Re: Chapter 25: Into the Caves of Hidden Canyon
In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 955):
Pearce sees the opportunity afforded by Jake. Badly wounded, the Irishman's survival instincts kick in as he calls to Tracy, stomps half-heartedly at the rodents around him, and then runs for the tunnel exit. His mind focused on his very existence, Tommy barely registers the fact that he all can hear is a steady hum in his ears.
While his stomping fares no better than his previous attempts, Jake's disorientation of the rats allows the mechanic to run clear of the Swarm. Pearce moves past the Texican and enters into the space at the end of the big cavern, where the men had set their fiery trap. He realizes he could be in danger from the fire now, although for the moment, Tommy feels relatively safe.
A moment later, Pearce cups his hands to his ears, instinctively, to cope with the pain and the hum in his ears. If anyone is talking to him, he doesn't know it.
Meanwhile, the swarm coalesces around the Californian. Recovering from the effects of Jake's gunfire, the rats attack the investigator again but fail to rattle or damage the Wolverine. Windham senses a chance to escape, although the rat swarm won't let him go easily. At the same time, the assault on his ears from the echoing weapon reports gives him pause. The Wolverine's instincts in a fight or flight situation reach their pinnacle.
OOC: Fascinating. The Judge had decided to use a Benny for the rat swarm this round, in some way. It looked like it might be needed to Unshake after Jake shook the swarm or after the Vigor roll for the echoing gunfire. But the swarm succeeded on both of those. Then the rats got a poor damage roll on Tracy, so the Judge used the Benny to reroll -- and the result was exactly the same. The vicissitudes of the dice roller are infamous. (The Judge deducted the Benny from his bio line before posting this.)
Tommy's Vigor roll is a Critical Failure. Two natural ones. The Judge will discuss with the player in PM. He is disengaged from the remaining swarm in the tunnel, but he's now in the area with blazing oil and burning dead rats. The Judge rolled for the fire status, which remains unchanged.
The Vigor roll for the rats was made in # 954.
09:01, Today: Judge Messalen rolled 7 using 1d12 with rolls of 7. Rats Unshake.
09:05, Today: Judge Messalen rolled 2 using 2d4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Rat Swarm damage (Tracy).
09:08, Today: Judge Messalen rolled 2 using 2d4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Rat Swarm damage (Tracy, Judge Benny reroll).
09:39, Today: Judge Messalen rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2. Fire status.
It is Tracy's turn. He needs to roll Spirit to Unshake (see #950), as well as the Vigor roll for hearing loss (both at –2). Now, the rats are NOT shaken, so if the investigator tries to Withdraw, the swarm will get a Free Attack. At least the rodents won't get a regular attack action again until the next round, and Earnest has still yet to act, so even if he can't take actions, it's an opportunity for Windham to get to safety, too.