before the ships arrive. With our 2/week schedule that should give you two significant actions and some time to discuss internally.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

"Ma'am, how's it look from up there? Spot anything?"

Nathan asked over the comm. Seeing Trigiel heft the Z-6 he leaned on the case. He didn't like such large heavy weapons, they slowed you down and didn't allow use of cover.

"I hope your plan is to give me and the package some covering fire."

[Ariana Danacia]

"We have two incoming vessels on the far side of the island, ETA 2 minutes!"

Ariana circles down, and equips the missile launcher that Trigiel provided her. She moves to a good location with some cover and a good view on the incoming ships.

Ariana looked for a spot on the rock formations next to the balcony. Her focus was a clear line of sight on the incoming ships. However she did not want to get spotted directly and wanted to be able to jump into cover behind a rock in the case that the ships spotted her and opened fire on her.

She waits for the first ship to get in missile range and fires the first missile.

((Check: 12 = 8 Force Level + 3 Vision + 1 Stealth -- Looking for a hiding spot with a good line of sight on the incoming ships with a cover spot next to it when suddenly taking fire.))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: @Ariana: It is completely unclear to me what you feel is 'a good location'. Do you prioritize seeing the incoming vessels, or do you prioritize cover? Please be more detailed, instead of just slinging some generic terms in hoping that the ST will magically fix your situation for you...

I'm not here to tell you what you're doing. I'm the world, here to make you players look cool ^_^))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Trigiel has not yet posted a first action, so I assume that he is still fiddling with the settings of the Z-6.))

From up in the air, Ariana spots a good position of cover on the rocky outcropping on the other side of the road. It offers a good line of sight, while allowing her to quickly jump down into cover if they spot her and open fire. Ariana easily grabs the missile launcher, ready to go. With her limited knowledge about this kind of weaponry, Ariana knew that it would be at least another minute before any fired missile would have any accuracy. Knowing this, she has some time now to line up her shot -- or think of a way to increase her chances of hitting her target.

Of course, Trigiel, Nathan and the case were still in plain view on the balcony, so the use of hiding was questionable at best...

((OOC: One post left before the ships are here!))