So looking at our vote at the moment we have 4 people for Plan "Growth Potential" and 1 for Plan "Just the things I like." I'll keep the vote up for now as I'm still preparing things for the next update, but I just need to do some quick rolls ancillary to anything important, it's mostly for establishing how tight-knit the Lee family is. Jiu doesn't have any siblings, so I don't need to roll for that, and these rolls are more for flavor than anything mechanical.
EDIT: Huh, so Jiu is definitely a Daddy's girl, regardless of how the vote goes for her dad's success. Her parents meanwhile love each other very much, which I wasn't expecting. Still, at least she's only on okay terms with her mom, probably due to how rebellious she is.
Eh... Arcane Background isn't some kind of unstoppable force. If we really want them to see though it we can provide magic for the purpose. Mages can and do do it in similar situations.
Eh... Arcane Background isn't some kind of unstoppable force. If we really want them to see though it we can provide magic for the purpose. Mages can and do do it in similar situations.
Rolls in ExWoD, and in the World of Darkness in general use a d10 system. Almost every roll uses a combination of one Attribute + one Ability, adding a number of dice for each based on their ratings. Occasionally, a single stat's rating is used instead, often Willpower or some unique stat. The Exalted in particular have their unique stat called "Permanent Essence" or "Essence Rating," though its rarely rolled for Sidereals.
Every roll has a Difficulty, typically 6, but never more than 9 or less than 3. If a rolled die meets or exceeds the Difficulty, it counts as a success. 1 success gives a bare minimum victory which might have drawbacks. 3 successes is a complete victory with no issues. Anything past 3 just makes the success even better. If a roll's difficulty would go over 9, it instead adds 1 extra success required for the roll to succeed per point of increase beyond 9 (so Difficulty "10" instead makes the bare minimum require 2, a complete victory requires 4, etc.).
As a general guideline, here are the levels for what a roll's Difficulty might be, taken from Vampire the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition's guidelines:
Difficulty Level
Approximate Difficulty of Action
10+
Beyond what is possible, requires superhuman prowess to attempt
9
Very Difficult (Walking a tightrope)
8
Difficult (Convincing an officer that your illegal goods AREN'T that)
7
Challenging (Locating a whisper's origin)
6
Standard (Shooting a gun, persuading someone with no preconceptions)
5
Straightforward (Persuading someone with aligned emotions)
4
Easy (Following a trail of blood)
3
Trivial (Looking for a familiar face)
Whenever a character rolls a 1 on a die, it instead subtracts a success from the total, potentially dooming an otherwise good roll to failure. If a character rolls no successes and at least one 1, it instead becomes a Botch, aka a crit fail. The more 1s rolled for the botch, the worse it essentially gets. The Exalted, being blessed with divine puissance, have Caste Abilities and Attributes which do not lose successes when 1s are rolled, though they CAN still botch. On the other hand, Attributes and Abilities with a rating of 4 or higher gain a specialty: Any roll done which falls under that specialty treats every roll of 10 as 2 successes instead of 1.
Some rolls are instead "contested," where two (or more) opponents roll against each other, generally but not always at the same Difficulty, and total up their successes. Whoever gets more successes is the winner of this contest.
EDIT: Apparently I've been using the wrong rules this whole time. The Difficulty, per V20 which ExWoD uses for the most part, is equal to the opponent's dice pool, or some other relevant trait the opponent has. So if two characters contest each other, one with 5 dice and the other 7, the 5 dice guy will roll against Difficulty 7, and the 7 dice guy against Difficulty 5. Sorry for the confusion.
For the purposes of this quest, there will be occasions in which a character might roll for a "passive" thing outside of voter's control like getting an initial survey, resisting the use of an enemy power, etc. These sorts of rolls might done in-thread or out, depending on my availability, because it could be a mystery roll that I don't want to reveal the results for too early. On the other hand, actions which voters decide on will ALWAYS be rolled in-thread in order to maintain integrity with this story's direction. AKA if you get a really good or bad roll, I don't want to have to screenshot the result off-thread just to prove I'm not making it up.
Combat is a bit different from the usual action fare. Combat actions are always complete successes so long as 1 total success is reached. Such actions still want as many successes as possible, because the opposition generally have the opportunity to counter those actions with rolls of their own in some fashion. For example:
A standard attack requires a roll of Dexterity + (Relevant Ability) against a Difficulty of 6, but the Difficulty can change depending on the maneuver. A trip or a shove is harder to pull off compared to a typical hit, after all.
After the roll is done, the opposition can CHOOSE to Defend against the attack if they have not already done so (this takes up their action for the turn/next turn, so they might not want to), rolling Dexterity + (Relevant Ability) against Difficulty 6. Every success the defender rolls is directly subtracted from the attacker's total. If there are no more successes for the attack remaining, the attack fails.
If there are successes remaining, the total is reduced by 1 (the cost for hitting) and the attack proceeds to the damage step. Damage depends on the weapon used + the remaining successes, so great accuracy can make a weak attack hit harder. Unlike attacks, this is almost ALWAYS done against Difficulty 6, with few exceptions.
If there are any successes remaining for damage, the opposition rolls Soak is possible. Soak varies from target to target, but is typically Stamina + Armor. Some types of damage can't be soaked by some opponents, and for those the Soak step is skipped. For example, most humans cannot soak Lethal (such as swords or guns) or Aggravated (such as lasers or supernatural powers) Damage. The Soak roll, like Damage, is almost ALWAYS rolled against Difficulty 6, and each success rolled reduces the total damage by 1.
For every remaining success of damage after Soak, the opponent suffers 1 Health Level of Damage. The vast majority of significant human opponents can't take more than 6 levels of damage without passing out/dying, and the grunts even less than that.
There are other rules which the Exalted benefit from which will be explained at a later date, but this is the standard by which ALL characters operate.
Alright, with no changes in our vote leader, I think its time to close the vote early. I have the next update up and ready, and we'll be moving for this segment into short voting periods as we go on a turn-by-turn basis for this infiltration segment.
So yes, enjoy Jiu and Tommy's interactions in the future, though it might take some time for me to get into the swing of things for Tommy's voice.
Scheduled vote count started by Critian Caceorte on Dec 24, 2024 at 3:27 AM, finished with 23 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Plan Growth Potential
-[X] Just using my name as-is.
-[X] Made a considerable fortune he couldn't achieve back in his homeland (The Lee Family is Filthy Rich)
-[X] Dressing dark and moodily, like that "emo" thing that's becoming popular (Clothing)
-[X] Maria Giovanni, Padrona of the West Coast United States (6th Gen)
-[X] Getting lectured by her sire on her mistakes (Practical Weakness)
-[X] A man stomping and shouting (Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style)
-[X][First] Tommy, the Smiling Street Kid
-[X][Last] Seth, who is useless in a fight
[X]Plan Just the things I like:
-[X] Just using my name as-is.
-[X] Made a decent living for himself and numerous connections (The Lee Family is Well-Connected)
-[X] Getting a few piercings in different places (Piercings)
-[X] Looking at her hands in confusion (Disciplinary Weakness)
-[X] Capo Surem of the Pisanob (8th Gen)
-[X] A man stomping and shouting (Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style)
-[X][First] Amanda, the Empathetic New Parent
-[X][Last] Alex, who is dumb as a rock
[X] Plan Growth Potential
-[X] Just using my name as-is.
-[X] Made a considerable fortune he couldn't achieve back in his homeland (The Lee Family is Filthy Rich)
-[X] Dressing dark and moodily, like that "emo" thing that's becoming popular (Clothing)
-[X] Maria Giovanni, Padrona of the West Coast United States (6th Gen)
-[X] Getting lectured by her sire on her mistakes (Practical Weakness)
-[X] A man stomping and shouting (Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style)
-[X][First] Tommy, the Smiling Street Kid
-[X][Last] Seth, who is useless in a fight
Normally, when you say that a company makes things that "belong in a toilet," they mean that it's shit. The Weller's Supply Company however quite literally made the things which belonged in toilets, tubs and sinks, such as pipes and the actual basins themselves. The stuff they made was "affordable", which was the word you use when something was made for cheap but people think it looks nice. But, something that folks didn't realize was that the stuff you get for cheap you end up paying for later. Usually, that meant it broke down quickly and needed repairs. Here? It meant the making of something much worse.
I didn't know it at the time, but Weller's was supplementing their material requirements not by using, I don't know, plastic instead of ceramic or metal, but by using demons instead, as you do. Honestly, if you told me more companies came to that same "genius" idea, I wouldn't have been surprised. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Suffice to say, it was a bad place that would do the world more good to destroy than to save.
I had arrived at the factory's location with my personal sports car. For most people, that was an utter luxury, particularly those also in high school. For me, it only meant I needed to save a few months worth of allowance to afford. As a result of my father's rapidly rising fortunes through his computer software company, I had gained a substantial degree of money for basically no obligations other than maintaining my good GPA. Sure, my parents preferred if I had just invested those funds for later, but, being honest, I had no idea what to do with all of the money I had. It wasn't like I got it from a job, or needed it to live on my own, after all. The car was about the only time I had ever needed to "save" for anything, and only because I hadn't bothered to check for models that were used.
Honestly, you'd think that my parents would be more concerned about where I was at midnight that night, considering just how much they loved me and tried to prepare for my future. Well, Dad definitely loved me, to the point that he likely lost several business deals by coming to all of my school events. The two of us were thick as thieves, literally in my case. Mom did her best to be there for me as well, but was more concerned with being a housewife than being Super Mom. That isn't to say she didn't love me at all, but it didn't take Cupid to see how much she loved spending time with her husband in the rare moments he could spare compared to just me.
Jiu Lee 1st Intimacy: Father (Familial Love)
In any case, there was a flipside to all the love they showered me with: They trusted me. Perhaps a bit too much, if I'm being honest. They never questioned where I went late at night, or even seemed to notice that I WAS gone at those times. It was useful, though I couldn't deny how guilty it made me. Even as I snuck out to see Sofia on occasion, I couldn't help the pang in my heart that said that I was betraying my parents. But…
Jiu Lee 2nd Intimacy: Sofia Rossellini (Best Friend)
I had more priorities than just them. At least, that's what I told myself. Sofia was so dear to me, but it wasn't just her. There was something else in my life that gave me the courage to do this, to go against my parent's best judgement. If I had to put it into words, the best way I could describe it is-
[] Write-in Jiu's 3rd Intimacy. This can be an emotion she feels about a particular person, group or thing, or it could be a moral/principle she maintains about her life. An example of the former is "Sofia's Sire (Disdain)" or "Mysteries (Intense Fascination)". The latter, "The resources I have should be used to make me happy" or "The Supernatural cannot be trusted with guarding the mundane." I retain veto rights if necessary.
Wow, is all of this introspection making me ramble. Apologies, hypothetical reader, I should get to the point. The reason I traveled to the factory in the first place was because of a feeling I got. A… prompting, as I heard one devout Christian girl say back in high school, that I should be here for something important. As if all of the secrets in my life had their answers in this manufacturing plant. From the outside looking in, that seems crazy, and it was. But there was a reason I was there that night.
I just didn't know what it really was.
When I got out of my car, I looked around the factory area. It had been… surprisingly easy to get this location. No guard patrol, no barbed wire fence, it almost seemed arrogant, as if nothing could touch the place. Considering what was inside the facility itself, maybe they just trusted that anyone who tried to sneak in would die almost instantly.
Or, as Fate decreed, destinies aligned in the first proper fashion since Creation's demise.
Regardless, that gave me time to look over the place to see if there was anything immediately visible that seemed important. I mean, if I was supposed to be there, surely it had to be noteworthy, right?
A/N: As this takes place before Jiu and Tommy's Exaltation proper, their Attributes and Abilities have been lowered to mortal levels. Their Abilities with added dots on the character sheet (denoted with a +) do not have those added dots, and the following stats have been reduced to the following:
My initial lookover at the area showed that the place wasn't as defenceless as I thought it was. First, the factory doors looked solidly built, though the typical key lock could probably be picked. Next, while the door to the rooftop seemed pretty undefended and made of wood, that same rooftop had barbed wire on the top edges (but why not just have a barbed wire fence then?). Third, though I didn't see it at first because the factory blocked it, there was the bobbing flashlight's glare illuminating the path of a roving guard. I didn't see any more besides the one, but they probably had at least one more in the factory itself. Couldn't tell if they had a dog with them either.
Yet, that was still not the most strict sort of security I'd dealt with, and that mysterious thing kept prompting me to keep going inside. Before I did anything though, I had another issue to deal with. Namely, the little kid who was also standing nearby who hadn't realized that I was also there.
The… let's just go with kid, I'm still not sure what's up with Tommy, seemed to be focused solely on the factory over anything else. They were short, really short, looked more like a middle schooler than the 14 year old they told me later they were. Scrawny as well, and wearing the dirt caked clothes of someone who was actually poor, not just trying to look like it like I sometimes did. It was obvious they weren't supposed to be here either, but that left me in a bit of a dilemma: Should I try and just sneak past them, or let them know I was here? With a sigh, I picked up a rock from off the ground and threw it at a nearby bush, causing it to shake noisily.
If the kid had been surprised, I could barely tell. It was only the slight hitch in their shoulders before the smile appeared on their face. A smile that widened when they saw my fancy car. "Well, hello to you too Ms. Super Spy. Fancy seeing you here?"
I just rolled my eyes. "Look, I don't know why you're here. Both of us obviously aren't supposed to be here, so could we just, try not to get in each other's way?"
They shrugged their shoulders in indifference. "I mean, I don't mind helpin' you out if you don't mind me joinin' in. No need to split up and get caught by security."
I should have said no. Really, that should have been my immediate answer. And yet-
-The circle MUST be reformed-
-I didn't. Maybe… this kid could be useful.
After giving it a moment of thought, I started negotiating. "I'm in charge here. My operation," because if this kid believed that I was some kind of super-spy, I certainly wasn't going to say otherwise. "You follow my lead, and what I say."
"Sure thing, Super Spy. You CIA or something?" That was the foreign spy office, but, again, not going to break the illusion.
"Something like that." Glancing back at the factory, and the guard sweeping around the place, I considered our options.
Jiu and Tommy are both pretty good at breaking into this facility in terms of lockpicking, with Tommy having the skills and Jiu the talent, moreso compared to physically breaking and entering. They're… not great at finding fine details like hidden cameras, though Tommy will do much better when they're inside the factory where they can use Survival. Combat won't be terrible, but not great either. Climbing the facility is hazardous considering the barbed wire.
So, what do you want to do? You may take 2 preparatory actions, 1 for each character, and 1 entrance action. Some actions will permit both characters to perform them, which will allow them to contribute extra dice to the effort. Some entrance actions require a prerequisite prep action.
[][Prep] Take out the guard boldly (?/High Difficulty, will initiate an encounter, risks blowing stealth, could stop enemy reinforcements if successful.)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Take out the guard sneakily (??? Difficulty, will initiate an encounter if failed, risks blowing stealth, could stop enemy reinforcements if successful.)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Bribe the guard with money (Jiu Exclusive; ?/High Difficulty, will initiate an encounter if failed, risks blowing stealth, could stop enemy reinforcements if successful.)(-1 Prep)
[][Prep] Climb the building (Difficulty 8, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to climb, requires 3+ successes to avoid damage from the barbed wire)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Look for Cameras (Difficulty 7, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, success does not guarantee that there are any cameras there.)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Look for Vents (Difficulty 6, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, opens up entry options)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Assist the one breaking in (Difficulty 6, ?/? Dice to help, must choose the person NOT breaking in to help)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
[][Prep] Check the… vibes of the place (Difficulty 6, 5 (J)/1 (T) dice to analyze, will give a clue regarding the supernatural here)
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Prep] Write-in another action to take which is not listed here. I'll provide a difficulty for it, if I don't need to veto it.
-[] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[] Tommy (-1 Prep)
-[] Both (-2 Prep)
[][Entry] Pick the Ground Floor Lock (Difficulty 7, 5 (J)/5 (T) dice to pick the lock. Takes time to pull off, meaning less time inside.)
-[] Jiu
-[] Tommy
[][Entry] Push The Door in (Difficulty 8, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to break the door down. Quick if successful, and will provide more time inside.)
-[] Jiu
-[] Tommy
[][Entry] Pick the Roof Lock (Difficulty 5, 5 (J)/5 (T) dice to pick, Requires Climb the Building to succeed)
-[] Jiu
-[] Tommy
[][Entry] Push the Roof Door in (Difficulty 4, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to break the door down, Requires Climb the Building to succeed.)
-[] Jiu
-[] Tommy
[][Entry] Through the Vents (Tommy Exclusive; Difficulty 5, 2 (T) dice to navigate vents to get inside, Requires Look For Vents to succeed.)
The Vote will End (yes, definitely this time) tomorrow at 7:00 PM PST (24 Hours from Now) Please format your votes as a plan, EXCEPT for the Intimacy vote, which should be kept separate to encourage other votes.
Author's Note: So here it is, the start of our mini-turns for this factory encounter. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be doing the rolls for the actions in-thread, and probably some others there as well. While Tommy's good at breaking and entering, as well as social stuff, they aren't as physically inclined, which does hamper them at this early stage of the encounter. Still, once you get inside they should better.
As always, thank you those who voted, and if you have any questions let me know!
[X] Plan Vents and Vibes
-[X][Prep] Check the… vibes of the place (Difficulty 6, 5 (J)/1 (T) dice to analyze, will give a clue regarding the supernatural here)
--[X] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[X][Prep] Look for Vents (Difficulty 6, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, opens up entry options)
--[X] Tommy (-1 Prep)
--[X] Vents: Spend Willpower
[X][Entry] Through the Vents (Tommy Exclusive; Difficulty 5, 2 (T) dice to navigate vents to get inside, Requires Look For Vents to succeed.)
Reasoning
This is still a pentex building, the major threat is not the guards, they could at most be fomori and not among the most powerful (since those tend to be obvious). I think we should try to figure out more about the supernatural protections. We are as Exalts a lot more resistant to many of their tricks then their usual Garou enemies, but that does not mean we should get cocky. I am using excellency here because this seems like the kind of situation where you want as many successes as you can
Tommy isn't very good at looking for the vents... which is where the willpower comes in. We still have it at full and ensuring you have a success at an action you are not the best at is what it's for
Once we spot the vents getting though them is relatively easy
[X] 3rd Intimacy: The Occult (Fascination)
Voting for the intimacy as it's own thing since it does not synergize with anything in the plan. Seeing as Jiu is built up as a martial artist with a shot at magic and a necromancer friend being fascinated by magic seems like a good fit
Oh, I should probably mention: Any allusions to a certain plumbing manufacturer based in real world Seattle are of course completely coincidental. I am by no means suggesting that the Keller supply company is infested with evil pollution spirits.
-[X][Prep] Check the… vibes of the place (Difficulty 6, 5 (J)/1 (T) dice to analyze, will give a clue regarding the supernatural here)
--[X] Jiu (-1 Prep)
--[X] Vibes: Use Excellency
-[X][Prep] Look for Vents (Difficulty 6, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, opens up entry options)
--[X] Tommy (-1 Prep)
--[X] Vents: Spend Willpower
[X][Entry] Through the Vents (Tommy Exclusive; Difficulty 5, 2 (T) dice to navigate vents to get inside, Requires Look For Vents to succeed.)
Reasoning
This is still a pentex building, the major threat is not the guards, they could at most be fomori and not among the most powerful (since those tend to be obvious). I think we should try to figure out more about the supernatural protections. We are as Exalts a lot more resistant to many of their tricks then their usual Garou enemies, but that does not mean we should get cocky. I am using excellency here because this seems like the kind of situation where you want as many successes as you can
Tommy isn't very good at looking for the vents... which is where the willpower comes in. We still have it at full and ensuring you have a success at an action you are not the best at is what it's for
Once we spot the vents getting though them is relatively easy
Willpower is a stat which is runs from 1 - 10 instead of the usual 1-5, and doubles as both a dice pool and as a resource. The Willpower rating determines the maximum number of willpower points that a character starts out with, though they can temporarily go above their usual rating. Willpower can be spent once per way per action in the following ways, but not just once per action. So you can spend multiple points of Willpower, covering a different way each time:
One point of Willpower can grant an automatic +1 Success which cannot be negated by 1s or botches. This must be declared ahead of time, as @DragonParadox did with their plan.
Often times, a mental effect, either supernatural or not, can be negated for an action by a point of Willpower. This is stuff like intense fear, mind control, etc. It's very rare for Willpower to not be allowed for these sorts of things, and typically because there's a rules-reason why.
If a character suffers from a Derangement (essentially an impactful mental illness, we're talking Schizophrenia and not neurodivergency like ADHD here. I have to specify that because sadly White Wolf historically didn't always know the difference. LOOKING AT YOU, MALKAV!), they can put off its effects by spending Willpower.
If a character suffers from Wound Penalties, a point of Willpower can negate these for an action.
Some powers require the expenditure of Willpower to be used.
Willpower is recovered up to its natural rating at the start of a new "story," essentially a new saga for the quest. It can also be restored through other means, which can go above the character's max rating:
When a character has a good night's sleep, they recover 1 point of Willpower. I'm going to play fast and loose with this rule, because sometimes stories can take place all in one day, or over the course of weeks or months.
If the character achieves some impressive goal or contribution, it is up to my discretion to award a point of Willpower for that. Generally I'm not going to use this rule, because there are easier and more consistent methods for the Exalted that I'll get into.
If a character acts in a way that is heavily in-line with their general personality, for better or for worse, they regain a point of Willpower.
The Exalted have unique triggers for restoring Willpower based on their Caste. If they fulfill this condition, they regain 2 Willpower, and they can only gain this bonus once per scene. For Sidereals, this takes the form of: Woops, sorry, that's for Essence points and not Willpower. My mistake.
Chosen of Journeys: Causing, safeguarding, guiding or participating in a journey that Destiny demands must occur.
Chosen of Serenity: Bringing together different parties based on Fate's goals, or by bringing peace and joy to those in their direst hours.
Chosen of Battles: Instigating, manipulating the outcome of, or enabling conflicts in accordance with destiny's demands.
Chosen of Secrets: Preventing the world at large from learning of the supernatural world, including the existence and affairs of the Exalted; or by concealing or revealing secret knowledge according to Fate's decree.
Chosen of Endings: Bringing about conclusions, whatever form is required, according to fate's demands.
Finally, Willpower can be used as a dicepool to resist powers and persuasion (the latter is usually a benefit that only player characters benefit from, though I reserve the right to use it elsewhere.)
Jiu Lee and Tommy, as mortals, would normally start out at 2-3 Willpower, but since they are Exaltation candidates they instead start out at Willpower 5. This is great compared to the average (2 Willpower), but not exceptional.
Scheduled vote count started by Critian Caceorte on Dec 29, 2024 at 10:24 PM, finished with 6 posts and 3 votes.
[X] Plan Vents and Vibes
-[X][Prep] Check the… vibes of the place (Difficulty 6, 5 (J)/1 (T) dice to analyze, will give a clue regarding the supernatural here)
--[X] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[X][Prep] Look for Vents (Difficulty 6, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, opens up entry options)
--[X] Tommy (-1 Prep)
--[X] Vents: Spend Willpower
Alright with that result locked in place, it's time to do some rolls! As a reminder, Tommy will have 1 Success for their Looking for Vents option no matter what, and neither character at this time has an applicable Specialty due to the temporary dot decreases. Same thing with Caste Abilities.
Starting out with Jiu's roll. Perception 3 + Awareness 2 = 5 dice against Difficulty 6. So any results of 6 or above count as successes.
Result: 3 successes, since there's no Specialty. That's enough to get a solid read of the place from vibes alone, though obviously she won't be aware of the exact spookiness going on here. She will be aware that no vampires are in there though.
Next is Tommy's roll to find the vents. Perception 1 + Alertness 1 = 2 dice against Difficulty 6, with +1 success on top of it.
Result: 2 successes - 1 from the 1 = 1 success. Tommy finds some available vents, but the only ones they find are in bright and visible areas, so they'll need to do some stealth rolls to sneak in. I'll just roll for that now: Dexterity 2 + Stealth 2 = 4 dice against Difficulty 6.
Result part 2: 2 successes, they get to the vents, though faint footprints from their shoes can be seen when up-close. Hopefully that won't lead to anything in the future.
Finally, Tommy will roll to enter the vents. Perception 1 + Athletics 1 = 2 dice against Difficulty 5.
Result: 1 success, Tommy gets in, albeit in a clattering matter. The guard outside doesn't hear it, and I'll do a mystery roll out-of-thread to see if anyone else inside does.
So yeah, overall a success albeit with some expected complications, since after all we're dealing with inexperienced teens here. I'll get started on writing up part 2 as soon as I can.
Vote Results:
[X] Plan Vents and Vibes
-[X][Prep] Check the… vibes of the place (Difficulty 6, 5 (J)/1 (T) dice to analyze, will give a clue regarding the supernatural here)
--[X] Jiu (-1 Prep)
-[X][Prep] Look for Vents (Difficulty 6, 3 (J)/2 (T) dice to spot, opens up entry options)
--[X] Tommy (-1 Prep)
--[X] Vents: Spend Willpower
It didn't take more than a quick glance at the factory to get a sense that something was off about it. Being near vampires so often gave me a sense of whenever I was near one, a raising of the hairs on my arms as the chill from their dead bodies seemed to radiate off of them. But this, this was different. Looking at the place, not even the smokestacks on top, gave this cloying feeling in my lungs, like there wasn't enough oxygen in my lungs. I actually gave a quick, quiet cough to alleviate the sensation, which caused the kid (again, Tommy as I found out later) to give me an odd look.
"I'm fine," I said, trying not to let my nerves show on my face. "Just… when we get in there, be careful about the air. The factory's probably filled with smog even when stuff's not turned on. Difficulty to see, difficult to breathe…" I trailed off.
Tommy rolled their eyes. "Yeah, yeah." But they still didn't push back on my warning, which was good.
Jiu (and by proxy Tommy) has found out that there are no vampires inside, and the presence of SOMETHING to do with smog. Will provide a bonus to certain rolls inside.
When Tommy told me that it would probably be easier (and less conspicuous) to find an available vent to crawl in then waste time picking a lock, I agreed. Speaking from experience, while most locks were easier to pick than people realized, they also often took more time to pick than people realized, especially if you wanted to get in quickly. So, while I was considering the factory's presence, the kid went off to scout the outside for an available vent.
When they returned, their easy grin was no longer there. "There's vents right, and I can pro'ly reach them, but… they've all got lights on them. I'll get in quick when the guard isn't looking, but it might not work."
I sighed softly and nodded. "Fair. If it seems like you can't get in quickly, just get back here, don't worry about pushing it."
"Gotcha boss lady." They gave me a thumbs-up and then dashed back over to the far side of the building.
Vent Stealth: 2 Successes (Dif 6; 7, 7, 4, 2)
Looking past the corner of the building, Tommy saw the patrolling guard walk past their best chance for getting in before crawling towards the vent. Just as the guard turned past another corner, the kid leapt up, grabbing onto the edge of the metal square and pulling themselves up to crawl inside. Even though the smoke was probably supposed to go through the smokestacks (its why they're called that, right?), there was still an intense scent of smoke and detritus. With a grimace, Tommy pulled their t-shirt's collar up enough to cover their nose as they waddled inside.
Unbeknownst to them, their muddy shoes left a faint trail of mud through the pipes starting on the outside. While they were discreet enough not to catch the eye immediately, those shoeprints could still be seen by a dedicated investigation. If the guards were to become more alert, they might spot it, but for now, it was fine.
Hard to spot evidence of Tommy's intrusion has been left behind. This won't matter much after this event, but it might be important in the middle of it.
Meanwhile, the navigating part of this vent adventure went rather poorly. With how dark the vents were from no lights alongside the increasing smoky smell, it was no wonder that Tommy couldn't see shit. Which led to plenty of impacts from flesh hitting metal, NOISY impacts. Noisy enough that it drew the attention of the single guard inside the facility, who went to inspect the vent built into the short hall's ceiling.
Despite actually putting in the effort to walk close to the vent's exit and shine the flashlight through the large grill at the end, the guard still somehow managed to miss Tommy's body through the sweeps of his flashlight. With a snort, he muttered, "probably just a bird or some fucking critter." After waiting precious moments for the guard to pass, Tommy slowly crawled forward and pushed the loose grill aside enough to fall out with catlike tread. And instantly, they regretted it.
If the smell was bad before, it was actively suffocating at this point. How the guard seemed to not notice just how awful the air quality was… well, Tommy had no clue. Regardless, they had to finish this quickly, or else pass out. Though, if they COULD manage to stay awake long enough… Well, doing a little investigating could help give them a bigger scope of the scene.
How long does Tommy stay in this initial foray of the facility? Thanks to Jiu's clue, they're conserving their breaths as much as possible, but this literally toxic air (which the guard is curiously immune to) will slowly drain away their vitality in the form of damage over time. This penalty will only kick in after the aforementioned actions occur, it will not impact the performance of those actions as they happen.
[][Duration] They'll find the exit and get out (Tommy will only navigate to the ground door and get out. They will not suffer any physical issues because of this.)
[][Duration] They'll do a little exploring on their way out (Tommy will gain 1 free Explore Action. They will suffer from a -1 penalty to all actions afterwards due to short-term deprivation.)
[][Duration] They'll do a tour of the place, hacking and coughing all the way. (Tommy will gain 2 free Explore Actions. They will suffer from a -2 penalty to all actions afterwards due to long-term oxygen deprivation.)
And what will they do inside the facility? "Find the Way Out" is automatically selected, and any additional Explore Actions they have can be used here to investigate more things before Jiu arrives. There will be a second opportunity to find stuff when the duo is reunited, this is just a chance to uncover even more information beforehand.
Do note that there IS still a guard patrolling inside here, meaning that all actions, including Find the Way Out, will have an additional Dexterity + Stealth (4 dice) roll (Difficulty 5) after the action occurs to remain hidden.
As a final reminder, for any of these actions you can spend 1 Willpower to add 1 automatic success by using "-[] Spend Willpower for Success". Please specify if this is for the Explore Action or the associated Stealth Action so I know where to assign the auto-success. Tommy is currently at 4/5 Willpower remaining.
[X][Explore] Find the Way Out (Difficulty 6, 4 dice to navigate to the ground door exit, will let Jiu in.)
[][Explore] Get a Sense of the Ground Floor (Difficulty 7, 4 dice to create a mental map, makes navigating in the future easier.)
[][Explore] Find the Second Floor Access (Difficulty 6, 4 dice to find the way, makes navigating in the future easier.)
[][Explore] Take out the Guard (??? Difficulty, success means the guard is taken out stealthily, failure means the guard(s) is alerted.)
[][Explore] Find the Lights (Difficulty 5, 4 dice to find the lights, makes navigating in the future easier at the cost of breaking stealth if lights are activated)
[][Explore] Follow the Prompting (Difficulty 3, 1 die to locate, Tommy will follow the mysterious prompting that led them here to the source of this issue. They will not investigate in-depth without Jiu there, but this could still provide essential information.)
[][Explore] Look for Accessible Windows (Difficulty 4, 4 dice to find Windows, if opened will reduce smog's effects at the cost of ???)
The Vote will End on December 31st at 7:00 PM PST (Around 22 Hours from Now) Please format your votes as a Plan.
Author's Note: Short update, there wasn't a ton I could add without really stretching things out.
-1s are pretty bad in this system, especially when you are rolling a mortal's worth of dice, but it's pretty clear we are 'meant' to lose at some level, at which point the Exaltations come smashing through and we blast these fools into next week. Interesting that they have a vampire.
I wonder if we could take them prisoner to interrogate, the thing about vampires, even those who serve the Wyrm, is that they do not tend to be true believers since it's very hard to tangle them in its metaphysical ecosystem, the Curse of Cain much, much more powerful as a protection than an equivalent level bane in attacking. Also vampires are solipsists almost by reflex. Unless this one is going with a very exotic path that has something to do with the Wyrm they are probably just in it for the money.
Being near vampires so often gave me a sense of whenever I was near one, a raising of the hairs on my arms as the chill from their dead bodies seemed to radiate off of them. But this, this was different.
Ah, sorry I missed the last one and thought the first just meant that the aura was not generally vampiric but the guard who does not need to breathe is one
Anyway as to the plan
[X] Breathe Free
-[X][Duration] They'll do a little exploring on their way out (Tommy will gain 1 free Explore Action. They will suffer from a -1 penalty to all actions afterwards due to short-term deprivation.)
-[X][Explore] Look for Accessible Windows (Difficulty 4, 4 dice to find Windows, if opened will reduce smog's effects at the cost of ???)
OK so I am going to treat this as if our pair of teens have to take out a Pentex facility with that they have or at least survive it and that being the case letting some of the smog out is I think the more rational choice. This stuff is crippling long term.
Alright, I'm closing the vote with a few minutes to spare because of both the holiday and because we only have 1 winning plan. So, let's do some rolls!
Scheduled vote count started by Critian Caceorte on Dec 31, 2024 at 12:31 AM, finished with 5 posts and 3 votes.
[X] Breathe Free
-[X][Duration] They'll do a little exploring on their way out (Tommy will gain 1 free Explore Action. They will suffer from a -1 penalty to all actions afterwards due to short-term deprivation.)
-[X][Explore] Look for Accessible Windows (Difficulty 4, 4 dice to find Windows, if opened will reduce smog's effects at the cost of ???)
First, I'll be rolling for Finding the Windows. Since Tommy is currently in a factory, and I'd say that urban enough for their (future) specialty to apply, I'm allowing them to use it instead of Alertness. Difficulty 4, Perception 1 + Survival 3 = 4 dice. Let's see what happens!
Results: 3 - 1 = 2 successes. Tommy finds the windows, and the windows are easy enough to access, but they do get a sense that something's off about them. This will open up a sub-vote in the next update for whether you really want to open up the windows, because there will be a cost involved. Hence the ??? part.
Next is the stealth roll for the windows. If you're wondering why it's Difficulty 5 instead of 4 this time, it's because the guard's already a bit more alert than usual. Dexterity 2 + Stealth 2 = 4 dice.
Result: 3 successes, the guard has no clue about Tommy being by the windows, nor that the windows are opened (if you choose to do that.)
After that is finding the exit door. Difficulty 6, 4 dice to navigate, let's go.
Results: 2 - 1 = 1 success, Tommy finds the door though apparently there's a decent alarm system hooked up to it. They can definitely open it, it will just the guards in and out now that someone's left since they have keys that would disable it. So either Tommy just goes through the door, tries to pilfer the key from the inside guard to get out, or opens the windows and leaps out.
Finally, the 2nd stealth roll for this sub-turn, same as the previous.
Result: 3 - 1 = 2 successes. Tommy is still undetected by the guard, though they inadvertently left more muddy/sooty footprints, increasing the Difficulty if they remain inside to 6.
Winning Vote:
[X] Breathe Free
-[X][Duration] They'll do a little exploring on their way out (Tommy will gain 1 free Explore Action. They will suffer from a -1 penalty to all actions afterwards due to short-term deprivation.)
-[X][Explore] Look for Accessible Windows (Difficulty 4, 4 dice to find Windows, if opened will reduce smog's effects at the cost of ???)
Dice Results:
Looking for the Windows: 2 successes (Dif 4; 9, 8, 5, 1)
Being Sneaky: 3 successes (Dif 5; 10, 8, 5, 2)
In the end, despite all the smoke around, Tommy figured that they had at least a little bit of time to do some snooping. At least, if they could find the windows and air out this place, then they wouldn't feel so dizzy. Now where could they be…
From what they saw outside, all of the windows were up above the ground floor, so nothing easy to reach down here. That meant finding the stairs, but luckily those were pretty easy to track down. The stairs were made of metal, but the webby kind that didn't make noise when you stepped on it and that was easy to get a grip on. And the windows themselves were pretty easy to reach even halfway up the stairs, with the smoke itself concentrating against the windows, as if trying to break free.
Thus Tommy reached out with their hand towards the handle on the windowpane conveniently within reach…
…before hesitating at the last second. But why?
Unseen by all save one, in the world of spirits, the space inhabited by the smoke was instead inhabited by industrial monstrosities. A SWARM of blue smog clouds, trapped intentionally by Black Spiral engineers in a glass replica of the factory in order to hide and concentrate their numbers, banged their body against the window panes, desperate to get out and spread their filth throughout the rest of the spirit world. Their time of release was already nigh, the spirit-glass had cracks already from numerous gaseous tackles, but a release now would allow at least some of their number to escape early. The indoor guard, seeing both the mundane and spiritual world, only smirked as he looked up at the swarm. His own skin in this realm was cobalt blue, an indicator of the spirit he had fused with to survive this toxic atmosphere. Should everything go as planned, then the swarm would be far too much for the local Garou to handle, and the Wyrm would savor yet more of the Umbra's inhabitants for itself.
Assuming, of course, it went according to plan.
Tommy, of course, knew none of these facts, yet still hesitated at the last second. Something was telling them that something was wrong, but what was what they had no clue. Should they still open the windows, just get it over with?
[][Windows] Yes
This will reduce the toxic air in the factory to the point of negating the penalty (not for Tommy, whose already spent too much time inside, but for any future investigations)
This will make the upcoming boss battle easier, as with less Banes stuck together the resulting horde will be easier to put down.
The Windows can serve as an alternate route for escaping, or even entering.
This will let quite a number of banes escape, allowing them to cause issues in the Spirit World for everyone else.
This will grab the guard's attention when they notice all of the banes escaping, which will increase the Difficulty of further sneaking.
[][Windows] No
No Banes shall escape the upcoming conflict unless the future Rangers fail in their duty.
Stealth will be maintained until the last second.
The toxic air penalty will remain.
The group will need to use an alternate method of leaving and entering.
The boss battle will be notably harder, adding an additional "stage" of health for the Rangers to burn through.
Regardless of what choice they made, Tommy still needed to locate the ground exit. Carefully stepping back down the stairwell, they made their way to one of the walls and walked alongside it, confident that the door had to be somewhere along these sides. You know, the factory had only four walls, how hard could it be?
Looking for the Door: 1 success (Dif 6; 8, 7, 5, 1)
Being Sneaky: 2 successes (Dif 5; 7, 6, 5,1)
Finding the door itself turned out to be harder than the kid realized, with the guard they kept having to scoot around in order to avoid being discovered. What made it worse was just how dizzy the smog was making them, and they had to steady themselves by sliding their hand alongside the wall's interior as they traced along it's path. Eventually though, they found the exit-
-alongside the lights clearly illuminating it, with wires and weird boxes which Tommy didn't understand around the rim. But, if they had to guess… some kind of alarm? Shit, would opening this door trigger the alarms? Still, there was one box that looked like a card reader, and it made sense to the street kid if the guards had a card which could unlock the thing, even if they hadn't seen one. So… what should they do?
Choose 1. The penalty from staying so long inside the factory will now kick in, reducing Tommy's dice pools by 1. As a reminder, you can of course use Willpower here to better your odds, make sure to use "-[] Use Willpower" underneath the option you choose.
[][Exit] Open The Door (No roll, but will blow stealth entirely)
[][Exit] Try to pickpocket the guard (Difficulty 6; 5 - 1 = 4 dice vs. Guard's dice to steal it, will require an additional Stealth roll to get away)
[][Exit] Try to fight the guard (Inadvisable, but it's an option)
[][Exit] Leave through the window (No roll; Must have opened the windows first)
[][Exit] Leave back through the vents (Difficulty 5; 2 - 1 = 1 die to leave; not an option for other party members)
The Vote Will End Tomorrow at 3:00 PM PST (24 hours from now)
Author's Note: Pulling back the curtain on what's coming up, needless to say regardless of how many "stages" the boss fight will have, it's still going to be tough for our future Sidereals. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
[X] Plan Air Out, Keys In
-[X][Windows] Yes
-[X][Exit] Try to pickpocket the guard (Difficulty 6; 5 - 1 = 4 dice vs. Guard's dice to steal it, will require an additional Stealth roll to get away)
-[X] Use Willpower x2: For the Pickpoketing and the Stealth
Reasoning
We are not really the most beefy exalts so anything that makes the boss fight easier is nice and on top of that the local Garou are generally good at handing random banes like this, it's when they have to fight Pentex on a bureaucratic or legal level that most of them are out of their element. Put if another way, if Pentex think they need this whole thing against the locals odds are said local pack can handle stray banes
Also burn willpower, that is what it's there for, when the time comes to do a proper fight as Exalts we are going to have other resources to call on, namely Essence, from charms to Martial Arts
