Session 7 summary

This session we welcomed a new player and the group thought of a brand new get-rich-quick scheme, this time involving the bounty of roach eggs and corpses they procured once they emerged from a long, messy fight, where it was proven that sometimes your allies can be your worst enemies! Also one of the longest fights so far, taking up most of the session, against Radroaches at that!

Featuring:

- Craig: Good natured Super Mutant shaman and skilled hunter, self-proclaimed seer of spirits;

- Hannibal: Big and menacing wasteland doctor, with a slightly disturbing smile and eagerness with the scalpel;

- Paul: Rough-and-tumble wastelander, muscle-for-hire by trade and protector of the weak at heart;

- Rhiannon: Vault 21 outcast, expert in all things mechanical and technological, planning to liberate her Vault;

After having discovered and explored the subterranean caves underneath the mountain of refuse earlier that day, the party emerged from the waste yard tunnels in the warm sunlight of late afternoon, a welcome reprieve after the cold and darkness of the caverns. Around this time Dexx, Paul and Rhiannon started to experience an unpleasant, gut-clenching nausea, an aftereffect of the elevated doses of radiation they had ran up; Craig however didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. Seeing that they still had a few hours before sundown and despite these first signs of radiation poisoning, the party made up their mind to retrace their steps and further explore some of the tunnels they had navigated earlier. Down to a single torch, Craig used the opportunity to demonstrate his survival skills once again. He managed to fabricate a makeshift torch out of some rags and fat from a Pig Rat, showing that in the wasteland you really can't let any part of an animal go to waste.

The group turned around and went back down the tunnel, opting to stay on the upper levels of the tunnels in case a quick withdrawal would become necessary. Further east they went, exploring several side tunnels they passed by before, until they came to a narrow passageway, where they had to continue in single file. Dexx, holding the torch, took point, while Paul brought up the rear. After following the tunnel for a few minutes, it eventually gave out on a large dug out room, continuing beyond the range of the torchlight. Immediately the group noticed similar piles of refuse as they had found in the previous Radroach nest, and here also they saw some creatures scurrying about, hiding from the light. Curious if the roaches perhaps had gathered something valuable in their nest, they decided to rummage through the trash, well knowing it was likely to anger the bugs. At that same moment Paul, still at the back in the tunnel, heard the sound of footsteps, approaching in their direction. Readying his knife he waited in the dark, and soon enough saw the light of a lamp coming down the tunnel. Though a brawny, hardened wastelander himself, the figure steadily drawing nearer gave him pause: a large, broad hulk of a man, a wicked grin on his face and also clutching a knife in his hand - not the sort of person one would want to run into in a dark tunnel. The man, seemingly friendly enough, introduced himself as Hannibal, a travelling physician of sorts and expressed his interest in obtaining a few specimens of the local wildlife. Always interested in a helping hand (and the opportunity to take his possessions should this stranger get killed by the Radroaches), the heroes welcomed the admittedly odd fellow to the group.

Craig then entered the room proper, using his spear to poke around in the nests the roaches had made and lure them to him, which they did soon enough after noticing the intruders disturbing their brood. Four of them skittered towards, but Craig was prepared, taking most of the little pests out in one powerful attack. The noise of the roaches attracted more of their kind however, and a small intrusion descended on them from the dark corners of the room. A frantic battle ensued, the bugs making for difficult targets to hit due to their small size and with their numerical superiority often proved dangerous. Soon enough a few of them got the jump on Dexx, who was knocked out cold as he hit the floor with these creatures on top of him. Rhiannon made use of the torch to try and scare the creatures off. Meanwhile Paul, armed for the task with the sledgehammer they found earlier, and Hannibal fought of some stragglers, while Craig was being threatened to get swarmed by half a dozen of the roaches. The heroes managed to dispatch most of them quickly, but then in an instant their luck seemed to change. Hannibal, frantically trying to stab one of the roaches, lost his footing and missed the creature completely, instead giving Rhiannon, who was standing next to him, a nasty cut with his knife. At the same time the ever unlucky Paul, trying to crush one of the roaches with a blow from the sledgehammer, swung way too high and hit Craig square in the jaw instead. Caught off guard, the Super Mutant was dazed and before he could react, another wild swing from Paul hit him with a sickening crunch in the gut, breaking a few ribs and knocking the wind out of the Mutant, who fell unconscious to the ground. Fortunately at this time only a few roaches remained or the tide of the battle might have turned unfavorably for the group. Tired and battered, eventually the ones left standing killed the last of the roaches and set to helping their fallen comrades. Their new ally, the only one to emerge from the fight unscathed, immediately proved to be a godsend, having on him an ample quantity of medical supplies and showing himself to be an expert physician. Dexx’ wounds turned out to be mostly superficial and he soon enough regained consciousness; some painkillers and skillful bandaging helped Craig back on his feet as well.

Rummaging through the refuse they found only meagre rewards, a small sum of caps and some parts which still looked usable. At the far side of the room however they discovered a narrow tunnel leading off into the dark, just large enough for a person to crawl through. Being the thinnest and most agile of the group, Dexx got the dubious honor of being sent in. After a few minutes he returned, stating he found a shaft leading straight down into another room. Tying a rope around him, Craig lowered Dexx down into this room. The space seemed to be a large hollow in the trash mountain and in it he found the wreck of several ancient cars and even a school bus. Reporting his discovery, all the others except Craig joined him to do a thorough search of the wreckage, in the hopes of finding some intact valuables. Rhiannon, being a skilled mechanic, noticed that part of the bus’ car battery was still in working order and salvageable, while Paul found a well stocked First Aid Kit, complete with some healing chems, in one of the car’s glove compartment. With their spoils the group decided to head back, before the hour grew too late.