All posts by jon

Session 6 – The Radio Marauders

We go to Veterans Square, a memorial of World War I. A space ship has crashed in the park, and men with bad Russian accents Tommy guns. The cops warn us that they have threatened to detonate a bomb and kill everyone in the square. Nitro talks to them in Russian and they do not understand. We attack.

Necros phases through the space ship and finds finds that the bomb is completely fake. This is likely a distraction. Spectral floats above the buildings and sees a robbery going on to the east, and a car chase to the north. We decide to go to the robbery to try and stop it.

We take out the fake Russians but Octo is wounded. Dr. Aquatic heals him with water that envelops him and the bullets pop out. They are strange bullets with blue tips.

We go to the bank and the Radio Marauders are robbing the place. They do not have the same bullets and they do not hurt us. We take them out and see they were in the safe deposit boxes again. They only took jewels and coins. No papers, etc. The cops take them to jail. We rush to the north, to see if we can catch the getaway car. We see some smashed cars but the bad guys are gone. We head back to the OctoCave.

Harry works all night on the radio devices and figures out how to get a fix on their signals. Meanwhile, Nitro calls the cops about the strange bullets. They are calling them Hero Killers.

We trace the radio signal to the northeast side of town, about five minutes out — the old radio factory is there.

Harry spends more time on the device and figures how to shut down radio signals with it.

We do a records search and find blueprints of the factory. There are three loading docks. We go to the front door. It is an office. Further in, there is an assembly room and lab. There is a mad scientist here in a white jacket. He shoots us with a stun gun.

We take them all out, then call the cops as usual. He told us that he was trying to make a sleep gun. We see the plans on his journal “Professor Moltry Dobbs” and his studies in using radio waves to put people to sleep. He was trying to put the entire town to street, then rob them blind. The machine he was working on is here.

For our trophy room, we take his stun pistol, a mind-reading hat, and a jetpack. Also a camera with a spinning colored disc in it. There are guns here with cop killer bullets — 100 rounds.

Session 5 – The Radio Marauders

We head quickly to the bank on 5th and 3rd. We take the Octo-Pod. We switch over to telepathic links as our other coms go out. At the site we see a black panel van and sedans with their engines still running.

Necros cuts the engines of the vehicles with his powers. He phases into the truck and sucks the blood of the driver.

Nitro smashes the bank door open with his hammer. We all go inside and attack — some are KOd and several are killed.

The police arrive and we search the place. The safe deposit boxes have been disturbed, and also the records room. The window is open, and someone must have escaped. Spectral goes after him and finds only a helmet and a backpack. We try to interrogate the Marauders that are still alive but they have had some sort of conditioning and don’t break.

Octo tries to check some of their equipment to see if he can hack it. He needs his lab to do anything. We have them taken to jail, and head back to base. After some tinkering, Octo sees that the helmets can communicate with one another. The backpacks cancel signals.

Two days later, an announcement comes over the regular radio. It says that a ship has crashed in Veterans Square downtown and there is a “Communist Revolution” going on. We quickly head there.

Session 4 – The Radio Marauders

A couple of weeks pass. At our next meeting, Red Star and Mother Russia arrive and they are dressed differently. Red Star is now wearing black armor with a dragon on it, and is calling himself Nitro. Mother Russia is in a white costume and calls herself Spectral Spear. They think that these personas will work better with the public.

There have been several bank robberies by the so-called “Radio Marauders.” They wear helmets with speakers on the front, and backpacks with antennae. They are somehow able to cut off all radio signals and phones with this equipment. They use guns. They have stolen $300,000 in the past few weeks.

We get a call from Randolph. We go to the precienct and bring them donuts. He gives us a folder with some information. All of the robberies have the same MO — they show up in a black panel truck or limo. Usually 5-10 people. No pattern of target banks. They hold up the banks with pistols and Tommy guns. They knock out communications but can talk with each other somehow. They take cash and crowbar through safe deposit boxes. They have killed 2 cops so far.

At the telephone company we set up a signal that will go off when the banks lose communications and we can quickly go to catch them. Necros, Nitro and Spear stay there to monitor. Harry goes back to the base and tries to monitor from there. Nothing comes up, so he begins designing a device that will counteract the effects of their tech.

The second day, there is a signal at noon that the bank on 5th and 3rd is being robbed.

Session 3 – The Bullet Brigade

We fight and defeat the Black Bullet. They have guns and ammo, and a safe with cash and jewels. Necros melts the guns and ammo. We take his helmet, Rocket Pistol and ammo for a souvenir (they shoot rocket, high explosive and smoke). We call the police.

We find a list of banks and also pins on a board. All the banks have connections with the Sabatini Crime Family. It says “Only 4 more to go. -M” which may refer to the Maranati family. The Fillini family is currently in charge. We give this info to the police as well.

Session 2 – The Bullet Brigade

The CCPD comes to clean up the mess. We work with Commissioner Randolph.

There are two papers in town. The Carbon City Tribune is against supers — their editor is named Jonathan Aldridge. The Catholic City Herald is very religious. The City Independent Review and Carbon Times are more balanced. Janis Steel, a writer for the Carbon Times, is a contact of ours.

Randolph tells us to get what info we can from the man we imprisoned. We take him back to our lair tangled in the tentacles of the Octo-Pod.

Necros creepily phases through the cell bars and the man is scared. He tells us that the Bullet Brigade is led by the Black Bullet. They are currently at an old farmhouse. They have a getaway driver but no defenses. He uses a fancy pistol. His name is Joe. We take him back to the police.

We go to the farmhouse immediately from there. Necros phases through and opens the door for us. Harry uses a radio signal to open a hidden ramp. We descend to a garage and take out a few guns.

Session 1 – The Bullet Brigade

We are in pursuit of 3 bullet cars crewed by the Bullet Brigade. A chase ensues. We harpoon one of the cars.

Red Star smashes one with his hammer. Dr. Aquatic attacks one with his trident, then summons piranhas. Mother Russia uses her force attack.

Two of the bullet cars crash and the occupants die. One is stopped and they survive.

We collect six Colt 1911s, and three Tommy Guns. We take the goons back to our lair and place them in a holding cell.

Session 5 – Firitucci

Set is hiding in Nurugu’s body.

Antonio leaves and sends a telegram to the Vatican, asking for Trill’s former name. They respond almost immediately with “Firitucci”.

We go to the public records office near Battery Park. On the way, Antonio sees someone following us. He asks Jack to take a circuitous route. We see that it is a laundry truck.

Antonio asks us to find a newspaper stand. He trips on the way out of the car. The truck stops and a man gets out.

Antonio sits in the cab of the truck and sees that the guy in the passenger seat is awfully beefy. The guy goes after him but Antonio jams on the accelerator and shoots him twice in the chest. He runs another bad guy over and breaks his ankles. There are several more guys in the back of the truck.

Jack uses a spell to create spikes where the guy is holding on to the truck. He falls out with quarter-sized holes in his hands.

Shen likes the idea and casts a grease spell on the other guy. It causes an oil can to spill on him but he doesn’t fall.

Antonio cold cocks the guy he shot and he passes out. He steers the truck toward the river.

Shen takes off after the guy with holes in his hands and hits him in the knee with his stick, shattering it.

The oil-covered guy shoots at Antonio, wounding him. Antonio Legolas-surfs out of the car on top of the guy, getting damaged himself.

Jack uses a spell to set the oil on fire. We lug the two guys into the car and take off to the outskirts of town. The guys have flower petals on them. The big guy is in a coma and will probably die.

We interrogate the other guy. He says that they have his wife and child. The other guy is a mercenary. He was told to nab us, but not kill us. Shen uses a truth spell and the guy is being truthful. We drop the big guy in the river and head back to the city. We take the guy to the hospital.

We leave and Antonio is suddenly on fire. The petals are burning in his pocket. He gets rid of them.

We go home to clean up. At Jack’s house there is a package — the severed hand of the owner of the Italian Restaurant.

Session 1 – The Bellsover Breaks

Deep within the Spur Mountains there lies a narrow pass that leads from the stone fields of the Scar to the civilized realms of mankind. This mountain pass, called the “Chasm of Gorgamela” has forever been a migratory route for Giants, Orcs, Ogres and Trolls to travel along in search of bloodshed and plunder. Just over two hundred years ago the Dwarves of the Forgekingdoms and the men of the Krown Empire formed an alliance to prevent the humanoid tribes from raiding the south. Together they built a massive wall to block the chasm cut from nearby basalt stone. The Dwarves cast a massive bell of brass to be hung from the fortress that guarded the wall as a way to summon aid should the defenses fail. The bell was so well tuned it was said you could hear it ring over 300 miles away. Named “Bellsover Break” this fortress was so mighty it was deemed impregnable. Less than a year after its construction it was tested when a tribe of Hill Giants attempted to use the Chasm of Gorgamela to raid the southern lands. The Giants assaulted Bellsover Break for fourteen days and nights before retreating.

Bellsover Break was attacked almost yearly for a decade before the humanoids of the barren lands of the Scar realized the Chasm of Gorgamela was now impassable. This forced these blood thirsty creatures to use other ravines and passes through the Spur Mountains in search of plunder. Many of these routes are prone to rock slides and avalanches. Others are terribly narrow and treacherous. All of these alternative passages limit the movement of large groups. The Krown Empire and the Dwarven Forgekingdoms could finally enjoy peace and prosperity.

In the Common Year 2751, 36 years after the construction of Bellsover Break the fortress was placed under control of the mercenary armies of the newly formed Shieldhood. The Shieldhood is a collection of independent free-companies who dwell together in a city-state located in the eastern edge of the Spur Mountains. The Shieldhood boasts a population of roughly 13,000 inhabitants. Not all who dwell within the fortified city-state are sell swords; the Shieldhood has many who act as support staff for the mercenaries including scribes, carpenters, surveyors, cooks, smiths, whores, merchants and barber surgeons. Leading the city-state is the “War Captain”; all mercenary companies pay allegiance and swear a blood oath to the War Captain but are independently established and governed. Not only is the defense of the Shieldhood itself considering part of the duties the free- companies share but also the maintenance of several forts and guard posts. Bellsover Break is one of these locations.

You are members of the Bronze Dogs a small to mid-sized mercenary free-company established two decades ago by Exarch (equal to a Colonel) Lubomir Gizela. Lubomir was born the son of common farmer in village of Bulnik during the conquest of the Eastern Kingdom of the Krown Empire by the Sons of Samalin. When Bulnik was conquered Lubomir became a member of the resistance and fought in the city of Pelshuh during the occupation. After the Eastern Kingdom was liberated from the Sons of Samalin Lubomir became a soldier and later served in the army as an officer. When Lubomir left the service he gathered together a small but elite force of combatants for special assignments. He named them the Bronze Dogs.

Lubomir Gizela is in his late forties with a head of dark hair, dark eyes and a full beard. He walks with a noticeable limp having been injured during the liberation of the city of Pelshuh.

After the war to free the Eastern Kingdom a large number of professional soldier were left unemployed. Lubomir’s goal was to create a small specialized free-company. First he looked for men and women with experience. He hand-picked those who he believed would follow orders and perform their duties with a high degree of professionalism. Lubomir wanted no contention to his rules. No looting unless instructed, no rapine and no chance of mutiny. Next Lubomir looked for highly trained specialists, those skilled in living off the land, talented masters of stealth, urban combatants and those skilled in the mystical arts. During his time as a soldier Lubomir had first hand witnessed the failure of many armies and it was his desire to avoid these pit falls. He wanted a company of talented specialists who could avoid such disasters by the merit of their individual skill sets. Lastly he wanted to make his policies clear to both his mercenaries and those patrons they would serve. Lubomir Gizela wrote up a series of articles of the free-company to be signed by all members from support staff to mercenaries. Failure or breeches in the articles carried the sentence of death by execution.

Lubomir’s first member of the Bronze Dogs was a longtime friend. Sir Audwine Sterz was the bastard of a count from the Northern Kingdom of the Krown Empire. Raised as a knight but unable to inherit any lands Sterz was forced to seek riches elsewhere. Serving as the second in command of a free-company was Audwine Sterz’s path to a life of leisure. A master of tactics Sterz was an excellent addition to the company and serves as the Archon of the Bronze Dogs. Of average height and thickly built Sterz is well known as a talented fighter in hand to hand combat as well as skillful rider. At 60 years of age the silver haired Archon (equal to a Major) maybe be considered past his prime although none would say it to his face.

What the Bronze Dogs do that makes them unique is that they fulfill the roles few free-companies do. While the Bronze Dogs have engaged in open conflict it is not the free-companies forte. The Bronze Dogs often guard supply lines and baggage trains. They act as an unofficial police force in conquered areas preventing pillaging by rival mercenaries and displaced members of local populace. The Bronze Dogs breaks up riots and rebellions for local rulers. They actively hunt down roving groups of bandits raiding the villages or farmsteads. The Bronze Dogs excel in scouting territories and in forging the countryside for supplies. As Lubomir has proudly stated to his employers the Bronze Dogs free-company can do more with less.

The Bronze Dogs number under two hundred members including support staff. To date you have never been defeated!

In between contracts the Bronze Dogs reside in the fortified city-state of the Shieldhood. They dwell in what is commonly referred to as a “Soul”; a compound that includes barracks, stables, and a small training field. Life in the Shieldhood is easy, most mercenaries spend their time training, drinking, gambling and whoring in what is considered a soldiers paradise. In the spring many free-companies leave the city-state to fulfil contracts of service in various foreign nations. Most return to the Shieldhood in the winter before the snow makes the roads impassable and wait for spring and their next contract.

The early spring assignment

The Bronze Dogs have been selected by the War Captain of the Shieldhood to defend Bellsover Break for a period of 4 months before being relieved by another free company known as the Sorrowful Companions. This is a common assignment and the Bronze Dogs have done this task before. Archon Audwine Sterz is the acting leader of this force. Each member of the Bronze Dogs is asked to blindly select a stone from a bag. Those who draw forth a black stone are given duty at Bellsover Break. You have drawn forth a black stone. You and your fellows leave the Shieldhood and travel three days to the famous fortress.

Session 4 – Per Ankh

We finish getting equipment and then Jack goes to purchase a gun at an island near the Bronx. He gets a Colt 1911.

We meet up with Antonio and share that we got a letter with PER-ANKH on it. Jack looks at it again and is able to track the Egyptian couple. They are in the temple.

We go to the temple and the couple is there. They welcome us, and say we were expected. The woman explains that the cult of Per-Ankh has been around for thousands of years. They need our help to get Set — the god of Chaos — to do his job. It is because he abandoned his post that this chaos is occurring. The work of Apep.

The woman tells Jack her name as a “price” for believing him.

The man warns of Nurugu, the god of chaos helping Apep. Beware of serpents and pale foxes.

Nurugu is looking for his sister, who is safe hiding with another god.

We must first seek the jewel where the sister is hiding. It is a cosmic egg. The Trill family had it last.

The woman gives us a magic piece of paper that we can use to contact her instantly at any time.