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Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/07 09:54:39


Post by: Pyroalchi


[I will likely update this post with more information about the planet etc. over time, for now let's just beginn to set the stage]

The planet Skrynne


The colonial death world of Skrynne in the Spinward Front has long struggled with Ork infestation, that was already present when humanity first discovered the world. Centuries ago the Xenos where thoroughly cleansed by the Space Marines of the Storm Wardens Chapter followed by the colonization predominantly of the southern continent of the planet. As common with the greenskins, the Orks have reappeared several times since then, mostly setting out from the wild northern continent, yet so far the planet's small garrison was always able to best the Xenos, at times reducing them enough for several peaceful decades or even centuries but never able to completely eradicate the threat. Since the last of these cleansings 145 years ago, the colony has grown to nearly 10 million souls with the main tithe of the ressource poor world being exotic ailments and ingridients from the death world's jungles.
This promised to change drastically as ten years ago vast promethium reserves were discovered in Skrynne - estimated so enormous that they might be sufficient to fuel the hunger of the sectors core worlds for acentury, if they could be exploited. Unfortunatly, the initial celebrations were cut short - or rather crushed another incursion of the indigenous Orks that were once more thriving on the northern continent. Between orbital bombardments and carefully coordinated tactical strikes, the planet’s human defenders once morepushed the Ork infestation to the brink of annihilation.
Things were looking hopeful for the colony, once more rid of their greenskinned plague as well as blessed by a future of potential wealth and prosperity.

Soon however an armada of Ork ships of arrived insystem, led by Grimsnikk Tufgob, a prominent Warboss in Waaagh! Grimtoof, who delivered a proclamation that his forces
were seizing the world and looked forward to destroying all traces of human civilisation. Devoid of any serious naval opposition, outnumbered and time not facing feral orks with sticks and stones but Xenos armed with shooters and even equipped with tanks, the colonists soon found themselves at the brink of total defeat. Just in time several regiments of Brontian Longknives light infantry were assigned to the warzone, as well as a small squadron of imperial cruisers that engaged the ork fleet, to secure the valuable promethium or at leat prevent it from falling into the hands of the Imperiums enemies.
regiment.

Over the next year, Imperial and Ork forces have fought each other to a bloody and brutal stalemate. Meanwhile the colonists are believed to have been reduced to only a few hundred thousand survivors - more often then not mentally and physically scarred by loss. Both sides have suffered significant losses, but neither has faltered. Regimental command has sent repeated requests for Imperial reinforcements, which have been stonewalled until recently, when High Command finally agreed to commit
additional forces to Skrynne.



Imperial Dropship CVD-7782

The almost unrecognizable shaking that had announced your transports entrance into the upper atmosphere a minute ago had by now become a really shaky ride, bumping the craft up and down, while the vibrations of the roaring engines make everything apart from screamed conversations as good as impossible. Devoid of any windows or port holes, none of you has any idea yet what the world you are send to looks like - or if the turbulences slamming your ship here and there are just natural or in fact the product of enemy fire peppering the thick hull of the Lander. Be it as it may, the whole machine creaks, cracks and moans as some giant creature in his dying throwes. More then one of the soldiers on board is parting with his meager lunch or praying fervently, fully expecting to see their maker soon and hoping to get some extra credit on the last leg.

During transit, the interior is only lighted by series of dim, flickering red lights, that put everything in an eery glow. Here and there the lights get hazy from smoke or vapor hissing from the dropships mysterious mechanical wonders. The craft has two decks, the upper one accompanying around 200 something infantrymen and women in long, narrow lanes, while a hand full of chimeras are clamped down in the lower tag - together with some horses from one of the regiments. Even though those animals have been fastened in their own crash webbing and received at least some tranquilizer for the trip, the smell comming up from down there exclaims that they sure are not having a good time.
All of you are strapped into their creash seats, shoulder to shoulder like sardines in a can. What personal gear does interfere with you being packaged this way is stowed in a box under your seat, while everything else is on your body - ready to jump out into the fray immediatly upon landing. In between the rows, Commissars and drill sergants with shock maces patrol, holding steady by magboots, safety lines and handholds, ready to put the fear of the emperor into any soldier that looks like swaying in his duty to him on earth. A task that seems specifically important as you are amongst the "lucky few" that had the honor to "volunteer" for one of the first transports arriving on the battlefield - a redemption platoon. Each and everyone of you has slagged or failed in his duty to the imperium, adherence to orders, respect towards authority or even just dress discipline and the like, the only thing common is, that none of these failures was severe enough to warrant an outright execution. Instead you have been removed from your regiments that are approaching on the other transports and put together here to redeem yourself in the eyes of the emperor before you are allowed to return to your units. A cynical might also think of it as "spending the emperors coin sensibly" as instead of wasting your ammonution on a failing soldier, you might as well waste your enemies.

Be it as it may, you have witnessed people returning from the redemption platoons before, so most of the soldiers in the lander seem pretty motivated to do their best for the meagre hope to return to normality. Quite up front, near the exit ramp, a peculiar mix of armsmen find themselves facing each other.
Two of these are Tambo and M'Gele, from the Thoth Askaris. The former seems to be an older veteran in his early fifthies and the clear leader of the duo. They wear a kind of woven garment wrapped around the body and colored in an intense red-blueish tartan design that according to them is excellent camouflage on their homeworld. Instead of a common flak vest they have a large hardwood shield with a geometrical white-black-red pattern for body protection that they hold between their legs together with a rugged and rustic looking lascarbine and a machete-like sword. Tambo is more the old-senewy type, and while he doesn't look like it huddled together, his long legs and slim body make him just under 6'6'' tall.
From what you heard of their regiment so far they are a light infantry hailing from a jungle and desert world and have not yet made a name for themselves. Definitly not having the reputation of being the emperors finest, those infantrymen inclined that way know, that if you need something special - maybe even from stocks not assigned to your own regiment - the Askaris are the adress to go, if you have something to trade.

Just now Tambo is looking over to Njal Pietrson, nodding in a conspiratory way when he catches his eye, as he remembers him from the interrogation waiting room in the commissariat. And the fact that both of them were now here instead of one going free and the other finding himself in front of a firing squad likely meant that his new "comrad" knows when to shut up just like Tambo did. Next his gaze curiously wanders over to the Krieg Grenadier sitting just on the other side of the aisle, the soldiers to his right and left uncomfortably avoiding eye contact with the Death Worlder. All kinds of rumors have been sweeping through the platoon as to what he might have done to warrant being here as no one can remember a Krieger ever getting into disciplinary trouble...


Spoiler:
[I imagine them looking like these dudes]:
]




[Thumb - Massai old.jpg]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/07 12:24:49


Post by: OldMate


Simond Silvertree raked his fingers through his dark hair. He wasn't a tall man flat on 5ft 4' he was wearing the strange vest they had given him, (they had told him it would stop shot which in itself was remarkable) but he did not want to put it to the test, what's more it fitted poorly over his chainmail shirt and he'd had to wear an additional belt under the vest just to support the chain mail. It was stiff and a poor swap for his comfortable brigandine. His javelins and buckler clattered together at his side opposite the chainsword and his sallet. The chainsword was a most marvelous weapon.
The rattling and shaking of the dropship soon became boring so he grabbed his chest strapping and leaned forwards to address the towering darkskinned fellow name Tambo next to him. Tambo was an interesting man, told some good stories, never as good as Simond's own of course.

"Tell me again Tambo, is this man an oathbreaker? Why else do the others hold him with such apprehension?" Surely it could not have been for having a disciplinary action. These people got carried away with their disciplinary charges. There was something unsettling about the corpse faced man on the other side of the dropship, but Simond would never admit to feeling unsettled by the man's deathly pale skin.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/07 16:05:32


Post by: Easy E


This wasn't Njal's first drop, hopefully it wouldn't be his last either. Compared to the back of a Chimera, being on a dropship was down right spacious! Whenever he could, he would take the time to stretch his legs or arms out. The back of a Chimera was no place for a tall, large man, and Njal wasn't one. The seats were just as uncomfortable as ever though.

Unlike most of the other guardsman, his regiment encouraged you to sport a beard. Not too large, as it needed to fit inside a re-breather; but large enough to keep your skin from being exposed to the cold. His dark beard, bushy eyebrows, and dark eyes gave gave him an inscrutable look, but all geared up he was just another faceless trooper.

This drop, it didn't seem like he had to worry about being cold. Rumor had it where they were going Njal would be plenty warm, a jungle deathworld. How a mechanized infantry regiment from a ice planet had gotten assigned to a jungle deathworld.... well..... that's the guard for you!

He nodded at Tambo. The Saint Paulus 4th Mechanized Regiment had been traveling with the Thoth Askari's in system. Those Thoth seemed to be able to get their hands on anything. His squad's ride had been like sitting on a cold, bare steel, outhouse and that was bad for morale. He had hoped the Thoth could help him get something to make his squad's ride tolerable. Bad timing though as the Black Hat's goons busted up the deal.

They had sweated him for a few hours, but Njal kept his ice. He enjoyed being under the hot lights for a bit, refreshing. He rode it out fine, but the Black Hat's shipped him over to a new squad with a bunch of stern talk.

Well, that was fine. He barely knew the others anyway. He always seemed to be getting new mates as the old ones died, got hurt, or were shipped off to other crates. That was the guard for you.

Some new fish was prattling on with Tambo, but it was too loud to make out what they were saying. Some over-excited gibberish probably. He was glad Tambo had to deal with it and not him.

Instead, he took his time checking and re-checking his weapon. Everything was fine. and for the fifth time he made sure it was fine again. In the guard, your only true mate was your las-gun. No matter where you went, it went with you. What use were you without it anyway? He tucked it back between his legs, stretched his legs out one more time, and stifled a yawn with his hand.

Just another day in the guard.

Some minis representing the Regiment.....
Spoiler:


The Only War Stats I tried to through together from the copy of the book I could get my hands on:
Spoiler:

Njal Peitrson
Dragoon of the 4th St. Paulus Mechanized Infantry Regiment- The Tundra Wolves
- Imperial World, Mech-Infantry, Die-Hards, Fixed Commander - Captain Hans Hymdahlson

Class: Operator Wounds: 9 Fate: 1

Weapon Skill - 33 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Ballistic Skill- 37 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Strength- 31 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Toughness- 36 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Agility- 38 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Intelligence- 36 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Perception- 33 Characteristic Bonus: 3
Willpower- 28 Characteristic Bonus: 2
Fellowship- 28 Characteristic Bonus: 2

Aptitudes:
Agility, Ballistic Skill, Fellowship, Fieldcraft, Intelligence, Technology, Command, Toughness

Skills:
Common Lore (Imperial Creed) - Intelligence
Common Lore (Imperium)- Intelligence
Common Lore (Tech) - Intelligence
Linguistics (Low Gothic) - Intelligence
Experienced Tech-Use - Intelligence (+20 Bonus)
Trained Navigate- Intelligence (+10 Bonus)
Operate (Surface)- Agility
Trained Dodge- Agility (+10 Bonus)
Security - Intelligence

Talents:
Rapid Re-load
Technical Knock
Weapon Training (Las)

Weapons:
M36 Lasgun - 1d10+3E, Single, Burst of 3
- 4 charges
2 Frag Grenades- 2d10X
3 Krak Grenades- 2d10+4X, Concussive (0)
Las-pistol - 1d10 +2E, Single, Burst of 3
- two charge packs
Brontian Combat Knife - 1d5 R

Armor:
Flak Vest - AP3 (+1 vs Blasts)

Equipment:
Auspex
Common Mind Impulse Link
Combi-tool
Data-slate
Las-cutter
1 Uniform
1 set of Cold Weather Survival Suit
1 Set of poor weather gear
1 rucksack
1 sleep bag
1 rechargeable Lamp
1 mess kit
1 set of basic tools
1 Infantryman's Uplifting Primer
1 canteen
2 weeks rations
1 set of Cognum tags
1 Photovisor

I used a random dice roller for stats, and method 1 down the list. Hopefully, I did the XP correct as there was a lot of flipping around in the book!


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/07 16:06:18


Post by: Bobthehero


The Krieg Grenadier looked around the ship's bay. His face was a gaunt thing, deathly pale, fitting the name of the regiment he came from. His mask was actually off his face, it wasn't needed for most of the drop, after all. The Carapace helmet covered his hair. Brown eyes darted this way and that, looking at the other troopers with little emotion, save for those he caught starring at him. A flash of a grin crept on his features, revealing white teeth and breaking the stoic façade for a second before he looked away. His nose was crooked, the result of a battle injury, perhaps? His lips were thin. His Hellgun was pressed on his chest, with the rebreather's canister resting on his shoulders.

Trooper 5-6-56-5... no. The Catachans had called him Poncho, on account of the bulky greatcoat he wore that looked like one. That's what they said, anyway. The drop held little care for the Krieg veteran, it wasn't his first, and death, was, ultimately, a reward unto... hm. No, right, better to live and fight another day, the half naked soldiers had suggested that as an alternative to the redemption by fire that his regiment had favored. It had seemed to make sense, you can kill a lot more of the Emperor's foes by living.

''It would be a shame if we all died before we could serve our Imperium now would it? The problem with our enemy is that we can't rely on them for anything, let alone them dying easily!'' The Kriegsman laughed at what passed for a grim joke, it might not have landed well. Following that, ''Poncho'' brought up a metal canteen to his lips, and spat some brown sludge into it. A shame, he was running low on lho-leaves, good luck tokens given to him once more by those lively fellow Deathworlders, always good to chew on those before a drop, they said.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/08 07:09:59


Post by: Pyroalchi


Skrynne Starport Platform Teta-7: Customs Declaration

The lazaret had been improvised right between the counters were just a 2 years ago merchants, administratum clerks and other visitors had been processed upon arriving. Which meant that it looked kind of... disturbingly sterile, clean and luxurius. Obviously the cleaning servitors had kept on with their work even after all civilian traffic to Skrynne had long seized, oblivious of the futility of it all...
So far they had only a hand full of soldiers here, wounded in earlier clashes to the south. All of them Bronthian Long knifes - but mostly because there was little left anymore of Skrynnes PDF forces - or it's population if it came to that. As a med student and one of "the future of Skrynne", Teodor had been excempt fom the draft up until only recently, working double shifts and weekends in several hospitals, up until those got destroyed by the Greenskins too. He had seen his fair share of blood and bones, but when he finally had gotten his draft letter, he had still shaken of fear of what was to come. There was so little civilian population left, what medical staff remained might as well be "used" on the frontline. He understood that on an intellectual level - it was still scary.

So they had rowed him and the few - to few - others up and send them to "boot camp". A week of running around, crawling through mud and being shouted all the time. Than they had put some flak armor on them, pressed a gun or pistol in their hand and congratulated them on joining the Imperiums proud defenders. Teodor took his helmet in his hand and looked at the inside again. One could still see where the former owner had a picture of his family glued in. It was slightly to big, but a bit of padding had taken care of it. The same with his uniform. A thorough investigation had brought up a couple of mended holes in the back of the shirt, which concluded his suspicions about most of their gear. On the bright side the provisional situation of those that remained was not to bad. Their were enough guns to go round and the few paramedics like himself could have their pick of the best diagnostors and other goodies there where - if they didn't mind to clean up a bit of blood and gore beforehand... Just thinking of it Teodor had to fight to not throw up his breakfast.



This morning had have some good news. One of the older veterans had heard from a Ministorum clerk, who had dined with a navy armsmen ... etc.... that finally some reinforcements were underway. And from the busy look of the Navy personal in the landing fields tower all morning, that seemed to be true. Teodor had not found the time to look himself, but just now looking towards the landing field he could see a couple of Troopers shadowing their eyes and pointing to the sky.
But not all was well on Teta-7. Word around the defenders was that another Ork Warband was right on his way to them and by now one could already hear explosions and the sound of autogun fire drawing closer.

He was snapped from his thoughts by the shouting of a one armed drill sergant going through the hall "ALL RIGHT EVERYONE! GET YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS A**ES UP AND LOOK LIVELY! WE GOT SOME COMPANY AT THE SOUTHERS BORDER OF THE LANDING STRIP! AND SOME FRIENDLIES INBOUND. SO LETS TAKE OUR FRIENDS IN AND KICK SOME XENO BUTT!"



[I will add something for those in the lander soon]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/09 02:05:05


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore shuffled along, moving as slow as he thought he could get away with...without attracting the attention of the drill sergeant.

In his mind he kept thinking about how wrong everything was going for him. He was from a relatively well off family. He was talented, smart, on his way to a bright future and then it all went side ways. Now all he could think about was what he needed to do to survive this mess. Not being on the front line seemed like the obvious move.

In the back of his mind he thought about what would be the best way to "get injured" so he could get off the front. Of course, there were always the Commissars to worry about...and the drill instructor.

Also...was there any place that wasn't the front line at this point? Maybe it's time I start thinking of how to stowaway on a transport or something, he thought to himself.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/09 15:55:15


Post by: Pyroalchi


Dropship

Tambo leaned over to Simond, listening to his question and making a special gesture while answering, whose meaning eluded everybody except thos from his own backwater planet. "His home is a world called Krieg. Long ago there was a war there, a war that raged for 500 years. Their world is dead - poinoned, wrecked by artillery and riddled in trenches. But they raise some of the fiercest warriors the stars have ever seen. They are admired as they are feared. The Kriegers wear gas masks all the time and seldom speak a word, so our friend here is quite likely the first and last anyone of us will ever see the real face of. And that scares them..."

He turned his attention towards the Deathworlder in a nod of respect, taking up eye contact that the others around them avoided. Shouting over the engines he exclaimed "When my world was about to burn, the skyfather send the sons and daughters of Krieg. You fought with us... bled with us... We are kin! We owe you!" which he again acompanied by a kind of gesture, laying his hands overcrossed on his chest before stretching them out towards poncho, palms up. That seemed to mean something for the dark skinned soldier, whatever it was.
Spoiler:
I'll leave it up to you if Poncho has heard of it. Thoth was target of a mid sized attack of heretics (still much to big for them to handle) half a century ago. Two regiments of Kriegers were the only defenders that arrived in time, but they were able to hold the planet together with the indigenous tribal warriors until a fleet arrived and saved the day. They still hold the Kriegers in highest regard for that and feel in kind of an honor dept.



Njal happened to sit nearest to one of the comm-speakers and thus was amongst the few who - between the endless crackle of static - could make out the muffled shout of the pilots up front "Brace! Brace! Brace!" The next moment the whole craft lurched sideways as if hit by a giant, throwing equpiment and some troopers that had been careless with their crash harness around, while the lights went out for a moment and only came back blinking in the right half of the drop ship. Someone had been thrown right on top of the Saint Paulus Trooper and in between the flickers of red light he could make him out as one of the Junior Commissars. The boy had been hit pretty hard, with some blood running down his scalp and a dizzy, unfocussed look upon his face.
All around soldiers screamt, as the ship dropped into a steep dive that everyone could feel in their stomach... Was that it? Damn it, what wouldn't you give for a window...




Teta-7:


Herded by the drill sergant, everyone around was busy getting into a couple of trucks from skyport authority that were heading out towards the outer landing fields where the drop ships were expected to arrive. But Teodor attempt of stalling and shuffling around as much as he could get away with turned out to be surprisingly successful, as the trucks filled up nicely before he even reached the door area and ran off into the distance. To his misfortune drill sergant Wyona, an older woman with a jaw like an anvil and ears that looked like those of a prize boxer was still around and caught sight of him "Teodor you useless bag of gak! What are you still doing here!" she shouted at him, already loosening the rolled up belt she kept at her for "disciplinary purposes" as both of you heard - or rather more felt - a massive collision a couple of hundred meters over your heads. Up there one of the three dropships decending from the skies had been hit by something - a missile maybe or one of the Ork flyers buzzing around and dogfigting with the imperial escorts. The middle ship had been almost ripped open and while its engines still worked, they were tearing the warped and twisted frame apart through their force. In his dying throws the giant had hit one of the other dropships and smashed it to the side, damaging its starboard engines and forcing it to a steep dive towards the surface in the slim hope of making a crash landing. To Teodors displeasure it looked suspiciously like it was to hit the ground immediatly in front - or maybe even on the building they were standing at right now instead of arriving at the planned landing point a good two kilometers to the east. And to make things even better they became aware of the sound of gunfire and screaming from the western wing of the Administrativum building. By the throne, how did the greenskinned mennace have gotten there so fast?

Wyona smilled at him and pinched his cheek "Oh, the God Emperor smiles at us today. You lucky little bast*** will have so much opportunity to be a hero today."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/09 19:15:14


Post by: Bobthehero


Eye contact was made, Poncho grinned, it was the grin of someone not used to showing his face, and looked overdone, almost fake in nature, as the Kriegsman listened to Tambo's words closely, doing his best to hear the words spoken. He caught some.

''Kin? Where is your mask, brother, I wonder! Ah ah ha!'' *The pale faced man laughed* ''Fitting that we will die together then!'' *Poncho seemed amused, but his expression turned serious when the Aquila was made, and he returned the gesture with vehemence. Right under his right armor, the man's serial number was stenciled on his sturdy carapace. It read 5-6-56-5. A simple string of numbers that denoted his position in a regiment that had no need for him anymore. His coat was a faded green, perhaps a makeshift attempt at camouflage to fit the lush planet the penals were assigned to, his armor was a dark grey of ceramite and armaplas. The mask that hung on the top plate was tan, and covered by a plasteel skull shaped piece of metal.

He missed the call to brace, focused on the conversation, and his mask was almost flung out from where it lay when the ship lurched, the brown hose preventing the Kriegsman from losing his second face, which was the color of bone. A hand reached to grab hold of it, and Poncho decided that yes, it was time to put his regiment's signature piece of gear on. It was dark, but masking drills were something everyone on Krieg learned very quickly, and it wasn't long before his face was covered by metal and fabric, the rebreather filtering the air some more which each breath the Grenadier took.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/09 21:24:57


Post by: OldMate


Simond heard the call to brace and quickly took the opportunity to buckle his black, white and red painted sallet on, the paint was scuffed and worn since he'd had it painted. The well worn leather strap buckled quickly despite its stiffness and he was able to get his hands around his weapons again before the ship lurched.
This was no way to go into battle, no way at all to go into battle at all, sitting down and not astride a horse, he'd had to unbuckle the chainsword and its sheath just to sit down and his buckler was pressing against the chain maile on his hip.
He rode the shaking and juddering of the craft out like a bolting horse. A bolting horse he could not rein in.
That was not something he liked either.
Simond watched as the Kreig man recovered his mask and pulled it on.
The man's face was more akin to a plague corpse or night stalker than that of what a man should have. He made the sign of aquila to ward off evil and touched the small golden rose laced into the chainmail collar at his throat.
'Saint Hildegarde of the hospital, protect us, keep us pure and clean in the emperor's light.' He whispered under his breath.
He shuddered at the thought of the walking plague.
Ten years he had fought in the King's army, he'd slain men in duels, brusniks, balgorns and night stalkers but the very thought of the walking plague made him shudder inside and the thought of their stench, their vile miasma turned his stomach over.
The thought was too much, and perhaps too much of that skin of the firey spirit Tambo had sold him and too little food had contibuted, he doubled over, he made sure his fine red riding boots were well clear and vomited onto the floor in front of himself.
Simond blew chunks from his nose, took the skin in a practiced hand, popped the cap out and took a hit to clean the taste of acid from his mouth.
He swished the strong spirit around in his mouth and swallowed it. No point in wasting it. Tambo was one of those indispensible people you found on campaign, the ones that had or could find what you wanted or needed, and he had seen that conspiratorial glance between the man and the one named Njall. Simond did not know yet if Njall fell into the same category, it was something to feel out, much like that glance between the two of them.
Simond turned to the young soldier on his other side, brand new, young and pale faced at the prospect of his first battle. The boy was also part of the Elendine Tithe and wore his much better fitting flak vest over a thick quilted gamberson and wore a neatly and freshly painted kettle helmet, painted like his own sallet to hide the rough unground forge blackened steel. It was not the armour a knight would be seen dead in.
Balwin had been a tailor's apprentice before he had been selected in the tithe, he wasn't really a horseman, but he could ride. The boy was much too straight laced; he was still trying to puzzle out how the boy had ended up in the unit.
Still he should probably say something to the boy.
"Don't worry about these greenskins. They are nothing to a brusnik or a balgorn. I will carve a bloody swathe through these beasts, keep your horse behind me." He had no idea if one of these orks was more or less formidible than a brusnik or balgorn, but it sounded right for the hardened campainger to say to the fresh faced new lad.
At the very mention of the beasts the lad only paled further and Simond groaned inwardly. If the boy paled at the mention of brusniks and balgorns he was glad the boy was young enough not to remember the walking plague. He himself had only been a boy when the Sisters of the Hospital of Saint Hildegard had brought cleansing fire, imperial steel and their healing to the Kingdom of Kitheria.
"They will be no match for Kitherian steel and fury," he slapped a hand onto his chansword, "And they will be no match to imperial steel in my hands."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 00:03:35


Post by: Easy E


That's all he needed, a frosted Black Hat in his lap. He wanted to avoid any further attention from them. He tried his best to secure the man as the floor dropped out and the dropship began to crash dive. He gripped the Junior Commissar as best he could. The glazed look in the man's eyes was not a great sign, but Njal snapped his fingers in his face and yelled,

"Junior Commissar? Are you all right sir?"

He glanced up at the doorway, and saw the light above it was still red. Once it turned green, there would be a mad scramble to get out of this giant coffin. How many exits did this thing have on the troop deck? It looked like all their lights were red still. He glanced around the dropship, looking for the way to the hold, where the armor was. He didn't fancy jumping out into a hail of enemy gunfire, at least not without some ceramite between him and the Greenskins.

Njal pointed to to the light above the door. "What's the plan gentleman?" He tried to shout over the chaos.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 01:00:40


Post by: Dekskull



Teodore winced as the woman grabbed his cheek. "Right Seargent. Lead on. I'm right behind you." He looked out at the crashing drop ships and ensuing carnage in the sky.

So much for stowing away on a drop ship. He thought to himself grimly.

And now a song from my favorite Imperial Guard movie that's not really an Imperial Guard movie. Good drop ship music.





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 01:24:33


Post by: OldMate


Simond heard Njall's strained shout above the tumult and saw the man's eyes going to the red lights, that surely meant something.
They were moments before impact then.
That strange composure came over him, riding onto the field again, riding into the unknown.
He had seen enough of this imperial army to know that it worked the same way as the king's army.
Things did not always turn out well and he would bet his last gilder that positions that the imperial army held on paper, or on one of their magic maps would not always be in fact in imperial hands.
War afteral was universal. And the enemy always had his say.
"We will not know the situation till we leave this... ship!" He bellowed in his battle voice. "We should precede as if the landing area is already overrun. From there feel out what is happening."
He adjusted himself on the seat so that he was only half sitting in it and could buckle on the sword.
Nearly all of the other men carried forms of imperial hand gonnes. A nagging part of him hoped he would not need one.
He had the imperial blasting eggs carefully packed in the pouch on his belt anyway, they should suffice.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 09:59:10


Post by: Pyroalchi


Dropship

The Junior commissar in Njalls lap takes some seconds, but as he snapps and tries to shake some live back into him, the young man's gaze starts to focus again and he struggles back up to his feet, clinging to the St. Paulus soldiers crash webbing. Back up he re-attaches his security line to the above hand hold, blushing about his fumble, that could have left him out cold and seriously bruised and battered, had not Njall hold on to him during the worst of the shaking. Without even aknowledging you at all, the black hat hurries over along the hand holds to his own seat. A bit ungrateful maybe, but you have the impression as if right now, the man who was in charge of your section avoides eye contact with you, not free from the very human emotion of shame.
Spoiler:
meaning: right now for the exit from the ship, I'll cut you some slack if you don't storm right out with the others but choose something more... discrete


Tambo and M'Gele had also not heard the brace warning in time and got knocked around pretty roughly, hitting their heads and knees a bit and cursing fervently in a very foreign native dialect that had little in common with low gothic. While M'Gele shouted over to someone along the line to kick his shield, that had slid along the line back over to him, Tambo faces Njall and Simond, who had a small exchange, what the plan is. "Grab our stuff, and get out of here! Preferably without being shot at. Kill the bad guys, find a bar with good music and nice ladies... and wait for all of this to blow over."
The uttered plan was not a secret one between them though and Poncho could well hear it.

A couple of moments later all of you feel like getting kicked in the lower back forcefully as the landing trusters of your craft kick in with all emergency power to try and turn the rapid decent into as much of a "landing" as was possible. The loud sounds of the engines and machinery around you that has accompanied you the last hours has also changed worryingly and you can hear creaking and the screaming of metal grinding on metal from some places outside where you deem the engines to be - which does little to calm your thoughts.


Teta-7

Wyona falls into a brisk jog, leading the way, but always with an eye on Teodor to make sure her charge does not fall behind "by accident". As you leave the building for the landing field, you suddenly get a much better view of what's going on in the western wing. Two of the lower floors of the skyport hotel are burning and there seem to be intense firefights going on between some squads of Brontian Longknifes that have entrenched themselves behind a huddle of containers and concrete obstacles and routs of greenskins of varying sizes, firing their curde weapons all around them without even the attempt of aiming and charging through the fire towards the human defenders. Other groups seem to turn up everywhere - some of the smaller Gretchin creatures crawling out of a sewage manhole a hundred yards to your left, some of the bigger ones just pushing themselves up after climbing from somewhere lowere - the lower parking decks maybe? - unto the border of the landing field etc.
At this rate the defenders right here will likely be overrun soon, as most of the Brontians have just been send away towards the suspected main thrust of the Xenos.
But of course, there were reinforcements "inbound", which a huge shadow on the runway getting bigger every fraction of a second reminded Teodor of, together with the screaming of tortured machinery. At least Wyona is rational enough to dive for the cover and pull Teodor with her behind a rockcrete blast shield protecting the buildings from the trusters of starting ships on a better day.

From there you see an adventurous greenskin that seemed to have outrun his mates by quite a considerable distance running towards you with a mix of happiness and ferocious murder in his eyes, wielding a large, two handed axe around. A moment later he is suddenly turned to a very messy - and very flat - corpse, as the emergency landing trusters of the dropship above you kick in, flattening everything under it and even leaving some cracks and craters on the runway itself.
With an earshattering crash the craft comes down, hitting the ground and sliding to a slow and agonizing halt. The Landing gear on port has given in a bit, so that it tilted a hand full of degrees, but these ships are build to take a punishment, so overall, it seems intact, but the cockpit has taken quite a beating and one of its engines is aflame.
A moment later the big hatch in front drops down, and some dozen Guardsmen stumble into the open, obviously shaken around badly and still dizzy on their feet. They are immediatly greeted by gunfire from the mates of the unlucky greenskin that had been smeered to paste by the thrusters. And even if it is as wild and unaimed as from the other Xenos, the sheer amount of "Dakka" flying around fells three of them. The others instinctivly try to get back into the safety of the lander - which is a hopeless endevour as the soldiers behind them press outwards too. So they have little choice other than to run down the ramp through the hail of fire, throw themselves flat into one of the depressions formed on the ramp by the deformation of the landing or risk a jump from the 4 yards high ramp unto the rockcrete in full gear... So far, the Imperials inside are pinned.

From your position you can also see a secondary ramp in the back of the craft, which the Greenskins so far seem unaware of. It has begun to open but seems to be jammed half way.
Spoiler:
Tech use: roll successful. Teodor believes to understand enough about the hydraulic system involved to guess that cutting or shooting through the hydraulic tubing on the upper cylinder holding the ramp would drop it down permanently, if those inside do not manage to solve the problem another way.




Dropship

With a boneshattering crash, you lift sets down on the ground, lurching and hopping a bit, before it finally slides to a halt with another agonizing scream of metal. To your utmost surprise and pleasure, each of you belongs to the lucky half of soldiers inside, that get away with no more than bruises and the odd little cut or bloddy nose. With a friendly little "ping" sound, the lights along the walls - meaning those still intact - switch to green and the forward ramp begins to lower itself down, the strong hydraulic pushing trough the deformed metal. Everyone in any state to do so is opening their crash harness, grabbing his gun and making ready to run for the exit, the more aware of them pulling out the boxes with their additional gear from under their seats. As you grab your stuff, like Tambo and M'Gele who also gear up on quite a number of the "imperial blasting eggs" Simond knew, you start to hear weapons fire comming from outside the front ramp, which is responded in kind by the soldiers in front of you. Still soon you realize that you are pinned in the wreckage of your craft, the bullets flying around the crammed front exit to numerous to let this be a tempting way out.

Tambo looked around, finally pointing over to a hatch with a ladder at the end of your lane to the right that seemes to go down to the lower level. "Your horses are down there. We must get them out before this thing starts to burn or some gak. I... I think there also where some large doors at starboard when we boarded" His tone implied that he was not sure about that, or if those were big enough to get a horse through, but looking at the teeming mass of soldiers around you on the brink of panick, with guns and all aiming for the main ramp of this deck, the idea did not sound too bad.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 11:16:20


Post by: Dekskull


Teodor is in combat now. He feels his muscles start to freeze up as adrenalin starts to pump through his veins. He forces himself to focus and that is when he notices the stuck hatch on the drop ship. He taps Wynona on the shoulder and gestures to the hydraulics.

"The hatch is stuck. If we got someone up here with a blow torch we could cut through the hydraulics and open the hatch up!"

He hoped he was shouting loud enough to be heard over the general chaos going on all around.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 12:19:08


Post by: OldMate


Simond takes a moment to observe how the others free themselves from the accursed cage that had locked each of them in. Then he stumbles to the hatch Tambo has indicated.

"Balwin get down there and calm the horses!" He bellowed. Last thing he wanted was to start the battle with a good sized bruise or a broken rib.

All the soldiers faced that open ramp with their gonnes. They were like the first few attackers into a breach. They'd be cut to ribbons as soon as that ramp lowered. That was not the direction that lead to a fabled end.

Besides he'd have to run the gauntlet to the foe anyway, the horse's speed might be the difference between life and death.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 14:14:47


Post by: Easy E


Njal nodded at Tambo, and didn't wait around. He jammed the release clasp on his harness and grabbed his ruck. Just like in the old unit!

He jumped up and dashed to the ladder Tambo referenced, dropped his ruck, and slid down the ladder after it. He cleared the way, and looked around in the green combat light to get his bearings.

There were definitely animals down here. They were shrieking like mad, and the smell was worse than the conscript barracks.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 17:16:01


Post by: Bobthehero


''Being shot at is one way to serve the Emperor, after all, wasting the enemy ammo is one way that will victory'' Poncho commented while working the release, his carapace helmet had banged left and right, but the heavier piece of armor did its purpose. ''But then again, so is killing them'' The Kriegsman mused, his words ending in a grunt and a few choice words about large insects and their relation to someone's mother. His Hellgun, a far cry from the weapon he had used while serving with the Fifth, was a mess of tangled cable and power pack, gone were the attachments the Grenadier had used to his advantage back when he fought side by side with his fellow veterans, before him was a bare weapon, workable, but of lower quality than what he had been used to.

At least the ship stopped moving, and it gave time for Poncho to work on freeing his weapon, tempted as it was to just cut down the cables and use a spare, wasting gear tended to cut one's lift short, and so the ex-Grenadier took the long way around. It was, also, a rather convenient reason to avoid rushing out of the ship with the first wave.

Talk of horses made the Deathworlder turn around, slinging the freed back-mounted power pack's sling over one shoulder ''Horses? If they got in, there's a way to get out. We could use that to flank our foe's position, possibly?'' His voice was muffled by his rebreather as he spoke, and the last check ups were done on his weapon, the overpowered lasweapon hummed with stored power, charged up and ready, although kept on the ''safe'' setting for now.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 19:12:31


Post by: Pyroalchi


Outside

Wyona gave Teodor a puzzled look "What?" before she looked back at the hatch he was gesturing towards and realizing what he meant. "Good idea! You got a blowtorch on you?" Hurrying over to the lander she crossed her fingers to give him a leg up, obviously taking his idea as volunteering to try and unjam the hydraulic. Regardless of the existance or non existance of a blow torch in his equipment, this would at least give him the opportunity to look inside through the slightly opened hatch and talk with whoever was there. A first peek through the opening reveales some movement inside, a couple of troopers from the looks of it.

Inside, upper deck

Njall is the first at the ladder, immediatly followed by Balwin. The others follow them on their heels, but need a bit longer to get their stuff. Seeing that his powerful gun has gotten in the way a bit, Tambo comes over to Poncho and offers "Can I help you?" doing his best to untangle the Grenadier. While his first comment of service to the emperor seems to find not so much agreement with the Askari, the second makes him chuckle a bit. "Hear, hear!"
His remark regarding the horses earns an enthusiastic nod as Tambo exclaims "Of course. And they had to get the Chimeras on here somehow!"

Inside, lower deck

As Njall hits the lower floor, he is greeted by the same pulsating green light as above. As he already expected, the horses down here are definitly not having a good time. At least they had been fixated pretty good with a special crash harness and a lot of padding. They look uninjured as far as he could tell, but all but panicking, as they feel trapped inside the harness. The younger Feudal worlder that had been sitting next to Simond was dropping down the ladder just behind Njall and ran over to the animals, trying to calm them with soft wispers and a certain kind of body language. Looking around Njall can make out a lever at the side of each horse-crash harnish that is labeled "release", but might be unsure if it is wise to point Balwin towards it just yet.
The Chimeras inside are bolted to the floor for transport and will likely not move anywhere soon, as long as you don't have something like a lascutter at your disposal. One might be able to use their Heavy Bolter and Flamer though to defend the hatch. On topic of that: the big hatch the Chimeras must have entered through is jammed after having opened maybe 10 degrees. Maybe enough for an athletic trooper to climb up, wrangle through the opening and let himself drop down a couple of yards, but definitly no way out for the animals. directly beside it at port you find a small cogitator screen with lots of buttons that should have something to do with the hatch
Spoiler:
a succesful Operate +10 lets you hit the right runes immediatly that will lower the ramp at least to an angle that you foot soldiers might exit through and a talented rider might make his steed jump through. Else you would need some minutes to do another Operate +30 while thumbing through the menues.

At starboard you can make out a door, likely for maintenance or something that should lead outside, but seems to have a mechanical lock on it.

a couple of seconds later, the others - Tambo, Poncho, M'gele and Simond also come through the hatch downwards. Through the gap in the forward ramp you can see movement and hear human voices. The face of a young man appears shortly, peeking inside.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 19:34:21


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho accepted the offer for help with a nod, and soon enough he was ready for war properly. However, given the bulk of his gear, he motioned for the others to descent the lower decks first, just in case the passage might prove a little too tight for the heavily armored man.

''This troop... I mean I, I am a person'' The Kriegsman began to speak when he joined them below ''I've not been given training in the arcane ways of the Mechanicum'' He said when he save the cogitator. ''But a Hotshot round should cut the lock on the side door? That would give us an option if we can't lower the ramp''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/10 21:09:28


Post by: OldMate


The others had pointed and talked about some large metal machinery near the door. It must have been the machinery responsible for lowering the ramp similar in some way to the chains and winches that raised and lowered a drawbridge.

As Balwin calmed the mounts he checked around for any piece of metal that could be used to lever the mechanism. If he could find sturdy chains or rope he could rig the animals up and attempt to lever the mechanism. The rigging would not be ideal but the animals would generate much more force than any of them ever could.

The alternative could be that he rigged a blasting egg into place and set it off from behind the "tank", he and balwin had waxed linnen thread in their kits for repairing leatherwork, it would be sturdy enough to work as a lanyard. But he was wont to waste any of his eggs here.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 02:25:17


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore peered through the gap and saw the troopers.

"Hey you got to get this hatch open quick. We're getting cut to pieces out here!"

He looked through his tools quickly but didn't see a las cutter or blow torch in them, so he quickly realizes the plan to cut the hydraulic wasn't going to work. Maybe the troopers inside could figure something out. "The front way is frakked! Just get the damn thing open and hurry up!"

After that bit of shouting, he gets down and takes up position. He nervously peers out behind the corner of the drop ship, auto gun at the ready.

If any gretchin or green skin comes into sight, he'll quickly take an unaimed shot at it before ducking back into cover.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 04:38:42


Post by: Easy E


Njal heard the voice, and knew it was true. He would let the others deal with the ramp for now.

Instead, he went and started releasing the Chimera from its transport locks. This was the kind of work the infantry had done while the crew stayed warm inside, and kept the beast's furnaces hot. He was able to do this even if had his choppers* on.

Spoiler:
OOC:
Are the Chimera's crewed, or are we going to have to operate them out of here?


*= Choppers are large winter mittens with thumbs and no separate fingers often used in extremely cold conditions.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 07:51:29


Post by: Pyroalchi


Inside

As he comes down, Tambo eyes the lock at the side door that Poncho mentioned and hurries over, pulling a set of slim metal tools from one of his pouches. Going down on one knee he slips them into the lock and begins finicking around in it. "Good idea. But give me a shot at it first and conserve your ammo... By the way, what's your name?" He adds, still slightly surprised about Ponchos comment about being a person. Did the Kriegers determination for duty really go that far, that they see themselves more as troops, than as humans? And if so, what changed the man in front of him?
Spoiler:
first security roll to open the lock missed. Tambo would need some time


Njal can see that the transport locks that hold the chimera in place are a set of 2 big clamps on each track-side that are fixed with large screws to the transports floor. Something one would usually need a power-screwdriver to loosen up, but on the other hand: a screw can't be tight if it's liquid, so Njal's lascutter might fix that problem. Unfortunatly the Chimeras Crew seems to be on the upper deck with the others, but just now another trooper from St. Paul in the same cold weather gear as your drops down the ladder, obviously after seeing you getting down there and hurries over to you to help.
Spoiler:
I'll leave the description to you. That's your comrad


As he exclaimes that they should get the hatch open, Teodore can hear a voice from inside "Would if we could. The darn thing is jammed!".
As he peer behind the corner he can see that a huge pile of rubble lays between him and the firefight going on on the other side of the dropship. The heap of debris is roughly 2 yards high, but looks stable enough that one could climb above it, if so inclined. The twisted metal might make for some good cover, but the sharp, serated metal is also some pretty dangerous ground. Further up is one of the big rockcrete blast shields of the landing field, almost 3 yards high and nigh immune to the weapons of the Greenskins, should one need cover against it.
Just now you can see two of the smaller Gretchin creatures peeking around the small opening left in between rubble and blast shield in a mischievous way. It seems they have gotten away from their bigger, cruel cousins and are just looking for a place to hide. On the other hand they might warn their tormentors if left unattended to. For now they don't seem aware of Teodore and Wyona.

Balwin finds some solid looking chains stored away on a big drum at the wall that might be used that way, but he has no real idea where to fix them too. By now Simond has also arrived and might help him out. Your horses are a bit calmed down now, but still in their crash harnesses. Looking around you can see a kind of lever beside each of them
Spoiler:
if you can read low gothic: it says "release" there.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 10:15:39


Post by: OldMate


Simond sees the flaw in his plan. The horses are still in their harnesses, the mechanism is different to the cage that had held him into his seat up above in the dropship.

Obviously he can't use the blasting eggs to free the horses, it'd blow their heads off.

Simond attempts to investigate the harnesses as he can't read the imperial script upon a small lever that seems to be of no consequence.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 14:18:19


Post by: Easy E


Njal nods to his fellow St. Paulian. The man had his photovisor down, so he was just a scraggly, brown bearded chin at the moment. Now was not the time for small talk anyway, and Njal pointed at the chimera.

"Get in side and warm up the furnaces, I will cut us lose."

Njal opened his ruck and pulled out his las-cutter. He flipped down his own photo visor, and turned the device on.

As he bent to his work, Njal muttered to the restraining clamps, "I am sorry for the rough treatment friend, but you have strayed from the Omnissiah's light, and I need to return you to his glorious purpose."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/11 19:16:54


Post by: Bobthehero


''This trooper desgination is 5-6-56-5. Er. Poncho, if you're a Catachan'' Maybe he hadn't meant to fall back so easily into the impersonal way which the Kriegsmen referred to themselves, but he did almost without thinking, and it took a moment to add that second part, perhpas with the distraction of combat, the Deathworlder fell into old habits all too easily.

''Damaging Imperial equipment is a serious offense, this... I would rather not break anything if it can be helped'' Pressure on someone trying to figure out how a cogitator worked was likely not the best course of action, and after speaking, the Kriegsman went to look for crates and storage chests, anything to build a barricade if such was needed, though, he would also use anything as additional height to look through the partially opened ramp and get a better insight of the situation outside the ship. As he's not expecting enemy contact, given there were no bullet impacts on that side of the ship, he is not ready to shoot at anything.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 01:00:47


Post by: Dekskull


As he exclaimes that they should get the hatch open, Teodore can hear a voice from inside "Would if we could. The darn thing is jammed!".
As he peer behind the corner he can see that a huge pile of rubble lays between him and the firefight going on on the other side of the dropship. The heap of debris is roughly 2 yards high, but looks stable enough that one could climb above it, if so inclined. The twisted metal might make for some good cover, but the sharp, serated metal is also some pretty dangerous ground. Further up is one of the big rockcrete blast shields of the landing field, almost 3 yards high and nigh immune to the weapons of the Greenskins, should one need cover against it.

Just now you can see two of the smaller Gretchin creatures peeking around the small opening left in between rubble and blast shield in a mischievous way. It seems they have gotten away from their bigger, cruel cousins and are just looking for a place to hide. On the other hand they might warn their tormentors if left unattended to. For now they don't seem aware of Teodore and Wyona.


Teodore shudders in terror at the sight of the grots and feels himself freezing up in terror again. He gestures to Wyona and points to the grots and then to the nearby cover.

With his arms shaking, he takes aim at the grots and pulls the trigger...nothing happens.

He fumbles with the safety lever, takes aim quickly and opens fire, one single shot. (Auto Gun is shooting semi-automatic).


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 03:16:25


Post by: OldMate


Simond fails in his half hearted investigation of the horse harnesses and utters some curses under his breath. He has sort of decided to let everyone else deal with things for a while and see what happens.
Spoiler:
or in otherwords he slacks off because he has had time to feel they can't be in a life threatening situation, he hasn't heard anything to make him think the landing zone is contested, despite his earlier words


Whilst he does so Balwin decides to ask one of the closer guardsmen for help.
Spoiler:
i think Njall is closest


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 06:47:28


Post by: Pyroalchi


Wyona also peeks around the corner to look for the Gretchin and draws her sidearm - a brutal looking autostubber. As the Greenskins are still about 70 yards away she wants for them to get closer as she does not have the range. Teodore on the other hand manages to steady his shaking hands and get one of the buggers into his iron sights. But as he pulls the trigger, the kick back of the weapon he is still very much unaccustomed to lets the shot go completely off target while painfully smashing his colarbone. Even worse, the next round seems to be stuck, but a healthy shake and pull on the bolt lets it fly out, readying your weapon again.
Spoiler:
90 on the Ballistic test, so no hit and almost jammed result.

The two Gretchin cower down as they hear the shot whizzing through the air a yard above their heads and look for its source, making out Teodore and gesturing through the small open space they were peeking through. A moment later another two Gretchin appear and all four start running towards you, firing wildly, but far out of range.

Wyona gives Teodore a slap on the back of his head "Way to go, Wilhelm Tell..."
Behind you, you can hear the creak of a metal door opening and see the first troopers jumping out


Inside
"Come on... yes!" Tambo exclaims, as his work with the lock seems to bear fruit and the side door creaks open. Not to soon as you all can hear an autogun shot from outside the hatch followed by some wild gunfire from somewhere else. Regarding Ponchos comment on damaging Imperial Equipment he gestures around "It's a heap of scrap anyway. But we need that ramp open!" Then he jumps out and hurries over to the two humans crouching in cover behind the shuttles bulk, paying attention to not be right under the ramp the others are still trying to open.


Njals comrad nods in agreement "Will do! " and scales up the Chimera, opening its drivershatch with some quick hits on the right runes before slipping inside. Moments later the engine starts up, coughing out small clouds of smoke and soot while the passenger door in the back unlocks audibly.
One by one the holding clamps succumb to the threatment of the lascutter - the Machine god seems to be appeased by Njals prayer, letting the device in his hands do the work quickly.

Simonds investigation of the horse crash harness reveals it to be a rather sturdy assortment of ropes and metal that would take some time to cut through, as M'Gele, the second Askari shouts over "The lever! You have to pull the lever!" before exiting the craft through the now open side door.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 10:17:09


Post by: Dekskull


 Pyroalchi wrote:
Wyona also peeks around the corner to look for the Gretchin and draws her sidearm - a brutal looking autostubber. As the Greenskins are still about 70 yards away she wants for them to get closer as she does not have the range. Teodore on the other hand manages to steady his shaking hands and get one of the buggers into his iron sights. But as he pulls the trigger, the kick back of the weapon he is still very much unaccustomed to lets the shot go completely off target while painfully smashing his colarbone. Even worse, the next round seems to be stuck, but a healthy shake and pull on the bolt lets it fly out, readying your weapon again.
Spoiler:
90 on the Ballistic test, so no hit and almost jammed result.

The two Gretchin cower down as they hear the shot whizzing through the air a yard above their heads and look for its source, making out Teodore and gesturing through the small open space they were peeking through. A moment later another two Gretchin appear and all four start running towards you, firing wildly, but far out of range.

Wyona gives Teodore a slap on the back of his head "Way to go, Wilhelm Tell..."
Behind you, you can hear the creak of a metal door opening and see the first troopers jumping out


Inside
"Come on... yes!" Tambo exclaims, as his work with the lock seems to bear fruit and the side door creaks open. Not to soon as you all can hear an autogun shot from outside the hatch followed by some wild gunfire from somewhere else. Regarding Ponchos comment on damaging Imperial Equipment he gestures around "It's a heap of scrap anyway. But we need that ramp open!" Then he jumps out and hurries over to the two humans crouching in cover behind the shuttles bulk, paying attention to not be right under the ramp the others are still trying to open.


Njals comrad nods in agreement "Will do! " and scales up the Chimera, opening its drivershatch with some quick hits on the right runes before slipping inside. Moments later the engine starts up, coughing out small clouds of smoke and soot while the passenger door in the back unlocks audibly.
One by one the holding clamps succumb to the threatment of the lascutter - the Machine god seems to be appeased by Njals prayer, letting the device in his hands do the work quickly.

Simonds investigation of the horse crash harness reveals it to be a rather sturdy assortment of ropes and metal that would take some time to cut through, as M'Gele, the second Askari shouts over "The lever! You have to pull the lever!" before exiting the craft through the now open side door.




Teodore pulls himself back behind cover as the grots open fire on him, not realizing that the grot weapons had no realistic chance of hitting him. He breathes heavily and counts to himself one...two...three, then pops out, takes aim quickly and sends another auto gun round into one of the approaching gobbos. After that he pops back in and sees Tambo getting out of the transport. He nods his head slightly to the man, but is unable to get his adrenalin under control enough to speak coherently...not until the immediate threat is dealt with.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 10:19:24


Post by: OldMate


Simond reached out and pulled the lever, and the harness simply lifted out of the way, he was that shocked at the ease of it that he almost forgot to grab the reins of the mounts.
"Balwin, get your rotting feet over here now! Mount up!"
He pulled himself into his saddle.
He felt alive now. This is how a man went into battle. This was the only way to go into battle. He finally could tuck his javelins away into their sheath on the rear of the saddle.

He sided his horse to the wall rack where a pair of cavalry lances were secured. He freed them rested their buts on the floor of the spacecraft.
Balwin climbed into his saddle a little clumsily and when the man was fully in the saddle he handed the lances to the man.
"I will show these 'greenskins' the fury of Kitheria. When we find the creatures I will have an opportunity to show these men how battle is properly joined."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 15:05:29


Post by: Easy E


With the chimera free, Njall turned his attention to the frosted ramp. He would need to get that open if his efforts on the Box were going to be any good.

He dragged his ruck over to the pad and gave it a look. This was way more complicated than what he was use to in the back of a Chimera. However, back home it was normal to triple secure insulated bulkheads and sealed hatchways. If the doorway failed, and the cold got in; everyone was in danger. The big enemy was going to be time.

Njall casually saluted the small device, "My comrade-in-arms, I pray for your assistance in serving the Omnissiah." He then started scrolling through the menus, each sub-menu causing him to get more anxious until he began muttering to himself, "Snowball's chance in...."

Spoiler:
I am going to try Tech-use. I believe I have a 56 in that skill. I assume this is something you roll for us Pyro?






Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 17:30:49


Post by: Bobthehero


For the Emperor! *Came the cry from the Kriegsman, who followed along when the side door was release. His demeanor changed noticeably when the gun shots were heard. Hellgun was held up at the ready, as Poncho adopted a position to better handle his weapon in combat, his bulky carapace plate faced right from where bullets would come from, stopping them in their tracks.

It was easy to spot the enemy, after all, wild fire was anything but subtle. He had not yet noticed anyone else but the Guardsmen that stepped out of the ship, and his target, a leering gremlin holding a mess of metal and wood, making quite the ruckus with it. Taking just a moment to aim ready himself (taking the +10 BS quick aim action). An armored finger pressed on the trigger, and a bring beam of purple energy scythed through the air, smacking the the man's target with the full force of the blast (Rolled a 14 hit, with aim and single shots, that's 5 degrees of success. Rolled a 3 for damage, for a total of 9, with Penetration of 7 if there's any cover involved)

Contact! We have Greenskins here! *Now he truly wished he could by with a fully fledged regiment, having to shout everything only made them a target. Wait, no, that was what he was meant to do, be a target, to spend his life for the Emperor, redeem his homeworld by... dying, killing for the Emperor. The Kriegsman remained standing, gun held high, as the internal debate raged on. With a shake of his head (passed the Willpower check to act with self preservation in mind with 34, needed 49), he reminded himself that a useless death redeemed noone, and he found himself right by two unfamiliar faces*


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 19:15:23


Post by: Pyroalchi


As Teodore pops out a second time he pulls the stock of his autogun tighter to his shoulder, as they had shown it in basic training, lines up another shot in this time - even though he still thinks the stupid weapon kicks like a mule - the shot finds its mark. While the approaching Grot tries to make some evasive maneuvre - or is just to dumb to run in a straight line - the bullet takes him in the leg. In an almost commical contrast to his first fumbled shot, it is a near perfect hit, shattering the small xenos' knee to bits, sending him to the ground, unable to do more than crawl slowly towards cover which by now looks agonizingly far away. The small creature screams and laments, whatching his broken limb in horror, while his comrades still run towards you - even though looking a lot less motivated then before.
Spoiler:
hit, with 10 rolled for damage (righteous fury) => 5 on the critical scale. The Gobo is pinned on the ground, stunned and unable to move more than 1 yard per turn. Nice shot!


The two soldiers that first joined them are still bringing their weapons to bear, looking around them and peeking around the corner. When the older of the two sees the medical bag and the sign of Saint Aesculap on Teodores helmet, he grabs him friendly by the shoulder, pulling him back a bit "We'll need you later, friend. Let us handle this for now."

Meanwhile another soldier, armored significantly heavier has exited the lander, his face hidden by a gasmask and a pretty massive looking lasgun in his hands. Without hesitation Poncho rounds the corner and opens up with a single, precisly aimed shot, that hits another of the creatures in the leg, going right trough it and into the rockcrete ground behind it. While wounded and loosing blood, it seems less hindered than its unlucky cousin and keeps on coming.
Spoiler:
7 damage get through and bring him to 0 wounds. So not affected yet, but every point of new damage will leave a mark

All three of the remaining Grots start firing on the armored attacker, yet due to the huge range and their very limited ability to aim at anything, their shots go all over the place.


NEXT ROUND

Njals work on the cogitator beside the ramp is surprisingly succesful and after only seconds of thumbing through the menue he realizes the similarities with those he is used to from back home and manages to hit the right bottons. With a squeaking of tortured metal and machinery, the hydraulic pushes through and the big ramp comes down almost completely, ending maybe half a yard above the ground. Deep enough for the horses and the Chimera, even though it will not be the most pleasant ride down there in the APC. That's what suspensions are for, right? His Comrad sees the opportunity and starts driving slowly towards the opening, so that Njal would have the opportunity to jump on board.

Simond therefore finds the way free and can charge out if he wants. Exiting the ramp he will see three Grots running still determinantly towards the rear ramp from the side so they cannot see the Chimera yet. They are about 40 yards away

The two dark skinned soldiers that first joined Teodore peek around their hiding place, not looking eager to join the armored one and maybe even using him as a bit of a distraction. Tambo and his comrad take their time to align a shot carefully, ever mindful of conserving the very spare ammo they have at their disposal. They go for the already injured Grot, hitting him square in the chest which knocks him to the ground pretty hard, hitting his head on the rockcrete and leaving him out cold for now.
Spoiler:
full aim action: hit with 42. On body, as Ponchos shot already left him at zero wounds, the weak lasgun hit (only 6 damage and no AP) still puts him unconscious for two rounds.


The remaining two Greenskins now decide that going for the seemingly harmless human that first shot at them was not that good of an idea after all, turn around and try running back to where they came from to get reinforcements or just hide away somewhere.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/12 20:47:01


Post by: OldMate


As the ramp lowers Simond hears the sound of combat. He roars a battlecry and puts his beels to the flanks of his mount. As it thunders from the ramp he spots three diminutive greenskins making their way towards him. 40 yards is a good distance for his horse to gather speed into a gallop.

Simond laughs in mirth for the pathetic adversaries, they had nothing on a balgorn or brusnik, he readies his lance and aims to stike the central creature on his pass, which will take him to the large concrete blast shield. Balwin is behind and to the left and will attempt to lance a second grot.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 00:25:11


Post by: Dekskull


The two soldiers that first joined them are still bringing their weapons to bear, looking around them and peeking around the corner. When the older of the two sees the medical bag and the sign of Saint Aesculap on Teodores helmet, he grabs him friendly by the shoulder, pulling him back a bit "We'll need you later, friend. Let us handle this for now."


Teodore didn't even see the results of his shot. He just instinctively tucked back into cover. When he started to pop around the corner again he noticed that the remaining grots were either downed or running away. He looked out at the arriving soldiers coming off the loading ramp along with the chimera and sighed a sense of relief.

He ducked into cover and allowed himself to sit down. The adrenalin started to drain from him and he found that he could speak again.

"Right, you need a medicae just call out."

He gestured to the area where the grots were fleeing toward. "Greenskins weren't even supposed to be this far in. They just came out of nowhere.

I think there's maybe two squads of Bronthian Long Knives pinned down beyond those barricades. They'll be dead if you off worlders don't move quick!"




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 03:17:20


Post by: Easy E


"You have performed your duty admirably, now rest," Njal told the little cogitator as the main ramp lowered with a screech.

It was like Njal had walked through the sanitation steamers back on the drill rigs. A blast of hot air hit him square in the face. It was heavy, and hard for him to breath. It was like the entire atmosphere was made up of steam from a hot cup of recaf! Sweat sprang up instantly on his forehead.

"Ugh, no frosted way...." he mumbled as he gathered his ruck. He tossed into the back of the APC as it slowly passed and he hopped in after it. He glanced around for anyone else who may need a ride before sealing up.





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 04:54:22


Post by: Bobthehero


While Poncho at first decided to head for cover, the bang of an autogun rang clear in the air, their paltry foe had gone down quick, and a shot from that dark-skinned brother from another planet sent his original target faceplant hard on the rockcrete. He reconsidered, as the last two Gretchins were fleeing already.


''More troopers are coming, with vehicles. We gather and charge as one unit, else a messy, piecemeal charge will end up in very wasteful deaths!'' He called to the others, rising his voice to ensure he was heard over the fact he wore a rebreather, comm beads were solely needed here ''Do you know how many Xenos we're facing?''

His Hellgun was held at the ready, the switch remained on single shots as he took aim at the fleeing foes, the horsemen had been in the process of freeing their mounts, after all, perhaps a charge was soon to be called? And so Poncho held his fire, opting instead to finish off whatever Greenskin wouldn't be felled on the charge he assumed was coming.


Spoiler:
Doing an Overwatch action, with the trigger being that Poncho will shoot the most injured, but conscious, Gretchin that might survive after the cavalry arrives, shooting a single shot.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 10:11:54


Post by: OldMate


Simond was bellowing with laughter as his horse bore down on the diminutive foe. The creature was wiry built but clumsy, a challenging target to the untrained, but good practice.
The creature was caught completely unaware, and turned to run or do something.
"This is not war, this is sport!" Simond bellowed with mirth.
Spoiler:
To quote a certain Sultaren

The point of Simond's land dipped at the last moment
Spoiler:
needed a 59, rolled a 91 so the charge is almost flawless

The blow hit the creature's right arm and nearly tore the limb off completely.
Simond cursed as he thundered past, just a little more to the left and he would have hit it square in the body.
Spoiler:
4 damage, grots are pretty hardy, right?

He had no want to wheel the horse around in the arc of any foe's gonnes so he kept on towards the barrier, Balwin following.
A quick glance over his shoulder told him that either Balwin failed to hit the thin little target with his lance, or he'd frozen up at the critical moment.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 10:29:49


Post by: Dekskull


Two of the lower floors of the skyport hotel are burning and there seem to be intense firefights going on between some squads of Brontian Longknifes that have entrenched themselves behind a huddle of containers and concrete obstacles and routs of greenskins of varying sizes, firing their curde weapons all around them without even the attempt of aiming and charging through the fire towards the human defenders. Other groups seem to turn up everywhere - some of the smaller Gretchin creatures crawling out of a sewage manhole a hundred yards to your left, some of the bigger ones just pushing themselves up after climbing from somewhere lowere - the lower parking decks maybe? - unto the border of the landing field etc.

At this rate the defenders right here will likely be overrun soon, as most of the Brontians have just been send away towards the suspected main thrust of the Xenos.


Teodore managed to pull himself to his feet and gestured to the barricades in the distance. "I don't know how many green skins snuck up into the landing field, but I'd say a lot of em, and they got the jump on a lot of people."

He looked to Wyona. "I don't see any officers here Sarge but I'd say we're safer off staying with these off worlders until this mess gets sorted out."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 13:23:55


Post by: Pyroalchi


Even though they don’t quite hit them fataly, Simond and Balwin overtake the two remaining Gretchins and continue further towards the blast shield to run the gauntlet and get into the back oft he Greenskins fighting their comrades in the shuttle. As Simond turns around to see if Balwin did have more luck with his lance attack, he can just make out the Xenos being hit by a purple colored lasbolt from the Hot-Shot gun of the Deathworld soldier he had been talking about with Tambo
Spoiler:
Not sure how you rolled, but as you can loose two shots a round I highly suspect you will kill him, Bob
. The last remaining Grot runs for his life towards the opening between the heap of rabble and the blast shield and is almost there.

Teodors comment regarding the other Greenskins earns him a stern nod from the two dark skinned soldiers with him, while Wyona exclaims „Maybe we can flank the Xenos over there and help the other soldiers disembark.“ while she nods in agreement with Teodore that for now it might be best to join the offworlders which the older one answers with a rather informal „Good idea, kid!“. The trace of doubt regarding their chances of making a difference with a flanking maneuvre are blown away first by Simonds and Balwins charge from the mouth oft he burning shuttle and afterwards by the rattle of the Chimera tracks rolling down the ramp - both of which Poncho had already announced.

As the transport with Njal and his comrad on board drives on the ramp, the tormented metal budges a bit more down, but still you can feel the small drop down to the rockcrete shuttlepad deep in your bones. Not being the best marksmen, Tambo and M’Gele decide to rather try their luck in the Chimera and jump into the passenger hatch, nodding gratefully to Njall. „Praise the Skyfather, friend! Can you drop us off near the rubble?“ hoping to get a swift ride there, instead of running over themselves. Should Poncho, Teodore and Wyona
Spoiler:
your decision, Dekskull
make any impression of wanting to join them, they would offer a hand to enter the moving vehicle. Afterwards each of them grabs hold of one of the fixed lasguns in the ports at the sides of the transport, fiddling around with the setup they are not very accustomed too.
Of the four Grots, only one is still on his feet and running towards the opening, on which Njal could open up with the Multilaser. The one laying unconcious on the ground instead finds a quick final end, as your driver makes a slight turn with the sturdy APC flattening him under his tracks. The last one that had been hit by Teodors shot still crawls terribly slowly towards cover, but at that rate and out in the open, he is basically of no real concern.

Spoiler:
I updated the situation around the shuttle. So far you cannot see the Greenskins behind the barricade, but as you will soon, I thought I will just include them already.
Note: the two crossed out Grots are dead, the one with the single red line is the one still crawling, if someone wants to take a pot shot at him from the Chimeras Lasguns I would say he can do at -10 BS, as you are moving.

I assume you will move as indicated by the arrows, so the Chimera towards the rubble/opening to set down Tambo and M'Gele, the Riders go around the Blast shield?
If so: you will need the next round to reach the rubble with the transport and Simond and Balwin can position themselves in a way that they can see what's up with the Orks and are in optimal charge distance next round.

Regarding the Orks: There is one Runtherd in the back. Under him are 4 Grots with shooters, who are in cover against the Imperial soldiers on the shuttle ramp and peppering it with bullets (the smaller light green circles.)
Then you have 3 big Greenskins with Shooters and Axes who are already at the foot of the ramp, with some fallen humans to their feet. Their wild shooting hinders the imperials to spread out and get more than a couple of themselves an open fire lane and they are about to charge the ramp. Last but not least there is one guy (marked red) with a flame thrower who is sneaking along the big heap of rubble to get to the ramp and bath it in promethium which would be catastrophic for the defenders.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/13 22:23:13


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods as he sees the off worlders boarding the chimera.

"Well...no officers, no orders. I guess its just us and our common sense."

He applies said common sense and boards the Chimera.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/14 11:10:55


Post by: OldMate


Simond rides the length of the blast barrier. As he passes it he spots a much more larger and imposing greenskin along with another pair of grots.
"Finally a foe worth slaying." He growls to himself and turns his horse towards the target.
With luck the advancing imperial war machine will draw their attention.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/14 15:02:55


Post by: Easy E


After helping the others onboard, Njal slides up into the turret. He had never really been up in the Commander's cupola so this was all new to him. Everyone in the squad had been cross-trained into various jobs as redundancy. However, he had been trained as a back-up driver and not a turret gunner. However, a Las is a Las right?

The Ice worlder grabbed the commander's headset and slipped it on. He clicked over to intercom, as he tried to look through the hatch scope, He wanted to stay buttoned up as best he could.

"Didn't catch your name Dragoon?"

"Erc Redhand, Tundra Hawks, 3rd Company, 4th platoon, you?"

Njal paused for a moment. Redhand? Normally, a son or daughter carried their father's name forward in their surnames. it was a sign of honor and respect to your elders. There was only one meaningful reason you would not do this. If you had committed some heinous crime or deeds and you had been disowned. Then, the law may strip you of your birthright name and assign you another based on your crimes. How did this fellow end up in a Regiment at all? No time to worry about any of that now.

"Njal Pietrson, Arctic Wolves, 2nd Company, 2nd Platoon. You got eyes on any greenskins? I am having a tough time locating them,"

"Yup, I am heading right towards a little one."

Njal adjusted the scopes, "Copy that."

"How do we want to do this?"

"Over the top. Path of Least expectation," Njal fastened his combat harness and put his hand's on the multi-lasers controls.

Njal toggled the intercomm to the passenger area, "We are going over the top of the rubble. If you want to come along, buckle in. If not, you may want to exit out the rear hatch now. Should be going slow enough."

He had no idea if this was going to work at all.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/14 22:06:34


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore climbed into the back seat and hunkered down. If they started taking fire he planned to grab a hold of one of the las turrets, but for right now things seemed relatively safe.

As he heard the tank commander speak he looked around in confusion.

Ummm, what regiment are you all from anyway? Isn't someone supposed to be in charge?"

Teodore wasn't expecting an answer...this wasn't exactly a standard military operation. More of an off the cuff desperate emergency.

One that he hoped would end quickly so he could get back to planning his escape...



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/15 07:10:06


Post by: Pyroalchi


in the Chimera

"Why is it so frakking cold in here?" M'Gele exclaims while huddling his garment closer around bis shoulders while Tambo tries to handle the lasgun in the Chimera array in a way to get the last running Grot into his crosshair. In reply to Teodores Question he replies "Thoth Askaris, 582nd light infantry." while regarding who is in charge he chuckles "Guess we'll figure that out later. For now just look what the guys around you do and ride with the flow, kid." Wyona seems more than just a bit put off by that comment and their complete ignorance of her technically higher rank, but is professional enough to not make a big fuss about it - right now.
Finally accepting the very limited firing arc, Tambo grabs his carbine again and notches his comrad in the side. "Thanks for the ride, Njal! See you later." before disembarking with a clean jump out of the back hatch when the vehicle slows down to scale the heap of rubble.

Out of the transport the two Askaris hose down the last unlucky Grot with two quick shots. The first hits its back and throws the creature off balance, while the second hit turns his right lower leg into red mist. Rolling on the ground it looks like the small Xenos falls into shock from the blood loss, at least he doesn't make the impression to go after his dropped weapon at all.



Spoiler:
A string of mostly good rolls for our team. The Chimera maneuver is successful
@ Easy E: thanks for pointing me towards your Character sheet. Nice to see you so good at Tech use, which would have made lowering the ramp even easier. But you managed.


"Aknowledged!" Erc exclaims through the comm and shifts into a lower gear as the Chimera hits the big heap of rubble and starts to climb it. The dragoon seemed to have found a relatively stable stretch of the heap and gets the shifting just right, so that the armored transport gets in sight on top, obviously taking up the attention of the Grots in cover, that were just laying suppression fire on the ramp. Looking in that direction they also can see their unlucky brother, that had been hit by Tambo and therefore turn their attention over to that flank. This suits Simond and Balwin just fine, even though the runt herd seems to have heard them and has turned to face them. With a more annoyed than angry look on his face he shouts towards his subordinates who are uselessly peppering the armored vehicle with their little stubber rounds. "Oi, ya gits! Forget aboot da wagon! Partees ova hear!"

Spoiler:
@ Oldmate: feel free to charge if you like


The Ork carrying the heavy burner does a few steps forward to not get crushed under the chimera tracks but is a sneaky one. Instead of just throwing some promethium on the APC just now he seems to wait to see if the exit ramp at the back is open or someone jumps out. And for that he shouldn't waste the surprise too soon. Neither Njal nor Eric are aware of him yet, as he is out of their field of vision


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/15 11:18:59


Post by: OldMate


The attention of the orks was solely fixed to the imperial warmachine as it crested the rubble pile. He aimed his pass to the left of the big greenskin.
The mount thundered across the landing pad, its steel clad hooves beat a tumult of war which was punctuated by the gunfire elsewhere in the settlement.
The ork seemed unaware.
Spoiler:
Okay, so I got it this time needs below 59 rolled a 40 for the charge

Simond set his lance across his body as the ork turned towards him, caught suddenly by surprise. It wasn't like the light strike he'd done on the diminutive greenskin, this was a worthy foe afterall, Simond couched into the spear. He felt it impact, felt the blow pushing him against the high back of his war saddle, felt the heavy ash shaft quiver in the moment that he loosened his grip on the shaft. The point was buried deep into the greenskin's chest, and the lance was lost for now. The creature was driven heavily to the ground, but if it was alive or dead he did not rightly know. But he did know he could not have hit the beast much harder with the lance.

Spoiler:
rolled a 10: maximum damage! + 7 from a 2nd attack because 'furious assault!' Not sure how tough the ork is, and Simond is past the creature, will be glancing over his shoulder to see the result and making his choice of the next weapon to choose based on the result


Simond looked over his shoulder and saw the Ork pulling itself to its feet whilst pulling its guts back in. He bit his lip, and turned his mount hard, the foe was indeed strong. He reached into the pouch at his belt.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/17 14:12:42


Post by: Easy E


"Mission accomplished," Njal thought "they were now all shooting at them!"

He clicked the comm to life, "Let's keep their eyes on us. Advance at a walk."

Erc double clicked back to acknowledge.

With that Njal, squinted through his sights and started peppering the greenskin position with the multi-laser. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep their heads down so the other guardsmen could clear the lander.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/17 23:49:30


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho really did start to reconsider his choice, the Chimera was never a spacious vehicle, although he rarely rode in one, and those times were when he server with his fellow from the Seventy-Sixth Assault Brigade's Storm Chimeras. For all their flaws, trenches where at least open topped more often than not, as were the smaller Centaurs his unit favored to ferry Grenadiers around the battlefield.

''I'll get the hatch'' He announced to the others, following suit with his words and making his way to the turret. ''Keep us steady, hm? Orks might be large, but we need accurate fire to kill them for good'' The disgraced Grenadier added as he unlocked the hatch and pushed it open.

The expressionless skull mask took sight of the battlefield before him, searching for targets of opportunity to fire at.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/18 13:20:36


Post by: Pyroalchi


Before his subordinates can really react to the runtherds intimidating orders, Simond has already reached their master, the horseshoes of his mighty steed striking sparks from the Rockcrete floor. As the massive Xenos raises his slugga to defend himself, the Feudal worlder is already speeding past him, his cavalry lance an almost invisible crescent of sharp steel that slashes in one perfect deadly swoop across the Orks belly. The force of the impact throws him of his feet and to the ground, his attacker already on his way to the Ork boyz attacking the ramp further back. Bellowing more with rage than with pain, the runtherd struggles back up, shouting insults at his Grots who are just now starting to send some salvos of shoota fire in Simonds and Balwins direction. The hit that would likely have bisected a human seemed to have left little mark on the body with its bulging muscles, but as Simond and his comrad glance backwards to see the result of their attack, their target suddenly doubles up, putting his left hand to his stomach. Dark red, almost black blood gushes out between his fingers and here and there you can even see an inkling of his entrails wriggling. Simonds cut seems to have hit the mark perfectly, cutting it open from one hip to the other. The ork sends a wild, unaimed shot towards their direction, yet seems to be mostly busy with keeping concious - or even just alive.
Spoiler:
as mentioned the Runtherd suffers only 1 damage after toughness and armor, but a critical result of 7 on body because of the rigtheous fury. He now has a 10% chance each rought to outright die of shock and a 20% chance of suffering another 2d10 damage. I would say the higher the worse for him:
rolled a 3 and a 7, so he is alive so far.


While the runtherds shot goes wild, the four Grots get the riders in their ironsight, fireing enthusiastically - and would likely hit them just due to weight of dakka and relatively short range, but just then Njal opens up with the Chimeras multilaser as soon as Simond is clear of his field of fire. Not that practiced with the turret mounted weapon he just depresses the trigger, swinging the gun a bit to the left and right to force the Greenskins into cover - a task for which the fast firing weapon is specifically well suited for. As the lasbolts start flying, leaving smoking burn marks wherever they hit, the Grots scream in panick and duck down thus stopping to try and shoot Simond from his horse. Even the still rather tough looking runtherd goes down on his knees and crawls - his live still quite literally in his hands - towards what shelter he can find. The Chimera meanwhile advances across the rubble heap, slowly and steadily going downwards. 
Spoiler:
BS test: 59, Njal doesn't hit anything. But the 4 Grots all botched their pinning tests and are now pinned


As Poncho opens the hatch on top of the troop compartment right behind the turret, he can hear the rapid discharge of the multilaser on full auto and see the turret swinging left and right, obviously supressing the enemy somewhat. But instead his attention is immediatly caught by a much more severe and potentially fatal threat: as he lifts his head and upper body out of the hatch, he can see an Ork that looks even more battle hardened than the others about 10 yards to the Chimeras right, between the transport and the Drop ship. He has a bulky big metal barrel slung on his back which is attached to a crude looking amalgation of badly welded and bolted together piping. The little pilot flame on the tip of it does leave little to speculate on it's function though. The sneaky Xenos seemed to have waited for just this opportunity and sends a gout of flame in the Kriegers direction, hoping to watch him burn...
Spoiler:
On the one hand we said player characters go first in Initiative order, but the Flamer-Ork has specifically waited for this. So I would say we make it like this: Poncho can make one half action, than he is hit by the flamer, then he can make his second half action (or complete a full one). A succesful agility check avoids damage from the flamer as you duck back into the chimera. If you get hit, an agility check can keep you from burning. Remember that you have faith points to reroll a roll which might come in handy in such a critical situation.

A moment after Poncho lifted his upper body out of the Chimera to have a look, Wyona tries to do the same, her Autopistol in her hands, a bit to the side of the hatch and not quite in the Kriegers field of vision, looking in the other direction. It must have been only a matter of split seconds, Teodore realizes rationally, but time seems to dilate endlessly, as he hears the starting roar of a heavy flamer and the start of the ducking body movements of Poncho reacting to something coming from his side of the vehicle. 
Spoiler:
Teodore succeeded in awareness to see whats going on. He did not quite made the agility check to pull Wyone into cover, but succeeded in the one keeping her from burning. I would say we count that as intermediate result and (if you want to that is) Teodore pulls her into cover before she gets hit too badly and manages to put out the fire. But she is definitly hurt.


Meanwhile Tambo and M'Gele were obviously slowly advancing through the gap between rubble and blast shield, hugging what cover they could find. With the Grots being pinned behind cover, both of them decide that with their limited marksmanship there is little to gain for them there. Just this moment they hear the Burna of the big Ork roar to their right and try to bring themself in a position to shoot the source of the flames. At the moment they can't see it though and have to wait until the Chimera clears the heap of rubble.

Simond and Balwin hear the rapid "fieeew!fieeew!fieeew!fieeew!fieeew!" of rapid laser fire behind them together with a sudden stop of the slugga fire that came after them a moment before, as well as some bellowing flamer somewhere to their right, but right now their attention is on the three hulking Greenskins in front of them. Each is armed with an axe as big as a man and a crude looking one handed gun and all are just charging up the ramp to the shuttle. Freed from the constant fire of the grots, they can see some of the Imperials inside finally dish out some serious counterfire that they can now focus on the charging Orks. Weary of using a flamer in such narrow confines who could spell desaster of it was hit by a random shot, the first line is build by lasmen flanking a Krieger and an Arctic Wolf with a meltagun each in their middle. As already feared, the laser shots leave the Xenos completele unimpressed and with an example of agility you would not have expected from the oversized grunts, one of the Ork Boyz dodges away just in time to avoid the superheated wave from the St. Paulus Troopers melta. The Kriegsman on the other side waits right until the last possible moment, accepting his certain dead should he miss and fires his weapon at point blank range. With an actinic flare, his targets head literally vaporizes into a steaming red mist, the bulky body still running several steps regardless - to determined or to dumb to realize it is dead - thus tackling the Krieger and two other soldiers to the ground.
Spoiler:
That's 27 damage from a called shot to the head... Transfers to 9 on the critical chart. That boy is very, very dead...


Simond might just have the time for one single action to maybe bring another one of the beasts down - or at least increase the defenders chances, before the other two will hit their lines.
Spoiler:
so you can make one full action. If you want to throw a grenade I will just expect you readied it just in time that it will explode within that timeframe.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/18 14:43:55


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho saw the pilot light, and the pile of scrap it was attached to, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was what, and how uneviable his position was. Krieg's indoctrination kicked in there, the compulsion to stand defiant in the face of the enemy. But getting burned to ashes while peeking outside of a Chimera's back hatch seemed like a waste, he had yet to exapnd his ammunition. With all that going on in his head, the disgraced Grenadier ducked back down into the APC, reaching up with his arm to close the hatch and ensure liquid fire wouldn't follow him inside the armored vehicle.

''They have a flamer! Turn the Chimera around, or it'll cook us as we disembark!'' He informed everyone in the vehicle when he returned insidie, as he made his way to the disembarking hatch, awaiting the call from the crew to press the button to exit their ride.


Spoiler:
My dice were on fire there, 29 for the Willpower check to actually take cover, and 7 for the Agility roll to dive back inside. Looking forward to rolling 100 for a trivial shot


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/18 15:04:14


Post by: Easy E


Njal heard the son of Krieg, "What? A Flamer? Where?"

He keyed the comms to Erc, "We need eyes on that flamer! Come about on the far tread. Swing her ass out wide."

Erc clicked twice to acknowledge and swung into action.

That should shelter the guardsman inside the machine to disembark safely out the back and disperse as needed. The Grots wouldn't have the firepower to do much against the APC's side armor.

Njal rapidly cranked the turret to get sights on the enemy as the machine began to move under him. He did not want to unbutton to get his bearings at the moment. The commander's periscope banged painfully against his face.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/18 23:44:32


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore pulls Wyonna into cover as the burna's flames singe and burn the PDF sergeant.

He frantically does what he can to put the flames out. as smoke fills the cramped crew compartment.

"Got injured here!" He calls out and attempts to apply some first aid to Wyonna. (Probably some burn cream if he has any, or anything else appropriate for the situation.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/19 09:08:27


Post by: OldMate


Simond turned his horse and charged for the three greenskins making their way towards the dropship's ramp. He came in at an angle so he could easily curve back away from the drop ship, pulled the blasting egg from his pouch and very carefully pulled the wire pin from the thing as he reached the edge of the dropship ramp and as he slowed his horse, a moment later he turned it quickly and spurred the beast into a full gallop.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/19 12:37:14


Post by: Pyroalchi


Poncho ducks back in cover just in time, but can still feel the heat on the top of his head, as the flames of the burner wash across the Chimeras side and ceiling. Slamming the hatch closed he barely avoides getting the fire inside. Wyona is a bit less lucky, collapsing down on the floor screaming in pain and fear, as Teodor pushes out the flames as good as he can. Her helmet and uniform have taken the worst of the drops of burning fuel that hit her, but the hair on the back of her head is burned short and curling and her skin around the neck and shoulders will definitly need some care. Right now her biggest issue might be shock though, as she is obviously in panick from the fear of being in flames and burning.
Spoiler:
You can describe your care as you wish, your treatment - medic roll was 18, so... 4 degrees of succees. Near perfect. . Everything from shouting at her to snapp out of it, a slap on the cheek or a sedative might be fitting. And it seems you have just the right creames, salves and maybe some "space magic" skin regenation device in your advanced medkit.


All three of them feel the Chimera violently shifting as Erc puts her into a sharp turn to face the new danger and allow Poncho to exit the vehicle in relative safety. Njal also has to hold on tight in the turret to not be smashed against its side and loses the Grots he was just suppressing out of his focus. Instead he can see the big Ork with the flamer for a moment, before the beast turns his device on again and the optics of the chimera are blocked by fire and black soot. Shooting with the multilaser would thus be kind of a shot in the dark, but worth a try anyway...
Spoiler:
so a total of -20 to hit the ork with a direct full auto burst. Alternatively you can try suppression fire again, but I would give him a slight bonus to not get hit or pinned, as you don't know exactly where he is

Above the rear exit door, a small warning light shifts from red to green, as Erc tries to give Poncho the hint he was waiting for. At least the transport won't give better cover any time soon and nobody knew if the Greenskin would run around it with his flamer and if so, how long this would take.

Outside M'Gele and Tambo see the Chimera with it's multilaser swing around and realize that Poncho might need cover to safely exit the vehicle. So both of them aim towards the direction of the Grots to keep them occupied while he does so, switching to controlled bursts peppering the rubble heaps over there and using what cover they can find angled behind the Chimera. Unfortunatly they don't hit anything, with Tambos lascarbine even almost jamming, some electric discharge setting free from its power socket, zapping the Askari. Nontheless, only two of the Grots dare to get back up and return fire in honest, while the other two remain low - as does the runtherd who still clinges to his live, shooting wildly with his pistol while clenching the other arm to his belly. Within all those shots flying their way, two slugs indeed hit Tambo. While the first glances of the iron wood shield on his shoulder, the second ricochets of the Chimera and badly hits the side of his head, leaving a long and bloody slash from his temple through his hairline. The lasman more falls than ducks back behind the Chimera and needs some moments to swap the blood from his eyes and realize that he indeed is still alive - a very very close call. But the fire exchange leaves Poncho open to exit the vehicle in relative peace.
Spoiler:
Tambo was hit for 12 damage after Toughness applied. So he is at 0 wounds. Every damage from now on will have consequences



Up on the ramp, Simond throws the imperial blast egg between the two hulking brutes, but misjudges his speed, so that it goes almost 4 yards more to the right then he was intending. Therefore the shrapnells flying around completely miss the left ork but rip deep into the right ones leg tearing his crudely made clothing to bits and turning it into a heap of bloody shreds. Devoid of his second leg he slams face first into the ramp, swinging his axe wildly around himself while crawling forward, forcing the foremost Imperial soldiers to back off a bit. The other one storms the drop ship through the ramp, haking and slashing with his axe while the Guardsmen inside do their best to fight him off. The blood toll will be severe, but outnumbering their foe extremely, the Imperials should be victorious in the end. Simond had done what he could, skipping the odds decidedly into the favor of the imperials. Now his options are either to join the chaotic melé on the ramp or circle back to flank the Grots and Runtherd that seem to still be engaged with his ernstwhile comrades. Last but not least he can also make out the Ork carrying the burner which is another - if extremely dangerous target.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/19 14:50:06


Post by: Bobthehero


Time to go! The Kriegsman made ready to dart of the Chimera, but he gave his comrades a moment to provide some covering fire. Instead, one went almost down to a nasty ricochet hit. It was the very same Guardsman that welcomed him so nicely to this warzone, when they were in the dropship. This would not stand! Poncho rounded the corner of the Chimera's hull, lifting his Hellgun, pointing it at the two Grots who fought besides their larger Runtherd. The Grenadier unleashed a barrage of purple, overcharged laser beams into his targets.

The beams, unfortunately, went wild, all over the place, missing their targets entirely. The masked man left out an annoyed grunt and turned his masked face to the two other, more exposed Guardsmen. ''Get him inside, quick! Quick!''

His gun was still held up, ready to provide what would be, hopefully, more accurate cover fire as the battle went on.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/19 20:04:23


Post by: Easy E


Instinctively Njal turned away from the blast of fire. He was relatively safe, for now, inside the chimera. However, he was not sure how long that would be true.

Sweat trickled across his brow and down his face. It was not evaporating, because it was so frosting steamy here. He shook his head to shake it off, but to no end.

He steadied the commander's goggles and leaned back in, scanning for the Ork. The flame and smoke was obscuring his view, and he squinted with a desperate futility. If he saw that greenskin, Njal was going to give him the full light show and ice that xeno.





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/19 20:50:35


Post by: OldMate


Simond. Bit his lip. He'd stuffed up that throw amd one of the beasts was still intact. He couldn't just let the thing get into the troops on the ship. He wheeled his horse around to face back to the ramp, his hand went to the hilt of the chainsword he spurred the mount up the ramp as he drew the chainsword and held it ready for a heavy downward strike from behind.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/20 03:03:05


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore's "first aid" was relatively simple and straight forward. Some calming, and some quick application of Salve cream. But as soon as she realized she wasn't trule injured, Wyona was on her feet and ready to get back into the fight.

"Thanks for the assist, but I'm fine kid. I've had sunburn at the beach worse than this. Now save that stuff for when you see a real injury." Wyona grinned and grabbed a hold of a nearby latch as the Chimera moved fast to reposition itself.

"Wait a minute, we're not going out there again are we?" Asked Teodore.

Wyona looked back and scowled. "On your feet trooper. Get ready to move."

The green light on the rear hatch lit up and Wyona and Teodore followed the Kreigsman out of the hatch. Scanning for targets and ready to lay down auto gun fire on the nearest targets. (Will target the nearest visible enemies).


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/20 08:45:10


Post by: Pyroalchi


As Poncho calls him to get Tambo under cover, M'Gele has already put his fellows arm around his shoulder, supporting him while both stumble towards the Chimera door, from which Wyona and Teodore just emerge. A quick glance by the combat medic tells the Skrynne Conscripts that the older soldier will live and might even be able to trigger the lasgun array inside, but the fight on the ground is over for him. Both Askaris have an exchange in their own dialect and while the others can't understand every single word, in the essence Tambo scolds M'Gele that he should stop pampering him which the other replies with some kind of swearword and the sarcastic plea to stop bleeding on his uniform.

Now free from supression fire, the Grots shoot enthusiastically but very undisciplined at Poncho, but still one or two bullets might have found their mark, would he not stand half in cover behind the chimera from whose armorplates the small projectiles bounce harmlessly.
Spoiler:
I assume Poncho would not stand out in the open without specific reason to. He was hit once, but at the legs which are protected by cover

The Krieger more feels than sees Wyona and Teodore getting on his side. The PDF sergeant - now finally close enough - lets lose with her autopistol, while the Combat medic goes down to one knee, steading his weapon and taking another single, careful shot. Much to his own surprise he hits one of the creatures again, a clean shot right through his shoulder at the root of his neck which sends the Xenos staggering a bit back, sending his burst of bullets wildly into the sky. "Good shot!" Wyona exclaims, satisfied that the Recruit that was obviously still far out of his element still puts up a pretty good fight.
Spoiler:
That Grot (the nearest) is now at 0 wounds. Every next hit will do critical damage


Simond rears his horse around and storms up the ramp, Balwin at his side, to get to the last Ork Boy. The Brute has already decapitated one soldier lying to his feet and is barely held back by several Lasmen with combat knifes, entrenching tools and fixed bayonets. These have a hard time trying to pepper him with lasbolts, as they parry for their live. But taking out the other greenskin with the blast egg has left half of the ramp free, so that a couple of soldiers were able to clear the shuttle and take aim at the big ork with the flame weapon - Emperor be praised.
Simond has to concentrate on his actual task though and finds himself in an excellent position, attacking the Grunt from behind while he is more then occupied with all the soldiers around him.
Spoiler:
I guess you should need this first action to get into position (a charge-attack seems unwise with all those friendlies around). But in your next post you can describe the result of the following, that I assumed you will try:
All out Attack+ another attack out of your talent "furious assault" both hit, each one arm for 6/5 damage respectively. But the first triggers rigtheous fury on the right arm for 4: you slash open his arm, tearing the skin from the appendix. His axe-wielding arm is useless for 4 rounds and he goes to ground in agonizing pain and with only 1 wound left. I guess that will spell his end, because all the soldiers around him now get +10 to close combat and he can neither dodge nor parry. Feel free to describe them hacking him to pieces


With all the gouts of flame and smoke, Njal can't see gak, but as FINALLY a couple of Guardsmen can clear the ramp, they start putting shots in the back of the massive brute. Just due to his size and ridicilous anatomy, these do not seem to do much besides mildly annoying him, but this is all it takes, as he fails to keep his flamer right on target. For the brink of a second, Njall has a clear sight of the Xenos legs, quickly swings the Multilaser on target and presses the trigger for a direct and focussed burst. Even though inexperienced with the heavy weapon, a target this close and big is hard to miss... The rapid firing weapon lets loose, chipping chunks of rockcrete up and finally hitting both legs. While the first one is already hit hard, the lasbolts quite literally explode the flesh on the other leg up to the hip and sets the whole Xenos on fire. An agonizing dead, which is cut a bit shorter as the obviously also damaged flamer tank ignites and goes up in a massive explosion, sending a miniature mushroom cloud of fire and smoke up in the air. The shockwave and resounding "BOOOM" can even be felt inside of the Chimera while Poncho, Wyona and Teodore are deafened for a moment, their hearing coming back slowly with a high pitched ringing. They can make an educated guess regarding the destiny of the burna-wielding Xenos though.
Spoiler:
I granted you half point blank bonus for being so close. Still there were quite some negatives and Njal still succeeded with 2 degrees of success. Man Multilasers are mean! The first shot brought him to Zero wounds, the second did a 20 (!) on the crit table for leg...


With their biggest trump gone, all four Grots seem on the brink of breaking and trying to leg it, but their handler, still too stubborn to die, shouts all manners of curses and treats at them, keeping them in the fight for now. Meanwhile he himself fires blindly with his Slugga over the rubbleheap in the direction of the Chimera, but seemingly more to make a general point than to hit anything, as he ducks further into cover, exposing very little of himself.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/20 10:04:52


Post by: OldMate


Simond's mount slammed into the beast's back as the creature raised its axe, and he leaned forwards changed his swing to a diagonal cut intended to intercept the axe strike.

His hand held down the trigger of the weapon and it growled heartily with fury. The chainsword bit into the beast's forearm, and the teeth snarled up a mass of the creature's tough skin. Thinking quickly Simond used the chainsword to pull the creature's arm backwards in a way its arm was not designed to function.
Spoiler:
So basically he is twisting the creature's arm against how it is meant to biomechanically function,(assuming its arm joints work basically like a humans) and simultaneously the blow is pulling its raised arm backwards which would pull the beast backwards and off balance and there is not much it can do with any of its strength, its like a grappling/dagger technique but I imagine the chainsword would offer a fair amount of grip, especially with a heap of tough ork skin snarlled up in it,

The beast bellowed with pain and rage, and the axe dropped to the ground, It attempted to turn and free its arm but the snagged flesh tore free, stripping the green flesh from its forearm almost completely.

A guardsman down below struck the beast or it slipped as it turned and it fell. Simond brought a return blow upon the creature and caught its other flailing arm with the snarling, hungering teeth of the chainsword a moment before the beast crashed to the ground.
Suddenly surrounded by dozens of vengeful guardsmen the beast did not have a chance. Every soldier that could piled in, butstocks, bayonets rose and fell, sharpened shovels, hacked, and knives plunged into the beast until long after it ceased moving.

Simond backed his horse from the frenzied butchery and turned it towards the crippled ork on the ramp.
His belly was full of fire and glory would be his this day.
Thick dark blood dripped from his horse and his chainsword onto the steel flooring of the dropship.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/20 10:29:07


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nearly panicked when the blast wave went off and his ears started ringing. He crumpled into a ball out of instinct and shouted curses.

When his hearing returned, he looked around to confirm that he wasn't dead. Then regained his senses and a little of his nerve. He knew there were injured, but they all seemed to be "walking wounded." No one was shouting out for a medicae so he knew his job was to keep fighting.

After attempting to take cover, he and his PDF Sergeant comrad look out toward the runt herder ork (the one controlling the grots).

The big ork seemed to be the biggest threat, so Wyona and Teodore started to take aim and shoot at the ork with their solif projectile weapons.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/23 05:11:23


Post by: Bobthehero


The bigger the Ork, the better it was for everyone involved that it died quickly. Stabilising his Hellgun on the side of the Chimera, Poncho pointed his overcharged weapon and let loose two powerful bolts of energy into his targets, an extra shot was rarely wasted if it landed on its target, after all. His shots landed true, the first one just barely hitting the Orks in the head, while the other sliced through the Xeno's thick set body. The Grenadier kept his gun held up high, ready to fire more lasers into the Runtherd if those initial shots weren't enough.

Spoiler:
59 to hit on the first beam, hit the Ork by 2 points, phew, right in the head, for 11 damage. Second hit is 45, which lands in the Ork's body for another 11 damage.






Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/23 09:55:13


Post by: OldMate


Simond sheathed the chainsword and retrieved a javelin, he put his spurs to his horse and sped down the right hand side of the dropship's front ramp.

He was more concerned with keeping from being between the guardsmen and the nearby orks than anything, but he hand not forgotten the crippled ork on the ramp.
As he came approached the ork he hurled the javelin, more to keep the beast's head down than anything, more to make it flinch.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/24 14:19:53


Post by: Pyroalchi


Simonds steed clears the ramp in a brisk trot, not totally comfortable with the ringing metal beneath it and while it does not shy away, it is obviously not keen on getting near the puddles of blood here and there either. His javelin – more thrown as distraction as to really kill the crippled ork crouching on his one remaining leg misses the creature, but succeeds in taking its attention, as it swings his left arm with the slugga towards the rider instead of focussing on the troopers leaving the dropship. Those on the other hand have enough sense to not take any risks even with a severely injured Ork and have lined up in two text book firing lines, leveling a dozen lasguns switched to high intensity and full auto. Before the Ork can pull the trigger, it is hit by dozends of lasbolts in rapid succession and while each single one of them does not really do much to the hulking physique of the thing, the pure amount of firepower rapidly shows results. The sixths hit explodes part of his arm into a mist, the 8th takes out its eye and half of his face, around the twelfth his scrap metal armor begins to melt and by the end of the barrage only a heap of burning and smoldering flesh mixed with charred and half molten metal remains of the attacker. By then, Simond is already on the way to ride a wide circle and get in the back oft he remaining Xenos behind their cover.

On the other side of the battlefield, Poncho, Teodore and Wyona focus their fire on the runtherd, who is half behind the cover of the rubble heap popping up now and then to send some shots flying in their direction. Due to the very limited range of his weapon and his poor marksmanship a not very promising endeavor and likely more aimed on keeping his Grots in the fight, whose sluggas and blastas pose a significanlty greater risk. Even though he is half standing, half kneeling in a growing puddle of his own blood he amazingly still keeps himself upright.
Teodors and Wyonas shots are kind of on target, but unfortunatly hit the rubble barricade, at least beginning to detoriate it a bit. Some fragments of their projectiles even hit the scrap armor oft he handler, but fail to do any real damage. Ponchos shot similarly goes a bit too low but due to the very high power of his Hot-shot gun smashes right through the barricade, hitting the Xenos in the leg. It starts to wear him down a bit, but he still is a tough nut to crack.
Spoiler:
so I give the runtherd 8 cover. Teodore did 9 damage, which transfers to 1 after cover doing nothing tot he runtherd, but reducing the cover to 7.
Poncho hit the leg, the 7 cover is punched through by his AP and he did 2+4+2 (from mighty shot) damage. After armor that unfortunatly also transfers to 0 damage. But I would say in between the three of you all hitting I reduce him at least by one wound. So he is down to 13 and his cover to 6
He also still bleeds (10% chance to die each round) and has a deep belly wound (20% chance for extra damage) that both just haven’t triggered yet.


While Tambo is still rather shaken by his wound, he and M’Gele can at least grab hold of the Chimeras lasgun array and in between the two of them somehow manage to trigger all three guns pointing in the direction of the grots. Not in the mood for anything fancy they just swing them around wildly, trying to force the Xenos deeper into cover to support their squadmates. While the shots go all over the place and do little more than a beautiful lightshow they seem to scare the little buggers enough that they get sloppy with their aim and send their sluggs wide of from Teodore, Wyona and Poncho. Taking a rough glance inside the Chimera it does not look as if the Askaris are in a state to provide more than this kind of covering fire, but at least it is something. The suppression fire is also supported by further lasgun shots from a couple of troopers from the ramp, while others seem to try and go around to put the enemies in a crossfire. You can also make out Simond and his horse – as far as you can see uninjured and in high spirits – clearing the ramp again and also circling round.

Having dealt with the Flamer wielding ork, Njal sets the Chimera turret in motion to take aim on the Grots and their handler again. Through the still rising smoke he cannot make out much from the ramp, but as Simond is just clearing it again and various lasbolts start flying from there towards the Xenos behind the rubble barricades, the favors seem to have shifted towards the imperials. Turning he sees that Tambo and M’gele already suppress them nicely with the lasgun array and therefore decides to take his time for a careful, long aim to maybe rip one of the enemies apart with a full auto burst as soon as possible.
Spoiler:
I hope it is OK, I would assume Njal takes a full aim action this turn. Than he can shoot at -10 (full auto)-15 (heavy lasweapon without proficiency) +20 (full aim action) +10 (short range) =+5 next round

Meanwhile something keeps nagging in the back of his mind, that he struggles to really pin down. The feeling of having missed something really important that might become a really big problem soon. As he puts the remaining enemies into his crosshair it suddenly hits him like the shock batton of a drill sergant: the drop ships engines are still running… which means the fuel lines leading to them have not been cut as to imperial regulations for vehicle accidents and emergency landings… which also means the burning engine you saw on starboard is still in conctact with the crafts fuel tanks…
A series of potential ways to deal with this flash through Njals mind, his knowledge about imperial tech irreplacable at this moment.
- The fact that the engines are still running means the pilots are either dead or unconcious.
- The troopers might clear the lander in time with the wounded – if someone warns them.
- If the ship explodes, even if the troopers can evacuate, several Chimeras and a lot of equipment will be lost
- There might be a way of cutting the fuel from one of the cogitators in the troop bay, but this would include finding the right submenues
- This would be a lot easier from the cockpit where there are clear levers for it as well as the pilots who might help if they get medical attention, but the way leading to it might be blocked or damaged and who knew if there is a locked door…


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/24 14:43:51


Post by: Easy E


"By the Emperor's Frozen Throne," Njal muttered under his breath. Just when things were starting to get under control, he recalled the blazing engine on the side of the drop ship. That could lead to a hot time for everyone, especially if they were still on the ship.

He popped on the internal vox, "Erc, Try to keep those troopers covered with the Chimera. I got to get inside to the pilots."

Redhand clicked twice to acknowledge.

Njal reached up an popped the turret. It was still warm to the touch, even through his gloves. He started to crawl through the top, just like the emergency evacuation drills. It was made a bit more complicated by the flaming chemicals still stuck to the front of the tank.

He managed to slip clear of the tank, and started running towards the front of the ship,

"Evac that can stat!" Njal yelled to the troopers on board. He had to get to the cockpit to shut off the fuel lines.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/25 10:27:49


Post by: Dekskull


"By the Emperor's Frozen Throne," Njal muttered under his breath. Just when things were starting to get under control, he recalled the blazing engine on the side of the drop ship. That could lead to a hot time for everyone, especially if they were still on the ship.

He popped on the internal vox, "Erc, Try to keep those troopers covered with the Chimera. I got to get inside to the pilots."

Redhand clicked twice to acknowledge.

Njal reached up an popped the turret. It was still warm to the touch, even through his gloves. He started to crawl through the top, just like the emergency evacuation drills. It was made a bit more complicated by the flaming chemicals still stuck to the front of the tank.

He managed to slip clear of the tank, and started running towards the front of the ship,

"Evac that can stat!" Njal yelled to the troopers on board. He had to get to the cockpit to shut off the fuel lines.

Pyroalchi
Post 2022/10/24 14:19:53 Subject: Re:Against the Savages - Only war RPG
Simonds steed clears the ramp in a brisk trot, not totally comfortable with the ringing metal beneath it and while it does not shy away, it is obviously not keen on getting near the puddles of blood here and there either. His javelin – more thrown as distraction as to really kill the crippled ork crouching on his one remaining leg misses the creature, but succeeds in taking its attention, as it swings his left arm with the slugga towards the rider instead of focussing on the troopers leaving the dropship. Those on the other hand have enough sense to not take any risks even with a severely injured Ork and have lined up in two text book firing lines, leveling a dozen lasguns switched to high intensity and full auto. Before the Ork can pull the trigger, it is hit by dozends of lasbolts in rapid succession and while each single one of them does not really do much to the hulking physique of the thing, the pure amount of firepower rapidly shows results. The sixths hit explodes part of his arm into a mist, the 8th takes out its eye and half of his face, around the twelfth his scrap metal armor begins to melt and by the end of the barrage only a heap of burning and smoldering flesh mixed with charred and half molten metal remains of the attacker. By then, Simond is already on the way to ride a wide circle and get in the back oft he remaining Xenos behind their cover.

On the other side of the battlefield, Poncho, Teodore and Wyona focus their fire on the runtherd, who is half behind the cover of the rubble heap popping up now and then to send some shots flying in their direction. Due to the very limited range of his weapon and his poor marksmanship a not very promising endeavor and likely more aimed on keeping his Grots in the fight, whose sluggas and blastas pose a significanlty greater risk. Even though he is half standing, half kneeling in a growing puddle of his own blood he amazingly still keeps himself upright.

Teodors and Wyonas shots are kind of on target, but unfortunately hit the rubble barricade, at least beginning to detoriate it a bit. Some fragments of their projectiles even hit the scrap armor oft he handler, but fail to do any real damage. Ponchos shot similarly goes a bit too low but due to the very high power of his Hot-shot gun smashes right through the barricade, hitting the Xenos in the leg. It starts to wear him down a bit, but he still is a tough nut to crack.



Teodore took a moment to duck in behind cover and breathe. He tried to remember how many rounds he had left in the rifle's magazine but couldn't quite remember. That's when he noticed Njal climb out of the Chimera and started to make a run for the drop ship. "What in Terra is he doing?" Out of sheer will and instinct, he forced himself out of cover to take another shot at the runt herder. (Thankfully the brute hadn't charged anyone yet).

Wyona followed up with her auto pistol. "Covering fire!" She yelled, popping off a few rounds at the grots and hoping that anyone in ear shot followed suit.

Njal would likely be exposed as he ran to the drop ship, so covering him seemed like the thing to do...Emperor willing.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/26 09:17:52


Post by: OldMate


Things were going well. The glory was his in this battle. Gunfire cracked around him but he was unhurt and unharmed. He spotted the big ork he'd lanced and he put his spurs to his horse and steered it towards the beast. He'd lay into it and its little minions, put them to flight and slaughter them in the name of Kitheria and the God emperor.

This was certainly a different type of warfare. And it seemed so much better for a light cavalryman.

Again he drew the chainsword. It was time to finish the beast. He held the blade high and stood in his saddle.
"For the king! For the Emperor.
To glory and salvation!"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/26 18:54:40


Post by: Bobthehero


That Ork was a stubborn one, and well, the fact that the bright beam of his Hellgun had to pierce through the cover the Greenskin was partially behind certainly didn't help. Poncho left out a sigh behind his helmet, the time it took to transfer him to the penals had done a number on his skills, as he braced his Hellgun properly on the bulky weapon and let loose with another barrage of purple shots... that were shot towards the Ork's right leg. One beam went wide, but two sliced into it's intended target.

The Deathworlder kept his gun trained on his target, as he made sure to use the Chimera as cover, but his head swung left and right in search of other targets.


Spoiler:
37 to hit. Fire a 3 round burst with an aim action prior. That's one degree of success for passing the test, one more for half aim and one more for range. That results in two hits, the first one did 13 Pen 7 Damage, the second, 8 Pen 7


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/27 09:00:11


Post by: Pyroalchi


Njal hops down the Chimera unmolested, as the Greenskins are pretty busy keeping their heads down with lasbolts and bullets flying everywhere. Yet his shout towards the troopers earns him just a bunch of puzzled looks. Over the sound of gunfire and explosions, most of them can hardly hear him and his dialect doesn't really help either. One or two of his fellow St. Paulus troopers seem to get the gist though, and a couple of the brighter ones of those that already left the craft puzzle 1 and 1 together as they see the urgency, with which Njal is running towards them. It starts up much slower, than Njal would have wished for, but he can see the lasmen on board getting their behinds up to leave the shuttle ASAP. As he runs up the ramp, he has to squeeze through a huddle of troopers heading out and once inside finds himself facing one of the Commissars - unfortunatly not the one he has caught during the crashlanding. "Where do you think you are going, trooper?! The battle is out there!" the older man shouts at him with a coarse and raspy voice that sounded very much like business. The man himself is a grizzled veteran, with a long scar running straight across his face and a bionic implant where his right jaw once was. His stare is cold and intimidating, yet at least he hasn't drawn his sidearm... yet.

Tambo and M'Gele have missed Njal leaving and instead of trying to use the now empty turret Multilaser keep the lasgun array trailed on the Xenos behind the rubble barricades. Together with the growing amount of firepower coming from the ramp and putting the greenskins in a crossfire this works like a charm and all of them including the runtherd are forced to keep their heads low. Only one of them is able to shoot at least roughly in the right direction, hitting Poncho at the arm with a glancing shot that is absorbed by his carapace armor.
Spoiler:
6 damage should not go through


Simond crosses most of the distance to the runtherd, yet he sees that right now the other imperial soldiers have begun peppering his positions with lots of shots from their guns from two directions and it seems not so wise to charge in this moment and risk a friendly fire incident. But maybe an opportunity will arise soon.

And the opportunity indeed comes, as Poncho sends an aimed burst towards the runtherd, that disintegrates the rest of the meazly cover he was behind, hitting him in both legs, adding to his already severe bleeding. At the same moment Teodore manages to even headshot the brute, even though the bullet almost glances of from the incredibly thick skull of the Xenos - a shot that would likely have killed a mere human and another testament for the amazing physique of this enemy.
Spoiler:
6 and 2 damage go through from Poncho and another 1 from Teodore, so you shot him down to 4... damn Orks are scary

Those hits really messed the monster up good and in between these new wounds and the heavy bleeding caused by Simonds lance, he finally collapses slowly in his puddle of blood, crawling himself back up again two times but smashing right back to the ground before he finally lets out one last, agonizing sigh and rolls on his back - motionless.

That's it for the grots... With their handler gone and the fight having completely switched into Imperial favor, the little buggers break and try to flee, ducking low and trying to somehow wriggle, crawl and run towards some bolthole they might squeeze through and get to safety. Now Simond sees his chance, as three of them run more or less in the same direction, offering a good target for the soldiers with their guns, while the last one chooses to run completely of course and seems to be out of vision from his shooting comrades. He is heading for a half open manhole cover in the runway, but Simond might just be able to intercept him.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/27 10:34:41


Post by: Dekskull


"Cease fire Cease Fire!" Wyona calls out as the last ork finally collapses and dies just as the charging man on the horse attacked the ork from the other direction.

Teodore collapsed back into cover and fumbled with reloading a spare magazine into his weapon, shocked and scared to death by the whole ordeal, hand trembling the whole time as the adrenalin started to drain out of him.

"Wait a minute....is it over?" He asks.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/27 14:33:44


Post by: Easy E


Frost it all.... he did not need a Black Hat right now! Njal skidded to a halt and snapped to attention, he quickly saluted. This one at least looked like a veteran, so probably knew his way around a battlefield. This called for Njal to hold his ice.

"Sir, Commissar sir. Sit rep is the outside engine is on fire, and could cause an explosion as the Machine-spirits are disrupted.

Per Imperial protocol, the pilots should have cut fuel to the damage. The fact there is still a fire indicates that the pilots are not able or willing to follow Imperial doctrine. How do you wish to proceed, sir?"

Njal snapped a crisp salute. If he could not get through to the Black Hat, he would need to turn around and disembark the landing craft with speed. A bead of sweat sprung up on his brow, and trickled down along the side of his face.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/28 10:36:16


Post by: Pyroalchi


The veteran black hat - Njal believes to remember hearing him being called "Commissar Cole" by the others - takes Njals crisp sit-rep with a cool and level headed demeanor, before aknowledging "Then get your a** up there and do something about it ASAP! Door code is A7729T". The cockpit should usually be locked as to keep the pilots from being disturbed, but naturally the Commissars should have an override code.

Meanwhile Cole turns around shouting orders "You lot over there! Down the hatch, bolt the Chimeras loose and disembark! Junior Commissar Caleb, to me!" he grabs an unlucky soldier nearby by the shoulder and points with his bolt pistol to three others who had the misfortune of being in close proximity "Take these men, and some body bags from over there, go down the lines and grab every longlas, melta- or plasma gun you find!" he raises his voice to an barely believable level "EVERYONE ELSE: OUT! NOW!!!" his order is somewhat underlined by a first, so far only relatively small explosion shakes the craft as some kind of relay or other mysterious technical wonder of the burning engine meets its fate.

Njal hastes upwards towards where he suspects the cockpit to be. Loose cables and sharp edges where the metal floor has broken up from the deformation force him to thread carefully while also hurrying as much as possible. Finally he stands in front of the closed cockpit door, which is indeed locked. The small block of buttons to type in the acces code also looks damaged, with a bunch of small wires sticking out to the side and fizzling with electricity. And as suspected, nothing happens as Njal types in the code Commissar Cole gave him...
Spoiler:
As you have technical knock and know your way around tech I would say Njal somehow manages to open it. But I'll leave it up to you how you describe it. Might be he slaps the poor little cogitator, short-circuits it or maybe you somehow just trigger the opening mechanism by shooting the right part around the door.

If you want to already describe what is inside, feel free to paint an image of a kind of deranged cockpit. The Copilot is dead, the pilot unconscious. Cutting the fuel takes a Tech-Use test -10 that gets 10 points easier every round you try to figure out how. So sooner or later it will work, but the result will depent on how long you would need


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/29 09:00:42


Post by: OldMate


Simond saw three of the critters scurrying away, there was another critter heading towards some kind of hatch in the ground.

He had killed three of the brutes already. The three little critters were running out across the front of his companions and he did not trust them not to shoot him as well.
He had seen that kind of thing before, and these fellows had not exactly the accuracy of one of the King's archers.

He bit his lip conflicted as he turned the horse and dug his spurs in. He readied to swing the chain blade down across the back of the fleeing creature.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/10/29 11:47:47


Post by: Dekskull


 OldMate wrote:
Simond saw three of the critters scurrying away, there was another critter heading towards some kind of hatch in the ground.

He had killed three of the brutes already. The three little critters were running out across the front of his companions and he did not trust them not to shoot him as well.
He had seen that kind of thing before, and these fellows had not exactly the accuracy of one of the King's archers.

He bit his lip conflicted as he turned the horse and dug his spurs in. He readied to swing the chain blade down across the back of the fleeing creature.


Wyona yelled at Teodore. "Not over yet trooper, just get your rifle pointed down range and ready to go once that fellow on the horse is out of the line of fire."

Teodore nodded. He spotted one of the grots fleeing, but held off on opening fire. The PDF troopers obviously didn't want to risk a friendly fire accident particularly as the immediate danger from the grots had passed.

Teodore looked up at strange lumbering Kraigsman and wondered whether his new found comrad would be similarly averse to a potential friendly fire incident.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/02 15:57:38


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho took aim, suffer not the Xeno to live, and a killshot to the back worked just well to ensure this maxim was followed. His Hellgun rose, and spat another bright beam. The capacitor protested, and nothing came out for a moment, just look enough for the Deathworlder to rotate his weapon, murmuring a prayer to its machine spirit.

It was then that the bright, purple beam shot out of the rifle, which was, by now, not pointed at anything, and the laser just sliced into some piece of rockcrete, harmlessly. Poncho huffed, it was far too soon for fouling to have an impact on the performance of his somewhat temperamental weapon.

The little Greenskins, by now, would have to be handled by someone else, as the Kriegsman took cover to inspect his weapn.


Spoiler:
Took aim, rolled a 96 to hit. Oof. At least, since Stormtroopers get a good quality weapon, it's not a jam, but Poncho is concerned


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/03 14:23:55


Post by: Easy E


Njal raced up tot he cockpit, more than happy to be away from the Black Hat. Sure, he was on a ship that could explode at any minute, but at least he knew what was going to set that off. You never knew for sure with the Black Hats.

At the cockpit door, he found the door sealed, and the little cogitator mechanism to open it. He jammed the code in, but nothing happened. He blinked once, then tried it again. Nothing. Frosted little machine. He did not have time for this.

"Your service tot he omnissiah is not over yet machine-spirit," Njal grumbled as he pulled out his multi-tool and took the front covering off. He looked inside at the holy workings and started probing around looking for the right connections to appease the spirit.

"I apologize for the rough treatment, but the Omnissiah needs your function for the good of his people. I implore your aid."

Everything looked in order, so he gave it a moderately hard tap on the side of the case. The connections jingled and jumbled. There was a short spark of life, and the doorway slid open. Not all the way, but enough for Njal to slip inside.

"Praise to you machine-spirit," he said as he slipped past.

Inside, red lights flashed and machine-spirits wailed out for attention. Sparks were being spit the the ones that had gotten the most unruly. The pilots were out out of commission too, but Njal did not have time to check on them.

He dashed to the control system and desperately looked around. Dials were whirling, or non-responsive. lights were flashing all over, and the controls were not like that of a Chimera at all. They were much more complicated, and many of them were labelled in unfamiliar low gothic. By the Emperor's Frozen Throne was an Altimeter?

After a few moments, he found what he thought he was looking for. A palm sized control level on the co-pilots right hand side. It was pushed upwards. Njal awkwardly reached across the man's body, and pulled it to the down position. He craned his neck out the side of the shuttle to see if the engine fire was going out.

Spoiler:

I rolled a 66, which is not a success.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/03 19:04:16


Post by: Pyroalchi


A moment later Teodore can make out that the cavalrymen he saw earlier both change course slightly and seem to go after a target that is out of sight from the other soldiers, Wyona and himself, thus leaving three of the small Greenskins open to fire at them. Wyona and Theodore decide to aim for the one the green recruit had hit, when they had first joined Poncho behind the cover of the Chimera. Teodores carefully aimed shot from the autogun smashes into his right shoulder, smashing bones, while Wyonas autopistol riddles him with bullets, achieving a similar satisfying result. In between the two of them they take the limp of the critter of him, sending him to the ground violently were convulses for some more seconds before succumbing to the heavy blood loss.

Tambo and M'Gele flick the switches of the Lasgun array to high powered as the fighting seems to draw to a close. While they indeed land a shot on one of the other grots, it is only a glancing hit, not enough to take him down before he manages to find some bolthole to crawl into together with his last remaining friend. Not really more luck than Poncho had with his shot.

On the other side Simonds steed effortlessly catches up with the Grot running parallel to his direction, giving the feudalworlder the opportunity to add further to his impressive tally today. The Chainblade in his hand screams triumphantly and slashes a massive cut along the upper back of the Grot, followed up instantly by a backhand cut tearing into his right shoulder and chest. Already falling forward from the impact of the first hit, the second throws the small critter to the side, sending him to the ground. His wound bleeds massively, he is disoriented, broken and almost helpless on the ground, so ending his life is not more than a question of mercy by Simond. This moment two of the soldiers from the shuttle round the rubble barricade and see him and Balwin, giving both an appraising salute. Even though they have those strange imperial guns, they are obviously awestruck from the formidable display of combat prowess both cavalrymen have shown in this battle.


The scene is underlined by the bang of an explosion, as a secondary fuel tank of the dropship ignites and tears the right wing open like a tuna can. The craft itself is shaken badly - with unknown consequences for man and material still inside - but Njal seems to still have time. Some shrapnell like metal shearings fly around hitting a trooper that was too careless with his surroundings in the leg, while another one burries itself deep into the armorcrys cockpit window that fragments in a thousand little shards but holds - for now. Njal has his doubts if it will stomach another such hit and the outlook of the cockpit being covered in countless little shards of armored glass is not really nice...
The lever he has pushed down seems to appease some of the machine spirits, silencing their blaring for now, but it did not immediatly do the trick. Looking through the windows what it might have done, the St. Paulus trooper can see the not-burning engine on the other side shutting down.
Counting 1 and 1 together instantly he hurles the body of the copilot a bit to the side and finds another lever looking like the first one even more to the right - expectedly also in the upwards position. Carefully pulling it down to not enrage the machine spirits by cranking it to hard, the burning engine grinds to a screaming halt. And that's not all! If by chance, the God Emperors favor or the benediction of the holy trinity of Omnissiah, Machine god and the Motive force - Njals Eyes fall upon a block of switches on knee height of the dead Navyman which are labeled with a pictogramm of a flame in a red circle with a diagonal line through the fire. The switches are arranged on a very rough schematic of the Drop Ship itself. He stretches out and flips the right wing switches upwards, which the thankfull machine spirits reward richly...

Outside the others can not only see the burning engine stopping (if they have line of sight) but also hear an audible fizzing and hizzing sound. All over the right wing a kind of fog of a white-greyish powder seems to spray out of various nozzles - whereever the fire extinguishing system is still intact - inhibiting the flames through some means whose mysteries are likely one of the Adeptus Mechanicus well kept secrets. Be it as it may, it seems Njal has indeed stopped the fire, not only saving the lifes of all the troopers to wounded to disembark in time, but also their equipment and at least the majority of the Dropship that might still be salvaged over the next months.

While two thirds of the other troopers, as well as the remaining Chimeras and horses, disembark and join up with the Brontians to mop up the remaining greenskins and get the situation at the Aerodrome under control, Commissar Cole orders the other third including the wounded and your lot to stay with the shuttle. You are not completely sure why, but it seems he has something special for you in mind and does not want to risk you just now. Having done the heavy lifting during this battle you are kind of grateful for that and specifically Tambo gets in line with the other walking wounded to get his injuries looked after.

Spoiler:
I rolled the corresponding attacks. And I took the liberty to roll Njals second attempt on saving the situation which was an exceptional 10, so several degrees of success. Good scene. Obviously the lot of you saved the day and are heroes! Feel free to write an immediate response, I will set the stage for the next scene soon. You can spend 300 XP and of course there will be some spoils of war.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/04 01:17:55


Post by: Dekskull


[Huzzah we win!]

Teodore will take the time doing his job as medicae applying first aid where needed and identifying the more seriously injured so they could be transferred to a nearby medicae facility where more advanced care would be available.

He still feels a little woozy from the battle and will likely be thoroughly depressed once the adrenalin wears off. Despite the "win" the war did not appear to be going well at all and there didn't seem to be any chance of escape. By all accounts, the world seemed as doomed as it was the day before...it was just a question of when.

Still, self interest always had a way of asserting itself.

When he gets a moment he decided to ask his sergeant something that was on his mind. He speaks lowly though as he doesn't want to catch any commissar's attention. "Kind of odd that the Commissar is keeping us here isn't it? It makes me think these off worlders are some kind of elite unit. Might be worth staying with em if we can manage it. I figure, if everything goes sideways they'll want to evac the best troops off world first right?"

Generally PDF were not considered the "best troops." Even Teodore knew that. Like gravity, just another law of the universe.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/04 11:02:09


Post by: OldMate


After the rush of adrenaline and the inside of the ship the heat hits him. Simond pushes his sallet back from his face and wipes the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.

Simond sends Balwin to retrieve his lance whilst he retrieves his waterbottle, takes a drink and pours some down the neck and flanks of his mount. Then he just walks his horse around the area and revels in the admiration and glory of the moment.

There will be battles ahead, and there will be waiting. But this is the moment of victory and he'll be damned before he gives a moment of it up before he has to.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/07 18:32:25


Post by: Easy E


Njal checked the pilots, and revived the survivor. Together they clambered down to the hull, where Commissar Cole had ordered the injured to gather, along with Njal's squad. He left the pilot with some orderly.

Tambo was getting his head wrapped, so Njal stumbled over. His limbs suddenly felt very heavy as the adrenaline from combat left him. He dropped like a sack of rations next to the Thoth Askari.

"You gonna be okay there Tambo? Looks nasty?"

Erc Redhand wandered over and the two St. Paulus veterans nodded recognition to each other. Njal started stripping off his cold weather gear, as he was sweating worse than a hot water pipe through a drill shaft. What kind of a hell hole had they been dropped into this time?

He saw the other guys from his "unit" and waved them over for a seat. Now was the time to hold your ice, while the Black Hats and the Chect Salads decided what you were going to do next.

He pulled out his canteen, and took a long, long pull. Frosted heat.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/07 22:15:21


Post by: Pyroalchi


[Still on the battlefield]

Wyona snorts through her nose a little bit, as Teodore calls the men they fought with an "elite unit", even though she had to admit that the last months have taught her that the often called upon distinction of the Guard as creme on top and the PDF as what remains had some basis in the real world. Still... "They are disciplinaries... Some Bad Batch set into the first wave to amend for their short commings..." which likely is more the drill sergant than the woman herself speaking before she grudgingly admits "Still, they sure know how to fight and would be good company. And you are right... IF someone is evacuated, the Guardsmen are at least much higher on the list than PDF or common civi's
But that's not up to us. Wait and see what Local Command or the Commissar decide..."


Simond definitly gets some appreciation and his horse a fair share of treats from the thankful troopers, as they wait and hear the sound of fighting all around the landing field slowly subside, and more and more Drop ships coming down and flying back up, to get everyone planetside.

As Njall speaks to him, Tambo nods thankfully and already quips "Not to bad. Enough for a nice story at the campfire or to impress the ladies, not too much to pay extra at the brotel..." Njals struggle with the heat finds some almost ironic counterpoint in the two Askaris, who are huddled in their garment and seem to be used to a similar humid, but even warmer climate.




________________

Now LIVE! Don't miss the interview with the heroes of Teta-7... just after a short advertisement break

Thanks to the combined efforts of PDF and Brontian Longknives on the ground and the troopers landing with the first wave of Dropships, the orkish assault on the landing field is finally repelled. Having prevented too serious damage, the reinforcing regiments are now ferried down with all due haste, as the battle in space still seems undecided between the emperors proud navy and the chaotic assortment of vile Xenos vessels poluting the system.

While the other troopers from the redemption platoon are send away towards the barracks, Commissar Cole collects your little lot and keeps you at the skyport a little longer. There you make the aquaintance of Miss Artema Peabody - a spindly thin Administrativum drone whose face and manerisms bear an uncanny similarity with a weasel. Peabody is tasked with coordinating the local media outlets to prevent misinformation and provide the populace with thruthfull and uplifting news. Thruth being mainly a standpoint dictated by the imperial bureaucracy. Even though nothing like the straightforward, upright and unbending Commissar Cole, both seem to share some history and appreciated each others work. And the Commissar is very VERY clear, that he expects your full and unquestioning cooperartion. From their only half private conversation you already catch a glimpse of the essence of the matter in the form of sentence fragments like "...all four regiments and pdf...", "...propaganda gold mine..." and "...too bad they didn't run into some Brontians..."

In a matter of minutes she debriefs you about what EXACTLY happened on the landing field - a grandious and honestly quite epic tale of heroism, comradry and faith in him on earth, so cool you wished you would have witnessed it yourself - before she reminds you, that you in fact did.
Afterwards she is very clear that where your own memory somewhat diverts from her obviously true version, the error is very clearly on your part - a notion which Cole does not hesitate to underline with a very certain look and a hand on his bolter that delivers the message "I can always get some other troopers to play your roles..."


Soon after you are introduced to one Ruby Felicitas Zeforika - an extravagant man in his early thirties, with very... unconventional mannerisms and a stunningly "stylish" dress - a popular artist and popculture icon of the sector that for some unknown reason got himself stuck in the imperial public relation effort and... enriches it in his very own, surprisingly effective way



The next two days are filled to the brim with interviews, pic-shots, podcasts... Simond, Balwin and their horses are even taken to pose for some artisan that makes sketches for a bronze statue that might one day be part of a victory memorial... All of course under the watchful eye and guidance of Administrata Peabody and Commissar Cole. Well-behaved little guardsmen as you are, you play the roles assigned to you, parrot the stories you are told and do whatever it takes. The final result is... impressive. Seeing some of the clips all over the local channels even you feel all like enlisting in the guard and have to admit that Ruby and Peabody definitly know their trade. They even managed to also link some Brontians, that had an impressively heroic last stand - if you can trust the Regimental Standard, which you of course do - almost at your landing side to your lot, this way wrapping up the story of "the Squad of Skrynnes Defenders".



carrot and stick

Of course, nothing lasts forever, whatever you individually though about it and finally Commissar Cole puts all of you on the flat bed of a truck and carries you off to a supply depot, where your regiments have been garrisoned for now. If there should really still be one of you who did not suspect it, Cole explains that for moral reasons alone, the 9 of you are now a squad - for better or worse - and will only return to your units if and when the Administrativum or Commissariat says so. Teodore and Wyone are thus also Imperial Guard now, Wyona becoming private first class as her PDF rank does not just transfer. But regardless of what you think if that idea, Cole indeed seems to see some potential in you - if you manage to melt into a unit. At least he says as much and you don't deem him the kind of commissar who would do so just to appease an audience. After a while you are dropped of in front of one of an assembly of large warehouses that were requisitioned to serve as garrisons for now. Inside numerous compartments have been cleared - mostly by just pushing everything stored inside to the back - to each accomodate one squad. A look inside your temporary new home shows a box of roughly 10 x 10 yards size, with three small, opaque windows on the wall opposite the entry and some single lightbulbs on the roof doing their best to keep in half lighted. On the sides are stacks of local timber which seem to have been stored here to dry - which explains the dehumidifier working with a slight humming in the corner. Overall the climate is pretty bearable even for Njall and a gift on this planet. A bunch of two-sturry bunks have been set up on the sides, directly bordering the stacked timbers, while a ten lockers are on the back wall under the windows. A hand full of armchairs provide and opportunity to rest - their seat covers are made of a flower printed fabric, that looks old and worn out, a bit like they were salvaged from some older residents home.

As you file in, Cole slaps a small stack of paperwork on casket that serves as improvised desk in the middle of the room and smiles. "Now Ladies and Gentlemen... you want the stick or the carrot first? Of course everyday in the service for him on earth is a pleasure, so there are only carrots for those in the Imperial Guard. So I'm sure you are happy to hear, that your days suffering the exquisite food, warm rooms and light camerawork are over and you will have the pleasure of serving again on the frontline soon. Maybe in a week if you are lucky..." which to at least some of you sounded more like the stick.
"Which leaves you lucky SoBs with a whole couple of days to become a functioning squad. Which leads me to this..." with a plink, a pair of sergeant stripes made out of brass land on the casket. "You obviously need a Sergeant. I could name one, but I believe in your case it is better to have one that has your trust. So I'll give you till tomorrow 8:00 to give me a name for a field promotion. Vote, discuss, throw some dice - I don't care. But you have to live with your decision.
Spoiler:
As with the other following things it would be cool if you discussed this in time. While Wyona had a Sergeant rank, she had it as drill sergeant so she is not exactly combat experienced, so she is no "must choice" and would not be against choosing someone else.


Second point..." with which he points to the stack of documents "Your heroic deeds saved quite a lot of equipment. But unfortunatly not every soldier made it out alive that wreck. And generous as you know the Imperial Bureaucracy ALWAYS provides everything that is necessary for an Imperial Guardsmen. So just this once each one of you can have his pick among the items on this list.
Spoiler:

Quality is noted as gq (good), bq (best) pq (poor)
So, as I mentioned: one item each, if not noted otherwise they are normal quality, :

Weapons (number of clips/flasks/powerpacks/whatever in []):
1 Meltagun [1]
grenade launcher (gq, comes with either 3 x Krak or 6 x Frag)
flamers with small side canister [2] (gq)
1 heavy flamer with backpack [1]
combat shotgun [4] (gq)
lots of lasguns, laspistols, Autoguns, Stub-Automatics, Stub revolvers. One of best quality each OR with one sensible weapon upgrade (who comes first can call dibs), the others are normal quality. Each with [4]
Lots of good quality Knives, swords, combat knifes from the Brontians.
1 Mono-Knife (bq)
1 Chainsword (gq)
hunting lance with either 1 Plasma or Melta tip or 2 of any combination of the other tips
a cache with 6 x rare (Krak, Photon Flash), 12 scarce (Anti-Plant, Blind, Halucinogenic, Tube charge) or 18 common or better (Frag, Smoke, Stun, Fire bomb) grenades

Armor:
Imperial Guard Flak Armor or any combination of Flak Armor parts that don't cover a single body region twice (counts as one choice)
1 piece of Carapace armor (not the complete set, but helmet or greaves or etc. )
Upgrade of whatever you are wearing to good (Carapace) or best (Flak) quality

Vehicle:
any one vehicle upgrade for your squad Chimera (yes, you get one )
an Autocannon turret for your Chimera

Equipment:
Any 1 item/upgrade with average or better distribution
Any two average or better or one scarce or worse items from the standard guardsman kit (not the weapon or armor), including what everyone added to his standard guardsmen kit
=> for the Askaris the most relevant would be Grapnel and line, Fire bombs, stummers
=> For Teodore I believe this was a Medikit and an Auspex
a set of Microbeads (this is Wyonas choice)
Upgrade any 1 item you have of average or better distribution to best quality or any 1 rarer item to good quality (or from good to best)


Note that your choice is only the "plunder" for the first scene. You will get the opportunity to add equipment you think you need later on.
Also keep in mind that while you can transport a lot in your chimera, sooner or later you have to carry all that stuff.
Last but not least: even if your optimal choice might not be hear, you might be able to trade whatever you choose later.



And last but not least: If you decide, that you need another trooper to round up your squad, I might be able to find you one. But that is also up to you. Any questions?"
Spoiler:
The trooper would be a pure NPC. Obvious choices would be a dedicated driver or turret gunner but of course you can also choose to ask for an experienced Sergeant or a buddy for Poncho so that he also has a Comrade even though he is a Stormtrooper.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 10:36:47


Post by: OldMate


Simond waited till the Commissar left them then immediately went for the least worn and faded arm chair.
Spoiler:
This is a legitimate power play to him, if anyone wants to contest it LOL
He has taken on a bit of an arrogant strut since the fighting on the landing zone, his ego has inflated since that incident on the landing zone and he is now openly crediting the grots he injured or killed as full orks that he slew whilst bright rust has started to bloom on any new scratches and scrapes on his helmet.


"Someone else will have to be the sergeant, I'm not about to start commanding foot. Even if you have that..." He waves his hand vaguely outside to approximately where the chimera is parked, "machine."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 12:17:53


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore looked around at the pile of weapons dread sinking in as he realized what had happened.

"Suicide squad...they put me on a suicide squad. That's what this is..." He mutters to himself not willing to even touch any of the equipment as he felt if he did so that he would be unwittingly signing up for some impossible mission.

Once he regained his senses he was able to respond to Simond.

"Look, this may be just another war zone to you lot, but to me, and Wyona this is our HOME. You need a leader that actually knows the terrain, knows the people...knows, well more than you lot anyway."

"That's why I say make Wyona the Sergeant. That was her old rank in the PDF anyhow. And if it wasn't for some bureaucratic munitorium nonsense the rank would have transferred over anyway."





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 15:19:56


Post by: Easy E


Njal moved over to the Humidifier, and gratefully fell into a pile beneath it on the floor. Sure, this was a huge downgrade from the propaganda units mess and kit, but at least it was out of that frosted heat.

"If we go by combat experience, my bet is the son of Krieg knows his way around a battlefield better than anyone here," Njal had gotten a better feel for the man, and was confident he was not suicidal like his fellow planet born.

"Redhand, what do you think?" The other Saint Paulus trooper just shrugged. Then he tossed his gear up on a top bunk and clambered up for some shut-eye.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 18:52:59


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho had fallen back to the role of the good little Kriegsman for the sake of propaganda rolls, his face had been kept hidden and masked, his Hellgun finely cleaned up, and his slightly out of regulation ''Krieg Fang'' tucked away in his kit in favor of a standard issue combat knife. When all that was over, however, he took the occasion to remove the bulky mask and skull face, switching back to his better quality weapon.

Everything was tightly wrapped around the powerpack of his Hellgun, and the disgraced Grenadier wore just his armor and helmet over his uniform, dropping the heavy pack on the floor carefully, and began to make a little alcove, setting his sleeping mat, blanking and sleep bag in as much comfortable a set up as he could with what he was. When the subject of leadership was brought up, however, he stopped, and listened.

''We're a poor suicide squad so far, not even a casualty, or perhaps a great one'' Then the discussions of who should lead happened, the man ran a hand on his naked chin, pale face considering the words he heard.

''The way of the Death Korps is not for the common Guardsman, this trooper... I, that is, think the locals should be leading us. I wasn't a Grenadier for long, anyway. Do we have comm beads in the gear?'' He finally asked, still working on setting his sleeping quarter in order.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 20:07:15


Post by: Pyroalchi


As you had no further questions, Commissar Cole snaps one last parade ground salute and leaves you to it.

Tambo and M'Gele choose one of the two story bunks together, with the younger leaving the elder to choose first, so that Tambo picks the lower matress. Overall the last days have already shown you that for the Askaris seniority seems to account for pretty much, so that Tambo pretty much calls the shots when it comes to the pair of them. Responding to Teodores first muttered comment on being a suicide squad Tambo smiles "Naa... I don't think so. We Askaris have been in some pretty sh***y deployments, believe me and this here ain't so bad." his tone implies that he does not refer to bad deployments in the sense of particular dire or extreme fights, but more in the sense of his own regiment getting the short stick when it comes to "who covers the retreat because their losses matter the least".
"We got two days off, and another week from the front. And after all that effort with the pics and screentime, they won't just throw us in the grinder. Don't get me wrong, we will have to carry our weight. Everyone else does too. But my gut tells me it won't be something we can't handle."

As everyone starts to get comfortable, M'Gele rumages through the equipment lying around to make your stay comfortable and manages to find a small promethium burner and a kettle as well as a side door leading to some shaby looking washing- and sanitary room. He fills the kettle and sets some water boiling, before he digs deep into his backpack and lifts out a small jute bag filled with dark, aromatic beans whose fragrance reminds a lot of some flavor off recaff. "Who fancies a brew?" he askes and would go around to collect your tin mugs or whatever your regiments use to drink. From one of his uniform pockets he also takes out what looks suspiciously like one of the sugar dispensers you saw on the mess table of the broadcasting station this morning...

Meanwhile Tambo has filed over to the list with the equipment (storing it here would not have been too sensible, you are intended to mark, what you want to take). Absentmindedly he pulls out a slightly squished paper bag with a bunch of cookies that you also saw in the mess, as well as his cantine mentioning "I also have something stronger if you fancy your recaff with some chesthair. Got it from one of the kitchen boys...". He reaches the paper bag around, offering it to everyone who wants.




In the last days you already got the impression, that both Askaris are not particularly font of "autority through rank" and more used to being led by people they knew and trusted. Therefore you are not surprised when Tambo mentions regarding the Sergeant question "As long as it is one of our lot, I'm Ok with it - no outsiders. But I think a good leader is one that can hang back, keep a good eye on the situation and is not busy shooting. Poncho has our hardest hitting weapon, and should be busy shooting, not shouting. M'gele and me are scouts... So my choices would be either Njal or Wyona.

Oh... and yes, there are some Microbeads in this list. 'one cache' - should be enough to go around."

Simonds slightly arrogant answer seems to be just ignored, would neither be the first or the last time the Askaris were treated from above. Best to not dwell on it.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 20:44:12


Post by: Bobthehero


''Oh. Good point'' Poncho was almost done setting his little sleeping abode, clearly, beds were a luxury the Death Korps did without in their favored tactics of trench warfare, and it didn't occur to the man that he could take one.

''Best we make sure that if our sergeant goes down, we only lose a lasgunner, rather than losing both a leader and one of our better guns. And perhaps we could decide on a second in command? The Grenadiers did this, Watchmasters die as easily as anyone else, after all''

With the announcement that there were comm beads, he quickly reached for one, and inspected it, making sure everything was in order ''We should pick a frequency and channel before we head out''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/08 21:57:36


Post by: Easy E


Me? A leader? Oh, how his old L.T. would have laughed at that idea! What a whiteout.

Njal chuckled, "I appreciate it Tambo, but I am not the leading type. Therefore, I will second Wynona as the NCO, after all she has the most experience with stripes on the arm and probably knows the area the best."

Erc began to snore lightly from his bunk.

He eagerly swooped up the tin cup from M'Gele. It was nice and warm, but it felt like something he was used to. It smelled way better though, almost like it had come from the propaganda hall's mess table.

"If we want a harder hitting gun on the Tug, now is the time. However, the Multi-laser gives a good rate of fire but doesn't hit as hard. I think we definitely want to see if we can get some smoke launchers and a snowplow on the front. Is that on the list Tambo?"



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/09 10:08:37


Post by: OldMate


Simond scratched his chin at the idea. A woman to lead the group, it was an absurd notion, he was not without his suspicions on the others for backing the choice.
"I too agree, the woman is the most suitable choice. She may know the ground better than any of us. But if we are to act as a mixed unit each arm must be free to do what it must at all times, I don't suppose she knows best how to employ foot and horse together in this way of warfare, or that... thing." He gestured outside again to where the chimera was parked.

Simond drank the strange draft that Tambo had made for them, it wasn't exactly tea of any kind he had tried before, but it was good.

He'd put his boots up to get comfortable on the seat, his seat. The finest of the seats. Simond all but put his nose up to the suggestion that he might need better gear.
"Is there any of those exploding lance heads avaliable?" He asked after a moment. He'd heard of the things and thought them absurd, absurd as putting a woman in charge. But the sight of seeing that ork stuck through and not being overly bothered did stick with him, even if the beast might have grown by a foot or three in his recollection.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/11 15:44:10


Post by: Pyroalchi


Answering to Ponchos comment on the second in command Tambo replies "Good idea. And who do you think would best fit that role? In our own regiment we usually go with seniority, which pretty much equals combat experience. So..." he looks around "... I guess that would be me, but if someone else feels up to the task, I won't fight for it."
Meanwhile M'Gele has taken one of the other chairs and started to continue on some half finished kind of braiding work from leather stripes, that might be some kind of sling.



As Njal asks for some item on the list, the older Askari drops the paperbag with the cookies on the counter with an invitation for everybody to help themselves and skims through the list, half reading aloud, half giving a summary. "Photovisors... nice, always wanted one of these.... guns... more guns..." When he comes to the cache of grenades he exclaimes "uhh... a cache of claimore mines and ... what is a halucinogenic grenade?" from over at his seat, M'gele answers without looking up from his leatherwork "We had some of those on Ventris Teta. Like a smoke grenade, but instead of smoke its full of crazy drugs. Made the bastards see all kind of stuff and run around like lunatics. At least until they figured out to use respirators." "Sweet... But would it work on Greenskins?" M'Gele shruggs "No idea. They looked like some tough SoBs. But I saw a grox getting pretty trippy from one of those grenades." "In that case: dibbs on the grenade cache!" is Tambos comment and selection

On the specific question he asks back "What is a snow plow? Back home we sometimes fit our vehicles with dozer blades to push away tree trunks and similar stuff, do you mean something like that?" he files back and forth a bit through the list "... oh, yeah, that is available.
I'm not sure with the smoke launchers though. If the brutes we met on the landing field are anything to go by, our enemies don't seem like the type who puts a lot of effort into aiming. I might be wrong, but setting smoke might not really decrease their chance of hitting... something.
And with the weapon: in our own regiment we are pretty much set on lasweapons. Less problems with carrying tons of ammo around and if you have an enginseer worth his salt you can recharge them on a lot of sources. And from what we saw, that multilaser did quite some number on that Ork." he shruggs "In the end, your regiment is mechanized, so your choice, I guess."


Replying to Simonds comment that had a pretty noticable pronounciation on "the woman" he asks back with a smile and tone that for the Askari is nothing more than pulling someones leg a bit "You don't have mixed regiments where you come from? Afraid of a little competition?" But then answers the cavalrymans question: "Yeah, the explosive lance tips are one here. 2 Plasma or Melta tips - those are the types that can melt a tank if needs be - or 4 Krak, Fire, Poison or Shock tips. Good choice by the way"
Spoiler:
I doubled that number as it was not in a good relation to the cache of grenades.



As everyone seems to have agreed on her being the Sergeant, Wyona gets over to the "table" and takes up her new - and old - stripes. "Thanks, I'll not let you down." she vows, even though internally she is more than aware that wipping some frightened conscripts like Teodore into shape is worlds away from trying to keep a squad smashed together from basically 5 different regiments in any form of fighting shape. "So first things first... As Simond already said: we have almost no experience fighting together... hell we barely know each other. So I'd say everyone gives a quick heads-up who he is, what special training, skills or equipment he brings to the squad and what knowledge he has or hasn't that will be relevant to survive what's about to come. The sooner we figure out how we can help each other, the better..."


Nodding in agreement Tambo goes first "We are from the Thoth Askaris light infantry. So.... I guess the main thing we can bring to the table is that the region of our planet where we come from is a jungle, I would claim we know our way around it. Even though it is pretty strange that the foilage here is green instead of the normal red and magenta. We'll need some new camo I guess." which explains their red- and purple colored garments. He seems to hesitate a bit before he adds reluctantly "We have some deployments on our belt, but usually it was just reconnaissance and skirmishing. And... lets say we are neither snipers nor duelists with a blade. I promise you we'll do our best, but don't expect what you would expect from Poncho here.
When it comes to equipment: we have a bunch of grenades and some stummers. And lets say I know my way around when it comes to... getting stuff. You know, trading things or finding... stuff that was forgotten somewhere..." even though he not outright says "black market" it's pretty clear what he means.
"What else... yeah, we pretty much only ever fought Renegades before. I mean... Our whole regiment. So I have absolutely no idea what an Ork can or can't do apart from the things in the uplifting primer. And that is basically useless I guess."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/11 17:37:57


Post by: Easy E


Njal scratched his chin, this heat made him consider shaving it all off.... but he had never been without one before. Better leave it.

"My names Njal Peitrson, and that sack of ice sleeping up there is Erc Redhand. We are from cold weather Mechanized Units. This heat.... yeah.... not great."

"I was cross-trained to drive a Furnace, but I was mostly a Shiver.... ah.... infantryman. You know, run out the back, grab cover and shoot stuff. All that time holed up in the back of a Tug, I got friendly with the machine-spirits so I know my way around them."

"Erc, he's a dedicated Toasterhead. He can drive, he can operate the turret, but he can't do both at once. Not sure what his story is, but its not great."

"I've seen some action back home on St. Paulus, used to be PDF myself. Then, in the Guard I saw some soft action putting down uppity farmers and the like. Mostly lightly contested drops, roll ins, and waving the flag type operations. Never battled a xeno before."

"Tambo and I, we have a bit of history. He helped me acquire some improved cushions, but he Black Hats weren't too impressed with the mods."

Njal pulled himself to his feet and tossed a lazy salute to the new boss, "Sergeant, I recommend we outfit the Rig with a... dozer blade? It will help us get through the terrain, smash some greenskins, and ping some inbounds."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/12 03:06:00


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nodded in relief...somewhat. Now that Wyona was taking over. At least it meant she would be busy yelling at a whole group instead of just him all the time.

"I'm your medicae. I think the title explains itself."

"Now I don't know much about orcs, but having lived through this war and talked to people, I'm told that they favor close combat and are darned good at it too."

He gestured to the table of weapons. "So what's a good way to counter a charge? Flamers?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/12 10:43:37


Post by: OldMate


Simond looked a bit put out by Tambo's reply.
"In the tithe, of course there are women. You can't expect men to go to war for years on end without the company and comfort of their wives or women. Besides who'd wash and darn the laundry? Next you'll be asking if our armies don't have children. Which is the natural result of an army having the former." "But for women to have to go into battle. It is a strange thing. But this is a strange place."
He gives a bit of an amused but friendly smile. "Perhaps some target practice is in order so that I may have some competition."
may

Most of what Njal has said has gone into one of Simond's ear and out the other, he understands the man comes from a snowy place but wonders what kind of crops someone would plant in snow, and why they'd put a plow on the front of the vehicle.

He frowns at Teodore and asks eagerly. "You say you are a healer, have you had an opportunity to train with the Sisters of the Hospital? Do they have a prescience on this world?"

"I can forage, scout. skirmish. And I can hit those brutes before they know I am there and hit them hard."
For the hundredth time he starts to bemoan the official story that the squad has been given, claiming that it's fanciful rubbish and it waters down what actually happened and his own glorious contribution to the battle. It seems by this telling the grots have somehow grown to full orks, the orks to nobs and the grotherd to a ork warcheiftan as he has learnt more about the creature's hierarchy.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/12 17:52:12


Post by: Bobthehero


The Kriegsman looked from speaker to speaker, settling on his little alcove to clean up the mask he so often wore

''I am 56-5-6-5. Or Poncho. I served with the Korps from Krieg. My regiment, the Fifth, had been deployed to fight an insurrection that spun out of hands. We fought them for so long, and are likely still fighting them. It was my first campaign, and I had been there for years, where I earned this'' Poncho tapped on the skull-shaped mask that protected his face in combat. ''But on my first mission as a Grenadier, my squad was separated, and I ended up finding Catachans that had been deployed with us. High Command did not like how they influenced me, so, here I am''

The Grenadier then lived up to his name, as he displayed a wide array of grenades that he had been issued. Frags, smokes, photon flash grenades. ''They at least let me keep most of this... my gear. And the carapace, of course, as well as the Hotshot. I've always been a good shot, and I may, in time, have earned the right to the squad's plasma gun'' After that, he reached for a cup of the coffee, it was drank as is, dark and bitter, as well as a cookie.

''From what I seen of our action against the Greenskins, you'd want to shoot them from afar, before they get close. Unless you're one of the Death Riders. Do we have Longlas available? Something to ensure they die quick, and far from us''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/13 13:28:44


Post by: Dekskull


Most of what Njal has said has gone into one of Simond's ear and out the other, he understands the man comes from a snowy place but wonders what kind of crops someone would plant in snow, and why they'd put a plow on the front of the vehicle.

He frowns at Teodore and asks eagerly. "You say you are a healer, have you had an opportunity to train with the Sisters of the Hospital? Do they have a prescience on this world?"


Teodore frowned. "Prescience, that some kind of psyker thing? We stay well away from those folks around here mate. As for Sisters, I think there's a few of em here, but I don't know the exact orders. I'm sure you could ask a Priest about it the next time you go to Church."

"Right, well any chance we could get some administrative leave to head on over to the bar for some drinks? All this talk of war and killing has made me a bit thirsty."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/13 21:14:01


Post by: OldMate


Simond frowned at the word that had come of his own tongue first then off the tongue of the healer. "Presence." He corrected himself.

There was certainly an air of distaste about him at Teodore's mention of witchery.

He looks a little bit disappointed that the healer is not Hospitaler trained. But seems satisfied of hearing the presence of some of the orders on the planet.

"And I'd second going for a drink, we might even find a priest to ask at this bar." He sounds very brightened by the prospect and there is not a note of sarcasm in his voice.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/14 10:39:31


Post by: Pyroalchi


As nobody disagrees, Tambo just assumes that him doing the second in command due to his age is agreed upon for now.

On Teodores first question on what is good against a charge the Askari shares his opinion "I guess the best is not to get caught in a charge. Shoot them from afar, preferably from ambush, set traps and don't get cocky. Don't rush in head first, pull back when confronted not completely on our terms. Take our time scouting and looking for weak spots and only fight when the odds are strongly in our favor. Call it coward if you want, but that's what let me survive into my fifties...

Against the smaller ones we seem to be fine..." which is accompanied by a hand gesture with thumb and middle finger touching and the others pointing towards Poncho and Teodore. You can only assume that this means more context for the Thoth-born soldier, even if you don't get it. "... but the big ones? Not sure flamers will bring us a long way. Only things that really worked reliably were Simonds Chainsword, Ponchos Hellgun and the Frag." he scratches the stubble on his chin as Poncho asks for a longlas "I know some snipers from our own regiment. Might be I can get my hands on one or two. Saw I guy exploding an Ogryns head with one once, so that should also do a number on a Greenskin I guess." he shruggs with his other hand swiffing over his had to imply that he is only guessing.
Ponchos presentation of his grenades earns him a broad smile accompanied by Tambos hand forming the aquila before his chest. "Nice... what kind is this one?" he asks regarding the photon flash and nods as the following explanation. He replies by pointing out M'Geles and his own collection: one each of frag, krak, smoke, fire and anti plant per soldier. Pointing on the Anti-plant grenade he explains "Haven't seen these around very often in other regiments. They basically just evaporate any plant within 3 yards radius. Nice to get rid of enemy cover and if you are careful these babys can fell any giant tree you want."


Simonds comment on the role of women in the army is answered by a chuckle - oblivious of Simond maybe taking that as insulting - "Each his own. Our women usually fight with us. But there are some tribes on Thoth who share your ways."


Wrapping up the introductions the Askari adds "So really not a single one of us has real practical experience with Orks beside the landing field? Maybe Coles idea to get another trooper for us is not too bad. The Brontians have been at the front quite a while, so those that are still alive should be professionals on the topic, don't you think?"
Leading over to Teodores and Simonds mention of getting a drink Tambo nods in agreement: "We got some chits for a splendid establishment called "the hole" within the confines of the supply depot here. From what I've been told it offers one drink per night and soldier. But I guess one might be able to get a refill for asking nicely. Being imperial heroes has to be worth something, doesn't it? And who knows, maybe we find our knife-obsessive guy or girl just there, slicing mangos for our drink..." he quips.




If general agreement on leaving for a drink is achieved, you lock up your stuff in the lockers and leave the building, which seems to also house the other survivors of the redemption platoon. Outside you get a better view of the supply depot Gamma 29
Spoiler:
see pic in the core rule book, page 383 for a general style impression (but I will do the buildings a bit different). I guess sharing it here would not be ok due to copyright

The hole area is protected by some high walls and watchtowers, alltogether... reasonably protected. Even though Poncho might find it rediculously lousy entrenched regarding how close you seem to be to the frontline and that the current phase of intense fighting has started a year ago. Had the Death Korps been fielded here all the time, the defense works would likely already stretch at miles in every direction. The walls and emplacements are manned by the remains of a Brontian regiment and PDF, the later being recognizable by their usage of armor from some local predators hide and their autoguns, while the Brontians can easily be distinguished by their proverbial love for all kinds of knifes and blades. Most of these men and women are walking wounded and you don't think you see anyone without bandages, casts or bionic replacements. Going through the streets you only get a first rough glimps, but from what you see, moral in the Brontians seem to still be kind of high, but the locals look... worn down to the point of total exhaustion. Your arrival therefore has risen the hope of finally being relieved and getting some time to recover - which may be vain depending on how things play out in the next weeks and how many more orks arrive from outer space or crawl out of the endless jungles.

As Imperial Garrisons go, you soon find your way around and can guess the position of an Ecclisiarchy chappel, a medicum, a large mess hall and a free standing building whose cleanliness, excellent craftsmenship and decent decoration almost scream "officers club", complete with a pair of guards on every entrance that will likely take care of you dreggs not entering.
In the centre of the walled city-within-a-city you can see a building with meters thick Rockcrete walls that looks a bit like an oversized bunker and might serve as a second defense line, should the outer walls be overrun. From the construction you can guess that the majority of the rooms are underground, while the visible parts are covered in crennelations, shooting slits and some automated defense turrets, more than half of them pointing their weapons to the skies. From a signpost you can guess that this building includes the supply depot itself, the Quartermaster as well as the local Administrativum presence.

Last but not least you pass five former warehouses - each larger then yours - now serving as garrison for one of your regiments as well as the Brontians. To the south of them is a huge former parking lot and recreational park that has been repurposed as improvised training and exercising ground, including a scrumball pitch where a game seems to go on at the moment. The too synchronized sound of shooting on the far side of the area, near the thickest part of the wall, imply that a shooting range has been set up there.

As you have to pass the ware houses to get to "the Hole" you can already get a rough glance at the regiments that already have settled in a bit, that might already tell you something about what you might expect from them. Where the Askaris are biletted you already see - not really surprising for a light infantry regiment - that they completely lack a motor pool. Only a couple of almost horse sized lemurs grasing imply at least some cavalry being around. Unfortunatly they don't seem to be very well equiped with infantry weapons either, as you almost exclusively see lascarbines - and not the most well produced as it came to that - and a very low amount of heavier weapons, mostly flamers, grenade launchers, long-lases and a hand full of tread fethers. Taken together you can already deduce that they will struggle heavily in taking on the Greenskins through firepower - which already sounded on in Tambo mentioning their tactics being pretty avoiding and relying on ambushes. On the other side quite a lot of them are in the process of dying their clothing and modifying it in various kinds of gillie-suits to blend in with the local flora. This together with a lot of them not looking like raw recruits implies that they might be a good adress if you try to get stuff needed for survival out there.

Edit: closer to the building itself, some improvised Barbecues and Outdoor cookeries have been set up where camp followers prepare some definitly not munitorum standard meals. The smells carrying over are pretty spicy and mouthwatering and have already attracted some customers from the other regiments.
In a half dark corner between the buildingsyou can also make outa couple of Askaris and other troopers engaged in the good old tradition of "exchanging gifts" of LHO sticks, Chris for the hole, magazines of questionable purity and other such goods that send always be in high demand amongst troopers.one of them waves over to Tambo who replies with a smile and one of his hand gestures.

Spoiler:
Feel free to give some implications on what would be obvious looking at your regiments billet. Like lots of vehicles, excessive drill work, building of fortifications etc. Basically anything that you want to mention fluff wise or that might give the other players an impression where they might get lucky in acquiring information, equipment etc.
You don't have to of course.



Finally you reach a big, square tent, 25 x 25 yards in size, that bears a badly painted sign exclaiming "The Hole" - the recreation tent for enlisted Guardsmen. A Junior Commissar stand duty outside controlling the chits of the entering guardsmen and might have something to do with the sound from inside being a bit less intense than you would expect from such an establishment. Nonetheless you can definitly hear some bawling songs being sung, the clinking of Beer mugs and even the faint dice clicking, giggling and celebrating common to some game of chance going on.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/14 15:39:18


Post by: Easy E


As the squad walked past the various converted warehouses, the one Njal and Erc's old mates in was pretty obvious. It was surrounded by rigs, all pointing their weapons outward.

It looked more intimidating than it really was. To the trained eye, several of those vehicles were under maintenance. Hatches were open, and St. Paulus guardsman were hanging out of them. A cacophony of metal on metal, banging, engines rumbling, and cursing filled the air around the warehouse. Piles of winter weather gear were piled high on top of the Furnaces, and the guardsmen rambled around in undershirts and shorts, sweat pouring off their bodies.

A few pointed out Erc and Njal and gave them semi-insulting catcalls, "The Frosted Heroes are coming!" ,"What would we have done without them?", "Black Hat Kept, Comin' through" and the like. Njal just smiled and waved back at them, with only the occasional off-colored hand gesture here and there. Erc just kept staring straight ahead and marched past.

The squad got to "The Hole" and it looked about what Njal had come to expect. He scratched his chin, "By the Emperor's Frozen Throne, this looks like home. A small cut-away in the back of the drill rig, just large enough to squeeze a few workmen, a bar, and a tank or two of Shine." The walk over had left Njal sweating profusely, and a drink was starting to sound mighty good right now!


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/14 17:56:56


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai swirled the glass around the makeshift table, savoring the last of his drink for the day. He was alone in a dark corner. Just him and his thoughts. Not the best company as of late but better than the others at the hole. He spun the knife at the table, for the fourth time so far tonight it returned to him, blade first. Not a good omen, he wasn't terribly surprised either. A group of newcomers crowded the flap of the hole. Malakai was facing the exit and spotted them quickly. No surprises, not anymore. They were a mixture of different regiments, although he could not identify a number of them at first. Must of been the blessed reinforcements. The heroes Skyrnne desperately needed, while the Brontian's bled in the mud, guts and entrails.

He downed the rest of the glass and slammed it back down on the table. His hand shuddered slightly, he forced it firm. With his drink done and his reluctance to get drawn into any unnecessary conversation, Malakai rose to leave. A hand landed on his shoulder, he spun round frantically. "Hands off!" Adamo leered back, hands in the air "Easy Malakai, my skin ain't green" he smiled showing what was left of his teeth. "Your bloody teeth are Adamo, what you sneaking up on me like that for?" Adamo nodded towards the newcomers "What do you make of the stars? The ones in all the pict feeds."

Malakai turned back around to those who just entered, he thought he recognized that Krieg from somewhere..


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/14 21:15:01


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho nodded. Free time was a rare thing in the Korps, and on that single, long deployment not too far from Skrynne, he only had been rotated three times out of combat. He had taken the time to taste tehe local offerings in terms of alcohol, and so figured the Hole may be worth a visit. ''One drink, so near the frontlines, our commanders are generous''

With that, he went to lock up most of his gear, though keeping the bulky Hellgun, his armor, mask and knife. Passing the defences, however, his eyes twitched, and he shook his head ''Give me a squad of the Korps' Engineers and an Altas, and I'll show them a proper trench'' The ex-Grenadier's mood darkened at what he judged to be sub-par defences. The base didn't even have a battery of field guns to support the troops in there.

His head spun this way and that as they made their way to the improvised mess hall, taking in the sights, remembering the direction, silently noticing the amount of wounded the squad encountered on their way there. When they reached the large tent, he left his weapons, both the knife and Hellgun, under the care of the Commissar, at least, he was allowed to keep his armor, and the Carapace plated gloves that would serve as a pretty solid, if improvised, knuckle duster, just in case of a bar brawl.

His mask rested on top of the rebreather array that hung high on his back, his helmet was clipped to his belt. Poncho went to where the booze was being given, a chit in hand, ready to trade it in for whatever was on hand.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 03:51:44


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore seemed somewhat glum as he plodded through the supply depot. He could see the traces of what the place had been before the war, feint echoes of a happier time, all gone now. That in turn led him to think about everything he had lost, that bright promising career...money, prestige, leisure. All gone away with it now. And that was really depressing...

His demeanor didn't improve much once he reached the bar, but he downed a large gulp of his beer willingly and eagerly.

He raised a glass to the Bronthian when he spotted him. "I'll drink to you lot. A toast, to the Bronthians. They're the real heroes of Skrynne. I'm just a lucky SOB."

He gestured to the others. "And if I could order a second, a third, a fourth drink I'd drink to each of your regiments and your home worlds in turn."

He thought about that for a minute before lowering his voice and muttering to his comrads.

"Just had an idea. We're requisitioning equipment right? What about something to rig up a still? Couldn't hurt to have something to keep our spirits up eh?"





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 11:35:11


Post by: OldMate


Simond looked at the other camps that they passed with interest, he has been casually gulping spirirts for most of the trek to the hole. They approached the billet of the Elendine Tithe, it was located in a bare field, must have been some kind of sports area before hand. The wagons of the tithe were drawn up in a great ring.
Within was a miniature city of tents and pavilions of all colours, and at the entrances were bands of guards commanded by an armoured knight.
They wore a mixture of steel plate, mail, padded armour mixed and matched with flak and even carapace armour(particularly helmets and chestplates).
Chainswords are common, some have even been fitted to long hafts, the closest knight seems to have a power axe looped at his belt.

There is the ring of anvils and, the sound of music, talking and laughter of men and women.

They are not welly equipped with modern weapons, but they are a people intimate with war.

Simond does not look towards the camp, he seems uncharacteristically quiet as the group approaches and passes the camp. He looks sullen or sad even.

His mood gets better as they reach the Hole. As they enter he smiles as he looks around the interior. It feels very familiar, very comfortable.

He must have been in a hundred drinking dens like this and everyone of them had been trouble. He gets a drink sticks close to Teodore and Wynona.
Simond is very pointedly ignoring other members of the Elendine Tithe and they are ignoring him.
Spoiler:
If a fight starts he's ready to just pile in, he wants to keep close to the healer, as out of the group that boy seems the least effective in a fight, and healers are quite revered people in his culture. And he suspects the kid may just talk himself into something. And he stays close to Wynona as a good trooper backs up their sergeant (even if they see said person as a figurehead) and these strange folks might not have any qualms about it but he'd be damned if a strike against the woman goes unavenged on his watch.


Simond takes a mouthful of the alcohol, it is not bad by the standards of what he has tried. One drink. He wanted to spit in disgust. It was a good thing he had the skin of spirits, he could have a proper drink. It is not long before he started talking to someone. And it it not long before he begins to tell the tale of himself pitted against an army of greenskins and how he'd lanced down the greenskin warcheiftan. All the while keeping an eye on the healer and the woman.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 13:19:01


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai peers at Teodore's gesture with suspicion. He shrugs Adamo's hand from his shoulder, clearly irritated that he had in fact been drawn into a conversation. "All the heroes of this war are dead, the rest of us are just trying to walk in their boots."

Adamo clears his throat and steps between the two. "Apologies, Malakai is still grieving from..well it don't matter much. He ain't usually like this although he was always a bit-"

"Shut up Adamo!" Malakai snarled.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 17:40:32


Post by: Pyroalchi


Ponchos comment that the Korps could turn this depot in a real bastion of humanity earns him a "hear, hear! And now that join in, who knows, maybe they'll get the opportunity..."

Inside the hole, Tambo rubs his hands in anticipation. One drink or not, that might become a nice evening. And if the smiling barkeep with the greedy blink in his bionic eye was anything to go by, the 1-drink limit might be negotiable...
Spoiler:
not sure if there is anything specific in the background, but I assume you should have some currency from your pay on you. In the Cain novels they were called "Thrones".


Teodores question if they could requisition a destille raises a healthy, friendly laughter from both Askaris "I like how you think, Kid. We'll see what we can do. Until then..." he offers the medic his canteen from which he just gave a healthy swig into his beer. It smells vaguely of figs and... cacti? And might as well serve as paint removed in a pinch...

As Poncho settles in, Tambo leans closer, taking a good look at the rebreather mask. "You mentioned you earned that. What does it mean for your people and what is your story with it?"

M'Geles eyes have meanwhile become stuck on the game of dice going on at one of the tables, but just as he wants to go over, he is stopped by Tambo, who holds his open palm towards him. M'Gele theatrically rolls his eyes "Yeah, yeah, you old motherhenn" before he hands over his wristwatch and a couple of other things he should better not gamble away. "Says the man whom I once had to smuggle into the garrison butt naked..." replies the senior with a smile.
Then M'Gele is off to the dice table.

Edit: Simonds Boasting is also met by a smile from Tambo. The Feudal Worlder reminds him a lot of some other soldiers he met in his life who liked to tell tall tales, which always grew in size every time they told them.

Sensing Teodores gloomy mood Tambo tries to lift his spirits a bit. "It looks bad right now kid, but believe me, your people are Survivors. I know one when I see one. You survived on a Dead World for centuries, you survived the greenskins before... You will rebuild." He himself seems convinced of that, but tries to see in Teodores and Wyonas face, if he has hit the right note or not. "You know... we almost lost our own world too, a generation ago..."

His toast towards the Brontians is taken up by Tambo who sends a respectful bow towards them that is hopefully not taken amiss. Malakais bitter reply is met by a gesture with open hands on both sides of his body "And glory to them! So let us share a drink with you to celebrate their lives and mourn their deads! May they feast at the Skyfathers fires." He invites and gives the Barkeep a wave with some blinking thrones in the palm of his hand, trying to get themselves and the pair of brontians a refill


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 21:40:58


Post by: OldMate


Simond who was previously wrapped up in his own world overhears Tambo's words to Teodore and sees the guy is in a bit of a glum mood.
He pushes through to the lad and puts an arm around his shoulder.
"This will not do. I will not have you regretting wasting this night in gloom. Here drink up." He offers Teodore his skin of spirits.
"Do not dwell on what is to come. There is always another battle, but you are here among friends. You're going to enjoy yourself, drink too much and maybe even find a woman to spend some of the night with." He pauses for only an instant. "Or a man."
"You have the advantage in this my friend." He smiles warmly " if they aremarried to an officer or a noble, what are they going to do? Banish you to a redemption battalion?" He gives a wink and a broad warm grin.

In the wake of the cheers of Tambo's toast he speaks up. "My friends." All eyes are upon him in a simple but brightly dyed red woolen coat and feathered cap that is equally brightly dyed. It seems he has taken the motto 'life is too short for dull clothes' to heart. "Whilst we lament our fallen comrades let us celebrate surving. Let tonight be a bright and joyous one. For we have survived and have been victorious.
He slaps a heavy gold coin down onto the counter.
"Drinks for all, and lets get some music!"



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/15 22:22:48


Post by: Easy E


In the Guard, you had to live in the moment and appreciate what you had.... when you had it. Njal grabbed up his drink and settled in. He was particularly interested in what the Brontians had to say, as they had seen the snow falling.

For his part, Erc seemed less than interested in a drink. Instead, he wandered over to the gaming table with M'gele. He tapped his drink cred on the table, before throwing it into the pot.

"I go by Njal. What's your name guardsmen?" he asked the Brontians, "What's the sitrep?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/16 09:20:54


Post by: Irishpeacockz


"Feel free to keep talking as long as the thrones keep flowing, along with the drink." Malakai declared to both Tambo and Simond.
Adamo raised his own glass along with the others in the toast. "Tell me, do they powder your nose before they film you or do you brave the camera as you are?" Adamo chuckled.

Malakai accepted his refill and drank it quickly, slamming the glass down on the table in triumph. "What sort of misfit squad are you lot anyway? Must be from half a dozen regiments, some I don't even recognize."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/16 21:52:39


Post by: OldMate


Simond was quite happy. He'd hit that nice warm spot with the spirits. That spot where everyone was your friend.

The one named Adamo's words went straight over his head. Powdering noses was an absurd idea, it'd just make you sneeze, and he'd never seen the point of snuff.

He looked to the other one. "We are the travelling circus. Performers of great..." he trails off as he forgets what he is about to say, "...we are the forlon hope, for our sins." He manages to radiate pride at the words somehow.

"I am Simond Silvertree, formerly light cavalryman of the King of Kitheria. Now banished, after being caught playing backgammon with the lady wife of one of the gentlemen of the court." He gives a wry smile to suggest perhaps an innocent spot of board gaming game it was not.
"Our commander is Sgt Wyona over there. She is tough and knows the country better than any of us. But open to listening to the more experienced hands."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/17 15:52:31


Post by: Easy E


Njal gave a good natured laugh at Adamo's joke.

"If powdering your nose equals crashing into this burning hell hole and being met by a hail of Xeno's lead, then yeah; we powdered our noses first.

This isn't our first trip to the drill hole. I had been in the PDF at home, and then saw some action in the Guard before coming here.

Never fought the Xenos before. What can you tell us about them?"


One sip of his drink, and Njal's face soured. This was no better than third rate Shine from the down holers. He pushed what was left of it over to the two Brontians. He might as well try to shake his own if that was what this place had to offer.





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/18 12:10:09


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai smears a few beads of sweat into his forehead and back into the Crop of hair remaining on his scalp. In the gloom of the hole ritualistic scars are visible in and around his ears. Listening to Simond and Njal, he accepts the third drink. "You seem like a circus alright, motley dressed too. But I appreciate the drinks, you take what comforts you can on this world." He raised the glass for a toast of his own "To ghosts and Martyr's, the lifeblood of the Imperium."

Adamo rasied to the toast, although his second glass was empty "What he means to say is thanks and pleasure to meet you all. We all saw your er..landing.It was impressive! Especially the horses, it made for quite a bet in our unit. Adamo grew quiet after that, lamenting on the fallen once more.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/18 13:18:40


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore felt appreciative of the kind acts of his fellow soldiers, and graciously took a sip from Tambos's canteen.

At Simond's suggestion of trying to bed a woman, he smirked.

"For tonight I was thinking of something slightly less risky. You lads up for a game of dice or cards? I figure if we can't all get piss drunk we might as well pass the time by making a friendly wager or two. And the Bronthian is welcome to join in as well."

"But first, I'm going to pop a coin into this here ancient music cogitator. I think its time for you lads to enjoy some classic Skyrnne folk music."

He popped a coin into the music cogitator and after an awkward moment of odd noises and clanging, the machine spit out a classic tune from an age long past...

[BTW guys, this might also be a good time if anyone wants to sneak back out into the supply depot and try to requisition anything black market. Teodore will work on getting parts to make a still!]










Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/19 11:47:49


Post by: OldMate


Spoiler:
YES! XD

As the music starts, as he makes his way to the sergeant he listens to the rhythm and beat. It was unconventional. He smiles his best smile and bows.
"My lady sergeant, would you care to give me the pleasure of a dance?"

Spoiler:
he's going to try his rustic charms I imagine this would be an uncommon task as he has not exactly been applying the charm but he is not exactly lacking in confidence. fellowship 32,


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/21 11:49:55


Post by: Pyroalchi


As it comes to introductions, the dark skinned Soldier replies "I'm Tambo and that over there about to loose his monthly pay at cards is M'Gele. We are from the Thoth Askaris, light infantry. And our homeworld is way over in the segmentum Pacificus. Pretty backwater really, but a nice lush place.
Adding to the others comments on how they were brought together he shruggs "We were on the same transport and when things got ploin shaped, we just went with the flow. Got lucky, beat the Xenos and the black hats decided that we would make either a good or a deterent example. Either way they have smashed us together into a nice little Jambalaya and set us cooking. But there is still room in our Chimera for some guys knowing the lay of the land..." The last words implying an informal invitation

Baited by Simonds gold coin, the Barkeep is no slouch with the drinks, even though you might have a hard time to really get drunk here. But it is definitly enough to have a nice evening. Your generous offer of a house round and the music raise everyones spirits considerably. As Simond asks Wyona if she wants to dance she looks pretty puzzled and seems to consider, if that was appropiate between a sergeant and her subordinate before smiling and saying "why not, I'm not your Sarge until tomorrow!" befor she joins him on the dance floor. To Teodors surprise the women he had gotten to know as a strict and above all very loud drill instructor seems to be a quite capable dancer, even though she has to improvise a bit as Simond likely knows other dances than she is used to. Following their example some other patrons also join in, intrigued by the music from the juke box. This indeed promises to become a funny evening.

As Teodore proposes a game of cards, Tambo replies "sounds fun! But M'Gele is the better player. If you don't mind, I'll excuse myself for a moment or two... to do some... old men stuff, you know?" and with a smile, the Veteran uses the moment of general distracting amusement to leave for the back of the tent, were a couple of other senior Askaris are sitting around smoking some kind of water pipe. They converse in low voices, sitting just so, that they are hardly visible from the tent entrance with the Black Hat.
In contrast to the reactions of Simonds regiment, they don't seem to mind at all, that Tambo was on redemption currently and just include him like a normal comrad.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/21 20:24:27


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Adamo was drawn to the card game like an ork to a good scrap. He dug deep into his pockets, pulling out a crude necklace of ork teef and half a pack of Lho sticks. "What do ya think these are worth? That necklace took me weeks to make and the lho sticks are still dry!" He rubbed his hands together, eager to get into some mischief.

Malakai gathered his belongings and made to leave before things got too lively for his liking. A trio of Brontians entered the hole, he paused. He wasn't the most popular Longknife around at the minute and he didn't need anymore trouble with the Commissar out front. He turned to avoid attention and spotted the one who called himself Tambo hustling in the corner with others from his homeworld. He figured the old dog would be more bearable than the young Brontian's with something to prove and approached the old soldier...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/22 09:08:48


Post by: Pyroalchi


As Adamo joins the card game he is greeted by a general round of nods. His wager is eyed by a scared PDF Sergeant with a bionic hand and a thick smoking cigar in the corner of his mouth who seems to be the appointed referee in the matter. "It will do. The game is High Lords and Ladies..." he begins to explain the rules in short. The wagers on the table are a wild assortment of things, LHO sticks of course, ration bars, a small but fine pelt, an old revolver... the Askari that Tambo mentioned just raised by a half full sugar dispenser - whereever he got that from.

As Malakai approaches the group of older Askaris, one of them says something in their dialect and the Brontian has the feeling the topic of the conversation is changed a bit, until they know what he wants. Still honoring the rules of hospitality they make some room for him at the waterpipe and offer him a puff. It smells like some roasted plant, flavored with cinamon. Tambo greets him with a friendly smile but waits if the Brontian wants to talk or if he prefers to just smoke in peace and quiet.
After some moments the seniors start conversing again, usings a lot of gestures accompanying their heavy accent. Still it is clear that some kind of negotiation is going on


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/22 21:10:30


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Adamo digs deeper into his pockets, biting his lip. His forehead glistened like a lighthouse with sweat. This card game was not going as planned. A quick glance over his shoulder told him Malakai wasn't at the bar any longer. He had more immediate concerns. He fished out three thrones and put them on the table. There was too much in the pot, he couldn't back down now with the cards in his hand. The fact that he owed that money didn't matter...if he won.

Malakai accepted the offer and tasted the pipe, coughing instinctively he handed it back quickly. "That stuff's not for me I think" he glanced over his shoulder again and leaned in close to Tambo excusing himself to the other Askaris. "I was wondering if you could assist me with something, you seem like a man with ...connections." Malakai fiddles with a small blade restlessly, clearly something is making him anxious.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/23 15:05:20


Post by: Easy E


Erc looked at his cards, and over at the Brontian. The guardsman was sweating.... but so was everyone else in this Emperor-forsaken place. He wanted to see how this played out, so he rummaged into his pockets and found some matches, and tossed them into the pot too.

Njal was just happy to sit off to the side and listen to the other soldiers tell their tall tales. He was getting an earful about the Orks, and wasn't sure what to believe. He knew the Uplifting Primer was downplaying them.... but by how much exactly?

He didn't want to be caught out in the blizzard with his jacket open next time they ran across some of the big green aliens. He saw how tough they could be!


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/24 02:27:38


Post by: Bobthehero


In the mess tent, Poncho was entirely out of his element, unsure what to do, he followed the other Guardsmen from his squad along, mostly keeping to himself, sampling his alcohol ration slowly, almost robotically. He peaked with some curiosity at the card game being played. Kriegsmen rarely did much other than train and fight, and while the Catachans that adopted him for a few months did introduce it to him, like many other things, it was something that didn't fully stuck with the emotionally stunted Grenadier.

Poncho looked almost uncomfortable at those drinking more than what their single ticket allowed them, although he had learned the value of silence, he looked around with a disapproving of expression, one armored hand reaching for his gasmask to ensure it was there, even if he could feel the weight of the breathing apartus over his shoulder. A blink of his eyes, and he settled for focusing on the game of cards, trying to understand what was happening.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/25 11:11:55


Post by: OldMate


No-one knew better than Simmond that you had to make the best of things when times were good. To take time and enjoy good things because another dark time of hardship and hunger was always ahead. The woman danced quite well, even if some things were a little bit improvised between them. Well she was familiar with the music, but the rhythm was good and he had enough instinct for the beat of it and that was what mattered.
She was smiling, any worries of the war forgotten, any worries for the morrow forgotten. There was a happiness in that.

They danced until he felt that she perhaps was close to having enough. "My lady sergeant, may I be so forward in suggesting we retire for the night? If that is your will of course."
Spoiler:
There is 2 more things he wants to do tonight and one of them is playing a game or two of backgammon.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/27 16:16:54


Post by: Pyroalchi


Malakais question is met with a friendly smile "That depends... I know some people, yes. What kind of help where you thinking of?"

Meanwhile the card game goes it's course, with the usual streaks of winners and loosers. Suprisingly the young PDF medic Teodore seems to learn really fast, getting a pretty good grasp of the rules and sharp understanding of his chances. All "fun and play" aside, the other players keep the stakes in ranges that are at least kind of reasonable. No reason to let things spiral out of hand to a point where bad blood remains between winners and loosers, but who knows if the newcomers show the same restraint.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/28 03:55:09


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore seemed pleased with himself. Taking his modest earnings, he attempts to "cash out and head home for the night."

"Well I'll call that a win for the home team. Not a bad night for me."

"Now, I think I'll retire to my modest quarters and try to forget that there's a war going on. See yah'all in the morning."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/28 05:15:36


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai kept his faze low, almost hunched over the table. "I need something to.. ease some things...in my head. Stimms and the like." He looked ashamed avoiding eye contact but he continued "I know a smuggler when I see one, most campaigns have a few skimming something off the top. In return, if you'll have me I can show you a few things about surviving this war with the greenskins."

Adamo cried out as another card was revealed on the table, although Malakai wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. If Adamo kept by his side here after everything that happened, then Malakai guessed he would follow him anywhere.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/28 15:41:22


Post by: Easy E


Erc shook his head and got up from the table with the PDF medic. He gruffly slapped on the back and gave him a grin,

"We'll have to keep you alive long enough to get back. Maybe we can win some real Thrones around here?"

Njal had also heard enough for the night. He still was not 100% sure what he was getting into out there, but this was the guard. Nothing was certain. With his crew starting to break up for the evening, he figured it was time for him to head out too.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/30 13:39:30


Post by: Pyroalchi


Malakais Question results in Tambo relaxing somewhat. "No need to be ashamed, my friend. We all need a little... help sometime to deal with life. And yes, I know a guy, who knows a guy... I'm sure I can find something for you."


In time, the evening dwindles out and you find your way back to your baracks - in a more or less drunken state - and retire for the night. Should Simond have hoped to not spend that alone, Wyona would have been the wrong adress and would have been very firm, should he not get the message on the first try. Meanwhile Teodore can celebrate a small win from the cardgame while not only M'Gele finds himself a bit short of thrones. On the next morning, Commissar Cole field promotes Wyona to a full blown sergeant as per your choice, which you celebrate later with a little cake the cook of the mess tent has somehow organized for the occasion - your status as "heroes" likely playing its part.
As you mentioned your desire for some reinforcements experienced in fighting the Xenos and specifically mention Adamo and Malakai, both Brontians are transfered to your little squad, rounding it up as the motley crew you are.

You spend the comming days on the grounds of the depot, some of you just relaxing in the quiet before the storm, others making contacts with the other regiments over a beer or a game of scrumball, getting busy with the Chimera that was assigned to your squad or stocking up your equipment to have it easier next time you have to deal with the greenskins. Meanwhile your regiments do their best to bolster Skrynnes defences and relieve the pressure on Brontians and PDF alike. While you can't vouch for the competence of the planetary command, at least locally they seem to be sensible enough to deploy them according to their strengths, for example using the Death Korps expertise to fortify the positions and set up artillery, deploying Simonds mounted comrades as fast shock attack troops and mobile scouts, while the St. Paulus troopers are mostly deployed fighting from their armored vehicles, where they suffer less from the climate. As light infantry, the Askaris start patrols within the jungle, scouting and setting ambushes, but soon suffer some losses, as the death world jungle is quite a different beast compared to their homeworld.

Finally you are summoned to one of the local command post were a Captain Mortimer Thruel is awaiting you. There you have to get in line as several squads are filing in and out of a half dozen of these posts, getting debriefed or receiving new orders, as the struggle for control over the planet continues. Thruel is a veteran liason officer from the local pdf and has a rather grim and gruffy demeanor. Overall you have the impression as if he sees you just as some more meat for the grinder, as long as he hasn't seen you survive out there, where not just the Orks, but according to him "every damn pest and most of the plants" are actively trying to kill you. A fact that - as you get the impression - a lot of the new arrived soldiers miscalculated.

Thruel flips through some notes and addresses you:
“Your performance during the landing has drawn quite a bit of attention to your squad. Now, that you made all your pretty pics and had some rest, it's time to do the emperors work again. You’re being sent on a brief detached assignment. It involves a trip several hours away from the base and I need you to look sharp and do your best. Remember how bad it would look on the recruitement posters, if you get your A**es kicked. I’m not sure how long this is going to take, but don’t dawdle. You’re needed back here as quickly as possible. Any questions before I delve into the details?”

The mission he then lays out for you is pretty straight forward. Roughly 250 kloms from the depot is a promethium refinery, which he also shows on a rugged looking map, indicating the direction and intervening terrain. 6 days ago, the Imperials lost contact with the refinery. While the reasons for that are unknown, Ork involvement is highly likely. Therefore your task is to travel to the facility, find out what happened, take it back from the greenskins if necessary and call back to base reporting status using a high powered vox in your Chimera. He also already warns you, that it is likely, that you will be tasked to hold the refinery until reinforcements arrive. Due to the current planetary conditions and the stage of the war effort, no air support or transit is available.
All in all you have a mixed feeling on the mission. It's neither a suicide mission as Teodore anticipated nor a pointless ceremonial one to keep you safe. Just... average looking what the other troopers on base have to do.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/11/30 19:48:33


Post by: Easy E


Njal scratched his beard as he listened and watched the briefing. He couldn't wait until Tambo got that war knife, first order of business was to use it to shave this beard off! He had seen how sharp those things got.

He did not relish the idea of going 250 Kloms to the refinery. It wasn't riding in the Furnace that bothered him. It was the idea of riding in it all the way through a jungle full of dangerous flora and fauna. It was one thing for the weather to try and kill you, but everything else too!

Njal threw a salute, "Captain, do we have any intel on the route to the refinery? Is it navigable via armor?"



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/01 02:53:16


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore sighed with relief when he heard the news. It didn't sound as bad he feared. Although the part about taking the refinery back didn't sound too good. He wondered though if they were going to get to take the Chimera or not...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/01 09:37:49


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai clutched a pouch at his side, keeping his new found stimms close at hand. With the alcohol being watered down as it was, it was the only thing keeping his head straight outside of battle. As the Captain laid out the details of the upcoming mission, he suspected he would get a strong dose of the latter soon enough. "The refinery fell silent? No warning of an attack? Could be Ork Kommandos" he scowled particularly at the mention of the sneaky gitz.

Adamo wasn't his usual self. He lost some thrones at the card game and was quiet, fidgeting with some shell casing he carried around his neck. "Wouldn't surprise me of it was...we can't underestimate them."

"We won't." Declared Malakai, continuing "Not this time".


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/01 12:25:37


Post by: OldMate


Simond scratched his chin.

"Captain." Simond threw a casual salute. "If there is a road, the orks may ambush us along it. It's an obvious route." He bit his lip.

"If we attempt to screen or take another route we have the beasts and plants of the forest to contend with, as well as the orks. I am not losing a horse before we get to the actual battle."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/01 14:30:39


Post by: Pyroalchi


Captain Thruel aknowledges that you at least seem to have your mind on the mission and replies to your questions. "There is no specific roads in this area. In better times we used to airlift the personell of the refinery in and out, but that's no option at the moment. But we have some endemic herbivors the size of a Baneblade that usually leave gametrails that stay open for some days, before the vegetation claims them again and the locals tend to use those to get through the jungle if they must." he looks in his dosier and adds "Your Chimera was fitted with a dozer blade and hedgecutters... That should help you get through most of the stuff. Your driver hails from an ice world? Good, I assume you know how to drive with your brain instead of just flooring the gaspedal and trying to get there in a straight line. It sucks to backtrack a klom, but believe me, it's worth it at times."

Regarding Malakais and Adamos comment he says "The refinery only had the most basic communication equipment and the local weather sometimes messes with the signals, especially during heavy rains. Reliable enough to call for pickup every other week, but it would not be too surprising if their call just wasn't picked up. But who knows..." he shruggs and teases you a bit "Maybe you poor bastards are lucky and there are Kommandos sneaking around. All the more glory to our great heroes, am I right?"
"And before you ask: the internal vox on your Chimera has enough power to punch through the atmosphere even when it's raining frogs. So as long as you don't get your attenea shot of, you should be fine."

Finally he adresses simond directly: "I can only recommend you to not needlesly stray away from the Chimera and your comrades in the jungle. And use the ankle protection and protective salve that's on your assigned gear on your steed, or the rusty-rot will eat up its legs before you get there."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/01 20:29:37


Post by: Easy E


Njal glanced at Erc Redhand, who gave a non-committal shrug.

He had a feeling that the furnace wouldn't make it all the way to the refinery, and that the squad was going to have to boot it in. The terrain did not seem suitable for the beast, and he was not sure he had the chops to handle it. Afterall, he was only a back-up driver.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/02 02:38:21


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nodded, seeming quite relieved to hear that they wouldn't have to hike across the jungles. His family had been well off enough so that he personally never had to deal with too much death world stuff, but he was well aware of how bad it was out there.

"Alright so we'll get there, take a look around and then when we see nothing we'll head back. Sounds like a good plan to me," he muttered.




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/02 04:40:47


Post by: OldMate


Simond smiles and holds the captain's eye, "And keep my lance ready to blow off any beast's head, you don't have to worry about me dealing with them, sir." He adds with a grin. This is more his speed.
Spoiler:
i imagine the horse could also have something like the roman horse sandals, steel shoes that tie around the hoof and protect the bottom of the foot like so .


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/02 04:58:02


Post by: Bobthehero


''Do we have materials to fortify the area once we get there? Plans to deploy Engineers or Assault Pioneers to reinforce the position once it is secured? What about nearby forces? Anyone nearby that needs to know we're there, to avoid wasting munitions on friendlies? And artillery support?''

Poncho asked a barrage of questions after the captain spoke, his tone was measured, seeking only details rather than making it sound like a challenge against the captain. For the briefing, the ex-Grenadier was unmasked.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/02 13:54:47


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai listened to his new squad members as they l focused on various different aspects of the mission. It reflected their training and background. He was always a quick learner. He hoped things turned out better this time, but he was no fool. "The Krieger is right, provided we even manage to retake the refinery, holding it will require additional reinforcement or resources. The orkz don't like it when we take things back from them, especially when they can fight for it."

Adamo for his part pointed at the jungle itself "If greenskins have compromised the refinery, they is a good chance they have begun to wade into the surrounding jungle too. Luckily for us they should be easy to spot and avoid, however they do tend to have a tendency to rile up the local wildlife. Either way we should not overlook navigating the jungle itself. This world is.. dangerous. I'm sure the local boy can attest to that". Adamo grinned in Theodore's direction for a moment.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/05 10:51:44


Post by: Pyroalchi


The captains explanation, that your lot would have to hold the refinery until further reinforcements arrive, runs a bit against Teodores hope to just take a look, but overall it seems to be well within the realm of possibility that in the end the whole thing is just some issue with the sites comm arrangement.

Simonds confidend boast earns him a look with mixed feelings between respect for his eagerness to engage the enemy and a pinch of sadness after seeing too many young soldiers equally eagerly running into an early dead. "Just don't get cocky out there. The greenskins look dumb, but every now and then theycan be brutally cunning..."

Ponchos question is met by a vague waving of Thruels hand "Unclear on the material to say the least. There should be a considerable amount of spare parts for the refinery - metal pipes, sheats of corrugated metal, barrels. Usually a couple of service vehicles and forklifts to move stuff around. But should the orks have taken the place, who knows what they left of it. And afterwards: what little engineers we have are engaged in helping us to hold the spaceports. So you will have to make due.
I'm not aware of friendly forces along your expected route, but there might still be locals somewhere in the area. More than one adventurous group decided to try their luck hiding in the jungle until all of this blows over. Also the Navy sometimes flies bombing runs and dogfights the greenskin pilots, but so far both airforces should not be too hard to distinguish." he implies regarding the Orks tendency to capture and reuse imperial vehicles if possible.
"We have no artillery to speak of left for strategic use. All is deployed at the skyports. But so far the Warbosses on the other side seem to keep it the same way and we haven't encountered much indirect fire from the other side either. If that info helps you in any way."

Malakais comment is answered with a sarcastic little snigger "oh you don't say. Of course the bastards will try to fight you for it. Regardless of them being able to get the refinery back or not, but just for the fun of it. I'll be frank with you: I can in no way promise which, when and even if reinforcements will arrive. All I can say is that your orders is to take it, call back and wait for them. Everything else is in the emperors hands."
Towards Adamo he mentions nodding towards Tambo and M'Gele "According to my paperwork your two comrades over there have made their scouting lanyard. So as far as the Administrativum goes, you are perfectly good to find your way through whatever the jungle throws at you..." the two Askaris send each other a slightly uncomfortable look, unsure if they will be up to the task in this environment.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/06 10:54:13


Post by: Pyroalchi


While the captain - regardless of his grumpiness - seems willing to give you the time to prepare as best as you can, he has to wrap up your briefing soon, as the next squad is already shuffling its feet outside. Therefore you get handed a pretty rough map as well as a requisition-slip signed by the Thruel, instructing the supply depot officer to hand out your mission assignment gear to you. Unfortunatly the paper it is written on seems to be of the cheapest quality and not really up to the damp climate, so that some of the writing is already kind of fuzzy from the ink bleeding through. You can just hope that you'll still get what's important for your mission
As you make your way towards the main administration bunker, Tambo talks Wyona into letting him talk with the staff sergeant tasked with handing it your gear, argueing that he already knows the woman from the last days and would like to wish her farewell before you go on your mission. A moment later M'Gele involves her in a chat about the dangers of the jungle while the senior guardsmen seems to "improve" the readability of your procurement slip a little bit. Should that be noted by his comrades he answers with a look and gesture basically saying "no one will ever know..."
Spoiler:

So the gear would have been:
your Chimera, Heavy Bolter and 300 rounds of ammo, 6 demo charges, 2 week rations, Damp weather gear
rolling to get our mission assignment gear: our logistics score for it is 5, but Tambo seemed to have fiddled a bit with the slip... (+10 from Scavengers)
=> 30 , 2 degrees of failure. OK, could have been worse. So we loose 2 of the items. Rolled for it: the demo charges and the damp weather gear are gone. Instead you get:
a case of 20 grenades (Stun), a case of 100 copies of the uplifting primer (lol! )


Arriving at the depot counter, the Askari hands over the slip, which seems to have already degraded even more since you left the command post. At least the Staff sergeant seems to have quite some trouble identifying the allowed items. As she gets back with a servitor carrying two big baskets on his back, Wyona gives way to the need to speak out some not very ladylike comments about the obvious stupidity about her really thinking that the slip might have talked about a good 100 copies of the infantrymens uplifting primer and the likelyness of those being any help with the greenskins. Tambo meanwhile grabs a bunch of grenades from the basket and distributes them between his comrades with a silent wisper that they might want to stow those away out of sight until you all left the compound. Apart from that the Munitorum seems to have deemed you are in need of rations, a crew served heavy bolter with ammo (that none of you feels really competent using) as well as rations for two weeks that won't agitate you with useless balast such as "flavor" or "nutritional value". On the negative site you realize that you are a bit lacking on spare, easy to dry clothing as you have seen it on other troopers as well as means to purify water aside of cooking it.

Nonetheless, that could have gone worse. You return to your compound, say farewell to the friends you made in the last days and board your Chimera, which was outfitted with a dozerblade with integrated hedgecutter and an upgrade to its vox, that is protuding on the outside of the turret - which also means that you should be careful not to get shot at to the back of the turret to not loose it before you can contact the base from the refinery. With that you head out of the compounds main gate, where traces of various other squads entering the jungle in various directions speak of the ongoing war effort and the routine of your mission.

Tambo and M'Gele spend as much time as possible sitting outside on the hull of the Chimera to get a bearing of your surroundings and help navigate the jungle as they claim. But you soon realize that they just dread the "cold" of the Chimera that Njal and Erc regulate through the AC to a temperature the two jungle worlders just deem too freezing for their taste. Not that the others mind, it's just that Thoth seems to be a lot hotter then Skrynne. Both Askaris have at least dyed their garments a darker, less colorfull shade of purple and donned a Chameleoline cloak on top of it, which does a good job in blending into its surroundings. But over time you realize that the stealthy capes are faulty products, every now and then glitching and running through different shapes and colors for some seconds before returning to normal. A compromise that was necessary to get the rare items on such short notice. Additionally Tambo has procured an old and rustic looking Long-las, which he keeps cleaning and polishing, trying to get it into as good a shape as possible - but still everyone in your team familiar with imperial weaponry realizes, that the sniper weapon will not be the most reliable.
Spoiler:
I will treat the bad quality of the Chameleoline Cloak by rolling a d100 whenever I use it. On a 91:99 it just doesn't work, on a 100 the stealth test fails as the thing starts to pulse red and yellow
Feel free to describe your procured items as you see fit if you want to.


Simond and Balwin have taken care to protect their horses legs as good as possible and heed the words of the locals to not head to far from the Chimera on their own. Which would be kind of hard anyway as most of the jungle is too thick to really get through on horseback. Erc and Njall do their best to drive the massive armored transport through, but need some hours to really get used to the unfamiliar ground resistance. At one point one of the tracks gets stuck in some mud hole, but with the help of the horses you manage to free it again. In time though both Saint Paulus troopers adapt aimiably and manage to avoid most of the dangers for the vehicle, setting a course along the mentioned big game trails.
Spoiler:
Navigate surface by Tambo (49): 1st roll: 37, 2nd: 82, but can reroll with "Survivalists": 31. 3rd roll: 80, we get off track for 2 hours. Try to get back: 91, uhh... we are still of track. Try again: 9, won back an hour

Sitting on top, Tambo and M'Gele help them navigate to the best of their abilities, especially noting in time when the trail is about to end before you run into the large, aggressive herbivores responsible for creating it. You make good way on the first day, at one time passing the carcass of one of the beasts, that was obviously slain by some predator big enough to tore out a leg the size of a sentinel walker from its socket and throw it 40 yards across the trail. Weary of the time the hunter might return to his half eaten pray you make haste to get away from it. Overall the jungle is - like all jungles - a mix of unfathomable beauty and the cruel reality of "eat or get eaten". With iridiscent giant butterflies (that are horrendously poisonous as you heards), herds of quadrupedal, scaled apelike animals and countless blooming plants covering every conceivable surface.
On the second day, both Askaris do a bit worse and even though with gritting teeth they have to swallow their pride and instruct Njall to backtrack almost two hours of the way, as they have led you into a valley that turns in the wrong direction and finnaly ends in front of a cliff.

As you get back on track and start to eat ob some Kloms in the right direction, Balwin gives Simond a sign of alarm, as he believes to have heard something. Carefully approaching forward, you come upon a small clearing. At the boarder of it, maybe 30 yards from you, you make out at least half a dozen humans - that you can see - half hidden in cover behind the branches of a fallen tree giant, their leader staying in the open and waving you a greeting. They don't seem openly hostile or laying in ambush, but they are obviously armed with a collection of autoguns and grenade launchers.
Should you not immediately open fire, the leader shouts across "Who goes there? What do you want?" The terrain does not really allow to just speed past them and at least the veterans of you realize that if these people survived out here, they might be resourceful enough to have hidden all kind of unpleasantries in the jungle that could deal with some orks, or seriously damage a Chimera...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/06 17:29:20


Post by: Easy E


Njal was riding open topped. Not that he liked it, but the view was needed to navigate in this blasted place. Sweat ran down his temples, and he felt it trickling down his back.

He held up the map, looked at it, looked at where he was, and then back at the map.

"Look Tambo, I trust you guys know what you are doing but... "

Then, the horseman gave an all too familiar signal. The guardsmen all instinctively prepared themselves, with Njal hunkering down into the turret and getting ready to button up.

After the human guerrillas, survivors, irregulars..... call out, Njal taps his inter-vox.

"Sarge, I think we got ourselves a little situation up here. I think we will need you and Teodore stat."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/07 02:38:53


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore disembarks and waves to the natives.

"Hi I'm Teodore, we're Astra Militarum. What are yah'all doing out here? The nearest safe zone is out that way where we were coming from."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/07 04:43:15


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai ran a finger over the Imperial Aquila that decorated his new chainsword. How Tambo had managed to secure one of these he couldn't of guessed, but he was grateful. Always eager to clear his debts, Malakai hopped out if the Chimera and began to secure the perimeter, letting the others do the talking. It wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Adamo followed his comrade, happy to get out if the cold chimera for a few moments. He Cherished the heat of the jungle and cupped his hands to heat them. While Malakai watched the rear of the Chimera, Adamo decided to move towards the front closer to the humans but not too close. He let Theodore do the introductions, him being a native and all.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/07 08:35:53


Post by: Pyroalchi


Recognizing Teodores accent, the locals seem to relax a little bit and focus on him and Wyona as fellow Skrynneans. Nonetheless the leader - a greyhaired man with a scarf around his neck, barely covering a huge scar comming from his upper body - snorts dismissive at Teodores mention of a safe zone. "Nowhere is safe currently, and definitly not the city and skyport. That's were the all the damn Fungusbrains are trying to get to. Always drawn to were the biggest scrap is.

By the way, I'm Zack. We're fine out here. But this is our turf. If you want to get through, you have to pay a fine. Make it worth for us! Or else you are better of to turn around and look for another route!" he insists firmly
Spoiler:
that would be deceive vs. scrutiny. Zack has: 1 degree of failure. Roll for scrutiny
failure: you are pretty sure he is telling the truth
>=1 degree of success: he is partly bluffing. While they are not defenseless, they could not really stop you. But they seem determined to fight you
> 2 degrees of success: Their will to fight seems to mostly hang on Zack. If he is convinced/killed, the others will likely agree or flee

Also: feel free to bargain, negotiate, intimidate or whatever you come up with



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/07 10:44:16


Post by: OldMate


Simond scrunched up his face at the bandits. Oh yes he had seen plenty of men like this before.
He saw their eyes shifting towards the man who was no doubt their leader.

That was the one to kill.

It was not a situation he liked, they had guns and he could be shot down before he reached them, or reached a grenade.
Spoiler:
going to try an intimidation

"Are you sure you want try that old man?" He asked subtly repositioning his horse and not so subtly adjusting the chainsword with his left hand. "We are the iron fist of the God emperor. Are you really sure you want to stand in it's path?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/08 03:50:40


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore raised a hand to Simond and then turned back to Zach.

"No such thing as turf anymore. Just the Emperor's loyal servants, and those currently trespassing on this sacred world of his."

Glancing to Wyona he continues speaking, "Now I can't speak for my commander, but I have a feeling she'd be agreeable to sparing you some of our rations. Yah'all must be hungry now. When's the last time you had a semi decent meal all the way out here?"

"But before we do that, what can you tell us about the xenos activity in this area?"

[FYI: He'll be going for some kind of persuasion test/social roll to co-opt Zach into helping them in exchange for some food]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/08 05:28:17


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho, for his own part, grabbed the pieces that would allow him to convert his Hellgun into a Longlas, it wasn't exactly easy to do, the barrel has to be set in the right position to allow for weapon to behave how it should. Not too much of a problem for a man used to wielding the Lucius Pattern Hellgun that the ex-Grenadier was used, but something he did a few times over to ensure it wouldn't be an issue in the field. ''This will work well, this... I, thank you, Tambo'' Poncho said after a few tentative tries. Expecting Orks, he kept his weapon in the Longlas configuration from there on, the spare parts of his Hellgun were put in a pouch that was held on the side of his battery pack, ready to be swapped if needed.


In the Chimera, the Kriegsman looked for a space where he, and his bulky equipment would fit, near the back hatch, an attempt was made to air our the APC by opening the rear-top hatch, with little success. Perhaps the reason he felt so damned stuffy was the greatcoat and carapace armor he kept. His gasmask hung around his neck, and sweat covered his pale face. When the APC stopped, he used the comm bead to ask what caused the pause. When someone who was already out of the vehicle answered, his mask was put on his face, hiding it from view, as he emerged from the Chimera. ''How dare this filth asks us to squander resources on them, we have a mission to do, and can't afford the waste.'' The man's usually dull voice was tinged anger, though he kept his rifle at the low-ready, his head swung about, searching for those who carried special weapons.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/08 14:32:28


Post by: Pyroalchi


Simonds challenge is definitly heard and he can see that not all of the people behind the natural barricade are so sure of what is going on. But the others, including Zack seem to be still adamant on getting some kind of toll from you. "We don't need your rations, foodstuff is plenty" Zack answers, focussing on Teodore as the young man - supported by Wyona - shows willingness to negotiate. Noticing the aesculap sign on Teodores uniform he instead implies: "But we are pretty short on meds and tranqs..."

Ponchos searching look reveals one women with a grenade launcher and another man deep in cover whose weapon he can't really see but whose body posture might indicate an rpg of sorts.
Through the combead Wyona voices to the others "Let's try to keep this civil. Maybe they can even be somewhat useful if we play our cards right."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/08 15:36:10


Post by: Easy E


Njal just kept his head low, barely peaking out of the turret hatch. He did not like this at all, they had been sitting still for too long. If the rabble had any support weapons, they were using this time to site them in on his rig.

He tapped the Intervox channel in the Chimera, Redhand, get ready to gun it up and over. I don't trust this rabble.

Njal had spent too much time putting citizens like these in their place in the PDF and the Guard. As far as he was concerned, they were shirking their duty to the God-Emperor by going native out here.

He kept his eyes on the Sarge, and decided to follow the Skyrenne's lead. This was not the time or place to do anything foolish, or out of the chain-of-command.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/09 13:55:27


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods. "We don't have much, but I can go through my supplies and see what we can spare."

"However, you need to show us that you are acting in good faith. So like I asked before, what can you tell us about the xenos activity in this area, what are you seeing out there?"

[My next post won't be for a couple of days but feel free to keep this going. Teodore would want to spare what he can but nothing that would compromise the unit's combat effectiveness]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/09 15:40:38


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Adamo kept a look out for any attempt of encirclement by these refugees. The longer this drew on the less he liked it. Besides, they were heading into war and those supplies could prove to be vital in the long run. They should be moved on..one way or another. The Krieger know as Poncho was right about that.

Malakai likewise held the rear, although he was beginning to become irritated and roared out to anyone at the front of the Chimera "What's taking so long? We need to move before we draw too much attention!" If they were held up for much longer, Malakai was likely to move along to the front and find out for himself.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/11 11:01:55


Post by: OldMate


Simond took a breath, the healer did have a good point, these people maybe bandits but they knew the area.
He wracked his brain, how would have the Sisters of the Hospital have viewed this?
Simond spat into the mud on the side of the track.

"We might show you some slack old man. If you still wish to show that you are a man worthy of the emperor's salvation and sacrifice, if you wish to help us drive the orks from this planet, from your home, you will tell us what you know about the strength of the Ork pressence in this area and provide us a guide. Any man or woman," The word was unfamiliar on his tongue for this and he suddenly hated to ask it, "that wishes to fight for their emperor, their home and themselves is welcome to join us."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/12 20:55:20


Post by: Pyroalchi


Zack scratches his chin, seemingly considering his options. Teodores willingness to share SOME ressources contrasted with your obviously good armament, Simonds self confidence and the fact that after Poncho and Malakai also disembarked, Zack suspects they might have bitten more than they can chew, finally lets him give in. On a sign of the obvious leader, at least some of the guns seem to be put in a less dangerous looking place and he replies "Haven't seen one of the damn Grunts around here for a while. Nothing interesting for them around. But Jacob and Mandy heard gunfire some Kloms away from the refinery and we found a half dead worker from the Oil-rig a week ago. His friends got eaten by a swarm of thornworms, but he made it out with only one leg lost. The swamp fever got him in the end, but he told us the Greenskins are at the refinery. Maybe a dozen of them, maybe two... Can't tell. He was already delirious. Anybody with an ounce of brain would stay away from there, but I guess that's were YOU poor sods are headed too, am I rite?"

Simonds challenge does not really raise a positive response. Some of the more dismissive faces almost look hostile, but he is enough of a campaigner to realize that there is a good ounce of fear underneath - or the feeling to owe more to their family than to some strangers speaking of the emperors work. Some others at least have the decency to look to the ground in various stages of embarassment. Overall he realizes that you won't find any fighting comrads here. As the Feudal worlder almost gives up on the poor lot, a high pitched voice is raised, and a short girl steps up - maybe twelve years old - with red hair, freckles and bruised knees looking through her worn down pants. "I can get you there!" she exclaims, before wiping away some snot from her nose. Her only armament seems to be an old rusty revolver.
Zack rolls his eyes "No you won't Ellen! Shut up when the grown ups talk!" "You shut up yourself! You're not my mother!" Some tears are in her eyes and from the looks of the other locals, you might guess, that Ellens parents are not around... and neither will be ever again. Might be the girl is out there for revenge...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/13 11:32:10


Post by: Dekskull


"Thanks for the information Zach. It's good to know we're all on the same side. By the way, I'm Teodore, I'm a city boy but I was born and raised on Skyrnne, and I can vouch for these off worlders. They fought the green skins back at the space port, and they're going to help us push the greenskins back the rest of the way."

Teodore begins to ruffle through his medicae bag and takes whatever items he thinks he can spare to give out to Zach and the other civilians.

He nods grimly when he sees the girl volunteer but leaves that situation for Wynona and the others to deal with.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/13 12:57:28


Post by: OldMate


Simond backs his horse a few steps from the group and looks more calm. He spits into the forest floor.
"Why is it the one among you with the most backbone is this child?"
He looks over the group in disgust.

"The orks can only kill you. They can't devour your soul, and they cannot corrupt your flesh to spread their vileness."
He backs his horse away and heads towards the rear of the chimera. Hand shaking on the reins.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/13 18:42:30


Post by: Easy E


The worst of the tension seems to be over, and Njal raises himself back up for a good view of the surroundings. It all still looked like jungle. Worse, it still felt like a frosted jungle.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/16 20:12:54


Post by: Pyroalchi


The locals are definitly thankful for Teodores provisions, and on a closer look you see that several of them have at least minor injuries or might even be ill. While the Paramedic has to part with some of his kit, the essentials for your immediate mission should still be there. Meanwhile he does his best to instruct them how to treat those suffering from jungle fever and the like, even though some of his fellow soldiers urge to continue the journey.
Spoiler:
I would say the +20 Bonus from the medkit will be +10 until you can fill it up, I also rolled some Medicae rolls, that were more or less successful.



Simonds call on their honor hits the mark, or rather: it would maybe have hit it a year ago. But now, after all the fighting and continuous setbacks, the people that found refugee deep in the jungle are focussed on taking care for themselves above all else. Ellen seems to have no family amongst them and even if they are suspicious of your motives, the others respect her decision to accompany you.
Soon you fire up the Chimera again and continue into the jungle. A task that is made significantly easier by Ellen, who indeed knows her way around and can point you towards some landmarks that help with orientation, as well as verifying the edibility of a couple of fruits along the way, that you use to stretch your provisions. The child seems pretty grown up for her age, most likely because she had no choice than to toughen up to survive. As you already suspected, her parents were killed by marauding greenskins in the last months. They belonged to another group, that ultimately was grinded down until she was the only one left alive and absorbed by Zacks group. She does not really like to talk about that time though. The good news for you at least is, that she had an uncle working in the refinery that she visited once or twice before the war and even though she can't remember much of the inner layout, she at least has a pretty good sense of the direction of your target.
Apart from that, possibly all of you immediatly take the scrawny little girl to your hearts and not only Tambo start to treat her with the best slices of the fruits or the odd sweet you have tugged away somewhere in your pouches.

While traveling you also have the opportunity to get to know each other a little better. Amongst other little snippets you get that Tambo and M'Gele are - in their own, pretty spiritistic way - quite religious, revering a small army of spirits, ancestral guides and totems, all lowly servants of the great skyfather on his golden throne in the skies. As they already mentioned their homeworld is some faraway backwater planet, deep in the Segmentum Pacificus, which expresses itself in both Askaris having very little knowledge or grasp of imperial life outside of the Guard and even there with a very narrow focus on things they witnessed during their deployments. On the plus side that seems to manifest in a uncommonly optimistic view of the Imperium and while they are no big fans of authority figures they don't personally know, you get the impression that they are loyal friends to the comrades they do know.
In an earlier life, Tambo was a tracker and hunter living in a small jungle settlement, before he was amongst the millions raised for his planets tithe. And true to form he is fidgeting with a sling and bola he is trying to braid from strings of leather - what ever good those might do against the hulking orks. Already back when he was drafted he had no illusions about ever returning home and thus has made alive in his regiment. While being widowed some years ago, one of his daughters, two sons and a couple of grandchildren, nephews and nieces are also kicking around amongst the Askaris or the typical flock of camp followers travelling with them.


While you travel further, the old soldier sometimes uses a grapnel and line shot from a pistol like device to climb up on one of the large jungle trees, whenever you loose sight of the few landmarks and are in danger of loosing your way. He is just standing up there on a branch thick as a Sentinel cockpit, looking through his rifles telescopic sight, as Simond makes out a hint of movement in the darkness of the foliage, a little below him. His eyes focus and finally can make out... something... sneaking closer from a lower branch, maybe 5 meters below and 20 meters behind Tambo who is unaware of it. Unfortunatly that means whatever is up there is a good 40 meters above Simond...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/17 11:42:54


Post by: OldMate


For the rest of the first day after encountering the group Simond does not seem himself. He is quiet, morose even and speaks only when required. He rides some distance behind the chimera.

The next morning he is more like his old self, telling stories of battles sieges and hunts for wild beasts that may certainly be quite exaggerated.

One night as the group talks around the campfire he has a few swigs of spirits and when asked he confirms that he has seen the fate worse than death that he had described. He explains that it was well before Balwin's time. That when he was a child the father of corruption unleashed a plague upon his homeland. He speaks of the horror of the plague dead rising and the land itself festering with corruption.
He tells of how when all seemed lost HIS holy angels appeared. How the holy sisters of the hospital brought gonne and sword to the corrupted and brought healing and care to the survivors. How the light of their faith burnt away the corruption from the land itself.
His eyes are alight with reverence as he speaks.
He smiles a little bit embarrassed at the end of the tale. For all his prideful and boastfulness tall tales, its clear this tale is not one he often has told and that it is probably the most genuine.
'I have always striven to live the fullest life I can.' He gives the sergeant a smile and a nod.
'And death? It holds nought fear for me.'


As Simond rode he scanned the trees, it was not exactly the type of terrain he was used to or particularly liked, he had been warned about climbing predators making use of the trees, so he wore his sallet sitting back on his head so it did not impede his veiw.
As he turned to reach for his water bottle a flash of movement in the trees caught his eye. He could see enough through the foliage not be sure of what it was, but he could be sure of that unmistakably cautious and calculated movement.

He pointed to his lance towards where the thing was. "Beast on high! To arms!" He shouted loud enough to be heard over the rumble of the Chimera's engine.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/22 11:34:34


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore grimaced from where he was sitting. He looked around. "What do we do, stop and dismount?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2022/12/23 18:04:02


Post by: Easy E


Njal and the kid had talked a lot. He needed her to point out the land marks, and to help him look at the map. Kid had been through a lot, more than a kid should. Maybe there would be a space for her with the White Shields when they got back to camp?

At night, as they huddled up in the back of the Furnace, the group would chat over their bare bones rations. Some of the group would play cards, others cleaned their gear, but mostly they told stories. The kind Guardsmen tell, the tall tales of soldier stories mostly. However, some were a lot closer to home.

Njal had been idly chatting with the kid from turret, when he heard the cavalryman shout out. Erc must of heard it to, as he pulled the machine into a hull down position as best he could.

Njal clicked the intervox, "Sarge, we should get eyes on the threat. Deploy as needed?"

The iceworlder then popped the turret hatch and started to claw his way up to get eyes on the danger, las-pistol in hand.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/03 19:56:40


Post by: Pyroalchi


The night that Simond told the story about his planets story with the blight, both Askaris seem pretty caught by his words and appreciate the Feudal worlders skill and telling a good tale. Afterwards they ask a lot of questions about the holy sisters and the mirakels they worked and Simond cannot help getting the feeling of doing part of the emperors missionary work by strengtening the belief of his comrades.

As he adresses Wyona, that he always tried to live the fullest live he can, she answers with a quizzical look, before suddenly breaking of eye contact. Overall she seems to try and keep a little more distance between herself and the squad then she did on her last night in the compond where they danced. Most likely to avoid getting to emotionally close to her charges - which seldom does anyone good.
Spoiler:
Not sure if I find the right words in english here. What I try to bring across: it is not that she has a crush on Simond or anything, she just tries to keep close friendship to any of you out of the equation on the basis of her belief that a good commander should not get personal attached or he might start to make the wrong calls



Later, as he spots the beast sneaking up on Tambo and calls it out, the Askari up on the large branch of the giant tree turns around trying to identify the danger Simond is warning about. But he still seems to not see it, as he points his gun about 30 degree to far to the left and wispers through the comm-bead "Where? I can't see or hear anything?"

Meanwhile Ellen has also put her head out of the Chimeras compartment to get a better look. But as she follows Simonds pointing lance and also makes out the almost untraceable movement up ahead, her eyes widen and she pulls back into the armored vehicle, grabbing her revolver. Checking all access points to the interior with a quick glance she urgess everyone in hearing range "It's a damn terror cat... they ALWAYS hunt in packs..."
Spoiler:
you can all make an awareness test -10 to make out where the other terror cats might be. If you succeed just describe that you make out some movement in the bushes near Simonds horse that looks quite tasty to them...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/03 21:23:24


Post by: Easy E


"A Terror what? Frosted death worlds!" Njal thought as he spun his head around looking for whatever the hostile was. His eyes were moving faster than the muzzle of his pistol, but all he saw was shades of green everywhere.

Spoiler:

I rolled a 73 for Awareness. Nothing to see here!


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/04 03:38:44


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods his body bristling tensely. "Right so we'll stay in the Chimera then. They're just animals. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."

He tried to sound reassuring but he wasn't completely convinced of his own words.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/04 10:11:29


Post by: OldMate


"Damned thing, I've lost it" Simond turned his head to check the foliage around him for possible threats following Ellen's warning and as he did so the helmet fell down over his eyes.
"Damn thing!" He cursed reaching to pull it back to the top of his head.
Spoiler:
Simond rolls a 95 LOL


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/06 17:37:32


Post by: Easy E


"Tambo and M'gele, get your frosted backs inside! Everyone else, make sure nothing gets in!"

Njal decided to take his own advice and slipped back into the turret and locked it up. He leaned into the scope and turned the turret to try and give the two Askari's some cover, but not seeing anything made covering them a challenge. He was reluctant to just spray and pray with the Askari's coming in.

"Hold your ice," he thought to himself.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/11 05:45:28


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai and Adamo kept their distance from Ellen initially. They had been on Skyrnne too long and had seen so much lost. Ellen whittled away at their guard and over time they grew accustomed to her presence. The Brontian's were quiet and mostly kept to themselves. Even Adamo the more approachable of the duo kept by Malakai's side, like a pup clings to his mother's heels.

Upon Simonds report of contact, Malakai sat up straight although he remained in the chimera. "Just some natural predators, no threat to the hulk of a chimera, the horses though..." Adamo looked to the others, "They should keep their head on a swivel, the horses are fine meat for ravenous stomachs"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/11 08:34:49


Post by: Pyroalchi


While M'Gele who sat on the Chimera roof quickly enters through the hatch on top, Tambo replies to Njals command to get back inside "Easier said then done!" as he still stands pretty high up. Replying to the talk of predators nearby he mutters "Damn, I can't see frack up here!" with a fair bit of tension in his voice. Not panick, but a great amount of respect regarding standing on a high tree in the sights of a possible predator. Trying not to turn a blind eye into any direction he fixes his grapnel to the branch again to try and get down to the safety of the Chimera. While he does so, trying to stay calm, he spots some movement down below and wispers, even more urgently "Simond! Watch your back, there's something lurking about three horse lengths behind you..."
a moment later you hear him again "Hey guys... I can see it now... What's the opposite of pspsps... Shooo! Go away!" followed a moment later by a hearthy "FRAK! Here goes nothing!" with him jumping from the branch, just as something big, black and very agile charges forward up top. While his line keeps him from just smashing to the ground, the uncontrolled jump throws Tambo heavily into his harness and he lets out a moan of pain, barely holding onto the rope, 20 yards above your head. For the moment he is save, as the terror cat looks down at him and seems to consider if it should jump down or get of the three and jump up to maul him like a pinata.

Meanwhile Simond hears a growling snarl from a bush in front of him and sees a similar big, cat like creature with shaggy, blackisch fur appear from the foilage - to the obvious displeasure of his steed that takes a step back.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/12 11:05:21


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore grabs a hold of one of the lasgun turrets and looks out to see any targets. "What's going on out there? Can anyone see anything?
"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/14 21:02:09


Post by: OldMate


Simond pushed his helmet back to see the cat in front of him. It was better than Simmond had hoped. He'd half been expected to be tackled from the side, however the beast was not so cunning. He lowered the exsplosive tip of the lance down to between his horse and the beast and goaded the horse with the spurs. War trained it overcame its fear and surged forwards. The horse knew what to do and all he had to do was keep that tip between his horse and the beast.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/18 21:58:43


Post by: Irishpeacockz


Malakai and Adamo took up positions on the turrets taking a side each to maximize firing angles. They would not see Simmond's charge but scan their surroundings none the less. Malakai wiped a viscous bead of sweat from his forehead with a shaken hand. Now was not the time for a fix. He hoped the adrenaline of battle would sooth his nerves. He was keenly aware however that it could equally make him worse.

Adamo kept a keen eye outside, the Brontian's avoided the jungle if they could help it. Heard too many stories back at camp, seen too many scars or dogtags half chewed to nothing. He was also trying to keep an eye on Malakai but he had only one pair of eyes and they were better served on the turret for the moment.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/22 13:27:56


Post by: Pyroalchi


Simonds steed is still not really keen on engaging the beast in front of it, but training and adrenaline overcomes that for a moment, and on Simonds command, and surges forward, just as the big cat crouches down to leap at its throat. But this is not the feudal warriors first rodeo, so he aims the explosively tipped lance in his hand right towards the lower jaw - throat region of the enemy, where its shaggy fur and scaly skin looks a bit less sturdy, steadying himself in the stirups and hoping for the best. His aim is true
and by an instance of insane luck, the big feline throws open his jaw, just as the tip connects, almost swallowing the blade as Simond presses the trigger button...

With a blinding flash, the charge on the lance explodes, tearing the whole skull of the terror cat appart and sending chunks of flesh and bone everywhere, with some streaks of blood even hitting Njals periscopes. Unfortunatly Simonds feeling of triumph is kind of short lived, as something big and heavy slamms into his back, throwing him down from his horse and unto the ground. By mere instinct he gets away with some cuts and bruises, but his steed panicks and galops away, while he finds himself face to face with another terror cat, that came from behind. If it wasn't for his armor, he has little doubt that no more than some minced meat would remain of him by now. But that might only be a question of time.
Spoiler:
That was 2x 10 for the 2D10+3 damage of the Lance tip... that should finish the beast off nicely.



Meanwhile Tambo still dangels from his rope, trying to free the jammed realese mechanism to get down to you, while slowly spinning in circles. The cat that was lurking for him decides to also get down the tree to wait for him or jump up to play a bit with her prey.


Inside the Chimera, Teodore and Malakai can each catch a glimpse of Simond going down and the horse rearing away, but none of them really has anything approaching a good target. Njal on the other hand can see the cat comming down from the tree, but that moves pretty fast...
Spoiler:
Teodore and Malakai: shooting at the cat would be at BS -20.
Njal: I would say hitting the Cat coming down would similarly be a BS -20. Or alternatively just BS if you just want to discourage it from getting down by wildly peppering the rough position.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/23 20:32:24


Post by: Easy E


Something liquid and sticky was somewhat blocking his view, and Njal didn't want to get out and clean it off.

He clicked the intervox, "We gotta scare these things off. Everyone, just pick a lane without a friendly and light it up. Redhand, revv the engine up! Let's make some noise!"

Njal took his own advice. He knew what tree Tambo was hanging from, and he thought he saw a shadow moving around the trunk. He checked to make sure no friendlies were in LOS and opened up. He rammed the trigger down and started slowly traversing the turret, careful to keep any of his mates out of the line of fire. The multi-laser pulsed, the foliage cracked from the impacts, and he could hear the battery buzzing inside the tight space of the turret.

"Son of Krieg, can you get to Tambo through the top hatch?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/23 20:48:06


Post by: Bobthehero


''Can do'' Came the reply. Soon enough, the top hatch was popped open, and the figure of Poncho soon emerged, he carried the newly configurated lasgun, unsure if the overkilling penetration of his standard issue would be suitable against the wildlife. His gun swept from left to right, searching for Tambo as he did so, moving towards his target.

''The new weapon isn't suitable for volleys'' He pointed out as he looked out for Tambo ''How many foes must we kill today? Do we have a number?''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/24 00:14:38


Post by: Dekskull


"Simond NOOOO!" Teodore screams in panic and starts opening up fire with the turret gun in the general direction of where he thinks the nearest terror cat.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/24 10:53:12


Post by: OldMate


Simond rolled to his feet. Somehow the beast had merely knocked him to the ground and by the emperor's own luck he'd landed free of it. It's claws had slipped free of his armour.

The chainsword was in his hand in a flash. He cursed himself, he should have known the beasts would attack in a pair, it was what beasts of this size would often do. The sword was too short to cover himself from both the beasts before him. One of those big blades that he'd seen a priest carrying, yes that would have been better here. He backed towards the hull of the chimera, put his back to the steel there and he might only need to face to one beast at a time, if one made a move for the horse he could attack. If both did... well things would get interesting.
There was no bloody way in the emperor's light they were getting that horse.

Beyond the beast in front of him he could see that thankfully Balwin was scrambling out of the way of the beasts. The boy was not a bad type and Simond did not think he could not forgive himself if the boy got himself killed.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/24 14:29:40


Post by: Pyroalchi


Njals level headed reaction shows good instinct and Wyona taps him on the back as a nonverbal sign of approval. Even though the St. Paulus trooper can only catch glimpses of the big cat that was trying to come down the tree and is quite sure that he did not hit it, the sheer volume of lasbolts from the multilaser as well as its loud discharge discourage it from jumping down and joining the fray. Instead it turns around and climbs back up to try and get to Tambo from above. Unfortunatly the Chimera turret is not built for that high elevations, so that it get's out of N'jals field of fire.

Getting back up to his feet, Simond gets a better look on his surroundings. Emperor be praised his first assesment regarding the number of his opponents was more pessimistic than necessary. The explosive lance he had been handed out at the depot has really done a number on the beast that tried to attack him, leaving only a wildly spasming, practically decapitated corpse. The second cat, that was just moments before clawing and jumping down the tree trunk seems to have changed its mind due to Njall opening up on the tree trunk with the Chimeras multilaser. So that leaves only the third cat - that Simond knows of - as an immediate threat.
The bad news is, that the thing is really really big for a felinide. maybe half as massive as his horse, a good 600 to 700 pounds if he had to guess. With scaly skin under a shaggy fur, each claw as big as one of his hands and a jaw full of 2 rows of sharp teeth, including tusks a foot long each. Just now none of Simonds comrades at the Chimeras lasgun arrays can safely shoot at it, so it uses its chance to lash out after him.
Spoiler:
would be a hit with potential 7 damage


As he gets out of the top-hatch, Poncho can see Tambo still dangling roughly 20 yards above them, but at least the Askari seemed to finally have been able to unjam the release mechanism of his rope, so that he slowly declines. Unfortunatly he's rotating a lot, making any attempt of aimed firing pretty hard. From the looks of it he will likely go to ground maybe 5 yards in front of the Chimera. Alternatively he can also make out the terror cat attacking Simond. It's big and close enough to be a juicy target, but there might be a certain risk to hit his comrade, so careful aim would be recommended
Spoiler:
so you get +10 on BS for a big target and another +10 because it is in short range, but this is cancled out by -20 for firing into melee and trying not to hit Simond


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/24 17:08:36


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho took aim. Not so careful, however, the Kriegsman's first reflex was not to care much for the fact that a comrade was possibly in the line fire didn't enter his mind at first, after all, surely he was holding down the foe's attention so as to allow them to get in position and fight better. But he shook his head, bad idea, and he re-adjusted his position to enjoy a clean body shot with his new weapon.

The Kriegsman pressed on the trigger, exhaling through his gask, letting a bright yellow slice through the air, smacking the hellish creature right in the flank


Spoiler:
Oooooh, boy. Taking a half action to aim, one other to shoot a single shot. Rolled a 06, which is... a whole lot of degrees of succes, so Poncho would inflict 11, 10 and 12 damage for that single shot, each at AP 1 and ignoring up to 4 points of unnatural toughness.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/01/30 18:59:44


Post by: Easy E


Njal saw the cat back away, and that was enough for now. He blinked away the sweat pouring into his eyes as he strained at the periscope.

"Erc, can you get this fridge under Tambo? We have to give Poncho a chance to snag him."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/01 10:05:25


Post by: OldMate


Simond knew the beast could pounce onto him at any moment. Another beast could easily pounce from the foliage nearby. The sword was not great for thrusting for the chain guard along the back.

He kept the chain growling and the blade in movement between himself and the creature and growled and shouted his rage and defiance at the beast. It was a beast after all. If he made it clear he was not easy meat it would look elsewhere for a meal.

"Balwin, throw me your lance!" The weapon would give him more space from the beasts. His was on the ground somewhere there, recovering it would not be a great choice at the moment.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/01 20:33:13


Post by: Irishpeacockz


This was the moment Malakai had been waiting for. The thrill of combat. It had been too long yet not long enough. He both lived for these moments and never wished to witness then again. The beast was upon Simond, his shot was clear. He took a deep breath as he swiveled the turret around. He squinted, double checking the trajectory and fired.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/02 13:16:24


Post by: Pyroalchi


From the side of the Chimera, Malakai takes a careful sweep with the lasgun array in the direction of the Terror Cat advancing on Simond, making sure not to accidently hit the dismounted warrior or the horse currently struggling to back away from the large predator on the slippery wet ground. While the hunter dives away graciously, it at least gives Simond enough space to catch the lance that Balwin throws him. He is just fumbling to simultanously holster the chainsword and bring the improvised pike to bear, as a Ponchos Longlas discharges with a whipping crack of ultraheated air particles expanding. Even though he didn't get the opportunity to practice a lot with the weapon so far, his aim is perfect between the eyes of the beast and from that short distance, the effect is rather effective... and messy. A double fist sized canal right through the Terror cats head is literally vaporized, up until a good armslength into its upper chest. Drops of boiling blood and viscera hit the Chimera and Simond as the beast collapses spasming like its packmate only moments before.

The fortunatly short time you took to messily take out two of them lets the other cats decide that the lot of you do indeed not provide a good meal, darting back into the undergrowth. From the movement in the foilage you can estimate that the one that was sneaking up on Tambo, that Njall hat stalled with the Multilaser would not have been the last, with at least 3 more likely circling the Chimera. But for now you seem safe and some moments later the normal jungle sounds reappear indicating that the accute danger is over.

Emperor be praised, Simond seems hardly harmed, but has some deep clawmarks in the back of his armor to show for when he boasts about this fight in the next bar. Tambo meanwhile manages to finally lower himself down the last stretch and climbs back on the Chimera as fast as he can. He looks a slight bit embarrassed but then adresses all of you "Thanks for having my back! That thing would have mauled me good up there."




You are still recovering from this encounter as you can make out the familiar sound of an Imperial Aircraft up ahead. Likely something Valkyrie sized by your estimate. Yet before you can even get your bearing if the workhorse of the airwings is headed the same way as you, the "FUMP"FUMP"FUMP"FUMP!" of some ground based Flak is also audible - by the off-beat rythm of the later some Orkish device at least a dozen miles away from your position. Even if you can't see it right then, a serious of explosion sounds and an alarming change in the note of the engines already tells you that the Imperial was hit and seconds later you see it streaking past above your heads in rapid decent, trailing smoke from a burning engine. Moments later it crashes maybe a good mile or two northeast from you. Not completely your direction, but maybe a day march of an detour if you want to investigate.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/04 03:24:26


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore set about administering first aid to anyone that needed it. He seemed somewhat relieved that no one had died during the encounter.

When he saw the Valk go down he shuddered.

"That looked like an Astra Militarum aircraft that went down. Aren't we supposed to mount a search and rescue?"



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/04 10:27:07


Post by: OldMate


Simond set about quieting the horse and soothing it, even as he kept an eye and lance point towards the forest around him. Simond was grinning ear to ear as Tambo finally got to the ground. It was a pity that neither of the beast's heads were intact to take as trophies.

The beasts would not attack, not now after this action. They might come back after dark and try their luck but not in daylight.

Simond watched the flyer go down.
"The greenskins will want to salvage that. No point in letting the beasts further arm themselves."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/06 15:48:47


Post by: Easy E


Frosted flyboys! What were they even doing around these parts? This was deep in Ork territory. The briefing made it clear that infil via aircraft was a no-go.

Clearly, those snowflakes had been ordered to fly out here for some reason, and Njal was not interested in finding out what that reason was. However, you did not leave your fellow guardsmen in a blizzard, that was command's job!

He turned to the Wynona, "Permission to plot a new course, Sarge?"



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/11 15:18:53


Post by: Pyroalchi


Simonds injuries from being thrown of the Horse don't seem to be too bad and thanks to his armor the claws of the cat have "just" left a pretty big bruise. Due to the myriad of jungle diseases flying around here both should be treated with antiseptics, which Theodore knows and administers. He could also do with some paintkillers, if he is not too proud to take them.

The improvised jump into his rope did not only hurt Tambos pride, but also dislocated his shoulder which is quite unfortunate. Theodore does his best to fix it - under some nasty curses from the tribesman - but his ability to shoot will definitly be impacted for some days.

Nontheless the Skrynne paramedic definitly proves his worth here by keeping both guardsmen in more or less of a fighting form.



While there is not much left of the heads, Simond uses the opportunity to hack of a paw the size of an anti tank mine and armed with 6 inch claws, that should look impressive over the fireplace. Looking out of the Chimera M'Gele gives him a respective salute admiring his bravery in front of the beast. Poncho of course also gets clap on the shoulder for his incredible kill shot, oblivious of the Kriegers possible adversary to touching.



On Njals request, Wyona agrees "do it! And nice work everybody!" audibly and visually pleased about how fast this ragtag squad seems to grow into a functioning unit. To Theodore she mutters silently "If we can keep this going, we might actually make it." Indicating that she shared his rather pessimistic view about their chances when the mission started.

The path to the downed Valkyrie isn't really hard to follow as you can see its smoke trail and Theodors auspex can match its direction to the local magnetic field to act as a compass. After two hours through the dense jungle you meet the beginning of a long clearing where the flyers crash has cut down the upper branches of the trees and later some smaller trees themselves. At least the pilot seemed to have managed to bring the craft down without smashing into one of the giant trunks standing around. Through the undergrowth (as you have not yet entered the clearing) you can make out a hint of smoking wreakage.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/12 00:31:44


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore disembarks from the rear of the Chimera and prepares to search the wreckage. He is anxious about having to potentially deal with more injured, but he felt like he was starting to gain some confidence after the "win" over the wild cats.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/14 11:46:31


Post by: OldMate


Simond tied the paw to the saddle. The smell did disturb the horse but the mare would get used to the scent of it. A predator would be close enough to them and stalking them already before it scented the trophy with any luck.
The beasts were worthy of taking a trophy. They were strong and powerful creatures.

He'd clapped the sickly looking stormtrooper on the back for the fine shot. It was good to fight shoulder to shoulder with someone who knew their craft.

The salve Teidore had put on his cuts had stung but that only meant it indeed worked. The boy was gifted at healing, even if he was not trained in a proper Sister's Hospital.

He felt he was taking to the group. Nights spent around the fire, days treking through the forest behind the vehicle. He'd told many stories to the girl Ellen, and with a children's curiosity had always managed to ask the strangest questions. But Simond had nephews and neices so he was somewhat prepared.

As they came into sight of the wreck he rode his horse up to the side of the vehicle so he could address his companions inside by way of the top hatch and the Njal the gunner.

'The craft maybe secured by our enemies or investigated by wild beasts. It will have attracted attention.'


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/14 17:57:58


Post by: Easy E


Njal popped the turret hatch and surveyed the scene. The horseman Simond rode up and gave some solid advice. The man knew his craft and was handy with a weapon for sure.

"The longer this takes, the sooner Greenskins are going to show up. We need to strike like a snow squall, recover who we can, and roll out."

As much as he hated the thought, it probably made sense to proceed forward on foot to avoid any ambushes, and then move up the rig once the area was secured.

"I don't think we should lead with the Rig this time. Too much risk. We need to probe ahead, and then roll in once we know the path."

Njal reached down and grabbed his carbine and awkwardly pulled it out of the turret. He saw Teodore had all ready gotten out and was ready to move ahead.

Hold your ice, kid. We have to get a feel for what's in front of us before we rush in. No good gettin' frosted now."

He pulled himself out of the turret, and jumped down. The ground was squishier than he remembered, moist. He immediately missed being inside the Rig, why did it have to be so hot?

Sarge, I think we should have Erc, cover us with the Heavy Bolter and get ready to move out if needed. Simond, and Baldwin take the lead. Poncho, cover us. M'Gele, Teodore, and I support the Cav on foot. Tambo can make sure no one gets into our ride without us.

We make a cable line to the Valk, scope it, call up the Rig, load up, and roll out? Sound like a plan?




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/22 12:45:35


Post by: Pyroalchi


Wiona has taken the opportunity to stick her head out of the turret to try and get a visual on the downed Valkyrie with her binoculars and scanning through the short range guard channels to maybe announce you - but seemingly without success. "Sounds like a plan" she answers Njall before instructing everybody "If there are survivors they won't expect imperial forces so close by. Move carefully, last thing we need is some friendly fire incident." On the plus side, if the Greenskins are already here, they too should not count on a squad of imperials already at the crash side.

As Njal proposed, some of you disembark to go on foot, while Simond and Balwin take the lead. As you begin to enter the clearing you start to see that the Valkyrie lost one of its wings, but at least it did not explode. Still, it won't go anywhere. Some of you might get a bit of a queasy gut feeling, as you too assume in the situation of a downed squad in the middle of an ork infested jungle, you might shoot at anything moving in your direction. But the inquisitive lasgun shot you almost expected does not appear and only after you approached to about 50 yards, you can make out some sign of live. A masked and helmeted head sticks up barely an inch above a piece of wreckage that makes for a pretty good defense line shouting "Identify yourself!" in a short, command experienced manner. The look of the soldiert, his demeanor as well as the fact that he has set up a pretty good spot to make any unfriendlies approach the wreck pay bitterly for it lets you guess that it is a Tempestus Scion.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/22 20:15:34


Post by: OldMate


Simond let out an exaggerated sigh as he pulled his horse up. He spotted the armoured faceplate and glowing eye pieces of the soldier.

Yep. Definitely one of the imperial nobles. The shot down craft made a whole lot more sense now. How many times had he and his men had had to extract bands of hot headed young knights and their retinues from situations they'd gotten themselves into, how many times had they arrived to rescue groups led by older knights who should have known better?

Flying a lone craft over the part of the forest the enemy occupied courted this kind of result. It was like gallavanting around without a light cavalry screen, it should have been unthinkable.

It was always the same questions too. Who are you? What are you doing here? It should have been pretty obvious.

He cleared his throat as he retrieved his canteen. "We're a band of marauding greenskins. Come to collect your heads, loot and scrap your craft... my lord."

Simond took a mouthful of water. Imperator it was hot and steamy and the armour surely was not helping. On the other hand it had kept him alive, and that was what it needed to do.

"We're the ones who are pulling your hazels out of the coals before they burst. Lord." Balwin called from behind him with youthful enthusiasm and much less tact. Simond sprayed his mouthful of water in a cloud that hung for a moment in the humid air in front of him.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/02/23 02:46:27


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore was happy to bring up the rear guard. He moved slow and kept his eyes out for anything suspicious. When he heard Simond talking to the Scion, he couldn't help but pipe up from where he was.

"We're a mixed Astra Militarum unit. Let us come over to you. If you have wounded I can help."





Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/06 13:37:44


Post by: Pyroalchi


The gun of the Scion that Simond first saw remains steady pointing down his firing lane, with not visible reaction to his quib nor Theodors offer to take care of the wounded. You can only guess, that he uses some internal com-system to report and soon after, another head sticks up beside him and you can almost make out some rank insignia on the newcomer. Suddenly you hear your comm-beads making a little noice in your ears, as an access code is used. A very level headed, almost a bit mechanical sounding voice orders "Aknowledged. Approach and set up a defensive parameter. The paramedic is needed at the wreckage ASAP." - So much for a friendly greeting.

Getting closer you can see that the friendlies have been badly shaken. You can make out 5 of them that are more or less on their feet, but Theodore guesses at least two are suffering from a concussion and struggle to keep upright. The officer that more ordered than invited you in seems to be a lieutenant equivalent and simply points Theodore towards the wreckage, were one of the pilots and another Scion are lying on the ground stabilized as good as possible (which basically only means "not bleeding in fountains" but little more). Another 5 bodies are under blankets and obviously dead.

"Identification, Status and mission report." the officer calls to Wyona without even introducting himself and your sergeant complies, sucking down a handy reply as a good little guardsmen does in front of the glory boys. Njal, Theodore and anyone else more accustomed to technology and combeads might also suspect, that while the Scions are hearing in your channel, they still have their own for their communication.
Still very short on words, the Lieutenant says "We need extraction. Activate the Amplified Vox in your Transport and call HQ."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/06 14:53:13


Post by: Easy E


Njal heard the order and glanced sideways at the Sarge.

Technically, the L.T. outranked them and they had to comply..... but their orders came from higher up the chain so they could pull rank using those orders to countermand the L.T. He wondered how the Sarge was going to play it. He knew he didn't cotton to taking orders from these tin soldiers.

Njal openly eye-balled the Scions, something he wouldn't do to fellow for St. Paullus, a Brontian, Kreiger, etc. . He had never seen a "Scion" before and frankly wasn't sure what to make of them. Their soldiering seemed adequate, but their bluster towards their fellows..... well..... he didn't have much room for that. Afterall, we were all in the Blizzard together now weren't we?


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/07 02:37:26


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore was too busy tending to the wounded to have much time to jump in on the conversation. He was quickly getting frustrated and worn out.

Maybe giving medical supplies to those civilians wasn't such a good idea afterall. He thought, suddenly feeling guilty.

When he finally had a moment, he walked over to Wyona, Simond, and the other men in his unit.

"I'm doing the best I can, but some of these guys need to get to a Med Center or they are not going to make it."

"If we can't get an aerial Med Evac than the next best course of action is to load the Chimera up with the wounded and use it to get the wounded back to base ASAP. If the mission is still on, I'm willing to accompany the wounded back to base to give them the best chance of survival."

After a moment he realized he was speaking out of turn. "Ummm sorry, I'm just speaking as a medical professional here. This is my advice for what's best to take care of the wounded. Obviously an aerial med evac would be the best option, just thinking of plan B. Whatever happens it's your call Seargant."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/07 02:56:35


Post by: Bobthehero


''A waste to leave trained Scions to die like this, but the parameters of our missions might force our hands''

The Krieger approached, offering his opinion and looking at the survivors of the crash. While they had similar equipment, the different pattern issued to the Guard's special forces seemed to catch the greatcoat wearing man, though he didn't go up and ask the Stormtroopers about it.

''Would we have enough room for all the injured ones, and us, on the Chimera? Even with our riders, the vehicle would get rather full''

The Grenadier droned one in that monotone voice of his, muffled behind his mask.

''Could we stabilise them, move on, and come back?''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/07 06:57:50


Post by: Pyroalchi


Tambo replies to Ponchos question "If we leave the dead and some of us ride on top of the Chimera, we should fit. I sometimes had a ride with up to 20 friends on one of the good old metal boxes. It's not cozy, but when you're short on vehicles it works..."

Regarding at the problem at hand he takes a look at the Valkyrie wreckage and utters ... 10% of a plan "HQ said we should not use our vox to not alarm the Greenskins of our presence. Does any of you think he could cobble together something so that the signal looks like it came from the Valkyrie? They Orks know that it went down here anyway, so a vox signal from there should not change anything, it just has to look like the Scions sent it." he couples that with an apologizing hand gesture indicating that he himself does not know enough about vox protocols or tech to do such a feat.

Spoiler:
get creative. If you want to try and have some tech-skill feel free to roll and say how much successes you would have scored.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/07 09:43:49


Post by: OldMate


Simond chewed his lip in silence, as everyone else spoke.
These troopers were heavily armed alright, there was the opportunity to perhaps have them along for their mission, if the nobles did not of course drag his group into their plans.
"Sergeant." "I think we should want to see what we can take from the crashed craft. I don't know what to expect at the foundry. But having more guns can't hurt. And it's better than to leave them for the greenskins."

Eventually he walked his horse over towards the leader of the armoured troopers.
He gave a quick and smart salute. "Sir," he said in that only an experienced non commissioned officer could, in a way that was synonymous with 'son' "you're going to want to leave this place before the greenskins arrive. We are your only ride out of here before they do, our healer , we have an objective nearby and once it is secured the cavalry will swoop in to pick us up. If you want to get back to our lines, well this is your horse out of this mess." He gestured with a thumb towards the armoured machine.
Spoiler:
fellowship 32



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/07 15:14:57


Post by: Easy E


Njal wandered over to the cockpit. It smelled bad, like someone got injured and died up here bad. Blood and viscera were splattered across the instruments.

He pulled out his tool kit and leaned in. He gently rubbed off the controls and tried to get his bearings on what was what.

There, there. Poor little machine. Looks like you managed to keep together. Of course you did your best. You always did your best, he murmured softly as he poked around.

It wasn't long before he found the Vox. It looked to mostly be spared on the inside, but the transmitter had probably been busted up in the crash. He could tinker with it and see what he could do, but this wasn't exactly a repair bay. Plus, there was the range to consider.

Spoiler:
Tech use of 19. Let me know if I could get it up and running.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/08 03:01:44


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore frowned. "I'll continue to do what I can. But I like I said it's really important that these wounded be transported to a med center as soon as possible. Transporting critically wounded into a conflict zone on the other hand is not something I would recommend.

On the other hand the Chimera could serve as a Med Evac if none other becomes available. Of course that would mean the mission would continue on foot.

He looked at the tinkering going on at the crashed aircraft. "Maybe they'll get their own Med Evac. That would be the best for everyone."

He sighed and got back to work.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/08 15:19:08


Post by: Easy E


Njal peaked out from the cockpit and glanced around.

Who's watching the frosted perimeter?

Everyone hold your ice and let the LT and Sarge figure it out. The rest of us just need to mind our own fires.




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/13 19:25:12


Post by: Pyroalchi


Unfortunatly Njals endeavor with the Valkyries Vox ends rather fruitless, as the poor thing seems to have taken to much of a beating to get it to function. While the machine spirit undoubtedly did it's best, its to far gone to send a signal on its own and the St. Paulus trooper does not know enough about this type of machinery to hook it unto the Chimeras Vox or modify the later to send with the Valks frequency.

Watching out of the cockpit he can see that the Scions are definitly still watching the perimeter, as do Tambo, M'Gele, Balwin and Erc in the Chimera. He has to admit though that the Scions do it a bit more professionally and with a better eye for fire lanes, overlapping fields of fire and unit tactics.


in reply to Simonds and Theodors comments, the Lieutenant seems far from happy. But it seems that Simonds argument was at least somewhat convincing. He looks over to his men again and asks Wyona "How far away is that objective of yours? And what is it? Do we have a good chance of digging in there while we wait for MedEvac?" which between the lines spells "better then sitting out here in the open"... To which she replies that the refinery you are about to secure should only be 2 or 3 hours away, but might be contested.
Towards Theodore he asks "How big of a chance do our wounded have, if we transport them now?" to which the medic can only give him about 50:50 for the wounded pilot and 20% for the Scion. The officer seems to calculate that a bit in his head and finally nods "We'll take our chances with your lot. Make room in the transport and let's leave this place, ASAP."

Spoiler:
Njals Tech-use roll was a miss, but Simonds Fellowship hit good


As the wounded are loaded into the Chimera, Tambo approaches the Lieutenant, snapping the best approach of a parade ground salute he can muster"Sir, the greenskins will likely try and seize equipment and eat the dead when they get here. Permission to salvage the Hellguns and mine the bodies? They died as heroes. I'm sure they would not mind to take some more Xenos with them posthumously." While he says that, he takes out one of his claymore mines from the depot.

Spoiler:
That's basically Tambos attempt on looking like a good soldier to cover that he would rather keep the hellguns than just destroy them, even if they might be damaged, as they are still worth trading. Maybe one of you can decide, what the Lieutenant would answer.
Tambo would have 1 success on fellowship


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/13 19:34:49


Post by: Bobthehero


''This troo... I would like to salvage a few power-cells for my own Hellgun if the Stormtroopers are willing. Spare parts would be useful, as well, just in case''

The disgraced Grenadier spoke, looking from his comrades to the Scion that stood watch.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/14 02:48:05


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore reluctantly did what he could to load the wounded up, feeling somewhat disillusioned that his suggestion of using the Chimera as an ambulance while everyone else went ahead on foot was rebuffed. But alas this was life in the Guard... at least he wasn't one of the injured.

"I just hope we can get a real med evac once we reach the objective. It's not looking good for either of them, Emperor help them."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/14 12:28:26


Post by: OldMate


Simond sat alone on his horse for for few moments, he'd dispatched Balwin to assist Teodore in loafing the injured up, now he paused and made the sign of Aquila towards the corpses of the two soldiers and mumbled a short prayer under his breath.

They'd not get a proper burial, or any other kind of send off. It was the best he could do before Tambo set about rigging them with traps. It was a comforting thought that these men, even in death might serve to kill their enemies still.

Before everyone got moving again he quickly dismounted and checked over his horse's shoes, leggings and the protective salve that he'd been supplied for the beast, he checked the few light scratchesthe jungle cats had put on the horse. It was a check he'd done a hundred times on this trip so far and it only took a few moments.




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/14 14:40:44


Post by: Easy E


Erc Redhand pulled the machine up, and everyone got to work securing the wounded and loading up. The newcomers seemed to do the soldiering, while his lot did the heavy lifting.

When it was done, Njal hauled himself up into the turret and checked the map again. His little friend was there, waiting to show him where to go. He patted the girl on the head and mumbled something appreciative to her.

He clicked the intervox, "Ready to roll-out on orders, sir."



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/21 12:06:10


Post by: Pyroalchi


On the notion that the gear of their fallen comrades should be salvaged, the Scions seem to be at least a little bit offended. But they see reason, that leaving it would only give the Orks something to plunder, so the lieutenant reluctantly agrees.
When Poncho comes up to Tambo that is already "working" at the dead, the Askari nods and hands him two spare Hellgun barrels that he already unscrewed from their casings. "The others are bend. You check the guns, I do the rest. Oh, and if you know how to rig them in a way that they explode when being used, do it." The Krieger can see that already a couple of items have found their way into Tambos pouches and pockets - Knifes, a Laspistol, Stimms... whatever might become useful or is compact and worth trading.
After they finished he would definitly be thankful, if the Krieger could assist him in rigging some explosives to the bodies - as it seems not the first time, that he has done this.


While the Scions do seem to regard the pecking order as "Our Lieutenant => Scions => Wyona => everyone else", they follow every order of Theodore regarding the wounded to the letter, trusting him in his field of expertise. In the end the inside of the Chimera is occupied by two improvised stretchers, Theodore, Wyona, Njall in the turret and the Scion officer that by now has introduced himself as Lieutenant Miller. The wounded Scion trooper is fevery and rarely concious. He also has a bad rattle in his lungs that does not sound promising. The pilot looks a bit better, but checking up on him Teodore realizes, that he will likely loose his right leg. The only question there being, if the paramedic wants to try and get it over with now or take the risk of waiting for the medevac.

All other troopers will have to buckle up on the rather cramped roof of the Chimera or ride like Simond and Balwin, but finally you somehow manage to find room and handholds, so that Wyona orders Erc to roll out. On top - and in a moment when the Scions look another way - Tambo pulls out two excellently crafted Knifes he salvaged and hands them over to Adamo and Malakai while he produces an ornamented laspistol and puts it in the hand of the slightly puzzled Ellen. "Here, this one's for you. It has a lot more ammo than your revolver and less recoil. We can show you how to use it." before he talks her through the essentials.
The others get a hand full of grenades he "found", all in all 3 Frag and one Krak that were still useable.



As expected you need about 2 hours, before you are so close to the refinery, that the decision is made to halt, camouflage the Chimera and try to scout out the site. From a first, very very casual glance at the thing, you can make out a walled compound. The entry gate was originally about 10 meters wide with two large doors, but the orks just rammed it in with two trucks, whose rusting remains now function as a kind of improvised barrier - leaving enough space for a lucky intruder to maybe slip inside unseen.
The walls are made from rockcrete and are 5 meters high. At the corners you can make out a total of 7 watchtowers of 10 meters, each armed with an autocannon and at least the three you already checked out are manned by an Ork each. Inside the walls there seem to be overall three structures: a kind of living quarters/utility one, a promethium refinery and a couple of huge storage tanks.

The entire refinery bears the workmanship of Ork design. While they have not disassembled or completely broken the equipment, they have performed some modifications. In addition to adding glyphs and repainting, they have also adjusted the flow rate on many of the valves and modified most of the safety mechanisms. Every few hours, a huge plume of flame and smoke jets upward from the distillation tower. Many of the valves belch huge clouds of smoke in an irregular fashion. There are countless slick patches throughout the complex from new leaks of promethium at various stages of refinement. Some of these are immediately below the leaking valve, while others are more than a hundred metres away as partly refined ore jetted at high pressure from the valves.

Spoiler:
Feel free to tell me if and how you want to scout out more. So who goes, watches from where and what are you focussing on.
If you are especially daring you can also try to infiltrate the facility

And afterwards comes the time for a plan and then the killing - followed by a light salad

[Thumb - Refinery.png]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/23 01:31:42


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore will attempt the amputation. "We don't have a choice. I'm going to have to cut the leg. If he's lucky, they'll be able to find him a halfway decent augmetic replacement when we get back."

Once the bloody affair is done. He seems exhausted and shocked.

He doesn't look like he wants to anything more except hang back in the Chimera and chill while everyone else does the fighting. Of course, he knows he still ahs to do as ordered


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/23 08:49:37


Post by: OldMate


Simond saw Teodore readying to begin the operation and took his horse out to the group's picket line.

He waited till the operation was over and then found Wyona and reqested to scout the enemy defences.
"Sergeant, the vantage might be good, the map might be good, but there is never a substitute for scouting. Balwin and I can ride around the fort, if anything happens we can outrun the orks and draw them off into the jungle."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/23 14:13:27


Post by: Easy E


"All right little lady, I need you to stay back here in the Can," Njal reached down and tussled the little kid's hair.

"Redhand, you better stay with the Furnace too. That way you can roll in and support if the blizzard hits, but we'll have to see what the Sarge thinks.

With that, Njal started gathering up his gear to hump it over to the Refinery with the rest of the squad. He did not enjoy the idea of going out there in the heat, or going out from behind his ceramite walls.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/24 12:00:16


Post by: Pyroalchi


The amputation is a bloody business indeed and being performed inside a Chimera instead of a surgical theater, the pilots chances of survival look pretty grim. The anastetics do their best, but still you have to fixate the man during surgery. But once again, Teodore proves to be an incredibly medic and manages to postpone his patients appointment in front of the golden throne for a while. More than that, upon going to work the paramedic is even able to save most of his upper leg including the knee - which will make replacing it with augmetics so much easier later on. Of course he won't be able to walk around, but after a while, Clement, which is his name, might at least be able to trigger one of the lasgun-arrays or help inside the chimera.
Spoiler:
rolled a 02 on Teodores medic skill, so an overwhelming success regarding the circumstances.


Teodore can also at least stabilize the wounded Scion, a private LaGrange, enough that the fever doesn't get worse, but he should still get out of here as soon as possible.


Ellen - who really was a big help navigating you to the refinery - sulks a little bit on Njals comment "I can fight to!" but is somewhat appeased, as Wyona explains here thoughts on strategy in response to Simonds proposal. "Sounds good, but not yet. As soon as they see you, the greenskins know we are here. And I want us to play our cards right and keep them in the dark about our numbers and equipment as long as possible. Looking over to Lieutenant Miller she adds "We'll set up three kill zones, A, B and C. At A I will set an ambush with Tambo, M'Gele, Poncho, Malakai and Adamo. At B we'll park the Chimera and hold back the Scions as reserves. C will be a bit off of the other two, there we'll place the claymore mines in a way that the cavalrymen know how to avoid them. Then Simond and Balwin go forwards and scout out the Facility.
If they go unseen - fine.
If they attract the attention of one or two greenskins: fall back to killzone A, let the gunners grind them down, then charge in and finish them off.
If you are followed by more than that, but less then... let's say five, you first go to killzone A, but avoid melee. The gunners take their best shot, but retreat when the greenskins have closed to about 50 yards to killzone B, where we make our stand with the Chimeras Multilasers and the Hellguns.
If it's even more, you goad them to killzone C, get the hell out of there and we'll try something else."

Sounds like a textbook plan, but it wouldn't be in the textbook, if it did not have its merits.




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/24 14:06:25


Post by: Easy E


Njal snapped a salute to Wynona and hoped that the Scion L.T. would not muck it all up.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/24 14:11:48


Post by: OldMate


Simond bit his lip as the sergeant layed out the plan, it was a good plan. A bit too neat, and in his experience war had a habit of not being that. 'Adamo, you have been fighting these beasts, what do you think the likelihood of some of them wandering in from the forest? Do they roam much in the forest? Or do they stick to their camps?'


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/24 18:38:54


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods. "I guess you want me back with the Chimera right?"

He looked uneasily at the refinery and wondered how many greenskins were inside. What if it was 100s, 1000s? Then this would be the end of the line and Teodore would become just like most Imperial Guard troopers who never made it past their 15th hour of combat.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/30 18:04:07


Post by: Pyroalchi


Lieutenant Miller nods to the plan "sounds sensible. I'll take command at killzone B. Stevenson, join the troopers setting up the mines at C. Identify a good place for an ambush and get to work. Take one of the cavalrymen with you and stay sharp! Xenos might be stalking around" he orders one of his men, who is joined by Tambo, M'Gele and whoever else feels confident in preparing a trap, as well as Simond or Balwin (or both), before carefully melting away into the foilage.

Wyona adresses the St. Paulus trooper "Njall, do you think you are of more use with the Chimeras Multilaser or at the Ambush? It's your choice, as I assume one of the Scions might be skilled enough to man the gun..." to which Miller replies with a shrugg. "Surely at least as good as any infantrymen." maybe a bit of arrogance there, but to be fair the Scions get better training and more time at the shooting range.

To Teodores question Wyona considers "Depends... you were a pretty good shot back at the Skyport. I won't risk our medic carelessly, but if you feel up to the task of joining the first ambush team, we could use the help. Your choice in this case, but don't get used to it.
Ellen, we need you with the Chimera. If things go sideways the survivors will need your knowledge to get back to base." she orders the girl, which positively glows in the trust that is put into her and throws a shaky salute."
Towards all of them she exclaims "I guess that is self explanatory, but I'll stress that nonetheless: don't get cocky. Don't try to fight the Greenies on equal terms. Fight dirty, fight from behind, get at them all at once. If we survive this, that is honor enough. And look after each others backs."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/31 01:02:53


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods. "I'll go to the ambush site then. It'll be good payback for what they did to us back at the skyport."

Teodore wasn't sure why he said that. Had he grown braver since that first mission? Maybe...he didn't feel brave, but he didn't want to disappoint his sergeant, and make his people look bad in front of the off worlders.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/31 09:43:13


Post by: OldMate


Simond frowns at Teodore, as a healer he was too valuable to risk but if the boy wanted to fight in the line far be it from him to interject on the boy proving himself. He manovured his horse a bit closer to the man and talked low. "Teodore, you keep an eye on the other guys, and keep an eye on how close those brutes are getting."

The plan sounded sensible enough. He prepped one of those exploding lance heads. "Yep sergeant, I'll be ready to go."

He looks to the leader of the scions. "Lieutenant," he gives a slack salute. "Your men are good. Lets have us a friendly bit of competition between both our crews."

He checked over the blasting eggs in their pouch, then loosened the chainsword in it's sheath. Simond took a long swing from his canteen, good strong spirits and offered it to Balwin and gestured to pass it around.

"Our fate awaits us comrades." He says with a smile. "If we are to go before Him, let us do so in glory."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/31 14:10:11


Post by: Easy E


Njal nods, "Ambush team, Ma'am." Being out in the heat and the brush sounded awful BUT he needed to get his own eyes on the area to make sure his Furnace could handle the terrain, avoid surprises, and be ready to move in later. He didn't want to drive into a kill zone the Orks had set up.

He checked over his Las-carbine, made sure it was locked and loaded, and then gave it a quick tap and some words of praise.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/03/31 17:05:17


Post by: Bobthehero


With his order given Poncho prepared his weapon, favorin the Longlas configuration for now, as the Orks were shown to be lightly armored so far, he remained silent, ready to move to a spot that would allow him to use his weapon at its best.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/04 16:44:17


Post by: Pyroalchi


The bunch of you go to work, always weary of the potential danger of getting ambushed by the hulking Xenos nearby or even just unluckily stumbling into a patrol. But the Emperor seems to smile upon you today as the Greenskins seem to be content in sitting in their captured refinery for now instead of prowling around. Finally you picked out the three kill-zones, positioned roughly in a triangle, with A (with most of your squad) a good 300 yards to the south of the promethium installation, B (with the Chimera) another 200 yards further southeast of A and C (the boobytrapped) roughly 300 yards east of the facility.

With the help of the Scion Stevenson, Tambo und Mgele have set up two of the claymore mines at killzone C, were the undergrowth is relatively thin and no big treetrunks block the potential blast. From the lay of the land, two or three Xenos might enter the clearing before the first one triggers the trip-wire and will then have far from a good time, but the difficulty would lay into really luring them there. Balwin takes care to memorize the way from the refinery to killzone C, but riding directly through and jumping the tripwire with the horse would definitly be risky - the alternative being riding around the clearing and hoping that a potential pursuer would take the shortcut.

At killzone A, most of your squad lays itself in ambush. As everywhere in this jungle, the vegetation is abundant and so thick that you can barely see past the next big tree. Hiding from sight is thus rather easy, but hard cover is sparse apart from angling behind one of the thick trees. Looking for a good place for your trap, you have chosen a place were one of the giant trees has recently fallen, it's thick trunk building something approaching a natural barricade behind which your gunners can place themselves. Tambo and M'Gele have instead decided to use their grapnels to get unto a tree halfway between this side an the Chimera, just in range to take potshots with their longlas from above and into the side of an attacker trying to assault the fallen trunk. If things go sideways you will have to run past them while the two Askaris are well advised to get down their current position in the branches as fast as possible to join the others if you have to retreat.

Spoiler:
feel free to describe were you want to be or what preparations you want to take


Finally Wyona decides that waiting any longer won't improve your odds and gives Simond and Balwin the signal to scout the promethium refinery and hopefully lure a couple of the Greenskins out.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/07 14:31:21


Post by: Easy E


Njal deferred to Poncho on where he should set-up for the best fire arcs. After all, Poncho didn't tell him where to drive his track. He knew Njal was the expert. Njal would show the Son of Krieg the same respect.

There was no doubt that man knew more about kill zones than Njal had learned in the Mechanized Infantry. There job was to know how to disembark and re-embark as fast as possible, while shooting.

He let Poncho signal him where to go, and he went there. Once in position, he hunched down as best he could, willing himself to be a smaller target. He carefully slid his carbine along the top of a fallen tree, and made sure the barrel was obscured by foliage. He did not want to be the one to fowl up on fieldcraft.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/07 20:24:47


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore did as the men around him did, trying to find himself a decent piece of concealed cover and waited...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/08 09:25:15


Post by: OldMate


Simmond picked out a good run between the trees where he could get some speed up for a charge, he picked out a few more other potential runs, but the work would be close and fast. Not ideal, more like a hunt than a fight.

He looked over the setup of the traps and memorised their positions and then took up his position and waited to hear the word whether he was to start this whole thing.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/08 16:33:45


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho, meanwhile, directed Njal to a position that would allow them both to have clear lines of fire, the both of them forming a roughly 90 degrees angle where their fire could overlap. Further more, the Kriegsman used his shovel to dig into the soft ground, in an effort to cover both Njal and him with some dirt and plants, to afford some manner of camouflage in the stuffy jungle.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/13 11:50:30


Post by: Pyroalchi


Finally you have been set up and the trap is ready to be sprung.
Using the big treetrunk for cover, Njall, Wyona and Teodore have set up their lasguns ready to run in the direction of the Chimera if things go sideways, where they will be half covered by a rocky step in the terrain running from the dead tree in a western direction. A bit to the west from them is the big tree, where Tambo and M'Gele have climbed to one of the higher branches allowing them to fire from above. While they don't have as good of a firing arc as the others, they are high enough that the Orks won't have cover from them. Poncho is a bit to the south behind some boulders granting him cover, in a position from where he can put a possible attacker on the treetrunk into a crossfire, while Malakai and Adamo are positioned in a way to shoot them in the back or cover Poncho if things should get hot around him. In between the setup is a kind of game trail where your cavalrymen are intended to ride in, luring the Greenskins and giving them enough room to turn their horses around and charge their pursuers if possible.
So far a decent setup, let's see if it survives first contact with reality.


Simond and Balwin get their signal to move towards the refinery and soon the high walls of the installation come into sight. The Ork on the first watchtower that comes into sight some 40 yards away seems to be busy with the imperial autocannon that has been put up there, but it looks more like he is taking the poor thing apart to reassamble it in the makeshift way that is so typical for his species.
Spoiler:
How do you want to go about this? Shout a challenge? Ride around? Prance a bit in front of the door?


Disclaimer: I got the battlemap here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tombofannihilation/comments/hx2zec/im_making_some_jungle_maps_for_random_encounters/

[Thumb - Ambush in the jungle.png]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/14 11:19:04


Post by: OldMate


Simond carefully rode his horse up to the ege of the treeline, making sure that he could see out bu would remain concealed.
The closest beast seemed to be pulling the cannon apart.

He thrust the but of the lance into the ground so he could retrieve it later

A smile cracked Simonds lips as he dug in the spurs and reached into his pouch for a blasting egg. No-one had told him he could not have some fun getting their attention, and besides if he helped damage the defences on the sortie...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/18 14:33:43


Post by: Pyroalchi


Simond gets a bit closer to the tower, trying to balance the risk of being seen with his ability to throw the blasting egg. He carefully fumbles out one of the strange devices that already served him well on the Skyport when he disposed of one of the greenskins at the ramp and just wants to pull the pin as he hears a loud sniffing noise from above and the head of the Xenos comes into view. "OI LADZ! THA'S A HUMIE DOWN THERE!" he shouts and reaches for his shoota, just as Simond counts to three and throws the blasting egg and this time his aim is even better then at the ramp. The little device lands on the platform and rolls around, deflecting from one of the walls. The Ork is present enough to try and kick it away, but the chaotic movement of the egg lets him miss. A moment later the thing goes off violently and sends shrappnell all over the place. The roaring screem of the Ork indicates that he is definitly wounded, but far from out of the fight. "LADZ! DA HUMIES NEED SOMM KRUMPIN!!!" he shouts and Simond can here some rumble and shouting from inside.

The ork he hit appears at the side of the turret again, this time a bit more careful to not expose himself and be prepared to kick back any other grenades. He still has his shooter, but Simond might have a second or two to get away or react otherwise if he wants.

The gate in the wall is maybe 20 yards to his right, but right now nobody can be seen there. Simond could ride 10 yards in this direction and keep close to the wall and the ork he hit would have no line of sight to shoot him, but he would get into the view of another turret and doesn't know if that is manned - or rather "orked".

Spoiler:
The ork sees you (25 on perception) but fails to throw it back in time (67 on... whatever).
The Grenade damage (I assume Frag?) is: 10/6 =16 (of which 8 go through) and righteous fury for the 10. Lets see... He's hit at the right leg, Crit table says 2: leg is fried
Toughness check: 81, he fails and suffers fatigue


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/19 07:43:56


Post by: OldMate


As the blasting egg detonated Simond already had his horse turned around. He put his heels to the beast and whooped as he started back towards the treeline.

Fire was coursing through his blood and he could hear the orks calling out behind him, with luck they'd follow with more wroth than thought.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/19 12:58:55


Post by: Pyroalchi


Before the Ork in the turret can really take aim, Simond is already within the undergrowth - which does not discourage him from firing a wild burst in Simonds general direction.

The Cavalryman has to go slow at first to give the greenskins a bit of time to catch up, while keeping his distance. But as the shouting and sound of breaking foilage grows louder he gives his horse the spurs. It's not easy to say exactly, but he would assume that 2-3 Orks are pursuing him.

Closing in on the ambush, Tambo reports trough the microbeats: "I have visual on 3 of the big ones, but it might be four... frak, one broke of and I can't see him. Two coming your way to the treetrunk!" Wyona responds to the Askari "hold your fire and keep looking where the last one went, we don't want to be flanked!"

A moment later Simond gallops into view, followed by two hulking brutes wielding a crude chainaxe and shooter each.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/20 00:03:28


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore can't help himself. He takes a shot with his lasgun at the orks as soon as they come into view.

"Simond no!!!"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/04/26 16:43:14


Post by: Easy E


As Teodore fires, Njal glances over at the Sarge. The kid couldn't hold his ice. By the Emperor he was going to wait for the order to fire.

He narrowed his eyes, checked his breathing, and lined up the shot. With a smooth movement of his thumb, he turned off the safety, and placed his finger on the trigger.

Anytime now Sarge, anytime.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/03 08:06:20


Post by: Pyroalchi


As Teodore fires, Wyona curses under her breath. No real point in waiting anymore... "Everyone, open fire!" she shouts through the combeat, just as the two Orks you can see right now entering the little clearing lift their shooters to answer in the direction where they were shot at. Meanwhile Teodore, under the pressure of the attack, has switched the safety of his weapon a bit to wide to a semi auto burst instead of single fire. But as before through a mix of stupid luck an sheer "martial prowess", his aim goes true and he indeed peppers all three shots of the burst on target into the left of the two orks. Unfortunatly the thick, leathery hide of the fould Xenos does take a lot of the sting out of the bullets and while you can see a bit of dark blood showing, it does not seem as if the wounds will hamper him at all.

In return they send some wild bursts in the direction of the tree trunk, but still running they are wildly off target. The bigger problem will likely be that you will only have moments before they clash into your position, the rider that led them here seemingly forgotten in favor of the slower target.

Spoiler:
Teodores shot hits with a nice 05 for 3 hits, first one does 4 damage, second 5, third 8, which unfortunatly means all three do no damage


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/03 17:59:01


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho took careful aim, steadying the longlas he opted to use on a sturdy branch that was nearby. The Orks suddenly bursting through the canopy, throwing the Kriegsman's aim off for a moment, and he readjusted before pressing the weapon's trigger to a bright beam right at an Ork. Seeing Teodore strike with a very accurate stream of lasers, and assuming the Ork would be at least slowed down by the barrage, Poncho opted for the other Ork as his target of choice, focused on it as he was, he might not have noticed the beams not doing quite as much as expected. With the Ork hit, Poncho took a quick moment to readjust and track his target, aiming quickly at it for a potential follow up shot.

Spoiler:
Aimed last turn, rolled a 63 to hit. Total BS would be 81 with the Longlas (91 if the Orks are in close range, 75 meters in that case), so that's a torso hit for 9+5+2, Pen 1, ignoring 4 unnatural toughness. Redid the calc, forgot the +10 you get for single fire.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/03 23:08:06


Post by: Easy E


Njal heard the order, and didn't wait for a second one. He had set for burst fire, and opened up.
He started firing as fast as his las-carbine could at the Ork Teodore had shot.

Spoiler:

I had also aimed, and rolled a 51 with my Las-carbine with a BS of 37. I do not have the book handy at the moment, so I am not sure if that was a hit while aiming.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/04 09:31:45


Post by: OldMate


Simond's horse rushed through the forest, he could hear the beasts close behind, he was almost in the designated area. Some unease was brewing in his stomach.

Someone shouted and a streak of light shot out uncomfortably close.
Inwardly he started to cursed the damn stupid boy. He heard the Sergeant shout and all hell let loose.

Simond tucked his head low as he dared, although he wanted to avoid being hit he had to see enough to be able to know excatly where those damn explosives were concealed.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/05 08:14:16


Post by: Pyroalchi


Njals semi-auto burst sends some lasbolts flying towards the brute that was already peppered by Teodors autgun bullets and at least one of them hits true and leaves a burn mark on his right arm, scorching some of its thick hide to a crisp. But it will take more than that to stop a hulking beast that size.
Ponchos heavy Longlas seems to be more up to the task, and his carefully aimed shot takes the other Greenskin in the back, cracking its crude scrap metal armor without much effort and piercing the thick xenos hide. The beast roares angryly from pain and surprise and it looks like the shot must have done quite a number on his inner organs - a human would undoubtedly be very, VERY dead from the shot - but due to its phenomenal endurance and being to dumb to even realize a potential deadly wound it keeps on going.

As both Orks storm forwards towards your impromptu barricade, Wyona takes a last ditch action to buy you some time, switches her autopistol to full auto and tries to intimidate the Greenskins into checking their advance. With a sound like a buzzsaw her bullets slam into the foilage and while none of them really hits your two assailants to any relevant degree the emperor is with you and they flinch back a bit, ducking low and slowing down that tiny bit that might give each of you a second shot, before they are over the tree trunk. Nonetheless they are really close now, maybe 5 yards away.

Tambo and M'Gele don't fire at them, as they are still hunting for the one that went missing, meanwhile Malakai and Adamo get alerted by some rustling in the foilage towards the south. Might be a sneaky ork, but after a year on Skrynne, their money would be on a couple of Gretchin trying to swarm Poncho...


Spoiler:
after armor Toughness etc. Njall would do 3 damage. So the first Ork is now at 9 wounds, the one Poncho hit at 1.
@ Njall/Wyona, Teodore: just some of your options now:
1. get out of cover enough to take a shot at the orks on the other side of the treetrunk, they might shoot back though
2. declare overwatch and wait for them to go over the tree to shoot at point blank range, hoping for the best.
3. fall back in the hopes Poncho or the others get them
4. draw melee weapons and prepare to fight them up close

@ Oldmate: you should have had time to turn your horse around. You might charge one of them now.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/05 15:22:20


Post by: Easy E


Njal grimaced as he mostly missed his carefully aimed shots. Blasted heat! He did not expect to get another chance at this and he did not want to get in close with these brutes.

The plan had been to give a volley and then fall back. Well, volley was fired so it was time to fall back!

Time to move! Fallback positions? Njal snarled as he pushed himself back-up and started to fall back. He absently sprayed the area ahead to try and keep the Orks heads down, but didn't expect to hit anything.

He stepped back to Wynona and waited for the official order to drop back before he went further. He wasn't sure if there was time to hesitate, but the chain of command was the chain of command.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/06 02:52:31


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore keeps his eyes on the tree trunk ready to open fire if anything else emerges.

He looks around carefully. "I can't see anything out here." He mutters in a panic. "Did we get em?"

[Overwatch!]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/07 11:20:45


Post by: OldMate


Simond pulled his horse up and wheeled it around, readying his lance should it need to be leveled quickly. He scanned the forest track for movement.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/09 11:42:40


Post by: Pyroalchi


Wyona seems more then unhappy to fall back, as she had hoped to have a good firing position behind the tree trunk - which would have been true against humans and others prefering a good old shooting duell with cover and tactical maneuvering. But the fact that the Orks simply rushed towards the tree and seem to be more eager to get into melee has made that plan somewhat pointless. "Fall back!" she shouts to Njall and Teodore, still aiming her autopistol towards the fallen tree, which you all expect to be scaled by the Orks any moment now.


Simond and Poncho can hear Wyonas command through the combead and see the two big Orks putting their clawed paws into the splintering bark of the obstacle in front of them before pulling themselves up to go over. Simond quickly realizes that he might just reach one of them with his lance in time if he really pushes his steed, but afterwards he would first have to navigate around the treetrunk.
Spoiler:
I want to make it a bit more interesting. To reach the ork in time I would like to see a test on your riding skill (I believe it is survival?), followed by a WS-test -20 (so penalty). For each degree of success in the riding test (so each 10 you roll under your skill value) you get +10 in the WS-test
If you fail you just miss him and have to ride around to attack again


Poncho would have both of the orks in sight for another shot, but when they are over the tree, he might at best get a small target when their head bumps up or something. Wyona and the others seem to have fallen back a bit, but 3 humans against 2 Xenos looks like a tough call. Meanwhile he can hear the sound of gunshots and blades clashing from over where Adamo and Malakai were hiding and out of the corner of his eye he sees a gretchin with a knife and a small revolver run out of the foilage towards him, with a second one close behind. Both are maybe ten yards from Ponchos position, so he will have to choose if he dares another shot against the Orks or takes care of the smaller Xenos first.

Around this time Teodore, Wyona and Njall see the heads of both Orks pop up behind the tree as both of them scale the improvised barricade with frightening ease, jumping the last meter or so above it. While you fell back a little bit, they are reaaaally close now, 4 or 5 yards at best. Teodore who had been focussed on shooting the first thing he sees go over that tree sprays the ork he had hit before with another burst from his autogun and several of the bullets seem to find their target, but they don't seem to have the stopping power to leave any real mark on the brute.
Spoiler:
your BS is 36 -10 for full auto, +20 for almost point blank range. I rolled a 30, so that should be 2 hits: 5 damage each... so they unfortunatly do nothing

Njall on the other hand gets a bit more lucky and out of the spray of lasbolts he had sent in the general forward direction just to discourage your assailants, two hit their targets. The first one only scorches another whole in the clothing of the less wounded ork that Teodore shot at, but the other one pierces through the chest of the grunt that Ponchos longlas shot had already seriously wounded. The force of the high powered lasbolt from the maximum setting on that short of a distance lets the brute stagger and literally incinerates his flesh and ragged clothing, wrapping him in flames. With a painridden groan he stumbles sideways, and slams to the ground, for some valuable moments unable to really do more than trying to maintain concious and hitting himself in an effort to put out the flames.
The gruesome spectacle even seems to impress his more fortunate comrade a bit and while he is still eager to slam into you with his big axe, he seems to lack the necessary "drive" for these valuable moments, giving you another second to breath...
Spoiler:
rolled a 06 for suppression fire (+/-0 due to short range), so both are hit. I assume Njall uses the maximum lasgun setting? I mean, when if not now...
First hit does nearly nothing, second hit does 13 damage with pen 1, so 6 get through on body making a critical 5 effect
He is prone, he catches fire and he is stunned... outch.
So all taken together you get a +10 bonus when shooting him, +30 when attaking him in melee an he gets -10 WS, -20 BS and 1d10 damage each round...

Both Orks pinning tests: 99 and 87... damn, both hesitate to charge you... lucky shot from Njall...




Just as it was beginning to look a bit less grim for the three of you, you hear branches crashing as another greenskin, likely the one Tambo had lost out of side comes charging from the back. The sneaky Xenos seemed to have circled around you to take you into a pincer with his friends. Triumphant that his ruse worked he bellows a blood curdling warcry as Wyona turns around in a rather desperate effort to keep him in check with her autopistol, as the three of you see a little red laser dot appear on his chest followed by a massive longlas bolt from higher up where the two Askaris sit in a tree. It crushes his scrap armor and slams right through his torso. Again a wound that would outright kill any human, but the Xenos is still alive and dangerous. But if you are lucky you might still have a chance. Unfortunatly you WILL be in close combat any moment now and Tambo might not have that clear of a shot again.
Spoiler:
aim (+30 for a Longlas with red dot laser sight) + single shot (+10) +10 from my comrade on a BS of 36: rolled a 29 =>4 degrees of success... nice
hit on body for 8+4+2+3+2 (high powered setting) = 19 damage mit pen2, felling 4... 15 get through, he is fatigued and now has 4 less toughness and no wounds left



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/10 14:35:28


Post by: Easy E


"Frosted", Njal cursed. These brutes weren't like the farmers he had fought before. They were not going to go down.

The St. Paulus trooper slung his las-carbine and pulled out his pistol and Brontian Beard-trimmer. He had never really had to use either of these before in service, but he sensed that the carbine would be a hinderance for close in work.

He would need to try and get in under the ork's reach, and give him a face-full of las or ice pick him in the brain pan. He hoped the Throne had his eye on him now, he would need the help.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/11 01:25:28


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore tries to keep frantically firing at anything and everything, as he grimly prepares for close combat. "My life for the Emperor!" He shouts


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/13 09:49:11


Post by: OldMate


Simond put his spurs to his horse, the orks in front of him were clambering over a log. It would be ideal to throw a grenade at them, but he had his lance in his hand and he was not letting go of it.

Simond rode towards the closest beast and leveled the lance at the creature's head as his comarades fired their gonnes and shouted around him.
It'd be dicey when his horse reached the log, but it wasn't as if he had many other options.
Spoiler:
rolls a 24 for attack and 63 for ride challenge of the log


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/16 17:45:29


Post by: Bobthehero


With little to use his rapid-firing Hellgun to unleash a barrage at both Grots, Poncho settles for what he hopes to be a killshot on one of the little creatures, maybe in hope to scare the other smaller Xenos, after all they were a cowardly bunch, nothing like a Guardsman from the Death Korps! Whirling, he took a knee, and the masked man took a moment to aim right, making sure to apply his marksmanship principles before flinging the switch of his weapon to increase the power behind the shots, then letting fly with a lethal beam of energy.

(29 to hit... with close proximity, single shot and aiming, that's just a ton of degrees of success. Damage is as follow 12. I rolled 3 2's for damage -.-)


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/22 08:40:21


Post by: Pyroalchi


[Still turn 2]

While Simonds steed does his best, the Xenos he aimed for is just that little bit to fast over the log to reach him in time. As the cavalrymen realizes it, he raises the lance to not bury it in the rotting wood and reels his horse slightly to the right to not loose momentum. Right now two sensible options present themselves: round the obstacle to assist Teodore, Njall and Wyona or ride over towards Malakai, Adamo and Poncho who by the sound of screeching and metal on metal slashing seem to be involved in some close combat with a bunch of the smaller creatures you met on the landing field. One of the creatures is even in sight and might be in range of a charge with the lance

Spoiler:
I would say Simond needs one complete turn to round the treetrunk and get involved with the Orks. Alternatively you can use this turn to get over to Adamo and Malakai and support them.


As Poncho loses his shot, the scrawny little creature half dodges, half stumbles aside, but still the high powered beam takes him at least at the side of his torso. Punching a small hole with cauterized borders, the Grot is winded and lets out a scream of pain, fear and anger, but keeps on stumbling forward. Together with his comrade beside him, the two stumpy Xenos keep rushing towards the Krieger, bridging the distance and throwing themselves into ugly close quarter business, even though they luckily lack the combat prowess to combine their advance with a slash of their crude rusty "combat knifes" that would amoung to anything more than a gesture. Ponchos armour should provide some resistance against the little stabbers, but outnumbered two to one he might be at risk of being grappled to the ground.
Spoiler:
if I got it right the Grot lost all its wounds and suffered a 3 on critical damage, so he has only 15 Toughness left and suffered 2 points of fatigue, leaving him barely standing.
Both charge, but as they only have 18 WS and the attack of charge is done at -20 they won't hit anything.
But for reference Poncho is now in close combat range with both. Lets see how he fares.


[Turn 3]
Over behind the tree trunk, the Ork that was hit so hard by Njalls supression fire that he ignited tries to get up on his knees again without any mind of the flames still burning his flesh to a crisp, which only keeps making it worse. As hardy as his physique is, the effect of the blast keep him crashing back to the ground and accompanied by the smell of burning fungus he perishes to your feet, leaving "only" two of the his comrades standing.
The one that was hit by Tambos longlas charges forward towards Teodore swinging his enormous axe in a deadly circla to decapacitate Teodore and even though Wyona tries her best to throw herself in its way to protect the young Skrynne conscript, her efforts seem to be to little to late... This coult be the end, but stunningly, Teodores scream his defiance into the face of the Xenos brute, emptying his autogun in a fiery storm of bullets that draw a line of impacts starting from the elevated right, axewielding arm of the creature, down over his jaw and throat region towards its left chest. The first bullet pulverizes its paw, the suddenly freed axe flying away into the foilage and burrying itself into one of the jungle trees, before the next bullets literally saw through its muscular, sinewy arm. The hard bullets that only moments before seemed so ineffective at doing any real damage tore away the flesh in big chunks due to the short distance. Already on its way to fall to the ground the third his is deflected from its heavy jaw, but the last bullet exiting the autogun - followed by the "clickclickclick" of the now fully emptied magazin - is the kill shot, entering the chest just where the Xenos equivalent of a heart must have been, throwing the creature back on the jungle floor, where it gurgles out the last of his life in a puddle of blood.
Spoiler:
BS = 36-10 for full auto +30 for point blank +10 from Wyona as your comrade = 66. I rolled a 31 => 4 degrees of sucess, so 4 hits.
Hit locations: right arm, right arm, body, head.
Damage: 11/11/7/9
=> so as critical damage is just summed up: he gets the critical results 6 and 9 on right arm, critical 10 at body... nicely done
That was the third full auto burst, so the 30 bullet magazine is empty



The emperor truly protects, as all of a sudden the tide seems to have turned from a balance of 3 Xenos brutes against 3 brave little guardmen towards you outnumbering the Xenos three to one. The last remaining, still almost completely fresh seems unaware or oblivous to this turn of fates and charges Njall in an avalanche of muscle and metal, bellowing with rage and the glee of killing in his eyes. With a boneshattering thump his giant axe crashed down, but at least this time Njall manages to barely get out of the way of the worst. Still, he is now right in the thick of it and the beast seems to be much more at odds in close combat then while shooting...
Spoiler:
For dramaturgic reasons I did the Orks charge first. He succeeds to get into CC, but misses Njall with his axe. I would say you can act first, then comes Tambos Longlas action which together will hopefully relieve some pressure.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/22 14:16:30


Post by: Easy E


Njal was glad he spent lot's of time on ST Paulus wiggling throw pipeworks as he manages to squirm away from the worst of the Ork's axe.

This was what he was waiting for, as the guardsman pushes himself up and under the Greenskins reach. With his Brontian Knife, he tries pin the ork's axe arm out of position and then he shoves the barrel of his las-pistol as far forward as he can into the beast. Njal then pulls the trigger until the pistol is empty. Adrenaline pumping through him.

He wasn't entirely sure if he was screaming or not.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/23 00:56:02


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore looks genuinely shocked and paralyzed from further movement. He doesn't stop screaming and pulling the trigger for a few long moments after the ork died.

Then suddenly instincts kicked in. He reached for a spare magazine and started to fumble the cartridge into his autogun while looking around. Unable to do much else...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/24 12:20:18


Post by: OldMate


Simmond pulled hard at the reins pulling his horse in the direction of the larger beasts. It looked as if his companions had the smaller beasts handled, and besides they were hardly worth wasting a lance charge on.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/25 16:06:02


Post by: Bobthehero


The two little gremlins advanced, still, that shot from the longlas didn't put his target down and now Poncho was forced to really on his sword-bayonet. Unfortunately for him, he had just barely passed the requirement in hand to hand combat to be selected to serve the Death Korps and despite constant drill training, never improved to the reputation of his masked peers. His gun was slung over his should, and he took a quick jab at the wounded Gretchin, hoping to finish the little creature off quickly. Unfortunately for the Grenadier, his blow was quite telegraphed, and his target easily avoided the attack.

Spoiler:
Rolled a 65 to hit, I don't think there's enough modifier for Poncho to hit that. Note to self: Invest in a laspitol to use BS to hit in CC


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/26 12:06:01


Post by: Pyroalchi


[still turn 3]
Thanks to his cool headed demeanor and a good dose of luck, Njall is able to capitalize greatly on the Greenskins misplaced slash. His thumb flicks the power setting to maximum which is followed by a dangerous humming and the imminent stink of ozon before he empties half the magazine into the Orks lower belly and hip region. Regardless of all derogatory comments regarding the humble laspistol, the small backup weapon indeed does quite a number on the Xenos leaving heavy scorch marks on its body. Unfortunatly that also seems to enrage him pretty badly. Nonetheless Njall might be able to losen another semi auto burst into the brute before he has to deal with the crude rusty battle axe swinging at him

Spoiler:
so, first hit (39) hit him at left leg, the two from the second burst (13) the body.
Taking everything into account Njall did 6, 4 and 1 damage, so the Ork is down to his last wound. Good work
Those 4 shots emptied 16 worth of ammo from your lasgun. So you could potentially do 3 further high powered shots.
I would say we make it this way: you can make your first (half) action, than he makes his first (half) action, than comes Simonds Action, than Njalls second half action (if he has one left), then the Orks half action. Mind that you would need a half action each to try and dodge the Orks attacks if need be. So if you gamble on shooting him twice you might eat an attack...
Shooting into melee, but from point blank range is +10 (so bonus).


In the corner of his eye, Njall can see Simond rounding the barricade on his horse. For the cavalrymen, the scene unfolding itself looks less grim than he feared. Close to the treetrunk lie the still burning carcass of one of the hulking brutes, felled by Njall and Poncho. On the right he sees another of the Xenos that seemed to have tried to get into his comrades back lying on his back, twitching in his last death throes, his arm and chest a mess of bullet holes from Teodores autogun. The young paramedic himself is frantically struggling to slam a new magazine into his weapon. The moment she sees Simond, Wyona grabs him and pulls the soldier out of the line, so that the rider might have the space needed for a charge on the last Greenskin. The one mentioned is right in the middle of some ugly close quarters fight with Njall, but just as Simonds gaze goes that way, he hears a series of energy blasts "PFEW!PFEW!PFEW!PFEW!" and sees some light blasts hitting the beast in his lower stomach, one of them even piercing through the body. The way to assist his comrade is free, but Njall will have to at least hold out a second more, before Simond can take his attacker in the back.
Spoiler:
Toedore will need turn 4 to change his magazine, but I assume he is out of the danger zone for now.
Oldmate: if you have an alternative idea, shoot. You can of course try and distract the greenskin from Njall, but as he is in melee that might be pretty difficult.


Ponchos meager attempt at jabbing the wounded Gretchin does little to discourage it and instead both of them try to burry him in a series of stabs from their little knifes. But even though both of the little buggers seem darn well enthusiastic to turn Poncho into minced meat they seem utterly incompetent in melee, only one of the knifes barely finding its way on target - and likely not even with enough power behind it to penetrate Ponchos armor.
Spoiler:
so each does two standard attacks (half actions each):
96, 85, 12, 60... damn they are bad at this.
So one hits you at your left arm for 3 damage... damn that's pathetic.
Technically you would still have a half action in turn 3, but I assume that was used to put away your longlas without breaking it.


Meanwhile Tambo has shifted his aim, as the balance at the tree is tipping into imperial favor. Seeing the Grots swarming Poncho, he switches the power setting back to normal and takes aim, waiting for a moment presenting itself to not endanger the Krieger. A moment later a lasbolt from up from the trees pierces the foilage and takes the healthier Grot straight in the chest, knocking him sideways. The little creature drops to the ground, its eyes rolling wildly, foam and spittle gushing from its snout. It does not seem dead, but right now definitly so utterly disoriented, that Poncho now at least only has one of the buggers to worry about immediatly.
Hopefully he will be able to deal with it, since Tambo reaims again to assist Malakai and Adamo in their struggle
Spoiler:
Tambo switches the power setting back down: aim + attack on the healthier Grot: -20 for shooting into melee, +30 for aiming +10 for single shot, + 5 for comrade = 61, rolled a 23 => body for 1+7+6+2 =16 damage => 15 get through, makes critical 8... uhmm... he is stunned for 11 rounds... that should take him out.


[End of round 3]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/28 11:50:24


Post by: Dekskull


No problem. Looks like we won this "battle" anyway lol.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/30 15:45:52


Post by: Easy E


Njal was shocked that the brute was still standing! The greenskin looked like he was in rough shape, but was still kicking. Unreal!

Njal was still in good position, but he did not want to get on the business end of that axe. He pulled the trigger on the las-pistol again while he was under the Ork's reach. Then, he tried to use his momentum to take him past the ork and get on his odd side, to tangle him up and avoid a simple swing from that axe.

Spoiler:
So, I will use my first half-action to shoot again at full power and burst, and my second Half action to Dodge. I have Dodge as a skill, so I might as well use it!

Hope I got that right.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/05/31 08:49:40


Post by: OldMate


Simond put the spurs to his horse and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Get clear of the beast!"

He wasn't sure exactly what effect the explosive tip would have if his companion was too close, but he did not want to find out.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/01 09:43:19


Post by: Pyroalchi


Njall pulls the trigger of his trusty laspistol another time and is still pretty much on target, almost emptying the magazin into the bulking mass of muscle of its torso that he already mangled up with the first two bursts. Half of the lasbolts hit true, cooking of flesh and blood in an instant, exploding chunks of Orkmeat all over the place. The St. Paulus trooper is sprayed with viscera while the ork tumbles back stunned, lowering his axe to keep his intrails from sprawling out. The heat of the laserbeams even ignites parts of his crude armor and sets some of his hardy, barklike skin aflame, starting to engulf him in fire. Tripping down to one knee the Xenos looses his momentum, giving Njall just the opportunity to disengange unmolested and get away from it, just as Simond calls him to do so.

Spoiler:
read again: pistols can be fired in melee and suffer neither penalty nor range bonus. So it's a BS +/-0 for the burst
rolles a 33, that's another hit at torso for... uh... rolled a 10... so righteous fury!
=> 7 of the 14 damage get through, taking the Greenskins last wound and doing 6 on the crit table + 4 on the crit table from righteous fury
=> he is prone, stunned, suffers 5 points of fatigue and starts burning. Damn Lasweapons can be pretty scary on high setting.
Prone + stunned mean BS tests against him are +10 now, WS tests even +30.

As the Ork looses his action and Simond is already on the way, I assume Njal uses the opportunity to disengage in a half action


Simond sees the Xenos stumbling half a step away from Njall who immediatly disengages just as Simond urged him to. Flames are licking up at the right side of the beasts belly and it looks pretty disoriented, even going to one knee for a moment. Yet these Xenos have proven to be incredibly sturdy, so better safe then sorry, Simond continues his charge. The moment is perfect, all three of his comrades disenganged and the beast unable to dodge or counter an attack - almost a petty to waste a Krak Tip. The cavalryman does his planet and regiment honor, placing the point of his spear perfectly where he assumes the heart to be, triggering the blast egg that is fixed to it. A short, bright flash later, all that is left of the formidable adversary are two giant smoking boots on the ground, the rest of its bulk quite literally evaporated in the blast. It was a good choice to choose the Krak tip as a Frag might have hurt the others. This way you have finally gotten the upper hand of the Xenos Menace

Spoiler:
Charge: rolled a 04, so definitly a hit and again at the Torso. 10 + 2 for damage (so again rigtheous fury). uhh... thats 17 damage translating into 11 on the crit table + another 4 from rigtheous fury... yeahhh... he dead!


Over south, Poncho realizes that his chances might be better if he could disengange and bring his weapon to bear again. Trusting in his armor and the poor fighting performance of his already wounded adversary he waits for the right moment to do so. The small creature screams and blares at him, swinging his rusty shiv wildly trying to get into the Kriegers armor. His Carapace proves worthy and the Grot has nothing to show for his efforts apart from some hollow metal and metal clanking. Just as his enemy takes a half second to breath, Poncho manages to step a pace back and swings the bulky longlas around to fire it from the hip. The high powered, long ranged lasbolt, designed to pierce armor from afar takes the little Bugger at the right shoulder, transfering such an amount of energy that his arm is literally blown of, together with half his upper Torso, while what remains of him is engulfed in flames.
His comrade, still stunned on the ground, is not in a position to fight back, so that Poncho has little trouble putting him out of his misery with his sword bayonet...

Spoiler:
To avoid you disengaging and the Grot charging in again before you can fire, I assume Poncho would let him have his two half actions (which he failed with 91 and 96) before disengaging and firing unmolested,
rolled a 12, which is more then enough for 4 degrees of success. 7+10+5+6 =28 for damage = one very VERY dead Grot



As the dust settles and you get back together, celebreations are in order. As one the landing field, your little rag-tag group has performed amazingly and three big Orks as well as a bunch of Grots lay dead to your feet. You find Adamo and Malakai surrounded by 5 of them, the little xenos peppered with shots, but finally killed by the famous combat expertise of the Knife loving Brontians, even though both of them have not gotten through unscattered. Teodore immediatly goes on about his business to fix them up, still a bit shaky from the engagement but once again having proven his worth for the group. Wyona seems to glow with pride and optimism and does not spare with praise regarding your deeds as not only surviving two close engagements with almost matching numbers of Orks but even being victorious is no small feat on Skrynne. And on top of that getting out of it mostly unharmed...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/01 14:52:14


Post by: Easy E


Njal steps back and re-loads his las-pistol. Now that the fighting was over for a moment, he let the ice flow through him. No need to hold it at the moment. A giant sigh escaped his lips, and his hands trembled as he re-sheathed his knife and pistol. Finally, there were a few moments where he did not feel the Emperor-forsaken heat and humidity. His limbs were all too numb.

What's the plan now Sarge? Storm the objective with our rig leading the way?"

He really hoped he could get back tot he relative safety of his Furnace. This mucking around outside of four armored walls made no sense to him.




Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/10 10:55:46


Post by: OldMate


Simond reined the horse in. Sweat dripped down into his eyes as set about removing remnants of the explosive lance tip, and set about mounting the second explosive tip.

He was quite satisfied and was grinning happily. Fighting could start again at any moment, but for now he'd survived again, and he'd slain one of the beasts.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/12 08:17:52


Post by: Pyroalchi


Regarding Njalls call, Wyona nods with a look of grim determination on her face and minutes later the St. Paulus trooper at least can hitch a ride in the Chimera again, even though it is still loaded with the wounded. With the Xenos strength severely depleted by your ambush, the remaining greenskins are thinly stretched to defend the refinery, especially as your lot has the longlas, guns and carbines to take potshots at the few remaining sentinels in the watchtowers. Taking an educated guess at their likely course of action, Lieutenant Miller and his remaining Scions set up a crossfire in front of the "gate" whose doors are nearly destroyed while the Chimera is driven a bit back to bring the Multilaser to bear on anything getting out. As the armored transport should definitly be heard by the greenskins and the missing return of their comrades should not have slipped their notice this second "ambush" should be pretty obvious, yet not for the first time you get the impression that without the lead of a more senior, veteran "Nob", the greenskins tend to act very instinctive and straight forward, so that this might just work another time.

As Poncho and Tambo begin shooting with their sniper weapons at whatever target of opportunity presents itself, the remaining Orks and Gretchin finally loose their nerve and try a breakout that leads to an intense, short and pretty one sided firefight resulting in the demise of the last Xenos in the vicinity. Upon carefully securing the perimeter, you find almost all of the autocannons on the watchtowers more or less in working order, even though the Orks seemed to have been unable to use them - much to your advantage as the fights would have been ugly with the brutes wielding around these heavy weapons instead of their shootas.The good mood upon achieving your main objective without losses is somewhat diminished by the Scion commander mentioning that he picked up a crude radio signal that went out of the refinery, making some more "visitors" in the near future pretty probable.

As agreed upon before, the Chimeras high powered vox is set up, to call back to HQ to ask for extraction of the Scions and their wounded. Meanwhile Wyona calls a "war council" of her charges in the mess hall of the refinery workers. "So, here is the deal. Lieutenant Miller and his glory boys are hitching a ride out of here, but we have to stay and defend this site until reinforcements arrive." she doesn't seem to be very happy about this either, but continues. "It's very likely that the Greenskins will try to take the refinery back soon and they might come in mass or maybe even with some heavy backup. The LT had the decency to pull some strings and HQ is preparing to bring us some heavier stuff when they come to pick up the Scions, but it has to fit under a Skytalon. So we might have a pick between a fast Tauros or two light Sentinels. We might also have our pick on some crew served heavy weapons that they cram in the Valkyrie coming to get the wounded. So, give me some ideas. What are you comfortable with to fight back the Greenies? Especially if they might come with some buggies or even a tank?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/16 02:27:55


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nodded:

We can get in a Tauros right? And shoot out of the turrets? Yeah that sounds a little better than those walker things.

He looked around. "Of course, even better would be some actual reinforcements. Guess that was too much to hope for."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/17 10:31:41


Post by: OldMate


Simond smiles at the thought of an enemy counterattack.
'If you can get me a lance point that'll knock out a tank, I won't want anything else at all. Sir.'


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/17 21:15:10


Post by: Pyroalchi


Wyona nods towards Teodore and takes a look at the dataslate in her hand. "From what I read here we might have our pick between Tauri with either twin lascannons, twin Multilasers or a rapid transport variant with 5 seats and some gun ports in the back. Hmm... As the Chimera already has a Multilaser and we don't have the burden of space that would make rapid transport a priority I would set our bets on the lascannon variant. Who wants to try his luck as gunner?"

Spoiler:
I would say we put one of our comrades in the driver seat and whoever wants to take the Tauros can roll for both - driving and gunning.
Similarly: Njal and Erc can share the driving and gunning, but we would need another player for the Hull-Heavy Bolter.


Tambo chips in "I would call dibs on a Grenade launcher, or if possible two. That way I could have one of them loaded with Krak and the other with Anti-personell grenades and switch in between. Might be useful, especially if they come in groups. I'll get on one of the watchtowers and see what I can do from up there. Oh, and enough charge packs for our guns and Long-las."

Regarding Simonds comment Wyona agrees and makes some notes "Of course, some Krak tips might come in handy." then she looks over towards Poncho "How about you? A mortar, melta gun or a heavy flamer maybe?" she makes a wild guess taking into account the well known preference of the deathkorps - or at least what people around here thought about as their favorite weapons.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/18 17:34:30


Post by: Bobthehero


''Honestly, this trooper, me, that is, I've always been partial to laser, and laser weaponry. I didn't score much in close combat compared to my peers, but when I was a line trooper, I consistently outshot most of the others with our Lucius. Same story with this'' The Grenadier replied, tapping his Hellgun.

''I could just fire the lascannons from the Tauros, at this point, I think it would be ideal''

Poncho looked around the camp, pondering, likely in what ways he could turn this into a complex network of fortifications and defenses, given time and people, but ended up shaking his head


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/19 14:24:19


Post by: Pyroalchi


That leaves only Njal, who is adressed next by Wyona "That leaves the Chimera to both of you. Anything you dare to ask for, for a little more oomp?
Keep in mind that it might get pretty dirty and we have to calculate with tanks as well as infantry."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/19 14:51:21


Post by: Easy E


Njal thought about it. He had seen some pretty impressive furnaces in his time, but the line troopers usually didn't get the cool turret variants. It never hurt to ask.

"A upgraded turret with an auto-cannon would be great! Failing that some smoke launchers could help with survivability. I have no idea what is possible from command."

He scratched his beard thinking about what a turret mounted auto-cannon would do to his ride. He wasn't even sure it was possible.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/19 21:55:20


Post by: Bobthehero


''We have the support from a nearby regiment of my world, and I have seen assault brigades with a pattern of Storm Chimeras that have autocannons and reinforced armor, we may be lucky''

Poncho pointed out, listening to the others speaking of the Chimera.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/22 11:53:50


Post by: Pyroalchi


As everybody has set their orders, they are relegated to the Headquarters, while you keep preparing as best as you can.

Tending to the two wounded in the Chimera, Teodore does his best, but the condition of the Scion detoriates fast as he suffered to many internal injuries from the crash. At some point it is clear that all you can do is shorten his suffering and focus on the pilot who might still have a shot at survival. And indeed he manages to pull through, even though he had a 50:50 chance to so so at best - even though his right leg is gone for good - nothing bionics can't fix and also not that horrible if you are sitting in a cockpit all day.

The refinery walls are still pretty sturdy, as they have been build to keep the dangerous flora and fauna of Skrynne reliably outside, but the gate-doors are broken for good. The wreckage of the truck the first Greenskins came kind of blocks it, but still leaves enough room for Orks to slip through, two at a time. And if they come with anything heavy like a tank, that improvised barrier will definitly not hold long.

The watchtowers at least gives your gunners some kind of vintage point and out of their original autocannon armament, you find at least 3 still operational. As they are solid projectile weapons this might be something for Teodore and Wyona who so far seemed to be most experienced with this type of weapon.
Poncho won't have the time to turn this into a real trench and fortification network, but a little bit of foxhole digging should be possible, if he has a specific idea where he wants to set up a defensive position.

Almost a day passes by, until Malakai, who is keeping watch on one of the towers calls out the approach of an armed Valkyrie and a Skytalon. Even as they approach you bear witness of them using their bolters and missiles to bombard some possible greenskin presence in the jungle to not share the ill faith of the Scions ride in while receiving some counterfire. None the less they manage to reach the Refinery with little more than some scratched paint, a couple of inconsequental holes and a broken cockpit window. As the Talon sets down its grav-clamps release a 6 wheeled Tauros with a twin-lascannon turret on its back. A battered veteran of an "armored" car with a seriously bend roll cage. The Valkyrie on the other hand brings in a Tech-Acolyte accompanied by a heavy duty servitor, heaving along a storm-chimera turret on a gravsled. Chattering in their strange clacking Binary both go to work on Njals furnace without even really aknowledging the humans around, anointing it with oils and speaking the necessary prayers to calm the machine spirits, before they can sever the connections between the current turret weapon and the vehicle. While they go to work with a kind of blind, slave like focus, you catch the Acolyte glimpsing up at the desecrated refinery installations with the Xenos glyphs everywhere around in disgust and holy vigor. After he finally finished, both he and his Servitor disappear somewhere in the refineries inner workings to go about their mysterious AdMech business

The other stuff you asked for is in the loading bay too, allowing you to arm up as best as you can. A cache of laspistols and revolvers is also included, which might come in handy as Poncho already experienced, when he faced those Grots in melee. While you get your gear, the Scions and their Lieutenant board the plane with the wounded, together with a rather disgruntled Ellen. The girl seems quite angry to be "sidelined", but Wyona insists - especially since Skrynne has scarcely little civilians left alive and the short girl will likely make more of a difference by surviving than staying here with your forlorn hope defence. As they prepare for departure, the Scions throw a crisp salute to your motley crew. You might be simple guardsmen - from a disciplinary detachment on top of that, but you did good retaking the refinery and staying here to defend it definitly takes some balls.

All the while you still have to decide, how you want to go about it, as you will likely only have hours left at best, as the pilots mentioned some serious movement in the jungle on the way to your position. Overall you have three choices:
a.) drive out with your vehicles and encounter the Greenskins in the jungle - you might have the chance to take them in the rear or side, but you won't have any cover to speak of.
b.) defend from the gate - you will have some cover and would have a good view of what's coming for you, but they will be able to focus fire pretty well on you
c.) defend from inside - the orks will have to come through the gate and you might be able to put them in a crossfire, but you will have nowhere to fall back too and run the risk of something in the refinery going "boom" by a ricochet.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/22 15:22:39


Post by: Easy E


"Permission to speak Sarge?" Njal salutes to Wynona.

After getting the nod, he continues, "We all saw how tough those greenskins are. Going out and facing them in the jungle seems suicidal.

I suggest we start by holding the line at the gates, but build fall back positions within the refinery too. We have to expect they will break through and we will have to be able to fall back and respond.

I suggest we hold back the cavalry and the Furnace as a mobile reserve, with the infantry holding the wall.

What do you lot think?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/23 10:07:10


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods. "I agree, gate makes the most sense. It's sort of a choke point right?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/24 07:33:18


Post by: OldMate


Simond nodded. 'Balwin and I will wait till the greenskins make a breakthrough. We'll do what we can to stop them from setting up themselves in any of the foundry buildings. Last thing we want is for them to make a strongpoint behind us. These buildings look rather strong, I'd hate to have to root them out. Especially if the creatures are still attacking from the jungle.'


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/25 00:05:08


Post by: Bobthehero


''Use the gate as chokepoint, we can find fuel to make improvised mines to put in there. Metal for makeshift razor wire? The point is to make the Greenskins slog through the tight entrance while we shatter the skies above them''


Classic Krieger advice from Poncho

''The tower would make for a fine overlook, land a few shots to drag the horde through the door. IT is risky, this trooper volunteers'' The latter was added without hesitation, borne out of rigorous training that would not quite go away.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/26 11:20:42


Post by: OldMate


Simond scratched his chin. "We should be prepared for them to breach the walls. Especially if they bring war machines."


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/26 12:30:12


Post by: Pyroalchi


Wyona draws some lines on an improvised map of the refinery, while your ideas keep coming in and she nods in agreement. "I agree, the gate is our best bet. And if we hold the vehicles in reserve it might look weak enough that they commit there, instead of breaching the walls or just blowing up the whole installation - it's not that they are the most thoughtful, long-term-goal enemies to begin with."

Tambo adds reluctantly "We ARE from a jungle reconnaissance regiment. It is risky, but I would try and set up with M'Gele outside the refinery in the jungle trees, just outside the gates. Set up a nice sniper nest, snuggle in real deep and hope they don't see us. Might be enough to have a shot with the Grenades and Long las in the back of whatever is coming. But this means we would only start shooting after they are really stuck in, so that we keep the element of surprise as long as possible." Which might sound a bit coward, but on the other hand sitting outside the facility is quite a risk, should both Askaris underestimate the sharpness of the Greenskins senses.

Wyona nods and continues "So first, we have to man the turrets far from the gate to know what we are up to, while Tambo keeps an eye on the gate. We can have some pot shots, but overall the most important part is to channel them to the gate. As soon as we know more, everyone has to get down and to their positions. When the shooting starts, we need to keep them from hitting the promethium tanks. So I would say we set up the Chimera with Njal and Erc here, were it has a clear shot at whatever is comming through the gate but can still pull back a bit behind the ruins of the living quarters to get some cover. Poncho: you are one of our best shots with lasweapons. So I need you in the turret of the Tauros. We'll park it about here. Simond, Balwin, you two will be over here, where you might have a look at the back of the installation to warn us if they try to sneak in there. The rest, so Malakai, Adamo, Teodore and me will dig in near the gate." she still looks rightfully worried. Even with the heavy weapons, 11 Troopers seem a damn few to hold such an installation.

"Any further comments?"

Spoiler:
regarding the pic: P = Poncho, N = Njal + Erc, S = Simond, T/W = Teodore and Wyona, Ta = Tambo, M = Malakai + Adamo
the left vehicle is the Tauros, the right one the Chimera
Overall idea is to have a good look around when the enemies approach. As soon as you have a good guess what they are up to, Njall/Erc should get down, man the Chimera and drive somewhere where they can shoot. Poncho does the same and gets to the Tauros. If you want, you can have Malakai or Adamo as driver, otherwise you would have to switch seats.
Simond and Balwin are reserves and can move relatively freely through the refinery, as there should be alleys broad enough for a horse. Malakai/Adamo and Wyona/Teodore get near the gate when they leave their turret where there will be snuggly foxholes for them.
I will also treat the gate as having some wired fence and lets say the whole "setting up mines" is treated as you having 2 grenades of your choice placed there and I will roll for every enemy getting through if he sets it off or not. Flame or Krak? Who calls first decides

[Thumb - refinery 2.png]


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/26 14:39:25


Post by: Easy E


"Yes Sir," Njal snaps a salute and rushes back to his furnace.

He hops into the fancy new turret and relays the orders to Erc. The other St. Paulus trooper grunts in acknowledgement.

With that, Njal familiarizes himself with the new gear, runs a comms check, and and prays to the Emperor, the Omnissiah, and to whatever Imperial Saints cares to listen. He hears the Chimera's engine rumble to life, and the comforting buzz of a running Furnace helps calm his nerves.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/27 01:02:10


Post by: Bobthehero


Well, the Kriegsman was denied that dangerous mission, or at least dangerous in his view, he nodded at the Sergeant's words, however.

''Put the Tauros in position''


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/27 01:11:54


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore nods grimly and makes for the gate. "Maybe the xenos will get distracted and veer off somewhere else?" He made a weak smile. "One can hope eh?"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/27 01:13:33


Post by: Bobthehero


''What? No, to miss an occasion to destroy the warband would be foolish, we are in position to destroy many Xenos with a proper expenditure of resources, sparring further waste elsewhere on the battlefront''

Poncho was quick to reply to that one.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/27 12:23:44


Post by: OldMate


'Understood sergeant.' Simond said straightening his helmet and idly scratching idly at some flaking paint and powdery rust.

Simond took a long satisfied breath and smiled. He looked up at the warm sky of the tropical world and muttered a soft prayer for his comrades and himself.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/06/28 17:58:42


Post by: Pyroalchi


"Hope is the first step on the way to disappointment" replies Wyona towards Teodore, even though her look makes it pretty clear, that she shares this hope. "Better get down to business. Poncho: you are from Krieg, so you should have the most experience setting up some nice foxholes. I want you to assist us and give some instructions, while Malakai, Adamo, Teodore and I prepare some cover.

Tambo, M'Gele: try to set some trap in the gate, maybe we get lucky and can take out some of them when they enter. Your idea hiding in the jungle sounds good, but that only work out, when the greenskins really come that way. And I always expect a good plan to fail. I want you with your chameleoline cloaks in between the storage tanks... I know it is a pretty explosive place to hide, but that's an angle we haven't covered so far, and a hidden sniper might draw less fire that way.

All others: you know your place, get to it and send those beasts to hell. The emperor protects!" she exclaims loudly and makes the sign of the aquila.



You make the best you can of the time you have left, and soon there are a couple of foxholes some 40 yards from the gate, where you have a good shot at what's coming in while not being in charge range and would not be totally out of range should the come from somewhere else. Through the combeads, Tambo warns, that he has rigged a two firebombs inside the gate, hoping it might either set an intruder aflame or damage something should a vehicle try to come through. While he begins to look for a nice spot to hide, he also comments that he has loaded one of the grenade launchers with krak grenades, the other with 3 halucinogenic and frag grenades each, alternating. His "battleplan" would be to first look what's coming through, then decide between the weapons and assist as good as he can. Finally he settles for a place pretty high up, where he migh have a good look on the overal situation and his combeat can act as a transmitter so that all of you can hear each other.

Soon you can see some plumes of smoke in the jungle heading your direction, from at least three sources - two smaller ones pretty close and a really big one lagging behind a bit. The approach from the east, where the promethium wells are, so that Njal has the best look from his position. Soon he can hear the ear deafening sound of the rugged, crude engines the Orks cobble together and finally he can make out two Ork buggies, one with some crude type of rocket launcher, the other with some type of automatic slug thrower. Beside gunner and driver, another 4 Greenskins hold on to each abomination of a vehicle, shouting, screaming and generally having a good time while they ride through the jungle. The Buggies fan out and begin to drive around the refinery, one north, the other south towards the gate. Njal might try a potshot with the autocannon on his watchtower, as might Teodore, otherwise it looks like it is time to get onto your position, as none of the buggies has the firepower to break through the sturdy walls. This should also be the sign for Poncho to get into his Tauros and hope for the best.

Spoiler:
So, if you want to, you can have a shot at the buggies, but I would say you get a penalty of -15, because they are moving pretty fast.
Whoever wants to use a foxhole gets the bonus part of prone. So everyone that tries to hit you in range gets a 10 point malus, if you get hit in melee 10 point bonus.
And I would say you get 8 points of cover, but not against flame weapons.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/01 17:02:43


Post by: Pyroalchi


To not endanger their original plan and lure the Xenos into entering through the gate, Njal and Teodore hold their fire and instead get down to there positions, while Tambo has an eye on the direction the buggies came from and the third, rather large cloud of smoke approaching. Seconds later, the "southern" buggy - a relatively nimble halftrack makes a half turn away before turning right towards the gate which is still half blocked by the heavily damaged Wartruck that was used by the orkish defenders of the refinery you already vanquished. The wreck is angled diagonally right within the whole, leaving some space right and left, which are both to narrow for even a buggy to get through. But as Greenskins are, you can hear the massive, cobbled together engine roaring, huffing and puffing and over it all you hear a voice calling "SCREW DA PEDAL DOWN RUNT! TIME TO GO FAAAAASTAAA!" followed by the the sound of a screwdriver, even that might be just your imagination.

With a defeaning crash of metal on metal, the buggy ramms the wrecked truck, pushing it a bit out of the way, just enough to let the buggy squeeze through and enter the refinery. Amazingly the rugged and sturdy construction of the vehicle takes the beating relatively undisturbed and keeps on going. Unfortunatly it didn't even trigger the firebomb Tambo placed on this side of the wreck, hopefully leaving it for the next intrurder.The Ork boyz crawling on it are shaken through and even peppered with some shrappnell from the tortured machines, but laugh and shout happily, having the time of their live. One even hits the wreck and is torn of his buggy, laying on the ground unconscious for a moment. The others cling on, while the buggy accelerates again going straight along the street between living quarters and refinery. Even if most of them haven't even spotted a target, they immediatly begin to fire wildly with their brute shooters, the gunner in the back of the buggy just spraying towards the living quartes for good measure, without hitting any of you. Only one of the passangers on the right side seems to have spotted Teodore and Wyona at their position and jumps of, maybe 20 meters from them. Where others might have tried to roll more or less elegantly, he just lets himself smash on the ground, tumble some times before crashing into some oil drums, before getting up astonishingly fast. A battlecry on his lips and a bloody cut above his eye he raises a large axe and a pistol the size of Teodores upper body and starts charging towards the two Skrynne soldiers.

The buggy passes Malakai and Adamo before the other two Greenskins hop of, yet unaware of the Brontians 25 meters away, looking around to get their bearings. They have not yet seen the Tauros and Poncho (40 meters away) but it would be a wonder if they didn't any moment. the buggy continous towards the opposite wall and gets into line of sight of Njals and Ercs Chimera, being about 100 meters distant from them.



Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/03 10:00:58


Post by: OldMate


Gunfire and ork shouts rang out breaking the relative quiet. Balwain jumped at the noise.
'Easy son. It's just a few greenskins. The others will probably sort them out without us. It's when the shots are coming from all round that you should be worried..'
He took a swing of the strong spirit and patted his horse on the neck.

He hoped the others would need his help. It would be awfully boring, and unfair if they got all the glory. The boy Teodore didn't even want to see action, and he was up there. Unfair was what it was.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/04 01:59:57


Post by: Dekskull


Teodore waits a bit. He doesn't want to jump the gun like he did the last time. But when it seems like the right time, he presses down on that suto cannon and let's rip at the approaching buggy.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/04 09:01:22


Post by: Pyroalchi


As the buggy hurles itself forward from the impromptu barricade, Teodore decides to focus his attention on the vehicle first, before adressing the Ork that had slammed in the ground near Wyona an him. They had have the time for at least some practice shots before the Xenos arrived, but the autocannon on the tripod in front of him was most definitly not just "a slightly bigger Assault rifle" as Wyona had joked. Also he waits for the right time, even though he is still slightly unsure how he would know that the right time had come. Definitly before the buggy got out of sight driving down the street.

Looking from Ponchos direction, the shoddy construction jumps into sight from the right, already pretty fast and still picking up speed, leaving only seconds before it would be out of sight. The Kriegsman had waited for this though, and his experience and cool demeanor tracking it with a keen eye, he lets the little, half open turret swivel around with an electric humming, noticing its quite nimble movement on well oiled ball bearings. The buggy right in his crosshairs, Poncho triggers the fire switch and you can hear a loud twanging noise, as the capacitors discharge and the cooling coils scream while two bright red rays slam into the side of the buggy.

The whole left side panel - if one wants to call it that way - is smashed to bits, whole chunks of metal flying around as nothing more than molten slags of iron, brass and steel, while the vehicle is thrown to its right, not really by the impact, but by the impuls created by its exploding left side. The gunners legs and lower body are also grazed, as is the driver.

Spoiler:
42 damage pen 10 => all structure gone and a 7 on the crit table. Righteous fury (with a d10 because the buggy is ramshackle) also gave 7
=> the side armor is reduced from 20 to 5, both Orks have a 40% chance to be hit by 1/4 of that shot: one is hit twice (gunner, still has 2 wounds left), the other once (driver, 7 wounds left).


Seeing the enemy vehicle hit, but not yet completely destroyed, Teodore triggers his autocannon too, sending a burst if heavy slugs towards it almost in the same instant. Two of the shots hit true, piercing the astonishingly solid armor on the right side... and by the looks of the result hitting the fuel tank. Torn apart by the impacts of the heavy weapons on both sides, the buggy turns in a violently expanding ball of fire, detonating with eardeafening volume. The gunner - or rather what burning pieces are left of him - is catapulted almost a good ten yards straigth into the air before raining down with the rest of the debris, while the drivers coal like remains roll some metres towards Njals Chimera before distributing themselves. Indeed the explosion is so massive, that the Ork near Wyona and Teodore, that was just about to charge them is thrown to the ground again, a couple of metal shards sticking in his back, but nothing that would outright kill him.
Spoiler:
that should be 36 + 5 from Wyona + 10 for aiming (because why not) +10 for half range, -10 for semi-auto burst => 51. Rolled a 13, that should be 4 degrees of succes. A nice two hits. 6/5/10 (righteous Fury), 7/6/5... 29 and 26 damage... yeah, that thing is very, very dead.



"Great work soldiers!" Wyona comments through the combeads and gives Teodore and enchoraging clap on the shoulder.
Tambo, who was watching from his hidy hole to warn you what else was approaching warns "I can see some kind of turret with a pretty nasty gun... Big, big, ugly gun. Wouldn't count on the walls to hold it back, if it wants to get through. Looks almost as big as a Baneblade, but shoddyly bolted together...
And it has... some kind of katapult thingy on its back?" he mutters confuzed. "What the... " he says in disbelieve and Simond and Balwin from their position can see something being catapulted in a ballistic arc over the eastern walls. They just want to maneuvre their steeds into cover, as they see something barely approaching a parachute (more like a kitchen table-cloth) open up and a small, bipedal shape hanging down from it. Overal about a dozen Gretchin are starting to rain over the eastern part of the facility, with 2 or three of them that had missed the general idea of a parachute just smashing into the refineries chimneys with a wet splat. Some will come down on the street, but most will likely land somewhere between the pipework and chimneys where the horses will definitly not reach them. To make matters worse, Simond can also see a much larger Orkoid shape get into view above the eastern wall. It looks a bit like the Ork-boys you saw before, but has what looks like a man-sized rocket strapped to its back, catapulting it over the wall - and from the sound of it, it is not alone.
Through the combead Tambo says "I'll try and get the ones over the processing plant to save the cogboy! Simond, if you you have something to shoot, do it!"


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/05 18:37:40


Post by: Easy E


"Now I have seen everything," Njal mumbles as he glances up and sees Grots raining from the sky like Drop Troopers.

They were still in the air, and there were bigger issues on the ground. Njal pivoted his turret and opened up on the Orks approaching Malakai and Adamo. Time to save the poor bloody infantry again!

Spoiler:

Not sure how many dice I get to roll for the turret weapons, but I got a 49 for my BS roll.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/05 19:40:31


Post by: Pyroalchi


The Chimeras Autogun opens up with a heavy, loud "THUDTHUDTHUD", sending its payload towards the two Orks that are just turning towards the two Brontians - who are luckily not in the line of fire. Even though they are relatively close for an autocannon, most of the salvo misses, but the third shot takes the left ork right in the knee, ripping away his left leg in a spray of blood. The impact almost causes the Greenskin to cartwheel, before he smashes in the ground, clawing towards the grizzly remains of his lower appendage. The bleeding looks rather massive and doesn't seem to stop as fast as you have seen on other orks, leaving the wounded Xenos shacking in shock - and soon dying.
Spoiler:
you get 37 + 10 for aiming (because why not) +10 for short range and +5 for your comrade, so 2 degrees of success on a semi auto burst for one hit (the second would have needed one more. Location is leg, damage is 7 + 5 + 6 + 8 = 26, 20 get through, So critical 8: he looses half his leg... Toughness test to not die immediatly from shock:98... damn...



His comrade meanwhile storms forward towards Malakai, who manages to deflect his axe almost gracefully before slashing at him with a fast counterattack from his chainblade that misses the greenskin, but is immediatly followed by a flurry of blows, two of which cut deep into the Ork. As before the wounds the heavy chainblade causes would outright kill a human, but so far only enrages the beast, that keeps on smashing its axe on the Brontians. Their melee is pretty thick and it doesn't seem advisable to shoot into it, if one is not a really good shooter.
Spoiler:
I assume Adamo has something like... 40 WS +10 from a best quality Chainsword? And gave him counter attack, Swift attack and Chain weapon expertise. He rolled a 5 for parrying (success), 53 for his counterattack (failed) and 33 for his Swift attack, which means two hits.
The Ork failed his dodge.
Thats 9+2 and 9+2 pen 2 on body for so far 10 damage. The Ork is bloodied but not dead


As indicated, Tambo prioritizes the Gretchin going down over the refinery installation to the northeast, where you saw the tech priest vanish as to protect the "civilian", exploding one of the Gretchins heads with a precise and clean shot. Another two of them have meanwhile landed and start to crawl into the inner workings of that installation while the forth is still in the air and might still be downed before vanishing. On the southern installation where Tambo hides, two have already landed and two are still in the air, while the four aiming for the street in the middle will all land soon, in an area between 10 and 40 metres from Simond and Balwin.
The "rocketboy" the Cavalryman saw is meanwhile some metres above the wall and will likely land on the inner side in some seconds, and from the sound of it there are at least two following him.

Within the refinery Techadept Kraithus Qraen can hear someone trying to switch through the local channels to try and contact him - an easy feat, as he was already listening in on the mindless chatter of the Astra Militarum Grunts outside. "Uhhmm... Mr. Techpriest, Sir? There are some Grots inbound to your position. At least two. Little buggers with knifes and pistols. We are kind of occupied out here, so I hope you can take care of yourself. Good luck!" Qraens loyal servitor meanwhile just keeps laboring about, as he should, humming some strange melody to himself again. Likely some unscrubbed memory fragment of the soul that once inhabited the constructs fleshy parts before it was turned into a tool of the Omnissiahs will. So the foul Xenos that had desecrated this holy installation were back! Time for some payback!


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/06 10:17:40


Post by: OldMate


Simmond really regrets not having any kind of gun. The little bastards where everywhere, and it'd certainly help to do something about that...
But on the other hand...
Well would hardly blame him for going after the bigger beast, even if the refinery was crawling with the small vermin.
He gestures to the incoming ork with the rocket. 'We'll get the big one, and any that might be following him.' He calls putting his heels to the horse's flanks.
He isn't quite sure what the anti tank charge on his lance would do to an ork, but he suspects it'd be more than sufficient


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/06 18:05:13


Post by: Easy E


"We are in the thick of it now" Njal bellowed out to Erc. Sitting still was death to an APC, so it was time to get moving.

Erc began to maneuver the Rig into the next firing position, while Njal used the rotation and elevation of the turret to open up on targets of opportunity. Vehicles first, orks second, and grots third.

Locate, lock, and fire. Locate, lock, and fire. It was a well practiced rhythm, and Njal accompanied it with a soothing hymn to the machine-spirit.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/06 20:23:26


Post by: Pyroalchi


From the sound of it, the big tank Tambo mentioned is rolling towards the north wall, but will likely need some more time to reach it. You can also take a wild guess, that the second buggy, that Njal saw rounding the facilities north will reach the gate any moment now, together with some more greenskins, from the sound of shouting and bellowing outside. While Erc turns the Chimera towards the opening - prepared to fire the Hull Bolter or Autocannon on whatever comes through - Njall realizes that he might put a shot of opportunity into one of the Gretchin landing above Tambos hideout. The Autocannon swivvels some degrees to the left and the iceworlder takes aim for a single, aimed shot, that turns another of the small creatures into a small cloud of blood-red mist before targeting the gate again.
"Thanks Njall! Much appreciated!" comments the Askari, glad about the opportunity to maybe focus down another one of the would be attackers on the Techpriest.
Spoiler:
I assume you do the suppression action on the gate next turn. Just tell me if you want to use the Heavy Bolter or the Autocannon.


The four grots landing more towards the street near Simond run into whatever bolthole they find as soon as they land. While that leaves the route open for a charge towards the Stormboy, it also unfortunatly leaves the cavalrymen as only targets of the Gretchins short attention span. Two of them start shooting their blastas, with one of the projectiles glancing the cavalryman. So far so good, but it will be risky to fight in this crossfire.
Spoiler:
that would be a hit with 3 damage, pen 0. I assume that doesn't do anything

Meanwhile the first stormboy lands inside the wall, two of his comrades already on his heels, but still up in the air. The first has barely touched the ground, as Simonds steed is basically upon him, as the cavalrymen has prepared just for that to bring down the first beast before he is joined by his friends.
Spoiler:
Your charge can not be parried. So feel free to roll your attack with a bonus of +20 for the charge and roll for damage.


Malakai is still fighting with his Ork, as the next wave hits the gate. This time a strange kind of tracked bike squeezes through the tight opening on the right, while a squad of 5 Boys with big shootas try to slip through on the left to immediatly run towards the southwestern corner to get out of the bottleneck. This time, both groups trigger the detonator Tambo placed and right in the moment as they pass through the gate, two fiery clouds of volatile gasoline plume up, bathing all of the orks as well as their crude bike in flames. While the sturdy Brutes incredibly survive the initial blast and flames, only one of them manages to completly roll clear. Three of the footwarriors instead catch flames as the slicky oily substance clinges to their thick hides. The sturdy tracked bike takes the burning like a boss, but open as the construction is, its driver is also sheated in flames and makes the mistake of inhaling some of the burning fumes, which takes him out cold for some valuable seconds, letting the bike slew to a halt.
Spoiler:
damage for the five orks (after armor etc): 6/6/4/7, 3 of them catch flame, the last one suffered rigtheous fury and is also prone, the driver of the bike also suffers 7 and rigtheous fury, he is prone and burns

A moment later the tracked vehicle is pushed forwards violently, as the second buggy - a wheeled one - also pushes through, immediatly firing a ridicoulusly looking missile all the way towards Njalls Chimera that might just hit the Transport, if Erc doesn't manage to jink it.
Spoiler:
You can try to evade. Otherwise there might be some damage to the Chimera


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/07 12:37:10


Post by: OldMate


A round smacked into his body armour, and then another. They were buzzing all round like angry bees as he rode the gauntlet.
Simmond leveled the lance tip towards the landing ork, it had a moment to turn towards him before the lance tip struck.

The ork blew apart. One moment it was there, the next in a flash of brilliant heat it was reduced to smoking limbs cartwheeling through the air with scant left of it's torso at all but curling smoke and hot hissing steam.

Simmond's eyes were afire. That had done the trick. Oh yes, that had done the trick nicely.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/07 13:04:29


Post by: NapoleonInSpace


Techadept Kraithus Qraen falls flat to the earth in a manner somewhat unreserved for a Tech-Priest, but the Machine-Emperor's servants must not stand on ceremony and ritual.

Especially when standing is a good way to get one's head blown off by mortar fire. Or little grots with knives, Emperor curse them.

He rose, a little unsteadily, but got his sandals under him and took off in the direction of the Chimera.

Even from this distance, that one obviously needed a new timing belt. Having the thing get stuck in this mess would be disaster for the machine's spirit, and for the lives of the troopers who served it.

He only hoped they didn't blow his head off while he ran to their rescue.

Holding up his crozius, waving it wildly, and trusting the Emperor, he committed himself to a unit he knew little of, and to troops he had never met...


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/07 14:23:45


Post by: Easy E


The blast caused Njal to look away from the scope for a moment, and in that moment the Ork buggy came barreling through the gate. He had been set-up to suppress the gate, and found his cannon pointed the right way so he hit the trigger hoping to take out the buggy.

It was too late now, as that plume from the rocket left a deadly trail that was going to hit them. He just hoped they could pop the enemy vehicle before it popped them.

Erc tried to jink the chimera as best he could from the oncoming missile. Metal boxes on tracks are not know for their agility. Tracks clanked in protest and the whole machine gave off a metallic whine. If they were lucky the bulldozer might take the hit instead of the tank itself.

Spoiler:

To hit with the AC I got a 19.

39 to evade for Erc


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/10 10:37:32


Post by: Pyroalchi


The fight between Malakai, Adamo and the Orkboy attacking them remains kind of inconclusive for the moment, with all three of them managing to parry or evade the swings of each other rather well. Which is quite a feat, as the Ork was indeed wounded more gravely by Malakais first attacks as was immediatly obvious, bleeding heavily. Nonetheless it speaks for the resiliance of the vile Xenos, that he still manages to keep up a fight.
Spoiler:
Forgot to take into account Malakais Strength Bonus in his attacks... Which means the Ork is already on his critical wounds.


Meanwhile Teodore takes aim at the Ork that had landed near Wyona and him and that was just getting back on his feet after being smashed to the ground by the first buggies explosion. Seeing as it is "just" a single ork and one clean shot should already do the trick, he decides it is more important to make that shot count instead of just spraying away. The Autocannon lets out a single, strong bang and due to the close range leaves the Greenskin not enough time to dodge the massive round that hits him right in the side of the head. He is smacked pretty hard and his left ear and part of the sturdy green hide on that side of the head is ripped away, but the brute is quite definitly not dead. Instead he surges forward, bridging the distance between himself, Wyona and Teodore freakishly fast, firing a burst from his crude massive pistol while swinging his axe. The bullets pepper the ground dangerously close to both Skrynne soldiers, missing them by a hairbreadth at best. Now the beast is almost upon both of them, but Teodore might be able to get of one last shot at point blank range, if he is lucky. If he misses that, it will get really ugly for them.
Spoiler:
37 + 10 for aiming + 10 for short range + 10 for single shot+ 5 for the comrade = 72: rolled a 70 which barely enough, but enough
He doesn't manage to dodge.
Damage is 1+2+8 (rolled) +8 = 19 pen 6... so 13 go through. That doesn't really kill him, but almost...
He doesn't quite make the charge, but is now only 2 meters away from you both


Over at Simonds position, the two Stormboys he already saw are landing near him. He might have the time to charge one of those, but he will get in a lot of danger of being overrun, should he stay at this position as another two appear above the wall to the east. There are also still the Grots in the pipeworks nearby, two of which keep shooting at the cavalrymen that have just melted away one of the bigger Xenos, both finding their mark. Rearing his horse around and shifting in the saddle, Simond manages to evade at least one of the shots, but the other smacks into his body armor.
Spoiler:
outch... thats a 01 and a 07. They hit with 9 and 10 damage respectively, pen 0. I allowed myself to roll a dodge for you, which came out as 03, so a succeuss. So you get 10 damage - your armor at body

A moment later, a Lasbolt smacks right into the face of one of the Stormboys that was still up in the air, smacking his head back and turning one of his eyes into a charred mess. Blinded and disoriented the beast bellows in pain and while not completely taken out seems to at least not be an immediate problem for now.
Through the combead Tambo can be heard "Simond, I can't see the ones that landed near you. I'll try and reposition, but you're on your own for now!"
Spoiler:
Tambo: shoot at one of the Stormboys still in the air: 10, that should be a clear hit, a headshot as it comes to that.. 4/7/3 +5 = 19, 17 get through.,


Njal lets out a burst from the Chimeras Autocannon to suppress the Orks at the gate, hoping that Poncho will take care of the buggy with his heavier Lascannons. The stakkato of hard slugs slam into the mass of partly burning orks near the gate, smashing the legs of one of the already burning brutes to pieces and dropping him on the ground. Its wounds are obviously so severe, that even the sturdy Xenos parishes, screaming with such fervor, that his comrades struggle to hear anything beside him.
The other four orks that were set aflame by the improvised mines including the biker are to agonized by the flames to do anything sensible, with only one of them dropping to the ground to try and put out the flames, while the others only clap on them pointlessly. The biker seems to be hit the worst, jumping of his bike and running around flaying his arms around before crashing into the gate wall and falling down. The other three burning boys don't look much better, to confused by the mix of pain from their burnes, the screams of the dismembered ork on the ground, the running torch of a biker and Njals suppression fire, all together keeping them neatly near the gate and under control.
The single Ork that already jumped clear of the firebombs seems to be much more capable - brutally cunning you could say - and rolls free of his comrades, dodging the autocannons bullets and taking a quick sprint to his left, towards the blind angle south of the living quarters.

Meanwhile the Buggies missile shoots towards the Chimera, leaving a curly trail of smoke from its primitive rocket engine - how this thing even manages to maneuvre and stay on target remains a mystery to all of you. As Erc realizes that he will not be able to jink away from the hit, he at least turns the Chimera heads on, hoping that the sturdy front armor and dozer blade will take the brunt of the hit. The projectile hits the dozer blade with a massive detonation, pushing the Chimera back a metre and almost cracking the dozer in two. Yet the added appendix took most of the punishment, leaving only the front armor plate with very slight deformation. A moment later Erc and Njal get aware of a nasty smell of some cooling gas evaporating into the crew compartment from a shaken loose pipe, without being able to make out the leak.
Spoiler:
So, BS 37 + 5 from your comrade + 10 for aiming -20 to see if you hit something while supressing = 32. You rolled a 19, so you hit one of the Orks and suppress the rest.
damage is 1+9+7+8 = 25, 19 get through,´killing him (it was one of the already burned ones). The others are on their last wound.

The missile hits with 6/4/10+6 = 26 pen 9. The Chimera with Dozer Blade has 34 front armor, so you only suffer 1 damage. But from the 10 comes a critical effect: some gasleak that lets you suffer -20 until it is fixed... good thing the Tech Priest is on its way


Just outside the Chimera, Kraithus Qraen half crawls, half runs towards the Imperial transport, just as it is hit by the blast of a Xenos weapon. Behind him he can hear the sonorous huffing and puffing of his Servitor "Sparky" trying to keep up with his master and shielding him from danger as good as he can. Two dangerously precise bursts of shooting follow you from back from the refinery, but sparkys blocky posture and his spread out arms let the bullets slam into his hunched shape, doing relatively minor damage.
Judging the danger of the situation, Kraithus contacts the machine spirit of the Chimera through the Noosphere, half intensely pleading, half stubbornly insisting of letting him in - to which the sturdy vehicle responds by popping the little door in his rear hatch.
Alarmed by the sudden sound of an opening door in the back of the Chimera, Erc and Njall hear Tambo in their combead "Njal, Erc, I think I just saw the cogboy running to your position. Take care to not flatten him if you back up!"
The moment Kraithus reaches the opened door, he sees that the transport is almost empty, safe for a turret gunner and a driver. His optical mechandrite immediatly switches through some sensory modes though and alarms him of a coolant leak near the left of the troop compartment from which an irritating gas is starting to fill the Chimeras inside. Nothing he couldn't fix immediatly if he enters, provided the Guardsmen have the presence of mind to not hinder him or ask stupid elongated questions.
Spoiler:
"Sparky" is hit for 3 and 10 damage. He is lightly wounded now, but keeps Kraithus safe



Next off, Poncho takes aim with the Tauros Lascannons to try and get rid of the Buggy, before it manages to break through. Aiming for the revolverlike missile launcher that is in the proicess of rotating to set up the next shot, the bright beam shoots from his armored car again, piercing right through the weapon, the Ork-loader behind it and part of the buggy. The rocket fuel and warhead of the missile being loaded is evaporated in an instant, setting ablaze not only the rest of the magazine but also the buggies fuel. A massive fireball engulfes the gate area, turning all Xenos remaining their into ashes and turning the vehicles - including the wartrack blocking the gate - into scraps so small, that there won't even be enough left of them for an ork to salvage. Even the one Ork that managed to sneak away is violently thrown to the ground.
Spoiler:
Your BS is 46 I think? + 10 for single shot, 47, that's a hit. It doesn't manage to jink away (Las-Weapon expertise was worth it obviously)
Damage: 8/9/5/8/9 +10 = 49... That is a very, very dead buggy.


While between them Njal and Poncho have nicely cleared the gate - the St.Paulus trooper setting up the trap by suppressing the assailints close by the buggy and Poncho coup de gracing them - a new and much more devastating threat emerges, as the Northern wall is suddenly hit by a massive explosion, smashing part of it in and generating a 5 or 6 meter broad gap. Whatever big was coming from that direction WILL enter the refinery any second now, and Njals Chimera currently has its back turned that way.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/10 11:40:57


Post by: NapoleonInSpace


"DEUS EX MACHINA VOBIS CUM!" Tech Adept Kraen dives for cover and shouts in a voice loud enough (at lest, he hopes loud enough!) to keep the gunner from blowing his head, off, and hopefully making the chimera crew aware that his presence is Imperial and not Xenos.

"From some distance, I perceived the plight of thine gallant chimera's timing chain. From here, I can detect more immediate concerns!

"Keep doing thy jobs, lads, I'll fix what can be fixed without getting in the way. But try to make way for my poor, gallant Servitor. His service as reactive armor alone will be of quite the limited span, I fear.

"Sparky, take cover an return fire!"

Kraen gestures to whatever cover is available to the servitor, if there is any. If none, he won't give that order, but allow Sparky to catch bullets for the guardsmen.

In the meantime, he does a survey to discover what is most in need of repair to keep the Chimera functional that he would have a reasonable chance of repairing in the middle of battle.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/10 21:48:19


Post by: OldMate


Simond glanced around. There was a hell of a lot of bullets flying towards him, another smacked into him painfully.
As much as he wanted to charge down the next beast the intensity of fire was getting too heavy. He doubted he could make it to the beast without being cut down by fire.
Sometimes it was better to retreat and re engage later.

Greater glory would have to be achieved later. His comrades still needed him.
He turned his horse and spurred it towards the big promethium tanks nearby.

If he could break the line of fire of just a few of the little creatures he'd have much more chance of being able to regroup with the others.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/13 01:38:01


Post by: Dekskull


"AHHHH, NOOOOOO!" Teodore screams and frantically fires point blank into the charging ork, thinking that now truly is his time to die....but hopimg against hope that it is not.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/13 04:54:35


Post by: Pyroalchi


Panicked as the Ork is almost upon them, Teodore pulls down the trigger and lets loose a salvo from the Autocannon at point blank range. The whole set of massive bullets is right on target, shredding the complete lower half of the Xenos into paste. Teodores attacker is hurled back several meters, thanks to the throne, as half a moment later the grenades at his hip detonate. Those might have seriously hit the medic and the sergeant.
"I need a sitrep!"

Spoiler:
that should be 37 + 30 + 10 for aiming + 5 for Wyona = 82. Rolled a 37 for three hits... yeah, that Ork is paste. You got a bit lucky with the critical effects though. If he wouldn't have been smashed away from the critical at body, his exploding ammo would have hit Teodore


Malakai and Adamo finally manage to overpower bleeding Ork right in front of him with their blades, even though Adamo has suffered some wounds on his own. Breathing heavily into the combead he reports "Looks like we have the gate cleared for now, but somethings big is coming through the wall in the north!". Teodore can see them starting to jog over to his position, to join up with the their sergant and get the wounded Brontian patched up a bit.

Next you can hear Tambos combead activating, from the sound of it M'gele and him running or advancing somewhere. "A lot of trouble at the eastern wall. Seems like Simond and Balwin had to pull back out of the alley. We are loosing ground there. Trying to reposition to support him. But there are at least three of the smaller buggers each crawling between the promethium wells and the storage tanks. So be on your toes near them!"

The two cavalrymen meanwhile manage to disengange from their battle, with the shots from the Gretchin going astray this time. Meanwhile the last rocket boys land, while a last glance back shows them a very massive ork - a so called Nob from the stories of the veterans - is pulling himself up over the wall on a grapnell. While the one Stormboy that Tambo had hit on the face is already almost on his senses again, the others seem a bit undecided if they should charge after Simond or wait for their leader. In the end they only halfheartedly jog after the horses in a kind of compromise.

Over at the Chimera, Sparky looks a bit blank and confused - if you could say that of a half machine-man - trying to process Kraitus order. Finally deciding that he can best protect the techpriest if he stays near him and that the inside of the Chimera also qualifies as cover, he clambers in and shuffles to the driver compartment. As Kraitus had ordered him to return fire, he opens the door and squeezes himself into the codrivers seat - much to Ercs protest. Taking over the Hull bolter he just seems to... wait without doing something. Only after some stray round hits the chimera he finally triggers the bolter in that rough direction without even aiming, fullfilling his orders to the best of his abilities.
Kraitus himself - fully aware of the exact position of the gasleak - pulls back the necessary panel in an instant, grabs into the mess of cables and slams the right tubing back into its socket before switching the Chimeras ventilation to full power. The whole ordeal takes only mere seconds and the inside of the Chimera is cleared of the fumes.
Concerned by the collapsing wall in the North, Erc triggers the internal Chimera com as well as his personal bead "Hold your caps lads, I'll put us into that alley. Guess everywhere is nicer than waiting for that frosted blizzard coming through the wall!" The next moment Kraitus has to grab for a hold, as the driver floors the gaspedal and speeds up the sturdy transport towards a narrow street between the refinery parts. While he himself slams the back door shut, his optical mechandrite darts left and right through the crew compartment, checking the small vision slits and periscope mirrors. Overall the techpriest gets a rough idea what is going on behind them and to the sides. The northern wall, from which your vehicle is distancing himself fast is in the process of collapsing and behind it you can almost make out a huge abbomination of a tank whose mere existence seems to be blasphemy towards the Omnissiah. As you swing into the alley, it is just breaking through, turning the remains of the wall into a cloud of rockcrete powder.

Taking these informations together, Wyona orders: "everyone, we try and focus on that eastern alley first. Clear it as fast as we can to get them of our backs before trying to bring down the big tank. Avoid it as long as possible!"
Just as Malakai and Adamo arrive, Teodore remembers that there was a shortcut on the maps of the refinery. A narrow, walled walkway that circled right around the right of the storage tanks that should provide some cover to the left and right. Of course that didn't mean that there might not be Grots on that same walkway, but at least they would be in front of you and not set an ambush from the sides putting you into a crossfire. Given that all alternative targets were big tanks or massive Orks, it might be the safest course of action right now to "help" by clearing the smaller Xenos while the others take on the big stuff, so that looks kind of promissing for the young paramedic. Adamo is slightly wounded, but still fit enough to pick up the Autocannon together with another carrier.
Other than Malakai who reported the gate to be clear, Teodore also remembers clearly, that there was one Ork slipping away who should be somewhere behind the living quarters right now.
Spoiler:
Deksskull: your decision who carries it with Adamo. The other two (out of Wyona, Teodore and Malakai) might have to protect them should you meed Grots or other resistance.You can of course also decide to stay were you are. As Teodore has perfect memory, you can feel free to remember stuff about the refinery layout to your advantage. Sniper spots, shortcuts, hideouts, whatever. It should be an advantage, as you paid XP for it.


Poncho sees the Chimera speed past and drive into the alley, meeting up with Simond and Balwin whose horses are just slowing down to a trot from the other direction. To his left he can hear something big crashing through the northern wall. From his gut feeling there are currently three possible courses of action that present themselves:
a) follow the others into the alley, where he would have support, but you would have all eggs in one basket as the saying goes.
b) stay where you are, take a potshot at whatever came through and then play hide and seek with it, to try an keep it occupied until the others have taken control of the eastern flank again
c) pull back, round the living quarters close to the western wall and try to flank whatever big stuff is coming through.
The driver of his scout car - a specialized servitor - has little to say to this decision and just waits for his order where to put the vehicle.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/14 10:23:41


Post by: Dekskull


"Alright Adamo, can you carry that thing? Let's head up that walkway to cover the flank." He decides to ignore the ork that got away for now.

Teodore remembers that there was a shortcut on the maps of the refinery. A narrow, walled walkway that circled right around the right of the storage tanks that should provide some cover to the left and right. Of course that didn't mean that there might not be Grots on that same walkway, but at least they would be in front of you and not set an ambush from the sides putting you into a crossfire. Given that all alternative targets were big tanks or massive Orks, it might be the safest course of action right now to "help" by clearing the smaller Xenos while the others take on the big stuff, so that looks kind of promissing for the young paramedic. Adamo is slightly wounded, but still fit enough to pick up the Autocannon together with another carrier.
Other than Malakai who reported the gate to be clear, Teodore also remembers clearly, that there was one Ork slipping away who should be somewhere behind the living quarters right now.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/14 20:11:25


Post by: Easy E


Njal kept a tight hold on the controls, and leaned into the scopes just enough to keep his eyes on the targets, but not enough to get an eyeful of scope. Despite the rapid movement, he had to hold his ice.

He tried to keep his turret tracking as they rounded the bend and tried to spot the Ork boyz before they would spot him. He didn't need another Rokit to the hull thanks. The first one was bad enough!

As soon as he found an Ork shape in his sights, he let loose with Auto-cannon. A nice satisfying series of "booms" filled he turret.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/17 14:25:58


Post by: Bobthehero


With an unknown threat looming over them, Poncho decided do some reconnaissance, ordering the specialised servitor to round the living quarter in order to get a shot into whatever it was' flanks. With the Tauros moving around, he takes time to aim fully, waiting to see what his target would turn out to be by making us his sights were set at the right rangeé


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/17 20:06:23


Post by: NapoleonInSpace


Bit of a rough go, but at least the chimera seems in better shape. The Tech adept has three concerns, prioritized thus:

1. Is there anything else wrong with the chimera that is very obvious trouble and needs dealt with now?

2. What's up with Sparky? Is he able to keep up?

3. If both the above are reasonably ok, he'll announce his presence to the vehicle commander.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/18 01:03:36


Post by: OldMate


Simond turned his horse towards the chimera, in an approach that he was confident would not put him in it's line of fire and put his heels to the flanks of his horse again.

It was probably going to be one of the most dangerous dashes he'd have to make. But it would put him behind it's ample armoured bulk, behind it's ample firepower. And he could protect the machine from any ork that tried to attack it.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/18 08:39:23


Post by: Pyroalchi


"Sure thing mate!" Adamo exclaims, trying to overplay his wounds. Nonetheless Teodore notes that this might be one of the first times the others did not refer to him as "kid", "boy" or anything similar. And it was about time for that. Wyona already knew him enough to trust his memory and indeed you quickly find the beginning of a bridgelike walkway, with two sidewalks high enough to give you cover, as long as you keep your head low. The two Brontians team up to carry the autocannon, while Wyona leads on and Teodore covers the rear. A brisk jog later, you pause at a corner in the walkway. In front of you is a relatively straigt stretch leading to the alley through which you would have a possible firing arch. Currently you don't see a Greenskin, but you can hear them shouting. If you set up here you might get a shot into their flank if the charge your comrades at the entrance to the alley.
Behind you the way you came by is just behind the corner, meaning you can look into the alley you came from if you lean back, but anyone coming from there would have to run a while before he can aim at you.
Teodore risks a quick glance above the wall at the side of the walkway. While he hears the sniggering of at least two Gretchin somewhere in that direction, he fails to spot them. But they are likely some way away and might not have noticed your little group. For now he focusses on patching up Adamo as good as possible, which he succeeds in nicely. The Brontian is as good as it will get under these circumstances and Teodore has laid the best possible groundwork to keep him in the fight and recover later.


Simond is a seasoned enough rider to guide his steed elegantly along the side of the Chimera, rear it around and have a good look around. Whatever big thing is coming through in the north seems to take its time and is not upon you right now. He also catches a glimpse of Ponchos Tauros, that is driving backwards in a tight turn behind the living quarters before accelerating north behind the cover of the prefab buildings. Looking east, along the side of the Chimera, he can see the four rocketboys comming towards you with renewed fervor, as they are hurried on by an enormous looking Greenskin whose face and upper body seems to mainly consist of scartissue and bulging muscles. In his hands he wields some very scary looking big weapon, that looks like som madman has taken a whole bunch of smaller guns and just welded them together - throwing in a chainsword as bajonet for good measure. Spittle sprays from his feetlong tusks as he screams "WAAAAAGHHHH!" the smaller (yet still over 2 metres high) stormboys taking up the battlecry and charging towards the Chimera.

Inside the vehicle, Kraitus analysis of the Chimeras disposition reveals some still minor structural damage, but there is nothing he can do about it right now - that will take some hourse at least. Sparky is slightly damaged, but he has stopped dripping oil and lubricants and sitting behind the armor plate of the codriver should be safe for now. His cerebral implant processing fast, what course of action might increase their chances of survival the most, the Techpriest connects one of his dataports to the internal cogitator of the Chimera and effortlessly contacts its trusty machine spirit. Compared to those in the marvels of machinery the Adeptus Mechanicus uses, the Chimeras spirit is a rather simple minded one. A true and loyal soldier of his holy armies, but not the brigthest light in the chandelier. But as the saying goes "a small mind leaves no place for doubts". Linking in, Kraitus reads out the exact position of the turrets servo motors as well as the main guns elevation and horizontal axis, transmitting them in live feed towards Sparky. Up in the turret, Njal may be jumped a bit, as an optical modul on a long mechandrite comes up from below, snakes around and checks the episcopes for the correct distance measures.
Keeping his cool as best as he can, Njal aims for the largest Ork he can see, remembering that he heard the bigger ones are the most dangerous and often multiply the combat prowess of their peers. The thing is hellishly fast though and unleashes a quick salvo from his strange gun before Njal can depress the trigger. The abomination of a weapon spits out two bolts of blueish glowing plasma that circle around each other in some kind of screwing motion due to some freakish gravity effect, throwing their aim wildly off and disappearing somewhere in the sky. The Nob eyes the large promethium Tanks to either side of you and has the sense to drop his Snazzgun for now and pull out a large two handed Hammer instead.
Spoiler:
lol... the Ork rolled a 90 on his shot with the Snazzgun. At 91 he would have overheat the thing.

Just that moment Njal fires a burst from his autocannon, while down below Sparky just copies the exact position of the turret weapon with his heavy bolter and adds a single shot to it, even if he misses for now. Njalls salvo is right on target though, smashing in a straight line from left to right through the middle of the big nob. Its arms are pierced and some its muscles hang down in large shredds, but that doesn't even seem to stop it from swinging around its hammer. The hit to the chest seems to have shattered something inside its Torso though and screaming in pain, the Ork goes down to one knee. While it seems to be stunned for the moment, the salvo that would have crushed an imperial buggy like the one Poncho was driving in does not seem to have killed the big Greenskin
Spoiler:
37 + 10 for aiming + 5 from your comrad and +10 for short range = 62. Rolled an 11. That should be full 3 hits, ouch
17, 19 and 20 damage, pen 6. Öhmmm... 8 + 10 + 11 go through. That's not enough to kill him, damn Orks are scary...
Sparky missed.

The other four orks - including the one Tambos shot blinded on one eye fan out, two to the north of the alley and two to the south (including the wounded one), and charge forward. Even if they don't quite make it to the Chimera, they will reach it any moment now. And Njall will not be able to target both groups. The right group peppers the Chimeras front hull with inconsequential fire from their pistols, as they can't see anything else, while the left group can make out half of Simond and Balwin behind the Chimera and try to shoot at them. The sturdy vehicle covers both cavalrymen nicely though.

The next moment the cavalrymen can hear an audible "fooomp" sound somewhere from the southern side of the alley, followed by a small, dark egglike shape flying towards the two orks charging towards the northern flank of the Chimera. The next moment the blastegg explodes right between these two orks, unfortunatly without doing any real damage to their thick hides. Through the combead Tambo curses "Damn these Frackers are tough. Changing back to the longlas!".
Simond cannot quite charge one now, but he can position himself in a way that he will be upon them the next instant before they can act themselves. Also he migth have enough time to signal to Njall which direction he will go, to not get into the firing arch of the Vehicle.


Ponchos Servitor hits the reverse, turns the Tauros around and speeds north. You don't get quite in a position to shoot at something in any sensible way, but through the windows of the living quarters and in part above its roofs, the Kriegsman can make out the massive shape of a superheavy tank. It seems to have a massive turret gun and a pintle mounted heavy machine gun... thingy. As well as a fixed, forward facing bunker breaking mortar, two sponsons and three little turrets with guns.
From the sheer size of that thing and the obvious thickness of its armor, it might be wise to focus on separate turrets first or try and get behind it in the vain hope of finding some kind of soft spot. The question was if Orks even build their tanks with a dedicated, better armored front or if they just slapped armor plates to each side equally...

[/spoiler]credits to werewolfhunter in whose gallery I found that pic[spoiler]

[spoiler]aimed single shot with the Grenade launcher with a Frag Grenade. Hit with a 36.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/19 00:37:50


Post by: NapoleonInSpace


ooc

seems like I'm mishandling Sparky. Anything I can do to make him a little more effective?


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/20 19:16:47


Post by: Bobthehero


Poncho was quick to inform the others of what he had witnessed, all the while ordering the servitor to cut down the engine of the Tauros, hoping to pass unseen and to allow his little vehicle to be better positioned to strike at the large threat.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/21 09:00:04


Post by: OldMate


Simond took a regular explosive tipped lance from Balwin, and readied himself to charge.

The combead in his ear crackled to life and he heard the Kreigsman give the warning that a massive enemy tank was approaching from the northern side of the refinery.

He regretted his positioning, He wanted to see the thing, he wanted to have a go at it before the others could. He hoped that they would not be done with it before he could reach it.


Against the Savages - Only war RPG @ 2023/07/24 16:02:34


Post by: Easy E


Njal glanced around for the cavalry, but could not get a clear line to them. He saw them ride behind, so he assumed that was where they had hunkered down.

He tapped the comm-bead, "Simond? I am engaging the greenskins on the left. Cover us as best you can. Can't get to the big rig until we scoop out this drift."

With that, he swivelled the turret at the crazy xenos with rockets strapped to their back and opened fire.