BORN TO TIEF, WORLD IS FUCK
NAME: Karlach Cliffgate
RACE: Tiefling
HIT DIE/MELEE DAMAGE: 1d12 | HIT POINTS: 21/21 | LUCK: 6/6
PROFF: +2
XP: 0 | LEVEL: 2

STRENGTH​
DEXTERITY​
CONSTITUTION​
INTELLIGENCE​
WISDOM​
CHARISMA​
16 (+3)​
16 (+3)​
13 (+1)​
8 (-1)​
10 (+0)​
12 (+1)​
Save: +5​
Save: +5​
Save: +3​
Save: +1​
Save: +2​
Save: +3​

RACIALIZED TRAITS
Darkvision: Can see 100 feet in darkness without colors. Born this way, ma called it 20/Evil vision.
Light Sleeper: Only needs four hours of sleep for a long rest. Learned this in CapFor - nap when you got it.
Energy Resistance [Fire]: Take 1/2 damage from fire. This is why we got the cheap apartments, near the radiators.
Speed Malus: -1 meter of movement per round. Gorby Jr. is a pain in the ass.
Hider: Can hide when even only lightly obscure. Learned to duck pretty fast in the military.
ABLITIES
Action Surge (1/rest): Can take an extra action, refreshes on a short rest.
Reckless attack: Can gain advantage on Str based attacks while giving enemies advantage to hit you.
Rage (2/day): can go into a rage for 1 minute, gaining advantage on str checks and saves, +2 to str damage, reistance to B, P and S damage. Can't cast spells while raging.
Fighting Styles: Defensive (+1 to AC while wearing armor), Ranged (+2 to hit with ranged weapons), Blind Fighting (gain blindsight to 10 ft)
Second Wind (1/rest): Can use a bonus action to get 1d10+Level HP.
Natural Explorer: Ensure that the group has enough vac-suits and full tanks unless enemies take specific actions to negate it. When trapped with limited resources, double what the GM says you have. Create 3 shifts as a crew, rather than 2. Can patch suit as a free action. once per session, you can declare one thing to be true about a space station, habitat or spaceship - if the GM refuses, you're given a Luck Point.
Favored Enemy (Fascists): Get advantage on Wisdom (Survival) to track them and Intelligence rolls to know about their tactics.
Broad Proficiency: Martial Weapons, Heavy Weapons
Single Proficiency: Vac-Suits, Light, Medium, Heavy
Tool Proficiency: Repair, Shuttles, Armored Fighting Vehicle
Fighter's Luck: Get x3 LP per level.
Skills [8]: Skilled in Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Perception, Persuasion, Performance, Intimidation, Insight
Expertise [2]: Expertise in Athletics and Stealth (double proff bonus.)​

GEAR

Armored Vac Suit (AC 19, 7 Bulletproof)
Bulletproof: AC applies to gunfire. If an enemy rolls 8-17, remove 1 bulletproof.)​
M-Gloves: Can create two mage hands as a free action, controlled by focused

Collapsable Knife: +5 to hit, 1d12+3 damage
Concealable: Advantage to hiding, -1 intimidation
Sharp: Deals 3 damage on a miss.​

MP-5: The Solar System's sexiest SMG
Effective Range: 0-25 Meters | 25-50 Meters
Damage: 1d4+3| Caliber: Medium | Recoil: 4 | ROF: 8 | Magazine: 30+1 | Intimidation: +3
Special: Tacti-Cool (comes with a built in, infinite use wand of Ray of Frost, which can be fired from the weapon whenever you want.)
Underslung DC8-ROFW: 60 foot range, 1d8 frost damage, reduces enemy movement speed by 10 feet on a hit.​

Arachne 9mm
Effective Range: 0-50 Meters
Damage: 1d4+3 | Caliber: Medium | Recoil: 7 | ROF: 3 | Magazine: 15+1 | Intimidation: +2
Special: Frangible - you can buy Small Caliber rounds for this to reduce the recoil to 4.​

23 magazines fully stocked of 9mm rounds

Standard patch kit
Effect: It can patch any hole of about palm size or smaller. Unfortunately, since they're designed to be 'slap and forget' patches, they can't really patch bigger holes effectively. Fortunately, you can apply them as a free action.

Computer Tool Kit
Effect: The computer tool kit is the collection of various lengths of wire, soldering gun, screwdriver (magnetized) and other nibbly little bits you need to do repair work on a computer, physically speaking. This won't do anything to debug it, unless you're being really literal about debugging here.

Cuffband
Effect: A plastic set of restraints. Good for dissidents, bounties and, until the Supreme Court's decision re Staton V Solarium Primary School, unruly children.

FINANCES

Q-Card: -13
Specie: 3 Gold

LEGALITY
Current Hab Legality: 13
Intimidation: +10
Total Criminality: -3 (you're fine)
 
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You've got 4/6 luck points left, but I'm going to guess you'll be fine leaving a cantankerous ettercap behind? I need to sleep soon, so, you have APPROXIMATELY EIGHT HOURS to decide~ If there's no re-roll when I awake, I'm postin'!
DragonCobolt threw 2 10-faced dice. Reason: Perception Check! Total: 12
10 10 2 2
DragonCobolt threw 2 10-faced dice. Reason: history check! Total: 13
6 6 7 7
DragonCobolt threw 2 10-faced dice. Reason: history check! (Shadowheart) Total: 10
5 5 5 5
 
The Bye (1.7) New
You sighed, then smiled. "We can give you a ride to Nuke!"

He shook his head, clicking. Gale sighed. "He says this is his home."

You frowned, looking around yourself at the tiny bolthole. Exodites had been living in boltholes like this for...forever. It had taken centuries to go from the warrens of Lalune to cylinder cities - people lived in apartments now, with skies and green. Not you, but...you know, other people. The idea of wanting to stay in a place like this, no better than an exodus capsuel, was weird as shit. You sighed and put your hands on your hips, frowning at Christopher Johnson.

"Yeah, but it sucks," you said.

"Remarkably persuasive," Shadowheart said, her voice wry.

Chris clicked, squeaked and warbled at you, his mandibles clicking.

"He says its his home, he's staying," Gale said.

"Come on!" you spread your arms.

Chris crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. Hard.

"...fine! Okay! I tried!" You stood up. "If you need any help, radio, okay? If we're in range. Ya know. We'll swing by and help."

"We surely will not," Lae'zel snapped.

***
The buggy continued to jounce along the crude path as you drove towards the dusty edge of the Zone. The mossy rocks and tiny fronds that were all that you could see of life around here were getting more and more sparse. You adjusted the frequency on the radio again and again, but were picking up nothing but music channels and advertising from the nearby cities. Then-

You got a strange warby bleeping sound.

"Aha!" you said.

"What is it?" Shadowheart asked.

"They got some scrambler tech," you said. "Back in the CapTroopers, they'd have a guy with a big old backpack that has this computer in it that turns radio signals into shit that you can't just listen too. IT's when you want to broadcast without a tightbeam and still be kinda private. We're close."

You slowed, then parked the buggy. The big empty landscape terminated at the horizon - the edge of the mesa was right there. You turned back and grinned at the group. "I bet they're down there. I say we approach on foot - less chance of getting spotted."

"Makes sense to me," Wyll said.

"Very well." Lae'zel picked up her helmet and actually locked it on pretty close to right - but she still proved she wasn't exactly from here when rather than waiting for someone else to check her seals, she turned and started for the door immediately. You hurried up, grabbed her arm, jerking her to a stop.

"Whoa, wait," you said. "Gotta check your seals."

"You doubt my proficiency?" she grumbled. "I'm not newly hatched."

"Nah. It's just everyone everywhere learns this when they're kids." your fingers glided from seal to seal, pausing to check over her suit. She was wearing a MCP suit, so you were able to trace the outline of her body with your fingertips. "You always, always, always check your mate's seals. Even the best and smartest can fuck up - and vacuum teaches real permanent lessons real, real fast." You knelt down, your hands gliding along her hips, down to her boots. When you stood, Lae'zel was blusing through her visor.

"Well. Thank you," She said. "I shall check you."

You snickered. "Sure!"

When Lae'zel was in the airlock, after she had pawed you with her gloves, you stepped over to Shadowheart, whispering. "...can I get a second check on my suit?"

Outside, the group crept up to the edge of the mesa and peered over. It was nearly a fifty meter drop straight down onto the plains of Mardok - rust red stand, little scrubby rocks. And there, parked right in the orbital shadow of the mesa, was the Adventurers. And you...started to reevaluate thing as you looked down at them.

"That's not a ship," Shadowheart said, helmet to your helmet.

"Sure isn't," you said back, hand on your radio switch - holding the off button, even though it was a toggle.

There were three black and silver frigates, parked on their landing gear with their drive cones resting above the blackened craters they had left coming down. Each one had a different angular shape, but one of them had whole cargo pods attached to their sides - big rectangular bricks that were completely interchangeable. One of them actually still had a STAREX logo on the side, but you were pretty sure it was stolen because these did not look like postmen. Three other cargo pods had been taken off and set down, and there were tracks leading off into the distance. A huge hauler truck had arrived and they were loading crates onto the cargo pod. As you watched, a crane started to lift the pod up - slotting it onto the cargo hauler.

There were easily two, three dozen people down there - and those were just the crew on the surface. There were definitely more in the actual rockets.

You gestured at the others, and everyone pulled back. You all put your helmets together - even if you had to yank Lae'zel so she'd get an actual helmet to helmet contact. It made everyone sound like they were shouting through walls, but it meant you didn't have to use radios.

"That's not a base, that's a bloody army," Wyll said.

"It does seem to be an awful lot of people," Gale said.

"This is...way bigger than I was expecting. Normally, a far right paramilitary doesn't have, fuck, doesn't have half this shit, a quarter of this shit. I was expecting a barque or something." You frowned.

Gale blinked. "Like...a sailing ship?"

"A what ship?" you asked. "No, a barque is a hundred tonner. Those were frigates - three hundred ton ships, probably twenty, thirty men a-piece."

Shadowheart shook her head. "We need to contact some kind of military assistance!"

You chewed your lip, then held up your hand. "Wait here."

You shuffled away from the group and their conversation.

Peering down, you saw that the three frigates were parked far enough away from one another that they could each launch safely. That meant there was a lot of open space. And walking between them were three people...and one of them was in power armor. Your eyes bugged as you wished you had a fucking binoculars. But by leaning a bit forward over the edge of the mesa, you could see the power armor. It wasn't USCF or RZCF - it looked like some Third Sphere model, all elegantly carved and handmade, like classic plate armor, with a kind of intricate ribcage pattern and big old glowing ruby gemstone in the center. He was gesturing with one hand to the person to his left, a woman in an mechanical counterpressure suit. They turned and faced one another.

God.

Something about that guy was real fucking familiar. The bone ribs, the gemstone...gods, where had you seen that before. A news story?

You scrambled back. "They got a bigwig in power armor down there," you said, sticking your head into the group. "He's definitely in charge."

Hearing your description, the group frowned - but Shadowheart picked up. "Was he an elf?"

"...fuck if i know, he was wearing power armor!" you said.

"It's just that that armor, I've seen it on the news," Shadowheart said.

"Yeah, me too!" you said. "...wasn't he that guy from Hetes?"

"Where is Hetes?" Gale whispered.

"Smallest planet, center of the solar system, big fissile mining place, uh, got lots of fire giants," you said. "Got an ongoing genoc- Oh shit that's Ketheric Thorn!" You jerked your head up - and then all conversation was cut off by a roaring, rumbling eruption. Each of you turned - and you realized what the sound was.

"RUN! RUN! RUN!" You scrambled to your feet and started bounding towards the buggy - stopping only with a great effort of will to gesture everyone else. They all started running, bounding together. You waited till everyone was ahead of you - then started running more and more as the rumbling built up and up and up.

You got to the buggy. Shadowheart was cycling the lock.

"No time, just shelter!" You shouted, knowing it was useless. You grabbed her, dragged her.

Lae'zel, bless her heart, was already cowering behind the buggy - putting it between her and the noise. Everyone else got there, and you caught just a flash of the brilliant white light seconds before you pressed your back into metal. A roiling curtain of steam blew past the buggy on either sides - dispersing around you in the shockingly fast speed that came of releasing gas into near vacuum. Once it was gone, you peeked out.

The cargo frigate was soaring up, up, up, up, up into the air on a column of rapidly dispersing, highly radioactive steam. Burning towards orbit.

"That was close," you said, knowing no one would hear you.

Once everyone got together again, peeking over the side of the mesa, you saw that the Adventurers were all hunkered down in their frigates to avoid the blast of steam, leaving the base eerily empty. But your gut said that Ketheric Thorne had been on that frigate.

"Okay, can someone tell me what just happened?" Gale asked as you put your heads together. "Who is Ketheric Thorn?"

"Hetes is a major fissile and industrial metals mine," Shadowheart said, her voice quiet. "It has both Republican and Laturran interests on it - and its own native population of Fire Giants who managed to get there during the Dying Times. They adapted to living there quite well, but...well, their government fell apart almost fifty years ago. Revolutions, revolts. The current government is the first modronist one in the system."

"M-Modronist?" Gale asked. "I...sorry, I know half my dialog here is asking questions."

"They're, like, uh, weird bomb throwing radical maniacs," you said. "They want to destroy capitalism and shit."

"I...see," Gale said, brow drawing in.

"It'll never work, though," you said, nodding. "Like, if people don't gotta work, they'll all be lazy, right?"

"I suppose you know best," Gale said, while Shadowheart let out a little tch noise.

Wyll sighed and added. "The Ketherics are an anti-modronist army," he said. "Though the newspapers say they're closer to a bunch of death squads than anything else. Violent bastards, I've been to a few protests against their actions."

"...wait, you said they're from Hetes?" Gale asked. "What are they doing on Mardok? I am under the impression those two places are quite far apart?"

You frowned. "Yeah..." You sighed. "Now, I'm thinking that those guys aren't going to get out of their ships for a bit - not until the next shipment comes in. I think they're loading up each ship with goods and sending them out, right? So, we have a grace period to try and sneak up on em. If we can take one ship, we can get the fuck out of here."

"Take a ship? Take a whole frigate?" Shadowheart asked.

"I mean, we're better motivated and ambush covers a lot of lack in shit," you said, grinning slightly.

The others looked a bit less gung-ho.

---
What do you do?

[ ] try and sneak up on one of the ships
[ ] Wait and observe - maybe another ship will launch and you'll be able to nab the third from ambush
[ ] Fuck it. Leave these guys and head to Nuke, you're not insane.
[ ] Write In
 
Huh, feels odd that the Modrons of all people became the communists, since iirc their whole thing was like, ultra lawful or whatever (this is going entirely off my memory of the modron sorc option). Wonder what the lore on that is
 
[] Plan : Space Piracy
- [] Step 1 : head a bit up the track, and get into a cargo transport coming to the launch site
- [] Step 2 : Use the cargo transport to get loaded onto the cargo hauler
- [] Step 3 : Once in space, fire a gun through the hull. Let vaccuum kill the crew
- [] Step 4: Fix the holes in your new space ship
 
Ah I see they died with the planet?

No, there's a big dimensional barrier between this plane of existence and the others - the Githyanki are the first who have arrived in six centuries. This was invented by me because if you had planar travel AT ALL then the big question is "why don't you just leave?" since going to Krinn or Faerun is a billion times better than living in a tin can for the rest of your life.

[] Plan : Space Piracy
- [] Step 1 : head a bit up the track, and get into a cargo transport coming to the launch site
- [] Step 2 : Use the cargo transport to get loaded onto the cargo hauler
- [] Step 3 : Once in space, fire a gun through the hull. Let vaccuum kill the crew
- [] Step 4: Fix the holes in your new space ship

That sounds fun!
 
[X] try and sneak up on one of the ships

I'm sure that the stealth approach will go perfectly well with our party comp and totally not end up in a shootout at the first sign of trouble.....It's Finnnneeeee. :p
 
What is the equivalent to monks in this setting?

Like, are there people going around doing Wuxia type shit in space?
 
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Can we ask our wizard and weird wizard (warlock) what spells they have available?

Oddly I am thinking that the tight confines of a ship would offset the numbers disadvantage a good deal.

And if we have access to Sleep or Fog, we have got them in a hard bind. (If I remember the rules right, magical cloud effects that obscure like Fog count as providing cover for firearms?)
 
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Can we ask our wizard and weird wizard (warlock) what spells they have available?

Oddly I am thinking that the tight confines of a ship would offset the numbers disadvantage a good deal.

And if we have access to Sleep or Fog, we have got them in a hard bind. (If I remember the rules right, magical cloud effects that obscure like Fog count as providing cover for firearms?)

You've got sleep, magic armor, grease, burning hands, fog cloud

Warlock: Eldrich bolt, Witchbolt, Armor of Agggmgbujankl,byhuj (I forget how its spelled)
 
Okay, so my monk question was less about "people who can do regular martial arts", since that's obviously still there; it more about ki-users and whether or not they exist.
 
Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Apr 16, 2024 at 8:07 PM, finished with 16 posts and 4 votes.

  • [X] Fuck it. Leave these guys and head to Nuke, you're not insane.
    [x] Wait and observe - maybe another ship will launch and you'll be able to nab the third from ambush
    [X] try and sneak up on one of the ships


Should I wait for more votes or just post? ...this quest isn't very popular...
 
FWIW I am reading and quite enjoying it! Your scenes are quite vivid and it's a really fun setting and set of characters you've translated into it. I know very little of BG3 but still loving how you've rendered everything. Haven't been voting because I've tended not to have preferences on the options, but hope you're not reading that as disinterest!
 
That's Not a Moron (1.8) New
You frowned. Then, finally, you had to call it.

"Those frigates have PDCs, they have military grade rifles, they're not just...fucking methheads. This is a death squad from a far right paramilitary. We need a better plan." You turned back to them. "We go to Nuke and we get better supplies, maybe ask the local militia to help."

"What about Dr. Halsin?" Wyll asked.

Lae'zel snorted. "We are not forced to rescue every man we run into. We leave him, better than us being slaughtered by these pee dee cees."

"I mean, she's got a point," you said, then peeked out again. When you put your helmet back against the group huddle, you said: "They're not loading more cargo - I bet you a thousand bucks that they're running cargo too and from Nuke. So, we have time to check out our options. Right?"

"Right," Shadowheart said.

"Seems right to me," Gale said, wryly. "And I admit, I'm...interested in seeing what a city in this strange land is like."

"So, we're all in?" You asked, grinning warmly.

Everyone nodded. Wyll did so with a bit of a grim frown, but he did nod.

***
The guitar strummed. The drum tinked, tinked, tinked. The driving pattern forced you to lift your hands off the wheels, your foot still down on the peddle. You mimed the strumming while the song started to pick up speed. In the back of the buggy, Lae'zel was slowly sharpening her blade and glowering at you. Shadowheart had claimed the hammock slung across the ceiling and had earplugs and a sleeping mask over her eyes. She was swaying back and forth in the hammock. Gale was trying his best to study what looked like a very old school spellbook, but his foot was tapping in time with the rhythm.

Wyll, meanwhile, hit the start of the song at the same time you did. "Girl!" He grinned at you - he was in tune, you were trying to match him. "You really got me goin! You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'!"

"Yeah!" you sang, a verse early.

"You really got me! Yeah, you really got me!" Wyll sang, lifting his arms as you bounced in the chair, strumming harder, fingers pretending to play a fretboard. "You really got me!"

"Will you two kainyank she'lak shu'kyani tsk'va motherfuckers stop bleating your stupid nonsense sound!" Lae'zel shouted.

You scowled. "How can you not love the Kinks?"

"Easily!" she snapped back.

You sighed, then dialed the radio into something less confrontational. You managed to cue into a local news channel. A bored sounding voice was reading out. "A dust storm is beginning to form eastward of Big Mountain and will be picking up size and speed over the next few weeks. All homes in Arabia Terra should be aware that your solar collectors will be at 10% efficiency Monday to Tuesday, 20% on Wednesday, then a sharp drop to 50% on-"

"Are you happy now?" you asked.

"How can they know so certainty how the weather will be?" Gale asked. "Druidcraft? Has it survived? Do these ecotechs still cast it?"

"Yup," you said. "I figure that's what the fucking do, at least."

"There's also satellites and such," Wyll said, nodding. "Since druidcraft can only predict weather in your area - you may spot something it normally wouldn't predict, since you can see the whole thing from above, right?"

"Riiiiiight," you said, nodding.

The newscaster was still going. "In extraplanetary news, a tense standoff occurred in the Tears today when an unknown vessel without a transponder approached the habit of Lathewind. Refusing hails, the vehicle was only stopped by the deployment of feather fall units and a mass buoy. A four hour standoff followed as the habitat and ship exchanged terse messages, until a passing Colonial frigate stopped in and defused the situation - the ship, a smuggler barque had-"

"What the hell?" Wyll said. He jerked your attention from the hazy non-focus of driving across open country to snapping in. You swung the volume way, way, way down and whispered.

"What the fuck?" you asked.

You slowed. You parked.

And the entire group goggled. Even Shadowheart, once she had noticed the buggy wasn't traveling, slid her face mask off and swung herself out of the hammock to blink.

There was a guy in a space suit. He was trudging along, one foot ahead of the other, walking roughly along the same line you were. You frowned, then checked the GPS, then looked back at him, then back at the GPS. "Yo, Wyll, look at this." You said, touching where you were, then drawing a line along the course the guy was walking.

It went right back to the ceremorphosis lab.

You flicked on the radio. "Hey!" You shouted.

The man jerked. He spun around, then wobbled and started to thump towards the buggy with the ungainly excitement of someone who had just been saved. He came up to the door, panting, his voice coming over the radio - dry throat, parched, cracked lips, you could hear them all. "Oh thank you gods! I was so sure that I was done for! Please, open the door!"

"Are you some kind of a moron?" you asked, standing up and cycling the airlock. The air hissed and streamed as you peered in. The man yanked his helmet off, revealing that he was a very, very pale elf - his features were cold and cruel, his hair was pale white, his eyes were hazel going on red. He brushed his hand through his sweat soaked hair, panting, as the inner door cycle.

"That's...a very fine how do you do?" he said, harrumphing. "I'm just trying to survive out- whoa!" He yelped as you grabbed onto him, swinging him around and checking his backpack. Your brows drew in.

"What in the goddamn..." you whispered.

His suit readouts were all in the black. Not the red, warning indicator. His O2 was black, his nitrogen was in the black. Until he had gotten into the airlock, he had been-

You jerked back. "Fucking shitting fuck, fuck!" You scrambled and yanked the MP-5 that you'd put back together again after cleaning it and aimed it at him, flicking the safty off as everyone else froze.

"Uh..." the elf said, raising his hands. Lae'zel sharpened her sword once more.

"That fucker's O2 was zilch," you said. "He was walking without O2."

"Shit," Shadowheart snapped. "What are you? Vampire?"

'...six...centuries!" The elf said, raising his hand, looking frustrated. "Six godsdamned centuries! I...fucking survived the apocalypse, three hundred years in a tunnel. Me! In a tunnel. And I finally get to a good goddamn city, I wait for an actual good city to be built! I saw it! I watched the damn cylinder get fashioned and spun up, I was there when it was just barren white panels and dirt! And now! Now! Finally! I have a city, I have a place I can stay, and you know what? It pipes in mirrored sunlight."
He sat down, thumping against the wall.

He actually looked close to crying.

"...I don't like the wilderness!" he said, his voice tight. "I don't like spacesuits! I don't even know if...if I'm wearing this bloody thing right!"

You frowned, then glanced at the others. "...did they get you?"

"What? With the little wriggly squirmer and the whole turn into a monster within a fortnight? Yes," the vampire elf said, pouting. "That's why I figured I'd walk."

"You'd figure you'd walk?" Shadowheart asked, disbelieving.

"It's not as if I need to breathe," he said, haughty and sneering.

"You'd walk several hundred kilometers across the surface of Mardok!?" Shadowheart thrust her hand to the side.

"Yes, well..." the vampire elf huffed. "It wouldn't be the first time I've done something unpleasant for the possibility of surviving a few days longer." He paused. "I am Astarion. And while I'm sure you've all heard delightful tales of horrid vampires throughout the years, I will tell you this: I've killed no one to sustain my existence. Hells! I've killed no one period." he frowned. "There was a rather remarkable century on old Laturr where things were quite peaceful."

Gale made a face. "...where did you live?"

"The Republique, of course," Asterion said.

"Offffff course," Gale said, his face growing more pronounced.

You frowned. "Guys?" You glanced away from him - gun still aimed at the vampire.

---
What do you do?

[ ] Keep Astarion
[ ] Kill Astarion
 
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