[X] "Hey! Leave the lizard alone and pick on someone your own size!"
-[X] Talia moves forward, attracting attention. Lewis, seeing that this situation is unlikely to de-escalate, quickly taps Nico on the shoulder and makes a "flank them" gesture, which Nico acknowledges and follows.
[] "A Jester! Perfect for our travelling troupe!" - Recruit Harlequin
..For the memes man...for the memes...
[X] "Hey! Leave the lizard alone and pick on someone your own size!"
-[X] Talia moves forward, attracting attention. Lewis, seeing that this situation is unlikely to de-escalate, quickly taps Nico on the shoulder and makes a "flank them" gesture, which Nico acknowledges and follows.
[X] "Hey! Leave the lizard alone and pick on someone your own size!"
-[X] Talia moves forward, attracting attention. Lewis, seeing that this situation is unlikely to de-escalate, quickly taps Nico on the shoulder and makes a "flank them" gesture, which Nico acknowledges and follows.
[X] "Hey! Leave the lizard alone and pick on someone your own size!"
-[X] Talia moves forward, attracting attention. Lewis, seeing that this situation is unlikely to de-escalate, quickly taps Nico on the shoulder and makes a "flank them" gesture, which Nico acknowledges and follows.
[X] "Oi, what's all this then?"
-[X] Talia goes for blustery British cop, Nico goes for deadpan snarker British cop, Lewis tries to follow their lead but is utterly lost.
-[X] Try not to instigate violence before understanding the situation.
Human-like in shape, perhaps, but with horribly distorted features, seemingly entirely encased in something thick and black and shiny and almost viscous - and their hands end in claws that swipe at the encircled lizard-people.
[X] "Oi, what's all this then?"
-[X] Talia goes for blustery British cop, Nico goes for deadpan snarker British cop, Lewis tries to follow their lead but is utterly lost.
-[X] Try not to instigate violence before understanding the situation.
[X] "Hey! Leave the lizard alone and pick on someone your own size!"
-[X] Talia moves forward, attracting attention. Lewis, seeing that this situation is unlikely to de-escalate, quickly taps Nico on the shoulder and makes a "flank them" gesture, which Nico acknowledges and follows.
[X] "Oi, what's all this then?"
-[X] Talia goes for blustery British cop, Nico goes for deadpan snarker British cop, Lewis tries to follow their lead but is utterly lost.
-[X] Try not to instigate violence before understanding the situation.
There's no telling what the situation is. For all Talia knows, the Varanians might be evil genocidal monsters, and this… thing, this Harlequin, might be a heroic fighter for good and justice.
But there's an old man cowering on the ground, and Harlequin is laughing.
Talia isn't laughing.
She's the Red Ranger.
It's her decision.
She makes it.
"Hey! Leave the lizard alone, and pick on someone your own size!" Her feet move automatically, taking them forward.
Lewis sees what's happening. Talia is.. Yep, she's picking a fight with an alien monster. Alien. Monsters. To think this morning, they were back on Earth. Earth had been put through the wringer, but it didn't have monsters on it.
Not anymore.
The Power Rangers had dealt with them.
He turns to Nico. "Come on, let's flank them."
Nico stares. "Are you crazy? Is she crazy?"
Lewis stares at him, saying nothing.
Nico pauses, then nods. "Fine. I'll go left."
Meanwhile, Harlequin stares at the strange creature that's appeared before him. It's clearly not a Varanian… what is it doing here? A rival perhaps? No matter. It appears to be small, weak. Easily dealt with.
"Ha ha ha!" He leans back and laughs. "You've got some guts, I'll give you that! But you'll regret challenging me!" He raises a tentacle which flips out to point at the interloper. "Carrionoids, attack!"
At his words, the black-encased creatures raise their heads. That dry hissing rises in volume, like air hissing from a corpse.
And then a cloud, a tide, a swarm of black is rushing at Talia.
Combat Begins!
Rolls are a d10 against a set DC, plus modifiers such as skill, morphing, weapons and more. Success makes progress on the challenge, repeated failures, natural 1s, or failures by a large margin may result in injuries. When morphed, failures result in damage to the Ranger's suits, and repeated failures may result in forcing the Rangers to de-morph.
Carrionoids are our season's foot soldiers. These are the basic model. They're pretty tough for unmorphed Rangers, especially ones without martial arts skills, and come in at a DC of 6. If this seems simple, don't worry, they'll become more complicated as both sides pull out new tricks!
Roll: 1d10 = 4. Failure!
Talia punches one of the swarming creatures, but it doesn't go down. It's… flesh? Is disturbingly pliant to the touch, and it barely acknowledges the blow. The creatures begin harrying her, forcing her back from the square.
Meanwhile, Lewis has come to the aid of the injured Varanian, taking advantage of the distraction. He pulls the lizard-man to his feet. "Are you hurt?"
The Varanian looks at his rescuer. "I've had worse. Who are you?" Lewis shakes his head. "I'll explain later."
Nico sees Talia is getting overwhelmed. Scanning the area, he sees a wagon loaded with casks of… something. A moment later, he opens the latch on the back of the wagon and sends the casks flooding out into the crowd of Carrionoids.
Roll: 1d10 +1 (Environmental Attack) = 2 Failure! Injury negated due to Endurance skill!
Unfortunately, the barrels go everywhere, and one knocks Talia off her feet, leaving her pinned as one of the creatures tries to claw at her.
Nico curses, and runs into the crowd. His eyes glow red as he pulls a Carrionoid off Talia, and the creature goes flying bodily into the air. He pulls her up to her feet as they stumble back.
Roll: 1d10+1 (Super Strength) = 6 Success!
Lewis joins up behind them as they retreat behind the swarm of creatures.
"Well," Talia says, "Things don't look so good."
Lewis stares ahead. "I'd say this is an emergency, wouldn't you?"
Talia nods. "It's time."
As one, the three Odyssey Rangers pull up their sleeves, revealing their Morphers. Each is a silvery oval strapped to their forearm, with a cover and a locking pin.
Using motions they were trained in back in HQ, they rotate the cover and remove the locking pin, and the cover slides open automatically, revealing a button. "Odyssey Ranger Red, go!" Talia cries as she slaps down on the button.
"Odyssey Ranger Yellow, go!" cries Lewis.
"Odyssey Ranger Blue, go!" yells Nico.
Each Ranger receives a vision of standing in the middle of a void filled with stars. Around them, they see the light of the Quantum Tunnel, but this time cut through with electricity rising from their skin. It doesn't feel uncomfortable this time. Rather, this time, it feels...
There is a pulse of connection, as the Rangers become one with the Morphing Grid.
There is a moment of change, as the Rangers cross a threshold as profound as the Quantum Tunnel itself.
There.
Is.
POWER.
And when the surge of energy ends, the Rangers stand.
The Odyssey suits are sleek, reflective, like cloth-of-metal, each in the color of their Ranger designation. The helmets are molded like a racer's helmet, with a visor like an elongated diamond with upswept points, embedded lights on the upper sides, and a speaker box at the mouth. At the arms are bracers, with panels for checking suit function and ports for interfacing with technology. In the center of the chest, a multi-layered sunburst in white-and-Ranger-color radiates. Sturdy boots complete the attire.
"What…" Lewis looks at the suit encasing his hand. He's searching for the words. There aren't any.
"This is…" Nico feels it. Freedom. With this suit, he could do anything. Nothing could stop him.
"Now we're ready." Talia's never taken her eyes off the mission, the mission as she's defined it.
No planet will suffer as Earth has.
Not if the Power Rangers are there.
And she stalks forward, and the predators become prey.
Roll: 1d10+3 (Morphed) = 12. Great Success!
Talia is tough, but she doesn't have martial arts training. It doesn't matter. The Carrionoids, formerly intimidating, are slow, weak, vulnerable. And she is something more. She dodges easily in past a swipe of claws and delivers a punch to one of the Carrionoid's faces. It goes flying backwards, as does the one she turns and kicks in the chest.
Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Boxing) = 6. Success!
Lewis finds his boxing stance, and begins dismantling the Carrionoids with careful blows, not leaving any weak spots for them to attack. Soon, he's cleared a circle around him as the alien creatures learn to keep their distance.
Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Street Fighting) = 10. Great Success! Total Successes 6/3! Combat over! Fantastic Success!
I had set the successes to beat these guys at 3 - but everyone deserves a chance to strut their stuff in the first morph scene, so kept rolling.
Nico is undisciplined, erratic, unpredictable. He leaps, lands body blows, kicks at knees, headbutts, even grabs enemies and tosses them bodily about. He's not even using his mutant powers now - there's so much strength flowing from the Morpher it feels like it would be redundant. The Carrionoids fall before him.
It doesn't take long at all. The Carrioniods are left in twitching piles, and then the monster is before the Rangers.
"Power Rangers?" Harlequin seems taken aback, but rallies. "Excellent! Lord Pluton will give me quite the reward when I bring him your heads!"
"That's not going to happen." Talia's voice burns with determination
"We'll see about that! Gyaaa!" Harlequin slashes forward with two twitching tendrils, snapping them like whips.
Monsters are, naturally, tougher than footsoldiers. Harlequin comes in at DC 9, and he will require five successes to beat!
Talia grabs one of the tentacles and spins with it, pulling the monster off balance. Lewis follows up, running up to plant a haymaker on the monster's mask, but Harlequin throws him away with a contemptuous smack of a gloved hand. Nico, his eyes glowing beneath his helmet, picks up a barrel and tosses it at Harlequin, only to have it smashed back against him.
Talia's Roll: 1d10+3 (Morphed) = 6. Failure! Talia's suit takes 1 Stress! 1 Remaining!
Lewis's Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Boxing) = 14! Great Success! Two Remaining!
Nico's Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Street Fighting) = 7 Failure! Nico's Suit takes 1 Stress! One more hit and he will be forced to de-morph!
Talia's distracted by her team-mate's cries of dismay, and Harlequin seizes the advantage by pulling her in close with his tentacle, wrapping it around her and beginning to squeeze as he struggles. Nico struggles to his feet, but another tentacle lash sends him back down.
Lewis, meanwhile, takes advantage of Harlequin's distraction, and runs up with an uppercut Harlequin that sends him flying backwards. He reels, releasing Talia, and the Rangers regroup.
"Sure would have been nice if Dr. Nzara put any weapons in these things!" Nico gripes.
"We're explorers." Talia says. "We weren't supposed to be fighting!"
"Well, we are now!" Lewis points out.
"Well, we're not going to give up now, are we?" The other two shake their heads. "All right, one more time!"
Talia's Roll: 1d10+3 (Morphed) = 6! Failure! Talia's suit takes 1 Stress! One more hit and she will be forced to de-morph!
Lewis's Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Boxing) = 8! Failure! One more hit and he will be forced to de-morph!
Nico's Roll: 1d10+5 (Morphed + Super Strength + Street Fighting) = 10!
The three Rangers run forward. Harlequin catches Talia and Lewis, but Nico slides under the grasping tendrils of Harlequin and delivers a series of rapid-fire kidney punches to the monster, eyes glowing red, and he staggers back.
"Pfah." Harlequin's voice is dismayed, but he knows he's close to finished, and doesn't fancy dying here today. "Enough of this! You can have this filthy little planet, and those lizards too! But don't think you've seen the last of me!" With that, he hits a jewel on the back of one of his gloves and shoots up into the sky, where he becomes a streak of light.
"Well, that could have gone better." Nico says, and the group de-morphs as one, collapsing to the ground to rest.
---
The Varanians are more than grateful, and shower the Rangers with praise as they offer them a all sorts of rewards. Piecing the story together, Harlequin appeared that day, claiming to be an agent of "Lord Pluton" and demanding they hand over everything of value they owned. Regular weapons and technology had been completely useless against him, bouncing off a personal forcefield that seemed entirely impervious - except to the Rangers.
"It must be the universal bio-electrical field," comes Dr. Nzara's voice through the Ranger's communicators. "It's very powerful, and to be honest, I don't fully understand it. But I'm not surprised it would allow you to fight things that ordinary weapons could not."
"Do you think we might run into more monsters like that?" Lewis asks.
"Anything's possible, Rangers," said the Commander. "We really have no idea what's out there."
"Then we could really use some weapons." Nico reiterates his earlier complaint. "Or really, any sort of gear."
"We'll take it under advisement," the Commander says.
---
MISSION CLEARED
Rewards:
50 Experience for each Ranger!
Talia: 50/100
Lewis: 50/100
Nico: 50/100
Experience levels the Rangers up. Level-ups allow the Rangers to increase their skills and gain special Traits.
+1 Relationship with the Varanians! Increasing relationships with a faction may unlock additional opportunities!
-5 Relationship with Harlequin!
Loot!
1x Carrionoid Parts Obtained! (Counts as a Monster Resource)
+2 Basic Resources (from the Varanian's Rewards)
Ranger Request! Nico has requested the Odyssey Project develop weapons for the Rangers! Fulfilling this request may unlock additional rewards!
--- HQ Phase
The Rangers have taken their first steps outside Earth, and into a world of adventure and danger! Their adventures have revealed various needs and wants that need to be addressed going forward.
Projects:
You gain (4+1 Commander Bonus= 5) units of basic Resources per turn and 1 Rare Resource per turn. Each unit of Resources gives a d10 of progress on a particular project, and certain techs need Rare resources to complete. You may bank 1 unit of Resources per turn, to hold onto more risks Central Command deciding you need less than you're given. Alien resources and other resources acquired on missions do not count towards this limit. Exceeding the target number of a project may have beneficial effects in the result.
You currently have 7 Basic Resources, 1 Rare Resource, and 1 Monster Resource (Counts as Rare). You may trade 2 Basic Resources for 1 Rare.
[] Quantum Field Evaluator - By refining the information you receive from the Quantum Tunnel, you will be able to get more information on the target location. Progress: 0/10. 1 Rare resource required.
[] Expanded Targeting - You will be able to locate a wider variety of Space Time Points, giving you more choices for where to send the Rangers. Progress: 0/20 1 Rare resource required.
[] Scanners - Sometimes information is the ultimate weapon. Develop handheld scanners for the Rangers to use on their travels. Will unlock additional opportunities and rewards on missions. Progress: 0/10.
[] Sidearms - Currently, your Rangers have only their exploration suits, with no weaponry that can be carried through the Quantum Tunnel. Developing some basic weapons powered by the Morphing Grid is well within your capability
-[] Melee: Progress: 0/10. 1 Rare Resource required
-[] Ranged: Progress: 0/15. 1 Rare Resource required.
[] Extra Morpher - A team of three Rangers is really the bare minimum for an effective field team. If one is injured or otherwise unavailable, your expeditions will be critically understaffed. An extra morpher, and an extra Ranger, would help matters. Progress 0/20. Requires 2 Rare Resources.
[] Proving Ground - Your testing facilities for Ranger equipment pretty much involving going into the basement and trying it out. A more sophisticated setup with scanners to evaluate performance, ballistics dummies instead of cardboard cutout targets, and so on might help your future projects. Progress: 0/10.
[] Training Ground - Your Rangers need places to train their combat and other skills. A basic training ground is little more than a fancy gym, but it can make your training actions more effective. Progress: 0/10.
[] Research Facility - While the Project has basic scientific equipment, a dedicated research lab for exploring alien technology will offer benefits to your future analysis and experimentation. Progress: 0/10. Requires 1 Rare Resource.
[] Analyze the Carrionoid Remains - Your Rangers brought back… pieces. They appear to have once been part of the footsoldiers commanded by Harlequin. Dr. Nzara is very interested in what they may reveal about alien life. Progress: 0/5. Requires Carrionoid Parts.
Talia punches one of the swarming creatures, but it doesn't go down. It's… flesh? Is disturbingly pliant to the touch, and it barely acknowledges the blow. The creatures begin harrying her, forcing her back from the square.
Talia's Roll: 1d10+3 (Morphed) = 6! Failure! Talia's suit takes 1 Stress! One more hit and she will be forced to de-morph!
Lewis's Roll: 1d10+4 (Morphed + Boxing) = 8! Failure! One more hit and he will be forced to de-morph!
Nico's Roll: 1d10+5 (Morphed + Super Strength + Street Fighting) = 10!
It's now or never. The final stand off. All of our team members are one-shot, but so is Harlequin....
Will our brave heroes come out of this tantalizingly terrible tentacled turn of events?
Or will the succumb to the sea's witch's serious wrath never to be see again?
True. But it could have gone much worse, especially if Lewis didn't carry with that last Great Success!.
Well, all in all, it was a pretty nice mission. It's a shame that we couldn't have defeated Harlequin before the escape. As a wise man once said, "Now all of China Lord Pluton's army knows you're here."
As a heads-up, you will be able to hustle for additional resources for next turn as part of the Personal phase, along with other choices like arranging training for specific Rangers.
@GAWR You can only hold one unit of Resources right now (not counting weird stuff like alien parts, glowing crystals and so on). As an experienced bureaucrat, Dorsett knows Command will cut your budget if you're not using it.
Just to clarify, each Resource gives a d10 roll, Planquest style. I assume @dhasenan is trying to max out the bonus from overcompletion that I noted in the main post, but if not, yeah, something to know.
[X] Plan: If you want peace...
-[X] Scanners - Sometimes information is the ultimate weapon. Develop handheld scanners for the Rangers to use on their travels. Will unlock additional opportunities and rewards on missions.. Progress: 0/10.
--[X] 1 Basic Resource
-[X] Proving Ground - Your testing facilities for Ranger equipment pretty much involving going into the basement and trying it out. A more sophisticated setup with scanners to evaluate performance, ballistics dummies instead of cardboard cutout targets, and so on might help your future projects. Progress: 0/10.
--[X] 2 Basic Resources
-[X] Training Ground - Your Rangers need places to train their combat and other skills. A basic training ground is little more than a fancy gym, but it can make your training actions more effective. Progress: 0/10
--[X] 2 Basic Resource
-[X] Sidearms - Currently, your Rangers have only their exploration suits, with no weaponry that can be carried through the Quantum Tunnel. Developing some basic weapons powered by the Morphing Grid is well within your capability
--[X] Melee: Progress: 0/10. 1 Rare Resource required
---[X] 1 Rare Resource
---[X] 2 Basic Resources
-[X] Analyze the Carrionoid Remains - Your Rangers brought back… pieces. They appear to have once been part of the footsoldiers commanded by Harlequin. Dr. Nzara is very interested in what they may reveal about alien life. Progress: 0/5. Requires Carrionoid Parts.
--[X] 1 Monster Resource
Just to clarify, each Resource gives a d10 roll, Planquest style. I assume @dhasenan is trying to max out the bonus from overcompletion that I noted in the main post, but if not, yeah, something to know.
[X] Plan: If you want peace...
-[X] Scanners - Sometimes information is the ultimate weapon. Develop handheld scanners for the Rangers to use on their travels. Will unlock additional opportunities and rewards on missions.. Progress: 0/10.
--[X] 1 Basic Resource
-[X] Proving Ground - Your testing facilities for Ranger equipment pretty much involving going into the basement and trying it out. A more sophisticated setup with scanners to evaluate performance, ballistics dummies instead of cardboard cutout targets, and so on might help your future projects. Progress: 0/10.
--[X] 2 Basic Resources
-[X] Training Ground - Your Rangers need places to train their combat and other skills. A basic training ground is little more than a fancy gym, but it can make your training actions more effective. Progress: 0/10
--[X] 2 Basic Resource
-[X] Sidearms - Currently, your Rangers have only their exploration suits, with no weaponry that can be carried through the Quantum Tunnel. Developing some basic weapons powered by the Morphing Grid is well within your capability
--[X] Melee: Progress: 0/10. 1 Rare Resource required
---[X] 1 Rare Resource
---[X] 2 Basic Resources
-[X] Analyze the Carrionoid Remains - Your Rangers brought back… pieces. They appear to have once been part of the footsoldiers commanded by Harlequin. Dr. Nzara is very interested in what they may reveal about alien life. Progress: 0/5. Requires Carrionoid Parts.
--[X] 1 Monster Resource
[X] Plan: More POWER!
-[X] Scanners; 2 Basic Resource
-[X] Training Ground; 2 Basic Resource
-[X] Sidearms
--[X] Ranged; 1 Rare Resource, 3 Basic Resources
-[X] Analyze the Carrionoid Remains; 1 Monster Part
Less Proving Grounds but more resources to be sure of completion of the projects. I want Rangers to have some new equipment when they go out next turn.
Gets Ranged sidearms with probability of 91% and Scanners with 64%
[X] Plan Mighty Morphin Pink
-[X] Training Ground 3 Basic Resources.
-[X] Extra Morpher 3 Basic Resource 1 Rare Resource 1 Monster Resource
The dice RNG gods do not love us, we almost had the whole team go down in this one. We need numbers to protect against being undermaned and stack the odds in our favor against monsters.
[X] Plan Mighty Morphin Pink
-[X] Training Ground 3 Basic Resources.
-[X] Extra Morpher 3 Basic Resource 1 Rare Resource 1 Monster Resource
The dice RNG gods do not love us, we almost had the whole team go down in this one. We need numbers to protect against being undermaned and stack the odds in our favor against monsters.
The dice RNG gods do not love us, we almost had the whole team go down in this one. We need numbers to protect against being undermaned and stack the odds in our favor against monsters.
