Hmm.
So I'm thinking that we attack.
Our speed is very, very likely better than his, and even if he has an escape inhibiter, we can nullify that with Stardust Wings.
The manikins are nothing unless they have at least 23 cohesion apiece, and I'd think they're more likely to be around the cost/power levels of the Shadow Man form: really, really weak. After all, the gunman has to spend gossamer to create them.
So the first turn of AOE will wipe everything but the gunman, and we're at 21 Phantasm and 31 Cohesion. So we're pretty likely to win easily.
We've also got a turn of Dragon Scale ablation minimum for +1 health, Internal Flames for another +15 health, and that should get another turn of ablation. So total health is 48. It could be more if he's invested lowly in phantasm.
I don't think he's a heavy cohesion-build, so let's estimate he has maybe 40 cohesion max.
We breath+teeth: Manikins all die, he takes 11
He does a hit: Even if he can one-shot us, we're guaranteed to live a turn with Flames.
We attack: He takes 21, he's at 8/40, we teeth him, he dies.
At most he can live through two normal attacks, if he's at 44-64 cohesion, and I don't think he would have that much and be able to dish out the 24 per turn he'd need to kill us.
[X] Attack, Yes
"Lacking information, or a better option, the dragon moved to the table and settled back on his haunches. He watched the candle do it's little dance for a moment, and the glanced over the room. Nothing had changed. Nothing had shifted. This was a dream, but as dreams went it was far, far to real.
The man came back with a tea set and walked down the stairs gracefully. He set the platter atop the table with a good amount of cheer and poured the dragon a cup. It steamed gently. "On of my favorite. Memories of British tea on a cold and dreary day. Please enjoy."
Warily, the dragon clumsily moved around. He had made the front paws capable of manipulation, but it wasn't particularly fine. He took a sip and found the taste something warm and relaxing. The taste was impossible to describe.
"Now, I'm sure you have so many questions!" The man stated cheerfully. "Unfortunately I can't tell you any of the answers!" Even as he spoke he was grinning.
"Well, that's reassuring." The dragon stated dryly."
-
Adverbs are crutches. They are a quick way to convey something without the effort and finesse that description and insinuation demands:
Warily, the dragon clumsily moved around.
VS
The dragon leaned forward. His fumbling limbs threatened to send him careening into the table, but he caught himself and gave the teacup-- and the man behind it-- a gimlet gaze. The abnormal normality of the situation was raising his hackles.
Adverbs in dialogue are the worst:
X frowned unhappily
Y jumped up cheerily
Z ate noisily
Avoid all these uses. A maestro can get away with breaking the rules, but this is because they understand how to break rules to good effect. Mortal men like you and me are better suited avoiding them! It's not a coincidence that Update 34 features next to no adverb use on your part.
Just remember guys, if we attack this guy, we're going to have two actively hostile rivals in play. And we're going to seem as aggressive to the others, which may have detrimental effects. So we're going to have to spend time doing diplomacy with the other rivals that we don't want feeling threatened next month.
[X] No
-[X] Token amount of 20 to make up for the time lost.
-[X] Since he's not doing anything harmful to people, theres' no real reason to kick him down. There are worse rivals out there, and hey, he's paying minimum wage workers.
Unfortunately, we aren't entirely sure that he isn't doing something fishy... Just that it's not obviously malicious... So I'm against paying him anything.
We're probably going to have to do more investigation later to be sure... Right now, it's just something that looks okay, but doesn't look entirely on the up and up... At least, to me.
Which is why I've not voted yet. Too split between 'fight' and 'leave' to have a clear decision... Leaving allows the rival time to conceal what he's doing without being ''behind' whereas 'fight' will make the rival actively hostile to us, rather than the passively hostile they probably are currently.
Which is worse than the default 'competitive' but isn't as big a problem as the 'Fire' rival is right now...
I am not inclined to fight, but what about the murder? What was it about blackmail? We don't have information right now, but we were warned by a source we have no reason to distrust that a rival was doing all of that. Is it a different rival then? What 'more drastic measures' did he mean when he threatened his 'volunteers'? Why are they all collared?
It might be too early to jump to conclusions, but there is definitely something fishy going in LA.
[X] No
-[X] Token amount of 20 to make up for the time lost.
-[X] Since he's not doing anything harmful to people, theres' no real reason to kick him down. There are worse rivals out there, and hey, he's paying minimum wage workers.
Veekie, we're not paying him. If we say no we have our final gossamer total, so we decide now on tribute amount. If we attack, we get more or less, so we wait until the total is determined.
If he is the murderer, I wouldn't be surprised if he was taking control of the casino so he would have enough money to pay these folks to collect Gossamer.
He also wasn't willing to put in the actions to train them, help them experience Wonder, or give them forms suited to collecting gossamer (high speed), implying that he values control over them higher than their effectiveness... not that their description didn't say as much already.
[X] Attack, Yes
-[X] If talking is a free action, or close enough, tell him "I've decided to take you in for questioning."
-[X] Use Sheriff's Star, and ask him about the murder, and what he was threatening his workers with.
--[X] If he refuses to answer, or fails to back up his claims with hows and whys, use his dream form to track down his real form, and ask again.
I would like to add the following, but we already spent all of our days slowly investigating and the very next action is likely to be the tribute instead of finishing this definitively. Lost Star probably intended this quest to require more than one action.
[] If we have any time left, go back to the one of the workers and talk to them about their boss; how much of what he said corroborates?
Edit:
Start by giving the recruits Dream of Wonder and required/useful lesser abilities (going to sleep, lucid dreaming, room warding), then find out each of their Wonder scores like so;
[] Ask them to each dream of something special to them, something optimistic and energetic.
-[] Keep track of how much Gossamer they generate when doing so.
Ideally you would have started with those who already have decent Wonder, but if not, use a dream control ability to show and teach until they all have at least 4 Wonder. At around the same time, they keep using Dream of Wonder, aiming for special dreams that continue on themes of energy, swiftness, freedom.
Next, use greater skill to craft forms for them using the two or more energetic, special dreams, ideally starting with a person who had ones that can be used to discount Speed or add the most Speed to a dream form.
[] Tell them what you're planning for the special dreams, ask for those, and with permission take the special dreams they created.
-[] If they made more than 2 and only let you use the 2 fastest ones, continue as usual, but if they're keeping more than that, they're going to be on pure Dream of Wonder duty, allowing you to take and use later special dreams. If they only allow taking Gossamer, then they go from hired to "maybe I'll put money in the hat every so often".
[] Pick the person who contributed special dreams most suited to speed, then Create a Dream Form for them using one for the base form and one for a Speed discounting ability, or if not that, Speed increasing ability.
-[] Assign a budget of 70 for stats, for at least 3 Speed, but ideally 6 or more effective Speed with the ability.
-[] Carefully link the person and the dream form made, then that person is on shallow gathering duty.
If they spend a lot of time on it, it'll be 12 gossamer a week; taking them a bit less than two months to break even (not too bad for very specialized on-the-job training).
[] Repeat Creating a Dream Form for them until you run out of people with special dreams that can hit ≥6 speed within budget; those are on gathering duty.
-[] Those without a dream form continue with Wonder training and Dreams of Wonder, from which you collect special dreams to use for other things. Such as rare abilities or seasoning gossamer for the Dream Catcher in ways it probably hasn't tasted too often before.
True, but if there's a dozen workers here, and they're paid 8 hours of minimum wage, that's $960 each day, which isn't cheap. Not only that, but our rival wouldn't want to be spending large numbers of actions on their job, which being the equivalent of a major shareholder would accomplish.
It would be easier to question how he possibly could have gotten money or ownership out of killing a casino boss; it would imply he was improbably well positioned and prepared beforehand.
Edit: That or using a lot of mind control, but all the abilities we've seen for doing so are not very strong and took significant investment to get; he wouldn't have had time to both get them and use them effectively and do what little training he did for his recruits.
[X] Attack, Yes
-[X] If talking is a free action, or close enough, tell him "I've decided to take you in for questioning."
-[X] Use Sheriff's Star, and ask him about the murder, and what he was threatening his workers with.
--[X] If he refuses to answer, or fails to back up his claims with hows and whys, use his dream form to track down his real form, and ask again.
The dragon didn't speak in reply to the weapon being aimed. He merely lunged forward and breathed out. Stars and dreamstuff washed over the field and the manikins surfaces dissolved. They dropped to the ground in what would have been silent agony in another world. In this world it was likely unpleasant in the extreme, but not much more than that. Once on the ground, chains appeared around their bodies and they went still.
Despite the dragon's speed though, the man with the gun managed to get off a shot. The bullet practically danced around the battlefield and slammed into his head. He reared back from the strike, and more bullets ripped into his body, barely blunted by his scales. The damage was horrific, but not enough to cause him to stop.
instead rage roared through his body, and the dragon lunged forward with his claws ready. Despite his speed and power though, they didn't find purchase on his opponent. Instead the man's vest was ripped off and he was forced to take a few steps back. The rifle swung down and fired off several shots as the man pulled the trigger again and again in near panic.
The bullets dug into the dragon's stomach and it was his turn to stagger back as his body nearly dissolved right then and there from the tumbling and tearing bullets. The fire and rage in his body roared up in response to his weakness and he felt his form re-solidify. The dragon's form convulsed and he spat out bullets as he flapped his wings and lunged forward once more.
This time his claws found purpose and the dragon's strike swept down the torso from shoulder to pelvis. The man staggered as he was nearly snapped in half, but kept his cohesion. His body bled trailing gossamer as he aimed his weapon in the dragon's vague direction. The rifle sounded like a gun firing in a movie rather than anything real, too soft and quiet for something so lethal. It was lethal too. The bullets arched through the air without a care for something as paltry as physics or reason. One of the bullets slammed into the dragon's eye, and the rest peppered his body and tore out his wings.
On his last legs, the dragon continued to fight though. He snarled loudly and clawed forward. The blade like weapons tore great chunks out of the man's form. Gossamer bled everywhere, but the man was still standing. He was weak though. Too weak to defend himself as the dragon reared back and opened his mouth wide. The teeth in his maw gleamed as the dragon lunged forward to bite and devour.
All he got was smoke though. The man dropped a bomb of some sort at the last second, and smoke drifted everywhere. The dragon hacked and sputtered for a crucial moment as the smoke billowed around him leaving a nasty taste and a worse feeling in his lungs. Then he flapped his wings hard and cleared it out.
The man with the gun was gone. That much was obvious almost immediately. The dragon felt a flash of rage and then smothered it. He glanced around for a trail and found nothing. There was only the vague dream terrain and the manikins bound to the ground.
Delicately the dragon moved to his new captives. They looked terrified, well as terrified as things without real faces could. They appeared to be cringing back from him.
Sighing, the dragon reached forward and gently cut the stitching on one of their mouths. He peered down at the man-like thing and spoke slowly and calmly. "Would you be willing to talk some?"
"He'll kill me." The manikin croaked out with a dry and rasping tone.
The dragon sighed in response and his wings drooped. "He's not able to monitor you here. I'd know." He would too. The man might have had a lot of tricks, but the dragon was notably stronger in dreamstuff manipulation.
The manikin remained silent in response.
Sighing again the dragon turned to the other captives. "Any of you care to talk?"
None of the captives moved in response. They appeared to be just waiting for the end.
Grumbling under his breath, the dragon poked the manikins with a sharp claw. They didn't do much more than twitch. He wanted to attempt to interrogate them more, but he really didn't have the skills to do that. Instead he examined their forms.
There was no care to them. No individuality. Slapped together in haste. The emotions on the dream forms were things of resigned despair. These were not willing workers. Something more than will was binding these people.
Unfortunately getting more out of them wouldn't be possible. The dragon debated on just leaving them there, but that wouldn't be an act of mercy. Nor would releasing them either. There was a good chance that the man would think he had tampered with the manikin's dream forms.
"If you feel like talking. Here's how you can." The dragon pushed a dream into the manikin's minds as he spoke. Much like the dream-catcher likely did to him. It was a dream of how to contact him.
Done with that, the dragon reached into the dream forms of the manikins with his will and quietly ripped them apart. The people would likely wake up with a slight headache and no more dream form. The forms would have to be remade, and it would likely severally hinder the man with the gun. More importantly it would hopefully cause the man to either cut them loose. Murdering six people right off would draw far too much attention, even if the man tried to do it discretely.
That didn't mean the dragon was happy about doing it. It was riskier than he would have liked.
-Enemy-
Manikin
Phantasm: 5
Speed: 1
Cohesion: 10
Mass Produced - Reduced cost to make.
Unwilling Shield - Man with gun cannot be damaged so long as a manikin exists.
Man with Gun
Phantasm: 15
Speed: 5
Cohesion: 45
Sniper Shot - Deals 5 damage before combat starts as a free action.
Machine Gun - Deals 5 damage to all enemies once.
Body Armor - Negates the damage of one attack. Must be re-grafted if used. (Grafting is gossamer free)
Smoke Bomb - Allows one to flee regardless of speed if they would take lethal damage. Must be re-grafted if used. (Grafting is gossamer free) Reduces HP to 1.
-You-
Dream Dragon (100 to remake.)
Phantasm: 21
Speed: 9
Cohesion: 31
Internal Flames trigger at 8. Scales work until 15
Bite triggers on 11
Man deals 4 damage. Dragon at 27
Dragon goes first. Breath weapon removes manikins.
Man deals 13. Dragon at 14.
Dragon attacks. Deals no damage.
Man deals 14. Flames trigger, Dragon at 15.
Dragon attacks. Dragon deals 21 damage. Enemy at 24.
Man deals 13. Dragon at 2.
Dragon attacks. Dragon deals 21 damage. Enemy at 3. Bite triggers. Smoke bomb triggers.
You have 460 Gossamer. What are you offering for tribute?
Smoke Bomb - Allows one to flee regardless of speed if they would take lethal damage. Must be re-grafted if used. (Grafting is gossamer free) Reduces HP to 1.
Man deals 13. Dragon at 14.
Dragon attacks. Deals no damage.
Man deals 14. Flames trigger, Dragon at 15.
Dragon attacks. Dragon deals 21 damage. Enemy at 24.
Man deals 13. Dragon at 2.
It's almost as though he built knowing he would most likely be targeted by alpha-strikes instead of attrition; his defense is not for regular use.
Speaking of defense, we should probably Graft >10 Cohesion next opportunity; it's also +5 mid-battle healing, only costs 40 Gossamer, and the disadvantages of too much Cohesion are probably quite distant.
This, and the silence, is sufficient testimony that I no longer consider gathering additional evidence a priority.
[X] 180
We can afford it, and we know those such as the Moth might be stepping up their game this turn. (Edit: Bumped my vote up further since at least one other person did.)
Depends on what resources we think he has left; if we take time for both a Dream of Wonder and a Graft action, he will have time for both his own Graft action and collecting at least one ablative minion. If he spends enough on stats or the right ability, we would lose that fight. We might need to pick a different ability, or spend more time on multiple abilities, if we want to guarantee we can at least keep winning battles against him.
I have a couple questions for @Lost Star to judge the following abilities, though;
A dream of dragon fire. (Breath upgrade: Disables abilities until the start of your next turn.)
-Breath of Eternity (A glimpse of the true eternity. Dragon Breath cannot be avoided, mitigated, or negated. The damage it causes is permanent until the dragon wills it isn't.)
How does the first ability interact with Unwilling Shield and Body Armour? If you use FILO, it doesn't, and if you use FIFO, it pierces both of them. Next, both that second case and the second ability should result in Body Armour blocking our first melee attack, which means that when the Man With A Gun doesn't have minions, we're actually worse off in combat with these abilities (-10 total damage dealt)... unless we can choose not to use Breath of Eternity? We haven't had a 1vs.1 battle yet since getting higher Phantasm than our Wonder, so I don't know if "Will be used at the beginning of battle." is an option or a requirement.
We might still want these even at their most inconvenient, however; if this rival has Warded his living and working environment well enough, repeatedly ruining his dream form might be the only disincentive we can practically offer, and the true Breath of Eternity increases the cost of completely restoring his dream form from 100 to 144 (plus a Graft action, of course, but he pays that every time we fight).
Against the Man With A Gun, this is practically our own Body Armour, thus neatly negating the advantages of his. It might also be helpful for questioning, but I wouldn't bet on that— the social effects could be limited to denizens, or too weak to make someone irrationally spill their secrets.
For dealing with less-than-perfect Warding, we would want this;
