Track 10: Sympathy for the Devil

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

int 15 + 1 for scientific knowledge = 16d20

By examining the expanding mass of slimy black matter, P is able to determine that it is, essentially, a colony of single-celled organisms. Apparently, the warmth and moisture of the shower head led to its rapid rate of growth, and when all that hot water came flowing out, that only made it worse.

Spoiler:

treating it, for this purpose, as a Mindless Revenant; i.e., INT zero but WIS 10 to resist exorcism.d20

Liz fails to drive the thing back to where it came, probably because, having no mind at all, it is immune to the psychic power of the exorcism ritual. In a few seconds, it is the size of a basketball, although flatter. Suddenly, it bursts, releasing a large amount of thin, watery fluid. When the explosion is over, it can be seen that there are now two of the things, each nearly the size of the original, and both growing and spewing the fluid in all directions.

Spoiler:

attack from the fluid is random, so just dex 9; both attack2d20

From one of the blobs, a stream of the fluid hits the wall, causing it to bubble and foam. The other . . .

Spoiler:

random target. I don't think I can roll a d3, so make it a d4, with 1 = P, 2 = Liz, 3 = THRUSH agent, 4 = something interesting happensd4damage

. . . shoots out a stream of the liquid directly at Liz. The stuff burns through the radiation suit and hit her skin, leaving a nasty burn.

Spoiler:

I'll assume the suit reduces the damage, this first time, to, say, 2 points.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

bat.zara battle, it firstd20Zara nextd20damaged6

As the wounded bat-thing dives at Zara, its attack badly aimed due to its injury, she takes careful aim and strikes it dead center, blasting it to bits.

"Nice shot, lady," the THRUSH agent who was a better shot says. "Maybe you can give this clown some lessons."

"Very funny. The big question is, what are we gonna do about the boss," the other says, indicating the wounded Jan. "HQ ain't gonna like this. And where the hell are the others? They should be done messing around with the reactor by now."

[jp1885]

“Turn off the water!” P demands.

“These things thrive on heat and moisture. We need to cool them down.”

He looks around for fire extinguishers and environmental controls.

[Mr. Handy]

"Right!" says Liz, racing for the controls for the shower, already having been thinking along those lines. "There must be a way to adjust it so cold water comes out instead. I'll figure it out. I remember that's how they stopped The Blob in the movie."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The adventurers are able to shut off the stream of hot water, and locate a couple of carbon dioxide canisters used as fire extinguishers.

Spoiler:

DEX 12 AND 5; BAD EFFECT IF GET A 202d20

P's fire extinguisher goes off wildly, spraying the super-cold foam everywhere and causing quite a mess. Liz, on the other hand, aims the spray directly at one of the two daughter creatures, shrinking it to the size of a golf ball.

Spoiler:

random blob attack dex 9d20same random target as befored4damaged6

The remaining blob squirts out the burning liquid in the direction of the THRUSH agent, putting a hole in his suit and burning his skin. The blob then splits into two equal parts that continue growing.

"To hell with this," the THRUSH man says. "I'm cutting out."

He rushes back toward the reactor room, leaving Liz and P behind. A second or two later, they hear him scream.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

In the control room, the THRUSH agents, lacking their usual leadership, come to a mutual decision.

"Let's bug out of this place, and let Jan take his chances. See you around, lady," they add to Zara, as they retreat.

[jp1885]

P tuts at his poor aim, then at the fleeing agent’s screams.

“Foolish,” he declares.

Realising the odds of him hitting the blob are low, he decides to hurl the extinguisher into the growing mass, calculating that the increasing pressure within will crush the cylinder, causing it to burst open and thus freeze the thing from the inside.

[SunlessNick]

Realising that she has some protection against the worst of the creatures' effects, Zara tries to interpose herself between it and the nearest of the injured THRUSH agents (presumably we're all too spread out to do that for more than one of them). She takes another shot.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz continues to spray the blobs with the cold water, trying to line them up so that she can hit them both with one blast.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

Hmmm. The trick with the fire extinguisher takes some thought on my part. Let's say it takes STR rather than DEX to hit the blob. STR = 7d20

The fire extinguisher is quite heavy, so P is unable to toss it onto one of the blobs; instead, it lands with a loud clang some distance in front of it.

Spoiler:

Aiming at both blobs would reduce DEX a bit, I'd say; let's say the usual penalty of -3, so DEX = 92d20Hddd20LHHHpp.damaged6

Spoiler:

something bad happens because of the dreaded 20

Spraying the fire extinguisher at the two blobs at the same time, moving it back and forth from side to side, requires quite a bit of skill. Liz is able to hit one of the two blobs, but misses the other. In fact, she drops the cylinder, so that it rolls along the floor, in the direction of where the scream came from.

One blob is at least temporarily put out of action by the spray, the other splits into two again, releasing the same corrosive liquid as always.

Spoiler:

dex 9d20

Fortunately, it doesn't hit either of the two left in the decontamination room. To retrieve one or the other of the fire extinguishers will take time, allowing the two active blobs to split and attack again.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

dex 13d20damaged6

Zara's next shot hits the thing dead center, blasting it to little bits.

Meanwhile, she can hear a man's scream coming from the direction of the reactor room, and the THRUSH agents taking off in the opposite direction. Her companions are still somewhere ahead, and Jan still lies, in serious condition, on the floor.

[Mr. Handy]

"Roll the fire extinguisher in their direction, and I'll shoot it when it reaches them!" she calls to P, knowing she's a better shot.

P was the one using the fire extinguisher. I used the faucet.

[jp1885]

“If I can reach one, then yes, I shall,” P replies, risking an attack and trying to retrieve an extinguisher.

[SunlessNick]

Zara can't go into the reactor room without protective gear, but the scream makes her pause - she's relieved it doesn't sound like Liz or P. She crouches down beside Jan, unsure if there's anything she can do for him. Is there a first aid kit around?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

sorry about the mix up. Let's assume the fire extinguisher passed from hand to hand during the struggle. dex 12d20

Hitting a moving target is difficult. Liz barely misses the rolling fire extinguisher as it rolls by.

Spoiler:

blob attacks dex = 92d20 targets 1 = Liz 2 = p, 3 = 3 or 4 = something else2d4damage2d6

Her protective suit already damaged, Liz takes the full effect of the two sprays of corrosive liquid, receiving serious burns.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

int 11d20

Zara knows enough about basic first aid to administer artificial respiration to Lars, keeping him alive. There's a basic first aid kit in the anteroom between the control room and the reactor, but that's the area from which the scream came.

[SunlessNick]

Is the anteroom safe to go into without protective gear? (Although if Zara hears any screams that sound like Liz, she's going to open the door anyway).

[Mr. Handy]

"Retreat!" calls Liz, already running, knowing she can't take any more hits like that. "Back to the control room! We'll flood the area with coolant to take out the blobs!"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The anteroom does not requires special radioactive protective gear, which is fortunate, as Liz's suit has a gaping hole in it. All the investigators gather in the anteroom, Liz intending to get to the control room to flood the reactor room with coolant. A delay is caused by the fact that the screaming THRUSH agent, last seen rushing into the anteroom, is currently lying on the floor, struggling to fend off a spider-like creature the size of a Great Dane, furry, with two huge red eyes, and too many legs to count, each one of which has a talon from which a thick, black liquid drips. Zara is barely able to get into the small room, and Liz and P are blocked from reaching her, and getting to the control room, by the thrashing, rolling pair of combatants.

[jp1885]

P cranes his neck around the battle in an effort to spot his companion.

“Otto! Are you there? Mind helping out this poor chap?”