Carnage & Aether Playthrough: The Silent Gods, Part 5
After turning a possible defeat into a furious victory against the Voidweaver, Noa collects her rewards.
Downtime Phase
Downtime Event = No event. The Downtime Phase takes place as normal.
7 Favor
5 Dedication
Aspects: x1 Bane, x1 Shadow
Materials: x1 Mineral, x1 Scales, x1 Vitae
We’ve also completed a Dramatic Achievement, battle feats that grant us extra Favor.
The match lasted 3 Rounds, so +30 Favor for us!
Now that I have 51 Favor, I’m spending 40 to unlock the Tattooist.
Very cool, right? 5 Mastery tattoos free up a lot of space in our gear slots, but we have to think carefully before making them.
Fighting montage
Cue Eye of the Tiger
So instead of showing more matches against standard enemies (even though there are a variety of opponents and different match types), I thought it would be more fun to jump directly into an Elite match.
I did some fighting “offline” to gather more components and improve my build. I still think I’m underprepared for the fight, but here’s what I did:
Crafted a belt. Slotted in the Restless Energy property (Each time you gain Shock, trigger Momentum check).
Crafted an amulet and slotted the Spellguard property (+10 Magic Resistance).
Slotted Fast Reflexes (1 free Reaction per round) on my glove.
Unlocked Tiers 2 and 3 in Weapons Master for 50 Dedication. I didn’t slot its Tier 2 ability, but I Tattooed Tier 3.
- Overwhelming Technique (Passive) - Increase your weapon skill by 10 and all damage dealt with a weapon by D4.
Slotted the property Elemental Realignment on my claw. That changes the weapon’s damage type to one of our choice. I chose Acid (I’ll soon explain why).
Learned and slotted Tier 1 Wrathspawn (Bashing Fury: +D4 damage with melee weapons) on my cestus.
Slotted Blurred Silhouette (-10 to enemies’ Combat Skill when targeting you) on my armor.
And that’s it. Nothing incredible, but that should beef up Noa to fight an Elite. Here’s her sheet for this session: C&A Sheet - Noa session 5
Arena Phase
To advance in Rank, we must defeat a number of Elite opponents determined by our current Rank. All Elites have fixed Vulnerabilities and Resistances to damage types, which helps us plan ahead.
Check this table:
As you can see, the first Elite opponent (no matter which one I roll to fight against) will always be Vulnerable to Acid (taking double damage) and Resistant to Poison (taking half damage). That’s why I changed the claw’s damage type.
Fights against Elites are always Deathmatches, so no need to roll for that. Let’s check the event:
Match Event = No event. The match takes place as normal.
Not bad at all.
D10 Elite Opponent = 4, Cyclops
Yeah, I’m definitely underprepared. The Cyclops is terrifying.
At the bottom of the first page, you can see how we can break some parts of an Elite to handicap them. Breaking a part also removes the armor on that location. We apply a little logic and personal interpretation to what the corresponding parts are. For instance, to break the club, I’m ruling that I have to aim for its right arm. For the eye, the head.
Parts have a durability of UD6. Each attack triggers a durability check.
Besides breaking parts, we can also target specific locations to reduce the armor on that spot by 1. Targeting to reduce armor doesn’t cause damage, but targeting to break does.
On the second page of its sheet, you can see Elite enemies have Stages that change their abilities. For the Cyclops, after we inflict one Wound (20 damage), it advances to Stage 2. Then after we inflict two Wounds of 10 damage each, it reaches Stage 3. Another two Wounds of 10 damage each and it dies.
Note: The Damage Threshold values are multiplied by the number of PC characters.
And that’s not all. Elites also have Unique Behavior Triggers and Effects that activate during the fight. At first, we only roll for the trigger. When (and if) it activates, we roll for the effect.
D6 Unique Behavior Trigger = 4, When a PC uses an item from their belt
Awesome, I’m not bringing any items. Who knew that my poor planning would benefit me.
I’ve postponed it enough. Let’s do this.
Combat
Initiative
Noa, d100+35 = 118
Cyclops, d100+10 = 109
Initiative is mine. The Cyclops has two traits: Savage and Ruthlessness. Savage means that I can’t parry its attacks, only dodge. Ruthlessness means it gets an extra turn at the end of the round. Since its turn is the last, it’s gonna act twice.
Gulp.
Round 1
I move down and use Combat Awareness (+10 to defense checks), and Infuse Weapon on my claw (+d6 Lightning damage for 10 rounds).
UD6 Momentum check = 6, no change
The Cyclops moves twice and ends adjacent to me, but without enough Stamina to attack.
UD6 Momentum check = 5, no change
Round 2
First attack on the nasty Elite. I’m targeting its club (right arm) first.
Noa, Unarmed & Fists (93) = 84
Cyclops, Combat Skill (70) = 3
I hit with a higher roll under skill.
UD6 Right arm = 6, no change
Let’s break down this first instance of damage so you can see how it’s done with different types and Vulnerabilities.
My total damage is d6+3d4 of Acid, plus d6 of Lightning, and a bonus of +2.
Acid rolls = 5, 3, 2, 4
Lightning roll = 1
The +2 still goes to the lowest value rolled, so Lightning damage increases to 3. Total damage dealt after the Damage Table is 5 Acid + 1 Lightning. The Cyclops has 3 armor on all body parts for now, so I’ll remove 1 Lightning and 2 Acid. Total damage left is 3 Acid. With the Vulnerability, the damage is doubled after considering the armor, so the Cyclops takes 6 Acid damage.
Nice and crunchy!
My second punch hits for 4 damage. The club is still intact. I trade 5 Exhaustion for 5 Stamina. That gives me a Shock, which triggers a Momentum check.
UD6 Momentum check = 1, down to UD4!
Great! Another 4 damage hit, but I can’t affect its club. That’s it for me this round. Let the beating commence.
UD4 Momentum check: 2, Momentum gained!
Awesome! +10 Stamina next round.
The Cyclops starts using Ground Pound.
Noa, Athletics check (44, +10 from Evasive Strike and +10 from Combat Awareness) = 98 > FotC > 4!
Yes! No damage or Stun for Noa. The Cyclops swings its Colossal Club.
Noa, Dodge check (66) = 62!
Only 1 damage dealt, absorbed by armor.
UD8 armor durability = 1, down to UD6
The Cyclops throws a boulder at Noa, then swings the Colossal Club again. 4 total damage, and I’m knocked Prone.
Round 3
I spend all my movement to stand up. No big deal, I wasn’t planning on moving anyway.
I punch the beast twice for 8 damage. That’s enough to bring it to Stage 2! It gains +d6 Bludgeoning damage and +1 Speed.
Still 10 Stamina left. Two more punches, but I roll poorly, dealing only 4 more damage. I did reduce the club’s durability to UD4, though, so that’s awesome. 5 Exhaustion (+1 Shock, Momentum down to UD4!), and another punch, dealing 4 damage and destroying the bastard’s club!
Momentum gained again for next turn!
The Cyclops uses Ground Pound, and Noa dodges beautifully with an 8. Then it uses Roaring Rage, and I fail the apparently easy check of Resolve (64) with an 83. Noa is Frightened for 3 rounds.
Its single eye focuses on Noa. The Cyclops gains Advantage on all attacks for 2 rounds and +1 damage against her. It finishes its turn with another Roaring Rage, but Noa is already Frightened.
Round 4
I use Clear Mind to ignore Frightened, then go for its chest, punching it for 4 damage. The next punch is a crit! Favor of the Crowd, 2 Patron Favor, 1 Material, and Unarmed & Fists marked for improvement.
Acid Critical Hit = **Dissolve Limb**: The target’s limb is severely affected by the acid, rendering it useless. They are permanently Hindered.
The acid spilled on its foot, corroding it to the bone. Not useful for us, but that’s cool as hell.
The damage is a whopping 12! That was a punch fueled by resentment after a life wasted on ungrateful gods. The hit damaged the chest (down to UD4) and brought the Cyclops to Stage 3. It gains +1 damage, and Roaring Rage now also deals d12 Psychic damage.
Another hit brings it down to 10 HP and breaks its chest! Besides reducing its Combat Skill by -10, I think it’s supposed to lower its chest armor by 1. But as destroying a body part also shatters the armor on that spot, I’m ruling that the Cyclops loses 1 armor on its whole body. Fracturing its chest left the creature with internal bleeding, and severely vulnerable.
5 Exhaustion increases it to 15, giving me 2 Shock.
Resolve check (64) = 13, only 1 Shock gained!
UD6 Momentum check = 5, no change
I won’t bother going for the eye, I’ll attack normally now. I punch it in the abdomen for 4 damage, ending my turn.
UD6 Momentum check = 1, down to UD4!
The Cyclops has a lot of bonus damage now, and it’s pissed. I hope Noa survives the onslaught.
It starts with Roaring Rage, but Noa resists it. It throws a boulder at her, but misses, following with a club swing, dealing 4 damage and reducing her armor durability (UD4). Then it uses Ground Pound for 3 damage and Stunning her until its next round.
Yup, this might be it for us.
Round 5
I can’t act this round, so the Cyclops attacks. As I’m Frightened, I can’t use Clear Mind, so I get -20 to all checks.
The monster reaches for Noa and tries to grab her twice. Even stunned she manages to dodge once, but it grabs her on the second attempt, leaving her Restrained.
It hit her with a boulder, dealing 4 damage and breaking her armor. Doesn’t matter since all its attacks are Bludgeoning anyway (ignores 1 Protection). It finishes by hitting her with the club, dealing 4 more damage.
Last round. It’s now or never.
1 HP left, and I’m Restrained and Frightened. I won’t use a Standard Action for the +20 to the Athletics check.
Athletics check (24) = 79, fail
Still Restrained. I’m using Clear Mind to be able to act. I’m not sure if attack checks get -20 from Restrained, but I’ll rule that they do. I still get a 73 to my skill, which is good enough to try.
Noa, Unarmed & Fists (73) = 1 > FotC > 67
Cyclops, Combat Skill (60) = 9
Hit location: Chest
YES! No Protection, full double damage from Acid. Please let me kill it.
I’m not manipulating rolls here, look at this.
Let’s check the damage rolls:
+2 goes to the 1 Acid damage.
Total
1 Lightning damage dealt
4 Acid damage > doubled to 8 damage dealt
The Cyclops melts under a puddle of acid and gore, as Noa barely stands on her feet, panting, broken, and exhausted beyond what she thought possible.
Arena Phase is DAMN OVER! The day is ours once again!
This was completely epic. Honestly, I had all but given up after getting Stunned.
I can’t express enough how much fun this fight was. Despite my lack of preparedness, and the fact that I’m not a brilliant strategist, we’ve just defeated an Elite and climbed to Rank 2. I’d say that Noa’s build is somewhat decent, and we got a good deal of luck here. It IS an RPG after all, so that will always play a hand.
So what changes in higher Ranks? Well, things get harder, of course. This is how enemies scale:
And yeah, it’s cumulative. I thought there should be some more rewards as we climb, so that’s why I added it to my house rules.
I hope the playthrough showed how awesome and superbly designed this crunchy gem truly is. If it made you even a tiny bit interested, I assure you Carnage & Aether is infinitely better than what my writing suggests. Please check it out for yourself.
Thank you very much for reading, and until next time!
Cutscene next. Press X to skip.
Greatness
The Cyclops loomed over Noa, its single eye burning with fury. Each step shook the sand as it charged at her.
When Noa struck, lightning flared and acid hissed against its thick hide, but the creature barely noticed. It answered with earth-shaking blows that rattled her teeth.
More than her bones, the cyclops crushed Noa’s spirit. Intense pain brought primitive fear, convincing her that this was the end. Gods had always favored monsters.
When the colossal club shattered under her fists, something inside her unleashed. Bloodied and broken, she spat on the ground, her face smeared in red. The Cyclops roared, its rage shaking the air itself, but Noa stood firm. She had been hunted, beaten, abandoned. This thing was just another executioner wearing a different face.
Acid burned and lightning cracked. As her vision faded, Noa put her last remaining energy into a final lunge.
Her blow landed with power aided by hatred and a hunger for survival. Acid poured like judgment, and the giant collapsed into gore and steam, its roar slowly dying away. The angry, huge eye glared at her before melting into the hissing puddle.
Noa swayed, panting, sparks and acid fading from her knuckles, her body a map of bruises and fractures.
When the crowd erupted, she finally let darkness come and take her to unconsciousness.
From the high seats, Jharik smiled.
Yes, he thought. This one was destined to greatness.
Carnage & Aether is available on Itch, DTRPG, and as POD on Amazon.
I’m playing using some personal house rules: Carnage & Aether House Rules.
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