Alchemical Solutions [Worm/Exalted] Thread 18: Ravaging Rapscallions Rapidly Regret Regular Rampages

there are some people that just lurk in the background and don't really vote at all like me
it a good story but all the vote discussion just isn't something some of us can follow
 
Huh. Only 20 voters total, with only 15 for actual story votes. Lowest ever in this quest, I believe, even with almost four days open for the voting. None of the votes have enough to break the threshold I normally set for vote majority (16), either.

Guess I fudged this vote up fairly hard? Or has interest in the quest finally dropped?

Hrm.
Vote complexity, it was like...6 of us trying to find an optimal solution we can all agree on(we spent the last 24 hours quibbling over small details), while everyone else sits back and hopes for something they can understand.

5 high complexity, interdependent vote options tend to do that.

The more interlinked and the higher complexity, the fewer voters move until the plan is 'perfect'. Especially if it's a high consequence vote where we might lose characters if we put them wrongly.
 
[X] Docks Shelter: Alexandria, Clockblocker, Marrow, Weaver
- [X] Stunt: "NOW!" Perfect timing. With Crawler focused on Vajra, the young Striker darts out from the frozen rubble, sliding underneath an errant tentacle as he slaps the monstrosity's rear leg. "Excellent. Now help Alexan-" The Siberian erupts from a storage container, your bugs giving barely enough warning to dodge. Clever girl...but you're not the hunter here.

[X] Street King Castle: Bladedancer, Narwhal, Who
- [X] Stunt: In a trashed penthouse suite, a confident voice whispers into PRT Officer Sasha Freeman's ear, "Target sighted, check your six." She slides off the musty chair, sweeps glass from the broken window on the other side of the room. "Where?" "Switch to TacNet EMscan." "...I see him." She chambers the PRT-issued Tinkertech round into her rifle. "Synchronize your shots. Five..."

[X] Boulder Builder Mountain: Feral, Inquisition, Kid Win, Maestro, Slate, Weld, Wyld
- [X] Stunt: "You think darkness is gonna scare me? Jack said I'm a Big Girl! Tactical Hug! ...wait. Why didn't that work?" For the briefest instant Weld pondered how the puzzled, pouting Bonesaw could be simultaneously adorable and utterly terrifying. He pushes it from his mind, focusing instead on Geode's relayed instructions. He charges through the smoldering wreckage, converging on Bonesaw's location.

[X] PRT Downtown Headquarters: Chevalier, Gully, Miss Militia, Willow
- [X] Stunt: There was a thunderous crack as the ground in front of Gully's shovel buckled, forming a jagged path leading to the PRT building. Pillars of fire, ash, and sizzling haze raised towards the sky in response, confirming her suspicions. Gully placed a gentle, almost motherly hand on Willow's shoulder, "And that's why you don't give Tinkers time to prepare."

[X] Philadelphia General Hospital: Bulldozer, Gallant, Skein
- [X] Stunt: Skein grimaces as another bomb detonates in the hallway, turning her frilly cloth mouse into prismatic confetti. Fucking Tinkers. This sentiment is shared by Bulldozer, who is busy using a cyberpanther to bat the cybergorilla through the wall. Gallant, on the other hand, is slightly traumatized by the implications as yet another zombie sinks to its knees in crushing despair.




[X] EOA - Free Action: You take a - thankfully stink-free - breath of air as you relay, "Thanks, Gust! Next, assist Legend in clearing the city of drones so we can establish sniper team coverage. Oh, and I'm sure Hatchet Face will be rendered speechless when you..." You juke out of the way of Siberian's leaping slash. Some people just can't appreciate a good joke.

[X] FPoP - Free Action: "Crawler. You desire pain. Growth." The tentacled monstrosity drops the broken compactor, confused. "SO?" "You fight me, when your compatriots could better fuel your transformation." "YOUR POINT." "Bakuda's seeds blight the landscape." "JACK SAID -" "- Jack shackles you. He denies you those that could hasten your evolution. Follow -" "- NO TRICKS. YOU FLY, THEY DIE." "No tricks. I seek your end."


[X] EOA - 3 XP - Ally (Wyld) ●○○○○
[X] EOA - 3 XP - Equipment (Weaver Spiders) ●○○○○
[X] FPoP - 2 XP - Athletics (Ramming Speed ●○○)
 
Doesn't help that every vote was a write in this time around. Building our strategy from the ground up without imposed guidelines is somewhat intimidating. Normally we have a base set of votes to quibble over and decide what they mean, then we can modify them with stunts. Here we started from the ground up. A daunting task one could say.
 
Not that daunting actually :p

The 6 of us most active in the discussion of the final configuration are the same six who do most of the stunt writing anyway :)
 
Vote complexity, it was like...6 of us trying to find an optimal solution we can all agree on(we spent the last 24 hours quibbling over small details), while everyone else sits back and hopes for something they can understand.

5 high complexity, interdependent vote options tend to do that.

The more interlinked and the higher complexity, the fewer voters move until the plan is 'perfect'. Especially if it's a high consequence vote where we might lose characters if we put them wrongly.
I think this is pretty much it. Past votes where people have been burned by roughly a million divergent plans leave the voters wary of making snap decisions - and with the degree of complexity here, finalized plans didn't go up for a while.

The funny thing here is that it was explicitly noted how there weren't any wrong votes, and people still went into Maximum Overtactician Mode. Which makes sense, to a degree - Taylor's going to deploy people in a sensible configuration - but we probably blew right by the point of diminishing returns on this one.
 
Voting looked really complicated. I just looked over what other people were doing and figured it looked good enough.

I generally only bother voting when something I feel really strongly about comes up, like making Accord a part of our plans. Since you told us there wasn't any wrong decisions, I didn't really care what everyone else choose, because it wasn't like their mistakes could mess up the quest for me.
 
Last edited:
people live are on the line, one wrong move and a character die, and we don't want that
so the write in was going all over the placed
 
Huh. Only 20 voters total, with only 15 for actual story votes. Lowest ever in this quest, I believe, even with almost four days open for the voting. None of the votes have enough to break the threshold I normally set for vote majority (16), either.

Guess I fudged this vote up fairly hard? Or has interest in the quest finally dropped?

Hrm.
Naw, I figure people just got overwhelmed by the number of choices. Not only did we need to come up with a bunch of write-ins, we also needed to figure out where to put a whole bunch of different people.

People see all the shit they need to figure out and they clam up.

OTOH, I'm actually kinda happy with how the vote turned out, but that might be my bias from being the primary stunt writer talking.
The 6 of us most active in the discussion of the final configuration are the same six who do most of the stunt writing anyway :)
"Most" he says :rolleyes:

:V
 
This was less of a vote and more of a discussion to work out a solution that is ok with everyone with enough time to actually participate meaningfully.
I personally just gave some input at the start and then let the others handle the rest
 
This a common phenomenon across quests Grom. Votes about emotional scenes or characters will have tons of voters, but as soon as the combat starts voters will vanish.

I'm sure they all have their reasons but it is pretty annoying.
 
Not just combat though combat is the most common complex vote with many factors to consider and consequences on a mistake.
 
The planning did boil down to one plan after a long discussion. That usually leads to low vote counts. If there had been more plans there would have been more votes, but since the people who usualy make plans achived consensus about what to do others didn't feel the need to vote. Or like me were simply too late in casting their vote.
 
i just figured i don't have time to think this threw and as complex as it looked id have to write some of the info down to make a choice that was mine . so i'd just let everyone else choose and then blame them when it all goes horribly wrong.
 
Huh. Only 20 voters total, with only 15 for actual story votes. Lowest ever in this quest, I believe, even with almost four days open for the voting. None of the votes have enough to break the threshold I normally set for vote majority (16), either.

Guess I fudged this vote up fairly hard? Or has interest in the quest finally dropped?

Hrm.
In my case, I misjudged timing, and you closed the vote 7 minutes before I was going to post my
[X] plan FunkyEntropy

Edit: That, and I agree with Alexandria wrt the twins, and really don't feel like arguing with the people who are very, very emphatic that they don't.
 
Last edited:
Huh. Only 20 voters total, with only 15 for actual story votes. Lowest ever in this quest, I believe, even with almost four days open for the voting. None of the votes have enough to break the threshold I normally set for vote majority (16), either.

Guess I fudged this vote up fairly hard? Or has interest in the quest finally dropped?

Hrm.

Not that I'm not following or losing interest in the quest its just very hard to vote on these things when you are coordinating for a literal deep strike on enemy territory ageist one of the Overpowered Villian groups in Worm and have no tactics experience.
 
It's not like 99% of the people posting have any real tactical experience outside of say D&D or similar games. People should remember that this is a game as well as a story and that (depending on your playstyle) most of the time a good GM isn't actually trying to kill you and is just trying to almost kill you.
 
Last edited:
8.3 Voting - Tally, Part 1
Hmm. Well, I guess I'll just have to keep things a bit more straightforward/simple for the future votes in this arc. Ah well. Thankfully, we have a quorum now, so here are the votes!


TL;DR:
- Docks (Alexandria, Clockblocker, Marrow, Weaver)
- Street King Castle (Bladedancer, Narwhal, Who)
- Boulder Builder Mountain (Feral, Inquisition, Kid Win, Maestro, Slate, Weld, Wyld)
- PRT Downtown Headquarters (Chevalier, Gully, Miss Militia, Willow)
- Philadelphia General Hospital (Bulldozer, Gallant, Skein)
- FPoP Free Action (Crawler Bait), EOA Free Action (Gust/Legend Clear Drones)
- EOA - 6XP - Ally (Wyld)
●●○○○, EOA - 2 XP - Survival (Swarms ●●○), FPoP - 2XP - Athletics (Ramming Speed ●○○)


On the Second Day of Slaughter:

[X] Docks Shelter: Alexandria, Clockblocker, Marrow, Weaver
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
[X] Docks Shelter: Alexandria, Bulldozer, Marrow, Weaver, (PRT guy in drone)
No. of votes: 1
noliar
- [x] Stunt: NOW! Perfect timing. With Crawler focused on Vajra, the young Striker with Prayer's IEU darts out from the frozen rubble, sliding underneath an errant tentacle as he slaps the monstrosity's rear leg. Excellent. Now help Alexan- The Siberian erupts from a storage container, your bugs giving barely enough warning to dodge. Clever girl...but you're not the hunter here.
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, sainen, charysa, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, spudman, GilliamYaeger, Tsotate, Arbit
- [x] Stunt: For all the smashed buildings it's a subtle dance; you keep the Siberian from killing your brutes (or you!) and they try holding Crawler who will happily rip his own leg off to get past. Prayer's IEU is invaluable. Flaring anima buys you a moment to take a call: You have Bonesaw? Well done! You meet tiger eyes, Cut them off...
No. of votes: 1
noliar


[X] Street King Castle: Bladedancer, Narwhal, Who
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
[X] Street King Castle: Bladedancer, Chevalier, Weld
No. of votes: 1
noliar
- [x] Stunt: In a trashed penthouse suite, a confident voice whispers into PRT Officer Sasha Freeman's ear, Target sighted, check your six. She slides off the musty chair, sweeps glass from the broken window on the other side of the room. Where? Switch to TacNet EMscan. ...I see him. She chambers the PRT-issued Tinkertech round into her rifle. Synchronize your shots. Five...
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
- [x] Stunt: PRT Officer Sasha Freeman couldn't believe her luck. Eight years she'd waited for this chance. Weaver had ordered sniper teams into position to take out Jack Slash without killing the mutilated Ward, and now she had a clear shot. She pulls the trigger as he evades a spray of blades, stopping at a shattered window. This is for my brother.
No. of votes: 1
noliar


[X] Boulder Builder Mountain: Feral, Inquisition, Kid Win, Maestro, Slate, Weld, Wyld
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
[X] Boulder Builder Mountain: Feral, Inquisition, Kid Win, Maestro, Slate, Willow, Wyld, Narwhal
No. of votes: 1
noliar
- [x] Stunt: You think darkness is gonna scare me? Jack said I'm a Big Girl! Tactical Hug! ...wait. Why didn't that work? For the briefest instant Weld pondered how the puzzled, pouting Bonesaw could be simultaneously adorable and utterly terrifying. He pushes it from his mind, focusing instead on Geode's relayed instructions. He charges through the smoldering wreckage, converging on Bonesaw's location.
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
- [x] Stunt: The throbbing howl of the sonic battle suddenly goes black. And he's walked into the oak. Willow nods and steps. The rest of the advance is hard fought but inevitable. Miasma, smoke, killer drones and fire are overcome. Teleport tag ends when Burnscar appears in a pre-diced flame. Chris's device hums, Willow points and soon, Bonesaw screams.
No. of votes: 1
noliar


[X] PRT Downtown Headquarters: Chevalier, Gully, Miss Militia, Willow
No. of votes: 17
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
[X] PRT Downtown Headquarters: Gully, Clockblocker, Skein
No. of votes: 1
noliar
- [x] Stunt: There was a thunderous crack as the ground in front of Gully's shovel buckled, forming a jagged path leading to the PRT building. Pillars of fire, ash, and sizzling haze raised towards the sky in response, confirming her suspicions. Gully placed a gentle, almost motherly hand on Willow's shoulder, And that's why you don't give Tinkers time to prepare.
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
- [x] Stunt: Outside is the thunder of Gully clearing mines the fast way but in Uriel's office is silence. Scratched on the wall is Join Us. Why... Why do you think I'd... no Mannequin's pose radiates disbelief. Build what you like. No. People matter. Blades slide from ceramic. The psychopath retreats only to be stopped by a foam grenade. Improved formula.
No. of votes: 1
noliar


[X] Philadelphia General Hospital: Bulldozer, Gallant, Skein
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
[X] Philadelphia General Hospital: Gallant, Miss Militia, (Many troops)
No. of votes: 1
noliar
- [x] Stunt: Skein grimaces as another bomb detonates in the hallway, turning her frilly cloth mouse into prismatic confetti. Fucking Tinkers. This sentiment is shared by Bulldozer, who is busy using a cyberpanther to bat the cybergorilla through the wall. Gallant, on the other hand, is slightly traumatized by the implications as yet another zombie sinks to its knees in crushing despair.
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit
- [x] Stunt: What do you do if Hatchet Face appears? Kind of busy boss! Dean blasts a security guard zombie over a trolley of medical records folders. What do you do? insists Hannah. Get his attention and run, There is the sound of shotgun blasts, Boss? Crow drones. Go on. Run for the open where you or Gust can pick him off.
No. of votes: 1
noliar


Free Actions:

[X] FPoP - Free Action: "Crawler. You desire pain. Growth." The tentacled monstrosity drops the broken compactor, confused. "SO?" You fight me, when your compatriots could better fuel your transformation. "YOUR POINT." "Bakuda's seeds blight the landscape." "JACK SAID -" "- Jack shackles you. He denies you those that could hasten your evolution. Follow -" "- NO TRICKS. YOU FLY, THEY DIE." "No tricks. I seek your end."
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, Tsotate, Arbit

[X] EOA - Free Action: You take a – thankfully stink-free - breath of air. "Thanks, Gust!" A bug flies to the pair above, granting IEU. "Next, assist Legend in clearing the city of drones so sniper team coverage can be optimized. I'm sure Hatchet Face will be rendered speechless when you…" You spin away from Siberian's leaping slash. Some people can't appreciate a joke.
No. of votes: 18
landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, sainen, charysa, Daemir, suntzu, veekie, wingstrike96, spudman, GilliamYaeger, Tsotate, Arbit

[X] EOA - Free Action: Gust, get higher, you aren't as tough as Legend. As you hold five other conversations you mutter, If only we knew what the bastard looks like. - William Manton Alexandria's voice drips hate. You don't hesitate, Chambers, get an image to, Who, take Suzy, sweep west, stay hidden. and finally, Everyone, today we close down the slaughterhouse. Good hunting!
No. of votes: 1
noliar

[X] FPoP - Free Action: You follow the rubble wake as the Siberian heads straight for Geode's home suburb. Get clear now! You buy some time moving the semi dismembered Bonesaw with your paramagnetic tether but you can't keep tiger from cub forever. Snarling, the projection charges on smoke to reach you. You see a rainbow flash three blocks away: Bonesaw falls from empty air.
No. of votes: 1
noliar


XP Expenditures:

[X] EOA - 6XP - Ally (Wyld) ●●○○○
No. of votes: 20
noliar, landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, theDragonBard, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, GilliamYaeger, Funcio, Daemir, suntzu, Cassiemouse, Quantumboost, Tsotate, Arbit

[X] EOA - 2 XP - Survival (Swarms ●●○)
No. of votes: 19
noliar, landcollector, FunkyEntropy, Jorlem, Enjou, Jinnt, theDragonBard, Scify, Ridtom, Xomniac, spudman, sainen, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Funcio, Daemir, Quantumboost, Tsotate, Arbit

[X] FPoP - 2XP - Athletics (Ramming Speed ●○○)
No. of votes: 14
noliar, landcollector, Enjou, Scify, Ridtom, spudman, charysa, GilliamYaeger, Funcio, Daemir, veekie, Quantumboost, wingstrike96, Arbit

[X] EOA - 3 XP - Ally (Wyld) ●○○○○
No. of votes: 3
charysa, veekie, wingstrike96

[X] EOA - 3 XP - Equipment (Weaver Spiders) ●○○○○
No. of votes: 2
veekie, wingstrike96

[X] EOA - 4 XP - Resistance ●●●●○
No. of votes: 1
noliar

[X] EOA - 2 XP - Investigation (Reading People ●●○)
No. of votes: 1
suntzu

[X] EOA - 3 XP - Equipment (Spy Flies) ●○○○○
No. of votes: 1
suntzu
 
Let's not forget the simple fact, that planning by comitee is one of the least efficient and useful ways to do it. Changing and modifying an existing plan is better. There is a reason why militaries have a chain of command.
 
Especially since the committee got it wrong but had the numbers to start a bandwagon. It was 6 people quibbling over a bad plan.
 
I wasn't commenting on the plan, because I honestly don't have the time to think it through. Also, Gromweld said that there are no bad plans, because Weaver has ridicolous dice for this thing. It was more of a comment on the method. It might have been better to have a first round where people debate plans and mak 2-3 different ones and a second one where people choose from these possibilities.
 
Back
Top