Today marks something monumental. My first session of Surviving Tarkov and my first time using Foundry as a GM since I bought my new license! Joined by me are my lovely players. Attending today's session are:
Lop as Konstantin "Demo" A. Miroshnichenko, Demolitions "Expert"
Neon as Dmitri Romanoff, Teenage Soldier
Crownik as Ruslan Utzak, USSR Veteran
Ray as Joe Wolfe, The American
April 21st, 2027.
10:00. It is raining pretty severely.
10:00. It is raining pretty severely.
Outside the Verkhneye urban settlement
Rain hammers down outside of Prapor's Bunker. The four men standing before the bunker are outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, and outplanned, but they have made it almost ten years into Tarkov, two together. Half of their original troupe has been lost to the zone, the original eight members being escapees from the Zavodskoy gang's prison camps. They are the upcoming scavengers, the underdogs of the world. They will survive, together, no matter what it takes.
A nerdy-looking man in camouflage pants, wireframe glasses, and a pocket protector brings them to Prapor. The man called Prapor is really called Ivan, but if you call him that and don't know him... a good way to die here. As they walk in, he brushes crumbs out of his salt'n'pepper beard.
"How's it going, newbloods?" He says with a smile. "I have an errand for you. My comrade Arseny worked at the factory as a tanker driver. His family left during the evacuation while he stayed behind to make some extra money, and..." He pauses, reflecting for a second on what he is going to say next. "He perished here. He lived in a three-story dormitory near Polikhim, I don't remember the room. Anyway, he had a chain watch and a family heirloom. Bragged about it to everyone. Find that watch and bring it to me, I want to send it to his kid. I want the kid to have something to remember his old man by." For once, you see a man in the zone doing something out of friendship and heart. "The watch must be either in his room or in the tanker truck somewhere at the construction site. Arseny always kept the keys in his jacket. Oh, yeah, paying you. I have a fresh SKS–you know, the classic kind–waiting here, plus a few boxes of fresh ammo. I can also give you some roubles–₽15k–for your hard work. Does this sound like a deal?"
Ruslan, the group's veteran, looks to the others. "How would we split an SKS? With a bandsaw?" Ruslan chuckles. All seem content with this, besides Dmitri.
"We need to get paid more than this... ₽20k at the least," Dmitri says. Now, this wasn't the most charming thing to say, especially as this is his first meeting with one of the largest vendors in the entire zone, not just Tarkov City, but Prapor admires his initiative. "Does that sound like a deal? Also, what do you know about the region?" Dmitri finishes.
"Yes, I suppose so. However, only ₽18k. Now, if you manage to not cause trouble, I will throw in ₽20k; I don't want to have to deal with the aftermath like last time. Oh, and it sounds like it should be smooth regardless out there. I sent a messenger out yesterday, however, I haven't heard back from him yet..." Prapor smiles, then shows them out. "Show me your worth, warriors!"
The group takes a few minutes to take their gear from the guards at the front gate, plan a route through the forest (hitting Jaeger's hideout–an old friend of Ruslan), then from there plan to move to the Dormitory and the Chemical Plant (commonly called the Factory) to secure the pocket watch. They hoped to either find the pocket watch inside the Factory or inside Arseny's jacket inside the dorms. They take five hours, until 2pm, to get to Jaeger's hideout. They reach the outside, unloading their weapons. They are met with two to three lasers each. Two men meet them to take their weapons. One of them carries a Mosin-Nagant with a polymer stock and a PU 3.5x scope, the other a heavily modified ADAR, worth almost ₽125k alone.
They enter the elaborately crafted camp, a series of trenches and tents that grow ever more complex, with some positions near the edge having NSV Utyos heavy machine guns mounted and at the ready. It is one of the oddest places they have seen, yet it is so beautifully crafted that they are intrigued. Ruslan has seen this place before, though, even greeting the guards like old friends on his way in.
As they approach a fire where Jaeger sits, a white haired and wrinkled man in a red, loose beanie disappears from a log next to him, quickly disappearing into the forest within seconds. Ruslan is the first to sit down, and the others quickly follow. "So, you're running with Children now?" Jaeger chuckles.
"Just poor luck, my friend," Ruslan says. Ruslan and Jaeger go back aways together, including their mutual friend Parizan. Surprisingly enough, Partizan and Ruslan served together in the Chechen War. "How is Partizan doing?" Ruslan asks.
"You just missed him, Ruslan. So, where did you get these subordinates of yours? The Local Tarkov Elementary School?" Jaeger smiles. "They couldn't have even been twelve when the conflict first started!"
This comment was not entirely false. Dmitri was in middle school when the Contract Wars first began, and Konstantin was barely in high school, which he promptly dropped out of to explore his more explosive options. Joe, the eldest of the three, hasn't shared much about his past. All the group knows is that he's an American 'Tourist'.
"If I were their leader, there would be a quick mutiny." Ruslan chuckles. "Now, you know why I am here, yes?"
"Well, if you're like everyone else, it's for guns, ammo, and hunting supplies for these newbies. But, I know you well, Ruslan, you're never looking for the surface level stuff."
"That indeed. My friends here forgot a tent. Another man and I already have a tent ready to go, however, the other two knuckleheads somehow lost theirs. So, I ask of you a favor, Ivan. Could you perhaps spare us a two-man tent?" Ruslan says.
The hunter sits and thinks for a long time about it. He strokes his beard, deep in thought. "Very well. If you can do me a favor in return, of course. You know the Mechanic, yes? The hermit under the Factory? Well, radio comms have gone down with him, and we enjoy our good contact with each other. If you can deliver this letter," Jaeger holds up a letter in a white envelope, hundreds of odd characters peeking through the thin paper. "Then, we can call it even. Sound like a deal to you, Ruslan?"
Without waiting for further discussion with the party, he responds with a yes. Despite Jaeger being a professional hunter, he's a man you don't want to keep waiting. "Besides this, do you have any further work? We need cash, or realistically, any supplies that we can get." Ruslan says, hoping that Jaeger will take pity on them.
"I suppose so, yes. The Mechanic and I have been having trouble getting packages across some roads on the west-end of the customs district, some dickheads down by the crashed UNTAR APC–the failed evacuation point–set up some sort of trap or something there. Either way, our messengers have come back injured or wound up in the Therapist's infirmary with too many bills to pay. If you can take care of it, I'll have the Mechanic pay you handsomely. Bring us some sort of keepsake to make sure that they're dead. Oh, and to make sure that you're shooting the right guys, they are cosplaying as those bandits from the game STALKER, if you remember playing that before shit hit the fan. Now, scram."
The group once again formulates a plan and retrieves their weaponry. While the group talked with Jaeger, Joe snuck off to perform surgery on a man injured by thugs, at the orders of Jaeger. Joe was rewarded handsomely for this, with a large sum of rubles being given to him for his good work.
The group headed south, around the other side of the lake that borders the sawmill of the Priozersk Nature Reserve, until they stopped just half a mile from the place they were told the enemies would be near. They set up camp, then each took a two-hour watch and got six hours of sleep overall. During this camping session, is when they discovered a huge problem. Like hobbits, they had eaten and drank almost twice as much as needed the past few weeks, emptying their food stocks to barely four days of food between the three of them. The rain had subsided overnight, leaving them a cloudy yet warm day to explore the encampment.
Ruslan sneaks ahead to scout, but sees nothing besides some possible loot hotspots. The rest of the group moves in, slowly cutting the pie. They move closer and closer to the checkpoint, clearing corners and looking at the place. It is too late for Joe to notice when a bullet cracks from behind the wall, into his Torso, dealing rather significant damage to him.
What will happen next?! Wait until next week to find out!
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