- Location
- in the trash
That's what you'll think until they accidentally set off the car alarm in the midst of their attempt.
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All-American Small Town Evil Conspiracy Quest
- Thread starter EarthScorpion
- Start date
- Original
That's what you'll think until they accidentally set off the car alarm in the midst of their attempt.
[X] You Don't See Me Rollin', You Hatin'.
[X] Puncture Her Tires.
If all the decisions are made as part of the voting there's no need to add the extra step of "OK, now that we have consensus one of you guys roll." Let's just let it happen and get to the results.
Our goons are bad at life, enough that I don't like our current options. 50% is too easy to fail, and I'd prefer to avoid an autocomplication on our very first action. As such, let's maneuver somewhere better and hopefully enjoy some dice bonus. I recognize that this runs the risk of her car breaking down outside the house of some plucky teens, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
[X] Puncture Her Tires.
If all the decisions are made as part of the voting there's no need to add the extra step of "OK, now that we have consensus one of you guys roll." Let's just let it happen and get to the results.
Our goons are bad at life, enough that I don't like our current options. 50% is too easy to fail, and I'd prefer to avoid an autocomplication on our very first action. As such, let's maneuver somewhere better and hopefully enjoy some dice bonus. I recognize that this runs the risk of her car breaking down outside the house of some plucky teens, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[x] Roll Once. The usual way of rolling. One person rolls, and we use that result.
I really wanna see the rolls, tbh.
[X] Puncture Her Tires.
I think we're best off setting stuff up for later buffs and payoff.
I really wanna see the rolls, tbh.
[X] Puncture Her Tires.
I think we're best off setting stuff up for later buffs and payoff.
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PhoenixFTW
Insert Witty One-Liner Here
- Location
- Minnesota
[X] You Don't See Me Rollin', You Hatin'.
[X] Puncture her tires.
I think we can afford to trade a bit of time for better chances of success here.
[X] Puncture her tires.
I think we can afford to trade a bit of time for better chances of success here.
- Location
- Nowhere
[X] Beat her up in the car park outside. It's dark, mostly empty, and even if someone notices you'll have time to run. On the other hand, she might manage to get into her car and escape.
[X] Roll Once. The usual way of rolling. One person rolls, and we use that result.
The former because it is a cheap, easy and EEVIL! action. The latter because I don't wish to overcomplicate stuff.
[X] Roll Once. The usual way of rolling. One person rolls, and we use that result.
The former because it is a cheap, easy and EEVIL! action. The latter because I don't wish to overcomplicate stuff.
So, from your votes it appears you are all despicable people who want to damage her car as well as break her bones, etc. Now, this is simple and so is a Difficulty 0 action, but we still roll for it. Why? Complications and flukes. Even easy things can have unexpected consequences.
Also, surprisingly, having me just roll is overwhelmingly popular even with the x0.5 modifier. So I guess we'll go this way, even though it's less fun.
So we'll see right now whether there's anything unexpected for your action.
... oh my. Mentlegen, looks like you just wasted that luck with your caution. Doh ho ho. Still, you'll get a minor fluke from it.
Also, surprisingly, having me just roll is overwhelmingly popular even with the x0.5 modifier. So I guess we'll go this way, even though it's less fun.
So we'll see right now whether there's anything unexpected for your action.
... oh my. Mentlegen, looks like you just wasted that luck with your caution. Doh ho ho. Still, you'll get a minor fluke from it.
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- Location
- in the trash
Right, so now on top of medical fees, presumably she's also going to need to pay for the cost of repairing her car?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
A fluke is a good thing, however.
A complication is 'one of our mooks gets hit and is in the hospital and now it's like 'huh''
A fluke is "Something good happened."
FunkyEntropy
Occasionally insightful, possibly grumpy
- Location
- Los Angeles
* Insert generic whinging about SB/SV over-cautiousness due to freak above average rolls here
*
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Accidentally sacrificed her car to the dark gods
- Location
- England
I'm happy with this. We couldn't have known the dice would be so good and all that.
Also, fluke! Yay! Now we just have to not fuck up the next bit and we're good.
Also, fluke! Yay! Now we just have to not fuck up the next bit and we're good.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
What qualifies as a success, number wise?
- Location
- England
Says under mechanics spoiler on first post, 4 or above So 50% odds, and that was three sux.
0-3: Tutorial on Special Assets
0-3 - Tutorial on Special Assets
Anna Hemmerton heads out into the night, carrying her shopping. Oh, she'd been so silly. She'd forgotten to get any food after she'd closed up the shop and then she'd looked up at the clock and it was already nine and she was hungry. So a quick dash down to the 7-11 to get some easy-to-make things, and she could get back to her reading. She looks fondly at the book beside her. This one really is great.
She's totally unaware that there's a car trailing her. She's not the perceptive sort. In fact, it takes her far too long to realise that all of her car's tires are punctured. By the time she notices, she's up to Deadman's Drop,
Anna's made quite a study of the history of the local area. Deadman's Drop earned its name doubly so - not only is it an infamous accident blackspot where a poor driver can go right through the barrier and over the edge, but back in history it's where the town used to hang people back in the gold rush. Back then this was way outside the town, and they'd suspend bodies over the gorge, so people coming in would know… something or other. It's pretty disgusting! But also fascinating!
"Oh flipbuckets," Anna says, flashlight in hand as she peers down at the vehicle. It's a good thing she noticed that the steering was feeling funny. If she'd taken the corner with her tires like this, who knows what could have happened?
What the heck did she drive over? Must have been a carrier bag full of glass bottles or something.
Urgh! Urgh! She totally should have listened to her horoscope today! She's a Pisces, and the paper literally said that she needed to be aware of small details to avoid misfortune. And also to avoid salad, which she did. But now her car's got punctured tires and there's literally no way she can repair it all by herself. And driving home like this will just make things worse.
Should she walk? No, it's not safe around here. It's not lit at all. She starts rummaging through her pockets, looking for her phone. Who does she know who'd be willing to come pick her up? Or who knows anything about repairing cars?
A car rolls up behind her. Its headlamps shine in her eyes and she shields her face.
"Um! Hello!" she tries. "Can you help?!"
It pulls over. Several bulky men get out. She can't see their faces, due to the bright light. A frisson of fear runs down the back of her neck. She's scared, all of a sudden. She wanted help, but she… she wasn't looking for a car full of men.
"You want help?" one of them asks. "What's the matter?"
"Oh… um, I've got a flat… I've got several flats, really. Do any of you know about changing tires or… or anything?"
A bald man wearing a thick jacket hefts a tire iron. "Sure. I know all kinds of stuff, Anna."
"Oh, that's… wait." She adjusts her spectacles, peering at the men. "How do you know my name?"
"Just stay still, and it won't hurt," says the bald man.
"Uh… it will," one of the others says.
"Oh for goodness sake, shut the hell up, idiot."
"Sorry, sorry."
The man get closer. Anna screams. The bald man swings his tire iron.
And there's suddenly a flash of light and the man goes flying backwards, into the middle of the road. He's got horrific-looking burns all over his arm. There's a 'twoing' and the tire iron comes slamming down and embeds itself in the tarmac, glowing red-hot.
Wide-eyed, Anna stares at the glowing nimbus around her. She can feel the warmth coming from one of her necklaces. She bought it on a trip to Mexico a few years back because it looked pretty. The old lady by the side of the road had said it would bring her good luck and protect her from evil spirits.
She… she hadn't thought that evil spirits took the form of bulky men with tire irons trying to mug her.
"Go away!" she shouts at them. "Go!"
Man, you just can't catch a break as a secret conspiracy of corrupt businessmen, can you? Here you are, trying to do something as simple as beat up a bookish woman and then it turns out that some of the occult trash she buys for herself is actually real and has real power much to your surprise (and hers). And, very pertinently, is giving you a +2 difficulty increase all the way up to Difficulty 3 when it would normally have been 1. Unfair or what?
Fortunately, you can be unfair too. And one way you always have available to you is your Special Asset. By tapping your Special Asset, suddenly you have a +5 dice bonus. When your average mook has 2-3 dice, this is a really, really big deal. When you send your mooks in on their own, enhancing them with your Special Asset can turn a dicey risky endeavour into a near certain victory. It's the difference between being a comic group of thugs and scary men in rubber suits that lead people watching the series to hide behind the sofa.
As long as you can justify it as being in-theme, you can always provide a write-in to use your Special Asset. I'm usually not going to offer Special Asset choices by default unless shit is going down - it's up to you to produce a write-in justifying the use of it.
And it comes with FREE POWER NO CONSEQUENCES.
Well, okay, actually, it comes with consequences. That's the major problem. When you tap your Special Asset, you get a consequence on a 1-2 on any dice you roll, not just a 1. And Special Assets tend to be quite… obvious. For example, if you'd chosen the future robots, a Special Asset-enhanced elimination plot against the local police department would probably involve driving a truck through the front window and then killer robots shooting everyone they come across. Consequences will often relate much more to revealing your evil conspiracy-ness, and will often be worse for a given consequence level.
Basically, it's a tool to succeed at a given check by trading for the chance of more trouble down the line.
NOTE: I'm still trying out the balance of this. If it turns out to be too powerful or with too few downsides, it may be made limited use or otherwise constrained.
What now?
(Base pool - 3 dice)
[ ] Run away! No one said nothing 'bout any magical glowing amulets!
(Abort Plot, fail objective but does not risk assets.)
[ ] Yeah, sure, it's glowing, but no doubt if you try punching it again, it'll work, right? (x0.2)
(Difficulty 3, Fixed Failure Result: Mooks catch on fire and dissolve into toxic green gloop.)
[ ] Special Asset: Write-in an in-theme use of your Special Asset to overcome the current problem and accomplish your goals. Possible idea seeds are presented below:
-> The underling looks nauseous, and then his tongue extends, bright blue and wormlike. It starts drinking the magic, weakening the shield.
-> One of the men takes off his black gloves, revealing that he has eyeballs on his palms. Anna starves into the eyes, and then takes off her necklace, staring into nothing.
-> They back off, making sure to keep her contained. One of them goes to the back of their car and gets out a dog-carrier. It's rattling and there's green gloop oozing from the front bars.
(Tapping your Special Asset for +5 dice - so 8 dice vs Diff 3)
Anna Hemmerton heads out into the night, carrying her shopping. Oh, she'd been so silly. She'd forgotten to get any food after she'd closed up the shop and then she'd looked up at the clock and it was already nine and she was hungry. So a quick dash down to the 7-11 to get some easy-to-make things, and she could get back to her reading. She looks fondly at the book beside her. This one really is great.
She's totally unaware that there's a car trailing her. She's not the perceptive sort. In fact, it takes her far too long to realise that all of her car's tires are punctured. By the time she notices, she's up to Deadman's Drop,
Anna's made quite a study of the history of the local area. Deadman's Drop earned its name doubly so - not only is it an infamous accident blackspot where a poor driver can go right through the barrier and over the edge, but back in history it's where the town used to hang people back in the gold rush. Back then this was way outside the town, and they'd suspend bodies over the gorge, so people coming in would know… something or other. It's pretty disgusting! But also fascinating!
"Oh flipbuckets," Anna says, flashlight in hand as she peers down at the vehicle. It's a good thing she noticed that the steering was feeling funny. If she'd taken the corner with her tires like this, who knows what could have happened?
What the heck did she drive over? Must have been a carrier bag full of glass bottles or something.
Urgh! Urgh! She totally should have listened to her horoscope today! She's a Pisces, and the paper literally said that she needed to be aware of small details to avoid misfortune. And also to avoid salad, which she did. But now her car's got punctured tires and there's literally no way she can repair it all by herself. And driving home like this will just make things worse.
Should she walk? No, it's not safe around here. It's not lit at all. She starts rummaging through her pockets, looking for her phone. Who does she know who'd be willing to come pick her up? Or who knows anything about repairing cars?
A car rolls up behind her. Its headlamps shine in her eyes and she shields her face.
"Um! Hello!" she tries. "Can you help?!"
It pulls over. Several bulky men get out. She can't see their faces, due to the bright light. A frisson of fear runs down the back of her neck. She's scared, all of a sudden. She wanted help, but she… she wasn't looking for a car full of men.
"You want help?" one of them asks. "What's the matter?"
"Oh… um, I've got a flat… I've got several flats, really. Do any of you know about changing tires or… or anything?"
A bald man wearing a thick jacket hefts a tire iron. "Sure. I know all kinds of stuff, Anna."
"Oh, that's… wait." She adjusts her spectacles, peering at the men. "How do you know my name?"
"Just stay still, and it won't hurt," says the bald man.
"Uh… it will," one of the others says.
"Oh for goodness sake, shut the hell up, idiot."
"Sorry, sorry."
The man get closer. Anna screams. The bald man swings his tire iron.
And there's suddenly a flash of light and the man goes flying backwards, into the middle of the road. He's got horrific-looking burns all over his arm. There's a 'twoing' and the tire iron comes slamming down and embeds itself in the tarmac, glowing red-hot.
Wide-eyed, Anna stares at the glowing nimbus around her. She can feel the warmth coming from one of her necklaces. She bought it on a trip to Mexico a few years back because it looked pretty. The old lady by the side of the road had said it would bring her good luck and protect her from evil spirits.
She… she hadn't thought that evil spirits took the form of bulky men with tire irons trying to mug her.
"Go away!" she shouts at them. "Go!"
Man, you just can't catch a break as a secret conspiracy of corrupt businessmen, can you? Here you are, trying to do something as simple as beat up a bookish woman and then it turns out that some of the occult trash she buys for herself is actually real and has real power much to your surprise (and hers). And, very pertinently, is giving you a +2 difficulty increase all the way up to Difficulty 3 when it would normally have been 1. Unfair or what?
Fortunately, you can be unfair too. And one way you always have available to you is your Special Asset. By tapping your Special Asset, suddenly you have a +5 dice bonus. When your average mook has 2-3 dice, this is a really, really big deal. When you send your mooks in on their own, enhancing them with your Special Asset can turn a dicey risky endeavour into a near certain victory. It's the difference between being a comic group of thugs and scary men in rubber suits that lead people watching the series to hide behind the sofa.
As long as you can justify it as being in-theme, you can always provide a write-in to use your Special Asset. I'm usually not going to offer Special Asset choices by default unless shit is going down - it's up to you to produce a write-in justifying the use of it.
And it comes with FREE POWER NO CONSEQUENCES.
Well, okay, actually, it comes with consequences. That's the major problem. When you tap your Special Asset, you get a consequence on a 1-2 on any dice you roll, not just a 1. And Special Assets tend to be quite… obvious. For example, if you'd chosen the future robots, a Special Asset-enhanced elimination plot against the local police department would probably involve driving a truck through the front window and then killer robots shooting everyone they come across. Consequences will often relate much more to revealing your evil conspiracy-ness, and will often be worse for a given consequence level.
Basically, it's a tool to succeed at a given check by trading for the chance of more trouble down the line.
NOTE: I'm still trying out the balance of this. If it turns out to be too powerful or with too few downsides, it may be made limited use or otherwise constrained.
What now?
(Base pool - 3 dice)
[ ] Run away! No one said nothing 'bout any magical glowing amulets!
(Abort Plot, fail objective but does not risk assets.)
[ ] Yeah, sure, it's glowing, but no doubt if you try punching it again, it'll work, right? (x0.2)
(Difficulty 3, Fixed Failure Result: Mooks catch on fire and dissolve into toxic green gloop.)
[ ] Special Asset: Write-in an in-theme use of your Special Asset to overcome the current problem and accomplish your goals. Possible idea seeds are presented below:
-> The underling looks nauseous, and then his tongue extends, bright blue and wormlike. It starts drinking the magic, weakening the shield.
-> One of the men takes off his black gloves, revealing that he has eyeballs on his palms. Anna starves into the eyes, and then takes off her necklace, staring into nothing.
-> They back off, making sure to keep her contained. One of them goes to the back of their car and gets out a dog-carrier. It's rattling and there's green gloop oozing from the front bars.
(Tapping your Special Asset for +5 dice - so 8 dice vs Diff 3)
pantherasapiens
you were always my best friend
- Location
- somewhere over your shoulder
Yeeeeeeah, having the mooks dissolve and aborting the mission are both awful. It's Escalation Time!
But in a way that fits on almost-family-friendly TV.
[X] One of the men rips open his trenchcoat, revealing a leathery, wrinkled face where his chest and belly should be. The face breathes out a thick glowing green smoke, and Anna falls down unconscious.
But in a way that fits on almost-family-friendly TV.
[X] One of the men rips open his trenchcoat, revealing a leathery, wrinkled face where his chest and belly should be. The face breathes out a thick glowing green smoke, and Anna falls down unconscious.
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- Location
- in the trash
Well, probably going to vote for Special Asset because hahaha come on Difficulty 3 with only 3d6 nope nope nope.
Only question is the approach, though I'm leaning towards the option that has usrelease the kraken! unleash the otherworldly abomination.
We need her alive but badly injured. Also you know she'd make a police report because that probably counts as attempted murder.
Only question is the approach, though I'm leaning towards the option that has us
We need her alive but badly injured. Also you know she'd make a police report because that probably counts as attempted murder.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
[X] Yeah, sure, it's glowing, but no doubt if you try punching it again, it'll work, right? (x0.2)
Punching always works.
If we can mine eldritch abominations, we can punch out a pendant. If she wants proper portection, she can try out our gift-shop.
Punching always works.
If we can mine eldritch abominations, we can punch out a pendant. If she wants proper portection, she can try out our gift-shop.
- Location
- Nowhere
For the love of the Yog-Shoggoth! How could this happen? And right at the tutorial mission! If Lady Fortune is going to be that unfair, then it is alright if we do so as well:
[X] One of the men rips open his trenchcoat, revealing a leathery, wrinkled face where his chest and belly should be. The face breathes out a thick glowing green smoke, and Anna falls down unconscious.
[X] One of the men rips open his trenchcoat, revealing a leathery, wrinkled face where his chest and belly should be. The face breathes out a thick glowing green smoke, and Anna falls down unconscious.
- Location
- Tulsa Oklahoma
… can't we just use a tranquilizer dart? It wouldn't unsettle her as much as seeing the true face of our organization, and it is doubtful that the amulet is able to protect against anything which has no ties to the supernatural. Also, if it fails, nothing of value would be lost, unlike punching, which is likely to have our forces perish.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Special Asset: They back off, making sure to keep her contained. One of them goes to the back of their car and gets out a dog-carrier. It's rattling and there's green gloop oozing from the front bars.
I like the idea of a pet Cthulu. Or shoggoth. Or some unnameable horror that can fit into an adorable little package.
I like the idea of a pet Cthulu. Or shoggoth. Or some unnameable horror that can fit into an adorable little package.
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Special Asset: One of the men takes off his black gloves, revealing that he has eyeballs on his palms. Anna starves into the eyes, and then takes off her necklace, staring into nothing.
Mind control. Eet r useful. Especially if it comes with amnesia. And yeah, this is a good time to tap the Special Asset, a) so that we're familiar with how effective it is, and b) because she's a kooky lady who buys occult junk and believes in the healing powers of crystals and whatnot, so she probably won't be believed if she starts raving about men with eyes in their hands controlling her mind.
Especially if her car is found crashed into a tree with the tyres all popped.
Mind control. Eet r useful. Especially if it comes with amnesia. And yeah, this is a good time to tap the Special Asset, a) so that we're familiar with how effective it is, and b) because she's a kooky lady who buys occult junk and believes in the healing powers of crystals and whatnot, so she probably won't be believed if she starts raving about men with eyes in their hands controlling her mind.
Especially if her car is found crashed into a tree with the tyres all popped.
What, like a group of non-magical thugs trying to punch her? Because it seems to be doing pretty well at that. And will melt them into green goop if they push it too far and fail the roll.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The real question is whether we can start getting into more powerful mind control mojo.
Next step against her is having her repeat, "I love Black Goat" one thousand times in a room full of women who all claim to be named "Judy" for some reason.
Multiple references in one!