As long as air itself is still a thing those spells works fine.
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
As long as air itself is still a thing those spells works fine.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
And that's how Michael became an honorary Captain Planet villain of the week... 😵
OK, looks like we are waiting for Harry. Lets see how that goes.
Arc 8 Post 51: Oh Vehicles and Veils
Oh Vehicles and Veils
18th of November 2006 A.D.
"Pretend we're not here," you answer with only a little hesitation. Harry is going to be here soon and it's Harry this thing wants.
As Clippy clicks the afirmative dad drives the van into the parking lot of a Wendy's, right behind a red faced couple having the kind of public argument that makes one doubt the wisdom of the Church's position on divorce. No one is going to be paying any attention to you talking about cannibal spirits and kidnappings with that going on.
After he'd been brought up to date with the situation, van of doom and all dad thinks about it a moment before offering a surprising bit of advice: "We need something to shut down a lot of the streets downtown and fast, SI might be able to swing a bit of traffic control but not on the scale we need and not as fast. How good are your friends at calling in bombs threats?"
You consider it for a moment and try not to think too hard at how fast your father, the literal knight in shinning armor had jumped right to bomb threats. Had the knights done it before? Was this a strategy they used? "Even if we called in bomb threats in enough places to close in their whole route they would still have all the people actually there to use as hostages and there are a dozen of them. If they scatter trying to cause as much chaos as they can... they can kill a lot of people before we get them. They'll do it too, they are basically Broken Seeker's cult, that is what the cannibalism was about..." Well that and he is evil, reveling in the despair and corruption of those he was once meant to teach, but it's not like that's of any use.
Unless... briefly you consider the prospect of going to meet it alone on bad ground, trying to use the Skinwalker's sadism and his pride to bait it out, but that doesn't work, not really. Something, someone who had been clever enough to arrange this little go-around isn't going to abandon all their plans just because a shinny green Molly is supposedly out in the open. Plus it's not after you at all, it is after Harry and that... no, just no.
You could call in one of your favors to Mab right here, right now, make Broken Seeker into one of Mab's throneroom ornaments. It feels irrationally like giving up though and on a more reasonable note it's less than the favor might be worth given the phrasing
"The enemy does not know we re in the city yet, correct me if I am mistaken my lady," Usum interjects, his scheming a welcome stumbling block in the path of thoughts about to stumble down a blind alley. "What if their automobile should cease functioning in the middle of the road. It is unlikely that our principal opponent knows much of their repair for all their power and from what we have observed of their lesser magicians they are more skilled in breaking such mechanisms that repairing them. All you would require is line of sight to place one of the City-Born into the device. They would then have to pull into an auto-repair facility or remove the prisoners to some less public secondary location."
That still has the issue of needing to get in sight of the van without being seen... but perhaps that two has a solution.
There is a rap on the front window, then another, then a harsh whisper: "Psst it's me."
"Harry! I didn't know you could do invisibility," you say, scooting over to let him in.
"I'm not good at it, you are right by the way, one of those things was on me, saw right though my veil at first, but then Mouse did his canine air raid thing and spooked them enough that they lost my trail I hope."
What do you do?
[] Answer the phone the next time it calls, get some answers as to what Broken Seeker wants before engaging, maybe you can shake him up
[] Michael's plan, call in multiple bomb threats using syber-devils in an attempt to clear the city center then go in
[] Usum's plan, get line of sight on the van, put a spirit in it and make it stop working to get them off their loop
[] Call in the Fey cavalry
[] Write in
OOC: Harry had some decent rolls this time around, even though he was casting very much against type.
Can we have Harry answer?
Sure. he's up for it, but he is not as good at social combat as Molly is, to say the least.
I think either Usum's idea, or talking to naagloshii should work.
I further think that we should try and talk not to naagloshii but to its followers. They evidently can turn against him, as demonstrated by Hank. We have DPE + BSM + WHWH combination, and might even swing TLF if we are planning to give them shelter afterwards ( @DragonParadox would the following reasoning be enough to trigger TLF: "These murderhobos are living in the wild as members of a cult of a corrupted godling, by removing the godling from equation I can give them shelter, and rehabilitate them, removing them from harmful environment"?). Even with base DC 9 we could try to turn them against him.
I further think that we should try and talk not to naagloshii but to its followers. They evidently can turn against him, as demonstrated by Hank. We have DPE + BSM + WHWH combination, and might even swing TLF if we are planning to give them shelter afterwards ( @DragonParadox would the following reasoning be enough to trigger TLF: "These murderhobos are living in the wild as members of a cult of a corrupted godling, by removing the godling from equation I can give them shelter, and rehabilitate them, removing them from harmful environment"?). Even with base DC 9 we could try to turn them against him.
Too much of a stretch, you are not getting them shelter now.
Ok, so we would be rolling at -3 DC, likely empathy or subterfuge if we are attempting to subvert, rather than intimidate them, with +2 dice from WHWH. If naagloshii enters combat, that might serve to prove our argument.
This might be doable and we might get legendary success.
The idea of turning Broken Seeker into an ice statue does sound rather tempting. Can we ask Mab to only partially count this against what she owes us?
Can also spend will power to guarantee some success.
Can we do something using city water supply?
RVD will let us to disperse in the water (that means our aura will be sufficiently hidden), then Harry bursts a hydrant near the van, and Molly rushes through the front window into the van?
UPD.: According to this article there are 50 thousand hydrants in Chicago, it should be viable.
RVD will let us to disperse in the water (that means our aura will be sufficiently hidden), then Harry bursts a hydrant near the van, and Molly rushes through the front window into the van?
UPD.: According to this article there are 50 thousand hydrants in Chicago, it should be viable.
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Broken Seeker isn't in the car, his minions are.
Distance might be an issue though.
He's in the car along with your friends, unconscious on stretchers, and twelve of his minions.
OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
In the sense of wanting an end to it to minimize collateral damage/not serve nemesis if it is to happen.
It occurs to me that we don't actually need to kill BS right now, just make him leave. We can smoke him later as revenge.
Might be worth trying to figure out what sort of trouble we could theoretically cause him as a threat to level beyond what he's already thinking we'll do. At the very least it makes it easier to negotiate when you have multiple tools.
A question on the enemies or debts of the people in the car or something like that could get us some working material to at minimum bluff with.
Even a bit of blackmail could tip the scales a bit, give us an angle to work.
As an institution it's a problem, but there's a reason even the most pro mortal factions aren't looking to bust it right this moment.
Destroying living systems in an uncontrolled fashion tends to be bad for everyone connected to them one way or the other.
Might be worth trying to figure out what sort of trouble we could theoretically cause him as a threat to level beyond what he's already thinking we'll do. At the very least it makes it easier to negotiate when you have multiple tools.
A question on the enemies or debts of the people in the car or something like that could get us some working material to at minimum bluff with.
Even a bit of blackmail could tip the scales a bit, give us an angle to work.
Yes, for the most part and for the moment.
As an institution it's a problem, but there's a reason even the most pro mortal factions aren't looking to bust it right this moment.
Destroying living systems in an uncontrolled fashion tends to be bad for everyone connected to them one way or the other.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Hydrants and water mains don't really work like that. As usual, Hollywood lies to us.
Any part of the country which experiences winters cold enough to regularly freeze the ground exclusively uses what are called dry barrel hydrants. Chicago definitely qualifies for this. They are connected to the water main, but they are designed to have a break away flange and stem that must be used to open an underground valve (typically a pretty beefy gate valve) before any water flows into it. Before that is done, the hydrant is basically an empty, hollow barrel.
Busting a hydrant won't really do anything unless Harry blasts a hole large and deep enough to rupture the water main itself, which isn't exactly subtle or easy to pull off without a lot of collateral damage. Depending on the terrain, hydrants can extend very deep underground before joining the water main. Nationally, I think the average is 3 or 4 feet, but it's not unusual for them to be 8 feet or even deeper. No clue what the standard depth in Chicago will be, though.
COMMENTARY
He knows that Mouse scares off lesser skinwalkers.
He's seen Mouse survive getting hit by a van. And he still left Mouse at home when going to face multiple lesser skinwalkers.
Harry, you dumb dumb.
No to Michael's suggestion.
Calling in a bomb threat floods the zone with law enforcement and news media, with law enforcement and news media cameras, and a lot of people who come looking for a bomb threat but arent equipped to deal with creatures out of nightmare.
Not to mention that if they're moving people out of downtown, the van will blend in too. Pass.
Usum's suggestion relies on Molly being great at sneaking against supernatural opposition.
But Molly has Stealth 0, and its not a Key Ability either, so she'd be rolling Dex 4 + Stealth 0 + Without Honor 2.
Not good enough.
Not to mention that her magic signature is Obvious to anyone who cares to look, and I doubt that of all 13 lesser skinwalkers + naagloshii, that noone wont notice her get close enough to HMP the van.
We're already pushing it.
Mab hard pass.
This isnt call in a Court Favor territory; good odds we're gonna need that in the future.
Harry has*checks* Willpower 8 at base, with a +2 bonus for resisting hostile mental attack iirc.
Having spent 2 temp WP, he should still have 6 in reserve.
Good enough.
This is actually a pretty sharp idea. The water pipes, or the drains beneath the manhole covers.
Unfortunately Molly is Survival 0, Streetwise 0, and I dont think Clippy gets to apply when she's in the water system, so her ability to navigate the pipes is going to be questionable
It wouldnt be my first choice, but if all else fails we might come back to this.
Good thinking though.
=======
Speaking of infrastructure?
Electrical transformers have electronic parts, and are thus susceptible to HMP. Chicago apparently has 64 electrical substations as of July 2023, and locations are public information for anyone with
Number Of Electrical substations in Chicago | SmartScrapers
Download the list of Electrical substations in Chicago. Smartscrapers provides an accurate directory and the latest data on the number of Electrical substations in Chicago
rentechdigital.com
@DragonParadox
QUESTION
Can Molly can fly or drive by the substation for this city district, put a cyberdevil in it, and have it shut down power to the district on command?
- Usum's plan relies on Harry's ability to veil, which he has demonstrated some skill with
- Yes she can shut down the power if she has a cyber-devil in the sub-station
@DragonParadox
QUESTION
1)CAN veils hide Molly's magic signature?
I mean, I recall they could not hide the naagloshii's magic signature in Turn Coat; they did obscure his precise location well enough that he couldnt be targeted, but you could feel his presence in the area.
And I suspect E3 Molly probably has a bigger magical presence than Broken Seeker does.
2)Okay, cool.
Thats what Molly's going to do while waiting for the skinwalker to call again.
Approaching from above, she doesnt even have to land.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
I wonder if Harry could bribe one of the Wild Fae to deliver Molly into the van via a thimble of water? Could Harry veil it, too?
Before she hides in the thimble, Molly could pull the pin on a flash-bang grenade and let it's fuse count down to the point it only has a second or so left, then pull it into liquid form with her, which should keep it in effective stasis, right?
She rematerializes in the van, armored up for war and the flash-bang detonates. It's not fun for anyone, Molly or her friends included, but she's prepared for it and ready to use MHM and Usum to blend her way out of the van with the hostages. Health potions should heal whatever damage the flash-bangs do to them, and all of the Skinwalkers in animal or hybrid forms would probably be significantly impaired by the light and noise due to their much stronger senses.
Before she hides in the thimble, Molly could pull the pin on a flash-bang grenade and let it's fuse count down to the point it only has a second or so left, then pull it into liquid form with her, which should keep it in effective stasis, right?
She rematerializes in the van, armored up for war and the flash-bang detonates. It's not fun for anyone, Molly or her friends included, but she's prepared for it and ready to use MHM and Usum to blend her way out of the van with the hostages. Health potions should heal whatever damage the flash-bangs do to them, and all of the Skinwalkers in animal or hybrid forms would probably be significantly impaired by the light and noise due to their much stronger senses.