#RPG Episode 14: Fight, Fight, Fight!

Back In The Flesh!

Previously On The Theoretical Science Foundation:

Exploring the alien planet they find themselves lost on, our heroes discover a cave where the errant Dr Crowe is being held prisoner by strange creatures.

The Tuesday Knights were back, live and in-person, around our table for our first gaming session since September.

It was time for more of Pete's 1950's GURPS Atomic Horror, wherein our plucky heroes find themselves trapped on an alien world and harassed by the strange, inhuman natives.

Sadly, our returning Antipodean member, Meredith, was unable to Zoom in (due to the fresh lockdown in New Zealand which meant her husband would be working at home, in the area where she would have joined us from) and Kevin had a prior family arrangement.

However, having missed September's "reunion", Simon was finally able to be in the same room with Pete, Clare, and myself for the first time since the pandemic began.

This morning he tweeted:

First face to face gaming with my IRL group for two years. We braved the terrors of Dimension X in GURPS Atomic Horror. Roll on next month when hopefully Prof. Crowe's transdimensional whatnot can be reversed. Some things just can't be punched.@acrobatic_flea

— Elevated Pachyderm Press (@PressPachyderm) January 25, 2022

Meanwhile, Clare wrote of our get-together on her world-renowned Three Beautiful Things blog:

It is a really good thing to re-count the entire campaign from start to finish. Sometimes we forget what an achievement it is to meet up regularly and sling dice; and there is so much pleasure to be had in flipping back through notes recalling our adventures. Everyone remembers different details, and it helps a lot to share and fill in the gaps.

After Clare - at Pete's request - had recapped the full campaign to date, with others chipping in as we recalled bits she'd missed, we picked up the adventure from the middle of the fight with alien critters that we had left at the end of our last session, four month ago. 

The cavern at the beginning of the evening

Buck (my explorer character) tried to brazen his way through the insectoid aliens, to reach the imprisoned Dr Crowe in the far chamber, but was blocked by a particularly strong warrior.

While we were locked in a manly staring contest, Freya (Clare's photojournalist) used the old flashbulb trick to temporarily blind - and distract - the assembled aliens.

We used this brief reprieve as our opportunity to rush the strange beings and try to force our way through to Dr Crowe.

The fight - which took up the rest of the evening - saw, amongst other things, Buck using his shotgun as a baseball bat and taking out several foes; Dick (Kevin's G-man, being played by committee) getting splashed with acid and having to tear his clothes off (Aliens-style) to avoid severe burns; Fr Ned (Simon's priest) heroically battling a giant sabre-toothed caterpillar creature that has sprung on his back; Onyx (our NPC cat burglar, who will be Meredith's character) proving to be deadly with crossbow, pistol, and knife; and Freya, despite calling for aid early on, using her wits - and shooting prowess - to inventively bring down her opponents. 

With the main beasties taken care of, we were left with the two gelatinous alien plants barring the entrance to Dr Crowe's "cell".

We knew one spat acid - as it had got Dick - but the other, it turned out, could explode itself and jettison a goo akin to napalm.

Thankfully - more by luck than judgment - we managed to eliminate both of these blobs without suffering any further damage.

The cavern at the end of the evening

However, I think everyone had been slashed, burned, stabbed, or cut to some degree during the scuffle.

Luckily Onyx was able to patch us up after the fight.

Then, as we talked things over with the liberated Dr Crowe, Onyx was able to administer more through first aid to us all.

One of the first questions Dr Crowe - who, like us, has no idea where we are - asked was: had we left anyone on Earth to open the portal again so we could get home?

Of course, the answer was no!

To Be Continued...

The Theoretical Science Foundation - The Cast:

• Buck Hannigan - played by me
• Dick Tate - played by Kevin (absent)
• Father Timothy 'Ned' O’Flaherty - played by Simon 
• Freya Larson - played by Clare 
• Onyx Jones - will be played by Meredith (absent)

Showrunner - Pete

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