[X][PLAN] Attack the strong one coming your way and take him out of the fight before the others can react. Then it'll be an easy fight.
This guy is the one who's going to go call the boss. If we get past him and take down the weaker ones, his reaction might be to fight us - or it might be to call for backup. Also, as the highest power level among them, he should have the fastest reactions.
The problem is that if the strong guy calls for backup and fights a delaying action, the backup gets here and we get mobbed.
If the strong guy physically leaves the area such that it would at least take him a little while to get back here, we may have a shot at taking down the bunch of scrubs guarding our ship while he's away, before either he or a brute squad of reinforcements can come back.
[X] [Ask] Can Kakara withdraw her Ki after infusing it into someone? Can she do so at range? Does she think it would be possible to make someone calibrated for fighting at a certain PL overbalance by changing that PL?
[X] I have a different idea in mind, and of course am perfectly willing to also
-[X] Highlight skill improvements at the end of the chapter, whether they lead to the skill being bumped up or not.
[X] I have a different idea in mind,
[X] Highlight skill improvements at the end of the chapter, whether they lead to the skill being bumped up or not.'
[X] I enjoy the new format.
-[X] I also enjoyed the old one, and most favor a balance of the two depending on circumstance - both because different approaches better suit different situations, and because variety is the spice of questing IMO.
[X] I have a different idea in mind,
[X] Highlight skill improvements at the end of the chapter, whether they lead to the skill being bumped up or not.'
Siccing them on the guys threatening Namek is far from the worst thing we can do, if you're right- and as I recall you are- that they're enemies.
On the other hand, we should probably find a proxy to do that, because Bassoon is known to the refugees as an enemy, and we are in danger from anyone who can recognize us as a saiyan and who isn't a standup guy like Bassoon.
[X][PLAN] Attack the strong one coming your way and take him out of the fight before the others can react. Then it'll be an easy fight.
Journey to New Namek
Your gaze intent on the view above, you murmur, "Him first, then the others?"
Bassoon nods fractionally. 'Agreed.'
The alien comes around the door frame, purple-skinned, three-eyed. Bassoon coils his legs. The alien, catching the motion out of the corner of his eye, snaps his gaze over with wide eyes. "What-?"
tsew
Bassoon lunges forward and snaps out of kick into the side of the alien's head, sending him spinning to the ground in a groaning heap.
Immediately, you feel distant power levels spiking. Tariq's, in particular, lights up in your ki senses. They all begin converging on your location. You feel them weaving, and moving far slower than they need to; the station and its crowds working for you, you assume. You have some time.
The other refugees spin. The one you heard earlier, Sheera, has a fierce glare on her face. "Who the hell are-?!" She stops, going pale, as she sees Bassoon.
Your host reaches out, snapping his fingers, and gestures to the weaker refugees on either side of the group. "Accelerate!"
The two hapless aliens rocket into the walls with a loud bang and fall the ground, unconscious.
Sheera and her last companion bunch up together in response, eyes wide. Bassoon flares his aura at his full power level, and the force of it actually pushes them back a bit. "Right," he says, cracking his knuckles.
tsew
CRACK
pop
The two go down with broken and dislocated limbs in a blur of motion, and Bassoon immediately steps past them. "I'd rather if you two just stay down." Then you hear his voice in your head. 'Kakara, what's the response looking like? I feel incoming.'
"Still fine," you reply, keeping your senses on the enemies. "We should have enough time if we hurry!"
Bassoon pauses. "...not feeling like taking the risk." He glances at the refugees. "Sealed up, even inside. Oddly paranoid. Hah!" He thrusts his hand out at the floor of the docking bay, flaring his ki, and a blast streaks out.
BOOoooo...
In a heartbeat, the bay ruptures and tears away from the station, spinning wildly. Bassoon lurches into contact with his ship and suppresses his ki. He snaps his fingers, pointing at the ship, and then points at the hole heading out into space. The ship rockets forth out into vacuum and Bassoon promptly starts climbing arm-over-arm towards the hatch.
"...you're insane," you breathe, watching the chaos.
'Not the first time I've done that,' says Bassoon, voice faint. 'Hold that thought.' He fumbles open the hatch and slides into his ship. Air whistles into the space, and Bassoon gasps, just lying in place for a moment.
"Are you all right?" you ask, concerned.
"Surviving vacuum is...not as easy...as just holding your breath," gasps Bassoon, groaning. "Lots of little stuff gets...damaged. Letting the...regeneration...fix it...ow."
You shake your head. "Okay. Will it be long? The refugees are going to know where we are."
He shakes his head, giving up on the spoken word. 'The ship is shielded. They won't be picking us up. They might've been able to find us visually, but that's why I sent us flying. We'll be okay.'
You release a breath, flopping back onto the grass behind you. "Okay. That's good. That was really clever, Bassoon."
'Like I said, I've had to do that before,' he says. 'It's never fun, but it'll do in a pinch.' He drags himself to his feet. 'All right. I'm going to get our course laid in. I'm going to try to jump us as far as we can from Zebul before the refugees can spread out to interdict us. Give me a few minutes, okay?'
"Yeah, sure," you reply, staring up into the sky. "Got a long month ahead of us."
You have escaped Zebul mere heartbeats ahead of the refugees. Now you face the long journey to New Namek, and while Bassoon thinks you'll be stopping at least once, you're still faced with a lot of downtime. For the first time since your escape, you actually have a stretch of time to yourself. Which means...
...it's time to make a schedule again.
A fair amount of folks said that they miss the AP plans and would welcome them back in some format. We're giving that a shot.
Over the month-long trip to New Namek, how does Kakara spend her time? Compose a plan from among the following categories, each of which has its own allotment of Action Points (AP).
The Sight -- or, perhaps more accurately, your psychic abilities -- got you into this mess. Kais and Ancestors willing, they will get you out. 2 total AP available.
[ ] Continue Your Training (1 AP): Dazarel hasn't let up with his insistence on training you. It's actually cute, how afraid he seems of the idea of failing in the task Grandpa Gohan gave him. His first step is to finish testing you for any Gifts other than your Sight. Follow Dazarel's training regime.
[ ] Looking Home (1 AP): You may have left home, but you will return someday. When you do, it would be best to be well informed. Devote a substantial amount of time and effort to using your Sight to keep up to date on the current events on Garenhuld.
[ ] Future Options (1 AP): The mysterious destinations that called to you when you fled Garenhuld, and again when you departed the Other World, are an intriguing mystery. Bassoon may have been a friend, but can you guarantee that the self-described, "Enemies," will be? Try to pierce the odd veil around your host options, revealing a random option's identity for the next time you need to find a new host.
[ ] Looking Abroad (1 AP) [TOPIC HERE]: It is difficult to fully describe the dizzying potential of your Sight. With sufficient precision and effort, literally anything past, present, or future is yours to behold. Use your Sight to look into a topic of your choice to the best of your abilities.
The drive to improve oneself is intrinsic to the saiyan race, and you are as saiyan as they come in the modern world. 3 total AP available.
[ ] Improve a Skill (1 AP) [SKILL NAME GOES HERE]: Choose one of your existing skills to improve. Make a training roll in the specified skill. Exceptional or higher skills that are still event-locked will still train, but will not level up unless you trigger an unlock. Please note that you can no longer directly train super-skills like Hand-to-Hand or Ki Manipulation.
[ ] New Skills (1 AP) [SKILL NAME GOES HERE]: Your repertoire is impressive, but it can always expand. Variety is the spice of life and the key to not losing it. Acquire any skill of which Kakara knows, at an appropriate starting level. The skill's theory and practice must be things to which Kakara has access.
[ ] Research Project (1 AP) [PROJECT NAME GOES HERE]: There are some whispered legends yet to be recreated; there are some things held to be impossible. You brought the Genki Dama back into the world. You're only getting started. Start making research rolls to acquire or invent a skill to which Kakara does not have access. The project name should be the name of a technique you want to acquire or an effect you want to achieve, whichever is more descriptive (i.e., "Perfect Multiform," or, "a good piercing attack with an emphasis on speed." Success is not guaranteed.
[ ] Style Training (1 AP) [STYLE HERE]: Yammar took you apart. A good part of that is who he is and the experiences he has endured, but another part was his simple superiority as a fighter. You must improve. When you return to Garenhuld, it will not be peacefully. Make training rolls towards leveling up one of your combat styles.
[ ] Invent a Style (2 AP): Perhaps the answers to your needs do not rest in the past. Perhaps you need to strike your own path, if you are to stand against the trials set against you. Design a new combat style and begin training it.
For as long as you can recall, you have been a social girl. Though you have grown rapidly over the past year or so and your life has turned upside-down, that fundamental truth has not changed. 2 AP available.
[ ] Strengthen Host Bond (1 AP): Neither you nor Bassoon fully understand the nature of the ties that bind you. Devote concerted effort to not merely being a presence in his head, but a person who's trying to get to know him. Perhaps you can unravel the mystery of your presence here. Focus social on Bassoon, improving your relationship with him and strengthening your host bond.
[ ] Talk to Dazarel (1 AP): Dazarel betrayed you. You offered him mercy and protection, and he turned on you. He is loyal now only because your death would mean his destruction. But...you're stuck with him. He's likely to be the only stable company you'll have over the next several years. Try to come to an accord with Dazarel.
[ ] Outreach (1 AP): Already, you feel like you're going crazy. Stuck in one person's head, with only an enemy for company, and both of them spending half their time at each other's throats. You need to find somebody else to talk to. Experiment with the idea of communicating with people outside of Bassoon's head without his assistance.
With the level of access you have, it's all-but-guaranteed that you'll be able to sway Bassoon into doing things in the outside world. 2 AP available.
[ ] Extra Stops (2 AP): You want to get a ground-level view of the galaxy. Despite the risk of refugee intervention, convince Bassoon to make some unnecessary stops on planets and at space stations, to help you with this. Gain a better view of the galaxy. Possibly encounter Tariq again. Mystery box secondary goodies.
[ ] Instruction (1 AP): He might complain about bottle blondes again, but you're riding in Bassoon's head, and you have a vested interest in keeping it intact. In spare moments, impart some of the secrets of your people's warrior traditions to him. The irony in you doing this is stifling, but you'll power through. Bassoon makes a concerted effort to train his power level and abilities this month, and you directly assist him.
[ ] Historical Insights (1 AP): Bassoon has mentioned to you, offhand, that he's originally a historian by trade. That actually represents a significant source of information for you on the state of the galaxy, and it'd be nearly criminal to neglect it. Bassoon gives you a history lesson on a topic of his choosing. Gain deep insight into that topic.
[ ] Further Experiments (1 AP): You experimented, briefly, with donating ki directly to Bassoon. It didn't go well. Try to figure out what went wrong, and see if you can't fathom any other limits your abilities might have. Map out the possibilities and limitations you have in interacting with Bassoon.
[ ] Write-In (AP Variable): You are Kakara Goku, and it has admittedly been a little while since you last made a proper list! You're sure that you can come up with something else that you've forgotten at just this moment!
MANUAL MORATORIUM; APPROVAL VOTING.
Alright, folks, we're back, and in more ways than one!
We're going to be stepping back into AP plans somewhat experimentally. I want to see if I can address the issues I had with them. In hindsight, stripping them entirely may have been unduly precipitous. In any event, this is a good format for a month-long pseudo-timeskip. The rules above are provisional; if this plays well, then I'll go back into traits and see how I want to implement a return to plans over there. I hope you all enjoy, folks! Have fun chatting, and I hope you've enjoyed this update.
Please do share your thoughts on this one, and remember to vote! I'm happy to bring back these kinds of plans, but I want to make sure that I'm doing it right. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! See you around the thread!
Oooooh, shiny. Bassoon is awesome, and lots of options. Looking forward to the discussion! At a glance, I'd like to get at LEAST these options:
[ ] Instruction (1 AP): He might complain about bottle blondes again, but you're riding in Bassoon's head, and you have a vested interest in keeping it intact. In spare moments, impart some of the secrets of your people's warrior traditions to him. The irony in you doing this is stifling, but you'll power through. Bassoon makes a concerted effort to train his power level and abilities this month, and you directly assist him.
[ ] Further Experiments (1 AP): You experimented, briefly, with donating ki directly to Bassoon. It didn't go well. Try to figure out what went wrong, and see if you can't fathom any other limits your abilities might have. Map out the possibilities and limitations you have in interacting with Bassoon.
[ ] Strengthen Host Bond (1 AP): Neither you nor Bassoon fully understand the nature of the ties that bind you. Devote concerted effort to not merely being a presence in his head, but a person who's trying to get to know him. Perhaps you can unravel the mystery of your presence here. Focus social on Bassoon, improving your relationship with him and strengthening your host bond.
[ ] Talk to Dazarel (1 AP): Dazarel betrayed you. You offered him mercy and protection, and he turned on you. He is loyal now only because your death would mean his destruction. But...you're stuck with him. He's likely to be the only stable company you'll have over the next several years. Try to come to an accord with Dazarel.
[ ] Continue Your Training (1 AP): Dazarel hasn't let up with his insistence on training you. It's actually cute, how afraid he seems of the idea of failing in the task Grandpa Gohan gave him. His first step is to finish testing you for any Gifts other than your Sight. Follow Dazarel's training regime.
[ ] Historical Insights (1 AP): Bassoon has mentioned to you, offhand, that he's originally a historian by trade. That actually represents a significant source of information for you on the state of the galaxy, and it'd be nearly criminal to neglect it. Bassoon gives you a history lesson on a topic of his choosing. Gain deep insight into that topic.
[]Continue Your Training (1 AP): Dazarel hasn't let up with his insistence on training you. It's actually cute, how afraid he seems of the idea of failing in the task Grandpa Gohan gave him. His first step is to finish testing you for any Gifts other than your Sight. Follow Dazarel's training regime.
[ ] Future Options (1 AP): The mysterious destinations that called to you when you fled Garenhuld, and again when you departed the Other World, are an intriguing mystery. Bassoon may have been a friend, but can you guarantee that the self-described, "Enemies," will be? Try to pierce the odd veil around your host options, revealing a random option's identity for the next time you need to find a new host.
I'm mostly uninterested in looking home; it won't be good for Kakaea's mental health. I could be persuaded to look abroad though.
[] Research Project: Perfect Multiform
[] Improve a skill: Ki Refinement
[] Improve a skill: Combat Precognition
First two are high priority, third is lower but is helpful since it can also be used in support of Basoon.
[ ] Strengthen Host Bond (1 AP): Neither you nor Bassoon fully understand the nature of the ties that bind you. Devote concerted effort to not merely being a presence in his head, but a personwho's trying to get to know him. Perhaps you can unravel the mystery of your presence here. Focus social on Bassoon, improving your relationship with him and strengthening your host bond.
[ ] Outreach (1 AP): Already, you feel like you're going crazy. Stuck in one person's head, with only an enemy for company, and both of them spending half their time at each other's throats. You needto find somebody else to talk to. Experiment with the idea of communicating with people outside of Bassoon's head without his assistance.
Seems like the better pair, no strong opinions here.
[ ] Historical Insights (1 AP): Bassoon has mentioned to you, offhand, that he's originally a historian by trade. That actually represents a significant source of information for you on the state of the galaxy, and it'd be nearly criminal to neglect it. Bassoon gives you a history lesson on a topic of his choosing. Gain deep insight into that topic.
[ ] Further Experiments (1 AP): You experimented, briefly, with donating ki directly to Bassoon. It didn't go well. Try to figure out what went wrong, and see if you can't fathom any other limits your abilities might have. Map out the possibilities and limitations you have in interacting with Bassoon.
Definitely want historical insights. Further Insights seems like it has a much higher potential reward than training him, both in power and in applicability to future hosts, so I'm willing to pay for that in lack of guarenteed results but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise as well.
New update hype! I like this new form of the AP plans, since having AP pre-dedicated to the various categories both reduces our ability to neglect an area entirely and feels more natural, since it makes certain that Kakara can't spend her entire time training/researching (although this quest has managed to maintain a decent balance between social and productivity on the whole).
As for my thoughts on any potential plans:
Sight: I like Continue Your Training, and don't have a strong preference as to Looking Home vs. Future Options or Abroad
Training: I like either creating our own style or at least doing Style Training for one of our two known styles. I only recently started following this quest and I don't get why we haven't already taken the opportunity to make our own style, since that seems pretty damn useful.
Social: I don't really have any preferences here, all three options seem like a good idea to me, although Outreach will probably help us even after we transfer to a new host.
The Outside World: I like historical insights here, since it'll give us a broader understanding of what's going on in this setting and help inform future decisions. As for Instruction vs. Further Experimentation, I think experimentation will be of more benefit to us, but also think we should be cautious in going down the path too far since it might make Bassoon dependent on us and we're not going to stick around forever.
As one basic thing, if we want to work Combat Precognition into our standard combat kit, then we should look into making our own style.
We have the Sight on top of Dazarel's teaching us to read minds through the psychic ability that the Sight gives us, this is the grounds for making a style that knows how to make use of those as core parts of the style rather than supplemental tools.
For Multiform research, we're at the upper bounds of Talented still. I recall that starting to research Perfect Multiform was going to push us over the edge in the yearly votes, but I'm unsure if that still holds true here: @PoptartProdigy is this the case, or would we need to devote 2 AP to really get the ball rolling on this?
Wait, weren't we unable to use multiform while mind projecting? I would think that would prevent meaningfully researching Perfect Multiform?
I could have sworn this came up.
For Multiform research, we're at the upper bounds of Talented still. I recall that starting to research Perfect Multiform was going to push us over the edge in the yearly votes, but I'm unsure if that still holds true here: @PoptartProdigy is this the case, or would we need to devote 2 AP to really get the ball rolling on this?
Wait, weren't we unable to use multiform while mind projecting? I would think that would prevent meaningfully researching Perfect Multiform?
I could have sworn this came up.
[ ] Further Experiments (1 AP): You experimented, briefly, with donating ki directly to Bassoon. It didn't go well. Try to figure out what went wrong, and see if you can't fathom any other limits your abilities might have. Map out the possibilities and limitations you have in interacting with Bassoon.
[ ] Instruction (1 AP): He might complain about bottle blondes again, but you're riding in Bassoon's head, and you have a vested interest in keeping it intact. In spare moments, impart some of the secrets of your people's warrior traditions to him. The irony in you doing this is stifling, but you'll power through. Bassoon makes a concerted effort to train his power level and abilities this month, and you directly assist him.
These seem to be the most important things in this area, since it gives us more room for getting ready, and whatever results we get from the experimentation should generalize to future hosts. We could probably get away without training Bassoon, but his power level isn't enough to reliably deal with individual champions, which is a pretty substantial worry of mine.
[ ] Continue Your Training (1 AP): Dazarel hasn't let up with his insistence on training you. It's actually cute, how afraid he seems of the idea of failing in the task Grandpa Gohan gave him. His first step is to finish testing you for any Gifts other than your Sight. Follow Dazarel's training regime.
[ ] Looking Home (1 AP): You may have left home, but you will return someday. When you do, it would be best to be well informed. Devote a substantial amount of time and effort to using your Sight to keep up to date on the current events on Garenhuld.
If Dazarel's training just consisted of looking for more Gifts, I'd be worried that it is an utter waste of time given the whole 'The Sight is a jealous gift' thing. However, it seems like whatever else he has in store is worth the risk of having no substantial other Gifts, and finding another opens up a real chance for at minimum another very useful too. Looking home seems like something that she'd want to do, and I kind of want to see how the Senzu + Misfits training is going.
[ ] Strengthen Host Bond (1 AP): Neither you nor Bassoon fully understand the nature of the ties that bind you. Devote concerted effort to not merely being a presence in his head, but a person who's trying to get to know him. Perhaps you can unravel the mystery of your presence here. Focus social on Bassoon, improving your relationship with him and strengthening your host bond.
[ ] Outreach (1 AP): Already, you feel like you're going crazy. Stuck in one person's head, with only an enemy for company, and both of them spending half their time at each other's throats. You need to find somebody else to talk to. Experiment with the idea of communicating with people outside of Bassoon's head without his assistance.
Honestly, I just don't want to waste our time talking to Dazarel outside of good, mission related reasons.
As for training, I have no blimmin' idea. the rough list of things that I would support include training the Genki Dama, Ki sense, Goku or Tien Style, (perfect) Multiform, Ki Refinement, Four Witches Technique, Kikoho, Original Research (if someone comes up with an interesting idea) or a technique of Dazarel or Bassoon that they reccomend we learn after we show off our technique list.
