Would Accelerated Training still work under Option 1? I ask because if it does then it would significantly quicken all training Alex does with his partners. It may be worth it for that alone.
Personally, I would rather go with either Option 1 or Option 2. I categorize the extra-dimensional adventures as 'side quests', so it is really a question of mechanism. The only downside to Option 2 is that Alex cannot bring his coworkers with him.
Say, @zagan can Shards retain a connection if Alex brings along a Parahuman with him? For instance, would Armsmaster's Tinker abilities wink out the moment he landed in Minecraft or does his Shard retain a connection to a universe with what I assume are different physical laws?
Would Accelerated Training still work under Option 1? I ask because if it does then it would significantly quicken all training Alex does with his partners. It may be worth it for that alone.
I considered an option that would disallow training. But I couldn't justify it and it would have negated more than half the incitative of having accelerate time. So yes, training would sill work.
Say, @zagan can Shards retain a connection if Alex brings along a Parahuman with him? For instance, would Armsmaster's Tinker abilities wink out the moment he landed in Minecraft or does his Shard retain a connection to a universe with what I assume are different physical laws?
Ahh, but you could have an evacuation that goes the other direction! As we know, the world of Naruto is already toast, but there might be some in RWBY, for example, who might not mind an evac. There might be some from SCP who wouldn't mind asylum either... and anybody in 40k would probably welcome space worm problems compared with the horrors in their universe.....
I tend to feel like I'm doing something heinous whenever I share my ideas on a post, nothing against anyone here just how I've been treated by people in the past, but there was a fifth option to consider here.
So, here's my thoughts on one that seemed interesting.
It's a mix of Option 2 giving free travel back and forth for a month to a single dimension and able to change it after that month. The other part would be he could bring someone along, but only if they've been given a partner from that particular dimension via Grant Summoning. Those he brings with wouldn't be able to travel to that dimension themselves as only Alex can use DT, but they can tag along and explore with him and would have to leave when he does or be stuck there until he comes back. While it does present the babysitting problem you mentioned before, anyone who he wanted to bring with him would be someone he gave a thorough background check to before he gave them a partner and be fellow capes, ostensibly people who chose to handle dangerous situations as a profession.
As an example, if he ever wanted to follow up on that tidbit about Harvest's original User dying to a serial killer, he wouldn't have to investigate it alone as Miss Militia would be able to go with him and provide tactical support and backup. While there isn't much left in the Omniverse that could really pose a threat to him, going after Shigechi's murderer is arguably a major one, thanks to Kira's anonymity and his Stands Power being one of those unique forms of damage, turning anything into a bomb so long as he can touch it. Given the Panda's situation, the JoJo world he goes to would be one where Josuke and company all died to Killer Queens: Bites The Dust, and I shudder to think if he could turn EVA's AT field into a bomb like he does to Stray Cats air bullets. Having someone besides his partners to watch his back would be a boon in that kind of situation but that's not the only way it can help.
Another example would be when he gets Creature Acquisition and has more partners to give out. Having Capes with complementary powers to the worlds he's visiting be Granted a partner to come with him would be of incredible benefit to themselves and the PRT. Obviously, someone like Taylor being given free rein to catch a full team of Bug-Type Pokemon would be an amazing boost to her effectiveness or even gathering some Carapaceon, Neopteron, or Temnoceran to build a small nest of them for her to command instead would likely move her from street level to Triumvirate.
While it's not like the PRT could physically stop him from using DT whenever he wanted, having someone to go with him would set their minds at ease and allow them to get a better understanding of his powers, a major issue his higher ups in Cauldron were interested in. There's also little chance he can keep this hidden from the Simurgh or Contessa if he ever uses it, his absence from Earth Bet would be just as telling to their powers as when he uses Yellow's Anti-Force bubble, but Contessa can have Legend or Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown ask him about it. There's no shot they would try to follow him with Doormaker, if only to see what kind of worlds his Agent has access to, and that could lead to some worrying implications if they succeeded. Nothing like them visiting that Naruto world with Kaguya running amuck for them to think it would be a swell idea to "save" some ninja for their experiments into giving powers.
And that's it, spent my whole shift thinking about this and wanted to share it, what do you think @zagan?
Could say for simplicity's sake they go sideways from how Shards normally go and the specific universe those Creatures are copied from are the "closest" available universe to the keeper. Could say Compendium gets a bit strained as those connections are pulled taut from where his center/home universe is. Like the center of a spiderweb getting pulled to one side. Or vice versa on the return trip as a clerical error misidentified the universe he traveled to as the "center" when he was gifted the new partners?
If you need a way to justify it, the simplest would be to claim it is an inversion of the process that allows Alex's creatures to use their abilities in the non-magical Earth-Bet. Although it does bring to mind a rather funny alternative:
"My God." Armsmaster stared at the vast, mushroom-filled cavern. Bats and stranger things moved in the gloom, the only source of illumination the massive bio luminescent fungi surrounding them. "I felt the same first time I saw it." Alex said. There was an awkward pause for just a moment before he continued. "By the way, are your tech and powers working alright? I mean, this is a whole other universe we're talking about. Physics aren't really the same."
Enhanced vision let Alex watch as his superior ran down a checklist via his helmet's haptic interface. "Everything appears to be in working order and I can detect no changes within myself or my powers. As expected, you worry far too much Compendium." Armsmaster turned to him with Reassuring Smile #3. "Your travels here demonstrated that humans can survive with no issue or concern. I am hardly made of glass myself, you know." "Right, right. I'm just being cautious." Alex was honestly surprised to find that Parahumans suffered no limitations this far from Earth Bet. According to Solar the Passengers ought to be more limited in what parts of the multiverse they could connect to. He briefly wondered how Armsmaster's Passenger was faring.
Meanwhile, in a dimension humans had no concept of, a group of five massive crystalline beings congregated at the edge of reality. Four of the creatures held onto a fifth who in turn stretched over the edge and across the Void towards a distant, tiny point. "Are we really supposed to be doing this? Shouldn't we contact the Hub?" asked Speed Isolation. "That layabout can shove it! Nnngh! This is the most interesting thing my Host has done in years! Eergh!" Efficiency Engine exclaimed, straining to reach over the Void. "Armory, hold onto my rear tendrils. I'm slipping here." "Look, I'm just saying you could wait. The Hosts said they will be back. Just re-sync and download your Host's memories." "Shut up Speed!" Shouted Efficiency. Oh yes, new Data would be had. Maintaining connection to his Host was totally worth the hernia.
Ahh, but you could have an evacuation that goes the other direction! As we know, the world of Naruto is already toast, but there might be some in RWBY, for example, who might not mind an evac. There might be some from SCP who wouldn't mind asylum either... and anybody in 40k would probably welcome space worm problems compared with the horrors in their universe.....
An interesting idea. I'm not sure anyone would want to come to Earth Bet if they knew enough about it. (I certainly wouldn't want to go there.) But you're right that there's is worse out there.
I tend to feel like I'm doing something heinous whenever I share my ideas on a post, nothing against anyone here just how I've been treated by people in the past, but there was a fifth option to consider here.
So, here's my thoughts on one that seemed interesting.
It's a mix of Option 2 giving free travel back and forth for a month to a single dimension and able to change it after that month. The other part would be he could bring someone along, but only if they've been given a partner from that particular dimension via Grant Summoning. Those he brings with wouldn't be able to travel to that dimension themselves as only Alex can use DT, but they can tag along and explore with him and would have to leave when he does or be stuck there until he comes back. While it does present the babysitting problem you mentioned before, anyone who he wanted to bring with him would be someone he gave a thorough background check to before he gave them a partner and be fellow capes, ostensibly people who chose to handle dangerous situations as a profession.
As an example, if he ever wanted to follow up on that tidbit about Harvest's original User dying to a serial killer, he wouldn't have to investigate it alone as Miss Militia would be able to go with him and provide tactical support and backup. While there isn't much left in the Omniverse that could really pose a threat to him, going after Shigechi's murderer is arguably a major one, thanks to Kira's anonymity and his Stands Power being one of those unique forms of damage, turning anything into a bomb so long as he can touch it. Given the Panda's situation, the JoJo world he goes to would be one where Josuke and company all died to Killer Queens: Bites The Dust, and I shudder to think if he could turn EVA's AT field into a bomb like he does to Stray Cats air bullets. Having someone besides his partners to watch his back would be a boon in that kind of situation but that's not the only way it can help.
Limiting the choice of accompanying people to those that gained a partner already is an excellent idea. It's flavorful and appropriate. I will be keeping this one in mind.
Another example would be when he gets Creature Acquisition and has more partners to give out. Having Capes with complementary powers to the worlds he's visiting be Granted a partner to come with him would be of incredible benefit to themselves and the PRT. Obviously, someone like Taylor being given free rein to catch a full team of Bug-Type Pokemon would be an amazing boost to her effectiveness or even gathering some Carapaceon, Neopteron, or Temnoceran to build a small nest of them for her to command instead would likely move her from street level to Triumvirate.
That would necessitate him having enough knowledge of the world he's visiting. And that's not the case, he knows about the specific partner. Some info about the ecology of that creature but not the whole world.
While it's not like the PRT could physically stop him from using DT whenever he wanted, having someone to go with him would set their minds at ease and allow them to get a better understanding of his powers, a major issue his higher ups in Cauldron were interested in. There's also little chance he can keep this hidden from the Simurgh or Contessa if he ever uses it, his absence from Earth Bet would be just as telling to their powers as when he uses Yellow's Anti-Force bubble, but Contessa can have Legend or Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown ask him about it. There's no shot they would try to follow him with Doormaker, if only to see what kind of worlds his Agent has access to, and that could lead to some worrying implications if they succeeded. Nothing like them visiting that Naruto world with Kaguya running amuck for them to think it would be a swell idea to "save" some ninja for their experiments into giving powers.
And that's it, spent my whole shift thinking about this and wanted to share it, what do you think @zagan?
If you need a way to justify it, the simplest would be to claim it is an inversion of the process that allows Alex's creatures to use their abilities in the non-magical Earth-Bet. Although it does bring to mind a rather funny alternative:
On the subject of available destinations, when the time comes there will be a vote of course. But the options proposed will be limited by a list of my choice. I will only give the option to go into settings that I'm familiar with and that I'm comfortable writing in.
A good example would be the Discworld. I love this setting, I have nearly all the books, I reread them multiple times, but I would never dare write in that setting. I couldn't do it justice. I could never get the right tone for the characters. I have far too much respect for Terry Pratchett to disparage his works that way.
So in short, don't start a wishlist of worlds you like to visit. There's a good chance you'll be disappointed.
I do really like the idea of our guy going to other worlds mostly blind with no real metaknowledge other than the knowledge given to him by certain creatures, should make things more interesting.
Lets just... Stay away from Kingdom Hearts for now.
God knows if something from there decides to follow us back home... Earth bet does not need heartless... Or god forbid the attention of Organization 13
Hmm. I doubt zagan will do so, but it is interesting to think about whether anyone could be able to follow us back to our universe using their own abilities. Dr Strange? Arceus? Elminster? Azmuth? What if we were to get cozy enough to allow Reed Richards to hook us up to all kinds of machinery as we leave? Yeah, probably not....
[X] Power
Power Roll: (1200 points)
Entry Roll D33=15
1000 Dimensional Travel, 300 Multi-Boost, 700 Sustained Immortality
Sub-vote results: 1000 Dimensional Travel
Banked: 200
You'll see that Dimensional Travel isn't included in this chapter. That's because I couldn't fit it in anywhere. It will be in the next one, hopefully.
The chapter is pretty short for once, (Yay) but it's an important setup for the future. Enjoy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Saturday, 05/14/2011 (10 AM)
I found myself standing on a stage with the members of the Triumvirate by my side. Eidolon was on my left, Alexandria was on his left and Legend was on my right. If this wasn't a clear way to include me among their ranks I didn't know what was.
An assortment of other heroes from all over the country and even the world were also present with us on stage, mainly leaders like Armsmaster.
At our back was the commemorative monument. Basically a blank marble wall with carving at the top and columns on either side. And with only one name in the middle. It was elegant without being overbearing.
For less than two weeks of work, this was a fantastic result.
In front of us, the Mayor was making a speech, a speech that showed no sign of ending. Oh, it was dignified, full of cheer for the victory that was the death of Leviathan but at the same time not dismissing the loss previously caused by the monster. The writer was clearly talented.
But it was still a long and boring speech as we stood behind him not doing anything.
I used the opportunity to watch the public. It was composed of a vast majority of civilians but scattered among them were capes. The atmosphere was festive, it wasn't every day that one got to celebrate the death of an Endbringer after all. There were a lot of fingers pointed toward Eidolon or I.
While I would have appreciated to have with me the partners that participated in the battle, it wouldn't have been practical and it would have drawn even more attention my way so I was only accompanied by discreet partners. I was already the target of far too much attention as is. And various people keep commenting that they like my new costumes, or my new haircut, or my mask. And I still didn't know why. Though I had some suspicions.
At the edge of the crowd stood the Wards, acting as security for the event. Though I seriously doubt anyone would dare attack such an event, both for the significance and for the presence of so many strong capes.
The Mayor was finally winding down. After him, Legend would say a few words, then Eidolon, and finally myself. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. My speech was written by the image department so there was that.
Just as the Mayor stepped away from the podium under the applause of the crowd, my enhanced hearing allowed me to hear multiple crackles of earbuds from all around, though not mine.
Legend paused in his step for a fraction of a second before he resumed his walk. I heard Alexandria whispering while Eidolon twitched as he resisted moving while he listened to his own earbud.
"What now?" There was a pause as she listened. "An attack? Elisburg! Damn it!" Another pause. "Fine, we'll come as fast as possible. Tell them to hold on."
Still whispering, she addressed Eidolon. "Can you whip up a teleporting power to get us to Elisburg?"
The man grimaced. "I can but it will take a while to spool up if I want to bring more than one or two people."
"Fuck!"
Eidolon turned my way and spoke up. "Compendium how fast can you take us to Elisburg?"
All my Minds converged to find the best possible solution and a second later I whispered back.
"Less than a minute, once we gathered everyone you want."
"Perfect, let's go."
They didn't give me any more details than that but I watched as Legend, who's been listening, interrupted his own speech and theatrically put his hand to his ear and pretended to listen to something.
Then he addressed the public. "My apology folk, there's an emergency that we need to deal with. We need to go. Don't worry however we will handle it as swiftly as possible." He turned to the Mayor and nodded to him. "Mister Mayor, I trust you to take things from here."
I must give credit where credit is due because the man barely hesitated before stepping back to the podium.
The crowd was clearly looking confused and frustrated but I didn't have time to focus on that. Already I was following Eidolon and Alexandria, they were pointing at various heroes present and gesturing for them to follow. This includes Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Chevalier, Myriddin, Narwhal, and others.
Once we were behind the monument, Alexandria gestured to me. "Go on."
Without fanfare, Bruce appeared in front of us with only one car attached, and I gestured for everyone to get into it. I heard the quiet murmur of discussion between the heroes, wondering what was happening. However, they were all consummate professionals so they didn't direct those questions to the Triumvirate, aware that they would get their answers soon enough.
I watched as they hurried inside and Eidolon approached me. "Are you sure this will be fast enough?"
"Don't worry about speed, that's the least of our problems. It will take longer to orient ourselves than to reach our destination."
He gave me a look of contemplation before nodding seriously. He was the last to enter the car, the door closing behind him.
I teleported into Bruce's head, which served as the cab.
I gave Bruce the ability to fly with Grant Movement. Soon we were levitating in the air as the Denshark oriented himself following Clank's mental instruction. My robot did the necessary calculations to reach our destination in the shortest time possible.
A few seconds later Bruce's head was pointing toward the northwest at a sixty-degree upward angle.
I yelled back. "Brace yourself, this will be a short but bumpy ride." I waited for two seconds just to be sure that everyone was ready and I slapped the Rabbit Talisman on Bruce's pseudo-control console.
In defiance of all laws of physics, we didn't generate a sonic boom as we departed Brockton Bay. To an outside spectator, we moved fast enough to not even leave an afterimage. For those inside it looked like teleportation. A millisecond after our departure we reached the upper atmosphere.
Screams of shock echoed from the car behind me.
Again I yelled. "Don't relax. We have one more maneuver to perform."
Still following Clank's instruction Bruce reorient himself once again, this time aiming downward. I had no wish to remain this high up for long. There was one being orbiting the Earth that I didn't want to confront right now. Not yet and not in her domain.
With another application of the Rabbit Talisman, we disappeared.
A millisecond later we reached our destination, flying at the edge of the walled Elisburg. Without waiting any longer I teleport into the car.
"We're here."
"Excellent. Have us land near the command center." Alexandria nodded to me before turning to address everyone.
"As of five minutes ago Nilbog's monsters have gone berserk and started attacking relentlessly the walls surrounding Elisburg. They appear to be stronger and more deadly than all our previous estimations suggested."
Despite all the resources at my beck and call I couldn't help but repress a shudder, Nilbog was a boogieman for a lot of people in the region. A looming menace that we tried to not think about.
And I wasn't alone in feeling that way, I could see similar feelings being reflected in the face of my fellow heroes.
Alexandria pushed on. "We do not know what triggered this sudden surge but for now it matters little. Our priority is preventing them from escaping and spreading. Full lethal measures are a go."
We landed just as she finished speaking and we all hurried out of Bruce's car.
Outside I could hear the staccato of the submachine gun on the walls, the repeated explosions of mortar, and the screams coming from both the monsters and the soldiers.
Alexandria shouted to overcome the noise. "Avoid making direct contact with the monsters, there's a high probability of biological agents at play. Dragon will coordinate our actions."
And indeed Dragon's voice came out of my earbud. "Compendium you are to…"
[] send non-biological partners into Elisburg to search and destroy Nilbog.
[] remain on healing duty.
[] spread your partners around the wall in support of the soldiers.
[] all of the above.
Wordcount: 1380
Excess words: 128
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did anyone bet that Elisburg would play a role during this arc? Hopefully, I managed to surprise you. This one has been in the planning phase for a good while.
For the roll, 200 (Banked) + 120 (Chapter) + 120 (Excess words) = 440 points.
Was not expecting this, though if we had more horizon stuff that would be perfect for seeking out Nilbog. Also more powers would be useful in this situation as there are still some boosts and summon enhancers we have not hit yet, but we do not lack for heavy hitters.
@zagan would the Tek Creature modifier work for making our summons non biological? We also have quite a few esoteric summons and have a good number of invocations we can use for area effects like the FF and Golden Sun ones (plus some stuff from type moon)
@zagan would the Tek Creature modifier work for making our summons non biological? We also have quite a few esoteric summons and have a good number of invocations we can use for area effects like the FF and Golden Sun ones (plus some stuff from type moon)
Yes, Tek would work perfectly well. It's not a theme that is purely cosmetic it's a modifiers that truly change the creature. In that case into a robot. The only exception might be if you combine with other modifiers that are Biological like Half-Dragon (though the biology of a half-dragon is suspect at best).
Well didn't expect having to deal with Nilbog wonder if the S9 are involved. I say go for all of the above to cover all our bases since he can do that and voting Creature to see if we get lucky on our rolls since we still have Debt available if not we can always skip to save points.
[X] all of the above.
[X] Creature
Alex can easily fulfilled multiple roles even if spread a bit thin but we can afforded it, plus good opportunity to send in Cujo with a team to make them invisible and intangible through elisburg
Yes, Tek would work perfectly well. It's not a theme that is purely cosmetic it's a modifiers that truly change the creature. In that case into a robot. The only exception might be if you combine with other modifiers that are Biological like Half-Dragon (though the biology of a half-dragon is suspect at best).
