Remove ads

Alchemical Solutions [Worm/Exalted] Thread 8: Haggard Host Hopefully Homestead Hazardous Haven

Alright, caught up with the thread. A few points:

- Travel to and from Truce locations/events is also covered by the Truce. Thus, unless there is direct evidence that Panacea and Parian were straight-out kidnapped or held under duress, the PRT would be breaking the Truce to send the hounds after the Undersiders.

- The Exhibitionist reputation can be spun multiple ways, but ultimately if you folk don't purchase it then the PRT/Dragon will put the kibosh on any pictures and videos that leak out. Spending XP on it actually helps ENSURE that there is a positive aspect to it; all it takes is to declare your respect for Narwhal and that'll be that. Note that I didn't make the reputation "Nude Model", "Nudist", "Streaker", "Stripper", or "Porn Star" - you will likely gain support of progressive-minded folk that understand you aren't doing it for attention or to make a statement, which in turn will help people that are fighting against the whole 'female body shaming' aspect that Puritan-value civilizations have against women.

- Also for Reputation, remember that the levels dictate the scope of the awareness. If you have only one dot, then it's 'local' and thus will probably mean that only the people you have directly interacted with will think anything of it. Higher dots means more people consider it.
 
Glorious Bullshit Magic Robot Communism! (Choose one, no Stunts allowed!)
[X] Autochthon Wants YOU!: Actively bring up Alchemical information in conversation (where appropriate), work towards getting the PRT on your side for the recruitment effort, and begin openly speaking with potential candidates about how awesome it is to be a Bullshit Magical Robot.orious Bullshit Magic Robot Communism! (Choose one, no Stunts allowed!)

Understanding the Undersiders (Choose one, no Stunts allowed!)
[X] Alert the PRT that the Undersiders have left with Panacea and Parian in tow.

Philadelphia Road Trip: Are We There Yet? (Choose TWO, only ONE Stunt allowed per choice!)
[X] Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: Sample New England cuisine to increase your own culinary profile.
-[X] Stunt: Vista Time, she's seriously concerned about us at this point, so we need to reassure her that we're really fine, and explain a few things about our nature.
[X] I Spy

[X] 2 XP - Investigation (Online Research ●○○)
[X] 9 XP - Reputation (Beautiful) ●●●○○ "One of the Most Beautiful Women in the World, according to recent surveys!"
 
seether28 said:
Question! From the Quest Mechanics post:
So, have we done this?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yes. I mentioned it earlier: Taylor gained one in the last 24 hours, lost one due to the Virtue Channel, and didn't make her Compassion roll when she interacted with the Wards (failed, not a botch). Net zero change in Clarity levels.


VOTING CLOSED
Tallying Now!
 
Stormseed said:
What about rolling for Eidolon/Past Life?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That just gives you the social interaction roll without actually interacting.

It's useless for Clarity purposes at the moment since Compassion is effective 1 from the penalties and we don't get an intimacy bonus die.
 
Gromweld said:
- The Exhibitionist reputation can be spun multiple ways, but ultimately if you folk don't purchase it then the PRT/Dragon will put the kibosh on any pictures and videos that leak out. Spending XP on it actually helps ENSURE that there is a positive aspect to it; all it takes is to declare your respect for Narwhal and that'll be that. Note that I didn't make the reputation "Nude Model", "Nudist", "Streaker", "Stripper", or "Porn Star" - you will likely gain support of progressive-minded folk that understand you aren't doing it for attention or to make a statement, which in turn will help people that are fighting against the whole 'female body shaming' aspect that Puritan-value civilizations have against women.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'll keep this in mind for the next vote, because I very much agree with this.
 
Gromweld said:
- The Exhibitionist reputation can be spun multiple ways, but ultimately if you folk don't purchase it then the PRT/Dragon will put the kibosh on any pictures and videos that leak out. Spending XP on it actually helps ENSURE that there is a positive aspect to it; all it takes is to declare your respect for Narwhal and that'll be that. Note that I didn't make the reputation "Nude Model", "Nudist", "Streaker", "Stripper", or "Porn Star" - you will likely gain support of progressive-minded folk that understand you aren't doing it for attention or to make a statement, which in turn will help people that are fighting against the whole 'female body shaming' aspect that Puritan-value civilizations have against women.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
BobTheNinja said:
I'll keep this in mind for the next vote, because I very much agree with this.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hmmm. Still think Taylor herself isn't ready anytime in the near future for it to be considered a good reputation by her.
 
It's mainly for if you're adventuring out in the wastes with a group of ALchemicals, since social interactions with other Alchemicals doesn't help reduce Clarity.
 
seether28 said:
That... doesn't sound like it would ever be terribly useful.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's how it is, Clarity gives a -2 to Compassion, which drops our 3 to a 1. The only ways around it is to raise Compassion, suck up the week of penalties(once we're at Clarity 3, the penalty drops to -1, which makes the last 3 points easier to flush) or simply don't do things which increase Clarity to begin with.
 
I don't think it comes pre-packaged, but with Class 3 (Resources+Fame) for free and a seriously broken version of the Artifact background you can afford to dump points in it.
 
TL;DR - Write-In: Targeted Recruitment, Alert the PRT, Essence Reservoir-to-Heart (Vista), Diners Drive-Ins and Dives (No Stunt), Investigation (Online Research ●○○), Reputation (Beautiful) ●●●○○


Glorious Bullshit Magical Robot Communism!

[X] Write-In: Targeted Recruitment: Carefully identify individuals who can be trusted with this within the Protectorate and PRT. Give them a partial pitch - they're unlikely to believe in Autochthon as some giant alien being, so just present him like an extraordinarily powerful Tinker trying to enter our dimension. Seek help in finding potential recruits.
No. of votes: 30
veekie, ticktrick, .IronSun., Elero, Teras, charysa, 1986ctcel, Overmind, Daemir Silverstreak, Sinsystems, dacsan, CrawlingChaos74, landcollector, Peanuckle, DragonBard, Menma, HyperspatialParasite, Reklaw, bloodshifter, sun tzu, Doomlord9, aledeth, 42hitchhiker, Zechstein, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Jack Folstam, NotAlwaysFanfic, wingnut2292, Jinnt

[X] Autochthon Wants YOU!: Actively bring up Alchemical information in conversation (where appropriate), work towards getting the PRT on your side for the recruitment effort, and begin openly speaking with potential candidates about how awesome it is to be a Bullshit Magical Robot.
No. of votes: 9
mastigos2, Arbit, Edmantgoog, Cyanios, spudman, Klaus, Khaos, seether28, Zefferen

[X] The Full Monty: You won't bring it up on your own, but you will lay out what you know if cornered, including what you believe the endgame is (summoning Autochthon). You will avoid going that far unless absolutely necessary, but you will be candid about what facts you do know.
No. of votes: 1
DeAnno

[X] Fnord: While you won't explicitly lie about it in Clarity mode if cornered, you will avoid bringing it up when possible, change the subject if you can, and tell people that you are not in a position to speak on it further when pressed.
No. of votes: 1
Andrew5073


Understanding the Undersiders

[X] Alert the PRT that the Undersiders have left with Panacea and Parian in tow.
No. of votes: 29
Alratan, Elero, Arbit, Teras, charysa, Daemir Silverstreak, dacsan, CrawlingChaos74, landcollector, Peanuckle, DragonBard, Menma, Reklaw, bloodshifter, Azure, sun tzu, Doomlord9, aledeth, 42hitchhiker, Klaus, Zechstein, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Khaos, Jack Folstam, NotAlwaysFanfic, wingnut2292, Zefferen, seether28

[X] Keep quiet and make no mention of your prior knowledge of the event.
No. of votes: 13
veekie, ticktrick, .IronSun., 1986ctcel, Overmind, Edmantgoog, Sinsystems, Cyanios, HyperspatialParasite, spudman, DeAnno, Andrew5073, Jinnt


Philadelphia Road Trip: Are We There Yet?

[X] Essence Reservoir-to-Heart: Provide counsel for a member of your caravan, getting to know them better as a mortal as well as evaluating them for Alchemical potential.
No. of votes: 35
veekie, ticktrick, mastigos2, .IronSun., Arbit, Teras, charysa, 1986ctcel, Overmind, Edmantgoog, Daemir Silverstreak, Sinsystems, Cyanios, dacsan, CrawlingChaos74, landcollector, Peanuckle, DragonBard, Menma, HyperspatialParasite, spudman, Andrew5073, Reklaw, bloodshifter, Azure, sun tzu, Doomlord9, aledeth, 42hitchhiker, Zechstein, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Khaos, NotAlwaysFanfic, seether28
- [x] Stunt: Vista Time, she's seriously concerned about us at this point, so we need to reassure her that we're really fine, and explain a few things about our nature.
No. of votes: 34
veekie, ticktrick, .IronSun., Arbit, Teras, charysa, 1986ctcel, Overmind, Daemir Silverstreak, Sinsystems, dacsan, CrawlingChaos74, landcollector, DragonBard, Menma, HyperspatialParasite, spudman, Reklaw, bloodshifter, Azure, sun tzu, Doomlord9, aledeth, 42hitchhiker, Zechstein, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Khaos, Jack Folstam, NotAlwaysFanfic, wingnut2292, Zefferen, seether28, Andrew5073
- [x] Stunt: Be inspiring and present an image of invincibility. Clarity means we can't sympathize on an emotional level very easily, but we can provide a solid foundation to latch onto.
No. of votes: 1
Peanuckle

[X] Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: Sample New England cuisine to increase your own culinary profile.
No. of votes: 21
veekie, ticktrick, .IronSun., Daemir Silverstreak, landcollector, DragonBard, Menma, HyperspatialParasite, Andrew5073, Reklaw, bloodshifter, Jinnt, aledeth, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Khaos, Jack Folstam, NotAlwaysFanfic, wingnut2292, Zefferen, seether28
- [x] Stunt: At the first place you stop at you actually spot a familiar face (twice) it's the Twins from Claredon, it looks like they're alone for some reason you'd better talk to them.
No. of votes: 7
veekie, ticktrick, .IronSun., HyperspatialParasite, Jinnt, BobTheNinja, Khaos

[X] I Spy: Provide time-consuming distractions during trip to keep mind of Wards off emotional traumas.
No. of votes: 12
Elero, Arbit, Edmantgoog, Cyanios, DeAnno, Azure, sun tzu, Doomlord9, 42hitchhiker, Zechstein, wingnut2292, Zefferen
- [x] Stunt: Spot On, Use our swarm to locate things to point out before we reach them and to highlight them as we travel past.
No. of votes: 3
Doomlord9, 42hitchhiker, Zechstein

[X] World's Largest Bug: Divert road trip to tourist traps and sightseeing opportunities along the way.
No. of votes: 9
mastigos2, Elero, Teras, charysa, 1986ctcel, Overmind, Sinsystems, dacsan, Peanuckle
- [x] Stunt: Get the others in on it, picking things they want to look at, playing travel games, etc. This is our chance to grind friendship intimacies.
No. of votes: 3
charysa, Peanuckle, 1986ctcel

[X] The Mystery Machine: Solve crimes along the way to Philadelphia.
No. of votes: 5
CrawlingChaos74, spudman, DeAnno, Jinnt, Jack Folstam
- [x] Stunt: Small Time Crime, in which we encounter some faces from Brockton Bay along the way. It's a handful of leftover Merchants who're dragging some reluctant new capes along to try and join their life of crime!
No. of votes: 3
spudman, Jinnt, Jack Folstam


XP Expenditures:

[X] 2 XP - Investigation (Online Research ●○○)
No. of votes: 22
mastigos2, Arbit, charysa, Zen, Overmind, Sinsystems, dacsan, landcollector, DragonBard, Jinnt, sun tzu, Doomlord9, aledeth, 42hitchhiker, Klaus, Zechstein, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja, Jack Folstam, wingnut2292, Zefferen, seether28

[X] 9 XP - Reputation (Beautiful) ●●●○○
No. of votes: 22
Arbit, Overmind, dacsan, landcollector, Peanuckle, Menma, DeAnno, sun tzu, aledeth, Klaus, Zechstein, wingnut2292, Zefferen, seether28, Elero, Teras, 1986ctcel, CrawlingChaos74, Reklaw, Doomlord9, Strunkriindiisk, BobTheNinja

[X] 3 XP - Reputation (Exhibitionist) ●○○○○
No. of votes: 7
veekie, Elero, Teras, 1986ctcel, HyperspatialParasite, Reklaw, bloodshifter

[X] 4 XP - Resistance ●●●●○
No. of votes: 5
Zen, spudman, Azure, 42hitchhiker, mastigos2

[X] 3 XP - Compassion ●●●●○
No. of votes: 4
veekie, ticktrick, Elero, HyperspatialParasite

[X] 2 XP - Lore (Insects ●○○)
No. of votes: 2
mastigos2, charysa

[X] 2 XP - Archery/Firearms (Sniper Rifles ●○○)
No. of votes: 2
mastigos2, spudman

[X] 9XP - Reputation (Exhibitionist) ●●●○○
No. of votes: 1
NotAlwaysFanfic
 
seether28 said:
Can we use it in addition to our daily Human Contact roll to lose an extra point of Clarity? After were down to a -1 penalty of course. We do get 3 uses an arc...

I wouldn't think the one would prevent the other, but Gromweld's game mechanic post says the maximum amount of Clarity that can be lost in a single day is two points. It's specifically talking about Human Contact + Virtue Channel though, so I dunno.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Eidolon (the background) is used INSTEAD OF human interaction for the purposes of making a Compassion roll to lower Temporary Clarity. Its primary purpose in this Quest is to represent the fact that Enduring Order Administrator has perfect recall of her life as a mortal.

Since we'd automatically gain a point of Clarity should we go a full week without interacting with mortals (other Alchemicals and/or machine spirits don't count), it may come in handy should we ever be stuck in the wilderness or trapped somewhere remote for more than a week.
 
Doomlord9 said:
Question. Where does Dragon fall on this?

Technically she's a machine spirit, but she's more social than Armsmaster can hope to be so would it be the other way around with Dragon keeping our clarity down and Armsmaster driving it up?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Both Dragon and Armsmaster count as mortals for the purposes of lowering Clarity - neither of them are powered/shaped by the Design of Autochthon.
 
seether28 said:
Having a reputation for being an exhibitionist isn't the same thing as actually being one.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This.
landcollector said:
Hmmm. Still think Taylor herself isn't ready anytime in the near future for it to be considered a good reputation by her.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Fine, fine, but I still agree with the overall sentiment. And if Taylor gets more comfortable with her looks and continues to have 'exposures' like the ones at the camp, that may be something we should consider capitalizing on.
 
Ugh.

I don't find the exhibitionist thing funny or endearing at all. I just find it forced and incredibly stupid. Can you please, please stop that Gromweld?

It's just... why. Why would Taylor even act like that under Clarity.

Why is it that she just so happens to take after that whatshername Adamant Exalt? Lame, lame, lame lame. Because oh yeah, of course the Appearance 5 character is going to act like Miss Fanservice for no good reason other than "lol fanservice".

Hell, I'd love it that just got fucking retconned.
 
Garlak said:
Ugh.

I don't find the exhibitionist thing funny or endearing at all. I just find it forced and incredibly stupid. Can you please, please stop that Gromweld?

It's just... why. Why would Taylor even act like that under Clarity.

Why is it that she just so happens to take after that whatshername Adamant Exalt? Lame, lame, lame lame. Because oh yeah, of course the Appearance 5 character is going to act like Miss Fanservice for no good reason other than "lol fanservice".

Hell, I'd love it that just got fucking retconned.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Pantsless Adamant runs around naked - IN COMBAT - with Clarity 0 because she doesn't like clothes. That's just dumb. Taylor here has been without clothes:
- when she used the housing tent's entryway chemical wash to clean herself last night
- in her room
- in the brief flashes between swapped armors in the lunch tent
- when Aisha told her to take off her armor


All other times she's either been in her Power Armor, her Dress-like Costume, or a spidersilk bodysuit. The shots that would ostensibly leak to ParaTube/Parahumans Online are from the shower bit, that's all.

Clarity at her level and beyond does not feel embarrassment - it is an INHUMAN mindset and that's a wasteful human emotion - but at the same time she hasn't been running around starkers for everyone to see. Efficiency dictates that she should be in her Power Armor at all times, but if that is prohibitive then she will now swap to an outfit to cover herself due to Armsmaster's orders. Even beyond that, there's still ash in the air so she wouldn't want to get that crap on her anyway.

Grabbing any points in a reputation does not make a character behave any differently, so the Exhibitionist Reputation will not suddenly make her start running around in Alchemical Form all the time. But it's a moot point anyway because Dragon and the PRT smothered all those shots - the Reputation is no longer available (for now).
 
My complaint was also that I disliked the fact that the exhibitionist bit was included in past updates at all. That just seems like stupid excuses for fanservice or whatever.
 
Garlak said:
My complaint was also that I disliked the fact that the exhibitionist bit was included in past updates at all. That just seems like stupid excuses for fanservice or whatever.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Shrug. I thought I've been handling it fairly lightly, with no explicit descriptions and most of it handled through implications instead of direct statements. It's played for laughs, not for eroticism or titillation... or at least, that's what I've been intending.

Unless you're saying the female form is a shameful thing that should be covered at all times because otherwise a mystical sky-father will send us all to an eternal punishment fetish, because then we're just going to have to disagree.
 
It was pretty funny to me. Pity the Diner vote(or actually, most of the votes) didn't put their stunt to use though.
 
Gromweld said:
- The Exhibitionist reputation can be spun multiple ways, but ultimately if you folk don't purchase it then the PRT/Dragon will put the kibosh on any pictures and videos that leak out. Spending XP on it actually helps ENSURE that there is a positive aspect to it; all it takes is to declare your respect for Narwhal and that'll be that. Note that I didn't make the reputation "Nude Model", "Nudist", "Streaker", "Stripper", or "Porn Star" - you will likely gain support of progressive-minded folk that understand you aren't doing it for attention or to make a statement, which in turn will help people that are fighting against the whole 'female body shaming' aspect that Puritan-value civilizations have against women.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Damn that sounded like it would've been pretty cool to ahve, hope we get another chance to purchase it later.
 
Gromweld said:
Any feedback on how it might be made more humorous, then?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It was plenty funny. I think your explanation on Exhibitionist was also well grounded and well reasoned. However, people get uncomfortable when you mix controversial issues into the mix, and I don't mean things like homophobia, but rather things like acceptable public nudity, or revocation of the death sentence. Things that, more often than not, are supported by only a small minority.
 
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top