Pt. 3: "Showdown at Biggs Ranch"

question - you said that Jethro was 'out of line of sight' of Tommy, so I guess I am not sure how to act or what I have actually seen....

Are we even aware that Zyd, Derr and Lundenberg arrived?

Do we know Jethro shot 2\3 and KO'd Lundenberg?

who else is hostile\still in the fight?
(seems like only Jethro, but I am not sure)

Auren does not know JP is dead, correct? (I think we heard a few shots from the gate)

Did we, at the watering hole, see the well-dressed man vanish in the flash of light?

Fifi!!!

Chris wrote:question - you said that Jethro was 'out of line of sight' of Tommy, so I guess I am not sure how to act or what I have actually seen....

Are we even aware that Zyd, Derr and Lundenberg arrived?

Do we know Jethro shot 2\3 and KO'd Lundenberg?

who else is hostile\still in the fight?
(seems like only Jethro, but I am not sure)

Auren does not know JP is dead, correct? (I think we heard a few shots from the gate)

Did we, at the watering hole, see the well-dressed man vanish in the flash of light?

There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger to Tommy and Auren.

They also don't know anything about what happened at the gate other than: gunshots heard and dynamite explosion. They hear screaming (Sheriff) at the gate right now.

Finally, they don't know what happened to JP either. Tommy and Auren do know about his penchant for explosives, but you guys never agreed upon what the "signal" was that JP was to warn them with.

Feel free to explore or question the natives.

Auren says to Tommy, "We should find JP and make sure he is alright. Let's start at the gate, I want to know what the other shooting and explosions are all about."

to the trio on the porch, "Did Bossman have any other 'muscle' we need to worry about?"

"I definitely need some immediate help securing the ranch and investigating. Sarge, Bud and Lennie, you three have been honest and demonstrated common sense in assessing the threat with Bain. You all also showed restraint and good judgement by not getting involved at the end here. Those are all qualities that make a good deputy. I would hire each of you for a 1 week trial basis. See if you like the work and we can talk about something more permanent after a week. What do you say?"


to everyone around, "Anybody injured?"

Chris wrote:

to everyone around, "Anybody injured?"

"Yo"

Lay on Hands for Tommy

Result of the throw of dice "1d8 +5" :

7 + 5 = 12

extra goes from wounds to vitality, per Rob

awesome! Tommy will go look for JP afterwords

whit10 wrote:awesome! Tommy will go look for JP afterwords

hold up, partner! let's see if Auren recruited any Red Shirt Deputies who could go with you. Jethro is a Rough Customer with that rifle (maybe Rough Rider or something townie, with big damage boost)

actually, before all that anyway, Tommy has to attend to a wounded horse

The three cardsharks/gun-hands agree to work for Auren. Sarge lights up a cigar. "I always figured the law would catch up to Bossman," he says. "He was a mean cuss, but he hadn't always been so evil. The last few months, he just seemed to grow more greedy and crazy. With all the money he was making off selling "dust" from them mines. That weird Mr. Joffrey and his mysterious east coast company paid real good."

Lennie chimes in, "There are more men stationed at the manor, and probably some more at the mines, or just riding around the ranch. It's a big piece of land, near 1000 acres, is what I heard."

Bud says, "Be careful up by the manor. The artificer fellow's lab is up 'round there. I've never been inside it, but there's lot's of steam and lightning up 'round there."


Only dead NPC's are near Tommy and Auren. There's is also Henry, who is on-guard with a shotgun and sitting in his ox-driven wagon.


JP used two move actions to sneak down to the cellar. It's really up to Alan if he wants to confront Grog. The orc hasn't seen JP and doesn't seem to be having much luck getting the mech powered-up. Obviously he's not the usual pilot for it.

Mechanics check 5+16 (+5 more steamgear?)= 21 (26). Can jp see how it works? He will stay un-noticed if he can and use incorporealness to his advantage to stick his head into the mech and look around. If there is mechanical advantage available to use mage hand to make the mech brush im off or pick grok out of the cockpit and send him on his way then jp will do that.

whit10 wrote:actually, before all that anyway, Tommy has to attend to a wounded horse

Lay on Hands, equine style

Result of the throw of dice "1d8 +5" :

3 + 5 = 8

"Tommy, take Lennie and Bud and go look for JP. Go west, bearing south of the big rock pile until you hit the fence then just walk the fence line north until you find JP. Sarge and I will head up to that wagon, it looks like Henry, maybe JP came in with him. We should be able to meet around the gate if neither of us find anything. Be careful, everyone."

"alright, but if the frenchie is dead, I'm gonna rifle through that wagon o' his. C'mon boys" (to the deputies)

Tommy will ride the whole way, checking things the way the Marshall wanted

navyik wrote:Mechanics check 5+16 (+5 more steamgear?)= 21 (26). Can jp see how it works? He will stay un-noticed if he can and use incorporealness to his advantage to stick his head into the mech and look around. If there is mechanical advantage available to use mage hand to make the mech brush im off or pick grok out of the cockpit and send him on his way then jp will do that.

The mech is standing still, non-operative.

Mechanics check reveals that it is some kind of "enhanced" steam-tech. The glowing blue runes alert JP that it has arcane properties. Give me an Arcana check...
There is an obvious furnace compartment in the belly of the mech. It is also not active.

Telekinesis only works up to 5 lbs, so you can't move the golem or unseat Grog... Maybe move some of his tools, or gun, I guess.

Chris wrote:

whit10 wrote:actually, before all that anyway, Tommy has to attend to a wounded horse

Lay on Hands, equine style

Result of the throw of dice "1d8 +5" :

3 + 5 = 8

"Tommy, take Lennie and Bud and go look for JP. Go west, bearing south of the big rock pile until you hit the fence then just walk the fence line north until you find JP. Sarge and I will head up to that wagon, it looks like Henry, maybe JP came in with him. We should be able to meet around the gate if neither of us find anything. Be careful, everyone."

whit10 wrote:"alright, but if the frenchie is dead, I'm gonna rifle through that wagon o' his. C'mon boys" (to the deputies)

Tommy will ride the whole way, checking things the way the Marshall wanted

Auren and Sarge meet with Henry. He seems spooked. He speaks of having seen a ghost come in through the front gate. "I thought I saw it go into the house, but that sounds crazy, don't it?" he says.
"It's been a crazy day," agrees Sarge.


Tommy, Lennie, and Bud head up to the gate. They find debris from the dynamite blast. Outside the gate are the bodies of two deputies, both shot dead.
Close by, there is another corpse, but unrecognizable. It's face had been completely peeled off, revealing a bloody skull visage. If he too was a lawman, then his tin star is also missing.

Traveling up the road, they soon find JP's body, also shot. Nearby, there are two horses tied up to a scraggly tree. Bud examines the tracks in the road. "There was another horse here," he says. "Whoever killed them lawmen by the gate, came back up here and took the horse off-road. I reckon they're heading west, across the back country." No one currently sees the rider, he had a good head-start.

Robyo wrote:
Close by, there is another corpse, but unrecognizable. It's face had been completely peeled off, revealing a bloody skull visage. If he too was a lawman, then his tin star is also missing.

creeeeepy and cool

Auren tells Sarge, "go see what the others found."

to Henry, "Ok, let's go check out your ghost. Point the way and show me where you saw the ghost go." Greatsword out, detect evil if Henry sees anything, entering the house, Auren will call out, "JP, you in here?"

Jp will smack grok upside th head with a wrench and whisper closely: "ah teold yeu tu flee, nadt teu ahrm yeurzelf! Lazst janze! Now go surrender teu zeh lawmahn!"

Jack Stone witnesses the fight between Biggs, Auren, Tommy and Sina. He watches it all and stays unnoticed. When the battle was over, he sneaked into the house, because well, he just had a "feeling."

When inside the house, he also hears Grog making a noise below, clanking in the cellar. Following the stairs down, he stops at the bottom step to find a gigantic cavern. Grog the orc is in the cockpit of an inert war-golem, hammering on the console and seemingly trying to make it operate. The bizarre incorporeal form of JP is standing by the wall nearby.

[img][Only admins are allowed to see this link][/img]

Jack Stone sees JP move his hands and a wrench floats up into the air, smacking the orc in the head. He curses and spits. The incorporeal man speaks from the shadows, threatening the orc in broken English and a thick French accent.

Chris wrote:

Robyo wrote:
Close by, there is another corpse, but unrecognizable. It's face had been completely peeled off, revealing a bloody skull visage. If he too was a lawman, then his tin star is also missing.

creeeeepy and cool

Auren tells Sarge, "go see what the others found."

to Henry, "Ok, let's go check out your ghost. Point the way and show me where you saw the ghost go." Greatsword out, detect evil if Henry sees anything, entering the house, Auren will call out, "JP, you in here?"

Sarge heads out to find the others, whom are examining JP's body.

Henry tepidly leads Auren into the house. The marshal doesn't detect undeath, but there is the feint vibe of the spirit realm nearby.

JP hears Auren call his name from above. He turns and sees Jack Stone at the bottom of the stairwell.

Grog also heard Auren, and he is puzzled by the flying wrench and JP's threats. "What is going on? Who are you? Are you a ghost?" he demands, looking around, still not noticing JP or Jack Stone.


***Matt should be coming on board soon!

"Aaaah ahm jacque-pierrrrre de chivalier! Ah ahm french, ahn ah deu naht lahk yeu! Jethro, he shhot me outzahd zee gaite. Ah weel haunt yeu lahk ah farrrt een zeh ztage coach!"

Jack Stone is on the scene. Highly confused, but on the scene!

Is the token with a "1" on it Jack?

Is the orc a hostile?

MAS wrote:Jack Stone is on the scene. Highly confused, but on the scene!

Is the token with a "1" on it Jack?

Is the orc a hostile?

Yes and yes. Unfortunately Grog the orc is unable to get the war-golum started.

Jack has been investigating the ranch because of strange, possibly magical, phenomena occurring lately (if you have time, try reading the last few pages of thread).

Indeed, it can be confusing!

Jack, being as of yet unnoticed, will attempt to hide somewhere nearby to observe this.....unique..situation.

(I am pretty tied up all day, but should be able to finish out my character tonight, thus being ready to actually take some actions....)

Robyo wrote:
Grog also heard Auren, and he is puzzled by the flying wrench and JP's threats. "What is going on? Who are you? Are you a ghost?" he demands, looking around, still not noticing JP or Jack Stone.

Auren will call down the stairs, "Grog! It's the Marshall and Henry, the fight's over. Put down your guns, I just want to talk. If I come down, you aren't gonna shoot at me, are ya? "

whit10 wrote:"alright, but if the frenchie is dead, I'm gonna rifle through that wagon o' his. C'mon boys" (to the deputies)

Tommy will ride the whole way, checking things the way the Marshall wanted

Bud is stooped over the horse tracks in the dust. He continues examining them, following them in a crawl, as they lead away from the road. "Deputy Tom," he says, "I think we can follow the bandit's trail if you want to. The tracks are still fresh." Suddenly, two shots ring out in the air. A bullet hits Bud, and he collapses. Another one hits Lennie. They are both still breathing, but Lennie is visibly wounded, blood pouring out of his shoulder.

Sarge points to a boulder on the western ridge. "I think he's hiding up yonder," he says. "We've got to flush him out!"

Tommy roll initiative...

SNIPER!

Chris wrote:

Robyo wrote:
Grog also heard Auren, and he is puzzled by the flying wrench and JP's threats. "What is going on? Who are you? Are you a ghost?" he demands, looking around, still not noticing JP or Jack Stone.

Auren will call down the stairs, "Grog! It's the Marshall and Henry, the fight's over. Put down your guns, I just want to talk. If I come down, you aren't gonna shoot at me, are ya? "

Grog looks around and sighs. "Alright, marshal," he begins, yanking on a lever in frustration. "You win this time. By Gruumsh's Maul of Doom, I can't seem to get this thing going-" but Grog is interrupted as the thrown lever has indeed activated the golem. The furnace fires up and a green glow emanates from behind it's vents. Steam jets out of the shoulders and feet. "Grungan!" the orc exclaims and the war-golem begins to move in a jerky fashion. Grog is trying to steer it. He tests the weapon system and the Gatling gun fires at the wall. Chunks of stone and dust fly off. "Nevermind!" he sneers.

JP, Jack, and Auren roll initiative...

initiative:

Roll(1d20)+5:
2,+5
Total:7

pfft... not like this fight is going to go well anyway

Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +3" :

15 + 3 = 18

Character done (probably?!?!) and ready to rock it

whit10 wrote:
pfft... not like this fight is going to go well anyway

Josh = always the optimist



initiative
Result of the throw of dice "1d20" :

12

optimism's for suckers

Map of road north of Biggs Ranch:
[img][Only admins are allowed to see this link][/img]

The sniper is somewhere on the ridge (E-2)???


E-14) Tommy (on Goliath)
B-12) Bud
C-14) Lennie
B-15) Sarge

A-14) JP's corpse

Tomorrow I will try to update the map of the cavern below the house. That is where Grog, the war-golem, Jack, and JP's eidolon are all located. The update will show the expanded cavern and tunnels.

Auren and Henry are still upstairs.

Initiative roll 14+4=18

Robyo wrote:Tomorrow I will try to update the map of the cavern below the house. That is where Grog, the war-golem, Jack, and JP's eidolon are all located. The update will show the expanded cavern and tunnels.

Auren and Henry are still upstairs.

sorry we got split up, I know that is a pain to GM. I wasn't honestly expecting a fight out of Grog, but then again, he is an ork.

Round 1:

Initiative:
1) JP
2) Jack
3) Auren
4) Grog (Golem)
5) Sniper
6) Sarge
7) Lennie
8 ) Bud
9) Tommy


JP is up...

Jp will attempt to mage-hand one of the levers to frustrate grog's control over the golem. Want a check? For now he will just blindly hit switches and buttons until something makes sense...

Auren isn't last?

Robyo wrote:
Grog looks around and sighs. "Alright, marshal," he begins, yanking on a lever in frustration. "You win this time. By Gruumsh's Maul of Doom, I can't seem to get this thing going-" but Grog is interrupted as the thrown lever has indeed activated the golem. The furnace fires up and a green glow emanates from behind it's vents. Steam jets out of the shoulders and feet. "Grungan!" the orc exclaims and the war-golem begins to move in a jerky fashion. Grog is trying to steer it. He tests the weapon system and the Gatling gun fires at the wall. Chunks of stone and dust fly off. "Nevermind!" he sneers.

ok, so Auren hears Grog jabbering and then a gatling gun firing and hitting the wall. He still has no idea about the battlemech. is the staircase person-sized or something larger? are there other large entrances\exits that Auren can see?

I know you will update the map, but I can proceed with just a bit more information if you don't get to the map.

I'm leaving for Denver today and won't be able to respond to this... do whatever you want with Tommy

whit10 wrote:I'm leaving for Denver today and won't be able to respond to this... do whatever you want with Tommy

Josh has 3 days of training at the State office in Denver

so we can either pause or go on with the part inside, since he is the only PC outside

2 days actually. I'll be back Friday night since there's no force on Earth that can keep me in a big city longer than I absolutely have to be there.

navyik wrote:Jp will attempt to mage-hand one of the levers to frustrate grog's control over the golem. Want a check? For now he will just blindly hit switches and buttons until something makes sense...

Your mechanic check was 26, so JP has some knowledge of how it works. It is based on steam-tech, but with arcane augmentation. Unfortunately there's not much he can see. He is on the ground and the cockpit is a good 20 feet high.

Random throwing of levers yields: the mech stalls! Grog must spend his next turn succeeding at a mechanics check to restart.

map updated (golem cave):
[img][Only admins are allowed to see this link][/img]

[img][Only admins are allowed to see this link][/img]

The mech took a 5-foot step before it stalled out.

Auren is at the top of the steps with the door open. Henry is behind him.

Jack is at the bottom of the steps (I didn't move him, you can do that now as you wish).

JP is along the wall, next to a workbench.


*The green things are kerosene lanterns. There is dim lighting in the cavern.


Chris, the stairwell appears to be made for medium-size creatures. Auren can't see much, since the stairs wind around (to the left).

Other items of interest in the room:
Workbenches with tools, wooden crates, barrels, and sacks.


Jack is up...

Chris wrote:

whit10 wrote:I'm leaving for Denver today and won't be able to respond to this... do whatever you want with Tommy

Josh has 3 days of training at the State office in Denver

so we can either pause or go on with the part inside, since he is the only PC outside

We can pause on Tommy till Josh gets back.

To my understanding, Grog is not aware of Jack's presence?
If he is not, he would be "surprised" and Jack would be at +5 to hit? (p 226)

Either way - since Jack is fond of simple solutions to problems...

1 Move action = activate "Violent Ambition: Once daily as a move action, boost your next attack roll that round by +10"
1 Standard action = Attack, shotgun, +9 (+10) (and maybe plus 5)

Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +19" :

13 + 19 = 32 (or 37 if Grog is surprised).

Grog is surprised. Jack hits! It's a shotgun slug right? Otherwise, JP might be caught in the burst. Also please recognize that Grog is shielded in the cockpit of the golem (see pic on page 6 of this thread), so damage goes to the golem.

Roll damage.

Sure, we can say its a slug.....I thought JP was incorporeal, so is he really at risk?

Result of the throw of dice "2d8 +4" :

8 + 3 + 4 = 15

MAS wrote:Sure, we can say its a slug.....I thought JP was incorporeal, so is he really at risk?

Result of the throw of dice "2d8 +4" :

8 + 3 + 4 = 15

JP can still be hit, but it's a 90% miss chance from mundane and 50% miss with magic.

*Which reminds me, everyone else's PCs started with magic items bonus total of +3. They also received something extra... See the Jack Stone thread for more details.

So if you want an enchanted shotgun, let me know, so I can add your bonus for golem damage!


Next up is Auren...

Auren starts moving in cautiously, sword drawn, helmet on.... can he see the mech by T2 or around the corner at S3?

is it big enough that Auren could conceivably run underneath the cockpit and be inbetween its legs?

*edit, if he sees anyone he doesn't recognize, like Jack Stone, he will use a swift action to speak as well

Chris wrote:Auren starts moving in cautiously, sword drawn, helmet on.... can he see the mech by T2 or around the corner at S3?

is it big enough that Auren could conceivably run underneath the cockpit and be inbetween its legs?

*edit, if he sees anyone he doesn't recognize, like Jack Stone, he will use a swift action to speak as well

Auren could see the mech at S-3, but that is where Jack is standing! You can move through an ally's square, but you guys haven't even met yet.

Auren can run under the golem's legs, if he's ducking. The paladin wears plate armor with a great helm, so he's not lithe. And normally, Grog would get an AoO, but he's momentarily stalled, so you're in luck.