Game summary for April 28, 2011; present characters included Bernsen (dwarf combat mage), La Eme (troll heavy weapons specialist), Network (dwarf drone rigger), Tango (ork tank), and Vessel (troll brawler).
After securing the prisoner in the GMC Beachcraft, the MACHETE team rocketed along the river heading to the extraction point. Along the way, they picked a tail of three Saeder-Krupp Barrakuda hunter-killer drones. The fast-moving mini-boats opened fire and closed in on the hovercraft. Vessel opened fire with his Stoner-Ares MMG, damaging one of the drones. Tango sank one with his Ares Stalwart assault rifle system and damaged another. The drones maneuvered to the side and opened up with turret-mounted assault rifles into the rear bay of the hovercraft, flattening bullets against body armor at an amazing speed. Network skimmed the craft across the water keeping clear lines of sight for the soldiers in the back. Bernsen took advantage of the drones grouping together to cast a Fireball spell over them. The flames super-heated part of the river, causing an eruption of steam. One drone came through nearly unscathed, but the other melted to slag and plunged beneath the surface. Vessel attempted a full-auto burst at the nearest drone but instead riddled the river with stray bullets, the jarring high-speed hovercraft whipping around the river bends proving far too damaging to his aim. Tango took a better shot, sinking the third HK drone. First aid was quickly applied in the rear hovercraft bay, but a patrol boat picked up the pursuit.
The powerful Saeder-Krupp River Rat patrol boat, with its twin engines, caught up to the hovercraft in moments, its twin-mounted assault rifles hammering a staccato of deadly fire. An Amazonia dwarf lieutenant and troll infantry rode in the front of the patrol boat and exchanged gunfire with the MACHETE team. The team caught the troll with several bullets, but the tough monstrosity shrugged them off with a laugh. Vessel hurled a HE grenade at the patrol craft but overthrew, leaving the grenade to explode in its wake. Tango switched tactics and dropped the clip from his Stalwart. A mischievous glint flicked across his eyes as he rammed a magazine full of armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) rounds into the rifle. He then shot several holes in the armored vessel itself. More bullets rent the air, and Bernsen was knocked unconscious from the impact of a full auto burst, his ribs cracking under the force. The dwarf collapsed in the back of the hovercraft. Network released a MCT-Nissan roto-drone into the air, which immediately put pressure on the enemy team. With a short run across the bay, Tango bodily hurled himself through the air and into the patrol boat firing full automatic on the way down. His bullets ripped into the troll infantryman and blasted him over the side.
Undaunted, the dwarf lieutenant stuck his AK-97 in Tango’s gut and unloaded at point-blank range. Although his armor absorbed the bulk of the damage, Tango was incapacitated by the blunt force trauma and shock. He collapsed unto the deck of the speeding boat. Vessel tried to duplicate Tango’s daring high-speed leap but instead gracelessly plunged into the river. As the patrol boat sped by, he was able to snag the railing and hold on as he bounced along. The elf patrol boat pilot quickly swerved, trying to sideswipe the hovercraft and catch Vessel between the speeding boats. Network saw it coming and deftly avoided the collision and sent the roto-drone into another burst attack against the enemy forces. From the hovercraft, La Eme lined up a perfect shot with his cyber-shotgun and blasted the dwarf lieutenant at close range. The deadly slug ripped through armor and punched the corpse over the rail and down into the water. He then began trying to nurse Bernsen back to consciousness.
Vessel hauled himself up and over the railing of the patrol boat and entered the cab. He whipped out his tonfa and entangled the elf pilot. With an expert flip, he hurled the man over the rail and out of the boat. For a few moments, the speeding boat swerved about dangerously. However, Vessel reacted quickly to correct course and take control. The team bounced along at high speed to the extraction point. The team was loaded up, and La Eme proved his love of explosions once again by sinking the patrol boat with a well-placed HE gecko grenade.
As the team flew away in their helicopter, they went over the mission objectives, realizing they met half of their primary goals and all secondary. Although not completely satisfied with their performance, the team did survive and struck a blow for Aztechnology. Soon, they will debrief and then learn their next mission.
The above summary is for a game session of Shadowrun: 20th Anniversary Edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.
In Character Journal Entry
April 28, 2011 Game Session – Character: Bernsen
Once we got all our shit loaded on the hovercraft, Network put the hammer down. But it was just a few minutes later when some drones approached us from behind. There were three of them. They should have sent more. Within a moment or two, all three were destroyed.
But it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. A patrol boat, with a troll, dwarf and elf at the helm, came at us. Vessel had a great idea, though it was executed poorly. He threw a grenade at the boat. He should have thrown it at where the boat was going to be. Too bad, too. It would have been a lot of fun watching those fellas try to scramble off that boat. Instead, the grenade sank, and we were left to duel it out with guns (and magic). Unfortunately, these three stooges proved to be serious business. Tango’s bullets bounced off the troll’s armor. I threw a fireball at the troll and dwarf, but they went unaffected. Their elf moved the boat up beside ours and they just started unleashing all kinds of hell at us.
All the bullets whizzing by might as well have been sheep jumping over a gate, because I, suddenly, grew tired of their shenanigans, literally. I figured it’d be a waste of my magical energy, so I found a comfy spot on the floorboard of the hovercraft and caught up on a few z’s. I knew my crew could handle it.
But I had one hell of dream. Tango was an acrobat, jumping across a canyon, to fight Godzilla, only to be knocked out by a munchkin. Then Vessel was a professional water skier turned police officer, not short on brutality. La Eme came out of nowhere and was putting his hands all over me, rubbing me, saying something like “This’ll make you feel better.” Thankfully I don’t remember any more of the dream after that.
The next thing I know, I was reviv… er, awakened, and we were all aboard the chopper and headed home. We had an impromptu meeting to discuss how well we did. Once we have our official debriefing, I plan on going to the infirmary, because my chest is hurting. I think my armor might have been too tight. It’s definitely not very conducive to resting. Once that’s taken care of, I’m sure it’ll be about time for another mission for Team MACHETE.