Don't risk Hego while Shego is still around.
There are degrees of risk. It's been explicitly pointed out that Hego has a craving for heroics. Putting him up against cunning and ruthless foes who would use Glory Daze against him is a bad idea, but that doesn't mean we can never risk exposing him to violence. Hego does in fact have great physical strength and, importantly,
durability; he isn't going to go down easily except to the most overwhelming of threats.
Furthermore, the Wasteland quest is likely to be
relatively safe in that the most obvious dangers are mostly environmental hazards (which we can prepare him against) and AUTO's robots, which in general are going to default to nonlethal options unless extremely provoked.
For one thing, it's an easy DC, easier than many of our other Diplomacy options. For another, I think it's a step towards investing in, then taking over their tech companies.
As for Shere Khan, why ally with him when we can take over his share of the market? We're going to be revolutionizing shipping and energy generation, what benefit do we have from allowing him to keep his crown?
Because he is an angry, vengeful, powerful, ruthless, extremly wealthy tiger-man who will fight with every fiber of his being to avoid being
deprived of his crown? Because we gain nothing by antagonizing him, and the world is big enough for both of us? Because even if we are undermining his profits, he will still have great resources with which to cause us harm if he views us as an enemy or a threat?
Beyond fears of going in blind, what's a reason not to do One Man's Trash? It almost certainly doesn't require an Occult hero for much, leaving Janna free to do our occult action (likely a study auction stuff, or somesuch) and Kitsune to Goblin Fox it up. It could help us get some AI techs, just info on what's going on, and possibly salvage as well.
Yeah. Even garbage salvaged from the BnL Wasteland could be very valuable, since it's going to be high tech. Look at what we gained from the GalFed spaceship, even given that it had been deliberately stripped down into a barely-functional hulk by GalFed standards.
Also, yet another reason to send Hego! Superhuman strength means superhuman ability to carry loot!
So, a first draft of a potential One Man's Trash expedition, with some basic justifications
Leader: Ludivine Von Drake
-She really seemed in her element in Xanadu. While her low Intrigue is a curse and Stewardship as well, I don't think Stewardship comes up a lot on quests like these, and that 40 learning will be vital in understanding all the fancy tech there.
Von Drake wouldn't be a bad choice, but is also highly in demand
every turn for one thing or another. On the other hand, we could also pencil in any of a number of other characters.
Members:
Hego:
-As mentioned. He's got a good martial stat and a pretty good stewardship as well, and it's a good place to put him, I'd think. He can do some ADVENTURE! and such. I'm vaguely worried that the mission will go very well and we'll encounter AUTO who is almost certainly a "Particularly ruthless or pragmatic foe" but still.
I doubt we'll directly encounter AUTO, but even if we do... he's a foe who tries not to kill humans. As such, he
probably won't kill Hego, just imprison him somehow, at which point Shego may be mad at us but we have a good chance of refocusing her anger on AUTO directly. Since we sent Hego into an area that was not, so far as we knew,
actively dangerous, and
oh hey it turned out to be infested with robots,
who knew... We at least have an honorable excuse that we didn't think we were endangering his life.
Tobe:
+10 occult, in case we need it, though it seems unlikely, and a good Intrigue stat. If we need him on an actual intrigue action, of course, don't put him here. At least partially dependant on the outcome of Speed Dating.
Agreed- and Tobe, while skillful as an Intrigue hero, is also low-skill enough that we can dispense with his services for a turn. Plus, the combination of Tobe and Hego blundering around in the Wasteland is likely to be hilarious.
Possible Members:
Queen Lizzy:
-A good learning score to boost rolls there even higher, though her martial is kind of worse than Hego's unless Glory Daze triggers. Given the situation, however, martial is probably more important than Diplomacy here, and thus Only My Enemies might trigger. Worried about putting her and Hego on the same mission, because she kind of is a villain I think.
Yes. Also, Lizzy is a strong Learning hero to back up the quest lead. And sure, she may be a 'villain,' but she's a villain in the process of redemption, much more so than Shego! If Hego's okay with his own sister, and if he works with Doof, he can find room to work with Lizzy.
Janus Lee:
-Stewardship and Diplomacy to make up for Ludivine's lack, along with a Learning bonus himself. Also, his Vehicle Design specialty could come in handy if we get in the Axiom.
Wile E Coyote:
-Once again, stewardship intrigue and learning. He'll probably be free, because Critting Stewardship likely means one or two new stewardship heroes.
Also good contenders. Honestly, Lee or Coyote might well make good alternative team leaders in case Ludivine can't be spared. Both are strong in
at least 2-3 areas, without being critically weak in any others.
Well, Janus' low Martial is a concern, but Martial rolls involving combat often let all members of the team contribute, not just the leader and the specialist... and we can always give Janus the Potion of Fire Breath or some other Martial enhancer.
We can build a pretty effective team out of, say...
-Wile E. Coyote
-Hego
-Lizzy
-Tobe
That covers all the bases tolerably well except for maybe Diplomacy; we are
painfully short on hero units with Diplomacy higher than about 20.
