Vasso Is Struck by a Pumpkin Meteor Hammer

Summary

During Session 5 of the campaign, Vasso attempted to charge the Gordian in the Money Pumpkin Field after being freed from its vines by Cat's arrow. Using his Exterminatus ability to close the distance, Vasso rushed through the field toward the creature, hacking at its smaller vine tentacles. However, the Gordian had more vines than Vasso anticipated, and when he failed his Defy Danger roll with a result of only 3, the creature whipped a pumpkin attached to a vine like a meteor hammer directly at his head. Vasso managed to bring up his shield just in time, but the impact smashed the pumpkin into the lip of his shield and into his mouth, giving him a bloody lip and dealing 2 damage. The pumpkin goo that splattered on him had an unexpected moisturizing quality, making his hair extra glossy while also giving him a slightly ginger appearance.

Details

After getting back to his feet, Vasso announced his intention to use Exterminatus and charge at the Gordian again. As he moved forward, the creature attempted to grab him before he could close to melee range. Vasso wanted to hack at "its little arms" as he advanced through the Money Pumpkin Field, jumping over healthy pumpkins and smashing a couple as he ran.

The Gordian controlled far more vines than Vasso had expected. As he dodged and tried to hack at the smaller tentacles, attempting to Defy Danger, he rolled only a 3—a clear miss. The GM described the scene: "You're dodging. You're trying to dodge, like, the little vines. There's a lot more vines that this thing is controlling than you expected. And you hack here, hack there, and out of left field, basically, you see whipping towards your head just a second before it absolutely clobbers you."

The Gordian had grabbed a pumpkin and was wielding it like a meteor hammer, whipping it at Vasso's head. At the last moment, Vasso managed to bring up his shield, and "it basically smacks the lip of your shield into your mouth. You get a little bloody lip." The attack dealt 2 damage.

An unexpected side effect occurred from the pumpkin goo that splattered onto Vasso: "the Moisturizing quality of the pumpkin goo makes your hair extra less [glossy]." Vasso noted that "now it also makes me look a little bit like a ginger, though."

Participants

Vasso — Charged the Gordian using Exterminatus, attempted to hack at its vines, failed his Defy Danger roll (rolling a 3), and took 2 damage from the pumpkin strike while managing to partially block with his shield
Gordian — Controlled multiple vine tentacles and wielded a pumpkin as a meteor hammer weapon to strike Vasso
Cat — Had previously freed Vasso from the Gordian's vines with an arrow, enabling this charge

Consequences

Hit points: Vasso took 2 damage from the attack
Cosmetic effects: The pumpkin goo gave Vasso extra glossy hair and a slightly ginger appearance
Tactical revelation: The encounter revealed that the Gordian controlled more vine tentacles than initially apparent and could use pumpkins as improvised weapons
Failed positioning: Vasso's attempt to close to melee range was unsuccessful, leaving him vulnerable to the creature's multiple attack vectors