July 26, 2026

Reptoids Under Pittsburgh 10

Session 10: Shock and Awe

Posted by The Game Master | Category: Campaign Playthrough

The nine-foot Alpha behemoth lunged into the warehouse, its massive black-scaled frame shaking the concrete foundations. Behind it, a sea of glowing yellow eyes rushed through the blown floor drain. Water from the underground rivers began to flood the floor, swirling around the boots of the defenders. They were vastly outnumbered. Survival required splitting up and executing two desperate plans at once.

“Danny, lead that giant thing into the loading bay! I'm going for the high-voltage breaker panel!” Sally screamed over the deafening roars. Utilizing her athletic flexibility, she took a running leap onto a stack of steel drums, pulling herself up toward the exposed conduits lining the warehouse wall.

Danny drew his freshly oiled surplus pistol. He fired two loud warning shots into the ceiling, the muzzle flashes illuminating his terrified but determined face. “Hey, ugly! Over here!” he bellowed, backing up rapidly into the narrow loading bay where a heavy, three-ton motorized forklift stood parked under a raised crate crane.

🎲 Sally's High-Wire Grid Hack (Level 1 Skill Check - 3d6)

Target: Sally's Skill (SK) is 13. She needs to leap across the scaffolding and safely rewire the 220V breaker line into the flooded water below without frying herself.

The Dice: [4] + [3] + [2] = 9

Modifiers: Sally applies her Gymnastics (Lv1) talent to navigate the high pipes effortlessly, letting her subtract 1 from the total.

Final Total: 9 - 1 = 8

Result: 8 is well under 13. SUCCESS! She tears open the panel and drops the live wires into the rising tide.

Experience Gained: Target (13) - Final Roll (8) = 5 EP earned for Sally.

A blinding blue arc of electrical energy detonated as the live high-voltage cables slapped into the ankle-deep water. The current tore through the room instantly. The smaller Reptoid scouts, standing directly in the wet pooling water, let out simultaneous, high-pitched shrieks as hundreds of volts convulsed through their bodies, knocking them completely unconscious or sending them scurrying back down into the depths.

But the nine-foot Alpha was too insulated by its thick, rubbery black hide. It barely flinched, its furious yellow eyes locked entirely onto Danny as it thundered down the loading bay corridor. Danny reached the forklift controls just as the behemoth bared its massive rows of fangs.

🎲 Danny's Forklift Trap (Level 1 Intellect Check - 3d6)

Target: Danny's updated Intellect (IT) is 10. He must time the release of the massive crane load perfectly to crush the fast-moving Alpha.

The Dice: [2] + [2] + [4] = 8

Result: 8 is less than 10. SUCCESS! He pulls the lever at the exact microsecond required!

Experience Gained: Target (10) - Roll (8) = 2 EP earned for Danny.

Danny pulled the emergency release handle. With a mechanical snap, a massive, steel-strapped crate filled with obsolete mill gears plummeted from the ceiling crane. It crashed with absolute, devastating precision directly onto the Alpha Reptoid's back, pinning the howling monster flat against the concrete floor under thousands of pounds of industrial metal.

The warehouse fell dead silent save for the hum of fried circuits and the agonized, muffled wheezing of the trapped beast. Danny and Sally locked eyes across the room, panting heavily. They had broken the vanguard—but the core of the hive was still pulsating below the city, and they had little time left to stop it.

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July 25, 2026

Reptoids Under Pittsburgh 9

Session 9: The Calm Before the Swarm

Posted by The Game Master | Category: Campaign Playthrough

With only a precious few minutes before the heavy scratching inside the floor drains turned into a full-scale breach, the warehouse became a beehive of desperate activity. They couldn't afford to waste a single second. The final countdown had begun—this nightmare was going to end tonight, one way or another.

While Carl and Big Mike dragged heavy steel beams and welding equipment to reinforce the trembling garage doors, Danny stepped down into Uncle Morty’s subterranean armory. He counted his crumpled cash onto a green ammo crate. “Give me something that punches hard, Uncle Morty,” Danny muttered, hands still shaking from the chase.

Morty tossed a heavy, matte-black handgun onto the table. “Surplus pistol. Heavy stopping power. Take the trench knife too.” Danny immediately traded in his hard-earned experience to sharpen his focus, feeling the cold steel of the weapon settle his frayed nerves.

🛠️ Danny's Gear Purchases & Character Progression

Danny's Current Total EP: 10 EP

Stat Upgrade: Danny spends his 10 EP to upgrade his Intellect (IT) from 9 → 10 (Cost: 10 times current score of 1). His mind is sharpening under fire.

Shopping List:

Pistol: Costs $60 (Damage: 1d6, Range: 300 feet)
Small Blade (Trench Knife): Costs $20 (Damage: 1d6-1)
Remaining Pocket Money: $110 - $80 = $30

Meanwhile, back on the main warehouse floor, Sally wasn't squeamish. While Brenda kept her rifle trained on the twitching, dead scout, Sally knelt over the carcass. She used a scrap piece of metal to pull back the creature's thick lips, analyzing the venom glands, before turning over a detailed map of Pittsburgh's water systems that Morty had pinned to a nearby corkboard.

“Look at the layout of these sewer intersections,” Sally called out, her voice tight but focused. “They aren't exploring randomly. They are pooling directly beneath the city's power grid!”

🎲 Sally's Investigation Check (Level 1 Intellect Check - 3d6)

Target: Sally's Intellect (IT) is 12. She needs to decipher the Reptoid's tactical movement from Morty's chaotic files.

The Dice: [2] + [3] + [5] = 10

Modifiers: Sally applies her Notice Details (Lv1) talent, letting her subtract 1 from the total.

Final Total: 10 - 1 = 9

Result: 9 is less than 12. SUCCESS! Sally uncovers the horrific objective.

Experience Gained: Target (12) - Final Roll (9) = 3 EP earned for Sally (Current Total: 11 EP).

Sally spun around to face the group, her face pale under the halogen bulbs. “They aren't just looking for food topside! The heat signatures Morty tracked... they are migrating toward the Duquesne Light subterranean substation. If they breach the main transformers, they won't just shut down the power—they're trying to flood the lower grid with river water to create a permanent, dark, boiling wetland right beneath our feet!”

Before Morty could even answer, a violent explosion tore through the back wall. The heavy iron floor drain cover blew fifty feet into the air, crashing into the ceiling. Two bulbous, yellow eyes emerged from the steaming hole, followed instantly by another... and another. The main pack had arrived, and they brought a monster.

Towering over the others was a massive, nine-foot behemoth covered in pitch-black scales, its jaw dripping with steaming, acidic drool. It roared, a sound that shattered every lightbulb in the back half of the room.

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July 24, 2026

Reptoids Under Pittsburgh 8

Session 8: The Troy Hill Welcome Wagon

Posted by The Game Master | Category: Campaign Playthrough

The ceiling of the bakery van buckled inward with a terrifying shriek of tearing metal. Long, black talons pierced straight through the thin roof lining right between Danny and Sally's heads. The smell of rotten river mud filled the cab. It was a desperate situation—if they didn't pull off a miracle right now, the roof would give way.

“Sally! Hold the wheel dead center!” Danny shouted over the roar of the engine, his eyes fixed on the illuminated, open bay doors of the warehouse. “I'm flooring the gas to build momentum, and the second we clear the threshold, I'm slamming the brakes! Hold on to something!”

Sally nodded frantically, locking her elbows as she braced her feet against the dashboard. Danny hammered his foot onto the accelerator, sending the heavy van hurtling into the warehouse bay like a runaway train. Just as the nose cleared the heavy iron garage door frame, Danny yelled, “NOW!” and stomped his boot down onto the brake pedal with every ounce of football muscle he possessed.

🎲 The Ultimate Teamwork Maneuver (Level 2 Skill Check - 4d6)

The Stake: Because this combines a blind sprint, a perfectly timed communication, and a structural brake slam, the GM sets the complexity to Level 2 (4d6). Failure means a catastrophic crash or the monster breaches the cabin.

Danny's Coordination Roll (Target 11): Rolls 4d6 → [2] + [3] + [1] + [2] = 8 (SUCCESS!)
Sally's Bracing Roll (Target 13): Rolls 4d6 → [3] + [4] + [2] + [1] = 10 (SUCCESS!)

Result: Absolute coordination! Danny's brake slam is flawless, and Sally holds the vehicle steady through the deceleration.

Experience Gained: Danny earns 3 EP (11 - 8); Sally earns 3 EP (13 - 10).

The physics were brutal. The van's tires shrieked, smoking against the smooth concrete floor of the warehouse as the vehicle came to a dead stop. But the massive, seven-foot Reptoid on the roof was still traveling at forty miles an hour. With a wet, surprised screech, the monster lost its claw grip and launched forward over the windshield, crashing heavily into a towering stack of empty wooden shipping crates before tumbling onto the concrete floor.

The beast was dazed but incredibly tough. It shook its heavy, finned head, yellow eyes flashing with murderous intent as it began to push itself back up. But it hadn't realized that Danny and Sally weren't alone.

From the shadows of the warehouse, a battery of high-intensity halogen spotlights clicked on all at once, bathing the reptile in a blinding, overlapping crossfire of white light. The creature shrieked, burying its face in its scaly arms.

“Welcome to North Side, you overgrown gecko!” Uncle Morty’s voice boomed from the top of a flatbed truck.

Suddenly, three more figures stepped out from behind the concrete pillars. It was Uncle Morty's weekend survivalist crew: Carl, a retired machinist holding a heavy-barreled 12-gauge shotgun; Big Mike, a steel mill veteran wielding a rusted iron crowbar; and Brenda, a local hunting enthusiast tracking the beast through the scope of a high-powered hunting rifle.

“Light 'em up, boys!” Morty bellowed, racking his weapon.

💥 The Troy Hill Welcome Wagon: Ranged Ambush!

Uncle Morty's crew opens fire on the blinded, dazed Reptoid at Close Range (-1 modifier to their rolls).

Carl's Shotgun Attack (Target 12): Rolls 3d6 → [2] + [3] + [2] = 7 - 1 = 6 (Hit!). Damage: 4d6 → 14 points of damage!

Result: Carl's massive shotgun blast catches the creature squarely in the chest. (Reptoid HP: 8 → -6). The massive blast lifts the subterranean predator off its feet and drops it motionless onto the concrete floor, black fluid pooling around its scales.

The thunderous echo of the shotgun blast rolled through the hollow warehouse, leaving a ringing silence in its wake. The smell of sulfur and burnt gunpowder slowly replaced the foul stench of the sewers. Danny and Sally sat frozen in the battered delivery van, staring through the shattered glass at the dead monster.

Uncle Morty walked over, spitting a toothpick onto the floor as he patted the hood of the dented vehicle. “You kids did good. Real good. But don't get too comfortable,” he said, pointing his flashlight down toward the back corner of the warehouse where a low, heavy scratching sound was beginning to echo from an open floor drain. “That was just a scout. They know we're here now.”

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