Not Quite Lovecraft

Well you guys turned down the set fire on the ritualist's cabin idea. Not like we can do that next loop. Maybe we should make an omake of Oliver manically burning down the train.. The cabin is locked but I think next loop we might be able to mess with it, and I really want to send the hound after its rightful target, The Cultist. Very smart of them to keep themselves below our notice and acting through intermediaries.

The way the forgiveness water works is to cut off the connection between a malevolent entity to the victim. Applying it on the crowd of Church goers was sufficient to stop the Revenant. Maybe the same principle will work here, with the blood magic powering it. Or maybe the Hound will prevail. But I really believe this might be the best option for this loop.

_brightwing said:

Well you guys turned down the set fire on the ritualist's cabin idea. Not like we can do that next loop. Maybe we should make an omake of Oliver manically burning down the train..

The way the forgiveness water works is to cut off the connection between a malevolent entity to the victim. Apply it on the crowd of Church goer was sufficient to stop the Revenant. Maybe the same principle will work here, with the blood magic powering it. Or maybe the Hound will prevail. But I really believe this might be the best option for this loop.

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Sure but that requires the malevolent entity and the victim to have a connection. For a revenant haunting a specific family that makes sense. But there are other reasons a horror may be attacking a person.

Using our blood for a boost might be what we need. But I am worried about a magical sacrifice not being fixed by the loop. It's not something we want to rely on too much unless we can get a reliable way to fix it, otherwise we will dwindle with time.
... On the other hand if it is fixed by the loop then that opens up some serious potential for abuse. Kinda risky though.

Hmm.. In this case the sole reason a Hound might be drawn to our dimension would be the temporal anamoly. That's their connection and means of sensing and navigation in our alien realm (for them) So stands to reason the Water of Forgiveness might work. It worked for cutting off King in Yellow's influence from the stage to our world too if you recall - with other things we did in addition to it.

Oliver, Robert and the Waitress might be minor violators compared to Cultist. Now if their connections are gone and the Cultist's one remain.. Suddenly all the Hound would see is the Cultist.

Now this is assuming they didn't summon and bind the hound in the first place and it's an opportunistic predator. But a backlash would be so satisfying. Or I guess Oliver could work on undoing it's bindings next loop, if its bound? Or cowing the Cultist into calling it back.. there's all sorts of possibilities.

I am absolutely up for writing an omake of burning down the train after

[X] Plan: Discretion Is The Better Part Of

Yeah, maybe retreating before fighting is better.

_brightwing said:

Well you guys turned down the set fire on the ritualist's cabin idea. Not like we can do that next loop. Maybe we should make an omake of Oliver manically burning down the train.. The cabin is locked but I think next loop we might be able to mess with it, and I really want to send the hound after its rightful target, The Cultist. Very smart of them to keep themselves below our notice and acting through intermediaries.

The way the forgiveness water works is to cut off the connection between a malevolent entity to the victim. Applying it on the crowd of Church goers was sufficient to stop the Revenant. Maybe the same principle will work here, with the blood magic powering it. Or maybe the Hound will prevail. But I really believe this might be the best option for this loop.

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Blacksheep said:

I am absolutely up for writing an omake of burning down the train after

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I mean, we can still burn down the train next loop.

Like, we wake up. Bring Robert up to speed with waths happening. And set fire to the Cultist Cabin.

That should reasonably interrupt the ritual, in a way neither the waitress or the cultist can counter.

You guys are really not making this easy XD

Mystic Pentagram said:

[X] Plan: Discretion Is The Better Part Of

Yeah, maybe retreating before fighting is better.




I mean, we can still burn down the train next loop.

Like, we wake up. Bring Robert up to speed with waths happening. And set fire to the Cultist Cabin.

That should reasonably interrupt the ritual, in a way neither the waitress or the cultist can counter.

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Next loop is final one that counts.. where everything will be permanent.

I would absolutely not set fires or do something that would risk lives.. We need to act decisively to stop the ritual though.

Discretion vote involves tussling with the Hound to get away. The actual escape vote without fighting is bleeding off.

_brightwing said:

Next loop is final one that counts.. where everything will be permanent.

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Two more loops, actually

Ohh I guess we misread the ritual clue. That's a relief! It would have been so uncertain to go about it without actually having encountered the cultist.

Anyways.. I'm recommending in the strongest terms that we do not engage the Hound physically or go near them. A change in tactics would be pretty easy in the Discretion plan to distract the Hound in some other way in our arsenal.

What do you guys think of.. blasting the gun outside and bringing the guards running? Oliver might be arrested but we only have two hours left anyways.

_brightwing said:

Ohh I guess we misread the ritual clue. That's a relief! It would have been so uncertain to go about it without actually having encountered the cultist.

Anyways.. I'm recommending in the strongest terms that we do not engage the Hound physically or go near them. A change in tactics would be pretty easy in the Discretion plan to distract the Hound in some other way in our arsenal.

What do you guys think of.. blasting the gun outside and bringing the guards running? Oliver might be arrested but we only have two hours left anyways.

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Are we sure that wouldn't just put the guards in danger? Why wouldn't the Hound attack them too?

Mystic Pentagram said:

Are we sure that wouldn't just put the guards in danger? Why wouldn't the Hound attack them too?

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The Hound if Ternesta's lore is correct only sees and hungers for people who have violated the space time continuum. The last time we glimpsed the Hound was in the second loop - we created a ruckus and the guards were milling about, the passengers awake and questioned. It appeared and vanished. Not the same scenario, but close. A gunshot would draw a lot of attention all across the sleepy train.

Does away with the need to resort to the blood offering and hiding that way. But nothing is certain. We don't know if the guards would be able to come right away, the Hound spooked might go after one of the three in the meantime. Part of what is terrifying is the possibility of timespanning mauling.

Blood offering one shows the Waitress we're an occultist worth our salt. To trust us when we say she is being duped, and that we have a vested interest in her welfare - even at personal expense. Securing her aid for the next two loop would be a major blow against the Cultist.

_brightwing said:

The Hound if Ternesta's lore is correct only sees and hungers for people who have violated the space time continuum. The last time we glimpsed the Hound was in the second loop - we created a ruckus and the guards were milling about, the passengers awake and questioned. It appeared and vanished. Not the same scenario, but close. A gunshot would draw a lot of attention all across the sleepy train.

Does away with the need to resort to the blood offering and hiding that way. But nothing is certain. We don't know if the guards would be able to come right away, the Hound spooked might go after one of the three in the meantime. Part of what is terrifying is the possibility of timespanning mauling.

Blood offering one shows the Waitress we're an occultist worth our salt. To trust us when we say she is being duped, and that we have a vested interest in her welfare - even at personal expense. Securing her aid for the next two loop would be a major blow against the Cultist.

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Well, if you are willing to vote for a plan that will attract the guards by shooting. Then maybe a modified version of my first plan could work.

[X] Surviving the Hound
-[X] back away towards the door and pull out your gun. Shoot at the creature as many times as you can while you move, this should keep it at bay and hopefuly attract the attention of the guards.
-[X] if the creature closes the distance and enters melee range, draw on Nemo strength and strike it as hard as you can. Try to push the creature back inside the cabin.
-[X] call out to Robert and ask him to help you. Once you are outside the door, you will both try to lock the door and trap the creature inside the cabin. You will both scream for help, trying to attract other passengers and the guards.
-[X] if the creature gives signs of breaking down the door or escaping from the cabin, retreat along the hallway. Try to find a weapon for Robert and keep the distance from the creature. You will both try to reach a more crowded train car, hoping that the creature will not attack you if you are surrounded by mundane people.

Do we REALLY have to save this idiot?

Mystic Pentagram said:

Do we REALLY have to save this idiot?

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Okay, that's brilliant on multiple counts.

Dying gets reset in the time loop

[X] tell the waitress, "It's either this or you get your temporal existence erased. See you next loop."
-[X] kill the waitress

Edit: To be clear, I'm open to changing my vote with an idea that has more than the five seconds spent giggling while writing the vote

[] Well, you tried.
-[] Retreat, taking Robert with you. Defend yourself if needed.
-[] Point out that Yog-Sothoth's arrival will be far worse than this.
-[] If she wants to survive, she needs to follow and give you the key.

offering up this as a starting point

Tascion said:

Okay, that's brilliant on multiple counts.

Dying gets reset in the time loop

[X] tell the waitress, "It's either this or you get your temporal existence erased. See you next loop."
-[X] kill the waitress

Edit: To be clear, I'm open to changing my vote with an idea that has more than the five seconds spent giggling while writing the vote

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[X] Kill the waitress, and..
-[X] Tell the waitress, "It's either this or you get your temporal existence erased. See you next loop."
-[X] Shoot her in the head, ensure it's a clean shot to stop her from feeling pain.
-[X] Yell for the guards, and surrender immediately handing over your weapon - if the Hound vanishes like last time.
-[X] If the Hound does not vanish like last time instead move to the next action turn to act.
-[X] If questioned by the guards deflect saying she is a crazed fanatic who tried to attack us and got killed in the struggle. Tell them to check her for their keys which she has stolen and direct them to the cultist's cabin (blaming her) to keep them occupied for this loop. Demand they check the luggage for the stolen historical gemstone by this smuggling ring and her accomplice. There are precious stones too.
-[X] Alternatively, judging by the situation stay quietly in your holding area and prepare for the devouring. Warn Robert too if you can to steel his mind.


This makes a lot of sense in the current context. Shooting her would protect from a fate worse than death. I expect her to be useless though on account of the trauma of the mauling and death. We'd need to force the keys from her next loop or social it off her.

Shooting also bring in the guards - who might in turn shoot Oliver possibly if he doesn't surrenders immediately. But that might save us from the Hound's retaliation. Sometimes plans just don't pan out when you throw in other factors. And that's okay.

I really want to read an arrest scene now.. It's another classic trope!
Adding some more tactics into the plan for contingencies, but JayTar is better at ensuring safety if he has ideas.

[X] Kill the waitress, and..

This going to be very cathartic.

[X] Kill the waitress, and..

works for me

[X] Kill the waitress, and..

Well we know who it was after now. Uh, we should probably grab Robert and get out.

_brightwing said:

[X] Kill the waitress, and..

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Uhh!
Okay this is crazy and unhinged, and might be exactly the right thing.

Surrendering to the guards is a bad idea however. We only have 2 hours until the loop ends. They will detain us until the train arrives no matter how good our story. And I doubt they will let us prepare in peace. They might separate us from Robert too.
Since things will be resetting in 2 hours it makes more sense to just flee, and then barricade our self somewhere in the train. Perhaps in the luggage compartment even.

[X] Kill the waitress, and..

[X] Kill the waitress, but..
-[X] Try to grab the keys
-[X] Instead of surrendering, flee.
-[X] barracde yourselves in the luggage compartment.

I'm a tad worried about the guards shooting Oliver but fleeing is also a sound plan. There's also the danger the hound might follow into the barricade once the guards are no longer looking, but Oliver can deal with it. It's more likely it will leave our realm like before. The best part is it lets us directly explore the fabled luggage area for the stones and gem - if we manage to grab the keys with the Hound around.