Session #2

This session was cut a bit short because one of our players had to leave a lot earlier than we were expecting. So we just had one major encounter for the entire session. As a result, it probably won't be terribly entertaining to read through, but I'll just try to give the highlights.

Our party wakes up the next morning ready to set out on foot towards the Iron Tower. It takes them a few hours of walking, but they see the tip of the tower on the horizon. As they near, the tower begins to loom over the desert landscape of Aridus. Finally, around late afternoon, they see the tower as a whole. It is a massive structure bolted on top of a building. The tower itself is probably eight stories tall. The building supporting it has just one door in the front, guarded by stormtroopers. Behind the tower, a tall cliff stands maybe a couple dozen feet away. Our heroes debate what exactly to do, whether to just go for a frontal assault or see if they can find another way in. They opt for the second choice, and find a vent on the back of the building (after giving the building a sufficient buffer zone). The vent is about six feet off the ground, and it takes a bit of work, but they manage to pry it up enough so that they can climb in. The ventilation ducts lead them to other vents, where they can view all the different rooms inside the structure. Probably the most difficult part was having to climb up the ducts to the second and third floors. Since there were no ladders or supports of any kind, they had to brace themselves and climb up by hand. One particularly unfortunate (and, admittedly, funny) moment was when (I believe) Baniss rolled a 1 on a climb check and came crashing down to the first floor duct. The group gave me a hard time about the reactions of the troopers that heard the crashing inside the ventilation duct. I don't remember what I said, but it was pretty foolish.

Anyway, they scout the various rooms inside the building. They spot the usual rooms: barracks, kitchen, various computer-filled rooms, and an armory, where they plan on making their first strike. There is only one trooper inside the armory, so they feel it is the easiest spot to start. They unscrew the vent screen quietly, but not enough to have the screen fall off. Then, Jack kicks the screen off with amazing force (he rolled a 19 or 20 on his Strength check, and I responded that the screen flew across the room and smashed into the opposite wall) and the rest shot the trooper down quickly. The armory, much to the dismay of our heroes, was poorly stocked. There were a few blaster rifles, but nothing of great power. The party figures that there will likely be a patrol heading by at some point, so BG decides to set up an explosive trap (he thoroughly enjoys doing this). He sets the explosive just outside the door to the armory, and he plans to set it off as soon as he sees somebody pass by the door, which they left open. When one does walk by, BG detonates the explosive, and sends debris and stormtroopers flying everywhere. A couple are actually blown into the wall of the hallway, and several others are knocked every which way. Those that survive the blast get up and head inside the armory, where Dax, Zed, and Guido are standing and waiting. BG, Baniss, and Jack have crawled back into the vent so there is less chance of them getting shot at. Our heroes quickly dispatch the remaining stormtroopers, drag the bodies into the armory, and seal it shut.

Now that the hallways are clear, the party heads out to find a way to destroy the Iron Tower. They make their way slowly down the corridor, making sure to be very careful around corners. They pass by and open several doors which lead to nothing of importance, until they reach the last door at the end of the hallway. It's locked, but BG is able to bypass the security key and open the door. The computer technician at the console doesn't turn around and asks what took him so long to come back. Everyone has their weapons drawn, so when he does turn around, he's faced with a half dozen blasters. He freezes, and is ordered into the corner. BG hacks into the computer system and is able to find the main computer console for the tower itself. While he's there, he also finds out that there are turrets placed at the front of every elevator. He rewrites the program so that they shoot any stormtroopers who try to enter the elevators. With that done, they head to the third floor, where the tower's computer lies.

They head back down the hall, and head towards the elevator. The turrets do not aim at them as they file in and head for the third floor. When the elevator doors open, they are witness to a half dozen stormtroopers being laid to waste by the turrets just outside. Once the turret fire stops and no stormtroopers left alive, the party heads into the hall and finds the computer terminal that controls the tower. BG manages to rewrite the tower's program so that it overloads the circuits pulsing through the tower. He also finds out that there is a troop transport attached to the third floor balcony just past the computer terminal. BG figures that the overload will take a few minutes, so he has everyone else gather on the transport vehicle, then sets the program in motion. As they pull away from the building, they can see sparks fly off the tower, and eventually explosions take down the tower. They watch as it falls, slowly at first, but once the supports are gone, it crashes to the ground with a huge "WHUMP." They cheer and celebrate their victory. Now they can get off this planet. But there is a mine with slaves...and a prison to the south. What to do? Session Three will give you those answers.