MEANWHILE, INSIDE...12 to 15 people, or as it is now very clear, exactly 12 people (or rather, 11 people and a dog), are lying on a cold, tiled floor. They have with them only the clothes on their backs.
Clearly, all of them followed the instructions that sent them here.
Rex, the lively golden retriever wakes up first. Not much has changed. He has a new collar, which is exciting! But he doesn't have his squeaky toy, which is exciting but in a bad way! This is exciting! This excitement needs to be shared with a friend! Rex decides to sit down and wait for someone else to wake up, wagging his tail the entire time.
The next to sit up is Dave Riggs, local stoner, who is immediately flattened back down by the weight of a golden retriever landing on his chest. Deciding that trying to get up is a waste of energy, he checks his pockets and finds nothing. Must've left his 1d6 lighters and definitely-not-a-joint at home.
John Jackson, the Noir Detective for the Modern Era bolts upright, looking around the room. Patting his trenchcoat, he grumbles about leaving his weapons at the office again, and reaches for his hat instead.
And finds that somehow, despite all odds...
He forgot his whiskey too.
He weeps into his fedora.
Lulu Amaru, who is definitely not from the future, wakes up to find herself not the oddest-looking person in the room. Standing up, she nearly falls over again, and almost doesn't notice both her lack of torture devices medical supplies and the new, fitbit-looking-device attached to her wrist. She wonders why it's all that strange to her, considering her background as an eccentric girl that's definitely from this time period, but shrugs it off.
Shuhrat, who apparently really doesn't like following instructions wakes up looking like...well, a somewhat normal human being. He vaguely remembers wearing full body armor a few minutes ago, and carrying a lot of guns, but when he looks down he sees a shitty Hawaiian shirt, bell-bottom jeans, and flip-flops. He still has his goggles, though. Just no helmet. No protective gear whatsoever, no guns, no nothing.
Actually, thinking back, he definitely came here in these clothes. This absolute travesty of an outfit.
Thank god there's a detective around who could arrest him for fashion crimes.
Stan Demidoff, who also dislikes following instructions, albeit with less gusto and panache, wakes up slumped against a fountain in the middle of the tiled floor. He finds himself wearing double denim. It takes him a lot of willpower to not throw himself into the fountain. He also doesn't seem to have any of his music, electronics, anything. He comes to the conclusion that today must just be laundry day, and that yeah, he probably left his stuff at his mother's place. Or his friend's. Or...well he left it somewhere. Really that's all that matters.
The other six people wake up at about the same time, all on the ground in approximately the same area. The Goth stands up first, and starts helping the other people get up after adjusting her studded bracelets and brushing away her bangs. The Punk, who wears a scowl as he makes sure his mohawk hasn't been fucked up, get up next. Opting out of helping the others, he wanders towards a nearby bench to sit down. The Jock gets up by himself, dusting off his jersey for [LOCAL SPORTS TEAM] and briefly smiling at the others who were already up. Or maybe just at Rex.
Slowly the rest of them get up. The Nerd seems relieved that her glasses are still intact, and goes over to sit on a different bench than the Punk. The Dude, after getting up and brushing away his long blonde hair, audibly complains that "they" took away his board. He still smiles though, in that half-smile-half-smirk way that makes everyone really want to punch him. Lastly, the Prep gets up, helped by the Goth and the Jock. Visibly disgusted by the entire situation, she moves over to the fountain to try and fix her hair in the reflection of the water, desperately avoiding Stan's heinous clothing disaster.
As a whole, all six of them seem about in their early 20s, but none of them seem to know anyone here. Despite this, they all seem wary of the other half of the group (minus Rex, because who can ever be wary of such a good dog?).
Before any pleasantries can happen, however, everyone is made fully aware of their new watches (and Rex's collar) as they all start beeping in unison. With screens too small to do much with, it's clear that they're less of a personal use device, and more of a bio-metric tracker. Pieces are falling into place, pieces that are rudely and violently slammed down when an automated voice rings out from a wall-embedded speaker behind John's head.
Hello...Test Subjects...Welcome To:
Experiment Two-Dash-One-Seven-Nine-X
We'd like to remind you of your purpose here today...to test...your desire to...create...to adapt...to...survive.
Over the course of the next...days...you will be exploring our...Inferno Facility...with a single goal.
To progress.
To facilitate this...you will be split up into two teams...of six...who will compete...for the right to progress.
Team A, marked by a...red...light...consists of...
Dave Riggs...John Jackson...Stan Demidoff...Lulu Amaru...Shuhrat Kessikbayev...and Rex.
Team B, marked by a...blue...light...consists of...
Everyone else.
Hearing this, the other people quickly get up and come together in a huddle.
In addition to...your desire to survive being tested here today...we are also testing...new technology.
Teleportation and...Resurrection...in the form of a "respawning" system.
Should any of you...pass away...during the test...do not worry.
Our new system will...almost definitely...bring you back.
At your disposal are a wide array of...department stores...to stock up on supplies.
If there are any questions...please ask them now.
If there are no questions...keep in mind that only...six...people may be...alive...before progress can be made to the next floor.
The voice clicks off, as if awaiting questions. It immediately becomes clear that the voice was not kidding, as looking out through the mostly-empty atrium, the glowing blue light of a Wal-Mart can barely be seen around the corner, complimented by the harsh red light of a target across from it.
Clearly having no questions whatsoever, the Blue Team rushes off around the corner, ducking inside the Wal-Mart and out of view of everyone else. That leaves the currently-unnamed Red Team alone in the atrium.
Alrighty. If you have any questions, please ask them now!
Additionally, here's how rolls will work!
1 = Failure With Prejudice (This action resulted in a backfire, and can not be attempted again on the next turn)
2 = Failure (This action simply failed to be performed)
3 = Partial Failure (This action succeeded to a small degree, perhaps with a negative side effect.
4 = Success (This action was performed as desired)
5 = Success Surpassed (This action was performed with the best possible outcome)
6 = Success With Overshoot (This action was performed well past the best possible outcome, reaching over into unexpected side effects.
These rolls are also used in battles, albeit preceded by an initiative roll of a d100. Combat involved one action “attacking” and a non-actioned “defense”. You never need to choose to defend against an attack.
Both attack and defense will roll a D6, the higher of which results in a successful attack. The larger the difference between the two rolls, the more grievous the damage will be. A difference of 4 or more favoring a defender will result in a reversal/counterattack, following the same principals.
Rex+1 to Finding Previously-Seen Items
+1 to Barking-1 to Diplomacy
-1 to PerceptionHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None
Dave Riggs+1 to Crafting
+1 Defense Vs. Authority Figures-1 to Melee Attacks
Slow ReflexesHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None
John Jackson+1 Attack Vs. Criminals-1 to Diplomacy
-1 to Nonviolent Actions regarding ItaliansHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None
Lulu Amaru+1 to Diplomacy
+1 to Intimidation-1 to Lying
From Bad To WorseHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None
Fuze+1 to Navigation to Locations and Items Starting With B
+1 to Firearm Use-1 to Diplomacy
Friendly FireHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None
Stan Demidoff+1 to Aesthetic Creation
+1 to Non-Combat Agility-1 to Melee Attacks
Disruptive AppreciationHealth: Perfect
Inventory: None