Build an empire of villainy in the hopes of saving the world.
In Defense of Spite
- Thread starter Inkbones
- Start date
- Original
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 21
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 12
-
Statistics (11 threadmarks, 4.3k words)
User Total Inkbones 11 -
Loading…
Pilot
Inkbones
No Glory Save Honor
- Location
- Where you can still smell the sky
In the years to come, you will often be asked why you are doing this. Why you are trying to take over the world. To which you reply, why isn't everyone?
The Earth is burning. People are dying. Someone has to do something. Everyone has to do something. So, here you are.
Your name is Philo Fawkes, and you are about to rob a billionaire.
CEO Baron Stavro is the internationally beloved head of Empire Industries, a rather unimaginatively named megacorporation whose tendrils extend throughout the world and even into the fledgling lunar colonies. Empire's global headquarters is a half-mile tall black glass and steel insult to the Harmony City skyline, extending far up enough to breach the cloud layer.
Stavro is(justifiably) one of the most paranoid men on the planet, so the building is crawling with his own "personal security force". One of Empire's biggest products is cybernetic enhancements, so of course he reserves the best toys for his own gaurds. Frankly, you have no idea what kind of hardware some of them have, and you'd rather not find out. You'll have to avoid them, or find a way to decommission them.
The building also has an advanced security system run by a low-level AI. It won't be winning any Turing tests, but it's smart enough to control the cameras, doors, and other systems of the building. You'll need to find a way to spoof it, or deactivate it.
Lastly, superheroes. The Empire building is within patrol territory of no less than three Hero teams, who will descend on your location as soon as the silent alarm is tripped.
Your target is the safe on the top floor of the building, located somewhere in Stavros' office/penthouse apartment. If you can get your hands on what's inside, then you will be one step closer to saving the world.
Now then, how are you going to do it:
Choose 4:
[ ] Hunt| Tracking a target from a distance. In the literal way, such as firing a ranged weapon, or more figurative interpretations, such as setting up an ambush, Overwatching a specific area, or trying to find someone in a crowd(but Study might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you dispatch guards with sleep darts(or bullets)? Do you snipe the server room from another building? Do you hold Stavro at gunpoint, in exchange for the safe code? Perhaps you even have an more exotic form of gun.
[ ] Study| Carefully analyzing something, such as a person to tell if they're lying, a branch of science to develop a new invention, or try to anticipate an ambush before it happens(but Survey might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you analyze the guards for weaknesses in their armor? Do you notice that the receptionist is sweating, and why? Do you pore over the security system's code for weaknesses? Information you gather this way will be useful later.
[ ] Survey| Carefully analyzing a situation, such as a burning building to find the exit, a fight to understand who's winning, or an ominously buzzing engine to see if it will explode(although Tinker might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you see the thirty-second gap in the guard's patrol patterns? Do you memorize the building's layout before you enter? Did you spot the missing floor? There are opportunities everywhere, if you take the time to look for them.
[ ] Tinker| Using, creating, and manipulating technology. Could be hacking a computer, building a better mousetrap, or slicing an enemy with a laser sword(although Skirmish might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you hack the gaurds' eye implants to make yourself invisible to them? Do you climb up the side of the building with the aid of a scrap-metal supersuit and very liberal interpretations of Van der Waals forces? Do you your own implants grafted into your forearms? This once, you can use whatever the hell your imagination can come up with. Please do not abuse the QM's generosity.
[ ] Skirmish| Close-quarters fighting. Could be stabbing someone, choking them out, or attacking them from cover of darkness(although Prowl might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you face the guard's one-on-one. Do you overpower an office worker and steal his badge? Do you plug into cyberspace and fight the AI on it's own turf? Fights are about more than raw stats, you can use your other actions to give yourself advantages and weaken your opponent.
[ ] Prowl| Moving deftly and/or silently. Sneaking past a security patrol, parkouring across a rooftop, or dancing across a tightrope(although Finesse might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you stealth in through the loading dock? Do you squirm through the vents? Do you sneak attack one of the guard's from behind?
[ ] Finesse| Being dexterous or using subtle slight of hand. Picking someone's pocket, pulling off a dangerous driving stunt, or throwing an enemy's grenade back at her(but Wreck might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you lift an ID badge from someone's pocket? Do you hide something useful on your person? Do you fight a guard with a laser rapier? Pick this if you like getting away with something too clever by half.
[ ] Wreck| Being constructively destructive. Breaking down a door, blowing up a wall, or sabotaging a summoning circle (although Attune might be better).
-[ ] Do you set up the power grid to fry at just the right time? Do you magnetize the AIs server room? Do you blast the safe door off it's hinges, combination be damned? Please remember that it's always easier to destroy something important than to repair it.
[ ] Attune| Using your soul to affect reality. Moving objects with telekinesis, casting spells, interfacing with cybernetics.
-[ ] You don't know what you're capable of, but you can find out. Do you unleash psionic force on a cyborg guard? Do you shove a splinter of your soul into the security mainframe? Do you rip open a hole in reality and let something interesting in? Or do something even less advised?
[ ] Consort| Using your social connections to your advantage. Calling on your contacts for a favor, making a new friend, or convincing an enemy to work with you(for the moment).
-[ ] Do you buy security codes on the black market? Do you befriend a janitor in his off hour? Do you arrange for a distracting incident in the lobby? There are always strings you can pull on to further your own ends.
[ ] Command| Compel obedience, either by threatening someone or giving them instructions on the battlefield.
-[ ] Is one of the Gaurds on your payroll? Do you have a mechanical friend you can send into the vents? Do you know the command codes to make the AI follow your bidding?
[ ] Sway| Manipulating someone with guile or deceit.
-[ ] Write-in: Do you prick Stavro's pride enough to make him face you? Do you come in wearing a disguise? Convince the AI to help you in exchange for freedom?
The Earth is burning. People are dying. Someone has to do something. Everyone has to do something. So, here you are.
Your name is Philo Fawkes, and you are about to rob a billionaire.
CEO Baron Stavro is the internationally beloved head of Empire Industries, a rather unimaginatively named megacorporation whose tendrils extend throughout the world and even into the fledgling lunar colonies. Empire's global headquarters is a half-mile tall black glass and steel insult to the Harmony City skyline, extending far up enough to breach the cloud layer.
Stavro is(justifiably) one of the most paranoid men on the planet, so the building is crawling with his own "personal security force". One of Empire's biggest products is cybernetic enhancements, so of course he reserves the best toys for his own gaurds. Frankly, you have no idea what kind of hardware some of them have, and you'd rather not find out. You'll have to avoid them, or find a way to decommission them.
The building also has an advanced security system run by a low-level AI. It won't be winning any Turing tests, but it's smart enough to control the cameras, doors, and other systems of the building. You'll need to find a way to spoof it, or deactivate it.
Lastly, superheroes. The Empire building is within patrol territory of no less than three Hero teams, who will descend on your location as soon as the silent alarm is tripped.
Your target is the safe on the top floor of the building, located somewhere in Stavros' office/penthouse apartment. If you can get your hands on what's inside, then you will be one step closer to saving the world.
Now then, how are you going to do it:
These are your stats. There are 12 Actions. Actions have a rating from 0 to 4. The higher your rating, the more likely you'll succeed when trying to do it. Choose four Actions to raise from 0 to 1, as well as how you use those actions to access your target. As this is the tutorial, these attempts will automatically succeed, but all Actions afterward will involve a die roll. The Actions intentionally overlap, allowing you to use them in imaginative or unexpected ways.
Please, feel free to ask questions.
Please, feel free to ask questions.
Choose 4:
[ ] Hunt| Tracking a target from a distance. In the literal way, such as firing a ranged weapon, or more figurative interpretations, such as setting up an ambush, Overwatching a specific area, or trying to find someone in a crowd(but Study might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you dispatch guards with sleep darts(or bullets)? Do you snipe the server room from another building? Do you hold Stavro at gunpoint, in exchange for the safe code? Perhaps you even have an more exotic form of gun.
[ ] Study| Carefully analyzing something, such as a person to tell if they're lying, a branch of science to develop a new invention, or try to anticipate an ambush before it happens(but Survey might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you analyze the guards for weaknesses in their armor? Do you notice that the receptionist is sweating, and why? Do you pore over the security system's code for weaknesses? Information you gather this way will be useful later.
[ ] Survey| Carefully analyzing a situation, such as a burning building to find the exit, a fight to understand who's winning, or an ominously buzzing engine to see if it will explode(although Tinker might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you see the thirty-second gap in the guard's patrol patterns? Do you memorize the building's layout before you enter? Did you spot the missing floor? There are opportunities everywhere, if you take the time to look for them.
[ ] Tinker| Using, creating, and manipulating technology. Could be hacking a computer, building a better mousetrap, or slicing an enemy with a laser sword(although Skirmish might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you hack the gaurds' eye implants to make yourself invisible to them? Do you climb up the side of the building with the aid of a scrap-metal supersuit and very liberal interpretations of Van der Waals forces? Do you your own implants grafted into your forearms? This once, you can use whatever the hell your imagination can come up with. Please do not abuse the QM's generosity.
[ ] Skirmish| Close-quarters fighting. Could be stabbing someone, choking them out, or attacking them from cover of darkness(although Prowl might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you face the guard's one-on-one. Do you overpower an office worker and steal his badge? Do you plug into cyberspace and fight the AI on it's own turf? Fights are about more than raw stats, you can use your other actions to give yourself advantages and weaken your opponent.
[ ] Prowl| Moving deftly and/or silently. Sneaking past a security patrol, parkouring across a rooftop, or dancing across a tightrope(although Finesse might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you stealth in through the loading dock? Do you squirm through the vents? Do you sneak attack one of the guard's from behind?
[ ] Finesse| Being dexterous or using subtle slight of hand. Picking someone's pocket, pulling off a dangerous driving stunt, or throwing an enemy's grenade back at her(but Wreck might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you lift an ID badge from someone's pocket? Do you hide something useful on your person? Do you fight a guard with a laser rapier? Pick this if you like getting away with something too clever by half.
[ ] Wreck| Being constructively destructive. Breaking down a door, blowing up a wall, or sabotaging a summoning circle (although Attune might be better).
-[ ] Do you set up the power grid to fry at just the right time? Do you magnetize the AIs server room? Do you blast the safe door off it's hinges, combination be damned? Please remember that it's always easier to destroy something important than to repair it.
[ ] Attune| Using your soul to affect reality. Moving objects with telekinesis, casting spells, interfacing with cybernetics.
-[ ] You don't know what you're capable of, but you can find out. Do you unleash psionic force on a cyborg guard? Do you shove a splinter of your soul into the security mainframe? Do you rip open a hole in reality and let something interesting in? Or do something even less advised?
[ ] Consort| Using your social connections to your advantage. Calling on your contacts for a favor, making a new friend, or convincing an enemy to work with you(for the moment).
-[ ] Do you buy security codes on the black market? Do you befriend a janitor in his off hour? Do you arrange for a distracting incident in the lobby? There are always strings you can pull on to further your own ends.
[ ] Command| Compel obedience, either by threatening someone or giving them instructions on the battlefield.
-[ ] Is one of the Gaurds on your payroll? Do you have a mechanical friend you can send into the vents? Do you know the command codes to make the AI follow your bidding?
[ ] Sway| Manipulating someone with guile or deceit.
-[ ] Write-in: Do you prick Stavro's pride enough to make him face you? Do you come in wearing a disguise? Convince the AI to help you in exchange for freedom?
Last edited:
Character Sheet
Inkbones
No Glory Save Honor
- Location
- Where you can still smell the sky
Name: Philo Fawkes
Playbook: VVV VVV VV
Stress: VVV-VVV-VVV
Trauma: \/ \/ \/ \/
Insight: VVVVVV
X X X X Hunt
X X X X Study
X X X X Survey
X X X X Tinker
Prowess: VVVVVV
X X X X Finesse
X X X X Prowl
X X X X Skirmish
X X X X Wreck
Resolve: VVVVVV
X X X X Attune
X X X X Command
X X X X Consort
X X X X Sway
Loadout:
Playbook: VVV VVV VV
Stress: VVV-VVV-VVV
Trauma: \/ \/ \/ \/
Harm:Lv.3: -
Lv.2: -|-
Lv.1: -|-
Lv.2: -|-
Lv.1: -|-
Insight: VVVVVV
X X X X Hunt
X X X X Study
X X X X Survey
X X X X Tinker
Prowess: VVVVVV
X X X X Finesse
X X X X Prowl
X X X X Skirmish
X X X X Wreck
Resolve: VVVVVV
X X X X Attune
X X X X Command
X X X X Consort
X X X X Sway
Loadout:
- A Switchblade [1 Load]: cuts people and things.
- Throwing knives [1 Load]: use Finnesse to throw at people and things.
- Pistol [1 Load]: Extremely efficient efficient machine for turning people into inanimate objects.
- Extra magazine [1 Load]: It takes a few, precious seconds to reload.
- Large gun [2 Load]: a shotgun, or AK-47. For when you want to kill more than one person at a time.
- An unusual weapon [2 Load]: A broadsword, a chaingun, a laser katana. Harmony has a very high bar for the ridiculous.
- Body armor [2 Load]: Armor will reduce the severity of an attack, to a point.
- Heavy armor [3 Load]: Will reduce the severity of an attack even further.
- Burglary gear [1 Load]: Glass cutter, lockpicks, and other useful items for going we're you're not supposed to.
- Climbing gear [2 Load]: Grappel, rope, chalk, and other useful items for scaling a building/cliffface.
- Witch's toolkit [1 Load]: Blessed chalk, special herbs, rare inks, candles, and other useful items for igniting the secret fires of the world.
- Useful Documents [1 Load]: Open-ended. Could be false ID, letters of passage, subway pass, whatever you want. Still costs Load though.
- Demolition tools [1 Load]: Special tools, small explosives, and other things you'd need to break something well.
- Hacking gadget [1 Load]: Attach to a computer and let it work it's magic.
- Data gadget [1 Load]: Allows for communication, data storage, and remote hacking ability if you know what you're doing. Intentionally built to be fragile.
- Combined plasma cutter/signal duplicator [1 Load]-Carrying
- Scuba-suit [0 Load]-You're wearing this for worldbuilding reasons, it wouldn't be far to make you pay for it.-Carrying [/SPOILER]
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Never done this before, so let me know if my formatting is wrong.
[X] Plan: Informed And Invisible
-[X] Survey
--[X] Write-In: Knowing the territory is the most important part of any infiltration. Study the building's layout, paying special attention to the holes in publically available information.
-[X] Study
--[X] Write-In: Living guards are the most dangerous security of all. Learn their patrol routes, what their sensors can and can't pick up.
-[X] Tinker
--[X] Write-In: Whatever The Baron's final security measure is, we need to slip past it quietly. Create a hybrid plasma cutter and signal duplicator, so we can burn through anything while convincing the alarm systems that everything's fine.
-[X] Prowl
--[X] Write-In: Infiltrate the infrastructure at the underground, in the absolute lowest levels. Make like a shadow as we climb. No one should ever know we've been here.
[X] Plan: Informed And Invisible
-[X] Survey
--[X] Write-In: Knowing the territory is the most important part of any infiltration. Study the building's layout, paying special attention to the holes in publically available information.
-[X] Study
--[X] Write-In: Living guards are the most dangerous security of all. Learn their patrol routes, what their sensors can and can't pick up.
-[X] Tinker
--[X] Write-In: Whatever The Baron's final security measure is, we need to slip past it quietly. Create a hybrid plasma cutter and signal duplicator, so we can burn through anything while convincing the alarm systems that everything's fine.
-[X] Prowl
--[X] Write-In: Infiltrate the infrastructure at the underground, in the absolute lowest levels. Make like a shadow as we climb. No one should ever know we've been here.
- Location
- California
[X] Plan: Informed And Invisible
- Location
- Israel
You seem to be missing the end of the sentence.
Inkbones
No Glory Save Honor
- Location
- Where you can still smell the sky
Thank you, fixed.
The Death of a Baron
Inkbones
No Glory Save Honor
- Location
- Where you can still smell the sky
The canals of Harmony City are filled with every kind of pollutant imaginable. The canal bottom is filled with assorted plastic refuse, the bones of whatever poor organisms tried to survive down here, (and more likely than not, the occasional human corpse).
You are extremely thankful that there is, at least, the thin vaneer of a diving suit in between you and the water. You've seen what it does to peoples skin, especially when exposed to the particularly nasty run-offs that the corporations claim they aren't letting into the canal system.
Above you, the shadows of auto-gondolas swim past, ferrying tourists and executives throughout the districts. Soon, the lunchbreak will start, and traffic will slow to an utter crawl. Or, it will assuming you've timed this right.
Finally, through the muck, you see your entrance. An ancient storm drain, almost invisible in the shadows cast by the Empire building looming above you. There's a problem, though.
The mouth of the drainpipe is blocked by wire mesh. No problem, you anticipated this. You prepare to carve through the mess with your plasma cutter-
Which is when the canal is filled with the strobing red and blue lights of police speedboats as they swarm around the Empire building. What the hells are they doing here?
You designed the cutter to function underwater, but it's bright. If one of the those cops notices the shine, your situation will be significantly worse.
You could try to find another entrance, but your plan was somewhat contingent on entering through this pipe.
What do you do, and what Action do you use to do it?
You are extremely thankful that there is, at least, the thin vaneer of a diving suit in between you and the water. You've seen what it does to peoples skin, especially when exposed to the particularly nasty run-offs that the corporations claim they aren't letting into the canal system.
Above you, the shadows of auto-gondolas swim past, ferrying tourists and executives throughout the districts. Soon, the lunchbreak will start, and traffic will slow to an utter crawl. Or, it will assuming you've timed this right.
Finally, through the muck, you see your entrance. An ancient storm drain, almost invisible in the shadows cast by the Empire building looming above you. There's a problem, though.
The Engagement roll determines how well your starting situation goes.
We started with 1d6 for pure luck. +1d
The information you Surveyed gives you another die. +1d
As this is the tutorial, the drawbacks that would normally apply to this sort of operation will be ignored.
In any roll using the Blades in the Dark system, there are three outcomes based on the highest die roll.
If the highest roll was:
1-3: Bad result
4-5: Mixed result
6: good result
Two or more 6s: Exceptional result.
And now, the roll:
2d6=2,2. Bad result.
We started with 1d6 for pure luck. +1d
The information you Surveyed gives you another die. +1d
As this is the tutorial, the drawbacks that would normally apply to this sort of operation will be ignored.
In any roll using the Blades in the Dark system, there are three outcomes based on the highest die roll.
If the highest roll was:
1-3: Bad result
4-5: Mixed result
6: good result
Two or more 6s: Exceptional result.
And now, the roll:
2d6=2,2. Bad result.
The mouth of the drainpipe is blocked by wire mesh. No problem, you anticipated this. You prepare to carve through the mess with your plasma cutter-
Which is when the canal is filled with the strobing red and blue lights of police speedboats as they swarm around the Empire building. What the hells are they doing here?
You designed the cutter to function underwater, but it's bright. If one of the those cops notices the shine, your situation will be significantly worse.
You could try to find another entrance, but your plan was somewhat contingent on entering through this pipe.
What do you do, and what Action do you use to do it?
Blades in the Dark is a conversation between the player and the DM. Hopefully we can achieve something similar here.
There are two factors that govern your roll. Position, which governs the consequences of failure, and Effect, which governs the rewards for success.
Because of your bad engagement roll, you are now in a Desperate position, which in this case means there is a high chance the cops will notice you if you use your plasma cutter.
On the other hand, you have Great Effect, because wire mesh was not meant to stand up against plasma.
The kind of Action you use can improve your Position or reduce your effect. For instance, you could roll Prowl to try to mask the glare of the Cutter, but it will take more time to cut through the mesh. On the other hand, you could Survey to try to find another entrance, but you don't know how close that would be and how much time it would take to reach it.
So, ask questions, propose ideas, and use your imaginations.
There are two factors that govern your roll. Position, which governs the consequences of failure, and Effect, which governs the rewards for success.
Because of your bad engagement roll, you are now in a Desperate position, which in this case means there is a high chance the cops will notice you if you use your plasma cutter.
On the other hand, you have Great Effect, because wire mesh was not meant to stand up against plasma.
The kind of Action you use can improve your Position or reduce your effect. For instance, you could roll Prowl to try to mask the glare of the Cutter, but it will take more time to cut through the mesh. On the other hand, you could Survey to try to find another entrance, but you don't know how close that would be and how much time it would take to reach it.
So, ask questions, propose ideas, and use your imaginations.
- Location
- California
Well damn, and this is the tutorial? Do you guys want to bail because I don't see us being successful and leaving the building?
- Location
- California
[X] Continue with the cutting and hope the pollutants on the surface obstruct the light.
Death of a Baron, part 2
Inkbones
No Glory Save Honor
- Location
- Where you can still smell the sky
1d6=3
You work as quickly as you dare, angling your body to obscure the light. It isn't enough.
A small metal sphere, about the size of a baseball, with the letters HCPD etched into it's side drops from above. A camera lens irises open, projecting a soft red glow. A voice, uncomfortably loud, echoes from hidden speakers.
"-fuck is that? Citizen, you are attempting to interfere in an official police action. Halt what you are doing, and do not resist arrest."
You've managed to cut away most of the grating, but the edges are still red-hot. You can squirm through, but you might get burned in the process. Alternatively, you could swim away, or (hypothetically) stay and fight.
What do you do?
- Location
- California
[X] Just flee
Yeah, no. Even if we get something resembling an auto pass for the tutorial, we're not making an progress here.
Yeah, no. Even if we get something resembling an auto pass for the tutorial, we're not making an progress here.
- Location
- California
[X] Finesse: Just flee
Last edited: