Evil RoyEvil Roy needs not be prompted twice.
WEAPON. That's one token. Regard resultant object.
Evil Roy makes his choice. There's a 'plop' sound from the Token receptable and the machine begins to move.
[4 - Crossbow] It churns.
[2 - Two Effects] It clatters.
[Sadistic] Something begins to take shape in the air above Roy, something dark and cruel.
[Mind-Altering] Said something finally materializes into existence with a burst of blinding light and a crack of displaced air - for a second, Evil Roy smells something humid and earthy, perhaps some alien jungle.
He sees he is holding a black, mechanized crossbow adorned with rather unnecesary-looking spikes and barbs. The bolt already in the mechanism glows with an ominous red light. Text begins to crawl across the screens above.
This delightful weapon fires syringes of neurochemical mixes, causing excruciating pain and psychosis upon administering its shot. The most common ammotype (found primarily in the Radiant Stars cluster) is the Psychos bolt. More exotic variants range from the so-called Kafka Cocktail, which induces vivid hallucinations, to the Lobotomic Bolt, used to impede higher brain functions in sentients for purposes of slavery or punishment. Illegal in seventy civilizations, the Reaver is a sure mark of a truebred sadist.
Damage: 4
Traits:
+Close-Ranged I [+1 Accuracy at Close Range, -1 Accuracy at Long Range]
+Stunning +1 [Stuns at +1 both physically and mentally as horrifying pain seizes the victim.]
+Special Ammo [Variant ammunition for the Reaver can be found across the galaxy - or created anew by skilled chemists.]
He takes the weapon in his appendages. Perhaps not a deathtube, but innnteresting.
---
Status: Evil. Purplish?
HP: 30/30
Possessions: -
'Reaver' Powered Crossbow [Damage 4/
Close-Ranged I,
Stunning +1, Special Ammo/Sadistic, Mind-Altering]
-2 Fabricator Tokens
Traits: None
London gets in line behind the greenish-purple Evil Roy. Once there's an opening, she puts in her tokens for a badass gun, some cool-looking armour and some awesome drugs. Ideally, at least; plenty of her childhood heroes had some pretty silly guns and costumes, but a girl can hope.
While Evil Roy is checking out his new toy, London slips to the console and jams in all three of her Tokens. She presses 'Weapon' first, and the machine obediently rolls into action.
[20 - Axe] The crystal prism goes wild with light.
[1 - One Effect] The crackle of the materializer erupts.
[Containment] Ice-cold air swirls in from somewhere unseen for a second and a heavy, two-headed battle axe plunges down from the air and nearly bisects her. It slams into the floor, and London hefts it up while reading the text on the screen.
This is a heavy battle axe of unblemished steel tinted with an icy blue, cold to the touch. It is carved with runic markings from the handle to the blade – potent wards imprisoning the ancient dragon Farollwaith within it. The axe was crafted by a master smith in ages past, long dead, but the spirit of the monster trapped inside endures, trying even now to weaken its bindings. The weapon must keep tasting blood to maintain the wards and keep the beast at bay.
Damage: 6
Traits:
+Unwieldy I [-1 to Combat Rolls with this weapon]
+Ancient Wards [Blood must nourish the wards of the great dragon.]
That's... a bit alarming? She gives the heavy weapon a few practice swings and feels a deathly cold creep up from its heart. Putting it aside for a moment, London decides to try the 'Protection' option for her second Token.
The Fabricator begins its familiar rumble. [
1 - One Effect] Light flashes, and [
Fire] a silver shield falls to the ground. She finds a handle inside with a simple button, and looks up to read the description.
The Thermal Shield is a mix of old and new; a shield projector built within an actual physical silver shield. When activated by the user, it flares up a barrier of fire in a circular projection. The shield is potent for absorbing heat and incendiary attacks into itself, but it also offers some protection against regular, kinetic damage. Produced by Kodion Systems, this tool is very popular among soldiers and colonists battling the Magmanite inhabitants of Tao III, but it has found use anywhere things get a little too heated for regular armor.
Damage Reduction: Reduces incoming damage by -2.
Shield Use: 3 - must be handled by the user. A roll over 3 is a successful block.
Traits:
+Fire Barrier [Ignores fire and Thermal attacks. May, possibly, be used offensively.]
Ice and now fire, huh? There is a certain pleasing symmetry to it, even if it's not really the armor she hoped for. London uses her final Token next.
Heroes do drugs, so that's what she goes for.
[3 - Snorted] Something begins to take shape.
[2 - Not Very Addictive] Something...
[4 - Withdrawal lasts 10 turns.] [3 - Effects last for 5 turns] [4 - Four Effects] Something that seems like she'd like to take.
[Vindictive] [River] [Entropy] [Robotic] A packet of metal-grey powder appears in her hands. Curiously, there's no description, only a text box which tells her 'Surprise me!'-mode is on and wishes London a happy trip.
'Ooh! Careful with that one, trooper! That's weird stuff!' Lux's orange light chimes in, floating over to London.
---
Status: Normal.
HP: 30/30
Possessions:-
Grímnir's Hold [Damage 6/
Unwieldy I, Ancient Wards/Containment]
-
Kodion Thermal Shield [DR: -2/Shield Use: 3/Fire Barrier/Fire]
-
Strange Metallic Powder-0 Fabricator Tokens
Traits: None
Speaks inserts a token twice, selecting first "Weapon" then "Protection."
Next on the Fabricator is Speaks, deciding to use two of his Tokens. He pokes 'Weapon' first, and
[9 - Rifle] [1 - One Effect] after a whole lot of strange sounds from the depths of the enormous construction,
[Teeth] there's a flash of light and something falls into his arms. It appears to be a light-weight rifle of very crude make, essentially stripped down to essentials of simple tube barrel and scrap metal stock, with the jawbone of some beast adorning the barrel and giving the whole thing a rather savage look. He looks up to see the description.
There's no prettying up this weapon. The Tooth Gun is a backwater invention which literally uses teeth as an ammo and propels them at killing speeds at targets. In regions where the weapon is popular, 'getting some dental work done' certainly does not mean what it does in the wider galaxy.
Damage: 3
Traits:
+Precise [Critical hits (1s) ignore armor; this weapon is precise enough to punch through gaps between armor plates, hidden weak joints, etc]
+Special Ammo [This gun's made to accept any kind of teeth, but it comes supplied with an unlimited stock of human teeth (just... don't ask). Should you get the chance, different sorts of teeth might function as special ammo.]
Putting that aside for a moment, Speaks goes for some kind of Protection. [
4 - Four Effects] The Fabricator fabricates, and
[Flashing] [Mechanics] [Tiny] [Mind-Altering] an utterly miniscule suit of armor drops down in front of him. He peers down at it - it seems to be made for an user the size of his fist. It appears to be a form-fitting suit of intricate machinery - moving gears and pistons dot its dull brown surface, the work of some master miniature artisan. He picks it up, bemused. Maybe he could find some kind of fairy to sell it to?
The Dazzle Suits are curious armored suits that, when registering a threat to the user, let loose with a barrage of light, sound and color designed to confuse and daze the mental processes of most sentients. This proactive, nonlethal defense might be quite useful, if this particular variant wasn't designed for species of... limited stature.
---
Status: Gnarly.
HP: 30/30
Possessions:-
Tooth Gun [Damage 3/
Precise, Special Ammo/Teeth]
-Dazzle Suit (Variant IX) [Unuseable.]
-1 Fabricator Token
Traits: None
Crit beeps, and then he boops, then his screen flickers and shows a duck. Then he goes to wait in line for the machine. When my turn comes exchange 3 tokens for 3 miscellaneous equipments.
Crit, armed with the picture of a duck, follows Speaks and inserts all their Tokens. The robot presses the 'Other Equipment' button three times and the Fabricator gets to work.
[1- One Effect] [Jungle] The first item appears quickly. It appears to be a small, lidded square object that rattles slightly when he shakes it, with the picture of a sprouting seed on it. He reads the description on screen.
This device grows and contains highly illegal Paroxis Mega Seeds, genetically-engineered flora originally designed for terraforming purposes. They grow so fast they are considered a weapon of terror in some places. This particular strain seeds an adaptive jungle that can thrive even in the hardest conditions. When planted, it takes around three days to mature into a thick, verdant jungle. Does not come with native fauna.
The second object takes some more time.
[1 - One Effect] [Glue] It appears to be a packet of... glue? Crit supposes it might come in handy.
This Standardized Galactic Product Glue is not famed for its strength or ease of use, but it's cheap and does what glue is supposed to. Contrary to popular belief, only highly, explosively poisonous to a few select galactic species.
The third follows in short order.
[2 - Two Effects] [One Use] [Digger] A small jackhammer-like tool clatters to the floor. The pointy end glows with energy.
The Last Resort-series' answer to when you need to get underground and fast, this Digger fires a rapid series of high-energy blasts to tunnel into any kind of stable surface. Praised for its high power, the Digger, unfortunately, only has battery for one use. There is no guarantee the created tunnel is safe or an escape from the danger the user finds themselves in, but it's better than using your hands.
Crit gathers their new equipment, the bot's Tokens used up.
Status: Obsolete.
HP: 30/30
Possessions:
+Mega Seeds
+SGP Glue
+Last Resort Explosive Digger
+0 Fabricator Tokens
Traits: None
"Lux! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!" Vissilik cackles at the ceiling, shaking one fist.
He waits to see what the others acquire before spending his own tokens, but he does begin inspecting the cloning whatsits.
Disregard items, harass AI and tamper with sensitive equipment.
'Certainly, trooper! Which secret would you like to know? Oh, oh, how about where I was stolen from! Or what highly illegal thing we did last time! Ooor, maybe the code to my control console! I'd love to tell you that!'While Lux gives her cheery reply, Vissilik scuttles over to the Replacement Tanks.
[6] Divining their purpose is no trouble at all to a genius beyond his time. These are standard cloning vats, linked to the genetic ID of any invididual so they will replicate them if they should die, for whatever reason. The manual does not cover metaphysical questions of if it's still the same person.
These ones are inactive - if he could get a copy of his genetic ID, he could probably link himself to one of those. Or sabotage the systems so a signal to start replicating would never reach these tanks. They seem fairly sturdy, but with some tools, he could probably take them apart and loot them for parts, too.
Status: Genial.
HP: 30/30
Possessions: 3 Fabricator Tokens
Traits: None
Author
Topic: Guns, Cash, and Glory: A Random-Generated Scifi Rampage [Mission II!] (Read 56960 times)