A Champion in Earth Bet [Worm/Original Setting]

[Always Late]

one thing I feel is important to keep in mind for the upcoming vote is that no matter what else we do we need to keep pressure on Gesellschaft as to not allow them to strike back at the Guild and to keep the momentum against them going.

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That's the trick we've gone all in on: Everything is based on nonstop wins, and always being on the attack. It's not something unique to GS, our entire campaign on Earth Bet has that same dynamic. The closest thing to a counterpunch we had was the S9 buildup, and so far we've gotten good results since. If we get bogged down, get reactive, on any issue anywhere, the hype machine starts dying. Power projection of both infrastructure and manpower gets harder to justify. People start saying they shouldn't have gotten their hopes up.

Which is why Sun's Discount Light-Slash-League Of Supervillains is the quest's proper BBEG: We have no idea they exist, they can build up at their leisure, and can make a global counteroffensive. The S9 were a sideshow. GS is a third-stringer. Even that shit idea called the Chinese Union-Imperial isn't that much of an issue. We're basically fighting a dozen brushfire wars with an on-the-fly organizational buildup until The Evil Avengers decide to introduce themselves.

 

[Dmol8]

Don't forget the incoming three Endbringer pileup.

 

[Always Late]

Don't forget the incoming three Endbringer pileup.

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... Did that get QM confirmed? Might have been awhile back, but I genuinely don't recall if David's still making everything worse and the first two-three pages of the search aren't returning anything clarifying.

 

[Dmol8]

... Did that get QM confirmed? Might have been awhile back, but I genuinely don't recall if David's still making everything worse and the first two-three pages of the search aren't returning anything clarifying.

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👇

Terror Drone Two was bathing in magma.

That in itself was not unusual. It always hid in the depths of the planet between attacks. However, this time around, it was being more active about it.

The interloper had upended the status quo. First by killing Terror Drone Thirteen, then Terror Drone Seven. Contributing to hope and stability among the humans. Those were not conditions conductive to the cycle.

That the Thinker had died, leaving only the Warrior, did not matter. That the cycle was doomed regardless of their actions did not matter. The Terror Drones were programmed to maintain an environment conductive to the cycle, and that was exactly what they would do. Furthermore, they would learn from each other's mistakes. Terror Drone Thirteen hadn't used all his power against the interloper from the start, and then had tried to flee. Terror Drone Seven had tried to rely on its ability to predict the interloper, and had fought him alone.

None of these mistakes would be repeated.

And so, Terror Drone Two bathed in magma, many miles below the area humans designated as Yellowstone. Magma whose flow it had, in recent weeks, redirected. Created constant currents that always brought him more and more molten rock, even as he drained it of heat and energy. Accumulating it. Preparing for battle. Readying itself.

Just like Terror Drone Five and Terror Drone Sixteen.

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We have an incoming controlled detonation of the Yellowstone Supervolcano by Behemoth as the opening salvo in the Terror Drones fight against the Avatar. Sweet dreams.

 

[storysmith112358]

I think now is a good time to remember that, in-universe, it's only been less than a full year since we arrived in Earth-Bet, and in that intervening time, we've given it a real kick up the pants in becoming less of a hellhole.

Now, as for other thoughts...

Just spitballing here, but if we could swing it, if he was amenable/amiable enough, and if we wouldn't mind owing Israel a pretty big favor in the process, would it be possible to negotiate a deal with En Kamoni to get him to go after Kamikoe?
He has experience in taking out Master-led cults, he himself is immune to Master effects, and it would be a good idea to talk the strongest cape in a region onto our side.
Or an alternate solution, would Ninja Roja be amenable for a semi-long-term infiltration op if we quietly locate and subdue Kamikoe and get her to replace her? The thing about cults is that if everyone is so slavish to the dear leader, if they were quietly replaced with a lookalike and started acting a bit differently, would the members start to suspect the dear leader, or just change their beliefs/actions to match because they've been doing so for years, power or no power? If this works, we might be able to keep the Kamikoe situation contained/controlled enough for the JSDF to handle it themselves or until we take care of one more operation (then again, despite her name, I doubt Ninja Roja knows Japanese or has a way of getting the knowledge fast enough).

I think the issue right now is that it seems like unless we/the Guild take an active look into situations and actively decide to help them along, things just don't take steps in good directions by anyone other than us taking initiative, even now that we've given them the opportunity to do so with a global surge of optimism; they either remain stagnant or backslide.
I mean, the ceasefire between Black Sun and Phosphor was good, but it backslid until we poked our head in. Bastion both survived the Leviathan attack and managed to wipe away his scandal with the victory, but he went right back to shooting his mouth off later and we had to bail him out. The Nigeria/Kenya situation is on a delicate balance of favor/repayment and might topple if we take our eyes off of it, even though we advocated for the release of democratic activists to help stabilize the situation. Liberating Brazil and handling Gesellschaft are ongoing missions that will actively lose progress and support if we don't handle them.
Now that we've given everyone a boost, are they reciprocating in kind and matching our efforts? Were there any JSDF heroes that would've been able to do something against Kamikoe, but weren't because they were tied up in keeping an eye on Skylance or Fuji-Sama? Are there folks who have been railing against Gesellschaft for years who have now gotten more support now that the Avatar is kicking them in the side? Are there officials in the Nigerian and Kenyan governments who are actively normalizing relations between them that don't need us wiping their noses?

Has there been anyone from anywhere in the world who's had the Avatar help them, resolve their situation, then say, "You've given us a real chance. Don't worry, we'll take it from here."? The only place that we seem to have 90+% completion and is in a relatively stable state is Brockton Bay itself.

But maybe I'm over-complaining. This was always going to be a dynamic quest, and creating plans to resolve as many problems as possible was always the main draw. Though maybe we were hoping that some problems would be resolved by now and we wouldn't have to keep going back to them...

Which is why Sun's Discount Light-Slash-League Of Supervillains is the quest's proper BBEG: We have no idea they exist, they can build up at their leisure, and can make a global counteroffensive. The S9 were a sideshow. GS is a third-stringer. Even that shit idea called the Chinese Union-Imperial isn't that much of an issue. We're basically fighting a dozen brushfire wars with an on-the-fly organizational buildup until The Evil Avengers decide to introduce themselves.

Click to shrink...

Don't forget the incoming three Endbringer pileup.

Click to shrink...

Maybe we'll get lucky and one of the Endbringers will pop up under one of the Lords' home cities and take them off the board via collateral damage. \doubt

 

[Dmol8]

I think the issue right now is that it seems like unless we/the Guild take an active look into situations and actively decide to help them along, things just don't take steps in good directions by anyone other than us taking initiative, even now that we've given them the opportunity to do so with a global surge of optimism; they either remain stagnant or backslide.
I mean, the ceasefire between Black Sun and Phosphor was good, but it backslid until we poked our head in. Bastion both survived the Leviathan attack and managed to wipe away his scandal with the victory, but he went right back to shooting his mouth off later and we had to bail him out. The Nigeria/Kenya situation is on a delicate balance of favor/repayment and might topple if we take our eyes off of it, even though we advocated for the release of democratic activists to help stabilize the situation. Liberating Brazil and handling Gesellschaft are ongoing missions that will actively lose progress and support if we don't handle them.
Now that we've given everyone a boost, are they reciprocating in kind and matching our efforts? Were there any JSDF heroes that would've been able to do something against Kamikoe, but weren't because they were tied up in keeping an eye on Skylance or Fuji-Sama? Are there folks who have been railing against Gesellschaft for years who have now gotten more support now that the Avatar is kicking them in the side? Are there officials in the Nigerian and Kenyan governments who are actively normalizing relations between them that don't need us wiping their noses?

Has there been anyone from anywhere in the world who's had the Avatar help them, resolve their situation, then say, "You've given us a real chance. Don't worry, we'll take it from here."? The only place that we seem to have 90+% completion and is in a relatively stable state is Brockton Bay itself.

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Well The Brave Little Spider was supposed to be a companion piece that expanded on just that, but @sun tzu is not writing it right now. On the positive side at least Taylor is trying to do something like this in the background considering we haven't heard from her having problems in quite some time.

Considering how much Taylor likes to escalate we may be getting reinforcements out of Boston at some point with no effort of our own.

 

[KNM]

Well The Brave Little Spider was supposed to be a companion piece that expanded on just that, but @sun tzu is not writing it right now. On the positive side at least Taylor is trying to do something like this in the background considering we haven't heard from her having problems in quite some time.

Considering how much Taylor likes to escalate we may be getting reinforcements out of Boston at some point with no effort of our own.

Click to shrink...

It is a shame that it's basically dead. Then again, the gap between chapters is significant already so I suppose it's better not to split the attention too much.

I think now is a good time to remember that, in-universe, it's only been less than a full year since we arrived in Earth-Bet, and in that intervening time, we've given it a real kick up the pants in becoming less of a hellhole.

Now, as for other thoughts...

Just spitballing here, but if we could swing it, if he was amenable/amiable enough, and if we wouldn't mind owing Israel a pretty big favor in the process, would it be possible to negotiate a deal with En Kamoni to get him to go after Kamikoe?
He has experience in taking out Master-led cults, he himself is immune to Master effects, and it would be a good idea to talk the strongest cape in a region onto our side.
Or an alternate solution, would Ninja Roja be amenable for a semi-long-term infiltration op if we quietly locate and subdue Kamikoe and get her to replace her? The thing about cults is that if everyone is so slavish to the dear leader, if they were quietly replaced with a lookalike and started acting a bit differently, would the members start to suspect the dear leader, or just change their beliefs/actions to match because they've been doing so for years, power or no power? If this works, we might be able to keep the Kamikoe situation contained/controlled enough for the JSDF to handle it themselves or until we take care of one more operation (then again, despite her name, I doubt Ninja Roja knows Japanese or has a way of getting the knowledge fast enough).

I think the issue right now is that it seems like unless we/the Guild take an active look into situations and actively decide to help them along, things just don't take steps in good directions by anyone other than us taking initiative, even now that we've given them the opportunity to do so with a global surge of optimism; they either remain stagnant or backslide.
I mean, the ceasefire between Black Sun and Phosphor was good, but it backslid until we poked our head in. Bastion both survived the Leviathan attack and managed to wipe away his scandal with the victory, but he went right back to shooting his mouth off later and we had to bail him out. The Nigeria/Kenya situation is on a delicate balance of favor/repayment and might topple if we take our eyes off of it, even though we advocated for the release of democratic activists to help stabilize the situation. Liberating Brazil and handling Gesellschaft are ongoing missions that will actively lose progress and support if we don't handle them.
Now that we've given everyone a boost, are they reciprocating in kind and matching our efforts? Were there any JSDF heroes that would've been able to do something against Kamikoe, but weren't because they were tied up in keeping an eye on Skylance or Fuji-Sama? Are there folks who have been railing against Gesellschaft for years who have now gotten more support now that the Avatar is kicking them in the side? Are there officials in the Nigerian and Kenyan governments who are actively normalizing relations between them that don't need us wiping their noses?

Has there been anyone from anywhere in the world who's had the Avatar help them, resolve their situation, then say, "You've given us a real chance. Don't worry, we'll take it from here."? The only place that we seem to have 90+% completion and is in a relatively stable state is Brockton Bay itself.

But maybe I'm over-complaining. This was always going to be a dynamic quest, and creating plans to resolve as many problems as possible was always the main draw. Though maybe we were hoping that some problems would be resolved by now and we wouldn't have to keep going back to them...



Maybe we'll get lucky and one of the Endbringers will pop up under one of the Lords' home cities and take them off the board via collateral damage. \doubt

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To be honest, I agree.

It's basically looking like a Micro Management quest. The Avatar and the Guild having to keep spread themselves thinner and thinner to prop up the places they saved because they're not competent or active enough to even manage themselves or make any moves without constant overwatch.

The only aversion is the offscreen actions of the European Brigade every now and then.

 

[CorellianJedi]

Well hopefully with the US President's support the Avatar can get the US government to support Brazil, with the possibly of even direct protectorate support sounding like it's a option however unlikely that is, and hopefully ease up the pressure on Brazil and allow the Guild to move at least a few of their forces away to other areas.

 

[Briefvoice]

Honestly... it feels like all the risks always pay off. Maybe it doesn't much matter what we vote for, because no matter what it'll work out.

 

[CorellianJedi]

On the options for the next vote I feel we need to, like I already said, keep attacking Gesellschaft so that they don't have time to form a counterattack against the Guild and next we need to do either Indonesia or India, Indonesia to slow down the collapse of a massive country of over two hundred million people, and India well quite frankly for a country that has two members in the Guild (with a possible third member coming) and which represents a good percentage of earth's population like it has been mentioned by @BelligerentGnu we have done nothing for them yet and even besides that if the Guild helps out India, a country of that size could potentially help out the Guild a lot, maybe with some extra members, and for the three Blasphemies as has been mentioned by @SirKaid maybe if we stop the three Blasphemies that could be a strike against the soft power of Gesellschaft if we defeat a major threat in Europe they couldn't deal with so that's something to definitely think about and for the Balkans as been mentioned by, again, @BelligerentGnu that's something the Avatar himself could possibly step in to help establish a ceasefire like with the two warlords in Vietnam and for both Nigeria and Japan I feel that for now we can wait to do both later, Japan because, last time, as @BelligerentGnu mentioned we have already dealt with Skylance and so they are decently stable for now, although we Definitely need to do that eventually because a master villain controlling a good chunk of Osaka does not sound like the kind of thing to ignore for long so we should do that soon but not right now, and Nigeria I feel can wait so as to build up at least a little more stability in Lagos first before we help liberate Port Harcourt, although like with japan we need to do that eventually not just to free the citizens of Port Harcourt from a bunch of warlords but also so that Nigeria doesn't start to feel bitter for helping out with Kenya's economy and sending six of their own capes to help in Mombasa but not getting anything in return, and finally for Belo Horizonte, which I honestly forgot was mentioned in the last scene of the chapter until a few hours ago , dismantling any existing or forming underground criminal groups in the city sounds like a job fit for Silver Crusader and a few others from the Guild with assistance from the Brazilian authorities and capes to do, as any criminal group left in Belo Horizonte probably isn't that big so it should be able to be handled by just a couple or so capes, anyways that's just my opinion what do you guys think?

 

[BelligerentGnu]

As happy as I am to have my ideas considered, dude, paragraphs.

 

[CorellianJedi]

As happy as I am to have my ideas considered, dude, paragraphs.

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Yeah after I made and edited that post I realized afterwords that it frankly looked terrible but as I had already made and edited it I didn't want to change it, but yeah next time for a post of that size I'm going to separate my points into different paragraphs, anyways sorry for the formatting I made it during school, specifically lunch, so i rushed a little.

 

[schlega]

That went better than expected. I'm not happy that we let some of the Nazis go, but at least we didn't have any losses. It would be nice to work towards some kind of international agreement on how to hold parahuman terrorists accountable even in areas without a functioning government. Until then it might be better to take a more lethal approach in the future.

I'm on board with India or Indonesia next plus a bit of Nazi hunting on the side.

 

[CorellianJedi]

Hey @sun tzu , not to be impatient but when do you plan on posting the voting options?
Sorry if I'm being pushy.

 

[Crake]

First, we have to keep at least a modicum of pressure on Gesellschaft. Of all the organizations on the board, they're the most able to counteract and disrupt the international cooperation we're developing. And by all that's good, do we *need* that cooperation. The only way this works is if we keep snowballing victories into cooperation into victories.

Second, the Indian subcontinent represents something like an eighth of the world's population, and we have done *nothing* there yet, but we've recruited at least three heavy hitters from them. We need to do at least one operation there to show that they matter to us, and to build a relationship we can draw upon. India is a deep, deep well.

The Balkans I think we should deal with personally as the Avatar - just establishing a ceasefire will buy us time.

Japan, frankly, can fucking wait. They're stable now that Skylance is dealt with, and they're a working developed economy. They'll be fine.

Port Harcourt, similarly, can wait. Nigeria can spend some time consolidating its position in Lagos.

The three blasphemies, as big a threat as they are - eh, I feel like we need to focus on the political victories right now, but I could be swayed. Particularly since they'd require more of a strike team than a large-scale operation.

Lastly, Indonesia: As much as I don't want to open a new front, 'close to collapse' in a country of 250+ million people is really hard to ignore. Additionally, Op Center at least is a single target. A very hard target, I'm sure, but enough thinkers, Strider and Avatar, should be able to do the job.

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1) Yes. They're ostensibly part of a concerted effort to disrupt Avatar and the Guild's efforts to bring stability to the world and international cooperation would be very much against their interests. And also yes, only a moderate amount of focus would be appropriate when bigger threats still lie on the board.

2) Some kind of operation should be done, though I'd say it would have to balance the need to represent "more to come" (as we have other fish needing frying) and still be felt as 'they're doing something', not just a political sop. If there's a way we can provide support to local heroic groups against Asura that could be a start, since they likely have their own developed strategy as-is, and it wouldn't require a huge task force since we'd have local forces to coordinate with.

3) Avatar could show up to put a stop to it. Honestly, if there are ongoing mass killings, something needs to be done and it would represent the least organizational commitment for the Guild to have him put a stop to it.

4) Japan can wait, yeah. There's nothing boiling over just yet, and even if the last active threat is gearing up for something big, whatever damage they can do probably wouldn't collapse what stability the place has already, compared to places that are in anarchy or on the threshold of it.

5) Yep. Already did a lot of work here.

6) This has the benefit of, as you said, needing just a good enough concentration of force to put down what the Blasphemies can bring to bare. I would say we should put together that team and strike them down for good, or at least disrupt whatever operation they're in the middle of because their entire modus operandi is around causing disruptions in an asymmetric fashion. Every minute where they're free to operate they're causing more chaos, which adds to our plate down the road.

7) Similarly to the Balkans, if it's at a point where if we don't do something now, the worst case scenario is basically guaranteed, we have to act.

 

[sun tzu]

Japan, frankly, can fucking wait. They're stable now that Skylance is dealt with, and they're a working developed economy. They'll be fine.

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Well, they had a working developed economy.
Then 9 million people died and 3 million became homeless refugees, which, honestly, was not great for Japan's economy.
It's still better than, say, any African economy. But it's not great.

Avatar going to bat for Unexpected and being honest about how the PRT was extorting him was great to see.

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Honestly probably the part of the chapter I was happiest with.

I agree with pretty much all of this, with one caveat: I think that dealing with the Blasphemies would synergize well with increasing pressure on Gesselschaft. We saw a bit of it here with the interview in Amsterdam - the Europeans are often somewhat self-centred. They didn't care for us stopping the Nazis because of the Afrikaner genocide. Therefore it would help starve the Nazi scum of soft support if we beat them like a drum while wiping out significant threats that they were unable to help with. This is sort of a situation where they can only choose one side to support - the Guild and Friends or Gesselschaft and Friends - so we want to ensure that they would prefer to be on Team Avatar.

Hell, I don't even care if they're still white supremacists. I mean it's awful if they are, but the goal here is dismantling Gesselschaft. We can work on de-Nazifying the continent later.

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It's not like Europeans are a single block. Or even like the Netherlands are a single block.
But South Africa descending into a genocidal civil war - a war that white people lost - had a big effect on mindsets, especially since so many Afrikaner survivors came to the Netherlands as refugees.
(Remember how the Ku Klux Klan was this huge, super-popular organization in the 1920s... until they murdered a white person and suddenly their support evaporated? Yyyyeah. Somehow, reactions change completely when white people start dying.)

... Did that get QM confirmed? Might have been awhile back, but I genuinely don't recall if David's still making everything worse and the first two-three pages of the search aren't returning anything clarifying.

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My headcanon, which applies to the quest, is that the Endbringers are not, in fact, Eidolon-dependent (and Scion was just saying whatever bullshit would break Eidolon's spirit). The fact that there are more Endbringers and that they're coming has been known to the Avatar and Earth-Bet since he killed the Simurgh.

I think now is a good time to remember that, in-universe, it's only been less than a full year since we arrived in Earth-Bet, and in that intervening time, we've given it a real kick up the pants in becoming less of a hellhole.

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Significantly less than a full year.
Like, seriously. It's only been a few months. The Guild's been working at a breakneck pace.

That went better than expected. I'm not happy that we let some of the Nazis go, but at least we didn't have any losses. It would be nice to work towards some kind of international agreement on how to hold parahuman terrorists accountable even in areas without a functioning government. Until then it might be better to take a more lethal approach in the future.

I'm on board with India or Indonesia next plus a bit of Nazi hunting on the side.

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I mean.
What would you have arrested them for? Taking the boat to South Africa? They were guilty of a conspiracy to do bad things, but you had no evidence. And Gesellschaft or not, the Dutch governments would have protested against the unlawful imprisonment of its citizens.
Hell, they wouldn't even have been wrong to.

 

[sun tzu]

[Vote for as many Guild and Avatar options as you wish. The two Guild options with the most votes will be selected as the Guild's next mission, and as one it begins preparations for. Three Avatar options will be selected, based both on number of votes and on avoiding intersection with Guild choices.]


[ ][Guild] The federal government may be holding Belo Horizonte again, but establishing order in a large city is no small feat. The Guild can assist in taking down what criminal systems remain or are forming.
Pros: Will help the Brasilia government maintain its momentum.
Cons: It's not exactly the sort of work the Guild shines at, and might be seen as busywork compared to larger crises out there.

[ ][Guild] Most of the Balkans have collapsed years ago into a tangled mess of parahuman warlordism, race wars, and religious conflicts, and right now there's a spike in mass-murder. The Guild can come down like a ton of bricks on the offending warlords.
Pros: It will, in the immediate time, save many innocent lives. Beside, if the Guild doesn't do it, the Avatar will spend personal time on it anyway.
Cons: The Guild has no path for imposing any kind of long-term stability or peace in the region; this will only be a moratorium. And arguably, the Avatar intervening alone might accomplish that as well.

[ ][Guild] Nigeria has been desperately struggling not to collapse since Behemoth's attack, and lost multiple cities to parahuman warlords. Recovering Lagos has been a major step forward; now it's time for the Guild to help the NPA take back Port Harcourt.
Pros: It's a major step toward stabilizing both Nigeria and West Africa, will improve the lot of a large population, and further earn the Guild favors from Nigeria.
Cons: Nigeria is still in the early stages of processing the reconquest of Lagos, and besides, making them wait might be a good negotiation tactic to get the Junta to agree to the Guild's further requests.

[ ][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[ ] The Slavic Union is the Russian branch of Gesellschaft, which puts it outside the reach of the European Brigade. There's far too little to oppose them in Russia, so the Guild might as well. Downside is, the Russian government might refuse to let the Guild intervene on its territory.
-[ ] The seat of Gesellschaft's power is east Germany. Taking aim there sends a clear message.
-[ ] France's Front Pour La Patrie is believed to have more parahumans than any other part of Gesellschaft. Try to cull the herd.
-[ ] Asgard, the pan-Scandinavian branch of Gesellschaft, has several exceptionally powerful members. Focus on taking them out.
-[ ] Australia is still reeling from the Simurgh's attack on Canberra (and Leviathan's attack on Sydney in 1998); New Zealand is suffering from the aftershocks as well. Best to make sure the local Gesellschaft branches can't take advantage of the chaos.
-[ ] Attacks of opportunity: Gesellschaft's wide array of villains inevitably gets into fights with local heroes. Work with local authorities to ensure that when such fights break out, the Guild is quickly called in.

[ ][Guild] Kamikoe is a powerful Master who can make someone believe a statement she makes, for the rest of their life and no matter what. This has allowed her to build herself a powerful cult, including a number of parahumans. Taking her out will require careful planning…
Pros: It will remove the single biggest remaining villain on Japanese soil, earning you the gratitude of Japan's government and people.
Cons: With Skylance and Fuji-Sama both down, Japan is not under risk of short-term collapse; Kamikoe is more of a long-term problem.

[ ][Guild] The battles of Thanda parahumans in India tend to happen in the shadows, but you know that Asura is a powerful Tinker whose "technocytes" can both empower her minions and control their brains, allowing her to keep an unknown number of enslaved parahumans. The fact that India actually wants the Guild intervening in the matter suggests it's a big threat indeed.
Pros: It gives the Guild an opening with the Thanda heroes, and besides, India is the second most populous country in the world; it's high time the Guild helped out there.
Cons: The sheer secrecy around the Thanda parahumans could lead to any number of complications.

-[ ][Guild] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.
Pros: Indonesia is one of the most populous nations in the world, and despite the heroic efforts of Iron Snake and the rest of Red White, it's on the edge of collapse. Taking some pressure off Red White is likely key to preventing the entire region from plunging into chaos.
Cons: Op Center has been able to run such a massive organization for damn good reasons, and is unlikely to go down easy.

[ ][Guild] The trio of nigh-immortal bio-Tinkers known as the Three Blasphemies have been using brain surgery to steal the powers of their parahuman victims, making them the most feared A-Class threat in Europe. Tracking down will be no easy task, but is the sort of monster hunt the Guild was originally made for.
Pros: Taking out the Three Blasphemies will earn the Guild significant credibility in europe.
Cons: Hunting down the Three Blasphemies is easier said than done. Furthermore, other parts of the world need assistance more urgently.


[ ][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

[ ][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

[ ][Avatar] Mexico City: The integration of the United States Of Mexico into the Protectorate is a complex process that cannot be expected to proceed painlessly. Every day the Avatar focuses on his Protectorate duties in Mexico City is a big help.

[ ][Avatar] Namibia: It's a low-population country, but it was entirely under Moord Nag's thumb before the Avatar arrested her. Time to check up on the emerging warlords and make sure they're not acting beyond the pale.

[ ][Avatar] Indonesia: The Avatar alone cannot do anywhere near as much good for the country as the entire Guild put together can. Nonetheless, he can provide invaluable help in his free time.

[ ][Avatar] South Korea: The arrest of Skylance and Fuji-Sama means a Japanese-Korean war is unlikely, but that hardly means the Korean peninsula is safe - and Laser Fist would be all too happy to point the Avatar at some of the worst villains it has.

[ ][Avatar] Space Program: The Avatar can provide invaluable assistance to multiple national space agencies - it's not fighting villains, but it's an important symbol of hope in the future.

[ ][Avatar] Guild: Whichever mission the Guild chooses to focus on, the Avatar dedicates as much time as he can to supporting and preparing it.

[ ][Avatar] Relief: The Avatar spends some time on providing relief efforts to particularly-devastated regions of Earth-Bet.

 

[Whenyouseeyou]

Oh god these votes just got bigger also I see more lockboxes as important

 

[ReaperofInterest]

Hmm...alright, here are my votes.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] The seat of Gesellschaft's power is east Germany. Taking aim there sends a clear message.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] France's Front Pour La Patrie is believed to have more parahumans than any other part of Gesellschaft. Try to cull the herd.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] Asgard, the pan-Scandinavian branch of Gesellschaft, has several exceptionally powerful members. Focus on taking them out.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] Australia is still reeling from the Simurgh's attack on Canberra (and Leviathan's attack on Sydney in 1998); New Zealand is suffering from the aftershocks as well. Best to make sure the local Gesellschaft branches can't take advantage of the chaos.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] Attacks of opportunity: Gesellschaft's wide array of villains inevitably gets into fights with local heroes. Work with local authorities to ensure that when such fights break out, the Guild is quickly called in.

We shouldn't leave Gesselschaft alone. Giving them time to recover will only end badly for us, and Earth Bet as a whole. So long as we do at least one of their action's I'm happy.

[X][Guild] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.
Pros: Indonesia is one of the most populous nations in the world, and despite the heroic efforts of Iron Snake and the rest of Red White, it's on the edge of collapse. Taking some pressure off Red White is likely key to preventing the entire region from plunging into chaos.
Cons: Op Center has been able to run such a massive organization for damn good reasons, and is unlikely to go down easy.

I'd like to do this, so as to give Red White some breathing room. I definitely think that if we do, we should have the Avatar do a Guild Focus action though, to help with it.

[X][Guild] The battles of Thanda parahumans in India tend to happen in the shadows, but you know that Asura is a powerful Tinker whose "technocytes" can both empower her minions and control their brains, allowing her to keep an unknown number of enslaved parahumans. The fact that India actually wants the Guild intervening in the matter suggests it's a big threat indeed.
Pros: It gives the Guild an opening with the Thanda heroes, and besides, India is the second most populous country in the world; it's high time the Guild helped out there.
Cons: The sheer secrecy around the Thanda parahumans could lead to any number of complications.

Asura needs to be dealt with sooner or later, so may as well consider doing it now.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

Yeah, we really shouldn't risk running out of these. We want to discourage the idea of using the Birdcage, after all.

[X][Avatar] Guild: Whichever mission the Guild chooses to focus on, the Avatar dedicates as much time as he can to supporting and preparing it.

I definitely think we should do this, especially if we take on Op Center.

[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

A stop-gap might not be permanent, but it'll help buy us time to come up with something more long-term.

 

[Wootius]

[x][Guild] The trio of nigh-immortal bio-Tinkers known as the Three Blasphemies have been using brain surgery to steal the powers of their parahuman victims, making them the most feared A-Class threat in Europe. Tracking down will be no easy task, but is the sort of monster hunt the Guild was originally made for.
[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[x] Attacks of opportunity: Gesellschaft's array of villains inevitably gets into fights with local heroes. Work with local authorities to ensure that when such fights break out, the Guild is quickly called in.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.


Make inroads into Europe and start picking at the edges of Gesellschaft while the Avatar makes the prisons that will keep all of the villains we catch this turn secure. Get rid of the most powerful solo threat, while taking targets of opportunity.

 

[TopHatWearer]

[X][Guild] Kamikoe is a powerful Master who can make someone believe a statement she makes, for the rest of their life and no matter what. This has allowed her to build herself a powerful cult, including a number of parahumans. Taking her out will require careful planning…
Pros: It will remove the single biggest remaining villain on Japanese soil, earning you the gratitude of Japan's government and people.
Cons: With Skylance and Fuji-Sama both down, Japan is not under risk of short-term collapse; Kamikoe is more of a long-term problem.

I just like the idea of "finishing" Japan.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] Asgard, the pan-Scandinavian branch of Gesellschaft, has several exceptionally powerful members. Focus on taking them out.

Get some of their strongest members dealt with.

[X][Guild] The trio of nigh-immortal bio-Tinkers known as the Three Blasphemies have been using brain surgery to steal the powers of their parahuman victims, making them the most feared A-Class threat in Europe. Tracking down will be no easy task, but is the sort of monster hunt the Guild was originally made for.
Pros: Taking out the Three Blasphemies will earn the Guild significant credibility in europe.
Cons: Hunting down the Three Blasphemies is easier said than done. Furthermore, other parts of the world need assistance more urgently.

Synergizes well with any Gesellschaft actions that take place in Europe.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

[X][Avatar] Mexico City: The integration of the United States Of Mexico into the Protectorate is a complex process that cannot be expected to proceed painlessly. Every day the Avatar focuses on his Protectorate duties in Mexico City is a big help.

 

[A_Somebody]

Oh god these votes just got bigger also I see more lockboxes as important

Click to shrink...

Yeaaahh I think Lockboxes are really really needed if the rate of operations continues at this pace.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] The seat of Gesellschaft's power is east Germany. Taking aim there sends a clear message.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] France's Front Pour La Patrie is believed to have more parahumans than any other part of Gesellschaft. Try to cull the herd.

[X][Guild] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

[X][Avatar] Namibia: It's a low-population country, but it was entirely under Moord Nag's thumb before the Avatar arrested her. Time to check up on the emerging warlords and make sure they're not acting beyond the pale.

I really would like people to consider following up on Namibia as part of general "see if things have devolved to a worse state" thinking.

 

[Some_guy_161]

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] The seat of Gesellschaft's power is east Germany. Taking aim there sends a clear message.
-[X] France's Front Pour La Patrie is believed to have more parahumans than any other part of Gesellschaft. Try to cull the herd.
[X][Guild] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.
[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.
[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.
[X][Avatar] Namibia: It's a low-population country, but it was entirely under Moord Nag's thumb before the Avatar arrested her. Time to check up on the emerging warlords and make sure they're not acting beyond the pale.

 

[Markedpariah]

[X] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] Asgard, the pan-Scandinavian branch of Gesellschaft, has several exceptionally powerful members. Focus on taking them out.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

[X][Avatar] Mexico City: The integration of the United States Of Mexico into the Protectorate is a complex process that cannot be expected to proceed painlessly. Every day the Avatar focuses on his Protectorate duties in Mexico City is a big help.

 

[Starwarlord]

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] The seat of Gesellschaft's power is east Germany. Taking aim there sends a clear message.

[X][Guild] Gesellschaft is an international crime syndicate with a terrifying amount of political pull, and the Guild has just bloodied their nose. Now's the time to keep up the pressure, and pick a new venue to attack them in!
-[X] France's Front Pour La Patrie is believed to have more parahumans than any other part of Gesellschaft. Try to cull the herd.

[X][Guild] Indonesia has a massive villain problem, and right now the biggest fish among them is Op Center, a villain who has been successfully running the largest gang in the country. Taking him and as much of his syndicate down is an important step toward stabilizing south-east Asia.

[X][Avatar] Lockboxes: These special prisons - not as final and inhumane as the Birdcage, but not escapable for parahumans - have been providing a truly precious third option since the Avatar and Dragon started making them. However, you're quickly running out of Lockboxes, and further Guild operations will require many more. Spend more time working with Dragon on building them.

[X][Avatar] Balkans: Have the Avatar show up, stop the massacres, and take down the warlords responsible. It should provide a useful stop-gap.

[X][Avatar] Namibia: It's a low-population country, but it was entirely under Moord Nag's thumb before the Avatar arrested her. Time to check up on the emerging warlords and make sure they're not acting beyond the pale.

We have to keep hitting Gesellschaft, keep them from rallying. And keeping Indonesia from collapsing is critical, they got a quarter of a billion people.