Alright, boys and girls, I'll be the one in contact with the rest of the teams. Just to make this easier, can everybody tell me names and weapons? The initial reaction to your prying into their business isn't too well-liked, but after a short pause, a strange, mousy little dwarf girl moves forward.
Uh. I'm Basil. I've got a... I've got a .32 breakaction revolver and b-body armor. I'm, uh, a p-pretty good. Shot. I-i... I guess.How old are you, exactly? Hal asks, looking at her with squinted eyes and his hands on his hips.
I'm, uh, eighteen. Little young, don't you think?You hear some murmuring amongst the crowd, a lot of them seem to agree. The girl suddenly puffs up her chest, however.
J-JUST BECAUSE I'M YOUNG DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD!...She says, jumping up and down like a child. Sucy is quick to start teasing, as always. She has that grin again...
Can we keep her? She's adorable. You mull it all over for a few seconds, but you eventually decide that you just have better things to do. Not much time left before the assault, after all.
If I told you to leave, would you?F-forget you!Fine, whatever. Just stay out of our way. She huffs a little more, before disappearing into the crowd. Then, another man steps forward. He looks like a stereotypical dwarf, by all accounts.
Name's Groki. I've got a Winchester, that's a lever-action rifle if you don't know. Long-range, well-maintained... Made 'er myself. Neat. You'll be working in the back of the group then, snipe them down as you please. Try to cover the rest.The hands-off approach is exactly what the group wanted to hear. You had a feeling that would work, you've seen the type throughout the years. Though, you are basing yourself off your experience in the village. Best way to get tough guys to do something is to let them think they're in control.
I'm Scotch, I've got a double-barrel on me. Don't be fooled, this thing's got some serious range! Another dwarf, orange beard. Easy to pick out from a crowd.
Medium range, then. And take extra care not to hit anybody friendly.Friendly fire isn't. Name's Gabriel. Pump-action shotgun... Spread of this thing's insane, put me in front.Okay, sure, whatever.I'm Gale. I've got a very special little rifle, right here... Bolt-action, scoped, and I guarantee you it'll never jam. I'm guessing it's in the back, for you.Gale continues, happily yelling:
I named my gun "Moist Nugget"!for what purposeAlright, moving on?Three people step forth. They're all wearing wide-brimmed hats, and all of them are wielding the same revolver.
We're the Whirling brothers. We've all got .357 peacemakers. We're usually part of a circus, but we like to help out justice every now and then. Just keep us together, and we'll figure it out. What do you do in the circus.Marksmanship and acrobatics. We shoot coins out of the air while swing from ropes.Cool! I don't believe you. Medium range it is, and if you do bad you go to the front.Oy.Shut up. Anybody else?A human steps forth, wearing a brown coat. He's got a red handkerchief around his neck, and a peculiar bandolier over his shoulder. He has a white moustache, and slicked back hair, equally white. He's currently twirling his revolver around at high speeds, causing most people to flinch.
This is the greatest handgun ever made. The Colt Single Action Army... Six bullets! More than enough to kill anything that moves. I'll show you why they call me...Up front, short range, and try to catch a few bullets.He stops talking, though that revolver is still spinning. You do not like that man.
Uh, I'm Chet. I got a lever-action. Single-shot, but I load it pretty fast. Don't have a scope.Medium range. Alright, is that everybody?No-one left. Yunikki wheezes. She sounds a bit haggard, though that isn't anything new.
Alright. I don't want you rushing forward. Too many bullets. Keep back, and fight off anything that gets too close. Hal, You stay in the back and help my co-ordinate. Sucy... I don't know what you are capable of, but for the love of the gods, please be careful with your grenades. She just laughs.
It looks like you were done just in time. A single policeman comes in, wearing some thicker armor than most. He places an explosive on the marked point, and presses a few buttons. The rectangular object starts beeping, and he ushers all of you back. When you look to the sides, you see the other SWAT teams getting ready to hop in. The team of shadowrunners close-by is having the Bulldozer do it for them. You hear your radio crackle, and then you hear the voice of the commander come through. There's a bit of static.
Team Freelance, come in. This is Papa Gator. Press the white button to transmit to me. You do as you are told, and press the button before calling in.
Sydney speaking. I guess I'm Team Freelance?Affermative. We kept it simple for your group. You will be assaulting a back entrance. There is a bonus for every dwarf you manage to capture instead of kill. Driders are shoot on sight, unless they surrender. Collateral damage is NOT a concern. Alright, passing it on.You tell the group the current plan, and get ready as the beeping of the explosives starts picking up in speed. Some people cover their ears, and you're one of them. A wave from the explosives hits you like a brick, but you're quick to start moving. The hole is perfect, the stone was fake. Barely a few inches thick, even.
Your size and gun give an instant sense of command, and your ragtag team charges in, some of them even yelling brave warcries. Although the mousy girl is just screaming.
You charge through the corridors, dodging the occasional low pipe. This place is filled to the brim with all sorts of machinery and pipes. Sometimes steam hisses through the hallway, but nothing that actually blocks your path in any way. After a short run, you suddenly hear the firsts gunshots. Guessing from the noise, that's a shotgun going off. You also hear the radio tell you who' fighting.
Team Dozer is experiencing hard contact. Team Freelance, move to support whenever able. Got it!You finally discover a door, and Yunikki is the one to kick the door off its hinges. That was either a weak door, or Yunikki's got some serious muscle. Probably both. The door flies forward into a massive room, one that remind you of the mess hall at the university. Guessing from the smell of fried eggs, it probably IS a cafeteria. A few driders instantly start opening fire, but they're using nothing but pistols. You've caught them off guard. You flip over a table as the clumsily aimed bullets go flying, while your sniper team takes down the two driders visible from the door. One goes down with a clean headshot, while the other took several shots to the chest from both the snipers and the white-haired gunslinger. With supressing fire from the revolver brothers, the rest move into position behind the other tables. The sniper team remains by the door, waiting for a moment of distraction to take down another one. You both outnumber AND outgun the current guards, and the first fight is quickly brought to an end. Now it's just a matter of following the gunshots to help out Team Dozer.
GOD DAMN IT, SOMEBODY TAKE OUT THE DAMNED GUNNERS! You hear, seemingly a little static-y. You hear some people yelling at the man who is screaming. Seems like you found the shadowrunners, which are currently pinned down by a pair of heavy gunners. Two driders, each wielding a massive, automatic gun. Before you can make a plan, Moist Nugget guy shoots the first one in the head. Or, well, against the head. It seems like they have some damned good armor.
REINFORCEMENTS!? ABOUT FUCKING TIME! The Dozer screams from behind his cover. He risks a peek, and shoots his shotgun once before moving back behind cover, taking a few hits. If it was one gunner, this would be easy, as it stands, there are two of them, and one is now suppressing YOUR party.
Excellent. Hold on!You see Sucy pull out a grenade from out of her robes, and she throws it inside the room, without looking. An ungodly loud noise comes forth, and you're nearly blinded from the REFLECTION of the flash against the far wall. The gunners scream, and Sucy giggles as she pulls out a second bomb and throws it at the gunner that is suppressing the Shadowrunners.
FRAG! She yells, a bit too gleefully, just as the explosion goes off. The drider drops his heavy weapon, and stumbles backwards, the fragmentations having torn into his skin and causing heavy bleeding. During the momentary distraction, your entire team opens fire. The collective amount of bullets, and some very well-aimed shots from the white-haired gunslinger to the unarmored face, quickly turn the drider into mincemeat. You hear the other gunner yell out a name, before turning his own gun on your party. Except now, he's moving in on you.
A human opponent wouldn't be able to carry such a massive weapon and still walk. Driders, on the other hand, cheat.
Fortunately, though, the shadowrunners suddenly prove that they are worthy of the term. With the gun no longer suppressing them (and, instead, forcing everybody to run back to the you all came from tunnel as the whirlwind of death and destruction is heading into the room. You hear something that sounds a lot like an exploding pillow, and you see purple smoke surrounding the gatling drider. HE screams a few obscenities, until he suddenly falls silent.
After a little bit, his head lands about three meters in front of you, apparently torn off.
You see a massive man, with a mechanical arm, flexing on top of the headless corpse.
GOD-DAMN! One of your freelancers exclaims.
Yunikki laughs. It's a guttural sort of laugh, the kind that you just kind of naturally connect with amusement at a bit of the ol' ultraviolence.
Team Freelance and Shadowrunner. Have you made contact with eachother? You hear from both your radio and that of the Dozer.
Confirmed. Just took down two heavy gunners... That seems a little much for casual defence, don't you think?We were not subtle in setting everything up, Freelancer. According to my scouts, you should end up in a large room if you leave the cafeteria area. There are five exits there. I want you to split up your team. Team Shadowrunner is NOT under your command, don't get any bright ideas. Mind that there is heavy resistance in that room. We expect several dwarves to be joining the fight,there. Remember, there is a bonus for any dwarf that is captured. SCREW THAT NOISE! WE TAKE NO PRISONERS HERE!Fair enough, agent. But don't shoot the prisoners the Freelancers make, would you? The dozer just laughs. He seems to work by speaker, or something. Certainly explains the radio-like quality in his voice.
What's the plan for this "next room"? And how will you split the party? Also, will you try to convince the shadowrunners to co-operate a bit more?Basic Stats
Level: 12
HP: 55/55
Stress: 05/70
Poison stings: 1/1
Restraint 3/3
Mana: 60/60
Corruption: 6/10
Thirst: Sated
Children
Adam 6/6
Alice 7/7
Cactus: 9/9
Items and equipment
Equipment:
Button-up shirt
Vest
Longsword (in scabbard)
.44 Revolver (loaded)
Flashlight
Items:
.44 bullets(x42)
Holster
200 dollars (lvl3)
Two incendiary grenades
One Thermite satchel.
EMP bomb
Alpha bomb (portal bomb)
Beta bomb (black hole bomb)
Omega canister (The blob)
Magic Cookbook
The Cure (cures vampirism)
Blood Vials (X10)
First Tome of Eternal Darkness
Skills and spells
Magic:
Resurrect vermin: Allows you to resurrect very small creatures such as rats(invests 2 of your max mana) (no mana cost)
Resurrect average beast: Allows you to resurrect creatures such as dogs, cats and other similar-sized creatures.(invests 7 mana) (no mana cost)
Resurrect Humanoid: Allows you to resurrect humanoid creatures. (Invests 10 mana) (Costs 14 mana)
Reshape minion plus!: Allows you to majorly change the appearance of your resurrected minions.
Control Undead: Allows you to attempt to control an undead that doesn't belong to you. (mana cost of 2 per second, unmastered)
Minion Vision: Allows you to see what a minion sees. The minion must have eyes.
Disintegrate undead: Delete a corpse you currently control.
Animate Piece: Allows you to animate just a piece of dead tissue. It requires your constant attention, and cannot act independently. (Drains 0 mana)
Graft: Allows you to use dead tissue as a replacement limb. Requires a lot of mana. (1 per second) (average limb takes around 20 seconds to properly graft)
Gather Soul: Allows you to make a soul visible. You could try putting it in a flame of some sort to keep it around. (9 mana)
Soul battery: Allows you to use a soul-infused flame as a small mana-boost. This snuffs it out, however
Undead flashbang: Allows you to blow up a minion for a flash-bang effect. (9 mana)
Stitch: allows you to close a wound and stop bleeding as fast as you can stitch. Costs zero mana, but requires something to stitch with.
Siphoning Cloud: Breathe out a cloud that drains the life from victims and gives it to you. Adds a LOT to intimidation (4 mana)
Smoke Cloud: Breathe out harmless but thick smoke. (1 mana)
Deathbolt: A bolt that hurts the body's connection with it's soul. Causes minor wounds to appear over the body as it attempts to compensate (1 mana)
Doombolt: A more powerful version of the above (4 Mana)
Pinworks: You can apply spells into a bone spike, relative to the size of the victim. You can also make traps if you use an offensive spell.
Companions
Tom(cat)
Pooper-souper(Pigeon)
Skills:
Claws: Your arm has been replaced with a powerful claw. This is BOUND to you, and cannot be removed.
Pride: You have a mind-controlling leech in your arm. This is so mindblowingly unethical/illegal it would put you in "kill on sight" status with a lot of organisations/people.
Broodmother: Once per day, you can sting something to create spiderlings, which are large, clever spiders that adore you by default. Your instincts cause you to be VERY protective of them.
Crossbow usage: Novice
Gun usage: Novice
Oral Fixation: Can cast spells spells from the mouth.
Draining: Can drain blood using fangs.
Major experience in blocking and swordplay.
Climber
Crafty: Bolas
Cooking skill: Excellent
Corpse Cutting: Quite Decent.
Animal handling: inexperienced.
Necromantic knowledge
Soul Sniffer
Consider this the run-up to the actual action.