The Dunwich Conspiracy Session 5

General Summary

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the party escapes the The Dreadnought they find themselves caught in the crossfire between the Cloud Hoppers and surviving Red Devils. With Ratt secured in a casualty bag hanging from the suspension rack and Sir POSH crammed into the small recess meant for personal cargo, Tommy guides their Cutlass into the fray. He gives a fiery speech to boost morale over the radio while his compatriots discover a few hidden secrets aboard their biplane.

First Citizen Martin leads an attack against the Cloud Hoppers while Captain McCommon take the fight to a group of walking anti-aircraft batteries. Tommy maneuvers into position for a strafing run, but before he can unleash the twin-linked laser RCWs Ratt fires the missile launcher stowed next to him on the suspension frame. The rocket skims harmelessly off the side of the armor, however the barrage of energy packets delivers a much more devastating effect, severing the rack that holds the Liberator Boarders and sending them tumbling back towards the sands below.

Return fire cripples a fighter in each formation, sending one Cutlass into a chaotic tailspin after one of its wings is torn away with the blast. Sir Posh interprets the data from the on-board sensors allowing the party to identify a weakness in the Cloud Hoppers, giving Ratt and Tommy a new target for their next pass. Screaming like madmen, another salvo of RCW fire and a well-placed missile find the vulnerable gas bags, causing a violent explosion that cripples the enemy. As the wreckage falls back towards the Dust Bowl, all thirty Liberator Boarders deploy in a screen that the biplanes have little time to avoid.

Automatons swarm over one unlucky Cutlass and shoot a barrage of energy bolts through the pilot, his helpless passenger unable to do anything but watch as the aircraft dips into a nosedive towards the ground below. Sir POSH makes use of his own captured Liberator weapon, firing a well-aimed beam straight through the glowing red star of one of their boarders while Tommy shakes the rest free with some aerial acrobatics. All the commotion causes Ratt's harness to fail, forcing him to now cling to the suspension rack for dear life.

Now wanting to watch his new friend die, Tommy quickly heads down for an emergency landing. As they pass First Citizen Martin POSH expertly snipes a Liberator from her wing, likely saving the woman for the second time in less than a half hour. After a hard landing, the party gets out to assess the damages and make repairs. While going over the engine and resealing a few holes in the wing, the mysterious device carried by Ratt begins to hum and glow.

Without warning the group begin to share a vision of their potential futures. Tommy witnesses his triumphant return to the Crawler flying in perfect formation with the surviving Red Devils. He sees them welcome him as one of their own, giving him the purpose and responsibility that he craves deep down inside. Ratt looks into his future and sees a dilapidated Sarsaparilla Plant plant. The artifact rests before a ghoul with a crazed grin, and Ratt can feel the answers he craves rest just beyond those necrotic lips. Sir POSH becomes aware of the survivors all around them, those that jumped from the Dreadnought with parachutes and those that crash landed into the soft drifting sands. Capable of saving their lives, he can also see their inevitable capture by the The Robco Liberation Army and the hard path ahead of his compatriots if they mean to intervene.

Snapping back to reality, each member of the party relates their experience. None can deny the mystical nature of these visions as parts of this episode were shared. Finding their power cell depleted from coming into contact with the strange artifact before their hallucinations, they will have to make a choice soon or risk being stranded.

Player Reports

by Felivans

Sir POSH lucks out when he finds some on-board tools meant to fix the biplane when it is landed. It helps patch him up from their last encounter where he was nearly destroyed from the modified lasers of the Liberator Boarders. Thinking outside the box in true POSH fashion, he then uses the apparatus to attach one of these weapons to the underside of the aircraft. Utilizing it from his protected position, his ranged calibrations seem to have survived his injuries as he brings two automatons down with just one shot. While he shares a vision with his two compatriots it becomes clear that the humble Sir POSH is perhaps something much more special than a simple Eyebot. Seeing his potential future infiltrating the RLA he catches a glimpse of a new upgraded form and a limitless hive mind of drones at his back, it offers not only the temptation of true power but also one with the ability to make real changes wherever he travels.

Ratt doesn't let being tied up keep him out of a fight. Nearly taking a tumble from the Cutlass for his efforts with the 'Boom Stick', he gets through the experience with a little grit and a good dose of Buffout. Although robbed the celebration, Ratt's tactics of driving in a nail with a wrecking ball ended the fight much faster than it would have without his contribution. Not having time to tell the group about his waking dream aboard the Dreadnought just before the fight, he is less surprised when it happens again afterwards. Though not exactly clear on the means, Ratt can see the ends of his actions following this path with hungry eyes. Unlocking the secrets of this artifact will bring him great knowledge and free him from the dark shadow of his family's past. It could also be the party's greatest weapon against the fight yet to come, though in that distant future he only sees bulky silhouettes moving under the cover of the sand storms.

Tommy handles his aircraft with such finesse that he leaves the Red Devils in the dust. He takes command of the airspace with his aerial grace and rants inspirational speeches over the radio that are mostly coherent. After landing it becomes apparent that while he might be an ace pilot, the internal working of the aircraft might be a bit out of his purview. Accidentally venting a large amount of power of the fusion cell, he absorbs a good dose of radiation in the process. While glimpsing into his potential future Tommy felt on the verge of not only a great personal epiphany but also one that would shake the foundations of civilization aboard the Crawler. They say some secrets are best left buried, however he can't quite shake a deeper feeling of vindication and maybe even a hint of revenge. A potentially dark path to glory with many hard choices ahead, Tommy will have to weigh the consequences delicately before proceeding.

---

Previous Chapter- The Dunwich Conspiracy Session 4

Next Chapter- The Dunwich Conspiracy Session 6

Felivans as Sir POSH

Beanlord as Dusty Rattmen, 'The Rat'

Gregrprime as Tommy

GM: Zyxthylum

Campaign: The Dunwich Conspiracy

Report Date

24 Jan 2023

Related Articles

• Three Paths Forward..


• The Vault Crawler


• Rattlesnake Jim's Sarsaparilla Plant


• The Robco Liberation Army

Homebrew References

The Hombrew Table of Contents

123jimbly's Vehicle Rules

RainyDayNinja's Basic Vehicle Rules

Mortagon's Fan Bestiary