The Traveler:
Page: A panel of Octavian putting his hand above his eyes, squinting, with wheat stalks visible at the bottom of the panel. (Wits check: 4+0 = 4) A panel showing the roof of a barn, barely visible above densely packed stalks of corn. Octavian: (This plant is unlike any I have ever heard tell of.) A panel showing Octavian walking out of the wheat field and into the corn field. Several panels of Octavian pushing his way through the corn field. (Resilience check: 3+0 = 3) Octavian: (Though these plants stymie me, my destination is near.)
What’s Octavian’s plan for “first contact”?
Anathema:
Page: Several panels of Orion walking down the hallway, taking pictures of the walls. (Resilience check: 4+0 = 4) A panel of Orion coming to a corner, with a faint yellow light visible. A panel of Orion walking around the corner. A panel of Orion looking into a doorway. A panel of a room covered in hieroglyphics, with one pedestal in the center holding a small bronze statue of a coiled snake that glows with a faint yellow light.
What to do with the statue?
The Stranger:
Page: A panel of the unkempt man filling out the form. The word “Victor” is visible in the section marked “Name”. Victor: “Is it okay if I don’t put down a last name?” Goatee Man: “Hm? Oh, sure.” A panel of the man with a goatee looking over the form. (Wits check: 2+1(easy) = 3) Goatee Man: “Health problems… unknown?” A panel showing the man with a goatee look at Victor contemplatively. Goatee Man: “I’m sorry, but I can’t in good conscience hire you… until you’ve been checked over by a medical professional. Luckily for you, the miracles of modern medical technology made last year’s universal healthcare law possible without digging the country any deeper in debt.”
What does Victor do as a result of that conversation?
The Lifebringer:
Page: A panel of Dora staring at the hand in surprise. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 4-2(hard) = 2) A panel of Dora staring at the hand in shock. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 3-2(hard) = 1) ([unknown]’s Physique check: 4+0 = 4) A panel of Dora staring at the hand in confusion as it wobbles slightly. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 5-2(hard) = 3) A panel of Dora stepping backward as another hand reaches out of the ground. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 4-2(hard) = 2) A panel of Dora looking at the hands in horror. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 3-2(hard) = 1) ([unknown]’s Physique check: 4-1(hard) = 3) A zoomed-in panel of the hands slipping back into the ground slightly. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 3-2(hard) = 1) ([unknown]’s Physique check: 4-2(hard) = 2) A panel of the hands reaching back up again. ([unknown]’s Physique check: 5-2(hard) = 3) A panel of the ground all around the hands cracking and lifting upward slightly.
Two hands: Better, or worse, than one?
Dr. Mutagen:
Page: Several panels of Burt feeding the animals. A panel of Burt stretching his hand into a rabbit’s cage, about to touch it. A zoomed-in panel of Burt touching the rabbit. (Precision (Magnitude) check: 3+0 = 3, 6+0 = 6) A panel of the rabbit’s fur turning green. A few panels of the rabbit morphing into a rabbit-sized hamster.
Wait, what?!?
The Man of Stone:
Page: A zoomed-in panel showing Thrak’s eyes narrow. [Lesser tyranny may be opposed with words. But greater tyranny can only be deposed by force.] (Physique contest: 4+1(surprise) = 5 vs 5+0 = 5) A panel showing Thrak slip away from the caveman. (Physique contest: 6+1(surprise) = 7 vs 4+0 = 4) A panel showing Thrak punch the caveman in the jaw as four cavemen form a circle around the rock in the background. (Caveman’s Physique check: 5-3(strength of blow) = 2) A panel showing the caveman stagger backward. (Physique contest: 6+0 = 6 vs 4-1(dazed) = 3) A panel showing Thrak punch the caveman in the chest. (Caveman’s Physique check: 4-3(strength of blow)-1(injuries) = 0) A panel showing the caveman thrown off the rock by the force of the punch. In the background, it is shown that the crowd had fled or dispersed.
Page: A panel showing a pair of cavemen move towards Thrak. (Physique contest: 5+0 = 5 vs 4+1(numbers) = 5) A panel showing Thrak block a punch from one of the cavemen. (Physique contest: 4+0 = 4 vs 5+1(numbers) = 6) A panel showing the other caveman punch Thrak in the chest. (Physique check: 5-2(strength of blow) = 3) A panel showing Thrak take a step back. (Physique contest: 6+0 = 6 vs 5+1(numbers) = 6) A panel showing Thrak block a punch from one of the cavemen. (Physique contest: 5+0 = 5 vs 5+1(numbers) = 6) A panel showing the other caveman punch Thrak in the shoulder. (Physique check: 5-2(strength of blow)-1(injuries) = 2) A panel showing Thrak stagger backward, dazed. (Physique contest: 4-1(injuries) = 3 vs 3+1(numbers) = 4) A panel showing a caveman punch Thrak in the arm. (Physique check: 6-1(strength of blow)-2(injuries) = 3) A panel showing Thrak take a step back. (Physique contest: 6+0 = 6 vs 4+1(numbers) = 5) A panel showing Thrak punch one of the cavemen in the arm. (Caveman’s Physique check: 3-1(strength of blow) = 2) A panel showing the caveman take a step back, cradling his arm. (Physique contest: 4+0 = 4 vs 4+0 = 4) A panel showing Thrak block a punch from a lone caveman. (Physique contest: 5+0 = 5 vs 5+1(numbers) = 6) A panel showing the other caveman punch Thrak in the shoulder. (Physique check: 6-1(strength of blow)-3(injuries) = 2) A panel showing Thrak stagger backward, dazed. (Physique contest: 4-1(injuries) = 3 vs 5+1(numbers) = 6) A panel showing one of the cavemen punch Thrak in the head. (Physique check: 4-3(strength of blow)-4(injuries) = -3)
Page: A splash panel showing Thrak fall backward as his eyes roll back into his head.
Page: A panel showing the cavemen dragging Thrak away. [The blow was powerful, but cavemen have survived worse injuries.] A panel showing the cavemen present a restrained Thrak to a shadowed figure wearing a strange headdress as firelight warms the night. A panel showing Thrak in a cage suspended over a cliff as dawn grows near. A panel showing a worried caveman slip Thrak a club through the bars of the cage. Worried Caveman: “Fight sea dinosaurs. Beat sea dinosaurs. If not, we remember you.” A panel showing the worried caveman sneak off. A panel showing a team of cavemen use a pulley system to let the cage fall into the water. A panel showing the cage slowly sinking as Thrak holds his breath. [But Thrak did not drown, and he was not eaten by sea dinosaurs. Instead, the water froze around him and he was trapped in an iceberg for thousands of years.]
What event caused Thrak’s iceberg to melt, and what does he wake up to?
Contingent:
Page: A panel of Peter looking at the scientist. Peter: “What? Of course it did. Could be a symbiote or parasite type, someone check the rat for nanogoo. Remember your minimum distance protocols, everyone!” Several panels of scientists analyzing the rat. A panel of a scientist looking at Peter. Scientist: “There’s no nanogoo inside the rat, but we’ve found residue in the brain. It seems that the nanogoo probed the rat’s brain and decided, based on the results, to eject it. Which supports your theory, considering that most symbiote/parasite nanogoos only accept human hosts.”
What to try next?
The Negotiator:
Page: A panel of Ethan sighing in defeat. A panel of Ethan looking over the newspaper article. Several panels of Ethan staring off into the distance with a sad expression on his face. A panel showing a knock at the door. Ethan: (Who could that be?)
Is Ethan going to answer the door?
Ringer:
Page: A panel showing the expression of the amnesiac man change to panic. (Precision (Magnitude) check: 5+0, 5+0 = 5, 5) (The German man’s Physique check: 3-1(surprise)-1(point-blank) = 1) A panel showing the amnesiac man whip around and punch the German man in the face. A panel showing the German man collapse onto the ground. A panel showing the amnesiac man running towards a door. (Shadowy figures’ Wits check: 3-1(surprise) = 2) A panel showing the amnesiac man run through the door. (Wits check: 4+0 = 4) A panel showing the amnesiac man slam the door behind him and slide a deadbolt into place.
Any specific strategies for finding an exit?
Cuddle Team Leader:
Page: A panel showing a shaking Sofia look at the man in a lab coat. Sofia: “So… What happens now?” Lab Coat Man: “Now, I take you to this laboratory’s containment/analysis tank and we see whether or not you’ve developed a case of radiation poisoning and/or a phenomenon that I call “contagious lethal luminescence”. Probably not that second one.” A panel showing the man in a lab coat briskly walking to another location in the laboratory, with Sofia following behind anxiously. A panel showing Sofia stepping through a large metal door with several gadgets attached. A panel showing the man in a lab coat type something into one of the gadgets as the door seals.
Page: A splash panel showing Sofia looking at a television screen showing the man in a lab coat. Lab Coat Man: “So, it could be an hour or so before the other experiments are stable and everyone can help with the tests. Want anything while you wait?”
Such as, say, a soda?