#59 The Touch of Nxla

GHOST COUNTRY by *moonxels on deviantART

The group chases after the tank until they get near the building.   A battle with the Duergar troops ensues.   Bluey gets shot down by a missle from the tank.  Herman also takes a missile hit but manages to pick up bluey in mid air before he falls.  Hermans force field (?) is destroyed.  Caldors force field took some laser blasts but remained intact.

One howitzer is taken out by Caldor, two remain in action.  Drago charges the rift and takes heavy damage from the tank on the other side, his magic armor drops dangerously low.
Bes cackles from the top of the tank "I sent the plague of NXLA to this planet to destroy the last royal kreeghor in the tet line.  My employer will be very pleased to hear I have taken as zombies the last male and his entourage."  With that bes opens a second pinhole rift to africa and sends out 10 tendrils at the characters... Herman and Caldor fail their saves after many close calls, drago tries in vain to destroy the tendrils with fire.  As Herman and Caldor are slowly soulsucked into the rift by NXLA's tendrils...


Drago and Bluey team up pool PPE and cast CLOSE RIFT.   This cuts off the soul supply just before caldor and herman are completely drained.  (house rule: the nxla tendril soul suck and xombification effect takes a full melee round to take place and can be stopped through player action).



Cleaning up the group finishes dispatching the remaining duergar, some of which were zombified.

Drained of magic energy and soul, the battered party hunkers down near the ruins the Duergar were using as a base...

The group goes inside and finds a few harvestors and 4 men chained up along with a child and a woman in cages with weird implants.  During the battle Drago hits an agony rune and is hurt by it.

After the harvesters were destroyed or fled, The 4 men are set free and run off.  Bluey's Z worm uses psi surgery to investigate the impants on the girl and the child, finally setting them free as well and removing the mysterious implants.  Both are too weak to stand after the ordeal.

Sparticus and Bluey took mustard gas damage from a trap outside the base.  Both bioregenerated to protect their lungs from permanent damage.

XP:

Drago http://3rdageofdragonwright.blogspot.com/2011/02/drago.html
104130 needs 120001 
previousxp: +500xp +100skills +25 battle zombie pig farmer jimmy who killed john and ran off with the platnum bar +100 teaching steel mummy ritual to hughbot +100 burys 10mil in gold at undisclosed nearby location marked by stars
+100 learns paralysis lesser and sonic stun from scrolls +25 skimmers +50 tank
-80k from credits mummy supplies, +7 steel mummy pigs
part2 xp
+500 showin up +225 skills +100 flame tendrils +200 efforts to destroy tendrils of nxla +400 plan to close rift saves caldor and herman from zombification +100 survive bes's unleashing of the tendrils of nxla +100 daring facing tank
106755 needs 120001

Sparticus http://3rdageofdragonwright.blogspot.com/2009/02/sparticus.html
 71625 needs 75201
 +500 xp +100 fly on drago +100 battle +100 leaves 10mil in gold at the oil refinery base  section 5 +100 farmer rp finding dead pig farmer in base +200 swine rp, 790 swine remain alive, purchase prize was 500/swine, investment is currently at -105000cr from initial purchase price. Pig farming is hard!
part2 xp
+500 showing up +100 toss car +100 staying out of sight +100 survive bes's unleashing of the tendrild of nxla  +100 flame tendrils attempt +50 tank
73675 needs 75201


 Caldor http://3rdageofdragonwright.blogspot.com/2009/08/caldor-gar-shack.html
61726 needs 69881
+500xp +425 skills +100 bury treasure 2.5mil 4 places near base hidden with camoflage +100 battle +100 rp +500 dont cook +100 daring land charge through minefield +100 hughbot rp
part2 xp
+500 showin up +100 skills +100 rp loot howitzer and 11 shells +100 surviving zombification +50 tank +100 daring charge of howitzer emplacements
64601 needs 69881

 Bluey http://3rdageofdragonwright.blogspot.com/2011/02/bluey.html
24875 needs 25920
part2xp
+1000 showing up +125 skills +800 helping drago close rifts and saving caldor and herman from zombification +200 surviving bes +100 tank +100 rp +200 saving girl and child from implants
27400 bluey has leveled

 Herman http://3rdageofdragonwright.blogspot.com/2013/02/herman-phaeton-juicer.html
17556
+1000 showing up +275 skills +100 surviving zombification +100 tank +200 surviving bes +100 rp +100 daring rescue grab of bluey mid air +100 gas
18631