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Aircraft Design Company- Matsura's Planes Are Always Fastest!

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Character Sheet
  • Informational


    • ​
    Stress
    0​
    Office Stress
    0​
    XP
    5​

    Matsura Asuka
    Head Designer for Ohara Airworks
    Age 24 (Legally 25)
    Year 12 AF (After Flight)

    Design Stats
    Aerodynamics Engineering - +2
    Structural Engineering - +2
    Chemical Engineering - +1
    Mechanical Engineering - +1
    Ballistics Engineering - +1
    Electrical Engineering - 0

    Personal/Political Stats
    Social Skills - 0
    Politics Skills - 0
    Importance - 2
    Income - 1
    Investments - Ohara

    Resources
    Power - 0
    Wealth - 2

    Designs
    Type 1 Series - Military Variation (Designated T1M1)
    Type 2 Racer (World Speed Record October 1910-April 1911, 180kph)
    Model 2 Scout (Designated T1M2)
    Navy Scout Prototype (Drowned Rat)
    Dive Bomber B1M1 "Duck"
    Machine Gun Carrier R1A "Dragonfly" (World Speed Record May-July 1911, 200kph)
    Naval Rescue Water-Landing Supply Plane NR1M0 "Dolphin" (World speed record 240kph)
    Rhino Demon Train Hunter
    The world's first airliner
    The world's first pulsejet airplane

    Assets
    Slide Rule
    Computator (1 Reroll per Routine)

    Languages
    Albian
    Gallian

    Familiar Vices
    Drinking
    Prostitutes
    Dancing

    Family Life
    - Engaged to Arita Yachi, formerly the leading Ace in the Imperial Army. Designated #1 Cutest Army Boy, he's having some serious problems with PTSD right now.
    - Taking a second try at dating Mikami Kiho, ex-dockerwork from the south.

    Upgrades
    - 3 XP to upgrade a stat.

    Ohara Airworks
    Start Up, Imperial Capital, Akitsukuni

    Owner
    - Mr. Ohara, Rich. Aircraft Enthusiast. Business guy.

    Engineers

    Kibe Koume, 26, Office Manager
    Tiny & angry, Kibe went to school in Albia, picking up the language, the religion, and a fuckload of swear words. Speaks Albian.
    Mechanical +2, Ballistics +1
    Office Manager: If Kibe is not assigned to a team, the Office Stress is reduced by 1.

    Sakane Jun, 26, Second Team Leader
    A soured patriot, Sakane is married and has a young child being raised gender-neutrally. His two brothers who fought in the war.
    Structural +2, Aerodynamics +1
    Team Leader: If there are any additional projects, Sakane will lead them.
    Joinery: Sakane has training in the traditional Akitsukuni carpentry art of joinery, creating complex self-supporting joints with no fasteners or glue. When working with non-monocoque wooden spars or ribs, +1 Structural.

    Tezuka Kenji, ???
    A stoner with occasional flashes of insight. Nobody really knows what he does, but he's probably useful?
    Aerodynamics +2, Chemical +1
    Flashes of Brilliance: Each natural 10 rolled by any team Tezuka is assigned to gives +1 forward to the next research roll.

    Hasegawa Morio, 26
    A hopeless nerd with a photography habit, mostly on account of developing his own film, Hasegawa seems to do nothing but work and stack card houses, but somehow has an incredible attractive boyfriend. Speaks Gallian.
    Chemical +2, Ballistic +1
    Silent Workhorse: Hasegawa can work on two different projects at once for no cost to Office Stress, providing they use different stats.

    Kawamura Yosai, 25.
    Serially successful womanizer and incredibly attractive, Kawamura doesn't seem to have much of a personality outside of seducing women. Well, except for that time he seduced Asuka, which nobody talks about. Speaks Dyske.
    Structural +2, Electrical +1, Social +1
    Easily Distracted: If Kawamura is working on the same team as a female or non-binary employee, the team is at -1d10.

    Koide Hatsu, 24.
    One of the few female graduates of an Akitsukuni engineering school, Koide is brilliant and incredibly driven, but her first job at Akibara was both humiliating and exposed her to an abusive coworker. Her father is a rich businessman with factories in Joseon, and she's engaged to Ken from Castles of Steel. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +2, Structural +1
    No Sleep: If you let her, Koide will work herself to death. She can work a second project for no Office Stress, but all her stats will be reduced to 1 for the routine.

    Kobayashi Ayao, ???
    Disowned heiress of the Kobayashi family, all Kobayashi wanted was a career and to be a modern woman. For her trouble, a cousin threw acid on her, scarring her face, neck, much of her torso, and her left arm. Despite appearing serene and above it all, she's actually an avowed communist activist and baseball player.
    Aerodynamics +2, Social +2

    Adachi Ren, 24
    Adachi learned chemistry from her father, one of the most famous chemical engineers in the country, rather than through formal schooling. She's married, has a kid, and takes spirituality very seriously. Yes, you did the math right, she had Yuki when she was 17. It's 1912, folks.
    Chemical +2, Electrical +1
    Young Mother: Adachi will cause double Office Stress if she has to work multiple tasks.

    Uyeno Sei, Ballistics Engineer, 31.
    The oldest member of the crew, this is Uyeno's second career. Her first was as an officer in the Imperial Navy with specialized technical training: her very promising career was cut short by her transition. Her work in a naval arsenal on machine-guns landed her the job here. Briefly dated Satomi (the age range is a bit creepy but again, 1912), she's missing a piece of her ear and is deaf on that side, from an exploding cannon. Recently returned from Varnmark from experimental surgery, she's known for her skill navigating gendered bureaucracy.
    Ballistic +3

    Mi Kyung-Jae, 23
    A recent graduate of the Imperial College of Heijo, Mi is from the recently annexed territory of Joseon. For those keeping track at home, that means he's a Korean national living in Imperial Japan in 1912. We haven't seen much of his personality because he's rightfully terrified of everything around him. He has a specialty in endurance engine design and modification. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +1, Chemical +1
    Endurance Engines: Mi has an excellent understanding of metallurgy and tolerances. Any engine he works on gains +1 Reliability if a 16+ is rolled.
    Pulsejet Wizard: Mi is now one of the world's leading experts on the pulsejet engine. He can be given his own project to custom-craft pulsejet engines, and he gives +1 to any pulsejet-related project.
    Joseon National: Mi does not have security clearance to work on any top-secret projects.

    Miyoshi Shigeri, 23.
    A non-binary person and admirer of Asuka's work, they were in an support role in the Army before joining the company.
    Structural +1, Mechanical +1, Aerodynamic +1
    Mechanic: Miyoshi has some experience repairing and refurbishing aircraft. They get +1 if assigned on the clean-up phase.


    Other Employees
    - Ohara Satomi, 22, Mr. Ohara's niece and the company test pilot, Ohara is a general lesbian disaster. She's good at flying planes, driving cars, and kissing girls. She's bad at being patient, being respectable, and sticking to literally anyones conceptions of gender roles. Deeply in lesbians with Coralie D'Amboise.
    - Fujkikawa Sotatsu, old, modelmaker. He's an old man and toymaker and we don't see much of him because he locks himself in his workshop a lot. He's friends with Kawamura?

    Assets
    - Engine Test Rig (Allows engine tweaking and optimization.
    - Wind Tunnel (+1 Aerodynamics)
    - Rapid Prototype Lab (+1 Clean Up)
    Expanded Cast

    Akitsukuni Industry
    - Homura Mohoko: Head Engine Designer for Kobayashi. First female engineer in the country. A lot of sex appeal.
    - Okumura: Head of Akibara aircraft design.
    - Yamanaka Hajime: Kobayashi engineer. Young and eager.
    - Igarashi Masazumi: Kobayashi engineer. Reserved and experienced.
    - Admiral Akibara Toru: Imperial Navy Admiral. Maximum nepotism. Maximum douchebag.
    - Lt.Cmnd Akibara Shinzo: The above's son. A hottie but very forward.



    Character Families
    - Matsura(?) Mizuko: Asuka's sister. Was paralyzed in an accident in Asuka's first flight. Lives Elsewhere and is married now. Can't forgive Asuka, even though she's tried.
    - Adachi Motoki: Adachi's husband, an accountant. Legally blind.
    - Adachi Yuki: Adachi's 7 year old daughter and wannabe pilot. Very adorable.
    - Yachi's Brother: Exists.
    - Sakane's Wife: Exists. Drives him a bit crazy, but he loves her.
    - Yachi's Brother's Wife: Exists. Is statistically likely to be pregnant.
    - Lt. Coralie D'Amboise: Gallian pilot in exile. Satomi's girlfriend. 25. Accomplished bisexual duelist. She flew in the war for a single day, and for her troubles got a hole blown in her cheek and had her left arm paralyzed.

    Akisukuni Army & Ex-Army
    - Lt. Torio Tanaka: Yachi's former observer as an enlisted man. Was jumped up to fly Ducks and lost a leg on his first mission. A trained painter, married to Torio Saya.
    - Captain Amari Shiro: A Dragonfly pilot who ended up flying as Yachi's partner. Kind of delightfully twinky. They sorta slept together at one point, which wasn't great. He lost his previous boyfriend in the April Offensive and turned his plane into a shrine. He was shot in the gut and is still recovering.
    - Major Izuhara: Logistics officer, Imperial Army, this bespectled officer stood up to the Caspian Crown Prince and accidentally kicked off the Akitsikuni-Caspian War. The guilt was so much that, after almost a year of running Army procurement, he shot himself in a phone both.
    - Captain Nakai Sekien: Army scout pilot. First person to drop a bomb from an airplane, later head of the Duck Squadrons.
    - Captain Teshima: A Desk pilot that fought with Yachi. Lost an arm in the process, took over for Major Izuhara after his death. Seems cheery despite it all.
    - Captain Nashio: A real piece of shit dude and probably a rapist, he's also a war hero as the second-highest scoring ace on the Akitsukuni side. He was a young shitty kid in way over his head but it's no excuse.
    - Lt. Kinjo: Kind of a dumb lump and Nashio's friend, one of the desk pilots. Dead at 19.
    - Lt. Okazaki: Yachi's friend from before the war and pilot, he died in a spin in his dragonfly. His death probably hit Yachi the hardest.

    Westerners
    - Rose & Antoinette Sears: Pioneers of flight. Sisters. Black in 1910s not!America. Yikes.
    - Timina Guasti: Famous aircraft designer from Otrusia. Likes big planes and green.
    - Prince Protasov Vasilyevich: Crown Prince of Great Caspia. Real dick. You gotta hand it to him though, a decent flier.
    - Count von Zeppelin: Invented rigid airships. Runs a successful airline business. Damned impressive.
    - Bennhold: Aircraft Engineer. Experimenting with metal aircraft.
    - Aileen Middlemiss: Albian reporter for the Artimis Times. Well meaning and oblivious.
    Available Tech
    • Materials: Wood, Duralumin, Molded Wood, Wood & Silk Composite, etc
    • All engine mounts
    • All wing types
    • Basic reinforcement
    • Wing warping and ailerons
    • Basic water radiators
    • Flying Wings
    • Semi-Monocoque design (requires at least half the slots have frame pieces)
    • Valved pulsejets
    • Basic weapon mounts and turrets
    Tech not Yet Developed
    • Custom engines
    • Monocoque construction
    • Cantilever Wings and associated tech
    • V and T tails
    • Tailless designs
    • Aluminum and titanium
    • Cellulose surfacing
    • Any kind of radar
    • Weapon accessability mods
    • Interruptor gear
    • Geared propellers
    • And Maybe Other Stuff
    Akitsukuni
    Island Nation

    Government
    Constitutional Monarchy
    - The democratic portions of the government are dubiously legitimate.
    - The head of state is the Empress of Akitsukuni. She gives her blessing to newly formed governments.
    - The Navy and a small number of families have undue influence on politics.

    Economy
    Developing Mixed Market
    - Most industry is controlled by a small number of wealthy, family-owned companies.
    - The state provides most contracts to industry. Consumer good market is anemic.
    - Exports are few, mostly cultural.
    - Imports are raw minerals, food, oil, and expertise.
    - Currently suffering an economic crash after the last war.

    Politics
    The Diet is currently ruled by a Constitutional Nationalist government. It has a system of nonlocal proportional representation, with representatives appointed by the party in accordance to their share of the vote.
    - Constitutional Nationalists: 50%
    - Purity Club: 9%
    - New Independents: 26%
    - Fairness Association: 11%
    - United Communist League: 2%
    - Monarchists: 1%
    - Assorted Fringe Parties: 5%

    Demographics
    Akitsukuni is mostly very ethnically homogeneous. Around 5% of the population are various minorities, most from nearby countries. Roughly .1% are westerners here for business or in advisory positions.
    - Population: 55 Million
    - Religion: Mostly Kodo. Roughly 2% of the population follows western religions.
    - Wealth: Most wealth is concentrated in the top 5% of the country. Nearly 20% of the population lives in conditions indistinguishable from peasantry.
    - Urbanization: Heavily urbanized for a small economy: 35% and rapidly growing.

    Military
    At Peace
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Navy (IAN): The 6th largest in the world, and the most experienced.
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Army (IAA): 150,000 highly experienced soldiers, and a considerable reserve.

    Aspects
    - Poor Resources: Aluminum costs +1.
    - Damn Akitsukuni Engines!: Engines have -1 Reliability.



    The Main Character Of This Quest Is Nonbinary And Uses They/Them Pronouns.

    I Am Putting This Here Because The Next Person To Misgender Them Is Getting Yeeted Into The Trash

    Also here's the Gayaverse TV Tropes page, because why not.​
     
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  • Informational
    • 7734 said:
    Listen, we've only totalled one bird. How are we supposed to get Asuka into the French design school of planes without crashing failure testing a few more?
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    That's funny, but I can't help but think that Asuka is going to potentially give Yachi a really loud yelling at over being a brave idiot.

    Or they're going to be attending a funeral in the near-ish future.
     
    Ash19256 said:
    That's funny, but I can't help but think that Asuka is going to potentially give Yachi a really loud yelling at over being a brave idiot.

    Or they're going to be attending a funeral in the near-ish future.
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    Listen, first one don't count if they die in the course of action. Besides, he's a pilot. They're bound to leave you for the air, or you leave them chained to the ground and they die. I say let him take his place in the Sun no matter what may.
     
    CthuluWasRight said:
    ...What?
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    Gs in game do not match up to real Gs according to peple's calculations, so an... alternate unit was proposed.

    Crasian01 said:
    @open_sketchbook
    Petition to change "Gs" to "Twirks". That way we can say that our planes "twirked really hard to pull out of that dive".
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    open_sketchbook said:
    Petition denied so the people who buy the game can feel top gun as fuck.

    Petition accepted as translated Akitsukuni slang.
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    #TopLevelCanon
     
    What if the 'twerk', as slang, is a future term which arises from the sexual inclinations of our company and Yachi specifically?
    After all, he's the first pilot to ever get shot down by anti-air fire, and perhaps the first pilot to ever down an enemy aircraft.
    His dumb jokes would have a surprising amount of influence.
     
    plotvitalnpc said:
    What if the 'twerk', as slang, is a future term which arises from the sexual inclinations of our company and Yachi specifically?
    After all, he's the first pilot to ever get shot down by anti-air fire, and perhaps the first pilot to ever down an enemy aircraft.
    His dumb jokes would have a surprising amount of influence.
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    I'm not sure twerking was a familiar concept in the 1900s.
     
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    My Dearest Sister Falcon
  • Sidestory
    • Cavalière​

    Recommended Listening: The Immelman Turn, by Al Stewart

    My Dearest Sister Falcon:

    I pray this message finds you well. The parcel surrounding this envelope, I have cast into the arms of your company, trusting that they would bring it to your side, I know not where. If we are entirely alike, you may be at the front by the time this message arrives, my darling. If we are not, you have my love nevertheless.

    For a while they made fun of us- such a scandal it was- though I tell you truly that if your sweet little army major hadn't interrupted that braying Caspian jackass, I would have done it for him! Perhaps the gold-plated fool was lucky to lose only his hand- and oh, what I would not give, for a way to write my smile into these pages!

    I would have been out for his blood myself, for the man's arrogance, and I've had my share of duels since we met...

    Ah, you Orientals may think we Gallians barbaric for tolerating such customs! Enough other nations do, even though we- usually- fight only to first blood. Or fourth. In any case, I now have nine apologies, three victories, and three little scars to remember our meeting of love by. Though some over-pert actress is the talk of the city now, and they have mostly stopped talking so boldly around me. I scratch; she doesn't.

    'Helen of Lutetia' they called me, for a few weeks. I think I would prefer to be an Achilles...

    I sigh, my darling. I feel an old woman at twenty-three, and peace ill becomes me.

    Would I be toying with your affections, sister falcon, if I said that I have dreamed of finding a way to wiggle my way into Akitsukuni service for the duration? My fatherland may have a 'friendly understanding' with Caspia, but my heart cannot cheer her on. Not after our day, and our night.

    And where else, in all the world, may a knight of the air practice her profession? For this I know, now, that I was born to be, having- only, alas- read the papers about the deeds of your airmen. Is it true that your army has already crossed swords with the Caspians aloft? I have only tales. But such tales! My heart would tug at me to find a way to reach your countrymen's war in any case. With you there... mm.

    We will see each other again, if not before the guns go silent, then after. For where in this world are two women as fit to laugh at its width as ourselves?

    It would be cruel to ask you to be true to me, so I shan't. But the scarf in this envelope is my favorite lavender; wear it the next time you go aloft, and remember me.

    Until Next Time,
    Coralie
     
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  • Sidestory
    • [makes a semi-judicious adjustment to the next-to-last paragraph]

    Oh! :)

    I'm glad you like it!

    Of course, Coralie actually mailed this to the design office in a slim wooden box. Just under the boxtop was a letter explaining that Coralie had no idea how best to make sure a letter reached Satomi, so could we please forward the other envelope to her?

    Nestled beneath, in excelsior, was a fat, wax-sealed envelope with a lavender scarf and a smaller envelope inside. Inside the smaller envelope, was the letter.

    Lavender scented, or lavender colored?

    Yes.
     
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    natruska said:
    To those who might say pilots using bricks and darts as practical weapons is silly, I'll point out that the first air-to-air kill was a mutual kill by ramming.
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    In one of the playtests, one of my players rolled really well with Daring to "Bounce the belly of my plane off their top wing." (This is the same guy who decided that the roper response to running out of ammo was to jump out of his plane so he could engage in hand-to-hand combat.)
    plotvitalnpc said:
    After all, he's the first pilot to ever get shot down by anti-air fire, and perhaps the first pilot to ever down an enemy aircraft.
    His dumb jokes would have a surprising amount of influence.
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    Yachi, his squadron, and their Caspian equivalents are quite literally writing the book on air combat. Their notes, observations, and AARs are going to form the basis for doctrine for years to come.
     
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    samdamandias said:
    In one of the playtests, one of my players rolled really well with Daring to "Bounce the belly of my plane off their top wing." (This is the same guy who decided that the roper response to running out of ammo was to jump out of his plane so he could engage in hand-to-hand combat.0
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    I... what. I don't even.... Okay, was this guy literally pulled from "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines"?
     
    samdamandias said:
    In one of the playtests, one of my players rolled really well with Daring to "Bounce the belly of my plane off their top wing." (This is the same guy who decided that the roper response to running out of ammo was to jump out of his plane so he could engage in hand-to-hand combat.)
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    Coralie:

    [applauds, having finally found someone whose absurd stunt she is not quite daring enough to try...]
     
    cB557 said:
    You ever check out that star wars flying circus quest Sketchbook also runs? The dice killed the character giving us the tutorial.
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    Well, that suggests that the mechanics themselves have an issue.

    Then again, 2d10, 10 or lower failing, 11-15 having a mixed success, 16 or higher having a full success, means there's a 15% chance of an unmitigated success, a 40% chance of a mixed success, and a 45% chance of a failure. So there's an 85% chance of having something bad happen.
     
    Godwinson said:
    Well, that suggests that the mechanics themselves have an issue.

    Then again, 2d10, 10 or lower failing, 11-15 having a mixed success, 16 or higher having a full success, means there's a 15% chance of an unmitigated success, a 40% chance of a mixed success, and a 45% chance of a failure. So there's an 85% chance of having something bad happen.
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    No no, to clarify, the character who was giving the tutorial died. Not the player character. Since said tutorial was occurring during an actual combat mission, I wouldn't really call that a system flaw at all. Just meant having a dead mentor figure right off the bat.
     
    Things are supposed to go bad often. The trick from my end is figuring out how to set up the GM moves so this adds excitement and drama instead of creating dead ends. this quest has been very useful for that.

    lemme put it this way. in whispers, when Isa lost the fight to Ewald, replacing him with Wulf, the bigger bad, was my hard move. which lead to skritchs, makeouts, relationship drama, actual smut, and a new ally!

    speaking of...
    open_sketch threw 1 20-faced dice. Reason: dart! Total: 8
    8 8
     
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    open_sketchbook said:
    Things are supposed to go bad often. The trick from my end is figuring out how to set up the GM moves so this adds excitement and drama instead of creating dead ends. this quest has been very useful for that.
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    I think the other tricks (this isn't me lecturing o_s, just rambling about the logic and reflecting in case I ever play a game like this again myself)...

    I think the other tricks are:

    Firstly, a true unambiguous full success has to be pretty good. Something like "you hit the ogre for d8 damage" cannot be the outcome of a full success, especially not if the ogre has 47 hit points. No, it's got to be something more like "you kill the ogre," or at least something like "you severely injure the ogre."

    Given that full successes happen about 15% of the time, they shouldn't be quite as good as a critical success in most other game systems, but one must think less in terms of 'normal reward' and starting to think in terms of something like 'crit reward.' Especially since you need that 15% of unambiguous successes to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in ensuring that the protagonist(s) have the resources needed to survive the consequences of all the failures.

    ...

    Secondly, a 'partial success' takes the role of what a normal game engine would just call a 'success.' Which means that in a partial success the player DOES need to be able to accomplish more or less what they set out to do, just at a price that makes sense in context and drives further story action. Something like "you kill the ogre, BUT are seriously injured in the fight." Now you have to make a decision about whether to fall back and seek medical treatment, or continue into the monster-infested woods. This ties back to making the failures lead to forward story movement instead of literal or metaphorical dead ends.

    For me this system would work a lot better as a quest QM or in a play-by-post format than around a tabletop, because sometimes I'd need time to think about how to make sure that failures result in 'fail forward' outcomes.
     
    Ash19256 said:
    I... what. I don't even.... Okay, was this guy literally pulled from "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines"?
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    No. But he did have Ideomotor Response, which if you read Whispers from the Deep is quite powerful, as it allows you to fly your plane even when you aren't in the cockpit.

    Which he used to jump back into his plane after having destroyed the other pilot in hand-to-hand. Which meant that he scored two kills without firing a shot. (Bouncing off the wing of the other plane sent it into a spin. It did not recover.)
    Godwinson said:
    Well, that suggests that the mechanics themselves have an issue
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    Regular PbtA, with no bonus, has ~41.6% odds of outright failure, and only ~16.7% odds of pure success. (With good bonuses you can get that down to 1/12 or even 1/36.)
    This game has slightly worse odds, but bonuses are uncapped. Which means that it is potentially possible to stack up to a +14 bonus. (Much harder with the change to Handling, but it also means that big, heavy planes can actually plane instead of failing every time they try to do anything other than fly straight and level)
     
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