Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Dapper Dog]

Bizi arrived with the group at the base of plateau of rock and glacier a jutting out of the frozen sea several dozen meters into the air. The path they opt to take will be cramped maintenance walkway built for ortolans so anyone larger then 1.2 meters will need to crouch or even crawl to get through much of it.

Bizi warns that these have not been used in perhaps a year so, they have not been maintained and anything could be down here plus trying to evade the patrols of the pirates.

OOC: This is a challenge that requires six of eight successful rolls at Difficulty Hard. Utilizing the following skills: Athletics, Computers, Coordination, Education, Mechanics, Perception, Skullduggery, Stealth, Survival, and Vigilance. If a roll is failed they can push through and succeed but this adds 1 point of Awareness, if three threat are rolled this adds 1 point Awareness, and a Despair adds 1 point of Awareness.

If Awareness rises to 5 then increases all rolls to the following Difficulty 1eC+3eD and will alert the Zakuul Knight to their efforts and they will join the final encounter.

If the players complete the Challenge they reach the objective and can set up the Bomb which is an ENC 5 object that must be carried by someone that isn't Bizi. If the Challenge is failed they can just use brute force and this will add two Zakuul Knights to the final encounter.

So this is both a Challenge and a Combat encounter but there won't be time to enable Force abilities before the encounter; you either do it for the whole thread or wait as use as per the normal rules.

Open to three players. Bizi has Intelligence 4 and Willpower 3 if they wish to use him to assist on a roll other wise he gives a boost die.

[Jan Melmoar]

Some jobs need heroes. Some jobs need villains. And some jobs just need whoever can get the job done.
Jan, having spent her entire life completing jobs firmly in the third category, felt this a classic case of a job that just needed to be done.

Had she ever snuck into someplace to plant a sizable bomb before? Well that was a question for her lawyers. But she was here now, heavily armed and ready to go. Just ideally after someone a little larger and more durable went first.

[Jo'ren Rath]

Speaking of larger and more durable...

King Jo'ren was there too. He wasn't going to leave all the glory to Bizi Wiz. Also he figured that having got the little guy into this mess it was his job to get him back out of it again.

He didn't really know Jan but gave her a friendly nod. "Hey. I'm Jo'ren." His eyes flashed to the tunnel. "Guess I'm crawling then. And carrying the damned bomb, right?" There was a wry smile as he placed it into a pack. "My Kingly duty, or something."

Some days you just couldn't get rid of a bomb.

[Jan Melmoar]

"Jo'ren"
Vigorous finger guns.

"It's a pleasure. I think we crossed paths briefly on Ziost during whichever coup attempt it was. Of course that was so long ago and we've both been promoted so many times, so please, call me Jan."
Glancing at the bomb with an amused expression.
"Well, I wasn't going to insist but it is very kind of you to offer. My accuracy suffers terribly whenever I'm being crushed under my own bodyweight in explosives."

[Jo'ren Rath]

He thought back to that tumultuous time. "Kriff. Ziost huh?" There had been a lot of parties. Also coups and attempted coups. Also some Regicide, or was it Imperatorcide? There was a shrug.

"Good to meet you again then Jan. I'll try to give you plenty of warning if I'm going to drop the bomb." There was a moment of straight-faced silence, then a smirk.

"Wonder who else is joining our crack team?" Jan looked graceful. Jo'ren could take a hit or ten. Bizi was...a small blue pachyderm.

[Jan Melmoar]

"It's alright, I don't have a short fuse."
Jan goes to finger guns again but holds fire, fearing too much of a good thing.

"I'm also wondering who else volunteered for this specific suicide mission."
Dropping her voice.
"Don't tell anyone but I simply had to test out this new rifle I acquired and well, who better to shoot than some knights of Zakull?"
She winks conspiratorially.

[Jo'ren Rath]

"Now now. Let's not blow all our puns before we get there." There was some serious Dad-energy to the jokes now.

"New rifle huh? Like, so new you won't believe the low low prices? Like, have this free goat too?" Joren looked at it carefully. Yes, that was the woman and Rifle he had seen leaving Jo's stall.

'You checked it for goat hairs, right? Also yeah, I hope you get to light 'em up!"

[Jan Melmoar]

"My dear, I think your puns have done far more damage than my rifle ever could."
Jan chuckles quietly to herself as she unslings her weapons and, almost compulsively, checks it for goat hairs again.

"Oh it was a little dirty when I received it, but the weapon's quality...it's remarkable. Not to mention I made some...Czerka patented modifications, Ohoohohoh!...Sorry, a habit I've picked up."

[Jo'ren Rath]

"Oh shit, you know Lucinia!" He chuckled in amusement as she performed the ritual Jo-purchase safety checks.

"Guess I'd better put a pin in those puns huh?" Smirk. She got that, right? See grenades... Oh, Czerka!

"Czerka huh? Good stuff. They sure know how to kill the kriff out of almost anything in your way." Now they just needed some sort of tech expert, or survivalist, and the team would be set.

"I thought I saw Luci and her sister around the base. How're they doing?"

[Jan Melmoar]

Jan raises an eyebrow and then when she sees Jo'Ren is being serious her chuckle turns into an even long and even louder laugh, even worse she realises this all sounds like she's laughing at the grenade pun, which sets off another round of laughter. Finally she raises a hand apologetically as she manages to calm herself.

"Yes darling, I know Luci. We're seeing one another. She and I are partners. I believe she is doing rather well, although this planet can wear anyone down. Drascovina has matured into a rather dangerous and capable young woman and we have tea occasionally."

[Jo'ren Rath]

If he wasn't carrying a rather huge piece of explosive ordnance he would have doubled over and slapped his thighs as he laughed in return. "Serious?! Hah! That's fantastic, good for you! That laugh, I'll never forget it."

Rath the Wrath shook his head, thoroughly amused. "This place. Can't move without bumping into old acquaintances. Not bad for an iceball. No offense Bizi."

[Cynella Alde]

OOC: Little busy, will post more when I get home.

[Jan Melmoar]

Jan smiles, it even looks genuine.

"Thank you, we're happy together. Perhaps against all odds? And I couldn't agree more about Hoth, anyone who's anyone seems to be on this iceball. It's quite the blizzard of titles."

She sighs, cocking her head.
"I really don't know who are third member would have to be. Doubtless someone in excellent physical shape, outgoing, brave, selfless. But where are we going to find someone like that?"

[Jo'ren Rath]

The big guy nodded. "Pretty done with titles. As for our third..." He pondered for a few moments. "Good question Jan. Kat and Durasay had other missions. Thy was looking after the base. There's always..."

He thought about all of his fellow Sith, mentally ticking them off. Nah. "What about..." Hmm. The other Jedi he knew from Korriban weren't exactly the most trustworthy.

"Say Bizi, is your cousin free just now?"

[Cynella Alde]

Over the interim, Cynella had watched over plenty of refugees of various ages. It had reminded her of her children back at home. The thought of them filled her with hope, of course, but also great ideas! She had hoped to find a harness to help her carry any young kids.

Ortolans, as it so happened, were also human child sized. Unfortunately, Cynella had never found one suitable to carry him with.

Nonetheless, Cynella showed up to do some heroic stuff. Or something. It seemed kind of questionable. "Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with a Sith." She blinked. "Especially Jo'ren Rath. You're a legend, like an antithesis to Captain Alderaan. Um, you don't drink from the skulls of children, do you?"

---

I had hoped to use a success to have a harness to carry Bizi with... But failed! I don't think the Talent ever specified Triumphs nor do I have any investment in it.

D8 LM Backroom Deal for Srs Biziness: 2eP+2eA+3eD 1 failure, 1 Triumph

[Jan Melmoar]

Jan glances over at Cynella, nods politely and then starts trying to peer around the newcomer to see if the prophesied awesome 3rd member of the party was somehow behind her.

[Dapper Dog]

The big guy nodded. "Pretty done with titles. As for our third..." He pondered for a few moments. "Good question Jan. Kat and Durasay had other missions. Thy was looking after the base. There's always..."

He thought about all of his fellow Sith, mentally ticking them off. Nah. "What about..." Hmm. The other Jedi he knew from Korriban weren't exactly the most trustworthy.

"Say Bizi, is your cousin free just now?"

Bizi replied, "Do you need to chat with them, King Jo'ren?" He moved over to the entrance ready to get started.

[Jo'ren Rath]

"Well... Oh, I guess not. It's fine Bizi, looks like the team's all here." His golden eyes focused on the newcomer.

"Who said anything about dying?" There was a flash of amusement before he clicked his faceplate into place. "Know the Captain do ya? If you see Niall tell him I said hey. And no. Might want to steer clear of those new priestesses though."

Returning his attention to Bizi he looked at the tunnel and muttered something under his breath. "Okay, here we go."

[Dapper Dog]

Bizi leads them inside, he draws his trusty blaster and is ready to be the big damn hero.

OOC: Feel free to start rolling.

[Jan Melmoar]

"Okay darlings, let's dance."

Jan smirks as her dress changes colour, shifting to the same darkness as the tower walls as she leads the way inside, effortlessly finding the quietest route.

Day 8 Tower of Pain Roll 1, Stealth at hard. Boost from Bizi: 3eP+4eA+1eB+3eD 2 successes, 6 advantage


((3 boosts to the next PC, 1/1 rolls successful so far!))

[Cynella Alde]

"You know Niall? Huh... Well, um, I guess we'll have to talk about this later since we aren't going to die." Cynella smiled mischievously. "It's just an expression."

As they went through the tunnel, Cynella reviewed the maintenance tunnels. "Did you know that ship interiors are eerily similar in layout to these? The metal might even be the same."

Amazingly, every tidbit she gave was completely wrong. Fortunately, Bizi covered for her mistakes.

---

D8 LM Bizi Assisting Cynella's Brain (Education): 4eA+3eB+3eD 1 success, 2 advantage

2/2 Succeeded. 1 Boost to Next Roll!

[Jo'ren Rath]

"Yeah. Me and the Cap go way back." He grunted as the tunnel seemed to get even smaller. "Bet they don't put that on the recruitment posters."

There seemed to be an obstruction up ahead. Some sort of blast door?

"Okay Bizi, let's take care of this." Surprisingly he didn't crack out the universal door opener. Instead he worked with Bizi to open it using mechanical know how (Bizi) and Force shenanigans (Jo'ren). The Star Forge's little gift came in handy sometimes. The door slid open silently.

"Alright, we're good."

D8. LM. Tower of Pain. Roll 3. Hard Mechanics. Bizi assisting. Boost from Cynella. Using Manipulate: 4eA+1eB+2eF+3eD 1 success, 1 Light Side, 1 Dark Side

Success! 1 DS pip for advantage to give us a good feeling about this.

3/3 Succeeded. Skills used: Stealth, Education, Mechanics

[Jan Melmoar]

"You know The Captain Alderaan? We've been trying to sign him to a marketing deal for years. He's never budged. I simply don't understand some people."


Jan sees a patrol of guards ahead and quietly diverts the group to an open window, guiding them as they scale the outside of the Tower briefly.

Day 8 Tower of Pain Roll 4, Coordination hard, Bizi assist: 7eA+1eB+3eD 2 successes, 3 advantage


((boost to the next roller, 4/4 successful so far))

[Jo'ren Rath]

"It's that stick up his..." No time for quips as they avoided the patrol.

Now they were out of position but some incredible feats of athleticism from Jo'ren saw him up and across a few floors. From that position he was able to open up an access way for them to progress. To be honest his moves were perhaps a bit over the top and overly showy, but at least now they were almost at their goal. No one was really sure why the back flip was needed but it was impressive none the less.

"Didn't think I'd ever be doing that with a sack full of explosives."

D8. LM. Tower of Pain. Roll 5. Hard Athletics. Bizi Boost. Boost from Jan.: 2eP+3eA+2eB+3eD 7 successes

Success! Much Flexing. No advantage though

5/5 successful rolls. Skills used: Stealth, Education, Mechanics, Coordination, Athletics.

[Cynella Alde]

"Hey! Don't speak of him that way! He is the epitome of all good in the galaxy." Cynella chased after him, stopping only to scoop Bizi up.

There was one door that could not be opened via sheer brute force. Fortunately for them, they had Cynella... to type in the panel as Bizi told her what to do.

"Easy! You're not so great after all, big, burly... what's your workout routine?"

---

D8 LM Hack the Planet (Computers) But it's actually Bizi: 4eA+3eD 4 successes, 2 threat


6/6 Succeeded!