Survival
Chase the rats. Nom them, then heal
You run after the rats. The damn things are fast. Looks like they are really scared. After some effort, you manage to catch up to a straggler. You pounce and grab it by the tail. Its survival instincts are strong. It keeps writhing and snapping its teeth at you as it tries to get away. With some effort, you finally manage to bite it in the head. You keep applying pressure until there is a crunch and it is stops moving. After that you drag it to a corner and start munching on it while at the same time focusing on slowly stopping your bleeding.
Survival
"Good one."
Summon molotov. Throw molotov. Shoot if there's a clear shot, but try to stay down.
Cops throwing molotovs? That's certainly an inversion.
Survival
((Time to test how bulletproof I am.))
Charge at the four guys. It's finally impaling time.
survival
Look for another way out.
Bravely running away it is.
Survival
Begin laying heavy fire on the guys around the car. Aim so I don't hit Saevus, and if all the guys around the car are dead, walk over, get in the car, and invite the other guys to get in before I drive to my hideout. If they aren't dead, stay behind cover of the burning car.
Laying heavy fire while wielding an assault rifle with one hand. What could possibly go wrong?
The goons with the assault rifles open fire on Saevus but somehow manage to completely miss. Only a couple of bullets manage a glancing hit and those harmlessly bounce off his shield.
As the bullets fly, John is taking cover behind the car, trying to focus on his summoning. He manages to make a lighter, but he's not concentrated enough to do anything more complex right now.
Ron gets out of cover, extends his one good arm, pointing his tommygun in the general direction of the enemy. He holds down the trigger. The recoil immediately throws his arm up and around, barely missing John.
One of the revolver wielding men tries to shoot Saevus but he fumbles and drops his weapon.
Saevus, who had until now been lumbering towards the gunmen, finally reaches them. He stabs at one of the men laying on the ground with his spear. The man tries to roll away, but Saevus manages to nick him in the arm.
Meanwhile, with everyone preoccupied with killing each other, Bryan finds the opportunity to slip away. He runs as fast as he can, heading for the nearest houses, keeping his head down to avoid catching any stray bullets with his body. Question is, what is he going to do once he is there?
Campaign
Campaign - Totally Radical
Man, being careful never kept anyone alive.
Alan ignores the voices of everyone who died horribly via recklessness shouting at him, including his own, twice over.
Though it is a shame that I can't use my wonderful bed anymore. I guess I'll have to improvise! But if I go too fast those rude octopi might spot me, like that out-of-shape black fox spirit thingy told me. Hmm. I need a disguise.
Do I have any sharp things on my person? A knife or something? If not, call up one of those and a cardboard box. Cut eyeholes in the box and pull a Metal Gear by creeping about everywhere under the box.
You get a nicely folded and rather big cardboard box, ready for deployment.
((
Look! Packages! PACKAGES! Our Alan hides in cardboard boxes! The coward! TEH FOOL! I... *ultra deep breath* I shall take away his cardboard bawkses!))
((Note: I'm going to be unavailable for the next couple days, so am going to make this post have a lot of If:then statements so you can keep going without me for a couple turns.))
Irine, Campaign
En-route to portal:
When we move to leave, I collect my flames into five evenly distributed spheres, one of these remains over my head or otherwise near me as I move, the other four spread out, slowly spiraling and circling around the entire group as a whole, and arcing down to strike any threats. the one near me I further subdivide into five parts as needed, and have them move to strike at any parasites that get in the middle of the group.
If we come to a small dark area I will light it with a perimiter orb or two as we move through/near it. If we come to a large dark area I will take a small section of the interior sphere and scatter it into a large array of tiny motes and sparks of flame, making the entire area around us glow.
At all times I'm attempting to continue to collect additional flames, increasing the firepower I have available and using it to form additional perimeter orbs of fire, using the bodies of parasites or other threats as fuel.
Action unchanged
At Portal:
Send one flame orb through first, then a second after I've seen what happened with the first one, then let the party move through. The one I'm keeping close to me I send through right before/after/with me. The last two go through behind us.
On other side of portal:
Secure the area, burn one flame charge if necessary but I'd prefer not too. If no threats then leave the orbs as orbs, if threats in area but not attacking immediately or if the area is uninhabited then find anything that can burn and collect more flames, thatched roofs / grass / wood / trees / parasites are all flame-sources, if threats attacking immediately then same as pre-portal combat.
If we encounter beings we can converse with:
Do not initiate hostilities, abstain from destruction of property or otherwise attacking until/unless they attack first.
If the squid-things swarm us:
Form a firewall perimeter surrounding us and then send out small tendrils of flame from the firewall to attack any squids in the area.
If we are attacked by a large monster or other parasited creature:
Aim for the eyes, nose, and lungs, attempting to disable it while we get some distance.
If an ally is wounded:
Redirect one orb to assist that ally.
If an ally is taken over:
yell for Zech to immobilize them and ask for River's aid. If necessary then attempt to burn the squid off without harming the ally... or at least not harming them too badly. If no other option, secure the area around the ally and then kill them on the spot, retrieving their soul energy as soon as it becomes available and taking it to River.
If River is taken over:
All flames are repurposed to forming a perimeter around him to try to contain him, small tendrils reaching out towards him to lick the parasite and gently singe it away, and I prepare to redirect any flames send at the party into reinforcing the firewall.
If we are attacked by a firemage:
Steal any flames created and repurpose them to my own needs.
If I have to choose between targeting parasites and thralls:
Target the most immediately threatening. if they're at range, target the ranged ones, if they're up close, target the close ones, if Zech or other allies have some contained/controlled/blocked, target the one(s) not contained/controlled/blocked
If I have to choose between finishing off a wounded target or targeting a healthy one:
Target the wounded if they remain mostly combat-capable, if they're disabled/maimed/blinded/whatever then target the healthy one.
If the a large area is massively infested:
Use the same technique as from near the end of last mission... you know the one, Irine's second most dangerous (in her mind) technique. ((the most dangerous one has never been used... and for good reason.))
If have an option to rescue people:
Attempt to do so and question them about what's going on / the surrounding area.
If people run away from me in fear of my appearance:
Attempt to figure out what exactly is scary about me but don't take action against the fleeing people.
If people ask us for help saving their home:
Do not commit to aiding them, but do it anyway if we have the opportunity.
If people want to travel with us:
warn them that doing so will be very dangerous, but permit them as long as they don't give our position away or slow us down.
Give the amulet back to Irene.
"It's most likely a key."
Continue to the portal and watch out for sneaky cephalopods.
Give the amulet back to Irene.
"It's most likely a key."
Amulet Accepted
((As my workload finally lifts, I begin my return!))
Campaign, Ike!
"Once more unto danger, then!"
What exactly is it I can smell? Anything groovy or scientifically fascinating?
In any case, keep moving.
Not really groovy or interesting, although there is a multitude of smells around here, with the smell of copper being the most prominent for some reason. It smells like the air is filled with tiny copper particles. Other fainter smells include things like ashes, dust, ozone, basalt, sulphur and the very faint smell of those octopus things. Still, nothing immediately interesting.
You continue walking, following the canyon until you reach its end. There stands a large rock that has fallen off the canyon walls some time in the past. It serves as good cover for observing what lies beyond.
Beyond the canyon the ground keeps getting deeper, forming a roughly round shallow valley that extends for kilometres. It's just barren rock, same as the valley you just left from, although a lot smoother, with only a few deep cracks, small craters and large rocks to break the monotony. When the landscape is illuminated by a lightning strike, you notice that the valley is surrounded by canyons similar to the one you exited from, some larger, some smaller, all of them with incredibly high walls. There's also a rock in the centre of the valley that looks vaguely pyramid-like.
The more interesting (and alarming) thing is not that far away though, it's only a few dozen metres away. A pillar of light with rounded edges and a slightly red and purple hue, about
10 metres tall and
4 wide. You think you can see glimpses of things beyond it. A floor made of black and brown segments. Red and black sky. Or ceiling. Can't really tell. It's all fleeting, blurry and distorted.
There are signs of human activity near it. A trio of tents, their fabric vibrating in the light wind. Some stone blocks near them arranged in an incomplete square, as if someone started laying the foundation for a small structure. An extinguished campfire.
Deformed humanoid shapes can be seen around the pillar, as well as more of those tentacled things. A lot more. At least 50 of them in the general area. With more coming from further away. Some seem to wander aimlessly. Most of the octopuses are wandering around the pillar, spiralling closer to it, eventually making their way in it and disappearing. One bumps onto a humanoid. The humanoid moves its arms a bit and starts walking away from the portal as the thing wraps its tentacles around it.
"Looks like the portal is blinding them. Distracting them. They focus on feeding on it. But they will probably see us when we get closer. I say we make a run for it when ready. Irene can-"At that moment, he notices a cardboard box moving away from your hiding spot.
"What?" he says and cocks his head to the side. He turns his head to look back at you and then realises what is going on, his eyes opening wider.
"Argh, now I have a second impatient annoyance to care about. Get ready to move and help him."Alan keeps moving forward towards the pillar of light in his cardboard box, looking out through the hole he cut with his knife.
<Wait! Stop!>Alan however is a bit too late to heed his warning. Or maybe he just doesn't care. Either way, what happens next is that he bumps into something.
<Stay still. Do not let it touch you.>Alan stays perfectly still, even as something starts constricting the box, creating depressions across its inner surface. A pair of yellowish tentacles enter through the eye holes and start blindly groping around while another punches a hole through the cardboard, stabbing blindly in it. Alan tries to move out of the way as best as he can.
The rest of the team watch as the creature moves away from the box after punching a hole in it with one of its tentacles. The box looks slightly crumpled and torn but is otherwise fine. It keeps moving forward a few seconds later. River sighs.
"I... did not think he could do it." he says, surprised.
Staging Area
character
You wake up.
You're sitting on a comfortable black leather armchair. There's a coffee table in front of you. And beyond that there is a reception desk with a
simple logo carved on it, glowing from hidden internal lights. There's a door on your left, close to you. And another on your right, further away.
The room you're in is big. Tall. Much longer on one side than on the other, like a giant empty corridor. Lit with bright lights overhead and hidden dim blue lights in the walls. Everything is made of smooth shiny dark plastic and glass, even the walls. The floor is a layer of glass squares covering a layer of the same dark plastic. One who wanted to be poetic would say you're in a room made of darkness and reflections.
Even the receptionist is like that. An android with vaguely feminine characteristics. Its skin is another layer of black plastic, with some kind of flexible dark grey semi-opaque material acting as skin in places like the hands and legs where flexibility is necessary, covering the dark shapes inside it. It lacks a mouth. Its eyes are unblinking black orbs. She taps away at the holographic display in front of her, seemingly focused on whatever she is typing.
OOCTitle given by this music:
http://youtu.be/Sg37lkE5cuw((Nyars entity, then! No, I have no idea how that'd work ingame either.))
The option already exists to get a semi-random upgrade from your entity. I could make it cheaper, change it to allow you to choose to get a semi-random upgrade from any entity you want, plus some options that allow you to further narrow down the nature of the upgrade, with the downside that you do not know what those choices mean, so the upgrade might not be what you want until those choices are deciphered.
((back... wow @ no posts))
Sorry, been busy, mostly working on
this, plus other things. Trying to finish all my work early so that I can go to Paris to attend my brother's graduation.
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Author
Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1151845 times)