[X] A loyal dog or scrappy cat (gets a gas suit for them, name them)
-[X] Erz, the Erzatz Dog. You're pretty sure she was a rat, really, but the gas got to her. Whereas it killed everything else, it appears to have given the rats a longer life.
[X] Improvised homemade armor (Thickness 2 Chestplate and Leggings made of street signs)
[X] Location of valuable salvage.
[X] Lived alone, survived
- [X] Needs to find the exits to every room
- [X] A compulsion to hoard food
- [X] Long routine of checking your gas seals
[X] Luftane based gas fucks with buoyancy, induces constant acid rain and high concentration regions have some buildings or objects floating.
You fasted on your homemade armor you crafted out of street signs and electrical cables to your chest and legs over your suit, rolled the map of something in the mountains your mom had left, you weren't sure what of, into your bag, and helped your dog… rat? Thing? You weren't sure, into her canine gas suit. The green sparkling clouds above the city were pouring out an exceptional deluge of acid today, making some of the broken concrete portions of the buildings surrounding your tower float above the sight lines of the windows. You had to take the sewer to the warehouse, holding Erz in you arms since you had no collar or leash for her, walking past that shade that always begged you for water you helped pass on last summer, past the bunker that collapsed two years ago, taking another shelter with it, and past the drainage crossroads that was always steaming with acid fumes. You didn't want to live here. No one did. But you were somehow more scared of literally anywhere outside of this place than these poisoned sewers and floating broken buildings. You at least knew this place well. You knew how this world works. You had no idea if there was a war still going on outside. Or hell, who was still alive. You heard planes flying above regularly, you weren't the last people on earth, but no one had come to save you, no one had tried a cleanup. You'd spent most of your life wondering why no one had come to try and find you. Didn't much matter, no one would save you five, you had to yourselves.
You popped the manhole cover inside the warehouse and lifted Erz over you into it, and heaved yourself onto the concrete floor. Everyone else was there already, they lived closer, putting the finishing touches on the tank. Its cabin was down on the ground, in a squatting position, waiting to be started. Feuer was loading shells into the tank from the crate you'd opened recently, Schatz was still rehearsing the driving pamphlet. You only had enough fuel for one journey, and the engine could alert shades in the area, so she'd have to wing it once you actually started it up. Keller was checking the boxes of machine guns, and Blick was lying on the top of the tank, motionless. He did that a lot. You could never tell if he was sleeping or just resting.
"Shift change is in fifteen, we need to start it up." You said loud enough for everyone to hear. Anyone who hadn't noticed you looked back toward you. You handed Schatz Erz, giving her a final pet as she gave out a small whimper from having to be separated from you. "Put her in the loader seat, ok? She's a good girl, she won't move."
"Can't wait to give her fresh food for once." She responded, continuing to pet your rat-dog. You could hear her smile through her mask. She stood up and climbed to the driver hatch, slid into it, and made noises like she was clambering around inside. You turned to Keller.
"You checked the ammo? All of it?" You asked her as she locked an ammo box into place inside the MG position.
"Yeah. All of it. I promise." She responded in her raspy voice, touching her neck, smoothing the gas seals of her homemade suit.
"Feuer." You said, turning to your resident gunner.
"Jawohl." They responded, not turning from their work of locking shells into place inside the tank.
"Erz is gonna be your loader today, be nice to her." They puffed through their mask in a dry laugh. "Blick?"
"Ja?" He responded immediately.
"What are you doing?"
"Praying."
"Please do so in your position. It's time to go." At that, he jumped up, slid through the commander hatch, and into his gunner position. You slid down the tank to the crank to start it up, and started to wind it, over, and over, and over again, around the freshly oiled crankshaft, until you heard a couple pops, more, and more, and the engine started with a thunderous boom, filling the warehouse with the sound of a running engine, hydraulics activating and starting to raise the cabin into the air on its legs. You grabbed the ladder and scrambled up the top of the cabin, sliding into the commander's seat, and cocking the LMG. The gas inside the tank was already clearing away into clean, filtered air. You still weren't taking your mask off, but you felt safer with both on. As Schatz started to take you five out, scatting a dramatic opera tune as your metal battering ram tore the front doors of the warehouse off their hinges, you took your tank commander manual from your bag and reviewed the "Advanced Tactics" section one more time for that trick you were planning on using for your great escape.
Pick one:
[ ] Linebreaker Mastery
-[ ] Micromanagement: NPC crew can always use your stats or role flat.
-[ ] Close Encounters: +1 to Peer Out and Peek Out. Can see things in your dead zone when you peer out. Fire out with your sidearm without opening the hatch at -2.
-[ ] Shock and Awe: At full speed toward the enemy, automatically pass keep your cool, deal +1d10 damage on ramming, and enemies roll Tank Terror at disadvantage.
-[ ] On The Way!: Hold 1 per battle. Use to let your gunner shoot twice before the enemy can react.
-[ ] Dynamic Entry: When crashing through terrain to surprise the enemy at knife range, take 20+ forward for attacking them.
[ ] Tank Destroyer Mastery
-[ ] Armor Angling: When hull down, or hull up in your case, gain +1 front armor.
-[ ] They Can't Hit Us From Here!: gain +1 Results to Draw a Bead, and reduce range penalty for shooting by 1.
-[ ] Low Profile: When ambushing, reduce armor of the enemy by 1, or enemy armor thickness by 1.
-[ ] Cheese It!: When reversing from battle, double the deflection shot penalty, even if moving directly away from the action.
-[ ] Vertical Awareness: Unless in the open without the chance to plan, you are completely invisible to aircraft.
[ ] Write in another ground mastery and specific trick if you want.
