Chapter 8
Counter-strike Ravenholm.
"You're planning to what again?" Is Barney's only response a few days later when their weapons and armor are done and they are dragged almost bodily to his office by Alyx. Who it turns out is not a huge fan of their plan to go to Ravenholm for fun and profit.
Mindy's face scrunches up like she just grated a lemon against her gums. Having to explain herself to these people is exactly why she didn't want to come here in the first place.
"We're going to head to that mining town near here and see if we can clear it some and maybe salvage some stuff. Why, you want to come along?"
Barney's face pales a bit at the thought, and then he rubs his eyes with his right hand.
"What kind of stuff are you looking for? Maybe we got it here, and you won't have to go to that pit and get yourselves killed."
Dave leans against the wall and crosses his arms in irritation.
"Jeez, Barney. Have a little faith why don't you?"
Barney looks pleadingly at Alyx, and then back at Dave and Mindy.
"I got faith. Hell, for years faith is all I've had. But there's a difference between faith and whatever I'd need to want to go along with letting you two storm that place just the two of ya. I don't think you two realize just how much we're depending on you for this teleporter project so we can save the people in City-17. They're putting the finishing touches on the design now. They'll be fabricating the stuff they need within a week. You'd need more brains than I've got to have any idea what it is gonna take to get the bugs worked out, but with all the big brains in one spot they're hopeful it could be within the month. We lose you two, and we need to try to take it in piecemeal. Probably take hundreds of trips, the chances they would get caught would skyrocket, and then we'd be back at ground zero only with no parts and probably no Doc Kleiner." He sighs, seeing that they weren't planning to change their mind. Standing, he groans.
"Well hell. I guess if you're dead set on it, I can at least go along and try to get you back in one piece. We really should have done more to clear it a long time ago. It's just those were our friends. Family, a lot of them. Nobody wanted to be the one to pull the trigger at the time, we were all still hopeful that we could figure out a way to save 'em."
As he walks around the desk he reaches over to a locker up against his office wall and starts spinning the combination lock. It looks for all the world like they had taken two school lockers, welded them together and removed the divider, and then doubled the size of the door.
"That was a couple of years ago now, and at this point, we mostly just try not to think too hard about it."
As he is opening the door Mindy and Alex look in and can see his armor hanging there along with a few rather large firearms and a pistol in a holster.
"But I'll tell you now, I'm not as good at close-in as you two are. I'll be supporting from range, and I'll try to move between one nice open area to the next. That place crawls, and I'm not interested in dying there. We understand each other?"
Alyx is shaking her head in concern.
"Barney, if you aren't going to be with them I'll come along and watch your back. Anybody alone in there is in big trouble and you know it."
Barney shakes his head but gives up when he sees her face.
"Fine, damn it. Just remember that if you die, you may as well take me with ya. Your dad would probably boil me in acid or something."
Mindy shrugs. "Honestly, we didn't really expect any volunteers anyway. But sure, if you two want to come with us we could use the back-up."
Mindy and Dave both then stop looking at their friends and are staring at a nebulous point about two feet in front of them. Both of them have their eyes open wide. Both of their faces are losing color rapidly. When they turn to face each other, Barney shakes his head.
"You know, sometimes you two are as creepy as a windowless van with out of state plates parked in front of a preschool with 'All You Can Eat' rattle-canned on the side."
They both manage a smile at that, but whatever is bothering them this time has them pretty distracted.
DO YOU WISH TO INVITE (BARNEY CALHOUN) TO THE GROUP (COUNTERSTRIKE RAVENHOLM.) Y/N
DO YOU WISH TO INVITE (ALYX VANCE) TO THE GROUP (COUNTERSTRIKE RAVENHOLM.) Y/N
After the two have considered for a minute by whispering in each other's ears while facing the corner, Dave turns to face their two friends.
"So, Barney. Remember when you asked if we had something besides just the storage going for us, and I changed the subject?"
Barney nods, trying to decide if this is something to be excited about or dread.
"Yeah, but I didn't push then and I ain't gonna push now. You're on our side and that's good enough for me."
Mindy offers a tentative smile.
"And we appreciate that, no mistake. But... Look, we are using kind of an experimental system and we just got a new option. It'd involve you two and we're not sure exactly what all it would do. You willing to be a lab rat? I honestly don't think it would hurt you. Worst case, my guess is it just won't work."
Barney and Alex turn to Dave. He shrugs.
"What she said. Although I'd add that if it works, this could be pretty awesome for you."
Alyx gives them a look of irritation.
"I'll try it whatever it is, but you two need to put out a manual some time."
Barney's mouth curls up into a playful half-smile, though there is still a bit of worry. "Sure. Can't let Alyx try it solo. Besides, I don't have enough control to be one."
As Alyx groans at the terrible lab joke, Dave and Mindy each hit the (Y) button for each. Curiously, after each there was a few seconds wait while this flashed up in its place:
WAITING FOR CONFIRMATION FROM JOINT LEADERSHIP OF THE PARTY (COUNTERSTRIKE RAVENHOLM) PLEASE WAIT. (10)
There was apparently a ten-second countdown after the first of them had been hit, but none of them make it past eight before the windows dump themselves in the trash. Barney and Alyx jump and are now staring at the space about two feet in front of themselves. Alyx reaches up with a finger.
"I guess I press the Y? What is this?"
At their nods, the two new members of the group press the buttons and find themselves sitting down. Barney glances to Mindy and Dave, still standing somewhat in the corner.
"Is this a psychic thing? Cause if it is I guess that's okay. How the hell am I seeing a mini-map?"
Dave leans against a windowsill. And shakes his head, trying to figure out how to explain this.
"Mindy and I have a... Power? I guess? That lets us treat our lives like it's a game. It's why we have an inventory and heal up fully after a few hours of rest. It's why the mini-map and why we train so hard. We can improve in hours what would take a normal person months."
Mindy breaks in. "More like years. This ability is complete bullshit, and I honestly don't know how much of it you'll have access to just borrowing it like this when we're grouped up. But if you want to find out, try saying 'Status.' If it gives you anything, at least you'll have a baseline and when you check it tomorrow morning you'll have an idea what it did. Upgrades only seem to happen while you sleep."
Alyx and Barney both look concerned, but Alyx responds quicker.
"Upgrades? What do you mean upgrades?"
Dave fields this one. "Nothing you couldn't do yourself with enough time and effort. It just speeds things up a lot. As an example, you know how there are stories of snake charmers and stuff that have been bitten so many times that their body just deals with it now? They just don't care like a normal person would? Mindy's been bitten by those black head crabs now three times and has picked up a toxin resistance of what, like six percent?" At her nod, he continues. "My strength has increased by something like fifty percent in the last ten days. I'd say if you assume a more than the sum of its parts angle we're both about three times as dangerous as we were when we arrived. Honestly, if I'd known this was a thing I'd have offered it to at least you two as soon as I saw you probably. Training you up with us could do more to help the resistance than anything else, and I'm including moving the teleporter in that."
Alyx nods almost absently as she says 'Status' and realizing he has fallen behind, Barney does the same. Then he pulls a pad of paper out of his desk and starts taking notes. Getting what he's doing, Alyx does the same. At the look he gets from Dave and Mindy, he shrugs.
"I don't suffer from brainus gigantus. If I want to know what the difference is after a few days, I need notes."
Alyx just nods as she is writing. "It's a good idea. It'll definitely let us know if this is actually doing anything."
A few minutes later, when Barney and Alyx have gotten their gear together and they have ensured that Alyx's father is in the lab for the day and so won't expect to see her until dinner they enter the corridor to Ravenholm.
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The steel security door requires Barney's code to open, and he closes it quickly when they are on the other side. Down that same corridor a bit further there is a set of stairs that had been haphazardly blocked with crates and old furniture. Passing down that leads to a flooded area, and on the side of that a ladder going up. Barney looks around at everybody. "Last chance. Wanna go back and have an early lunch instead? I heard they were doing grilled cheese and tomato soup today." When all he gets back are blank stares and Mindy motioning to the ladder for Dave to go up it, he lets out a breath. "Well, alright then." He puts on his helmet and double-checks his assault rifle before he follows Mindy up the ladder. Alyx has decided on a shotgun, and they are both carrying their pistols. An absurd amount of extra ammo is being carried, both on their persons and in the inventories of the two gamers.
The top of the ladder leads to a wooden structure, and when they walk out the dim light shocks them. While yes it is technically about ten in the morning, a strong cloud cover and the shadows of the buildings are doing much to dim the light. The fog isn't particularly helping either. Barney speaks for them all.
"Damn. Think we could've picked a worse day for this?"
It doesn't take them long to find the first zombie and from then on it is, quite simply, an unending wave of gore that descends upon them for every square yard they penetrate further into the town. Dave, surprised at the effectiveness of his new weapons, belatedly finds himself using 'Observe' on them about ten minutes in.
MACE: SIX FLANGED.
CUSTOM MADE IMPLEMENT OF WAR DESIGNED BY ENGINEERS OF THE HUMAN RESISTANCE FORCE. MADE OF A METAL INVENTED BY COMBINE SCIENCE, IT IS SIX TIMES THE STRENGTH OF WEAPON GRADE STEEL FOR HALF THE COMPARATIVE WEIGHT BY VOLUME. LIKE ALL SUCH WEAPONS, IT IS BEST USED AGAINST HARD TARGETS WHERE THE CONCENTRATED FORCE CAN CRUSH THE TARGET, RATHER THEN GIVE IN RESPONSE AND SAP FORCE FROM THE BLOW.
MINIMUM STRENGTH TO WIELD: 16.
DAMAGE TYPE: BLUNT
DAMAGE PER ATTACK: STRENGTH DOUBLED, THEN AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY.
MAXIMUM STRENGTH PER BLOW WITHOUT DAMAGING THE WEAPON: 350.
WEAPON WEIGHT: ELEVEN POUNDS.
WEAPON LENGTH: THREE FEET.
"Holy crap. These things have tripled my damage. And then some." In curiosity, he then does the same for his armor.
COMBAT ARMOR: KEVLAR AND PLATE.
THIS ARMOR IS DESIGNED FOR SUPERIOR PROTECTION AND GOOD MOBILITY BY THE ENGINEERS OF THE HUMAN RESISTANCE FORCE. MADE PARTIALLY OF A METAL INVENTED BY COMBINE SCIENCE, IT IS SIX TIMES THE STRENGTH OF WEAPON GRADE STEEL FOR HALF THE COMPARATIVE WEIGHT BY VOLUME. IT OFFERS SUPERIOR PROTECTION AGAINST BLUNT AND SLASHING ATTACKS. PIERCING DEFENCE IS SITUATIONAL. A CRITICAL HIT THAT BYPASSES THE ARMOR PLATE WILL DO NEARLY FULL DAMAGE. A NON-CRITICAL HIT WILL LIKELY BE STOPPED ALTOGETHER BY THE ARMORED PLATES.
DAMAGE RESISTANCE;
SLASHING: 25
BLUNT: 25
PIERCING: 40
PIERCING (CRITICAL): 3
MINIMUM STRENGTH TO WEAR WITHOUT PENALTY: 20
He is brought back to the here and now by a single gunshot from Barney's assault rifle that passes through and kills a head crab that had been in mid-jump on an intercept course for the back of his head. The call that comes out is both slightly annoying and, honestly, quite welcome.
"Dang it kid, get your head in the game! You can stare off into nothing later!"
With their new armor, new weapons, and backup in the form of two very competent soldiers? The Ravenholm that he had feared as a player had become more of a ridiculously disgusting slog as a Gamer. There are stronger enemies than a standard zombie to be sure. In particular, this place has a fast variant that sprints at you and attacks quickly. But he had forgotten in his concern when they first arrived that the reason Ravenholm was so scary as Gordon Freeman was that nothing here dropped ammo. It was entirely possible to drain the entirety of your ammo reserves in minutes and then be completely dependent on using the environment, luck, and the quick save feature to see you through.
More than a few times, they hear the sounds of a minor war come from where Alyx and Barney have set up. Proof, if such were needed, that they are not being ignored in this slaughter by any stretch of the imagination. Five times, they are forced to go back to their friends and hand over more ammo. But finally, in the end, and after Dave had been bitten once again by a damn black head crab, they believe they have it mostly cleared. Undoubtedly there are more zombies and head crabs lurking about. Trapped in rooms, or under porches. Wandered to the outskirts of town and not having yet made it back. But by four in the afternoon, following a six-hour fight, they at least have things cleared enough to begin the process of looting the place to the ground.
How sweet it is.
"Hey, I found another book on auto mechanics, says I already have the skill now. You want this one?" Dave calls to Mindy as they peruse what was once someone's personal library on the third floor of an apartment building. Alyx and Barney are standing around in shock as they witness what is going on.
"Sure, toss it over. See if you can find something on electrical stuff. It'd be nice if we could fix our bikes if something goes wrong with 'em."
Alyx looks on in awe as they continue to go through the bookshelves at a dizzying pace. They seem to only need to open any given one for a few seconds to determine if they can use it like this.
"Are you finding any that you both have? I'm curious if it would work for us."
"Sure." Is Mindy's response. Reaching into her inventory she pulls out one of the twelve different books they had found on modern carpentry. Apparently, miners tended to be the sort to do their own home repairs. Who knew?
Catching the book, Alyx opens it and her eyes widen. "This is so cheap. I can't believe you have a system that does this."
She then reaches out and presses a button, and the book pulls apart into the same motes of light it does for the gamers and settles into her brain. Barney looks on in interest. "Did it work?"
Alyx shakes her head, not in denial but simply disbelief. "I had no idea there were this many ways to join two pieces of wood together."
Barney yells out at this point. "Hey! Stop eating the books, just collect up the ones that work. We got a few printers and scanners back at BME. I wanna check and see if it'll work on a copy. We have whole rooms of paper that don't get used much anymore because the office has gone mostly paperless anyway, excepting a few of the science leads."
Alyx laughs as she shakes her head. "Barney, they went paperless because they were worried about running out. You sure they're gonna let you do this?"
He chuckles. "Who exactly do you think locked up all the paper and has the keys? This is worthy. The idiots in the motor pool going through a ream of it a week to print off porn they wanted to hang around the place trying to one-up each other isn't."
There is some laughter to that, punctuated by a backhanded slash of Mindy using one of her new swords. Thanks to the sheer toughness of the metal, she hasn't needed to worry about increasing the thickness of the blade much, and after the guys in fabrication had her specifications it didn't take long to sort out. The head crab that had leaped at her from an air vent is bisected on its way down and lands in two heaps. Barney rubs his eyes and asks his question almost plaintively.
"How the hell did you do that?"
Mindy glances briefly his way as she places a book about lighter than air flight that came up as a skill book in her inventory.
"Dave and I have some stats that I am guessing you don't, and one of them lets us detect things aggressive to us on our mini-map. That little shit has been working up the nerve for three or four minutes. It's why I stayed where I am, actually." She then points with the pointer finger of the hand holding the sword at the bookcase. Upon which sits a jewelry or music box type of thing with a mirrored front.
"You killed that thing by waiting on it looking in a mirror?!" Alyx gasps out, somewhere between amused and disturbed, but highly impressed regardless.
Barney is just laughing. If there were a thousand people in the resistance like these two? He could retire. Then his laughter is choked off.
"Oh, dang. Alyx, it's after seven. Figure your dad has the base on high alert yet?"
Dave looks up from where he is placing yet another cookbook in his inventory. He'd stop bothering, but even though the skill doesn't go up he's thinking the recipes might come in handy someday. This one covers Italian cuisine.
"We can head back. We'll be here at the base for what, another month at least? We'll have plenty of time to loot this place down to the bedrock."
With that, the four troop back to the ladder that leads back into the base. Only one more zombie finds them on their way.
Poor zombie.
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"You did what!?" Is Eli's response when the lot of them reenter the base and are immediately sent to where he is in operations. Well, more accurately Alyx was sent that way. The rest just came to offer moral support. Alyx sighs. This isn't going to go well. Eli knows that she is one of the best the resistance has to offer and a legal adult besides. Even if 'legal' actually meant anything anymore. But even still. He'd lost his wife and nearly his world. His protective streak here on Earth could be seen from orbit. Around Mars.
"We cleared most of Ravenholm and tried to recover a few things. Also? We need to send somebody with a degree in psychology to Father Grigori. We caught sight of him a few times while we were working and the man needs help. No clue how he survived, but it's like he takes the head crabs personally and is waging a war against them using a bunch of crazy traps and stuff scattered all over. I don't think he's dangerous to anyone that isn't wearing a parasite on their head, but even still. I think he's a tad unhinged at this point. What he'll do now that the town is mostly cleared is anyone's guess."
Eli is at this point hanging his head and rubbing his eyes. "But why did you do this? Alyx, I can't lose you. You can't be risking yourself like this for no good reason. Ravenholm has kept for almost three years, what was so important there that you felt you needed to go there today with no warning, no preparation, and no backup if you needed it? Please, Alyx. Make me understand."
Dave half raises a hand. "Um, sir? She went to offer Mindy and me backup. We got our new gear today and wanted to go for a shakedown run against things that weren't shooting at us. It's all great stuff, for whatever that's worth. Barely a scratch on either of us. You should consider trying to outfit your own people half so well."
Eli turns to the man and woman they had dumped so much of their faith into, and his eyes take on a pleading tone.
"I'm glad you like the equipment, and yes, we are equipping our own people as best we can. But in the future, at least until you two have moved our teleporter into the city, would it be too much to ask that you not risk yourself like this again?"
"Yes." Is Mindy's rather succinct reply, and apparently it was not the one Eli expected by his expression. One gets the impression that even when people are planning to do whatever the hell they want, he isn't used to anybody refusing to pay lip service to his requests these days. He is just about to ask her why after a ten-second awkward pause when she continues.
"We'll be here when the time comes or we'll be dead failing to get back. But I refuse to go under house arrest while we wait for what could be months? Years? I won't be treated the way your damn Combine treats people, and if you think you can? Then we have a problem."
Even Dave is a little shocked at the icy tone that she takes with the man. To say that Mindy McReady, the one and only Hit-Girl, values freedom above all else?
Might be putting it lightly.
He moves up to just behind her and to the right, in a show of solidarity. Eli Vance is a legend in the game Dave played. Second only to the main character himself, and truthfully nothing he has done or said since they arrived takes anything away from that. He has done everything he can to protect the last of his family and has sacrificed everything except what little family he has left to try and fix the mistake of himself and his colleagues back in the original Black Mesa. He's even risked that family a time or two. He is every inch the hero in his own way that the game painted him as. But it just so happens that two people can both be heroes. Both be dedicated. Both be striving for the public good and neither be wrong. Yet still be in disagreement. It's a sobering thought for someone that had grown up with the 'Great Power = Great Responsibility' thing being the entirety of his understanding of heroic moral conundrums.
Eli's face falls. "I admit I hadn't considered that our keeping you safe here could feel like a prison sentence to a pair like yourselves, but I suppose I should have." Looking back up to them, he speaks in a respectful, but not overbearing tone. "I won't ask you to stay locked up. But for the sake of the people of City-17, I would ask that you let me know when you decide to plan these forays of yours so we can see to it that there is some backup within a reasonable distance? It would do some of our security personnel good to knock the cobwebs loose anyway, I'd expect."
Mindy answers with just a shrug and a nod. Eli then looks back to his daughter and motions her to follow them back to their private rooms. Barney calls out to him.
"Hey, Doc? Mind if we tag along for a bit?" He motions to himself and the two displaced heroes. "We picked up some new information today that we really should pass along. If it works the way I hope it will, it could be a real game-changer." He is grinning widely at his own cleverness with that last bit, and three other people in the room find their eyes rolling at his attempt at humor.
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The next morning when he wakes up, Dave gets the two standard messages that he always does. But then he gets a third that surprises him.
YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE PARTY SYSTEM. THE PARTY SYSTEM ALLOWS EITHER PRIMARY OF THE PARTY TO INVITE TO THE 'GROUP' ONE ADDITIONAL MEMBER PER FIFTY LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE, WITH A MINIMUM OF ONE EACH ONCE ACTIVATED. THIS ALLOWS ADDITIONAL PARTY MEMBERS TO ACCESS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SPECIFIC ABILITIES THAT THE GAMER SYSTEM OFFERS:
MINI-MAP ACCESS.
GAMER-LIKE SKILL, STATISTIC, LEVEL ACQUISITION AND ADVANCEMENT.
ADDITIONAL STATISTIC POINTS GAINED PER LEVEL EARNED WHILE IN THE PARTY. ADVISORY: WHILE THE POINTS DO NOT DISAPPEAR IF THEY LEAVE THE PARTY, THEY CANNOT BE SPENT WITHOUT BEING IN THE PARTY AT THE TIME.
REMOVING SOMEONE FROM A PARTY GROUP REQUIRES THE PARTICIPATION OF ALL CURRENTLY LIVING PRIMARY PARTY MEMBERS. ADVISORY: AS A FULL PARTY, EXPERIENCE WILL BE SHARED EQUALLY AMONG ALL CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS.
Dave reads it twice and then leans back in irritation while he closes out the window. This whole thing would be so much easier if there was an instruction booklet. Then he gets another pop-up.
BY HAVING ENOUGH PRIMARY WEAPONS TO REQUIRE IT, YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE QUICK-CHANGE SYSTEM. YOU ARE NOW ABLE TO ADD OPTIONAL WEAPON LOADOUTS TO A 'HOTBAR' THAT SITS IN YOUR VISION BETWEEN THE INCOMING FOLDER AND THE DELETE CAN. THE NUMBER OF OPTIONAL LOADOUTS THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO IS ONE PLUS ONE ADDITIONAL PER FIFTY LEVELS. MINIMUM OF TWO, ONCE UNLOCKED. ADVISORY: ALL WEAPONS OR EQUIPMENT THAT IS INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED VIA THE QUICK-CHANGE SYSTEM MUST BE WITHIN THE PURPLE-BACKED INVENTORY SLOTS.
Dave can't help but grin, and that grin turns into a smile when he looks over and sees Hit-Girl at the desk, swiveled around to look at him wearing a smirk of her own.
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Barney sits down at the breakfast table opposite Alyx and speaks in a hushed tone, as the dining hall is half full of bleary-eyed members of the resistance trying to wake themselves up and get their grub on.
"So, what was your takeaway?"
After quickly peeking about to make sure nobody is listening in she responds in an equivalent whisper.
"Two levels, three increases on my shotgun and brawling skills, some stat points, and that carpentry skill. You?"
He nods just slightly. Barely holding in a grin. "Yeah, about that. I know we both have jobs to do, but I'm thinking we want to spend as much time as possible working with these two, and after showing the book thing to Eli last night I don't think he's likely to argue it."
Alyx giggles. The look on her father's face when he had been witness to Barney learning carpentry skills right in front of him had been pretty epic.
"I think you're right. I just hope they'll go for it. What did you put your points into?"
Barney shakes his head. "I haven't yet. Figured it might be a good idea to talk to the ones that actually know what the hell it all means first. You?"
She frowns slightly. "Even split between Dexterity and Intelligence. But now I am regretting it, you probably made the right call by waiting."
Barney nods. "If you got experts, use 'em. Doesn't mean you always do what they say but not getting all the information you can first is just silly. Do we have any idea how long until the Teleporter is gonna be done? Eli was pretty optimistic last night, but you know how he is. Not everybody can work sixteen hours a day without their brains running out their ears like he can."
Alyx nods in agreement while wincing. She knows her father better than most, and while yes, he can do that he tends to suffer in other ways from the lack of sleep and nutrition that inevitably comes about.
"Assuming there are no problems? Probably three weeks for the bulk of the device. They seem to think they have it worked out. The problem at that point will be fine-tuning and calibration, which will need to be done here to get an understanding of what is needed and then probably on site after it has been taken apart, moved a few dozen miles and then put back together again. An actual working teleport that we can move people through en mass? I think two months would be incredibly optimistic." She pauses, her cup at her lips. "Why?"
Barney's fork stops halfway to his mouth, some scrambled eggs hanging off of it. "Just have a feeling that they won't be sticking around too much past that, was wondering how long we had to take advantage of this." At her look, he just shrugs. "They aren't joiners, they've already told us that. They're good people, but as soon as they can split on good terms and things around here are calming down some I think it's likely they're gonna go kill pests somewhere else. Things have been pretty beaten down most of your life Alyx, and survival has been enough of a stretch to keep most anybody too busy to get into the kinda trouble they are likely to. But when we win this and I am putting together a new dictionary for the new age, I'm thinking I'm gonna put a picture of the two of them under the heading 'Adrenaline Junkie.' If you get my meaning."
Author's Note:
And the last two of the recognizably obvious "gamer" perks that show up in most RPG's make an appearance. Again, somewhat limited to keep them safe and sane for the story, but still useful. Fair odds that the next chapter will start with a time skip and I am almost willing to promise that it will be the last chapter in Half-Life. My muse be crazy sometimes, so no promises. Going to go ahead and post the newly updated stat sheets after a week of training and the pacification of Ravenholm, and will include the training and wanderings around the countryside that happen during the time skip as well. These will be the stats they have when they enter the building Kleiner will be using at the beginning of the next chapter.
Thanks for reading, reviewing (those two of you that have keep me writing this, and thank you) and favoriting this. It is extremely appreciated.
Just to give you an idea of how stats work? I am using the base range from the D20 system for this. Meaning that the human range for stats on a first level, a non-augmented character is 3 to 18. Even after hitting level twenty, non-augmented a human can only reach a max in a single statistic of 23. The strongest weightlifter on the planet? 23 strength. The most dextrous gymnast/contortionist? 23. Just to put things in perspective so you know what you are seeing if you aren't a gamer. The average adult human is 10.
Lastly? Anybody that thinks I made Dave's maces too lightweight or thinks he could handle something heavier hanging off the end of his arm and six feet from his core while swinging it around in a fight? Look up what historical arms and armor weighed, and then understand that beyond a certain point, strength doesn't matter in issues of control. Physics will not be denied, and Dave weighs at the absolute most? Maybe 200 pounds.
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STATUS SCREEN.
NAME: Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass
TITLE: Gamer.
AGE: 22
SEX: Male
LEVEL: 16
HEALTH: 166
REC: 1.66 X2 (con 25+)
STAMINA: 148 (Str added, 25+)
REC: 14.8
MP: 48 / 48
REC: 4.8
AP: 48 / 48
REC: 4.8
PE: 47 / 47
REC: 4.7
STR: 31
DEX: 18
CON: 37
INT: 16
WIS: 16
CHA: 15
STAT POINTS: 32
EVOLUTION POINTS: (NA)
MAGIC ABILITIES: (NA)
AURA ABILITIES: (NA)
PSYCHIC ABILITIES: (NA)
MENTAL ABILITIES: (4)
Gamer's Mind.
Observe: 14
The Map: 32
Party System: Limit 1
PHYSICAL ABILITIES: (9)
Gamer's Body.
Inventory.
Quick Change: Limit 2 sets.
Deadened Nerves: 70% reduction in pain felt.
Steel Plated Skeleton: 50% reduction in damage from blunt trauma and crits that break bones.
Damage Reduction: 22 (44%)
Doubled regeneration. (Con 25+)
Brute's Dedication: (Add Str to stamina score) (Str 25+)
Toxin Resistance: 6 (12%)
PHYSICAL TRAITS: (0)
RACIAL TRAITS: (0)
NON-COMBAT SKILLS: (15)
Basic Homemaking.
General Education: +2
Basic Driving: 10
Sales Workforce Drone: 6
Stealth: 14
Survival: 4
Rope Use: 8
Auto Mechanics: 3
Electrical engineering: 3
Carpentry (Modern): 1
Blacksmith: 1
Welder/fabricator: 2
Gunsmith: 1
Metallurgy: 1
Cooking/Chef: 6
COMBAT SKILLS: (7)
Brawling: 24
Blunt Weapons: 24
Two-Weapon Fighting: 24
Small Combat Aircraft: 1
Power Attack: 11
Grapple: 13
Handguns: 11
MISC: (1)
Soul Blended w/ Mindy McReady
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
STATUS SCREEN.
NAME: Mindy McReady / Hit-Girl
TITLE: Gamer.
AGE: 18
SEX: Female
LEVEL: 17
HEALTH: 171
REC: 1.71 X2 (Con 25+)
STAMINA: 111
REC: 11.1
MP: 51
REC: 5.1
AP: 48
REC: 4.8
PE: 50
REC: 5.8
STR: 20
DEX: 40
CON: 26
INT: 17
WIS: 14
CHA: 16
STAT POINTS: 34
EVOLUTION POINTS: (NA)
MAGIC ABILITIES: (NA)
AURA ABILITIES: (NA)
PSYCHIC ABILITIES: (NA)
MENTAL ABILITIES: (4)
Gamer's Mind.
Observe: 6
The Map: 25
Party System: Limit 1
PHYSICAL ABILITIES: (5)
Gamer's Body.
Inventory.
Toxin Resistance: 4 (8%)
Damage Resistance: 4 (8%)
Bonus action. (Dex 25+)
PHYSICAL TRAITS: (1)
Small Stature.
RACIAL TRAITS: (0)
NON-COMBAT SKILLS: (12)
General Education.
Stealth: 22
Investigation: 10
Carpentry (ancient): 1
Auto Mechanics: 2
Electrical Engineering: 2
Carpentry (Modern): 1
Computer Programming: 4
Dance (Ballet): 1
Drive (Commercial vehicles): 2
Cooking/Chef: 1
First Aid/CPR: 2
COMBAT SKILLS: (11)
Martial Arts: 30
Bladed Weapons: 29
Two-Weapon Fighting: 17
Two-Handed Weapons: 22
Handguns: 26
Rifles: 14
Combat Driving: 13
Critical Strike: 21
Power Strike: 16
Thrown Weapons: 16
Combat Movement: 31
MISC: (1)
Soul Blended w/ Dave Lizewski.