OH DEAR GOD IT'S BACK!

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

You stand at the center of it all, before the gigantic trunk that serves as the main body of the hybrid. Your twenty stand with you, courage stoked by your rousing speech, hands full of explosives and minds clear. Miniscule tremors shake the earth beneath you, the heartbeat of the massive beast below.

This is where it comes to a head. Four miles from the edge, you have no hope of reaching the line with the minds of your squad intact, to say nothing of what another several hours in here would do to yours. It falls to you to end this quickly, to do your best and hope that will be enough. The trunk is larger than a redwood, many stories tall, thick skin hanging loosely against its core.

Getting through it will be tough, but you are undaunted. You are armed with a great quantity of thermite, and with your superior magical talents. Nothing will stop you.

Orders?

rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11

rolled 4, 1, 2 = 7

>>9856252
Get ready to blow through its outer shell with ice grenades. Then quickly toss the thermite inside.

rolled 1, 6, 6 = 13

>>9856399
Email field: dice+1d20 for grenades. Success on seven.

>>9856399
This.

rolled 3 = 3

>>9856413

rolled 5 = 5

>>9856413

>>9856433
you've_failed_me_for_the_last_time.jpg

rolled 4, 4, 4 = 12

You order your squad members to stand back, focusing on the space inside the skin. The twenty edge back carefully, some stumbling, as their confusion and fear begin to return. You'll have to get this done fast.

>3

Your mind falters, filling with strange visions, losing its focus. Your aim creeps up, and the spinning shapes that guide your powers twist and deform, taking whatever control you had. Tiny bubbles of shimmering ice form against the trunk, dozens of them appearing high above your head. They detonate sporadically, showering you with bits of quickly-melting ice.

The tremors become a quake. The branches of the trunk snap and crack as they turn back on themselves, doing nothing to hide the roar of the awakening hybrid.

Orders?

rolled 6, 6, 4 = 16

Ice grenades are good and all, but they've all we've been relying on. Let's introduce variety.

Can we transform the ground beneath this monster to ice, so that it falls through and becomes stuck?

Try to hit that motherfucker again. More ice grenades!

[Holy shit, something really creepy/fucked-up happened just right now]

I was going to post a picture I found , which fitted our quest very nicely but when I tried to open my FG folder, the computer started to act up and gave notice to format my drive if I want to use it. I freak out and try again, same result. Then I tried to access the folder from Total Commander, the pc started to load unnaturally long for such a simple task and when it finally opened the folder all of my FG pics were GONE! All the pictures I saved from the beginning D:
What the fuck?
Even now, when I try to open the empty folder the pc starts loading for a while.

The shoggoth be infecting my computer, yes?

rolled 4, 5, 1 = 10

>>9856702
You don't have nearly enough power to do that, even if it's feasible. Think of it like a giant tree, with moving roots.

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>9856707
Roll 1d20 for grenades, success on seven.

>>9856728
That's very odd. I'm not much of a /g/ person, so I don't know what to tell you.

Ice grenades again, we need to make holes to put thermite in.

We have some mages, yes? Ask them to use any blow-shit-up spell for the same result.

Or we could try alchemy and transmute the trunk to make holes.

rolled 2 = 2

>>9856772

rolled 15 = 15

>>9856772

rollin, c'mon c'mon

rolled 2, 2, 6 = 10

>>9856750
In that case, you can use your ice saber to freeze its skin, or try to drive a wedge in with alchemy, or any number of things. Your preference?

>>9856762
Very nice. Is that supposed to be Hretmar?

Can we identify vital organs and transform them to ice?

I just wanna do something other than ice nade spam.

sage the cancer.

sage for cancer and gay

>>9856808
NO DELETING POSTS THAT'S CHEATING

rolled 3, 1, 5 = 9

>>9856794
Alright. You'll order the mages to attack.

>>9856803
Oh boy.

>>9856811
You could use the alchemy band to analyze it, but that's about the only way, besides exploratory surgery.

Fucking sage. Take this shit to IRC, faggots.

>>9856772
Anyway, it was a nice picture.

Imagine icy terrain, some small blizzard.

There stands a giant, clothed in military white parka meant for camouflage. She's holding a sniper rifle (massive cannon for a normal human, no doubt). At her left stands a normal human, dressed in what seems like a full-body combat armor, it's dark brown.

Caption:
"Maya in the future (5 years, give or take)
with her trusty sidekick, Kel"


[maybe someone has it, I'm sure I've seen it couple of times]

Another cancer thread.

>string of failures

That's what you get when you stop the session while we were riding high.

Oh look, it's the sagefag again. Hi guy.

Quit polluting /tg/ you cumguzzlers.

rolled 6, 6, 2 = 14

You shout for the mages to strike the skin, hoping that they can do enough damage to open a hole for the grenades. They acknowledge your command, adopting a firing stance, palms out, and pouring bright beams of light into the beast's skin. Their addled minds lose focus quickly, causing their attacks to falter or wander, instead of concentrating on a single spot.

>2

Grenades appear in the air above you, exploding as soon as they're called into being and showering you with more melting shrapnel. The trunk begins to bend, its branches folding in and sinking beneath the skin, its main body reaching down toward you, roaring at your assault.

Fuck it,

Throw one of our "hooked" thermites, so it attaches to the surface.

I put on my wizard robe, and hat.

[Oh God, now I can't even delete the empty FG folder]

Sheeeeet

third time's the charm.

Gogo Icenades

rolled 3, 3, 4 = 10

Cursing the fog, you toss one of your hooked grenades at the trunk, and it embeds itself in the quivering surface. Igniting it with a quick shock from a storm knife, you pull your squad back, shielding your eyes from the blossoming light of the powerful incendiary.

The roar multiplies in intensity, and detached branches crash and fall around you as the great beast seeks you with its core, the trunk itself beginning to split apart at the top, peeling into a gigantic mouth.

The grenade burns its way in, molten iron scalding a path through the skin, giving you a straight shot into the creature's internals.

Fag thread.

Use the thermite-rang!

>peeling into a gigantic mouth.

Finally!

throw in six pack. Have your squad throw in some nades too.

Cancer.

>internals

What do they look like?

rolled 5, 5, 3 = 13

>>9857051
Like a sponge, a web of vessels that probably circles the center, carrying the creature's lifeblood throughout its enormous bulk.

>>9856249
>OH DEAR GOD IT'S BACK!
Seconded

Toss in the thermite nades.

OOH OOH first push supercooled air in there to freeze the tissue so that when the thermite hits it cracks everything that it isn't burning directly.

>>9857048
>>9856896

Dude, there's 3 faggot animu threads and fuckers spamming mass effect bullshit on the front page and you single out a quest thread? fuck off.

>>9856976
Thermite batarang to exposed internals! let's turn this thing into the biggest BBQ ever.

>circles the center

So, if we destroy it's center, it's dead, right?

Lets hit its weak point for critical damage! :D

And don't forget to order our squad to fire everything.
In the exposed skin and in the mouth

rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11

>>9857003
>>9857030
Without a second thought, you unclip the six-packs and throw them into the wound, lighting them with another shock. The mages continue to attack the trunk, casting wild shots at any part of it they can see, while the swordsmen, momentarily drawn back to reality, throw their grenades in as well, adding their fury to the raging furnace deepening the wound.

You circle, keeping the brightly-glowing gash in view as the trunk turns, the mouth dropping steadily downward, bringing the great roar ever closer. Strips of blackened skin seek the edges of the wound, attempting to close it as the mass of molten metal sinks inward, burning a foot-wide hole into the core.

>>9856888
>>9856896
>>9856908
>>9856990
>>9857048
If it annoys you that much, go away. Or does saging make you feel better inside?

Cancer thread, take this shit to /b/

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

>>9857109
From what you understand, if you destroy the central brain, or cut it off from the rest of the body, the hybrid will die.

>>9857140
>>9857140

Ignore him.

Okay, now throw a six-pack in nearing mouth. I don't want it to eat any of our men.

HORRIBLE ABOMINATIONS CAN'T EAT YOU WHEN THEY ARE ON FIRE!

Is it catching on fire yet?

WTF, it took me an hour to find this thread? I need to get a thread finder program!

We have a hole in it? Start chucking thermite into it before it moves! Order everybody else to join in.

>>9857152
ZAPP THAT FUCKER

Sage does nothing. Hasn't Moot said as much himself?

Anyway, thermite-rang

Guys, guys,

We are going to make this world's very first Christmas tree!

rolled 4, 3, 1 = 8

The hallucinations grow stronger, creeping across your vision, but you do your best to ignore them. The mages are far beyond your control now, taking shots at the approaching mouth, their grenades expended. The swordsmen, lacking a ranged attack, hack at the trunk's skin with their blades, screaming curses and thrashing about, seeing and hearing things that were never there.

You throw the thermite batarang inward, slicing the wound wide open again, adding yet another blast to the inferno within. With all the power you can muster, you funnel supercooled air in around the edges, quickly freezing skin and blood, allowing the incredible heat of the thermite to shatter the surrounding tissue, rapidly widening the wound.

The mouth hits the earth, sending showers of dirt everywhere as it burrows in, taking two of the mages with it. The trunk curves around, seeking the ground as the hybrid's center tries to escape your onslaught. Bright orange flames flare from its skin as the fire begins to spread, drying its internal structure and using it as fuel for the expanding, consuming blaze.

>>9857329
No, stop that fucker!
TASE HIM
TASE HIM BRO

If we can locate it's centre, shoot the ever living heel out of it with ice lances.

>>9857329
Any and all thermite we have left, toss it in/on whatever.
All or nothing.

Do we have our magma steel halberd still? Or the shortsword? either way, get to making that hole bigger!

Fuel the fire. throw some more thermite

rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12

>>9857342
>>9857367
Roll 2d20. First for storm knives, second for ice lances. Successes on two and seven.

>>9857376
Acknowledged.

>>9857329
Try to freeze him to the ground

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

>>9857381
You have a flail and a Magma Steel knife.

rolled 4, 19 = 23

>>9857402
Oh god

rolled 13, 17 = 30

here goes nothing

rolled 1, 19 = 20

>>9857414
Okay, storm knives don't work, but ice lances are a spectacular success!

rolled 7, 2 = 9

>>9857402

>>9857414

That bitch got lance'd

>>9857426
>rolled 1, 19
Do you have power of precognition?


Anyway, success on 2, it should work

>>9856237
Alright, FG quest!

Oh god, those low rolls early in the thread had me worried....

>>9857454
No, just really crappy dice rolls

Okay, so this thing is hurting right? We just got to keep it from getting away and the kill the brain.

Have we used field o' frost to dispell the mindfuck frost?

rolled 1, 1, 4 = 6

>>9857414
Your remaining thermite, contained in sixteen high-quality grenades, all goes into the wound, igniting almost instantly as it reaches the extreme heat of the reactions inside. The roar ceases as the trunk drives itself into the earth, trying to pull the wounded section to safety. You level your gauntlets, aim for the wound, and pray for guidance.

>4

The magelock sparks, its power draining into the knives as you unleash their strength, casting bolts of blue-white lightning into the blazing opening, searing flesh in a wide radius and setting even more of it on fire as the massive charges return to the ground, striking from the surface of the blackened skin. With the knives drained, you ready your next attack, shouting for the remaining men to get back behind you.

>19

Your aura flares, cutting through the fog as your mind clears. The shapes in your mind lengthen into spears, guiding your magical energy, turning your thoughts into instruments of death. Great, shining lances form in the misty air, drawing it into themselves and sharpening, shrieking into the burning gap.

The heat causes the icy spears to flash into steam, feeding an explosion that ripples through the center of the moving beast, tearing its flesh to ribbons as you continue to cast your lances in. Bands of brownish muscle snap like elastic, stretched to the breaking point. The hybrid's head continues its journey into the earth, its momentum rending the body behind it. The trunk separates, cleaving the mouth and brain from the remainder. The fog begins to fade, amid the howls of the dying elemental.

>>9857643
AH FUCK YEAH
NOW TRANSMUTE IT INTO IRON AND MAKE A FUCKAWESOME STATUE OF OURSELVES FROM IT

>>9857643

Awesome! So the head's underground then? Can we try some more ice grenades on it, just to ensure it dies?

>>9857643
Uhh smash the brain into a pulp ?

Put what's left of this thing out of it's misery and call it a day.

>>9857643
MWAHAHAHA! I love it when an enemy tears itself appart with it's own movement.

Oh, OP, I wanted to ask.

When reading archives and coming up to the part where we were thinking of a plan to kill this thing I though of suggestion making some fully closed hazard-suits. Alchemy them up or something.

How feasible would this idea been?

Defiantly make sure it's dead

rolled 6, 6, 1 = 13

>>9857687
This would be a fairly difficult task. Success on 18, if you wanted to do it all at once.

>>9857689
Yes, but the brain's far enough in that aiming will be more of a problem than usual.

>>9857702
Well, you would have to experiment with crafting fabric for a while, but it's feasible. The real problem (assuming you're including a breath-mask) would be in creating a material for filters.

rolled 2, 4, 3 = 9

>>9857689
>>9857698
>>9857699
>>9857733
Roll 5d20 for ice grenades. Success (headshot) on 14.

rolled 14, 7, 9, 20, 14 = 64

>>9857773

Rollin

>>9857783
>20!!!!!!!!!

>>9857783

That's pretty dead, I think.

>>9857753
>The real problem (assuming you're including a breath-mask) would be in creating a material for filters

No it wouldn't. You told us that Conclave experimented with some MAGICS! to make people not breath the fog or something. We could do that and have suits at the same time, and put off the filters for later. If we manage that, the fog should not be a problem (till someone ruptures the suit that is)

>>9857783

It's super effective!

rolled 3 = 3

rolling for awesome statue, just because.

rolled 17 = 17

>>9857828
and rolling again.

rolled 10 = 10

>>9857828

fuuuuck, no statutes for us!

Pretend we were trying to undo the thing to save us from embarrassment

>17

ALMOST!

>>9857805
We don't even know what the fog is made of. How can we protect ourselves from it ?
Besides, I don't think a simple filter would protect us from it, if it was magical.

>>9857842
>>9857842
>>9857842


Hmm.

Now that I think about it.

DM, why aren't we using our alchemy glove? It gives +3 for alchemy checks you know?

rolled 4, 4, 5 = 13

Some of the mages continue to fire at the blasted trunk, while others stagger and fall, senses slowly returning to normal as the fog clears. You seek the head of the wailing beast, trying to pinpoint its location as it slowly sinks deeper into the ground. There is no way you'll risk this thing regenerating.

>14, 7, 9, 20, 14

Two grenades fall on either side, exploding harmlessly against the creature's skin. Closing your eyes, you narrow your aim, calling three more. Two of them detonate just beneath what you think are its eyes, tearing its brain apart. The screeching howl fades into nothing as your last one fires, sending bits of shrapnel careening through its nervous system, shredding everything.

The fog lifts almost instantly, letting the fading sunlight reach your eyes again. The tremors have stopped. The hybrid is dead.

>>9857870

The thing that conclave did, repressed the symptoms for a short time. Methinks it works when exposed to the skin, breathing it in makes it worse.

>>9857870
That's why we bring an air scrubber and refilter the air we're breating rather than allowing the stuff from outside into the suit.

>The fog lifts almost instantly, letting the fading sunlight reach your eyes again. The tremors have stopped. The hybrid is dead.

Hip-hip, hooray!

rolled 6, 6, 2 = 14

>>9857805
Even if you don't breathe the fog, its effects are only lessened, not prevented. The suit would do nothing to help you, beyond keeping the mist out of your lungs.

>>9857894
The gloves are most useful when you are trying to construct something. You have progressed to the point where they are of only marginal use.

>>9857928

Or we could use compressed air from air tanks.

be all happy and stuff but remain heroic-looking

Now let's raise our fist to give a couple well-deserved Spartan howls in revelry.

>>9857928
Here we go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather

>>9857916
>The fog lifts almost instantly
Great success!

>>9857966
Well, we ARE constructing an awesome statue

Check condition of your men, also what happened to those 2 mages that got hit? Check if they still can be helped.

Too bad we lost two men. I wanted to have no casualties T_T

>>9857916

Nice.
Let's go back to camp to a hero's welcome.

>>9857916

What's the area look like? Any traces of the original fortress or the Forusian occupation left?

>>9858003
seconding this

>>9858003
thirded

rolled 6, 6, 3 = 15

>>9857976
>>9857980
You stand tall, a faint smile gracing your face as you survey your success. You raise your fist to the air, giving a powerful shout to mark your victory, one which is echoed by the troops, half-heartedly at first, then with an enthusiasm matching your own.

>>9858003
The two were caught by the mouth and dragged down with it, pulverized against the earth. They are no longer among the living. The remaining eighteen are combat-ready, now that the fog is gone, though they are all a bit tired, as are you.

You have incoming calls from Corias, the Conclave, and Ilian.

Receive calls, I guess

take calls from Corias first, then the conclave, then Illian. In that order.

receive calls of course

Head back.

If we aren't getting a damn statue, raise a monument in honor for the fallen comrades

>>9858129
Receive calls. Ask about the soul-status of the fallen.

>>9858129
Corias, Illian, Conclave.

I still don't like that they sent us on a suicide mission for our first run.

>>9858129
Take calls in order indicated. We shouldnt brief the conclave until we've talked to our commander and know the full situation.

rolled 3, 3, 5 = 11

>>9858033
The area is overgrown with vegetation, mostly tall grass and weeds, with some young trees poking up here and there. You see nothing of the fortress beyond a few scattered rocks, and broken, half-buried pieces of the foundation around the torn trunk. There is no sign of the occupying forces, or any of their equipment.

>>9858154
The commander commends you for a job well done, and orders you to return to the lines as quickly as possible. He is quite surprised that you only took two casualties.

The Conclave congratulates you for discovering a strategy that works so well against the worms, and reports that the other detachments will be appraised of the results of this battle, and instructed to take your plans into consideration.

Ilian is proud, as usual, and the forge god asks you if you're going to need Erivrus at all.

>>9858284
Of course we are gonna need Erivrus!
We could've done this much faster with his help!

>>9858284
He might not be necessary, but he'll definitely make things easier and having something capable of tackling these monsters blow for blow would be a real morale booster.

>>9858284
I think we could deffinitely use him if we have to keep doing this for multiple sites.

rolled 1, 2, 3 = 6

>>9858236
It wasn't a suicide mission, as the line goes. They were quite sure you'd survive, and were prepared to 'assist', if it became absolutely necessary.

>>9858247
The Conclave has remained in contact with the command staff throughout the battle, and, now that the anti-scrying field is gone, they can see the results of your assault.

According to Corias, the thumpers worked better than intended, drawing most or all of the roots to the edge, and making it difficult to sense their approach. Fortunately, the roots tended to emerge with open mouths, and a great many were felled or turned back with liberal application of thermite. Friendly casualties number less than two hundred.

rolled 6, 4, 1 = 11

>>9858323
>>9858337
>>9858345
Understood. The forge god is reassured, and promises to have the new body ready as soon as possible. Erivrus is getting antsy, and wants to rejoin the fight quickly, so that you aren't forced to do everything yourself.

Skip to return?

>>9858366
>less than two hundred.

That still seems like a lot.

>>9858445

leeeet's doooo the timeee warp agaiiiin!

rolled 2, 6, 2 = 10

>>9858453
Out of 10,000, it's not all that much. Besides, casualties refer to injuries as well as deaths.

>>9858477
Running.

>>9858453
Not in medieval terms.
Ask the conclave about what they planned in case the mission went FUBAR, about their 'help'.
also, let's skip.

>>9858366
>>friendly casualties less than 200
>>considered a good outcome compared to what could have happened.

Err, ouch. Maybe we could try to improve that some more.

>>9858501
Yeah, knowing the backup plan might be nice, if for no other reason than knowing how to help it along.

I think Storytime is in order once we get settled into the camp again.

How about this time, we tell our fellows the tale of the three hundred Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae?

>>9858585
Or we could, you know, first help put together an after-action report before storytime.

>>9858639
of course get all the work-related stuff done first. like I said, once we get settled in.

>>9858639
Damn, work before play. Fine, do all our administrative duties, then storytime.

Tell them about how Albert Einstein and a team of brilliant scientists worked undercover for years to...

wait, we're not pulling nukes out, are we?

>>9858496
That just helps put into perspective just how big and nasty the hybrids are. 1 down, 5 to go.

(Or is it 6? Old threads had Forus capturing 8 fortresses, we took 2 down before the summoning, but there could have been a summoning at a non-fortress location).

>>9858689
not yet, they are our most closely guarded secret.

rolled 5, 3, 2 = 10

The walk back is substantially more pleasant, without the constant threat of madness. Your squad members mourn their fallen comrades, but they thank you for keeping the rest of them close and mostly out of danger. Your speech and a few snippets of the battle are about all they remember, thanks to the influence of the fog.

While you travel, you use the links, assuring Kel and Siskiv that you're fine, checking in with Mitchell and the alchemists, and trying to get the Conclave to tell you what exactly they were going to do if things got really out of hand. Not to mention how they would have known in the first place, given the anti-scrying field. All you get are cryptic non-answers and mentions of 'classified' material, which doesn't help your opinion of them.

You get back to the line hours after dark, carrying one of the weaker mages over your shoulder. The detachment has regrouped and formed back into a circular camp, surrounded by a sparse arrangement of shallow trenches and hastily-placed barriers. You spot at least two of the dead roots on your approach, their blackened bodies still trailing smoke.

Mitchell greets you soon after you enter the camp, informing you that the commander wants to see you back at the command post, yet again. He seems to be in high spirits when you arrive.

“So,” he says jovially, handing you a familiar flagon, “Let's hear it. How'd it go?”

>>9858689

Nooot just yet, I think. We have to see that these people are responsible enough before we even reveal such a thing to them. If we tell anyone right now, it should only be Hretmar. He deserves to know such a terrible weapon is possible.

>>9858689
What do nukes have to do with the Philadelphia Experiment?

;)

>>9858728
"We gave it a nice scalding iron dinner, but it didn't like it. Just how badly educated are those forusian beasts?"

rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12

>>9858723
There are six more, according to my info, but I've screwed up the numbers before.

Is there anything you want to add to your report? A request for more men, or less men, an observation, anything?

>>9858742
Well maybe Hretmar yes, but nobody else. This is easy nation-wide destruction we're talking about.

>>9858728
It eventually figured out that it should run the hell away and tried to dive underground. Thankfully we'd mortally wounded it by then.

>>9858788
no nothing to request.

>>9858788

Recomend endurance-enhancing herbs/enchantments be given to the runner teams for the other worm-like hybrids. Speed is the key to beating the effects of the fog.

>>9858728
Looks like we won. But.... this all must be a smokescreen. These hybrids are area-denial weapons, I don't think even the Forusians can be near them. The armed might of Forus is somewhere else. Does the Conclave know where?

>>9858829
nice reasoning there, bro
didn't think of that

rolled 5, 3, 5 = 13

>>9858777
The commander laughs. "As badly as the men themselves, I gather." He takes a sip of his own drink, gesturing for you to sit. "You weren't expecting a battle of wits, I hope? If it were that easy, we would have won handily a century ago."

>>9858796
"Indeed?" he strokes his chin, looking thoughtful. "I would have thought retreat beyond these things."

>>9858814
"As I've heard." The quicker you move, the sooner you can get to the center, and the better condition your mind will be in when you do. He'll pass that along, and see what he can come up with.

>>9858829
"If they do, they haven't told me." He shrugs. "My orders haven't changed. For now, the elementals are to be my only concern."

>>9858793
Maybe something along the lines of "Hretmar, there is something that I want you to know, something that I need to entrust you with, in case the worst ever happens. Something from my world, whose burden has destroyed men, and in its birth, a nation."
Play up the dread and terror associated with it, so that he understands the importance of what we're conferring.

>>9858912
Okay, let's go see the commander now.

>>9858924

This.

rolled 2, 2, 1 = 5

>>9858924
Do you want to tell Hretmar about nuclear weapons now?

>>9858958
That's who you're talking to.

If there's nothing else for you to say, you're free to get some rest, or entertain the night watch with a story. Most of the regular troops have turned in already.

>>9858924
This. If the worst should hapen and we should die (permanantly this time) The bomb must survive. You're absolutely right that we should impress upon him the horrors that could be brought by it though.

>>9858991
Yeah why not, do we have anything else to do ?

>>9858991
Talk to hretmar, and then go to sleep. We shall tell the stories tomorrow.

rolled 1, 4, 6 = 11

>>9859027
At the moment, no, not much. Which action were you referring to?

before we tell Hretmar anything about nukes, do we even know how to build one?

I've got the general idea. Gather uranium, wait till it changes to Plutonium, put a heavy-mass bullet at one end and rig it so that it fires into the mass, triggering the reaction.

Or something like that.

>>9858912
>>9858814

Or we could use, you know, horses. Give everyman a horse. While we run at our top speed they ride behind us. Why no one though about this is beyond me.

>>9858991

Storytime with the watch. FOR SPARTAAAA!

>>9858991
Since it looks like we're going to be thrown against the Forusian-summoned beasts, and unknown ones to boot (there are 2 remaining which are not of the hybrid-elemental shoggoth type), and he may need to deal with the ice demon in the North one day, I think we need to seriously consider it. If we do decide to tell him, for dramatic effect, I'd rather it be in the dead of night, in a small library we construct outside the perimeter of the camp.

For all you guys saying "yes" to nukes, this is what you'd be creating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny_R8OVYfrw

rolled 4, 1, 6 = 11

>>9859040
Very well.

>>9859050
You know enough to construct a gun-type weapon, with the appropriate materials and some experimentation. This is not to say that it would work as intended, but you do have a design in mind.

>>9859091
let's do this
>>9859082

>>9859090
>8:16 AM, August 7th, in the year 1945. Some say that the horror should rightly be placed at July 16, nearly a month before. But for most, and most importantly, for those who became ash and shadow, and those who were left behind, August 7th is enough.

well, good night, dm

gotta go now

If we do tell Hretmar about nukes, we'll need to give him some context eventually, too. WW2, the resulting Cold War, the fact that for half a century, the entire human race, every living thing on an entire planet, was minutes away from vanishing in a flash of light and nuclear fire. Of the wars that necessitated the creation of such a weapon, of the battles that showed nothing less awful would serve. But, those stories can be for another time.

>>9859082
>If we do decide to tell him, for dramatic effect, I'd rather it be in the dead of night, in a small library we construct outside the perimeter of the camp.

Oh god. I bet if we dont do this, that kid will end up hearing how it's made and builds one 50 years alter.

>>9859290

This.

>>9859290

And now we have enough nukes to destroy our planet 10000 times over!

rolled 4, 6, 6 = 16

After finishing your drink and your conversation, you excuse yourself from the command tent with a salute and a nod, hearing Corias's closing words as you go.

“Get some rest, but don't get comfy. I expect we'll be heading to support the next detachment soon enough.”

If it's just as well, you'd rather not go charging into battle again tomorrow. Or the next day, or the one after that.

You find a low, quiet spot beyond the trenches, pleading insomnia to the night guards. Exercising what remains of your magical power, you press your hands to the ground, and call thin walls of stone from the depths, locking them together in a simple, arched form just large enough to sit in. You make yourself comfortable inside the structure, place some of your books on the rough shelves, and speak to Hretmar.

Swearing him to secrecy, you unveil your plans for that great slayer of cities, the nuclear bomb. You describe the shell, the material, the mechanism, the utility of it all, stressing at each point the extreme power of the weapon, and the consequences of using it, and even of building it. You tell him of the second world war, of the obliteration of thousands, of the ensuing non-peace which could have blossomed any moment into the annihilation of your species.

The god promises to hold this knowledge safe, to keep it only as a last resort. With the touch of a button, this device could have caused the destruction of every human life. You cannot risk its use, except in the most grievous circumstances.

rolled 16 = 16

>>9859324
Nah. Just everything living on it.

rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15

I'm assuming you'll want to return the library to the earth. After that, you can tell a story to the night watch, if you want, or you can save that for breakfast.

We should also mention that it did manage to avoid a third global war between the only two nations left that had the capacity to still wage war after the first two global wars wrecked havoc on the population and economy of the planet.

>>9859458
yeah lets follow your suggestion

>>9859404

End the conversation with this snippet

"Those who were closest to the center of the blast were atomized, reduced to less than ash. There are several ruins, left untouched in Hiroshima, where you can clearly make out the shadow of a person. Those shadows are literally all that remain. Their particles were embedded into the stone walls. Passers by from all countries will often stop at those shadows when touring Japan to pray for the souls of those individuals."

Slightly off--topic, but I thought it might some flavor:
The Battle of the Somme, from World War I. Tell him of how, when the two armies clashed, the generals had not realized the full destructive force of their new weapons. 60,000 men lost their lives because of that miscalculation. When he expresses surprise at the number, mention that it was only the first day, of a battle that raged on for 5 months. In total, 1.5 million casulties, for a mere 6 miles of land.

>>9859481
No, let's not do that, it would only detract from what we've already told him.

>>9859458
Yes get rid of the structure. Maybe we can come back and build a proper library in the area some day once the war's over.

Leave the story telling for morning, we might wake up the people already asleep. And the last thing we need are distracted guards at night.

Machine guns and nukes. 2 weapons we probably shouldn't introduce to this world.

But to quote Kafka: "There is a point beyond which there is no return. This point has to be reached."

Did we win? Can we go back to our original body now?

rolled 5, 3, 1 = 9

>>9859481
You mention that the 'final war' was avoided, and nuclear weapons were never actually used, except in tests, since the two at the close of WWII. However, you also mention the Cuban missile crisis, and the old story about the Russian officer who saved the world by refusing to launch.

>>9859536
You tell him what you remember, though you've forgotten the exact numbers. He is obviously surprised, but intrigued. To his recollection, there has never been a war like that on Providence, though his perspective is understandably limited.

>>9859525
You end with this, and sink the library into the earth after retrieving your books, leaving nothing above the surface.

rolled 2 = 2

>>9859617
We may need to in order to deal with the Demon we unleashed. We can only hope that the new demon will prove more benign.

rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18

>>9859617
If you intend to industrialize Perin, you will probably not be able to keep any technology under wraps indefinitely.

>>9859642
Your original body was destroyed in the mantle, unless you're referring to something else.

>>9859698
1 vote for Timeskip to breakfast and story telling.

>>9859719
Make that 2 votes

>>9859719
3 votes, and preferably something uplifting or comical for a story.

>>9859719

Ditto here.

If we do build a nuclear device, how will we use it?

Presumably against one of these beasts. But a nuke will completely obliterate everything for miles around in every direction. We'd have to take into account local population, the environment, possible future use of the terrain, and so on. The radioactive fallout will poison the area for decades.

I think the best way to use it would be to disguise it as a rock and leave it in the monster's path, then teleport out and detonate it.

>>9859799
Against the ice demon ?
Dropped on forus ?

rolled 4, 1, 4 = 9

With your serious talk finished, you find the place where your troops are set up, and settle in for a well-deserved rest. Your dreams are fleeting, suffused with lingering visions from the fog, and littered with references to great weapons and wars. You see yourself riding a finned bomb into the mouth of an enormous worm emerging from a desert, glassing a hundred miles in an incredible explosion.

You wake well-rested, but a little shaken, sometime after dawn. With some troops from your squad, Mitchell, and the geologist, you go to breakfast, sitting in a large circle around a small fire, one of many scattered through the camp. The rations are poor-tasting, but you eat your fill, as you need your strength.

What story would you like to tell?

>>9859828
Ha! Hretmar and his champion facing down the Ice Demon, in a literal Cold War!

>>9859849
Let's tell them the story of the black and white space marine

>>9859887
NO.
tell the story of Berserk

>>9859849

SPARTAAAAAAA

make sure to also say how 10,000 Greeks led by 5,000 Spartans a year later decimated Xerxes' force of over 100,000 a year later.

>>9859849
Once upon a time there was a bunny who didn't have any friends. So he went out and found some friends and lived happily ever after. The end.

And we're not riding a bomb Dr. Strangelove style.

>>9859903

THIS. We get these guys pumped. that's the plan.

>>9859903
These guys are soldiers. the last thing they want to hear about is MORE WAR. especially since they've been on the front line for years.

The Wizard of Oz ?

>>9859903
300!
300!
HUAH
HUAH
HUAH

>>9859942
But replace it with relevant characters.

If the Conclave only had a brain....

rolled 4, 1, 4 = 9

Looks like 300 wins.

>>9859959
>mouth off the conclave in their own country

What could possibly go wrong?

>>9859981
Goodnight SubDM. Thanks for a good game! I'll read the rest in the archive.

rolled 5, 2, 4 = 11

With your audience gathered, you launch into one of your favorite stories, exercising the skill that kept Dreamwood entertained for many a long night. You tell of the Spartans, great warriors from the ancient, fragmented nation of Greece, holding off the might of more than a million Persians at the hot gates, with their Athenian brethren blocking the enemy navy in the straits.

The emperor of the Persians, Xerxes, who thought himself a god, finds himself stymied at every turn by king Leonidas, holding a force many times smaller but infinitely more manly. The defenders, though outmatched to a hilarious degree, manage to stall the opposing army for two days, only beaten back when one of their own turned traitor, exposing them to a flanking maneuver.

Despite this, Leonidas held the pass, dismissing most of his army and retaining only a thousand or so, 300 of them Spartans. He gave his life to defend his homeland, standing against enormous odds and staring a 'god' in the face, spitting in it with his last breath.

It is a very old story, instilling in the men a great courage, as it has done on your world for untold centuries.

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

>>9860123
Goodnight, and thanks for being here.

Most of the thermite was expended in battle, so your group will be working hard to replenish the stocks as quickly as possible.

Orders?

>>9860206
Create good quality steel. Build large cannon to fire artillery at those beasts.

If we're bringing nukes, we might as well go all the way.

Develop mustard gas.

>>9860206
Commence production I guess.

Also work on our death ray? It's not very deadly atm. btw, any word from Bem and company in the search for an object that could cut through anti-scrying fields?

>>9860272
>>9860272
wtf are you talking about idiot
read all the previous threads

rolled 2, 1, 3 = 6

>>9860272
You will need to experiment quite a lot if you want to create effective artillery. Also, this would undoubtedly grab the attention of the military and the Conclave, so it would be difficult to keep them from finding out how to construct their own cannons and explosives.

As for the mustard gas, you don't know how to synthesize it, but you can probably manage chlorine.

>>9860303
Production running.

If you want to work on the death ray, you could begin by practicing your lenscrafting. As for field-cutting, nothing has been found yet. Understandably, that's the kind of thing that the government would want to keep out of general circulation.

>>9860303
I agree with trying to develop our death ray, and also our polarized goggles. The other alchemists and geologists should have the thermite production process well in hand; we should therefore try to develop new weapons, especially since we don't know what we'll have to face and might need a few new tricks.

>>9860303

Well, y'know, it's not possible for the death ray to EVER be more dangerous than the knives at point blank range, since it's the electricity from the knives that is used to inflict damage on the target. So it's not like the death ray will ever be a game-breaker.

rolled 4, 5, 4 = 13

>>9860365
Regardless of which you go with, you're going to need lenses, so that is what you will focus on, unless someone objects. You can justify this either by telling your commanders what you're attempting to construct, or by extolling the benefits of polarized lenses, or even just saying you're trying to make a better field glass.

Once you're able to manufacture fine lenses with some regularity, you'll be able to turn the arc light into a pinpoint source, which will be useful for blinding enemy troops or as a beacon long before it can be officially weaponized.

rolled 18 = 18

>>9860493
Roll 1d20 for lenses?

>>9859981
Make sure to mention how each of those 300 had a personal slave fighting alongside them, with a good 500+ mercenaries and about 1000+ other soldiers as well. Who were also part of the defense and helped to hold the line.

>>9860493
I just had a thought: We can develop a heliograph (using focused light flashes and code) as a part of developing better lenses, and offer it up as a means of high-speed, long-distance communication that is immune to anti-scrying fields.

rolled 11 = 11

>>9860529
Oh god here we go

Also, continue study and attempted shaping of magma steel. Shit would be handy as fuck to produce, even in small quantities.

rolled 1, 2, 1 = 4

Following your story, you send Mitchell to oversee thermite production, trusting him to keep everything in order while you're elsewhere. He's a bit apprehensive, but you tell him if he has any questions or concerns, you're easy to find. Now that the process is fairly set in stone, you don't have to worry about guiding any thermite experiments.

You find a nice quiet place to practice your alchemy, bringing some of the now-familiar element silicon to the surface, and attempting to shape it into lenses. You produce mostly amorphous blobs or spheres, unable to get the curvatures quite right. After a while, you switch gears, creating a few flat plates and bending them slightly and carefully, adding and subtracting material until you get a rough approximation of a lens.

You show your best results to Corias, telling him about the utility of better lenses, and assuring him that the thermite line is in good hands. He's skeptical, but he lets you borrow one of his officers' telescopes (against the man's protests), which you promptly analyze, and later return intact.

By the end of the day, you've managed to shape a single large plate into a weak magnifying glass about as big as your head. Working with anything smaller has so far resulted in serious errors, so you will need to refine the process. Unfortunately, your armor still refuses to respond to your alchemy.

>>9860721
>Unfortunately, your armor still refuses to respond to your alchemy.
It's because we're a Frost giant.

rolled 5, 2, 3 = 10

>>9860531
Mentioned, though the addition does little to diminish the glory of the defenders, considering the size of the Persian army.

>>9860555
Noted. The command staff thinks this idea shows promise, especially after you give them an overview of morse code.

Skip to tomorrow, or tell a story?

>>9860775
1 story a day should probably be enough unless the night guys are feeling left out.

>>9860775
Ah. Semaphore towers! Those would be grate ways to get word across the country quickly.

rolled 16 = 16

>>9860775
Skip. COntinue work on lenses.

>>9860775

Skip.

rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6

Night comes and goes, marked by a dreamless, pleasant sleep. In the morning, following breakfast, you return to your alchemy, as Mitchell continues to oversee the line. You construct several more lenses, shape them as best you can, and arrange them in a wooden housing, adjusting them further as you learn to use them in series.

Alternating between this and attempts to alter your armor, you manage to build yourself a crude, oversized telescope, through which you observe a few dark clouds on the horizon. The view is blurry, but you find yourself unable to sharpen it further without ruining the whole assembly.

Some time after lunch, the commander calls you back to the center tent, and gives you new orders. At dawn, the detachment will be packing up to move, and after a few days' march, will link up with the next one over, to assist in the slaying of the adjacent hybrid.

There is something else you might want to know: at the remaining locations, the fog has stopped expanding, holding steady at about seven miles at the most.

rolled 2, 4, 2 = 8

As it stands, you'll be shipping out with the detachment, in the absence of further orders from the Conclave. You can spend your time however you wish.

>>9861036

Is the next hybrid on the hit-list the remaining worm type, or one of the others?

>>9861036

Don't suppose anyone (Conclave/Bro Network/etc.) learned anything new about the hybrids after we killed that one? Anybody examine the corpse in an attempt to gain more intel?

>>9861036
>There is something else you might want to know: at the remaining locations, the fog has stopped expanding, holding steady at about seven miles at the most.
Now witness the firepower of this FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL battleshoggoth!

rolled 3, 4, 5 = 12

>>9861066
It is not a worm-type. Scouts described it (or part of it) as resembling a giant centipede. A recent probing attack found thermite to be effective in damaging it, as a few hooked grenades burned through and severed several of its legs. The soldiers did not get more than three hundred feet in before they were attacked.

>>9861036
If its stopped expanding, that's good right? Right?

>>9861036

How big around was that first hybrid? Could we make something like a long rope with thermite grenades attached every couple of feet, then whip it around the trunk of the next hybrid? Might knock it down quicker, less chance for it to run away.

>>9861130
Yes. It means the fog won't spread indefinitely, threatening any nearby civilian populations.

>>9861126

Does it share any characteristics with the previous hybrid? A convenient weak spot represented by three green eyes perhaps?

rolled 4, 5, 4 = 13

>>9861092
The corpses decayed quickly, subsuming into the earth. Not much more has been learned, but it is now known for certain that the worm-types are single beings, and destroying the central brain will kill them. As well, though the 'roots' have their own brains, after you cut the trunk, they stopped moving. Their digestive tracts seem to extend through the entirety of their bodies, making them mostly hollow.

>>9861126

Oh hell.
Centipedes are bad.
They're usually predatory, almost always carnivorous, and often venomous.
Millipedes are pretty chill scavengers, but centipedes are aggressive and malicious sons of bitches.
We had some trouble dealing with a shrubbery, and now we get to tangle with an actual predator.

>>9861130

Could mean that the next phase of the Forusian invasion is about to start too.

>>9861126

Does this mean the other worm type will be engaged by another division? Makes sense, seeing as we know how to kill it. If the Conclave waits for us to get to every single one ourselves, this could take a while.

>>9861139
You mean like a Chain mine?

>>9861249

Yeah! Exactly that!

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>9861130
Unknown. The Conclave said that the fog would expand without limit, but you don't know how exactly they found this out, as it's 'classified'.

>>9861139
You may have seen a picture of a redwood trunk which has a two-lane road running through it. It was about that size. Using a 'thermite rope', you could burn through the skin in multiple locations, possibly weakening the internal structure enough to cause the beast to tear itself apart without first catching on fire.

>>9861172
It has six visible eyes, two triangle formations on either side of its head. It has an armored carapace, strong enough to bounce arrows or crossbow bolts, and resist magical attacks. Its legs are thin enough to be sliced in two with a human-usable axe, but getting close enough to do this is a bad idea. Its mouth sports two sets of grasping claws, and its body extends too far into the fog for scouts to see if it has an end.

rolled 6, 4, 3 = 13

>>9861224
It will. Simultaneous attacks will be mounted on each of the other worm-types. For the rest, probing attacks will determine how best to deal with them, and then the real assault will commence. You need not be present for each of these.

>>9861282

I think we should have some extra batarangs on hand; cut enough front legs off and we might be able to throw it off balance.

>>9861282
Sounds like a viable tactic might be to detonate a line of ice grenades all along a single row of legs, if they are less resistant to magic than the body. First priority in battle should be to restrict enemy movement as quickly and effectively as possible.

Wait.
How many days did it take for the fire giant to come back? We should expect another engagement with him in a similar amount of time. Are there any counter measures he could have developed against thermite grenades?

>>9861350

Better yet, what about making another one of the themite flavored batarangs? Then fling it into one if its eye clusters. Or perhaps strap a grenade to some of our crossbow bolts?

If the abominations are just sitting in a radius of their summoning area, being chill, then, uh, how do we know that killing them isn't part of Forus' plan?

I mean, these are the exact spots where huge death rituals took place, right? What if the death magic is still somehow tied into the abominations, maybe serving as the thing that keeps them in place? What if killing the abominations feeds into the death magic, and killing them all off will, I dunno, do something worse? Like reverse-summoning Perin into space or something?

rolled 3, 2, 6 = 11

>>9861350
Very well. You currently have ten, all non-thermite. How many do you wish to make, and do you want to add incendiaries?

>>9861386
Around a week, if I recall correctly. There is no way to anticipate what equipment or abilities he will have if he comes back. A good defense against thermite would be armor with a high melting point, like Magma Steel, or defenses capable of destroying or knocking the grenades off course. With magic in the picture, there are many more possibilities.

>>9861400
We don't. But we've killed one and that hasn't caused anything bad to happen, so we're good. It's probably just a diversion by Forus to get our troops to get out of their land and come back home.

>>9861386

Good point; we should mix up our attacks when if and when we fight him again. My vote's for doom comets.

>>9861386

Well, since he's made of fire, draws power from fire, was previously encountered somewhere in the world's magma-filled mantle (where he presumably lived for years and years with no ill effects), and has magical mastery over fire, I'm guessing he could work something out.

>>9861437

My vote's for a half-dozen, all thermite flavored.

>>9861282

Let's try making a thermite rope while we're at it; could use it to lasso the centipede, burn it's head clean off.

rolled 3, 1, 3 = 7

>>9861448
This is the prevailing theory. Most think that the hybrids are meant as a distraction, but since no one knows what Forus is planning to do, and the hybrids can't simply be left where they are, there's not much that can be done.

>>9861510
Very well. Roll 1d20 for batarangs; result determines effectiveness.

rolled 5, 3, 4 = 12

>>9861543
Do you want to simply string a bunch of grenades from a rope, and connect their fuses? If so, this can easily be done by one of the alchemists.

rolled 9 = 9

>>9861545

Rollin'

rolled 18 = 18

>>9861545
Rollan!

We should remember to make use of our vast experience in fighting centipedes.

>>9861562

Sure. How'll that work? Wrap it around the target and zap it a storm knife to set it off?

>>9861577

Dang it

>>9861562

If we're going to make one of those, we should practice throwing it. Boulders we can throw all day, but I don't know how good our lasso skills are.

>>9861621
I think the idea is to have multiple simultaneous impact points, burning their way into the target and hopefully compromising its structural integrity to the point wherein it will tear itself apart from its own momentum.

rolled 2, 2, 4 = 8

>>9861577
Flexing your alchemic muscle, you pull a sizable amount of iron from the earth, shape it into bladed disks, and infuse them with carbon to create sharp, shining steel. You make more than you think you need, just in case, and attempt to fuse them with thermite grenades.

>9

Most of the results are mediocre. Two of the batarangs become warped and unusable, five are melded slightly wrong and are a bit off-balance (unnoticeable at close range), and two are on par with your original, sporting well-mixed charges and flying perfectly.

>>9861619
Oh god. Lol'd.

So, any idea what we'll do if/when the war is over?

We want to build in such a way that we can harness our frost giant perfect success throw ability. Could we possibly attach one end of the line to a batarang, and throw it in a curve around the body?

Given the apparent ruggedness of this thing we're going to fight, should we switch up our melee weapons? If it's quick enough, it could get into melee range with us. Is our flail the best option, or would making a polearm be better to keep it at bay?

rolled 1, 2, 1 = 4

>>9861683
Very well. You can do this on the way, but it would be better to use a rope with weights instead of actual grenades, in case of damage.

Since you're going up against the centipede next, will you be altering the design? Specs will be sent to the other detachments, unless you object.

>>9861733
We can't possibly hope to *keep* it at bay, we can only make sure that we stay away.

>>9861692

Eh, two's good. One for each set of eyes. Now let's put in the order for our chain mine.

>>9861750

Maybe we should make it like a bolas, with extra big weights on the ends. Might make it easier to wrap around a moving target; its gotta be harder than trying to wrap one around the oversized tree at any rate.

rolled 1, 6, 2 = 9

>>9861699
When the war ends, if all goes well, you will be recognized for your contributions, not just in combat, but to science and manufacturing. You should come out of this a noble, with the thanks of the Lord, at the very least.

>>9861732
Easily. But you will need to practice with this. Your instinct is to throw to hit a target, not wrap something around it.

>>9861733
A nice, long blade could be useful if you get in close enough to swing at its legs.

>>9861775
Several of these chain mines will be constructed, and equipped with hooks so that they can be attached to batarangs, if you desire. A practice weapon with weights instead of grenades will also be made.

rolled 2, 4, 5 = 11

>>9861846
This can also be done. There is no shortage of grenades, since the next detachment has been producing them since they got the plans and worked out the kinks.

>>9861852

How long we talking? Like a bastard sword? 'Cause I'd be all for trying to whip one of those up.

>Several of these chain mines will be constructed, and equipped with hooks so that they can be attached to batarangs, if you desire. A practice weapon with weights instead of grenades will also be made.

How fast are the centepedes compared to cavalry?
We might be able to have some guys make cavalry runs and string up some targets with smaller chain mines.

>>9861943

Oooh, good idea. Also, how many centipedes are there? A bunch, or just one big bastard?

>>9861879

Let's get a few of each. We can determine what'll be best to use in practice. Can just dismantle a chain if the design's ineffective right?

rolled 5, 2, 1 = 8

>>9861915
If made proportional to your size, a longsword would be upwards of three meters in length, and would probably not last long, due to material stress.

>>9861943
Slightly faster when approaching, and much faster when striking. When withdrawing, it travels more slowly, enough for a human to catch up to it.

Well this little Anon has got to step out for a bit. Kick some ass!

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>9861989
Only one has been seen, but it was able to drive back multiple attack groups, one after the other.

>>9862027
Acknowledged. You can easily modify the design if necessary.

rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11

Well then. If there's nothing else to decide, for the moment, you'll get moving. It will take several days to reach the next detachment, so there is plenty of time to practice.

Roll 2d20 for combat training and lenscrafting. Result determines effectiveness.

rolled 20, 16 = 36

>>9862167

>>9862056
>would probably not last long, due to material stress

Did anyone else watch the special features on the extended edition LotR Dvd's? The sowrd smiths were talking about how they built all of the swords with a special shock absorbing section in the handle so the blade wouldnt shatter. (Supposedly in the one big fight shoot with the NZ army guys dressed up not one of their 400 swords broke.) Since we have alchemy we can form the sword with shok absorbing material, a stronger core running the length of the blade (titanium alloy?) and the blade edges with softer steel that might dent or bend but wont snap.

(As someone who has had a high carbon steel sword snap on them from an improper sword hit, slightly softer is better on the blade edges.)

While we're on the move, could we discuss possible tactics with the command staff? If there's only 1 centipede, then we can concentrate all of our forces at a single point, possibly luring it out with a thumper.

>>9862382

I'd rather not bank on the thumpers having any effect on the centipedes, since tremors were only sensed in the worm-shoggoth's territories and we only made the thumper to draw the worm specifically because we noticed the tremors.

Not every giant monster is an Arakian Sandworm.

Although:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede
>Centipedes possess a variable number of ocelli, which are sometimes clustered together to form true compound eyes. Even so, it appears that centipedes are only capable of discerning light and dark, and not of true vision. Indeed, many species lack eyes altogether. In some species the final pair of legs act as sense organs similar to antennae, but facing backwards. An unusual sense organ found in some groups are the organs of Tömösvary. These are located at the base of the antennae, and consist of a disc-like structure with a central pore surrounded by sensory cells. They are probably used for sensing vibrations, and may even provide a sense of hearing.[6]
So centipedes CAN sense vibrations.
>Behind the head, the body consists of fifteen or more segments. Most of the segments bear a single pair of legs, with the maxillipeds projecting forward from the first body segment, and the final two segments being small and legless. Each pair of legs is slightly longer than the pair immediately in front of it, ensuring that they do not overlap, and therefore reducing the chance that they will collide with each other while moving swiftly.
Fuckers move fast.
>Scolopendra gigantea, also known as the Amazonian giant centipede, is the largest existing species of centipede in the world, reaching over 30 cm (12 in) in length. It is known to eat lizards, frogs, birds, mice, and even bats, catching them in midflight[11]
VERY fast.

rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12

>>9862249
After packing everything up yet again, you depart at dawn, leaving a large amount of trenches behind. Corias says that reserves (what little there are) are being called from the East to defend what's left of the fortress line and start rebuilding. Hopefully, you'll be able to deal with the Forusians thoroughly enough to prevent them from starting this whole thing over again.

During the trip, you use whatever time you have to practice alchemy and your new attack style, using the chain-mines and bolas.

>20

It isn't that difficult to pick up, once you get going. The chain-mines are hard to throw correctly, but after toying with the lengths a bit, you find a balance that works, both for you and for humans. All things considered, you prefer the bolas, since you can carry a lot more of them and they are easier to toss. After passing the designs along, you outfit yourself, cobbling together a dozen thermite bolas to add to eight regular grenades and a chain-mine.

>16

Over the next few days, you refine your lenscrafting techniques, enlisting the aid of some of the light mages and alchemists in the process. Your best result, a piece of silicon the size of a quarter, pairs with your arc light, in a separate housing. The others go to various purposes, making a few crude spyglasses for other troops, and extending the range of your own. You're not a master yet, but you're getting there.

rolled 6, 2, 6 = 14

>>9862265
You know a bit about this, but you would have to practice a fair bit to get it right, going through a fair amount of swords. For now, the best you can do is rather sub-par.

>>9862382
The centipede does not seem to be effected by vibrations. It is not drawn to any activity outside the fog, but will immediately move toward and attack anything that passes the edge. It is not known how it sense prey, but some variant of scrying magic is suspected.

The armored carapace makes it very difficult to bring down with a conventional attack, as massed fire doesn't cause enough damage to bring it down before it drives back the mages. At the moment, the plan is to take off enough of the legs to slow it enough that the head can either be lashed down or accurately attacked.

The eyes are known to be a vulnerable spot, and can be damaged if struck directly. This angers it to the point where it will seek the entity that hit the eye, even following it a short distance outside the fog.

>9862612

Well I for one think we should work on shock absorbers just on principle, not just for swords but also so we can get a totally sweet Maya-sized moptorcycle.

rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12

The next detachment, the Wallcrushers, numbers around 10,000, just like yours, and originally specialized in siege tactics. Since they were forced to leave all of their engines behind, they are a bit out of their element, but known to be capable fighters nonetheless. Their strength at range cannot be denied, but their close-combat squads are 'tunnel fighters', of modest skill on the open fields.

Since they have spent much of their time at camp, they have quite a mountain of grenades, many of which have been connected in bolas or chain-mines. Their commander, Symon, is an amiable man, and receives reinforcements gladly.

“Can never have too many fighting men, not against one of these.”

You will remain under the command of Corias, but he will defer to Symon, as this detachment has more experience with this particular beast.

The next attack is scheduled for tomorrow. According to the Conclave, you will be at the front once again. You'll see how much this hybrid likes thermite.

>>9862873
I don't suppose we and/or the alchemists could create some siege weapons for them with magic?

>>9862905

Probably wouldn't be too hard. Almost anyone who's looked on youtube has seen how a trebuchet works at some point.

>>9862905
I dont think they'd be much use here other than maybe ballistas.

rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8

>>9862905
Possibly. They have already built a few crude ballistas, but they have only been at this position for a matter of days, and most siege weapons would be of little use against the centipede. As it stands, the ballista bolts cannot penetrate the carapace, though one lucky shot did embed itself in one of the joints where the leg meets the body. There have been attempts to combine thermite with the bolts, but this has not worked so well.

>>9862873

Ask Symon what the beast's attack pattern is like. Does it strike at a column from the sides, does it charge in head-on and withdraw by walking backwards in a straight line, does it coil around the squad, does it lurk and ambush or does it just charge and strike?

Here is a video of a centipede eating a bat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UROVfmY3NTA

rolled 4, 1, 6 = 11

>>9863016
Generally, it strikes like a snake, rearing up and shooting forward with great speed. Once it has driven off the attackers, it will either walk backwards, or, if there are other groups within the fog, it will move straight towards them, not bothering to shield the rest of its body.

If the attacking force numbers over about 50, or is spread out enough, it will circle and strike from the side.

>>9863097
Sounds like we should have pike or shield men on our flanks then.

>>9863097
>If the attacking force numbers over about 50, or is spread out enough, it will circle and strike from the side.
Clever girl.

>>9863097

Send in a big group, with us at the side of the formation. Or, go in small groups, and have ours get the thing's attention first.

rolled 6, 1, 3 = 10

>>9863138
There is no defense that can hold off the centipede for more than a few seconds. Its only real vulnerability is its eyes, and its mouth is never open unless it is feeding, so you would need impeccable timing to get a grenade in. Pikes will not penetrate its armor and shields cannot stop it, as it is large enough to swallow a giant whole.

Since its eyes are on either side of the head, and it strikes so quickly, timing is a real issue. It is rare for it to stay close enough long enough for a pikeman to strike the eye.

>>9863221
I was thinking more that if it ran straight into a formation of pikes a bunch of them hitting it's armor might slow it down.

So we're leading a team of siege experts whose best fighters are tunnel fighters and sappers against an opponent that is going to strike at us first, from aboveground.

How fast can these guys dig?

rolled 4, 1, 6 = 11

>>9863281
Perhaps, but if the group was large enough, it would just go around.

>>9863326
Fast. That is their specialty, and they live for it.

A subterranean attack has not been tried. If the hybrid's vision does not extend underground, then it will not attack a force moving past the edge, as long as they're beneath the ground.

>>9863326

Along this line, I wonder how quickly the Earth Mages and alchemists could build a bulwark wall with a channel going in a line down the center of the wall's top, so that when the centipede attacks it has to go over the wall, so we could light up the thermite filling the channel and burn the fucker.

rolled 1, 5, 6 = 12

>>9863421
If enough of them were brought together, they could have a sizable wall up in under a minute. The centipede's response time has varied from two minutes to about twenty seconds, and if it was distracted by multiple attacks, a wall could easily be put up before it reached it. As well, it might not see the wall itself as a threat, so if it was built in stages, with the mages withdrawing quickly enough, the centipede might not attack.

>>9863399
Oh! Oh! Talk to one/some of their engineers about some of the tunnel boring machines from our world. We might not be able to build one but it might give them some ideas and would be handy for them to know since it's their given speciality.
A large cylinder with a front end bit that turns. The face being made up of hard shovel like protrusions that scrape away the face with each revolution. The only real trick to keeping them advancing it passing the tunnel material back to the surface fast enough.

>>9863399

Sweet.

We'd have to agree on an ambush point ahead of time. Get the tunnelers to dig a huge hole below the ambush point, supported by wooden bulwarks.

Then we could fill the bottom of the hole with thermite. High quality, low quality, doesn't matter. We might not need much thermite per square inch. No need for canisters or anything, just thermite.
Then Maya (as the fastest runner and the only one covered in magma steel who can generate a personal cold aura) draws the thing to the ambush point and uses lightning on a strip of magnesium that pokes above the surface and leads to the thermite. Then we fight the thing for maybe a second and get out of the pit.

rolled 6, 3, 6 = 15

>>9863504
I'll add to this. It depends on how the centipede treats obstacles. It might go over, through, or around, depending on the circumstances. Since it attacks and withdraws so quickly, you can pit dozens of strategies against it in a few hours.

>>9863504

I for one, am liking this idea. Send in multiple teams to distract the monster, while the mages quietly set up the bulwark trap. Once it's done, withdraw the distraction teams and move in the main attack forve behind the bulwark, thus luring the centipede over the trap.

>>9863504
Might as well try this one first. We'll have time to try others.

rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9

>>9863508
You'll talk to them about this next session.

>>9863603
Meaning we're at the end of today's?

>>9863545

We can set it up the bulwark like a wedge, extending from the fog edge so it can't outflank us.

>>9863504
Yeah, let's get this started. Besides, it'll give us an opportunity to observe how the centipede reacts, maybe come up with more plans.

rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12

>>9863705
Indeed.

>>9863784
Well good game.

rolled 1, 1, 5 = 7

>>9863820
See you later. Thanks for playing.