Previously
It's been less than a month since our young heroes first met Opsie Wessel, Sarah's cousin from Germany and a SAInt pilot who's received more attention in a single month than any other new student Rick, Sarah, or Jason have ever known. Nearly all the boys are obsessed with, Strudel included, and almost every girl despises her out of petty jealousy. Sarah is probably the only teenager who considers Opsie a legitimate friend. They are cousins and roommates, after all! Serena likes her a little more than Jason, who tolerates Opsie's presence at best. Rick notices that Opsie seems to think piloting is all a game, which he doesn't find cool at all.
Some relationships have improved, while others are still developing. Jason has never been a kid with too many friends, but he's working on it and hopes to greatly improve his relationship with Laurie in the coming months. Meanwhile, Sarah and Rick have made some progress on their relationships with Raspberry and AK-47.
Sarah and Raspberry have been hanging out a lot more lately, playing video games and doing other, fun activities. While he may have a crush on her, he's still only 12, and Sarah sees him as more of a younger brother and definitely a potential, good friend.
Rick has always looked up at AK-47 as a mentor and a friend, and their relationship has been slowly flourishing over the past year. The past couple of weeks, Rick has been fortunate enough to get a lot of face-time with AK-47, as she's been helping him with his firearms training. Since seeing her talking with the CRC scientists and Dr. Johnson, Rick had been hesitant to ask her about his dad, but when he finally did, she told him he the truth - that Rafe is alive and safe, but she couldn't disclose any more information.
Either way, Rick definitely's solidified his friendship with AK-47, and she'll be more inclined to mentor Rick in the coming months, especially with all the Mayzor raids that have been happening.
Speaking of the Mayzor raids, the Wormwood that landed aboard the Arx Galilee, above Sydney, Australia, had retreated back to space after being driven off by the SAInt company who'd returned from their mission in the city below. There were a good number of casualties on both ends, and a good portion of the Arx has been destroyed. Still, the Preservation Forces of the Western Pacific Division prevailed and safeguarded the citizens they were sworn to protect.
Thursday, July 3rd, 2031
Deployment at 14:00
Deployment at 14:00
The SAInt pilots are having lunch late in the afternoon, when the alarms suddenly blare from the loudspeakers, alerting everyone on the Arx Jericho that a Mayzor raid is commencing.
The pilots of Alpha Company quickly report to Operations, where they suit up to enter their SAInts and receive their mission briefing once they're secured inside and online. AK-47 projects several screens in front of the pilots over the MetaTron, which they see in their minds with absolute clarity. There's a breaking news story covering a Mayzor raid in New Alamo, Southeastern United States Territory, where two Wormwood have landed on opposite sides of the city. Another screen displays blueprints and various maps of the city, while several other screens reveal important, tactical information regarding the position of the Wormwoods and the Swarm and Locusts spreading throughout the city.
The mission objectives are fairly straightforward:
 |
| Source: Gunparade March http://tinyurl.com/ozhatnp |
The mission objectives are fairly straightforward:
1. Assist the military and the Preservation Forces' Robbies in pushing the Mayzor Locusts back toward the Wormwoods.
2. Protect and save as many civilians as possible from the Mayzor Swarm.
3. Defend New Alamo and prevent both Wormwoods from escaping into space with Earth civilians, but don't spread out too thin.
There are 20 Locusts total: 10 soldiers, grouped in pairs around the city; 5 Brawlers, 1 at each Wormwood and 3 spread out in the inner city; and 5 Archers, 1 at each Wormwood and 3 spread out at the edge of the city.
Bravo Company is set to deploy immediately following Alpha Company in order to provide backup.
At a speed of Mach 3, it takes Alpha Company almost no time to reach New Alamo. Once they hit their deployment point, the Jehu's Bow detaches, the wing shaped array of fins and directional verniers that make up the SAInts' Angel Wings help parachute them to the ground, and the Alpha Company SAInts direct themselves to land, more or less, in the center of the city.
Engaging the Locusts
Engaging the Locusts
As soon as Alpha Company lands, AK-47 wastes no time alerting Rick, Sarah, and Jason of the three Brawlers within Firearms (FA) range of each of them. They're spread out in an equilateral triangle surrounding the center of the city. Tall edifices crumble to rubble, as the hard-shelled Locusts smash into them relentlessly. Shattered glass rains down from above, as people in the streets scatter for cover in sheer pandemonium. The Brawlers use their massive claws to fling vehicles across the air, most of which crash through a series of lamp poles and windows, while others catch fire and explode. Thick smoke billows up toward the dismal sky, and the asphalt splits apart under the Brawlers' torrential destruction.
Rick, Sarah, and Jason focus on each of the three Brawlers separately, while Serena and Strudel help the military squash the Swarm, literally, that's slithering through the city streets and kidnapping civilians to take back to the Wormwoods.
Sarah has never been so serious and focused for an engagement in her entire life. It certainly has something to do with the fact that she's back in her hometown of New Alamo, for real this time, and that she remembers what happened to her brother and parents in the 'foreshadowed' dream. With her Ego maxed out, she engages a crab-like Brawler to the south, moving into FA range and positioning herself around a half-ruined building, ready to lay into it with her SAInt's L'roi David (RDav) Combat Rifle, nicknamed the "Giant Killer." It's a standard issue weapon that's carried over the shoulder and features internal barrels which fire off synchronized bursts of grouped, armor piercing shells.
 |
| Source: Neon Genesis Evangelion http://tinyurl.com/owlvmgx |
"Alright, Sarah, you have a clear shot, now take it!" AK-47 gives Sarah the order over the MetaTron. Sarah shoots the crab-like Brawler and destroys it in an explosion. Her game face changes, and she's suddenly pumped and having fun again. "Great job, Sarah!" AK-47 compliments her. Serena does the same.
Jason engages the northeast Brawler, which resembles a Hercules beetle, and takes position behind a highway bridge at High Ballistics (HB) range, resting his EZK-L Particle Beam on the bridge itself. The EZK-L is an experimental, energy weapon designed to fire off the same type of beams the Mayzor use, though unfortunately it has a much longer cool down period in between shots. Jason takes aim down a long, strip of road, and locks onto the ravaging Brawler.
"Excellent positioning Jason," AK-47's thoughts travel across the MetaTron, "You've got the shot. Go! Fire, now!" Jason's particle beam flies through several windows of overturned cars and buses and hits his target dead in the center. Another explosion ensues and Jason hears Billy's thoughts communicating with Joanne, "Jeez, I can't believe that dweeb actually nailed that shot!" Jason also hears Strudel's racing thoughts: "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that was sooo coool! Holy cow, that was a crazy good shot, Jason!"
Rick engages the northwest, dung beetle Brawler by running forward and performing a set of parkour moves off some half-standing buildings. He lands on top of another tall building, still in tact, with his Levic Flechette out and ready at FA range. Nicknamed the "stone thrower," the Levic Flechette is a standard issued shotgun that fires off mixed clusters of EMP explosives and shards of diamond hard ceramics. Targets are easier to hit, and it can be used in FA and Close Quarters (CQ) range, but the trade off is its overall effectiveness. Rick cocks the stone thrower like an old school Winchester and takes aim at Brawler crawling down below.
Rick fires off several blasts, and the dung beetle explodes. "Very good, Rick! Just like I taught you!" AK-47 says telepathically. Even with the compliment, Rick's Ego doesn't change, and his SAInt's Id grows hungry for violence.
Rick targets a pair of scorpion-like Soldiers down below and sheaths his stone thrower to draw his Arc Sword and Arc Knife. Both are CQ range weapons, and the knife is a smaller version of the sword with roughly the same, destructive power. The Arc Sword is named for St. Joan and made of carbon plates keened to a razor edge and reciprocating motors within the handle that cause the blade to vibrate hundreds of times per second. Also, the capacitors in the base of the blade discharge with every impact of the edge and release a deadly, electrical surge. Rick jumps off the building with both weapons out and surprises both Soldiers, as he lands in between them.
AK-47 alerts Jason and Sarah to the pairs of Soldiers in their vicinity. Jason takes cover behind a smoking building to reload his rifle, while Sarah's already in threat range of two, different pairs of Soldiers. She attacks the ones to the south and fires her Giant Killer, destroying them in a dual explosion.
Serena and Strudel are still taking care of the Mayzor Swarm, as Jason lines up another shot across the city. Situated on top of a warehouse, he takes aim through a window, and lines his scope up with a petrol tanker in between both Locusts. He fires the particle beam through both Soldiers and the petrol tank, creating the most spectacular explosion yet which lights the sky like fireworks.
Sarah turns and lays into the other pair of Soldiers, annihilating them both.
Rick shoves his Arc Sword and Knife into both Soldiers, shanking them and slicing across with the two, vibrating blades. Rick minces them into jagged debris as they explode and obliterate to ash and soot.
MetaTron Static
As AK-47 compliments Rick, Sarah, and Jason, they struggle to hear her thoughts due to the static. Static interference in the MetaTron comes in the form of other thoughts and voices creeping in from the surrounding area. The more static there is, the louder the voices are, as they start to drown out the important ones. AK-47 warns them to watch out for the Archers on the outskirts of the city, and Rick, Sarah, and Jason all take position.
Jason takes cover to reload again. Strudel asks if he needs any assistance, but Jason specifically tells him not to come over; he doesn't want to endanger Strudel.
Rick asks Serena and Strudel to stay by his side, as he engages the northwest Archer near the two Soldiers he just destroyed. They provide cover fire as a distraction, while Rick sneaks around the Archer, which is perched on top of a warehouse, and engages it in CQ range.
Similarly, Sarah engages the Archer to the south in CQ range by also sneaking around behind it.
Jason fires his particle beam and destroys his target Archer in yet another, vivid display.
Rick jumps up onto the warehouse and stabs his Archer in the back, slicing its tail off and decapitating it.
Sarah uses her Arc Knife bayonet and Sam-L Shield to cut and batter the Archer from behind, destroying it. The Sam-L Shield is Sarah's specialty. It's a defensive plate of layered, ablative ceramics and alloys that generates a magnetic field, like the SAInt's armor, to absorb or deflect weapons fire.
Rick barely hears Joanne's thoughts with all the static. She mutters some compliment about his form to Billy and then Rick hears AK-47's voice, but the growing interference is drowning out her words. Suddenly, the static ceases, and the pilots can't hear any telepathic voices coming from HQ. They can't hear anyone on the MetaTron, except for themselves
Strudel starts freaking out, and the others confirm it's not just him.
"Great. We've lost communication with them," Jason grumbles..
By this point, Bravo Company should have long been here by now. What's taking them so long?
For a brief moment, the pilots ponder how the MetaTron can even have static interference or lose communication entirely, but it's neither the place nor the time for that now, because two, ivory bursts of lightning suddenly shoot down from the heavens and hit the ground at the north and south ends of the city.
A Tale of Two Magnas
The Dominion class Magnas, Beelzebub, stands over 150 feet tall at the northern end of the city. It hovers over the ground with a giant, hunched shell like a scarab beetle, concealed by a dense cloud of black smog, with insect wings and small, alien-robot wasps which cling to its shell. He's in HB range of Rick, Serena, and Strudel and FA range of Jason.
Meanwhile, the Principal class Magnas, Thammuz, stands between 100 and 150 feet at the southern end of the city. With its two heads, four arms, and four wings growing out of its twisted but nimble, humanoid body, it's reflexes are exceptionally sharp, and it leaps from one target to another, swinging punches like a boxer.
Locusts continue to ravage, as they retreating to the Wormwoods, while the Swarm continues to take as many civilians as they can in the process. The Magnas, however, are a much dire threat, and Alpha Company certainly has their work cut out for them. Not only have they never faced a pair of Magnas before, their communications with Operations have been completely severed.
Beelzebub starts firing off laser beams, and Jason immediately gets into cover behind a crumbling building to reload. Serena and Strudel once again provide cover for Rick, at his behest, who engages Beelzebub at CQ range and crouches behind him with both blades out and ready.
Beelzebub generates one of its wasps which hides itself inside the smog.
Sarah is already in Thammuz's threat range when he lands, and with her bayonet and shield already out, she stabs Thammuz at CQ range, landing the first blow.
At the north end of the city, Jason leads a coordinated, team attack against Beelzebub. He fires a particle beam directly through the 'front' of the smog cloud, while Strudel and Serena provide cover fire from the left and right. At the same time, Rick stabs upwards and impales Beelzebub's body right through the smog cloud.
 |
| Source: Neon Genesis Evangelion http://tinyurl.com/o3wlofr |
Meanwhile, Rick takes the lead and continues shoving the blade into Beelzebub's hidden body, while Serena and Strudel continue to fire. Jason helps distract Beelzebub by firing off his Levic Pistol. A quick note about the SAInt standard issue Levic Pistol, it fires rocket propelled, explosive tipped rounds and is versatile enough for both CQ and FA ranges. Unfortunately, Rick's attempt at leading the team attack fails this time, Beelzebub seems to have gotten stronger. It shoots lasers back at Jason, while a wasp blows up in Rick's face, and both SAInts take a hefty amount of structural damage. Strudel's SAInt has fallen prone and is endangered by the Magnas and one of the remaining Archers in view. Serena is relatively fine and readies herself for her next action.
There is still no word from Operations over the MetaTron, however Sarah suddenly a familiar thought voice being transferred. It's her brother, Allen. He's currently piloting a Robbie and engaging Beelzebub and tells Sarah to come quick, as their parents are endangered as well! The Mayzor Swarm is closing in on them in the northeast sector of the city. Sarah's heart starts pounding, and she knows she has to act fast.
To be continued.
END OF EPISODE 06
Credit for all the weapon and Mayzor descriptions go to Russell Collins, as taken from Tears of the Machine (pages 110-113 PDF for the weapon descriptions and pages 177-180 PDF for the Mayzor). I used direct quotes in some places, paraphrased others, and tweaked or added minor descriptions in certain places, like the various beetle/crab forms of the Brawlers, but it's all directly from Tears of the Machine.
Director Commentary
I mentioned in last episode's commentary that it was, perhaps, my least favorite episode to run. Episode 06, on the other hand, has been one of my favorites. The entire episode was action-packed and battle-oriented and filled with tons of surprises. New relationships triggered motivations and plenty of Spirit checks. We finally had the rules down this time, and since the PCs ended the last episode with high amounts of Ego, it meant we could jump straight into the action.
The reason I chose two Wormwoods and two Magnas was mainly to surprise the players and deviate a little from what's historically been written in the setting. Last episode, a Wormwood attacked an Arx for the first time, which is really significant. This time, two Wormwoods land in New Alamo, followed by two Magnas. It's different, and it's a lot of fun. The MetaTron static and losing complete communication with Operations was another evil surprise I threw in for the players. When I started describing the static, one of the players said, "But it's telepathic, how can there be static?" so I asked them, "What does telepathic static noise sound like?" We took a brief moment to discuss it, and the players all came to an agreement about it. I'm pretty sure nothing in the rulebook states whether or not the MetaTron can have telepathic static interference or stop working inside the SAInts altogether (Russell, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), but part of why I went there is for an idea I've been developing since Episode 02. I won't spoil it, but you'll learn what actually caused the MetaTron to have static and failure in the next episode.
In Tears of a Machine, PCs earn XP in the form of advancement points (AP) in three ways: reaching 5 (max) Ego in an episode, reaching 0 Ego in an episode, and completing an episode. Thus, every PC earns a minimum of 1 AP per session to a maximum of 3.
Rick and Sarah both spent one AP each to elevate two of the Director characters, or NPCs: Sarah elevated Raspberry from an extra to a supporting character, and Rick added AK-47 as his friend. It makes complete sense in the fiction, and by doing this, Raspberry can now have stats and become a more integral part to the story, while AK-47 can now trigger Rick's motivations, giving him more chances to earn Spirit checks. This is especially useful during a Mayzor battle, since the pilots are in constant communication with AK-47 over the MetaTron.
Concerning the overall, battle rules, we realize we hadn't been conducting our battles correctly, and as the Director, I feel I should have had them down pat by now. I scrutinized them again on the day before our Hangout session, and I finally understood what the engagement action is all about.
Basically, to sum it up, there are four actions SAInts can perform in battle: Engage, Change Distance, Take Cover, and Attack. I understood Take Cover and Attack, but I didn't fully get the difference between Engage and Change Distance as well as what the enemies' threat ranges were really all about. I probably still don't fully grasp the differences, but I do get the general gist.
I forgot that it said, "Locust robots are supporting characters and do not initiate combat with a SAInt" (Tears of a Machine, pp. 94 PDF), and so pilots have two options if they want to go after it. If they're already in the enemy's threat range and they can attack with their weapon in that range, then they can simply execute the Attack action. If, on the other hand, they want to attack the enemy at a different range, they need to figure out a way around the enemy's threat range by Engaging. This sort of reminds me of the Defy Danger move from Dungeon World.
Another battle action is Change Distance. The book states, "If the pilot is at the wrong range to engage a foe, such as having the wrong weapon or being caught at a Locust's Threat Range, she may move to Change Range between herself and the enemy unit" (Tears of a Machine, pp. 95 PDF). On the surface, it's very similar to Engage, because it's about changing range and getting into the best range to fire, however, I think fictionally it's different, and that's what it's about. Engage uses the pilot's Observe action against the enemy's Focus. It's all about finding the best tactical advantage and taking advantage of it, whereas Change Distance uses the pilot's Athletics vs. the enemy's vigor. It's more about reflexes, speed, and dexterity and only lets the pilot advance one range scale (CQ to FA or FA to HB or vice versa).
Both seem like they'd achieve the same effect, getting into the range the pilot wants, but they each use different skills and are fictionally quite different.
Otherwise, pilots can choose to Engage or Change Distance to get in the right placement for their attacks, correct?
Russell, if by chance you're reading, feel free to comment. I'll bring it up in the G+ Community too.
The reason I chose two Wormwoods and two Magnas was mainly to surprise the players and deviate a little from what's historically been written in the setting. Last episode, a Wormwood attacked an Arx for the first time, which is really significant. This time, two Wormwoods land in New Alamo, followed by two Magnas. It's different, and it's a lot of fun. The MetaTron static and losing complete communication with Operations was another evil surprise I threw in for the players. When I started describing the static, one of the players said, "But it's telepathic, how can there be static?" so I asked them, "What does telepathic static noise sound like?" We took a brief moment to discuss it, and the players all came to an agreement about it. I'm pretty sure nothing in the rulebook states whether or not the MetaTron can have telepathic static interference or stop working inside the SAInts altogether (Russell, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), but part of why I went there is for an idea I've been developing since Episode 02. I won't spoil it, but you'll learn what actually caused the MetaTron to have static and failure in the next episode.
In Tears of a Machine, PCs earn XP in the form of advancement points (AP) in three ways: reaching 5 (max) Ego in an episode, reaching 0 Ego in an episode, and completing an episode. Thus, every PC earns a minimum of 1 AP per session to a maximum of 3.
Rick and Sarah both spent one AP each to elevate two of the Director characters, or NPCs: Sarah elevated Raspberry from an extra to a supporting character, and Rick added AK-47 as his friend. It makes complete sense in the fiction, and by doing this, Raspberry can now have stats and become a more integral part to the story, while AK-47 can now trigger Rick's motivations, giving him more chances to earn Spirit checks. This is especially useful during a Mayzor battle, since the pilots are in constant communication with AK-47 over the MetaTron.
Concerning the overall, battle rules, we realize we hadn't been conducting our battles correctly, and as the Director, I feel I should have had them down pat by now. I scrutinized them again on the day before our Hangout session, and I finally understood what the engagement action is all about.
Basically, to sum it up, there are four actions SAInts can perform in battle: Engage, Change Distance, Take Cover, and Attack. I understood Take Cover and Attack, but I didn't fully get the difference between Engage and Change Distance as well as what the enemies' threat ranges were really all about. I probably still don't fully grasp the differences, but I do get the general gist.
I forgot that it said, "Locust robots are supporting characters and do not initiate combat with a SAInt" (Tears of a Machine, pp. 94 PDF), and so pilots have two options if they want to go after it. If they're already in the enemy's threat range and they can attack with their weapon in that range, then they can simply execute the Attack action. If, on the other hand, they want to attack the enemy at a different range, they need to figure out a way around the enemy's threat range by Engaging. This sort of reminds me of the Defy Danger move from Dungeon World.
Another battle action is Change Distance. The book states, "If the pilot is at the wrong range to engage a foe, such as having the wrong weapon or being caught at a Locust's Threat Range, she may move to Change Range between herself and the enemy unit" (Tears of a Machine, pp. 95 PDF). On the surface, it's very similar to Engage, because it's about changing range and getting into the best range to fire, however, I think fictionally it's different, and that's what it's about. Engage uses the pilot's Observe action against the enemy's Focus. It's all about finding the best tactical advantage and taking advantage of it, whereas Change Distance uses the pilot's Athletics vs. the enemy's vigor. It's more about reflexes, speed, and dexterity and only lets the pilot advance one range scale (CQ to FA or FA to HB or vice versa).
Both seem like they'd achieve the same effect, getting into the range the pilot wants, but they each use different skills and are fictionally quite different.
Otherwise, pilots can choose to Engage or Change Distance to get in the right placement for their attacks, correct?
Russell, if by chance you're reading, feel free to comment. I'll bring it up in the G+ Community too.
No comments:
Post a Comment