Ultimate Furball Update 6
In which losses are incurred on either side of the conflict, and Theo discovers the limits of his aircraft's mobility.
Theo Dacabe (darkpaladin109): War Balloon (P:4,G:3,A:5)
Points: 1 (0/4)
Altitude: 4
Floating at 1, heading Northwest
>Northwest! Attack those in the dogfight.
You set the course northwest, waiting for the wind to carry you over to the fighting planes.
It sure does take a bloody long time.
Some distance to the west and southwest, just on the edges of a large cluster of dark clouds roiling with flashes of gunfire, explosions, and restrained nature's wrath, you spot a pair of solitary aircraft that seem content with watching the events unfold rather than take part in them. Many WW1-era planes are fighting closer to the ground. You hear the rumble of many engines from above. A small dogfight is happening towards the northwest.
(just can't clear that much distance with a balloon in one go)
Mobility: 1
Responsiveness: 1d6
Toughness: 8
Weapons: 4x Minigun (separate 90-degree arcs), 1x Stinger launcher
Minigun: up to 4 damage in 1 point clusters
Stinger: guided (IR), 8 damage in 4 point clusters
Ammo: 19x Minigun burst, 8x Stinger Missile
No armor
Structure:
Balloon: 6HP, 2 criticals (Valve, Fin)
Gondola: 8HP, 6 criticals (Minigun, Minigun, Minigun, Minigun, Pilot, Rigging)
Value: 4
Captain Henri Dechoirs (Digital Hellhound): Fokker V.6 Triplane (P:4,G:4,A:4)
Points: 0 (5/6)
Altitude: 2
Flying at 3, heading West
>Aha! Pick a target in the same colors as this one and pounce, with machineguns roaring.
[Piloting 4 + 1(unidentified furball)=5:Roll=11][Aw.Success] Masterfully identifying several more planes in the same colors as the recently exploded biplane, you pick the closest one and mercilessly set your sights on it. [Enemy Aw.Fail] Its pilot doesn't see you as you approach and strafe it from the side.
Machinegun: [Gunnery 4=4:Roll=3] Miss!
Machinegun: [Gunnery 4=4:Roll=6] Hit! Using Left side chart:
Tail: 4HP left, no critical; Left wing: 5HP left, no critical.
You shoot, but your aim is a little off. Half your bullets seem to miss entirely, and those that do find their way into the plane's wing and tail don't seem to do any appreciable damage. [En.Piloting Fail][Piloting 4 + 2(match speed) - 1(target outmaneuvered)=5:Roll=10] The biplane's pilot tosses his machine to the side in confusion, trying to evade an attacker he doesn't see, but you effortlessly match the maneuver and plant yourself firmly on his six.
[Aw.Success] You finally find the time to assess the situation you're in. You appear to be in the middle of a sizable fight between Entente and Central Powers' various air forces. It's hard to tell who is winning, but there are German, Austrian, British, and French airplanes everywhere, of every make and size. Mostly fighter planes, with occasional larger aircraft that could be bombers.
You are in the middle of a large WW1-era fight between the German/Austrian and British/French airforces. You are tailing a British Beardmore W.B.III biplane.
There is a dense cumulus cloud above you to the west. There is a tight dogfight between early-WW2 Russian and German aircraft far above you.
Mobility: 4
Responsiveness: 4d6
Toughness: 8
Weapons: 2x Machinegun (fixed forward), 2x50kg bomblet, sharpened wings
Machinegun: up to 2 damage in 1 point clusters
50kg bomblet: 12 damage in 6 point clusters, hard to aim (heavy penalties against moving targets)
Wing blade: 8 damage in 4 point clusters to enemy. 2 damage to wing.
Ammo: 24x Machinegun burst, 1x 50kg bomblet
No armor
Structure:
Nose: 4HP, 3 criticals (Propeller, Radiator, Engine)
Body: 6HP, 6 criticals (Engine, Pilot, Machinegun, Machinegun, Control wires, Control wires)
Left wing: 6HP, 3 criticals (Control wire, Aileron, Wing blade)
Right wing: 6HP, 3 criticals (Control wire, Aileron, Wing blade)
Tail: 6HP, 4 criticals (Elevator, Stabilizer, Control wire)
Value: 6
Jeffrey Gamble (Harry Baldman): Paraglider (P:3,G:4,A:5)
Altitude: 0
Stationary
>Try to land, then shoot the last remaining cheeky Frenchman!
[Resp.Fail] You are suddenly caught by a strong wind near the ground, and struggle to control the paraglider as the Frenchman is bearing down on you. [En.Piloting 5 +1(dive attack) -1(slow target)=5:Roll=10] He locks his sights on you and fires his machineguns again.
SPAD.XIII Leader:
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=5] Hit! Using Topside chart:
Motoglider: 6HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Control Surface; Parawing: 7HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Line
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=10] Hit! Using Topside chart:
Motoglider: 5HP left, no critical; 4HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Propeller.
Motorized Paraglider suffers 1d4 Responsiveness, 1 Mobility, and 2 Toughness damage.
The stream of bullets tears into your little metallic cradle, severing control lines and blowing off what little hasn't already been blown off, including the propeller. By sheer chance, you again remain untouched, and hurry to attempt a landing. [Piloting 3 +1(resp.fail) +2(severe damage)=6:Roll=1] But try as you might, it is no use. With a damaged chute, nonexistant controls, and a strong wind pushing you faster and faster along, your attempt at a controlled landing becomes a high-speed, tumbling crash.
[Crash damage: Mass 1 * (Speed 2 ^ 2): 4 damage in 2 point clusters to Paraglider: CRITICAL HIT on Pilot, no critical, SECTION DESTROYED by CRITICAL DAMAGE]
[Pilot Jeffrey Gamble needs to roll a 7 to stay conscious: rolls 2, blacks out]
[Pilot Jeffrey Gamble needs to roll a 9 to survive: rolls 2, is killed]
The impact with the ground effectively disintegrates the remains of the paraglider's frame. Jeffrey is hit in the back with the bullet-ridden engine block of his machine, smashing him against the ground with tremendous force. He is killed instantly.
Jeffrey Gamble is dead.Mobility: 0
Responsiveness: 1d4
Toughness: 3
Weapons: 1x Double Elephant Gun
Elephant Gun: 2 damage
Ammo: 24x .50cal cartridge
No armor
Structure:
Parawing: 7 HP, 2 criticals (Line, *Line*)
Motoglider: 0 HP, 5 criticals (*Engine*, *Propeller*, *Pilot*, *Control Surface*, *Control Surface*)
Value: 2
Lef-tenant Donald Wilkson (WhitiusOpus): Supermarine Spitfire MkXVI (P:4,G:3,A:5)
Points: 1 (0/9)
Altitude 0
Stationary
>do <scissors maneuver> and get around behind the A7's. Try not to die in the process.
[Resp.Failx2] You turn sharply to begin your maneuvering, but don't pay enough attention to your airspeed and stall out. [Piloting 4 +1(resp.fail)=5:Roll=4] Unable to quickly recover, you lose altitude and energy, allowing the flight of A7M to catch up to you. [En.Piloting 5 -1(slow target)=4:Rollx5:1,4,5,3,10](pfft) The formation of A7Ms appears to split up, two planes peeling off to engage another target of opportunity, another seemingly failing to keep up with the formation leader, but in the end only two of the Japanese prototype fighters come bearing down on your little Spitfire. [Piloting 4 +1(resp.fail)=5:Roll=7] Not about to present yourself as an easy target, you start evasive maneuvers right as they open fire.
A7M Leader:
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=3] Miss!
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=6] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Tail: no armor left; Left Wing: 5HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Aileron.
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=10] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Tail: 4HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Rudder; Right Wing: 4HP left, no critical.
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=1] Miss!
A7M Wingman #1:
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=12] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Tail: 3HP left, no critical; Right Wing: 3HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Aileron.
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=10] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Left Wing: 4HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Control Wire; Left Wing: 3HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Control Wire
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=12] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Right Wing: 1HP left, no critical; Right Wing: 0HP left, SECTION DESTROYED
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5 -1(slow target) +1(target evading)=5:Roll=7] Hit! Using Rear chart:
Left Wing: 1HP left, no critical; Right Wing - already destroyed.
Supermarine Spitfire MxXVI suffers 2 Mobility, 3d6 Responsiveness, and 4 Toughness damage.
Despite your best attempts to evade, the barrage of machinegun and cannon fire from the first Reppū leaves your plane full of holes. You desperately try to avoid the second fighter's attack, but its weapons rip into you all the same. Amidst the deafening sounds of armor-piercing ammunition ripping your Spitfire to shreds, you notice the airframe giving off a strained groan, and then a
crack as the weakened struts in the right wing give way under the stress. The sky and the lake surface start rapidly changing places above your head, as the remaining left wing imparts a roll you cannot possibly compensate for.
Your Spitfire, hopelessly out of control, begins to quickly tumble out of the sky. With nothing else to do, you pop the canopy glass and attempt to steady the plane at least enough so you can safely bail out.
[Piloting 5 (bailing out)=5:Roll=1] You struggle against the controls. The left wing's aileron is shot off, the control lines leading to it severed. The rotation does not recede. At this rate you'll be swatted aside by the spinning wing and tail the moment you leave the cabin.
(Altitude 3)[Piloting 5 (bailing out)=5:Roll=2](wat) More struggling, trying to do anything at all. You try to tilt the plane sideways, hoping to toss it into a flat spin - but the rudder is shot off as well. The lake surface is slowly approaching.
(Altitude 2)[Piloting 5 (bailing out)=5:Roll=1](WAT) You try to pitch the plane over, but the gyroscopic effect of the spinning plane resists you. The lake is rapidly growing closer, a spinning vertical wall of watery doom.
(Altitude 1, last chance)[Piloting 5 (bailing out)=5:Roll=6](whew) You are out of sane options. You jam the triggers on the stick, hoping to shoot the lake out of the way. The recoil of the surviving wing-mounted machinegun and aircraft cannon pushes the wing back, rocking the plane side to side. Grasping at this final chance at survival, you pull on the stick, still firing, and finally, for a briefest moment, the plane tips over, giving you a clear view of the sky. One moment is more than enough. With all your strength, you tear yourself out of the seat and jump clear of the stricken Spitfire, immediately pulling the chute.
With only a couple hundred meters left to go till the water surface, Lef-tenant Donald Wilkson successfully opens his parachute. He splashes down with a far less impressive water plume than his Spitfire, though it leaves him winded and gasping for breath. He successfully makes it ashore, ready to fly again.
Mobility: 2
Responsiveness: 1d6
Toughness: 5
Weapons: 2x Machinegun (fixed forward), 2x 20mm Cannon (fixed forward)
Machinegun: up to 2 damage in 1 point clusters
20mm Cannon: up to 4 damage in 2 point clusters
Ammo: 24x Machinegun burst, 10x 20mm Cannon burst
Armor:
Nose: 1HP
Body: 2HP
Tail: 0HP
Structure:
Nose: 4HP, 3 criticals (Propeller, Radiator, Engine)
Body: 8HP, 4 criticals (Engine, Pilot, Control wires, Control wires)
Left wing: 1HP, 5 criticals (*Aileron*, Flap, Machinegun, 20mm Cannon, *Control wire*)
Right wing: 0HP, 5 criticals (*Aileron*, Flap, Machinegun, 20mm Cannon, Control wire)
Tail: 5HP, 3 criticals (Elevator, *Rudder*, Control wire)
Value: 9
Josephine Lee (Tiruin): Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" (P:5,G:4,A:3)
Altitude 3
Flying at 4, heading West
>Keep firing! Keep firing!
[Piloting 5=5:Roll=10] It's trivial to keep a big target like a Pe-2 in your sights, even with the pesky gunners. You loop around and strafe it again.
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=3] Miss!
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=10] Hit! Using Right Side chart:
Right Wing: no armor left; Right wing: 7HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Engine.
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=4] Miss!
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=6] Hit! Using Right Side chart:
Right Wing: 5HP left, no critical; Right Wing: 3HP left, no critical.
20mm Cannon: [Gunnery 5=5:Roll=11] Hit! Using Right Side chart:
Right Wing: 1HP left, no critical; Tail: 4HP left, CRITICAL HIT on Elevator.
Even if some of your shots miss, the overall effect is massive. The Pe-2's right wing is nearly torn to shreds by your cannons, its right engine starts spewing dark smoke, and the last few cannon slugs of your assault manage to tear some huge chunks out of the plane's tail. The Pe-2 dips down even more, and starts listing heavily to the right. It seems as though the pilots don't care to correct the machine's heading, and the reason why is soon apparent - the cabin and the side doors pop open, and the crew starts leaving their aircraft, no longer able to control it. But the gunner in the top bubble, not willing to let your assault go unpunished, sends some parting shots your way before bailing out himself.
Machinegun: [Gunnery 5 +1(unstable platform) +1(moving target)=7:Roll=9] Hit! Using Underside chart:
Right Wing: 5HP left, no critical; Right Wing: 4HP left, no critical.
A few more holes appear in your Zero's right wing, but the damage remains fairly minor. You watch with satisfaction as the Russian fighter-bomber, now sans crew, gracefully flies itself into a hillock and makes another short-lived fiery flower bloom.
[Aw.Success] Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a plane that seems to be aiming for you amidst the furball. You can't tell the exact model from this angle, but the high speed, the pointed shape, and the red stars on its wings point to some variant of the Yak-3.
There is a very big fight between a Russian/French bomber convoy and a German fighter squadron here. A Yak-3 fighter is moving in fast to attack you.
There is a smaller dogfight to the northwest. There is another group of aircraft fighting high up towards the far southwest. You think you see a faint gleam of a few planes flying closer to the ground, far to the northeast.
You have scored 14 kill points, earning 1 score point with 5 kill points left over.
Mobility: 5
Responsiveness: 3d8
Toughness: 10
Weapons: 3x Machinegun (fixed forward), 2x 20mm Cannon (fixed forward)
Machinegun: up to 2 damage in 1 point clusters
20mm Cannon: up to 4 damage in 2 point clusters
Ammo: 15x Machinegun burst, 6x 20mm Cannon burst
Armor:
Nose: 1HP
Body: 0/1HP
Tail: 1HP
Structure:
Nose: 4HP, 4 criticals (Propeller, Radiator, Machinegun, Engine)
Body: 7/8HP, 4 criticals (Engine, Pilot, Control wires, Control wires)
Left wing: 5/6HP, 5 criticals (Aileron, Flap, Machinegun, 20mm Cannon, Control wire)
Right wing: 4/6HP, 5 criticals (Aileron, Flap, Machinegun, 20mm Cannon, Control wire)
Tail: 6HP, 4 criticals (Elevator, Stabilizer, Control wire)
Value: 9
I might change the rules for responsiveness a bit. Instead of flat out making your maneuvers go wrong on responsiveness fail, instead I could apply the fails/successes to a piloting roll to determine if the maneuver (or your act of flying somewhere) succeeds. Think that could work better?
Also, congratulations Harry Baldman on being the first player to have to reroll a character. Or you can let 10ebbor10 play, if you want.
WhitiusOpus, you can reuse your character and merely select a new machine to fly in. Your points would carry over, but you lose the 1 point you had for losing the plane, so...
How do you all find the proceedings to far, by the way? On my side it's a little bit roll-heavy, but not having to do opposed checks makes it tolerable, and aside from selecting critical targets and the responsiveness values, it all basically uses the same die. Also, actual charts help. Actual charts help a lot.
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Topic: RTD Testing Thread: 5 Positions open. Science doesn't die. (Read 60053 times)