Ugly Ghost Squad #19 recap
Jul. 12th, 2016 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrierUgly Ghost Squad #19
"Into the Sub-Realm"
Played 7/9/2016
Roll Call:
Captain America
Hulk
Martian Manhunter
Thanatos
Experience Level: 8
Enemies Fought:
Crystal Men
Diamond
Earthworm
Gea
Gnome
Graulokk
Lava Men
Mole
Mol-Ton
Mud Men
Myu Dum Am Gaasam
Oil Monster
Rock Throwers
Sub-Dwellers
Other NPCs:
Nixie
Adventure Modules Used:
Villains and Vigilantes: "Into the Sub-Realm" by Stewart and Stephan Wieck
Synopsis:
Over the last few weeks, the Ugly Ghost Squad had their hands full dealing with numerous natural disasters both at home and abroad: avalanches, mudslides, even rivers changing their course. Experts were baffled at what could be causing it. Then what appeared to be the biggest disaster yet appeared: a mile-high tidal wave bearing down on the east coast of the U.S.. The heroes were at a loss as to what they could do to stop the oncoming tsunami, but when a news camera caught sight of a human figure riding the crest of the wave, they raced out to sea to investigate. As the team's jet arrived on the scene, the figure -- a young woman -- waved her hands, and the tidal wave abrubtly and harmlessly collapsed.
The woman introduced herself as Nixie, and said that she was representing the Council of Water Elementals. Their ancient enemies, the Earth Elementals, were fed up with humans polluting and tearing up the Earth, and had decided to strike back. The Water Elementals had no great love for human "meatbags" either, but they liked the Earth Elementals even less, so they decided to warn humanity of their next move. She revealed that the Earth Elementals were going to cause the Krakatoa volcano to erupt. Wishing the squad good luck, she disappeared back into the ocean.
Jetting to Krakatoa, the heroes found a fissure leading deep into the volcano. There they found a strange mechanism being built, with numerous pipes feeding into the lava pits. Guarding the mechanism were fiery creatures called Lava Men, a dwarfish blacksmith called Gnome, and the group's leader, a napalm-spitting humanoid called Mol-Ton. The team defeated the entire group and dismantled their volcano-stoking machinery. None of the prisoners would talk, except to gloat that there were more threats on the way.
Keeping an eye on the news, the squad got word of problems in the diamond industry. One of the largest South African diamond mines had been shut down due to repeated and unexpected collapses in the tunnels. Suspecting that this was the work of the Earth Elementals, the team headed to the mines to investigate. They found the mine had been taken over by creatures called Crystal Men, and their leader, the gem-like humanoid named Diamond. They were harvesting diamonds from the mine for unknown purposes, but despite being as tough and unyielding as his namesake, Diamond and company soon fell.
Days later, the team received a call for help from Japan. The island of Kyushu was being rocked by massive earthquakes, unnaturally frequent and powerful. The squad soon found the cause -- a 70' tall stone monster called Graulokk, who emerged from the ground and attacked the heroes. After a prolonged battle, the heroes managed to (mostly) avoid its crushing footstomps and reduced Graulokk to a pile of rubble.
The oil fields of Saudi Arabia were the site of the next battle, as a major oil pumping station had been hijacked by parties unknown and the oil siphoned off. The squad found a secondary pipe crudely welded onto the main pipeline, which was drawing off the oil to a new location. The Hulk tried to destroy the pump controls, but only managed to slow the flow of oil. The heroes followed the pipeline down to an underground cavern, where they battled the acid-spitting annelid called Earthworm, and his slimy Mud Men henchmen. But before they could take Earthworm out, he activated a machine that caused the oil slick on the surface to congeal into a powerful monster. The creature tore open the pipeline and fed on the oil within, growing even bigger and stronger. As the rest of the team battled the Oil Monster, the Hulk destroyed all of Earthworm's machinery, and Thanatos managed to completely shut off the flow of oil by draining all the energy out of the pumps. With the monster no longer growing, the heroes were finally able to defeat it.
The Earth Elementals were seemingly growing desperate. They stole a cache of nuclear warheads from a military base in Great Britain, leaving behind a very obvious tunnel leading deep within the Earth. Following the trail, the Ghost Squad reached the legendary Sub-Realm, miles below the surface. The powerful "earth magic" in the realm curtailed the heroes' movement -- they could still pass through walls, but could no longer use their ghostly flight abilities. Making their way through the maze of tunnels, the team were beset by living boulders, stone arms that sprouted from the walls, and a fanatical mushroom-man with the curious name of Myu Dum Am Gaasam. Before he was defeated, Myu used his psychic abilities to send the Hulk into a deep trance. When Hulk recovered, he felt that his mind had been in sync with the whole of creation, and that he could ask the universe one question and get a truthful answer. With more pressing concerns at hand, he decided to save his question for later.
Reaching the throne room, the squad finally confronted Gea, the Queen of the Sub-Realm and the mastermind behind the Earth Elementals' campaign of terror. She harried the team with her power over earth and stone, while her lieutenant, the powerful Mole, swatted at them with his razor-sharp claws. The rest of her followers, the tiny but devoted Sub-Dwellers, were little more than an annoyance. The battle was a difficult one, and Martian Manhunter was knocked out at one point, but finally the heroes were triumphant. After the battle was over, Nixie briefly re-appeared out of a puddle in the corner to congratulate the humans on their victory.
Memorable Quotes:
"Good thing I'm not driving." - Thanatos, after learning that Krakatoa is actually in Indonesia, and not in the Mediterranean like he thought.
Sources and References:
Nothing this time out.
"Into the Sub-Realm"
Played 7/9/2016
Roll Call:
Captain America
Hulk
Martian Manhunter
Thanatos
Experience Level: 8
Enemies Fought:
Crystal Men
Diamond
Earthworm
Gea
Gnome
Graulokk
Lava Men
Mole
Mol-Ton
Mud Men
Myu Dum Am Gaasam
Oil Monster
Rock Throwers
Sub-Dwellers
Other NPCs:
Nixie
Adventure Modules Used:
Villains and Vigilantes: "Into the Sub-Realm" by Stewart and Stephan Wieck
Synopsis:
Over the last few weeks, the Ugly Ghost Squad had their hands full dealing with numerous natural disasters both at home and abroad: avalanches, mudslides, even rivers changing their course. Experts were baffled at what could be causing it. Then what appeared to be the biggest disaster yet appeared: a mile-high tidal wave bearing down on the east coast of the U.S.. The heroes were at a loss as to what they could do to stop the oncoming tsunami, but when a news camera caught sight of a human figure riding the crest of the wave, they raced out to sea to investigate. As the team's jet arrived on the scene, the figure -- a young woman -- waved her hands, and the tidal wave abrubtly and harmlessly collapsed.
The woman introduced herself as Nixie, and said that she was representing the Council of Water Elementals. Their ancient enemies, the Earth Elementals, were fed up with humans polluting and tearing up the Earth, and had decided to strike back. The Water Elementals had no great love for human "meatbags" either, but they liked the Earth Elementals even less, so they decided to warn humanity of their next move. She revealed that the Earth Elementals were going to cause the Krakatoa volcano to erupt. Wishing the squad good luck, she disappeared back into the ocean.
Jetting to Krakatoa, the heroes found a fissure leading deep into the volcano. There they found a strange mechanism being built, with numerous pipes feeding into the lava pits. Guarding the mechanism were fiery creatures called Lava Men, a dwarfish blacksmith called Gnome, and the group's leader, a napalm-spitting humanoid called Mol-Ton. The team defeated the entire group and dismantled their volcano-stoking machinery. None of the prisoners would talk, except to gloat that there were more threats on the way.
Keeping an eye on the news, the squad got word of problems in the diamond industry. One of the largest South African diamond mines had been shut down due to repeated and unexpected collapses in the tunnels. Suspecting that this was the work of the Earth Elementals, the team headed to the mines to investigate. They found the mine had been taken over by creatures called Crystal Men, and their leader, the gem-like humanoid named Diamond. They were harvesting diamonds from the mine for unknown purposes, but despite being as tough and unyielding as his namesake, Diamond and company soon fell.
Days later, the team received a call for help from Japan. The island of Kyushu was being rocked by massive earthquakes, unnaturally frequent and powerful. The squad soon found the cause -- a 70' tall stone monster called Graulokk, who emerged from the ground and attacked the heroes. After a prolonged battle, the heroes managed to (mostly) avoid its crushing footstomps and reduced Graulokk to a pile of rubble.
The oil fields of Saudi Arabia were the site of the next battle, as a major oil pumping station had been hijacked by parties unknown and the oil siphoned off. The squad found a secondary pipe crudely welded onto the main pipeline, which was drawing off the oil to a new location. The Hulk tried to destroy the pump controls, but only managed to slow the flow of oil. The heroes followed the pipeline down to an underground cavern, where they battled the acid-spitting annelid called Earthworm, and his slimy Mud Men henchmen. But before they could take Earthworm out, he activated a machine that caused the oil slick on the surface to congeal into a powerful monster. The creature tore open the pipeline and fed on the oil within, growing even bigger and stronger. As the rest of the team battled the Oil Monster, the Hulk destroyed all of Earthworm's machinery, and Thanatos managed to completely shut off the flow of oil by draining all the energy out of the pumps. With the monster no longer growing, the heroes were finally able to defeat it.
The Earth Elementals were seemingly growing desperate. They stole a cache of nuclear warheads from a military base in Great Britain, leaving behind a very obvious tunnel leading deep within the Earth. Following the trail, the Ghost Squad reached the legendary Sub-Realm, miles below the surface. The powerful "earth magic" in the realm curtailed the heroes' movement -- they could still pass through walls, but could no longer use their ghostly flight abilities. Making their way through the maze of tunnels, the team were beset by living boulders, stone arms that sprouted from the walls, and a fanatical mushroom-man with the curious name of Myu Dum Am Gaasam. Before he was defeated, Myu used his psychic abilities to send the Hulk into a deep trance. When Hulk recovered, he felt that his mind had been in sync with the whole of creation, and that he could ask the universe one question and get a truthful answer. With more pressing concerns at hand, he decided to save his question for later.
Reaching the throne room, the squad finally confronted Gea, the Queen of the Sub-Realm and the mastermind behind the Earth Elementals' campaign of terror. She harried the team with her power over earth and stone, while her lieutenant, the powerful Mole, swatted at them with his razor-sharp claws. The rest of her followers, the tiny but devoted Sub-Dwellers, were little more than an annoyance. The battle was a difficult one, and Martian Manhunter was knocked out at one point, but finally the heroes were triumphant. After the battle was over, Nixie briefly re-appeared out of a puddle in the corner to congratulate the humans on their victory.
Memorable Quotes:
"Good thing I'm not driving." - Thanatos, after learning that Krakatoa is actually in Indonesia, and not in the Mediterranean like he thought.
Sources and References:
Nothing this time out.
