IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

As the afternoon gets underway, the survivors from the T-Bone have been split up. The helicopter group must land at an airfield halfway to Omaha for refueling. Those still on the surface try desperately to defend the motel, while those trapped underground fight for their lives as they search for a way out.

Moderator: Mr. Handy

User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

Z-Day - 12:39 PM Mountain Time - Deep Mole One
In the living quarters-
Max remained in his hiding place under the desk as the sounds of battle raged around him.

In the geology lab-
Michael pulled Rosie into the lab with him. Kerry and Ellen helped Mrs. Foo inside after them. Ellen made her way over to the table where two dozen flasks of acid rested, grabbing a pair. "Come on, we have to stop that thing!" she yelled.

"Nooooo...." moaned Kerry. "I can't go near it again, I can't...it'll get me..."

Kimberly and Joe Barring raced back into the hall, carrying their acid flasks carefully.

In the lower lab hallway-
Hockey charged up the stairs with his flamethrower. Sally and Willie went with him carrying a flask of the strongest acid in each hand.

In the project manager's office-
The monster emitted a sound that resembled a burp and began to expand rapidly, soon filling up almost half of the office.

"Oh God it's GROWING!" shrieked Jenny, staring in horror at the suddenly bigger and tougher creature that loomed over her and cut off all hope of escape. She desperately clutched the electric prod, the only thing she had that might hurt it. It tried to drag her into its gaping mouth with the tentacles wrapped around her legs, but she looped an arm around the corner of the desk and held on for dear life. Other tentacles struck out, seizing Mr. Foo and Duke, pinning their arms to their sides in an iron grip. More tentacles emerged from the creature, forming within seconds.

Jenny charged up the prod and lunged at the thing that had tried to devour her, but her blow only struck the floor. She wailed in terror as it loomed overhead.

Kirby kept speaking from the reel-to-reel: "November 6th– Craig had something to report. The rocks he found are not stone but are actually biological in origin. They are, in fact, eggs. But if so they are eggs biologically constructed to withstand great amounts of pressure. I dreamed that inside Judith was a monster, eating her from the inside out but she was conscious and cursing me for killing her. That I would be the first one she ate when she got free, and oh yes, she would get free. Other samples from what we found below suggest organic origins but unlike anything we've seen. We have made a remarkable discovery of the existence of life deep below the ground, capable of withstanding the amazing pressures below. Do they live near the hot core of the earth, or perhaps do they exist below the crust and come up? Why, if they do, have we not seen them before? Why have they come up now?"

In the upper lab hallway-
Hockey, Sally, and Willie emerged from the stairs below. Lynne lay quivering on the floor, the creature's tentacles tightly wrapped around her.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
Fearlessfred
Acolyte
Acolyte
Posts: 111
Registered for: 16 years 4 months
16
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Fearlessfred »

Joe slowly follows the others up the stairs hopeing that they would be able to save those trapped by the creature.
OathinBlood
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 1177
Registered for: 17 years 3 months
17
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by OathinBlood »

Michael grabbed as many flasks of acid as he could hold, and ran back out the door to confront the creature.
Image
Image
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

In the living quarters-
Max remained huddled under the desk.

In the geology lab-
Michael took two flasks of acid, one in each hand. That was the most he could carry safely. Ellen followed him back out into the hall. Rosie, Mrs. Foo, and Kerry each took a pair of flasks too, though they remained in the lab.

"What are we going to do?" asked Kerry, quivering in fright.

"Hopefully they'll kill that thing," said Rosie. "If they can't, we may have to flee into the tunnels."

"Noooo..." moaned Kerry again.

In the lower lab hallway-
Michael and Ellen emerged from the lab, each holding two flasks of acid, shortly after Joe and Kimberly ran up the stairs.

In the upper lab hallway-
Hockey rushed over to the open door to Kirby's office and raised his flamethrower. "Yippeekiyay!" he shouted, spraying flaming death at the monster within. Unfortunately, he just scorched the wall due to his inexperience with the weapon. Sally and Willie skidded to a half near him, each preparing to hurl a flask of acid.

The creature in the lab turned towards them with malevolent purpose, and they could see that it was indeed larger and stronger. Its tentacles flailed out towards them. One attacked Hockey, but it missed horribly. Another pair came for him and Sally. This time it hit Hockey and smacked him viciously in the stomach. His armor provided some protection, but not enough to keep him from being knocked out cold. Sally cried out as the thing's tentacle came for her, and she could not escape. It crippled her left leg and she too passed out.

But the horror was just beginning. Two more tentacles slithered forth, one going after Willie and the other targeting Jenny. Willie avoided his, but Jenny was not so lucky. The other tentacle gripped her too tightly for her to escape, and this one looped itself around her arms several times, binding them together securely and preventing her from using the prod.

Two more tentacles struck out. Willie gasped as one went straight for him, but he managed to elude it. The second one went after Jenny, but this time she rolled out of its way. Then the thing moved towards Alice and almost swallowed her.

"Stay below!" screamed Jenny when she saw how easily the others had gone down. "Save yourselves!"

Willie barely managed to pull Sally out of the creature's line of sight. He stashed the flasks of acid in his pack, picked her up, and ran downstairs past Joe and Kimberly. "Run!" he cried.

The tape continued playing: "November 7th– The rest of the team is restive. Bateman and Smith have been working on weapons in addition to those in our armory. A battery charged prod capable of delivering an electric charge, an improvised flamethrower. They want to go below and confront them. They say if we don’t they will turn us against each other. Perhaps they have already. We are divided. Muth is in panic. He says he can do nothing for Judith. Poor Judith. Sam seems to be doing his best in holding it together. He seems capable and is aware that the others are very stressed, that lack of sleep is beginning to have its effect. He suspects madness will overtake the group in a week or so. I have instructed him about precautions if anything is to happen to me. We have heard nothing from Grey, from Warren. They have been told all of this. But they have nothing to offer us. We're on our own. I try not to dream. It's very difficult now. I have not slept for almost 48 hours. I keep my pistol close."

(Joe Barring can act now. If he wants to throw a flask of acid at the creature, he will have to face its attacks first. If he rolls Dodge even once, he will be unable to attack. His chance to hit is equal to his Throw skill which has a base level of 25%, but there is a -10% penalty due to his vest. The vest also gives him a -10% penalty to Dodge. He could also pick up the flamethrower that Hockey dropped. If he does this, he can Dodge this round if needed and then fire it next round if he's still in the fight, before the creature attacks. If it never lands a hit, he'll even get to attack it this round. The base chance to hit is only 5%, but this is doubled to 10% for point blank range and doubled again to 20% for the close confines of the office, giving him a 20% chance to hit.

He can also try to rescue Hockey. If he does this, in addition to Dodge rolls, he will need to roll on the Resistance Table: his STR of 16 vs. Hockey's SIZ of 12. This gives him a 70% chance to succeed. If he fails, he cannot move him this round. If he succeeds, he can carry him downstairs unless the creature's attacks bring him down.

He could try to free Lynne from the creature's grasp, but it has a STR of 27 at the moment, making it impossible for him to succeed alone. With Kimberly's help, he could combine their STR scores for a total of 25, giving them a 40% chance. If they free her and successfully Dodge any attacks that would hit them, they can bring her downstairs. Hockey would be easier to rescue, though, as the tentacles aren't actually holding him yet. However, it could grab him before they get to act, in which case they'd have to make that Resistance roll to free him as well.

Finally, he can simply run downstairs. The monster hasn't seen him yet, so if he does this he will not need to roll Dodge. However, if he does this he will need to roll Sanity for abandoning Hockey. This will cause a Sanity loss of 1/1d4.

Post what you intend to do, and roll Dodge a couple times if necessary. Then I'll roll the creature's attacks if you don't simply go downstairs. If you survive, then you can make any further needed rolls.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
Fearlessfred
Acolyte
Acolyte
Posts: 111
Registered for: 16 years 4 months
16
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Fearlessfred »

Ooc- I roll four times to dodge to be on the safe side. He is going to try to save Hockey or if that fails try to get as much acid on the creature before he is devouerd.
IC-
Joe heads back up the stairs ignoring the warning. It was his duty to try and help. He had promised Bo that before he left. Then halfway up the stairs he suddenly came up with an idea and stopped.
"Wait what if we use the acid as a barrier? If it hurts the creature it probaly won't want to touch it so we could restrict it's movement."
Last edited by Fearlessfred on Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(I'll wait to update this until OathinBlood and Kabukiman have had a chance to post. You can amend your action and have Joe say something based on the result of the Idea roll, which I'm about to PM you.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
OathinBlood
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 1177
Registered for: 17 years 3 months
17
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by OathinBlood »

Michael runs up the stairs, trying to get to a position where he can throw the flasks of acid at the monstrosity but be out of range of its tentacles.
Image
Image
User avatar
kabukiman
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 7282
Registered for: 16 years 11 months
16
Location: Porto/Portugal
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by kabukiman »

Max will leave his place, and will go to nearest group of friends; he will bark then to try to distract the creature.
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(In order to get into a position to throw acid at the monster, you'd have to be able to see it - and then it would see you and get a chance to attack. Since it has 19 Dex, it will get to attack first before you can throw the acid. Only firearm-type attacks can go before it. While guns have proven ineffective, flamethrowers can still hurt it.)

In the living quarters-
Max scrambled out from under the desk and made a break for the hallway at the rear of the living quarters area and the stairs behind them. His friends were there, and he had to get downstairs before it was too late. He would need to run past the monster to do it, but there was no way around it.

In the geology lab-
"We need to prepare ourselves to go down further, just in case," said Rosie. "I know the tunnels are scary, but being trapped up here with that thing is even worse. If we stay here and they can't kill it, we're all dead. Let's gather what useful things we can while we have the chance." She helped Mrs. Foo into the hall, motioning for Kerry to follow.

In the lower lab hallway-
Willie carried Sally down the stairs, passing Michael as he went up. "Let me try to help her," said Ellen. Willie set the nurse down on the ground, and Ellen tried in vain to treat her leg injury, but Willie managed to help. He repaired the worst of the damage, and Sally came to her senses. "It burns..." she moaned. "Oww...I think my leg's broken." She sat up and started to examine it.

In the upper lab hallway-
"Good thinking!" said Kimberly, racing ahead of Joe and reaching the top of the stairs. "Once we get everyone we can below, we can pour it out to keep that thing from coming downstairs. It might not stop it, but it could slow it down." The two of them rushed towards Hockey as Max came bounding in from the living quarters, barking loudly.

The creature lashed out at the new arrivals, not at all distracted. A pair of tentacles went after Kimberly and Joe, It missed Kimberly, but it hit Joe with tremendous force, shattering his left leg and sending him sprawling to the floor beside Hockey but not putting him out for good. Two more surged out at them, one just barely finding Kimberly, who spun aside at the last moment. The second one seized Joe and held him fast.

It sought out Kimberly again and caught her. This time she could not escape. Her left arm was crushed to a pulp, and she was instantly slain. Then it swiped at Max and Hockey, snagging the dog and the unconscious man. Finally it gulped down Alice, who vanished into its gut.

"NOOOO!!!" screamed Jenny, seeing the whole thing but helpless to intervene. "It ate her! Nobody else come back up here, I mean it! Head for the tunnels now! Past the decontamination chamber!"

Kirby went on: "November 8th- Cross climbed out of the shaft. A dream? I don't know. I don't know. I can't close my eyes for a moment and I don't see him or Judith. I checked Judith. She is quiet in her chamber, like a coffin. It's inside her. A parasite. It's growing. Muth keeps an eye and tries to treat her. He dares not open the capsule to treat her lest it break free. It's getting bigger and it's no longer looking like a worm but some spider-like thing. He has slowed it down, but he cannot stop it. We're going to die here. All of us. Warren knows it too. Niedler wants to go down. We've done what we can, he says. But...I am afraid. Cross, Reagan...I can feel them. They are inside my head. I think they are inside everyone's head now. I know of only one other escape."

Michael reached the top of the stairs and saw his companions lying on the floor.

(Max, roll Dodge. Your chance is Dex x 2, which in your case is 18%. If you succeed, you avoid the tentacle completely and make it downstairs. If you fail, it grabs you, causing 1 damage and preventing you from moving away for as long as it holds you.

Michael, you may retreat downstairs without having to roll anything other than a 1/1d4 Sanity loss for abandoning your friends. If you want to do anything upstairs, you'll probably need to make a few Dodge rolls and hope you don't get hit. Everybody else has been grabbed, and you're not strong enough to free anyone by yourself. You can, however, fire up to 3 times at Kimberly's head with your pistol from the relative safety of your current position without exposing yourself to the creature. You'll need to do 10 or more damage in total to keep her from getting back up as a zombie.

Joe, you may grab the flamethrower that Hockey dropped and attack with it before the creature gets to act. The base chance to hit, with multipliers for point blank range and confined spaces, is 20%. If you hit, you cause 2d6 damage. You are held fast and have a broken leg, so you cannot otherwise move.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
OathinBlood
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 1177
Registered for: 17 years 3 months
17
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by OathinBlood »

Michael freezes, unable to decide what to do. Save his own life, and retreat, or try to save his friends?

His mind raced. Logistically, they were practically lost. There were still some survivors downstairs.

He fled, cursing his cowardliness as he took flight. He tried to convince himself that it was a matter of numbers, that it was logically safer to flee rather than fight.

Hating himself for running, Michael's mental stability shuddered under his stress.
Image
Image
User avatar
kabukiman
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 7282
Registered for: 16 years 11 months
16
Location: Porto/Portugal
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by kabukiman »

-Cai!Cain!

Max was caught by the tentacle, and decided to bite the thing.
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(I forgot that Max hasn't seen the creature before and now needs to roll Sanity for that, with a +10 bonus to this roll. Sanity loss is 1/1d10. Once Fearlessfred posts for Joe and Kerry's new player posts for her, I'll update Under again.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
User avatar
kabukiman
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 7282
Registered for: 16 years 11 months
16
Location: Porto/Portugal
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by kabukiman »

Max was terrified by the creature and was frightened and paralized.
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(With that +10 bonus, Max manages to succeed at the roll and only loses 1 Sanity point, so he's still okay mentally. He is not strong enough to break free without help. He also realizes that biting this thing would be a very bad idea. If Joe manages to hit it with the flamethrower, it will be forced to release him.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
User avatar
kabukiman
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 7282
Registered for: 16 years 11 months
16
Location: Porto/Portugal
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by kabukiman »

Can he use his claws?
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(He can try to hit it with his paws, but he doesn't have claws. Base chance to hit is 50%, and damage is 1d3. The attack will take effect after the creature's next turn. You can't attack this round because you just tried to Dodge. If Joe hits, you'll want to run away instead and try to Dodge again if needed. If not, you can try to hit the creature, but there's a good chance it won't help and touching the monster is painful and causes an awful burning sensation - that's why you took 1 damage.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
User avatar
kabukiman
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 7282
Registered for: 16 years 11 months
16
Location: Porto/Portugal
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by kabukiman »

Ok, Max will try to all his courage to escape ;)
Mr Zombie killer
Keeper
Keeper
Posts: 2816
Registered for: 16 years 4 months
16
Location: Illinois
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr Zombie killer »

Kerry heard the scream from Jenny and screwing up her courage grabbed Mrs. Foo and said, "Lets go downstairs to the tunnels. I can help lead us out from there even though I do not want to go back down there. It is our only hope."
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death
Fearlessfred
Acolyte
Acolyte
Posts: 111
Registered for: 16 years 4 months
16
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Fearlessfred »

Joe gives out a cry of pain as he feals his leg break. He turns his pain into rage and graps the flamethrower and sprays the creature in flames. However the pain didn't allow him to do much damage.
User avatar
Mr. Handy
Admin
Admin
Posts: 46361
Registered for: 17 years 5 months
17
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: IC-UNDER-In Too Deep(Everyone)

Post by Mr. Handy »

(Nice rolling! The creature has been hit three times with flamethrowers, and it's a shame the damage rolls were so low. Those first two hits before it grew might have even killed it had the damage rolls been high, and there would have been a very different outcome. Still, Joe has managed to at least save Max before he got knocked out!)

In the upper lab hallway-
The monster reared back in pain. The newly formed tentacles that had grabbed Max, Joe, and Hockey burned up and released them. Max took advantage of the opportunity to race downstairs at high speed, but Hockey remained helpless and unconscious.

"Run, Max, RUN!" shouted Jenny, relieved that he was getting away.

The creature was somewhat damaged, but still far from defeated. It continued to digest and crush Alice to death in its gullet, though mercifully she could not feel a thing any more. It focused on Joe Barring with a single-minded rage, and it snatched him up. He felt it burn through his clothes and skin once more, and as the darkness took him and he passed out he felt some small comfort that at least he had saved the dog. Another tentacle barely recaptured Hockey, and a third wrapped itself around Kimberly's corpse. Then it dragged Mr. Foo over to its mouth and swallowed him whole.

"No..." wept Jenny. "Mr. Foo!" She struggled valiantly against the tentacles holding her, but to no avail.

A new voice was heard on the reel-to-reel: "November 10th– This is Dr. Niedler, Assistant Manager to Deep Mole. Dr. Kirby is dead. A gunshot to the head. I am not sure if it was suicide or murder. Doesn't make much of a difference, does it? I don't feel well, nether does Craig. Reagan will be left in the capsule, should Grey and Warren send another team to investigate. Fuckers. They have left us to die here. We're going down. Perhaps we can find a way out, but I don't believe it. I suspect you will not hear from us again." Then the machine stopped, having reached the end of the recording.

In the lower lab hallway-
Max bounded past Michael as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Mrs. Foo handed Sally her cane. "Yes, you right Missy Kerry," she said. "We have to get out of here. You should give Missy Sally your cane, so she can use them as crutches." She blinked back tears upon hearing Jenny cry out. She had always thought she would likely outlive her husband, but these circumstances were beyond anything she could have imagined. Still, she kept herself mostly together and resolved to carry on. He had given his life to save her and the others, and she had to keep going.

Rosie and Ellen helped Sally stand up and led her through the door at the far end of the hall to the decontamination chamber right behind Kerry and Mrs. Foo. Willie brought up the rear, and Max joined him.

In the decontamination chamber-
Everyone but Michael, who was still at the bottom of the stairs, had made it into the decontamination chamber, which was fairly high-tech for the early 1960's. There was another door at the other end, and both doors resembled airlock doors except for the fact that they were both open at the same time. They looked like they could be sealed, however. It was capable of holding up to nine people if they were tightly crammed in, but there was a little breathing room with only six humans and one dog. It had a variety of sprays and checks for biological, chemical, and even radiological contamination. A Geiger counter was present to allow people to check each other for radiation. There were also about a dozen outfits resembling space suits from the early U.S. space program, each with a nametag. They were enclosed in rubbery plastic and had oxygen masks, air hoses, air tanks, and other apparatus.

(Anyone in the room or who enters it this round may roll Spot Hidden. Also, everyone but Max roll Idea.)
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
Locked

Return to “Chapter 3 - Over, Under, and Through”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests