Necessary Evil - Session Two, Part 2: Driving Lessons

So the party has jumped into a car and headed out for the Rolling Hills Golf Club to investigate V'Sori activity on the course. Night Terror drives becasue hey, it's his car.

Arriving at the club, they have a little trouble at the main gate until Nissa leans across from the passenger seat and flashes her baby reds at the guard, convincing him that they do indeed have an appointment with the pro-shop manager and that he has in fact already called it in and gotten confirmation. (There was a brief moment of near-panic here as the group realized they had not worked out a cover story ahead of time, but they pulled through.)

Pulling into the parking area the group spreads out a bit and confirms that the activity is centered around the club watering hole the "19th Hole". Not wishing to appear conspicuous, they end up playing a round of golf (won by MegaStrike) both to kill time until it's dark and to give them more time to observe V'Sori activity levels in the area.

Finishing up their round they gather information from other players on the course and in the locker rooms, learning nothing especially revealing except that the course is where Champion once battled the giant robot guardian of The Outsider. Our villains instantly realize that this is probably the target of the excavation. Since it is nearly dark they decide to go ahead and take a look at the site directly.

MegaStrike, lacking all Stealth capabilities, is left in a "reserve position" while the other 3 baddies sneak over to the dig. They note a large hole in the ground, some drone guards, some K'Tharen diggers, and a V'Sori in a lab coat type garment who appears to be in charge. There is also a shuttle parked nearby. Shortly, the diggers back off and the scientist manipulates an anti-gravity clamp, using it to pull an intact giant robot out of the hole, practically rubbing his hands with glee.

Now based on the description of the battle with Champion, the party was expecting robot parts, not an actual giant robot. This is enough of a pickle that the team decides to signal Dr. Destruction to ask for some guidance. (I assume that the comm bracelets are mainly one-way devices but do include a red button to send out a signal indicating the team has something interesting or important - the Doc doesn't have to answer but it gives them an option if they want to try to bring him in. I was clear that it's not a "help me" button).

Dr. Destruction does come online fairly quick. The team describes what they have found and he agrees that they should retrieve the robot and bring it to the warehouse in Southpoint. If they can destroy it then that may have to do although getting the parts away from the V'Sori would still be important. He wishes them luck and cuts off. This was not exactly what the party was expecting, but they realize they can probably take the guards and escape with the robot - they are supervillains after all, stealing is not exactly new to them - so they forge ahead.

The key to the operation is the shuttle, so the plan is to jack the shuttle, load the robot, and get away, smacking down the guards as necessary. MegaStrike is called up to a closer position and the group springs into action.

Night Terror phases out and secures the shuttle while Night Blade goes into super-ninja mode and cuts down several drone guards before leaping onto the shuttle. MegaStrike draws most of the drones to him and works on beating them down with some assistance from Nisavin. There is a moment of uncertainty as the ninja figures out how to fly the shuttle and Night Terror tries out the blaster cannon in the nose, but the ship slowly lifts and glides over towards the robot.

Several drones are gunned down, Nisavin leaps into the back of the shuttle, and MegaStrike continues to occupy half the guard force. Things are going well for the team as they start to discuss how to get the bot into the cargo bay. Then things go badly wrong.

As the scientist supervising the dig screams SHOOT THEM DOWN, one of the drone guards near him manages to do just that! One blast hits a weak spot on the belly of the shuttle, blasting through the hull and cutting all power to the craft. It crashes back in the treeline where the heroes had been hiding earlier. The ship was not at a real height (10' or so off the ground) so the heroes in the ship were not injured but they are down, stranded to some degree, and MegaStrike is outside the ship neck deep in K'Tharen excavators.

This is where Session 2 ended - Session 3 to come as soon as it happens! Spring Break has caused some delays around here but things are getting back on track now.

GM Notes:

- The whole session was a lot of fun as everyone is starting to figure out their characters both mechanically and personality-wise. Night Terror is a little flighty as he phases out as soon as any gunfire comes his way. MegaStrike is the team brick but always seems to get in just a little bit over his head. Nisavin is vicious but is really a jack-of-all-trades - a little bit HTH nightmare, some mind control, some stealth, and is the face of the party as much as anyone. Night Blade went absolutely nuts with his melee skills in the early part of the fight, then ended up being the shuttle pilot.

- The utility of a low-level mind control power is remarkable, especially considering the group has limited social skills. It really greases the skids in some situations.

- The single biggest plot turn was totally random - one of the drones landed a shot on the M'Buna that penetrated the hull - not an easy thing to do. Night Blade who was piloting the ship blows his piloting roll and manages to spin the thing. A penetrating hit also means a roll on the critical hit table and Will, playing Night Blade, felt the need to anger the dice gods by saying "Just don't roll a 12" which he promptly does, which means the ship is wrecked and ends up flipping over and crashing spectacularly. The only thing that saved the crew is that they were only about 10' off the ground when it happened. Totally unexpected and totally hilarious when it happened!

Now I normally hate to end a session in the middle of a combat but it was getting late and we were all tired, the characters were low on bennies, and I decided it was dramatically appropriate to end it there, visualizing a 24-esque multiple panel closing showing the 3 characters inside the ship shaking their heads, MegaStrike surround by enemies looking over his shoulder as the ship flips over and crashes, the V'Sori scientist grabbing a pistol and shouting at his guards, and the motionless robot gleaming in the artificial lights, looming over all.