In reply to Zafriti (msg # 928):

I'm gonna spend 3 Intellect (-1 Edge) and 1 Adventuring Pool to reduce the Difficulty to 0. Zu needs to find those gauntlets, and now. (@ 8/12 Mind; 5/10 AP)

Focusing with narrowed eyes on his search instead of the grotesque scene beyond, Zu races against time. He's still on the speed booster. For now. If he can just--
There!
Quicker than thought, Zu sprints across the aisle, slides under a table, jumps back up and snatches the gauntlets off the pedestal. He jams them onto his hands and turns to charge at the monster.
"Come on, gauntlets!" he pleads as he runs. "Let's see what you can do!"

In reply to Zu (msg # 929):

Ok. What will Zu attempt next?

In reply to Tarkahnta Modelii Akata (msg # 930):

He was thinking about picking up something really big with the gauntlets and throwing it at the Blitzer while it's distracted. Or dropping it on the thing. You know--something like that.

In reply to Zu (msg # 931):

Ok. So I will assign a diff lvl of 2 (6+) to find something large and heavy

In reply to Tarkahnta Modelii Akata (msg # 932):

I'm taking that roll straight. Zu can always punch out its heart if he has to.

21:02, Today: Zu failed (no successes) using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 6 ((5)).

LOL well, it's good to know that buying down levels really is useful sometimes... when I don't do it. :-b

Zu scans the room feverishly for something, anything he can throw at the monster that won't risk hitting Zafriti.
She screams again. There's nothing. Zu scowls and sprints as fast as his boosted legs can carry him at the artifact creature, screaming in blind rage as he advances.

In reply to Zu (msg # 933):

Ok. And yes lol the "gods" of the dice are fickle and cruel at times. reminds me of the ancient Roman goddess Fortuna. She might give you all the desires and wants of the flesh,mind and spirit  or she is just as likely to have you accused of a crime you did not commit have your girl cheat on you and have her new lover and she try to kill you. All before next Friday! lol

Ok am setting the diff lvl at 2 (6+) again
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:02, Mon 11 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tarkahnta Modelii Akata (msg # 934):

Gonna go ahead and buy the Difficulty down to 0. (Zu @ 6/12 Speed, 4/10 Adventuring) He really needs to succeed this time.

Under the influence of the speed boosters, Zu's reckless leap is more like a takeoff, and he drives himself through the air at the hulking monster, fist-first, with the fury and velocity of a shooting star. His sheer physical prowess does not fail him, and the monk's artifact-enhanced punch lands solidly in the center of the creature's metal-and-synth breastbone.

In reply to Zu (msg # 935):

Ok,sounds good!

You land a blow (now for the "level of success" measure of degree? meaning how well did Zu do?
I picked this up from another GM
Roll a 1D6 for me and add a +1 to it
I will of course add the Cypher bonuses.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:44, Mon 18 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tarkahnta Modelii Akata (msg # 936):

20:45, Today: Zu rolled 3 using 1d6+1 ((2)).

Meh. ~~ Hope the cyphers have good bonuses.

In reply to Zu (msg # 937):

They do, they have a +2 so your total is a 5. A very good level of success.
Meaning that due to the cyphers and your own roll you rolled very well a 6 being the upper ceiling.
So you get to describe the attack and the resulting damage and devastation you wreck on the blitzer

In reply to Tarkahnta Modelii Akata (msg # 938):

Oh, that'll be my pleasure. :-D

The tremendous weight of Zu's flying fist behind the sheer power of the Strength Enhancement gauntlet shatters the monstrous metal creature's armored breastplate, driving deep within and knocking the Blitzer back across the floor in a thirty-foot slide, smashing through stone tables and pillars until the thing crashes into a wall. Zu yanks back on the gauntlet, then presses both feet against the metal frame surrounding the monster's rib cage and pulls, but no amount of force can extract the artifact from the artifact monster's chest cavity.
After several second of struggling, Zu gives up. He chops the top few tubes running into the beast's main body, then sidesteps and kicks the lower tubes as viscous, burning oil shoots out the severed lines.
Zu does a backflip off the metal-and-flesh creature as the flaming mess sprays from its broken body, and lands on the ground ten feet away to watch it and make sure it doesn't rise again.

In reply to Zu (msg # 939):

The creature lays on the ichor soaked ground , all movement has stopped and its body is a tangled mass of ruined flesh and metal. It's life having left its martal coils . You see Zafriti scream and  rush away following Otsgar and Modelli and the rest of the survivors out the way they entered as they fight off the serpentmen. They are making a controlled retreat but one that is desperate and tinges the air with sweat and fear. You see another raider fall to scaly hacking and wicked combat. Looking on you see Otsgar wielding a massive hammer knock several serpent men aside as they are pushed back.Modellii not too far behind still holding the white haired girl ,letting Otsgar cover his retreat. As they cross the massive doors and reach the other end of the threshold, you hear the massive doors begin to grind shut. Looking the other way you see a pulsing,rolling,coiling mass of a new wave of serpent men moving to engage.

When the colossal doors begin to close, Zu's eyes go wide and he nearly trips over his feet running for the exit. He has to step lightly to get over a pile of fallen rubble, but once he hits the other side, the lithe runner slides under a stone table and snags his pack with one hand, then hops up onto a column of stone pillars, dashing and leaping from one to the next in order to make it over the bulk of the lizard man force without getting bogged down in the press and tangle of them.

---

Do I need to make any rolls for this?

In reply to Zu (msg # 941):

Not to reach the door but I need you to roll once you reach the door at a lvl 3 diff (9+)
That to see if he is quick enough to make it through the doorway or if the door is barely open.

---

I'm not taking any chances on this roll. Spending 3 Speed and 1 AP to get the Difficulty down to 1, just in case. (Zu @ 3/12 Speed, 3/10 AP)
20:36, Today: Zu failed (no successes) using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 3 ((2)). Speed (Getting through the Door).

Dammit. I hate my dice sometimes. Can I spend that XP point for a reroll?

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In reply to Zu (msg # 943):

yes you may.
and yes the "Gods of the Dice" ARE fickle as hell

---

lol. No doubt. Okay. XP Spent.
21:10, Today: Zu rolled 1 success using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 3 ((17)).

---

The mighty stone doors grind downward in their inexorable crawl as Zu runs for his life, but it's too far--he'll never make it.
Suddenly, the door catches, releasing an ear-splitting shriek of pain from the ancient gears within.
Zu abandons his bag on the ground behind him and bolts across the last ten feet with every ounce of speed he can muster, pumping his legs like frenzied rods in an engine run amok as rivers of sweat pour down his face and back.
Uncaring for his plight, the colossal door wrenches, then shudders, then drops as the gear cracks and gives way.
Zu slides through the closing gap as the heavy wall of stone crashes into the ground behind him!
Slowly, he lets his head sink back to the dusty floor.
"Please," he chokes, chest heaving in gasping breaths. "Please... say we can... rest... for a bit."

In reply to Zu (msg # 945):

Zu has little time to rest as he sees in an instant a scaly serpent amn bringing what looks like an oversized bronze scimitar down towards him. Suddenly the air around the serpentman blazes in flame, the monster being lit like a candle wick. as it runs towards its fellows who part their brood mates death run. A beefy arm reaches for you lifting you to your feet. You see Modelii still holding the white haired girl while helping you up. The cause of the flame;Isaiab, standing holding another corse pouch ready to hurl it. "Let us make haste!" the old conjurer says tracing arcane lines in the air that begin to manifest

Zu staggers to his feet with Modelli's help, but his legs are still shaking from the exertion. He gulps a breath and gives the others a thumbs-up sign as he reaches for his backpack strap, then realizes he's not carrying it. For a second, he scans the ground around him frantically before he remembers leaving it behind.
"Solar hells!" he huffs with uncharacteristic vitriol.
He looks like he's about to say something else, but then he just shakes his head and follows after his friends at a tired, lagging jog.

In reply to Zu (msg # 947):

The party is still making a control retreat. The serpentmen are still coming as some have squeezed there way in before the door slammed shut, crushing a score more in its edges.
Make a speed roll will a diff lvl 3 (9+)

17:41, Today: Zu failed (no successes) using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 9 ((7)).
(I'm assuming this is a roll to avoid getting stuck fighting the lizard men?)

---

Slowed as he is by fatigue, Zu falls behind enough that a couple of lizard men manage to get between him and his friends.
"Oh, you picked a bad day to cross me," Zu warns them as they close in on him with their weapons drawn.
He relaxes into a fighting stance on the balls of his feet, still winded but prepared to counterattack whichever of his enemies decides to come at him first.

In reply to Zu (msg # 949):

Yes. :) I will pace the diff at lvl 3 (9+)

---

I'm using the Speed Booster, which Zu kept in his pockets, to counteract any penalties from fatigue.
For Defense:
14:20, Today: Zu rolled 1 success using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 9 ((9)).
For Attack:
14:21, Today: Zu failed (no successes) using 1d20 with the Target Number system with a target of 9 ((4)).

---

While he waits for them to close, Zu pulls the inhaler from his pocket and takes another hit of the Speed Booster to keep his fatigue from slowing him down.
"You'd better hope that's not addictive," Suri snarks from inside his head.
"Better a junkie than a dead man," Zu counters with a thought.

Then his wait was over. One of the lizards sprang at him with a spear. Zu toed off against the wall and leapt over the enemy's weapon, coming down at his foe with a falling elbow strike. The lizard man saw him coming, though, and rolled out of the way before the monk could hit him. Zu hit the ground in a spin, whirling one leg around him in a roundhouse kick to keep the creatures from swarming him.

In reply to Zu (msg # 951):

What is Zu's  combat strategy next phase? Stand and fight? Or make his retreat?

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Zu's pretty ticked off right now. If these guys are the only ones around, he's fighting under the impression he can actually beat them. If there are more coming, though, he's going to try to slow them down enough to get a head start.

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