- Location
- A Shattered World
So is anyone else gonna come and vote? So far it's just a tie between the two actually qualifying votes.
Jonathan Fitzgerald: Paranormal & Private Investigator - Anomalies & Adversities (a quest of playing the monster)
- Thread starter Ol' Tin Knight
- Start date
- Original Crossover Mystery Horror
- Location
- MS, USA
First things first, I'd like to apologize for having not taken the time to do this sooner. Second, I'd also like to say sorry for wasting your time if I'm wrong. I'm really bad at manual math, have been for...ever, pretty much? But that said, while I'd be happy to be corrected, I think your math is off.
10(INT) + 8(CHA)=18 + 10(WIS)=28 + 11(WIL) =39 + 10(LCK )=49 + 2(PEI)=51 + 10(Mind Shield)=61 + 2(Quick Learner)=63 + [3 * 5](Skilled Perks)=63 + 15, which is 78. 78 + 10(Preserved Archives) = 88. 88 total points spent.
Meanwhile, 2(Seeking Vengeance) + [2(Eisoptrophobia) + 2(Algophobia) + 2(Selenophobia) + 3(Severe Selenophobia)]=11. 11 points in drawbacks.
88 - 11 = 77. This... doesn't add up. This number here should be 75 or lower, not 75. Another way to think of it... 11 points in drawbacks.
10 + 2 + 15 + 10 = 37.
37 - 11 = 26.
And 75 - 26 = 49.
Not 51, but 49.
So, yes, I do believe you're two points over budget.
Last edited:
- Location
- A Shattered World
Sorry about that removed Quick Learner to fix things without taking another phobia. Frigophobia would be interesting, as it'd essentially give us the combined fear of temperature extremes, but I decided against it for now.
Vote Closed
- Location
- MS, USA
And the vote is closed! Final part of character creation and the first part of the chosen 'tutorial' case to follow
Mississippi, 2001 (character creation part 4 and Witch of Yazoo part 1)
- Location
- MS, USA
I know someone is out there, reading my thoughts, seeing all of... this. Well, whoever you are... I mind. But for whatever reason... I don't really mind, if you get my drift? I feel like it'd be far more effort than it's worth to try and stop whomever is out there in this case. But if whomsoever is out there wishes to continue, I think it'd better if you started from the beginning of the story... well, maybe not very beginning, watching someone being born is quite... upsetting, and my early years, like most people's I imagine, are quite dull and irrelevant. So... let's start with my first case. That's a good place to start. Though, one more bit of bookkeeping before we begin:
[]Skills: You get 100 points to distribute between your various skills. The first point in every skill costs 5, then from there 1 for the second point and one more for every point beyond. So 3 Rhetoric for instance would cost 8 points total. All skills are capped by their associated stat or the average of their associated stats, if more than one. Example: Rhetoric's cap is it's two governing stats added together (CHA + INT), then divided by 2.
Now then, back to the past...
"Are you sure about this?" "Of course I'm sure about this! He was taught by his father and, of course, your's truly! He can handle whatever they throw at him, Janus." "I just worry... It's quite a ways aways to Yazoo-" "He'll be fine... right sweety?" "Of course, mom! I'm ready!" The tumultous conversation was happening between three people and therefore logically three voices, the smallish voice belonging to an uncanny looking individual that needs no introduction, the worried voice belonging to a tall and wrinkled old man with tanned skin, grey and white hair, and blue eyes; one Janus Halloway, Jon's granduncle on his mother's side. And finally of course, the confident voice, belonging to a fair skinned woman with flowing brown hair and beautiful blue eyes, Jamie Fitzgerald, his mother and a Private Investigator with quite the reputation in her own right. The elderly man sucked in a breath and looked like he was about to say something, before he thought better of it and quickly looked around to make sure no one else was paying attention. Only then did he continue, much quieter then before: "He's only 13 years old!" "Wait wha-" "Don't be ridiculous, he's a perfectly capable young man! Does he look like he's any younger than 16 at the earliest?" She has a big smile on her face in that moment, but there was something... false about it.
The elder gentleman starting making grumbling noises again, like he was about to say something, when another figure poked their head out into the 'foyer' (really just the entrance hallway) where they were talking and called out to the elderly man; "Janus, get in here! The rolls are burning!" Sure enough, the faint scent of burning bread could be smelt coming from the kitchen, further into the house.Pyrophobia triggers (Easy WIL save made, no die roll (QM Fiat, mechanic demonstration).) It's okay, it's fine, they have it under control, their not going to let it get out of hand... relax. Relax. The person in question calling was an old woman bearing tanned skin with salt n' pepper hair (white and black) with brown eyes named Sadie Halloway, his grandaunt-in-law on his mother's side.
The old man rolled his eyes and spat back "Goddammit woman, can't you do anything right?", a statement for which he was lightly but promptly slapped by Jamie. "Message received, going." And then he left. "Janus, Janus... never changes. *Sighs* Oh well." She turns to Jonathan. "Did you pack the kit?" "Ah huh. We- I mean, I'm ready!"
Select ONE prepackaged equipment kit.
[]Kit: Offense/Defense
"Damn son, you going to war or something?" - Unknown (Original)
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 Tactical Body Armor Vest with 4 magazine pouches, protection rated Level III with inserts, obsolete Level I without(higly illegal); 3 sets of ceramic armor inserts for a Tactical Body Armor Vest(highly illegal); 1 Mossberg 500 model shotgun with shoulder strap; 1 Waist shotshell bandoleer; 30 12 guage 00 Buckshot shells; 1 Colt M1911A1 .45 Pistol; 5 7-shot .45 ACP Box Magazines for the Colt M1911 and it's derivatives; 42 Standard .45 ACP FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) Rounds; 14 Hardened Core .45 ACP AP(Armor Piercing) Rounds (Super Illegal, do not let authorities catch you with these); 14 .45 ACP Silver Rounds; 1 leather hip holster; 1 Pair of Light Amp./Nightvision Goggles; 1 Opti-Wand; 1 Gold Crucifix; 2 8 oz. bottles of holy water; 2 leather drop pouches; 1 Meteoric/Thunderbolt/Cold Iron Longsword with leather waist sheath; 5 pairs of Kevlar-reinforced Tactical Gloves; 1 Safe Cracking Kit; 1 Locksmith's kit; 1 pair of black combat boots (standard shoe replacement); 1 12-pack of UV glowsticks; and 1 large cardboard box containing 1000 small iodized salt packets (obviously not carried on your person with the rest, at least not all at once).
[]Kit: Investigation
"Fieldwork is the core of any investigation" - Unknown (Original?(but probably not actually))
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 evidence collection kit (itself containng 1 fingerprinting set (i.e. fingerprint powder, brush, and tape), 1 blood test kit, 1 field ph test kit, 1 footprint molding and casting kit, 1 DNA collection and testing kit, 1 pair of tweezers, 1 magnifying glass, etc.); 1 swiss army knife; 20 Wiretap kits (not all carried or carriable at the same time)(illegal in some places); 100 small audio 'bugs' (not all carried or carriable at the same time)(illegal in some places); 5 recoverable visual 'bugs' (illegal in some places); 1 100-pack of Nitrile gloves; 1 100-pack of small evidence bags; 1 Polaroid OneStep 600 photo camera; and 1 AA-battery powered UV flashlight.
[]Kit: Paranormal
"Well then gentlemen; let's go find us a ghost." - Unknown (Original)
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 100-pack of Nitrile gloves; 1 Heavily modified P-SB7T Spirit Box (the 'Ghost Box'); 1 Digital Thermometer; 1 Prototype PK/EMF Meter (doubles as a gieger counter); 2 sets of candles; 1 set of incense sticks; 1 50-pack cardboard box of wooden strike anywhere matches; 1 Gold Crucifix; 2 8 oz. bottles of holy water; 1 Anti-Magic charm; 1 Ouija Board; 1 Polaroid OneStep 600 photo camera; 2 12-packs of multicolor glowsticks; 1 experimental UV flashlight; and 1 large cardboard box containing 1000 small iodized salt packets (obviously not carried on your person with the rest, at least not all at once).
{A.N.: I am in no way an even half-competent speaker of any of the languages featured in this update. Except English... I'd like to think, considering it's my native language. The rest are very much not, and I'm mostly limited to just going with whatever translation sites tell me they mean. That being said, I hope I didn't butcher them too badly, and that my attempt to show some respect for the original cultures involved shows through.)
[]Skills: You get 100 points to distribute between your various skills. The first point in every skill costs 5, then from there 1 for the second point and one more for every point beyond. So 3 Rhetoric for instance would cost 8 points total. All skills are capped by their associated stat or the average of their associated stats, if more than one. Example: Rhetoric's cap is it's two governing stats added together (CHA + INT), then divided by 2.
Unarmed (STR + AGI)
"The mastodons of yore were each born with two weapons greater than any sword. So, too, were you." - Unknown ('Maraketh Proverb' i.e. Hollow Palm Technique keystone passive skill description, Path of Exile)
General unarmed combat skill reflects your, well, general capability in a fight with your bare hands and feet. This is less useful without some more advanced techniques (i.e. formal fighting styles or martial arts) to back it up, but even just brawling using raw unarmed skill can potentially do pretty ok damage with good accuracy when you have enough strength (STR) and skill.
Melee (STR + AGI)
Your skill and finesse in personal combat - Unknown (From the Melee skill description, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead(as of 0.G))
The Melee skill governs your general combat prowess with a weapon in hand, regardless of what that weapon is. Unlike Marksmanship and Unarmed, you absolutely 100 percent need at least some basis in whatever specific weapon skill (Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, Long/Heavy Blunt, Short Blunt, Axe, Spear, Polearm, or Improvised) you intend to use for this skill to have any meaningful effect, and ideally should add to that a basis in an appropriate advanced weapon technique/school.
Specific Melee Weapon skill (Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, Long/Heavy Blunt, Short Blunt, Axe, Spear, Polearm, or Improvised)
"A true master uses every weapon available to him. A true master of masters, uses every weapon available to him with which he has confidence, and he is always seeking to widen that group." - Unknown (Orginal)
This governs your accuracy and general skill level with a particular sort of melee weapon, rather that be hammers and clubs, hatchets and axes, longswords and katanas, spears and pitchforks (which are both improvised and spear, I just couldn't think of another good spear for this description), pikes, halberds, and naginatas, or even crowbars(which are also short blunt), chairs, and chainsaws. The stat that effects the cap varies by selected weapon type.
Intimidation (STR + CHA)
Threaten people. - Unknown. (Second half of the Half Light skill description, Disco Elysium)
Extremely simple and straightforward to understand, honestly; Intimidation is the skill you use to, well, Intimidate and potentially even threaten people. It's the core skill of the 'Bad Cop' approach to interrogation.
Dodge (AGI)
The quickest to react. An untouchable man. - Unknown. (Reaction Speed skill description, Disco Elysium)
Your Dodge skill does exactly what you would think it does and it is absolutely critical to staying alive... is what I would say for any other creature type (yes, even the nearly invincible Alternate), but honestly, being a ghost kid has it's perks, like being totally immune to most forms of physical damage anyway, once the body drops. But considering how severe of a malus losing the body is, even your current creature type probably still wants to get at least some points in dodge, given how vital being able to evade incoming damage is.
Marksmanship (PER + AGI)
Ready? Aim and fire. - Unknown. (Hand/Eye Coordination skill description, Disco Elysium)
Marksmanship is your general skill with ranged combat, regardless of what that weapon is. Unlike Unarmed and Melee, ranged attacks don't have any advanced techniques, though they do distinct weapon skills, like Melee. Once more, unlike Melee, however, if your Marksmanship is high enough, you can expect to at least be able to hit a target at point-blank range... most of the time, assuming perfect condtions, even if your specific skill is non-existant.
Specific Ranged Weapon skill (Throwing, Archery, Sling, Pistol/Revolver, SMG, Shotgun, Rifle, MG, Launcher.)
"A true master uses every weapon available to him. A true master of masters, uses every weapon available to him with which he has confidence, and he is always seeking to widen that group." - Unknown (Orginal)
This governs your accuracy and general skill level with a particular sort of ranged weapon, rather that be with dedicated throwing weapons, simply throwing sticks&stones and other miscellanous objects, firing a bow, crossbow, or old blackbowder gun, or using a modern pistol, revolver, rifle, SMG, MG, or launcher-type weapon. The stat that effects the cap varies slightly by selected weapon type. (Most are governed solely by PER, but there are exceptions).
{A.N.:One thing to consider with both the Melee skills and the Ranged skills, is that unless you choose a starter kit in the next part of the update that happens to include a weapon of the appropriate type (which not all will even be available), you do not start with a weapon to use that skill with.}
Electrochemistry (END)
Go to party planet. Love and be loved by drugs. - Unknown. (Electrochemistry skill description, Disco Elysium)
Locked at 0
Logic (INT)
Wield raw intellectual power. Deduce the world. - Unknown. (Logic skill description, Disco Elysium)
Logic is a core skill for both more 'normal' and paranormal detective work. It governs both your deductive and inductive reasoning ability, and general puzzle solving skill (to a lesser degree).
Conceptualization (Concept.) (INT)
Understand creativity. See Art in the world. - Unknown. (Conceptualization skill description, Disco Elysium)
Conceptualization is the bedrock skill in the art of Tulpamancy, and a key skill in many other creativity driven arts, crafts, and even other skills, being the governing skill for finger painting and a contributing skill for all forms of so called 'high art' except for stage plays. It also governs your abductive reasoning ability, and so is a contributing skill for more 'normal' detective work, and potentially a key one when it comes to the paranormal.
Administration (Admin.) (INT)
Stewardship covers all things gold, and all things relating to the development and management of your realm. - Unknown. (CK3 Dev Diary #12, Paradox Interactive)
Administration, 'Stewardship' in older times after the old medieval court position, is the skill of bookkeeping, of following and managing the money. In investigations, particularly more conventional or 'normal' ones, high Admin. can open up some more... 'classical' or perhaps 'economical' branches of evidence and clues to follow up on; after all, they say money talks. But it's real use is in managing any and all organizations you found/come to control/administrate for, as high Admin. skill makes running an organization considerably easier and smoother. It's also (obviously) the core, more than anything else, of running a successful business.
Rhetoric (INT + CHA)
Enjoy rigorous intellectual discourse. - Unknown. (Second half of the Rhetoric skill description, Disco Elysium)
Rhetoric is the skill of the intellectual debater, of the master of the argument. In any social situation, strong Rhetoric is key for advancing a political agenda, for resisting the politically oriented advances of others, for breaking down other's arguments, for presenting your own arguments in a clear and precise fashion, and for being able to perceive the (intentional and unintentional) logical fallacies of others. Finally, in P&PI work (or Investigative work more generally), it's the skill used to pin a witness to their testimony, to make certain they don't go changing their story on you, just because it's convenient for them.
Persuasion (CHA)
Practice the art of persuasion. Understand others. Lie and detect lies. - Unknown. (Several skill descriptions, Disco Elysium)
It would be easier to go over what Persuasion does not cover, than what it does, at least when it comes to non-hostile social interaction. Persuasion is an amalgam skill and therefore technically misnamed. It governs actual attempts to persuade, but also the detection of lies and sarcasm, the performance of the same, and even just generally understanding others in conversation. It's one of the two core skills of the 'Good Cop' approach to interrogation.
Negotiation (CHA)
Trading and trade-related tasks. The ability to get better prices for items you sell, and lower prices for items you buy. - Unknown. (Barter skill In-game description, Fallout New Vegas)
Negotiation is a businessman's skill, one of the cores of a successful enterprise. It's the art of driving a hard bargain, of getting things for less and selling things for more. More unconventionally, it's one off the skills of hostage crisis negotiators. Kind of in the name, isn't it? Appropriately, it also governs the distinct set of social skills for managing (not manipulating, just managing) individuals with volatile personalities. It's also one of the two core skills of the 'Good Cop' approach to interrogation.
Esprit de Corps (CHA)
Connect to Station 41. Understand cop culture. - Unknown. (Esprit de Corps skill description, Disco Elysium)
An old French expression meaning "the Spirit of the body" and refers to "a sense of unity and of common interests and responsibilities, as developed among a group of persons closely associated in a task, cause, enterprise, etc.". For the purposes of the quest, the Esprit de Corps skill governs essentially a specialized form of empathy targeted at Law Enforcment, Firefighters, EMTs, Active Military Personnel, and Police, Fire, and Military Veterans. Good Esprit de Corps will make all of the previous types of inviduals prone to liking you more than not, even in situations where they by all accounts shouldn't. At it's highest levels, while not mind reading or anything like that, you'll find it quite easy to read and predict such figures and determine what they are thinking at a given moment in time.
Suggestion (CHA)
Charm men and women. Play the puppet-master. - Unknown. (Suggestion skill description, Disco Elysium)
Suggestion is the fine art of very subtle manipulation. Nothing so crass as the telling of outright lies, that would be domain of Persuasion, but half-truths and careful wordings. Along with Rhetoric, a favorite skill of particularly masterful and slippery politicans, for it's ability to manipulate the facts as they exist and to implant ideas in the heads of others. It is also the skill of... seduction, and seducers.
'Common' Sense (WIS)
"What do you mean 'I didn't know'? That's common fucking sense!?" - Many throughout all of time (Real Life)
Essentially a 'how stupid is this anyway?' skill, the higher the common sense skill, the more likely you are to be notified when engaged on a course of action that is particularly likely to end badly, even if said course of action wouldn't necessarily actually be 'common sense' or obvious in real life. If completely stuck for a period of time, this skill plus the Inland Empire skill can potentially also come together to get you an authorial bail out of a different variety, in the form of a (fairly unusually, at least) clearly worded hint on what to do next.
Inland Empire ((WIS + LCK + MAG) / 3 * total number of dots in Psychic powers)
Hunches and gut feelings. Dreams in waking life. - Unknown. (Inland Empire skill description, Disco Elysium)
Clear prognostications; infuriatingly vague but trustworthy prophecies; incomplete and unreliable visions of the future; or just a bunch of random BS. It all depends. The higher the Inland Empire skill, the more often you are visited by some combination of all of the above, and the higher the percentage of it will actually be useful. If completely stuck for a period of time, this skill plus the 'Common' Sense skill can potentially also come together to get you an authorial bail out, in the form of a (fairly unusually, at least) clearly worded hint on what to do next.
Composure (WIL)
Straighten your back. Keep your poker face. - Unknown. (Composure skill description, Disco Elysium)
The Composure skill governs a few things; your ability to bluff, your ability to handle so called 'social stealth' and disguises, and your resistance to sudden shocks. (not so much fear, that's raw WIL in the form of Bravery, but think moreso a jumpscare.) Poor Composure can lead to extended recovery times after a shocking event, while a high Composure garuntees you barely even jump. In this line of work? Critical.
"The mastodons of yore were each born with two weapons greater than any sword. So, too, were you." - Unknown ('Maraketh Proverb' i.e. Hollow Palm Technique keystone passive skill description, Path of Exile)
General unarmed combat skill reflects your, well, general capability in a fight with your bare hands and feet. This is less useful without some more advanced techniques (i.e. formal fighting styles or martial arts) to back it up, but even just brawling using raw unarmed skill can potentially do pretty ok damage with good accuracy when you have enough strength (STR) and skill.
Melee (STR + AGI)
Your skill and finesse in personal combat - Unknown (From the Melee skill description, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead(as of 0.G))
The Melee skill governs your general combat prowess with a weapon in hand, regardless of what that weapon is. Unlike Marksmanship and Unarmed, you absolutely 100 percent need at least some basis in whatever specific weapon skill (Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, Long/Heavy Blunt, Short Blunt, Axe, Spear, Polearm, or Improvised) you intend to use for this skill to have any meaningful effect, and ideally should add to that a basis in an appropriate advanced weapon technique/school.
Specific Melee Weapon skill (Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, Long/Heavy Blunt, Short Blunt, Axe, Spear, Polearm, or Improvised)
"A true master uses every weapon available to him. A true master of masters, uses every weapon available to him with which he has confidence, and he is always seeking to widen that group." - Unknown (Orginal)
This governs your accuracy and general skill level with a particular sort of melee weapon, rather that be hammers and clubs, hatchets and axes, longswords and katanas, spears and pitchforks (which are both improvised and spear, I just couldn't think of another good spear for this description), pikes, halberds, and naginatas, or even crowbars(which are also short blunt), chairs, and chainsaws. The stat that effects the cap varies by selected weapon type.
Intimidation (STR + CHA)
Threaten people. - Unknown. (Second half of the Half Light skill description, Disco Elysium)
Extremely simple and straightforward to understand, honestly; Intimidation is the skill you use to, well, Intimidate and potentially even threaten people. It's the core skill of the 'Bad Cop' approach to interrogation.
Dodge (AGI)
The quickest to react. An untouchable man. - Unknown. (Reaction Speed skill description, Disco Elysium)
Your Dodge skill does exactly what you would think it does and it is absolutely critical to staying alive... is what I would say for any other creature type (yes, even the nearly invincible Alternate), but honestly, being a ghost kid has it's perks, like being totally immune to most forms of physical damage anyway, once the body drops. But considering how severe of a malus losing the body is, even your current creature type probably still wants to get at least some points in dodge, given how vital being able to evade incoming damage is.
Marksmanship (PER + AGI)
Ready? Aim and fire. - Unknown. (Hand/Eye Coordination skill description, Disco Elysium)
Marksmanship is your general skill with ranged combat, regardless of what that weapon is. Unlike Unarmed and Melee, ranged attacks don't have any advanced techniques, though they do distinct weapon skills, like Melee. Once more, unlike Melee, however, if your Marksmanship is high enough, you can expect to at least be able to hit a target at point-blank range... most of the time, assuming perfect condtions, even if your specific skill is non-existant.
Specific Ranged Weapon skill (Throwing, Archery, Sling, Pistol/Revolver, SMG, Shotgun, Rifle, MG, Launcher.)
"A true master uses every weapon available to him. A true master of masters, uses every weapon available to him with which he has confidence, and he is always seeking to widen that group." - Unknown (Orginal)
This governs your accuracy and general skill level with a particular sort of ranged weapon, rather that be with dedicated throwing weapons, simply throwing sticks&stones and other miscellanous objects, firing a bow, crossbow, or old blackbowder gun, or using a modern pistol, revolver, rifle, SMG, MG, or launcher-type weapon. The stat that effects the cap varies slightly by selected weapon type. (Most are governed solely by PER, but there are exceptions).
{A.N.:One thing to consider with both the Melee skills and the Ranged skills, is that unless you choose a starter kit in the next part of the update that happens to include a weapon of the appropriate type (which not all will even be available), you do not start with a weapon to use that skill with.}
Go to party planet. Love and be loved by drugs. - Unknown. (Electrochemistry skill description, Disco Elysium)
Locked at 0
Logic (INT)
Wield raw intellectual power. Deduce the world. - Unknown. (Logic skill description, Disco Elysium)
Logic is a core skill for both more 'normal' and paranormal detective work. It governs both your deductive and inductive reasoning ability, and general puzzle solving skill (to a lesser degree).
Conceptualization (Concept.) (INT)
Understand creativity. See Art in the world. - Unknown. (Conceptualization skill description, Disco Elysium)
Conceptualization is the bedrock skill in the art of Tulpamancy, and a key skill in many other creativity driven arts, crafts, and even other skills, being the governing skill for finger painting and a contributing skill for all forms of so called 'high art' except for stage plays. It also governs your abductive reasoning ability, and so is a contributing skill for more 'normal' detective work, and potentially a key one when it comes to the paranormal.
Administration (Admin.) (INT)
Stewardship covers all things gold, and all things relating to the development and management of your realm. - Unknown. (CK3 Dev Diary #12, Paradox Interactive)
Administration, 'Stewardship' in older times after the old medieval court position, is the skill of bookkeeping, of following and managing the money. In investigations, particularly more conventional or 'normal' ones, high Admin. can open up some more... 'classical' or perhaps 'economical' branches of evidence and clues to follow up on; after all, they say money talks. But it's real use is in managing any and all organizations you found/come to control/administrate for, as high Admin. skill makes running an organization considerably easier and smoother. It's also (obviously) the core, more than anything else, of running a successful business.
Rhetoric (INT + CHA)
Enjoy rigorous intellectual discourse. - Unknown. (Second half of the Rhetoric skill description, Disco Elysium)
Rhetoric is the skill of the intellectual debater, of the master of the argument. In any social situation, strong Rhetoric is key for advancing a political agenda, for resisting the politically oriented advances of others, for breaking down other's arguments, for presenting your own arguments in a clear and precise fashion, and for being able to perceive the (intentional and unintentional) logical fallacies of others. Finally, in P&PI work (or Investigative work more generally), it's the skill used to pin a witness to their testimony, to make certain they don't go changing their story on you, just because it's convenient for them.
Persuasion (CHA)
Practice the art of persuasion. Understand others. Lie and detect lies. - Unknown. (Several skill descriptions, Disco Elysium)
It would be easier to go over what Persuasion does not cover, than what it does, at least when it comes to non-hostile social interaction. Persuasion is an amalgam skill and therefore technically misnamed. It governs actual attempts to persuade, but also the detection of lies and sarcasm, the performance of the same, and even just generally understanding others in conversation. It's one of the two core skills of the 'Good Cop' approach to interrogation.
Negotiation (CHA)
Trading and trade-related tasks. The ability to get better prices for items you sell, and lower prices for items you buy. - Unknown. (Barter skill In-game description, Fallout New Vegas)
Negotiation is a businessman's skill, one of the cores of a successful enterprise. It's the art of driving a hard bargain, of getting things for less and selling things for more. More unconventionally, it's one off the skills of hostage crisis negotiators. Kind of in the name, isn't it? Appropriately, it also governs the distinct set of social skills for managing (not manipulating, just managing) individuals with volatile personalities. It's also one of the two core skills of the 'Good Cop' approach to interrogation.
Esprit de Corps (CHA)
Connect to Station 41. Understand cop culture. - Unknown. (Esprit de Corps skill description, Disco Elysium)
An old French expression meaning "the Spirit of the body" and refers to "a sense of unity and of common interests and responsibilities, as developed among a group of persons closely associated in a task, cause, enterprise, etc.". For the purposes of the quest, the Esprit de Corps skill governs essentially a specialized form of empathy targeted at Law Enforcment, Firefighters, EMTs, Active Military Personnel, and Police, Fire, and Military Veterans. Good Esprit de Corps will make all of the previous types of inviduals prone to liking you more than not, even in situations where they by all accounts shouldn't. At it's highest levels, while not mind reading or anything like that, you'll find it quite easy to read and predict such figures and determine what they are thinking at a given moment in time.
Suggestion (CHA)
Charm men and women. Play the puppet-master. - Unknown. (Suggestion skill description, Disco Elysium)
Suggestion is the fine art of very subtle manipulation. Nothing so crass as the telling of outright lies, that would be domain of Persuasion, but half-truths and careful wordings. Along with Rhetoric, a favorite skill of particularly masterful and slippery politicans, for it's ability to manipulate the facts as they exist and to implant ideas in the heads of others. It is also the skill of... seduction, and seducers.
'Common' Sense (WIS)
"What do you mean 'I didn't know'? That's common fucking sense!?" - Many throughout all of time (Real Life)
Essentially a 'how stupid is this anyway?' skill, the higher the common sense skill, the more likely you are to be notified when engaged on a course of action that is particularly likely to end badly, even if said course of action wouldn't necessarily actually be 'common sense' or obvious in real life. If completely stuck for a period of time, this skill plus the Inland Empire skill can potentially also come together to get you an authorial bail out of a different variety, in the form of a (fairly unusually, at least) clearly worded hint on what to do next.
Inland Empire ((WIS + LCK + MAG) / 3 * total number of dots in Psychic powers)
Hunches and gut feelings. Dreams in waking life. - Unknown. (Inland Empire skill description, Disco Elysium)
Clear prognostications; infuriatingly vague but trustworthy prophecies; incomplete and unreliable visions of the future; or just a bunch of random BS. It all depends. The higher the Inland Empire skill, the more often you are visited by some combination of all of the above, and the higher the percentage of it will actually be useful. If completely stuck for a period of time, this skill plus the 'Common' Sense skill can potentially also come together to get you an authorial bail out, in the form of a (fairly unusually, at least) clearly worded hint on what to do next.
Composure (WIL)
Straighten your back. Keep your poker face. - Unknown. (Composure skill description, Disco Elysium)
The Composure skill governs a few things; your ability to bluff, your ability to handle so called 'social stealth' and disguises, and your resistance to sudden shocks. (not so much fear, that's raw WIL in the form of Bravery, but think moreso a jumpscare.) Poor Composure can lead to extended recovery times after a shocking event, while a high Composure garuntees you barely even jump. In this line of work? Critical.
Note: All purchased Combat Arts begin at one 'dot' out of a max of 10. If you so wish, you may buy them twice to instead begin with two 'dots'. All Combat Arts cost 10 points to take.
Western Boxing (STR + AGI) Balanced Striking Unarmed Art
Ah, yes! Pugilism, the sweet science! - Unknown (Orginal)
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. It actually has developed in many different ways in different geographical areas and cultures of the World. Even so, the term 'Boxing', especially in the West, (go figure) is most often associated with the orthodox form of Western Boxing that evolved from the Ancient Greek pygmachia, or 'fist-fighting' sport. It focuses on solid guard stances using the forearms, shoulders, and elbows in order to protect the torso and head against attacks, quick footwork and head movement to control distance and evade attacks, and throwing technically solid and frequently fairly heavy punches, often in quick combinations, to overwhelm and knock out an opponent. If selected twice, you may select which 'style' of boxing you'd prefer to specialize as.
● = Gain the ability to throw Jabs, Straights, Uppercuts, Overheads, and the '1-2' (Jab-Opposite Hand Straight) combo. Unlock Orthodox stance, and with it the ability to block and parry attacks with the forearms, hands, and shoulders. Hooks and Haymakers become faster and more powerful.
●● = Choose a boxing 'style'. Further progress depends on style. Regardless of style chosen, unlock Southpaw and Cross-Armed stances, the ability to block attacks with the elbow, and the ability to form custom striking combos (so long as they only features closed fist punches).
Wrestling (STR + AGI + CHA) Balanced Grappling/Ground Striking Unarmed Art
'Wrestling ain't real!', then riddle me this, why is it at the Olympics? Why is Lucha Libre a vital part of mexican culture!? - Unknown (Orginal)
Wrestling as shown here is an amalgam of real world 'performative' wrestling, classic Greco-Roman wrestling, and both Mexican Lucha Libre and Brazilian Luta Livre. It focuses on clinch fighting, throws, takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other techniques out of the grapple. It also of course focuses on winning the grapple to enable those techniques, particularly destabilizing an opponent's balance. Finally, and very much unlike any other style, it focuses on doing all of the prior mentioned things, but with a sense of pizazz, of showmanship. If you aim to humiliate, being beaten by some of the big flashy techniques in just the basic roster of moves under this Art will surely do that. But it's also (sometimes) a surprisingly capable combat style.
● = Gain a general (and variable) boost to winning contested grapples that last a full round or more. Gain the ability to execute a wide array of mostly impractical but awesome and very showy throws, takedowns, and strikes, with a few more practical additions mixed in (knee drops, reverse knee drops, ground n' pound strikes, scissor kicks, Overhead punches, etc.). Haymakers become considerably more powerful but also slower.
●● = Gain access to the flashiest of flashy grappling moves; DDTs, Chokeslams, Gorrilla Presses, Tijeras (or scissors, in English)(Headscissors takedown, to those unfamiliar with Lucha Libre and/or wrestling more generally.) and it's big brother the Huracánrana, Piledrivers, and STOs. Practical in a real fight? Absolutely not, no. But very damaging to both body and morale if you can actually pull them off.
Judo (AGI + WIS) Defensive Grappling Unarmed Art
A contestant shall be deemed to have been defeated when from any cause or causes he may become unconscious. - Excerpt from the Original Kodokan Judo Contest Rules. (The Complete Kano Jiu-Jitsu (Judo), Real Life)
Judo is a Japanese unarmed martial art, 武道 (or budō (martial way, supposedly, in English)), competitive sport, and Olympic sport. The primary objective of Judo is to throw an opponent, immobilize them with a pin, or force them to submit with a joint lock or choke hold. While strikes and use of weapons are included in some pre-arranged forms (kata), they are not frequently trained and are illegal in judo competition or free practice, so it is an almost purely grappling based art. It excels at defense against other grapplers, and using strikers' own momentum against them.
● = Gain a general (and variable) boost to winning contested grapples that you are contesting (i.e., that you did not initiate). Gain a large suite of highly varied and practical takedowns and throws. Gain the ability to grapple and throw in the same action as a counter move to an enemy strike (rather unarmed or with a weapon).
●● = Gain an even larger general boost to winning contested grapples that you are contesting (i.e., that you did not initiate). Unlock the 一本背負い投げ, or ippon seoi nage (supposedly 'one arm over the back throw' in English), perhaps more commonly known as the 'Shoulder Throw' or 'Judo Flip'.
Karate (AGI + WIS) Offensive Striking/Hybrid Unarmed Art
I'm practicing my karate... or kara-te, as some call it. - Quote by and from the show Spongebob Squarepants (Same, specifically E14S1)
Karate has a complicated history that stretches all the way back to the Ryukyu kingdom (1429-1879), specifically, it's vassalization by the Japanese in 1609 and later formal annexation in 1879. Ignoring this earlier form of Karate, the modern Karate most people know (when referring to actual Karate an not just a vaguly asiatic striking martial art) is a strange blend of Japanese, indigenous Ryukyuan, and Chinese martial arts. It focuses on budō, or self-development, but as a martial art, places most of it's focus on aggressive swarming strikes with both the feet and the open&closed hand. It does however support limited throws and grappling in it's technique set.
● = Unlock the Hachiji dachi, Chokusen-seisan-dachi, Moto-dachi, Zenkutsu-dachi, and Kōkutsu-dachi(natural, straight line universal, foundational, forward, and back long, respectively.) stances. Boosts to specific techniques depedent on stance. Gain access to the majority of the techniques available under the Kihon (or fundamentals) of the art (chops, straights (but not jabs), backfists, quick and proper kicks, big roundhouses, blocking&parrying with the forearms, hands, shoulders, etc.). Gain the ability to form custom striking combos.
●● = Gain a significant speed and power boost to all strikes when thrown out of the proper (i.e. already boosting) stance. Gain access to uppercuts, open palm strikes, and some basic throws.
Niten Ichi-ryu (STR + AGI + WIS) Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, and Long Blunt Weapon Art
Ok, sure, you Weaboo. Go right ahea- ack! - Some poor Unknown soul. (Original)
Supposedly loosely translated as "the school of the strategy of two heavens as one", Niten Ichi-ryu is a koryū ('ancient school' in English supposedly) that serves to transmit a school of classical Japanese swordsmanship as supposedly conceived by the legendary Miyamoto Mushashi. Regardless of if any of that's true or even accurate to real life or not, Niten for the quest's purposes is the art of the No-Dachi, Katana, Wakazashi, Tanto, and Bo Staff.
● = Advanced mastery of the weapons of the school (i.e. applicable weapon skill is treated as being x2 it's actual value when wielding a valid weapon). Gain the Iaidoka perk. (Quick Draw, but for only Katana and Wakazashi)
●● = Unlock the Ichimonji and Ganko techniques. Gain a reduction to consecutive parry penalty when parrying with an applicable weapon normally, or with a No-Dachi, Katana, or Wakazashi for the Ganko technique.
Fiore della battaglia (STR + AGI + END) Sword/Long Blade, Spear, and Polearm Weapon Art
I don't understand what you see in HEMA. I really don't. - Unknown. (Original)
Supposedly Italian for "The flower of battle", Fiore della battaglia is an entirely fictional composite of several real historical manustripts and schools of Medieval European swordsmanship as well as spear, polearm, and armored combat. It governs the arming sword, longsword, greatsword, spear, pike, halberd, and myriad other regional polearms (examples: English bills, Dutch goedendag).
● = Advanced mastery of the weapons of the school (i.e. applicable weapon skill is treated as being x2 it's actual value when wielding a valid weapon).
●● = Unlock the Crushing Overhead, Repelling Point, and Rapid Ripostes techniques. Gain a reduction to consecutive parry penalty when parrying with an applicable weapon normally, or with a(n) arming sword or longsword for the Rapid Ripostes technique.
Insert Here (Depends) Also Depends
...Let me level with you guys? *Ducks to avoid tomatoes* Seriously though, There are far too many different martial arts to cover them all here. If you want one that's not here, I can do a quick write-up for it later, assuming it's valid.
Western Boxing (STR + AGI) Balanced Striking Unarmed Art
Ah, yes! Pugilism, the sweet science! - Unknown (Orginal)
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. It actually has developed in many different ways in different geographical areas and cultures of the World. Even so, the term 'Boxing', especially in the West, (go figure) is most often associated with the orthodox form of Western Boxing that evolved from the Ancient Greek pygmachia, or 'fist-fighting' sport. It focuses on solid guard stances using the forearms, shoulders, and elbows in order to protect the torso and head against attacks, quick footwork and head movement to control distance and evade attacks, and throwing technically solid and frequently fairly heavy punches, often in quick combinations, to overwhelm and knock out an opponent. If selected twice, you may select which 'style' of boxing you'd prefer to specialize as.
● = Gain the ability to throw Jabs, Straights, Uppercuts, Overheads, and the '1-2' (Jab-Opposite Hand Straight) combo. Unlock Orthodox stance, and with it the ability to block and parry attacks with the forearms, hands, and shoulders. Hooks and Haymakers become faster and more powerful.
●● = Choose a boxing 'style'. Further progress depends on style. Regardless of style chosen, unlock Southpaw and Cross-Armed stances, the ability to block attacks with the elbow, and the ability to form custom striking combos (so long as they only features closed fist punches).
Wrestling (STR + AGI + CHA) Balanced Grappling/Ground Striking Unarmed Art
'Wrestling ain't real!', then riddle me this, why is it at the Olympics? Why is Lucha Libre a vital part of mexican culture!? - Unknown (Orginal)
Wrestling as shown here is an amalgam of real world 'performative' wrestling, classic Greco-Roman wrestling, and both Mexican Lucha Libre and Brazilian Luta Livre. It focuses on clinch fighting, throws, takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other techniques out of the grapple. It also of course focuses on winning the grapple to enable those techniques, particularly destabilizing an opponent's balance. Finally, and very much unlike any other style, it focuses on doing all of the prior mentioned things, but with a sense of pizazz, of showmanship. If you aim to humiliate, being beaten by some of the big flashy techniques in just the basic roster of moves under this Art will surely do that. But it's also (sometimes) a surprisingly capable combat style.
● = Gain a general (and variable) boost to winning contested grapples that last a full round or more. Gain the ability to execute a wide array of mostly impractical but awesome and very showy throws, takedowns, and strikes, with a few more practical additions mixed in (knee drops, reverse knee drops, ground n' pound strikes, scissor kicks, Overhead punches, etc.). Haymakers become considerably more powerful but also slower.
●● = Gain access to the flashiest of flashy grappling moves; DDTs, Chokeslams, Gorrilla Presses, Tijeras (or scissors, in English)(Headscissors takedown, to those unfamiliar with Lucha Libre and/or wrestling more generally.) and it's big brother the Huracánrana, Piledrivers, and STOs. Practical in a real fight? Absolutely not, no. But very damaging to both body and morale if you can actually pull them off.
Judo (AGI + WIS) Defensive Grappling Unarmed Art
A contestant shall be deemed to have been defeated when from any cause or causes he may become unconscious. - Excerpt from the Original Kodokan Judo Contest Rules. (The Complete Kano Jiu-Jitsu (Judo), Real Life)
Judo is a Japanese unarmed martial art, 武道 (or budō (martial way, supposedly, in English)), competitive sport, and Olympic sport. The primary objective of Judo is to throw an opponent, immobilize them with a pin, or force them to submit with a joint lock or choke hold. While strikes and use of weapons are included in some pre-arranged forms (kata), they are not frequently trained and are illegal in judo competition or free practice, so it is an almost purely grappling based art. It excels at defense against other grapplers, and using strikers' own momentum against them.
● = Gain a general (and variable) boost to winning contested grapples that you are contesting (i.e., that you did not initiate). Gain a large suite of highly varied and practical takedowns and throws. Gain the ability to grapple and throw in the same action as a counter move to an enemy strike (rather unarmed or with a weapon).
●● = Gain an even larger general boost to winning contested grapples that you are contesting (i.e., that you did not initiate). Unlock the 一本背負い投げ, or ippon seoi nage (supposedly 'one arm over the back throw' in English), perhaps more commonly known as the 'Shoulder Throw' or 'Judo Flip'.
Karate (AGI + WIS) Offensive Striking/Hybrid Unarmed Art
I'm practicing my karate... or kara-te, as some call it. - Quote by and from the show Spongebob Squarepants (Same, specifically E14S1)
Karate has a complicated history that stretches all the way back to the Ryukyu kingdom (1429-1879), specifically, it's vassalization by the Japanese in 1609 and later formal annexation in 1879. Ignoring this earlier form of Karate, the modern Karate most people know (when referring to actual Karate an not just a vaguly asiatic striking martial art) is a strange blend of Japanese, indigenous Ryukyuan, and Chinese martial arts. It focuses on budō, or self-development, but as a martial art, places most of it's focus on aggressive swarming strikes with both the feet and the open&closed hand. It does however support limited throws and grappling in it's technique set.
● = Unlock the Hachiji dachi, Chokusen-seisan-dachi, Moto-dachi, Zenkutsu-dachi, and Kōkutsu-dachi(natural, straight line universal, foundational, forward, and back long, respectively.) stances. Boosts to specific techniques depedent on stance. Gain access to the majority of the techniques available under the Kihon (or fundamentals) of the art (chops, straights (but not jabs), backfists, quick and proper kicks, big roundhouses, blocking&parrying with the forearms, hands, shoulders, etc.). Gain the ability to form custom striking combos.
●● = Gain a significant speed and power boost to all strikes when thrown out of the proper (i.e. already boosting) stance. Gain access to uppercuts, open palm strikes, and some basic throws.
Niten Ichi-ryu (STR + AGI + WIS) Sword/Long Blade, Short Blade, and Long Blunt Weapon Art
Ok, sure, you Weaboo. Go right ahea- ack! - Some poor Unknown soul. (Original)
Supposedly loosely translated as "the school of the strategy of two heavens as one", Niten Ichi-ryu is a koryū ('ancient school' in English supposedly) that serves to transmit a school of classical Japanese swordsmanship as supposedly conceived by the legendary Miyamoto Mushashi. Regardless of if any of that's true or even accurate to real life or not, Niten for the quest's purposes is the art of the No-Dachi, Katana, Wakazashi, Tanto, and Bo Staff.
● = Advanced mastery of the weapons of the school (i.e. applicable weapon skill is treated as being x2 it's actual value when wielding a valid weapon). Gain the Iaidoka perk. (Quick Draw, but for only Katana and Wakazashi)
●● = Unlock the Ichimonji and Ganko techniques. Gain a reduction to consecutive parry penalty when parrying with an applicable weapon normally, or with a No-Dachi, Katana, or Wakazashi for the Ganko technique.
Fiore della battaglia (STR + AGI + END) Sword/Long Blade, Spear, and Polearm Weapon Art
I don't understand what you see in HEMA. I really don't. - Unknown. (Original)
Supposedly Italian for "The flower of battle", Fiore della battaglia is an entirely fictional composite of several real historical manustripts and schools of Medieval European swordsmanship as well as spear, polearm, and armored combat. It governs the arming sword, longsword, greatsword, spear, pike, halberd, and myriad other regional polearms (examples: English bills, Dutch goedendag).
● = Advanced mastery of the weapons of the school (i.e. applicable weapon skill is treated as being x2 it's actual value when wielding a valid weapon).
●● = Unlock the Crushing Overhead, Repelling Point, and Rapid Ripostes techniques. Gain a reduction to consecutive parry penalty when parrying with an applicable weapon normally, or with a(n) arming sword or longsword for the Rapid Ripostes technique.
Insert Here (Depends) Also Depends
...Let me level with you guys? *Ducks to avoid tomatoes* Seriously though, There are far too many different martial arts to cover them all here. If you want one that's not here, I can do a quick write-up for it later, assuming it's valid.
Now then, back to the past...
Mississippi, July 6th 2001.
"Are you sure about this?" "Of course I'm sure about this! He was taught by his father and, of course, your's truly! He can handle whatever they throw at him, Janus." "I just worry... It's quite a ways aways to Yazoo-" "He'll be fine... right sweety?" "Of course, mom! I'm ready!" The tumultous conversation was happening between three people and therefore logically three voices, the smallish voice belonging to an uncanny looking individual that needs no introduction, the worried voice belonging to a tall and wrinkled old man with tanned skin, grey and white hair, and blue eyes; one Janus Halloway, Jon's granduncle on his mother's side. And finally of course, the confident voice, belonging to a fair skinned woman with flowing brown hair and beautiful blue eyes, Jamie Fitzgerald, his mother and a Private Investigator with quite the reputation in her own right. The elderly man sucked in a breath and looked like he was about to say something, before he thought better of it and quickly looked around to make sure no one else was paying attention. Only then did he continue, much quieter then before: "He's only 13 years old!" "Wait wha-" "Don't be ridiculous, he's a perfectly capable young man! Does he look like he's any younger than 16 at the earliest?" She has a big smile on her face in that moment, but there was something... false about it.
The elder gentleman starting making grumbling noises again, like he was about to say something, when another figure poked their head out into the 'foyer' (really just the entrance hallway) where they were talking and called out to the elderly man; "Janus, get in here! The rolls are burning!" Sure enough, the faint scent of burning bread could be smelt coming from the kitchen, further into the house.
The old man rolled his eyes and spat back "Goddammit woman, can't you do anything right?", a statement for which he was lightly but promptly slapped by Jamie. "Message received, going." And then he left. "Janus, Janus... never changes. *Sighs* Oh well." She turns to Jonathan. "Did you pack the kit?" "Ah huh. We- I mean, I'm ready!"
Select ONE prepackaged equipment kit.
[]Kit: Offense/Defense
"Damn son, you going to war or something?" - Unknown (Original)
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 Tactical Body Armor Vest with 4 magazine pouches, protection rated Level III with inserts, obsolete Level I without(higly illegal); 3 sets of ceramic armor inserts for a Tactical Body Armor Vest(highly illegal); 1 Mossberg 500 model shotgun with shoulder strap; 1 Waist shotshell bandoleer; 30 12 guage 00 Buckshot shells; 1 Colt M1911A1 .45 Pistol; 5 7-shot .45 ACP Box Magazines for the Colt M1911 and it's derivatives; 42 Standard .45 ACP FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) Rounds; 14 Hardened Core .45 ACP AP(Armor Piercing) Rounds (Super Illegal, do not let authorities catch you with these); 14 .45 ACP Silver Rounds; 1 leather hip holster; 1 Pair of Light Amp./Nightvision Goggles; 1 Opti-Wand; 1 Gold Crucifix; 2 8 oz. bottles of holy water; 2 leather drop pouches; 1 Meteoric/Thunderbolt/Cold Iron Longsword with leather waist sheath; 5 pairs of Kevlar-reinforced Tactical Gloves; 1 Safe Cracking Kit; 1 Locksmith's kit; 1 pair of black combat boots (standard shoe replacement); 1 12-pack of UV glowsticks; and 1 large cardboard box containing 1000 small iodized salt packets (obviously not carried on your person with the rest, at least not all at once).
[]Kit: Investigation
"Fieldwork is the core of any investigation" - Unknown (Original?(but probably not actually))
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 evidence collection kit (itself containng 1 fingerprinting set (i.e. fingerprint powder, brush, and tape), 1 blood test kit, 1 field ph test kit, 1 footprint molding and casting kit, 1 DNA collection and testing kit, 1 pair of tweezers, 1 magnifying glass, etc.); 1 swiss army knife; 20 Wiretap kits (not all carried or carriable at the same time)(illegal in some places); 100 small audio 'bugs' (not all carried or carriable at the same time)(illegal in some places); 5 recoverable visual 'bugs' (illegal in some places); 1 100-pack of Nitrile gloves; 1 100-pack of small evidence bags; 1 Polaroid OneStep 600 photo camera; and 1 AA-battery powered UV flashlight.
[]Kit: Paranormal
"Well then gentlemen; let's go find us a ghost." - Unknown (Original)
Contains: 1 12-Pack of Road Flares (stored in mom's car); 1 100-pack of Nitrile gloves; 1 Heavily modified P-SB7T Spirit Box (the 'Ghost Box'); 1 Digital Thermometer; 1 Prototype PK/EMF Meter (doubles as a gieger counter); 2 sets of candles; 1 set of incense sticks; 1 50-pack cardboard box of wooden strike anywhere matches; 1 Gold Crucifix; 2 8 oz. bottles of holy water; 1 Anti-Magic charm; 1 Ouija Board; 1 Polaroid OneStep 600 photo camera; 2 12-packs of multicolor glowsticks; 1 experimental UV flashlight; and 1 large cardboard box containing 1000 small iodized salt packets (obviously not carried on your person with the rest, at least not all at once).
{A.N.: I am in no way an even half-competent speaker of any of the languages featured in this update. Except English... I'd like to think, considering it's my native language. The rest are very much not, and I'm mostly limited to just going with whatever translation sites tell me they mean. That being said, I hope I didn't butcher them too badly, and that my attempt to show some respect for the original cultures involved shows through.)
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- Location
- United States
Welp, just coming across this and seeing fnaf so yep. Between investigation and Paranormal but will go with the later now...
[X]Kit: Paranormal
[X]Kit: Paranormal
Deaths Door already?
- Location
- MS, USA
Welp, it's maybe a little early, but... this quest is looking pretty... deceased. I'll leave the vote open until the end of the week, and if I don't get something, I'll just quietly end it.
By the way, if in fact it does die, could anyone could tell me what I did wrong?
By the way, if in fact it does die, could anyone could tell me what I did wrong?
- Location
- Alberta
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Kit: Paranormal
Vote Closed.
- Location
- MS, USA
The vote is closed!
On the positive side, we have a clear winner for starting kit.
On the other hand, well... there were no votes for skill distribution. I'll... think about how to handle that. If anyone has any opinions for what they'd prefer, please voice them now. But I'd like to salvage this, so I'll try and figure something out.
On the positive side, we have a clear winner for starting kit.
On the other hand, well... there were no votes for skill distribution. I'll... think about how to handle that. If anyone has any opinions for what they'd prefer, please voice them now. But I'd like to salvage this, so I'll try and figure something out.
- Location
- United States
...I genuinely didn't actually notice the skill part. Don't quite have much of an opinion on them though beyond maybe somehow using glowsticks as a weapon somehow. Maybe throwing blades that could also work for close range or a stun baton but that later one is mostly thinking about the cattle prod from the fnaf movie. Granted I suppose there's always throwing cards, something that could be hidden in plain sight and possibly apply things to like blessings or whatever....
Otherwise prefer dodge and the CHA, INT, and WIS type of skills. Maybe the marksmanship skill depending on weapon and what not.
Managed to overlook that section so not really thinking too deeply on it right now.
Otherwise prefer dodge and the CHA, INT, and WIS type of skills. Maybe the marksmanship skill depending on weapon and what not.
Managed to overlook that section so not really thinking too deeply on it right now.
Hey I've been reading this quest so far and I've got to say that this quest is very good and I would make a plan but I have no idea how.still I hope your quest does well
[X]When Shit Hits The Fan Call Me
Composure (WIL)-3
Inland Empire (WIS + LCK + MAG)-2
Common' Sense (WIS)-1
Suggestion (CHA)-0
Negotiation (CHA)-3
Persuasion (CHA)-3
Rhetoric (INT + CHA)-0
Administration (Admin.) (INT)-0
Conceptualization (Concept.) (INT)-2
Logic (INT)-2
Marksmanship (PER + AGI)-2
Dodge (AGI)-2
Intimidation (STR + CHA)-0
Specific Melee Weapon skill (Knife)-4
(Unarmed)-3
Arnis (STR + AGI) is the national martial art of the Philippines which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons, as well as "open hand" techniques without weapons-●●
Since this is my first Complex Plan I'll try to do best to explain. I want to focus on CQC since for most of the time we'll be fighting in small house or rooms since that's where the most paranormal shit resides in. I wanted to make sure that Composure is high since we are gonna be fighting things that could have the bravest of men shit bricks. For the Arnis with our body being heavy duty we could tank a couple of hits and use our knife to slash the living shit out of a guy and carrying a knife is a lot less suspicious or alarming than a gun
Composure (WIL)-3
Inland Empire (WIS + LCK + MAG)-2
Common' Sense (WIS)-1
Suggestion (CHA)-0
Negotiation (CHA)-3
Persuasion (CHA)-3
Rhetoric (INT + CHA)-0
Administration (Admin.) (INT)-0
Conceptualization (Concept.) (INT)-2
Logic (INT)-2
Marksmanship (PER + AGI)-2
Dodge (AGI)-2
Intimidation (STR + CHA)-0
Specific Melee Weapon skill (Knife)-4
(Unarmed)-3
Arnis (STR + AGI) is the national martial art of the Philippines which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons, as well as "open hand" techniques without weapons-●●
Since this is my first Complex Plan I'll try to do best to explain. I want to focus on CQC since for most of the time we'll be fighting in small house or rooms since that's where the most paranormal shit resides in. I wanted to make sure that Composure is high since we are gonna be fighting things that could have the bravest of men shit bricks. For the Arnis with our body being heavy duty we could tank a couple of hits and use our knife to slash the living shit out of a guy and carrying a knife is a lot less suspicious or alarming than a gun
8+6+5+8+8+6+8+6+6+11+8+20=100
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Your build lacks Inland Empire and 'Common' Sense, although in previous elections we made our supernatural sensuality pretty powerful, and we have a paranormal kit.
So you might want to lower the conceptualization and melee weapons to boost Inland Empire and 'Common' Sense. Especially since we already have the melee bonus from the mechanical body.
Ol' Tin Knight I think you've created a bit too complicated a system perhaps you should have taken it from chronicles of darkness and already customized the details to fit the needs of the game.
- Location
- United States
[X]When Shit Hits The Fan Call Me
Eh, would like a point in Administration but beyond that more or less fine with this.
Eh, would like a point in Administration but beyond that more or less fine with this.
We have a Skilled Administrator Perk, it increases the administration to 5.
[X]When Shit Hits The Fan Call Me
- Location
- MS, USA
I was originally going to put up an informational post containing both the information from the 'Expanded Archives' boost and use that to springboard into laying out more precisely (for now anyway) what...' settings', I suppose?... are in this universe. And then address the skill problem tomorrow. But... that plan's changed.
Regardless of all of the above, I'll take whatever skill plan is 'winning' this ad hoc vote by tomorrow, and I'll also be posting what I originally planned to post today tomorrow, to allow for some extra polish, and other settings that have yet to be decided upon [mainly Angel Hare(because I have yet to actually watch the full series) and Dreams of An Insomniac (mostly because it's presently somewhat bare bones to my understanding, and again, I haven't watched all of it] to potentially be considered.
And I meanwhile, very much did not expect anyone to actually reply! And in hindsight, the skill part was maybe not super obvious.
Funny story, I considered that, but I decided against it for being too complicated. ...Yeah, ironic, I know. But now that we've started, I'd prefer to just stick with this system, maybe tinker with it as we go a little a long to simplify it some.
This is an entirely valid skill plan. I will share the maybe funny to someone trivia that I thought Arnis sounded familiar, so I looked it up, and it turned out I already knew off it, but as Eskrima.
Regardless of all of the above, I'll take whatever skill plan is 'winning' this ad hoc vote by tomorrow, and I'll also be posting what I originally planned to post today tomorrow, to allow for some extra polish, and other settings that have yet to be decided upon [mainly Angel Hare(because I have yet to actually watch the full series) and Dreams of An Insomniac (mostly because it's presently somewhat bare bones to my understanding, and again, I haven't watched all of it] to potentially be considered.
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Jeremy's Archives
- Location
- MS, USA
A few minutes (and a trip upstairs) later
"Actually, before we get going," his mother suddenly turned back around to face him once more, a questioning expression on her face, "why are you carrying a cardboard box? Actually, never mind, what I really want to know is; what are you doing with those binders?" True enough to her word, he was overburdened, carrying a large cardboard box with a set of three ring binders stacked precariously on top of them. "Oh this? This is just-" Jon promptly proceeded to walk directly into a wall directly across from the end of the staircase due to being unable to see where he was going, binders flying through the air. "Ah, fuck." "Language!" "But, you use the F word all the time!" "That's me and you are you, now get up and..." She trailed off as she stooped down to examine one of the binders. It had landed open, displaying a bank statement with the names 'Kagechika Musashidou' and 'William Afton' underlined in red ink, along with 'Afton Robotics LLC.'. "This is Jeremy's old notes and paperwork!" Jon groaned as he picked himself up; it honestly hurt his feelings a lot more than it hurt him physically. "Yeah, Mom, it is. Well, some of it. I just saved whatever looked interesting, or that I thought might be useful. I... uh... brought his old journal too." Alarm briefly shot across her face, before she seemingly registered the word 'old' and calmed down. "Heh. See kid, good thinking. I knew you were ready for this. Hey, let's go over some of this stuff together, eh?" "Um, sure, but don't we have places to go?" "...We've got time." "Ok."
The first binder's contents:
- Collection of publicly accessible (and a few non-public) financial transactions between a 'Kagechika Musashidou' [Zero Escape] (as well as 'Mitsuhama Computer Technologies' [Shadowrun], which Jeremy made notes in the margins of the fact that Musashidou is known to be a significant shareholder in), and a 'William Afton' and his company, 'Afton Robotics LLC.' [Both FNAF], the latest dated March, 1990.
- A second collection of publicly accessible (and a few non-public) financial transactions between a 'Kagechika Musashidou' [Zero Escape] (as well as ''Cradle Pharmaceuticals INC.' [Also Zero Escape], which Jeremy made notes in the margins of the fact that Musashidou is known to be the majority shareholder of) and 'ASU-NARO Medical Technologies INC.' [Your Turn To Die], the latest dated 1998 (the rest is smudged).
- The same as the prior, but a single transaction involving the outright Musashidou owned 'Musashidou Animation Interests and Investments' [Original] (which is noted as being some kind of abnormally structured holding company) and 'Hameln Entertainment INC.' [Amanda the Adventurer].
- - This one is notable for being extremely recent, as in October, 2000 recent. The transaction having occured mere months before Jeremy's mysterious disapperance, makes one wonder... Connection? Probably not, actually, but notable all the same.
- The exact same as the prior, for the same amount of money even, but this time being to 'Disney Strange Affairs Division' [Original/Abandoned by Disney]... which neither Jon nor Jamie (and going by the notes, Jeremy prior to reading this) knew existed. Dated 1998 (the rest is smudged).
The second binder's contents:
- Divorce Paperwork concerning a 'Felix Kranken' and 'Linda Thompson' [Both Walten Files], dated May 2nd, 1974.
- Washington County, UT marriage license permitting the marriage of the persons now to be known as 'Henry Emily' [FNAF] and 'Linda Emily' [FNAF/Walton Files] (there is a note in the margins confirming your mom's suspicions; this 'Linda Emily' is the same person as the one mentioned on the divorce paperwork.), dated May 2nd, 1979.
- A MASSIVE grouping of police reports, all collectively labeled "the many weird missing person or persons (especially children), and murder cases of 1974-1992 either associated with or directly committed in/around an animal-themed animatronic restaurant".
When Jon reaches this point, Jamie looks at him for a moment. "Bit of a mouthful, but alright, let's take a look, it can't be that bad-" Jon flips through this section, showcasing it's full magnitude, before flipping back to the first report and beginning to read, summarizing and grouping their contents together as much as possible:
- June 11th, 1974: Disappearance of 'Bunny Smiles INC.' Co-Founder Jack Walton, as well as earlier in the year two of his three children and later in the year of his wife, and two company employees, who are suspected due to employment affiliation to potentially be either involved, or have related disappearances. These events lead to the closure of the restaurant.
- July 13th, 1978: Disappearance of technician Ashley Parks.
- October 10th, 1982: Disappearance of security guard Brian Stells. Both this and the prior disappearance are linked back to Bunny Smiles INC.'s K-9 storage facility in Saint Juana's Forest.
- Early 1983 (Date is smudged, but context and order of documents means it must be early): Death of '[Name covered by coffee stain] Afton', one of three of William Afton's children, in an incident dubbed the 'bite of '83', in which the child's head was crushed after being placed into the jaws of a performing 'springlock' animatronic within the bounds of Fredbear's Family Diner in Hurricane, UT (the notes on this one recognize with some bitter irony the similarities between this child's case and his (Jeremy's) own).
- Early Summer 1983: Murder of Charlotte 'Charlie' Emily outside of Fredbear's Family Diner. Local police perform a cursory and slap-dash investigation which is clearly documented in their own reports, which admit to at least one instance in which evidence was destroyed due to improper handling by patrol officers. It is eventually ruled a random act of violence.
- February - August 1985: 5 children disappear. All five cases are eventually linked to one another and to the Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and Freddy JR's [FNAF fangame: JR's] locations in Utah. Security cameras in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza capture a blurry image of an individual wearing a 'springlock' model wearable animatronic suit luring children into the backrooms of the establishment. Despite suspicion falling on daytime, part-time suit performer 'Kenneth Sinclair' [Real Life] and owner 'William Afton', no charges are ever filed due to insufficient evidence.
- November 14th, 1987: The date of the first family tragedy; the 'bite of '87'. But a few days even before Jeremy's near brush with death, there was something somehow even worse: five children were brutally killed and left strewn out across the restaurant floor in the short gap between the Night and Morning guard shifts. The security cameras capture the culprit in the act more clearly than before, but unfortunately, the killer is once again wearing a (this time decommissioned) 'springlock' suit. Jeremy has quite a bit to say about this report, mostly pointing out the many examples of total police incompetence that it doesn't mention.
- 1992-1993: A huge file within a huge file, this is a compilation of several different police reports into one single 'summary' report on what it calls 'the mass missing persons phenomena of 1992-1993'. It includes an absolutely massive list of victims, many of them local area children, ordered in a seemingly arbitrary numerical order i.e. victim one, then victim two, so on and so on. There's a full profile featuring a photograph (usually, at least), full name, blood type, social security number, place of origin, and age for each victim, there's about six or so profiles per page and there's... and it keeps going... and going... and going... enough pages so that Jonathan gives up on counting them all, but for sure more than a hundred, so more than 600 victims, at least. Two victim profiles/reports have their names highlighted: Victim Two or 'Cesar Torres', one of the few adults listed on the report at 19 years old and whom Jeremy notes as being 'strangely familiar' and Victim 119 or 'Jimmy Stells', another of the rare adults at 24 years old and more importantly the person that somewhat tenuously links this series of disappearances with the overarching category, as Jimmy Stells is, in fact, the little brother of the 1982 disappearee, Brian Stells, at least according to the notes left behind by Jeremy.
"...Oh fuck. Right sorry. What I meant to say is, 'or maybe it is that bad'. That's... quite a lot to take in. Erm, next, I guess?" Jon nods as he reaches for the next binder. "Sure, this is actually the one that I really thought might be helpful."
The third binder's contents:
- An excerpt from something called the 'Tobin's Spirit Guide' [Ghostbusters/WoD], describing how ghosts, spirits, specters, and wraiths release a sort of 'Psycho-Kinetic' energy, similar but distinct to that of the living soul of a Psychic human, and with the correct tool this could be measured.
- An excerpt from something called the 'Hunter's Codex', which supposedly contains countless invaluable insights into the true nature and weaknesses of Vampires, Werebeasts, and the Fey, first and foremost just being the fact that they exist at all. This particular excerpt is a passage on various vampiric organizations, mostly 'Clans' vs 'Chantries', and what those terms mean, as well as a very shaky and unconfident sounding summary of three higher level factions; The Camarilla, also referred to as 'the pro-status quo vampires', The Sabat, referred to as 'The bad guys', and the Anarchs, simply referred to as 'unpredictable'. It finishes with a warning to share this knowledge with no-one.
- A sheet of notebook paper, with a handwritten 'reading list', recommending several grimoires of magical, demonological, and spiritual lore, such as: 'The Tobin's Spirit Guide' [Ghostbusters/WoD], 'The Astranomicon' [WoD], 'The Hunter's Codex' [Orginial/WoD], 'The Greater Keys of Solomon' [Real Life], and 'The Ars Goetia' [Real Life], as well as sources from which to acquire all of the recommended books.
- Contact information for a 'Frankie Foster' [Orginial/FHfIF], as well as the sudden bombshell that apparently so-called 'imaginary friends' are only imaginary about half the time, and while a solid 45% percent of the time they're both real and incredibly kind, sweet, innocent, and just, you know, great to be around or failing that at least not a threat to those around them, around 5% of the time, they're... real but not only none of those prior mentioned things, they're completely terrifying and pose an active threat to life and limb. The file detailing all of this ends with a clipped obituary for a 'Madame Foster' and a stern warning (though perhaps intended more as a stern self-reminder) to call the earlier listed number in the event of an encounter with one of that 5%.
"...Mom?" "Yes son?" His face had by now taken on an almost pleading look. "Please tell me he's not- that this isn't serious? I mean, Vampires and Werewolves, really?" Jamie responded by busting out into a deep, guttural laugh. "HAhHAhHahhah...haa..." It's only now that she pauses and looks at his somewhat pleading eyes, and has a realization. "...Oh god, you're serious, aren't you? Jerkin' (off) Jer strikes again..." "Mom, please... please, not the pet name. I beg you, it's gross." She seems to only just realize she had said it, and immediately goes a little redder in the cheeks for some reason unknown to Jon. She quickly shakes her head and returns to normal before he can say anything though, then promptly plows right into a question; "Sorry, what I meant to say was; he really didn't teach you... any of this stuff?" Jon can only nod; his father had taught him loads about investigating the supernatural, but very little about what kinds of supernatural things might or might not exist. "Well, that just means there's plenty to learn, right?"
{A.N.:Informative post detailing what settings are part of the universe (for now) and then the first part of the investigation proper to follow. Fun fact, you would have only gotten the contents of Binder Number 2 and a single item from Binder 1 if you hadn't picked Expanded Archives. Instead, since you collectively did, you get all three. So, enjoy this massive info dumpTM.}
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- Location
- United States
So much info...
Walten Files, FNAF, JR's.
...Is Indigo Park, FNAC, or C.A.S.E. in this I wonder?
Walten Files, FNAF, JR's.
...Is Indigo Park, FNAC, or C.A.S.E. in this I wonder?
What's C.A.S.E?