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[Screech9791]

Alright, now is probably the time to get a source of income stabilized. We'll be suffering in short order if we don't. Next, we need to re-roll bugs on the BATMAN suit. We LITERALLY can't do worse on it. If we can fix the mobility, the gaps, and maybe take off a bit of the extraordinarily high weight, we'll be set to start deploying it.

+1

[Madman198237]

Our design: BATMAN's Worst Knightmare
The engineers got a little overzealous with designing the BATMAN suit, and so we've tasked them with redoing parts of it in order to correct the many flaws that presented themselves.

For the research phase:
Arms and Armor(s)
Our researchers have been tasked with examining our damaged Armor, to find any possible technologies or magics we can put to use in our own protection schemes.

Why didn't we deploy the Armor Hammer? I can't recall if it showed magical properties or not...

[Stirk]

I gotta stop making schedules for this game >_>. Roommate fell asleep early, don't wanna wake him up by typing too much. Will get your stuff later.

[RAM]

One of these days I will find a quiet keyboard, and it shall bring me joy...

[Hibou]

Maybe we could spend some time looking into the possibility of other artifacts existing throughout the world. We found King Arthur's sword out in England, maybe if we call in some favors over in Norway to track down the Mjolnir, or send out some interns to comb though libraries in Greece for information on the Caduceus. Considering we haven't noticed any others crop up, that means that either they might have already been found before our scanning satellites went up, or they simply did not give off enough of/the right kind of signal to be noticed by our own network. Frankly, if we find another item with even half the utility (and cool factor) of Excalibur it would probably be more than worth it.

And, of course, it will be called Project M.E.R.L.I.N.
(Multi-national Examination and Research of Legendary Items of Note)

1 Decipher Black spellbook: RAM
2 Re-roll BATMAN [Bugs]: Madman198237, 0cra_tr0per
1 Project MERLIN: Hibou

[RAM]

I would like to remind people that we likely won't be able to afford a research project that eats cash. And if we can, then it will likely prevent us from affording much armour. I do not recall any theoretical reserch being less than 50R and we only have 80. Meanwhile, many projects cost 200+...

[Kashyyk]

I do like MERLIN, but I wasn't to make sure our men stop dying first.

1 Decipher Black spellbook: RAM
3 Re-roll BATMAN [Bugs]: Madman198237, 0cra_tr0per, Kashyyk
1 Project MERLIN: Hibou

[RAM]

I should also like to point out that rerolling a design has classically been a design, and is proposed as such, and that the research proposal on that post is actually an analysis of our armour's prior performance and investigation into new materials.

[Stirk]

Alright! Updates first.

Artifact:
Excalibur
~The Sword of Promised Victory~

The most famous of legendary swords, could it be anything else? To start with, Excalibur is a "chivalrous blade". While it has great power, that power is sealed by several "Laws". For each Law that is being followed, the blade gains an immense boost of strength allowing it to use one of its more powerful abilities. Fortunately, PROMETHEUS's mission means that several are followed by default-such as "Excalibur must be used to fight evil" or "Excalibur's comrades must be brave". This allows it to act as a magnificent blade, slicing through all currently observed material like a laser cutter. Additional effects increase the swordsmanship of the wielder, allowing them to utilize the blade efficiently even without specialized training. It also offers some protection against mind altering effects against its wielder. Other Laws are situational, such as "You must be protecting/avenging a fallen comrade" or "Your enemies must be powerful". This allows access to second tier abilities. The first observed was its blinding effect, it can release a flash of light capable of stunning enemies in a wide radius. This attack can blind even creatures who see without sight, and refuses to blind allies. It can also be "thrown" for a long-range illumination bomb. Its medicinal effects-specifically the ability to perform surgeries, stop bleeding, and recover allies from mental assault-are also technically second tier, though the situations necessitating their use often unlock the abilities by default. The third tier, achieved by following several situational laws at once, allows for the "sword beam" attack. The powerful strike seems to be incredibly accurate, capable of piercing any material from a long range. Wounds caused by this beam fail to regenerate. There seems to be a sort of cool down for attacks of tier two and above, preventing the wielder from shooting off the abilities like a machine gun even under perfect circumstances.

Some Laws are currently impossible to follow, such as "Excalibur's wielder must be the true King as chosen by the Blade of Selection", meaning its full potential may never be unlocked. In addition, there are a second set of Laws governing what Excalibur can not do, such as "Excalibur must never be brought against the Fair Folk", or "Excalibur may never harm an innocent". Should these laws be broken, the blade will shut down for at least a time. If multiple laws are broken in short succession, it may see fit to punish its wielder violently.

Enemies:
Wizard
Wizards are the designation of second-tier magic users. Their aura readings suggest they are much more powerful than currently observed mages, and likely less focused. They seem to avoid direct fights more than their weaker brethren, using their magic to support their allies from the back. Currently observed specialties are likely "Eldrich".

Starfish-things
Apparently summoned by a Wizard in a sort of defensive spell, these are the lowest tier of "Lovecraftian entities" or "Eldrich beings". Their existence doesn't bode well for future missions. First having the appearance of an almost normal starfish, they are capable of networking together after a threat has been detected. They then grow explosively, turning into what appears to be a flower crossed with a starfish. They attempt to eat any humans in the area, though their tentacle-like-mouths can be beaten away by an able bodied soldier. Their true power seems to be in mental attacks-allowing them to force madness on our soldiers.

Mechanics:
Boss Fight
Boss fights are (more or less) optional encounters. To engage in a boss fight, simply vote for it during the Production Phase. Starting with the benefits, you receive twice the base pay of a normal mission. More importantly, you also receive a unique artifact, a special corpse, and progress in the plot if successful. On the other hand, the boss fights spike in difficulty compared to the typical mission. If you do not go in fully repaired, you might get TPKed and loose all equipment sent on the mission. Boss fights have a hidden counter to them. If you put them off for too long, the Boss and its minions will instead show up on a normal mission. This will cause a somewhat smaller difficulty spike, but you will not receive the unique artifact or Resource bonus. You will receive the special corpse and plot progression as normal.

Now I just have to update the original post.

[RAM]

Artefacts are, as I understand it, generally old, and subject to conflict. I would expect a certain level of resilience. And bosses too tend to be resilient due to their nature, although there are many paths to power... Do they get a bonus against being destroyed if we take the nuclear option?

[Stirk]

Artefacts are, as I understand it, generally old, and subject to conflict. I would expect a certain level of resilience. And bosses too tend to be resilient due to their nature, although there are many paths to power... Do they get a bonus against being destroyed if we take the nuclear option?

The artifact may or may not be on their person during the raid, but in any case you are unlikely to destroy either under normal conditions. The Safety Margin isn't likely to ruin your rewards.

[Madman198237]

Guys, BATMAN was a DESIGN-PHASE suggestion, this was specifically marked.

1 Decipher Black spellbook: RAM
1 Examine Armor: Madman
1 Project MERLIN: Hibou

I want funding, but if we can start deploying functional BATMAN suits, we'll be in MUCH better shape.


Oh, also I want to re-roll cost AND bugs for BATMAN, since we've got a 7/10 chance of doing better for cost and a 9/10 chance of doing better for bugs.

[RAM]

That is a 3/10 chance of getting nothing, and design actions are not plentiful.

[Yottawhat]

1 Decipher Black spellbook: RAM
2 Examine Armor: Madman, Yottawhat
1 Project MERLIN: Hibou

+1 for Armor. Who knows, maybe we can end up producing Armors of our own.

[Stirk]

Right, while its fine to talk about future designs, lets leave the design voting for the design phase. I'm far too lazy uh, busy to do two phases at once.

The warhammer was set on fire by an Imp detonation, and was shown to be capable of deflecting grenades. It is unclear if these abilities stem from the weapon itself or the Armor's reflexes and Imp's fire. In any case, the hammer is too heavy for our soldiers to use effectively.

Project M.E.R.L.I.N: Increasing the frequency of Artifact missions: 100R