THE INFINITE BROOD (Starcraft/Supreme Commander Crossover Quest!)

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THE SWARM SHEET
  • Informational
    • The Brood of Blades
    ​
    Cerebrate Prime: Samantha Clarke
    LEVEL: 5
    XP: 205/210
    TRAITS
    Strategic Genius: Once per structured encounter, Sam can create a piece of the environment that is in her favor as a sticky spark. Roll a d3 for its value.
    Empathetic: upon meeting an NPC, learn their motivation!
    Legendary Commander: Gain 4 Command sparks at the beginning of each mission/combat. Command sparks may be spent to give NPCs orders, which they may either obey or refuse to obey (doing nothing instead.) Command sparks may not be regained via skills or powers.
    Hunted: Something wants her - but for what? +1 Danger to all scenes​
    SKILLS
    CLOSE COMBAT (2): Brawling, Edged Weapons
    PERSONAL (2): Awareness, Resilience
    SOCIAL (4): Charm, Empathy, Leadership, Taunt​
    MASTERY
    ACU Pilot (2): Nanofabrication [Mass], ObSat Operations [Range]
    The Hilt (4): Biomorphic Spawning (People), Regeneration (Durability), Physical Perfection (Speed), Telepathic Dominion (Range)​

    POWERS
    The Living Swarm
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Gain 1 Living Swarm spark, +1 per vent reduction.​
    The Living Swarm: While this swarm exists, move in three dimensions and through anything smaller than a keyhole, reforming at will. You may expend these sparks to cause 3 Hit Sparks in a Area 2 radius.​
    Area Upgrade: +1 to Area Characteristic​

    Biomorphic Reinforcement
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create 1 Biomorphic Reinforcement spark, +1 per vent reduction, which can be given out to anyone within Range 2, or to yourself
    Biomorphic Reinforcement: +1 to Damage or Mass characteristic for the purpose of raw physical strength/feats.

    Back to Back
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Choose 1 ally (+1 per vent reduction), within Range 1. Each can take one action using one of your skills, any of them that you wish. Once they have done so, you may make a free attack with your melee weapon, getting +1 to your skill per ally that acted.​

    Adaptation
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create a number of sparks equal to the enemy's difficulty, narratively based on turning their abilities against them. Works on enemies of Diff 2>, +2 per vent reduction.​

    Just as Planned…
    Vent: 6-0
    Effect: Vent 6 heat and create 1 Planning Spark for her or an ally, +1 Spark per vent reduction.​
    Planning: The person holding this Spark can expend this to get +1 to a skill check as a free action. Using this Stack counts as you are helping for the purpose of relationships.​

    GEAR
    Zeratul's Psi-Blades
    Adds: +0 (Edged Weapons) | Characteristics: Damage [Speed] (4)[1]​
    Shadowstep (3): Can expend as a free action to move without crossing intervening space.
    Guarded Space (3): Can expend to use Damage as a secondary characteristic for Durability, reducing incoming Damage characteristics.​

    GALACTIC WAR
    Victory Points: 5    ​
    RESOURCES​
    TERRAN DOMINION [Background] (1)​
    The men and material of the Dominion - limited, but they're mustering as we speak. ​
    ALLIANCE EXPEDITIONARY FORCES [Mastery] (1)​
    While you have access to several ACUs of every faction, they lack economic and technological support to be fully effective. ​
    ZERG HIVE [Mastery] (1)​
    The scant few Zerg you control that are free of Amon's influence. Mostly Zerglings. ​
    AEON FLEET [Background] (1)​
    While half a dozen CZARs seem impressive, they're not actually well made for ship to ship combat. ​
    ALLIED COHESION [Motivation] (1)​
    The alliance is fragile and weak.​

    FRONTS​
    Trade Sector-34-51 [Pirate Activity]
    Pirates Raiding 6 (Supply Lines in Disarray 1)
    COMMAND: Jim Raynor | ARMY: Raynor's Raiders
    RESULTS: Pending

    Braxis [Zerg Invasion]
    Borealis Siege 6 (Zerg Rampage1)
    COMMAND: General Samantha Clarke | ARMY: Brood Clarke
    RESULTS: Pending

    Typhan II [Active Xel'Naga ACU]
    Typhan II Occupied 6 (Xel'Naga ACU Spotted 1)
    COMMAND: Lt. Colonel Mathew Horner | ARMY: UEF Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending

    Deep Space Sector 981 [Hive Fleet Identified]
    Zerg Hive Fleet Spotted 6 (Kerrigan? 1)
    COMMAND: Citizen-Commander Dostya | ARMY: CN Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending
    ​
    ENEMY ASSETS (Currently Known)
    ​
    THE GOLDEN ARMADA
    ACTIVITY: Unknown | Threat Level: 6​
     
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  • Informational
    • [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
     
    [X] "Hmm...you do possess a remarkable strength. Strength allows you to claim what normally you would not. We demand only that the Breath of Creation, what you know as Terrazine, to be kept from your people's hands. You do not understand its true value." - Succeed by taking 5 heat - putting you at 2 Overheat, which allows success with consequence. In this case...Tosh will be unhappy.
     
    Draz said:
    Is the deal that we not collect terrazine on this planet or that we not collect terrazine anywhere?

    If it's the former then I think it's rational for us to take the deal and evacuate the refugees. The sector is lousy with terrazine and we can collect it elsewhere.

    If we'd be agreeing not to collect terrazine anywhere, then that's a decision above Clarke's pay grade, I think. And even if it weren't, I don't think the UEF's pride would allow it to be dictated to.

    We could still agree (very common for imperialists to make deals that they later break), but we'd look weaker and less reliable to all of the local factions and give the local human rulers an angle to attack us with.

    So, I think it's fine for us to just kill this guy, then hopefully leave with the refugees. And maybe the next alien leader we face will be less of a prat.

    [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
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    I suspect that understanding its true purpose might change that, but it'd most likely mean not fucking with Terrazine at all. That being said, given how Fascist the Tal'Darim are, it might give us a temporary information advantage while we figure out how bad they are.
     
    [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
     
    [X] "Hmm...you do possess a remarkable strength. Strength allows you to claim what normally you would not. We demand only that the Breath of Creation, what you know as Terrazine, to be kept from your people's hands. You do not understand its true value." - Succeed by taking 5 heat - putting you at 2 Overheat, which allows success with consequence. In this case...Tosh will be unhappy.
     
    Mailstrome said:
    I suspect that understanding its true purpose might change that, but it'd most likely mean not fucking with Terrazine at all. That being said, given how Fascist the Tal'Darim are, it might give us a temporary information advantage while we figure out how bad they are.
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    Not allowing Terrazine to be experimented with is a net-good. I'm really not joking when I said "the crimes against humanity per unit of Terrazine is terrifyingly high".

    Starcraft ghosts? Really fucked up what they do to them to turn them into basically single use weapons.

    The entire thing around Kerrigan being left to die? Standard practice.
     
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    [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.

    I don't really love voting for what the other side does - I'd rather they just do something, and then have us respond to it - but my understanding of how the Tal'Darim work is that they're not really "let themselves get pushed around by the first person to kill a few of them" types. Killing a couple scouts and zealots seems like it would just get them to escalate, not back down and offer (permanent?) settlement rights to humans in what they consider sacred ground.

    Maybe after escalation has failed to work, would they consider something like the peace deal they're offering here - but only after trying to wipe us out didn't work. And even then, I'd expect them to hold a grudge.
     
    Acatalepsy said:
    I don't really love voting for what the other side does - I'd rather they just do something, and then have us respond to it - but my understanding of how the Tal'Darim work is that they're not really "let themselves get pushed around by the first person to kill a few of them" types. Killing a couple scouts and zealots seems like it would just get them to escalate, not back down and offer (permanent?) settlement rights to humans in what they consider sacred ground.
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    I mean, you're less voting what the other side does, and more voting on whether you take the heat to overheat or not.

    Was Clarke convincing enough, or not!
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    I mean, you're less voting what the other side does, and more voting on whether you take the heat to overheat or not.

    Was Clarke convincing enough, or not!
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    That still kinda feels like we're dictating their actions, as 'were you convincing enough' feels like a thing that should be decided by the other party, generally represented by the GM.

    You feel more that it's 'do you activate your ability boost to succeed in your attempt or not' from what I gather from your wording though. Which is understandable, but feels odd to those trying to be in mind of the character rather than the person playing the character.
     
    Xon said:
    Not allowing Terrazine to be experimented with is a net-good. I'm really not joking when I said "the crimes against humanity per unit of Terrazine is terrifyingly high".

    Starcraft ghosts? Really fucked up what they do to them to turn them into basically single use weapons.

    The entire thing around Kerrigan being left to die? Standard practice.
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    Oh no, the Confederacy is absolutely awful, but Mengsk choice to betray everything that his family & planet had fought for. He _chose_ to hobble his victory by alienating Rainer & trying to kill Kerrigan (inadvertently killing tens if not hundreds of millions), instead of building something real and durable.
     
    Xon said:
    Not allowing Terrazine to be experimented with is a net-good. I'm really not joking when I said "the crimes against humanity per unit of Terrazine is terrifyingly high".

    Starcraft ghosts? Really fucked up what they do to them to turn them into basically single use weapons.

    The entire thing around Kerrigan being left to die? Standard practice.
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    I would argue that Terrazine isn't a net evil since it's able to undo the methods for altering people's memories and indoctrinating Ghosts and while the substance does appear to have some adverse effects, it doesn't to the degree that Nova claims in Wings of Liberty. Dr. Hanson, when she gets a chance to look at the substance in the game agrees with Tosh that its side effects were heavily exaggerated by the Dominion Ghost.

    Canon Tosh was himself a Dominion Ghost that broke free of Mengsk's control thanks to his exposure to Terrazine which allowed him to recover his memories and led him to plot to get revenge on the Emperor. Nearly every Ghost out there is a victim stripped of their memories and conditioned to be loyal to their superiors and I think having access to a means of breaking that control is worth the risks that come with more closely examining the material.

    That said with the expedition's chief scientist being Dr. Ariel Hanson, a woman noted as being critical of the UEF and having a strong ethical code, chances are she would obstruct any efforts to use the material for malevolent purposes even if we were inclined to it.
     
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    Asmodemus said:
    That still kinda feels like we're dictating their actions, as 'were you convincing enough' feels like a thing that should be decided by the other party, generally represented by the GM.

    You feel more that it's 'do you activate your ability boost to succeed in your attempt or not' from what I gather from your wording though. Which is understandable, but feels odd to those trying to be in mind of the character rather than the person playing the character.
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    I mean, in other games, the GM decides whether you're convincing enough by what you roll. The difference here is you choose how much you roll, and rolling high has a cost for future checks and endangers your characters life.
     
    [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    I mean, in other games, the GM decides whether you're convincing enough by what you roll. The difference here is you choose how much you roll, and rolling high has a cost for future checks and endangers your characters life.
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    It's kinda like GM asking you "Do you want to spend a Fate point to pass that?" in TTRPG. The issue is there the narrative can be adapted on the fly to whatever is chosen, while here we have both narrative outcomes shown.
    Am I understanding this correctly?
     
    Mailstrome said:
    I think they're a patriot who buys the propoganda. As long as it's them & Horner in charge here, it's probably fine. Probably.
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    I also suspect our chief political officer may not, in fact, have enforcing the rule of the people back home as his highest goal.

    10ebbor10 said:
    In supcom verse, the animosity is based on the UEF installing mandatory loyalty overrides, and the cybrans repeatedly virus bombing their planets with virusses that disable those systems.
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    Yes, how dastardly, those cybran terrorists infecting our valua-- valued cyborg workers with drapetomania!

    Spart117MC said:
    Granted a terran might not know these little details, but then Duran's not terran. He's an ancient alien shapeshifter in the service of a godlike malevolent entity responsible for the destruction of the xel'naga, worshiped by the tal'darim as a dark deity, has enslaved the zerg, and is seeking to create a perfect hybrid organism that is half zerg and half protoss.
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    Well, maybe. This is, after all, an AU -- so we're back to not knowing just what Duran's secret is, too.

    But, you know, he's pretty clearly at least secretly working for Kerrigan, so we still shouldn't take him at his word. :D

    (Though I do now notice that this story has the tag "toxic yuri", and given Kerrigan seems to have been the one to lure us, personally, to the Koprulu Sector... well, I'm not sure what's going on there, but pretty clearly something is.)

    Oh, hm, we vote for their reply? Interesting.
    So... I don't think I have a very good grasp of Relashem. Would he decide to go ahead and try and fend us off diplomatically, probably not trusting us but thinking that it'd at the very least give him time to build up more forces? Or would he either not think of that, or feel that he was obliged to reject it even if he did think of it?
    [reads some comments]

    Xon said:
    Also the crimes against humanity per unit of Terrazine is terrifyingly high. Keeping that out of UEF's warcrime labs is actually a good thing, that Tosh will be unhappy is a freaking bonus.
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    I mean. I don't know, given it is an AU, and of course Clarke doesn't know, but I'm not presently assuming that Tosh getting terrazine is necessarily the UEF getting terrazine.

    Actually, didn't he in Wings of Liberty initially claim to just want it for the money it was worth, too?

    edboy49 said:
    I would not be surprised if Amon was Anubis in the past as well.
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    ...In what way does that make sense?

    DragonCobolt said:
    I mean, you're less voting what the other side does, and more voting on whether you take the heat to overheat or not.
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    ...Isn't that a result of what the other side does, and our decision about that, though?

    Was Clarke convincing enough, or not!
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    Oh! So even though the vote is taking the form of voting for their reaction, their reaction depends on how persuasive Clarke was, meaning the vote is also for that, and that's a result of how much heat was gained or lost, thus we could also be said to be voting for that? Curiously indirect, but I think that makes sense.

    Ah, and a later post by you appears to confirm that interpretation.

    Anyway, yeah, I think I'll vote this one:
    [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
     
    Spart117MC said:
    I would argue that Terrazine isn't a net evil since it's able to undo the methods for altering people's memories and indoctrinating Ghosts and while the substance does appear to have some adverse effects, it doesn't to the degree that Nova claims in Wings of Liberty. Dr. Hanson, when she gets a chance to look at the substance in the game agrees with Tosh that its side effects were heavily exaggerated by the Dominion Ghost.

    Canon Tosh was himself a Dominion Ghost that broke free of Mengsk's control thanks to his exposure to Terrazine which allowed him to recover his memories and led him to plot to get revenge on the Emperor. Nearly every Ghost out there is a victim stripped of their memories and conditioned to be loyal to their superiors and I think having access to a means of breaking that control is worth the risks that come with more closely examining the material.

    That said with the expedition's chief scientist being Dr. Ariel Hanson, a woman noted as being critical of the UEF and having a strong ethical code, chances are she would obstruct any efforts to use the material for malevolent purposes even if we were inclined to it.
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    And this is a really good point, because the Confederacy was probably employing nazi-tier doctors (crazy people & people chasing status without regard for the cost to others), so when actual scientific rigor is applied, suddenly it's not nearly as bad (also because the Confederacy wanted psychic slave assassins, not to help people).
     
    Reese said:
    I mean. I don't know, given it is an AU, and of course Clarke doesn't know, but I'm not presently assuming that Tosh getting terrazine is necessarily the UEF getting terrazine.
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    I think giving Dr. Hanson total control over it should keep Tosh from abusing it necessarily. It's got use as a medicine (completely her wheelhouse, not his), giving it to her means following UEF regulations, and at the end of the day, she's probably going to have insights he lacks, should he want it researched (assuming the rumors of him being a psi washout are true).
     
    Mailstrome said:
    I think giving Dr. Hanson total control over it should keep Tosh from abusing it necessarily. It's got use as a medicine (completely her wheelhouse, not his), giving it to her means following UEF regulations, and at the end of the day, she's probably going to have insights he lacks, should he want it researched (assuming the rumors of him being a psi washout are true).
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    That sounds like a fairly safe bet, at least for now. And there's a ready excuse in the fact that, as you say, it's her wheelhouse, and while Tosh might be saying that he wants it to ship back home, well, things here are still pretty unstable; that could come later, once the area's secured.
     
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Oct 6, 2023 at 11:35 AM, finished with 32 posts and 17 votes.
    • [X] "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter." - You Fail, and start at 0 Heat for combat.
      [X] "Hmm...you do possess a remarkable strength. Strength allows you to claim what normally you would not. We demand only that the Breath of Creation, what you know as Terrazine, to be kept from your people's hands. You do not understand its true value." - Succeed by taking 5 heat - putting you at 2 Overheat, which allows success with consequence. In this case...Tosh will be unhappy.
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    Honestly, surprised the vote went this way! Time to ponch!
     
    ACT ONE, MISSION TWO: First Strike (0.5)
  • Threadmarks
    • The alien's glowing red eyes narrowed fractionally. His voice dripped with a menace you were used to hearing in combat - the kind of fierce, attentive voice that another commander could fling at the other. "The Chain of Ascension is clear. Our master does not brook allies like yours. We will see your base broken, your people slaughtered, and your profane technology reduced to their component atoms. For we are the Forged. The Tal'Darim. And we do not falter."

    The line clicked off.

    "I wonder if they know how much they sound like an Aeon," you mutter. Then, firmly. "All right, Stukov. What are we looking at here?"

    Stukov threw up the OrbSat view of the battlefield you were going to take. It was just outside of the pickup range of your current economic structures - annoying as hell, but at least you could reach it relatively quickly. Your ACU started to move even before you finished checking over the terrain - your autopilot up to moving you without your full attention.

    "They're holed up in some kind of ruin structure - surrounded by jungle, mountains, some rivers," Stukov said.

    You already saw the possibilities.

    Okay! You have the trait "Tactical Genius" - and I skipped using it last time for simplicity. But we're now more comfortable with the system, so lets chuck it in! The way this works is at the beginning of a structured scene (say, combat), you can create a piece of the environment that exists as a Spark (which means you can use it narratively!) So, pick one! The value is randomized since the battlefield is never fully under your control, with a value between 1-6, which I shall roll after I post!
    [ ] "There's a lot of raw material and gas there." (Resource Spark)
    [ ] "That harbor looks useful - I wonder how these people handle wet navies..." (River Access)
    [ ] "Ah, do they know that we can traverse that terrain with the right gear?" (Secret Access to Enemy Base)​

    Stukov chuckled. "I like the way you think, General."

    "No need to butter me up, Lieutenant," you said, voice faux-stern. "You're already earmarked for ACU duty."

    He chuckled - while you scrolled back the view, frowning. "What's that...we're getting slightly better images on their base. It's like their stealth field has dropped."

    "Yes. Detecting some infantry, fliers...walkers of some kind. Quadrupedal." Your view zoomed in and you saw half a dozen of the things clattering around - they were swift and as you watched, they vanished from a low path to appear on a high ridge, continuing their path rather than finding a way around. You frowned. "Capable of short ranged quantum teleportation. These aliens and their mastery of point to point transport is incredible. But...we're not detecting the quantum signatures we would expect. It's very strange."

    "I'll try and get some intact for Dr. Hanson," you said. "What do you think those are?"

    "From the energy signatures? I'm not sure. Dr. Hanson?"

    "They appear to be storing large amounts of power in subterranean systems, our deep penetration scans can't read much resolution past their shielding." Dr. Hanson sounded focused. "And yes, their buildings appear to be all equipped with a shielding system - rather than one centralized shield system, like we would use."

    "Hurm," you frowned. "Their placement says defensive." You tapped at the screen, highlighting the circular buildings you had spotted. "See how they cover this area here, here, here?"

    "That does make sense," Stukov said.

    "I'll leave defensive fortifications to- oh my!" Dr. Hanson sounds shocked - and you can't blame her. As you watched, another set of their infantry had appeared - en mass, shimmering and crackling as they popped into existence from one of the angular, black and red buildings. "That's a quantum gate."

    You nodded. "They're getting reinforcements from somewhere. This fight might be interesting."

    You smiled, slightly.

    As you hit the rise that separated your last few steps from the autopilot route, you tapped on a private message to Tosh. "Yes, General?" he drawled.

    "There's a lot of Terazine here." You paused. "We'll see about trying to avoid too much collateral damage."

    "My thanks, General Clarke," he said, having that fucking self satisfied sound of a cat who had gotten her paws on the canary and was planning to enjoy it. "I've begun to open up a dialog with the locals. Very interesting stories they have to tell about the last few years. Very interesting. I'll see what I can find here that's true."

    "Good," you said. Then. "Keep an eye out for that Lt. Duran. I want to know where he's been."

    "Yes sir."

    The line clicked off and you regarded your options. In the distance, settled among ancient ruins of dark stone and massive, monolithic statues of alien beings, you could see the Tal'darim base - their structures angular and bladed, their dark black and red color scheme reminding you of the Cybrans, almost as much as their hovering structures and graceful curves made you think of the Aeon Illuminate. You frowned, then took up the controls.

    Time to get to work.

    ---
    Okay! This is a Danger 15 battle, +1 for your Hunted!

    We got...three platoons of Slayers (Three Diff 3, 1 Range Characteristic for teleportation, but also, a penalty size characteristic.) This means they can teleport a few hundred yards at any time, but you find it easier to hit them at range if you can pin them down (size is normally a positive/neutral characteristic, since it increases toughness, but Slayers are relatively fragile.)

    Then we have Protoss Base (1)->5 Proton Canons (5) nested sparks! You can't destroy the base without dealing with the cannons first! However, each round, the Proton Canon sparks will decay by 1 - and once they hit 0, the Protoss Base spark will decay - so, at round 6, the nested sparks decay! But remember, nested sparks decay into Sticky Sparks, and become a permanent fixture. In this case, that represented them becoming so fortified that it gets REALLY hard to dislodge them and, I'd say, counts as a failure condition.

    Since the enemy has a base and we're moving from the simple tutorial to the complex one, we're adding in range modifiers! The way this works is you get 5 free "movement" per turn, that lets you erode the range penalty to any unit/object you want. You can take additional actions/heat to sprint at them, or spend sparks to do so!

    Slayer Platoon 1: -10 range
    Slayer Platoon 2: -20 Range
    Slayer Platoon 3: -30 Range
    Protoss Base: -30 Range

    "What about the zealots?" they're narrative fluff and don't exist mechanically at the moment. But they may later, as I spend shock!

    Now, what you do for the first round really depends on what lucky break you picked. So, here's some examples.

    [ ] Operation: Breakwall: Use your Nanofabrication (2) skill vs Diff 1 to build a nested Spark in the Resource spark of Metal Extractors & Energy Generators (2). Then take a pair of actions to use the same skill (at 1+1 and 1+2 diff) to make a pair of nested sparks of Defensive Buildings (1)->Dragon's Teeth (1) for a total cost of 1 heat. Since only one spark is easy to boop away, take and +2 heat to make the Dragon's Teeth (3). This puts you at 3/6 heat! Vent 3 heat to use your power Take Cover, Men! to make an additional Take Cover (2) spark for additional protection. At the end of your turn, each spark value drops by 1. When they hit 0, they'll decay into the Sticky Sparks of "Fully Functional Economy" (2) and "Defensive Fortifications" (3). The Take Cover spark decays into nothing since it's not nested!

    Mechanically, this one is nice and defensive. The enemies are still far away, and even if one manages to get close enough to attack, they need to bash down 1 take cover, then 3 dragon's teeth, then 1 defensive buildings before they can attack you or your resources. If you keep everything safe until it decays, you'll have a permanent base that will require an equally potent sticky spark to remove (requiring the enemy to nest and let their attacks decay, which gives you just as long to blast them!) ​

    [ ] Operation: Brown Water Navy: Use your Awareness (2) vs Diff 1 skill to "find" Resource (2) sparks for 0 heat, then use Nanofabricate (2) vs a diff 1+1 to build a nested spark of Metal Extractor & Energy Generator (1) for 0 heat. Follow this up with Nanofabricate (2) vs Diff 1+2 and a Organizational Expertise (2) vs Diff 1+3 for a cost of 1 and 2 heat to create a Shipyard (1) and Tier 1 Navy (1). Take an additional 3 heat to add +3 to the Tier 1 Navy. Vent 6 Heat with Just as Planned... to create 1 just as planned spark! This...it doesn't really matter, you're mostly just ditching heat. Your economic sparks decay immediately into the sticky spark of "Fully Functional Economy" (1), and after four turns, the Naval Sparks will decay into "Deadly Navy" (4). The just as planned spark is irrelevant, honestly.

    Mechanically, this one is a long term scheme. A Deadly Navy spark will let you use your Background skill to "buy" gear (gear is purchased via background skill checks, and gives you access to characteristic values that alter actions.) Basically, it lets you go, "I now have [Battleship], it has 3 range characteristics and 2 damage characteristics" much easier, which means that the Protoss...can't do shit about it unless they spawn something of equal or greater characteristics. You just need to survive until then! ​

    [ ] Operation: Commander Rush: Use the value of your Secret Route sparks to erode the distance to the Protoss the nearest Stalker platoon, then use your Vehicular Weapons (2) skill to blow them to hell and gone for a cost of 1 heat. Then use Awareness (2) to find Resources at diff 1+1, creating a Resource (1) spark and Nanofabrication (diff 1+2) and take 1 heat to make your economy. Then use your Strategic Training (2) vs diff 1+3 for a cost of 1 heat to make a Hidden (1) spark. Then take 3 more heat to bump it to Hidden (4). Vent 6 heat to make a useless just as planned spark to just zero out your heat! Your economy sparks decay into the sticky spark you're all familiar with by now, and your hidden spark decays to 3. Hopefully it keeps you hidden until the next turn!

    Mechanically, this is the most aggressive. You blow away some Stalkers (removing them from play completely) and build your economy in an unexpected place. Since range is loosy goosy and abstracted, you're still -20, -30 and -30 away from everything else. Cause I say so! That's my job, as the GM!
    ​
    So, uh...that's a lot! But I hope someone tries a write in. But also, if no one does, I do not blame you, lol.
     
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