Clusterfrag

Ghoul #3 leaps on Doc and gnashes his teeth.

(( Ghoul #2, Unarmed Combat + AGI = 3 ))
(( Doc, Block, Unarmed Combat + AGI - 1 (Defaulting) = 4 ))

Doc manages to hold the snapping face away from his own.

Ghoul #4 joins the foray and leaps on Max.

(( Ghoul #4, Unarmed Combat + AGI = 6 ))
(( Max, Unarmed Combat + AGI = 6 ))

Max just manages to disentangle himself from the flailing, inhumanly strong limbs groping at him.

Tyros perceives the astral plane, looking to see if there is any presence or disturbance that might impact spell casting.

With a bellow of "time to fly, boys!", Tyros throws his arms skyward, superman style (centering), and launches himself into the air towards the sphere (levitate, f5, which should move us 15 meters/turn). Max, Doc and Rawhide have somewhat surprised looks on their faces as they find themselves pulled into the air after the troll ((unless someone wants to stay on the ground, in which case Tyros won't pull them along)).

((I'd rather stay on the ground.))

Having just barely dodged off of the attacking ghoul, Max draws his shotgun on the monster and unloads two shotgun shells into its undead guts.

Holding the ghoul's head away from him with one hand, Doc uses his other hand to jam the submachine gun into the creature's snapping jaws, and pull the trigger.

Tyros launches himself from the ground, his airborne caper illiciting a chorus of Ooo's and Aaah's from the crowd.

[ Tyros, Levitate (4) on Tyros, Spellcasting + MAG + 2 (Focus) = 4 ]
[ Tyros, Resist Drain, WIL + LOG + 1 (Centering) + 2 (Focused Concentration) = 5 ]

As Tyros approaches the sphere, the drones converge on him.

[ Drone1, Pilot + Attack = 1 ]
[ Drone2, Pilot + Attack = 4 ]
[ Drone3, Pilot + Attack = 1 ]
[ Drone4, Pilot + Attack = 3 ]

[ Tyros, REA - 2 (Sustaining) = 0 ]

[ Tyros, BOD + 5 (1/2 Impact) - 2 (Sustaining) = 7 ] **0S DAMAGE**
[ Tyros, BOD + 5 (1/2 Impact) - 2 (Sustaining) = 3 ] **3S DAMAGE**
[ Tyros, BOD + 5 (1/2 Impact) - 2 (Sustaining) = 5 ] **1S DAMAGE**
[ Tyros, BOD + 5 (1/2 Impact) - 2 (Sustaining) = 3 ] **3S DAMAGE**

(( Combat, Round 1, Ini Pass 2 ))

[ Rawhide = 53 ]
[ Doc = 51 ]
[ Max = 37 ]
[ Ghoul #3 = 35 ]
[ Ghoul #4 = 35 ]

Rawhide spins a roundhouse kick at the ghoul trying to eat Doc's face.

(( Rawhide, Karate + AGI = 4 ))
(( Ghoul #3, Block, Unarmed Combat + AGI = 4 ))

A bony arm catches the dwarf's leg and deflects it.

With the SMG barrel firmly lodged in the ghoul's mouth, Doc squeezes the trigger.

(( Doc Adams: [BF - Narrow] AGI 7 + automatics 4 +2 (specialization) + 1 [laser] -3 [Called Shot] = 4 -- 14P ))
(( Ghoul: REA 6 2 [Defender In Melee] = 2 ))
(( Ghoul: BOD 9 + 5 [Armor] = 4 -- 10P ))

A splatter of blood covers Max as the back of the ghoul's throat blows out.

(( Doc Adams: [BF - Narrow] AGI 7 + automatics 4 +2 (specialization) + 1 [laser] -3 [Called Shot] = 3 -- 13P ))
(( Ghoul: REA 6 2 [Defender In Melee] = 5 ))

The force of the first burst dislodges the MP5 and the second burst misfires.

Max reels back and unloads with his Remington.

(( Max Overstreet: AGI 8 + longarms 6 +2 (specialization) + 2 [smartlink] = 3 -- 10P ))
(( Ghoul: REA 6 2 [Defender In Melee] = 2 ))
(( Ghoul: BOD 9 + 5 [Armor] -1 [AP] = 3 -- 7P ))

(( Max Overstreet: AGI 8 + longarms 6 +2 (specialization) + 2 [smartlink] = 7 -- 14P ))
(( Ghoul: REA 6 2 [Defender In Melee] = 2 ))
(( Ghoul: BOD 9 + 5 [Armor] -1 [AP] = 7 -- 7P ))

Each shot blows a hole clean through the ghoul, until there is nothing holding torso and lower body together. A fountain of gore lands at his feet.

Ghoul #3, hemorrhaging blood from the throat wound, leaps on Doc and scratches at him.

(( Ghoul, Unarmed Combat + AGI = 3 ))
(( Doc, Block, Unarmed Combat + AGI - 1 (Defaulting) = 1 ))
(( Doc, BOD + 6 (Armor) = 2 )) **2P DAMAGE**

The ghoul's claws come away bloody and Doc is now sporting a fresh scar along his face and neck.

(( Combat, Round 2, Ini Pass 1 ))

[ Doc = 50 ]
[ Max = 49 ]
[ Rawhide = 40 ]
[ Ghoul #3 = 31 ]
[ Tyros = 10 ]

The crowd roars, clearly reveling in the shared bloodshed.

Max turns his shotgun to the sky and blasts at the hovering defensive drones which seem to be all but serving his troll cohort a glass of warm milk.

"Why won't you die!?" Doc screams at the ghoul.

He stares the ghoul in the eyes, as he presses the SMG to its belly and fires off another burst.

(( Doc Adams: [BF - Narrow] AGI 7 + automatics 4 +2 (specialization) + 1 [laser] = 6 -- 13P ))
(( Ghoul: REA 7 -2 [Point Blank] = 2 ))
(( Ghoul: BOD 9 + 5 [Armor] = 4 -- 9P ))

The ghoul topples over backwards as Doc empties out its rotted internal organs.

(( Max Overstreet: AGI 8 + longarms 6 + 1 [laser] -2 [Small Target] = 4 -- 11P ))
(( Drone: REA 6 2 [Running] = 3 ))
(( Drone: BOD 2 + 2 [Armor] -1 [AP] = 1 -- 10P ))

Max picks off the first drone as if he's shooting clay pigeons.

(( Max Overstreet: AGI 8 + longarms 6 + 1 [laser] -2 [Small Target] = 4 -- 11P ))
(( Drone: REA 6 2 [Running] = 2 ))
(( Drone: BOD 2 + 2 [Armor] -1 [AP] = 2 -- 9P ))

And another drone explodes as the shotgun slug bisects it.

Rawhide squints an eye, taking aim down the barrel of the MP5, before firing.

(( Rawhide: [BF - Narrow] AGI 6 + automatics 6 +2 (specialization) + 1 [laser] -2 [Small Target] = 6 -- 13P ))
(( Drone: REA 6 2 [Running] = 4 ))
(( Drone: BOD 2 + 2 [Armor] = 0 -- 13P ))

The drone disintegrates under the volley of SMG fire.

Tyros screams profanities, in pain rather than anger, as smoke whisps away from his electrocuted body. As his flying body passes the remaining drone, he takes a desperate swipe at it with his sword before dropping the blade and reaching for the sphere as it comes to his grasp!

(( Tyros, Swords + AGI - 2 (Wound) - 2 (Sustaining) + 2 (Reach) + 2 (Weapon Focus) = 3 ))
(( Drone, Sensor + Pilot = 3 ))

Tyros' claymore just barely grazes the drone, batting it away instead of destroying it.

((LOL!))

Max seizes the moment and fires on the last remaining drone, feverishly trying to drop it from the sky before any of his compatriots have the chance!

The slug from Max's shotgun is true and detonates the drones, showering the shaken Tyros with technological debris.

Max looks on as the dazed troll rockets skyward through the explosion of tech. Though he can't see it, Max can imagine the weary, almost drunken look on Tyros's face as he struggles to remain both aloft and conscious through the tremendous strain of the spell and his previous electrocution. But despite his generally tenuous relationship with the troll and his hatred for his kind in general, Max can't help but feel a certain admiration for his teammate. Perhaps more so than ever before, the singed and stunned elf feels a solidarity with the massive mage.

Tyros is burned, bruised and exhausted. The stuffy studio air rushes past him as he flies the last few meters to the orb. His outstretched fingertips brush the sleek metal of the sphere. The sound of a thousand sirens and party whistles going off at once finally break his concentration and he collapses on a heap at the foot of the pole.

"They've done it!" Johnny Denim does a mad dance on the platform, to the chorus of several hundred rabid fans gibbering. "Our contenders have captured the victory orb!"

After a quick promo spot for Buzz Bomb cola, Johnny turns to the team.

"Do you have anything to say to our studio audience at home?"

The circles under Doc's eyes give him a haggard and slightly skeletal appearance.
He glares at the nearest camera drone.

"Yeah, keep your day job."

Max looks at the trideo cameras circling about the group with a scowl on his face. Snarling at the closest one, he hawks from deep within his sinuses and spits a thick gob of blood directly onto its lens.