CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Didn't we take two levels in tactics with that plan?
Power Rangers: Quantum Odyssey - HQ Quest
- Thread starter KreenWarrior
- Start date
...so you did!
Fixed.
Also, vote looks like you guys are headed to a jungle!
Fixed.
Also, vote looks like you guys are headed to a jungle!
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We should definitely level up Talia's ecology skill next. We'll probably be encountering wayyyy weirder worlds after this set.
Jungle Trouble
[X] [Explore] STP A-43 - You see dense vegetation and occasional flickers of movement.
The Rangers emerge from the portal into a world of green.
They've seen open plant-life before on their expedition to Varania, but it's a world of difference between the pastoral, controlled fields of the farming communities they passed through and this wanton abundance. Large, twisted trees snake their way upward, reaching towards the nearly-unseen sky. Smaller plants grow on whatever light filters from above, and green vines festoon the branches in unknown mutualistic relationships. Exotic flowers, colorful fungi and unknown fruits bedeck the greenery, lending their perfumes to the thick smell of animal life and organic matter.
Animals, too, are everywhere. The buzz of insects and the cries of birds form a cacophonous symphony, and the rustling of underbrush and small darting glimpses promise hidden life at every turn.
Nico and Lewis are similarly awestruck. "What… what is this place?
"It's a jungle," Talia breathes. She turns in place, taking it all in. "A real jungle. I never thought I'd see one."
She turns serious for a moment. "We're going to sample everything. But be careful. Plants and animals here might be poisonous or dangerous."
Talia rolls: 1d10+4 (Scanners, Ecology) = 13. Great Success!
1 Rare Resource obtained! Alien Plants Obtained!
The Rangers spend hours collecting samples of plants and fungi to store in their Morphers and take pictures of everything they can find within walking distance of the arrival site. Talia makes excited noises over the chemical properties of certain plants, and soon the Rangers are munching on a some sort of vine-grown fruit that looks like a web of interwoven tubes, the flesh of which is delightfully sweet.
"There's nothing like food grown in real soil." Talia remarks, after finishing most of the fruit, planning to store the rest away for later.
She's interrupted by a small, chittering thing. One that would look like a monkey were it not for the extra pair of arms and a crest, that peers covetuously at the fruit from a hiding place in a nearby tree trunk.
Nico eyes her. "How would you know?"
Lewis shrugs. "It's an open secret that the Reclaimers sneak in 'unapproved' seeds when they do clean-up, grow some of their own food." He looks at Talia. "Of course, there's really no difference between hydroponically grown vegetables and real. Chemically, they're the same."
Talia shakes her head. "You can analyze it all you want. But there's something about real sun, real air, real Earth. You can't replace it." She takes the remainder of the fruit and offers it to the small creature, which creeps curiously closer. She stands stalk-still as it climbs down the tree trunk a few paces, then lashes out with its tail to capture the fruit, then retreats up into the tree to finish its prize.
Lewis turns to Nico. "What do you think?"
Nico hunches down a little. "You think I was swimming in real food? It was mostly soy and hydroveg for me."
Lewis arches a brow. "Didn't you work at the black market?"
"I worked there." Nico hunched a little. "The old man was strict, and no one was giving out free samples. Anyways, the job was… new. I did other things before that."
Talia looks at Nico softly, then decides to change the subject. "Well, we should explore a bit more around here. The plantlife is nice, but there must be more to see."
Traveling through the jungle turns out to be a struggle. The foliage, so fascinating to examine before, is a struggle to get through. Though the Rangers are carrying basic survival gear, including knives, they're no substitute for a real machete to clear a path. The Rangers think longingly of their guns and sabers, but no it's best to save them for a real emergency.
Talia rolls: 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 2. Critical Failure!
Lewis rolls: 1d10 = 3. Failure! Lewis takes a level of exhaustion and will be at -1 until he can rest and recover.
Nico rolls: 1d10 = 4. Success!
The heat is oppressive. Although they each have a couple canteens, and are in no real danger of running out of supplies, the Rangers find themselves sweating, dirty, and generally ill-tempered.
"What are we looking for, anyways?" Nico asks. He's not exactly panting, but he's drooped lower than usual and takes a brief moment to lean against a tree, as Talia pushes on ahead.
"Some sort of landmark," Talia calls back. "I'd love to find higher ground if we can, maybe survey the area."
Lewis wipes sweat from his brow. With the humidity here, it's not like he's getting much cooling from sweat. "Sounds good, but can we take a break? I'm dying here."
No reply comes from ahead.
Lewis laughs. "Come on, Red Ranger. I'm just asking for a few minutes."
There is no answer from Talia, only the hum of insects and a haunting call from some sort of flying creature far above.
Lewis and Nico exchange looks, then both push forward, urgency quickening their stride.
A little farther along the trail, they come across a clearing, the ground covered in leaves and twisting vines. Dominating one corner of the clearing is a tall plant covered in vines with massive blossoms, some the size of humans.
It's only a few seconds before Lewis notes a thumping from one of the blossoms, which seems to have closed shut. And muffled yelling, from a distinctive voice.
Lewis's eyes also spot shards of bone underneath the trunk of the tree, conspicuously underneath some of the opened blossoms.
Nico sees it too, and nearly runs forward. "Talia!" Lewis thrusts a hand in front of his chest. "No! We don't know what defenses this plant might have! It already caught Talia!"
"We can't just leave her!" Nico is nearly ready to thrust Lewis aside.
"No." Lewis's eyes are steely. "We need a plan. We'll…"
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
[x] "Use our blasters to kill the plant. It ought to let her go then." (Consumes Nico's and Lewis's blasters for the mission."
[x] "Morph and try to bust her out."
[x] Write-in.
The Rangers emerge from the portal into a world of green.
They've seen open plant-life before on their expedition to Varania, but it's a world of difference between the pastoral, controlled fields of the farming communities they passed through and this wanton abundance. Large, twisted trees snake their way upward, reaching towards the nearly-unseen sky. Smaller plants grow on whatever light filters from above, and green vines festoon the branches in unknown mutualistic relationships. Exotic flowers, colorful fungi and unknown fruits bedeck the greenery, lending their perfumes to the thick smell of animal life and organic matter.
Animals, too, are everywhere. The buzz of insects and the cries of birds form a cacophonous symphony, and the rustling of underbrush and small darting glimpses promise hidden life at every turn.
Nico and Lewis are similarly awestruck. "What… what is this place?
"It's a jungle," Talia breathes. She turns in place, taking it all in. "A real jungle. I never thought I'd see one."
She turns serious for a moment. "We're going to sample everything. But be careful. Plants and animals here might be poisonous or dangerous."
Talia rolls: 1d10+4 (Scanners, Ecology) = 13. Great Success!
1 Rare Resource obtained! Alien Plants Obtained!
The Rangers spend hours collecting samples of plants and fungi to store in their Morphers and take pictures of everything they can find within walking distance of the arrival site. Talia makes excited noises over the chemical properties of certain plants, and soon the Rangers are munching on a some sort of vine-grown fruit that looks like a web of interwoven tubes, the flesh of which is delightfully sweet.
"There's nothing like food grown in real soil." Talia remarks, after finishing most of the fruit, planning to store the rest away for later.
She's interrupted by a small, chittering thing. One that would look like a monkey were it not for the extra pair of arms and a crest, that peers covetuously at the fruit from a hiding place in a nearby tree trunk.
Nico eyes her. "How would you know?"
Lewis shrugs. "It's an open secret that the Reclaimers sneak in 'unapproved' seeds when they do clean-up, grow some of their own food." He looks at Talia. "Of course, there's really no difference between hydroponically grown vegetables and real. Chemically, they're the same."
Talia shakes her head. "You can analyze it all you want. But there's something about real sun, real air, real Earth. You can't replace it." She takes the remainder of the fruit and offers it to the small creature, which creeps curiously closer. She stands stalk-still as it climbs down the tree trunk a few paces, then lashes out with its tail to capture the fruit, then retreats up into the tree to finish its prize.
Lewis turns to Nico. "What do you think?"
Nico hunches down a little. "You think I was swimming in real food? It was mostly soy and hydroveg for me."
Lewis arches a brow. "Didn't you work at the black market?"
"I worked there." Nico hunched a little. "The old man was strict, and no one was giving out free samples. Anyways, the job was… new. I did other things before that."
Talia looks at Nico softly, then decides to change the subject. "Well, we should explore a bit more around here. The plantlife is nice, but there must be more to see."
Traveling through the jungle turns out to be a struggle. The foliage, so fascinating to examine before, is a struggle to get through. Though the Rangers are carrying basic survival gear, including knives, they're no substitute for a real machete to clear a path. The Rangers think longingly of their guns and sabers, but no it's best to save them for a real emergency.
Talia rolls: 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 2. Critical Failure!
Lewis rolls: 1d10 = 3. Failure! Lewis takes a level of exhaustion and will be at -1 until he can rest and recover.
Nico rolls: 1d10 = 4. Success!
The heat is oppressive. Although they each have a couple canteens, and are in no real danger of running out of supplies, the Rangers find themselves sweating, dirty, and generally ill-tempered.
"What are we looking for, anyways?" Nico asks. He's not exactly panting, but he's drooped lower than usual and takes a brief moment to lean against a tree, as Talia pushes on ahead.
"Some sort of landmark," Talia calls back. "I'd love to find higher ground if we can, maybe survey the area."
Lewis wipes sweat from his brow. With the humidity here, it's not like he's getting much cooling from sweat. "Sounds good, but can we take a break? I'm dying here."
No reply comes from ahead.
Lewis laughs. "Come on, Red Ranger. I'm just asking for a few minutes."
There is no answer from Talia, only the hum of insects and a haunting call from some sort of flying creature far above.
Lewis and Nico exchange looks, then both push forward, urgency quickening their stride.
A little farther along the trail, they come across a clearing, the ground covered in leaves and twisting vines. Dominating one corner of the clearing is a tall plant covered in vines with massive blossoms, some the size of humans.
It's only a few seconds before Lewis notes a thumping from one of the blossoms, which seems to have closed shut. And muffled yelling, from a distinctive voice.
Lewis's eyes also spot shards of bone underneath the trunk of the tree, conspicuously underneath some of the opened blossoms.
Nico sees it too, and nearly runs forward. "Talia!" Lewis thrusts a hand in front of his chest. "No! We don't know what defenses this plant might have! It already caught Talia!"
"We can't just leave her!" Nico is nearly ready to thrust Lewis aside.
"No." Lewis's eyes are steely. "We need a plan. We'll…"
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
[x] "Use our blasters to kill the plant. It ought to let her go then." (Consumes Nico's and Lewis's blasters for the mission."
[x] "Morph and try to bust her out."
[x] Write-in.
So, the dice just love making bad things happen to Talia. It's a good thing she's tough, because she cannot catch a break. Least this time, it wasn't her being reckless, just unlucky!
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
@KreenWarrior maybe it time for you to change your dice program?
@KreenWarrior maybe it time for you to change your dice program?
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] "Morph and try to bust her out."
Talia has the worst luck lmao
Talia has the worst luck lmao
Last edited:
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
*grumble grumble* And people called me dumb when I wanted Lewis and Talia to switch roles, just for a mission! Now look where it's got us, stuck in jurassic park with some weird carnivorous plants. *grumbling and grumbles*
[x] "Morph and try to bust her out."
I don't want to waste the blasters, but this plan(t) is too suspicious.
[x] "Morph and try to bust her out."
I don't want to waste the blasters, but this plan(t) is too suspicious.
Last edited:
WhoTheHeckity
But no one ever asks HowTheHeckity
- Location
- Murica 🦅
[X]"Morph and try to bust her out."
- Location
- New England
Freaking giant venus flytraps.
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
Let's see if we can take care of this without a fireworks show first.
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
Let's see if we can take care of this without a fireworks show first.
KnightDisciple
Brotherhood. Unity. Peace.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
[X] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
Ave Anathema
Ave Imperator
- Location
- Jacksonville Illinois
[X] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
dhasenan
always lowercase
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
Oh no. Seriously, did nobody take basic xenobiology? Do not eat stuff from strange worlds until it's been thoroughly analyzed.
Oh no. Seriously, did nobody take basic xenobiology? Do not eat stuff from strange worlds until it's been thoroughly analyzed.
[x] "Morph and try to bust her out."
Jungle Trouble Part 2
JUNGLE TROUBLE, PART 2
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
"We're going to go in carefully and try to avoid getting caught ourselves, then we can cut her free." Lewis stares at the plant.
Lewis rolls: 1d10 -1 = 8. Great Success! No roll needed to approach the plant safely!
Lewis studies the scene carefully. The main trunk of the plant seems to be covered by vines (perhaps parasitic?), and from the vines grow the oversized buds that seem to have trapped Talia. The vines seem not only to enwrap the trunk, but extend throughout the clearing, becoming rootlike on the forest floor.
On a hunch, Lewis gets down on one knee, examining the 'roots' closely.
Up close, he sees a layer of fine, almost fur-like hairs.
He rises. "Talia would know more, but I think the roots are what triggers it. Step very carefully."
Lewis and Nico pick their way carefully across the web of roots, all the time their eyes on the bud enclosing Talia. From the struggling motions, she's still alive, but a chill creeps into their spines because there's no real way to tell.
Talia Rolls: 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 8. Success!
Upon arriving at the bud, Lewis and Nico each find an angle from which to work with their survival knives, cutting at the base of the bud.
Lewis rolls: 1d10 = 2. Failure!
Nico rolls: 1d10+2 (Super Strength) = 11. Great Success!
Lewis finds the work slow going, the woody structure of the plant obstructing his efforts as his knife gets gummed up by some sort of unpleasant sap or ichor that flows once he manages to cut into it.
Nico, however, breathes in, and lets his eyes glow as he urgently saws with superhuman force. The anger builds up in him, as it always does, but he pushes it down, as he always does, resisting the urge to hack and slash and simply cut into the thing.
Within a few minutes, the bulb lets out a disturbing hiss, as if air was being let out of it, and the petals go limp.
Talia slides out, almost hitting the ground, before Nico catches her in his arms. She's covered in some sort of fluid, but her chest is rising and falling, and she opens her eyes and looks up at Nico, a bit bleary-eyed. "Hey."
Nico blushes slightly. "We, uh, we rescued you."
"Y-yeah. Thanks! I can't believe it caught me. I swear, I was trying to be careful this time."
Lewis shook his head. "At this point I might just believe that you're cursed."
Talia laughed slightly, but still looks a little shaken. "Uh, can we get out of here?"
"Yeah." Nico sets her down very carefully. "Just watch where you step."
The three manage to make it out of the vegetable mine-field. After the danger is cleared, Talia looks down at her clothes, sodden with juice. "Alright. I need a bath. Now." She pauses. "I think I heard running water, before my… adventure. Let's go."
---
Indeed, it's not a far trek before the group stumbles upon Talia's promised river. It's about fifteen feet across, and not particularly deep, running swiftly around rocks and logs. Insects buzz across its surface, and the group sees something like a frog with wings launch itself from treetop into the river, seeking after some aquatic prize.
The group breaks out the scanners again, taking pictures. Talia takes several samples of water, being careful not to get any closer to the edge of the water than she needs to in order to fill her sample vials.
Talia Rolls: 1d10+4 (Ecology + Scanners) = 7. Success!
"There's something unusual in the water here," Talia says. "I'm getting some sort of faint energy readings. It's… not dissimilar to the Morphing Grid, actually."
Lewis asks, "What does that mean? Is it safe to drink?"
Talia pauses. "I wouldn't drink it until it's boiled, but I don't see anything too crazy in it. But I think maybe we should go up-river." She stares wistfully at the water, which is obviously full of algae, possibly fish, and unknown dangers. "I guess no bath for now."
Talia rolls 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 8. Great success!
Lewis rolls 1d10-1 (Fatigue) = 4. Success!
Nico rolls 1d10 = 4. Success!
Hiking upriver is oddly pleasant. Maybe something about the running water cools the air, because the jungle seems less oppressive as they go. At the least, the path is less obstructed by vegetation along the banks, and there are endless sights of strange animals to distract the Rangers from the tedium of the trek.
Eventually, the river widens further, and the Rangers see brighter sunlight. The vegetation begins to thin as they pass, and the trees fade to shrubs at some unknown signal.
Beyond the thick jungle lies a large lake, laying in a depression around which green hills rise into the misty air. The waters seem cleaner than the river in the jungle, a serene blue, though tinted almost purple in its depths.
Around the lake are animals of all sizes and descriptions. Everything from small furred snakes that slither up to lap from the water, to reptiles the size of elephants that are covered in armored plates. There is a sense of peace and serenity here. Creatures with fangs designed to rip and devour flesh gently jostle for space with beasts bearing defensive spines and molars for the grinding of vegetation, but both reach the water's edge unmolested. Small flying creatures dart among the larger beasts, picking off parasites. Aquatic animals leap from the water, snatching insects or simply seeming to enjoy the sunlight.
In the center of the lake is an island, dominated by a vast tree with purplish leaves that spreads up and out, as tall as the trees in the junger, but far broader. Though distant, the Rangers can see a faint glow coming from its boughs, though they can tell little more from this distance.
The Rangers pass along the banks of the lake, taking in the sights. All of them are struck by the sheer richness of life on this planet, so different from the sterility of the Arcologies or, for Talia, the blasted landscape of Earth itself.
Talia rolls: 1d10 = 8. Success.
Lewis rolls: 1d10-1 = 5 Failure.
Nico rolls: 4. Failure.
Talia pauses at the edge of the lake. Small chittering rodent-like beings gather at her sides, biting off stems of aquatic plants and taking their prizes back to their lairs.
She stares at the tree. There is something… magnetic, about the dim glow she can see. In the evening, it must be spectacular. Some sort of bioluminescence?
On a hunch, she takes out her scanner.
Yes. The tree is emitting the energy signature she was getting earlier. Or maybe it's just concentrated there? Either way, she feels something from it. A feeling of warmth in her mind, speaking of welcome, and peace, and oneness.
"Do you feel that?" She asks.
"Feel what?" Lewis asks. Nico also looks perplexed.
Before she can explain further, the peace of the lake is broken. A noise like a thundercrack rings out, and there is a shrill cry, as a great beast like a slender lizard the size of a bus, covered with rainbow feathers, cries and shakes, as the other animals of the lake scatter in fear.
A spear sticks out of its side, and Talia can see blood, and a chain extending up onto a hill overlooking the lake. There, a creature sits on some sort of two-wheeled vehicle, which belches black-and-yellow smoke into the air from several exhaust ports. It's humanoid, about seven feet tall, with a cruel, elongated, weasel-like face and yellowed eyes, wearing a thick black trenchcoat covered with weaponry and a metal helmet.
It's holding something like an oversized crossbow, which it clips onto its vehicle. A crank engages and the creature from the lake cries out in pain and sorrow as it is dragged towards the hunter. Animals flee from the lake, trumpeting their distress.
What do the Rangers do?
[ ] Write-in:
[x] "Go in carefully, try to avoid triggering anything, and cut her free with our knives."
"We're going to go in carefully and try to avoid getting caught ourselves, then we can cut her free." Lewis stares at the plant.
Lewis rolls: 1d10 -1 = 8. Great Success! No roll needed to approach the plant safely!
Lewis studies the scene carefully. The main trunk of the plant seems to be covered by vines (perhaps parasitic?), and from the vines grow the oversized buds that seem to have trapped Talia. The vines seem not only to enwrap the trunk, but extend throughout the clearing, becoming rootlike on the forest floor.
On a hunch, Lewis gets down on one knee, examining the 'roots' closely.
Up close, he sees a layer of fine, almost fur-like hairs.
He rises. "Talia would know more, but I think the roots are what triggers it. Step very carefully."
Lewis and Nico pick their way carefully across the web of roots, all the time their eyes on the bud enclosing Talia. From the struggling motions, she's still alive, but a chill creeps into their spines because there's no real way to tell.
Talia Rolls: 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 8. Success!
Upon arriving at the bud, Lewis and Nico each find an angle from which to work with their survival knives, cutting at the base of the bud.
Lewis rolls: 1d10 = 2. Failure!
Nico rolls: 1d10+2 (Super Strength) = 11. Great Success!
Lewis finds the work slow going, the woody structure of the plant obstructing his efforts as his knife gets gummed up by some sort of unpleasant sap or ichor that flows once he manages to cut into it.
Nico, however, breathes in, and lets his eyes glow as he urgently saws with superhuman force. The anger builds up in him, as it always does, but he pushes it down, as he always does, resisting the urge to hack and slash and simply cut into the thing.
Within a few minutes, the bulb lets out a disturbing hiss, as if air was being let out of it, and the petals go limp.
Talia slides out, almost hitting the ground, before Nico catches her in his arms. She's covered in some sort of fluid, but her chest is rising and falling, and she opens her eyes and looks up at Nico, a bit bleary-eyed. "Hey."
Nico blushes slightly. "We, uh, we rescued you."
"Y-yeah. Thanks! I can't believe it caught me. I swear, I was trying to be careful this time."
Lewis shook his head. "At this point I might just believe that you're cursed."
Talia laughed slightly, but still looks a little shaken. "Uh, can we get out of here?"
"Yeah." Nico sets her down very carefully. "Just watch where you step."
The three manage to make it out of the vegetable mine-field. After the danger is cleared, Talia looks down at her clothes, sodden with juice. "Alright. I need a bath. Now." She pauses. "I think I heard running water, before my… adventure. Let's go."
---
Indeed, it's not a far trek before the group stumbles upon Talia's promised river. It's about fifteen feet across, and not particularly deep, running swiftly around rocks and logs. Insects buzz across its surface, and the group sees something like a frog with wings launch itself from treetop into the river, seeking after some aquatic prize.
The group breaks out the scanners again, taking pictures. Talia takes several samples of water, being careful not to get any closer to the edge of the water than she needs to in order to fill her sample vials.
Talia Rolls: 1d10+4 (Ecology + Scanners) = 7. Success!
"There's something unusual in the water here," Talia says. "I'm getting some sort of faint energy readings. It's… not dissimilar to the Morphing Grid, actually."
Lewis asks, "What does that mean? Is it safe to drink?"
Talia pauses. "I wouldn't drink it until it's boiled, but I don't see anything too crazy in it. But I think maybe we should go up-river." She stares wistfully at the water, which is obviously full of algae, possibly fish, and unknown dangers. "I guess no bath for now."
Talia rolls 1d10+1 (Endurance) = 8. Great success!
Lewis rolls 1d10-1 (Fatigue) = 4. Success!
Nico rolls 1d10 = 4. Success!
Hiking upriver is oddly pleasant. Maybe something about the running water cools the air, because the jungle seems less oppressive as they go. At the least, the path is less obstructed by vegetation along the banks, and there are endless sights of strange animals to distract the Rangers from the tedium of the trek.
Eventually, the river widens further, and the Rangers see brighter sunlight. The vegetation begins to thin as they pass, and the trees fade to shrubs at some unknown signal.
Beyond the thick jungle lies a large lake, laying in a depression around which green hills rise into the misty air. The waters seem cleaner than the river in the jungle, a serene blue, though tinted almost purple in its depths.
Around the lake are animals of all sizes and descriptions. Everything from small furred snakes that slither up to lap from the water, to reptiles the size of elephants that are covered in armored plates. There is a sense of peace and serenity here. Creatures with fangs designed to rip and devour flesh gently jostle for space with beasts bearing defensive spines and molars for the grinding of vegetation, but both reach the water's edge unmolested. Small flying creatures dart among the larger beasts, picking off parasites. Aquatic animals leap from the water, snatching insects or simply seeming to enjoy the sunlight.
In the center of the lake is an island, dominated by a vast tree with purplish leaves that spreads up and out, as tall as the trees in the junger, but far broader. Though distant, the Rangers can see a faint glow coming from its boughs, though they can tell little more from this distance.
The Rangers pass along the banks of the lake, taking in the sights. All of them are struck by the sheer richness of life on this planet, so different from the sterility of the Arcologies or, for Talia, the blasted landscape of Earth itself.
Talia rolls: 1d10 = 8. Success.
Lewis rolls: 1d10-1 = 5 Failure.
Nico rolls: 4. Failure.
Talia pauses at the edge of the lake. Small chittering rodent-like beings gather at her sides, biting off stems of aquatic plants and taking their prizes back to their lairs.
She stares at the tree. There is something… magnetic, about the dim glow she can see. In the evening, it must be spectacular. Some sort of bioluminescence?
On a hunch, she takes out her scanner.
Yes. The tree is emitting the energy signature she was getting earlier. Or maybe it's just concentrated there? Either way, she feels something from it. A feeling of warmth in her mind, speaking of welcome, and peace, and oneness.
"Do you feel that?" She asks.
"Feel what?" Lewis asks. Nico also looks perplexed.
Before she can explain further, the peace of the lake is broken. A noise like a thundercrack rings out, and there is a shrill cry, as a great beast like a slender lizard the size of a bus, covered with rainbow feathers, cries and shakes, as the other animals of the lake scatter in fear.
A spear sticks out of its side, and Talia can see blood, and a chain extending up onto a hill overlooking the lake. There, a creature sits on some sort of two-wheeled vehicle, which belches black-and-yellow smoke into the air from several exhaust ports. It's humanoid, about seven feet tall, with a cruel, elongated, weasel-like face and yellowed eyes, wearing a thick black trenchcoat covered with weaponry and a metal helmet.
It's holding something like an oversized crossbow, which it clips onto its vehicle. A crank engages and the creature from the lake cries out in pain and sorrow as it is dragged towards the hunter. Animals flee from the lake, trumpeting their distress.
What do the Rangers do?
[ ] Write-in:
- Location
- Three feet to the left
- Pronouns
- He/They
I say attack the weasel guy. Seems like a villain.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Morph and interrogate. Be ready to fight at a moment's notice.
- Location
- New England
[X] Talia: (sarcastically) "Hey! do you have a hunting license for this planet?"
-[X] Team: prepare to morph at the first sign of trouble.
-[X] Have either Nico or Lewis aim the blasters at the crossbow to blast it out the jerk's hand.
I like this. It's in character. It'll take a lot more to get Talia to stop being hot-headed than a couple bumps on the head, and she's a no-compromises goody-two-shoes. Ideally we get through this without getting into a shoot-out/fight, but uh, well, it's Power Rangers and we don't have a "Negotiation Ranger".
Hmm, maybe we should try to recruit one.
-[X] Team: prepare to morph at the first sign of trouble.
-[X] Have either Nico or Lewis aim the blasters at the crossbow to blast it out the jerk's hand.
I like this. It's in character. It'll take a lot more to get Talia to stop being hot-headed than a couple bumps on the head, and she's a no-compromises goody-two-shoes. Ideally we get through this without getting into a shoot-out/fight, but uh, well, it's Power Rangers and we don't have a "Negotiation Ranger".
Hmm, maybe we should try to recruit one.
WhoTheHeckity
But no one ever asks HowTheHeckity
- Location
- Murica 🦅
[X] Talia: (sarcastically) "Hey! do you have a hunting license for this planet?"
-[X] Team: prepare to morph at the first sign of trouble.
-[X] Have either Nico or Lewis aim the blasters at the crossbow to blast it out the jerk's hand.
-[X] Team: prepare to morph at the first sign of trouble.
-[X] Have either Nico or Lewis aim the blasters at the crossbow to blast it out the jerk's hand.