HEEST COMPLETE!

HEEST COMPLETE!

The To Survive War You Gotta Become War Caper ended with the Eels’ war preparations proving ineffective against the submaritime ingenuity of the Dead Setters.

We left last session after the Dead Setters laid a trap in the catacombs/mine tunnels under Coalridge. They used the strongboxes the Eels were after in the previous session (which led to their current war), filled them full of explosives, and staged a fake shipment meant to lure in the Eels. The Eels ambushed the convoy and were counter-ambushed in turn. We ended with the Dead Setters’ Whisper, Teatime, coercing one of the Eels’ recently dead to lead them to his lair in a half-flooded warehouse (useful for loading wagons, docking boats, storing cargo, and looking disused and abandoned) on the canal where some of the retaining wall had crumbled into the water. Richter, their Spider, had gotten lost along the way but he had purchased the Foresight ability so he could still assist.

Richter tried to find his way out of the catacombs and did so, clambering up a watery rockfall right into the Eels’ lair (a devil’s bargain)! The Spider turned it around perfectly, though – he produced his fine whiskey flask and claimed he was there to parley. An impressive Sway roll stopped his impending stabbing and we discovered that Richter had drugged the bottle with sleep essence. The half-dozen Eels – and their lieutenant Unagi – all passed out, along with Richter (who was still able to help through Foresight and Mastermind).

Meanwhile, the Setters’ Leech rigged up a gondola to be a submersible and the Cutter approached out of sight of the enemy lookouts. The Hound took out the Eels’ sharpshooters and the Cutter obliterated the lookouts on the water-facing side of the lair. The Eels simply weren’t prepared for a submarine.

The main battle I ran as an 8-clock, since I figured as a Tier I gang the Eels probably only HAD about eight guys left, and that was being generous. A crit on a Teamwork Skirmish felled most of the Eels, prompting one lieutenant, Remora, to attempt an escape by gondola. The Leech’s clockwork spider-bot had been waiting for this (via flashback) and started drilling holes in the boat. The Leech rocked an Attune roll and actually summoned a ghostly gondolier to punt the surrendering Remora back to the Dead Setters’ waiting thugs.

Moray, the Eels’ rotund, dangerous boss, dragged Richter’s unconscious form out onto the catwalk ringing the warehouse floor. The Hound snuck up behind Moray and all three fell into the canal. Moray let Raven (the Hound) stab him and wrapped his meaty hands around her throat, determined to drown her even as he bled out into the inky water.

I dealt harm to Richter, as he was unconscious and underwater. That’s when he used his Mastermind ability, his special armor taking the form of inflatable clothing, pulling him and Raven to the surface. Rook the Cutter and Raven drowned the shit out of Moray and Raven left him as a sacrifice to the Deathseeker crows (she’s started trying to gain their favor as a LTP).

We ended the session there, but we still need to see how the Dead Setters will treat their prisoners (Unagi the Lurk, Remora the Spider, and five thugs who were lucky enough not to fight the Cutter), handle Heat (HEAT WILL BE GAINED), and decide if they want a bigger Coin payout and liquidate all the things, or a smaller Coin payout but use the Eels’ lair as Turf or something.

Quickest. War. Ever. But then, sixes on near every roll will do that, and it was still a fun session and one where I felt I got everyone into the spotlight. Everyone’s pretty damn good at fighting or resisting harm at this point, and although it’s hard to steer clear of that in a gang war, I’m going to look for ways to maybe lure the guys towards more cerebral scores in the future. We’ll see. It might be that they’re just Thieves who secretly act like Breakers, and that’s okay. That’s what veteran advances are for.

#heestcomplete