life, the universe, and everything ...

42 posts for the year! woohoo!

new year's eve!

it's the last day of a pretty good year, here at the worthy household.

not perfect, or anything, but when you have a house full of perfect people, it's okay if bits of the year here and there go a smidge imperfectly.

(okay, maybe we're not any of us entirely 100% perfect. but we're perfect for each other, which, i mean, how much more perfect do you need?)

so, 2022, the year in review ... claire style!

excellent blogging record! a whole 5 entries past my previous record when you include this one ... and heck, maybe i'll even write a second entry later today so i hit 42 for the year. (it's an auspicious number, you know.)

terrible novelist performance 😭😭😭 -- one chapter, claire? and pretty puny-rifically short? well, i'll do better in 2023 or i won't. that sucker will get finished someday.

somewhat low-key girlfriending this year. i've really let the other girls take up a lot of the load of tending to msg's many needs ... which hasn't been super-fair to them because let's face it, i'm his favorite. and that means it's ridiculously easier for me to perk him up than for anyone else to. (i am i not exaggerating for the sake of shoring up my girlfriendly confidence ... no way. not me!) but they all need their chance, you know? just because i win best-in-show at the worldly world girlfriend exhibition doesn't mean they can't all shine on their own in some of the individual events, right?

absolute doggy-doo photoshoot activity. whoosh. i mean, sure, my back gives me a lot of posing difficulty these days, and the rest of me isn't exactly the limberest either, but it was el zippo for new pics this year as far as i can remember (including a quick spot-check through my posts). and i only posted one set of photos on the naughty blog, a very lovely but also very no-claire-in-sight set of pictures. somebody needs to get me a new outfit or something that will motivate me to get in front of the camera more in 2023. i wonder who that might be ...

on the friend front, just kind of okay for the year, i think. i don't have all that many friends, but even so, i feel like i could have been more supportive of some of them this year. not that i did terribly ... pretty sure some of them got some good laughs out of my tweets and i hope they felt how much i value them. but i think it's the main area where i feel like improvement is deserved. because my friends do deserve me. they're the best.

so there you have it. the sun is up on the last day of the year, and i'm overall peachy with how it went.

see you in 2023, folks!

xoxo,

claire

gamestorming

Claire: Okay, everybody, I have an idea for a game.

Elle: Nice.

Sasha: Woohoo!

Ariel: What is it?

Akane: I agree with all girlfriends.

Hettie: Are you sure, Akane? I haven't expressed an opinion yet.

Akane: Yes, the opinion of Hettie is always agreeable!

Ariel: What. Is. It.

Claire: Now, don't laugh ... it's called "Romantic Orgasmic Magical Porn." Or ROMP for short.

Elle: Who would laugh about that?

Hettie: I like the way you ran your tongue across your teeth there, Elle.

Elle: Reflex.

Sasha: Well, I'm ready to play already!

Ariel: No you're not, we don't even know the rules yet!

Sasha: It sounds to me like a learn as you go kind of game.

Claire: Well, that's the problem. I haven't figured out any rules yet. That's why I need you guys' help.

Hettie: You don't seem to have invited our most experienced gamer, though. Where's MSG?

Claire: He was tired.

Ariel: Well, wake him up!

Claire: Meaning, someone tired him out.

Ariel: Oh. Sorry.

Claire: It's fine. He knows so much about games that I think he might not be that much help in figuring out a wild new idea for rules I had.

Akane: Wild + New = Rules of Intrigue!

Elle: Well don't keep us in suspense, Claire. What's this idea?

Claire: You don't ever roll for whether your character succeeds or fails. You just pick.

Elle: Hmm ... and why would anyone ever pick failure?

Claire: To be entertaining! Sometimes failing creates the most fun in RPGs.

Ariel: That's true!

Hettie: My tendency to roll badly forces me to both agree and disagree. We've definitely had some highly amusing failures in our games, but it gets more than a little wearying if one just keeps missing with the dice.

Akane: !!!

Hettie: Yes?

Akane: This means Claire has solved the problem of Hettie!

Hettie: How so?

Akane: Her rule of selecting means there's never endlessly rolls of poor quality to defeat our attempts.

Ariel: I don't know ... I feel like I'd have an awfully hard time deciding to fail at something.

Elle: There's an easy fix for that. Sometimes the other players decide for you.

Claire: Oh, I like that! I knew it was a good idea to ask for help like this.

Sasha: So there's no rolling at all? I kind of like rolling.

Ariel: Because the dice like you! You always roll well!

Sasha: I don't feel like that's true.

Ariel: Well, roll a die right now and we'll see if it's true.

Sasha: I roll a 15.

Ariel: I roll a 5! See?

Elle: Ariel, dear, Sash rolled a d20 and you rolled a d6.

Ariel: I was trying to make a point.

Sasha: By cheating!

Hettie: If MSG were here, we could resolve this by asking him the odds of rolling a 15 on a d20 versus rolling a 5 on a d6.

Elle: I feel like the math says 15 is better, but the Internet has better math skills than I do, so let's just look it up.

Ariel: Pleasepleaseplease show I'm right, Internet!

Elle: Ah, here we are. A 15 on a d20 is in the top 30% of rolls, and a 5 on a d6 is in the top 33.3%.

Ariel: Does that mean I win because my number is bigger? Or does it mean my roll is better because my number is bigger, so I'm wrong and I lose?

Hettie: When the odds of something are lower, that means it's harder to do, so it sounds to me like Sasha made the superior roll.

Sasha: Dammit. Okay, this time I roll an 11.

Ariel: I roll a 4.

Elle: Tie. Those are both in the top 50% of rolls for the dice.

Sasha: Okay, this time --

Akane: Wait! I don't mean rudeness, but are we progressing in our help of Claire's rules?

Hettie: I'm going to say that's definitively not the case.

Ariel: Good! So far the dice say I'm basically right!

Sasha: This isn't over.

Claire: How about this ... you both win, because Sash overall rolled better in those two roll-offs, meaning Aers is right about her rolling well. But it was also kind of fun for everybody watching and figuring out the odds, so Sash was right that rolling is a big part of enjoying RPGs. So I think we need to keep the idea of using dice for something, even if it's not success versus failure.

Hettie: What about degree of success? Or of failure?

Sasha: I like it! Our Mothership game was chock full of fun critical successes and critical fails.

Ariel: You're just saying that because you rolled so many critical successes.

Sasha: No I didn't.

Elle: Let's not go down that road again.

Claire: So, whenever you attempt a task in this game, the gamemaster asks if you succeed or fail, there's a possibility someone else steps in and decides for you, and then you roll to see how well you succeed or how terribly you fail.

Ariel: We need ability scores to do something in there, don't we?

Sasha: Your ability scores could modify your chances of extra success or extra failure.

Akane: Hmm ... motivation for sometimes failing is, the more successes in a row, the lower chances of success being a spectacle.

Hettie: Exceptional thinking, Akane.

Claire: I'm starting to see this. If you succeed at something, you roll a die and add your ability modifier, then subtract however many successes you've had in a row. The higher the result is, the more successful you are. If you fail, you do the same thing, and the lower the result is, the worse your failure is.

Akane: But ... if you fail, successes in a row equals zero?

Claire: Dang. That's a good point.

Hettie: Suppose instead of simply using number of successes in a row, we track a value called "Streak." Your Streak number goes up whenever your number of successes in a row is greater than its current value. It goes down whenever you get a failure.

Elle: Okay. So, I pick three successes in a row, that makes my Streak 3. For that third success, I roll a die, add my ability modifier, and subtract 3 to see how good the success is. Then if I choose to fail for the fourth thing I try, my Streak becomes 2.

Ariel: OOH! But if someone else makes you fail, it doesn't break your Streak!

Elle: That's outright devilish, Aers. I'm very proud of you.

Ariel: Thanks!

Akane: Question: what kinds of things are we attempting to do when we choose our succeedings or failings?

Sasha: Sexy things, it sounds like to me, based on the game being called ROMP.

Ariel: And having "porn" in the long version of the title.

Akane: Mm. It's a good topic for a game then, I think.

Claire: I figure once we get the basics of the rules down, we should be able to use them for lots of different types of stories ... naughty fantasy or sci-fi stories, or naughty spy stories ... just about anything naughty. Maybe even not-so-naughty things if the rules turn out to be really adaptable.

Ariel: I like this game so far!

Sasha: Me too!

Claire: All right, I think I'm going to write all this down and try to figure out what dice to roll and how to scale the success and failure table. Thanks, everybody!

Hettie: Thanks for asking us. I can't wait to play.

Akane: Exciting!

Elle: Just say the word if you need more help.

Ariel: ("That's what she said!")

Akane: Haha!

Sasha: This is going to be good, I can tell.

happy thanksgiving!

this thanksgiving, i am thankful for:

msg
elle
sasha

ariel

hettie

akane

star trek

election results that weren't entirely insane

pumpkin pie

and the fact that i have this blog and that some of you out there actually read and enjoy it. i hope you all have just as much to be thankful for or more, and that it's a glorious day for everyone!

xoxo,

claire

i kinda feel like i have to post this ...

by which i mean, if i just hit 37 posts for the year and slack for the rest of 2022, it makes it look like the only reason i bothered was to hit the magic number and break the previous year's record.

what a terrible reason for blogging!

so here's a post written for a much better reason, which is, making it look like that wasn't my only reason.

mission accomplished?

scary space rpg part 12!

(we roll up characters here!)

(part one is here!)

(part two is here!)

(part three is here!)

(part four is here!)

(part five is here!)

(part six is here!)

(part seven is here!)

(part eight is here!)

(part nine is here!)

(part ten is here!)

(part eleven is here!)

(okay, readers, back in the thick of things! Sergeant Narcy Danger just frag-grenaded a trainload of spider-bots right as Reverend Charmaigne McAlastair was speeding down a maintenance tunnel next to the train tube!)

GMSG: As Rev Mackie approaches the end of the tunnel, she sees a haze of smoke floating beyond the open tunnel door.

Hettie: I'll slow down and approach the end of the tunnel carefully. If I can tell there's light up ahead, I'll turn off my flashlight. My vibechete is out but not on in case it makes a buzzing sound the spider-bots might hear.

GMSG: You do see a light through the open door, filtered by the smoke. It's bright but unsteady, flickering off and back on at random intervals. You also see that there are frag holes in the bulkhead between the maintenance tunnel and the train tube, which allows some light into the tunnel with you.

Hettie: I'll edge up on one of the holes and see if I can sneak a peek into the train tube.

GMSG: You manage it, but don't see much. There's a wrecked train car lying out of alignment in the tube.

Hettie: Can I hear any spidery skittering?

GMSG: No, just a sparking sound that coincides with the light flickering on and off. Meanwhile, Sash, what did Narcy do once she got to the ladder shaft and climbed in?

Sasha: I turn off my suit lights and wait just under the lip of the opening, ready to jump back out if I hear what sounds like Rev Mackie getting attacked by spider-bots.

GMSG: Got it.

Hettie: If I can't see anything through the rents in the tunnel wall, I'll ease up to the doorway and just barely peek out, crouching.

GMSG: By the light of the train tube, you see several spider-bots scuttling along the floor toward one of the elevators. Some of them appear to be damaged from the blast. A couple turn back from the lift door and start cranking open a ladder shaft in the floor nearby.

Hettie: Does it seem to be the one we came in through?

GMSG: No. You remember the direction you had to travel from your ladder to the maintenance tunnel, and when you look that way, you see that the ladder shaft is still open.

Hettie: Okay, I'll wait and see if the spiders all go down the one they're opening up. No clue why they're not going for the one they know we came out of, but I'm definitely not going to go ask them.

GMSG: Working together, they get the hatch open quickly, then all of them disappear down the shaft except one badly injured one that looks like it's waiting for the elevator.

Hettie: I don't know how long the elevator will take, but for all I know the other spiders will get to the bottom and ride it back up, so I don't think I want to wait. If it's injured, maybe I can outrace it  to our ladder and either shut the hatch or slide down the ladder.

Claire: Not Panda-style, I hope.

Hettie: I'll settle for Panda-style if it gets me down alive but injured like it did her.

GMSG: Okay, make a Speed Check. The gravity here is low, remember, so you can use your Zero-G.

Hettie: Twenty.

GMSG: You make it almost all the way to the hatch before the injured one spots you and starts letting out an alarm siren.

Hettie: Despite being a reverend, I swear.

Sasha: Assuming I hear both of those things, I'm going to pop my head up to see what's going on, pistol trained in the direction of the siren.

GMSG: Let's make Speed Checks to do this as a combat round.

Sasha: 65. Major fail.

Hettie: 47, also a fail.

GMSG: You'll both act after the spider-bot, but all it does is crawl toward you about halfway, continuing to emit its piercing siren.

Hettie: I tell the sergeant to hang tight while I climb past her, if there's room.

GMSG: Make a Speed Check. If you fail, one or both of you may fall.

Hettie: 50. That makes it if I still get my Zero-G, but fails if I don't.

GMSG: I'll say you do.

Hettie: Uncharacteristically generous for this game, but I'll take it.

Sasha: I'm going to pop that spider-bot. 54, which is a hit with my Firearms skill added in. 17 points of damage

GMSG: It goes down. Your frag grenade and the train crash had damaged it pretty badly.

Sasha: Great! Hey, that's an experience point too, isn't it? Have we been counting those when I kill things? Did I take any out with my frag grenade?

GMSG: I'll say you killed d10 minus 6. But I roll a 4, so it's a no.

Sasha: Dammit. Okay, I'm climbing after the rev, then.

GMSG: Hettie, if you're really doing the ladder slide like Panda tried to, make a Speed plus Zero-G Check.

Hettie: I think I have a failure of resolve and just climb. Sergeant Danger is above me and in a suit that slows her down, so I don't feel as pressed for time.

Sasha: Damn straight, I'm in a suit, sister ... which you are not. Meaning if we get to the bottom at the same time, I'll have to guard you the whole time you're getting sealed up for our space walk.

Hettie: All right, with that bit of nudging, I try it. Ah! The dice come up 6.

Ariel: Good job, Reverend!

GMSG: You arrive at the bottom almost as quickly as Panda did, and without injury or the need to make a Strength Check. Sash, Narcy does have to make a Strength Check and a Speed Check as well if she's hurrying.

Sasha: Not hurrying ... my Speed sucks and like I said, I'm going to have to stick between the spiders and Rev Mackie until she's suited up anyhow. Strength Check's an easy peasy 25.

GMSG: When you get about halfway down, you see a spider-bot peer in from the hatch above you.

Sasha: Blam! 

GMSG: Speed Check for combat first.

Sasha: 45, boo. Hey, wait. Didn't we decide you could add an appropriate skill to any check. If I get my Firearms skill, that makes it.

GMSG: The rules specifically call out Tactics and Command as applying to initiative rolls, but they don't say whether other skills can by applied. I guess it doesn't make sense to me that someone with an Expert level of skill with guns would receive no advantage in getting the draw in a gunfight, so I'll allow it.

Sasha: Excellent. I get an easy hit with a 34 and -- whooo! Pretty close to maxing out damage: 27!

GMSG: You hit it dead-on ... but it's still going, and now it leaps right down at you. Misses its combat check, though. But it's got lots of legs and extends them against the walls of the shaft to slow its fall.

Sasha: I make my speed check for the next round and pop it again. Another easy hit with a 35. Dannnggg, would you look at that?

Ariel: 10, 10, and 7! That's 27 again!

GMSG: Dead.

Sasha: Any more show up before I get to the bottom?

GMSG: You seem to be clear for now. Meanwhile, down in the docking berth, Panda, Stickshift, and the doc had time to get through the airlock and start crossing the gantry before the other two characters show up. Did you?

Elle: Keep in mind that Pol is monitoring through McDiggitt's suit feed and will ridicule you mercilessly if you just hang around waiting.

Claire: I've got way too much to do once we're on board to hang around.

Ariel: And I have to go with her to protect her in case spiders snuck onto the ship!

Akane: And I am small and feeble, so no use staying for possible fighting. Plus, it's unthinkable to wait in empty cargo bay on this station all alone. Basically a request to be brain-drilled right away.

GMSG: All right, you're all on your way across to the ship you're salvaging when Rev Mackie arrives at the bottom of the ladder.

Elle: I'm a little disappointed to be cheated out of a chance at heckling.

Ariel: Don't worry, one of us will do something human real soon and give Pol a target I'm sure.

Hettie: I go straight to the crates where we stashed our suits and start getting into mine.

GMSG: You're barely started when shots ring out from the ladder shaft. Then a spider-bot crashes to the bottom of the ladder. It looks functional, and being half in, half out of your suit makes you a sitting duck for any kind of fighting. Make a Fear save.

Hettie: I feel like there's no time to do any mystic meditation techniques, but can I add my Theology based on the whole prepared-to-meet-my-maker attitude?

GMSG: Based on how you've been playing the Reverend, sure.

Hettie: Ah. 44. That's a critical failure.

GMSG: Ouch. Panic check. Two dice, trying to roll higher than your current Stress.

Hettie: 8. Whew.

GMSG: You get to reduce your Stress one level then. Possibly it's out of pure relief when another gunshot takes the spider-bot out almost immediately.

Hettie: I keep getting suited up.

GMSG: All right. Now, as Panda, Stickshift, and Yamaguchi are walking across the gantry toward the personnel airlock of the ship, Panda notices the power unit she left on the hull when she was trying to hot-wire the explosive bolts so that you could blow the docking clamps.

Claire: Oh, crap-a-doodle.

Ariel: Wait, what? That was forever ago. I'm not getting why it's a bad thing.

Claire: Because I was interrupted when I was setting it up. Which means the explosive bolts never got hot-wired, and we're not going anywhere unless I do that. Fudgesicles.

Akane: Are there interior tasks Yamaguchi could use Computers skill to work on while Panda finishes out here?

Elle: Pol suggests that booting up the ship's computer is really step one to getting anything whatsoever done.

Ariel: Okay, sounds like Doc and me are headed inside to do that, then.

Claire: What was it before, Engineering plus Intellect with advantage?

GMSG: The advantage was because you could take your time. Are you taking your time?

Claire: If we were all on board already, I wouldn't be. But we're still waiting for Sarge and the Rev, and Pol's right about the computer needing to get booted up, so I think, yeah, I will be careful and slow with the explosive bolts. There we go, 28 and 31.

GMSG: The bolts are rigged. Meanwhile, Stickshift and Doc Yamaguchi pass through the ship's secondary airlock and find themselves again in the tomblike quiet of long-deserted corridors.

Ariel: Stickshift tells the Doc she'll take the lead.

Akane: This was the plan of Yamaguchi as well.

Ariel: I guess we head to the bridge ... do we know where the bridge is?

GMSG: The two of you didn't see much of the ship before. You just followed Panda along this hallway and then stayed in the forward airlock area investigating Spanky Spannerman's corpse and getting spooked by the spider-bot with Spanky's holographic head on it.

Ariel: Foozers. I guess I ask if the Doc knows where the bridge would be on a ship like this?

Akane: Unless it is a veterinary ship, unlikely.

Elle: Pol interrupts to say he's ahead of you and scanning the ship for its layout. I assume I can do that?

GMSG: There's no specific skill for using scanners that I can see, but there are a bunch for which it makes sense that scanner use would be included. Want to make a case for a skill you have?

Elle: Pretty sure Hacking would include being able to scan tech for security vulnerabilities.

GMSG: I'll give you that. You're able to find the bridge on the upper level and direct them to it. However, they can't use the easiest route, which would be the ship's internal lifts. Those are offline because even though the ship's hooked into power, its not yet powered up. That's part of what booting the computer will do.

Ariel: Does this mean more shafts and ladders?

GMSG: Yes.

Ariel: Ugh.

GMSG: Sasha, with the one spider-bot below you dead, what does Narcy do?

Sasha: Finish climbing down, close up the access shaft door, and start looking for something I could use to block it with.

GMSG: Lots of crates sitting around.

Sasha: Cool. I start pushing and stacking them against the door.

GMSG: Some are empty, some are full. You'll need a Strength check to move or lift the heavy ones, then a Speed check to see how quickly you get them stacked. Or just a Speed check if you stick with the lighter ones.

Sasha: My Strength's way better than my Speed, so I for sure want to take advantage of that. Ergh! 72 on my first roll is a fail even if you let me add my Athletics.

GMSG: I do think Athletics would apply, but the first crate you try doesn't budge. 

Sasha: I'm stubborn and I like the fact that it's really heavy. Trying again. Ow! 98. Do I hurt something?

GMSG: No, but you feel like you're wasting a lot of time on this massive crate.

Sasha: Okay, next one. 43, that's better! Then 07 on Speed.

GMSG: You wrestle it over in front of the door. Rev Mackie's about half done getting suited up.

Sasha: Another heavy one! 22! Critical success!

GMSG: I'll let you skip the Speed check or the second Strength check to lift it into place on top of the first crate. Your choice.

Sasha: The Speed check, duh. Second Strength check is 55, another critical success.

GMSG: You're feeling really pumped. You can have advantage on your roll to move the next crate.

Sasha: Can I take that on the Speed check part?

GMSG: Sure.

Sasha: 05 on my Strength check, 27 and 94 on the Speed check, so I make them both.

GMSG: Strength check to heave this one up on top of the other two.

Sasha: 20.

GMSG: That blocks the door. The Rev's almost done suiting up.

Sasha: I'll try stacking three light ones in a second column behind the first, fast as I can. 19 and 21 on my first 2 Speed checks, but a fail with a 53 on my third one.

GMSG: You think you hear a scraping sound, like the access shaft door being manually slid open from inside.

Sasha: Dammit. One more try on this third crate. Grrh! Did you see that? The tens die was showing 20 and then the stupid ones die bumped it and now I've got an 83.

GMSG: 83 is a clear failure, although by that time the Reverend is suited up enough she could have tried to help, if she skipped putting her helmet on.

Hettie: With my Strength? No, I think not. I'm running for the airlock while putting my helmet on and yelling for Narcy to leave it.

Sasha: Since I was rolling Speed not Strength, doesn't that mean I lifted it up but just not quickly enough?

GMSG: Sure. You've got it almost in place when McAlastair yells, so it's up to you whether to take a round finishing it off or drop it and run.

Sasha: I'm not wasting all those rolls just to give up. I'll take the round.

GMSG: Just as you get it in place, you feel the smash of something ramming the far side from within the access shaft. You can tell the impact nudges both stacks of crates very slightly. It won't take the spider-bots long to move them.

Sasha: Fine, hauling ass for the airlock. I assume that's another Speed check ... 72.

GMSG: You hear another impact, and the crash of the last crate you put on the stack falling to the deck. Speed check again.

Sasha: Yeesh. 93.

GMSG: More impacts and a loud, sustained screech as your whole stack of crates starts shifting aside. 

Sasha: Screw this. I'm going to turn and chuck another frag grenade through the gap.

Ariel: But ... if it goes through, won't it blast the crates out of the way and make it easier for any spiders that survive to get out?

Sasha: Yep. Too bad you're not here to advise me about that.

GMSG: Combat Speed Check to see if you go before the bots.

Sasha: I don't have Explosives skill, but can I use my Military Training?

GMSG: Sure.

Sasha: 40! That barely squeaks by.

GMSG: You go first, then. As you turn, you see they've wrestled the stack of crates far enough to create a gap of half a meter or so. You're going to have disadvantage to lob the grenade that precisely. You're also not sure you're currently outside the 15 meter blast radius. Do you want to take a round to make an Intellect + Military Training roll to gauge whether you're safe?

Sasha: Nope. Fire in the hole! Damn. 64 is a fail, followed by a 94 ... at least neither one's a critical fail.

GMSG: Okay, 50/50 whether the grenade lands on the side of the crate stack where the gap is, versus the side where the crates will give the bots total cover. Roll ... you want low.

Sasha: Great. 65.

GMSG: 20 percent chance you're in the blast radius. Roll it.

Sasha: Eep, 26. Barely outside.

GMSG: Now the fun part. Roll damage.

Sasha: 4. Grenades multiply the roll by 10, right? So that's 40.

GMSG: Not enough to penetrate the station's hull, but enough to shred a bunch of cargo crates. When the smoke clears you see spider-bots swarming out over the heap of wreckage. Speed Check to see who goes first.

Sasha: 52. Sounds like them.

GMSG: The destroyed crates and cargo slow them down enough they don't quite get to you, but just by a couple of meters. Looks like three of them will be on you next round and several more are working their way out of the access shaft.

Sasha: I'm dropping a frag grenade and running.

GMSG: I haven't been enforcing this rule, but moving your full rate in a vacc suit takes a Strength Check. If you fail, and you're taking an action to drop the grenade, you'll only move 1/4 of your Speed in meters, not enough to get out of the blast radius.

Sasha: I'm rolling those dice. And these dice say 06. So I get 16 meters away when the grenade goes off. Only 20 points of damage, though.

GMSG: The three lead spider-bots take damage, but none of them go down. Speed Check to go first next round.

Hettie: Have I made it to the airlock yet?

GMSG: Let's see ... you had the round Sash took putting that last crate in place, the round she threw the first grenade, and this round. Make Strength checks to see whether you were moving full rate or half rate each of those rounds. The distance you want to cover is 45 meters.

Hettie: Fail on rounds one and two, and since my speed is 43, that means I'm 2 meters from the airlock at the start of round three. I assume the door is closed, since it had to be for the others to exit the station through the outer door. Can I move up, open the door, and get inside all in one round?

GMSG: Speed check.

Hettie: 83. Sigh.

GMSG: The door is open and you're right by it, but not inside. Both of you make speed checks to see if you beat the spiders.

Ariel: Come on, guys!

Sasha: 70. Nope.

Hettie: 67, also a nope.

GMSG: Spiders first. Two on Narcy can move up and attack. One spends its whole turn moving up to the Rev. Roll two armor saves, Sash.

Sasha: 03 and 18!

GMSG: One spider-bot misses you entirely. The other one is on you and drilling.

Hettie: I suppose I draw my vibechete and attack the one that moved up to me. Miss.

GMSG: New round.

Sasha: I make my Speed check.

Hettie: I do not.

Sasha: Shooting the one that's on me. Blam! 31 for 22 points.

GMSG: Kills it.

Sasha: Running for the airlock with my next action. Urf, 94. So I get 8 meters closer.

GMSG: Spider-bot attacking Narcy, make an Armor Save.

Sasha: 15!

GMSG: Spider-bot on Rev Mackie. Same deal.

Hettie: 03!

GMSG: They both miss. New round.

Akane: So suspenseful!

Sasha: 03 on my Speed.

Hettie: 29 for me.

GMSG: Narcy first.

Sasha: I make my Strength check, so I can move full speed. I move up 16 more meters and shoot the one that's coming after me. Nope, 73.

Hettie: Vibechete against the one on me ... miss. My second action is to step into the airlock.

GMSG: Armor Save against the one that catches up to you, Sash.

Sasha: 56 is a fail.

GMSG: It drills you for 11 points of damage. And your suit's now holed, again. Hettie, make an armor save for the Rev.

Hettie: 42. Usually an auspicious number, but not in this case.

GMSG: It drills you for 13 points.

Hettie: Ouch.

GMSG: New round. Speed checks?

Sasha: 11!

Hettie: 83.

GMSG: Critical success on your Speed check gives you an extra action, Sash.

Sasha: I've got three bullets left. One into the spider on me ... miss ... second shot on it is a hit for 14 points.

GMSG: Takes it down.

Sasha: Third shot on the Rev's ... 03. Damage is 15 points.

GMSG: Dead. But you see three more bots that have exited the access shaft. One will arrive each of the next three rounds.

Hettie: I move to that locker next to the airlock and grab the patch kit if I can find it.

GMSG: You do. Speed checks.

Claire: Jeebus, this is a nail-biter!

Sasha: 57.

Hettie: 86.

GMSG: This round's spider goes for Narcy. Armor Save, this time you don't get the suit's 7% bonus because it's been holed.

Sasha: I save.

Hettie: I move back into the airlock and slash the thing with my vibechete. But of course I roll an 89.

Sasha: I move into the airlock too and shut the door behind me.

GMSG: New Speed checks.

Hettie: 08!

Sasha: Fail.

GMSG: Your move, Rev.

Hettie: I'm going to hand my vibechete to Narcy.

Sasha: Smart move, Rev.

GMSG: The spider is still latched on and drills for another 11 points of damage, no save. The one arriving this round starts drilling at the inner airlock's window.

Sasha: Slashing with the vibechete ... 87's a miss, 47's a hit. 12 points of damage.

GMSG: Not enough to kill it. Speed checks.

Sasha: Made it.

Hettie: Not me.

Sasha: Vibechete! A miss and a miss. Damn.

GMSG: You're in luck. It rolls minimum damage, 2 points 

Sasha: I've got health out the ass. Not a problem.

GMSG: Two spiders drilling at the window now.

Hettie: I'll spend the round patching my helmet, I suppose.

GMSG: Speed checks.

Sasha: 84.

Hettie: 39! My flare gun is empty, but I'll pull it out and try to pistol-whip the thing with it. 80.

GMSG: 16 points of damage this round, Sash.

Sasha: Starting to hurt a little, but I have a thick skull. Vibechete! 44! Critical hit!

GMSG: That takes it out.

Sasha: How bad's the window look?

GMSG: It'll break in another round or two, tops.

Sasha: For my second action, I hit the button to cycle the outer door.

Ariel: Narcy, no!

Elle: Stickshift can't tell that's happening from audio only, but Pol can with his camera views, and he tells Panda to hoof it to the new ship's outer airlock and get the door open. Incoming wounded with a pierced suit.

Claire: I'm a little hazy about exactly when these three sets of events are happening. I finished the explosive bolts, but how much of that overlapped with this spider fight?

GMSG: If you'd hurried, you would have finished before the fight wrapped up. But since you didn't, you'll have to interrupt your work to do what Pol's asking.

Claire: Panda says, "Doing something pretty important here. Can Stickshift or Doc get it?"

Elle: I think they're on a ladder right now.

Claire: Well is it really going to make that much difference if Panda goes over and pushes the button or if Sarge and Rev Mackie do it when they get there?

GMSG: Not only are seconds crucial, but the ship's systems still aren't online. The lock has to be cycled manually each time. Panda knows all of this, so nobody has to argue or explain it to her.

Claire: Yeah, I guess I should have remembered about the manual cycling. I guess I head for the secondary airlock after I make sure my tools are secure.

GMSG: Hettie and Sash -- you've got a round to act as the air starts rapidly thinning within the airlock. Narcy's suit alarm starts going off almost immediately to tell her there's a leak.

Hettie: Well to start with, we'll need to remove the spider and extract its drill from her helmet.

Sasha: Patch the no-drill hole first! The drill bit is at least partly blocking the hole it's in. I'd rather walk out with a spider on me and a slow leak than get the spider out and have to patch two holes.

Hettie: All right, I'll be a trooper and follow orders.

GMSG: You get the patch on the open hole just as the cycle completes and the outer door opens. Sasha, your helmet indicators show your air supply rapidly diminishing.

Sasha: I start walking out on the gantry.

GMSG: The spider-bot is pretty much dead weight draped over your helmet, shoulders, and back. The hanging legs make it a little hard to see.

Claire: I'm on the comms to Yamaguchi and Stickshift telling them to hurry and get those systems booted up.

Ariel: We're climbing as fast as we can! Are we almost there yet?

Elle: They've been given impeccable directions, you know.

GMSG: You're about to the end of the ladder shaft. Then it's just a short way down the hall.

Akane: Yamaguchi is excellent with short ways. It's a pun about her height.

Claire: That pun was okay, but not great.

Elle: Here we go. Claire's about to school you in punnery, Akane.

Claire: It needed somebody to vet it.

Akane: Boo! Evil! I should not have started this.

GMSG: Meanwhile, if Panda is hurrying, she needs to make a Speed check.

Claire: I'm assuming I can add my Zero-G? Well, regardless, I roll a 7.

GMSG: You easily beat Narcy and the Rev to the secondary lock. Sash, make a Body Save to avoid being massively slowed down by the combination of spider-bot weight and rapidly thinning atmosphere inside your suit.

Sasha: 78. I won't even bother asking if I can add my Athletics. Nowhere close.

GMSG: Het, you see the sergeant beginning to stagger about halfway along the gantry.

Hettie: We've got to get that spider off her and get the hole patched. I -- oh, for crying out loud.

Ariel: What?

Hettie: If she hasn't already dropped it, I tell Sergeant Danger to use my vibechete to shear the spider off at the drill-bit. Then she can ditch its weight and let me put on a patch.

GMSG: Sash, make an Intellect check to see if you retained the presence of mind to hold onto the vibechete through all this.

Sasha: Intellect plus Military Training because it's totally ingrained in me not to let go of a weapon. Feh. A 53 still misses.

GMSG: You dropped it somewhere along the way. Make another Body Save to keep moving.

Sasha: Big miss with a 76.

GMSG: Narcy stumbles to her hands and knees.

Hettie: I'm going to try to shift the spider-bot enough I can get at the spot where the drill enters the helmet and get a patch at least partly in place. Can I make an Intellect + Zero-G roll to figure out the best way to move the thing instead of using Strength?

GMSG: That makes total sense to me.

Hettie: That's an 8. I guess I could have used Strength after all.

GMSG: You've got the spider's bulk out of the way enough to access the spot where the drill goes into Narcy's helmet. But Sasha needs to make an Intellect roll to keep from trying to struggle forward, which will mess up your attempts at a patch. And Claire, have Panda make a Speed check to get the airlock started cycling manually.

Claire: Can I apply my Jury Rigging to figure out a short cut that makes it faster?

GMSG: Why not?

Claire: 40, so I'm good.

Sasha: Huh. I roll a 40 too, but that's a fail unless I get to add something.

Hettie: I would be yelling at the sergeant to hold still, if that makes any difference.

GMSG: What exactly do you yell?

Hettie: Well the most sensible thing would simply be, "Sergeant! Hold still!"

GMSG: Using a commanding tone and her rank seems like it would trigger her Military Training.

Sasha: Woo-hoo!

GMSG: Okay, Rev Mackie gets a patch at least partially in place. Make a Speed or Intellect + Zero-G check to make the seal tight enough that the suit can start to re-pressurize instead of just slowing the rate of air loss.

Hettie: 58. I needed a 53 or under.

GMSG: Narcy needs to make a Body Save then, or she'll pass out completely.

Sasha: Clonk. I'm down on a 63.

Claire: I'll tell the Rev to come get my hand welder so she can cut the spider away while I'm wrestling with this door.

Hettie: Strength check to move full speed in the vacc suit -- and I make it with a 34, assuming I can add my Zero-G.

GMSG: I think this is exactly the kind of thing it's supposed to cover.

Ariel: Meanwhile ... ?

Akane: Shh! I do not think it's wisdom for the Warden to be rushed.

GMSG: I was about to get to the two of you. You arrive at the bridge of the ship. It feels dark and lifeless as the rest of the ship -- possibly even more so, because the bridge of a ship always has work-station lights and displays on whereas this one is pitch black. I assume Yamaguchi hurries to the main computer terminal to see about getting it going?

Akane: Yes! Does Intellect + Computers work?

GMSG: We'll call this a Crisis Check level 2 because it's a multi-stage process and you're trying to do it quickly. You have to make 2 rolls to get it done in a decent amount of time. Any failure adds 2 to your Stress, but you can re-roll a failure by taking 1d10 Stress.

Akane: So stressful! But my first roll is exactly a 1.

Ariel: Ooh, that's got to be extra good, right?

GMSG: Again, 00 is the extra good roll. A 1 is just a 1.

Ariel: I hate this game.

Akane: Second roll ... 28! Also success! Yamaguchi triumphs with no addition of Stress!

Claire: Good job!

GMSG: You get the system online quickly.

Akane: I tell the computer it must activate the functions of all normal ship systems.

GMSG: Lights start coming on. Claire, Panda sees some blinking indicators that let her know the airlock is about to come back online.

Claire: In that case, instead of continuing my manual cycle, I head straight for Sarge and the Rev.

GMSG: About this time, the personnel airlock window on the station gives way, propelling shards of plexiglass outward on gale-force winds.

Elle: I was wondering how long that would take.

GMSG: I'm giving it a 20% chance of hitting someone ... 49.

Claire: Whew!

GMSG: Don't get too comfy about that. With the window busted out, you now see the spiders inside the station trying to struggle out through the opening. The first one makes a Strength check to keep from being blown out by the ongoing explosive decompression of the station. 33 is a critical success!

Claire: Oh, come on.

GMSG: It's on the gantry and speeding toward you. Narcy is closest, down and basically helpless. Rev Mackie is one round away, and Panda just a few meters past her. Combat Speed checks.

Claire: I make it with a 27.

Hettie: Fail with a 59.

GMSG: Panda first.

Claire: I yell at the Rev to just jump loose from the gantry. We can track her and come get her in one or another of the ships. Then I run for the docking clamps to try to finish with the explosive bolts and blow the ship loose.

Elle: Wow. Just leaving the Sergeant to die. Extreme. 

Hettie: But sensible, considering neither of us has any real chance to fight one of those spider-bots. We'll see if the Reverend even gets a chance to decide whether to follow Panda's advice.

GMSG: The spider-bot uses its entire round to move, which puts it right in the Reverend's face.

Ariel: Hettie, you can't just jump over the railing and leave Sarge to die! And can the rest of us see this? Or at least hear it? If we can, I'm running for the elevator downstairs to get out there and help!

Hettie: Well, it's not in the Reverend's character to save her own skin while abandoning someone else. Also, if she jumps, there will be no one between this spider-bot and Panda, who's got work to do still on the interrupted explosive-bolt task. Since I know the habit of these things is to try leaping for the helmet, can I use Intellect + Athletics to ready myself for its leap and then use its own inertia against it by trying to grab and heave it up and over me?

GMSG: Sure, you can try to get ready to do that. But I'm not guaranteeing it will use that tactic.

Hettie: I know. It's a Hail Mary. Naturally, I roll a 61 on my check and fail in the setup before it even jumps, though.

GMSG: New Speed checks for the new round. Ariel, with the ship's systems powering up, you'll have 1 round to get to the lift, 1 round to ride it down, 1 round to get to the airlock, and 1 round to cycle through.

Elle: So basically they'll all be dead before you get there.

Hettie: I'd say not to be so pessimistic, Elle, but I just rolled an 87 on my Speed check.

GMSG: The spider leaps for you.

Hettie: Just to rub in that my strategy might have worked if only I had any facility at rolling decently on these dice.

GMSG: It misses you with its drill. For its second action, it tries to grab hold of you with a claw so it doesn't fly past. Also a miss.

Sasha: Yeah! Now it just goes spinning off into space, right?

GMSG: No, the rotating station is basically the natural territory for a spider-bot. It knows how to account for the rotational motion that mimics gravity. So it lands on the gantry between Rev Mackie and the ship you're trying to salvage.

Hettie: I have nothing other than my judo-throw strategy, so I'll try again to set that up. Mm-hmm. 72.

GMSG: You do get two actions, you know.

Hettie: Oh, right. Can I keep trying?

GMSG: I don't see why not.

Elle: He knows you'll keep failing your rolls.

Hettie: Unkind but probably accurate. Let's see if you're right ... oh, Elle. Look what you've done.

Elle: Shit, that's a 99, isn't it.

Hettie: Critical Failure.

GMSG: You're working so hard at trying to figure out angles, but right then the station rotates just enough for a beam of sunlight to reflect off the spider's shell and momentarily blind you. You automatically lose initiative and you have disadvantage on any armor save next round if it hits you.

Claire: Seriously, Het, the Rev should just jump.

Hettie: I'm more invested in having my character be this kind of person than in having her live, to be honest.

Akane: Very true role-playing!

Hettie: Thank you, Akane.

GMSG: Spider leaps and tries to drill you ... misses. Tries to grab you ... misses. Meanwhile, back at the airlock window, the next spider is wriggling its way through. It misses its Strength check with a 94, though, and gets blown loose. Ten percent chance it hits you, Reverend; ten percent chance it hits the other spider. Nope, neither one. It just sails off into space.

Claire: Am I at the bolts and working again now?

GMSG: Yes. No roll needed to finish up what you were doing in three rounds.

Ariel: That's when I'll show up too!

GMSG: You can try to hurry it into a single round if you want, though.

Claire: Considering that I really, really need to get this right, I'm taking the three rounds.

Elle: Less exciting than the Sash and Hettie approach, but I'm sure Pol approves.

GMSG: Het, new round, new Speed check.

Hettie: A predictable 73.

GMSG: Spider leaps to drill you ... ootch. It gets an 88 and Critically Fails. Spins off into space with the other one. Next spider at the window --

Claire: How many of these things are there?

GMSG: A lot. This one also fails its Strength check. 10% chance it hits the Rev ... nope, 16.

Hettie: So for the moment I'm alone on the gantry?

GMSG: For the moment.

Hettie: All right, I'm running for the ship's open airlock. There should be a tether there; I'll grab it and try to get back to Narcy with it.

GMSG: Strength check to move at full speed?

Hettie: Nope, so I'm only 21 meters closer after this round.

GMSG: Speed check. This round and one more for Panda to finish and Stickshift to show up. 

Hettie: I make it, but fail my Strength check for full movement.

GMSG: Next spider-bot makes its Strength check to climb out the window without getting blown away. It's two rounds away from you.

Hettie: Fewer once I start on my return trip with the tether.

GMSG: That seems like a reasonable conclusion.

Claire: My vote would be to wait for the marines to show up.

Hettie: I'm considering it. If I head back I'll be in Stickshift's line of fire in addition to having to wade through the opposition.

Sasha: No offense, but I haven't exactly noticed the Rev wearing any opposition wading boots.

Akane: Yamaguchi is skilled with booting, but only the computers kind.

GMSG: Okay, we're at the point where the airlock starts to cycle because Stickshift has shown up and hit the activator. Speed check for Rev Mackie. Next round we'll be doing Speed checks for everyone outside.

Elle: I'll be making a Speed check as well, to make sure Pol's advice is as timely as possible.

GMSG: You can start that any time.

Claire: Are you really encouraging her?

GMSG: It's a roleplaying game, and Elle's been rocking the roleplaying, as far as I'm concerned.

Hettie: At this point, the Rev will take any advice she can get. Speed check is 98.

Elle: Pol makes his check with a 43. He suggests to the Reverend that she might want to move more quickly.

Hettie: Sure. I'll think about it, Pol.

GMSG: Rev, the Spider gets one round closer to you. Your turn.

Hettie: Strength check to move full speed ... oh, for -- 99. That's what I get for thinking, "At least it's not a 99," when I rolled that 98.

GMSG: Ouch. The Rev takes a serious tumble. Fear Save or you drop the patch kit.

Elle: Now I'm regretting the fact that I made that Speed check. This might be a much more entertaining opportunity for some android advice.

Hettie: 67. I drop it. Is it just completely gone?

GMSG: Five percent chance it scrapes across the surface of the gantry and wedges against a guard-rail post. Who wants to roll it?

Claire: I'm not sure any of us is luckier than the others.

Ariel: I'll do it! Boo. 83.

GMSG: Sayonara, patch kit.

Hettie: I'm going to tell Stickshift over the comms to look for a patch kit in the airlock, since she knows what one looks like now.

Ariel: I mean, I do, but once the door's open can't you look yourself while I'm shooting up the spider-bots?

Hettie: That's probably a better call. 

GMSG: New round. Speed checks from everyone but Narcy and Yamaguchi ... unless the Doc has something to say that's time-critical?

Akane: No. Probably best to stay quiet and leave comms channel open.

Sasha: That's definitely better advice than some people are giving.

Elle: Just watch. Pol's counsel will be the critical factor this round. My Speed check is a 92, though, so it will come late in the round.

Claire: But not after Panda, because I roll a 94.

Hettie: Surprisingly, Rev Mackie makes it with a 21.

Ariel: 46 for Stickshift, which fails unless I can use my Military Training.

GMSG: It's a combat situation; I'll give it to you. Hettie, you're up first.

Hettie: All I'm doing this round is standing up and scooting against one of the guard rails to give Stickshift a clear shot.

GMSG: Aers, the outer door is now cycled open.

Ariel: Okay! I step out onto the gantry and shoot that spider-bot! Do I get my +5 for another marine being there even though Sarge is out of it?

GMSG: Yes. It's an esprit de corps thing, I think, so a downed comrade who needs rescuing would definitely count.

Ariel: Okay, so that's a 49 for my Combat stat and marine bonus plus 10 for Military Training, which means my 53 is a hit!

GMSG: Roll damage.

Ariel: 20!

GMSG: It's hurt but not down. Seeing Stickshift as the bigger threat, it goes for her instead of Rev Mackie. 90, so it misses. Another miss on its attempt to grab hold of you. Unlike the others though, this one isn't pouncing at someone with open space behind them -- it flies past you and into the open airlock.

Elle: Pol suggests you shoot at it with care or you'll put a hole in the inner door's window and then you're all screwed.

Claire: Not really. Everyone is still suited up, so if the ship evacuates, it won't really be much more than an inconvenience. Panda ... critically fails her Strength check to move at full speed from the front of the ship toward the action.

GMSG: You flounder helplessly for the turn and make no progress.

Claire: I'll take it. That could have gone much worse.

Elle: Don't worry, it will at some point.

GMSG: New Speed checks.

Claire: I roll a floundering 65.

Elle: Pol rolls a 50, and his Speed is exceptional -- superhuman, you might say -- so he makes it.

Hettie: 58 for the Rev.

Ariel: 49 for Stickshift ... I guess Pol's the only one going before the spider-bot.

Elle: Pol says, "Fine. Go ahead and fire into an enclosed metal space. I'm sure there's no chance of a ricochet."

GMSG: The spider scuttles toward the top of the airlock, then pounces again. Whiff. But because its angle is downward, it lands on the gantry instead of flying off into the void. Stickshift's turn.

Ariel: Blammo! 41! 18 points!

GMSG: Still up, but sparking and wobbly.

Ariel: Blammo number two ... not as good. 60. That misses by two.

GMSG: Rev?

Hettie: Moving at half speed into the airlock. I'm within 10 meters, right? That's 30 feet.

GMSG: Yes it is and yes you are.

Hettie: Then I also do a quick search for a patch kit.

GMSG: Intellect + Zero-G

Hettie: Aha! 34 makes it. Finally a decent turn of the dice.

GMSG: If there is one, you find it. I'm sure it's a standard piece of airlock equipment, so let's say 80% chance it's there. I roll a 72, so you've got it.

Hettie: Do I also have time to clip it to my suit instead of hanging onto it where I might drop it again?

GMSG: That will have to be next round. Claire, what does Panda do?

Claire: Yeah, she moves at half speed toward the fighting.

GMSG: It will take you two rounds to get there instead of one at that rate.

Claire: Or two rounds instead of infinity rounds if I critical fail again and my mag boots break loose from the hull.

GMSG: New round, new rolls.

Ariel: Blerf. 97.

Claire: 40, but I don't know what difference it makes other than taunting me that I made a roll for once. All I'm doing is finishing my slow trip to the airlock.

Elle: 48 is an easy success for Pol.

Hettie: 4 is a startling success for the Reverend.

GMSG: Looks like McAlastair is first.

Hettie: I clip the patch kit in place and look for a tether.

GMSG: There's a standard issue safety spool on one bulkhead, the kind you clip to your suit and then to a holdfast on the hull or in the airlock.

Hettie: If I have time to do any of that clipping, I clip it to my suit.

GMSG: I'll say you do. Claire's turn.

Claire: Clump. Clump. Clump.

GMSG: You're there. Pol's turn.

Elle: I tell our marine to take her time aiming, since it can probably only take one hit.

GMSG: The rules for aiming require you to do it for an entire turn to get a benefit, and you can't get hit in the meantime. So it's probably not wise in such close quarters. Stickshift would know that.

Ariel: I make a tongue-stickie-outie noise into my microphone at him and tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

GMSG: Spider's turn. 41, a narrow miss. Another miss trying to grab you. Now it's in the airlock with Rev Mackie.

Ariel: Oh, poop.

Elle: Pol says you've got at least one round to aim now while it savages the Reverend.

Ariel: Hush, you! You already had your turn. I'm shooting ... hopefully it's not a Critical Fail ... woohoo! 44! That's a Critical Success!

GMSG: It's toast.

Akane: Effective! If combat is over, Yamaguchi praises your achievement in spider-killing.

Ariel: Thanks, Doc! Only probably it's not over yet the way spiders kept climbing out that window.

GMSG: At the moment, actually, you don't see any more trying to get out.

Hettie: In that case, I clip the other end of the tether spool to whatever fastening spot there is on the hull and head for Sergeant Danger.

Claire: Wait, wait, wait! I need to give you my hand-welder so you can cut the spider off her.

Hettie: Ah, good plan.

Ariel: Well, I go straight to where Sarge is lying and take up a defensive position between her and the station. Not that I have many bullets left if any of them come out at us ...

GMSG: So far it's still clear.

Claire: Once the Rev has my hand-welder, I'm trucking inside to the bridge to get everything going. Hmm.

GMSG: What?

Claire: I just realized that if the ship has power now, so do the explosive bolts, which means I didn't have to finish hooking them up to that portable power unit after all.

Elle: Well, but in the process you probably bypassed all the safety systems that you would have needed to work your way through, so it may still be a net win.

Ariel: Wait, Pol isn't actually saying something supportive, is he?

Elle: Don't be silly. I assume Claire was talking out of character, so I just did the same. I'm at least a little nicer than Pol, you know.

Ariel: I just wanted to make sure!

GMSG: Okay, Panda gets inside and the Rev makes it to Narcy. Sash, I want you to make two Body Saves to avoid taking damage from hypoxia. 1d10 on the first failure, 2d10 on the second.

Sasha: I'm guessing since I'm unconscious I don't even need to bother looking at my skills. First roll's a 16 ... second roll is 78.

GMSG: One point of Stress and 8 points of damage.

Sasha: Narcy's still got Health for days.

GMSG: That's nice. But if Rev Mackie slices into your helmet while cutting loose the spider, it's going to go pretty quick. Het, does the Reverend have any skills you think would justify a bonus to her Speed check for hand-welding the bot?

Hettie: Geology. Fragile mineral samples or fossils would require delicate cutting techniques to collect from their surrounding matrix.

Ariel: Wow, you're really good with the skill excuses, Hettie!

Hettie: Thank you.

GMSG: I'll buy it. Make your roll.

Hettie: 43 Speed + 10 for Geology gives me a 53 target ... I roll 8.

Sasha: Whew!

GMSG: Now Speed + Zero-G for applying another patch to fully seal the hole. This is a pretty simple task, so I'll give you advantage, but considering the urgency of the situation, I think it calls for a roll.

Hettie: Fair. I roll an 81 and a 2.

GMSG: The patch is in place, and the suit starts re-pressurizing. It's all but emptied its tanks trying to make up for the leak, but there should be enough to make it the rest of the way down the gantry to the airlock. Sash, you can have a Body Save at disadvantage to come around now that your air pressure's back.

Sasha: 15 and ... woo! 00!

Akane: So shameful that you get such a roll when it's disadvantage.

Sasha: Hey, I'll just take being conscious.

Ariel: Well ... let's hurry and get going, because it's actually making me nervous that there's no more spiders coming out the window.

GMSG: The three of you get back to the airlock about the same time Panda gets to the bridge.

Akane: Hello, Ms. Fatale!

Claire: Heya, Doc. Warden, first thing I do is check the fuel gauges. 

GMSG: It takes a while to fill up a ship this size. The pumps have been on for maybe 10 or 15 minutes ... I'd say you're at 3/4 of the minimum amount needed to make a hyperspace jump. Let's say 5 minutes.

Ariel: Five minutes.

Claire: All right, then while that's going on, I'll do all the preflight stuff needed to get the maneuvering thrusters ready for use.

Ariel: Isn't anybody else going to say, "Five minutes?"

Akane: Haha, it's true -- the Warden did tell us to say that. "Five minutes."

Elle: I'm playing this game, but I'm not going to play that game.

Hettie: Adorable, but not my style either.

Claire: Sure, "Five minutes."

Sasha: Five minutes!

GMSG: Unfortunately, well shy of five minutes, Panda sees an alert blinking that says the station's cargo airlock is cycling on the other side of the ship's forward lock.

Claire: But I welded that thing shut!

Elle: Apparently, the spiders unwelded it.

Claire: Peachy. I tell everybody to grab weapons and head for the forward airlock. We're about to have visitors, and I can't blow those explosive bolts before the tanks are full enough.

Hettie: I'm going to check the airlock for flares to reload my flare-gun, since I lost my vibechete.

GMSG: It makes sense that there would be some there. Roll d10 - 2 to see how many you find, minimum of 1.

Hettie: I roll a 6, so that's 4 flares.

Sasha: Rock and roll. I'm topping off my handgun's magazine, which uses up the last of my spare bullets.

Akane: Yamaguchi does a computer search of inventory. Are any weapons on this ship?

GMSG: There's a ship's locker just outside the bridge. That's where you would expect any weapons to be. The contents aren't listed, though.

Akane: Excuse me, please, Ms. Fatale. I am going to check the ship's locker for fighting equipment ... unless you need assistance?

Claire: I'm good. Go see if you can load everyone else up for bear.

Akane: Hmm. I don't know if you mean spider-bears or bear-bots, but both sound dangerous!

Ariel: I'm going straight to that airlock. I've got four shots left in my gun plus my own vibechete.

Elle: Pol suggests the doctor might use her computer skill to put a security lock on our side of the airlock before she leaves.

Akane: Ah, excellent forethought, Mr. d'Eurothein. I will do this. Is it an Intellect + Computers roll?

GMSG: Only if you're going to take the time to program some kind of anti-hacking routine. If you're just activating a standard security override of the local controls, there's no need to roll.

Akane: Programming sounds very intense for time consumption. Especially when we know they can cut through welds, so probably can cut through doors, just slower. I'll use security override and then go to ship's locker.

GMSG: The security override is simple enough to turn on. When you get to the locker, I'll let you roll to see how much is there. On a d10, a 1 means nothing, 2-6 means 1 weapon, 7-8 is 2, 9 is 3, and 10 is 4.

Akane: Am I to the locker then? Because you said "when" I get to it.

GMSG: Sorry, yes, you're there.

Akane: Hmm! The d10 says, "8!"

GMSG: You find ... a foam gun and a combat shotgun.

Akane: Foam gun does not sound injurious.

GMSG: It basically sprays out goop that traps whatever it hits if the target doesn't save.

Akane: Oh! Superior to the suds I was imagining.

GMSG: It has the potential to take out one enemy a round if you get lucky.

Hettie: Don't give it to the Reverend, then.

GMSG: The shotgun has 4 shots in its clip and there are 3 additional shells with it.

Akane: I hurry all of this to the forward airlock.

GMSG: Claire, Panda is now seeing an alert indicating damage to the forward airlock door. It's not a breach yet, but the system knows there's something going on down there that shouldn't be.

Claire: Any chance there's a way I can route some power to the door and electrify it?

GMSG: If you went down there, maybe. But not from here.

Claire: Great. I let everyone know to hurry. That berth is open to space because of the hole in the personnel airlock window, so if they get through our outer door, nobody will be able to get into the ship's front airlock without explosively decompressing us. I'll also put the airlock's camera on my video feed if there is one.

GMSG: There is. Everybody roll Speed checks except Stickshift. Since she headed straight for the lock, she definitely gets there before anything cuts through.

Ariel: I'm going to get ready to blast them if they show their faces!

Sasha: What if they show Spanky Spannerman's face with their holograph gizmos?

Ariel: Don't say that! What a terrible thing to say!

Elle: Pol's Speed check is a 04.

Hettie: Mine's 32, which makes it.

Sasha: 42 for Narcy, skin of my teeth if you let me use Military Training or Athletics.

Akane: Yamaguchi is ... ee! The worst! It's 99.

GMSG: Yamaguchi trips and falls. Make a Body Save or you'll take damage.

Akane: So humiliating! With medical knowledge of First Aid and Pathology, do I know how to fall where it will hurt least?

GMSG: On a 99, I don't think you have time to react. This is just straight up whether you're tough enough to take the fall.

Akane: Toughness is not a big property of Yamaguchi. But maybe ... yes! I roll 7.

GMSG: You'll have to take a round getting up and gathering up the things you were carrying.

Akane: Sad.

Elle: When it's Pol's turn, he's going to broadcast that you people should tether yourselves to something in the airlock once you're there. I see any number of ways someone might end up floating out into space.

GMSG: Okay, since everyone made their Speed check this round, you'll all get to the airlock in the coming round. Aers, you can clip your suit to a tether like Pol said if you want.

Ariel: I don't like taking his smarty-pants advice, but I also don't like floating away in space, so I guess I do it.

GMSG: Everyone else make a Speed check.

Akane: Even on-the-floor Yamaguchi?

GMSG: No, it really doesn't matter when you act during the round.

Claire: I roll an 86.

Ariel: Eep! 98! Good thing I'm already buckled in.

Sasha: 55. Critical Faceplant.

Akane: Imitation is not so flattering in this case.

Sasha: I make my Body Save with a 13 though, so no damage.

Hettie: 48 for Rev Mackie. That's a success if I can use athletics.

GMSG: Sure.

Elle: Pol rolls a 59, which fails unless we say I can use Linguistics to speak rapidly.

GMSG: Nice try, but no. So the Reverend gets into the airlock with time to perform an action.

Hettie: Much as it feels like tying myself down as bait, I'll clip myself to a tether next to Stickshift.

Ariel: Hi, Rev! Let's not get too cozy though!

GMSG: The two of you see a glowing orange spot in the middle of the cargo airlock door. Claire, the alarm goes off to indicate an impending structural failure if nothing stops it. Pol, what are you doing this round?

Elle: I'm telling the sergeant to get up because all I can see through her suit camera is the floor.

GMSG: Yamaguchi gets to her feet. Claire, it's Panda's round.

Claire: I'm going to force an emergency cycle of the airlock, so the inner door shuts and the outer door opens without siphoning away the air first.

Ariel: What???

Sasha: But ...

GMSG: The outer doors slide open in a flash as the inner one slams shut! All the air in the lock instantly bursts out through the opening. Stickshift and McAlastair need to make Body Saves to avoid being yanked from their feet.

Ariel: This is so not good ... and I roll a 95!

Hettie: Well! A 15 for Rev Mackie.

Claire: Sorry, guys. But anything outside the door has to make a save too, doesn't it, MSG?

GMSG: Well, you'd think. And as the doors open, you definitely see some spider-bots scrabbling to get hold of something and not be blown away. But you also see that there's a cargo loader suit standing right in front of the door with a spider in the seat controlling it. The suit's cutting torch is positioned right where the glowing spot was. Yikes, terrible rolls. All four of the other spiders get hurled back into the cargo bay. Speed checks for the new round.

Ariel: Bleh! 97.

Sasha: 73. Not that I can do much other than get to my feet and walk over to the door I'm shut out by.

Akane: 16 for Yamaguchi.

Claire: 71 for Panda.

Elle: 13 for Pol.

Sasha: Oh, and he's just the person we want to make sure goes first, so he can keep ribbing Narcy about standing up.

Elle: The motivation will do you good, I'm sure.

Hettie: The Rev gets a 13 as well.

GMSG: Nice. Her turn, then.

Hettie: I'm shooting that spider with my flare gun. Kaboosh! Aha, and that's a 16!

GMSG: 1d10 damage.

Hettie: A triumphant 3 points. Second flare ... 94. And just like that, I'm out.

Elle: I think you forgot Pol, who made his Speed Check by a wider margin than McAlastair did.

GMSG: I'm genuinely sorry.

Elle: Pol suggests you do your best to lure the loader suit all the way into the airlock with you.

Ariel: What?! Why???

Elle: So Panda can shut the door again and keep the other spider-bots out.

Ariel: Oh. Okay, that makes sense.

GMSG: Yamaguchi finds her way downstairs and will be to the airlock door next round. But now it's the spiders' turn, and the one in the suit lumbers it forward and tries to crush Stickshift under one massive metal foot. That's a 07, but you do get an armor save.

Ariel: Eek! I'd better make this ... ugh. 60.

GMSG: 5d10 damage, and your suit is ruptured. 31 points.

Ariel: Owwie!

GMSG: Claire, it's Panda's turn.

Claire: I'm following Pol's advice and cycling the airlock shut again. Especially since Stickshift's suit is toast.

Elle: Will it make a difference? The robot's about to squash her into jam inside that toast. It's good to see someone following my advice, though.

Claire: In my defense, there's literally nothing else I can do.

GMSG: Aers, you can either try to --

Ariel: I'm shooting the spider!

GMSG: Well okay, then.

Ariel: Blam! 03! Next shot! 37!

GMSG: It misses one armor save and makes the other.

Ariel: 13 points of damage!

GMSG: New Speed Checks!

Sasha: 18! Sergeant Danger's getting back in it!

Akane: 17! Doctor Yamaguchi can hand her a shotgun if she wants it.

Claire: 81.

Elle: 95, looks like Pol will get the last word.

Hettie: Don't jinx me. The Rev gets a ... 68.

Ariel: 12 for Stickshift! That means I'm first, right?

GMSG: It does indeed.

Ariel: Blam! Blam! 45 and 20!

GMSG: It misses both Armor Saves.

Ariel: Woohoo! 49 points of damage!

GMSG: The spider-bot explodes in a shower of metal fragments and debris.

Ariel: Yay for Stickshift! But ow, my ribs!

GMSG: Yamaguchi's turn.

Akane: I open the door and say, "Here are weapons!"

GMSG: Narcy?

Sasha: I'll move in and push the suit off of Stickshift. Nice shooting, marine.

Ariel: Thanks, Sarge!

GMSG: Panda, the green light for your fuel gauge comes on. You've got enough on board now to make a hyperspace jump.

Claire: Awesome. I disengage the fuel pump and blow those explosive bolts.

GMSG: There's a muffled thoomp! sound and a vibration that everyone in the airlock feels very clearly, and then the ship's inertia carries it off on a tangent from the station's hub

Claire: Are there external cameras? I want to make sure none of those spiders are jumping onto our hull.

GMSG: You see a couple leaping after you, but even with a few seconds' lead, the ship is far enough away they can't possibly make it. It looks like you've escaped as they tumble helplessly away into the void.

Elle: Pol congratulates the meat-bags on their not-entirely anticipated success.

Hettie: I'm dubious as to that actually being it. Is the nightmare finally over?

GMSG: Well, that depends on whether anybody wants to go back to the station for any reason. If not, I think there's nothing preventing you from making repairs on one ship or the other and escaping the system.

Sasha: Go back? Yeah, right!

Ariel: If I wasn't all crushed up, I'd go back.

Akane: Is this serious?

Ariel: Well, sure! Spanky Spannerman is still stuck back there in whatever computer limbo they sucked his brain into. And who knows how many other people might be in there too!

Hettie: Reverend McAlastair is moved by Stickshift's sincere desire to help and says that if we can get back to civilization, she'd be willing to come back with you on a rescue mission -- assuming we could find the resources to mount one. But given the shape we're in, I think we'd be throwing our lives away to go back now.

Ariel: Yeah, you're probably right.

Sasha: So the adventure's really finished?

GMSG: Looks like it. I do need to hand out experience. You always get 10 for surviving a session. I think the marines already marked their bonus of 1 xp per enemy killed. There's also a 3-point bonus for saving another crew member's life, which Sarge did by waiting for the Rev to show up and grenading the train so she didn't have to wade through spiders. Stickshift, Rev Mackie, and Panda also saved Sarge on the gantry. 

Akane: I think Yamaguchi did not do any saving.

Elle: Well Pol clearly did, probably multiple times with his advice. So ... three points times five of you times at least two fatal situations I talked you through --

Hettie: You don't seriously think he's going to let you get away with that, do you?

Elle: No, but if I claim I deserve 30 points, maybe he'll at least give me three like the rest of you got.

GMSG: I'll give you three just on the basis of role-playing and managing to have at least some impact on the game despite staying back on the ship the whole time. Plus you can all have two for interfacing with strange and powerful beings far beyond your abilities and comprehension, by which I mean whatever AI was running the station. So 15 each, which is probably enough to level up again, if you want to continue with these characters at some point in the future.

Claire: I had fun, so definitely! But maybe with a break for something else first.

Ariel: Yeah, that was amazing but also exhausting!

Akane: So stressful for just a game. It's full of entertainment, though! I'm glad I joined!

Sasha: I'm glad you did too!

Elle: One of our most enjoyable games yet, and now that I'm out of Pol's shoes, I can say that everybody really tickled me pink at some point or another in this adventure.

Ariel: Aww! Thanks, Elle! And thank you for being such a supreme-o Warden, MSG!

GMSG: You're very welcome.

Hettie: A rousing time all around. I even enjoyed being the first one to die.

GMSG: Well, if we play again, I'm sure there's a lot more of that available!

Ariel: Eeg. Is there like, a hoppy bunny role-playing game or something we can do for a while first?

GMSG: I'll see what I can dig up.

[and that's it for Mothership, everybody! at least for now, anyhow. thanks for reading!]