Putting together the party's actions, I interpolated the following:

Lazarus opens the door.
Lazarus and Twitch sneak out and try to shoot the guards with their MAWs.
If unsuccessful in stealth, Grid and Mitose will step out the door to help.
Once the guards are down, Laz and Twitch will drag the bodies into Sam's office.
Grid and Mitose will sneak down to turn off the circuit breakers.
Xan, Jade, and Binary will move north to Binary's old office.
Laz and Twitch will follow behind to guard.
After breakers are switched off, Grid and Mitose will meet them at Binary's office.

NOT CLEAR:  Are Grid and Mitose going to move south to actively take out the four soldiers to the south or will they return immediately to Binary's office?  In other words, if they are not bothered by the guards, do they plan to hunt down the guards?


X gives the signal.  "They're both facing away.  Do it now!"

Lazarus opens the door quietly.  He and Twitch both sneak quietly out without alerting the guards.  Both aim...

The guards could turn at any second.  Their backs are turned, but they are peering back and forth between corridors.

[Lazarus and Twitch should review the following and apprise me of their actions from there.  All other characters should apprise me of any actions different than, or additional to, those listed above.]

COMBAT: If you have not done so, please make sure you review the section on combat on the website here.

Important to Remember: Combat turns are 1 second each.  This game does three seconds at a time.  Each "maneuver" listed on the site takes 1 turn (i.e. 1 second).

Example: Twitch raises his gun ("readying"=1 turn), takes aim for X seconds, and fires (1 turn).


AIMING: If you do not aim, you fire at a -4 penalty.  If you aim for 1 turn, there is no penalty.  You may aim for up to an additional 3 seconds for a +1 bonus each second.  (Therefore, your "to hit" could be your score with the weapon up to +3 for ranged weapons.)

FOCUS SKILL: You may also use your focus skill one time during the time you are "jacked in" to the Matrix.

TARGETING: You can also target certain parts of the body (neck, leg, etc.).  An appropriate modifier will apply.  See below for targeting penalties:

Torso                       No modifier
Brain                       -7
Head/neck                   -5
Eyes                        -9
Far arm                     -4
Hand                        -4
Near Arm                    -2
Far leg                     -2
Near leg                    -2
Foot                        -4
Vital organs (in torso)     -3
Weapon                      -3 to -5

If you do not Target a body part, the part will be determined randomly by a roll by ME.  (There are, of course, more areas of the body you could target that may have a desired effect in certain circumstances.  These are the ones that have secondary effects other than simple damage.)


Any other combat questions?  Send me a PM.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:23, Sat 17 Apr 2004.

X gives the signal.  "They're both facing away.  Do it now!"

Lazarus opens the door quietly.  He and Twitch both sneak quietly out without alerting the guards.  Both aim...

The guards could turn at any second.  Their backs are turned, but they are peering back and forth between corridors....

Twitch raises his gun, aims, and fires his MAW at the guard on the left...

Grid watches Laz and Twitch silently slide out the door, both men aiming their guns at the the two soldiers in the corridor.

He ran over the plan again in his mind.  Mitose and he would back Laz and Twitch up if they didn't take out the guards in the first instance.  After, he and Mitose would continue onto the breakers and shut them off, before rendevouzing back with the others in Binary's office.  The only time they'd stop or deviate from the plan was if they'd run into more soldiers.

The big man readied his MAW in case he did need to back up the others.

Lazarus aims his MAW at the back of the guard on the right; he takes a breath and exhales as he fires his shot.

]

Mitose remains ready to move as planned, only taking a moment to gauge his partner's readiness, before crouching in preperation.  If all went well, Grid and eh would be on their way to the breakers, and the next unit.

QUOTE FROM PREVIOUS X POST

After a moment, he pipes up, "It carries ten rounds of ammo.  I'm sending three clips for each of you.  The ammo is a dart-tipped non-penetrating round.  It fires at the rate of 1 round per 3 seconds, so aim well.  You won't get a second chance.  After a hit, it will take 3-6 seconds for the target to be neutralized."

This is a clarification on the Focus Skill.  It does not change any physical characteristics of anything around you.  In other words, a gun will not fire more rapidly because a bullet must still slip into the chamber and the proper mechanisms get into place.  Therefore, regardless of using Focus, it will still only fire 1 round per 3 seconds of REAL TIME, not Focus time.  This is one reason why the focus skill is so handy in situations of martial arts, stealth, speed, and defense over pure firing.

HOWEVER, Focus will allow you to put in two extra "seconds" worth of aim or other skill individualized to your own capabilities.

Laz seems to move very quickly for a moment, and within a second, his dart flies from the gun, hitting the soldier in the back.

Twitch takes two seconds longer, and his dart hits the other soldier in the back of the leg.

In the two seconds he waits, Laz is preparing another round and taking aim again.

The guard hit by Twitch reaches down when he is hit.  "What the...?" he begins as his fingers reach for the sore spot.

"What is it?" the other soldier (the one hit by Laz) asks.

[It is too soon to know anything further about their reactions, as it takes 3-6 seconds for the sedative to work.  Do you take any actions in that time?]

Note that this is one round.  Laz used focus so 3 seconds were compressed into one.  Twitch did not, so Laz had 2 extra seconds to prepare to fire on the next turn. Make sure to always give me instructions for your character for 3 seconds of real time.  If you use Focus, you may have to give me 5 moves in advance to cover those 3 seconds (and in the future, even more).
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:36, Mon 19 Apr 2004.

As they fire, Xan waits for the signal before slipping quickly and quietly out the door, taking up the rear as Binary leads them to his office. He hasn't the time to see how the others are doing with the guards, he just silently hopes that their aim is true and keeps moving once the word is given.

     Twitch uses this moment to Focus his attention on the two guards, still standing.  He moves as quickly as possible toward the one he shot, and leaps into the air, attempting to land a jump kick.

     He then regains his footing, and delivers a back kick to the one that Lazarus shot, followed by a knee strike to the one that he, himself had shot, finishing off with another back kick at Laz's target.

Twitch uses his focus skill.  The normal 3 seconds it takes to stand run, jump and kick the guard is compressed into one second. His kick is successful, and the guard sprawls to the ground.

Real time returns, and the others watch while Twitch rises back to his feet (1 second).  The other guard is starting to respond.  He is turning.  Twitch manages to get his back kick off. (1 second).  He succeeds against the unprepared guard (who has no time for defensive action), and the guard falls backward.

That was three seconds (1 focus and two real time).

The guard on the ground hit in the leg by Twitch is falling into unconsciousness.  The guard hit in the back by Laz appears uninjured.  As he is falling back, the dart falls to the ground.  In the darkness, you make out the vague outline of a flak jacket.

Grid and Mitose stand outside the door behind where Laz now crouches with pistol primed.  Their guns are ready but not aimed.

Xan, Jade, and Binary are still inside the office.

The guard is pivoting around, bringing his rifle up as he steps back to compensate for the kick into his flak jacket.

Using her Focus skill, Jade (1) rushes outside the open door, (2) quickly aims at the nearest leg, and (3) fires a round at the soldier.  In the two remaining seconds, she will aim again and prepare to fire if her first shot misses.

Laz curses under his breath, when he sees the flak jacket. He puts his gun up to shoot again but stops when he sees Jade take off.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:48, Thu 22 Apr 2004.

Jade fires while Laz waits.  Twitch is recovering his balance and the others wait.

The dart finds its way to the soldier's leg, but he has spun around and his weapon is ready to fire in the three seconds before the sedative kicks in.  He fires at Twitch, who stands near him (solid hit).  The blast of the M-16 firing is deafening.  Twitch instinctively tries to dodge, but fails (critical miss).  Bullets fly into his body.  Twitch falls to the ground, barely retaining consciousness.  (13 points damage= -1 health).

The soldier steps back and collapses.  You are sure his shots were heard throughout the complex.

Twitch is barely maintaining consciousness as he holds his bullet-torn middle.

Player Walkthrough
First Aid:  You will probably want to administer first aid to Twitch before he bleeds to death, but you probably have less than a minute before guard reinforcements arrive.  I suggest you act quickly.

Mitose's hand moves a second too late, as he reaches out to Jade, perhaps to stop her from taking rash action.  He begins to rise, staying crouched and low, and taps Grid on the shoulder as he moves to follow Jade.  His lips press into a line as he hears the gun-fire, and he harshly whispers.

"Grid! Now! Let's Go!"

He glances at Twitch, and dashes past, making swiftly for the breaker room, and what he believes will be the closest set of reinforcements for the sentries.  He holsters the MAW, and readies his AK-47, moving swiftly and silently as possible, keeping to the right, and gesturing for Grid to cover the left flank.

Lazarus takes a deep breath as he hears the gunfire go off and sees his companions heading off to the breakers. He walks over to Twitch and sees the horrible mess of cut up meat his midsection has turned into. He gets on his knees and does what he can to help him out. As Lazarus looks around for any kind of first aid kit, he looks at Twitch and says "It is only a flesh wound buddy." in a bad english accent as a smile quickly appears and disappears on his face. .]

The MAW that Grid was holding lands with a clatter on the floor as he moves after Mitose, his AK-47 soon finds it place again in his competent hands.

Nodding at Mitose he quickly takes position on the left flank, moving with a stealth and surety surprising for a man of his size.

Player Walkthrough

First Aid and Critical Injuries:

Critical Injuries:  SEE POST BELOW Once you get below 0 health, you automatically roll to see if you remain conscious (as long as it is above -10).  If you get to -10 or below (referred to as "fully negative"), you get one last health roll.  If you make it, you are unconscious/comatose, but you survive if you get competent medical attention.  If you fail it, then you die.  Any time you are reduced to below 0 points, you are unable to perform most skills or to fight/use active defenses, etc. because you are fighting just to maintain consciousness.  Movement, etc. is also reduced.

First Aid:  First aid takes 20 minutes to administer.  If a successful skill roll is made, it will restore 1d-1 health points (with minimum of 1).  A critical success means maximum restoration (5 hp).  A critical failure means you do -2 more damage.  (First aid is not cumulative with bandaging, which restores 1 hp of damage.)

Bleeding:  SEE POST BELOWFor bullet wounds, you must roll HT once every minute or lose one additional HT point for that minute.  Bleeding stops immediately upon successful administration of first aid.  (First aid roll comes before the bleeding roll.)

Shock:  At this point, I am not introducing the shock rules, but I may do so at a future date.  (This reduces DX and IQ equal to the amount of damage sustained.  Ex:  In this case, Twitch would not be able to attack or think clearly at all.)

Knockdown/Stuns:  If you are hit for more than half your health, you must roll against HT.  If you fail, you fall down and are stunned.  If you succeed, you do not fall down but you are still stunned.  (This is not a "knockback," which is different.)

Stuns are caused by a knockdown or a critical hit and certain other blows.  If stunned, all active defenses are at -4 for 3 seconds.  From there, you make HT rolls every 3 seconds to determine if you recover.  (Note that this is physical stunning.  Mental stunning occurs for surprised foes--such as the soldiers in this case.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:27, Sat 24 Apr 2004.

Binary yells out, but not loud enough so his voice will carry, "Forget the breakers and the soldiers!  Grid, take this injured man back to my office.  We need to help him and get the disks."  He raises a curious eyebrow to see if anyone is actually listening to him before starting slowly back toward his office area.

Grid stops mid stride and turns back to face Binary before his attention goes to the injured Twitch.  You get the distinct impression he's disappointed with being called back, but finally nods his assent and turns to Mitose.

"We do as Binary says"

A few seconds later, his AK-4 shouldered, Twitch is held carefully and gently in the big man's arms as he moves off towards Binary's office.

Looking down on his companion he gives a very faint hint of a smile. "No dying in my arms you hear.  I'm not into bad cliches."

Jade gets on the other side of Twitch and helps Grid lead him back to the office.  "We can probably do more damage by getting in the office, turning off the lights and then firing at them from cover."  Then she says, "I hope.  Otherwise, you guys do what you need to do."

Grid and Jade help Twitch move back toward the office, following just behind Binary.

In the distance, you hear boots hitting the floor as the soldiers are rushing from the far southeast corner toward your end of the complex.

"Guys," X says in your earphones.  "You've got company.  Get out of there.  One of them has a...an RPG of some sort.  Your clear paths are back the way you came, straight to the left toward the big puddle where we lost Caine, or possibly toward the circuit breakers, although I think they'll get you surrounded if you're there for too long.  Whatever you do, hurry!"

The boots stop in the distance for a moment.  They must be making a plan and proceeding with caution.

A loud voice cries out, "Corporal Jackson, do you hear me?"  Silence.  "Corporal Gottlieb!"

Mitose pulls up and turns, he scowls at X's news, and moves towards Binary to keep his voice down. "Sir, someone has to ge the disks...and someone has to distract those soldiers.  If we put too much distance between us and them, they'll feel a bit freer about seinding a rocket-propelled-grenade down the hall.  And I think that is something to avoid."

He pauses, "Two of us should get Twitch clear, another set should go for the disks, and two close combatants should move in on the enemy before they full group.  If we can get in amongst them, we'll render their long-arms and that RPG useless, or at leats more dangerous to them than us.  You heard their plan, they don't wnat to die any more than we do."

Mitose pulls his phone, "X, is there a quick way to an intercept with the soldiers?  A fast way for an intrusive ambush?"

X responds, "If you want to do that, I suggest the hallway to your right (west), that you came up.  The circuit breakers will be on your way.  You can turn them off and move down toward the rubble in the south.  That will help provide you some cover if you ambush them from there."

He pauses.  "There are seven soldiers total.  Four of them are slowly approaching toward the southmost rubble from the south of room 129.  One of them has the RPG.  The other three are approaching the puddle from south of room 329.  That includes their sergeant."

Then he says, "Since Binary's office is close by, I suggest you at least take Twitch there and protect Binary at the same time.  You might have to split up to do this."