SPOOPY HALLOWEEN GAME

HELLO, YOU SKELETON-CONTAINING FLESHBAGS.  PILZ HERE, WITH NEWS OF HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS.

Due to ally's schedule and my desire to take a break from the game for a bit, as well as a need to run some out-of-game minis for some of my players, I am announcing a SPECIAL SESSION of ANIMA to take place on the afternoon/evening of OCTOBER 31ST.  I will be recruiting 5-6 players for this special event.  Please let me know if you're interested.  Note that first come, first served does not apply here; I'll try to be distributing slots as fairly as possible and since people are all online at different times generally, first come first serve is kind of unfair.  I might just do a random draft of players.  The game will be on Roll20 for IC and over skype or discord for OOC chatter.  There may be a brief break in the middle of the game for a screening of the movie "Young Frankenstein."  I'm planning on starting the game as early as possible, something like 3 or 4 est.

Interested Parties thus far:
Volin
IterationDrive
ThatAnimaGuy (AKA TAG)
Matt'll do because fate said so
Silent
Harley, and that's 6!

GUIDELINES FOR CHARACTERS:

Characters will be level 3, 55 point buy.  Characters should be as mundane as possible, this means NO WIZARDS, NO PSYCHICS, LIMITED KI.  Some powers may be allowed upon review, but in general please stick to this theme.  You are a squad of trained knights of second heaven, equipped by the Velcrest family and inserted into a city suspected of hiding a massive Black Sun complex.  Your orders are simple: Ascertain the nature of the facility and, if necessary, disable it.  To this end, you have each been equipped with one of the Velcrest family's newest inventions: a Pulsar Bomb.  By dousing a hefty chunk of refined Lamprydae in a powerful acid and running a current through it, an incredible amount of energy and heat can be suddenly released in a burst of light, creating a 25m radius zone of temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees centigrade.  Characters will choose from a series of equipment packs presented below.

*Characters NEED NOT SPEND DP ON WEAPON MODULES, SAVE IMPOSSIBLE WEAPONS.  YOU'RE SOLDIERS, YOU KNOW HOW TO SWORD/GUN GUD
*We'll be using my Anima Skill Squash for this ( http://pastebin.com/RuV2kHhX ) .  In addition, every level you'll get 3 +10s and 2x natural bonus multipliers (one mental one physical).  When trying to determine what the cost of a skill form the skill squash is, use the lowest cost from its component skills.  When determining a by-level bonus, use only the highest bonus from its component skills.

EQUIPMENT PACKS: to be finalized (check below for stats for items) (Ask me if you don't see a kit you think it would make sense to have or about substitutions.)


Base Kit (everyone gets this, though better options replace them):
1x Matchbook Pistol
12x additional round for said pistol
1x Emergency Kit (contains 1x poulticed bandage suitable for stopping bleeding, 1x needle and thread, 5x butterfly sutures, and a 100ml bottle of disinfectant alcohol)
3 days dried rations
1 canteen, contains 500ml water
1 of EITHER a celebratory flask containing 50ml of Abel's finest aged scotch OR a steel cigar holder containing one oversized cigar.


Soldier Kit (Standard issue for Heaven Knights)
1x Longsword OR Spear
1x Buckler OR Mail Coif
1x Studded Leather
12x additional rounds for the Matchbook Pistol

Fire Soldier Kit (Standard issue for Second Heaven fireteams)
1x Abel Ball mark 2 rifle
25x rounds (Caps, powder, and shot)
1x Chainmail Tunic
1x Leather Hood
1x Dagger

Officer Kit
1x Velcrest-Pattern Revolver
6x Velcrest Specialty Rounds
12x Lead rounds
1x Armoured Longcoat
1x Whistle
2x Smoke Signals
1x Communications Earring (Artifact)
1x speed loader for revolver
1x Dirk (or comparable)

Stormtrooper Kit
Archangel Model 3 "Roarin' Lion" OR Cabin Dragon
2x magazines OR 8 Cabin Dragon rounds
2x Fused Charges (grenades, basically.  Choose between shrapnel or concussion. Can have one of each)
1x Partial Plate

Specialist
1x Savannah Carbine
15x Carbine ammo (caps and cartridges)
1x Leather
1x Lockpick Kit
1x Herbal Rendering Kit
1x First Aid Kit (contains 3x the stuff in the emergency kit plus antidote tabs, opiate pills, and cannabinoid cigarettes).



EQUIPMENT STATS (if it's not in the core book or semi-obvious, it's here!)

-Matchbook Pistol https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bergmann_M1896_no._3_-_right.jpg | speed 0, damage 40, reload 2 turns
One of the few pieces of Abel military kit not developed by well-known weapons manufacturers, the Matchbook was originally developed in Dwanholf by pirates that were tired of their powder getting wet and needed a cheap(er) alternative to the repeating pistols and revolvers that were starting to see use among high-ranking naval officers in the more wealthy principalities.  Exceptionally light and cheap, it was rapidly adopted by several militaries as a sidearm for their firearm-equipped troops.  It is neither powerful, nor accurate, but capable of holding 4 of its 5mm cartridges in an internal magazine.  The bullets are ground down into a conical shape to avoid jamming, a crude but surprisingly effective innovation.

- Archangel model 3 "Roarin' Lion"
The Archangel model 3 is one of the more bizzare firearms currently available.  It makes use of the 8x22 La Femme round (Developed originally in Gabriel for use in the pistols of wealthy ladies) in a rather dangerous way.  While the round was criticized as being so weak a toddler could shrug off a shot, nobody said anything about several rounds.  Using an oversized external magazine that stacks the bullets in three offset columns and a custom-built internal firing mechanism, the model 3 is capable of putting as many as 42 rounds downrange in only a few seconds.  The weapon is even able to maintain a surprising amount of accuracy while doing this, thanks to a vent angled to eject excess gasses in two tiny jets at 45 degree angles up, forward, and to the left and right of the weapon.  Its name comes from a quirk in the design, likely included as a joke by one of the craftsmen: The gasses create a growling sound when escaping, and when fired in full automatic sounds to some like the roaring of a lion.  Unfortunately, the model 3's oversized magazine means it cannot be carried around loaded: It must be loaded after unholstering.  It is marketed as a pistol, but its size and a forward fold-out grip mark it as something somewhat different.

- Velcrest-pattern Revolver
The Velcrest-pattern Revolver is the most powerful revolver available to practical buyers.  A hefty, metal affair, it would normally be used to fire a 12mm bullet.  Instead, the barrel has been spaced to fire a 10mm projectile that is chambered in a 12mm cartridge. This, in combination with its excellent tooling and design, allow it to fire bullets with startling speed.  The projectile itself is as much a marvel as the gun: A cylindrical slug is made from lead, with a hollow portion in the center.  The portion is filled with wax to keep the bullet stable during the rest of its manufacturing.  Next, the entire thing is plated with Shivatian white steel, which is tapered to create a point.  Upon striking an armored target, the point embeds itself in the Armour as the rest of the bullet collapses behind it, caving in the armour and causing great damage to whatever is behind it both through the shock of the impact and often by driving the penetrator the rest of the way through the armour and into vitals.  The gun itself is actually surprisingly cheap, though its ammunition is so expensive most militaries eschew it for cheaper options.  The heaven knights, though use a special tactic: Only the first and fourth bullets in its six-shot cylinder are a proper round.  The other chambers are filled with regular solid lead projectiles.  Knights equipped with this pistol are trained to use three shots to take down an armoured target: The first caves in their armour, the second two kill.

(This took forever so I'm gonna get significantly less /k/ from now on)

-Cabin Dragon | speed -20, Damage 120, reload 2 turns, AOE 3
An Arquebus developed in Varja for use on ships, the Cabin Dragon uses two barrels and a refined snaphance mechanism to enable two parcels of shot to be loaded at once and fired at different times.  To achieve this, two firing mechanisms are wired to a single cock and flint.  When cocked, the flint is almost (but not quite) touching one of the steel frizzen.  Upon the pull of the trigger, the cock springs forward and strikes its flint against the forward frizzen, igniting the left barrel.  The pulling of the trigger also depresses the second spring, with the remaining velocity of the flint driving it the rest of the way forward and placing it in a secondary cocked position.  A second trigger pull causes it to fly backwards, striking the rear frizzen and firing the right barrel.  Slow to load in combat and difficult to manage, the Cabin Dragon is still an improvement upon a single-shot Arquebus.

-Velcrest-pattern Abel Ball mark 2
A cap-and-ball rifle developed by the engineers at the Velcrest family, the Abel Ball gained popularity with nobles because of the breach-loading design, which eliminates the unsightly exertion of hammering shot and power down the muzzle while maintaining the accuracy of a rifled barrel.  The mark 2 is an improvement on the original design, the breach-loading mechanism being further refined for reliability and longevity.

-Savannah Carbine | speed -10, damage 60, reload 2 turns
A recent addition to the world of firearms, the Savannah Carbine was designed for Nanwe by the Velcrest family, who obtained special permission from the Empress to work on the project.  After a force combined of Abelese troops, mercenaries, and Nanwean tribal fighters managed to push out the Azure Alliance forces that had occupied Nanwe, the Queen of the Savannah realized that her forces needed better weapons if they were to defend their boarders.  Without established supply lines or cavalry forces, a weapon was needed that was more powerful than the standard shortbows or stabbing spears traditionally used, but far lighter than standard rifles or arquebuses.  The Carbine uses a short (45 cm) barrel that can be easily screwed into or out of the action of the gun in order to make it more transportable.  It eschews the normal folding stock such weapons normally have in favor of a solid stock with an integrated tube magazine. To fire, the wielder pulls back on a bolt to open slots on either side of the chamber, allowing ash or unburnt paper to be blown or pushed out as a new round is inserted by a spring in the magazine.  The wielder then pushes the bolt forward which cocks the hammer as well as slicing open the paper casing of the round, letting the gunpowder inside flow out.  Finally, they insert a percussion cap.  The entire process takes only a couple seconds for a trained user, perfect for the highly mobile guerrilla tactics employed by Nanwe's forces.