1.3 - The Wyr River: Deeper Darkness

Birtwood is about 20 feet from the entrance to the dome and the exit out. Those looking past the synth frame will see a pile of rubble and pool of water at its base. There appears to be a crudely made table or raised slab with some tools and (dried) mud.

As you are looking around, the water in the frame shimmers and ripples a bit more and two men step out of it. One is wearing similar armor to what the commander wore and the other wears leather and a helm (NPC1). Both have goggles over their eyes and are armed with swords, though the commander's looks cleaner, more well cared for. The other (NPC2) is wearing leather.

They step aside and two men more come through. One (NPC3) is in a synth type of armor and wielding a sword. He steps aside. The other (MM) is head to toe in mud and looks like he's been through a horrific battle and says out loud, "See Commander? LT? It broke loose... its friends must have followed us... it was so fast....it was awful... they picked us off like we were toys. It....it.... it is THERE!" pointing at Birtwood.

Another ripple and another person (NPC4) steps through. She immediately bumps into the mud man, knocking him down the mound a few steps. She looks down at her flowing robe now covered in mud and makes a small gesture with her hand. The mud dries and falls off and the fabric regains its luster, her robe seems to be flowing on a breeze. With one hand, she brushes her short, blonde hair, removing any dirt from it. The other hand raises cypher of some type, pointing it straight in up in the air and pushes a button. Darkness sweeps over the room, swallowing any light. She whispers, "That should keep them from talking to each other."

The affect spreads from the top of the dome around and down all edges. She drops the cypher to the ground as the curtain of darkness descends over her.

(Those 10 feet from the entrance and inside the tunnel notice the effect stops there.)

Roll Initiative

(Are we still here? Its been unusually quiet...)

Yes, sorry, was waiting on one player and then spent the day at a faire. Combat will resume shortly.

Quick Note: When using cyphers, please include a few things.
First, tell me the level of the cypher. It usually determines duration or damage.
Next, put your cyphers and add a note to each with any description or anything you are given into your character sheets. It is a tickler to me.
In addtion, do not remove a cypher from your character sheet until combat is over.
Finally, when planning your attack, remember that most cyphers take an action to activate. There are some that are swift or fast (and those should be in your notes).

I am not harping on anyone in particular. Part of it was me being a little lax in the combat.

These men and women were expecting to fight one or more Golthiars and were not expecting you. Still, they were prepared for battle as the woman clearly showed when she turned out the lights. This is not a magical darkness in that if you have goggles or cats eye or can see in the dark, you are not hindered.

This is not a surprise round. Forgive me. I asked for initiative rolls, but I did not ask for actions. I assumed after the last battle initiated that everyone would have them, rolling initiative and posting actions and alternative actions. So, some of you are readying weapons and cyphers when you might have been able to pull them out and use them. The plus side is that they are a full round away from most of you.

Round One

R:1 - Utazó pulls her sword and adjusts its grip. "Old friend, we dance again."

R:1 - Yui draws her katana and grips it tightly. "Everyone, I can see through this! Lets stick together, I'll tell you where they're coming from! We can do this."

R:1 - Darazen pulls out his shocker cypher and aims it at the woman (NPC4). Ozone fills the air and the sound of a spark can be heard. He catches her mid air (9 dmg).

R:1 - Commander (NPC1: Cmdr) sees only the one Golthiar accompanied by these other humans and yells out, "Get them! They are aiding the Numenera beast. Kill them, my LTs, but leave the beas..." His eyes land on Vult. He raises his hand to point to Vult and orders, "That one, sub-commander, keep him alive too! Kill the rest." He turns turns and moves towards Birtwood, pulling a cypher out.

R:1 - Tara calls to the others that the range of darkness ends some 7-10 feet inside the tunnel and if you want to lock onto her voice to exit, this is the way to go.

R:1 - Birtwood calls out to Darazen and Vult (which fails as the light is dampened), I cannot see in the dark! I must have light. It tries to listen to Tara's voice and blindly starts walking towards it.

R:1 - (NPC2: SubCmd) nods to the commander and turns his focus on Vult. He leans in and attempts to mindslice (Onslaught Vult: 1D20 Intellect Defense)

R:1 - (NPC3: LT1) acknowledges, "Yes Sir!" He charges, sword drawn at Darazen. (It will take him a full round to get to you).

R:1 - (NPC4: LT2) acknowledges, "Yes Sir!". She turns to towards Darazen. With a fluid motion, she flips and jumps in his direction. She starts into her second flip when she is hit hard by something electrical. Ozone fills the air and she is knocked down.

R:1 - Mudman (MM) raises his prod stick and races towards Vult. He will get there at the end of this round.

R:1 - Khoren reaches into a pocket of his cloak and pulls a cypher. Focusing on the woman, he prepareds to use it.

R:1 - Vult reachs to his pack to get his bow. It gets caught on a clip or tie. He tugs harder to get it loose, but it is stuck tight. One last tug and it breaks free of its bond, but with more force than he was expecting. It wretches from his hand and lands a short distance away.

Roll your defenses if you were attacked, give me your actions and alternate actions.

Darazen realizes he's one of the few who can see in the darkness, and begins to back up towards Tara's voice.

Vult fails to defned against the onslaught from the sub-commander (2 point intellect damage), but you would not know it as he fights through the pain.

Round Two

R:2 - Utazó runs forward, completely blind and swings at .... the darkness. His opponent though has moved, running towards Darazen. She thinks "How could this possibly go wrong?" She turns and tries to hear Tara's voice over the commotion. She is faint, and echoing through the domed chamber. "Now I know how this could go wrong."

R:2 - Yui sprints over a dead mud man and side steps the slick blood. She flips, landing between Vult and the mudman (MM) on one knee, a wicked grin on her face and her katana pointing forward. The mudman, not being able to see in the dark and charging wildly at Vult, impales himself on the katana (4 dmg). The weight of his body draws it down, the prod stick clatters to the floor. The mudman is sucking air.

R:2 - Darazen turns to the LT (NPC3: LT1) and pleas for his friends to help. He focuses on the LTs mind and tries to slice it (2 dmg). He slowly tries to back away.

R:2 - Commander (NPC1: Cmdr) Still running towards Birtwood, the commander stops short. He throws a small sphere toward Birtwood and it hits the ground near Birtwood's feet and explodes. The shock wave knocks Birtwood forward (5 damage).

R:2 - Tara continues to speak out, reciting bad movie puns and worse jokes, even forming a beat which she stomps to... anything to make sound and vibrations to lead her party towards her.

R:2 - Birtwood stumbles, but regains his footing. He is swinging his limbs about, hoping to catch anyone near him (and secretly hoping they are not one of his new friends). He is pushed forward with some force and comes falling out of the darkness, near Tara's feet, and does not move.

R:2 - (NPC2: SubCmd), his focus on Vult, he is surprised that his onslaught did nothing. With his sword raised, he charges towards Vult. "There is more than one way to bring him down!", he thinks.

R:2 - The LT (NPC3: LT1) raises his sword and swings at Darazen (1D20 Speed defense)

R:2 - (NPC4: LT2) falls to the ground with a thud, the smell of burning flesh burns her nostrils. She tries to get up, but her finely tuned muscles don't respond. She feels a sting in her side, then....nothing.

R:2 - Mudman (MM) runs into a katana he did not see and is on the ground, grasping for air and bleeding.

R:2 - Khoren puts the cypher back in his belt and charges the LT (NPC4:LT2). Sliding, he sinks both daggers into her, hilt deep (2 X 2 Dmg). Khoren hears an exhale, then silence.

R:2 - Vult feels a tinge of pain, but picks up his bow and knocks an arrow, aiming for a foe. In luck, one (NPC2: SubCmd) is coming straight for him. He lets the arrow fly and.... (waiting on an attack roll)

Defense rolls, if you are being attacked. Actions, alternate actions with action rolls for the next round.