Session Eight - Half of Everything is Luck ...

This session introduces us to a new player character by the name of ED. This is actually ANDY'S new character who, perhaps because of his previous death at the hands of his lack of expertise at surviving in the wilderness, is a wilderness scout, at expert at surviving out in the open wilderness. One note I wish to add here is that I don't go out of my way to make the players lives difficult, everything that happens is either based on their actions or random dice rolls governing the nature of their luck. With that in mind, here's what happened next ...


Day 17 (continued)

Having loaded up on supplies to rebuild his farm Alan goes in search of a truck driver he can hire and decides it would be wise to hire some mercenaries as well for protection. He hires three discount mercenaries from a dive bar for a couple of hundred credits each, one of whom is our new friend Ed. Alan, truck, mercenaries and supplies get prepped and ready to leave. Being a little too poor to kit out a professional medical facility Matt and David buy two hammocks, a few scalpels and a handful of medicinal drugs before heading back to the slums to try and drum up some business.

Ian meanwhile, thanks to his early start, has his journey well under way and is on the road south following directions barked at him by the borg leader of the guards. They don't seem to think it is necessary to tell Ian where they are going they simply instruct him step by step like a needlessly aggressive sat-nav. They drive past 'the farm' an enormous food production plant that grows supplies for most of the county and turn west. This leads to them traveling through a wide twisted valley the entrance to which has a twelve mile long bridge built across it. This bridge has become a shanty town community where people with nowhere else to go can come and make a home by building one within the legs of the structure. This has turned the bridge into a kind of barrier that has to be crossed to get into the valley and since the community is largely the poor and those living outside of normal constraints of society they aren't too friendly with the rest of the county.

Into this comes Ian driving his prison bus of convicts. As soon as the bus is within range the residents of the bridge begin pelting it with rubbish, shortly followed by light gunfire. However, it doesn't seem intended to do any real damage and is more a display of dominance, plus the bus is heavily armoured so it's pretty safe. Until they get beneath the bridge. Once beneath the bridge the residents seize the opportunity to up the ante and begin throwing down much larger obstacles to try and stop the bus. Ian takes evasive action as the scene begins to become comical as anvil like slabs of metal are dropped on them as well as a couple of safes and a piano.

Forced off the road by the onslaught Ian weaves expertly between the legs of the bridge and over the rough ground surrounding the dirt road that wasn't all that smooth to begin with. The bus rumbles almost uncontrollably until it exits the far side of the bridge and charges out into the desert to the howling taunts and laughter of the residents of the bridge. Hitting open terrain Ian start to lose control and is forced the bring the bus to an abrupt stop. The people of the bridge continue to taunt them but the guards know they have a job to do and once the bus is restarted they order Ian to continue onwards which he dutifully does.

Matt wanders into a cheap saloon on the edge of the slums in search of business and spies someone at the bar trying to sell batteries and watches (but not watch batteries) to the drunks. It is clear he has a less than legal attitude towards business so Matt approaches him. The man introduces himself as Shanks and whilst disappointed that Matt isn't looking for any batteries or a nice watch he is intrigued by the business proposal put forth in spreading the word about the doc and the mechanic who have set up shop in the slums. He agrees to help.

Alan, Ed, his driver and the other two mercs head out of town. Unfortunately before they can leave the boundaries of 'The Fort' they're path is blocked by a vehicle that flies in at them from a side road. The vehicle narrowly avoids hitting them but skids to a stop in the middle of the junction ahead. This is shortly followed by a variety of police cars swooping in and blocking all the exits, including the way back behind Alan and his gang. The occupants of the first vehicle hop out and begin opening fire on the approaching police who diligently do the same. This leaves Alan and his troop accidentally caught in the middle of a police shoot out, literally.

Their truck blocked and unable to go out on foot without running directly into gunfire from either the criminals or the police our heroes decides to the only choice is to try and help. Alan winds down his window and begins throwing magic nets into the fray whilst Ed hopes out and opens fire. Ed and the police prove themselves relatively inefficient but Alan manages to capture two of the three the men bringing an end to the fight.

Despite this unfortunate beginning, having not managed to even leave town without incident, the group continue on their journey assuming the bad luck is all behind them. It isn't. Less than thirty minutes into their journey the front tyres of the truck suddenly burst and they come to a crashing halt. Shaking it off they realise this could be more than a simple accident and arm themselves. As it happens they were right the do so, the tyre trap was part of an ambush and the truck is quickly set upon by dimensional beings known as "two-faced star people" who essentially look like humans without skin.

No one in the group knows much about them but they are clearly a threat so they decide to shoot first and ask questions later. The star people are not that tough but they are savage and don't give up as a gunfight ensues. Whilst the star people outnumber our heroes they are quickly gunned down by superior skill, superior skill not, however, displayed by Alan as he leans out of the truck and accidentally unloads his rifle into the engine block instead of the enemy ahead of him.

Once the star people are all either dead or have fled the group exit the truck and check out the damage. Despite a few bullet holes the vehicle itself seems to be running fine but it is not going anywhere without two new tyres and they don't have any spares. The road is quiet and they can't afford to stay out here any longer than necessary so it is quickly decided that the driver and one of the mercs will hike back to 'The Fort' to buy new tyres, as long as Alan will pay for them, not that he has much choice. Alan, Ed and the remaining merc wait with the truck hoping there will be no further activity and that the others will get back to them with fresh tyres safe and sound.

As Ian continues his prison run the bus passes by a camp where a tribe of "Cactus People" live, alien life forms who vaguely resemble the native cactus, and reaches a point in the road where the guard commander instructs him to turn left ahead, but there is no road to the left. Ian argues this point but follows order anyway only to find himself driving directly at a cliff-face. The guard commander informs him that as long as they aim for a specific point the cliff is an illusion that they will be able to pass straight through. Ian only half understands and accelerates to full speed. The guard commander tells him to slow down but Ian calmly explains that if they are to get through a cliff face they are going to need to be traveling with some force.

The guard commander calmly explains that it is unnecessary as the cliff is merely an image, it represents no physical threat. Ian calmly explains that he is the driving expert and he knows about these things, if you want to break through rock you need to be going fast. He continues to accelerate. The bus bounces along the rocky terrain. The guard commander becomes more aggravated now, ordering Ian to slow the bus. Ian attempts to state his case again but it is too late to slow down now and they rocket into the cliff wall. The guard commander braces himself as the bus passes through the image of rock and onto the smooth tarmac surface on the other side, however, there is a speed bump just inside the cave and the bus hits it at it's full speed of eighty-five miles and hour.

Alan and Ed look out over the road as the hours tick by. Eventually another traveler comes by and they flag them down and commission them to look out for their comrades on the road ahead. The travelers agree and continue on their journey. Another hour or so passes and the missing members of the group come back on horse drawn carriage complete with replacement tyres. They fix up the truck and begin their journey anew.

Meanwhile the prison bus crunches, bounces, cracks and crashes to the ground again as it jumps of the speed bump sending everyone inside flying around wildly in surprise. No serious injuries are incurred but the bus buckles and screams to a halt in the tunnel. Ian, pleased with himself, looks over the other people inside who just look back in shock and anger. He barely notices and turns his attention back to the task at hand. By sheer luck the bus starts up again and trundles onwards at greatly reduced speed and mobility.

Similarly Alan and his cohorts truck stumbles the remainder of it's journey and with the time lost already on the tyre fiasco it is well into the night before they arrive with no hope of returning before the day is out and Alan will be forced to pay everyone for an extra days work if he wants them to hang around. Unfortunately the truck struggles into the farm and once it comes to a stop the engine coughs a great cloud of black smoke out into the air and splutters it's last. The driver opens it up and looks over it but it is beyond his skill and is going to need professional work which means that for the foreseeable future he, Ed and the other mercs are under Alan's continued employ until they can move on. This simple journey is costing Alan more and more money by the minute.

Earlier in the day the remainder of Ian's journey passes uneventfully and they exit the tunnel onto a dirt road leading up to the heavily fortified, heavily guarded prison know simply as 'the institute'. It is an imposing grey block on the landscape and the bus enters the loading bay where the prisoners are removed. The guards working in the vehicle bay look over the bus with curiosity viewing the variety of damage it has taken. The bus is going to require some work which will delay it's departure but they should get away before nightfall.

Ian keeps his nose clean, just hanging around the vehicle bay as the engineers work on the bus and eventually they are ready to go. They set off in their now slightly dodgy bus, just the guards who travelled up and a couple of prisoners traveling back, either on release or to see out the rest of their sentence elsewhere. The area around the prison is a bit more wild than Ian has seen before and they spy a few of the more terrifying members of the animal kingdom that can be found in the county, but they don't seem interested in the bus. The bus enters and exits the tunnel with Ian continue to drive as fast as he can but nobody bothers to argue with him about it any more.

As the bus pulls onto the road home they turn down towards the "cactus people" camp and as they approach they see an unusual sight, a hefty black storm cloud squatting menacingly over the camp itself. It is an ominous blot on the otherwise bright sunny day. The guard commander stands up to the front window and looks out with curiosity. Ian says nothing but soon the cloud is the least of their problems and the road is suddenly occupied by a herd of stampeding rhino-buffalo, a creature that is basically a crossbreed of those two animals. They storm towards the truck and the guard commander begins barking orders in panic.

Ian screeches the bus to a halt and slams it into reverse pulling a J-turn in order to make their escape. The rhino-buffalo surround the bus, none of them intentionally attacking but a few brush against it as they thunder along. Ian follows the road as best he can avoiding being pushed off onto the rocky terrain around but as it starts to weave the bus overbalances and flips up onto two wheels. Driving at a diagonal angle Ian attempts to keep control of the bus as the rhino-buffalo herd rumbles by, trying to keep them from turning over at least until the herd has passed by. Fortunately his expert driving pays off and the stampede passes leaving Ian free to weave until he manages to right the bus.

Ian brings them to a stop and they examine the bus but no further damage seems to have been done. They regroup and set off back on their pre-arranged route to find that in the scuffle the cloud has vanished. As they pass the "cactus people" camp they see some evidence of destruction but it is not as bad as the beating that the station took and the "cactus people" are tidying themselves up. They choose to continue onwards and make it the rest of the way back to the capital unharmed.

As Alan forks out the money needed to put Ed, the mercenaries and the driver up for the night, not wanting to take them into the farm partly out of paranoia they'll rob him but mostly because he doesn't want them spotting his zombie workforce, as well as paying them an extra days wage. He turns the truck in to a local mechanic who says he'll get it up and running in the morning so he can get back to town with his team and tie up his remaining loose ends. He relaxes and thinks to himself that things could have gone worse.

More to come ... Session Nine - ... the Other Half is Fate

Previously on 'The Unsimple Life'

Been a while since I posted so here's a quick recap of what's been going on ...

We meet our heroes:

Alan - publicly he's a farmer, lives on the edge of town and grows crops. Privately he's a reformed necromancer from eastern Europe trying to lead the nice normal life of a farmer, but it's not so easy to leave your old life behind you and rather than hire farmhands grave robbing and resurrecting a few zombie minions seemed a whole lot easier. Keeps to himself mostly to avoid people finding this out.

Andy - the town smith, originally from Russia, makes tools and basic metal supplies that famously never breaks. This is because he's a mage whose training is specifically in the forging of magical weapons, however, he has an oath to only ever provide weaponry to a worthy hero so relies on making basic supplies but instills them with magical energy making them stronger and more reliable than normal. Unfortunately is an alcoholic and also brews his own alcohol, though doesn't sell it as it's not entirely user friendly.

Dave - the town mechanic, originally from south America specialising in enhancements and modifications that push equipment to the max and beyond. The beyond element will often push a machine to it's breaking/exploding point, but until then it will run like it's never run before. This is due to a unique range of psychic abilities that he has which means he can create devices that mimic those psychic abilities.

Ian - professional driver, originally from Australia, who worked mostly on deliveries between his home town and the surrounding areas, however, his skill goes far beyond that and he is an extremely skilled stunt driver  who is somewhat obsessed with car crashes, something he has a unique talent for surviving. All in all a slightly unhinged person.

Liam - the only local boy of the group, having grown up in the county itself. At some point in later life decided he wanted to become a gunslinger, but with no desire to undertake the years and years of training that requires decided to have a whole load of dangerous brain implants to simulate that training, becoming what is known as a "wired gunslinger". His brain implants give him heightened senses and allow him to always act first in any given situation making him nearly impossible to surprise. Unfortunately wired gunslingers advanced reactions mean they act before they actually know what's going on. This is just as likely to helpful as it is unhelpful and results in the accidental shooting of so many innocent people that suicide is quite high amongst wired gunslingers.

Session One:

Our heroes hometown is ravaged by an attack cloud of mysterious origin. They manage to shoot the cloud with a tank cannon and it flees but the damage is down and most of their homes, workplaces are destroyed and death amasses in the streets.

Session Two:

Desperate for work and/or some stability our heroes board a bus heading for 'The Burrow' a small community of miners where ready work in the mine is always available for the downtrodden. They set up temporary home here but mining is not among many of their skill sets and a variety of work related accidents causes most of them to give up and decide to seek their fortune elsewhere. Ian manages to get into a conversation with some of the locals and accidentally kicks off a series of illegal races through the mines themselves.

Session Three:

Andy has set himself up create brik-a-brak out of a homemade forge in an abandoned building in 'The Burrow' and is gaining some small interest, however, some local gangster spotted the magic knife he was using to advertise his business and come requesting more weaponry. He impolitely refuses setting fire to the money they brought with them and in retaliation they destroy his forge.

Ian, Andy and Liam leave the mine as part of a delivery convoy and once they arrive at their destination, the capital of the county known simply as 'The Fort', Andy takes off with no intention of coming back. Ian and Liam wander around the town, Liam accidentally getting into a drug deal and subsequent gunfight, before the two of them returning to the truck and then back to the mine.

Session Four:

As preparation for the upcoming race comes underway at the mine Ian realises he needs to buy a car so steals a truck and enlists David and Alan to help him return to town and come back with a suitable race vehicle. Andy wander 'The Fort' and seek employment in the rich district at the bank/jewelers so they give him a trial job. Liam meanwhile enjoys a few fun and games at the mine and befriends one of the race groups, offering some muscle to their group. Once in town Alan wanders off not intending to come back while Ian and David seek out a racing car.

Alan meets up with the local mages guild and takes up residence a few door down from Andy but neither of them notice the other. When he returns from the bank Andy is attacked by the gang who tried to bully him before but this time more aggressively. They nearly kill him and demand that he assist them in the robbing of the bank he has just weaseled his way into. Ian and David return to the mine in their stolen truck only to be met by hostility from local law enforcement. The truck crashes, David is nearly killed but Ian is fine, although he is arrested.

Session Five:

Alan befriends a small group of young mages planning a trip to a nearby nexus point at the summer solstice. Andy continues his work at the bank even though he is under the harassment of the gang. Ian is taken to prison and David to the prison hospital. Here he meets a new player character, Matt.

Matt - a cyberdoc (doctor who specialises in cybernetics if that wasn't obvious from the name) who owned a shop in one of the southern towns of the county and is currently serving a three year sentence for, among other things, public nudity. He refuses to divulge any more information than that. With only one week left on his sentence and a long history of good behaviour he has been put to work in the prison hospital.

Ian begins building a convincing insanity defence (partly because it's true) whilst David awakens to find he has lost a leg. Matt works off the last week of his sentence peacefully. Andy seeks help from the police but there is little they can do for him.

Session Six:

Andy is kidnapped by the gang for not cooperating and they push him off a cliff. Alan goes with the mages group to the nexus and a rift opens. The group are attacked by demons but fight them off with heavy casualties so they have to flee the scene, however, Alan manages to acquire a few demon body parts. Ian goes in for psychological testing and based also on David's new testimony they decide Ian is unsuitable for prison and they offer him a position as a prison guard. Technically he is still locked inside the prison but is offered some freedoms whilst under the constant supervision of the other guards. Andy survives the fall and using the parts from a crashed van forms himself a van door shield and front bumper club.

Session Seven:

Alan gets a job at the local hospital and Ian goes out on supervised visits around the town. Andy makes his way north and finds a washing machine that he forges into body armour. David and Matt are released from prison and decide to set up shop together in the slums seeking out an abandoned building in there. Ian is offered employment driving one of the prison buses transporting the more dangerous employees to a more secure facility. Alan manages to sell the demon parts to the head of the mages guild for several thousand credits and he sets about buying supplies to rebuild his farm back in his home town.

Andy continues his journey but his washing machine armour, van door shield and front bumper club are no match for a giant armadillo dinosaur creature that comes storming out of the jungle and attacks. Andy is killed.

Next Session Coming Soon ...