((Why do I have to roll str if he let me get close? I'm initiating combat there, with a move that doesn't even look like an attack. Just reaching out...))
"Hey slaves! I bet you don't like being slaves! Well, if you don't like it then help us help you by beating the nearest merchant to death. Thanks in advance!"
Int roll time! Shout as loudly as possible. Throw a few birds in the general direction of the guy who got a shot off at me; hopefully the crows fly when thrown. The guy that Corvan hit is probably still alive, but down for the count, SO [LargeFirearm / Ammunition]
Description: Raven is a VERY RAVENY GIRL. She has black hair, dark blue eyes, and looks all edgy and shit. She's really too young to lead a wizard gang, but carries herself with confidence and Murder. She is deadly intelligent, but is lacking in common sense, as normal for teenagers. Also she is obsessed with birds.
Potency: d8
Memory: d6
Strength: d2
Dexterity: d4
Speed: d6
Vitality: d4
Endurance: d6
Intelligence: d10
Awareness: d8
Inventory: Five clockwork birds
Marks: [Repair / AffectUser / Repair] [Pot+2]
Permanent: Cloud, Wall, FireForward, Crow, MarkCaster'sEyes, AffectUser, LargeFirearm, Ammunition, Clockwork, Repair, Many
Available: Cloud, Wall, FireForward, LargeFirearm, Ammunition
[4v5] You shout for the slaves to throw off their bonds and celebrate their freedom via extreme violence. They seem more bewildered than anything. Crap.
[1v6 dex] You pull a crow from your pocket and attempt to line up a good throw with the overseer by the chemical pool. You wind up and throw the thing as best you can. As soon as you release it the wings open with a metallic SPRRNG and it flaps at high speed...right over to the slave near him. The bird lashes out with sharp metal feet and hard metal wings, beating and scratching the slave who goes down in a screaming pile, trying to cover himself. Double crap.
[8pot][7int] You kneel down to the man your father just knocked over and place your hand on his chest. Before he can move you work a spell. The spell hits hard and he manages to scream for only an instant before his flesh has deformed past any functionality. The transformation is like seeing a body dragged down through a grate, torn apart and pulled towards dozens of equally spaced foci. Its over in a few seconds, leaving nothing but a pool of blood and about 60 evenly spaced bullets standing straight up, in the shape of a body.
"Heey, I did it! I'm a medic now! Maybe I'll get into a better pay bracket..." Abu made a small mental note to try and find a red cross to stitch on his uniform sometime. Said note immediately drifted away into the slight breeze of his mind.
"You can help us fight the reds now, just go ask the sarge for a rifle and, uhh... waaaitaminute..." He suddenly realized they didn't really know who this new guy was. He just showed up suddenly and exploded his own eyes. Before giving him a weapon, he should probably check if it wasn't a secret commie sympathizer! Luckily, they had taught him just how to do exactly that in basic.
He raised his rifle in the direction of the new guy and asked, "What are your thoughts on di-a-be-tic materialism?"
Unless the new guy turns out to be a commie (in which case, keep him at gunpoint!) Danger averted, for now.
Give the new guy my sword, take the ammo offered by Sarge (and that spare weapon, why not, Kay ain't using it). Then move over to the last guard's body and loot it. Finally, run over to the nearest slaves (the ones above us on the map, in the building) and try to convince them to take up arms against their masters (in the typical Abu way, of course). If they agree to fight, give them my spare weapons and instruct them to also start convincing their fellow slaves.
Name: Rifleman first class Abu Hajaar
Description: A scrawny enlistee of vaguely Middle Eastern descent. Permanently in over his head, slightly confused and wondering just how he got into this mess. Will reluctantly but reliably follow orders from his commanding officers and do his best however.
Somehow managed to end up far away from home in 'Nam to fight the commies. This left him confused. Then he got teleported to this world of mystery and magic. This did not help matters.
Gang: Ridiculous Rhomboid
Health: Fabulous.
Magic jazzhands: Cloud, Wall, FireForward, Crow, MarkCaster'sEyes, AffectUser, LargeFirearm, Ammunition, Clockwork, Repair, Many
Inventory
Guard's gun, 3 shots left, 1 spare mag
Guard's knife, a big curvy slightly phallic thing
Guard's gun, empty
Stats
Potency: d10
Memory: d6
Strength: d2
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d4
Vitality: d4
Endurance: d6
Intelligence: d6
Awareness: d8
You don't have the speed to do all that moving so we'll assume you hand off that knife to Kay and then meet up with Murphy to get the gun he's offereing.
To each their own, I guess, Sergeant Gardener.
To Abu, he added aside:
A fine knife; you have my thanks.
To victory!
Take the inconspicuously offered knife, enchant it with single "Clockwork".
Begin to run around the far eastern side of the fence or whatever it is that structure to the north of the nearest wagon; the idea is to eventually sneak up upon that remote guard from behind (east). A multi-turn action plan, I know.
Name: Kay Vagner
Gang: Roncal-thol Rotheleaod
Health: Eyes restored, pretty good overall.
Hand (7/10): Cloud, Wall, Crow, Mark_Caster's_Eyes, Affect_User, Large_Firearm, Ammunition, Clockwork, Repair, Many
Marked spells: none. Eyeballs: both.
Inventory: none (yet).
Stats:
Potency: d8
Memory: d4
Strength: d8
Dexterity: d2
Speed: d10
Vitality: d6
Endurance: d4
Intelligence: d6
Awareness: d6
Description: A grand-grand-grand-grandson of a forgotten composer of ages past, Kay thinks he is enamored with the music of his ancestor and that his legacy is to live up to those heroic stories of old. Sadly, he doesn't know that most of it is presently misattributed, and the rest is utterly mangled by vagaries of time, not to mention that he isn't really cut out for that kind of life. Still, he has one sick guitar solo.
[6][4] You take the knife and then work a spell on it. The blade goes from a rather ordinary thing to a clockwork monstrosity. It maintains the same general shape but the thin blade is replaced by a heavy bronze body with 3 whirling gears exposed along a slit where the edge used to be. Each gear rotates so fast you can barely make out the inch long knife edged teeth each one sports.
That done, you start running round the side of the flimsy warehouse building and heading northeast.
"Ey, you slaves! The hell're y'all even doing, doncha know a rebellion when ya see one?! This is yer chance to get on the good side of the new rulers 'round 'ere!"
Yell at the slaves to mobilize, while continuing to run towards Raven. Say "Cloud" once near enough to her that she'd get cover, or just when the turn ends if Corven can't make it all the way to her.
Gang: Roncal Roth
Health: Fine, again.
Hand: Cloud, Wall, FireForward, Crow, MarkCaster'sEyes, AffectUser, LargeFirearm, Ammunition, Clockwork, Repair, Many
Potency: d10
Memory: d6
Strength: d2
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d4
Vitality: d4
Endurance: d8
Intelligence: d8
Awareness: d6
Description: An older man past his prime, Corven still carries himself with the intimidating aura you'd expect from a crime boss... except when he's dealing with his daughter, who he's completely incapable of saying "No" to. That usually works out better than you'd expect, since he managed to get her the formal education he never had, though he still has wisdom on her. Has something of an unhealthy obsession with birds, though not nearly as much so as his daughter.
[8v4] Your words seem to galvanize the nearby slaves a lot better than your daughters and several of them turn and follow your charge. You don't get anywhere near Raven, damn your legs, so you just cast a cloud where you're standing.
[8] As soon as you cast the spell, dense fog seems to explode out around you, rushing off your skin as though you were a red hot ball of metal dropped into an ice bath. It expands around you and engulfs a large area. You can't really see if it covered Raven. You can't really see more than a few feet in front of you, honeslty.
"Bloody savages, vegetables are part of a balanced diet! Private eyeballs, you're off the hook for now. I've got worse vegetable-deniers to deal with."
Sarge hands Abu Hajaar the spare magazine.
"Here you go son, don't spend it all in one place."
See if I can't get a shot at one of the slavers by laying down and shooting through the space between the ground and the underside of the locomotive. If that's not possible, try to get a shot on one of the slavers by carefully peeking around the west side of the locomotive. If I notice them looking my way, getting into cover takes priority over shooting them.
Name: Gunnery Sergeant James Murphy
Description: A big bull of a man, with a square jaw and a patriotic twinkle in his eye. He enjoys swearing and giving people under his command a hard time.
Somehow managed to catch the second plane to 'Nam to fight the commies, even though he was aiming to be on the first. This left him slightly bitter. Then he got teleported to this world of mystery and magic. This doesn't change matters much, Charlie just a look a little different 'round these parts.
Gang: Ridiculous Rhomboid
Health: Great.
Magic jazzhands: Cloud, Wall, FireForward, Crow, AffectUser, LargeFirearm, Ammunition, Clockwork, Repair, Many
Potency: d6
Memory: d4
Strength: d6
Dexterity: d10
Speed: d6
Vitality: d4
Endurance: d8
Intelligence: d2
Awareness: d8
Inventory:
1 Kraut rifle
5 Magazines for the rifle. 3 shots fired, 3 kills.
1 looted rifle
You have a shot at the overseer up to the north, near those containers of ore, so you take the shot. [7v4][7v6] You catch the man in the face and blow off an ear as well as most of a cheek. He falls down, behind the container where you can't see him. Hmph.