The guys wanted to do character creation By The Book, but we breezed through it. They loved working up to Aspects and kept laughing about how all this work wouldn't pay off once the dice started to roll. The favorite at the table for the night was SPC Fallon. Personally, I thought he was based off of Carlos, but none of these guys have ever read Dresden....
Sanity was treated as a Stress Track, and high Discipline and Conviction scores modifying. We worked out an exchange where Sanity damage could be accepted as Social or Mental Stress at the group's agreement, a mild Sanity Consequence could become a moderate Social and so on. Of course, severe Physical Stress (any level of Consequence) might also cause Sanity damage. This was a beautiful thing, because
no one took any kind of First Aid skill.
I didn't have the heart to do anything but laugh once all the skill points were spent.
So the squad was sent into Iraq at the behest of some backdoor antiterrorist groups the USA had locked in place. Intel placed a Pathfinder group at a temporary station within the security perimeter of Ali Air Base. Locals were quick to look towards the Ziggurat of Ur. The squad was sent in to have a look around, and try and find the Pathfinders.
SSG Lawerson quickly snared the lead spot from the 2LT, who said he'd rather hang back with the grunts anyway (2LT Perry had hear a local legend of the Ziggurat and wanted to keep eyes on everyone, knowing that the squad had only minimal knowledge and experience with the metaphysical). SSG Lawerson lead the group up the stairs towards the city proper. The LT and SPC Fallon noticed movement along the outer reaches of the walls, though of course when everyone else looked, there was no sign on anything. Upon reaching the apex of the structure, everyone experienced a sharp burst of pain as the psychic nature of Ur made a valiant attempt to frighten the group away. SGT Hauser thought he 'saw' something during the experience, some sort of large shape, almost like a really tall person, reaching out to take his hand.
The player told me that the Sergeant would be continuing forward with his finger on the trigger. I smiled.
The group found a crack in the structure, which they attributed to battle damage from back in '91. They rappelled down and popped chem lights, revealing what looked to be a throne room. They fanned out, and almost immediately they heard scurrying sounds like clicks on stone. SGT Hauser lost his nerve and let fly a dozen or so rounds, screaming something like "I've got more than enough rounds to share!" Everyone rolled their eyes, trying to stay on point and make it obvious that SGT Hauser could have blown their element of surprise (which they never had to begin with, but alas, I digress). SGT Phillips found a secret passageway that reeked of sea salt, and everyone stood around for a few minutes wondering what on earth that could mean. They guessed everything from underground lake to the fact that the region might have been underwater at some time (with kudos going to Perry for the unknowingly correct answer). SPC Norris noticed some brass along this new corridor, so the squad figured the missing soldiers
obviously came down this way.
After following the corridor and coming to a stair way, Phillips called for the group to halt, spent Fate on his Aspects "If the Kids Die, It's On Me" and "I've Got You Covered", and Listened,
maxing his roll and scoring a Legendary success with NO points in Investigation. So I threw him a big bone and told him that he heard what sounded like two voices further down, each saying one word: I'a and R'lyeh. Perry rolled Lore and got a Great success, so again, I threw them a bone telling him that Perry has heard the word Cthulhu in reference to both these words, and that Cthulhu was some sort of priest.
And bless their hearts - they all played their characters as if they might encounter this priest, a
human priest.
They came to a chamber barely lit by irregularly placed torches, three solid columns forming a sort of center, wherein the floor was recessed a few feet. They could make out three forms wearing thick cloaks, Lawerson called out for the others to identify themselves. That's when it got really fun....
The Deep Ones fell out of their robes, launching themselves at the human intruders. Everyone took 2 Sanity Stress. No one balked at it. Rounds were thrown throughout the chamber, Hauser took a nasty hit and collected the "Sliced Open" mild Consequence and 1 Physical Stress. Perry spent some Fate and used his "Serenity" Aspect to take out a Deep One with a solid shot to the head. The group could have done better with invoking Aspects, but they're new at it. I expect things will pick up quick next session.
Once the Deep Ones were slaughtered, they quickly became mounds of disgusting ichor, and everyone reeled from the stench (Fallon screaming out: 'And I thought they smelled bad... on the outside!'). Fallon turned away from the dissipating forms to see more robed shapes coming in from an antechamber that was previously not seen. He raises his M4 and orders the robed figures to stop where they were.
The squad could make out five of them, but the shadows suggested their might be a few more, and that it seemed they were carrying something between the whole of the group. Whatever it was, it was placed on the floor and quickly ignored once Lawerson discovered that it was impossible to open. There was a sigil of Dagon upn its top, and it hit Lawerson for a 1 Sanity Stress hit. The new group proclaimed ignorance as to its contents. The lead figure pulled back their hood, revealing a very attractive young woman. Fallon turns on the charm, telling the woman that the squad can get them out of here, but that they need to find the other group of soldiers. She introduces herself as Alliana, and states that she and the others were being used as slaves, occasionally sacrificed to 'dark gods' - Fallon falls for it hook, line and sinker, declaring himself as her protector.
So the squad follows the cultists deeper down. Another quick encounter with Deep Ones, Alliana takes a hit, which infuriates Fallon ('Get away from her, you BITCH!'), Perry takes a huge Sanity hit, leaving him "Scared Shitless", a Moderate Consequence, and with 2 Sanity Stress. The group invoked their shared Aspect and they rally around Perry and scrub the Deep Ones. A few of the cultists took 'friendly fire', and a few died. The Squad followed even deeper, coming to a long rope bridge leading to what looks like a temple of sorts. As they are crossing the bridge, the cultists make a break for the far side, save Alliana, who falls to her face on the bridge making Fallon rush forward just in time to see a flying polyp rise up from the depths. Norris is blown over the edge of the bridge, but Lawerson manages to grab him before he falls away to unseen depths, just barely. Hauser runs out of ammunition and Phillips is launching grenades as fast as his M203 will let him. The polyp vanishes after Fallon got extremely lucky and throwing a TH3 grenade into the foul thing's maw. So the squad believes it dead, as it drifts back down from whence it came. Everyone gathers themselves up and begins to head to the temple, with Perry screaming and babbling about how much he doesn't want to die. Hauser is feeling the urge to throttle the LT by now, and Lawerson is barely keeping things going.
We called game as they approached the monolithic obsidian doors. Alliana says the other soldiers are within, along with the priest Cthulhu...
I hate that I have to wait a week to keep the scenario going....
Honestly I think the Fate points and the high grade explosives are the only reason they made it as far as they did. Now that their supplies are running low/out, I doubt they'll make it much further, but it promises to be a lot of fun! Mwahahahaha!
