The binding rules do explicitly say that you're not supposed to spam the ability. Each thrall is supposed to be a significant event in the game in it of themselves, making dozens of thralls to game the faith system that it supposed to be difficult to raise breaks the game.
The example demon it gives us is in the mid game and has 3 total thralls. That says something about what the rules are designed for here. Any plan that involves her taking more than single digit thralls over the the next year should be discarded out of hand.
Yeah, but I'm a bit wary about rules like this when they aren't mechanically enforced.
Allies, Contacts and Retainers are also supposed to be limited, yet we can draw hit-squads from our Hell without issue and even before that our Jade Dogs would have scratched the upper limits on what Retainers allow for:
Retainers
Not precisely Allies or Contacts, your retainers are servants, assistants, or other people who are your loyal and steadfast companions. Many vampires' servants are ghouls (p. 496) — their supernatural powers and blood bond-enforced loyalty make them the servants of choice. Retainers may also be people whom you've repeatedly Dominated until they have no free will left, or followers so enthralled with your Presence that their loyalty borders on blind fanaticism. Some vampires, particularly those with the Animalism Discipline, use animal ghouls as retainers.You must maintain some control over your retainers, whether through a salary, the gift of your vitae, or the use of Disciplines. Retainers are never "blindly loyal no matter what" — if you treat them poorly without exercising strict control, they might well turn on you.Retainers may be useful, but they should never be flawless. A physically powerful ghoul might be rebellious, inconveniently dull-witted, or lacking in practical skills. A loyal manservant might be physically weak or possess no real personal initiative or creativity. This Background isn't an excuse to craft an unstoppable bodyguard or pet assassin — it's a method to bring more fully-developed characters into the chronicle, as well as to reflect the followers for which the Kindred are notorious. Generally, retainers are more like Renfield than Anita Blake. (If the player and Storyteller agree, a player may create a more competent single Retainer by combining more points in this Background, putting more eggs in one basket, as the saying goes.)Players can spend pooled Background points on Retainers.
• One retainer•• Two retainers••• Three retainers•••• Four retainers••••• Five retainers
1)No, that is not true.
They are not a shadow govt. They are an intelligence agency, they dont set policy, and their explicit goal has been to keep the supernatural thing under wraps. They literally told us so.
There's a goddamn reason I dont want anyone important to Molly to be caught underground with the potential of Denarian sorcerers channelling Hellfire-boosted evocation in their vicinity.
The destructive power is impressive, yes. Nothing is stopping this from happening aboveground either. And the Last Station is actually better equipped to defend itself.
Dresden lives underground, in the basement of a two story building.
Rocket launchers cant do shit. Mortars cant do shit.
A fucking howitzer bombardment would have to level the floors above his home before they could even get at his residence
This is just so wrong... No, living in a basement won't help him. A modern rocket launcher has a penetration depth of 3 meters into a brick wall. 2.5 into reinforced concrete. You are really underestimating the lethality and destructive power of mundane weapons.
Nerve gas deployment is not a man-portable weapon system, and there's literally no guarantee that it would work anyway
Especially since the standard warnings for gas are stay indoors and keep your door closed.
And gas doesnt do anything to a household with a Demon who has Lore of Flesh anyway; its very first evocation Body Control deals with poisons.
What? No, seriously, what? Nerve gas in not man-portable weapon system? I guess I imagined those terror attacks, I guess. Or these WW2 weapon systems (Russian wiki has much more information, they came with a variety of ammunition, including chemical warfare ones).
Technically, when making a Pact she doesn't spend her own Faith, she spends points from the target's Faith-potential.
Basically, every human has a Faith-potential from 1-5, that determines how much they can bring in the relationship, which is pretty abstract but means how deep the human's faith can be.
The Demon has to leave at least 1 point unspend, that is the daily Faith-regeneration it gets out of the agreement and it has to spend at least half of the total on granting the Thrall whatever it wished from the Pact (plus more if she just wants to enhance the Thrall). (See page 251 of DtF Core)
People with a Faith Potential of 1 are not eligible for Pacts.
Though I agree that that is not something you do quickly while under assault.
She has Lore of Flesh as her primary Lore.
If she has Lore 3, she can give people buffs, but at the risk of applying unsoakable bashing damage to them as well.
• • • MANIPULATE FLESH
This evocation allows the demon to manipulate a subject's physical form (be it her own or another's), adding muscle mass, increasing bone density or expanding mental faculties.
System: Roll Intelligence + Medicine. Each success is a point that can be added to any of the subject's Physical or Mental Attributes, There is a risk, however. Compare the total number of successes to the subject's Stamina. Any excess successes are suffered as bashing damage due to system shock. This damage cannot be soaked. To perform this evocation on another individual , the demon must be able to make physical contact, and the individual can attempt to counteract its effects — the Storyteller makes a Willpower roll ( difficulty 8 ).
Torment: Monstrous demons alter flesh and bone without regard for their subjects' frailty. If performed on another, a Willpower roll is made for the subject, with a difficulty equal to the demon's Torment. If the roll fails, the subject suffers a temporary derangement that makes him uncontrollably paranoid and prone to violence. If the roll is botched, the derangement is permanent.
If she has Lore 5, she can potentially make them superhuman.
However, this costs 1 Faith point per use and a QM-mandated number of successes.
• • • • • SHAPE FLESH
The demon is capable of transforming human flesh into any shape desired. Mortals or fallen can become monstrous creatures straight out of legend. System: Spend one Faith point and roll Dexterity + Medicine in a resisted roll against the target's Willpower (difficulty 7). The player decides the form she wishes to create, along with its relevant physical capabilities, and the Storyteller determines the number of successes necessary to make the form a reality.
These successes can be generated as part of an extended roll over a period of days (one roll per day) as the demon "tinkers" with her creation. As a rule of thumb, assume that each success confers or removes one Physical Attribute point or physical feature. The effects of this evocation last for a number of days equal to the character's Faith score, or they can be made permanent by expending one temporary Willpower point. Devourers can use this evocation on themselves or others, as long as they can touch a subject.
Torment: Monstrous demons' alterations are invariably warped by their Torment, creating grotesque deformities that transform victims into walking nightmares. Such a hideous metamorphosis causes the victim to gain a temporary derangement and to suffer a level of lethal damage each day as a result of the intolerable strain placed on his body. Mortals who witness these creatures suffer the effects of Revelation.
She could potentially do stuff like making a person into a dragon shapeshifter, for example.
Depending on QM ruling.
But like you said, neither are spammable abilities that you use just before combat.
Even Flesh 3 , which doesnt cost Faith to use, is only doable if you had an egregious number of healing potions around to deal with the bashing damage you are about to deal the person if you roll too well.
Needless to say, you dont want people going into combat with wound penalties from bashing damage.
I should note that Lash probably can't make thralls out of Last Station inhabitants without breaking Mercy in Servitude. She can probably provide an equivalent but that kinda defeats the point.
The destructive power is impressive, yes. Nothing is stopping this from happening aboveground either. And the Last Station is actually better equipped to defend itself.
I think Harry is fine with this outcome, he certainly hasn't given any sign of resentment and it fits his usual behavior. Leaving her there unsupported forever wouldn't be good, but having her crash there a bit isn't a huge problem for him.
By contrast these first few days to weeks could be very important for Lash's personal growth. Harry is the person that helped her break free, he's a crucial part of this going well.
No they arent.
They literally said so. And there is no indication in canon either that there is some supereffective shadowy deep state that is secretly protecting US society, or any other nation, from the depredations of the supernatural world.
Lara Raith got a US Navy ship to deploy a medevac flight into foreign Mexican airspace for a random civilian in Changes.
Deep states dont let the head of state of foreign nations do shit like that.
The destructive power is impressive, yes. Nothing is stopping this from happening aboveground either. And the Last Station is actually better equipped to defend itself.
Above ground doesnt have tens or hundreds of meters of rock and earth above it that would be destabilized by the right spell.
You're comparing a house collapse to a tunnel collapse.
This is just so wrong... No, living in a basement won't help him. A modern rocket launcher has a penetration depth of 3 meters into a brick wall. 2.5 into reinforced concrete. You are really underestimating the lethality and destructive power of mundane weapons.
A modern rocket launcher fires an explosively forged penetrator to get through an armored target; basically a narrow-angle jet of molten (usually)copper or a similar metal. It is designed to punch through armor with limited blast effect, not to blow up rooms, and has limited impact to people not immediately in the line of fire.
Furthermore, the space between the exterior wall of the floors above Dresden's basement act as spaced armor.
Which further defeats the whole purpose of this. We've literally seen decades of urban fighting in the Middle East with modern rocket weapons used as anti-infantry weapons; we know that it doesnt work as you think.
What? No, seriously, what? Nerve gas in not man-portable weapon system? I guess I imagined those terror attacks, I guess. Or these WW1-WW2 weapon systems (Russian wiki has much more information, they came with a variety of ammunition, including chemical warfare ones).
No, you are wrong.
And frankly, your choice of examples proves my point.
The Tokyo sarin attack involved ~5 liters of sarin.
Given the LD50 of sarin is around 38.5 milligrams for a 70-kilogram person, there was enough sarin there to kill thousands of people if they could achieve proper dispersal, and it was deployed on packed commuter trains during rush hour.
They killed 14. Thats across five trains with five different attackers.
US mass shooters manage to kill more people for less money and trouble.
/darkhumor.
Chemical weapons are rather difficult to weaponize, as both Saddam and the Syrians will tell you.
The problem isnt making them, which is within the technical capacities of basic light chemical or pharmaceutical industry; the problem is getting them to aerosolize properly.
I stand by my point.
And your second quote, the Ampulomet was a crude antitank weapon, using phosphorus and sulfur to create an incendiary charge.
There's a reason it was discontinued.
Its not even a chemical weapon, never mind a nerve gas; the Wiki article you linked says, and I quote:
The Ampulomet (Russian: 125-мм ампуломёт образца 1941 года, also rendered Ampulomyot, ampulla mortar, etc., lit. "ampule/vial thrower" cf. миномёт) was an expedient anti-tank weaponwhich launched a 125 mm incendiary projectile made of spherical glass.[4][5] This weapon was introduced in 1941 and used (to a limited degree) by the Red Army in World War II, but by 1942 was largely obsolete.[6]
A black powder charge was inserted into the breech and fired by a percussion cap to propel the AZh-2 glass ampule.[1]The ampules were filled with an incendiary mixture known as KS. KS was a mixture of 80% phosphorus and 20% sulfur which ignited when exposed to air. The burning mixture created a bright flame, thick white smoke and would burn for up to three minutes at temperatures between 800–1,000 °C (1,470–1,830 °F). The burning liquid would seep through vision slots or engine grilles on a tank and ignite ammunition or fuel as well as choke and blind the crew.[7]
Chlorine is a piss poor chemical weapon. Thats why they stopped using it back in WW1.
Nobody uses blistering agents or choking agents or even blood agents any longer because they suck at the job; the various varieties of nerve gas are the agent(s) du jour for the would-be mass murdering war crime enjoyer.
And your second quote, the Ampulomet was a crude antitank weapon, using phosphorus and sulfur to create an incendiary charge.
There's a reason it was discontinued.
Its not even a chemical weapon, never mind a nerve gas; the Wiki article you linked says, and I quote:
From Russian wikipedia, which has a far more comprehensive article, the list of ammunition types:
АК-1[3] — стеклянная ампула сферической формы диаметром 125 мм. Нередко в документах именовалась АС-1. Стенки капсулы были толщиной 10 мм, в результате чего были нередки случаи неразрыва капсул при метании с самолёта или ампуломёта по рыхлому грунту. До создания «советского напалма» — жидкости КС — заправлялась только отравляющими веществами — ипритом или люизитом[11], при этом состоя на вооружении с начала 1930-х годов как химбоеприпасы[3]. В 1939 году был создан её модифицированный вариант — АУ-125[3]. По некоторым данным, рекомендовалось использование стеклянных ампул против бронетехники, в отличие от АЖ-2[9]. Существовали также модификации АК-2 и АУ-260, данные о характеристиках и применении отсутствуют[3].
АЖ-2 — жестяная ампула сферической формы, изначально разработанная для ампуломёта с целью замены стеклянных ампул[3]. Имела более тонкие по сравнению со стеклянными ампулами стенки, могла быть как литой, так и состоять из двух и более частей[3]. Вмещала около литра огнесмеси или отравляющего вещества. Изначально разработанная для ампуломёта, применялась в качестве наполнителя кассетных боеприпасов в авиации вплоть до 1945 года[11]. Иногда снабжалась дистанционным взрывателем ТАТ-8 или аналогичным[2], снижавшим объём огнесмеси[3], но повышавшим эффективность ампуломёта против пехоты[9]. Существовало также множество вариантов, отличавшихся техникой изготовления ампулы. Так, с 1941 года её стали изготавливать из чёрной жести в связи с переходом промышленности на особый режим работы[3]. В 1943 году она была модифицирована плакированием ампул пластмассой и изменением взрывателя для повышения надёжности[3]. Применялась в штурмовой авиации до конца войны[3].
Термитный шар ТШ-300[2][24] — шар из спрессованной термитной смеси с фитилём, весом 300 грамм. Изначально являлся суббоеприпасом авиационной кассетной бомбы ЗАБ-500-300ТШ[24]. Был чрезвычайно эффективен против бронетехники, но и легковоспламеним, из-за чего популярностью в войсках не пользовался[11].
ФБМ-125 — разработанная как авиационная бомба, кумулятивная мина ФБМ-125 весом в 2,5 кг (из них полтора килограмма составляла масса взрывчатого вещества) широко применялась в ампуломётах для поражения различной техники противника (при снаряжении тротилом пробивала 90-мм стальную плиту)[3].
БФМ-100/125 — бронебойно-фугасная мина, разработанная ОКБ-НКАП 455-го завода[3]. Данные о характеристиках и боевом применении отсутствуют; известно, что БФМ-100 занимала по весу промежуточное положение между жестяной капсулой АЖ-2 и дымовой шашкой АДШ[3].
АДШ — дымовая шашка диаметром 125 мм, изначально рассчитанная на применение в кассетных авиационных боеприпасах, могла применяться в ампуломётах[3]. 17 ноября 1942 года ампуломётные команды 48 СД в районе Петергофа осуществили постановку дымовых завес, вероятно — при помощи дымовых шашек АДШ, известны постановки дымзавес подобным способом и в конце 1943 года.[2]
Деревянные ампулы, изготавливавшиеся непосредственно в войсках для тренировочных стрельб во время сборов ампуломётных команд.[25] В дальнейшем от их использования отказались из-за того, что баллистика деревянных ампул не соответствовала баллистике штатных ампул, а также самодельные ампулы приводили к повреждениям стволов ампуломётов.
AK-1[3] is a spherical glass ampoule with a diameter of 125 mm. It was often referred to as AC-1 in documents. The walls of the capsule were 10 mm thick, as a result of which there were frequent cases of non-rupture of capsules when throwing from an airplane or an ampoule gun on loose soil. Prior to the creation of the "Soviet napalm", CS liquids were refueled only with toxic substances — mustard gas or lewisite[11], while being in service since the early 1930s as chemical munitions[3]. In 1939, its modified version, the AU—125, was created[3]. According to some reports, the use of glass ampoules against armored vehicles was recommended, unlike the AZH-2[9]. There were also modifications of the AK-2 and AU-260, data on the characteristics and application are missing[3].
AZH-2 is a spherical tin ampoule, originally developed for an ampoule meter in order to replace glass ampoules[3]. It had thinner walls compared to glass ampoules, could be either cast or consist of two or more parts[3]. It contained about a liter of fire mixture or a toxic substance. Originally developed for an ampoule gun, it was used as a filler for cluster munitions in aviation until 1945[11]. Sometimes it was equipped with a remote fuse TAT-8 or similar [2], which reduced the volume of the fire mixture [3], but increased the effectiveness of the ampoule gun against infantry [9]. There were also many variants that differed in the technique of making ampoules. So, since 1941, it began to be made of tinplate in connection with the transition of industry to a special mode of operation [3]. In 1943, it was modified by cladding ampoules with plastic and changing the fuse to increase reliability[3]. It was used in assault aviation until the end of the war[3].
Termite ball TSH-300 [2][24] is a ball of compressed thermite mixture with a wick, weighing 300 grams. Initially, it was a submunition of the ZAB-500-300TSH aviation cluster bomb[24]. It was extremely effective against armored vehicles, but also highly flammable, which is why it was not popular with the troops [11].
FBM-125 — developed as an aviation bomb, the cumulative FBM-125 mine weighing 2.5 kg (of which one and a half kilograms was the mass of the explosive) was widely used in ampoule meters to defeat various enemy equipment (when equipped with TNT, it pierced a 90-mm steel plate)[3].
BFM-100/125 is an armor—piercing high-explosive mine developed by OKB-NKAP of the 455th plant[3]. There is no data on the characteristics and combat use; it is known that the BFM-100 occupied an intermediate position in weight between the AZH-2 tin capsule and the ADSH smoke bomb[3].
ADSH is a smoke bomb with a diameter of 125 mm, originally designed for use in cluster aviation ammunition, could be used in ampoule meters[3]. On November 17, 1942, ampoule teams of 48 SD in the Peterhof area carried out the installation of smoke screens, probably with the help of smoke bombs of the ADSH, smoke curtains are known to be staged in a similar way at the end of 1943.[2]
Wooden ampoules that were made directly in the troops for training shooting during ampoule teams' training camps.[25] In the future, their use was abandoned due to the fact that the ballistics of wooden ampoules did not correspond to the ballistics of regular ampoules, as well as homemade ampoules led to damage to the barrels of ampoules.
Chlorine is a piss poor chemical weapon. Thats why they stopped using it back in WW1.
Nobody uses blistering agents or choking agents or even blood agents any longer because they suck at the job; nerve gas is the agent du jour for the would-be mass murdering war crime enjoyer.
Above ground doesnt have tens or hundreds of meters of rock and earth above it that would be destabilized by the right spell.
You're comparing a house collapse to a tunnel collapse.
From a practical (Harry's) perspective, there's essentially no difference.
I stand by my point - there needs to be a choice that isn't "do X or die" for a choice to be meaningful. Does it come with some risks to us? Yes, it does. Can we manage those risks? Yes, we can.
So, about this. Lara is also a signatory of the accords. So, again, what was that about Rules (capital R) stopping Nick from launching the nukes? No, most likely he either cannot due to security measures (mundane and otherwise), or launching nukes just isn't in his game plan.
I stand by my point - there needs to be a choice that isn't "do X or die" for a choice to be meaningful. Does it come with some risks to us? Yes, it does. Can we manage those risks? Yes, we can.
ANd I maintain that going solo is a perfectly valid choice for her.
She is not a damsel in distress, she has more than enough abilities and confidence to survive effortlessly on her own in Chicago, only needing ours or Harry's help when supernatural heavy hitters come for her, which I don't expect in the next weeks.
English language sources say none of the Allies used chemical weapons in WW2.
And since I cant read Russian, I cant really follow any of the citations
🤷
Its obvious when deployed, both visually and in its effect on mucous membranes.
It dissolves in water, which has unpredictable effects in coastal locations. Not to mention that it is also a lot more dangerous to the would-be warcrime enjoyer, since chlorine reacts explosively with, or forms explosive compounds, with a lot of shit from turpentine, ammonia and natural gas to finely divided metals.
Like I said, it sucks at its job.
Everyone went to nerve gases for a reason.
From a practical (Harry's) perspective, there's essentially no difference.
I stand by my point - there needs to be a choice that isn't "do X or die" for a choice to be meaningful. Does it come with some risks to us? Yes, it does. Can we manage those risks? Yes, we can.
Houses are not homogenous structures of brick and concrete, at least not in the US. There's a lot of wood and plasterboard in a lot of residential construction, so its entirely possible that a collapsed house will not kill you. You can see this in housing in some earthquake areas as well.
Rock and earth on the other hand, especially tens of meters underground?
And in Chicago, which is literally next to the Great Lakes, and this you have to worry about water as well?
Yeah, no.
A house collapse here is a lot more survivable than a tunnel/
So, about this. Lara is also a signatory of the accords. So, again, what was that about Rules (capital R) stopping Nick from launching the nukes? No, most likely he either cannot due to security measures (mundane and otherwise), or launching nukes just isn't in his game plan.
Lara does not have Heaven riding her ass personally, the way the Denarians do.
Besides, Lara called medevac for a pickup of a seemingly mortal American(Molly) after the fighting was over; she didnt ask for a full air to ground strike by a carrier strike wing.
Its obvious when deployed, both visually and in its effect on mucous membranes.
It dissolves in water, which has unpredictable effects in coastal locations. Not to mention that it is also a lot more dangerous to the would-be warcrime enjoyer, since chlorine reacts explosively with, or forms explosive compounds, with a lot of shit from turpentine, ammonia and natural gas to finely divided metals.
Like I said, it sucks at its job.
Everyone went to nerve gases for a reason.
English language sources say none of the Allies used chemical weapons in WW2.
And since I cant read Russian, I cant really follow any of the citations
🤷
This is very close, but I do want to get an update up today so
Vote closed
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 5, 2023 at 8:37 AM, finished with 175 posts and 18 votes.
[X] Plan Brass Tacks -[X] Offer something --[X] Some money to get herself on her feet --[X] Some supplies to get her started --[X] Documents to legalize her identity -[X] Make a point to socialize with her regularly over the next month at minimum.
[X] Plan Identity -[X] Offer something --[X] Some money to get herself on her feet --[X] Documents to legalize her identity --[X] A place to stay at the Last Station until she can find her own, if she wants to. --[X] Improving protections of whatever place she chooses to stay at -[X] Make a point to socialize with her regularly over the next month at minimum.
[X] STUNT: You catch Harry's eye "She can stay with you right?" At his affirmative nod, you sigh in relief and take over the conversation, turning to his companion. "I cant currently offer you a place to stay yet" you begin apologetically. "Last Station's got better fortifications" you ignore Harry's strangled squawk of protest " But it doesnt have Mouse. And I dont think Last Station's location is secure enough to guarantee your security against your clone-mother's associates" you ignore Charity mouthing clone-mother silently in favor of tossing your car keys at Harry. "Also, there may have been complications if I'd offered Sanctuary as an option" As you pause, Lash - Tiffany- interjects "Complications?". To her question, you waggle a finger at the floor."Rules lawyers". At her look of comprehension, you continue, even as she helps herself to more gingerbread. "There's a couple labelled bags in Rider's trunk; some sets of clothes, personal items, groceries, burner phone, that sort of thing. Some cash in there as well. Rider can drive you both back to Harry's apartment. We'll work on getting you documents after Christmas. Anything you want to talk about tonight?
[x][Stunt]"And I will of course offer you the same things that I offer everyone who comes to the Last Station. Food, a place to rest, a way to earn money and help with legal paperwork for establishing an identity."
"One more thing before you go," you interject as things start to wind down to about as innocuous a conclusion to this meeting as one might have hoped for. "Given that I am the one responsible for you being around as you are the least I can do it provide some walking around money and documents. Thomas is already providing such services for people from the Fivefold Courts so it won't be much trouble. Think of this as a birthday gift."
"Or a housewarming gift to a new neighbor," 'Tiffany' answers as she heads towards the door her smile making it very clear she knows what you're doing. "Not to worry I won't do anything too disreputable or eye-catching. One would be foolish to do so when rooming with law enforcement."
As she says that she glances up at Harry, a look that he returns a bit too deeply for your liking. Even though you do your best to keep that other green-eyed demon off your own face Lash notices by piercing more-than-mortal sight and offers a small sympathetic shrug which should probably sting a lot more than it does. Twelve hundred dollars of Arianna's plane money exchange hands and the two of them are gone, a long walk and a long talk sure to follow.
"Well, that was without a doubt the most unique experience I have had in the service of Our Lord," your dad sighs, closing the door. "Not the worse though, not the worst by far."
"There is still evil there," Mom says, slowly shaking her head. "More than she knows maybe, more than he knows definitely."
"There is pain, rage and hate, it is by one's works that good and evil are known," you counter. And as far as you are concerned doing evil onto evil is good enough, though that you do not say aloud.
***
It's on that note of tenuous hope that you turn in for the night, though in your case it is not to sleep but to shoot Thomas a message that you are going to need one of those fake IDs say 'Tiffany' Something and then reviewing what he has. In one way it's a good thing that the U.S. does not have standardized citizen ID like most of the world and instead in many cases had fallen into using the Social Security Number as a kind of ad hoc replacement for both financial institutions and some parts of the government . Social Security Administration has over the years objected to this strenuous and stridently since they were never designed for that purpose, they were never meant to have that kind of security. according to Thomas one can without computer assistance guess the social security number of people who were born in the same area and around the same date as any given Social Security Number, though computer assistance makes it a lot easier to generate results and thanks to Iris he has a lot of that.
What he's done is found duplicates in the system and then done his best to reproduce them for other similar numbers, thus providing an innocent pattern to build novel identities around: driver's license, passport, hunting and fishing licenses and so forth. None of these will take a deep or particularly though investigation, but they will stand up to normal scrutiny or so at least he hopes. What all the identities have in common is that their bearers supposedly lived much of their lives off the grid for one reason or another from a religious upbringing to growing up on a commune to being from the kind of small Alaskan town that does not see much contact with the outside world, built in excuses for unusual behavior.
I wonder which one Lash will pick.
Cyberdevils gain +2 Inteligence thanks to the integration of IRIS' greater processing power -> Upgraded to Cyberdevils ●●●
Around 4 A.M. you step inwards and outwards to a secured briefing room in the Palace of Sublime Majesty where the selection process is already done: Twenty Agents of the Amethyst Hand specifically ones who trained for deep cover operations, all volunteers and all of... deep religious conviction.
You look away from the projection for a moment, take a deep breath, it makes sense that Sessil selected for that criteria given that no one knows what would happen to the agents' souls should they die on Earth. Their leader, a man of strong human descent, seemingly into his middle age, though in truth he has lived the equivalent seven and a half centuries, more than half of that in a profession that often wears away the will, or even the sanity, of those who engage in it, is named Hand of Gently Falling Ash.
Equipment: Subdermal Weave (+2 Lethal Soak, stacks with armor), Heavy Pistol, Electro-Laser (Base 6 Aggravated Damage, Range 20 Yards), Electrified Brass Knuckles (STR+1 Bashing or Lethal Brawl-weapon) high-end Slab and concealing clothes
For expected combat: Long-ranged Electro-Laser gun, Chemical Grenades, Haywire-Grenades (destroy non-hardened electronics in 30 yards) and Body Armor (4 A, -1 Dex)
Augments:
Slowed Perception Implanted Combat Enhancer (SPICE)
A new and somewhat risky augment, directly implanted into the brainstem, this chip allows the user to slow down his subjective perception of time in any situation, allowing them ample time to think about their next move in combat or other cases profiting from high-speed thinking.
Lower the difficulty of almost any Dexterity- or Wits-based roll by -1 or -2, including cases like attacks and dodges, driving, combat-planning and some rare social cases where quick thinking is of advantage.
Overuse of this ability causes intense headaches and sickness.
The -1 version can be used up to 3 times per scene safely, or the -2 version once. Using either version after that causes respectivly a -1 or -2 wound-penalty on all dice-pools for the rest of the scene (this includes on the roll it was over-used on itself).
Rangefinding Eyesight Augment Device (READ)
A classic among scouts and hunters in the wastes, this eye-replacement works best while one organic eye is kept to diversify the sight-modes, rather than rely fully on the new version. Whereas the human eye is best suited for detecting movement, the augment highlights minute color-differences, making it much easier to spot region-adapted predators and prey animals (such as white rabbits hiding in snow, etc.). In more mundane ways, the augment also allows for some amount of zooming in and automatically calculates the distance to objects it perceives.
This augment increases Perception by 1 and can lower the difficulty of perception rolls to notice sneaking or hiding creatures by -1.
The rangefinder reduces the time it takes to aim with a ranges weapon by one turn (so the first turn aiming provides +2 dice, every further turn the normal +1).
Reflexactivated Adrenal Gland Enhancement (RAGE)
Despite the name this augment does not merely enhance adrenaline production, but unleashes an entire alchemical cocktail into the agent's body, allowing for brief burst of speed or to shake of the effects of severe wounds for a short time.
This works as the Formor Mutation Berserker, giving 5 Rage points. However due to the augment being inactive unless deliberately activated the agent is only at risk of Frenzy when using Rage points and for the rest of the scene afterwards. In his normal life he is as immune to Frenzy as any regular human.
While the Rage can obviously not be used to enhance shapeshifting, it can instead be used to activate a lesser form of Frenzy, ignoring up to -2 Wound Penalties for the rest of the scene.
His particular version of the READ implant gleams gold when it is in use, only the faint clicking of constant micro-adjustments betraying his nervousness as he intones: "Hail Empress Eternal, we have studied, we have trained and we have run simulations based on all available data, all of us are fluent in English and in the customs of the land as we understand them. We are as prepared as we can be without taking the step Beyond. What do you will of us?"
What do you reply?
[] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
[] Provide Security for the Last Station and its inhabitants
[] Provide back up and investigative services
[] A combination of any or all of the above (the more options are chosen the less progress will be achieved on any one front)
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: Well we've done 'bring demons forth upon the Earth' time for the 'alien invasion' part of the Evil Benevolent Overlord Plan.
I want all of these, but I suppose that protecting Last Station isn't as urgent if we aren't getting Lash on our team.
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
Expand, expand, expand. Expand before we are attacked, so we have as many forces as possible to counter the attack. Secure Last Station by making a warbody for Porter.
They aren't really suited for investigative services on Earth, not yet. They are an advance force. So, work with Thomas to properly expand.
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
[x] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
We desperately need more people that we can delegate to.
I expect Marcone to contact us shortly. Which might help us accelerate things. Depending on how he takes not being anywhere near the biggest fish in the city.
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
[X] Prepare the ground for a smoother induction of more agents by working with Thomas to turn Chicago Synthetics from a mere shell company to an interface between Earth and Sanctuary
We should see if we can't get the group biased more towards demon summoners in the future.
Our proper demons go home when they die, so stealing a page from Binder's playbook and having minimal mortal presence directing demonic forces in the field minimizes the risk of permanent harm for any given agent and the number of people at such risk in general. Not that our demons and their pain are worthless, but unless someone brings a spirit killer around they'll walk it off as long as we support them properly.
Also should we consider making contact with the Library again, and if so when?
I don't think we should do it immediately because they might try to limit our growth, but operating at large scale on this side will eventually draw their attention.
