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Poll

Alan

It was inevitable
- 15 (42.9%)
Winners don't do drugs
- 6 (17.1%)
I'll be back
- 2 (5.7%)
Drink the Kool Aid
- 6 (17.1%)
Groovy
- 3 (8.6%)
Insane in the membrane
- 3 (8.6%)

Total Members Voted: 35


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Author Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome  (Read 1141767 times)

GigaGiant

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6975 on: September 21, 2017, 11:10:50 pm »

I've been reading the earliest missions of this game and I enjoy it a lot.  I don't know what the story's like now, but I want to join the game, if that's ok.  Here's a character I came up with.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2017, 11:14:52 pm by GigaGiant »
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Parisbre56

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6976 on: September 23, 2017, 12:53:41 pm »

Next turn some even more of you will be in an alien universe and have a chance to permadie. Better say your goodbyes while you still can...

Campaign, Ike!

"Be right back!"

Get over to where my pal Nik is.

To Nik: <Gonna need you to bring the fellow over here to the big room. Our pal the Headwater wants to make this public!>

Rendezvous with my pal. Coordinate. Engage in tactics and combat as needed.
You meet Nikolai halfway and help him escort your half-naked prisoner the rest of the way into the meeting room. Suffice to say, you attract a lot of attention but none dare to get in your way.

You enter the meeting room. It doesn't take long for Griman and his buddies to notice you and intercept you. They stand in your way, blocking your path.
"What is the meaning of this? What have you done to my assistant? I demand that you release him this instant!"
The Headwater has also noticed you and is coming your way, quickly approaching Griman and the rest from behind.

Zechariah couldn't tell where the feeling was coming from, but he had enough experience in volatile situations to know that he had to be ready for any incursion. He thought of what Ike said and, considering the importance of the Headwater in the leadership of this temple, considered it best to make it his priority to guard him.

Approach near the Headwater.

"Sir, I assume my friends have told you about the plot underway right now," he said briefly. He looked around, noticing Ike attempting to leave, and that Nikolai was nowhere around. "Please be aware of your surroundings. I'll guard you until my friends arrive."

Guard the Headwater. Keep my distance from anyone who looks suspicious, and have my staff in both hands. Be ready to summon the shadows if I need to.
You follow the Headwater as he approaches Ike, ready to defend him.


Alan hems and haws momentarily. "Well, I could make us a mentos rocket to blast over the wall with. Or a big trampoline to jump over it. Or we could do that hose cart thing again, that was fun.
...
I suppose I can make ladders too if we wanna be boring and stuff."


He shrugs. "What d'you think?"
"Hmm... Maybe just a ladder for now. There will be opportunities for more fun things when we're inside. We can change things later if we need to."

Quote from: what the future may hold
With everyone distracted by the sound of music, nobody is around to notice a single ladder close to the edges of the inner wall. Or the giant trampoline on the other side of the wall.

He points at the water-filled fields that lie beyond the inner wall and stand between it and the temple.
"Then we have to actually cross the fields of the Walled Garden. I think we'll be good as long as we move quietly, stay close to the plants and jump in them for cover. But it could be useful to have a distraction, to minimize the chances we'll come face to face with a patrol, something like summoning ladders and leaving them on the wall or breaking the gates of the inner wall open. That way the guards will move to the fringes to deal with the raiders, leaving the rest of the Garden unguarded."


<Um, sword? Would you three be okay going with Theri and keeping her safe? I can protect myself, San, and River readily enough and Theri is going to be at greater risk anyway going down there to see if its clear for us to follow.>
Private, to the sword three:<Theri is the kindest person I know, and I consider her quite worthy of protection, but she's not the best at magic or complicated image manipulations. You'll need to take initiative of and for yourself if you choose to go with her. Theri has a good point about keeping San and River safe, else I'd want us to alll just stick together.>
<As you wish.> the sword says <But know that our power and even our perception of the world is bound to you. We are most effective when we are with you.>

Those people need help, therefore we go help them... right? Keep our ears and eyes open for traps of course, but there's no point in waiting around.
Theri runs off towards the bodies while you and the rest follow at a slower pace, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous. San seems worried and afraid. River on the other hand looks much more relaxed. He brushes against San's leg in a friendly manner and looks up at him. San pets him, losing some of his anxiety and becoming a bit more relaxed in the process. River then briskly walks next to you and brushes up against you.

Those people need help, therefore we go help them... right? Keep our ears and eyes open for traps of course, but there's no point in waiting around.
This!

Theri obviously goes ahead and leaves San and Riverpuppy with Irine, because magical Irine is a lot more important if it was a trap, to be safe, and Theri can probably handle physical things better.


Theri wondered if her decision of sticking San around would be a good one with these kinds of incidents. He had a place to be, and the longer he stuck with them, the longer he may be exposed to danger that did not concern him. She mentioned to Irine that she would be checking ahead, just to be sure it was not a magical trap, as she was confident she could take a bit more physical tension if it was otherwise.
You go on ahead and make your way to the bodies while being wary of ambushes. As you approach, the stench of those monster-birds becomes more and more apparent. You are also able to make out their facial features and you begin to realise that this is the same group of people you encountered yesterday.

If you had to guess, they were attacked during the night by those monster-birds, the same monster-birds that almost attacked you yesterday. But this looks different from the other attacks you heard about. From the stories you heard from San and the others who encountered them, they tend to take as many people as they hurt. And they try to leave nobody alive. But by your count, nobody was abducted, there's the same number of people here as you encountered yesterday (though it's hard to tell for sure, since some are half-eaten and in more parts than one). And there are survivors.

The first man you check, a middle aged man in a light brown coat, still has a pulse and is breathing despite the fact that his eyes have been pecked out and there are two large holes on his chest. There are probably other injured around here, probably in equally bad conditions. But you are just one woman and each of them require your full attention. You don't like to admit it but this might require one of those words most hated by healers during wartime: triage.

You stab Irine's sword in the ground and it begins emitting a soothing white light that envelops the surrounding area, making you (and the injured, you assume) feel better. That done, you do a quick check on the area to determine the number of bodies and their state. You don't even bother checking the ones that have had their bodies torn open or smashed into the ground. Those with deep cuts or penetrating trauma you check for pulse, but only the man you checked first is lucky (or unlucky) enough to be alive. There's also two with head trauma and some cuts, one of which is half-buried in the dirt. Under the remnants of the tent, you find a delirious, half-conscious man. It seems he dragged three other unconscious humans under there with him before he collapsed. They look... mostly fine, you can't see something physically wrong with them beyond some cuts and bruises. Must be something else. Maybe those things that attacked them were using some sort of substance to poison them or render them unconscious. San did say he collapsed after he was attacked by those things...

Overall, not many are alive. This open area did not leave much room for them to hide and those that run didn't make it far, as if the monsters were giving them priority. You begin working on those that are the most injured, trying to bandage their wounds, clear their airways and generally help in any way you can. You make sure to reassure them with a few kind words, since even in their unconscious state they seem terrified and in pain. This is going to take a while. At least you have no shortage of food and water, only manpower and time. This would be so much easier if you knew some healing magic...


Tess looked at her left hand. She felt the car's presence, and decided it was too far to be useful- so she slapped her right hand on the ground, then quickly moved away from the marker. With that complete, she moved her left hand to meet her right hand, keeping the right hand stationary. With that done, she quickly moves even further from the marker-  she doubts the car would make it through every building inbetween it and the marker without being atomized, but she just had to be cautious.

((I don't remember if I made it clear how to release a marker- she has to unite the two objects, or at least unite her hands (which should unite the objects anyways).))
((Ah, I thought that marks could only be overwritten, never deactivated. I can change that to "marks can be deactivated when hands are joined but never overwritten" if you prefer it. It's about as balanced, I think.))

So, trying to stop a car, eh? First of all, let's roll to see which direction the car happens to be moving towards. Hm. And now let's see how fast it's going. Uh huh. Okay, now let's see how strong you are...

Somewhere closer to the centre of the city, the driver of the car that almost hit you is still driving away, but by now he has calmed down and proceeds slowly through the morning traffic as he tries to make his way to work on time. That is when he feels an unexpected resistance, as if he had accidentally hit the brakes as hard as he could. He is unable to shift gears in time so the engine sputters and stops from the sudden deceleration. The driver behind him is understandably annoyed and blares his horn in anger.

Thinking that something is wrong with his car, he pulls the handbrake and gets out. He turns around to face the angry driver, who is still in his car, and makes an apologetic gesture.
"I'm sorry, I think there's something-"
That's as far as he gets before his car lifts a couple of inches off the ground and then slams into the car behind him.
"Oh, crap."
The two cars slam into a third one, the mass becoming enough to slow their progress to a crawl.
The insurance company is never going to believe this. he thinks as he stands there watching, not knowing what to do.

...

You, meanwhile, struggle with a pained expression as if trying to compress an invisible box, your hands totally stuck in relation to each other. You stop for a few moments to breathe and then try again, trying to put as much strength as you can behind it. You manage to move it a bit, but not by a lot.

A shadow flies through the sky, going low enough and fast enough that you can't make out its details. It hits the portal, causing it to dissolve into multi-coloured lights, before making a loop to catch the man that was going through the portal at the time and drag him to the ground and out of your sight. A few seconds pass with nothing happening, only you and several other people watching the colours in the sky. Then you see geysers of fire erupt from close to where that thing landed.


(I understand, Paris. Take you time)

"The suit of armor seems to be in pristine condition," Napoleon muttered to himself. "However, I do not want to weight myself down in metal unless absolutely necessary, not to mention that using a spear and a shield will be cumbersome without additional training. The gentleman's suit look disheveled and bloody as if someone took it off a murdered man but didn't bothered cleaning it before putting it on a mannequin. Lastly, the strange costume is too flamboyant for even my taste. Hmm..."

Standing up, Napoleon guided the dolls back to him as he eyed the queenly warrior standing before him, particularly at the scabbard. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he continued. "However, though I'm no transvestite, that sword would look great on my side regardless. Mon Dieu, I'll become a real prince yet!"

Use a doll to check for any hidden alarms. If any are found, deactivate them somehow. Either way, modify another doll into having razor sharp claws and use it to cut a circle in the glass big enough to crawl through. Use the remaining dolls to defend against any unforeseen attacks while grabbing the scabbard.
((Right now you just have +1PWR and roll power to use your ability. You roll to summon dolls, then a separate roll to modify them and a roll for their actions with a third of your PWR bonus (I might change that if I find it too much). Dolls have their own stats that may also add modifiers to your rolls or to rolls about things happening to them (like END rolls if they get damaged). You'll get an upgrade tree at the end of your first mission.))

There's no lasers or tripwires or pressure plates that you can see, so you attempt to create your burglar-doll. You get a short thing with oversized sharp-looking claw-arms and a mischievous grin. It turns out it's not that well suited for delicate tasks. You command it to cut a hole on the glass and it raises its long arms far above its head and then brings them down, slicing and breaking the glass, the frame holding it in place, the dress and the mannequin. The broken display and its contents (the sword included) fall to the marble floor with a great clatter.

You hold your breath for a moment, waiting for the echoes of the destruction to die down. Nothing else happens. But if someone else is around, they definitely heard this.


Staging Area

I like the AR enhanced sensor HUD idea.  Let's go with that one.

Do I get to take the rifle I summoned earlier with me?  I totally get if that'd be a bit OP to let me pre-summon equipment.


Spoiler: Said rifle (click to show/hide)
When you say "Let's go with that" you mean right now? Or as a plan for the future?

You approach Icarus as he floats up towards the cockpit and ask him if you can take your big gun with you.
"Oh, sure. Just please deactivate the fusion core before we get going. The kind of exotic materials used in this weapon can become unstable when physics change or in the presence of supernatural influences. Leaving it unpowered will reduce the chances of an accident occurring."
You look at him with curiosity as he folds his floating wings into his back and sits on the pilot seat. You point at the spaceship's wings that are of a similar design, floating things detached from the main body, currently stabbed into the ground.
"Wait a second. If my rifle is unstable, doesn't that mean that this spaceship is also unstable?"
Icarus puts his hand in the back of his neck and looks at you awkwardly.
"Well... Yes, you are right in a way. Certain parts can be unstable. But you don't have to worry! There are several ways to prevent that from becoming a serious problem. First of all, the ship tries to maintain a certain set of conditions inside it to help it mitigate the different laws of reality one might encounter in other universes. And it also has good protection against supernatural influences. If those two fail, the more exotic components can be deactivated or jettisoned and it can keep operating at an acceptable level, like an old space rocket. The most important parts (like those responsible for keeping you alive) are the most mundane, those that are less likely to fail."
"I suppose that could make sense, although I'd still like to keep my rifle."
"That is fine. Just deactivate it. You can summon a new fusion core when we're there. Or I could use the Phoenix's reactor to try to restart the old one."

Kosak Durar:

*eyes chair suspiciously*

Sending in Dur-Jitsu choices.
Got it.

You make sure this isn't some sort of mutated Giant Cave Spider-shaped Bronze Colossus and make battle plans in case it is.

Saevus, teh ship

To show that he's still around Seeing the others preparing (mostly John), Saevus decides to summon himself a Saevus Jr and hands it a repeater crossbow, so that he can show off a little too.
((Good to have you in the mission.))

You don't get a spacesuit like the rest, the only thing you get is the same radio and zero gravity boots as everyone else. You also have specific instructions to make your way to the front of the passenger area.

The inside of the ship isn't too roomy, it's quite difficult for a man-  I mean for a giant suit of magically animated armor of your size to make its way to the front without shoving the other occupants out of the way. Once there, you notice there's no seat for you, at least none that could hold you comfortably. You are about to make a complaint about the lack of seating for the heavily armored when Icarus contacts you through your radio.
: Er, well, you see, I was thinking, since you don't have bones or internal organs or blood or the need to breathe, you don't really need a full acceleration seat. : he awkwardly explains.
: So I was thinking... I mean, you wouldn't mind being secured along with the cargo, right? Just to be a bit more efficient. :

Being inside the ship makes you feel a bit uneasy. You know it makes no sense since you don't really need to breathe, but you feel like it's waiting for a chance to smother you. Maybe it's just because it's so cramped.


I've been reading the earliest missions of this game and I enjoy it a lot.  I don't know what the story's like now, but I want to join the game, if that's ok.  Here's a character I came up with.
Spooky healer/torturer with possibility to become some sort of medusa-like villain but with weird bihorror mods instead of turning people to stone? I approve. Let me roll for this... No, actually, hold on, a question first. Does this ability affect himself or not? I'd think having it not would make more sense, but I can work with whatever.

GigaGiant

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6977 on: September 23, 2017, 01:05:06 pm »

Quote
Spooky healer/torturer with possibility to become some sort of medusa-like villain but with weird bihorror mods instead of turning people to stone? I approve. Let me roll for this... No, actually, hold on, a question first. Does this ability affect himself or not? I'd think having it not would make more sense, but I can work with whatever
It doesn't work on himself.   I guess I envisioned someone akin to a tragic X-men character, but I'm not too attached to the character.  I'm okay with him being a horror-esque type of character.
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Harry Baldman

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6978 on: September 23, 2017, 01:17:16 pm »

Campaign, Ike!

"I recognize your right to express that opinion, good sir, but let's wait just a moment and see what happens."

Hold onto my friend here until the Headwater does his thing, since apparently he can do a thing.
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Coolrune206

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6979 on: September 23, 2017, 02:12:42 pm »

Tess continues trying to press her hands together, and resumes running in the general opposite direction from the portal. She doesn't really have any idea what else to do.
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"You are a shameful gaggle of cowards who has made a mockery of the challenge, but you have avoided death. Sit and eat."

NAV

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6980 on: September 23, 2017, 02:40:38 pm »

"Your assistant betrayed the monestary so we are arresting him."

Nikolai takes a can of Red Bull out of his pocket and tries to intimidate again.
"Did I ever tell you about the time I killed about twenty monsters with a single throw? Get out of the way."
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Highmax…dead, flesh torn from him, though his skill with the sword was unmatched…military…Nearly destroyed .. Rhunorah... dead... Mastahcheese returns...dead. Gaul...alive, still locked in combat. NAV...Alive, drinking booze....
The face on the toaster does not look like one of mercy.

Hawk132

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6981 on: September 23, 2017, 02:45:50 pm »

"..."

While not too amused with pretty much being called cargo, Saevus nods and allows himself to be secured.
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Perplexicon: A New Arena - Abandoned, but feel free to give it a read.

Xantalos

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6982 on: September 23, 2017, 04:45:38 pm »

Alan pretends to put on a pair of sunglasses.

"Baby, distraction is my middle name."

Snappy one-liner!
« Last Edit: September 23, 2017, 10:01:15 pm by Xantalos »
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Sig! Onol
Quote from: BFEL
XANTALOS, THE KARATEBOMINATION
Quote from: Toaster
((The Xantalos Die: [1, 1, 1, 6, 6, 6]))

Lenglon

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6983 on: September 23, 2017, 09:13:53 pm »

I rub against River too, being friendly and comfortable and comforting. I do keep myself alert to danger though as we continue in behind Theri.
Once we catch up to Theri Irine will be switching to hybrid form to help the injured. If you list off injuries I can list off her first-responder actions. Bear in mind that Irine is extremely knowledgeable about normal human biology (creator knows creation rather well) but still lacks more than basic principals of how this world has different biology from the norm.
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((I don't think heating something that is right above us to a ridiculous degree is very smart. Worst case scenario we become +metal statues+. This is a finely crafted metal statue. It is encrusted with sharkmist and HMRC. On the item is an image of HMRC and Pancaek. Pancaek is laughing. The HMRC is melting. The artwork relates to the encasing of the HMRC in metal by Pancaek during the Mission of Many People.))

Toaster

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6984 on: September 23, 2017, 09:42:47 pm »

Staging Area

I like the AR enhanced sensor HUD idea.  Let's go with that one.

Do I get to take the rifle I summoned earlier with me?  I totally get if that'd be a bit OP to let me pre-summon equipment.


Spoiler: Said rifle (click to show/hide)
When you say "Let's go with that" you mean right now? Or as a plan for the future?

You approach Icarus as he floats up towards the cockpit and ask him if you can take your big gun with you.
"Oh, sure. Just please deactivate the fusion core before we get going. The kind of exotic materials used in this weapon can become unstable when physics change or in the presence of supernatural influences. Leaving it unpowered will reduce the chances of an accident occurring."
You look at him with curiosity as he folds his floating wings into his back and sits on the pilot seat. You point at the spaceship's wings that are of a similar design, floating things detached from the main body, currently stabbed into the ground.
"Wait a second. If my rifle is unstable, doesn't that mean that this spaceship is also unstable?"
Icarus puts his hand in the back of his neck and looks at you awkwardly.
"Well... Yes, you are right in a way. Certain parts can be unstable. But you don't have to worry! There are several ways to prevent that from becoming a serious problem. First of all, the ship tries to maintain a certain set of conditions inside it to help it mitigate the different laws of reality one might encounter in other universes. And it also has good protection against supernatural influences. If those two fail, the more exotic components can be deactivated or jettisoned and it can keep operating at an acceptable level, like an old space rocket. The most important parts (like those responsible for keeping you alive) are the most mundane, those that are less likely to fail."
"I suppose that could make sense, although I'd still like to keep my rifle."
"That is fine. Just deactivate it. You can summon a new fusion core when we're there. Or I could use the Phoenix's reactor to try to restart the old one."

((Yes, meant now.  But let's just wait for spooky spooky physics reasons.))

John nodded.  "No problem; I'll cut it off.  Or just chuck it if it won't go off; sometimes these things are weird like that.  Say... can I ride up front with you?  Need a copilot?"

Request seat upgrade.  Disable rifle if possible, leave it behind if no.
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
God help us if we have to agree on pizza toppings at some point. There will be no survivors.

Sir Elventide

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Re: Special People: IN SPACE!
« Reply #6985 on: September 24, 2017, 12:20:27 am »


((Right now you just have +1PWR and roll power to use your ability. You roll to summon dolls, then a separate roll to modify them and a roll for their actions with a third of your PWR bonus (I might change that if I find it too much). Dolls have their own stats that may also add modifiers to your rolls or to rolls about things happening to them (like END rolls if they get damaged). You'll get an upgrade tree at the end of your first mission.))

There's no lasers or tripwires or pressure plates that you can see, so you attempt to create your burglar-doll. You get a short thing with oversized sharp-looking claw-arms and a mischievous grin. It turns out it's not that well suited for delicate tasks. You command it to cut a hole on the glass and it raises its long arms far above its head and then brings them down, slicing and breaking the glass, the frame holding it in place, the dress and the mannequin. The broken display and its contents (the sword included) fall to the marble floor with a great clatter.

You hold your breath for a moment, waiting for the echoes of the destruction to die down. Nothing else happens. But if someone else is around, they definitely heard this.


"A bit too loud for my taste but it should do the job," Napoleon grumbled, still cringing from the display's loud descend to the marble floor as he carefully bend down and picked up the sword. Shaking it loose of glass still clinging to it. Napoleon strapped it to his side and looked around. Unsummoning all but a handful of dolls, he then muttered to himself, "I must now find the door and get out of this godforsaken place. Of course, I should also determine if someone have been alerted by my little mess."

Search for a door, if any, and exit the room. Also, modify one of the dolls to grow larger ears and listen in through the hive mind to hear if someone is coming to investigate. If someone is coming, find a place to hide.

 
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Parisbre56

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Re: Special People: Welcome to the party, pal!
« Reply #6986 on: September 25, 2017, 06:07:02 pm »

Campaign, Ike!

"I recognize your right to express that opinion, good sir, but let's wait just a moment and see what happens."

Hold onto my friend here until the Headwater does his thing, since apparently he can do a thing.
You say that, but once again Nikolai is a bit too enthusiastic in his duties... Or maybe he just gets really mad at traitors for some reason. Probably some bad experiences.

"Your assistant betrayed the monestary so we are arresting him."

Nikolai takes a can of Red Bull out of his pocket and tries to intimidate again.
"Did I ever tell you about the time I killed about twenty monsters with a single throw? Get out of the way."
You attempt to intimidate the angry master mage and his cohorts with stories of slaughter and a can of red bull. In your angry waving you manage to trip and fall flat on your ass. The mage is unimpressed.

"What gives you the right to follow or arrest my assistant? You are an outsider. You have no authority here!"
"What gives him the right is the desire to protect his fellow man, to do good."
"And we all saw how good that turned out the last time they did it." Griman says iromically before continuing his protests.
"So you condone this then?"
"Believe me, I never wanted this. But I believe I may have no choice. Because I know now that despite your claims to the contrary, you are the one who betrayed this temple."
By now, everyone has stopped talking and is looking at you. Even Griman's cohorts have backed away to let the Headwater speak.
"Betrayed it? All I did was try to protect it. Because you clearly are unable to. The guard can-"
"So that is why you ordered your assistant to sabotage our defenses and sell us out to the Sovereignty?"
"What?"
"Aren't you the one who crafted this Hex and gave it to him with orders to detonate it in our most protected chamber?"
"That's- No! I did no such thing! What evidence-"
"He is all the evidence I need. Ike identified him as the one who gave him the Hex. And he just heard you giving him orders to take me down."
"The only orders I gave were to-"
The Headwater loud voice overshadows Griman's, letting him be heard over his protests as he questions Griman's assistant.
"Well? Isn't that true? Didn't you want to kill me and surrender Chizra to your masters? To enslave everyone here? To see them suffer?"
"No! You are the one who makes them suffer! You and the ones like you are the one who makes us suffer, who twists and perverts this sacred place! You are a cruel, controlling man and despite the facade you put on, I know you for what you are. I know you would do anything to achieve your dark goals. That is why we do what we have to do. The Sovereignty is the only chance this place has to be free now! Death to the tyrant!"
Griman's assistant makes a move against Nikolai, trying to gain control of the black knife currently in his possession. Griman is momentarily surprised, but eventually reacts by reaching for something in his robes. The Headwater makes a gesture towards the pool in the centre of the room and begins casting a spell. The bystanders around you seem content to be just that for now, being too surprised to act.

((If DAF doesn't post, I'll have him try to restrain everyone involved with darkness, unless anyone has another suggestion.))

Alan pretends to put on a pair of sunglasses.

"Baby, distraction is my middle name."

Snappy one-liner!
"Yeaaaaaaaah!"
...
"Sorry, I felt like doing that for some reason."

"Anyway, we actually need to get in the temple if we want to climb to the top and use its awesome waterslides. Going through the front gate might not be the best idea. We could just bluff our way in, but I know they have windows and balconies. It's probably easier to summon a ladder or some other way to go high and just go through a window."


I rub against River too, being friendly and comfortable and comforting. I do keep myself alert to danger though as we continue in behind Theri.
Once we catch up to Theri Irine will be switching to hybrid form to help the injured. If you list off injuries I can list off her first-responder actions. Bear in mind that Irine is extremely knowledgeable about normal human biology (creator knows creation rather well) but still lacks more than basic principals of how this world has different biology from the norm.
River wags his tail happily. You guess he's just trying to make himself less anxious. And maybe do the same for you and the rest.

I would be quite interested in that as I like to learn new things. But for the exact same reason it wouldn't be that useful because I don't know much about keeping people alive, so in the end I'd just roll for it. After all, it's one thing knowing how something works and another thing entirely to know how to turn that knowledge into actions and execute those actions correctly. The way biology differs here is that magic is a base component of everything, so injuries suffered (both physical and mental) also unbalance the magical flows that make up someone, giving the potential for rare, strange complications. But that's not really something you would norally need to worry about unless dealing with magical damage or some other uncommon thing.

I'm tired. Rambling again. Let's just roll for this.
You do an OK job aiding the injured, trying to increase their chances of surviving. You have some trouble moving the more heavy amongst the injured to the appropriate position, so you enlist San's help to do so. Though reluctant at first, his resolve is strengthened by Theri encouraging him to be brave. River has little to do during all this, spending most of his time sniffing around and keeping watch. All and all, you think you and Theri did an OK job at stopping them from dying, considering you have no tools with which to perform surgery and no string with which to suture wounds.

You're not sure what more you should try now. You could try to perform more in depth medicine to them. You could try caring for them until they are healthy enough to walk (or die) but that could take several days and you would most likely be forced to remain here, a wide open field where those birds could return at any moment to finish what they started. Or you could do something else.



((Right now you just have +1PWR and roll power to use your ability. You roll to summon dolls, then a separate roll to modify them and a roll for their actions with a third of your PWR bonus (I might change that if I find it too much). Dolls have their own stats that may also add modifiers to your rolls or to rolls about things happening to them (like END rolls if they get damaged). You'll get an upgrade tree at the end of your first mission.))

There's no lasers or tripwires or pressure plates that you can see, so you attempt to create your burglar-doll. You get a short thing with oversized sharp-looking claw-arms and a mischievous grin. It turns out it's not that well suited for delicate tasks. You command it to cut a hole on the glass and it raises its long arms far above its head and then brings them down, slicing and breaking the glass, the frame holding it in place, the dress and the mannequin. The broken display and its contents (the sword included) fall to the marble floor with a great clatter.

You hold your breath for a moment, waiting for the echoes of the destruction to die down. Nothing else happens. But if someone else is around, they definitely heard this.


"A bit too loud for my taste but it should do the job," Napoleon grumbled, still cringing from the display's loud descend to the marble floor as he carefully bend down and picked up the sword. Shaking it loose of glass still clinging to it. Napoleon strapped it to his side and looked around. Unsummoning all but a handful of dolls, he then muttered to himself, "I must now find the door and get out of this godforsaken place. Of course, I should also determine if someone have been alerted by my little mess."

Search for a door, if any, and exit the room. Also, modify one of the dolls to grow larger ears and listen in through the hive mind to hear if someone is coming to investigate. If someone is coming, find a place to hide.
((Hmmm... Would extra large ears actually work? I mean, dolls don't have ears in the first place... On the other hand, larger ears would help focus the sounds to whatever supernatural sensory organs the dolls use... Eh, I'll allow it.))

You carefully pick up the sword and strap it on yourself. You get +1 Fancy.

There is indeed a door. You attempt to open it. It's locked. Well.

You suppose you could wait for someone to come. Or you could just try to open it somehow. Or maybe try to break that window and fall down, it's only one storey high. You've already started breaking things, so continuing wouldn't be that terrible, right?


Tess continues trying to press her hands together, and resumes running in the general opposite direction from the portal. She doesn't really have any idea what else to do.
((Feel free to 'wake up' whenever you want to participate on the mission, I'll assume you're just following someone until then. Or you can be both in the mission and in the introduction at once if you promise to not do something that requires rolling in the introduction.))

You continue slowly bringing your hands together and running away. The sounds of combat continue somewhere behind you until they are eventually silenced. And then something slams in the ground in front of you, knocking you on your back. The nearby civilians back away amidst gasps and wows.
"Look at that."
"It's the protector."
"What is going on?"
There is a boy with golden wings in front of you, pointing some sort of ray gun at you.
"Attention villain! Cease your evil deeds immediately or I will be forced to subdue you with... force!"

Parisbre56

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Re: Special People: Welcome to the party, pal!
« Reply #6987 on: September 25, 2017, 06:07:24 pm »

"..."

While not too amused with pretty much being called cargo, Saevus nods and allows himself to be secured.
You follow Icarus' instructions and position yourself at the front of the passenger section. Padded restraints come out of the walls and secure you in place, trying to distribute pressure equally.

Staging Area

I like the AR enhanced sensor HUD idea.  Let's go with that one.

Do I get to take the rifle I summoned earlier with me?  I totally get if that'd be a bit OP to let me pre-summon equipment.


Spoiler: Said rifle (click to show/hide)
When you say "Let's go with that" you mean right now? Or as a plan for the future?

You approach Icarus as he floats up towards the cockpit and ask him if you can take your big gun with you.
"Oh, sure. Just please deactivate the fusion core before we get going. The kind of exotic materials used in this weapon can become unstable when physics change or in the presence of supernatural influences. Leaving it unpowered will reduce the chances of an accident occurring."
You look at him with curiosity as he folds his floating wings into his back and sits on the pilot seat. You point at the spaceship's wings that are of a similar design, floating things detached from the main body, currently stabbed into the ground.
"Wait a second. If my rifle is unstable, doesn't that mean that this spaceship is also unstable?"
Icarus puts his hand in the back of his neck and looks at you awkwardly.
"Well... Yes, you are right in a way. Certain parts can be unstable. But you don't have to worry! There are several ways to prevent that from becoming a serious problem. First of all, the ship tries to maintain a certain set of conditions inside it to help it mitigate the different laws of reality one might encounter in other universes. And it also has good protection against supernatural influences. If those two fail, the more exotic components can be deactivated or jettisoned and it can keep operating at an acceptable level, like an old space rocket. The most important parts (like those responsible for keeping you alive) are the most mundane, those that are less likely to fail."
"I suppose that could make sense, although I'd still like to keep my rifle."
"That is fine. Just deactivate it. You can summon a new fusion core when we're there. Or I could use the Phoenix's reactor to try to restart the old one."

((Yes, meant now.  But let's just wait for spooky spooky physics reasons.))

John nodded.  "No problem; I'll cut it off.  Or just chuck it if it won't go off; sometimes these things are weird like that.  Say... can I ride up front with you?  Need a copilot?"

Request seat upgrade.  Disable rifle if possible, leave it behind if no.
Okay, then in that case you get exactly what you wanted. A suit of sensors located in various parts of your body that can project information on your visor. You've got to use voice commands through your radio or use your Interface to direct them to do something, but they're smart enough to be able to follow simple orders, like "highlight motion" or "make a map".

John nodded.  "No problem; I'll cut it off.  Or just chuck it if it won't go off; sometimes these things are weird like that."
"Brilliant!"
You power down the fusion core and keep it on your rifle for later. If you can't get it to reactivate, you can just try to copy it and hope the copy is active. Or maybe find another source of ammunition and power for it on the Maximus.

"Say... can I ride up front with you?  Need a copilot?"
"Yes! That would be brilliant!"
He turns around and fiddles with something on the cockpit. Some of those floating rectangles that form the Phoenix's wings move into position to allow you to climb up to the cockpit. They feel surprisingly steady, they don't move at all when you step on them. You get up and sit on the co-pilot seat. It's quite similar to the ones located on the passenger area, but with a slightly different configuration for your arms and head, allowing you to move them more freely. There's two control sticks, one for translation and one for rotation, as well as a keyboard and a screen. The pilot's controls are similar, but instead of a keyboard and screen there's lots of smaller MFDs and switches. With a couple of keypresses and switch-flips, the wings return to their previous configuration and the canopy begins closing.

Icarus caresses a picture wedged between two screens as the canopy closes. It looks like it was part of a greater picture once, its right side has been torn. On the left side of the picture, there's a woman in golden armor, holding a sword and a shield. On its right there's a bare-chested man with angel-like wings sprouting from his back, holding a spear that looks much like yours. That done, he lays back on the pilot's chair. The back of his neck opens up, revealing various ports. A few wires rise out of the pilot's seat and embed themselves in the ports. Out of curiosity, you direct your ranged technopathy towards him and are a bit surprised to find his outer body is completely mechanical (you can't tell more than that because he appears to have protection from your ESP similar to the Phoenix). And yet when you look at him, it looks like he has real skin and real muscles underneath that skin.
"You can ask about it if you want."
"What do you mean?"
"My body. It's synthetic. But I don't mind talking about it. You can just ask, you don't have to use your abilities on it."
"Oh, so your sensors let you know when people try something like that?"
"Yes. My sensors. And my soul. It would be similar if I tried looking into you or changing your body by supernatural means. If I wasn't subtle enough your soul would instinctively try to fight back against the intrusion. And if your defense was stronger than my attack, you would succeed."
"Does that mean that the Phoenix also has a soul?"
"Ummm... In a way. Not like you or me, but it does have one, yes."
Hmmm... Maybe that's why it didn't automatically get 'improved' by my power like other machines I use.
"Does the ship we're going to the... how did you call it? Maximus?"
"Yeah. Latte Maximus."
"Strange name."
"Well, the Light chose the first part, the Dark chose the second part. And when you start getting in the scale of universes, you have so many ships that even if you use completely random words to name them you still get overlap. But having mostly random, quirky and/or smart names means you have less chances of running into someone with the same name. That gets awkward."
"Yeah, so, is the Maximus going to have a soul too?"
"That's... a hard question. A good one, but also a hard one. I don't know in what state that poor ship is going to be in. But I do know that it has heavy shielding against supernatural influences from the outside and many of the internal components also have similiar but weaker protection."
"So you use that connection to fly?"
"It's easier. Lets me feel the Phoenix as an extension of my body and react as fast as I can think. But, as you can see, there are redundancies in place, in case there's a problem with the link or in case someone else has to fly the ship."

While you are talking, without any visible inputs from Icarus, the ship shudders and begins to move. The acceleration seats begin engulfing you in their protective embrace. As you fly, you ask Icarus to give you some pointers to get you started with this computer thing. He gives you the way to search for commands and the way to display a command's manual entry, as well as a few basic commands about how to partition your screen to different segments and display some basic information like position and relative speed. This should help you understand what he's doing a bit better. Good thing the entities gave you an understanding of this language.


The Phoenix's ramp closes as the ship starts floating higher, accompanied by a mechanical whine that increases in pitch. Its wings rise out of where they had stabbed themselves into the ground and fold into a more conventional shape. You can see all this through a convenient screen on the back of the seat in front of you (or on the cargo compartment in the case of Saevus) that gives you a view of whichever side of the ship you want (except for Brian who just uses his eyes to look wherever he wants and John who can look around from the cockpit).
: Okay guys, this is it. Next stop, the Sage Cluster. :
Normally the screen would not be visible, as it is hidden behind the various mechanical limbs on the back of the seat. But by now those limbs have began extending, most of them forming a soft transparent protective cocoon around you, reinforcing it with a gel-like substance. Some of them connect with ports in your spacesuit, pumping you full of unknown substances. And then the Phoenix's wings expand and you immediately know why the special seats were necessary as you feel its insane acceleration.
: Acceleration seats engaged. Charging jump device. :
The inside of the ship remains mostly the same, but the view of the outside provided by the screens becomes more and more dim. But then you realise that it's not the view that's getting dim, it's the world itself. The clouds around you become darker, yet the golden floating rectangles that make up the wings of the Phoenix are still visible, glowing with their own internal light. John's technosense gives him the feeling like the ship is evaporating, becoming transparent, quickly disappearing from his mind's eye.
: Phase state normal and aligned with the target universe. Jump device charged. Coordinates set for Midnight Star. Materialization point locked. Jumping in 3, 2, 1... :
There is no great vortex or flash of light. One moment the Phoenix is floating alone in a dark void, the next it is floating in an entirely different black void on an entirely different universe and everything is back to normal.
: Jump successful. We are alone. :
With that, you begin your journey through the worlds of the Sage Cluster towards your final destination.

Spoiler: The Journey (click to show/hide)

Icarus redirects all power to shields and shutdowns anything that is not necessary, bracing for your entry into the unknown system. The moment you are through the Stream you are faced with a sudden deceleration. The ship rocks violently in every direction and begins to spin. Overlapping warning beeps of various pitches and frequencies fill the air and several different warning lights begin flashing.
: We're at Deserted Haystack. Switching to Aquatic Mode. :
The Phoenix's wings rearrange themselves into a thicker, more curved configuration and lock themselves in place, making it look like a mix between a plane and a dolphin. This allows it to regain some semblance of control and stop itself from spinning.
: We've got... unstable... unstable conditions. Too much turbulence. Pressure still rising. Shield is strained but holding for now. :
Sections of the Phoenix light up, sending rays of light into your surroundings. For the few metres around you they manage to illuminate, they reveal nothing but murky waters spinning with violent turbulence.
: I can't see anything, I- I have... something on sensors. It's- I think it's the beacon. I'm going to need another pulse to confirm location. :
The Phoenix reorients itself and cuts a path through the liquid, leaving a trail of quickly collapsing bubbles behind it. Those of you with a very good sense of direction (or John who can just look at the inertial guidance system) can tell that you are moving away from your entry point.
: Yes, it's the Maximus' emergency beacon. Still attempting triangulation... This liquid is interfering with my sensors. Still unable to determine the liquid's composition. :
The Phoenix stops rocking from side to side. Almost. The more perceptive amongst you can still feel sudden accelerations from time to time, dulled by your acceleration seats. There's also a constant noise, the vibrations caused by the liquid hitting the ship travelling through the hull.
: Turbulence is fading. Pressure stabilizing. I think we're okay. Getting back to the Stream entry point will require some good flying though. :
All and all, it hasn't been more than 5 minutes since you entered the system, but it feels like it's been much longer. Thankfully things have calmed down for now, which gives Icarus and John some time to silence all those alarms that have popped up.
: The flow of the liquid is drawing us away from our every point and towards the beacon. Pressure still stable though. It doesn't look like it increases too much as you go further in. I haven't generated a set of infons yet but I think there's no gravity here. :
 : The beacon's signal is coming from in there, which makes sense. If the ship has no power then it makes sense for it to go with the flow. I'll head there as fast as I can. :

: Or it could be because it has been destroyed and only the beacon is left. :
: I try to hope that is not the case. :
There are a few more minutes of somewhat quiet travel. The liquid appears quite good at absorbing radiation, so John and Icarus switch to using sonar, which has somewhat better range. It still doesn't reveal anything of interest around them. Just this constantly moving liquid.
: Still can't see the Maximus, I only have the beacon to go on. It's nearby, but I- :
The ship's sonar picks up a distant rumbling noise and pipes it through to the speakers of the passenger section.
: Wait, we have... Sonar says something coming... It's got a rocket engine, it's- Torpedo inbound, brace for evasive action! :
The passengers have few options, trapped in their acceleration chairs, but they tense up anyway in response to Icarus' warning. The Phoenix's wings light up, sending forth energy beams that try to pierce through the liquid surrounding them.
: Firing weapons... No effect! This liquid absorbs energy too well. :
The Phoenix continues its attack but angles its wings so that it moves sideways. The torpedo is visible for a moment through the cameras as a bright point of light, then the Phoenix jerks upwards and then down again, putting the Torpedo on its sights. Now there's little distance between them and the Icarus can hit its less armoured sides. The torpedo explodes, the shock-wave traveling through the liquid and causing the ship to shudder.
: Got it! Still moving towards the beacon as fast as I can. :
There is about 30 seconds of quiet travel before there is a slight change in direction.
: I've got something on sensors. Looks like the Maximus. No power readings. I bet that's why I couldn't see it. Looks mostly intact, some damage to one of the fins but it doesn't- :
He is interrupted by a warning beep.
: Wait, a defensive turret is powering- Another torpedo launch. Source is a defensive turret on the Fore Cargo compartment. :

: This is Icarus of the Light, captain of the Phoenix. This is a rescue operation, we mean you no harm! Stop firing! :
Icarus pleads on the radio for the shooting to stop for a few seconds, but his pleas go unanswered. The torpedo continues to fly towards them. And soon it is joined by another.
: Please, stop firing! We are here to help! Let us dock and we can aid you! We can- Another torpedo launch. I can hold them off but not forever. We need a way to either stop the turret or get in the Maximus. :
The Phoenix flips around and intercepts the second torpedo. The passengers can't really see much through the blur that is their screens, but they can feel the shockwave of another explosion.
: The Maximus is not responding, so I can't open up a hangar. And the Phoenix's weapons need time to cut through its armour. Either we ditch the Phoenix and get in through the damaged fin, I eject you close to the turret to try to disable it or I eject you close to a hangar door to try and open it. Unless you have a better suggestion or want to split up. That's all I can think of right now. :

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)


OOC

Today was a long day... I hope I haven't made too many mistakes. Got to sleep now.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2017, 06:09:04 pm by Parisbre56 »
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FallacyofUrist

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Re: Special People: Welcome to the party, pal!
« Reply #6988 on: September 25, 2017, 06:22:20 pm »

Kosak Durar:

"Drop me at this "turret". It's good as destroyed!"
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FoU has some twisted role ideas. Screw second-guessing this mechanical garbage spaghetti, I'm basing everything on reads and visible daytime behaviour.

Would you like to play a game of Mafia? The subforum is always open to new players.

Coolrune206

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Re: Special People: Welcome to the party, pal!
« Reply #6989 on: September 25, 2017, 06:38:44 pm »

((I thought I could not understand the language of the people around me. Is this an error, or should I roll with it? No pun intended.))

((Also, I can do both the mission and the intro simultaneously. No rolling, honest.))

Introduction, Tess:

"V-Villain? I'm not a villain! I'm a ref... referee... referugee! Refugee! I'm a safe person! Wait, no! I'm a person who isn't safe! No, not like that! I can't think right now! I'm scared! But I'm not evil! I just want help!"

Space-mission, Tess:

Tess sits in her seat, paddling her feet, still enamored by the mysteries of this craft. She seems to be treating it like a ride.
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"You are a shameful gaggle of cowards who has made a mockery of the challenge, but you have avoided death. Sit and eat."
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