Episode 1 – Returning the Compliment

Now that Davao is freed of the immediate threat of invasion, and with the dual advantages of wiping out the Grik force and the ability to move faster than if there had been any survivors, the humans of Davao are perfectly positioned to strike back at the Grik installation at Saigon.

Returning to the distant port will require a felucca carrying fuel to meet the Macao Clipper in the Spratly Islands. Returning to the small islands is slightly easier now that it has been before and will require an AVERAGE Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a HARD Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography to successfully locate them, with a time increment of eight hours and must be done within ten rolls.

En route, the felucca encounters a gri-kakka as they near the islands. Each PC and NPC aboard will get to roll a HARD Alertness + Perception / Sight test with anyone that succeeds spotting the 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 attacked 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. 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.

The return flight to the Spratlys is an AVERAGE Complex Action of Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a HARD Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography with a time increment of thirty minutes to spot the islands and must be completed in eight rolls. As before, 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 fly back to the Spratlys, where they will top off again for the return flight to Davao.

The flight to Saigon will again not require a roll, but the landing is still 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.

This time the plane lands closer to the port, reducing navigating through only a mile of jungle to an AVERAGE test of Intelligence + Survival / Jungle. If the roll is successful, the trip will take 30 minutes. Failing this roll pushes this time to 45 minutes, while a Botch will take an hour. On reaching the harbor, a full reconnaissance of the Grik base will require an AVERAGE Complex Action of Alertness + Covert / Surveillance with a ten minute time increment and a six roll limit. When the Threshold has been reached, the PCs will have a full layout of the port. The first Botch adds a half hour to the search, while the second Botch will automatically encounter a Grik patrol of four warriors. Each ten minutes, the PCs will have to succeed with an EASY Agility + Covert / Stealth roll to avoid Grik Patrols. Should the PCs be detected, they will have to defeat these fighters within ten Combat Turns and do so without the use of firearms or they will alert the entire harbor of their presence. Failing to defeat the Grik quickly results in relentless pursuit.

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 them. Run these encounters as normal.

If the PCs remain undetected or defeated any patrols, they may continue with their sabotage mission. Each PC is carrying ten one pound packets of black powder. Planting all the charges is a HARD Complex Action of Intelligence + Covert / Sabotage with a ten minute time increment and a ten roll maximum. Each PC will have to make the same EASY Agility + Covert / Stealth roll every ten minutes to avoid Grik patrols with the same consequences for being detected as above. On reaching the Threshold, the port is successfully rigged and does not require a roll to set fire to the first packet to start the cascading sabotage. During the Complex Action, each packet was placed in bundles of cloth or something else flammable so that when the first charge explodes it sets something else on fire. As a result, once started, the entire port will sustain massive damage that will disable the port for months.

There will be so much confusion that the Grik will not be able to organize a pursuit, so the PCs will return safely to their aircraft. Since the departure in daylight is an AVERAGE test of Ship’s Agility + Piloting with the same damage as before on a failure. The return to the Spratlys is an AVERAGE Complex Action of Intelligence + Scientific Expertise / Mathematics or a HARD Intelligence + Knowledge / Geography with a time increment of thirty minutes to locate the islands and a five roll maximum. 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 d10, Knowledge d6, Melee Weapon Combat d6 / Parry d8 / Shield d8 / Sword d10 / Knives d8, Perception d6, Unarmed Combat d6 / Brawling d10

Gear: Grik Sword d8, Armor 2S 2W, Medium Shield: Armor LP 25

Grik Warrior

Agility: d8, Strength: d8, Vitality: d10, Alertness: d8, Intelligence: d4, Willpower: d4; Life Points 18; 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 d4, Knowledge d4, Melee Weapon Combat d6 / Parry d8 / Shield d8 / Sword d10 / Knives d8, Perception d6, Ranged Weapons d6 / Crossbow d8 / Spear, Unarmed Combat d6 / Brawling d8

Gear: Grik Sword d8, Armor 2S 1W, Medium Shield: Armor LP 25