Lex Sedet In Vertice: A Supervillain in the DCU CK2 quest

[Torgamous]

Learning for Computers, Physics, Biology, and Psychology
Developing the Online Storefront and then Revisiting each of our industries on a rotating basis- banking up first.

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Those aren't goals, those are actions to take for the goal of attaining market dominance in various corners of the internet, or perhaps more generally growing our economic power. Defining our goals in those terms is important, because if we want to dominate Metropolis there's other actions available to us that we should be taking. Housing, mass transit, a supermarket, a hospital.

 

[jonasquinn]

Also, we have limited actions. I don't think spending the actions on a museum or a theme park would really help our overall goal of....actually, we should probably discuss what our overall goals are in an attempt to plan something out for the next few turns as we will be doing action voting.

Here are my overall goals:
Learning for Computers, Physics, Biology, and Psychology
Developing the Online Storefront and then Revisiting each of our industries on a rotating basis- banking up first.
Actually work on our Space Program
Buy out STAR Labs for the scientists and Quixium
Work on Magic (there was an option to make things bigger on the inside, which would be helpful giving our security focus on Lexcorp Metropolis)
Get the other LexCorps up to snuff
Work on our Weapons and Security
Work on the School

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Well for me the things that I definitely want to do next turn are:

Head to Azerath - With Lex and either Cassandra or Mercy
Build housing for Lexcorp employees - With probably Carol
Investigate William Walsh - With probably Cerise and Nygma
Investigate the Second Riddler - Not sure with who yet
Learn about Space - With Meena preferably
Improve Combat Robots - With Karl
Create the automobile of tomorrow - With Louise and Caitlin
Have Jinx meet Jade Crock - With Jinx and maybe someone else depending on the DC

And obviously whatever actions we have to deal with Intergang

As for what I think we should do in the near future my big three are:

Buy out STAR Labs
Recruit Amber Joyce and/or Jericho
Generally expand our businesses

 

[MysteryCPU]

Those aren't goals, those are actions to take for the goal of attaining market dominance in various corners of the internet, or perhaps more generally growing our economic power. Defining our goals in those terms is important, because if we want to dominate Metropolis there's other actions available to us that we should be taking. Housing, mass transit, a supermarket, a hospital.

Click to shrink...

Fair enough.

Goals:
Achieve market dominance in the high-profit technology fields that also lead to massive influence on the world. So: search engines, online shops, banking, social media, etc. If we have dominance in these, we can shape the economies of countries AND also shape society itself.

Solve the mental issues of our employees: We have many employees who are just ticking time bombs.

Protect Lexcorp: People are still attacking us, so we need to secure the company and improve our ability to protect against the rise of superhumans.

Advance Humanity: Lex Luthor is the true Man of Tomorrow. We should bring humanity to the future through advancement into space and solving humanity's larger issues.

Make Allies: continue with our plans to make allies by fulfilling our obligations. Maybe Vlatava could also be built up as a science bastion away from the prying limited moralities (speaking as Lex) of the western democracies.

 

[Negation]

For Development, we currently have:-

• Telecoms: Cellphones & ISP
• Banking (severely underdeveloped)
• Aerospace (Ferris Aerospace)
• Weapons Development/Clean Energy
• Entertainment /Social Media
• Biotech (Secret R&D)
• Future Construction
• [BLANK]

HEY! We are currently short Agriculture to match the Orochi Group!

Heres hoping our Manager subvote nets us someone who can improve our Banking Services.

 

[Negation]

Seriously, I want Enoch Brown as our Vice-Head of Agriculture, Pamela as Head of course.

 

[Torgamous]

Father of the Year
​

Lucy sat outside Mr. Luthor's office, waiting to begin an appointment that was supposed to have started five minutes ago.

The office door opened, and out strode Cassandra, standing much straighter than she had when Lucy first met her. "I apologize for the delay," the young lady said, with diction that she could not have managed a month or two ago. "Today's lesson took longer than anticipated due to a misunderstanding on my part. I hope you were not too inconvenienced."

Lucy smiled. "Don't worry. It was only five minutes."

"Thank you for understanding." And with that, Cassandra went to wait for the elevator.

Lucy remembered being repeatedly surprised that Mr. Luthor's office was as mediocre as it had been the last time she'd seen it. Always expecting, on some level, that this time would be when he got inspired and started a round of focused improvement that would leave his office nearly unrecognizable. It had never occurred to her that he might do that with his daughter instead.

What did that say about Lucy's own upbringing, that she expected a father to prioritize a room over his child? That the thought of Mr. Luthor taking time from work to focus on Cassandra hadn't even crossed her mind until he did it?

...Nothing she hadn't already known, really.

Though, as she entered the office, there was one change that stood out. Some kind of device seemed to have earned a place of honor on OH SWEET JESUS WHY

"I see you've noticed the bomb. Don't worry, it's inert now," Mr. Luthor said entirely too casually.

"That wasn't- well, it was one of the questions I had, but- why?"

"Apparently, Cassandra decided that since I make weapons, so should she. This is the result." Was that pride she was hearing?

"That's...um..." What was she supposed to say to that?

"My thoughts exactly. I have made it very clear to Cassandra that she is not to risk her safety like that again, but it's still her first gift to me, her first independent creation, and an impressive technical achievement for a child her age. It deserves commemoration to whatever extent safety and sanity allow."

Okay, that was still very, very weird, but Lucy could understand the sentiment. She wished that the Luthors could have settled for crayon drawings on a refrigerator, but that was apparently just not who she was working for now. "You..." She sighed. "Just be sure to hide it when people outside the company are here. I don't want to know what Lois would do with that story."

"Naturally."

 

[King crimson]

Father of the Year
​

Lucy sat outside Mr. Luthor's office, waiting to begin an appointment that was supposed to have started five minutes ago.

The office door opened, and out strode Cassandra, standing much straighter than she had when Lucy first met her. "I apologize for the delay," the young lady said, with diction that she could not have managed a month or two ago. "Today's lesson took longer than anticipated due to a misunderstanding on my part. I hope you were not too inconvenienced."

Lucy smiled. "Don't worry. It was only five minutes."

"Thank you for understanding." And with that, Cassandra went to wait for the elevator.

Lucy remembered being repeatedly surprised that Mr. Luthor's office was as mediocre as it had been the last time she'd seen it. Always expecting, on some level, that this time would be when he got inspired and started a round of focused improvement that would leave his office nearly unrecognizable. It had never occurred to her that he might do that with his daughter instead.

What did that say about Lucy's own upbringing, that she expected a father to prioritize a room over his child? That the thought of Mr. Luthor taking time from work to focus on Cassandra hadn't even crossed her mind until he did it?

...Nothing she hadn't already known, really.

Though, as she entered the office, there was one change that stood out. Some kind of device seemed to have earned a place of honor on OH SWEET JESUS WHY

"I see you've noticed the bomb. Don't worry, it's inert now," Mr. Luthor said entirely too casually.

"That wasn't- well, it was one of the questions I had, but- why?"

"Apparently, Cassandra decided that since I make weapons, so should she. This is the result." Was that pride she was hearing?

"That's...um..." What was she supposed to say to that?

"My thoughts exactly. I have made it very clear to Cassandra that she is not to risk her safety like that again, but it's still her first gift to me, her first independent creation, and an impressive technical achievement for a child her age. It deserves commemoration to whatever extent safety and sanity allow."

Okay, that was still very, very weird, but Lucy could understand the sentiment. She wished that the Luthors could have settled for crayon drawings on a refrigerator, but that was apparently just not who she was working for now. "You..." She sighed. "Just be sure to hide it when people outside the company are here. I don't want to know what Lois would do with that story."

"Naturally."

Click to shrink...

This is good. Sorry for taking so long to get around to this piece. This is good. I do like the parallel's between Sam and Lex present (neither of them are perfect parents but Lex is still better than Sam and it's interesting to see this dynamic develop). Seeing how stuff evolves in quest with this dynamic is a highlight of it. The Cassandra Lex relationship has weirdly turned into a highlight of this quest and is neat to see it. If I'm allowed to suggest non-canon omakes to people a Cassandra talks with Superboy omake while non-canon now would be super-interesting.

This omake earns 500 exp

 

[Redhead222]

the daughter of lex having a talk with the cloned son of lex/superman ya no way that would be weird on many level for everyone.

 

[King crimson]

the daughter of lex having a talk with the cloned son of lex/superman ya no way that would be weird on many level for everyone.

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?

I can see it being awkward but I don't see it being particularly weird. Comics are a medium where a rich guy dressed up in a fancy costume regularly beats on a mentally ill person who dresses like a clown, there are dozens of long lost step and half siblings, gods are real, a dog and a chimpanzee found the fountain of youth, Doom Patrol exists and more. The interactions only going to be weird if you make it weird and it's certainly no weirder than anything else in quest.

I don't see it as any more weird than say Nightwing talking to Talia Al Ghul or Harley Quinn talking to Gaggy.

 

[Redhead222]

?

I can see it being awkward but I don't see it being particularly weird. Comics are a medium where a rich guy dressed up in a fancy costume regularly beats on a mentally ill person who dresses like a clown, there are dozens of long lost step and half siblings, gods are real, a dog and a chimpanzee found the fountain of youth, Doom Patrol exists and more. The interactions only going to be weird if you make it weird and it's certainly no weirder than anything else in quest.

I don't see it as any more weird than say Nightwing talking to Talia Al Ghul or Harley Quinn talking to Gaggy.

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no for comic standards that would not be weird but you know for the two ppl in that talk it might be.

 

[Uber Phantom]

Apologies if the answer is obvious but later down the line, will we be able to create this universe's Superboy/Kon-El?(provided we hit the proper requirements of course)

 

[King crimson]

Apologies if the answer is obvious but later down the line, will we be able to create this universe's Superboy/Kon-El?(provided we hit the proper requirements of course)

Click to shrink...

Yes you will

 

[HavocOrder0999]

@King crimson I would like some clarification on some actions

[ ] Create a specialized lab
DC 34 LexCorp's labs are absolutely state of the art. However as of right now the labs are rather generalized. Constructing specialized labs might make it so that your new discoveries come even faster in certain fields.

Will it create only one lab and we need to take the action again to make another, or will it be like when we have points to distribute and can make multiple labs or improve a lab like lvl 1, lvl 2, etc., on a high roll? Can we make one dedicated for the bone growth formula? For reverse engineering acquired tech? For items like holograms and our 3-d Printer? My last question on this action is will co-op scores improve on a high roll if the lab is obviously dedicated to a particular subject rather than a broad field (for example we roll high on a bone formula lab, will Karl's coop improve with whoever we assign to it or with Lex in general even if he's not assigned to it)?

For this action
[ ] Have someone get cybernetic implants
DC ??? Cybernetic implants could allow a human to be greater than their flesh and blood bodies would have allowed them. Taking the first steps into the future is an excellent way to get ahead of the curve as humanity evolves into something more than human.

What is the number of people we can assign to it per turn, and do we need to assign someone to perform the surgery or is that handled by our unnamed staff? Would building a hospital lower DC on actions like this and applying serums to people since we will have dedicated medical personnel?

 

[King crimson]

@King crimson I would like some clarification on some actions

[ ] Create a specialized lab
DC 34 LexCorp's labs are absolutely state of the art. However as of right now the labs are rather generalized. Constructing specialized labs might make it so that your new discoveries come even faster in certain fields.

Will it create only one lab and we need to take the action again to make another, or will it be like when we have points to distribute and can make multiple labs or improve a lab like lvl 1, lvl 2, etc., on a high roll? Can we make one dedicated for the bone growth formula? For reverse engineering acquired tech? For items like holograms and our 3-d Printer? My last question on this action is will co-op scores improve on a high roll if the lab is obviously dedicated to a particular subject rather than a broad field (for example we roll high on a bone formula lab, will Karl's coop improve with whoever we assign to it or with Lex in general even if he's not assigned to it)?

For this action
[ ] Have someone get cybernetic implants
DC ??? Cybernetic implants could allow a human to be greater than their flesh and blood bodies would have allowed them. Taking the first steps into the future is an excellent way to get ahead of the curve as humanity evolves into something more than human.

What is the number of people we can assign to it per turn, and do we need to assign someone to perform the surgery or is that handled by our unnamed staff? Would building a hospital lower DC on actions like this and applying serums to people since we will have dedicated medical personnel?

Click to shrink...

So I'll do my best to answer your questions.

The base improvement for specialized labs is one specialized lab but if you roll well enough you'll be on a point based system to potentially get more stuff out of it. It is limited to just one unless you get a good roll though.

The number of people you can assign to it per turn is as many as you have hero units. Of course if you assign a hero unit to it they can't take other actions this turn. However if you are giving multiple individuals implants each individual getting enhanced gets rolled for separately and doesn't contribute to other rolls (If you assign Lex, Mercy and Roxy to this action and Mercy and Roxy are getting enhanced then you get two separate rolls for Lex+Mercy and Lex+Roxy). It can be handled by unnamed staff if you choose to do so. A hospital could lower the DC of some of these things by some amount if the roll is good enough.

That answer your questions?

 

[HavocOrder0999]

Yes and thank you. That makes sense and sounds great.

A good Stewardship team like Lex + Carol + Mari/Felicity could pull it off with possible rerolls.

For the surgery, I wish Moon wasn't crazy, but then again we're putting cybernetic implants in people so maybe his trait won't fire off. Maybe put Meena and Lex on it since she was the one doing some research on it recently and Lex is Lex.

 

[Negation]

I am still aginst cybernetics for our hero units. Technology is constantly improving, constantly having to replace limbs like L-phones is too much downtime and a waste of Action Points.

Cybernetics for charity and wounded veterans is ok but not our Hero Units.

 

[Thule]

hmm if we can Cassandra Stewardship up to a high lvl, we should give her the Tower in Jumb city and see what she can do with Jumb city without our help

 

[jonasquinn]

@King crimson, did the amazing success on teaching Cassandra diplomacy cause it to also finish teaching her language or is that still a separate thing?

 

[King crimson]

@King crimson, did the amazing success on teaching Cassandra diplomacy cause it to also finish teaching her language or is that still a separate thing?

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English is pretty much done yeah. I'm still going to include an option to learn a few more languages in depth (if my memory is correct Cassandra can speak, write and read in English, Mandarin, German and Russian).

It'll mostly be to help out with some very specific things but there will still be a way to increase the number of languages she learns and teach her stuff like Latin, Spanish, French, Japanese, Greek or any other language that you are interested in having her know. It would also help Cassandra understand slang and dialects a bit better as well as improve her understanding of common idioms. Thus there will still be an option to teach her language even if it is heavily tweaked.

 

[Sena Kumo]

...I know this must be a little too late to point it out but, if Jinx has learned to play Poker to the point that she is good and super smug because she knows she will win (probability manipulation for the win), does that make my drawing of her semi-canon?

 

[King crimson]

...I know this must be a little too late to point it out but, if Jinx has learned to play Poker to the point that she is good and super smug because she knows she will win (probability manipulation for the win), does that make my drawing of her semi-canon?

Click to shrink...

Via hindsight yes it is semi-canon

 

[Simon_Jester]

I have to wonder exactly how Jinx manipulates probability in a poker game. Is she stacking the deck before the game starts, somehow Schrodinger's-catting the cards WITHIN the deck DURING the game, or merely influencing the probabilities that other people will call her bluffs and so on?

Well for me the things that I definitely want to do next turn are:

Head to Azerath - With Lex and either Cassandra or Mercy
Build housing for Lexcorp employees - With probably Carol
Investigate William Walsh - With probably Cerise and Nygma
Investigate the Second Riddler - Not sure with who yet
Learn about Space - With Meena preferably
Improve Combat Robots - With Karl
Create the automobile of tomorrow - With Louise and Caitlin
Have Jinx meet Jade Crock - With Jinx and maybe someone else depending on the DC

Click to shrink...

Hm. I think William Walsh can wait unless you know something about them that I don't. I'd like to try putting Meena on building her particle accelerator, since I suspect that will dramatically lower the DC of physics research.

I'd also like to do work on a specialized lab for Cold Engine research, because those DCs are dangerously high. While Louise and Caitlin may not be the people I want working on that specifically, it should be done before Louise gets too cranky about not being put on the project again, in my opinion.

Buy out STAR Labs
Recruit Amber Joyce and/or Jericho
Generally expand our businesses

Click to shrink...

Ideally I'd like to position ourselves to do the S.T.A.R. Labs buyout this turn as a Lex-led Stewardship megaproject...

hmm if we can Cassandra Stewardship up to a high lvl, we should give her the Tower in Jumb city and see what she can do with Jumb city without our help

Click to shrink...

That would be a reasonable goal for her when she's an adult (or teen genius of sixteen, under the game rules) and capable of taking on projects independently.

...Which will be like fifteen or twenty turns from now, so plenty of time to teach her Stewardship.

 

[Negation]

I kind of want Lex or our New Hire Manager to:-

[ ] Create an online storefront
DC 45

Strike while the iron is hot. I'm a bit wary of Ted Kord & Bruce Wayne as they eat into our Market Share.

On the other hand, studying Engineering to lower the DCs of developing the next L-phone is also important. We must crush WayneTel so hard that even Batman has to use our phones.

 

[Erumpet]

I kind of want Lex or our New Hire Manager to:-

[ ] Create an online storefront
DC 45

Strike while the iron is hot. I'm a bit wary of Ted Kord & Bruce Wayne as they eat into our Market Share.

On the other hand, studying Engineering to lower the DCs of developing the next L-phone is also important. We must crush WayneTel so hard that even Batman has to use our phones.

Click to shrink...

honestly I think instead of fighting Wayne tech we should simply buy the company out. the combo of Lex-Cass-Dahl-Lane-Mercy beats the 146 DC of buying controlling Wayne stock with a nice 166 minimum roll

 

[Reader of all]

Really want to fill up our missing spots we still do not have a head of lightyear entertainment or a head of future construction also I am with jonasquin on contacting azeroth we know trigon is gonna target them eventually and once they do we can swoop in and acquire a ton of magic users desperate for a new home.