0023 - Plot line – Let the Environment Kill Them – Part IV (1300 22 JUL 2000)

Time is now of the essence. Although the characters do not know where the Russians fit into the coming struggle, whether they are working with Grandma Topolski is irrelevant, because they certainly will not be exciting about three of their sentries being trussed up.

Time for a new scene setup:

The group will attempt to cross the city quickly, acting as everything is normal, since the Major has already given them permission to enter the city. They will stake out the house of Grandma Topolski and try to determine the opposition before kicking the door in to rescue the girls.

The current Chaos Rank is 5 and the D10 roll is a 6, indicating the scene will play out as planned. It is, however, unlikely that the group will traverse the town in broad daylight without encountering anyone. Just to be sure, we can roll on the urban encounters table.

The roll is 6 + 1 (town) = 7, indicating the group runs into a group of refugees. This has potential. Maybe the refugees have suffered a similar fate. They are from out of town and easily lured into a trap. Let’s ask the GME:

GME Question: Are members of the refugees also missing members? - Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (75% chance of yes) – 72 – Yes.

GME Question: Will they ask the characters for help? - Somewhat Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (65% chance of yes – they are desperate but there is a certain reluctance to trust strangers) – 79 – No.

Now that is a twist. The refugees are missing people but will not ask the characters for help. Now the question is, how to interpret this? Maybe they are waiting nearby to see what happens, hoping to have an opportunity to rescue their missing love one.

I am sure that Griff has seen them so:

We found an abandoned store up the street from Grandma Topolski’s. It seems to have been a bookstore but now only empty shelves, loose pages and rats remained. A lot more rats than pages, believe me.

I was taking my turn at the window while the others prepared what they could for the breaching. I noticed movement across the street and one floor up. The small face of a child stared down at me. It was probably a girl but hunger had made the sex difficult to determine. She was watching me watching Grandma’s joint. She disappeared when an adult hand grabbed her puny shoulder and pulled her away from the window. We were no longer alone in this street.

Now, Grandma Topolski seems to be getting back to business in style. To do so, she will need a little muscle to assist. She probably can convince some of the militia or traveling caravan guards to assist for a little pay and other “benefits” (not going to explain and leave it to your imagination).

I use my encounter generator to whip up some caravan guards. They do not have to be heavily armed, as the characters are not either.

Grandma Toploski has a tota

l of 8 guards. They are not heavily armed, mostly pistols and shotguns, however, they are a mix of Elite, Veteran and Experienced NPCs with some body armor and a lone L7A2. This could be challenging to say the least, especially since all of the characters are a bit beat up and some have slight wonlds.

Now, I need some more details on the establishment itself. I grab a generic hotel plan. We can assume that half of the guards are sleeping or resting in the hotel. Two will probably be in the truck outside and two inside for the purposes of crowd/drunk control. That being said, it is probably not the best and brightest standing outside but they will have taken precautions for their own protection.

Grandma Topolski will also have a room somewhere for herself. Griff can probably see it better than we can.

The old bat had taken over an abandoned hotel across the street from her house. It was three floors and as shabby as they come. The elevator collected dust and was apparently being used for the two thugs she kept inside. They sat there looking like two comic book characters except for the easy way the kept their weapons. These were definitely not newbies and the exaggerated upper body size gave me the impression that they had vests.

Outside they had a run-down truck with a flat bed. On the flat bed, another knuckledragger stood behind a well maintained L7. He would need to go before we took to the streets. Another one leaned casually on the wall by the door. Grandma was not taking any chances.

We witnessed the changing of the guards, so we knew there were at least 8 hostiles and an unknown number of “guests” and we even got a glimpse of the old crone. Now we just needed to drop by for a visit.

0022 - Plot line – Let the Environment Kill Them – Part III (1230 22 JUL 2000)

People do not normally go missing without someone noticing. In the aftermath of WWIII, people have become a scarce commodity and anyone that has lived that long generally has someone looking out for them and in turn are looking out for other people. We can assume that it is the same here.

When trooper Broken Nose fails to return, his friends will get suspicious, or at least they should. To make sure, we can ask the GME.

GME Question: Will the rest of the sentries look for the other one when they notice he is missing? - Very Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (85% chance of yes) – 64 – Yes.

GME Question: Will it be more than one person looking for him? - 50/50 – Chaos Rank 5 (85% chance of yes) – 50 – Yes. They are playing it safe.

So, knowing that, we can decide how many there are. More than three is probably overkill, seeing as how badly they are strapped for manpower. So on a D6, 1-3 is 2, 4-6 is three. The roll is a 2, which also happens to be the number of people looking for him. A wave of the wand and two NPCs appear.

Experienced soviet soldier #1-9
(Initiative: 3, Attributes: 6, Assets: 11, UCD: 3)

Hits:
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -1 Initiative
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

Main Weapon: C3 (Parker-Hale) with 6 magazine(s)/belt(s) and 10 loose rounds
Melee Weapon: Spear
Grenades: Fragmentation Grenade []
Equipment: Fatigues, Steel Helmet, Combat Webbing, Pack,
Food: 5kg of Domestic Food

*****************************************************
Experienced soviet soldier #1-10
(Initiative: 3, Attributes: 6, Assets: 11, UCD: 3)

Hits:
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -1 Initiative
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

Main Weapon: SVD with 1 magazine(s)/belt(s) and 20 loose rounds
Grenades: Fragmentation Grenade []
Equipment: Fatigues, Steel Helmet, Flak Jacket, Pack, Shelter Half, Gas Mask, Combat Webbing, Personal Medkit,
Food:

The characters now have company coming. Apparently his battle buddies are starting to get worried. We can assume that the characters have prepared some makeshift form of concealment on the fly. Still, we should probably have Harris roll anyway.

[Prepare makeshift camouflage/concealment – Combat Engineer 13 – Difficult (x1 he is in a rush and has no tools to work with) – Target Number 13 - Roll(s): 7] - Pass

Now a bit of narrative to set the scene.

Harris covered us with what he had, which ended up being very little. Still, it was enough. Two more Ivans came to look for their buddy. They were being careful, moving slowly and not calling out. It was like this kind of thing happened before.

Potato was beside me and he drew a bead center mass on the first one as they approached. I was sure hoping we could do this without shooting someone.

NPCs are people too and deserve a chance to avoid walking into a trap.

[Detect the camouflaged group – Observation 1 – Difficult (x1 ) – Target Number 11 - Roll(s): 9] - Pass

The two troopers approach and notice the group laying near their buddy. Now, this situation can be resolved in one of two ways: both sides can start shooting, which will probably mean the troopers will come out on the short end of the stick, as they have only semiautomatic or bolt action sniper rifles while facing a larger group or they can talk. Let’s ask the GME.

GME Question: Will the troopers choose to fight, despite their disadvantage? - Unlikely – Chaos Rank 5 (35% chance of yes) – 37 – No, but just barely.

So, no shooting, but the question is still open on how to resolve the situation.

Potato stands up, keeping the G3 leveled and orders them to drop their weapons. The others make themselves know by moving in place. Will the surrender?

GME Question: Will the troopers surrender, as they are outnumbered? - Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (75% chance of yes) – 30 – Yes.

The troopers lay down their arms, only to have them snatched up by Griff and Macron. Only now do they realize the others are unarmed. It would, however, be rather inadvisable to make a scene about it. The two are trussed up by their friend.

The group now has additional weapons: a C3 with 28 rounds (taken by Macron), a spear (taken by Logan), and SVD with 1 magazine and 20 loose rounds (taken by Griff) and two Fragmentation Grenades (also taken by Macron and Griff).

Now at least having a little firepower, the group decides to move into the city in search of Grandma Topolski and the girls.

0021 - Plot line – Let the Environment Kill Them – Part II (0800 22 JUL 2000)

The team is drenched and still hacking up a lot of river water. We can only hope no one catches anything from their little swim. Everyone finds at least a stout stick to use as a club. Better than nothing.

The group is about 15km down river from Sieradz. This a pratical distance in a boat and will ensure they need most travel period to get back, meaning we can check for an encounter (roll of the dice accompanied by maniacal GM laughter).

The terrain will be river, as we can assume the characters are following the river, and the territory is still Disputed. Fortunately for the less than well-armed group, they make it back to the outskirts of Sieradz without encountering anyone or anything.

Now we must considering the situation. We know that the major has about 200 men but only have of them are armed. Sieradz had a pre-war population of about 40,000 and covered a large area. This means that the city cannot be completely walled off and the soldiers and militia will be divided into groups stationed around the perimeter. The main defense are the T-80s, which we can also assume have infantry support.

Characters being characters will try to jump someone and get a weapon. The only character with stealth is Griffin, so that makes him the jumper. The rest will then pile on afterwards. We can ask the GME for a little guidance at this point.

GME Question: Can the group find a small group of sentries? - Very Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (85% chance of yes) – 65 – Yes.

GME Question: Will one NPC wander away alone at some point? - Likely – Chaos Rank 5 (75% chance of yes) – 3 – Exceptional Yes.

Now that is an interesting development. Time to make an interpretation. We have an NPC that wanders away alone but a situation that makes that exceptional. This must mean that the NPC is in a very vulnerable situation at that point. Two obvious situations are a bathroom break or sleeping. Let’s let the dice decide: 1-3 bathroom break or 4-6 sleeping. The gods of the dice decide for 3. Now we need an NPC.

It is unlikely that Elite or Veteran NPCs are pulling perimeter guard. That would make the NPC 1-2 Experienced or 4-6 Novice. The die decide for Experienced. So, I pull out a random Experienced trooper:

Experienced Soviet soldier #1-8
(Initiative: 3, Attributes: 6, Assets: 11, UCD: 3)

Hits:
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -1 Initiative
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

Main Weapon: G3 with 4 magazine(s)/belt(s) and 20 loose rounds
Grenades: Fragmentation Grenade []
Equipment: Fatigues, Steel Helmet,
Food: 2kg of Domestic Food and 3kg of Wild Food

Again, never throw anything away. You can always reuse anything. This is a trooper I generated before but have not had the chance to use yet. Now he has his time in the spotlight.

Griff can tell us a little bit more about the situation:

We found this little group of Ivans pulling perimeter guard. There motivation seemed a little off, like someone had recently given them a good working over. I smirked at the thought and I knew the 5ID gave better than it got. 

 

One of them, a bit older than the rest, must have been feeling the need for release, as he wandered away from the group. Sure enough, a bit later, behind a tree, you saw his lily white butt being exposed to the world. That was definitely not good idea.

Normally, sneaking up on a sentry in daylight would be a Formidable (x1/2), but we can assume the man is distracted and we will make the task Difficult (x1). Griff has a stealth asset of 10. Griff rolls a 15 and fails. As he approaches, thorns scrape across his uniform. The sentry looks up and dives for his gun, forcing Griff to pounce.

Turn 1 – Initiative 5

Griff takes a swing with his club. The difficulty is Difficult and Griff has an Armed Martial Arts asset of 6 (again, one of the overlooked skills). The club has a difficulty modifier of -1, reducing his asset to 5. The target number is 5 or less. Griff rolls a 6, resulting in a miss.

Turn 1 – Initiative 3

The trooper grabs for his G3. This will be a Difficult test against his Agility (Attribute 6), to grab the weapon while avoiding Griff’s attacks. The trooper rolls a 5 and snatches up the G3. This may end badly and you might want to close your eyes.

Turn 2 – Initiative 5

Griff takes another swing and connects with a 5. The hit location is the left leg. The damage is 1D6 + (½ STR). Griff has a strength of 6, resulting in 4 + 3 = 7 points of damage. The trooper is knocked down and will lose his next turn.

Hits:
XXXXX XXOOO OOOOO OOOOO -1 Initiative
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

The rest arrive to pile on (or more targets for the G3, depending on how you look at it).

Turn 3 – Initiative 5

Griff takes yet another swing and the trooper rolls to the side, avoiding the strike.

Robinson come up for another two handed swing. His asset level is 7 and he also suffers -1 for the club. His target number is also 6 or less. Robinson also pounds a bushel of grass flat.

The hulking Potato steps up to the plate. He chooses not to use the club and tries to stomp the trooper into jelly. His Unarmed Combat asset is 15 and the stomp (we will call it a kick) difficulty is Difficult (x1). Potato connects with a 15 and does 6 x 1.5 = 9 points of damage. The dude is a brute, no two ways about it.

 

Hits:
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XOOOO -1 Initiative
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

Turn 3 – Initiative 4

Macron wants a piece too and Macron also lashes out with a kick. His Unarmed Combat asset is 12. He rolls a 3 and causes and additional 4 x 1.5 = 6 points of damage.

 

Hits:
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX -1 Initiative
XXOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO -2 Initiative
Note: initiative modifiers are cumulative.

This will reduce the troopers initiative to 0, effectively removing him from the fight. We can assume that he is bloodied and so stunned that he is easily trussed up.

The characters now have a G3 with 4 magazine and 20 loose rounds as well as a Fragmentation Grenade. Time to get some more. Potato takes the G3 and the team decide to lay in wait to see if someone comes looking for the missing trooper.

0020 - Plot line – Let the Environment Kill Them – Part I (0730 22 JUL 2000)

Now I need to consider the current situation. Grandma Topolski will have dumped the guys somewhere and there should be a certain amount of danger involved, as she will want to be pretty sure that they are not coming back. The current environmental situation (heavy rains with flooding) is a good vehicle because it poses a certain amount of danger without stretching the imagination too far.

Let’s start with a narrative to set the scene. Since Marshall is indisposed, we will have to get Griffin’s thoughts on the subject:

I remember the rain drop hitting me dead square in the eye. Unfortunately it was not alone and he and his buddies had me soaked. It was like being back in Ranger training all over again. Water was lapping around my boots when I found the strength to sit up.

My head was fuzzy and the thousands of drunk dwarves were pounding away on the back of my eyes. I was feeling a bit under the weather. It did not get better after I sat up.

My boots were down under and sinking fast. The water was visibly rising.

To my left I saw Logan and Robinson splayed out with the water rapidly covering them. To my right, Macron, Harris and Potato were enjoying similar slumbers. I hear a motor sputter and just made out that old hag puttering away in a boat up river. She would be getting hers but we needed to get out of here first.

The male members are trapped on an island in the middle of the river. The water is rapidly rising and will cover the island in twenty turns. In twenty-five turns, it will be impossible to stand on the river. The water is rising that fast.

All characters but Griffin are unconscious. They must make a regain consciousness and then swim to shore to avoid drowning. Recovering consciousness is a Difficult (x1) test verses their constitution. Swimming to shore will require three swimming checks at a Formidable (x1/2) level due to the currents. Failure will result in the character take 1D damage to their chest, with a catastrophic failure causing 2D damage and the characters loses one round of crossing. An Outstanding success with reduce the time required by an additional round.

The relevant Attributes/Assets are:

• Logan – CON 7;Swiming 10
• Griffin – CON 7;Swiming 10
• Harris – CON 7;Swiming 10
• Potato – CON 8;Swiming 10
• Robinson – CON 7;Swiming 10
• Macron – CON 7;Swiming 8

Griffin is awake and need not check for regaining consciousness.

Turn 1

The test for regaining consciousness are as follows:

• Logan – fail
• Harris – fail
• Potato – fail
• Robinson – pass
• Macron – pass

Turn 2

The test for regaining consciousness are as follows:

• Logan – fail
• Harris – fail
• Potato – pass

Turn 3

The test for regaining consciousness are as follows:

• Logan – fail
• Harris – pass

Turn 4

The test for regaining consciousness are as follows:

• Logan – pass

After four turns, the complete group is conscious. The team currently has no equipment but their fatigues. Grandma Topolski is nothing if not thorough. Now the group must swim the swollen river.

Swim Turn 1

Off they go, swimming to the other shore.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	3+1	16 (CF)	7	32
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	3-1	13 (F)	3	36
Harris	Swimming 10	5	3-1	13 (F)	3	34
Potato	Swimming 10	5	3-1	12 (F)	1	41
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	3-1	7 (F)	2	40
Macron	Swimming 8	4	3-1	5 (F)	3	42

Logan gets swept away buy the current and now has even father to swim. The rest struggle on, swallowing water as they do.

Swim Turn 2

Off they go, swimming to the other shore.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	4-1	7 (F)	7+3=10	29
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	2-1	11 (F)	3+2=5	34
Harris	Swimming 10	5	2+1	17 (CF)	3+9=12	25
Potato	Swimming 10	5	2-1	13 (F)	1+4=5	43
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	2+1	15 (CF)	2+7=9	33
Macron	Swimming 8	4	2-1	6 (F)	3+5=8	37

Logan makes headway but Harris and Robinson are caught up in the currents.

Swim Turn 3

The team continues on, swimming for all their worth.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	3-1	6 (F)	10+3=13	26
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	1-1	11 (F)	5+1=6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	3+1	20 (CF)	12+12=24	13
Potato	Swimming 10	5	1-1	11 (F)	5+5=10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	3-1	11 (F)	9+2=11	31
Macron	Swimming 8	4	1+1	19 (CF)	8+7=15	30

Griffin and Potato reach the shore. The rest are still struggling and both Macron and Harris are swept along by the currents.

Swim Turn 4

Some of the members are safe, others struggle on.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	2-1	5 (P)	13	26
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	4-1	2 (P)	24	13
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	2-1	10 (F)	11+3=14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	2-1	2 (P)	15	30

Everyone left in the water makes progress toward the shore. Only Robinson swallows some water this time.

Swim Turn 5

Those in the water continue to swim as Griff and Potato cheer them on.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	1-1	7 (F)	13+3=16	23
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	3-1	11 (F)	24+3=27	10
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	1-1	1 (P)	14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	1-1	5 (F)	15+5=20	25

Everyone but Harris has made it to the shore. Harris is progressing slowly but is struggling to get to shore.

Swim Turn 6

Most of the team are now safe. All watch Harris struggle onward.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	0	--	16	23
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	2+1	15 (CF)	27+7=34	3
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	0	--	14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	0	--	20	25

Harris goes down again and things are getting critical. He has lost all of his progress and is getting close to drowning.

Swim Turn 7

The team desperate looks for something to assist Harris with as he struggles on.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	0	--	16	23
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	3-1	10 (F)	34+1	2
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	0	--	14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	0	--	20	25

Harris fights on, swimming as hard as he can.

Swim Turn 8

The team begins to build a human chain to reach Harris. Potato and Robinson anchor the others as they try to reach him.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	0	--	16	23
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	2-1	4 (P)	35	2
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	0	--	14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	0	--	20	25

Harris gathers his last reserves and fights on.

Swim Turn 9

The chain is extended to Harris as he fights the currents.

Character	Asset	Target #	Distance	Roll	Total Damage	Remaining Chest HP
Logan	Swimming 10	5	0	--	16	23
Griffin	Swimming 10	5	0	--	6	33
Harris	Swimming 10	5	1-1	2 (P)	35	2
Potato	Swimming 10	5	0	--	10	38
Robinson	Swimming 10	5	0	--	14	25
Macron	Swimming 8	4	0	--	20	25

His last reserves gone, Harris manages to grab Griffin’s hand and the team haul him ashore.

We lay there panting on the shore. Harris was still spitting up a lot of water and Logan was really concerned about him. He was in a bad way. Old Lady Topolski was going to pay for this. At the moment, besides Harris’ condition, we had other problems like the fact we were stuck in the middle of war torn Poland and we had nothing except harsh language to defend ourselves with.

The team is badly bent. Logan, Griffin, Potato, Robinson and Macron have scratch wounds to their chests. Harris now has a slight wound to his chest, adding to the damage he suffered last time.