U Is for Understanding Yesterday’s Post
The heroes — a warrior, two experts, and a psychic — have touched down near what could be an abandoned Pretech site in a quarantine zone on Garris IV. After securing the LZ, they gear up and head into the bush. A few klicks into the hike, they’re ambushed by half dozen Pretech cultists intent on protecting the site against intruders.
Pretech Cultists: AC 7; HD 1 (4 hp); Damage 1d8+1; Save 15+; Morale 8.
GM: The rain forest presses in close around you. Strange birds sing unseen in the canopy, and insects chitter and buzz. There are literally dozens of places within sight that could conceal something as large as, say, a man. What do you do?
Wes: I keep a keen eye out for trouble.
Everyone Else: Us too!
GM: Perception checks, please.
(Dice roll. The players compare their totals to the skill check parameters. Terry, the warrior, gets an 11. Wes and Christopher, the experts, score in the 7-9 range. Eric, the psychic, blows the check entirely.)
GM: Ebenezer spots tell-tale movement in the brush. You’re heading into an ambush! Ebenezer can act normally. Rob and Chuck can move, but won’t be able to get their weapons in play yet. Kurt is caught completely off-guard as a half-dozen rough-looking men spring into view, their magpistols slinging bullets. What do you do, Ebenezer?
Terry: I dive for cover while returning fire.
GM: That sounds like you need to make an Evasion saving throw to avoid the incoming fire as well as a Volley.
Terry: Can I use Strength for Evasion? My character could crash through a thick clump of vegetation to get cover.
GM: Sure.
Terry: Excellent. (Terry rolls and adds.) That’s 21 total. I make the save. Now I return fire.
GM: The enemies are Armor Class 7.
(Terry rolls again.)
Terry: Oh poo! I got a 17. I choose to use extra ammo.
GM: Ebenezer bulldozes his way through a clump of vegetation. Bullets whiz by him and smack into the trees around him, but Ebenezer isn’t hit. As he dives, he returns fire. Roll damage. (Terry does, and seriously wounds a cultist.) The cultist staggers back, dropping out of sight behind cover, screaming for a medic.
Eric: Kurt is caught completely off-guard. Bullets are about to riddle his body.
Christopher: Hold on, hold on. Chuck lunges and pushes Kurt out of harm’s way. Can’t have our biopsychic getting shot up.
GM: Okay, Christopher. Give me a Defend check.
(Christopher rolls and gets a 14.)
Christopher: I choose to redirect the attack into me.
GM: (rolls damage dice) You take 7 points of damage, less your armor’s protection. Kurt is shoved out of harm’s way.
(Christopher marks off 3 hit points and notes his armor has taken 4 points of damage.)
Wes: I dive for cover also. My Evasion save is great. (He rolls and adds.) Oh, phooey! I got a 10!
GM: Rob tries to dive for cover, but is too slow. He gets caught in the hail of bullets. (GM rolls damage.) Wow, take 10 points of damage. Eric, you’ve recovered enough to act now. What does Kurt do?
Et cetera, et cetera.
Whoa, this sounds exciting. Now for the psychic joke – didn’t he/she see the ambush coming? I know, I know, corny. My protag is a psychic and I hear it all the time. lol!