@King crimson: So basically, don't be an idiot and you'll be fine. Why does that sound like a company quote? Hmm... LexCorp: "Don't be an idiot and you'll be fine." Does seem to sum up the failures of ourselves and others.
Oh yeah, Titan! I'm guessing we need to unlock that outright? Like not "In-universe they know it is Titan" but just in general "This gets you Titan but the characters don't know that". Hmm, seems easy enough to uncover by having Pamela on a Venom action.
@King crimson: So basically, don't be an idiot and you'll be fine. Why does that sound like a company quote? Hmm... LexCorp: "Don't be an idiot and you'll be fine." Does seem to sum up the failures of ourselves and others.
Oh yeah, Titan! I'm guessing we need to unlock that outright? Like not "In-universe they know it is Titan" but just in general "This gets you Titan but the characters don't know that". Hmm, seems easy enough to uncover by having Pamela on a Venom action.
It's more don't be an idiot and you won't die. Venom might not kill you but it tends to have rather nasty side effects which I'm assuming you don't want (addiction, brain damage, memory loss, rage issues, madness, monstrous appearance and more are all side effects of Venom and Venom compounds in other media). "Fine" is relative.
Yup Titan would need to be unlocked. I won't say much more than that on the matter (note that in the Arkham series it is implied that four individuals and funding from an outside source was needed to create it. It might be more difficult than you expect it to be).
Holy shit! This was a spectacular turn! Finally Cassandra learned language and the Bone Growth Formula is a success! Everything is starting to come together.
Quick question @King crimson, does Karl care about looking like a monster or not? He won't be able to live a normal life anymore, but maybe he is too depress to really move on.
Also, what about the Venum formula guys? Shall we make some of it?
Quick question @King crimson, does Karl care about looking like a monster or not? He won't be able to live a normal life anymore, but maybe he is too depress to really move on.
He doesn't really care about his appearance too much. He's starting to get better from the depression he was experiencing but he's still not entirely mentally healthy and even before his son died he didn't put too much emphasis on appearances.
I'll be updating the post-humanist options sometime soon but suffice to say Karl would be willing to take the formula.
It grants Super Strength that literally makes it possible to snap people in half, that alone is pretty handy. However, what makes Venom really great is that it can be combined with other Serums/Drugs to get new results. That and relatively speaking it would be easy making the Titan Serum from it.
It grants Super Strength that literally makes it possible to snap people in half, that alone is pretty handy. However, what makes Venom really great is that it can be combined with other Serums/Drugs to get new results. That and relatively speaking it would be easy making the Titan Serum from it.
I'd rather develop Titan after we get our hands on the Blockbuster Formula to be used as a comparison. The Intellect degeneration caused by both are major drawbacks. We want a safe stable super soldier formual to sell to the Pentagon, not Cannon Fodder Factory.
It grants Super Strength that literally makes it possible to snap people in half, that alone is pretty handy. However, what makes Venom really great is that it can be combined with other Serums/Drugs to get new results. That and relatively speaking it would be easy making the Titan Serum from it.
@King crimson
I was reading the information posts, and I was wandering in regards to cybernetic augmentation, what can we do right now for people and how would it affect their stats/performance. Would they get a trait listed on the character page showing they have undergone the process? Would they be susceptible to EMP or even simple electric based attacks?
Also is it possible to research things such as implants from Fallout New Vegas? Little scanners that can read body language to increase Diplomacy, or calculators to increase Martial/Stewardship by a small amount in certain circumstances. Could we make targeting systems as head implant, or even allow soldiers to see things like a game HUD that tracks body conditions and maybe even temperature and wind speed that we could sell or use for our guards/PMC?
We have some heroes that can undergo cybernetics and would willingly do so, and it might help them be more efficient in their jobs. Not saying we want the world to go full cyborg, but imagine if we have cybernetics that are easily hidden and can become sought after by all the top companies or the US military to stay at the top of the game. Sorry if its alot of questions but I just had the idea strike me when I was reading the info updates.
Sorry final question, but would some heroes change their minds on cybernetics/human-plant integration serum if it could be properly concealed from the world at large? This also came about due to discussion about the Venom serum and if you'll add it to the Info post.
@King crimson
I was reading the information posts, and I was wandering in regards to cybernetic augmentation, what can we do right now for people and how would it affect their stats/performance. Would they get a trait listed on the character page showing they have undergone the process? Would they be susceptible to EMP or even simple electric based attacks?
Also is it possible to research things such as implants from Fallout New Vegas? Little scanners that can read body language to increase Diplomacy, or calculators to increase Martial/Stewardship by a small amount in certain circumstances. Could we make targeting systems as head implant, or even allow soldiers to see things like a game HUD that tracks body conditions and maybe even temperature and wind speed that we could sell or use for our guards/PMC?
We have some heroes that can undergo cybernetics and would willingly do so, and it might help them be more efficient in their jobs. Not saying we want the world to go full cyborg, but imagine if we have cybernetics that are easily hidden and can become sought after by all the top companies or the US military to stay at the top of the game. Sorry if its alot of questions but I just had the idea strike me when I was reading the info updates.
Sorry final question, but would some heroes change their minds on cybernetics/human-plant integration serum if it could be properly concealed from the world at large? This also came about due to discussion about the Venom serum and if you'll add it to the Info post.
Don't feel bad about asking questions. Regarding which cybernetics you have you can check out the LexCorp R&D post for a full link to that stuff (its in the informational tag). I don't update the page myself but it is pretty good at keeping things up to date and accurate with what you do and do not have.
Right now you have Inner Ear Communicator Implants, Augmented eyes and the reaction speed improvement implant. These are the things you have that make a character better
Characters that get an upgrade this way will have it remarked upon in their stats or will have an important note attached to their profile.
Right now all of your implants are vulnerable to EMP's but you can improve upon them to remove this weakness.
There are ways to achieve all of the examples you gave me although most require a good amount of surgery and some of them are much harder than others (the one to aid in diplomacy is way harder to get than an implant that gives you infrared vision thus allowing you to see body heat). I will not say how to achieve it but it is viable to do.
Plant integration might have some increase to it but cybernetics will not. The reason people are so iffy on the cybernetic implants is because you have to undergo expensive surgery to get machinery installed in you that messes with how you perceive the world. Both cybernetics and Plant Integration are possible to hide (Pamela does it just fine) but the invasive and life/perspective altering aspects of it make people very unlikely to take it. Others might become interested if the idea proliferates but it is likely to remain relatively niche for a while.
Venom will not be added for the simple reason that everyone can take Venom and it is not a permanent upgrade (it boosts you up for a while but eventually wears off). As such you can freely give people Venom and they will use it if they think it is necessary. You just need to produce Venom first. Venom is basically treated like the pheromone spray. I don't consider it a post-humanist enhancement because it isn't permanent on its own. Derivatives of it could potentially get up there though.
[ ] Crush all criminals
DC 21
Roll 2 + 21 (Pamela martial stat) + 21 (Katherine martial stat times coop score with Pamela rounded up) + 19 (Mercy martial stat times coop score with Pamela) + 10 (Mercy trait)
Total 73
Massive success
With the underworld in disarray it was quite easy to cut down most of the overt criminals in Metropolis. Pamela also got to practice her new powers in a combat setting as well. All in all this was a triumph as Pamela's skills have improved and her powers are still unknown to the world at large, you've cut down on most crime in Metropolis and the police, while publicly claiming responsibility for the captures, are thanking you for the help. This was quite a fortuitous turn of events
Results: Pamela martial stat + 2, Katherine and Pamela's coop score increased by 0.1, most career criminals caught, significant reputation increase with the police
Well, the bad news is, we rolled a natural 2. The good news is, we had so much heropower on the job it didn't matter, because I was afraid we'd have to face enemy hero unit opposition. Good outcome.
[ ] Campaign to get the achievements of one of your workers recognized- Nobel Prize in Physics for Dr. Ivo
DC 25
Roll 43
Decent success
The campaign to get Ivo recognized for the Nobel Prize in Physics was quite easy all things considered. Ivo's papers, the few that still circulate freely amongst academia are considered to be pinnacles of their respective fields. As such his nomination was quite easily accepted. You did have to make arrangements to have someone pick it up and give a speech on his behalf (you cited poor health as the reason why Ivo could not do it himself) but it still worked out cleanly. Ivo was rather grateful not only for you having campaigned to get him the award but also for the fact that you arranged it so that he didn't have to take any time away from working on his projects.
Results: Ivo-Lex cooperation score + 0.15, Ivo set to win the Nobel Prize for physics this year. Scientific community slightly disappointed by inability to meet and discuss things with Ivo.
Hm, I'm surprised the co-op jump was that small, but then, given some of the things the Nobel Prize in Physics has been handed out for, Dr. Ivo may (with reason) consider it small potatoes relative to his accomplishments, especially those over the past several years.
[ ] Offer LexCorp's services as an ISP
DC 23
Roll 73 + 21 (Felicity stewardship stat) = 94
Superb success
Felicity has continued to deliver results. LexCorp has now begun business as an ISP and already is cornering a steady chunk of the market. You do not have complete domination of it yet but considering that you already have more of the market then any other service within the first few months of offering this service that is still a massive success. The fact that you have even more data to monitor is another huge boon. Most impressively Felicity has upgraded the security of all of your networks which is sure to keep you secure if people like the unknown individual continue to mess about with it.
Results: LexCorp finds massive success as an ISP and corners a majority of the market, LexCorp makes money hand over fist, LexCorp now has improved network security involving the internet, Felicity's stewardship stat + 1
Excellent, especially since most of the options we most like having Felicity working on are Stewardship options.
[ ] Build a space building
DC 18
Roll 49 + 14 (Carol stewardship stat) = 63
Impressive success
Carol managed to continue to perform competently. As such this latest push towards the improvement of spaceflight was a success. The new Ferris Aerospace building was completed and has state of the art equipment ready to go. Now constructing various implements towards conquering the final frontier will be ever easier for you.
Results: Space building built, DC of various things involving space significantly decreased, more actions opened up now
In real life the closest space launch facility to the site of the DCQU Metropolis is Wallops Island. The Army Air Corps used to use it as a practice bombing range during World War Two, then NASA took it over for sounding rockets and testing manned spaceflight equipment. In real life a commercial space launch facility called the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was established there starting in 1998 and now occasionally launches satellites. Given that a 'spaceport' exists there in real life, I think it would be fairly easy for Lex Luthor to buy out the site and set up Ferris Aerospace's facilities around there.
The site is quite convenient to Metropolis. Given that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge almost certainly starts from Metropolis to cross over to the Eastern Shore, you'd just take U.S. 50 across the bridge and, well, the highway infrastructure looks different in real life but I'm eyeballing it as an 80-100 mile drive. Very, very short trip if you have your own aircraft, heck of a lot closer than Cape Kennedy.
Having the spaceport right outside Metropolis isn't impossible but would run into some problems, because there's like 100 miles of inland land between Metropolis and the Atlantic Ocean. Rocket launches that go wrong would have a high risk of crashing on the Eastern Shore and maybe killing somebody. This is why in real life, space launch facilities tend to be located on the eastern coast of a continent, or in places where everything for several hundred miles to their east is worthless desert.
[ ] Hire Ex-Cons
DC 11
Roll 6 + 8 (Leonard stewardship stat) = 14
Bare success
Leonard did not do nearly as well as you expected him to. He failed to give you a pool of candidates to recruit from and his own distrust of large corporations didn't paint the most enticing picture to the various criminals he knew. Still he managed to recruit Mick Rory who is potentially quite useful but other then that did little to get people to want to work for you. It's a bit frustrating but you can make do as you still have attained a useful new employee.
Results: Mick Rory recruited, DC on Hire Ex-Cons raised a decent amount for Leonard next turn.
Hm. Well, we didn't get a great result, but we got the result we specifically wanted. Good enough for me.
[ ] Begin producing computers
DC 7
Roll 60 + 16 (Mari stewardship stat) = 76
Amazing success
Mari has successfully managed to oversee the production of your computers. Your new computers are efficient, powerful and relatively cheap to produce. Interest in them is high and you are certain you'll be able to make plenty of money off of them. Mari has performed competently but has requested that she be allowed to develop a new fashion line as she feels she hasn't done nearly enough on that front and feels a bit bad about making a deal with her friend Daphne that she isn't really delivering on. The computers were still excellently made and a large boon to your company as always but you don't intend to deny one of your most competent workers her request.
Results: Quality computers produced which will likely sell incredibly well, New supercomputer special actions available, Mari requests that she be allowed to start working on a new fashion line
Fine by me. We'll give her what she wants; she's done a great job.
[ ] Purchase real estate
DC 0
Roll 24
Decent success
All in all having money to burn makes things quite easy for you to find places to purchase. Even a cursory attempt at doing so has landed you over a dozen different locations. Admittedly most of them are fairly rural but you can make due with that. Now you just need to choose which places you would like to purchase
Highly rural locations may be to our advantage. After all, one of our main goals is to give a mad scientist a secret lab for horrifyingly unethical medical experimentation. A place where we can easily buy out the local government and establish so much control over the surrounding area thanks to its poverty, so that anyone trying to investigate our lab feels like they've landed in Deliverance, sounds pretty good.
[ ] Plug the leaks
DC 42
Roll 80 + 17 (Carl intrigue stat) + 20 (Roxanne intrigue stat times coop score with Carl rounded up) + 74 (reroll bonus) + 17 (Carl intrigue stat) + 20 (Roxanne intrigue stat times coop score with Carl rounded up) + 24 (Second reroll bonus) + 17 (Carl intrigue stat) + 20 (Roxanne intrigue stat times coop score with Carl rounded up)
Total 289
Utterly Jaw-Dropping success
Carl and Roxanne have been hard at work ensuring that no one will be able to repeat Tobias Whale's attempt to threaten you. Individuals who were known to give away too much information or were taking bribes were succinctly fired and replaced with other individuals who understood the importance of keeping everything in house. In their efforts at cleaning house they secretly recruited about 100 of the most loyal individuals in LexCorp to report on all of their coworkers. They then called this new division the Department of Internal Review and hid the identities of all the members of this new group from anyone not in your inner circle. These individuals were then responsible for reporting good and bad behavior to their superiors which would then merit various rewards or punishments. In essence they essentially created an environment in which people were unable to work against the company with any coworkers and that loyalty and behavior that you approved of were actively conditioned in your workers. As such it is unlikely that any leaks could form again easily. You are quite impressed by this work they have put forward.
Results: Leaks plugged, 100 employees fired, 200 employees recruited, the Department of Internal Review created, Head of the DIR subvote, DC for creating a cult of personality dropped, Carl gains + 1 stewardship and the trait Information Warden which gives him a + 5 at the end of any action he is assigned to that involves keeping information inside of a company, Roxanne gains a + 1 in diplomacy and the trait Traitor Baiter which gives her an increased chance to discover that an individual intends to betray something when assigned to the same action as that individual.
From a supervillain perspective this is very good!
Carl continues to be a good candidate for internal security.
[ ] Investigate the unknown individual
DC 43
Roll 22 + 21 (Nygma intrigue stat plus trait) + 2 (Lisa Intrigue stat times coop score with Nygma rounded up) + 14 (Cerise intrigue stat times coop score with Nygma rounded up) + 20 (Cerise trait) - 15 (Unknown individual interference)
Total 64
Significant success
For once Nygma proved to be able to make use of his greatest strength and put together a series of clues to solve a mystery. And he proved that while his personality is flawed he is exceptionally talented. Nygma managed to connect the unknown individual to a series of bizarre deaths involving people getting calls from an unknown number and has narrowed down exactly which cave the unknown individual is hiding in. Now it is up to you what you wish to do from here.
Results: Lisa-Nygma coop score + 0.05, Unknown Individual located and connected to a series of bizarre murders, confronting the Unknown individual subvote
Just to be clear, Nygma led this collaboration? Is that because his trait boosted his Intrigue to exceed Cerise's? That was an unexpected result for me, but I'm glad things seem to be working out anyway even though having Nygma take charge made Lisa effectively useless. Had I known this would happen I'd have assigned Lisa to a different task.
Will we be able to explicitly instruct that someone other than Nygma be the one to contact the unknown individual? Because I do NOT want Nygma fucking this up like he did with the Kryptonite Man and the Sword of Beowulf.
[ ] Investigate inside the company
DC 45
Roll 77 + 18 (Samuel intrigue stat) + 18 (Marie Louise Dahl intrigue stat times coop score with Samuel) + 30 (reroll bonus) + 18 (Samuel intrigue stat) + 18 (Marie Louise Dahl intrigue stat times coop score with Samuel)
Total 179
Stunning success
Samuel has done an excellent job working with Marie to root out any potential problems. He has identified numerous individuals who were engaged in activities you do not prioritize, with the most egregious example being the head of the Jump City branch actively embezzling money from the company. All of the individuals caught have been removed from their positions and a new security camera system has been installed in many of the buildings outside of Metropolis in order to better watch those working under you. All in all a surprisingly effective debut for the man and Marie was certainly impressed by his skills.
Results: Marie-Samuel coop score + 0.15, Samuel gets the trait Focusing Lens which allows him to treat cameras and eyes as mirrors due to the lens in them to activate his other trait.
[ ] [Comp] Have your supercomputer gather information on the unknown individual
DC 75
Roll 17 + 23 (Luthor Intrigue stat) = 40
Significant failure
You attempted to feed the supercomputer all of the relevant data you could find on the Unknown Individual including what Nygma had sent you about the mysterious deaths. Unfortunately the supercomputer wasn't able to handle it at all. Apparently the unknown number that called people right before they died wasn't the number that the unknown individual was using. The unknown individual somehow used a different phone to access a number that didn't exist which then called people. Furthermore when you tried to use your supercomputer to access the number by proxy and call with it your supercomputer overheated and burnt out. All in all this has only given you more questions and has left you in a predicament.
Results: Unknown individual is causing deaths by somehow using a normal Lex-Phone to act as a proxy for a number that doesn't exist which then kills people when they pick it up. The supercomputer could not replicate this and now needs repairs before another supercomputer special action can be taken.
Hm. So, the unknown individual has murdered, among other things, the Lex-Computer. To be fair, it was kind of our own fault.
It's a reasonable inference that since the killing effect passes over the phone lines, it's either sonic AND more or less in the audible range (since the phones probably aren't designed to faithfully reproduce infrasound and ultrasound, which would not be useful to human users)... Or it's a magical effect that runs on the law of contagion
[ ] Improve bone growth formula
DC 45
Roll 100 + 18 (Dr. Moon learning stat) + 19 (Karl Helfern learning stat times coop score with Dr. Moon) + 42 + 18 (Dr. Moon learning stat) + 19 (Karl Helfern learning stat times coop score with Dr. Moon)
Total 216
Planetary success
Dr. Moon and Karl Helfern have made a massive breakthrough on the bone growth formula. They have mostly used mice to test it so far but they have succeeded in creating a version of the bone growth formula that doesn't kill the user. While it still makes the one who takes it appear monstrous with massively overgrown bones the formula now no longer damages any internal organs and instead gives the individual that partakes of it increased strength, durability and a minor regenerative factor. Human testing has not occurred but it is likely to be successful with them as it proved quite successful with mice and rabbits. The formula was so successful at improving upon basic biology that Dr. Moon and Karl struggled to find ways to dispose of test subjects. The two of them may have ended up creating a functional super soldier serum that while it makes its user look grotesque vastly increases what they can do. All that is left is human testing.
Results: Bone growth formula successful in enhancing laboratory specimens strength and durability to ridiculous extents at the cost of a monstrous appearance. Human testing is all that is left but results seem extremely promising.
Hm. OK, that's good progress. Nice natural 100 there. We don't have a perfected bone growth serum I'd want to give to senior employees, but we have something that works, and maybe with further research we can make one that isn't visibly mutagenic.
[ ] Improve phones
DC 17
Roll 80
Massive success
With the many fires you have had to put out you haven't had time to improve your phones much. Well that is no longer the case. Your scientists have succeeded in significantly improving upon your older model of phones and you have once again demonstrated why the market is yours to dominate. Profits are up and you are likely to continue to find success with your phones.
Results: Made a lot of money, Improve Phones subvote
[ ] Create the automobile of tomorrow
DC 19
Roll 16
Bare failure
There was a slight complication with your new car models. While the kryptonite battery is more than feasible for powering cars efficiently and cleanly there was a complication where the ambient heat of the battery managed to occasionally boil the braking fluid when used for great lengths of time. As such the product is substandard for what you intend to produce. Further delays on your debut into the automotive industry have occurred but that is the price of quality control
Results: DC of the action lowered by 1, nothing else happens
Well, we can still do this. I think we should try to find a hero unit for it next time.
[ ] The A.M.A.Z.O. project
DC 105
Roll 69 + 33 (Ivo learning stat) + 7 (reroll bonus) + 33 (Ivo learning stat) + 7 (Ivo trait)
Total 149
Impressive success
Ivo has managed to end up completing yet another stage of his project, this time completely on his own. The man's mortality is driving him to greater and greater lengths to complete the project before he dies. This success was particularly impressive and has proven how Ivo continues to impress despite his otherwise lackluster status as a human being.
Results: Another step of the AMAZO project completed, gained Subatomic Imaging Systems.
Hah! I KNEW this could work. And you all called me MAD when I said Ivo could make progress on this project alone! MAD! MuahahahaHAAA!
[stops channeling Ivo]
[ ] Produce Kryptonite Batteries
Auto-success from last turn
Kryptonite batteries are now being produced en masse rather successfully. Of note is the fact that Keystone Motors has proven interested in purchasing a large order of Kryptonite batteries from you.
Results: Kryptonite batteries now more regularly available, Keystone motors order subvote
Hm. If we start selling to Keystone Motors, then they'll be the ones making kryptonite powered cars. They're a successful auto manufacturer, and that would be at least sort of the same tier of fucking over Superman as if we did it ourselves.
I'm kind of torn. On the one hand, this might be less of a pain in the neck than doing it ourselves. On the other hand, I want Lex to be personally responsible for something that fucks over Superman. On the other other hand, I want Lex to be smarter than Elon Musk and recognize that being great at some things doesn't make him great at the auto industry. On the other other other hand, Lex IS smarter than Elon Musk and probably is great at the auto industry if he actually puts any time and effort into it.
[ ] Finish construction of a LexCorp building in Tokyo
Auto-success
The construction of the Tower in Tokyo has finally been completed. LexCorp has now truly gone international. Many Japanese citizens are eager to find employment at LexCorp and you have secured a foothold in the land of the rising sun none of your rivals have.
Results: Tower complete + 1 action per turn, 500 new workers hired, 100 new scientists hired.
Let me guess. Small DC reduction to exosuit actions as mecha enthusiasts flock to LexCorp.
[ ] [Cass] Teach Cassandra language
DC 145
Roll 75 + 31 (Lex learning stat) + 24 (Cassandra learning stat minus trait penalty times coop score with Lex) + 18 (Rebecca learning stat times coop score with Lex rounded up) + 10 (Lex trait) + 26 (reroll bonus) + 31 (Lex learning stat) + 24 (Cassandra learning stat minus trait penalty times coop score with Lex) + 18 (Rebecca learning stat times coop score with Lex rounded up) + 10 (Lex trait) + 45 (Cassandra trait)
Total 312
Unparalleled success
It has been a long time coming but you have managed to overcome Cassandra's disability and teach her language. You had to synthesize many different fields together to get the final result but in the end it was worthwhile to see your heir able to read write and speak. The interface you developed ended up helping her and your own intelligence combined with her propensity to learn all assisted in making this task surmountable but the real breakthrough was with the implementation of Rebecca's magic combined with your knowledge of Wernicke's area of the brain. Using this Rebecca managed to create a spell that greatly enhances an individuals ability to learn language with no extra downsides or developmental damage. Cassandra has retained her intelligence and ability to read body language but in a period of about three weeks she was able to rapidly synthesize information regarding language. As such she was able to learn how to read write and speak in multiple languages at the level of a normal child her age. She does speak with a stutter which is rather unfortunate but common in children learning language for the first time. This result is immensely impressive and has helped enhance your daughter into being a more worthy heir to your legacy.
Results: Rapid language learning spell created and will be available as an enhancement for your units. Cassandra Luthor has learned how to speak read and right and has developed a vocabulary equivalent to other children her age in English, Mandarin, German and Russian. Cassandra speaks with a pronounced stutter which is likely to go away in about two years time. Cassandra's Living weapon trait now only subtracts 1 from her stats when it penalizes her and the penalty will be completely gone on its own in eight turns time
...Wow. OK, well, we blew the doors off of that. The DC was, as I suspected, manageable- Lex+Cass alone would have had a +56+5+45 = +106 on the die roll, giving us roughly a 60% chance of success.
The rapid language learning spell is very impressive, though less amazingly impressive given that we just invented universal translation software a year or so ago. Rebecca should be very proud. With that said, I see no reason we shouldn't cast the language learning spell on anyone who can benefit from it.
[ ] [Jinx] Educate Jinx on acting
DC 23
Roll 24 + 12 (Emily Rice learning stat minus unfamiliarity penalty) + 8 (Jinx learning stat)
Total 54
Decent success
Emily ended up managing to teach Jinx acting rather well. Granted a good amount of it was due to Jinx's enjoyment of Shakespeare already and her acting is mostly in a Shakespearean bent at a fairly amateur level but Jinx has seen improvement and has enjoyed these lessons. Emily even managed to teach Jinx a tiny bit of history with some of the plays.
Results: Jinx learned basic Shakespearean acting, DC for learning to act reduced, Jinx now knows what Rome is and who Julius Caesar was.
[ ] [Bane] Sell Venom to LexCorp
DC 20
Roll 58
Significant success
Bane did not bother to sell you any physical copies of Venom as he felt that could be traced and would implicate you. Furthermore he argued that he needed his supply more than you did. However what he did do was sell you the formula for the drug so you could make your own. Bane's eidetic memory allowed him to perfectly recall the chemical structure and formula of Venom as a few of the individuals conducting research at Pena Duro were not careful with what they said around prisoners at all. As such he sold you the formula to make your own Venom at a small profit to himself. While a physical sample also would have been useful having the formula itself is still a significant step forward.
Results: Paid Bane a decent sum of money for him and a pittance for you and gained the formula for Venom in exchange
[ ] [Bane] Give captured Intergang weapons to the US government
DC 5
Roll 100
Incredibly amazing success
Bane was more than happy to sell weapons to the government as he had a massive surplus of them. Bane is now likely the richest man in all of Santa Prisca now. The US Government is particularly happy since it managed to covertly get its hands on a small armies worth of advanced weapons for them to use. General Eiling is particularly happy as with the new tech he obtained he finally managed to achieve a success with Project Atom, albeit at the cost of heavily damaging the alien engine making replicating the success highly unlikely without sinking more resources into the project.
Results: Bane is now the richest man in Santa Prisca by a longshot, US Government gains a massive amount of Intergang weapons, General Eiling's relationship with you has now improved incredibly and his own status within the military has shot up massively as well.
OK, so thanks to Bane, Captain Atom is a thing now.
Also, I suspect that Bane, as richest man in Santa Prisca,* has now had a conversation like this:
Bane: "No, stay here."
Guy, courteously: "Do you feel in charge?"
Bane: "I've given you a small fortune."
Guy, saying it without sarcasm: "And this gives you power over me."
__________________
*(To be fair, Bane is probably only the richest man in Santa Prisca because the previous, likely corrupt government wouldn't let you become very rich unless you were aligned with the junta, which in turn meant that as we've toppled the junta, we're also toppling all the rich men in the country)
It's multiplicative of strength already had. Most people would be closer to Captain America-style peak strength or a little under it.
Someone like Bane who was strong enough without Venom to drag large trucks with leverage (which is a thing real people can do albeit really strong ones) can at maximum strength enhancement from Venom (overdosing without burning out immediately) lift two cars stacked atop each other (Bane's Venom enhanced weight lifting caps out at about 4 tonnes)
@King crimson
Thanks so much for the reply, honestly I'm always nervous when I post, never able to shake that off. Now I have a question about Venom. Could we make it into an emergency combat stim? Like something that could auto inject into a soldier or manually if necessary (or just don't tell them and let them rely on their own ability and it auto triggers if they're in too deep)? My idea would be to somehow give it to our key employees, just so that if they're ambushed on a mission or targeted by an assassin they can trigger it to hold their own in a fight or escape. How hard would it be to take Venom as it is now, and combine it only with the regenerative portion of the bone growth serum? So as to avoid overgrown bones, but heal lighter wounds to keep moving/stay in the fight after an ambush. I'm thinking there would need to be an action to study and isolate sections of the formula.
It sounds a lot to me like Nygma is IDEAL for Detective work, but utterly terrible at any intrigue work because his compulsive need to leave calling cards make him always leave room for failure. Beyond his dice bonuses, even if he succeeds, he WILL build a fail condition to any mission where secrecy is key.
In real life the closest space launch facility to the site of the DCQU Metropolis is Wallops Island. The Army Air Corps used to use it as a practice bombing range during World War Two, then NASA took it over for sounding rockets and testing manned spaceflight equipment. In real life a commercial space launch facility called the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was established there starting in 1998 and now occasionally launches satellites. Given that a 'spaceport' exists there in real life, I think it would be fairly easy for Lex Luthor to buy out the site and set up Ferris Aerospace's facilities around there.
The site is quite convenient to Metropolis. Given that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge almost certainly starts from Metropolis to cross over to the Eastern Shore, you'd just take U.S. 50 across the bridge and, well, the highway infrastructure looks different in real life but I'm eyeballing it as an 80-100 mile drive. Very, very short trip if you have your own aircraft, heck of a lot closer than Cape Kennedy.
Having the spaceport right outside Metropolis isn't impossible but would run into some problems, because there's like 100 miles of inland land between Metropolis and the Atlantic Ocean. Rocket launches that go wrong would have a high risk of crashing on the Eastern Shore and maybe killing somebody. This is why in real life, space launch facilities tend to be located on the eastern coast of a continent, or in places where everything for several hundred miles to their east is worthless desert.
The space building is in California near Coast City where Carol works. I imagine she probably built it near where the Vandenberg air Force Base is IRL (which is where some stuff is actually launched).
Just to be clear, Nygma led this collaboration? Is that because his trait boosted his Intrigue to exceed Cerise's? That was an unexpected result for me, but I'm glad things seem to be working out anyway even though having Nygma take charge made Lisa effectively useless. Had I known this would happen I'd have assigned Lisa to a different task.
Will we be able to explicitly instruct that someone other than Nygma be the one to contact the unknown individual? Because I do NOT want Nygma fucking this up like he did with the Kryptonite Man and the Sword of Beowulf.
@King crimson
Thanks so much for the reply, honestly I'm always nervous when I post, never able to shake that off. Now I have a question about Venom. Could we make it into an emergency combat stim? Like something that could auto inject into a soldier or manually if necessary (or just don't tell them and let them rely on their own ability and it auto triggers if they're in too deep)? My idea would be to somehow give it to our key employees, just so that if they're ambushed on a mission or targeted by an assassin they can trigger it to hold their own in a fight or escape. How hard would it be to take Venom as it is now, and combine it only with the regenerative portion of the bone growth serum? So as to avoid overgrown bones, but heal lighter wounds to keep moving/stay in the fight after an ambush. I'm thinking there would need to be an action to study and isolate sections of the formula.
I think you're the one who runs the super-character spreadsheet. Are you open to the idea of making it open-access for people to edit, or maybe making a copy for yourself and making it open-access? It's getting kind of out of date.
On the other hand Abra will travel back in time to team up with himself or pull figures out of history temporarily because he has already done so and thus nothing can be done to prevent those actions from being taken or interpreted differently.
True true. Of course, we ourselves don't know which historical figures Abra recruits, and Abra himself may not have independently researched the matter, so in practical effect he still has the ability to decide which figures he recruits- it's foreordained knowledge, but not in the sense of "he's being puppeteered against his will."
He should be. He's prospering through association with us- whatever he wants to do next, he'll have a mountain of cash to do it with, thanks to our connections.
I'm not sure that's a good idea. The elemental realms are very inhuman and difficult to manipulate. I think we need to expand our magical powerbase before we try to take any chances with them.
The way it is now, we're not gonna get many people willing to take it since... ya know, Nightmare Bone Creature. It would probably cripple a character's Diplomacy, but it is definitely a Martial booster. Improve it more, and we can have Lex take it. That, and Bone Meta + Exosuit would be sweet.
Well, the exosuit makes bone growth formula less necessary, since the whole point of all that armor is to protect you from getting injured in the first place.
At the same time, bone-grown exosuit operators might be a good choice as shock troops to fight metahumans. Because their regenerative abilities would be more resistant to getting smacked around, punched through a building while wearing armor, and so on. It's not as helpful against normal military forces whose weapons will tend to be armor-piercing rockets and things that burn the occupant to a crisp if they manage to penetrate, but when fighting super-strong guys who normally defeat things with their fists, it'll help.
Whereas Hero Units... I'm thinking "Recruit Ex Cons" again with Lisa + Samuel and/or Mory, since that way we secure more Rogues who are all pretty great recruits. Though recruiting some of those actors... We definitely need more Stewardship/Diplomacy/Learning types.
Seriously. Turn 1, one of the first things we did, was to crit a "Fortify LexCorp Tower" action:
"Your father died in his own home. You refuse to follow suit. LexCorp tower is to be your fortress against any and all challenges to your name. As such when overhauling the towers defenses you went above and beyond every conceivable method of defense. Your doors can all be remotely closed and locked and have retinal scanners, auto-turrets are stationed at every intersection and every surface in the building is quadruply reinforced and could probably survive anything short of a meteor impact. You have five different backup power sources, all of the floors can be electrified at the flip of a switch and all the vents and chutes can be freely closed off or redirected. Then you went on to the bizarre precautions. The building has lead inside of its walls in order to prevent radiation from leaking into the building, there are numerous scrubbing points to cleanse chemical and bacterial agents, the building has radar and seismic sensors to detect incoming attacks from bizarre angles and the building has access to several private ICBM's that LexCorp has built off the books. Nothing from this earth can enter or exit LexCorp without your permission."
"Results: LexCorp tower virtually impregnable to all earthly forces. At this point the building has strong defenses against virtually everything but psychics, hurricanes, magic users, freakishly strong aliens and dropping the moon on it."
And on Turn 13 we expanded the Turn 1 fortification scheme to our non-Metropolitan LexCorp towers:
"Carl's talent at fortifications has already quickly come in handy. After observing many of the blueprints of the current defensive measures in LexCorp Tower Carl has gone about incorporating them into other buildings. Under his supervision and guidance your other holdings are now secure if not quite to the same extent as LexCorp tower (but certainly a reasonable one).
Results: Defensive weaponry stationed throughout all holdings, remotely sealable elevators thumbprint locks installed on doors, all doors can be remotely locked, all walls, floors, ceilings and windows reinforced, ventilation systems are controllable and can be locked down and the floors can be electrified at the flick of a switch. "
@King crimson , can we get confirmation or denial on whether this security upgrade to our other buildings includes lead radiation shielding and biochemical protection?
It's more don't be an idiot and you won't die. Venom might not kill you but it tends to have rather nasty side effects which I'm assuming you don't want (addiction, brain damage, memory loss, rage issues, madness, monstrous appearance and more are all side effects of Venom and Venom compounds in other media). "Fine" is relative.
To be fair, a lot of the people experimenting on Venom tend to be relatively back-alley or small-potatoes researchers compared to Lex and his establishment. I wouldn't be surprised if we could get better results than them, for the same reason that a billion-dollar pharmaceutical company could probably make purer and safer methamphetamines than a back-alley meth lab can.
He doesn't really care about his appearance too much. He's starting to get better from the depression he was experiencing but he's still not entirely mentally healthy and even before his son died he didn't put too much emphasis on appearances.
I'll be updating the post-humanist options sometime soon but suffice to say Karl would be willing to take the formula.
@King crimson , can we get confirmation or denial on whether this security upgrade to our other buildings includes lead radiation shielding and biochemical protection?
To be fair, a lot of the people experimenting on Venom tend to be relatively back-alley or small-potatoes researchers compared to Lex and his establishment. I wouldn't be surprised if we could get better results than them, for the same reason that a billion-dollar pharmaceutical company could probably make purer and safer methamphetamines than a back-alley meth lab can.
Think its less purity(though it helps a lot) and more of no dosage management.
Like, drugs like these can be used to dope for performance, but anyone willing to spring for illegal enhancement drugs is going to be self administering and thats utterly terrible for anything potentially habit forming.
They'd just keep ramping the doses until they lose it.
What might be useful is either dedicated combat squads to maximize its use and isolate them from the side effects by physically isolating them and giving them goodies, OR emergency stimpacks when your vanilla guards need to fight metahumans and its either dose up or die.
..Wow. OK, well, we blew the doors off of that. The DC was, as I suspected, manageable- Lex+Cass alone would have had a +56+5+45 = +106 on the die roll, giving us roughly a 60% chance of success.
The rapid language learning spell is very impressive, though less amazingly impressive given that we just invented universal translation software a year or so ago. Rebecca should be very proud. With that said, I see no reason we shouldn't cast the language learning spell on anyone who can benefit from it.
It's multiplicative of strength already had. Most people would be closer to Captain America-style peak strength or a little under it.
Someone like Bane who was strong enough without Venom to drag large trucks with leverage (which is a thing real people can do albeit really strong ones) can at maximum strength enhancement from Venom (overdosing without burning out immediately) lift two cars stacked atop each other (Bane's Venom enhanced weight lifting caps out at about 4 tonnes)
I don't know if Venom really makes the average person more dangerous then they would be if you gave them a gun instead. It also doesn't really stack that well with guns.
I don't know if Venom really makes the average person more dangerous then they would be if you gave them a gun instead. It also doesn't really stack that well with guns.
