Str 10, Agi 16, Tgh 12(Mutant), Int 13(Hacking Corps), Wil 10, Cha 7(Mutant)
HP 11, AV 12, SV 10, DF 3
Attuned: (Dual Pistols(d6)), Fox Mask ; (Flesh), Soft Shoes
Grapple hook, 2 knives (d6-1), Hacking device
Power: Fox is effectively immortal, due to extreme regeneration. Upon hitting 0, instead of the normal dying rules in Whitehack, he loses a random limb or his head. He regenerates at a rate of 2hp per round, and has to fully regenerate 6 points to regenerate entire limbs back. His head is different; upon losing his head he is incapacitated for at least 10 minutes.
Whitehack Capeshit Soloplay: Mutants in the City 2
Recap
Last time, we followed Fox Mask, a mutant assassin tasked with infiltrating Harp Corp and figuring out what the Loud mutants are doing, and shutting it down. Unfortunately, his infiltration plans backfire and the alarm has been raised. Can he do it? letās find out.
Fox ā Level 4 Deft Mutant Assassin
Part 1: The Loading Bay
The man in the fox masks dashes through the door and finds himself in a loading bay.
My first question here is whether or not the loading bay is empty. Iām not leaning towards any likelihood either way, so itāll be even odds.
Q: Is the loading bay empty? Even.
A: No. Well, thatās not very good.
Q: Are the people in the loading bay workers? Even.
A: No.
Q: Are they soldiers? Unlikely, since theyād have heard the commotion outside.
A: No, andā¦
Iām gonna roll up some words from my Gamemasterās Apprentice Deck. I pull 3 words: Silence, Heroic, and Scum. Unfortunately for Fox Mask, Iāve already built a character that fits this description pretty wellā¦
He throws himself down just in time as a bolt of lightning strikes the place where he stood just a breath before. The heat of the attack sets the auxiliary door on fire, blocking off any backup that could arrive. This new foe doesnāt need it, anywayā¦
Fox: Thunderer? Youāve switched sides?
He addresses a small man in a gaudy blue toga. The Thundererās white beard falls to his knees, and he brandishes a spear that crackles with the energy of his mutant ability.
Extra: The Thundererās Motivation
When coming up with the setup for this little experiment, I had come up with the Thunderer as a traitor to the Quietās cause, but I hadnāt decided why. Iāll pull a card and see if it sparks any ideas: Assist, Active, Love. Interesting. I think heās switched side for honorable purposes, to save his daughter. Weāll make it easy and call it an incurable disease, the classic excuse for blue-ish super villains. Perhaps he requires the assistance of Luke Harp to find a cureā¦
Thunderer: Iāve done what I had to do. I wonāt be harangued by a gun for hire. Iāll give you this one opportunity to leave, or Iāll smite you.
Fox(getting up from the floor): You wouldnāt be the first to try.
Thunderer: Very well, letās test that immortality that youāre known for.
I donāt think a battle is avoidable for Fox Mask. However, I donāt believe that the Thunderer would be standing around in the Loading Bay all night. He got here from somewhere, and thatās probably the lab.
Q: Is there an entrance to the Lab here in the loading bay? Likely.
A: Yes, andā¦ the elevator is obvious. Fox definitely sees it, so perhaps this battle doesnāt necessarily have to be to the death.
Combat: The Thunderer
Before we roll initiative, Iāll just say that this isnāt going to be an easy fight for Fox. The Thunderer is a Level 5 Wise, with the mutant ability of lightning. Itās only a one level difference, but The Thunderer has some tricks up his sleeve.
Initiative
Fox rolls a 4, modified by his agility to a 6. The Thunderer rolls a natural 6! Unfortunately for Fox, he also has 13 AGI, making that a 7. This character has no luck at all.
Round 1
I think Thunderer probably doesnāt start the fight going all out, since he only has 9 INT and believes that Fox is beneath him. He makes an attack roll with his thunder spear, which is a d6+1 weapon.
He rolls against his AV of 12 and Foxās Defense of 3: 19.
Fox moves before the lightning even leaves the tip of the spear, a habit formed over years of combat. He runs towards coverā¦ thereās probably a forklift and some pallets around, so I wonāt roll for that. On the run, he takes some potshots.
Fox rolls against his AV of 12 and Thundererās 0 armor: 15. I might have to switch out this die.
Round 2
The Thunderer: Youāre starting to bore me.
The thundererās spear isnāt going to be able to attack Fox through his cover, so heāll have to tap into his miracles. Luckily, he has the perfect miracle: Thunder! Whitehack miracles are all about triangulating effect, groups and wording to find a health cost for them. Thunder is probably too broad to be a cheap wording, but we must also consider that itās his mutant power. I think heāll try and strike Fox behind cover with 2d6 damage. This is a fairly powerful effect which would normally cost 1d6 HP, but I think that between the wording and the fact that heās going to give Fox a save itāll drop down to a standard cost of 2. This will take him from 23 HP to 21.
Fox gets his agility save: 19. He fails. This is the one thing heās good at.
The air fills with the raw electrical potential that pours from every cell in the Thundererās body. In his hand, a ball of lightning forms. He throws it above the forklift, and then squeezes his fist into a ball.
Thunder: Die!
Rolling for Foxās damage: Double 6s. thatās 12 damage against his 11 HP! Any other character would be out for the count, but Fox is a little different. Instead of this, heāll lose a limb. Iāll roll a d6, with 1-2 being a leg, 3-4 being an arm, and 5-6 being his head. Heās still in the fight if he doesnāt roll a 5 or a 6.
He rolls a 2. His right leg is charred to a crisp, but heās still consciousā¦ for now.
At the start of his turn, Fox regenerates 2 hp. Fox: Iāve got to do something, quick.
His only hope now is to get to the elevator. It may have been reachable in one turn beforeā¦ but now he has a bad leg. Itās now or neverā¦
Fox does two things: First, heāll use his āFleshā attunement to sacrifice his one remaining leg with a jump so powerful that it also becomes destroyed. Fox has mastered his regeneration long ago, allowing him to push every cell of his body far above their limits.
Then, heāll take a shot at the thunder. He wonāt call in his attunement for this, but if this fails, itās all but over.
Rolling: 4. Success! But only 3 damage.
Every nerve in his last remaining leg screams in pain as Fox sacrifices it for survival. He shoots forward faster than any human naturally could. With his arms, he unloads into his foe, catching the Thunderer off-guard. His body then tumbles through the elevator doors, breaking numerous ribs in the process.
Round 3
This is the final round, for all intents and purposes. All Fox has to do is press the button on the elevator and he gets a reprieveā¦ for now. Unfortunately, the thunderer gets one more turn.
Q: Does the Thunderer spend more of his own life to shoot another thunderous blast? Even.
A: Yes. Yes he does.
Q: Is it stronger this time? Even.
A: Yes, absolutely, I rolled a 6 for yes and a 1 for noā¦
Alright, the thunderer unloads again. Heās going to fire a 3d6 ball of thunder into the elevator. This increased power will incur a 1d6 health cost, which could incur a larger penalty if he rolls a 5 or 6. He rolls a 2.
Iām going to give Fox a save, at a difficulty of 12! This means that he must roll between 14 and 16, or take the damage.
Fox rolls: a 3. He takes 10 damage, putting him at -8.
At this point, Iām going to call it for this character. The dice just werenāt in his favor.
The last thing Fox sees before his eyes are burned out of their sockets is the scorching light of Thunder.
Epilogue
He wakes in a white padded cell. Around him, there is nothing but a camera in the corner of the room. He notices its red light, notices that it points directly on him. He looks down at his body, blemished only by the scars of a past life.
Fox: Looks like thatās not enough to put an end to it, either.
A speaker buzzes into life.
Manās voice: Doesnāt surprise me, Fox. I didnāt expect you to die. Quite frankly, I didnāt expect you to fail as spectacularly as you did.
Fox: Harp.
Luke Harp: Itās been quite some time, my friend. Youāve gotten sloppy. Perhaps immortality does that to a man.
Fox: What are you planning? How did you get the Thunderer to betray us? More importantly, am I speaking to the original or an imitation?
Despite the jab, Harpās smile could be heard through the speaker.
Harp: Not yet, my friend. Itāll all become obvious soon enough. In the mean time, sit tight and donāt kill the scientists, will you?
With that, the speaker dies. Fox Mask heres the familiar whirr of a drill coming from the distance. Just like old times, he thinks.
Post game
Well, that was quick. I suppose this is a lesson in what happens when you try and use one character for the soloplay of an OSR game. My luck was just incredibly bad whenever I rolled for Fox Mask. Perhaps it was his destiny. This might be a good lesson for me that there's more room for error if I'm playing a cast of characters, such as a party, rather than just one.
I enjoyed this little experiment pretty well. Though it didnāt amount to much, after I settled down to play for each session I got a lot done in two hours. I write these posts as Iām playing because it keeps me honest and lets me talk about the game and my thoughts while playing. I got more use out of my oracle this time around, letting it take more control of the game.
One of the big things I wanted to test out here was whether or not Whitehack would be a good system for some higher powered characters with different abilities. This is partially in my ever lingering progression of creating my Fate solo game. I also have always been interested in less progression based TTRPG design, where characters are generally more flat and exist at different tiers of power. Iāve got more experimenting to do, but I think Whitehack serves as a great base for me.
Next time, Iām going to give the fabled Mythic Game Master Emulator a try. I actually gave it a shot a long time ago, but it came across as heavier than I wanted. I think itās high time I gave it another shot, especially as Iāve seen it in action more and more through various soloplays from other folk. This is a very peaceful way to engage with the hobby without some of the stress that comes with running the game. Iām also hoping to get a longer game going up, just to see how far I can stretch some ideas. If youāre reading this and have any suggestions for how I lay these posts out, let me know.
Stay tuned!