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Mammoth Apostate vs the World 1: "Lost in the Mist"

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Smithsguild said:
If you want to deploy troops to attempt to locate whatever fell to earth that is reasonable, it is outside Savannah's sphere of influence (30 mile) and even beyond your current comms range (45 mile) the object is somewhere to the NW 50-75 miles (if Wadely were a current city with its own stats it might fall in their sphere of influence) but your chain of comms is still reliant on soldiers in the field acting as word of mouth 'relays' and not a continuously forwarded signal.

'Apocalypse' did a fly-by, maintaining L.O.E. so there is no 'battlefield' to speak of and being beyond sensor AND comms intel is non-existent on conditions in the potential ground zero impact circle. The uncontrolled electrical output is part of 'Apocalypse's' unique biology and follows him, the local weather is more turbulent than before his passage with cloud to cloud and cloud to ground strikes a possibility as weather patterns try to normalize after being supercharged.

Your gut tells you whatever fell to earth can not be a happy thing, but how serious you treat it is entirely your call. I can tell you this IS NOT your Monster of the week encounter, that is as much info as you'll garner without some sort of intel gathering...
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I'd say we take a risk and go for it. I'd rather not have Apocalypse's spawn running around screwing up the environment further, if that's what this is.
 
Smithsguild said:
If you want to deploy troops to attempt to locate whatever fell to earth that is reasonable, it is outside Savannah's sphere of influence (30 mile) and even beyond your current comms range (45 mile) the object is somewhere to the NW 50-75 miles (if Wadely were a current city with its own stats it might fall in their sphere of influence) but your chain of comms is still reliant on soldiers in the field acting as word of mouth 'relays' and not a continuously forwarded signal.

'Apocalypse' did a fly-by, maintaining L.O.E. so there is no 'battlefield' to speak of and being beyond sensor AND comms intel is non-existent on conditions in the potential ground zero impact circle. The uncontrolled electrical output is part of 'Apocalypse's' unique biology and follows him, the local weather is more turbulent than before his passage with cloud to cloud and cloud to ground strikes a possibility as weather patterns try to normalize after being supercharged.

Your gut tells you whatever fell to earth can not be a happy thing, but how serious you treat it is entirely your call. I can tell you this IS NOT your Monster of the week encounter, that is as much info as you'll garner without some sort of intel gathering...
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I had assumed Apocalypse dropped a Kaiju on our area, Deep Strike style. Whatever it is, we need to get a good look at it ASAP just to make sure we don't need to destroy it. The fastest things we have are the Strike Eagles and the Spooky II at 20 units/turn, and since I want to keep the Strike Eagles under wraps until we strike (heh) Charleston, so I guess we're sending the Spooky t check out the spooky thing. We can also send the Little Birds, since they're the second fastest at 12 units/turn.
 
Highwind said:
I had assumed Apocalypse dropped a Kaiju on our area, Deep Strike style. Whatever it is, we need to get a good look at it ASAP just to make sure we don't need to destroy it. The fastest things we have are the Strike Eagles and the Spooky II at 20 units/turn, and since I want to keep the Strike Eagles under wraps until we strike (heh) Charleston, so I guess we're sending the Spooky t check out the spooky thing. We can also send the Little Birds, since they're the second fastest at 12 units/turn.
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Combat variant Little Birds? If so we'll need a payload generated for all 4 hard points and Council Consensus (4 vote)
 
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The Little Birds move 1200 meters per turn, and I think each combat turn equals around 3 seconds of real time, but let's say it's 5 seconds just to be on the safe side. That's 240 m/s. The object is at most 70 miles away, which is about 112 kilometers the Little Birds can cover that distance in under 8 minutes, while the Spooky II can do it in under 5 minutes.

Let's send the Spooky ahead to check with sensors while the combat-variant Little Birds follow behind. I can't make the loadout for them right now, but I'll be able to do it tonight of someone else doesn't by then.
 
I believe Smithsguild told me 15 seconds to a combat turn.

Mv 4 humvee, x4 turns @ minute X 60 minutes = 960 units an hour = 96 kph or 60 mph.

Not sure where that puts Spooky or Little Birds but he's anal about trying to accurately depict the speeds.
 
BadKatt85 said:
I believe Smithsguild told me 15 seconds to a combat turn.

Mv 4 humvee, x4 turns @ minute X 60 minutes = 960 units an hour = 96 kph or 60 mph.

Not sure where that puts Spooky or Little Birds but he's anal about trying to accurately depict the speeds.
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That just means we take three times longer than I calculated, which doesn't change much in the way of planning.

[X] Send the Spooky II to find whatever it was Apocalypse dropped. The Combat Variant Little Birds will follow the same flight path to provide more firepower and extra eyes in the sky.
-[x] Little Birds will deploy with three pods of Hellfires Missiles and one pod of Thermite Rockets in their hardpoints.
 
BadKatt85 said:
I believe Smithsguild told me 15 seconds to a combat turn.

Mv 4 humvee, x4 turns @ minute X 60 minutes = 960 units an hour = 96 kph or 60 mph.

Not sure where that puts Spooky or Little Birds but he's anal about trying to accurately depict the speeds.
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Katt has the scale right, I see I need to add a new stat line to conv forces sheet... KPH/MPH ;)

edits on conv sheet done.
edits on Jaegers done as well.
ditto on Superheavies.
 
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(OOC) And with 5 votes in we are off and running.

As another aspect of the game, I'm thinking of introducing a new mechanic. But I promised any such changes would be ran by you the players first.

As you know most of the vehicles listed are capable of achieving speeds considerably higher than those listed.

My train of thought was to list their operational 'safe' speed (example: humvee 60 mph) but in extremes are -capable- of moving much faster with some inherent risk. I'm considering adding a 'Flanking Speed' that adds = +50% mv but at a cumulative risk of "Bad Shit" per turn. (Example: A humvee can run mv 6 [90 mph] but needs a d10 rolled by me off camera, odds of "bad shit" are terrain/environment dependant and get worse turn to turn.)

90 mph down a cleared highway is relatively safe, 90 cross country? Not so much. Also any pit crew can tell you when an engine is pushed to the limits is when minor problems grow to large ones. Large ones, quickly go catastrophic...

I'll be tinkering, in the background next little bit with narrative use. (I'll mitigate any horrid consequences off camera.)

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Macon launches the AC-130U "Spooky II" Gunship and Savannah does the Combat Variant 'Little Birds'; they split the difference to gain a shared flight path with some creative flight planning by LOCCENT. Little birds are red lining their engines(effective mv 18) trying to minimize the lag of their arrival behind Spooky.

The distances involved are not great, and it is only a moment or two before the Spooky's sensor bubble bites into the probable ground zero impact circle.
( Someone please roll 1d10 +2 Spooky's sensor stat)
 
(OOC)

I'm also thinking Jaeger's (and Kaiju) could have their own version of flanking speed for non-combat usage. A non-combat charge, often times a charge can result in greater than max speed movement but at the risk of coming up short of their normal max run move. Blindly charging forward you're not as aware of footing and could trip, stumble, or even fall. Thoughts would be appreciated on the whole 'flanking speed' movement idea.
 
Smithsguild said:
(OOC)

I'm also thinking Jaeger's (and Kaiju) could have their own version of flanking speed for non-combat usage. A non-combat charge, often times a charge can result in greater than max speed movement but at the risk of coming up short of their normal max run move. Blindly charging forward you're not as aware of footing and could trip, stumble, or even fall. Thoughts would be appreciated on the whole 'flanking speed' movement idea.
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A character may run at flanking speed for up to (Tou/2) turns. Afterwards, they must pass a TN 5 test on a flat 1d10 to keep running at flanking speed. The TN will increase by 1 for every succesful roll. A failure will inflict a temporary -1 Agi penalty and a Nat 1 will inflict the penalty and knock you prone.

How does that sound?
 
Highwind said:
A character may run at flanking speed for up to (Tou/2) turns. Afterwards, they must pass a TN 5 test on a flat 1d10 to keep running at flanking speed. The TN will increase by 1 for every successful roll. A failure will inflict a temporary -1 Agi penalty and a Nat 1 will inflict the penalty and knock you prone.

How does that sound?
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I personally love it. Toughness needs some love. A failure will inflict a temporary -1 Agi penalty (temp agi penalty last 1 turn per point you miss your target of 5).
 
(OOC) Sensor Roll of 4 modified.

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The 'Spooky II' does get an indistinct return as if the impact point were not a singular point, but more of a 'splash' with 10-12 droplets cast away.

There -is- an area giving off some elevated antiverse radiation with minor Neuatopic radiation spikes, the cast off 'droplets' are even weaker mirrors of the splash point. The droplets soon fade completely from your sensors as if they were no more than sensor ghosts.

Spooky closes to station keeping high above the 'splash' point circling overhead the combined broadside guns pointing towards ground zero. Optics and sensors play again across the source of the radiation hidden in a pine forest below (Roll again 1d10 +2 sensor stat, +1 for continuous close range scrutiny) .

Combat Little Birds will arrive on scene (immediately after you obtain this rolls sensor data), flying much lower as they cannot match the service ceiling of 'Spooky II'.
 
Smithsguild said:
(OOC) Sensor Roll of 4 modified.

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The 'Spooky II' does get an indistinct return as if the impact point were not a singular point, but more of a 'splash' with 10-12 droplets cast away.

There -is- an area giving off some elevated antiverse radiation with minor Neuatopic radiation spikes, the cast off 'droplets' are even weaker mirrors of the splash point. The droplets soon fade completely from your sensors as if they were no more than sensor ghosts.

Spooky closes to station keeping high above the 'splash' point circling overhead the combined broadside guns pointing towards ground zero. Optics and sensors play again across the source of the radiation hidden in a pine forest below (Roll again 1d10 +2 sensor stat, +1 for continuous close range scrutiny) .

Combat Little Birds will arrive on scene (immediately after you obtain this rolls sensor data), flying much lower as they cannot match the service ceiling of 'Spooky II'.
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Sure.

Edit: Well, at least it's higher than the last total.
Nixeu threw 1 10-faced dice. Reason: See anything? (+3) Total: 2
2 2
 
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The sensors finally spot the impact point, it glows at temperatures that exceed water's boiling point when viewed by the 'Spooky's' thermal sensors, and despite it having fallen from near earth orbit and having struck at critical velocity it produced no crater.

The impact point is covered in a sickly steamy goo reminiscent of Jello brought to an instant boil, 10 meters high at the highest point, puddling outwards over a 3 unit by 3 unit square and contains multiple Volkswagen size ovoids. The jell must have served as a heat shield and then a colloidal mass stiffening upon impact, shielding their cargo.

Jets of the boiling jell have sprayed outward as if 'droplets' were ejected explosively outward on impact; indicating a high probability other ovoids were scattered to the four winds.

As the Little Birds actually put eyes on the scene, they are taken aback. An ovoid shudders and cracks only to disgorge a beast that leaps to the air.
Of all the creatures in mans imaginings it is most like the dragons of Arthurian legend (that is if dragons sported bio-organic jet thrusters embedded in their wings).

Valstrax Hatchling - Cat 0 winged horror
Blame it on Highwind for exposing me to a video & Monster Hunter for this ;)
So far the airborne specimen is the only obvious threat/target, but below the remaining half dozen eggs begin to weakly rock and wriggle, their 'births' will surely occur shortly.

Spooky can split its 4 dice worth of Massed Fire Broadside to target 2 targets within a km of each other split and roll 4x 1d10

, and its nose and tail point defense vulcans may each target a separate target 1d10 each, hits on a 5+. (4 possible threats dealt with.)

Each Little Bird may target one target. Choose Hellfires 1d10+1, Hits on 5+ OR Thermite rocket 1d10, hits on a 4+

You have 7 targets to choose from 1 flyer & 6 unhatched eggs. The faster these are dealt with more likely the eggs that splashed away can be located and dealt with... The clock is your biggest enemy.
 
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Smithsguild said:
As the Little Birds actually put eyes on the scene, they are taken aback. An ovoid shudders and cracks only to disgorge a beast that leaps to the air.
Of all the creatures in mans imaginings it is most like the dragons of Arthurian legend (that is if dragons sported bio-organic jet thrusters embedded in their wings).

Valstrax Hatchling - Cat 0 winged horror
Blame it on Highwind for exposing me to a video & Monster Hunter for this ;)
So far the airborne specimen is the only obvious threat/target, but below the remaining half dozen eggs begin to weakly rock and wriggle, their 'births' will surely occur shortly.
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...These f*ckers better not have missiles, like in the game. Yeah, we need to take these guys out now, before they start flying around at supersonic speeds and screwing things up. Not that I'm against capturing one, if we can manage it. An organic jet engine powered by Neutope (presumably, that's replacing the Dragon element energy in the Valstrax's biology) sounds like something very worth studying.

My instincts are telling me to strike before they hatch. Hopefully, they will actually be more vulnerable if hit while still in the shell, and it won't just hatch them faster. That said, with only two units present and time working against us, keeping the active one off our asses will also be important...decisions, decisions.

Edit: Wait, the hell am I talking about? Eggs are stationary. These buggers are probably really hard to hit while on the wing, since high movement tends to mean "harder to hit" on these scales. So, yeah, hitting the eggs hard sounds like a good plan, maybe while hitting the guy on the wing with a broadside at the same time.
 
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How many of the 4 broadside dice do you want to devote to the flyer? (You may split it anyway you like between 2 targets.)

Nixeu said:
That said, with only two units present.
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Between Spooky being able to independently target 4 targets (2 MFB, nose vulcan, tail vulcan), and 2 combat variant little birds, I'm counting 3 friendlies and ones a beast.
 
Wait, if I'm not mistaken when you received the Combat Variant Little Birds, weren't the 'Mighty Merlin's' re-assigned to one?
 
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