[Game Thread] Act I - Caught In A Briar Patch

[kdtompos]

Edward is the quickest to respond to the ambush. Sharp as a tack, the quick-witted man must have suspected such a possibility, for as soon as the gun barrels rise above the pew tops his shiny wing-tips are racing down the center aisle of the chapel, footsteps echoing throughout the cathedral. He's quite a way from the action however, and by time he reaches a position where he can successfully influence any of the anarchists, two loud shots ring through the chapel.

Birds can be heard frantically fluttering out of the upper windows at the sound of the shots, and the echoing blasts are joined by Edwards yell as he tries to keep himself upright, blood rapidly staining the breast of his suit. One of the shots Attack: 16 Damage: 2grazed his left shoulder, the other went straight through his Attack: 22 (Natural 20, failed confirmation) Damage: 5chest, but managed to miss his lungs by only an inch.

As Edward races by her, Madeline turns toward a fleeting shadow beside her. With the speed of a trained gun(wo)man, she spins on her heels and fires into the darkness. There's the sound of splintering wood as her shot bores through the Attack: 11-4(cover)=7 (Miss) Damage: 1 for Up Close and Deadlyback of the pew a few yards away, but a curse rings out from the shadows behind it as well--betraying the man trying to hide there.

Darren also rushed forward, watching Edward's body shutter with the blasts. The anarchist nearest him drew a bead on the bedlamite and loosed his own bullet in a cloud of smoke and muzzle-flash. The shot Attack: 7 Missgoes wide, however, splintering wood on the back wall of the sanctuary. With fire in his gut, Darren swings with much more focus and determination. The anarchist's eyes grow wide with fear as Severance bears down upon him, swinging over top of the pew behind which the man crouches. Like the sound of a bursting melon, Severance 14 Damage - Deadexplodes into the man's skull, sending a limp body sideways onto the pew and spraying brainmatter up the church walls.

The widowman must have been caught off guard, as his feet are uncharacteristically glued to the boards beneath him. By time he gets his momentum moving, shots have already been fired and the sanctuary is quickly filling with gunsmoke. The nearest anarchist is still to far away for Jeremiah to level a blow against him before he can react, but he knows that if he can get close enough, he can make reloading a nightmare! He rushes past Edward, who is clutching at his chest and fighting back the pain, and hurtles the pew between him and the anarchist who made the nearly fatal shot. With a grin on his bescpectacled face, he stares down the poor gnome who is already loading the next shot into his pistol.

A blast, however, from the far right side of the church catches the widowman's attention. The furthest anarchist has rushed forward as well, crouching behind a cluster of pews nearby and takes a shot at Jeremiah. The shot certainly would have hit had the widowmaker's reflexes not instinctively kicked in. The lawman spins as the pew directly behind him explodes in splinters of wood and tufts of felt. The anarchist curses, and reaches for another bullet and powder.

OOC: It seems people may have misread the map, so I had to modify some of your actions. Edward was 70 feet from the nearest anarchist, which means he couldn't possibly get within range of his 25 ft. casting range in a single move. He needed a double move to get within range. The readied actions triggered as he came into range. Jeremiah likewise was 45 feet from the nearest anarchist, creating the same problem with moving and attacking in the same round. I double moved him as well to get within melee range of the nearest anarchist. If you don't like the strategic positioning, feel free to let me know and we can alter it.

[kdtompos]

Round 2

"Okay boys, here she goes!" comes a shout from the gallery about 15 feet above them. A wild-eyed man peaks over the edge where a strange set of levers and pulleys can barely be seen in the shadows, concealed by the gallery walls. He wrenches a large chain through a pulley above him and then pulls a ripcord, causing the arms extending from the wicked candelabra above the sanctuary to rotate opposite each other. The wicked, cutting whirligig is composed of two sets of rotor blades fashioned from organ pipes and a pulley mechanism that is causing them to rotate. The sound of grinding chain rattles the walls as the candelabra swiftly dives toward the ground, halting only an inch or two above the pews and grinding wildly as the blades whir and spin.

Dice Acrobatics Check:

1d20+5sch15

(2)+5

✘

Total = 7

Missed Splash: 1-toward back of chapel, moving clockwise

Dice Random Direction 20 ft.:

1d8

2

Dice Fall Damage:

1d6

1

The operator seems unable to control the mechanism, and as it quickly begins to spin out of control he reaches for one of the chains hanging over the edge of the gallery and What a horrible first roll... lucky you!loses his footing in the process. The man screams as his topples over the low hanging edge, and 1 falling damage, prone.crashes into the gap between the pews only 10 feet from where Madeline stands. The whirling blades, now uncontrolled, spin wildly and fly toward the back left corner of the church. They pass within a few feet of Madeline as they do so, but never come close enough to truly threaten her.

The man she had shot earlier takes this opportunity to take a shot at the woman who wounded him. You can see where his arm is bleeding slightly from the earlier shot before there's another muzzle blast and a cloud of gunsmoke.

Dice Anarchist 5 shot:

1d20+2sch16cx,20	(7)+2		✘	Total = 9
1d8ci3	5

In all of the commotion, the shot misses of course, creating another bullet hole in the back of the sanctuary. He swiftly reloads for another chance.

 

Inititative Anarchist 5(O,13) and Mech. Operator(Q,11) - 25 Anarchist 2(F,7), Anarchist 3(F,11) and Edward - 22 Madeline - 15 Darren - 8 Anarchist 1 - Dead Jeremiah and Anarchist 4(G,13) - 2

[Surgate]

Jeremiah wipes a bead of sweat from his brow, the gunfire and commotion demanding and commanding all of his attention. With Edward injured, and amidst the chaos, He continues to grin at the poor gnome reloading in front of him, raising the widowman baton and swinging at the anarchist's gun, attempting to disarm him. "You are under arrest!"

OOC Disarm Attack Anarchist F,7 Dice Disarm: 1d20+5 (16)+5 Total = 21

[orcbane]

After hearing gunshots from within, Delth pushes through the doors of the temple, gun ready, and fires at the first thing that looks unfriendly.

actions Init Dice Roll: 1d20+4 (9)+4 Total = 13 Attack (Revolver) on Anarchist Q11 Dice Roll: 1d20+5 (20)+5 Total = 25 Damage (Revolver) on Anarchist Q11 Dice Roll: 1d8 8

[TheMystic]

It's time to get out of the way. That did not go as planned. Edward ensconces himself behind the pew. Keeping one of the Anarchists in view, determined to take at least one other out of the fight Edward works a simple spell.

OOC Move Action: I9 -> I11 Free Action: Drop Prone Standard Action: Cast Daze (DC 16) on Anarchist at G13

[austarrowsplitter]

Darren, emboldened by the success of his 'take their heads of with a hammer-axe' tactic, moves up to try it again on another anarchist. This time, Severance was arcing through the air axe-head first as Darren roared a mighty battle-cry.

OOC Moving to G,10 and attacking the Anarchist at F,11. Dice To Hit Roll: d20+4cx,20 (1)+4 Total = 5 d12+4ci3 (2)+4 Total = 6

[Muggins]

Madeline flinched at the incoming chandelier, then again at the spray of smoke from the other side of a pew. Whoever had been there, she'd hit it - and it was angry. There was the more pressing matter, however, of a new challenger who was scrambling to their feet between the pews. Given the choice between taking down one or another, she elected to fire upon the newcomer. There was the chance that her original target had only a single-shot firearm, and she was willing to conform to that hunch.

Bang!

Information Initiative: 17. Grit: 1/2 Remaining. Ammo: 4/6 Remaining. Standard Action: Firing her revolver at the anarchist in Q11. Dice Attack, Damage: 1d20+6 (2)+6 Total = 8 1d6+5 (4)+5 Total = 9 Immediate Action: If Madeline would be hit by an enemy's attack, she uses Gunslinger's Dodge for 1 grit point. She moves 5ft north and gains +2 AC against the attack. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity. Madeline is currently wearing Ballistic Cloth. This lets her use her full AC against firearms and grants her DR 2/- vs Bludgeoning+Piercing (i.e. Firearm Attacks).

[kdtompos]

Edward dives behind one of the pews, the wound in his chest bursting with pain as he slams to the ground between the seats. But with teeth clenched and perspiration dripping from his brow he shouts a threat at the man at the far side of the chapel that absolutely drips with the venom and seething determination of Edwards fury. The man's eyes grow wide at the booming threat as his gun slowly lowers. He's beginning to seriously doubt how much he wants to be here at the moment.

The next two anarchists lined at the front of the sanctuary grin with the wild surge of adrenaline that both fear and excitement produces. The widowman is bearing down on one just as he has finished loading another round. Leaning back on the pew, the frightened gnome tries to fire into the man's chest, but is too slow to avoid the baton the AoO: Hit - 4 non-lethal damagecrashes into his shoulder. The shock knocks his aim away from Jeremiah's chest, but as the gun goes off a mist of red bursts from the back of the widowman's shoulder as the bullet Attack: 15 - hit Damage: 6rips through tendons to explode out the other side. The anarchist from the next pew over also takes advantage of this opportunity, firing his next load across the aisle hoping to finish off the wounded lawman. His shot I forgot to account for 2 things: Firing into melee (-4) and Flanking (+2). Which change the attack to a 14 - barely a hit.gouges into Jeremiah's leg, causing his body to lurch backwards as his legs 2 damage. Leaving him at -1 hpfail beneath him. The church slowly fades to black through his goggles--the gnomes boots his last image. Both anarchists drop their guns to the ground, clattering upon the church floor, and pull similar looking black clubs from their belts.

Madeline spins as the operator tumbles from above, crashing to the floor behind the last row. As the nearest threat, she fires a quick round, but in her haste lost a bit of aim. The round burrows into the floorboards near the man's knee, causing him to cry out and tuck his legs close. Another shot rings out, the sound almost lost by this point in the echoes that are reverberating through the sacred hall. The fallen mechanic's chest bursts open like a flower in bloom as this next round Crit confirmed! 22 damagecrashes through the man's ribcage. As the gunsmoke clears, Delth can be seen grinning behind it with a quick twirl of his own gun around the trigger finger.

Darren, encouraged by the last solid hit, bounds over the pews and races across the floorboards. The smell of flint and smoke mingles with fear as the anarchist that dropped Jeremiah watches the barbarian charge in his direction. Darren's confidence, mingled with anger as his teammate falls beneath the gunfire, proves more than his nerves can handle at the moment. Severance begins to slip from his grip, losing friction from the sweat. His resolve is solid though, and he manages to hold fast to the back end of his axe as it soars harmlessly over the trepid anarchist.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 3

The whirling chandalier continues to rattle and spark as its spinning blades dig into the tops of the pews. Chunks of wood fly in all directions as the contraption flies about uncontrolled. It veers up the left side of the church, grinding through the backs of the pews where Darren just left, covering the remains of the first anarchist to fall with raining splinters and felt. The sordid man who has been unable to conceal himself at the back of the church continues his vendetta against the woman who managed to wound him through the pew he crouches behind. But his shot comes nowhere near her, burrowing once again into the back wall of the chapel somewhere behind her. His curses grow louder as he loads yet a third round into his mis-sighted weapon.

 

Battle Overview 2 anarchists dead and Anarchist at F7 is hurt with 4 non-lethal damage. Jeremiah is unconscious at -1 hp and dying. Edward is injured, having sustained 7hp of damage.

 

Inititative Anarchist 5(O,13) - 25 Mech. Operator - Dead Anarchist 2(F,7), Anarchist 3(F,11) and Edward - 22 Madeline - 15 Delth - 13 Darren - 8 Anarchist 1 - Dead Jeremiah - Dying (-1 hp) Anarchist 4(G,13) - 2

[Surgate]

Everything was going according to plan...until he was on the floor bleeding out, and the world around him faded to black. The widowman never dreamed. But today he thought he heard voices in the dark, whispers of a time before his training as a lawman commenced. The soft voice of a mother. And crying. Lost in the dark he struggled against the memories as they flooded over him, an unending nightmare.

OOC Dice Stabilization: 1d20+2 (10)+2 Total = 12

[TheMystic]

Edwards words held a second layer to them, an undercurrent of power, "I am not yet out of this fight!"

OOC Standard action: Gravitas on self: 7 Temporary HP for 1 min I'll throw one Jeramiah's way next turn unless circumstances shift.

[orcbane]

Delth's grin is short-lived. The room is in chaos, bullets are still flying, as is that strange chandelier, and Jeremiah is down. With a single, fluid motion, Delth thumbs back the hammer of his trusted sidearm, takes aim at the Gnome looming over the prone Widowman, and fires.

Action Attack vs. Anarchist @ F7 Dice Roll: 1d20+5 (1)+5 Total = 6 Damage vs. Anarchist @ F7 Dice Roll: 1d8 6

[Muggins]

Even though she missed a second time, the poor sod who had been her new target perished with a single shot from the right. Madeline had barely enough time to nod in thanks to Delth, with the fire of another gun sending a bullet flying past her head and the chandelier causing wood chips to flood the room. It was hardly the most pleasant situation for her to be in, and it got worse when one of their own number bit the dust. What was his name again? Jeremy, Gerrard?

No, Jeremiah, that was it. He was on the ground, bleeding out, while his assailants readied their respective batons. Not good. Even worse, the chandelier looked like it was going to spin into him - or, if not, scrape by and make a cloud of fine debris where the church wall used to be. While Madeline considered firing on them, too, she had her own problems. She aimed her revolver towards the poor sod hiding behind the pew, praying that her shot would land this time. If not, she'd have spent three rounds that fight and gotten nothing in return. Sure, she'd never been the best pistolier in the west, but this was just getting ridiculous.

Information Initiative: 17. Grit: 1/2 Remaining. Ammo: 3/6 Remaining. Standard Action: Firing her revolver at the anarchist in O13. Dice Attack, Damage: 1d20+6 (14)+6 Total = 20 1d6+5 (1)+5 Total = 6 Immediate Action: If Madeline would be hit by an enemy's attack, she uses Gunslinger's Dodge for 1 grit point. She moves 5ft north and gains +2 AC against the attack. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity. Madeline is currently wearing Ballistic Cloth. This lets her use her full AC against firearms and grants her DR 2/- vs Bludgeoning+Piercing (i.e. Firearm Attacks).

[kdtompos]

Edward's bolstering shout echoes through the hall as though he were the orator meant to fill it with encouraging words. Even the grinding of the chandelier across the far aisle of pews can't drown out the words. His own mettle strengthens at the proclamation to a degree that he no longer even feels the wounds. He's right, and no one would question it. He's not out of this fight yet.

Ducking beneath Darren's haphazard swing, the anarchist that just dropped a lawman is eager to add a railroader to his resume'. His own club crashes into the giant's Attack: 16 - Missside resoundingly, but Darren feels nothing beneath his plated shirt. This also afforded an opportunity for the gnome to leap over Jeremiah's unconscious body and take a shot at Darren's exposed back. His club never even gets a chance to test the man's armor, as it Attack: 9 - Miss... even flankingcollides with the pew beside him with a dull thud.

Madeline is eager to show the unfortunate soul crouching in the shadows at the rear of the cathedral just what a gunslinger really looks like. Frustrated with her previous attempts, she takes steady aim this time and blasts a solid hole through the man's left Hit - 6 damageshoulder as he raises up to get another shot. He's thrown back into the boards behind him, leaving a trail of blood before dropping back into cover. It appears he's learned a lesson, though you can't help but hope that it's not one he can replicate.

Delth takes no time to appreciate his own marksmanship, and instead swivels to fire another round at the gnome swinging at Darren's back. The second he fires, however, something Natural 1, misfiregrinds within his weapon. The shrill shreak of metal twisting metal pierces the cacophony, and the gunsmith's bullet veers in a direction nowhere near his intended target. His heart sinks into his gut at the all-too-familiar sound. Now the question is whether he continues to use it an hope for the best, or adopt a different approach...

[TheMystic]

This fight is not over Jeramiah

The voice booms through every corner of the chapel as Fletcher attempts to impress the gravity of the situation on his fallen companion

"Widowman, you shall not yield at the end of the chase.

You are the law, and the law is not mocked."

Dust shakes loose from the long unused pews

The chandelier shakes and clatters and the sound resounds through the very flesh of those listening.

"Your duty is not done young man."

"Stand and Fight!"

OOC Gravitas on Jeramiah: Due to the Solemnity feat 1's become 2's. Jeramiah gains 2 temporary HP (Enough to return him to 0 making him awake but staggered I think) Murphy's Law in full effect, although I suppose that bringing a dying man back to conciousness with voice alone is probably miraculous enough to justify the grandeur of the post.

[austarrowsplitter]

Darren roars and swings at the anarchist in front of him, determined to draw blood in recompense for Jeremiah's felling.

OOC Raging and attacking. Dice Attack: 1d20+6cx,20 (16)+6 Total = 22 1d12+7ci4 (1)+7 Total = 8