A little while ago, I posted this write-up in the downloads section of the site, and I'd like to get some opinions on how well Randell Irons and his friends (see Pulp Hero, pages 384-394) would fare against such an enemy. Vote in the poll and, if you like, explain your position below. Assume they encounter it in the lost tomb in the Valley of the Kings and that they have all the weapons and gear they usually carry.

The Raiders should, at first glance, run. It's not going to help them, since the Bandages are going to go first and can cover more ground [DEX 20, SPD 4, and 10" of Flight] and will almost certainly get a surprise round on the Raiders [Hide In Plain Sight] , but at least it would be a reasonable reaction.

 

Situationally, this might not be as bad a fight as my first look suggests - depending on an interpretation of how the Bandages function.

 

I'm uncertain as to the intent based on the write-up, but as the Bandages have no AoE attack, it is possible that they're supposed to attack one target, wrap it up, and then float them back to wherever they put themselves when they have a body mummified. If that is the case, then the Raiders are in better shape, as the Bandages would only capture two Raiders [Duplication], leaving the other three to try and free their friends.

 

If that is not the case, however, then the Raiders are likely looking at a future as tomb decorations. The Bandages have a high enough OCV that they're going to hit the Raiders more often than not [Lili Winchester is the only character likely to evade them for long with her maxed-out DCV of 13 if she Dodges], and while several of the party have weapons likely to be effective [machetes] the ones that do [Randall and Ferguson] are also the ones most likely to try and shield their companions, making them the potentially first victims. If the Bandages are supposed to be able to attack multiple targets and entangle them, and not stop after wrapping up one target, then it's possible that as many as three of the five Raiders could be Entangled in very short order [factoring Duplication], at which point the end is nigh.

 

The Stun Drain is the real killer. It's going to do 21 Stun on average [3.5 x 6 = 21], which stuns every single one of the Raiders in one go. Two applications of this will eliminate any of the Raiders. To escape the Entangle without assistance, only two Raiders have any real chances: Ferguson is the only one reliably able to break out of the Entangle using STR alone, and he can't do it in one go on average [His average Body on the STR roll will be 4, and that's negated by the DEF of the Entangle, so he has to roll well twice to get free]. If he fails to escape on the first round, the Stun Drain will almost certainly Stun him, at which point he's done for. Lili has the best chance using her Escape maneuver if the GM allows that [a GM Call]. Her maneuver nets 6 Body on average, which would take two rounds versus an average application of the Entangle] but she, like Ferguson, needs the Stun Drain to roll a lot of '1's' or she's Stunned and done for.

The Entangle takes a full Turn (Extra Time), so completely wrapping a target (or two) in the middle of combat with other characters still able to act could pose a problem for the Bandages. Plus the STUN Drain only affects target that have already been Entangled, think of it as a "finishing move," as one person who has looked at the write-up has put it.

I concur with Kharis in that Hamilton and Liz are as good as hosed if the others fail to save them.

 

As for Randell, Bill, and Lili, their best bet would be to run for the exit, and regroup on the surface to come up with a plan (assuming it's daylight out). With a 10 STR Automation going after three character's with 15 STR, 15 STR, and 20 STR, it would come down to them getting out of the tomb before they were out of END (again, if it's daylight outside). Maybe it would depend on how deep into the tomb the group were when they came across the Bandages? The GM would have to drop some clues on them as to Bandages' weaknesses (fire and sunlight in this case, they don't have a mystic with them to exploit the weakness to Dispel Magic).