Thursday, December 17, 2015

Psycho mutant vs. killer robot

Desert Domain is a large city in post-apocalyptic earth. It attracts merchants, refugees, mercenaries and other survivors. It also houses the Arena of the Sun, a large and deep pit where gladiators fight for glory. On occasion, dangerous criminals are also placed on the arena for the entertainment of the survivors. This is the case for this fight.

The two criminals-turned-gladiators, Glorbh and KV-104.
On the left side of the arena is Glorbh, the psycho mutant. Given the opportunity, Glorbh would enslave all humans and establish a mutant kingdom on earth. On the right side is KV-104, the killer robot. KV has an elaborate plan to allocate all humans to work on robot factories and power plants. Luckily, both of them have been captured and now will fight to the death.

Glorbh
Savvy 5, Strength 5, Speed 4, 14 Bonus Dice
Brawler, Multiple arms, Rage
Light armor (AC 1), Hammer (1-hand, no reach bonus, +1d6 damage), Chain knife (1-hand, no reach bonus, +2d6 damage), Two pistols (damage 1d6, target 2)

KV-104
Savvy 4, Strength 5, Speed 5, 14 Bonus Dice
Stout, Resolute, Wary
Heavy metal armor (AC 3), Energy ripper (1-hand, +1 reach bonus, +2d6 damage), Heavy blaster (damage 3d6, target 1)

I played both gladiators using the non-player gladiator tables. To find out when a gladiator would use a ranged attack instead of moving, I would roll 1d6 against savvy (after rolling on the NPG movement table.)

The two gladiators started moving towards the center of the arena. Glorbh fired one of his pistols but KV-104 spun around its waist and the shot just scratched its armor. The robot then responded by firing its blaster; its unbalanced position spoiled the shot, missing the mutant.
Starting the fight.
KV-104 reached the center of the arena and Glorbh jumped at him with both weapons ready. The robot stepped back and counter-attacked; its energy ripper cut the mutant's cloak but missed his body. The two fighters exchanged attacks for long seconds. Green-tinted sweat rolled off Glorbh's body.

Glorbh finally managed to stab KV-104 in the chest using his chain knife. The robot pulled back and two exhaust ports opened in its back, venting steam from its cooling systems. Glorbh fired his other pistol but missed. The robot charged at the mutant but he parried with his chain knife, damaging its arm. Glorbh kept on the offensive, slashing the robot's left leg and pushing it against the wall.
A moment during the fight. Many attack phases swinged back and forth, ending in a tie as the fighters were balanced.

The two fighters paused for a moment. Glorbh was panting, while sparks fizzled from the wounds in KV-104's arm and leg. Glorbh resumed the fight, trying to pin the robot against the wall, but was pushed back. KV-104 tried to counter-attack but was hit again in the chest.

This time, Glorbh pinned the robot against the wall and drove his chain knife deep into its chest. Overloading its servo-motors, KV-104 spun free, stumbled a few yards and fell to the ground.

Glorbh raised his four arms and screamed. His mad eyes scanned the audience: worthless humans that cheered over the spectacle. A strong net was cast over him, then the tranquilizer darts hit. Defeat or victory, which was worse?

Conclusion
Both fighters burned lots of bonus dice in their initial, ineffective ranged attacks. After that, the battle became very balanced: Glorbh had better attacks but KV-104 had much better armor. Due to a bit more luck in the maneuver rolls, Glorbh slowly chipped at the killer robot until the end.

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