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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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@eaglejarl @Velorien

SC Training -- Kei has 9 training blocks, Akane has 7. With 3 base XP:

Kei: +2.7 XP
Akane: +2.1 XP

Also, Kei's character sheet doesn't include Shadow Clone in her pyramid calculation. This is because, under "Data", the named range "NonElementalJutsu" doesn't extend to K20.
 
Pharos said:
And really, we did make a pretty bad mistake here. On a meta-level, I know why it happened. We're seeing this quest several layers removed, so the deaths of fictional criminals won't evoke nearly the same emotional or moral response. On top of that, I think it's safe to say that this player base is on average not very emotional or moral in the first place.
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The first part of your post I agree with, but not so much this. I think fundamentally at least a decent portion of the player base believes in uplift, or something close enough to be compatible. And you don't need to be emotional to have conviction in your ideal.

I do agree it's a meta problem though. We knew we had to deal with Haru. It was a thing that needed to be dealt with, but not necessarily the just urgent. But "two plans from now" sometimes means two days from now. And in this case, meant three weeks later. Which is a huge difference in universe, but it doesn't feel different for us. Heck, if we had mentioned it to Akane right off the bat but waited for the Isan crew to return, we might have been okay. And there were people voting for plans that involved dealing with Haru.
Interestingly, for a very dynamic preferential voting system, it does end up having some first past the post issues in that if a play is written or slightly modified and made multiple times, and keeps getting the second number of votes, it doesn't get enacted, even with consistent support. And that's fine, that's just how the quest is, and a thing we can work around. But it does mean that sometimes, things get done later than some of us would like. And sometimes, later is 3 weeks, not two days.
 
Guiding Bolt said:
I don't fully understand the goal of [] Action Plan: Even Hazous can crack. It reads to me like we're trying to guilt trip Akane just as much as we're trying to resolve the issue.
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The goal is:
1 Attack the underlying issue of the Hazou/Akane relationship, in which Akane idealize Hazou as Uplift Incarnate
2 Let Hazou realize under how much stress he is ,how it is getting to him and how bad what he he did is.
3 Give Akane the context of why Hazou switched from "Uplift" to "Let's ignore some civilians dying"
4 Let Hazou talk about his problems, something i'm pretty sure he rarely does.

Still, it is a good point, I'll try to soften the tone of the plan
 
[X] Action Plan: Whiplash is Peak Performance
Word Count: 299

Seventh Path:
  • Declare (if necessary): We've produced enough HOWS to not be limited by quantity.
  • Prepare and test ways to hide the seals under rocks so the light doesn't show.
  • Go to the Great Seal and place the HOWS.
  • Take a sample of rock near there (not from the Great Seal!)
    • Record details about the Great Seal material -- color, luster, texture, shapes.
Asuma:
  • Probably not chasing the Arachnid Scroll -- Rock's probably found it already with a facility there.
  • Dragon update: Apocalypse delayed. The Great Seal is made out of a strange stone.
    • Does Leaf intelligence have any leads on the rock, or types of rock like it?
    • Does Leaf have stone-carving techniques that are precise enough for sealwork?
Akane (when she's ready):
  • Goal: don't invalidate her feelings or absolve Hazou, just set expectations and determine next steps.
  • Internally: we want to make the world a better place for everyone, yet we've made plenty of bad choices on that path.
    • Akane and Kei find Uplift in their ideals, while Noburi and Mari are more practical. What should our role be?
  • We took the wrong approach with Haru because we failed to evaluate the situation morally. We realize this is wrong.
    • Uplift is an ideal, and when we couldn't identify the right action, we should have asked for help from the Team.
    • We're sorry, and grateful that you said something when we didn't live up to our ideals.
    • Don't pressure her to accept the apology.
  • We need to take steps on Haru's actions. Since Akane sees more clearly on this issue, what would she recommend?
  • Generally, we haven't shared Uplift enough within Gouketsu. Do you think we should educate our people on Uplift so they know these actions are unacceptable?
  • Unless Akane wants to engage any further, give her space afterwards.


Feedback much appreciated. We get to do world-saving 7th path stuff (yay!) and high stakes conversation with the guy that's two steps from killing us (yay!) and whiplash immediately to calmly handling interpersonal conflict (yay?). I'm hoping that ej enjoys the tone shifts.
 
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Lord Marshal said:
  • Hazou:
    • Akane is right, you saved Daizen, and you just forgot about civilians?
    • This is not Uplift, and you didn't even think about it.
  • Akane & Ino (OPSEC if necesssary)
    • You fucked up. You didn't even realize it.
      • You shouldn't be capable of doing that: An Hazou without Uplift shouldn't even exist.
    • It's too much.
      • It's been never-ending parade of impossible tasks and tragedies
      • Ending in a 3d seal built by the Sage to seal an horde of SS-Rank monsters that will kill everything, unless you, the barely chunin sealmaster, fixes it.
        • Orochimaru is Orochimaru, Asuma half-believes it's just a lie and the summons hate you.
    • You're streched too thin, and started leaving things behind, because you...just cannot deal with them. You're only one person.
    • These are not excuses. You're not special: Jiraiya? Better than you. Many people better than you gave up, in their little ways.
      • You cannot do that, because once you do it and accept it, it's over.
    • But it seems just wanting it is not enough, under pressure, it just happens.
    • You're scared, because that is worse than dying.
    • You understand how much of a betrayal that was not only to her, but also to himself. Whatever action Akane wants to take, you understand.
    • But to be clear: You have no intention of giving up. If you break, you just need to pick up the pieces and keep going.
      • If you stop feeling, then you'll just need to fight yourself too to realize Uplift. It's simple as that.
    • Thank Akane, without her, you would have never realized it.
    • To be sincere, you have no idea what to do. You don't really have a choice.
      • What should you do?
    • You wanted to give her time but...the sooner the HOWS are put the better, and well...
      • SS-Rank monsters and all.
  • Kumokogo
    • Bring HOWS, explain lifespan/how to tell if they need replacing.
    • Pitch Ami's Crusader idea.
      • Condor Scouts are visiting to verify Dragons exist, on Enma's recommendation. Pardon us if that's rude.
    • Describe landmarks around Rock fort, verify it's the same island/lake.
    • Manage research time expectations.
      • Any lore helps. How long have arachnids guarded it? Did Kumokogo see its creation?
    • Are they allowed to use seals?
      • If yes, explain the Kamizake Implosion Seals Plan
      • Exercise proper respect
    • Apply HOWS to Great Seal, ensure functionality, get out.
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Changed the plan a bit. Added:
  • Thank Akane, without her, you would have never realized it.
  • To be sincere, you have no idea what to do. You don't really have a choice.
    • What should you do?
And eliminated redudant phrases to soften the tones of the Akane section.
 
[X] Everyone is Something to Someone
Word Count: 289
  • Ino and Akane
    • Hazou needs to vent to regain focus/better himself. Would you be okay listening?
    • Apologize. Hazou agrees with Akane 100%
      • He needs support most when he makes mistakes.
      • Lately it feels like everyone is closing doors in his face for his fuckups
        • It feels like it always has to be him fixing interpersonal issues. Akane/Noburi steady the boat but when it's sinking everyone looks to Hazou like he can fix anything
          • He's no social spec/therapist. Asking for help this time upset more people.
          • He's constantly putting out others' fires, but when he burns he feels met with scorn/disappointment. Everyone supports him when he's meeting their self-image of him but when he falls short it feels like it evaporates
    • Explain whatever else Hazou feels
    • Ami-style training: Try not to cry
  • Kumokogo
    • Pitch Ami's Crusader idea. How could it be improved?
      • Condor Scouts are visiting to verify Dragons exist, on Enma's recommendation. Pardon us if that's rude.
    • Describe landmarks around Rock fort, verify it's the same island/lake Kumokogo described.
      • Rock would capture/kill Hazou. If Scroll is there, Hazou likely can't access it.
      • If they have it, why haven't they signed it? Hopefully they train a Sealmaster...
    • Manage research time expectations.
      • Any lore/history helps. How long have arachnids guarded it? Did Kumokogo see its creation/meet the Sage?
    • Can we take a rock sample of the Great Seal?
    • (Unless it's forbidden) If plan to reach the Great Seal is the same as before, kamikaze troops could wear implosion seals. Not expecting much, but Implosion seals could damage lungs if detonated near Dragons' chests.
      • Show proper respect.
      • This isn't depleting your population right?
    • Apply HOWS to Great Seal, ensure functionality, get out.
 
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I feel the most important part of the Akane plans is that Hazou didn't to an "Somewhat missed Uplift" but a "Massive emotional failure". We cannot treat "Hazou didn't really care about civilian getting killed by a Clan member" as an "Opsie", unless Hazou has an emotional reason to prioritize Daizen's life over the one of the Yakuzas
 
For what it's worth, Daizen was heavily intwined as a symbol of the afterlife at the time. Daizen was also directly in front of him being tortured while the Yakuza were a couple levels of abstraction removed.
 
Shrooms said:
  • Kumokogo
    • Bring HOWS, explain lifespan/how to tell if they need replacing.
    • Pitch Ami's Crusader idea. How could it be improved?
      • Condor Scouts are visiting to verify Dragons exist, on Enma's recommendation. Pardon us if that's rude.
    • Describe landmarks around Rock fort, verify it's the same island/lake Kumokogo described.
      • Rock would capture/kill Hazou. If Scroll is there, Hazou likely can't access it.
      • If they have it, why haven't they signed it? Hopefully they train a Sealmaster...
    • Manage research time expectations.
      • Any lore/history helps. How long have arachnids guarded it? Did Kumokogo see its creation/meet the Sage?
    • (Unless it's forbidden) If plan to reach the Great Seal is the same as before, kamikaze troops could wear implosion seals. Not expecting much, but Implosion seals could damage lungs if detonated near Dragons' chests.
      • Show proper respect.
      • This isn't depleting your population right?
    • Apply HOWS to Great Seal, ensure functionality, get out.
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HOWS has already been explained to Kumokugo. Also, take a sample of the chakra rock?
 
Did we know that Haru was only killing Yakuza in order to investigate the bank run, and stopped after the investigation ended?

I feel like it does change things if we knew that Haru wasn't possibly killing more people during that three week period.
 
Pharos said:
Did we know that Haru was only killing Yakuza in order to investigate the bank run, and stopped after the investigation ended?

I feel like it does change things if we knew that Haru wasn't possibly killing more people during that three week period.
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eaglejarl said:
Asuma shook his head tiredly. "He's been turning the Yakuza into a Gōketsu intelligence and protection service by murdering them until they get him whatever he's looking for. First it was the people who beat up Granny Mayuka. Then it was punitive murder because a pair of your teenagers slipped their bodyguards and got assaulted. Then it was because they didn't have information about the causes of the bank run. Look, just talk to him. I don't honestly care that much—the Merchant Council aren't going to call an embargo over a bunch of criminals—but he needs to be more discreet."
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Nope, he killed people in two separate instances before that.
 
Eisenhelm said:
Well, now i get why he did what he did, he was justified in the first two occasions and therefore felt like he was doing the right thing when he killed for information.
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Haru is not a bad person, there Is an argument to be made that the yakuza deserve worst that we gave the Hagomoro due to their assault of our civilian clansmates.
 
Halberdier said:
Interestingly, for a very dynamic preferential voting system, it does end up having some first past the post issues in that if a play is written or slightly modified and made multiple times, and keeps getting the second number of votes, it doesn't get enacted, even with consistent support.
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Very much true and also the reason I have become increasingly less interested in voting myself, incidentally.
 
PSA: There has been some discussion about whether MEW could be used to produce detailed work, potentially suitable for use in 3D sealing.

Hazō doesn't know for sure if it's possible and no one currently alive uses MEW to produce detailed work but the general consensus is that yes, with enough effort it can be done. In game terms you would need to level MEW up quite a bit. There might be additional requirements when you got there.
 
A reminder: the pangolins had to figure out how to activate seals with their chakra system. Teaching spiders how to do it might not work as well as you guys appear to think.
 
[X] No Time For Drama, the World is Ending
Word Count: ~297
  • Smart Folk
    • Acquire copies of the first draft of Ami's Crusade document from Ami/Keiko/Whoever has it.
    • Refine a strategy of reaching the butte to place the HOWS more safely with Keiko/Ami/Shikamaru, whomever is available.
      • We promised to be "safe", afterall.
  • Haru Situation
    • Ask Mari to investigate Haru's potential murders, full report of who he killed and whether they deserved it.
    • Punitive duty for Haru in the near term. Maybe a gross, unpleasant chakra beast extermination mission?
      • Step a goddamn toe out of line until Mari's investigation is through and you'll regret it. The world is ending, we do not have time for this.
  • Seventh Path:
    • Pitch Ami's Crusader idea. How could it be improved?
      • Condor Scouts are visiting to verify Dragons exist, on Enma's recommendation. Pardon us if that's rude.
    • Declare (if necessary): We've produced enough HOWS that we're limited by the time needed to activate them, not the number of seals.
      • Teach any Arachnids that are willing to activate seals and to hide them.
    • Prepare and test suitable ways of hiding the seals so the light doesn't show. (Paint? Burying them?)
    • Go to the Great Seal and place the HOWS.
      • If possible, test implosion seals versus the Dragons during the distraction.
    • Take a sample of the rock near there (not from the Great Seal!)
  • Asuma:
    • Probably not going after the Arachnid Scroll -- Rock's probably found it already with a facility there.
    • Update on the situation: Apocalypse delayed, we have a rock sample to try to figure out how to reproduce the seal.
      • Does Leaf intelligence have any leads on this rock, or types of rock like it?
      • Does Leaf have any precise stonecarving techniques that could be used to make seals out of stone?
Four-ish scenes. I wanted a plan that just let Akane have some time and addressed the world ending, since that is what actually matters.
 
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[X] No Time For Drama, the World is Ending

Asking Asuma if the spies have data on the rock is just plain weird. Asking who among the ninja would have experience whit stone (as a defensive mechanism or túnel fighting) we may even want to ask the pangolins due to their military engineering.
 
Kiba said:
A reminder: the pangolins had to figure out how to activate seals with their chakra system. Teaching spiders how to do it might not work as well as you guys appear to think.
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The plans that have this issue may be able to fix it by using LBF to activate the seals instead. We failed to make gunwands before because our mechanical skill level was way too low. But now we can just hire some carpenter or something to make a basic design that orients the seals correctly. It's more of a bomb than a gun, so we don't even need them pointing a specific way. A simple wooden box with a hole in the top (to activate the seals) should do the trick.
Something like this:
  • Have simple contraptions made by carpenters beforehand so LBF can be used to activate implosion seals.
Edit:
For clarification, the problem I'm referring to is that wasps/spiders cannot activate implosion seals themselves, and would likely need a lot of research and training to learn.
 
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eaglejarl said:
PSA: There has been some discussion about whether MEW could be used to produce detailed work, potentially suitable for use in 3D sealing.

Hazō doesn't know for sure if it's possible and no one currently alive uses MEW to produce detailed work but the general consensus is that yes, with enough effort it can be done. In game terms you would need to level MEW up quite a bit. There might be additional requirements when you got there.
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What does leveling up MEW allows Hazo to do again?
 
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