A VIPER Success

[Super Squirrel]

I mentioned a while back, the mission I was planning on running. It went really well.

 

VIPER stole $251,780 from the bank before the computer system was destroyed by the VIPER Squad Leader's grenade.

 

The team shows up and speaks to some police officers about the scene inside. The team forms a very quick plan. The Greek is going to run up and draw their attention while Kaledioscope is going to move in with Invisibility. Reptile and Voltage are going to move into a sort of flanking position. The plan works and The Greek gets the initial fire with only minimal stun damage. Kaledioscope puts up a Darkness Barrier and Reptile with an Unusual Sense based ability takes out the first VIPER agent.

 

The Greek asks Kaledioscope to drop the Darkness, which she does. The Greek takes out and nearly kills the second agent. Here is when things start to get messy. Voltage has noticed a person inside one of the officer rooms. He moves up to shoot at the agent through the glass. The agent aborts to dodge and doesn't get hit. What Voltage didn't know was that a second agent had ducked below for cover with a held action. He fires and hits Voltage with two autofire shots for no damage. Because of the held action, the VIPER agent goes again before Voltage. He uses his stun setting and knocks Voltage for STUNNING.

 

Kaledioscope had just put up a darkness field inside the office room and Reptile moves in to attack one of the two agents inside the room. He hits and causes STUNNING on the target. The good news is, the agent can't move next phase. The bad news is, the agent was holding a live grenade. Reptile can sense the object fall and tries to shout out a warning... but the darkness field is darkness to Sight AND Hearing. Kaledioscope drops the darkness just in time for it explode. It knocks Reptile back into The Greek and destroys the computer system. Reptile is in rough shape (the guy needs armor).

 

The Greek fires at the agent that had been on the computer. Hits and gets STUNNING. Second shot takes her out. Just then, the back door opens and the two VIPER Basic Agents arrive. Because Voltage just recovered from the effects of a Stunning, he is right in front of the door. One agent fires and hits him, knocking him on top of an unconscious VIPER agent. The other targets The Greek and misses. Voltage, finally gets to move and stands up and blasts one of the Basic Agents away. The Greek and Kaledioscope take out the second without any problem.

 

While all 6 VIPER agents are down on the ground the game is far, far from over. The VIPER technician had only fallen from Stunning and a failed breakfall roll. She gets up and fires at Reptile which misses. Voltage finishes her off. Another agent had recovered enough that he gets another move. He tosses out an Anti-Invisibility Grenade and is quickly wiped out. It does, however serve its purpose.

 

UNTIL Agents arrive and the players start to strip the VIPER Agents of their weapons and armor when something happens. VIPER brings in a Quetzalcoatl Aerial Gunship and fires a missile into the front window of the bank. The explosion catches everyone off guard. They tell the UNTIL Agents (hehehehe) to take care of the VIPER agents and rush out either the front or side door.

 

Only Voltage can fly and he bolts it up into the air and attacks the Aerial Gunship. He does 6 BODY to it. The ship is not happy. The decide to run because they were meant to draw attention away from the bank in the first place. They make a have move away from Voltage and use the other half move to fire the rear Missile Launcher. It misses Voltage (which is good) but the blast was close enough that it still effects him. Voltage takes no BODY but I roll a 6 on the STUN multiplier. Voltage is hit for 60 STUN putting him at -12 STUN. He is 15 hexes up in the air.

 

Reptile witnesses it and decides to catch Voltage. The strength on Reptile is enough to reduce the fall from 15d6 to 12d6. Voltage is down to -52 STUN and 7 BODY. Reptile is at 1 STUN and 2 BODY. Paramedics stabilize them while UNTIL finishes up and leaves... only for UNTIL agents to arrive a minute later asking were the VIPER Agents are.

 

So, here are the end results of the game:

VIPER got $251,780 in electronic transfers.

VIPER got data on the defensive capabilities of Voltage and The Greek.

VIPER got data on the offensive capabilities of Voltage, The Greek, and Kaledioscope.

VIPER got a sample of Reptile's toxin.

VIPER was able to verify its Anti-Invisibility Grenade was effective on Kaledioscope.

VIPER did not lose a single agent.

VIPER was able to expose a spy in one of their foreign nests and had him killed.

VIPER successfully tested a new operational system.

 

Outside of the Game:

VIPER has begun working on a system for Phase 2 for collecting information with the Millennium. They have enough data to design three systems. The total program will take 42 days to design. (I rolled 4d6 days for each system).

 

One of the VIPER Basics is getting promoted. His shot on Voltage was at 1" range and very VIPER worthy. Furthermore this action gave the extra data it needed for future operations. Voltage is, after all, a Hunted target of VIPER.

 

The Viper Technician Specialist is getting promoted. She will be pulled from field work for a while to help develope an improved version of the system based on her experiences on the field. Another technician will be field testing the modified system in another city once it is ready.

 

The Aeriel Gunship pilot and the Squad Leader are getting a commendation put into their file.

[Chimpira]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Ha. So you did decide to make the pull out team dress up like UNTIL. Glad to see your plot is going steadily along. My Viper guys are pulling the strings of my players for right now without their knowledge. I can not wait until they figure that out. Man, are they going to kick some major Viper butt after that.

[Magmarock]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Well done!

 

Mags

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Sounds like a very worthy VIPER effort to me. Well done!

[Trebuchet]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

I take it this hero team is fairly inexperienced? (Of course, it would have been very embarrassing for VIPER if real UNTIL agents had also shown up.)

 

Good work, SS. A first class hoodwink. Seems to me you're more weasel than squirrel.

[DoctorItron]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Glad to hear VIPER is having some success in other universes.

 

My VIPER recently took a major trouncing - they lost their main Asian computer base to the PCs. VIPER was able to destroy the data, but they've temporarily shut down worldwide, as a precaution.

 

In my game, VIPER = Vice, Iniquity, Profit, Extortion, Revenge. Revenge is 1 of their 5 "commandments", so the PCs will be having some trouble in the future.

[Super Squirrel]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

They are very inexperienced to say the least. The UNTIL Agents that arrived were pissed that they let VIPER get away. They have learned from their mistake though and in the future, they will be less likely to let something slip past them.

[Metaphysician]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Good job with VIPER. My suggestion, though, is that after this kind of trouncing, if the heroes encounter VIPER again soon, make sure that alot of their projects relating to info derived from this encounter are incomplete. IOW, giving the heroes a chance to adapt and learn from their mistakes, *before* eating the custom anti-good guy weaponry and specialized tactics.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

Good job with VIPER. My suggestion' date=' though, is that after this kind of trouncing, if the heroes encounter VIPER again soon, make sure that alot of their projects relating to info derived from this encounter are incomplete. IOW, giving the heroes a chance to adapt and learn from their mistakes, *before* eating the custom anti-good guy weaponry and specialized tactics.[/quote']

 

Yeah, I'd second Meta's advice. It would suck for the heroes if the mistakes they made the first time out haunted them immediately and forevermore. Have VIPER gradually take advantage of what they've gained/learned. Some simple anti-electrical precautions might be easy, but I'd have it take them awhile to develop specialized weaponry, antitoxins for Reptile's venom, etc.

[Southern Cross]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

And I'd third it.Both Voltage & Reptile need higher defenses,though.

[Super Squirrel]

Re: A VIPER Success

 

And I'd third it.Both Voltage & Reptile need higher defenses' date='though.[/quote']

NONONONONO. Voltage has 35 PDr/ 35 EDr and has been told he can NEVER raise his defenses. I had though he had asked for permission for 25 / 25 when I said yes. The only reason why it hurt so much for him is that the stun multiplier was x5 on a killing attack that did 12 BODY. Reptile knows he needs more defense. He had spent almost of his points on his speed and four reptile powers. He finally bought himself Damage Resistance after last game.

 

Basically, the next test is going to be conducted by a robot. VIPER has been conducting this test on all superhuman groups. The long story short, VIPER plans on launching a public distraction on every major superhero team at the same time as Project Neptune takes place. My rule on VIPER is that there is no room for error.

 

The next VIPER encounter though is going to be cake walkish.