So an Emissary of the Last Tribe of Man has left Yamtown taking 15 pure strain humans with him. He’s promised to send back 15 pallets of Venusian delicacies. Meanwhile a group of very angry Badders have declared that they will be back soon in order to demand tribute again– and if Yamtown doesn’t pay up, it will be burned to the ground!

Now… I had a very loose plot in mind when I set up the few situations I had dropped into the game at the start. The players have (graciously) departed from it at every turn. But this session managed to absolutely smash whatever it was that I had in mind.

The players talked everything over and decided they would send Sonic (played by Rawle Nyanzi) to go make sure that everything was okay with Gordo (ie, Jon Mollison) and the rest of their folks that were going to be reunited with the remnants of pre-blowup civilization. Maybe they could score some equipment or something that would help them against the Badders.

Using his Increased Speed, he zipped across the desert twice as fast as the party would. He blitzed through a group of burrowing sand creatures, avoiding provoking them. But he could not find the place were Zed was going. Looking around, he did see a reflection in the distance which turned out to be a group of buildings sticking up out of the sand along with some sort of Space Needle looking building. It was surrounded by a wall patrolled by silvery colored figures.

A vehicle burst out of the south gate. Sonic grabbed it with his Telekinetic Arm, but the thing managed to pull away. Sonic had a brief exchange with a figure on the wall. He was told that the unclean were not allowed among them.

Sonic heads back to Yamtown to relay his discovery. His idea was to just go attack the silvery people and take their stuff, but other people want to wait and fight the Badders. Wilbur the Two-Headed Pig (played by Neal Durando) suggests that since they know the timing of the Badder’s arrival and also the direction they would come from, that this was the perfect chance for an ambush. Feric Helstrom (played by Misha Burnett) concurs with this, and the planning commenced.

The players found this place in the woods where the trail turns at a ravine. Wilbur would make an illusion that looked like the trail continued on… but down below, there would be spears. Meanwhile, Hunter (aka The Last Redoubt) would be in the area of the actual trail… but it would have numerous traps and so forth. Hunter himself would be there covered with leaves ready to spring his Life Leech mutation on the unsuspecting Badders. Finally, Feric would have several firepots and get ready to create a forest fire to block off the Badder’s retreat.

The Badders do blow in at the expected time and from the expected direction, riding on Hoops as before. The two in front leap over the edge and their mounts are impaled. As they climb back up, Wilbur tries to pull them back down with his Magnetism powers but fails. Meanwhile, Sonic uses his Telekinetic Arm to steal a rifle from the leader of the Badders.

Hunter spends two rounds Life Leeching the confused Badders. Seventeen of their twenty mounts expire. Sonic explodes from cover, tossing quills and punching the leader with his Telekinetic Arm. It’s such a powerful blow, he flies off of his mount and into the ravine.

Everything descends into chaos. Blows are exchanged, but spears and axes are pretty well futile against the chain mail armored mutants. The two guys on surviving mounts hop back and leap over the flames while Feric throws spears at them. The rest break in every direction, many of which receive a wound from a spear trap on their way out.

Two Badders are dead. The people of Yamtown come out of hiding and begin curing a tremendous amount of Hoop jerky. This winter, everyone will have a Hoop-skin coat. Things are looking good even without the pallets of Venusian delicacies.

—

Campaign Log:

Days 1 and 2: Travel across clear terrain to the West. Encounter with a Sand Ert.
Days 3 and 4: Travel across desert terrain. Encounter with Baltar, Zed, and the last remnants of the True Men.
Days 5 and 6: Travel back across desert terrain. Group of 21 members of the Brotherhood of Thought sighted to the south.
Days 7 and 8: Travel across clear terrain and back to Yamtown.
Day 9: Feast day… and encounter with four Badders demanding tribute.
Days 10 and 11: Resting.
Day 12: Zed leaves with 15 pure strain humans. Players head southeast.
Days 13: Players encounter 21 mounted Badders.
Day 14: Half of Yamtown burned down by Badders.
Day 15: Wilbur returns.
Days 16-19: Sonic discovers a small city in the desert in a radioactive area.
Day 21: A group of 20 Badders are ambushed near Yamtown.

The grave yard:

Bob (Mutant Humanoid: MS 9, Int 10, Dex 16, Cha 7, Con 11, PS 14, Hit Points 46, Experience 285. Multiple Body Parts (Third Eye), Radiated Eyes (Intensity 9), Shorter, Poor Respiratory System, Teleportation. Chain-mail dress, pistol, sword.) Killed by the pummeling vines of a Seroon Lou.

Harlan Slugton (Pure Strain Human: MS 16, Int 13, Dex 14, Cha 18, Con 12, PS 12, Hit Points 37, Experience 35. Ugly Sword.) Killed by the pummeling vines of a Seroon Lou.

Experience Awards:

• Wilbur = 50 + 35 + 47
• Twitchy Henry = 47
• Feric Helstrom = 12 + 3047
• Hunter = 47
• Sonic = 247
• Blood = 47

Equipment:

• Wilbur: Chain mail and sword, Cappuccino machine (6 gold)
• Twitchy Henry: Chain mail and sword (6 gold)
• Sonic: Sword and pistol (4 gold)
• Blood: Chain mail (4 gold)
• Hunter: Sword (4 gold)
• Feric: Chain mail, blaster rifle, and three cubes (4 gold)