Episode 11 – Behind Enemy Lines

The charts captured on the Grik ship indicated that Saigon was their home port. As this is over a 1,500 miles one way flight, the Macao Clipper can not accomplish the scouting alone and in any case, a direct over flight would not only give away the recon, but reveal the existence of aircraft to the Grik. An AVERAGE Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography or a HARD Intelligence + Perception / Tactics roll will realize that it is possible to have a felucca carrying enough fuel to meet the aircraft for refueling in one of the sheltered cays of the Spratly Islands that will allow the plane to reach the target.

A felucca’s high speed will cover the distance to the Spratly Islands in less than four days, but none of the Lemurian crews are familiar with the that part of the South China Seas and one of the humans will have to go along to navigate. Finding the tiny islands will require HARD Complex Action of Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a FORMIDABLE Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography to successfully locate them, with a time increment of eight hours.

En route, the small felucca is subject to encounters with the unforgiving sea. On the second day out, every PC aboard and one half of the NPCs aboard will get to roll a HARD (11) Alertness + Perception / Sight test with anyone that succeeds spotting in incoming threat in time to have their full Dodge. Anyone that fails will only have their Innate Defense, while if anyone rolls a Botch they are automatically snatched by the creature that boils out of the sea. Barring a Botch, the creature will attack the person that rolled the lowest on their perception check. The creature is a gri-kakka, one of the more common threats in the sea, something the PCs have never seen before, but have heard of from the Lemurians. Run the combat as usual with one quarter of the NPCs joining the fight every Combat Turn after the first until the entire crew is engaged.

On the third day, the seas darken and the wind picks up. An EASY (3) Intelligence + Knowledge / Sailing will realize a storm is coming up, but it takes an AVERAGE (7) result to know that the center of the storm is going to pass well to south of them. On a HARD (11) result, they will know that even though they are not going to be hit by the storm’s full strength, it is still going to be in for a rough time.

As the storm strikes and they learn this is only the fringe of the storm, the PCs shudder to think what the full force would have been like. The violent pitching of the seas requires that everyone roll against a HARD (11) Vitality + Willpower to not be sick from the constant pitching. Anyone with the Lightweight Complication, as will anyone that rolls a Botch on the above roll, is going to be miserable and will have to be strapped to a hammock to ride out the storm. If they wish to perform any activity, they will have to make another HARD (11) Vitality + Willpower roll with the standard two step penalty to Vitality. Eventually, the storm passes and the ship can continue on their journey.

The flight to the Spratleys in simple thing, but finding the small islands is a different matter and will also a HARD Complex Action of Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a FORMIDABLE Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography get close enough to spot the tiny specks of land. However, due to the more precise instruments aboard the aircraft, the time increment is thirty minutes. Even if the navigation is spot on, detecting the felucca will require an AVERAGE Alertness + Perception roll, which becomes HARD if the navigation test fails. After topping off the fuel tanks, the Macao Clipper will have enough range to land near Saigon and back to the Spratlys, where they will top off again for the return flight to Davao.

Navigating to the vicinity of Saigon is a trivial matte not requiring a roll. However, landing in the last rays of twilight is a bit more complicated, requiring a HARD test of Ship’s Agility + Piloting to safely set down. If this roll fails, the plane strikes an object in the water with the difficulty being treated as an attack roll doing Basic damage. If the roll is Botched, the plane also sustains d4W damage. If the plane is damaged, the flight crew will have until morning to affect repairs, as per the standard repair rules.

The first challenge the scouting force will have to face is navigating through six miles of jungle to reach their objective. This is a HARD test of Intelligence + Survival / Jungle and will take two hours, failing this roll costs the scouts an additional hour while a Botch will add two hours. On reaching the harbor, a full reconnaissance of the Grik base will take an hour. This will require an AVERAGE roll of Alertness + Covert / Surveillance. Success on the roll will detect the twenty-one ships of the Grik attack force from the many smaller scout groups also present in the harbor, while an Extraordinary Success will also pinpoint the flagship. A failure gathers that there a total of thirty-six ships present and assumes they are all part of the attack force. A Botch is more serious in that the scouts encounter a Grik patrol of four warriors. In addition to have to defeat these fighters within ten Combat Turns, the scouts must do so without the use of firearms or they will alert the entire harbor of their presence.

Being detected results in relentless pursuit and escaping the Grik will take a HARD Intelligence + Covert or a FORMIDABLE Intelligence + Survival / Jungle roll. Failing this roll will allow a half a dozen Grik warriors catching them, while a Botch will result in ten warriors catching up to the scouts. Run these encounters as normal. If the scouts remained undetected or eluded or defeated their pursuers, the survivors will return to where the Macao Clipper is waiting.

The departure is at dawn, so this time the take off goes smooth. The flying boat climbs away from Saigon and returns to the Spratlys, which is a HARD Complex Action of Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a FORMIDABLE Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography with a time increment of thirty minutes to locate the islands. After reaching the felucca, they can top off again and fly back to Davao which will not require a navigation roll for either the plane’s or the boat’s crew.

Gri-kakka

Agility: d6, Strength: d10, Vitality: d10, Alertness: d6, Intelligence: d2, Willpower: d8; Life Points 18; Initiative d6 + d6

Traits: Fightin’ Type (Major)

Skills: Athletics d6 / Dodge d8 / Swimming d12, Covert d6 / Stealth d10, Discipline d6 Concentration d8, Melee Weapon Combat d6 / Teeth d10, Perception d6 / Hearing d8 / Tracking d8, Survival d6 / Ocean d10

Weapons: Teeth d4W

Grik Leader

Agility: d8, Strength: d8, Vitality: d10, Alertness: d8, Intelligence: d6, Willpower: d8; Life Points 22; Initiative d8 + d8

Traits: Tough as Nails (Major), Fightin’ Type (Major), Sadistic (Major), Overconfident (minor), Prejudice (minor)

Skills: Athletics d6 / Dodge d8, Covert d6, Discipline d6, Influence d6 / Intimidation d8, Knowledge d6, Melee Weapon Combat d6 / Sword d10 / Knives d8, Perception d6, Sailor d6, Unarmed Combat d6 / Brawling d10

Gear: Grik Sword d8, Armor 2S 2W, Shield: Armor 4, LP 6

Grik Warrior

Agility: d8, Strength: d8, Vitality: d10, Alertness: d8, Intelligence: d6, Willpower: d8; Life Points 22; Initiative d8 + d8

Traits: Tough as Nails (Major), Fightin’ Type (Major), Sadistic (Major), Overconfident (minor), Prejudice (minor)

Skills: Athletics d6 / Dodge d8, Covert d6, Discipline d6, Knowledge d6, Melee Weapon Combat d6 / Sword d10 / Knives d8, Perception d6, Ranged Weapons d6 / Crossbow d8, Sailor d6, Unarmed Combat d6 / Brawling d10

Gear: Grik Sword d8, Armor 2S 1W, Shield: Armor 4, LP 6