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<blockquote data-quote="Nebulous" data-source="post: 4406170" data-attributes="member: 31465"><p><span style="font-size: 15px">Adventure #34: The Superweapon</span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Part 1: Monologues & Mayhem</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> January 12th, 1926</p><p> </p><p> Thursday, 2:24 am</p><p> </p><p> The initial wave of cultists, deep ones, and hybrids have been repelled by the Firmies and investigators. They stand breathlessly on the bow of their ruined boat and survey the destruction. The village is a mass of burning huts and bodies. Limbs are strewn everywhere from the dozens of grenades rolled to the feet of the enemy. Blood soaks the sand and crimson waves crash to the shoreline. Moans of the injured waft on the wind, but the investigators are only mildly hurt. They were able to destroy the shoggoth before it inflicted serious harm.</p><p> </p><p> But even as Hans Hazzenbaum wipes grit from his eyes, there is an echoing retort of gunfire and a glob of wet brains and blood splatters him! A Firmie to his side has been shot through the back of the head, the front of his face ripped off. He falls forward, gurgling. Hans screams and staggers away, and everyone looks back to the surf: </p><p> </p><p> And there it is, the Dark Mistress churning through the water at high speed, and someone taking shots at them with a high powered rifle. An eerie green light emanates from somewhere below deck.</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/darkmist.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> "Damn it!" says Chad Slambody. "I knew we should have sunk that thing!"</p><p> </p><p> They immediately leap off and find cover. Not far away, Chu-Min is trotting toward them from the ruined village. A haze of orange light illuminates everyone, making them easier targets for the Dark Mistress. Chu-min is injured, blood streaming into his eyes, and dozens of Firm Action fighters follow in his wake. But then surprisingly, he walks straight up to Jack Brady and cracks him across the jaw!</p><p> </p><p> "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he shrieks in Chinese. "What is this? What...what are these monsters!" Chu-Min has obviously gone off the deep end and lost quite a bit of Sanity. Jack Brady massages his chin, glaring at him, and says,</p><p> </p><p> "Did what I had to Chu. To get you here to help me. Get over it."</p><p> </p><p> The investigators collectively roll their eyes. No, Brady, don't piss him off more! But Hans and Chad don't understand a lick of this conversation, only that Chu-Min is furious. He storms off, taking a large percentage of the Firmies who loyally follow their leader. Many of the others seem indecisive. Everyone has taken some Sanity shocks.</p><p> </p><p> "He's gone mad," says Chang, and Hans gets an idea. Dragging Chang with him, Hans follows Chu-Min, tapping him on the shoulder and trying to offer psychological counsel, but with Chang as a translator the attempt is garbled. Chu-Min cannot be swayed. He says that he's taking as many people from this island as possible, if they can find a boat that will still run. (They don't know how much damage the fishmen inflicted to the hulls). Sighing, Hans admits failure, but Chang spins Chu-Min around and forces him into staying!</p><p> </p><p> "We all die if you leave! The whole world might end! You WILL help us! Fight for your country dammit!" The persuasion is effective, and Chu-Min grudgingly brings his squads back. </p><p> </p><p> Meanwhile, the Dark Mistress is still puttering around offshore, winding through the dangerous reefs and taking occasional shots. The investigators aren't too sure what to do about that, but they definitely keep an eye on the boat, hoping they don't somehow get flanked by more enemies pouring off of her. The investigators reconvene with Jack Brady and outline their plan of action: at this point, they've decided to forgo the Eye of Light and Darkness until the next full moon, assuming they survive this ordeal. The superweapon must be inside the cone of he volcano, so that is where they head.</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/island.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> There are 75 Firmies left alive, and they have a fair amount of ammunition and grenades. Furthermore, almost every last Firm Action member is carrying a backpack with 1-2 gallons of gasoline. Chu-Min and Jack Brady have collectively brainwashed these young men and women to the point that they are fanatically dangerous, some even so loyal that they will sacrifice themselves for Firm Action's cause.</p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"> And having 75 mini-Gas Camels is the player's dream come true.</span></p><p> </p><p> From ground level, the path winds up the cone for about two hundred feet until it reaches a cave entrance. Torches illuminate the entrance, which is suitably horrible for this island: a gaping mouth, ringed by writhing tentacles and open eyes. </p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/entrance2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> Four 1st level Firmie scouts are sent ahead. Everyone else begins clambering up the steep path to the cave entrance, but the whole time the wind has been picking up. Sand whips around their feet and stings their eyes. At first they're not sure if it is just blurry vision, or a mirage in the night, but the air above the entrance seems hazy. It quickly grows blurrier and rounder, washing back and forth like swirling liquid in a drain, and to their horror, an inhuman screech erupts from the hole, followed seconds later by an immense flying creature!</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/hunt.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> <span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red"> [GM Note: From now until the end, we had to crank out both abstract and individually detailed attacks, saves, Sanity checks, damage, and deaths for the Firmie squads. It was more math than I anticipated, but it worked out pretty well. And over 75 people shooting guns (and lightning!) at one target deals a crapload of damage]</span></p><p> </p><p> The dragon-ish creature (a Hunting Horror) bats its tremendous wings and swoops down to the ground, lashing a barbed tail around a scout's waist. He is severed in two, both halves of his body falling to either side and cascading down the black rocks. But the Sanity of the Firm Action fighters holds up, and they collectively unleash a barrage of automatic rifles and pistol shots. Chad, Chang and Brady start pumping shotgun shells at the thing, while Hans and Lester pull out their lightning guns and discharge volleys of hissing blue electricity. The hunting horror is hammered by the attacks, metal piercing its unnatural flesh in dozens of places. It staggers under the onslaught, but is resistant to the damage and its wounds quickly begin to heal. It beats its wings and scuttles forward, snapping the head off another unfortunate victim and battering several more away with its wings.</p><p> </p><p> The Firmies and investigators keep firing and moving, firing and moving, scaling back down the path as the hunting horror obliterates those closest to it. But even a demon of its size and wrath cannot withstand so much concentrated firepower. The beast finally launches fifty feet up into the air, its eyes glowing like hot embers, and the hair of a Firmie in the front ranks begins to smoke. He screams, "Agh! Agh! It hurts!" </p><p> </p><p> [GM Note: The horror cast Death By Flames, attempting to ignite the gasoline packs they all carried for a lethal chain-reaction.This could have been a truly memorable end to the campaign as these Chinese gas bombs detonate in a line down the mountainside, sending heroes and NPC's alike to their doom].</p><p> </p><p> A quick-thinking squad leader shoves the man off the side, but horror could not maintain sufficient concentration anyway. The barrage of firepower striking it is just too much. Twisting and turning, it finally disengages and transforms into smoke, jetting over the cliffs and vanishes from sight.</p><p> </p><p> Cheers fill the night air, and bolstered by their success, the assault continues up the slope until the entrance is reached. Squad leaders quickly establish a guard garrison at the entrance. The path inside leads down into the volcano, and it reeks of fumes. Warmth rises from the depths, and the promise of waiting death. But they're come too far to stop now! But they're packed tight into the tunnel, and even the rambunctious heroes can see the danger of their flammable friends in such close proximity. There is a loud speaker mounted near the entrance, and it begins to crackle.</p><p> </p><p> "Do not resist the will of our Lord," demands a voice. "Join us, and live forever!"</p><p> </p><p> As what? Zombies? Well, the investigators aren't too keen about that. They don't recognize the voice though, even thought he is speaking to them in English. But they know that the Firmies are walking on thin psychological ice, as well as the investigators. They have all suffered Sanity loss, and so they decide to rest for a while before continuing, just long enough to calm their nerves. Soon, several more scouts are sent down the stairs, which are coated in slippery slime. Their backpacks are removed for this purpose, and it turns out to be a very wise tactic. Partway down, two of them slip and fall, and roll all the way down through a wall of noxious fumes pumping through a crevasse. Strange sounds emanate from behind the mist, and the investigators hear shrieks of pain. Moments later two scouts clamber back up. They're injured and say that four men with guns that shot burning violet light were waiting for them!</p><p> </p><p> Hmm...Hot violet light...gasoline...combined? [<strong>I swear you guys are a bunch of pyromaniacs.</strong>]</p><p> </p><p> Chad runs back up the stairs to the entrance. He has an idea. But even before he arrives he hears scattered gunshots and grenades from outside. Surging to the top, he sees the guard garrison raining bullets down on another fishman patrol clambering up the slope, attempting to flank them. But they're just too far away to make it without dying. Chad grabs a corpse and hauls it back down the stairs, and they fit the body with three backpacks full of gasoline, and roll it down the slippery slope. The body plunges through the opaque walls of fumes, while Lester contributes to the trap by shouting in Chinese:</p><p> </p><p> "Oh no! I tripped!" [Very silly yes, but funny]</p><p> </p><p> As hoped for, the cultists at the bottom unleash their violet flamethrowers (or whatever they are) at the booby-trapped corpse, and ignite the gasoline. A bloom of fire flashes up and down the tunnel, sending a small shockwave of force and heat that sears the eyebrows off the nearest investigators. Dying screams echo from below. Noting human could have survived that point-blank detonation.</p><p> </p><p> They continue on, seeing black charred bodies that were carrying some sort of metal contraptions on their backs, hooked to a firing nozzle. It is not exactly a flame thrower, but they're hopelessly damaged now.</p><p> </p><p> The voice echoes over the loudspeaker system again: "The time of the Unveiling is at hand! Do you not wish to witness the birth of a new era? Do not oppose the might of Nyarlathotep! Cease your struggle and join us! Your reward will be great."</p><p> </p><p> The investigators soon see an orange glow emanating from the bottom of the stairwell. It has grown VERY hot, and they hear bubbling magma. When they finally breach the center of volcano, they see Nyarlathotep's superweapon for the first time and are awed by it.</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/rocket.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> It is an immense, silvery rocket nearly 80 feet high. Girders support it around a magma pit where a blinding white light emanates from multiple rods reaching into the lava. Nearly two hundred feet away on the opposite side of the cavern is a large dais, with a huge, hideous statue of the Bloated Woman. Dozens of black-garbed cultists are crowded on or near the dais. To the investigator's left is a bubbling pool of foul, greenish water, with a cave entrance above it. To their right is a calmer pool, but the heads of several deep ones lurk there. Scattered around the central rocket are half a dozen more Chinese cultists. </p><p> </p><p> For the third time, the voice crackles over the loudspeaker system. "I know who you are! You have been a problem for a long, long while now. You cannot possibly hope to leave this place alive! I offer you this chance to live forever! Surrender!"</p><p> </p><p> "Who are you?" shouts Hans.</p><p> </p><p> After a moment of silence, the voice crackles back: "Sir Audrey Penhew. Welcome to my evil lair." [Not really, i just had to pretend though]</p><p> </p><p> So this is the man himself, Nyarlathotep's High Priest now and the main instigator behind this superweapon. They aren't sure where he is, but he is probably near the dais. The majority of the Firmies are still crowded into the tunnel, but squads slowly spill out into the cavern. Hans spots movement in the cave above the bubbling pool, and sees a massive fish man lurking in the shadows. </p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/priest2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> More fishmen clamber out of the opposite pool, hissing. The cultists on the dais are armed, some with pistols, others with rifles, and the guns are pointed at them.</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/ones2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> Things are about to get very, very messy, very very quickly. But Lester has a plan! "Distract him," he whispers to Hans. "Keep that smug bastard talking for just a minute."</p><p> </p><p> Hans falters. "Ah...how...how will we live forever, Penhew? How...how can we trust you? Or...your god? You've been trying to kill us for months!"</p><p> </p><p> Crackling laughter echoes across the room, tainted by maniacal glee. "Death is but another stage of life," he drawls. "Our plans have been in motion for years and years now. This rocket, the warhead, the staging of the Great Work for the eclipse that comes in two days hence. It is a work of brilliance designed by our Dark Lord. Time and Space shall be ruptured by the radium bomb, and simultaneous rituals will enable Nyarlathotep to fully exist on this world. Not an avatar, not a summoned entity, but a full and living GOD! We on earth are but his humble servants, and shall be rewarded in the hereafter as rules and kings of the planet."</p><p> </p><p> Hans manages to keep Penhew monologuing while Lester throws together a (Talent Tree) plan. Squads are given explicit orders, and most of the gasoline backpacks are removed and placed in the tunnel. Fishmen continue filling the placid pool, their large bulbous eyes reflecting orange in the lava's glow. A very, very large deep one steps out of the cave entrance above the green, bubbling pool, holding a glob of gray slime in either hand. Firmies rank up, making sure guns are loaded and cocked. Penhew's cultists take aim with their rifles.</p><p> </p><p> This is about to turn into a Chinese standoff, with the investigators flanked on three sides.</p><p> </p><p> "Put your weapons down and surrender!" says Penhew again, obviously growing irritated. "You cannot survive! Put YOUR GUNS D--"</p><p> </p><p> "FIRE!" screams Lester.</p><p> </p><p> And Hans shouts to the his invisible blink-dingo from Australia: "If you're here dog, go bite Penhew!" Hans doesn't actually see anything happen (worth a try though).</p><p> </p><p> The good guys win initiative and a hail of bullets explodes toward the large deep one above the green, bubbling pool. Bullets rip through its chest, heart, head, blasting one hand off at the wrist. It staggers and then falls forward into the muck. Lester and Hans unleash jagged voltage from their lightning guns and electrocute a dozen fishmen in the pool nearest to them before they can clamber out, killing them all instantly.</p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/pen2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> Squads start shooting at cultists, both near and far, and their shots are returned by enemies on the dais. Bodies are dropping left and right, but the bubbling green pool turns out to be a huge source of trouble. Slime sprays out and a truly massive shoggoth lumbers forth, probably three times larger than the one they killed outside. The Sanity loss for seeing this ten-thousand pound abomination slithering toward them should have been enough to ruin their remaining Sanity, but everyone loses a surprising small amount! [I think I rolled a few 3's] But not all the Firmies are in the room yet, many of them still crowded into the tunnel. Countless bullets puncture the monster, but inflict minimum damage. </p><p> </p><p> <img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/shog.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p> </p><p> "GRENADES!" shouts Chu-Min, and a dozen Firmies toss hand bombs. Some strike true, but a few others badly miss their mark, roll back, and explode in the middle of their comrades. The shoggoth raises itself up and scuttles forward at tremendous speed, slamming its bulk down onto crates and Firmies, crushing the life out of eight people at once. The sounds of their bones crushing beneath its bulk is sickening. The abomination rises up again, flailing pseudopods and innumerable toothy mouths that yawn and snap, spitting saliva at its next juicy targets...</p><p> </p><p> ...the investigators.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> And there we had to stop.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nebulous, post: 4406170, member: 31465"] [SIZE=4]Adventure #34: The Superweapon[/SIZE] [B]Part 1: Monologues & Mayhem[/B] January 12th, 1926 Thursday, 2:24 am The initial wave of cultists, deep ones, and hybrids have been repelled by the Firmies and investigators. They stand breathlessly on the bow of their ruined boat and survey the destruction. The village is a mass of burning huts and bodies. Limbs are strewn everywhere from the dozens of grenades rolled to the feet of the enemy. Blood soaks the sand and crimson waves crash to the shoreline. Moans of the injured waft on the wind, but the investigators are only mildly hurt. They were able to destroy the shoggoth before it inflicted serious harm. But even as Hans Hazzenbaum wipes grit from his eyes, there is an echoing retort of gunfire and a glob of wet brains and blood splatters him! A Firmie to his side has been shot through the back of the head, the front of his face ripped off. He falls forward, gurgling. Hans screams and staggers away, and everyone looks back to the surf: And there it is, the Dark Mistress churning through the water at high speed, and someone taking shots at them with a high powered rifle. An eerie green light emanates from somewhere below deck. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/darkmist.jpg[/IMG] "Damn it!" says Chad Slambody. "I knew we should have sunk that thing!" They immediately leap off and find cover. Not far away, Chu-Min is trotting toward them from the ruined village. A haze of orange light illuminates everyone, making them easier targets for the Dark Mistress. Chu-min is injured, blood streaming into his eyes, and dozens of Firm Action fighters follow in his wake. But then surprisingly, he walks straight up to Jack Brady and cracks him across the jaw! "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he shrieks in Chinese. "What is this? What...what are these monsters!" Chu-Min has obviously gone off the deep end and lost quite a bit of Sanity. Jack Brady massages his chin, glaring at him, and says, "Did what I had to Chu. To get you here to help me. Get over it." The investigators collectively roll their eyes. No, Brady, don't piss him off more! But Hans and Chad don't understand a lick of this conversation, only that Chu-Min is furious. He storms off, taking a large percentage of the Firmies who loyally follow their leader. Many of the others seem indecisive. Everyone has taken some Sanity shocks. "He's gone mad," says Chang, and Hans gets an idea. Dragging Chang with him, Hans follows Chu-Min, tapping him on the shoulder and trying to offer psychological counsel, but with Chang as a translator the attempt is garbled. Chu-Min cannot be swayed. He says that he's taking as many people from this island as possible, if they can find a boat that will still run. (They don't know how much damage the fishmen inflicted to the hulls). Sighing, Hans admits failure, but Chang spins Chu-Min around and forces him into staying! "We all die if you leave! The whole world might end! You WILL help us! Fight for your country dammit!" The persuasion is effective, and Chu-Min grudgingly brings his squads back. Meanwhile, the Dark Mistress is still puttering around offshore, winding through the dangerous reefs and taking occasional shots. The investigators aren't too sure what to do about that, but they definitely keep an eye on the boat, hoping they don't somehow get flanked by more enemies pouring off of her. The investigators reconvene with Jack Brady and outline their plan of action: at this point, they've decided to forgo the Eye of Light and Darkness until the next full moon, assuming they survive this ordeal. The superweapon must be inside the cone of he volcano, so that is where they head. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/island.jpg[/IMG] There are 75 Firmies left alive, and they have a fair amount of ammunition and grenades. Furthermore, almost every last Firm Action member is carrying a backpack with 1-2 gallons of gasoline. Chu-Min and Jack Brady have collectively brainwashed these young men and women to the point that they are fanatically dangerous, some even so loyal that they will sacrifice themselves for Firm Action's cause. [SIZE=3] And having 75 mini-Gas Camels is the player's dream come true.[/SIZE] From ground level, the path winds up the cone for about two hundred feet until it reaches a cave entrance. Torches illuminate the entrance, which is suitably horrible for this island: a gaping mouth, ringed by writhing tentacles and open eyes. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/entrance2.jpg[/IMG] Four 1st level Firmie scouts are sent ahead. Everyone else begins clambering up the steep path to the cave entrance, but the whole time the wind has been picking up. Sand whips around their feet and stings their eyes. At first they're not sure if it is just blurry vision, or a mirage in the night, but the air above the entrance seems hazy. It quickly grows blurrier and rounder, washing back and forth like swirling liquid in a drain, and to their horror, an inhuman screech erupts from the hole, followed seconds later by an immense flying creature! [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/hunt.jpg[/IMG] [COLOR=red] [GM Note: From now until the end, we had to crank out both abstract and individually detailed attacks, saves, Sanity checks, damage, and deaths for the Firmie squads. It was more math than I anticipated, but it worked out pretty well. And over 75 people shooting guns (and lightning!) at one target deals a crapload of damage][/COLOR] The dragon-ish creature (a Hunting Horror) bats its tremendous wings and swoops down to the ground, lashing a barbed tail around a scout's waist. He is severed in two, both halves of his body falling to either side and cascading down the black rocks. But the Sanity of the Firm Action fighters holds up, and they collectively unleash a barrage of automatic rifles and pistol shots. Chad, Chang and Brady start pumping shotgun shells at the thing, while Hans and Lester pull out their lightning guns and discharge volleys of hissing blue electricity. The hunting horror is hammered by the attacks, metal piercing its unnatural flesh in dozens of places. It staggers under the onslaught, but is resistant to the damage and its wounds quickly begin to heal. It beats its wings and scuttles forward, snapping the head off another unfortunate victim and battering several more away with its wings. The Firmies and investigators keep firing and moving, firing and moving, scaling back down the path as the hunting horror obliterates those closest to it. But even a demon of its size and wrath cannot withstand so much concentrated firepower. The beast finally launches fifty feet up into the air, its eyes glowing like hot embers, and the hair of a Firmie in the front ranks begins to smoke. He screams, "Agh! Agh! It hurts!" [GM Note: The horror cast Death By Flames, attempting to ignite the gasoline packs they all carried for a lethal chain-reaction.This could have been a truly memorable end to the campaign as these Chinese gas bombs detonate in a line down the mountainside, sending heroes and NPC's alike to their doom]. A quick-thinking squad leader shoves the man off the side, but horror could not maintain sufficient concentration anyway. The barrage of firepower striking it is just too much. Twisting and turning, it finally disengages and transforms into smoke, jetting over the cliffs and vanishes from sight. Cheers fill the night air, and bolstered by their success, the assault continues up the slope until the entrance is reached. Squad leaders quickly establish a guard garrison at the entrance. The path inside leads down into the volcano, and it reeks of fumes. Warmth rises from the depths, and the promise of waiting death. But they're come too far to stop now! But they're packed tight into the tunnel, and even the rambunctious heroes can see the danger of their flammable friends in such close proximity. There is a loud speaker mounted near the entrance, and it begins to crackle. "Do not resist the will of our Lord," demands a voice. "Join us, and live forever!" As what? Zombies? Well, the investigators aren't too keen about that. They don't recognize the voice though, even thought he is speaking to them in English. But they know that the Firmies are walking on thin psychological ice, as well as the investigators. They have all suffered Sanity loss, and so they decide to rest for a while before continuing, just long enough to calm their nerves. Soon, several more scouts are sent down the stairs, which are coated in slippery slime. Their backpacks are removed for this purpose, and it turns out to be a very wise tactic. Partway down, two of them slip and fall, and roll all the way down through a wall of noxious fumes pumping through a crevasse. Strange sounds emanate from behind the mist, and the investigators hear shrieks of pain. Moments later two scouts clamber back up. They're injured and say that four men with guns that shot burning violet light were waiting for them! Hmm...Hot violet light...gasoline...combined? [[B]I swear you guys are a bunch of pyromaniacs.[/B]] Chad runs back up the stairs to the entrance. He has an idea. But even before he arrives he hears scattered gunshots and grenades from outside. Surging to the top, he sees the guard garrison raining bullets down on another fishman patrol clambering up the slope, attempting to flank them. But they're just too far away to make it without dying. Chad grabs a corpse and hauls it back down the stairs, and they fit the body with three backpacks full of gasoline, and roll it down the slippery slope. The body plunges through the opaque walls of fumes, while Lester contributes to the trap by shouting in Chinese: "Oh no! I tripped!" [Very silly yes, but funny] As hoped for, the cultists at the bottom unleash their violet flamethrowers (or whatever they are) at the booby-trapped corpse, and ignite the gasoline. A bloom of fire flashes up and down the tunnel, sending a small shockwave of force and heat that sears the eyebrows off the nearest investigators. Dying screams echo from below. Noting human could have survived that point-blank detonation. They continue on, seeing black charred bodies that were carrying some sort of metal contraptions on their backs, hooked to a firing nozzle. It is not exactly a flame thrower, but they're hopelessly damaged now. The voice echoes over the loudspeaker system again: "The time of the Unveiling is at hand! Do you not wish to witness the birth of a new era? Do not oppose the might of Nyarlathotep! Cease your struggle and join us! Your reward will be great." The investigators soon see an orange glow emanating from the bottom of the stairwell. It has grown VERY hot, and they hear bubbling magma. When they finally breach the center of volcano, they see Nyarlathotep's superweapon for the first time and are awed by it. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/rocket.jpg[/IMG] It is an immense, silvery rocket nearly 80 feet high. Girders support it around a magma pit where a blinding white light emanates from multiple rods reaching into the lava. Nearly two hundred feet away on the opposite side of the cavern is a large dais, with a huge, hideous statue of the Bloated Woman. Dozens of black-garbed cultists are crowded on or near the dais. To the investigator's left is a bubbling pool of foul, greenish water, with a cave entrance above it. To their right is a calmer pool, but the heads of several deep ones lurk there. Scattered around the central rocket are half a dozen more Chinese cultists. For the third time, the voice crackles over the loudspeaker system. "I know who you are! You have been a problem for a long, long while now. You cannot possibly hope to leave this place alive! I offer you this chance to live forever! Surrender!" "Who are you?" shouts Hans. After a moment of silence, the voice crackles back: "Sir Audrey Penhew. Welcome to my evil lair." [Not really, i just had to pretend though] So this is the man himself, Nyarlathotep's High Priest now and the main instigator behind this superweapon. They aren't sure where he is, but he is probably near the dais. The majority of the Firmies are still crowded into the tunnel, but squads slowly spill out into the cavern. Hans spots movement in the cave above the bubbling pool, and sees a massive fish man lurking in the shadows. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/priest2.jpg[/IMG] More fishmen clamber out of the opposite pool, hissing. The cultists on the dais are armed, some with pistols, others with rifles, and the guns are pointed at them. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/ones2.jpg[/IMG] Things are about to get very, very messy, very very quickly. But Lester has a plan! "Distract him," he whispers to Hans. "Keep that smug bastard talking for just a minute." Hans falters. "Ah...how...how will we live forever, Penhew? How...how can we trust you? Or...your god? You've been trying to kill us for months!" Crackling laughter echoes across the room, tainted by maniacal glee. "Death is but another stage of life," he drawls. "Our plans have been in motion for years and years now. This rocket, the warhead, the staging of the Great Work for the eclipse that comes in two days hence. It is a work of brilliance designed by our Dark Lord. Time and Space shall be ruptured by the radium bomb, and simultaneous rituals will enable Nyarlathotep to fully exist on this world. Not an avatar, not a summoned entity, but a full and living GOD! We on earth are but his humble servants, and shall be rewarded in the hereafter as rules and kings of the planet." Hans manages to keep Penhew monologuing while Lester throws together a (Talent Tree) plan. Squads are given explicit orders, and most of the gasoline backpacks are removed and placed in the tunnel. Fishmen continue filling the placid pool, their large bulbous eyes reflecting orange in the lava's glow. A very, very large deep one steps out of the cave entrance above the green, bubbling pool, holding a glob of gray slime in either hand. Firmies rank up, making sure guns are loaded and cocked. Penhew's cultists take aim with their rifles. This is about to turn into a Chinese standoff, with the investigators flanked on three sides. "Put your weapons down and surrender!" says Penhew again, obviously growing irritated. "You cannot survive! Put YOUR GUNS D--" "FIRE!" screams Lester. And Hans shouts to the his invisible blink-dingo from Australia: "If you're here dog, go bite Penhew!" Hans doesn't actually see anything happen (worth a try though). The good guys win initiative and a hail of bullets explodes toward the large deep one above the green, bubbling pool. Bullets rip through its chest, heart, head, blasting one hand off at the wrist. It staggers and then falls forward into the muck. Lester and Hans unleash jagged voltage from their lightning guns and electrocute a dozen fishmen in the pool nearest to them before they can clamber out, killing them all instantly. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/pen2.jpg[/IMG] Squads start shooting at cultists, both near and far, and their shots are returned by enemies on the dais. Bodies are dropping left and right, but the bubbling green pool turns out to be a huge source of trouble. Slime sprays out and a truly massive shoggoth lumbers forth, probably three times larger than the one they killed outside. The Sanity loss for seeing this ten-thousand pound abomination slithering toward them should have been enough to ruin their remaining Sanity, but everyone loses a surprising small amount! [I think I rolled a few 3's] But not all the Firmies are in the room yet, many of them still crowded into the tunnel. Countless bullets puncture the monster, but inflict minimum damage. [IMG]http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Esaasha/Masks/shog.jpg[/IMG] "GRENADES!" shouts Chu-Min, and a dozen Firmies toss hand bombs. Some strike true, but a few others badly miss their mark, roll back, and explode in the middle of their comrades. The shoggoth raises itself up and scuttles forward at tremendous speed, slamming its bulk down onto crates and Firmies, crushing the life out of eight people at once. The sounds of their bones crushing beneath its bulk is sickening. The abomination rises up again, flailing pseudopods and innumerable toothy mouths that yawn and snap, spitting saliva at its next juicy targets... ...the investigators. And there we had to stop. [/QUOTE]
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