Hi questers!, and welcome to Regime Quest! In this quest you are going to be controlling an...
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Character Creation 1
- Location
- USA
Hi questers!, and welcome to Regime Quest! In this quest you are going to be controlling an Ultra in the setting of The Fifth Defiance.
I am going to try and make this understandable if you don't read the main story, but If you feel like reading up on it, you can go to:
Chapters for the blog version
The Fifth Defiance - Original for the SV version
Elevator pitch version of the setting
******************************************************************************************
A scientist invented 'The Process', which kills 29/30 people who undergo it, and gives the last Ultrahuman gifts, similar to those of comic book heroes. After a brief heroic renaissance the most powerful of these Ultras, Prevailer, destroyed the countries of her day and established a dictatorial Regime in the ruins of the eastern United States. There it wars with the remnants of the Old World, known nowadays as the Union, and the loose alliance of other Ultrahuman strongman states known as the Pantheon. Strange clone-like figures operate 'The Company' to this day, performing the Process on command, and also providing free food in a world desperately in need of it. These Company Facilities form the hearts of new world cities, and our modern nations fight endlessly over them.
The Union fights for its survival. The Company, under Prevailer's orders, heavily rations its Processes, ensuring that its defenders are always outnumbered. The Pantheon fights for conquest, striving to take control of the last remaining places on earth not already under its sway. The Regime fights for the entertainment of Prevailer, who rides the senses of her champions using the gift of one of her lackeys, Snitcher. It is one of these champions who this quest will follow, an Ultra sent forth to conquer or die under the flag and fist of the worst tyrant the world has ever seen.
*****************************************************************************************
Voting is open as soon as a post is up, and closes at the end of the next Saturday (eastern time) which gives me all of Sunday to write up the next update.
For those who have read the main story, This story takes place a few years before it starts. The original Fourth Fist are dead, but not yet replaced. Snitcher and Adder are alive and well. More of the setting will be made obvious as we get into non character creation updates.
This week marks the first part of character creation, which will probably continue for another two updates. I am also creating/choosing the system behind the scenes (ultimately dice rolling will be part of how this all works, fanart/omakes will be rewarded, etc.)
For now, you have two sets of points to spend.
First off, you have Weirdness Points (WP). These are a measure of how far outside of the mainstream for this position the character is, and restrain your choices such that your avatar remains basically plausible in the role.
You can't save WP between character creation sessions, they are given out at the start of each post. You'll get more next week, so don't worry about keeping stuff from this time in reserve.
Choices that cost WP aren't necessarily 'better', they are just more unusual. Don't feel pressured that you are 'wasting' your WP if your choice runs more conventional.
The other is Ultra Points (UP), used in question 6. You will use these to set your gift, and you will want to spend all of these.
For this update you have 5 Weirdness Points and 7 Ultra Points. Enjoy!
If you have any questions, you can post them as a comment and I'll reply, and potentially add that question/answer to this section.
******************************************************************
"I guess you'll do."
That's what She'd said. Just four little words, and it was done.
They rushed me out of the Sniper Court while I was still grappling with it. This was really happening. It had, in fact, already happened. I was one of Her warlords now, one of Prevailer's chosen, tied irreparably to her by Snitcher's gift, specially tasked to secure a city from Her enemies.
A serious job, but one that I was up to. After all, I was
1. <Who am I?>
[ ] Write In (name must be of the construction verb-er, example, Kicker, Warper, Gasher, etc.)
I mean, really I'm
2. <Real name?>
[ ] Write In
a
3. <Gender?>
[ ] woman
[ ] (1WP) man (another 1 WP charge, if male, to avoid mutating in the direction of your strongest gift)
who underwent the Process
4. <Time as an Ultra?>
[ ] (1WP) Very recently
[ ] A few years ago
[ ] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
and found my life transformed forever.
There are as many reasons for undergoing the Process as there are Ultras, of course. Or, rather, there are about thirty times as many. In my case it was
5. <Reason for Being Processed?>
As far as everyone knows my gifts are:
6. <Gift choice>
7.<Loyalty>
8.<Sponsor?>
With a sponsor like this, how could I fail? I couldn't, that's how. It is basically impossible to imagine that I won't succeed in taking over
9 <Target?>
Well, for one, I don't really have any current maps or means of transportation. These are just names to me.
Also, I don't have anyone pledged to follow me on this mission. I am going to have to beg, borrow or steal an army from among my former cohorts.
And I guess I don't know any details about the defenders, so if I don't figure out a way to find out what is waiting for us we'll have to find out the hard way.
Plus the last two Ultras who drew this assignment died trying, so the enemy has done this more than I have.
Ok, so there are some problems, but I also have some real assets. For example,
I have a month to get this done.
Honestly what more do I need? Nothing, that's what. This is an excellent list of assets.
They're never gonna know what hit em.
I am going to try and make this understandable if you don't read the main story, but If you feel like reading up on it, you can go to:
Chapters for the blog version
The Fifth Defiance - Original for the SV version
Elevator pitch version of the setting
******************************************************************************************
A scientist invented 'The Process', which kills 29/30 people who undergo it, and gives the last Ultrahuman gifts, similar to those of comic book heroes. After a brief heroic renaissance the most powerful of these Ultras, Prevailer, destroyed the countries of her day and established a dictatorial Regime in the ruins of the eastern United States. There it wars with the remnants of the Old World, known nowadays as the Union, and the loose alliance of other Ultrahuman strongman states known as the Pantheon. Strange clone-like figures operate 'The Company' to this day, performing the Process on command, and also providing free food in a world desperately in need of it. These Company Facilities form the hearts of new world cities, and our modern nations fight endlessly over them.
The Union fights for its survival. The Company, under Prevailer's orders, heavily rations its Processes, ensuring that its defenders are always outnumbered. The Pantheon fights for conquest, striving to take control of the last remaining places on earth not already under its sway. The Regime fights for the entertainment of Prevailer, who rides the senses of her champions using the gift of one of her lackeys, Snitcher. It is one of these champions who this quest will follow, an Ultra sent forth to conquer or die under the flag and fist of the worst tyrant the world has ever seen.
*****************************************************************************************
Voting is open as soon as a post is up, and closes at the end of the next Saturday (eastern time) which gives me all of Sunday to write up the next update.
For those who have read the main story, This story takes place a few years before it starts. The original Fourth Fist are dead, but not yet replaced. Snitcher and Adder are alive and well. More of the setting will be made obvious as we get into non character creation updates.
This week marks the first part of character creation, which will probably continue for another two updates. I am also creating/choosing the system behind the scenes (ultimately dice rolling will be part of how this all works, fanart/omakes will be rewarded, etc.)
For now, you have two sets of points to spend.
First off, you have Weirdness Points (WP). These are a measure of how far outside of the mainstream for this position the character is, and restrain your choices such that your avatar remains basically plausible in the role.
You can't save WP between character creation sessions, they are given out at the start of each post. You'll get more next week, so don't worry about keeping stuff from this time in reserve.
Choices that cost WP aren't necessarily 'better', they are just more unusual. Don't feel pressured that you are 'wasting' your WP if your choice runs more conventional.
The other is Ultra Points (UP), used in question 6. You will use these to set your gift, and you will want to spend all of these.
For this update you have 5 Weirdness Points and 7 Ultra Points. Enjoy!
If you have any questions, you can post them as a comment and I'll reply, and potentially add that question/answer to this section.
******************************************************************
"I guess you'll do."
That's what She'd said. Just four little words, and it was done.
They rushed me out of the Sniper Court while I was still grappling with it. This was really happening. It had, in fact, already happened. I was one of Her warlords now, one of Prevailer's chosen, tied irreparably to her by Snitcher's gift, specially tasked to secure a city from Her enemies.
A serious job, but one that I was up to. After all, I was
1. <Who am I?>
[ ] Write In (name must be of the construction verb-er, example, Kicker, Warper, Gasher, etc.)
I mean, really I'm
2. <Real name?>
[ ] Write In
a
3. <Gender?>
[ ] woman
[ ] (1WP) man (another 1 WP charge, if male, to avoid mutating in the direction of your strongest gift)
who underwent the Process
4. <Time as an Ultra?>
[ ] (1WP) Very recently
[ ] A few years ago
[ ] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
and found my life transformed forever.
There are as many reasons for undergoing the Process as there are Ultras, of course. Or, rather, there are about thirty times as many. In my case it was
5. <Reason for Being Processed?>
- [ ] Peril. I had my back to the wall, to the point that Process's odds were better than those I'd face in my day to day life.
- [ ] Boredom. There is, when you get right down to it, very little to do in the Regime.
- [ ] Force. Someone was recruiting, and I was a warm body
- [ ] (1WP) Ambition. I wanted to accomplish something and only an Ultra could pull it off. (write in my goal)
As far as everyone knows my gifts are:
6. <Gift choice>
- [ ] (1UP) Ultra Strength One, I can lift and throw cars and the equivalent
- [ ] (3UP) Ultra Strength Two, I can lift and throw buildings and the equivalent
- [ ] (7UP) Ultra Strength Three, I can lift and throw anything, only She is stronger
- [ ] (3UP) Ultra Speed One, The world slows down when its important to me
- [ ] (6UP & 1WP) Ultra Speed Two, My life plays out at a languid pace around me
- [ ] (2UP) Ultra Durability One, I am action hero levels of invincible
- [ ] (4UP) Ultra Durability Two, I am comic book levels of invincible
- [ ] (2UP) Another ability, comparatively minor (write in)
- [ ] (5UP & 1WP) Another ability, of exceptional reach and breadth (write in)
7.<Loyalty>
- [ ] I don't care who wins, I am just trying to survive and enjoy what comforts this world has to give
- [ ] I am exactly what I look like, a partisan of Prevailer's Regime
- [ ] (1WP) I am on the side of the human Resistance, trying to protect them as best I can from within a predatory organization.
- [ ] (1WP) I am on the side of Kill Every Monster, striving to eradicate my own kind, so that humans may once again rule their own destinies
- [ ] (2WP) I serve a foreign power, collaborating with the enemy I am ostensibly battling against (specify Union or Pantheon)
8.<Sponsor?>
- [ ] No one
- [ ] Subtracter,
- [ ] Adder,
- [ ] First Fist
- [ ] Second Fist
- [ ] (1WP)Third Fist
- [ ] (1WP) Snitcher
- [ ] (2WP) Answerer
- [ ] (2WP) Prevailer
With a sponsor like this, how could I fail? I couldn't, that's how. It is basically impossible to imagine that I won't succeed in taking over
9 <Target?>
- [ ] Lington, up in old Mont. A medium city, traded back and forth between Union and Pantheon hands for long enough that She got tired of being left out of the fun. presently Union
- [ ] Ar Harbor, up on the coast in Aine, a small city, which should be lightly protected, by an unaffiliated local Ultra gang of all things, but She wants it taken intact, minimal property damage
- [ ] Gusta, the perpetual football we squabble with the Pantheon over, down in old Juh. Big target, about which we have good intel, currently the scene of an inter Pantheon civil struggle.
Well, for one, I don't really have any current maps or means of transportation. These are just names to me.
Also, I don't have anyone pledged to follow me on this mission. I am going to have to beg, borrow or steal an army from among my former cohorts.
And I guess I don't know any details about the defenders, so if I don't figure out a way to find out what is waiting for us we'll have to find out the hard way.
Plus the last two Ultras who drew this assignment died trying, so the enemy has done this more than I have.
Ok, so there are some problems, but I also have some real assets. For example,
I have a month to get this done.
Honestly what more do I need? Nothing, that's what. This is an excellent list of assets.
They're never gonna know what hit em.
Last edited:
Character Creation 2
- Location
- USA
Results from last time:
1 vote:
Torcher
Reflector
Suppresser
Neutralizer
Partial vote indicating loyalty to resistance, target Ar Harbor and mentor Adder
2 vote:
Lurker
Nameless (via Sufficient Velocity thread)
As soon as I got started working on these results I realized I'd done something wrong. I'd indicated, last time, that you were voting per-choice, and could leave stuff you don't care about blank. But if I am doing things that way, WP don't really make sense, since totals that exceed the max could end up there. It was also creating a sort of franken-choice, where the most common parts of each submitted character would merge together to make a character that was no one's particular idea
I guess in my mind I had been setting it up as slate choices, where you presented a whole (or rather, 1/3 of whole) character, and the most popular of those won. But I hadn't spelled that out, and, indeed, had spelled out the opposite. I feel bad and am bad.
But enough moping, what I've decided to do about that is to do a revote on character creation 1 as part of this week's vote on Character Creation 2! You will all no doubt forgive me and praise my dedication, and I will bask in the warm light of your approval.
This time we are doing slate voting. I will count each distinct set of all choices for our luckless protagonist.
*************************************************************************************************
First Section (for this section you have 5 WP and 7 UP) (See Character Creation 1 for more details if needed)
1. <Who am I?>
[ ] Write In (name must be of the construction verb-er, example, Kicker, Warper, Gasher, etc.)
2. <Real name?>
[ ] Write In
3. <Gender?>
[ ] woman
[ ] (1WP) man (another 1 WP charge, if male, to avoid mutating in the direction of your strongest gift)
4. <Time as an Ultra?>
[ ] (1WP) Very recently
[ ] A few years ago
[ ] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
5. <Reason for Being Processed?>
9. <Physical Description>
What do I look like? First off, in terms of my form, but also how do I dress and what do I carry around, on a day to day basis? Ultras in the Regime all have to wear something on our heads (humans are forbidden from doing so), which is called a Sigil. What is mine?
* [ ] Write In
10. <Demeanor>
How do I carry myself, act? Am I generally solemn and formal, loose and friendly? Do I get my way with threats, or argument? If an unbiased observer was trying to sum up my basic role with a short sentence or phrase, what might that be?
* [ ] Write in
11.<Human Background>
Before I became an Ultra I was a ...
* [ ] Regime Citizen. I lived in the city, idled away my days on protein paste and currying favor with the Ultras. I know the lives of those beneath us.
* [ ] Suburb Scavenger. I orbited the Regime's heartlands, scavenging the Old World for tech to trade with the Regime's subject while keeping out of the Ultra's way. I understand our past in a way that the kept humans of the inner cities never will.
* [ ] (1WP) Wilderness Dweller: I lived in a town with no Company Facility or Ultras. We survived on our own, without protein powder or Ultra gifts. I know how it was done, and I could do it again.
* [ ] (2WP) Foreigner: I've lived outside of the Regime, and I haven't forgotten how they do things in the (Union/Pantheon). It will give me insight into their decisions.
- [ ] Specify Union or Pantheon for the place I've sojourned.
12. <Ultra Background>
Since I've been an Ultra I have ...
* [ ] Served as soldier in the Regime's wars. I've seen the kind of operation I'm currently leading from the bottom floor, this is my chance to do it right.
* [ ] Worked as an enforcer and investigator for the higher ups. I've cracked skulls and kept the peace, keeping humans and annoying Ultras in line. I know where the bodies are buried, because I put them there.
* [ ] Worked as a Troubleshooter, roaming the land and enforcing the Regime's norms. Traveling between cities holds no surprises for me, and I know many of the Ultras of consquence outside Shington.
* [ ] (1WP) Worked on my own projects, carving out my own little piece of the Regime. Its resources may prove useful now that She has selected me.
* [ ] (1WP) Write In
13.<Past Priorities>
When I've had the power to choose I've always showed favor to ...
* [ ] (1WP) No one, I've tried to be even handed and fair to all.
* [ ] My Fellow Ultras. I have always prioritized my own kind, the rank and file Ultras of the Regime.
* [ ] (1WP) The humans, they are the ocean in which my kind swim. Their view of me is most important.
* [ ] Our superiors. It is an obvious precaution to curry favor with the most powerful.
14.<Tally>
It is pretty ghoulish, but Ultras track status by how many of our kind we've taken out in open battle. In my case that's ...
* [ ] (1WP) None, Somehow, on my rise to this position I've never had to get my hands dirty.
* [ ] A few, between one and ten. When challenged, I've responded.
* [ ] (1WP) A lot more than ten. I took the red path to the heights.
15. <Notoriety>
How well known am I? Well, it would depend on who you ask. But generally ...
* [ ] (1WP) Little. Others may know my gift's general description, but I've kept out of the spotlight, for the most part.
* [ ] A moderate amount, what was necessary to gain my position. Everyone has a good idea of how my gifts work, and my name opens many doors.
* [ ] (1WP) A celebrity, I've made sure of it. Everyone who knows anyone knows of me.
*************************************************************************************************
That's it for part 2 of character creation. Next week we'll finish out character creation , and I'll also explain the systems I've worked out for the main campaign will operate.
Thanks for participating!
1 vote:
Torcher
Reflector
Suppresser
Neutralizer
Partial vote indicating loyalty to resistance, target Ar Harbor and mentor Adder
2 vote:
Lurker
Nameless (via Sufficient Velocity thread)
As soon as I got started working on these results I realized I'd done something wrong. I'd indicated, last time, that you were voting per-choice, and could leave stuff you don't care about blank. But if I am doing things that way, WP don't really make sense, since totals that exceed the max could end up there. It was also creating a sort of franken-choice, where the most common parts of each submitted character would merge together to make a character that was no one's particular idea
I guess in my mind I had been setting it up as slate choices, where you presented a whole (or rather, 1/3 of whole) character, and the most popular of those won. But I hadn't spelled that out, and, indeed, had spelled out the opposite. I feel bad and am bad.
But enough moping, what I've decided to do about that is to do a revote on character creation 1 as part of this week's vote on Character Creation 2! You will all no doubt forgive me and praise my dedication, and I will bask in the warm light of your approval.
This time we are doing slate voting. I will count each distinct set of all choices for our luckless protagonist.
*************************************************************************************************
First Section (for this section you have 5 WP and 7 UP) (See Character Creation 1 for more details if needed)
1. <Who am I?>
[ ] Write In (name must be of the construction verb-er, example, Kicker, Warper, Gasher, etc.)
2. <Real name?>
[ ] Write In
3. <Gender?>
[ ] woman
[ ] (1WP) man (another 1 WP charge, if male, to avoid mutating in the direction of your strongest gift)
4. <Time as an Ultra?>
[ ] (1WP) Very recently
[ ] A few years ago
[ ] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
5. <Reason for Being Processed?>
- [ ] Peril. I had my back to the wall, to the point that Process's odds were better than those I'd face in my day to day life.
- [ ] Boredom. There is, when you get right down to it, very little to do in the Regime.
- [ ] Force. Someone was recruiting, and I was a warm body
- [ ] (1WP) Ambition. I wanted to accomplish something and only an Ultra could pull it off. (write in my goal)
- [ ] (1UP) Ultra Strength One, I can lift and throw cars and the equivalent
- [ ] (3UP) Ultra Strength Two, I can lift and throw buildings and the equivalent
- [ ] (7UP) Ultra Strength Three, I can lift and throw anything, only She is stronger
- [ ] (3UP) Ultra Speed One, The world slows down when its important to me
- [ ] (6UP & 1WP) Ultra Speed Two, My life plays out at a languid pace around me
- [ ] (2UP) Ultra Durability One, I am action hero levels of invincible
- [ ] (4UP) Ultra Durability Two, I am comic book levels of invincible
- [ ] (2UP) Another ability, comparatively minor (write in)
- [ ] (5UP & 1WP) Another ability, of exceptional reach and breadth (write in)
- [ ] I don't care who wins, I am just trying to survive and enjoy what comforts this world has to give
- [ ] I am exactly what I look like, a partisan of Prevailer's Regime
- [ ] (1WP) I am on the side of the human Resistance, trying to protect them as best I can from within a predatory organization.
- [ ] (1WP) I am on the side of Kill Every Monster, striving to eradicate my own kind, so that humans may once again rule their own destinies
- [ ] (2WP) I serve a foreign power, collaborating with the enemy I am ostensibly battling against (specify Union or Pantheon)
- [ ] No one
- [ ] Subtracter
- [ ] Adder
- [ ] First Fist
- [ ] Second Fist
- [ ] (1WP)Third Fist
- [ ] (1WP) Snitcher
- [ ] (2WP) Answerer
- [ ] (2WP) Prevailer
9. <Physical Description>
What do I look like? First off, in terms of my form, but also how do I dress and what do I carry around, on a day to day basis? Ultras in the Regime all have to wear something on our heads (humans are forbidden from doing so), which is called a Sigil. What is mine?
* [ ] Write In
10. <Demeanor>
How do I carry myself, act? Am I generally solemn and formal, loose and friendly? Do I get my way with threats, or argument? If an unbiased observer was trying to sum up my basic role with a short sentence or phrase, what might that be?
* [ ] Write in
11.<Human Background>
Before I became an Ultra I was a ...
* [ ] Regime Citizen. I lived in the city, idled away my days on protein paste and currying favor with the Ultras. I know the lives of those beneath us.
* [ ] Suburb Scavenger. I orbited the Regime's heartlands, scavenging the Old World for tech to trade with the Regime's subject while keeping out of the Ultra's way. I understand our past in a way that the kept humans of the inner cities never will.
* [ ] (1WP) Wilderness Dweller: I lived in a town with no Company Facility or Ultras. We survived on our own, without protein powder or Ultra gifts. I know how it was done, and I could do it again.
* [ ] (2WP) Foreigner: I've lived outside of the Regime, and I haven't forgotten how they do things in the (Union/Pantheon). It will give me insight into their decisions.
- [ ] Specify Union or Pantheon for the place I've sojourned.
12. <Ultra Background>
Since I've been an Ultra I have ...
* [ ] Served as soldier in the Regime's wars. I've seen the kind of operation I'm currently leading from the bottom floor, this is my chance to do it right.
* [ ] Worked as an enforcer and investigator for the higher ups. I've cracked skulls and kept the peace, keeping humans and annoying Ultras in line. I know where the bodies are buried, because I put them there.
* [ ] Worked as a Troubleshooter, roaming the land and enforcing the Regime's norms. Traveling between cities holds no surprises for me, and I know many of the Ultras of consquence outside Shington.
* [ ] (1WP) Worked on my own projects, carving out my own little piece of the Regime. Its resources may prove useful now that She has selected me.
* [ ] (1WP) Write In
13.<Past Priorities>
When I've had the power to choose I've always showed favor to ...
* [ ] (1WP) No one, I've tried to be even handed and fair to all.
* [ ] My Fellow Ultras. I have always prioritized my own kind, the rank and file Ultras of the Regime.
* [ ] (1WP) The humans, they are the ocean in which my kind swim. Their view of me is most important.
* [ ] Our superiors. It is an obvious precaution to curry favor with the most powerful.
14.<Tally>
It is pretty ghoulish, but Ultras track status by how many of our kind we've taken out in open battle. In my case that's ...
* [ ] (1WP) None, Somehow, on my rise to this position I've never had to get my hands dirty.
* [ ] A few, between one and ten. When challenged, I've responded.
* [ ] (1WP) A lot more than ten. I took the red path to the heights.
15. <Notoriety>
How well known am I? Well, it would depend on who you ask. But generally ...
* [ ] (1WP) Little. Others may know my gift's general description, but I've kept out of the spotlight, for the most part.
* [ ] A moderate amount, what was necessary to gain my position. Everyone has a good idea of how my gifts work, and my name opens many doors.
* [ ] (1WP) A celebrity, I've made sure of it. Everyone who knows anyone knows of me.
*************************************************************************************************
That's it for part 2 of character creation. Next week we'll finish out character creation , and I'll also explain the systems I've worked out for the main campaign will operate.
Thanks for participating!
Character Creation 3
- Location
- USA
Results from previous round:
Two votes
TalonOfAntares entry
Lurker
One vote:
Reflector
Neutralyzer
Rolled odds for Talon, even for Lurker, came up 5. So Talon's nameless choice it is!
*************************************************************************************************
Winning Entry
[X] Moniker: GM fiat (Blender)
[X] Real Name: Mia
[X] woman
[X] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
[X] Force. Someone was recruiting, and I was a warm body
[X] Another ability, comparatively minor (write-in)
-[X] The ability to restore and repair something's form in a few moments, through touch. Can affect herself.
[X] (5UP & 1WP) Another ability, of exceptional reach and breadth (write-in)
-[X] The ability to take aspects of something's form and to give someone aspects of yours. Make someone older and become younger, make someone tall and become short, make yourself tough and stiff but make a wall weak, make yourself light but make paper heavy, ect. Does not require concentration, but a limited number of effects can be maintained on one person at one time. Effects cannot be dismissed, but it is possible to "get rid of them" by giving them to an enemy and leaving them there forever. Range is short, but it works fast.
[X] (1WP) I am on the side of Kill Every Monster, striving to eradicate my own kind, so that humans may once again rule their own destinies
[X] Subtracter
[X] Physical Description: A short, unassuming woman. In fairly good shape. Wears "heavy" armour, and carries a large hiking backpack. Clothes and gear in good state. Sigil: An Old World graduation cap.
[X] Demeanor: Hates Ultras (including sometimes herself, though she blames any immoral actions on necessity and her nature as an Ultra), but doesn't actively seek her own death (has some caution, fears it). Polite and even kind to non-Ultras. Social person (with non-Ultras) who likes company and cares about how she is perceived by others.
[X] (1WP) Wilderness Dweller: I lived in a town with no Company Facility or Ultras. We survived on our own, without protein powder or Ultra gifts. I know how it was done, and I could do it again.
[X] Worked as a Troubleshooter, roaming the land and enforcing the Regime's norms. Traveling between cities holds no surprises for me, and I know many of the Ultras of consquence outside Shington.
[X] (1WP) The humans, they are the ocean in which my kind swim. Their view of me is most important.
[X] (1WP) A lot more than ten. I took the red path to the heights.
[X] A moderate amount, what was necessary to gain my position. Everyone has a good idea of how my gifts work, and my name opens many doors.
**************************************************************************************************
Weirdness Points available in round 3: 5
Character creation 3: Finishing up
16: Given that Mia was Processed forcibly, went from living in an independent town to troubleshooting for the Regime, and hates Ultras, the story almost writes itself. Looks like some Ultras happened upon their little community, they were dragged to the Company Facility, and she was the only one who made it. Do I have that right?
[ ] Yes, in substance
[ ] No, [Write in]
16A: If yes above, were there any other survivors, if so, does Mia stay in contact with them?
[ ] No survivors
[ ] Scattered humans, one is my chief KEM contact
[ ] [1WP] Scattered humans, plus another Ultra who shares my secret affiliation
16B: If yes in 16, was the Ultra in charge of that anyone we know?
[ ] [1WP] Someone who has since died
[ ] Subtracter
[ ] First Fist
[ ] Second Fist
[ ] Third Fist
17: Is Blender literate, numerate?
[ ] No, I recognize certain words as shapes and count like a gully dwarf
[ ] Kind of, my refuge had some basic schooling, I can do arithmetic and read English
[ ] [1WP] I'm highly educated, my little town had someone dedicated enough to teach the young, even in this dark time
18: The following were the other choices for Warlord this time around. Is Mia close with any of them, despite loathing Ultrahumans?
[ ] None, she hates Ultras
[ ] [2WP]Masher, slight, waifish woman. She has Ultra durability when stationary, Ultra strength when in motion, and a limited fly power that only goes in straight lines. She's a belligerent person, thrives on battle and excitement. She was also sponsored by Subtracter. Keeps dogs.
[ ] [2WP]Maker, big big woman, both tall and fat. She has Ultra toughness one, and she can summon 'the spirit of things' to do her bidding. These are person shaped apparitions obsessed with the function of their origin. she is very shy and retiring, rarely volunteering much. She was sponsored by Snitcher. She still lives with her human family.
[ ] [1WP]Picker, very young girl, mid teens. She has Ultra speed, and can 'choose the outcome of things', whatever that means. Mostly seems like Ultra luck. She is scatterbrained and frightened most of the time. Sponsored by First Fist. Very close with a male Ultra who Blender knows nothing about.
[ ] [3WP] Shower, black man with no face. Sees out of the eyes of everyone in a few hundred feet, blind when alone. Gains strength and toughness based on how many people can see him. Very cheesy, very 'big' personality, despite no voice. Sponsored by Adder. Has a few 'pet' humans who stay around him constantly.
19: Are any of the above Mia's particular nemesis?
[ ] She is a weapon they use against other Ultras. They provide information to that end.
[ ] [1WP] She is a fellow traveler, and they like the idea of her rising in ranks, and thus gaining the ability to destroy more Ultras. They work on her behalf, and she can ask them for favors.
[ ] [3 WP] She is a KEM cell leader, with followers and henchmen to the extent that the underground group can provide. Their efforts helped pave the way to her current rise to warlord.
21: Mia has a secret gift, one that no one has ever learned about. She has hidden it successfully thus far, fearing that to reveal it would see her conscripted into a Fist or similar.
[ ] Ultra strength 1
[ ] Ultra toughness 1
[ ] Ultra speed 1
[ ] [1WP] another gift, of power proportionate to the above
22: Mia has a pair of virtues, patterns of behavior that held vindicate her existence, and recover Agency Points. What are they?
[ ] Write in
23: Mia has a vice, a flaw which she tries to avoid. Giving into it does help her recover Agency Points, however.
[ ] Write in
The winning entry didn't have a value for <target>, so let's specify that this time
9 <Target?>
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
Rules stuff:
Alright, that takes care of character creation. After this entry, forget all about Weirdness Points, what even are they? Craziness, lumping human achievement into discrete point values. Also prepare yourself for Agency Points, which are excellent inventions that will allow you to shape this story.
Agency Points:
Blender has a number of these at any given time, she generates a certain amount every week, and can earn more with her virtues and vices. Many actions will cost Agency Points (sometimes called AP), and you can't take them if she is out of AP. In general, the actions that cost AP are those which are difficult to make yourself do, like 'update your web serial on time', and those which are free are easy things like 'goof off and feel bad about not updating your web serial'.
Rankings:
Speaking of collapsing the entire sphere of human interplay into a number, Blender also has rankings. These represent how various NPCs feel about her. These values are known to you, but not to her. Some actions will foreseeably cause them to change. Others will unforeseeably do so. The most important is Her ranking, of course, but there are some others which she will want to keep track of.
Other note:
This quest is posted in two places.
It is posted as updates to my blog : The Fifth Defiance
It is a thread on sufficient velocity : Regime Quest - Original
People can vote in both places, so if you see 'phantom' votes, they are probably from the other side.
Thanks for sticking with me through character creation, folks. Next Sunday we'll start the game!
Two votes
TalonOfAntares entry
Lurker
One vote:
Reflector
Neutralyzer
Rolled odds for Talon, even for Lurker, came up 5. So Talon's nameless choice it is!
*************************************************************************************************
Winning Entry
[X] Moniker: GM fiat (Blender)
[X] Real Name: Mia
[X] woman
[X] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
[X] Force. Someone was recruiting, and I was a warm body
[X] Another ability, comparatively minor (write-in)
-[X] The ability to restore and repair something's form in a few moments, through touch. Can affect herself.
[X] (5UP & 1WP) Another ability, of exceptional reach and breadth (write-in)
-[X] The ability to take aspects of something's form and to give someone aspects of yours. Make someone older and become younger, make someone tall and become short, make yourself tough and stiff but make a wall weak, make yourself light but make paper heavy, ect. Does not require concentration, but a limited number of effects can be maintained on one person at one time. Effects cannot be dismissed, but it is possible to "get rid of them" by giving them to an enemy and leaving them there forever. Range is short, but it works fast.
[X] (1WP) I am on the side of Kill Every Monster, striving to eradicate my own kind, so that humans may once again rule their own destinies
[X] Subtracter
[X] Physical Description: A short, unassuming woman. In fairly good shape. Wears "heavy" armour, and carries a large hiking backpack. Clothes and gear in good state. Sigil: An Old World graduation cap.
[X] Demeanor: Hates Ultras (including sometimes herself, though she blames any immoral actions on necessity and her nature as an Ultra), but doesn't actively seek her own death (has some caution, fears it). Polite and even kind to non-Ultras. Social person (with non-Ultras) who likes company and cares about how she is perceived by others.
[X] (1WP) Wilderness Dweller: I lived in a town with no Company Facility or Ultras. We survived on our own, without protein powder or Ultra gifts. I know how it was done, and I could do it again.
[X] Worked as a Troubleshooter, roaming the land and enforcing the Regime's norms. Traveling between cities holds no surprises for me, and I know many of the Ultras of consquence outside Shington.
[X] (1WP) The humans, they are the ocean in which my kind swim. Their view of me is most important.
[X] (1WP) A lot more than ten. I took the red path to the heights.
[X] A moderate amount, what was necessary to gain my position. Everyone has a good idea of how my gifts work, and my name opens many doors.
**************************************************************************************************
Weirdness Points available in round 3: 5
Character creation 3: Finishing up
16: Given that Mia was Processed forcibly, went from living in an independent town to troubleshooting for the Regime, and hates Ultras, the story almost writes itself. Looks like some Ultras happened upon their little community, they were dragged to the Company Facility, and she was the only one who made it. Do I have that right?
[ ] Yes, in substance
[ ] No, [Write in]
16A: If yes above, were there any other survivors, if so, does Mia stay in contact with them?
[ ] No survivors
[ ] Scattered humans, one is my chief KEM contact
[ ] [1WP] Scattered humans, plus another Ultra who shares my secret affiliation
16B: If yes in 16, was the Ultra in charge of that anyone we know?
[ ] [1WP] Someone who has since died
[ ] Subtracter
[ ] First Fist
[ ] Second Fist
[ ] Third Fist
17: Is Blender literate, numerate?
[ ] No, I recognize certain words as shapes and count like a gully dwarf
[ ] Kind of, my refuge had some basic schooling, I can do arithmetic and read English
[ ] [1WP] I'm highly educated, my little town had someone dedicated enough to teach the young, even in this dark time
18: The following were the other choices for Warlord this time around. Is Mia close with any of them, despite loathing Ultrahumans?
[ ] None, she hates Ultras
[ ] [2WP]Masher, slight, waifish woman. She has Ultra durability when stationary, Ultra strength when in motion, and a limited fly power that only goes in straight lines. She's a belligerent person, thrives on battle and excitement. She was also sponsored by Subtracter. Keeps dogs.
[ ] [2WP]Maker, big big woman, both tall and fat. She has Ultra toughness one, and she can summon 'the spirit of things' to do her bidding. These are person shaped apparitions obsessed with the function of their origin. she is very shy and retiring, rarely volunteering much. She was sponsored by Snitcher. She still lives with her human family.
[ ] [1WP]Picker, very young girl, mid teens. She has Ultra speed, and can 'choose the outcome of things', whatever that means. Mostly seems like Ultra luck. She is scatterbrained and frightened most of the time. Sponsored by First Fist. Very close with a male Ultra who Blender knows nothing about.
[ ] [3WP] Shower, black man with no face. Sees out of the eyes of everyone in a few hundred feet, blind when alone. Gains strength and toughness based on how many people can see him. Very cheesy, very 'big' personality, despite no voice. Sponsored by Adder. Has a few 'pet' humans who stay around him constantly.
19: Are any of the above Mia's particular nemesis?
[ ] [2WP] None, she has avoided rivalries thus far
[ ] Masher, slight, waifish woman. She has Ultra durability when stationary, Ultra strength when in motion, and a limited fly power that only goes in straight lines. She's a belligerent person, thrives on battle and excitement. She was also sponsored by Subtracter. Keeps dogs.
[ ] Maker, big big woman, both tall and fat. She has Ultra toughness one, and she can summon 'the spirit of things' to do her bidding. These are person shaped apparitions obsessed with the function of their origin. she is very shy and retiring, rarely volunteering much. She was sponsored by Snitcher. She still lives with her human family.
[ ] [1WP] Picker, very young girl, mid teens. She has Ultra speed, and can 'choose the outcome of things', whatever that means. Mostly seems like Ultra luck. She is scatterbrained and frightened most of the time. Sponsored by First Fist. Very close with a male Ultra who Blender knows nothing about.
[ ] Shower, black man with no face. Sees out of the eyes of everyone in a few hundred feet, blind when alone. Gains strength and toughness based on how many people can see him. Very cheesy, very 'big' personality, despite no voice. Sponsored by Adder. Has a few 'pet' humans who stay around him constantly.
[ ] Masher, slight, waifish woman. She has Ultra durability when stationary, Ultra strength when in motion, and a limited fly power that only goes in straight lines. She's a belligerent person, thrives on battle and excitement. She was also sponsored by Subtracter. Keeps dogs.
[ ] Maker, big big woman, both tall and fat. She has Ultra toughness one, and she can summon 'the spirit of things' to do her bidding. These are person shaped apparitions obsessed with the function of their origin. she is very shy and retiring, rarely volunteering much. She was sponsored by Snitcher. She still lives with her human family.
[ ] [1WP] Picker, very young girl, mid teens. She has Ultra speed, and can 'choose the outcome of things', whatever that means. Mostly seems like Ultra luck. She is scatterbrained and frightened most of the time. Sponsored by First Fist. Very close with a male Ultra who Blender knows nothing about.
[ ] Shower, black man with no face. Sees out of the eyes of everyone in a few hundred feet, blind when alone. Gains strength and toughness based on how many people can see him. Very cheesy, very 'big' personality, despite no voice. Sponsored by Adder. Has a few 'pet' humans who stay around him constantly.
20: Mia's relationship with KEM, how close is it? Are they mostly present in the occasion dropped off note and KEM sheet, or is she a commander in their ranks?[ ] She is a weapon they use against other Ultras. They provide information to that end.
[ ] [1WP] She is a fellow traveler, and they like the idea of her rising in ranks, and thus gaining the ability to destroy more Ultras. They work on her behalf, and she can ask them for favors.
[ ] [3 WP] She is a KEM cell leader, with followers and henchmen to the extent that the underground group can provide. Their efforts helped pave the way to her current rise to warlord.
21: Mia has a secret gift, one that no one has ever learned about. She has hidden it successfully thus far, fearing that to reveal it would see her conscripted into a Fist or similar.
[ ] Ultra strength 1
[ ] Ultra toughness 1
[ ] Ultra speed 1
[ ] [1WP] another gift, of power proportionate to the above
22: Mia has a pair of virtues, patterns of behavior that held vindicate her existence, and recover Agency Points. What are they?
[ ] Write in
23: Mia has a vice, a flaw which she tries to avoid. Giving into it does help her recover Agency Points, however.
[ ] Write in
The winning entry didn't have a value for <target>, so let's specify that this time
9 <Target?>
- [ ] Lington, up in old Mont. A medium city, traded back and forth between Union and Pantheon hands for long enough that She got tired of being left out of the fun. presently Union
- [ ] Ar Harbor, up on the coast in Aine, a small city, which should be lightly protected, by an unaffiliated local Ultra gang of all things, but She wants it taken intact, minimal property damage
- [ ] Gusta, the perpetual football we squabble with the Pantheon over, down in old Juh. Big target, about which we have good intel, currently the scene of an inter Pantheon civil struggle.
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
Rules stuff:
Alright, that takes care of character creation. After this entry, forget all about Weirdness Points, what even are they? Craziness, lumping human achievement into discrete point values. Also prepare yourself for Agency Points, which are excellent inventions that will allow you to shape this story.
Agency Points:
Blender has a number of these at any given time, she generates a certain amount every week, and can earn more with her virtues and vices. Many actions will cost Agency Points (sometimes called AP), and you can't take them if she is out of AP. In general, the actions that cost AP are those which are difficult to make yourself do, like 'update your web serial on time', and those which are free are easy things like 'goof off and feel bad about not updating your web serial'.
Rankings:
Speaking of collapsing the entire sphere of human interplay into a number, Blender also has rankings. These represent how various NPCs feel about her. These values are known to you, but not to her. Some actions will foreseeably cause them to change. Others will unforeseeably do so. The most important is Her ranking, of course, but there are some others which she will want to keep track of.
Other note:
This quest is posted in two places.
It is posted as updates to my blog : The Fifth Defiance
It is a thread on sufficient velocity : Regime Quest - Original
People can vote in both places, so if you see 'phantom' votes, they are probably from the other side.
Thanks for sticking with me through character creation, folks. Next Sunday we'll start the game!
Turn 1
- Location
- USA
Results from previous round:
Three votes
TalonOfAntares Entry (SV Forum)
One vote:
Skiverus Entry (TFD Blog)
*************************************************************************************
16: Given that Mia was Processed forcibly, went from living in an independent town to troubleshooting for the Regime, and hates Ultras, the story almost writes itself. Looks like some Ultras happened upon their little community, they were dragged to the Company Facility, and she was the only one who made it. Do I have that right?
[X] Yes, in substance. She didn't dare attempt the Process as the Old World fell (high mortality rate).
16A: If yes above, were there any other survivors, if so, does Mia stay in contact with them?
[X] Scattered humans, one is my chief KEM contact
16B: If yes in 16, was the Ultra in charge of that anyone we know?
[X] Subtracter.
17: Yes (QM note: I missed that she was alive in the old world, and hence educated
18: The following were the other choices for Warlord this time around. Is Mia close with any of them, despite loathing Ultrahumans?
[X] Maker
19: Are any of the above Mia's particular nemesis?
[X] Masher
20: Mia's relationship with KEM, how close is it? Are they mostly present in the occasion dropped off note and KEM sheet, or is she a commander in their ranks?
[X] [1WP] She is a fellow traveler, and they like the idea of her rising in ranks, and thus gaining the ability to destroy more Ultras. They work on her behalf, and she can ask them for favors.
21: Mia has a secret gift, one that no one has ever learned about. She has hidden it successfully thus far, fearing that to reveal it would see her conscripted into a Fist or similar.
[X] Ultra toughness 1
22: Mia has a pair of virtues, patterns of behavior that held vindicate her existence, and recover Agency Points. What are they?
[x] Restoring aspects of the old world (QM note: paraphrase to split into two)
[x] Improving people's lives and helping them
23: Mia has a vice, a flaw which she tries to avoid. Giving into it does help her recover Agency Points, however.
[x] She has a tendency to react out of proportion to events that remind her of the destruction of the Old World. Viewing Ultras as childish tyrants, she will actively place offensive Ultras in harms way, sometimes even going so far as to overtly attack them herself. Occasionally, Mia will bite of more than she can chew, yet like a dog fixated on a bone, Mia won't back down.
9 <Target?>
[X] Ar Harbor, up on the coast in Aine, a small city, which should be lightly protected, by an unaffiliated local Ultra gang of all things, but She wants it taken intact, minimal property damage
*************************************************************************************
I sighed and swept the paper off the desk, crumpling it up and dumping it neatly in the wastebasket.
I was overcomplicating this. Overanalyzing it. This couldn't actually be as complicated as I was making.
Start fresh, Mia. Get this right.
I am Her Warlord. I have to conquer Ar Harbor in 30 days, with minimal damage to the town. So let's break that down.
If I imagine myself in the future where that has already happened, what do I remember doing during this time? What part of that sentence is just vagueness, and what parts can I concretely see?
I tapped my knuckle on the old desk, valiantly resisting gnawing on it. I took out another piece of paper.
Well, going from the start of the sentence onward, the first oddness that I encountered was the title of Warlord. What did that actually mean? What could I do with it, that I couldn't do without it? What did it entail?
I swiveled my chair, looked guiltily over to where Owner was sleeping. Officially, we watched over one another while we slept. She got the first half of the night, I got the second half. In practice I mostly settled on being in the same room as her, figured any Ultra assassins were more likely after me than her anyway.
She had, I noticed, sort of sprawled across the bed, a bunch of the bags of chips and crappy drinks her imaginary gas stands produced tossed on the floor by the bed side, lying near her outstretched hand.
Owner, lazy and sloppy as she was, was an elite Ultra, able to sustain a life inside of the Lair. A lot of that had to do with her partnership with me, but still, this was the level of power that I would be dealing with.
Lair Ultras would form the core of my army. Previous warlords had each assembled a Posse of other powerful Ultras, who accompany them from mission to mission. I would have to do likewise.
I looked back to the paper.
"Get Posse" I wrote on it. A few Ultras I could 'trust', people who were my peers. That would go a long way. But a Posse was not an army.
"Get Army" I followed it up with. Couldn't be a proper warlord without some kind of horde to follow me around and do horde things. Pillage, I guessed. I'd need a lot of Ultra bodies to match up with the enemies' similar forces, make sure me and the Posse didn't get swarmed under.
That wouldn't be too hard. The outskirts of Shington, the city around the Lair, were a magnet for the Ultras of the Regime. There were hundreds of them, and it seemed like more arrived every day. They were hungry for distinction, hungry to slaughter the innocent if it got them one more sliver of Her attention.
I scowled. KEM had the right idea. We were abominations, apt only for the fire. I would help these ambitious fools find their glory, and the fire would follow after.
A quiet knock stirred me from these dark thoughts, and I hurried over to the door before they could knock again, and chance waking up Owner. When you only got 6 hours of sleep it was vital that they not be interrupted.
I put a hand to a vial at my belt as I opened the door, ready to blend if the need arrived, but it was only Harry.
He grinned apologetically, ducked his head down deferentially, and thrust a cupcake towards me.
I slipped into the hall.
"You know you aren't supposed to disturb me," I whispered.
"I know, I know," he said. "But it was your big day, and we all saved up and scrounged until we could get you…"
He trailed off, once again indicating the cupcake.
I softened at that, my sternness collapsing. The Packers were pretty typical of the sorts of humans who managed to stay in the Lair. They operated this house, serving the Ultras who chose to inhabit it. They'd lucked out with Owner and I, and they knew it.
No, pretty typical wasn't fair. Most people wouldn't go out and find a cupcake for their oppressors. The Packers demonstrated a forbearance and lack of resentment that had to come from their matriarch. I could reciprocate.
I reached out, took the muffin. It looked stale and forlorn, but I've always believed that a sincere gift would taste better than any other kind of food.
I looked a little closer, noticed that Harry had tear streaks on his face, a nose more red than normal.
"Ah come on Harry, you aren't chasing after Yasmine again?"
He looked away, guiltily.
I was already regretting asking. The last thing I wanted was to hear about his girl drama. I'd told him on a few occasions that if she was dumb enough to wait around for Shower to get exclusive with her then Harry could do a lot better.
"No," he said, unconvincingly.
"Good," I said, pretending to be convinced. I was about to go back into our room when I noticed the shadow behind him.
Billy Packer, the youngest and smallest, all big eyes and teeth in the darkness. He had his hands hidden behind his back, face pulled down in the coy little boy smile that the human race had no doubt perfected some time before we found fire.
"What's this then?" I asked.
He put his chin down, shook his head from side to side.
"Is iiiiiit…" I drew out the word, "a slice of apple for Napoleon?"
His head shaking became faster, more emphatic.
"I told you that he's getting fat," I said. "I told you over and over."
"Not a bit of apple," he said.
Harry retreated past us, heading back down to the rest of the house.
"I believe you," I said. "I'll just – ha!"
I moved swiftly, reaching down behind him and bringing his hand up into the light.
A slice of apple glistened on it.
"What did I tell-"
I fell silent as he brought up his other hand, opening it up to reveal a second slice of apple.
We stood for a second in a frozen tableau, and then I released him, defeated.
I turned back to the door, chuckling, and let him set out the apples where he knew Napoleon would find it.
He, at least, had the good grace to sit quiet and tight in his nook.
Officially, he'd be asleep, but I knew the instant I turned away he'd be stumping his way over to this feast. Damn thing. One day he'd split his shell.
I looked over to Owner, making sure nothing untoward had happened with her, then returned to my work.
So, gather a posse, gather an army, easy enough. Then what?
Well, I knew that the Regime's armies operated under weird rules. She would be watching, after all, through my eyes. I needed to know what she expected to see, make sure that I didn't get in trouble with Her. I wouldn't do the Cause any good as one more stain on Her fists.
That thought led to another.
"Watching through my eyes," I murmured. Snitcher.
I'd have to reckon with him, figure out when he'd be monitoring me himself, and when he'd be letting Her see. I couldn't chance contact with KEM, with the Resistance, until I knew more about him. I couldn't even be sure it was safe to use my gifts on the people of the city. I had to deal with him.
And then there was transportation, securing a route, scouting the enemies… all of the considerations piled up. So much to do.
And to think, I'd wanted this. Had planned for it, schemed for it, killed for it. This nebulous opportunity had been the focus of my life for a solid half decade now.
"Time to get started," I whispered, and set back to work.
*************************************************************************************
Days remaining: 30
AP available: (4 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
*************************************************************************************
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Vote input format
Please specify what actions you want to perform, and what slot you want to put them in. You can make the plans more complicated if you like, changing your second action depending on the results of the first. Please don't hesitate to ask me questions, in the SV thread or on my blog. I'll try and get back either way. Voting closes Saturday night, next update will be next Sunday night. Remember this is slate voting, not by time slot.
Thanks for reading/playing!
Three votes
TalonOfAntares Entry (SV Forum)
One vote:
Skiverus Entry (TFD Blog)
*************************************************************************************
16: Given that Mia was Processed forcibly, went from living in an independent town to troubleshooting for the Regime, and hates Ultras, the story almost writes itself. Looks like some Ultras happened upon their little community, they were dragged to the Company Facility, and she was the only one who made it. Do I have that right?
[X] Yes, in substance. She didn't dare attempt the Process as the Old World fell (high mortality rate).
16A: If yes above, were there any other survivors, if so, does Mia stay in contact with them?
[X] Scattered humans, one is my chief KEM contact
16B: If yes in 16, was the Ultra in charge of that anyone we know?
[X] Subtracter.
17: Yes (QM note: I missed that she was alive in the old world, and hence educated
18: The following were the other choices for Warlord this time around. Is Mia close with any of them, despite loathing Ultrahumans?
[X] Maker
19: Are any of the above Mia's particular nemesis?
[X] Masher
20: Mia's relationship with KEM, how close is it? Are they mostly present in the occasion dropped off note and KEM sheet, or is she a commander in their ranks?
[X] [1WP] She is a fellow traveler, and they like the idea of her rising in ranks, and thus gaining the ability to destroy more Ultras. They work on her behalf, and she can ask them for favors.
21: Mia has a secret gift, one that no one has ever learned about. She has hidden it successfully thus far, fearing that to reveal it would see her conscripted into a Fist or similar.
[X] Ultra toughness 1
22: Mia has a pair of virtues, patterns of behavior that held vindicate her existence, and recover Agency Points. What are they?
[x] Restoring aspects of the old world (QM note: paraphrase to split into two)
[x] Improving people's lives and helping them
23: Mia has a vice, a flaw which she tries to avoid. Giving into it does help her recover Agency Points, however.
[x] She has a tendency to react out of proportion to events that remind her of the destruction of the Old World. Viewing Ultras as childish tyrants, she will actively place offensive Ultras in harms way, sometimes even going so far as to overtly attack them herself. Occasionally, Mia will bite of more than she can chew, yet like a dog fixated on a bone, Mia won't back down.
9 <Target?>
[X] Ar Harbor, up on the coast in Aine, a small city, which should be lightly protected, by an unaffiliated local Ultra gang of all things, but She wants it taken intact, minimal property damage
*************************************************************************************
I sighed and swept the paper off the desk, crumpling it up and dumping it neatly in the wastebasket.
I was overcomplicating this. Overanalyzing it. This couldn't actually be as complicated as I was making.
Start fresh, Mia. Get this right.
I am Her Warlord. I have to conquer Ar Harbor in 30 days, with minimal damage to the town. So let's break that down.
If I imagine myself in the future where that has already happened, what do I remember doing during this time? What part of that sentence is just vagueness, and what parts can I concretely see?
I tapped my knuckle on the old desk, valiantly resisting gnawing on it. I took out another piece of paper.
Well, going from the start of the sentence onward, the first oddness that I encountered was the title of Warlord. What did that actually mean? What could I do with it, that I couldn't do without it? What did it entail?
I swiveled my chair, looked guiltily over to where Owner was sleeping. Officially, we watched over one another while we slept. She got the first half of the night, I got the second half. In practice I mostly settled on being in the same room as her, figured any Ultra assassins were more likely after me than her anyway.
She had, I noticed, sort of sprawled across the bed, a bunch of the bags of chips and crappy drinks her imaginary gas stands produced tossed on the floor by the bed side, lying near her outstretched hand.
Owner, lazy and sloppy as she was, was an elite Ultra, able to sustain a life inside of the Lair. A lot of that had to do with her partnership with me, but still, this was the level of power that I would be dealing with.
Lair Ultras would form the core of my army. Previous warlords had each assembled a Posse of other powerful Ultras, who accompany them from mission to mission. I would have to do likewise.
I looked back to the paper.
"Get Posse" I wrote on it. A few Ultras I could 'trust', people who were my peers. That would go a long way. But a Posse was not an army.
"Get Army" I followed it up with. Couldn't be a proper warlord without some kind of horde to follow me around and do horde things. Pillage, I guessed. I'd need a lot of Ultra bodies to match up with the enemies' similar forces, make sure me and the Posse didn't get swarmed under.
That wouldn't be too hard. The outskirts of Shington, the city around the Lair, were a magnet for the Ultras of the Regime. There were hundreds of them, and it seemed like more arrived every day. They were hungry for distinction, hungry to slaughter the innocent if it got them one more sliver of Her attention.
I scowled. KEM had the right idea. We were abominations, apt only for the fire. I would help these ambitious fools find their glory, and the fire would follow after.
A quiet knock stirred me from these dark thoughts, and I hurried over to the door before they could knock again, and chance waking up Owner. When you only got 6 hours of sleep it was vital that they not be interrupted.
I put a hand to a vial at my belt as I opened the door, ready to blend if the need arrived, but it was only Harry.
He grinned apologetically, ducked his head down deferentially, and thrust a cupcake towards me.
I slipped into the hall.
"You know you aren't supposed to disturb me," I whispered.
"I know, I know," he said. "But it was your big day, and we all saved up and scrounged until we could get you…"
He trailed off, once again indicating the cupcake.
I softened at that, my sternness collapsing. The Packers were pretty typical of the sorts of humans who managed to stay in the Lair. They operated this house, serving the Ultras who chose to inhabit it. They'd lucked out with Owner and I, and they knew it.
No, pretty typical wasn't fair. Most people wouldn't go out and find a cupcake for their oppressors. The Packers demonstrated a forbearance and lack of resentment that had to come from their matriarch. I could reciprocate.
I reached out, took the muffin. It looked stale and forlorn, but I've always believed that a sincere gift would taste better than any other kind of food.
I looked a little closer, noticed that Harry had tear streaks on his face, a nose more red than normal.
"Ah come on Harry, you aren't chasing after Yasmine again?"
He looked away, guiltily.
I was already regretting asking. The last thing I wanted was to hear about his girl drama. I'd told him on a few occasions that if she was dumb enough to wait around for Shower to get exclusive with her then Harry could do a lot better.
"No," he said, unconvincingly.
"Good," I said, pretending to be convinced. I was about to go back into our room when I noticed the shadow behind him.
Billy Packer, the youngest and smallest, all big eyes and teeth in the darkness. He had his hands hidden behind his back, face pulled down in the coy little boy smile that the human race had no doubt perfected some time before we found fire.
"What's this then?" I asked.
He put his chin down, shook his head from side to side.
"Is iiiiiit…" I drew out the word, "a slice of apple for Napoleon?"
His head shaking became faster, more emphatic.
"I told you that he's getting fat," I said. "I told you over and over."
"Not a bit of apple," he said.
Harry retreated past us, heading back down to the rest of the house.
"I believe you," I said. "I'll just – ha!"
I moved swiftly, reaching down behind him and bringing his hand up into the light.
A slice of apple glistened on it.
"What did I tell-"
I fell silent as he brought up his other hand, opening it up to reveal a second slice of apple.
We stood for a second in a frozen tableau, and then I released him, defeated.
I turned back to the door, chuckling, and let him set out the apples where he knew Napoleon would find it.
He, at least, had the good grace to sit quiet and tight in his nook.
Officially, he'd be asleep, but I knew the instant I turned away he'd be stumping his way over to this feast. Damn thing. One day he'd split his shell.
I looked over to Owner, making sure nothing untoward had happened with her, then returned to my work.
So, gather a posse, gather an army, easy enough. Then what?
Well, I knew that the Regime's armies operated under weird rules. She would be watching, after all, through my eyes. I needed to know what she expected to see, make sure that I didn't get in trouble with Her. I wouldn't do the Cause any good as one more stain on Her fists.
That thought led to another.
"Watching through my eyes," I murmured. Snitcher.
I'd have to reckon with him, figure out when he'd be monitoring me himself, and when he'd be letting Her see. I couldn't chance contact with KEM, with the Resistance, until I knew more about him. I couldn't even be sure it was safe to use my gifts on the people of the city. I had to deal with him.
And then there was transportation, securing a route, scouting the enemies… all of the considerations piled up. So much to do.
And to think, I'd wanted this. Had planned for it, schemed for it, killed for it. This nebulous opportunity had been the focus of my life for a solid half decade now.
"Time to get started," I whispered, and set back to work.
*************************************************************************************
Days remaining: 30
AP available: (4 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
*************************************************************************************
Personal Actions:
Action: Seek Target Information [Company] :
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost 2 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Target Information [Subtracter] :
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime. She will have information on this target.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Target Information [Survivors] :
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be mislead by liars.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Scavenge]
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
Timeslot cost: 2
AP Cost:4, returns 3 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Trade with existing owners]
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2 to initiate, returns one on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Seize by force]
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
Timeslot cost: 2
AP Cost: 4 to initiate, returns 3 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Adder + Company]
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Timeslot cost: 1
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Posse members
Motive: There are dozen of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Investigate Acquaintance:
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic competence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 on completion, 2 (total, not 2 +1) if we match and become allies
Action: Invite Ally into Posse:
Motive: If I want to bring an Ultra into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to strangers. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
Timeslot cost: 1
Ap Cost 3, returns 3 if they accept
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [passive listening]
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1 returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [Active interrogation of snitches]
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3 returns 2 if successful
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [Confront Snitcher directly]
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost:4, returns 3 if successful
Action: Seek information on Regime military operations [ Query Subtracter]
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors. I hate spending time with her
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek information on Regime military operations [Ask around]
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 if successful
Action: Lounge around in the house/room, doing nothing and risking nothing
Motive: I could do with some relaxation and rest
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 0, returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek entertainment in the city, patronize establishments that provide such services
Motive: I could do with a recharge, and I might extend my circle of acquaintances in the process
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 3 if successful
Action: Use my gift to help the populace by blending attributes to allow reconstruction of the works of their fallen fathers.
Motive: I feel most myself when I take a some to work on rebuilding the old world.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior for a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 5 if successful
Action: Use my gift to help the human subjects of the Regime by restoring their forms, returning them to health.
Motive: I like to heal the sick and the injured, it is, on some level, what I am for.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior ofr a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 5 if successful
Action: Seek new residence
Motive: I could get more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful
Action: Organize armory
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 2 if successful
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Action: Other
Motive: [Write In]
Concerns: [Write In]
Timeslot cost: [Write In]
AP Cost: You propose, QM will try and get AP cost/rewards back to you before voting closes
Action: Seek Target Information [Company] :
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost 2 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Target Information [Subtracter] :
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime. She will have information on this target.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Target Information [Survivors] :
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be mislead by liars.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2 to initiate, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Scavenge]
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
Timeslot cost: 2
AP Cost:4, returns 3 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Trade with existing owners]
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2 to initiate, returns one on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Seize by force]
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
Timeslot cost: 2
AP Cost: 4 to initiate, returns 3 on successful completion
Action: Seek Transportation [Adder + Company]
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Timeslot cost: 1
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Seek Posse members
Motive: There are dozen of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 1 on successful completion
Action: Investigate Acquaintance:
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic competence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 on completion, 2 (total, not 2 +1) if we match and become allies
Action: Invite Ally into Posse:
Motive: If I want to bring an Ultra into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to strangers. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
Timeslot cost: 1
Ap Cost 3, returns 3 if they accept
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [passive listening]
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1 returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [Active interrogation of snitches]
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3 returns 2 if successful
Action: Seek information on Snitcher's patterns [Confront Snitcher directly]
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost:4, returns 3 if successful
Action: Seek information on Regime military operations [ Query Subtracter]
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors. I hate spending time with her
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek information on Regime military operations [Ask around]
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 1 if successful
Action: Lounge around in the house/room, doing nothing and risking nothing
Motive: I could do with some relaxation and rest
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 0, returns 1 if successful
Action: Seek entertainment in the city, patronize establishments that provide such services
Motive: I could do with a recharge, and I might extend my circle of acquaintances in the process
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 3 if successful
Action: Use my gift to help the populace by blending attributes to allow reconstruction of the works of their fallen fathers.
Motive: I feel most myself when I take a some to work on rebuilding the old world.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior for a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 5 if successful
Action: Use my gift to help the human subjects of the Regime by restoring their forms, returning them to health.
Motive: I like to heal the sick and the injured, it is, on some level, what I am for.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior ofr a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 1, returns 5 if successful
Action: Seek new residence
Motive: I could get more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful
Action: Organize armory
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
Timeslot cost: 1
AP Cost: 2, returns 2 if successful
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Action: Other
Motive: [Write In]
Concerns: [Write In]
Timeslot cost: [Write In]
AP Cost: You propose, QM will try and get AP cost/rewards back to you before voting closes
*************************************************************************************
Vote input format
Please specify what actions you want to perform, and what slot you want to put them in. You can make the plans more complicated if you like, changing your second action depending on the results of the first. Please don't hesitate to ask me questions, in the SV thread or on my blog. I'll try and get back either way. Voting closes Saturday night, next update will be next Sunday night. Remember this is slate voting, not by time slot.
Thanks for reading/playing!
Last edited:
Turn 2
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
Two Votes:
Plan Nevile (on SV forum)
One Vote:
Plan Skivverus (On my blog, Skiv you might want to make an account and post on the SV thread, so that you can interact with the other posters, it doesn't seem like people on the blog see other people's comments)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] [Morning] Seek information on Regime military operations [ Query Subtracter] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful)
[x] [Afternoon] Seek Posse members (Timeslot cost: 1; AP Cost: 1, returns 1 on successful completion)
*************************************************************************************
Day 1 Log:
5 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (6 AP)
-3 for [Morning] Talk with Subtracter (3 AP)
Talk With Subtracter roll: 2 (failure, complication added)
+ 0 for Failure, Talk with Subtracter (3 AP)
-1 for [Afternoon] Investigate Posse Members (2 AP)
Investigate Posse Members roll: 8 (Superior Success, detailed information gathered)
+1 for Success, Investigate Posse Members (3 AP)
End of day, (3 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Talk with Subtracter:
I tried to ignore the din around us and focus carefully on what she was saying. It wasn't easy.
Subtracter didn't share Her penchant for squatting in the ruined buildings of the old government, no, her office was presently square in the middle of an old furniture store. She'd built a sort of nest out of sofas and beds, and sprawled languidly across it while I addressed her.
"Thanks," I said, accepting her congratulations. "I'm sure it is all due to having such a prestigious sponsor."
She spared me a look at that, glancing up from the Rubiks cube she was struggling with. She said something, but it was drowned out by the ambient noise.
Subtracter didn't really do privacy. Her Posse filled the furniture store, a band of young hooligans cast more or less directly in her mold. To a woman they were powerful Ultras, utterly unencumbered by anything resembling scrupals. They were also uniformly loud, and it made it kind of hard to pay Subtracter as much attention as I needed to.
I leaned closer.
"-tigious?" I caught.
"It means good," I clarified, cursing myself internally. Making Subtracter feel stupid was dangerous.
"What do you want?" she asked.
She tossed a coin or something over at the couple who were messing around on the next bed, and they subsided a bit, leaving us with some breathing room.
"I'd like to talk about my job," I said. "You have been the boss of all the warlords. Is there like a speech that you give or something? I don't want to piss you off by doing the wrong thing."
She looked up at me, eyebrows rising as somewhere within the dim expanse of her mind a pair of neurons bumped into one another.
"Oh, yeah!" she said. "I forgot, I told the last girl, not you. You haven't heard yet. That was a smart catch."
I contented myself with nodding, trying to keep the bile from my throat.
Subtracter probably wasn't any more dim, any more brutal, than the rest of the Ultras of the Regime, but she was the one who'd ended my old life. I couldn't look at her without remembering my old neighbor vanishing in a spray of blood, the nice old man who taught the kids in the afternoons being tossed helplessly into the clouds.
"Ok, so it's like this. You have to make sure that a few things happen. The first is that you and your crew go and kill all the enemy Ultras, take their daggers for ours. Mess em up."
I nodded, trying to push the past aside, focus on this moment.
She snarled at the cube in her hands, and it blurred as she used her speed on it. When she finished the frenzy of turning it was more jumbled than when she started.
She frowned, looking up at me again.
"But even more big deal than that, you need to make sure She is watching, dig? So work stuff out with Snitcher to make sure that She is watching when you take em on."
I'd been intending to do that, of course, but it was worth the reminder.
"Do you have any more specific advice?" I pressed. "Like, how many Ultras I should take, any tricks you've picked up over the years?"
"Sure," she said. "You don't want to outnumber them."
What? I leaned closer to make sure I was hearing correctly.
"That'd be boring for Her. You want to have just a few less gals than you are up against. And don't fight sneaky. She has killed a few bitches who didn't give her a fun fight, like they attacked while people were sleeping or whatever."
I winced. It was hard to imagine a more pointless waste of resources. I'd known that Prevailer killed Her own minions, of course, but hearing it stated so starkly was sobering.
"So yeah, just take your people, ride into the place, win the fight, and then do it again."
I hesitated. Could I get anything more from her? Anything a little more useful?
"When you say…win the fight," I said, "Is there any particular way that I should do that? Like, if I need to uh, explain it to a dumb person, like Adder or someone."
She chuckled, dissing Adder always got that response.
"Sure, yeah, I forget that you've been doing one on one stuff up till now. Ok, lots of Ultras fighting is like this."
She put the cube aside and gave me her full attention.
"People matter in the fight on how much toughness they have. Bring a gal or two who, like, kill everyone that they look at or whatever. Some gift that is real hard to dodge and takes out chumps with no Ultra toughness. That'll get rid of all the daggers and the Ultras who don't belong in a fight."
I'd noticed that before. Gifts had a certain degree of strength, and the ones that didn't beat Ultra toughness tended to be much easier to apply.
"While you are doing that, you better figure that they'll be doing the same thing. In a pinch, if you can't find an Ultra with this kind of gift, you can just, like, have everyone carry guns or whatever. Its pussy shit, but losing would be worse. Anyway, sweep up the nobodies real quick, they'll do the same to you."
I noted that she didn't mention taking any precautions to protect her own team's human gunners or vulnerable Ultras. I didn't think that was as much a tactical choice as it was just something that she literally never thought of.
"After that," she said. "It is just your tough Ultras and theirs. Do the Cutter thing."
The Cutter thing? I'd never heard of any Cutter. Must have been before my time. Some sort of algorithm, not that she'd know the word.
"The Cutter thing," I said. "Of course, but-"
She cut me off.
"Actually, talking is a dumb way to do this. What you need is some practice."
Oh, shit.
"We are a bit low on fodder lately. I'm supposed to go to Delphia and grab some people for Processing. Usually some locals step up when that happens. Why don't you take a few weeks, then do that for me? You can test your Posse out, pop your cherry, bring a couple hundred people back and help us make up for the losses we took the last few times out.
It wasn't really a question. I nodded, inwardly fuming.
This was everything I got into the Regime NOT to do. The Ultras I'd be killing would be those who were willing to fight to protect people from the Process. I'd get a negligible amount of new Ultras, at a ruinous cost to the people of Delphia.
The conversation kept going for a little while longer, but I didn't get anything useful out of it. There was still more that I needed to know, but if I didn't get out of there quickly I knew I'd snap. I made my escape a few minutes later, narrowly keeping my composure, the screams of my hometown echoing in my ears.
*************************************************************************************
I spent the afternoon wandering around, gossiping and prying with the Ultras who always lurked around in the Lair. It helped settle me a little, but I didn't really get anything useful until I found a bunch of people making a disturbance, cheering and shouting around a bouncy castle.
I'd always kept myself aloof from the Ultras of the capital, focusing more on my intrigues against my rivals and my connections with KEM. It had gotten me my position, but it left me a little ignorant of the sort of things that the rank and file Ultras did for fun.
Which apparently included a bouncy castle.
I circulated among the spectators, and heard the gossip flowed much more freely. People were relaxed, loose, eager to brag on their allies and dunk on their enemies. I listened to everyone, and I heard about a number of prospects.
The first was Bubbler. Out of my three criteria, those being strength of their gift, basic competence and values at least nominally similar to mine, she had the second two in spades. She operated a sort of Ultra clinic, using her gift to heal Ultras and move stuff around, but what interested me about that was that she'd been doing the same thing for three years without incident, and that she didn't discriminate against the humans of Shington.
Her gift wasn't the worst thing, either. She could form a bubble around anything that she could touch, which stole away its weight and gradually repaired it. She could move the bubbles around at her will, and they were apparently pretty hard to break from the inside. I wouldn't call it a first degree combat gift, but it wasn't the worst I could imagine, certainly not if it came attached to a mind I could actually respect.
Clawer was another impressive Ultra, he was actually present at the pit. His form had been mutated by his gift, leaving him thumbless, with a pair of hooked blades where his hands ought to be. He was an Ultra fighter by trade, spending his time scrapping and sparring with other Ultras in nonlethal matches for the entertainment of the city.
From what I could tell, he had Ultra strength two and Ultra toughness one. First rate fighting gifts, and anyone who managed to survive in an environment as cutthroat as Shington's pit fighting circuit must have at least a basic competence.
My last prospect actually sought me out. She was the woman who'd set up this entertainment, a scavenger and entertainer who went by the unfortunate name of Sucker. She'd apparently made an enemy of one of the Ultra gangs which battled over the outskirts of the city, and figured she'd hide herself in my shadow.
I didn't get the details of her gift, but, I dunno, we sort of clicked? I got a good vibe off of her, and she couldn't be that weak if she was in the Lair. I tried to work out a deal to take the castle off her hands later on (odd objects often have useful properties for Blending), and she wanted me to help out her sister with some dentistry in exchange. I'll decide about that later on.
*************************************************************************************
Day 1 results:
Incomplete information gathered on Regime military procedures, new Complication gained [mission to Delphia]. I will develop actions relating to subverting this operation in coming days.
Information gained on Bubbler, Clawer, Sucker.
Opportunities discovered, Ultra Fighting, in coming days I will develop actions related to attending these events to discover more exceptional Ultra combatants.
Opportunities discovered, lesser Ultra gangs. When I begin to gather my main force, I may take advantage of the existing Ultra gangs of the outer city. I will develop actions relating to investigating this possibility once I've got enough of a Posse to begin to assemble my main force.
*************************************************************************************
Day 2:
Days remaining: 29
AP available: (3 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 4/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Actions:
Two Votes:
Plan Nevile (on SV forum)
One Vote:
Plan Skivverus (On my blog, Skiv you might want to make an account and post on the SV thread, so that you can interact with the other posters, it doesn't seem like people on the blog see other people's comments)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] [Morning] Seek information on Regime military operations [ Query Subtracter] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP Cost: 3, returns 1 if successful)
[x] [Afternoon] Seek Posse members (Timeslot cost: 1; AP Cost: 1, returns 1 on successful completion)
*************************************************************************************
Day 1 Log:
5 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (6 AP)
-3 for [Morning] Talk with Subtracter (3 AP)
Talk With Subtracter roll: 2 (failure, complication added)
+ 0 for Failure, Talk with Subtracter (3 AP)
-1 for [Afternoon] Investigate Posse Members (2 AP)
Investigate Posse Members roll: 8 (Superior Success, detailed information gathered)
+1 for Success, Investigate Posse Members (3 AP)
End of day, (3 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Talk with Subtracter:
I tried to ignore the din around us and focus carefully on what she was saying. It wasn't easy.
Subtracter didn't share Her penchant for squatting in the ruined buildings of the old government, no, her office was presently square in the middle of an old furniture store. She'd built a sort of nest out of sofas and beds, and sprawled languidly across it while I addressed her.
"Thanks," I said, accepting her congratulations. "I'm sure it is all due to having such a prestigious sponsor."
She spared me a look at that, glancing up from the Rubiks cube she was struggling with. She said something, but it was drowned out by the ambient noise.
Subtracter didn't really do privacy. Her Posse filled the furniture store, a band of young hooligans cast more or less directly in her mold. To a woman they were powerful Ultras, utterly unencumbered by anything resembling scrupals. They were also uniformly loud, and it made it kind of hard to pay Subtracter as much attention as I needed to.
I leaned closer.
"-tigious?" I caught.
"It means good," I clarified, cursing myself internally. Making Subtracter feel stupid was dangerous.
"What do you want?" she asked.
She tossed a coin or something over at the couple who were messing around on the next bed, and they subsided a bit, leaving us with some breathing room.
"I'd like to talk about my job," I said. "You have been the boss of all the warlords. Is there like a speech that you give or something? I don't want to piss you off by doing the wrong thing."
She looked up at me, eyebrows rising as somewhere within the dim expanse of her mind a pair of neurons bumped into one another.
"Oh, yeah!" she said. "I forgot, I told the last girl, not you. You haven't heard yet. That was a smart catch."
I contented myself with nodding, trying to keep the bile from my throat.
Subtracter probably wasn't any more dim, any more brutal, than the rest of the Ultras of the Regime, but she was the one who'd ended my old life. I couldn't look at her without remembering my old neighbor vanishing in a spray of blood, the nice old man who taught the kids in the afternoons being tossed helplessly into the clouds.
"Ok, so it's like this. You have to make sure that a few things happen. The first is that you and your crew go and kill all the enemy Ultras, take their daggers for ours. Mess em up."
I nodded, trying to push the past aside, focus on this moment.
She snarled at the cube in her hands, and it blurred as she used her speed on it. When she finished the frenzy of turning it was more jumbled than when she started.
She frowned, looking up at me again.
"But even more big deal than that, you need to make sure She is watching, dig? So work stuff out with Snitcher to make sure that She is watching when you take em on."
I'd been intending to do that, of course, but it was worth the reminder.
"Do you have any more specific advice?" I pressed. "Like, how many Ultras I should take, any tricks you've picked up over the years?"
"Sure," she said. "You don't want to outnumber them."
What? I leaned closer to make sure I was hearing correctly.
"That'd be boring for Her. You want to have just a few less gals than you are up against. And don't fight sneaky. She has killed a few bitches who didn't give her a fun fight, like they attacked while people were sleeping or whatever."
I winced. It was hard to imagine a more pointless waste of resources. I'd known that Prevailer killed Her own minions, of course, but hearing it stated so starkly was sobering.
"So yeah, just take your people, ride into the place, win the fight, and then do it again."
I hesitated. Could I get anything more from her? Anything a little more useful?
"When you say…win the fight," I said, "Is there any particular way that I should do that? Like, if I need to uh, explain it to a dumb person, like Adder or someone."
She chuckled, dissing Adder always got that response.
"Sure, yeah, I forget that you've been doing one on one stuff up till now. Ok, lots of Ultras fighting is like this."
She put the cube aside and gave me her full attention.
"People matter in the fight on how much toughness they have. Bring a gal or two who, like, kill everyone that they look at or whatever. Some gift that is real hard to dodge and takes out chumps with no Ultra toughness. That'll get rid of all the daggers and the Ultras who don't belong in a fight."
I'd noticed that before. Gifts had a certain degree of strength, and the ones that didn't beat Ultra toughness tended to be much easier to apply.
"While you are doing that, you better figure that they'll be doing the same thing. In a pinch, if you can't find an Ultra with this kind of gift, you can just, like, have everyone carry guns or whatever. Its pussy shit, but losing would be worse. Anyway, sweep up the nobodies real quick, they'll do the same to you."
I noted that she didn't mention taking any precautions to protect her own team's human gunners or vulnerable Ultras. I didn't think that was as much a tactical choice as it was just something that she literally never thought of.
"After that," she said. "It is just your tough Ultras and theirs. Do the Cutter thing."
The Cutter thing? I'd never heard of any Cutter. Must have been before my time. Some sort of algorithm, not that she'd know the word.
"The Cutter thing," I said. "Of course, but-"
She cut me off.
"Actually, talking is a dumb way to do this. What you need is some practice."
Oh, shit.
"We are a bit low on fodder lately. I'm supposed to go to Delphia and grab some people for Processing. Usually some locals step up when that happens. Why don't you take a few weeks, then do that for me? You can test your Posse out, pop your cherry, bring a couple hundred people back and help us make up for the losses we took the last few times out.
It wasn't really a question. I nodded, inwardly fuming.
This was everything I got into the Regime NOT to do. The Ultras I'd be killing would be those who were willing to fight to protect people from the Process. I'd get a negligible amount of new Ultras, at a ruinous cost to the people of Delphia.
The conversation kept going for a little while longer, but I didn't get anything useful out of it. There was still more that I needed to know, but if I didn't get out of there quickly I knew I'd snap. I made my escape a few minutes later, narrowly keeping my composure, the screams of my hometown echoing in my ears.
*************************************************************************************
I spent the afternoon wandering around, gossiping and prying with the Ultras who always lurked around in the Lair. It helped settle me a little, but I didn't really get anything useful until I found a bunch of people making a disturbance, cheering and shouting around a bouncy castle.
I'd always kept myself aloof from the Ultras of the capital, focusing more on my intrigues against my rivals and my connections with KEM. It had gotten me my position, but it left me a little ignorant of the sort of things that the rank and file Ultras did for fun.
Which apparently included a bouncy castle.
I circulated among the spectators, and heard the gossip flowed much more freely. People were relaxed, loose, eager to brag on their allies and dunk on their enemies. I listened to everyone, and I heard about a number of prospects.
The first was Bubbler. Out of my three criteria, those being strength of their gift, basic competence and values at least nominally similar to mine, she had the second two in spades. She operated a sort of Ultra clinic, using her gift to heal Ultras and move stuff around, but what interested me about that was that she'd been doing the same thing for three years without incident, and that she didn't discriminate against the humans of Shington.
Her gift wasn't the worst thing, either. She could form a bubble around anything that she could touch, which stole away its weight and gradually repaired it. She could move the bubbles around at her will, and they were apparently pretty hard to break from the inside. I wouldn't call it a first degree combat gift, but it wasn't the worst I could imagine, certainly not if it came attached to a mind I could actually respect.
Clawer was another impressive Ultra, he was actually present at the pit. His form had been mutated by his gift, leaving him thumbless, with a pair of hooked blades where his hands ought to be. He was an Ultra fighter by trade, spending his time scrapping and sparring with other Ultras in nonlethal matches for the entertainment of the city.
From what I could tell, he had Ultra strength two and Ultra toughness one. First rate fighting gifts, and anyone who managed to survive in an environment as cutthroat as Shington's pit fighting circuit must have at least a basic competence.
My last prospect actually sought me out. She was the woman who'd set up this entertainment, a scavenger and entertainer who went by the unfortunate name of Sucker. She'd apparently made an enemy of one of the Ultra gangs which battled over the outskirts of the city, and figured she'd hide herself in my shadow.
I didn't get the details of her gift, but, I dunno, we sort of clicked? I got a good vibe off of her, and she couldn't be that weak if she was in the Lair. I tried to work out a deal to take the castle off her hands later on (odd objects often have useful properties for Blending), and she wanted me to help out her sister with some dentistry in exchange. I'll decide about that later on.
*************************************************************************************
Day 1 results:
Incomplete information gathered on Regime military procedures, new Complication gained [mission to Delphia]. I will develop actions relating to subverting this operation in coming days.
Information gained on Bubbler, Clawer, Sucker.
Opportunities discovered, Ultra Fighting, in coming days I will develop actions related to attending these events to discover more exceptional Ultra combatants.
Opportunities discovered, lesser Ultra gangs. When I begin to gather my main force, I may take advantage of the existing Ultra gangs of the outer city. I will develop actions relating to investigating this possibility once I've got enough of a Posse to begin to assemble my main force.
*************************************************************************************
Day 2:
Days remaining: 29
AP available: (3 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 4/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Actions:
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
Last edited:
Turn 3
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
Three Votes:
Plan TalonOfAnathrax, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] [Stopper], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
*************************************************************************************
Day 3 Log:
3 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (4 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Organize Armory (2 AP)
No roll required, success
+ 2 for Success, (4 AP)
-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance [ Stopper] (2 AP)
Investigate Acquaintance roll: 10 (Critical Success)
+1 for Success, +1 for add Stopper as Ally (4 AP)
End of day, (4 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Organize Armory:
I didn't even head outside this morning, simply stayed in my house. I pilfered a few cans of Owner's soda, got the Packers to fetch me some breakfast from the Facility.
It was time to get organized.
I carefully spread the contents of my various pockets onto my work desk, pushing the papers aside for a moment.
I didn't need these for the primary usage of my gift, of course. My gift fell under the overall category of 'death touch', in Regime terms. That is, I could kill most anyone that I touched by taking a quality that they needed to live away. The actual qualities available varied based on the person, of course, but in most cases there was something that they couldn't function without.
When you combined that with my Ultra toughness, you got a fairly complete combat package. I could take most hits, and strike back with an unendurable draining effect. I was, on the surface, a simple Ultra melee combatant.
A simple melee combatant, of course, would never have made Warlord, or at least not one with my 2/0/1 selection of gifts. What truly made me deadly, what I'd exploited to win my fights thus far, was that the qualities that I stole didn't just vanish away, they clung to me, augmenting my natural abilities.
And it was this secondary effect which gave rise to my collection. It wouldn't due to be caught in a fight without something to drain. I kept a decent array of objects in constant contact with my skin, ready to blend their effects at any given time.
My present reserve was as follows:
1. Knife, strapped to upper arm, contains Sharpness, Metalness and Throwability
2. Other Knife, strapped to thigh, contains Sharpness, Scariness and Brittleness
3. Sponge, strapped to thigh, contains Bonelessness, Water Absorption and Lightness
4. Engine scrap, strapped to belly, contains Drivingness, Explosiveness and Tirelessness
5. Dog bone, strapped to belly, contains Tracking by Scent, Loyalty and Aggressiveness
6. Bulletproof Vest scrap, contains Bulletproofness and Bulkiness
7. Lightbulb shard, strapped to belly, contains Glowingness, Fragileness and Inconspicuousness
8. Bullet, strapped to upper arm, contains Fastness and Explosiveness
9. Pliers, strapped to upper arm, contains Grip, Sharpness and Metalness
10. Microchip, taped to upper back, contains Smartness, Obedience and Soulessness
I still had a lot of space left to put more things on. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say that I had spent about half of the total real estate that I could manage without getting conspicuous about it.
I looked over to Napoleon, who was mostly just sitting there being a turtle.
"You think I ought to start looking for more stuff?" I asked him. "Or would I be better off spending that time getting my group together?"
This wasn't entirely rhetorical. For no reason I'd ever understood, Napoleon could take qualities, which was normally something that my gift only let humans do. A long time ago I'd won a fight by stealing someone's 'thinkingness', and when I got tired of maintaining the blend I'd dumped it on my pet. He was presumably pretty smart, but had never given any sign of it.
As ever, he maintained his silence.
I rolled my eyes and gathered up my gear. I might decide to scrounge up some more stuff. I might not. No reason to make that decision right now, I'd keep my options open.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance: [ Stopper]
I'd arranged to meet Stopper immediately after lunch.
We got together in the ruins of a wrecked old church. She had a bunch of people gathering up stained glass for some kind of art project, and that had seemed as good a way to get to know her as any.
She actually had a bit of talent, as far as I could judge these kind of things. She'd taken an old fur coat and was carefully attaching the bits and pieces of stained glass that her human helpers brought back in order to make it look impressive.
Judging by the dimensions of the cloak it was probably for Clawer.
"Have you told him about it?" I asked. "Or is it going to be a surprise?"
She chuckled.
"He hates surprises," she said. "And this is too important to screw around with. He knows its coming."
"Does he take an interest in that sort of thing?" I asked. "He didn't strike me as someone who was terribly concerned with his appearance."
"Its just an act," she said, carefully inserting a red fragment into a section of the cuff. "No one in the Ultra Fight business can afford to stop thinking about their first impressions. The spectacle of the whole thing is very important. He needs to stand out."
I kind of felt like the whole 'hooks for hands' thing was enough to let him stand out, but a cool coat probably couldn't hurt.
I hung around making more small talk until nature called her away, then got to the real purpose of my visit.
"You," I said to one of her workers. "You know me?"
He dipped his head in a sort of half bow.
"Doctor," he said. "Everyone knows you."
I waved the remark aside.
"This woman, Stopper, what's really up with her? Should I think about getting into bed with her?"
They looked to one another, then back to me.
"She told us you might ask," said the man who had bowed. "She told us to tell you that we are well treated, spared from a life of pain on the outside and grateful for her attention."
I nodded, looked to his companion.
She shook her head, sharply, pulled down a collar to expose a pair of old cigarette burns.
"Ah," I said.
"It's not all bad," said the first guy. "She's actually-"
I waved him to silence, not terribly interested in hearing any more along that line.
"Before she gets back," I said. "Is it him too? Or just her?"
They looked to each other.
"Clawer doesn't really care about us," said the one who was doing all the talking. "He doesn't stop her when she gets in one of her dark moods, but he's never started anything on his own."
"He needs our hands," said the woman, speaking for the first time.
"I bet," I said.
Stopper got back a few minutes later.
"Anyway," she said. "I hope you are thinking about us as part of your Posse. We bring a lot to the table, you know."
I nodded noncommittally.
"I'm still deciding," I said.
"Clawer's appeal is obvious, of course, he's one of the city's finest warriors. And my own gift is really helpful as well."
"Oh," I said. "You stop things, right?"
She nodded appreciatively, dropping a grin sliver of glass and holding it in place, then reaching out and plucking it out of the air.
"If we bring people who aren't Ultra tough, then guns would be a big worry, right? Well, not with me! They'll just halt in mid air, as long as they are in my line of sight."
"I thought you had to see the target," I said. "Don't bullets go too fast?"
She chuckled appreciatively.
"It doesn't work like that," she said. "I can stop anything that doesn't move under its own power."
I waited a bit, but she didn't seem inclined to elaborate, instead turning the conversation to more conventional topics.
I made my excuses and departed a little bit later.
*************************************************************************************
Encounter
The sun was just going down when I got back to the Packer House. I was unpleasantly surprised to see a pair of Knights out in front, talking to Owner.
"What's going on?" I asked as I walked up.
We didn't really have a lot to do with the Knights of Purity. I'd never seen them here before.
"Blender?" asked one of them, turning to face me.
"That's right," I said, "Who sent you to-"
I didn't finish the rest of the sentence, as he hauled off and swung his Refined Scythe at me.
I very nearly died, my reflexes dulled just slightly by the fact that I'd been talking and looking to the other one, but I caught his slash in my peripheral vision and dropped quickly to the ground.
My gift meant that falling on my back didn't hurt at all, but that was little comfort at the blade whistled by overhead, his comrade stepping up to swing his scythe down at me like a woodsman splitting a log.
*************************************************************************************
Day 4:
Days remaining: 27
AP available: (4 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + bonus combat timeslot for encounter
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Three Votes:
Plan TalonOfAnathrax, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] [Stopper], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
*************************************************************************************
Day 3 Log:
3 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (4 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Organize Armory (2 AP)
No roll required, success
+ 2 for Success, (4 AP)
-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance [ Stopper] (2 AP)
Investigate Acquaintance roll: 10 (Critical Success)
+1 for Success, +1 for add Stopper as Ally (4 AP)
End of day, (4 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Organize Armory:
I didn't even head outside this morning, simply stayed in my house. I pilfered a few cans of Owner's soda, got the Packers to fetch me some breakfast from the Facility.
It was time to get organized.
I carefully spread the contents of my various pockets onto my work desk, pushing the papers aside for a moment.
I didn't need these for the primary usage of my gift, of course. My gift fell under the overall category of 'death touch', in Regime terms. That is, I could kill most anyone that I touched by taking a quality that they needed to live away. The actual qualities available varied based on the person, of course, but in most cases there was something that they couldn't function without.
When you combined that with my Ultra toughness, you got a fairly complete combat package. I could take most hits, and strike back with an unendurable draining effect. I was, on the surface, a simple Ultra melee combatant.
A simple melee combatant, of course, would never have made Warlord, or at least not one with my 2/0/1 selection of gifts. What truly made me deadly, what I'd exploited to win my fights thus far, was that the qualities that I stole didn't just vanish away, they clung to me, augmenting my natural abilities.
And it was this secondary effect which gave rise to my collection. It wouldn't due to be caught in a fight without something to drain. I kept a decent array of objects in constant contact with my skin, ready to blend their effects at any given time.
My present reserve was as follows:
1. Knife, strapped to upper arm, contains Sharpness, Metalness and Throwability
2. Other Knife, strapped to thigh, contains Sharpness, Scariness and Brittleness
3. Sponge, strapped to thigh, contains Bonelessness, Water Absorption and Lightness
4. Engine scrap, strapped to belly, contains Drivingness, Explosiveness and Tirelessness
5. Dog bone, strapped to belly, contains Tracking by Scent, Loyalty and Aggressiveness
6. Bulletproof Vest scrap, contains Bulletproofness and Bulkiness
7. Lightbulb shard, strapped to belly, contains Glowingness, Fragileness and Inconspicuousness
8. Bullet, strapped to upper arm, contains Fastness and Explosiveness
9. Pliers, strapped to upper arm, contains Grip, Sharpness and Metalness
10. Microchip, taped to upper back, contains Smartness, Obedience and Soulessness
I still had a lot of space left to put more things on. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say that I had spent about half of the total real estate that I could manage without getting conspicuous about it.
I looked over to Napoleon, who was mostly just sitting there being a turtle.
"You think I ought to start looking for more stuff?" I asked him. "Or would I be better off spending that time getting my group together?"
This wasn't entirely rhetorical. For no reason I'd ever understood, Napoleon could take qualities, which was normally something that my gift only let humans do. A long time ago I'd won a fight by stealing someone's 'thinkingness', and when I got tired of maintaining the blend I'd dumped it on my pet. He was presumably pretty smart, but had never given any sign of it.
As ever, he maintained his silence.
I rolled my eyes and gathered up my gear. I might decide to scrounge up some more stuff. I might not. No reason to make that decision right now, I'd keep my options open.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance: [ Stopper]
I'd arranged to meet Stopper immediately after lunch.
We got together in the ruins of a wrecked old church. She had a bunch of people gathering up stained glass for some kind of art project, and that had seemed as good a way to get to know her as any.
She actually had a bit of talent, as far as I could judge these kind of things. She'd taken an old fur coat and was carefully attaching the bits and pieces of stained glass that her human helpers brought back in order to make it look impressive.
Judging by the dimensions of the cloak it was probably for Clawer.
"Have you told him about it?" I asked. "Or is it going to be a surprise?"
She chuckled.
"He hates surprises," she said. "And this is too important to screw around with. He knows its coming."
"Does he take an interest in that sort of thing?" I asked. "He didn't strike me as someone who was terribly concerned with his appearance."
"Its just an act," she said, carefully inserting a red fragment into a section of the cuff. "No one in the Ultra Fight business can afford to stop thinking about their first impressions. The spectacle of the whole thing is very important. He needs to stand out."
I kind of felt like the whole 'hooks for hands' thing was enough to let him stand out, but a cool coat probably couldn't hurt.
I hung around making more small talk until nature called her away, then got to the real purpose of my visit.
"You," I said to one of her workers. "You know me?"
He dipped his head in a sort of half bow.
"Doctor," he said. "Everyone knows you."
I waved the remark aside.
"This woman, Stopper, what's really up with her? Should I think about getting into bed with her?"
They looked to one another, then back to me.
"She told us you might ask," said the man who had bowed. "She told us to tell you that we are well treated, spared from a life of pain on the outside and grateful for her attention."
I nodded, looked to his companion.
She shook her head, sharply, pulled down a collar to expose a pair of old cigarette burns.
"Ah," I said.
"It's not all bad," said the first guy. "She's actually-"
I waved him to silence, not terribly interested in hearing any more along that line.
"Before she gets back," I said. "Is it him too? Or just her?"
They looked to each other.
"Clawer doesn't really care about us," said the one who was doing all the talking. "He doesn't stop her when she gets in one of her dark moods, but he's never started anything on his own."
"He needs our hands," said the woman, speaking for the first time.
"I bet," I said.
Stopper got back a few minutes later.
"Anyway," she said. "I hope you are thinking about us as part of your Posse. We bring a lot to the table, you know."
I nodded noncommittally.
"I'm still deciding," I said.
"Clawer's appeal is obvious, of course, he's one of the city's finest warriors. And my own gift is really helpful as well."
"Oh," I said. "You stop things, right?"
She nodded appreciatively, dropping a grin sliver of glass and holding it in place, then reaching out and plucking it out of the air.
"If we bring people who aren't Ultra tough, then guns would be a big worry, right? Well, not with me! They'll just halt in mid air, as long as they are in my line of sight."
"I thought you had to see the target," I said. "Don't bullets go too fast?"
She chuckled appreciatively.
"It doesn't work like that," she said. "I can stop anything that doesn't move under its own power."
I waited a bit, but she didn't seem inclined to elaborate, instead turning the conversation to more conventional topics.
I made my excuses and departed a little bit later.
*************************************************************************************
Encounter
The sun was just going down when I got back to the Packer House. I was unpleasantly surprised to see a pair of Knights out in front, talking to Owner.
"What's going on?" I asked as I walked up.
We didn't really have a lot to do with the Knights of Purity. I'd never seen them here before.
"Blender?" asked one of them, turning to face me.
"That's right," I said, "Who sent you to-"
I didn't finish the rest of the sentence, as he hauled off and swung his Refined Scythe at me.
I very nearly died, my reflexes dulled just slightly by the fact that I'd been talking and looking to the other one, but I caught his slash in my peripheral vision and dropped quickly to the ground.
My gift meant that falling on my back didn't hurt at all, but that was little comfort at the blade whistled by overhead, his comrade stepping up to swing his scythe down at me like a woodsman splitting a log.
*************************************************************************************
Day 4:
Days remaining: 27
AP available: (4 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + bonus combat timeslot for encounter
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Uninjured
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Actions:
[ ] Defeat the Knights them (Timeslot cost: Special; AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motives: They are trying to kill me. I don't want to die.
Concerns: I don't want to expend any of my arsenal on this random assassination attempt, and I'd like to interrogate them, but doing anything less than fighting to my utmost and using everything available will increase the odds that I lose this fight, and die.
-[ ] Kill them
-[ ] Kill them (don't use arsenal)
-[ ] Incapacitate them
-[ ] Incapacitate them (don't use arsenal)
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
[ ] Defeat the Knights them (Timeslot cost: Special; AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motives: They are trying to kill me. I don't want to die.
Concerns: I don't want to expend any of my arsenal on this random assassination attempt, and I'd like to interrogate them, but doing anything less than fighting to my utmost and using everything available will increase the odds that I lose this fight, and die.
-[ ] Kill them
-[ ] Kill them (don't use arsenal)
-[ ] Incapacitate them
-[ ] Incapacitate them (don't use arsenal)
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
Last edited:
Turn 4
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
Two Votes:
Plan Nevill, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Defeat the Knights them (Timeslot cost: Special; AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
-[X] Incapacitate them
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Sticker, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
[x] Seek Posse Members
-[x] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
************************************************************************************
Day 4 Log:
4 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep (due to blend maintenance) (4 AP)
+1 for victory over Knights (5 AP)
roll of 1 provokes injury/destroys evidence
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Sticker (3 AP)
Roll of 5 (-1 for injury = 4)
Success, returns 2 for alliance (5 AP)
-1 for [Afternoon] Seek Posse Members [ Ultra Fights] (4 AP)
Investigate Acquaintance roll: 9 (Success)
+1 for Success (5 AP)
End of day, (5 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Defend myself from Knights [Do not kill, ok to use arsenal]:
The blade dropped down at me like an implement of execution, but a last minute roll saw it sink instead into the pavement. I'd rolled towards my assailant, my shoulders and side impacting with his boots and robes.
I swung a hand up, capturing my attacker around their knee, toppling them over onto me.
I rolled again, desperate. In my haste to knock my immediate opponent off their feet I'd lost track of the other Knight. I had to assume he was coming in for another swipe, and with robes fouling my gaze I had to guess about the trajectory.
If I rolled and he was swinging his blade across the ground like a farmer I'd roll right into it. If I sprang up and he was swinging down like someone hammering in a tent stake then I'd rise up directly into the strike.
Fortunately, I didn't lack for resources. In the split second where the falling Knight shielded me I reached out with my gift for the bullet that I had taped to my arm, pulling for Fastness and 'firing' myself the instant I felt the capacity rise within me.
'Fastness' was an imprecise description, of course, the actual quality was something more like 'firingness' or 'bulletness', whatever it was that let a bullet zip through the world faster than the eye could follow.
I shot out of my predicament with similar celerity, altering my trajectory at the last second so that I didn't slam into my attacker, unwilling to chance my gift against Refiner's famous blessing, and also hoping to leave something to interrogate.
My alteration was, perhaps, a little hasty. I ended up digging a furrow across the street, grinding my head and shoulders through the pavement as I shot away from my assailants. My durability protected me from serious damage, but my head was spinning and my eyes were watering as I finally got back to my feet.
They didn't give me any time to rest, charging at me the instant I slipped back into human time. I had to be careful now, my blend with the bullet could blast me off at any moment if I wasn't careful.
I stretched out my arm as the first Knight closed, reaching around the Scythe and grabbing it by the handle. He wrenched at it, but I let him drag me back along with it, my hand clenched firmly beneath the blade, controlling the arcs he had access to.
The Knight's scythes were terror weapons, for the most part. There was a reason that nobody had ever equipped soldiers with scythes. They need a lot of room to swing, they weren't terribly hard to carry, and they had a tendency to get caught up on things.
Consequently I didn't have to worry about the second Knight as I grappled with the first. The only swings he could make were large and predictable, and it would be simple enough to push his partner into the way.
The guy whose scythe I was holding made a quick decision, letting go of one hand and trying to pie face me with it, smooshing his fingers and wrist against my Ultra tough face, presumably in an effort to keep me blind and off balance.
I didn't fall for it, ignoring all of his efforts and focusing on the scythe. He couldn't hurt me, couldn't do any lasting harm. He was just trying to let his partner get the clean shot that they needed in with the other blessed scythe.
I was ready for it when his partner swung, dragging him into the way, fouling the swing with the blessed cloth of Refiner's-
The cloth wasn't blessed. These 'Knights' had real scythes, but fake robes. The blade swung unhindered through the first guy's robes, through his torso and sunk deep into my side.
No more time for mercy, no time for anything. If they didn't have real Knight's robes, then there wasn't anything stopping me from ending this. I put my hand to the wound and called on my blend again, blasting forward through my last assailant and simply obliterating him in a brutal full body collision of my ultra tough form and his human body.
He just shattered, blasted into unrecognizable gibbets of flesh.
I reeled in place, hand pressed to the deep bleeding wound in my side. I swayed where I stood.
I gave a quick look around. Both Knights were indisputably dead. The first had nearly been bisected, the second obliterated by my bullet speed body check. There was nothing more to them.
"Nice job," said Owner.
I nodded to her and stepped inside, every ounce of my energy going to keeping my stride unwavering, my face relaxed.
Only after the door had closed did I permit myself to crumple to my knees, the stain on my side spreading despite my best efforts.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Sticker:
I wasn't a hundred percent the next morning, but a long night of using my healing gift had born fruit. The gash in my side was mostly closed up, and as long as I didn't put too much pressure on my core I could generally ignore it.
I'd been tempted to stay in my house and rest up, but the Regime had a nose for weakness. The most important thing was to show no weakness, no disruption to my schedule. I set out to investigate another prospect without any delay.
I'd known Sticker on and off, for quite a while. She had a good head on her shoulders, and her gift was stronger than I thought she realized.
First off, she was Ultra tough two. I could occasionally ape that capability, when I used my blends to steal durability or endurance. But she had the real thing, the full time invincibility to conventional weapons that had allowed the Ultras to destroy the Old World's militaries.
Her other gift, the one that she was named for, was also better than I thought she realized. She didn't secrete her slime, she just kind of conjured it, and that amount didn't seem to be limited in any real way.
I'd made arrangements to meet her for breakfast, so we dropped by Owner's facility, picking chips and what I'd once have called bad gas station food, sausage biscuits and the like off of the rack.
"What're you up to nowadays?" I asked her. "I haven't seen you in a minute."
She grinned, reaching up and scratching her nose.
"Still doing my building thing," she said. "I really think She will realize what a big deal that is one of these days."
"Oh?" I said.
It was rare for anyone to deliberately try to come to Her attention.
"Yeah," she said. "You know how my slime can be as tough as I want, right?"
"Sure," I said.
"I hadn't realized it before, but it can actually be Ultra Tough. I got some Knights to try and test it, and my hardest slime is about as tough as their robes."
I chuckled, doing my best not to start at the mention of Knights. Anyone else and I might think that they were trying to provoke me, drawing attention to my attackers to throw me off or something, but Sticker didn't have a sneaky bone in her body.
"Holy shit," I said. "That's incredible."
I meant that. I'd believed in her gift even before knowing it, but with this power she would be easily powerful enough to be a Posse member.
"I know, right?" she gushed. "So I'm putting it to use. I've been sliming the wall, putting my gunk all along the inside. We are gonna have an Ultra Tough wall, nobody is gonna expect that!"
I grinned, almost in spite of myself. The notion that anyone who would dare to attack Shington, the seat of the Regime, would be put off by some gunk along the inside of the wall was ridiculous. But it was characteristic of Sticker, the product of her endless belief in herself.
"Genius," I said. "That'll catch em off guard. Imagine trying to bash through a wall, only to get stuck like fly paper."
She laughed easily, munching on a chip.
"What're you up to nowadays?" she asked. "Did that whole fighting thing pan out?"
"A little," I said. "I'm actually the Warlord now."
"Oh wow!" she said, eyes wide. "You get to take the fight to our enemies. That must be so exciting!"
I took a bit out of my sandwich, relishing the taste as I mentally checked 'willingness' off of her entry in my list.
*************************************************************************************
Seek Posse Members at Ultra Fights:
The evening found me at the Deeps, an old toppled skyscraper that had been cored like an apple by an Ultra gift.
I was given a place of honor, the fans crowded away from me by the officious staff. Ordinarily I might have objected, might have sat squarely in the midst of the crowd, but the Knight attack had me careful. I had a hidden enemy, one who had no qualms about striking through anonymous pawns. Crowds had become dangerous to me.
I didn't relish the thought, but facts had to be faced. I let the workers keep me sequestered and gave my full attention to the matches.
Someone had clearly told the participants that I was out here, because throughout the night they directed their performances my way. It seemed like every one of them got a moment in the spotlight, their gifts carefully trotted out for my perusal.
The Ultras that I thought might be Posse material were as follows:
1: Gunner, 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
2: Chiller, 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
3: Cutter, 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
4: Joker, 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
5: Smasher, 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
6: Swimmer, 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
7: Burner, 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
8: Maxxer, 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
9: Puncher, 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
10: Replayer, 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
11: Builder, 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
I took furious notes, and was utterly unsurprised when, on my way out the door, the manager let me know that they'd be happy to put me in contact with any of their prospects that I might be interested in.
I might well take them up on it.
*************************************************************************************
Day 5:
Days remaining: 26 ***
AP available: (5 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3 (word of injury may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Moderate Injury (-2 on fight, -1 on socialize with Regime members), will last till day 8 if not healed with an action
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner -- 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller -- 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter -- 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker -- 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher -- 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer -- 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner -- 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer -- 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher -- 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer -- 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder -- 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Two Votes:
Plan Nevill, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Defeat the Knights them (Timeslot cost: Special; AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
-[X] Incapacitate them
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Sticker, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
[x] Seek Posse Members
-[x] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
************************************************************************************
Day 4 Log:
4 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep (due to blend maintenance) (4 AP)
+1 for victory over Knights (5 AP)
roll of 1 provokes injury/destroys evidence
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Sticker (3 AP)
Roll of 5 (-1 for injury = 4)
Success, returns 2 for alliance (5 AP)
-1 for [Afternoon] Seek Posse Members [ Ultra Fights] (4 AP)
Investigate Acquaintance roll: 9 (Success)
+1 for Success (5 AP)
End of day, (5 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Defend myself from Knights [Do not kill, ok to use arsenal]:
The blade dropped down at me like an implement of execution, but a last minute roll saw it sink instead into the pavement. I'd rolled towards my assailant, my shoulders and side impacting with his boots and robes.
I swung a hand up, capturing my attacker around their knee, toppling them over onto me.
I rolled again, desperate. In my haste to knock my immediate opponent off their feet I'd lost track of the other Knight. I had to assume he was coming in for another swipe, and with robes fouling my gaze I had to guess about the trajectory.
If I rolled and he was swinging his blade across the ground like a farmer I'd roll right into it. If I sprang up and he was swinging down like someone hammering in a tent stake then I'd rise up directly into the strike.
Fortunately, I didn't lack for resources. In the split second where the falling Knight shielded me I reached out with my gift for the bullet that I had taped to my arm, pulling for Fastness and 'firing' myself the instant I felt the capacity rise within me.
'Fastness' was an imprecise description, of course, the actual quality was something more like 'firingness' or 'bulletness', whatever it was that let a bullet zip through the world faster than the eye could follow.
I shot out of my predicament with similar celerity, altering my trajectory at the last second so that I didn't slam into my attacker, unwilling to chance my gift against Refiner's famous blessing, and also hoping to leave something to interrogate.
My alteration was, perhaps, a little hasty. I ended up digging a furrow across the street, grinding my head and shoulders through the pavement as I shot away from my assailants. My durability protected me from serious damage, but my head was spinning and my eyes were watering as I finally got back to my feet.
They didn't give me any time to rest, charging at me the instant I slipped back into human time. I had to be careful now, my blend with the bullet could blast me off at any moment if I wasn't careful.
I stretched out my arm as the first Knight closed, reaching around the Scythe and grabbing it by the handle. He wrenched at it, but I let him drag me back along with it, my hand clenched firmly beneath the blade, controlling the arcs he had access to.
The Knight's scythes were terror weapons, for the most part. There was a reason that nobody had ever equipped soldiers with scythes. They need a lot of room to swing, they weren't terribly hard to carry, and they had a tendency to get caught up on things.
Consequently I didn't have to worry about the second Knight as I grappled with the first. The only swings he could make were large and predictable, and it would be simple enough to push his partner into the way.
The guy whose scythe I was holding made a quick decision, letting go of one hand and trying to pie face me with it, smooshing his fingers and wrist against my Ultra tough face, presumably in an effort to keep me blind and off balance.
I didn't fall for it, ignoring all of his efforts and focusing on the scythe. He couldn't hurt me, couldn't do any lasting harm. He was just trying to let his partner get the clean shot that they needed in with the other blessed scythe.
I was ready for it when his partner swung, dragging him into the way, fouling the swing with the blessed cloth of Refiner's-
The cloth wasn't blessed. These 'Knights' had real scythes, but fake robes. The blade swung unhindered through the first guy's robes, through his torso and sunk deep into my side.
No more time for mercy, no time for anything. If they didn't have real Knight's robes, then there wasn't anything stopping me from ending this. I put my hand to the wound and called on my blend again, blasting forward through my last assailant and simply obliterating him in a brutal full body collision of my ultra tough form and his human body.
He just shattered, blasted into unrecognizable gibbets of flesh.
I reeled in place, hand pressed to the deep bleeding wound in my side. I swayed where I stood.
I gave a quick look around. Both Knights were indisputably dead. The first had nearly been bisected, the second obliterated by my bullet speed body check. There was nothing more to them.
"Nice job," said Owner.
I nodded to her and stepped inside, every ounce of my energy going to keeping my stride unwavering, my face relaxed.
Only after the door had closed did I permit myself to crumple to my knees, the stain on my side spreading despite my best efforts.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Sticker:
I wasn't a hundred percent the next morning, but a long night of using my healing gift had born fruit. The gash in my side was mostly closed up, and as long as I didn't put too much pressure on my core I could generally ignore it.
I'd been tempted to stay in my house and rest up, but the Regime had a nose for weakness. The most important thing was to show no weakness, no disruption to my schedule. I set out to investigate another prospect without any delay.
I'd known Sticker on and off, for quite a while. She had a good head on her shoulders, and her gift was stronger than I thought she realized.
First off, she was Ultra tough two. I could occasionally ape that capability, when I used my blends to steal durability or endurance. But she had the real thing, the full time invincibility to conventional weapons that had allowed the Ultras to destroy the Old World's militaries.
Her other gift, the one that she was named for, was also better than I thought she realized. She didn't secrete her slime, she just kind of conjured it, and that amount didn't seem to be limited in any real way.
I'd made arrangements to meet her for breakfast, so we dropped by Owner's facility, picking chips and what I'd once have called bad gas station food, sausage biscuits and the like off of the rack.
"What're you up to nowadays?" I asked her. "I haven't seen you in a minute."
She grinned, reaching up and scratching her nose.
"Still doing my building thing," she said. "I really think She will realize what a big deal that is one of these days."
"Oh?" I said.
It was rare for anyone to deliberately try to come to Her attention.
"Yeah," she said. "You know how my slime can be as tough as I want, right?"
"Sure," I said.
"I hadn't realized it before, but it can actually be Ultra Tough. I got some Knights to try and test it, and my hardest slime is about as tough as their robes."
I chuckled, doing my best not to start at the mention of Knights. Anyone else and I might think that they were trying to provoke me, drawing attention to my attackers to throw me off or something, but Sticker didn't have a sneaky bone in her body.
"Holy shit," I said. "That's incredible."
I meant that. I'd believed in her gift even before knowing it, but with this power she would be easily powerful enough to be a Posse member.
"I know, right?" she gushed. "So I'm putting it to use. I've been sliming the wall, putting my gunk all along the inside. We are gonna have an Ultra Tough wall, nobody is gonna expect that!"
I grinned, almost in spite of myself. The notion that anyone who would dare to attack Shington, the seat of the Regime, would be put off by some gunk along the inside of the wall was ridiculous. But it was characteristic of Sticker, the product of her endless belief in herself.
"Genius," I said. "That'll catch em off guard. Imagine trying to bash through a wall, only to get stuck like fly paper."
She laughed easily, munching on a chip.
"What're you up to nowadays?" she asked. "Did that whole fighting thing pan out?"
"A little," I said. "I'm actually the Warlord now."
"Oh wow!" she said, eyes wide. "You get to take the fight to our enemies. That must be so exciting!"
I took a bit out of my sandwich, relishing the taste as I mentally checked 'willingness' off of her entry in my list.
*************************************************************************************
Seek Posse Members at Ultra Fights:
The evening found me at the Deeps, an old toppled skyscraper that had been cored like an apple by an Ultra gift.
I was given a place of honor, the fans crowded away from me by the officious staff. Ordinarily I might have objected, might have sat squarely in the midst of the crowd, but the Knight attack had me careful. I had a hidden enemy, one who had no qualms about striking through anonymous pawns. Crowds had become dangerous to me.
I didn't relish the thought, but facts had to be faced. I let the workers keep me sequestered and gave my full attention to the matches.
Someone had clearly told the participants that I was out here, because throughout the night they directed their performances my way. It seemed like every one of them got a moment in the spotlight, their gifts carefully trotted out for my perusal.
The Ultras that I thought might be Posse material were as follows:
1: Gunner, 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
2: Chiller, 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
3: Cutter, 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
4: Joker, 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
5: Smasher, 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
6: Swimmer, 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
7: Burner, 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
8: Maxxer, 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
9: Puncher, 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
10: Replayer, 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
11: Builder, 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
I took furious notes, and was utterly unsurprised when, on my way out the door, the manager let me know that they'd be happy to put me in contact with any of their prospects that I might be interested in.
I might well take them up on it.
*************************************************************************************
Day 5:
Days remaining: 26 ***
AP available: (5 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep) = 5/10
Prestige: 3 (word of injury may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Moderate Injury (-2 on fight, -1 on socialize with Regime members), will last till day 8 if not healed with an action
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker -- Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner -- 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller -- 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter -- 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker -- 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher -- 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer -- 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner -- 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer -- 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher -- 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer -- 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder -- 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Actions:
[ ] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success)
Motives: I can't rest until I drop this blend, and I can only do so on a person or an Ultra, or my turtle.
Concerns: This blend would be practically a death sentence to anyone who doesn't have at least Ultra Toughness one, and will have unpredictable consequences on the personality and capabilities of the recipient.
-[ ] Give it to an ordinary person (no timeslot cost)
Motives: If I can't spare the time to find a proper target, I can just take the first person off the street.
Concerns: This would be acting like every Ultra I hate. I'd be disgusted with myself.
-[ ] Give it to an Ultra I know [indicate name], one timeslot
Motives: An Ultra can survive this. They would be a safe place for this gift.
Concerns: Strengthening a Regime Ultra won't go over well with KEM.
-[ ] Give it to a weak Ultra from the outside, hopefully thereby generating a stronger Ultra who is likely to be loyal, two timeslots
Motives: If I don't want to make a strong Ultra stronger, I can instead augment one of the weaker Regime Ultras.
Concerns: Leaving the Lair is always hazardous, particularly as I don't currently have a warband out there.
-[ ] Give it to Napoleon (no timeslot cost)
Motives: Ultimately, it is just a turtle.
Concerns: He is MY turtle, and turning him into a bullet turtle seems weird and bad.
[ ] Heal my wound (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, returns 0 on success)
Motives: I need more time to heal this wound, it is slowing me down
Concerns: None (this action will automatically succeed)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
-[ ] By asking Knights
Motives: They had real Knight scythes, those must have come from somewhere
Concerns: I don't like associating with the Knights, or their master. They may well be behind the attack, and could take the opportunity to strike again.
-[ ] Other (indicate specifics)
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
[ ] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success)
Motives: I can't rest until I drop this blend, and I can only do so on a person or an Ultra, or my turtle.
Concerns: This blend would be practically a death sentence to anyone who doesn't have at least Ultra Toughness one, and will have unpredictable consequences on the personality and capabilities of the recipient.
-[ ] Give it to an ordinary person (no timeslot cost)
Motives: If I can't spare the time to find a proper target, I can just take the first person off the street.
Concerns: This would be acting like every Ultra I hate. I'd be disgusted with myself.
-[ ] Give it to an Ultra I know [indicate name], one timeslot
Motives: An Ultra can survive this. They would be a safe place for this gift.
Concerns: Strengthening a Regime Ultra won't go over well with KEM.
-[ ] Give it to a weak Ultra from the outside, hopefully thereby generating a stronger Ultra who is likely to be loyal, two timeslots
Motives: If I don't want to make a strong Ultra stronger, I can instead augment one of the weaker Regime Ultras.
Concerns: Leaving the Lair is always hazardous, particularly as I don't currently have a warband out there.
-[ ] Give it to Napoleon (no timeslot cost)
Motives: Ultimately, it is just a turtle.
Concerns: He is MY turtle, and turning him into a bullet turtle seems weird and bad.
[ ] Heal my wound (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, returns 0 on success)
Motives: I need more time to heal this wound, it is slowing me down
Concerns: None (this action will automatically succeed)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
-[ ] By asking Knights
Motives: They had real Knight scythes, those must have come from somewhere
Concerns: I don't like associating with the Knights, or their master. They may well be behind the attack, and could take the opportunity to strike again.
-[ ] Other (indicate specifics)
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
Last edited:
Turn 6
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
Two Votes:
Plan Neville, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] Respond to Knight Offer [0 AP, 0 time slots, gain 1 AP if I get rid of the bullet blend for Day 5 night's sleep]
-[x] Let them live. Not punishing someone will allow me to continue investigating, and potentially find the actual responsible party. My relations with the Knights, and potentially Second Fist will also improve, and KEM will hear that I had the chance to kill people and declined it, which may keep them from getting antsy about our continuing lack of communication. On the other hand, the longer I don't take revenge for this attack the greater the odds that I lose prestige over it, and I'll still have to figure out a way to get rid of my bullet blend.
[x] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, unavailable if I already got rid of the bullet blend as part of resolving the Knight affair above)
-[x] Give it to a weak Ultra from the outside, hopefully thereby generating a stronger Ultra who is likely to be loyal, two timeslots ************************************************************************************
Day 6 Log:
2 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep (no benefit due to blend maintenance) (2 AP)
+0 for daylong activity, find and give Blend to Ultra recipient
Safety roll 6
Investigate roll 9
End of day, (2 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Dealing with Knights (yesterday evening):
"I will not waste my vengeance on daggers," I told the Knight Commander. "Nor dilute the suffering that the thieves of their scythes will experience."
"Mercy?" she asked, faint surprise in her voice.
"Precision," I responded, firmly. "My attackers stole from these men. They are their enemies. I would be doing their work for them if I killed their victims, and I have no interest in serving those who seek me dead."
"An admirable clarity of thought," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "I can see why She trusts you so. I had worried that you might feel enmity towards our humble order, as so many who remember the old world do. It seems my fears were misplaced."
"Fear is never misplaced," I told her. "So long as it is ultimately of Her. I am Her Warlord, the blade in Her hands. Those who struck against your servants, who struck against me, will discover just what that means when I get my hands on them."
"I would not envy their lot," said the Knight Commander. "I look forward to hearing of their fate."
"You shouldn't," I tell her.
*************************************************************************************
Venture outside the city
The Yard is a little more active than it was the last time I was here, but I still judged it safe enough to cross.
The spectators and those contesting alike fell back as I passed, whispers and murmurs passing through their number.
I broke off my stride for a moment, taking an abrupt step towards someone who sounded like she'd mentioned my recent wound.
She shrunk away from my gaze, eyes dropping towards the ground and hands raising up with palms out. If I'd kept after her she might have dropped into the full Posture.
I resumed my path, satisfied that the fear was still there. That woman wouldn't easily overcome this moment. She'd bitched out in front of everyone, it would sabotage every ounce of respect she might possibly attain.
And she'd known that would happen. And she'd still backed down from me. My time in the Yard had not been forgotten.
I moved on, the crowds parting and drifting back away, their gaze returning to the gates of the Lair. No doubt some would follow me, but none dared to do so openly, and that's all that really mattered.
Before long I was wandering the ruined byways of the halo of shantytowns which made up most of Shington. I wandered the streets that I'd conquered months ago, marveling at what a change the simple passage of time had wrought in me.
I'd been an animal back then, desperate. I'd known that only by gaining the center of the city could I pull this off, and I'd comported myself accordingly. My name had rung out on the streets, as much a reference to the ancient appliance, a device which ruined solids and left them a sodden mess, as it was a simple verb.
Now I was the Warlord. Now none but the bravest might step to me, backed as I was by the Lair's authority, shrouded in Her shadow. Now I could tread freely where before I had to have KEM do careful scouting. It was a heady feeling.
It wasn't hard to find the old rats, those contacts I'd made back when I lived here. Not everyone in the Shington periphery had designs on the Lair. The humans who served, the weaker Ultras who everyone knew would never be strong enough for the Lair, they had little to do but gossip.
It wasn't hard to get their takes. I stopped at a Company Facility, spoke to an old beggar whose migraines I'd healed back in the day. I dropped by a dice game that I'd robbed back when I was on my way up, the stories mounted up.
By mid afternoon I was confident that I knew enough to make my choice. There weren't that many to whom my gift could make a real difference, and I was further restricting my interest to those with Ultra toughness, those who could survive my gift. I narrowed the list down to 5.
*************************************************************************************
Prospects for Bullet Blend:
Grower, an independent Ultra trying to make a name for herself
Gift: She has Ultra toughness one, and she can rapidly increase the size and mass of objects
Pluses: By all accounts she is not an idiot. She's also been able to maintain decent relations with four of the six main gangs (The Dolls, the Tuesday Crew, Marjane and The Mob), so she's at least somewhat of a people person.
Minuses: She sounds like the sort of person who has her own ambitions. She might want to put conditions on signing up for my band or Posse, even after I give her the Blend.
Breaker, a ruffian Ultra who scraps daily in the yard
Gift: Her form is fractal, splitting easily apart into more and more versions of herself
Pluses: She is enthusiastically violent, and quite good at it. Also she might be immortal? I dunno if there is a limit on how many/small she can be.
Minuses: Her pluses are also minuses, and she's also an alcoholic
Moaner, a leader in the Fail Snails
Gift: She is Ultra tough one, and can generate a noise speeds up friendlies and slows enemies
Pluses: The fact that she's been able to keep a place of power in an Ultra gang rules out a lot of the more common failure modes, and obviously recruiting her would make it a lot easier to sweep the gang into my warband.
Minuses: The other gangs would likely see me as an enemy after this, and she has a rather bad reputation for mistreating humans.
Chomper, a brutal Ultra who preys upon her own kind, and who doesn't seem to be trying to gain entry into the Lair.
Gift: She is Ultra strong one, Ultra tough one, and can reduce her enemies Ultra toughness
Pluses: She has a Tally that approaches mine, and seems to share my feeling that our kind need to be wiped out.
Minuses: She also kills ordinary people. Really, she seems to pretty much kill whoever pisses her off on any given day.
Chaser: One of the rare Knight Ultras
Gift: She is Ultra tough one, and she can match the speed of the fastest thing in her vicinity
Pluses: She is a Knight, working with her would help build my rapport with them
Minuses: Same as the pluses
*************************************************************************************
Day 7:
Days remaining: 24
AP available: (2 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 3/10
Prestige: 3 (word of injury may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + special action for choosing Bullet Blend recipient
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Two Votes:
Plan Neville, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] Respond to Knight Offer [0 AP, 0 time slots, gain 1 AP if I get rid of the bullet blend for Day 5 night's sleep]
-[x] Let them live. Not punishing someone will allow me to continue investigating, and potentially find the actual responsible party. My relations with the Knights, and potentially Second Fist will also improve, and KEM will hear that I had the chance to kill people and declined it, which may keep them from getting antsy about our continuing lack of communication. On the other hand, the longer I don't take revenge for this attack the greater the odds that I lose prestige over it, and I'll still have to figure out a way to get rid of my bullet blend.
[x] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, unavailable if I already got rid of the bullet blend as part of resolving the Knight affair above)
-[x] Give it to a weak Ultra from the outside, hopefully thereby generating a stronger Ultra who is likely to be loyal, two timeslots ************************************************************************************
Day 6 Log:
2 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep (no benefit due to blend maintenance) (2 AP)
+0 for daylong activity, find and give Blend to Ultra recipient
Safety roll 6
Investigate roll 9
End of day, (2 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Dealing with Knights (yesterday evening):
"I will not waste my vengeance on daggers," I told the Knight Commander. "Nor dilute the suffering that the thieves of their scythes will experience."
"Mercy?" she asked, faint surprise in her voice.
"Precision," I responded, firmly. "My attackers stole from these men. They are their enemies. I would be doing their work for them if I killed their victims, and I have no interest in serving those who seek me dead."
"An admirable clarity of thought," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "I can see why She trusts you so. I had worried that you might feel enmity towards our humble order, as so many who remember the old world do. It seems my fears were misplaced."
"Fear is never misplaced," I told her. "So long as it is ultimately of Her. I am Her Warlord, the blade in Her hands. Those who struck against your servants, who struck against me, will discover just what that means when I get my hands on them."
"I would not envy their lot," said the Knight Commander. "I look forward to hearing of their fate."
"You shouldn't," I tell her.
*************************************************************************************
Venture outside the city
The Yard is a little more active than it was the last time I was here, but I still judged it safe enough to cross.
The spectators and those contesting alike fell back as I passed, whispers and murmurs passing through their number.
I broke off my stride for a moment, taking an abrupt step towards someone who sounded like she'd mentioned my recent wound.
She shrunk away from my gaze, eyes dropping towards the ground and hands raising up with palms out. If I'd kept after her she might have dropped into the full Posture.
I resumed my path, satisfied that the fear was still there. That woman wouldn't easily overcome this moment. She'd bitched out in front of everyone, it would sabotage every ounce of respect she might possibly attain.
And she'd known that would happen. And she'd still backed down from me. My time in the Yard had not been forgotten.
I moved on, the crowds parting and drifting back away, their gaze returning to the gates of the Lair. No doubt some would follow me, but none dared to do so openly, and that's all that really mattered.
Before long I was wandering the ruined byways of the halo of shantytowns which made up most of Shington. I wandered the streets that I'd conquered months ago, marveling at what a change the simple passage of time had wrought in me.
I'd been an animal back then, desperate. I'd known that only by gaining the center of the city could I pull this off, and I'd comported myself accordingly. My name had rung out on the streets, as much a reference to the ancient appliance, a device which ruined solids and left them a sodden mess, as it was a simple verb.
Now I was the Warlord. Now none but the bravest might step to me, backed as I was by the Lair's authority, shrouded in Her shadow. Now I could tread freely where before I had to have KEM do careful scouting. It was a heady feeling.
It wasn't hard to find the old rats, those contacts I'd made back when I lived here. Not everyone in the Shington periphery had designs on the Lair. The humans who served, the weaker Ultras who everyone knew would never be strong enough for the Lair, they had little to do but gossip.
It wasn't hard to get their takes. I stopped at a Company Facility, spoke to an old beggar whose migraines I'd healed back in the day. I dropped by a dice game that I'd robbed back when I was on my way up, the stories mounted up.
By mid afternoon I was confident that I knew enough to make my choice. There weren't that many to whom my gift could make a real difference, and I was further restricting my interest to those with Ultra toughness, those who could survive my gift. I narrowed the list down to 5.
*************************************************************************************
Prospects for Bullet Blend:
Grower, an independent Ultra trying to make a name for herself
Gift: She has Ultra toughness one, and she can rapidly increase the size and mass of objects
Pluses: By all accounts she is not an idiot. She's also been able to maintain decent relations with four of the six main gangs (The Dolls, the Tuesday Crew, Marjane and The Mob), so she's at least somewhat of a people person.
Minuses: She sounds like the sort of person who has her own ambitions. She might want to put conditions on signing up for my band or Posse, even after I give her the Blend.
Breaker, a ruffian Ultra who scraps daily in the yard
Gift: Her form is fractal, splitting easily apart into more and more versions of herself
Pluses: She is enthusiastically violent, and quite good at it. Also she might be immortal? I dunno if there is a limit on how many/small she can be.
Minuses: Her pluses are also minuses, and she's also an alcoholic
Moaner, a leader in the Fail Snails
Gift: She is Ultra tough one, and can generate a noise speeds up friendlies and slows enemies
Pluses: The fact that she's been able to keep a place of power in an Ultra gang rules out a lot of the more common failure modes, and obviously recruiting her would make it a lot easier to sweep the gang into my warband.
Minuses: The other gangs would likely see me as an enemy after this, and she has a rather bad reputation for mistreating humans.
Chomper, a brutal Ultra who preys upon her own kind, and who doesn't seem to be trying to gain entry into the Lair.
Gift: She is Ultra strong one, Ultra tough one, and can reduce her enemies Ultra toughness
Pluses: She has a Tally that approaches mine, and seems to share my feeling that our kind need to be wiped out.
Minuses: She also kills ordinary people. Really, she seems to pretty much kill whoever pisses her off on any given day.
Chaser: One of the rare Knight Ultras
Gift: She is Ultra tough one, and she can match the speed of the fastest thing in her vicinity
Pluses: She is a Knight, working with her would help build my rapport with them
Minuses: Same as the pluses
*************************************************************************************
Day 7:
Days remaining: 24
AP available: (2 end of last day + 1 for half night's sleep) = 3/10
Prestige: 3 (word of injury may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + special action for choosing Bullet Blend recipient
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Actions:
[ ] Give the Bullet Blend to: (Timeslot cost: 0, AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, auto succeed)
-[ ] [Name, must be one of those discussed above]
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
-[ ] By asking Blisser
Motives: She might well have seen who took the Knight's scythes
Concerns: None
-[ ] Other (indicate specifics)
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
[ ] Give the Bullet Blend to: (Timeslot cost: 0, AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, auto succeed)
-[ ] [Name, must be one of those discussed above]
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
-[ ] By asking Blisser
Motives: She might well have seen who took the Knight's scythes
Concerns: None
-[ ] Other (indicate specifics)
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
Last edited:
Turn 7
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
One Vote
Plan Neville, on SV forum
One Vote
Plan TalonOfAntares, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
Randomized to Plan Neville
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] Give the Bullet Blend to: (Timeslot cost: 0, AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, auto succeed)
-[x] Glower (Grower)
Not sure what to do with the rest of our time. I am inclined to pursue revenge with this:
[x] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[x] By asking Blisser
[x] Relax and Recuperate
-[x]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
************************************************************************************
Day 7 Log:
2 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (3 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Attack on me, by asking Blisser (1 AP)
Investigate roll 4, Success
+1 for Success (2 AP)
-1 for Relax and Recuperate by Patronizing Entertainment areas (1 AP)
Rest roll, 1, critical Failure, relax and recuperate subtype changed to [Blisser]
+3 for Blisser Recuperation (4 AP), will continue until AP maxed out
End of day, (4 AP).
Day 8 Log:
4 AP at start of day
+0 for uneven sleep
+3 for [Morning] Blisser Recuperattion (7 AP), will continue until AP maxed out
+3 for [Afternoon] Blisser Recuperation (10 AP), recuperation complete
End of day (10 AP)
*************************************************************************************
Give Bullet Blend to Grower
"What do you get out of this?" she asked me, voice cold with suspicion.
I let the question sit for a moment, looking instead out of the irregular hole in the wall which served as a window.
"I remember this," I told her.
Her frown told me that she was irked that I didn't answer her question directly, but she had the self control to let me speak.
"I remember living in a place much like this, struggling in a manner very like yours, desperate to reach the interior. It was a hard, brutal existence."
Her face softened a little, losing some of its confrontational edge, her glower relaxing a fraction.
"It might have been the best time of my life."
Her eyes widened involuntarily. She'd clearly been expecting another direction for this speech to go.
"All your enemies are obvious. Everyone around you has the same goal, aside from the people who've given up. You are all rivals, all foes. You go out there and it is all so simple. You kick ass. You take names. You look at the Lair and you hope."
She was nodding along as I spoke, now. It hadn't been hard to guess that she'd be the kind of person who would thrive in this situation, but it was still gratifying to see that I'd been right.
"This is the easy part, you get that?"
"Yeah," she said.
Grower even kind of looked like me. Skin the same shade, same basic fashion sense. Her gear was a little more threadbare, more scavenged, but that could be readily explained by the fact that she didn't have access to the Lair's resources yet. The biggest difference was that I was a few inches taller, and that she didn't have a healing gift to get rid of the scars.
"Once you are in the Lair, the purity is going to vanish," I told her. "Your enemies will hide behind patrons that you can't confront. Your superiors will make demands of you that you will struggle to fulfill. You will want to fight, but half the time you won't even know who the opponent is."
"And…?" she asked, presumably trying to push me back to her original question.
"And I can't wait to see how you'll do," I said. "I don't know if you'll be the kind of Ultra that I want in my Posse. I don't know if that's even something that you want, but I can recognize talent when I see it, and you are too good for the Yard. With this blend you can short circuit a few months, insure yourself against bad luck, and start playing the game for real within a week. I'm eager to see what that looks like."
"I guess it doesn't make sense that you'd be trying to take me down," she said. "If you wanted to get that done, you could snap your fingers and set a mob on me, offer them this kind of Ultra juice, or just places in your force."
"Sure," I allowed.
"So I guess I believe you," she finished. "For whatever reason, you really do want to power me up."
I grinned at her, relieved that she'd bought it. No one knew about my need to give Blends away, and I'd like to keep it that way.
"Let's do this," she said, and held out her hand.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate attack on me (Blisser)
Blisser's Den was just like I remembered it.
The Lair was, by and large, not a place for ruins. The buildings around here were generally at least mostly intact, if only due to energetic repair. There was power in those places that needed it. It was something of an island, amid the overall squalor of the Regime.
Blisser's Den defied this trend, remaining a sorry pile of rubble. It had been a government building, back before the old world fell, and Blisser's clients only real contribution to its livability had been knocking down a bunch of walls, and spreading tarps over the holes that they developed.
I stepped inside, her clientele scattering away as I entered, repelled by the bright light filtering in from where I'd pushed the blanket aside.
Blisser herself was obvious enough, laying in a heap of bodies on the other side of the area, sprawled out on a pile of mattresses.
I spent a moment looking at her, carefully noting her posture and attitude.
Blisser's gift manifested itself in a 'wake' of oily smoke that followed along behind her, filling the volume that she passed through. The darkness of the Den made it hard to tell exactly where it was, but it looked safe enough. Some woman was draped across her lower legs, which made me think that she hadn't moved in a few hours. I shouldn't need to worry about accidentally touching any of her gift.
I made my way across the room, heading for the humans who managed her business dealings.
One of them met me halfway across he floor, Marcy, the same woman I'd dealt with the last times I'd come here.
She opened her mouth to say something, but I put a finger over it, took ahold of her and walked her along.
She didn't protest, let me hustle her out of a door and into a ruined hallway, where the sound of our words wouldn't carry.
"Mia," she said.
"Blender," I corrected her. "Blisser gets away with that crap because her gift messes up her mind when she shares it with people. Daggers like you don't get extended the same courtesy."
I couldn't see too well in the dim hallway, but I thought I saw the fear on her face.
"I'm sorry," she said. "She doesn't, you know what she's like. It's easy to forget, I, we, there's so much to-"
I cut her off.
"SO much to forget, eh? I hope not. Because I'm looking for some information about the past. If you 'forgot' it, I might need to 'remind' you, yeah? You could see how I got my name."
"I'm sure I'll remember it," she gushed. "Absolutely. What do you want to know?"
Ordinarily I wouldn't have come on so heavy, but I was always conscious of Snitcher. I didn't think he'd be watching me, but I couldn't take the chance. Being anything but commanding was dangerous for me now.
"A pair of Knights came here," I said. "Their scythes were lifted by two others. I'm very curious about those others. Do you remember anything about them?"
She paused for a long moment, long enough that I decided to speak again.
"In case you are curious," I told her. "The answer had better be 'yes'. Those two were traitors to the Regime. One reason that you might not have tracked their movements would have been if you, yourself, shared their rebel sympathies."
She shook her head, furiously.
"They, of course I know," she said, speaking quickly, with short, staccato bursts. "The ones who took their brother's scythes? They said that they were other Knights, just here to make sure that everything was fine."
"Do people normally do that?" I asked her, a mocking note entering my voice, "Do people come in here and take other people's stuff, 'just to make sure everything was fine'?"
She shook her head, mutely.
"So you knew this was a robbery, yeah?" I asked.
Almost against her own will, it seemed, her head nodded, feebly.
"You just didn't know that they were going to do anything bad with them, right?"
She grabbed for this feeble lifeline.
"Yes, of course, yes Blender! That's it. I, they, we knew they were robbing the Knights, but we had no idea that they might be after someone as important as you! You've got to believe me!"
"No I don't," I told her. "But I don't disbelieve you, either. I nothing you. You aren't important enough to have feelings about. I am focused on the two men who attacked me, the men I slaughtered."
I emphasized the word 'slaughtered', watched her shudder.
"Had you ever seen them before? I know you and your sisters run Blisser's arrangements. I know you don't let humans in here without compensation. The Knights, sure, they'd be on Second Fist's dime, but why did these other two get in?"
If she was shaking before, then she was positively trembling now.
She shook her head, whispered something too low for me to hear.
"Marcy," I told her, taking careful hold of her upper arm.
She flinched away from my touch, looking down at her feet and gritting her teeth.
"…cker," she said.
"Louder," I commanded her.
"Picker!" she said.
I let go, startled momentarily out of my role. Picker? The airhead, the child? She'd been perhaps my least dangerous rival."
Marcy sobbed, covering her mouth with a hand.
"They were with her," she coughed out, in between jags of crying. "We let them in because we'd seen them before, back when Picker helped Blisser out, back when…"
She collapsed down onto her knees, her weeping uncontrollable now.
I took a step back, never looking away, mind awhirl with this development.
Picker was a kid, a baby. It was impossible to square this with my image of her, impossible to picture the girl who'd begged Subtracter on her knees not to make her show her gift with scythes flashing in broad daylight in the streets of the Lair.
I turned back, stepped through the door into the main room.
Behind Picker though, there might be, I needed to-
Arms and feet wrapped around me and a weight careened into me from the side.
I reacted instinctively, shifting my balance and dropping my center of gravity, trying to shift my assailant into a fireman's carry, in preparation for a slam, reaching to my blends in case I needed to-
A tickling sensation at my neck stopped me for a beat, were they…nuzzling?
I lowered Blisser to the ground, tried to step away, even as she clung like a limpet, giggling loudly.
"Mee-ya!" she stage whispered. "I've been so loooone-ley!'
A stupid grin forced its way onto my face.
"Blissy," I said, "I-"
A part of my mind screamed at the rest of me. I was touching her, had just taken a full wake of her gift. I had to get back, had to take my agency back from-
The rest of my mind shut the spoilsport part up.
"-I missed you," I finished.
And it was true, on some level. I don't think anyone who has spent time with Blisser is ever wholly the same again.
I had spent one day here, back when I'd first earned entry to the Lair. I'd pushed her memory aside, trampled it down beneath ambition and cold rage, but it had never really gone away.
"Of course you did!" she giggled, putting her hands up on my face, kneading at my temples. "I missed you too! I love you!"
I found myself reaching out, taking ahold of her arms and pushing her towards me, stopping her short so that the wake crashed over me.
"You love everyone," I murmured, play pushing her back.
She just smiled, teeth white in the dimness and the smoke.
*************************************************************************************
Day 9:
Days remaining: 22
AP available: (10 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep (already max) = 10/10
Prestige: 3 (word of attack may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Actions:
One Vote
Plan Neville, on SV forum
One Vote
Plan TalonOfAntares, on SV forum
One Vote:
Plan CCC (on my blog)
Randomized to Plan Neville
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[x] Give the Bullet Blend to: (Timeslot cost: 0, AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, auto succeed)
-[x] Glower (Grower)
Not sure what to do with the rest of our time. I am inclined to pursue revenge with this:
[x] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[x] By asking Blisser
[x] Relax and Recuperate
-[x]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
************************************************************************************
Day 7 Log:
2 AP at start of day
+1 for 6 hour sleep (3 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Attack on me, by asking Blisser (1 AP)
Investigate roll 4, Success
+1 for Success (2 AP)
-1 for Relax and Recuperate by Patronizing Entertainment areas (1 AP)
Rest roll, 1, critical Failure, relax and recuperate subtype changed to [Blisser]
+3 for Blisser Recuperation (4 AP), will continue until AP maxed out
End of day, (4 AP).
Day 8 Log:
4 AP at start of day
+0 for uneven sleep
+3 for [Morning] Blisser Recuperattion (7 AP), will continue until AP maxed out
+3 for [Afternoon] Blisser Recuperation (10 AP), recuperation complete
End of day (10 AP)
*************************************************************************************
Give Bullet Blend to Grower
"What do you get out of this?" she asked me, voice cold with suspicion.
I let the question sit for a moment, looking instead out of the irregular hole in the wall which served as a window.
"I remember this," I told her.
Her frown told me that she was irked that I didn't answer her question directly, but she had the self control to let me speak.
"I remember living in a place much like this, struggling in a manner very like yours, desperate to reach the interior. It was a hard, brutal existence."
Her face softened a little, losing some of its confrontational edge, her glower relaxing a fraction.
"It might have been the best time of my life."
Her eyes widened involuntarily. She'd clearly been expecting another direction for this speech to go.
"All your enemies are obvious. Everyone around you has the same goal, aside from the people who've given up. You are all rivals, all foes. You go out there and it is all so simple. You kick ass. You take names. You look at the Lair and you hope."
She was nodding along as I spoke, now. It hadn't been hard to guess that she'd be the kind of person who would thrive in this situation, but it was still gratifying to see that I'd been right.
"This is the easy part, you get that?"
"Yeah," she said.
Grower even kind of looked like me. Skin the same shade, same basic fashion sense. Her gear was a little more threadbare, more scavenged, but that could be readily explained by the fact that she didn't have access to the Lair's resources yet. The biggest difference was that I was a few inches taller, and that she didn't have a healing gift to get rid of the scars.
"Once you are in the Lair, the purity is going to vanish," I told her. "Your enemies will hide behind patrons that you can't confront. Your superiors will make demands of you that you will struggle to fulfill. You will want to fight, but half the time you won't even know who the opponent is."
"And…?" she asked, presumably trying to push me back to her original question.
"And I can't wait to see how you'll do," I said. "I don't know if you'll be the kind of Ultra that I want in my Posse. I don't know if that's even something that you want, but I can recognize talent when I see it, and you are too good for the Yard. With this blend you can short circuit a few months, insure yourself against bad luck, and start playing the game for real within a week. I'm eager to see what that looks like."
"I guess it doesn't make sense that you'd be trying to take me down," she said. "If you wanted to get that done, you could snap your fingers and set a mob on me, offer them this kind of Ultra juice, or just places in your force."
"Sure," I allowed.
"So I guess I believe you," she finished. "For whatever reason, you really do want to power me up."
I grinned at her, relieved that she'd bought it. No one knew about my need to give Blends away, and I'd like to keep it that way.
"Let's do this," she said, and held out her hand.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate attack on me (Blisser)
Blisser's Den was just like I remembered it.
The Lair was, by and large, not a place for ruins. The buildings around here were generally at least mostly intact, if only due to energetic repair. There was power in those places that needed it. It was something of an island, amid the overall squalor of the Regime.
Blisser's Den defied this trend, remaining a sorry pile of rubble. It had been a government building, back before the old world fell, and Blisser's clients only real contribution to its livability had been knocking down a bunch of walls, and spreading tarps over the holes that they developed.
I stepped inside, her clientele scattering away as I entered, repelled by the bright light filtering in from where I'd pushed the blanket aside.
Blisser herself was obvious enough, laying in a heap of bodies on the other side of the area, sprawled out on a pile of mattresses.
I spent a moment looking at her, carefully noting her posture and attitude.
Blisser's gift manifested itself in a 'wake' of oily smoke that followed along behind her, filling the volume that she passed through. The darkness of the Den made it hard to tell exactly where it was, but it looked safe enough. Some woman was draped across her lower legs, which made me think that she hadn't moved in a few hours. I shouldn't need to worry about accidentally touching any of her gift.
I made my way across the room, heading for the humans who managed her business dealings.
One of them met me halfway across he floor, Marcy, the same woman I'd dealt with the last times I'd come here.
She opened her mouth to say something, but I put a finger over it, took ahold of her and walked her along.
She didn't protest, let me hustle her out of a door and into a ruined hallway, where the sound of our words wouldn't carry.
"Mia," she said.
"Blender," I corrected her. "Blisser gets away with that crap because her gift messes up her mind when she shares it with people. Daggers like you don't get extended the same courtesy."
I couldn't see too well in the dim hallway, but I thought I saw the fear on her face.
"I'm sorry," she said. "She doesn't, you know what she's like. It's easy to forget, I, we, there's so much to-"
I cut her off.
"SO much to forget, eh? I hope not. Because I'm looking for some information about the past. If you 'forgot' it, I might need to 'remind' you, yeah? You could see how I got my name."
"I'm sure I'll remember it," she gushed. "Absolutely. What do you want to know?"
Ordinarily I wouldn't have come on so heavy, but I was always conscious of Snitcher. I didn't think he'd be watching me, but I couldn't take the chance. Being anything but commanding was dangerous for me now.
"A pair of Knights came here," I said. "Their scythes were lifted by two others. I'm very curious about those others. Do you remember anything about them?"
She paused for a long moment, long enough that I decided to speak again.
"In case you are curious," I told her. "The answer had better be 'yes'. Those two were traitors to the Regime. One reason that you might not have tracked their movements would have been if you, yourself, shared their rebel sympathies."
She shook her head, furiously.
"They, of course I know," she said, speaking quickly, with short, staccato bursts. "The ones who took their brother's scythes? They said that they were other Knights, just here to make sure that everything was fine."
"Do people normally do that?" I asked her, a mocking note entering my voice, "Do people come in here and take other people's stuff, 'just to make sure everything was fine'?"
She shook her head, mutely.
"So you knew this was a robbery, yeah?" I asked.
Almost against her own will, it seemed, her head nodded, feebly.
"You just didn't know that they were going to do anything bad with them, right?"
She grabbed for this feeble lifeline.
"Yes, of course, yes Blender! That's it. I, they, we knew they were robbing the Knights, but we had no idea that they might be after someone as important as you! You've got to believe me!"
"No I don't," I told her. "But I don't disbelieve you, either. I nothing you. You aren't important enough to have feelings about. I am focused on the two men who attacked me, the men I slaughtered."
I emphasized the word 'slaughtered', watched her shudder.
"Had you ever seen them before? I know you and your sisters run Blisser's arrangements. I know you don't let humans in here without compensation. The Knights, sure, they'd be on Second Fist's dime, but why did these other two get in?"
If she was shaking before, then she was positively trembling now.
She shook her head, whispered something too low for me to hear.
"Marcy," I told her, taking careful hold of her upper arm.
She flinched away from my touch, looking down at her feet and gritting her teeth.
"…cker," she said.
"Louder," I commanded her.
"Picker!" she said.
I let go, startled momentarily out of my role. Picker? The airhead, the child? She'd been perhaps my least dangerous rival."
Marcy sobbed, covering her mouth with a hand.
"They were with her," she coughed out, in between jags of crying. "We let them in because we'd seen them before, back when Picker helped Blisser out, back when…"
She collapsed down onto her knees, her weeping uncontrollable now.
I took a step back, never looking away, mind awhirl with this development.
Picker was a kid, a baby. It was impossible to square this with my image of her, impossible to picture the girl who'd begged Subtracter on her knees not to make her show her gift with scythes flashing in broad daylight in the streets of the Lair.
I turned back, stepped through the door into the main room.
Behind Picker though, there might be, I needed to-
Arms and feet wrapped around me and a weight careened into me from the side.
I reacted instinctively, shifting my balance and dropping my center of gravity, trying to shift my assailant into a fireman's carry, in preparation for a slam, reaching to my blends in case I needed to-
A tickling sensation at my neck stopped me for a beat, were they…nuzzling?
I lowered Blisser to the ground, tried to step away, even as she clung like a limpet, giggling loudly.
"Mee-ya!" she stage whispered. "I've been so loooone-ley!'
A stupid grin forced its way onto my face.
"Blissy," I said, "I-"
A part of my mind screamed at the rest of me. I was touching her, had just taken a full wake of her gift. I had to get back, had to take my agency back from-
The rest of my mind shut the spoilsport part up.
"-I missed you," I finished.
And it was true, on some level. I don't think anyone who has spent time with Blisser is ever wholly the same again.
I had spent one day here, back when I'd first earned entry to the Lair. I'd pushed her memory aside, trampled it down beneath ambition and cold rage, but it had never really gone away.
"Of course you did!" she giggled, putting her hands up on my face, kneading at my temples. "I missed you too! I love you!"
I found myself reaching out, taking ahold of her arms and pushing her towards me, stopping her short so that the wake crashed over me.
"You love everyone," I murmured, play pushing her back.
She just smiled, teeth white in the dimness and the smoke.
*************************************************************************************
Day 9:
Days remaining: 22
AP available: (10 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep (already max) = 10/10
Prestige: 3 (word of attack may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Actions:
[ ] Confront Picker (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, returns variable on result)
-[ ] Write in (Should I ambush her, accuse her publicly, reach out privately? This is a complicated situation, so if you have any questions about what is appropriate, what Mia would expect to follow from a given course of action feel free to ask)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ] By visiting Blisser (Timeslot cost: X (slots spent until AP reaches max), AP cost 0, returns 3 per time period. DANGER, this action may cause addiction)
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
-[ ] Write in (Should I ambush her, accuse her publicly, reach out privately? This is a complicated situation, so if you have any questions about what is appropriate, what Mia would expect to follow from a given course of action feel free to ask)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ] By visiting Blisser (Timeslot cost: X (slots spent until AP reaches max), AP cost 0, returns 3 per time period. DANGER, this action may cause addiction)
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
Last edited:
Turn 8
- Location
- USA
Results from Previous round votes:
Three Votes
Plan TalonofAnathrax, on SV forum
One Vote
Plan CCC on my blog
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Builder, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Grower, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
************************************************************************************
Day 9 Log:
10 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep, due to already full AP (10 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Acquaintance, Builder (8 AP)
Investigate roll 8, Success
+1 for Success, +1 for accumulate Ally (10 AP)
-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance, Grower (8 AP)
Investigate roll 5, Success
+1 for Success, +1 for accumulate Ally (10 AP)
End of day, (10 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance, Builder
"So," I said, as I tossed her a bag of chips. "You make the arenas, eh?"
She gave an enthusiastic nod, already tearing them open.
"Yep! Suzy tells me what they are gonna do, and I make sure they have a place to do it in. The Deeps is mostly my work."
"That's very impressive," I told her. "Your gift allows you to create these arenas? Like Adders, but permanent?"
It obviously wasn't that. She'd be much more involved with Her people if she was that powerful, but the easiest way to draw someone into describing something, I've found, is not to ask them about it, but to confidently state something wrong. People correct with a lot more enthusiasm than they explain.
"Nuff, no way!" she said, stuffing the salty snacks in her face, "My gift changes things into other things. That old tall building was already there, but I was the one who bent it into a cool battle arena."
"I'm still not sure I see," I said. "You 'bent' it?"
"Omfhgu," she said, continuing to chow down on my gift.
She held up a finger, as though to ask me to wait a sec, as she hastily scarfed down the rest of the bag.
I couldn't exactly blame her. Builder was basically anorexic, in terms of how she was built. She looked like she'd need to lean back and use both hands when pulling a door open, like you'd lose track of her if she turned sideways.
"With my gift," she said, when she'd finished licking the salty taste off the inside of the bag, "I can make forms bend and twist into other forms. Not alive stuff, but anything else."
"So," I guessed, "You could make, for example, a car into a different kind of car?"
"Well, like, I could make spikes and stuff come out of it," she allowed, "But the inside of a car is probably really complicated and fiddly, so it wouldn't work if I changed it up at all. If I wanted it to work I'd be making like a car jacket that the thing that was already there would wear."
"Wouldn't that kind of ruin it anyway," I asked, "Since you'd need to take material from the existing form in order to make the jacket?"
She looked confused for a second, brow furrowing.
"Oh, no, not at all, I can just stretch the material out, see?"
She put her hands on two corners of the empty bag, and carelessly pulled it wider… and wider.
She stopped when it covered the table.
"How close do you have to be to do this?"
She shrugged.
"I've never had my gift not work before," she said. "I don't think I have to be close or far away. I just have to know where the thing is."
"Ah," I said. "So if something wasn't where you thought it was, your gift wouldn't work?"
She gave an enthusiastic nod.
"Yep. Once I see something I can change it around, make it bigger or smaller or in different shapes, but if there isn't anything there for my gift to work on it won't go off, you know?"
"Fantastic!" I gushed. "What a gift!"
I meant it, honestly. My mind was swimming, almost against my will, with all of the ways that her gift could have been used to help the world.
"Thanks," she said. "It isn't anything really cool like Ultra toughness, but it is what I got, so I try to make the best of it."
I nodded at that.
"But," she said, giving me the puppy dog eyes, "I really think that if I stayed way back there are some things I could do to help you in your warlord job! Like I could scout ahead and make the other team's buildings fall on them or stuff!"
I couldn't help noticing that she was apparently staying way back while scouting ahead, but it didn't seem useful to mention.
"I'll give it some thought," I said. "I may be in touch."
She nodded.
"Before you leave…"
I sighed and fished out another bag of chips.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance, Grower
Visibly shaking but with head held high, Grower strode into the Lair.
She stopped after the first step.
Clap… clap… clap.
She turned around and looked over to the side, where I was leaning up against the wall.
"Warlord," she said. "I guess you were waiting for me."
I was a bit miffed that I hadn't gotten a bigger reaction. The 'already leaning against the wall of the door you walked through' move was, in my opinion, about as cool a move as one could do, but I guess the younger generation probably had their own power poses.
"I happened to be in the area," I said, with transparent falseness. "I'm glad you made it."
That was the simple truth of the matter. It would have been a bit of a let down if the woman I'd spent a whole day scouting and given my blend to had failed to pass the Yard.
I'd been blissed out during her pivotal fights, but from what I'd heard the bullet blend had worked just as well with her item growing gift as I'd expected it to. She'd attacked at range by throwing things and expanding them while they were in motion, then bulleted away anytime anyone managed to get close enough to counter.
"Me too," she said.
"I expect you are going to be looking for a place to stay?" I asked. "I remember that was a bit of a hassle on my first day."
It hadn't been, actually. KEM had briefed me ahead of time, and it had simply been a matter of making the arrangements.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead," she said, which I wasn't sure I believed, "With the way things work around here, I expect I have to fight someone for their room?"
I chuckled.
"Not a bad guess," I said, "But things aren't quite that bad yet. You can probably just room with someone."
"You offering?" she said.
I chuckled, although honestly I'd given the matter some thought. Another roommate would let me get some actual sleep for once.
"Not just yet," I demurred. "But I do have a few recommendations."
She listened avidly as I gave her the basic lay of the land in the Lair, mostly focusing on which Ultras had dominion over which areas.
"And Her?" she asked. "Will I get to see Her, now that I've come this far?"
I was taken aback a bit.
"I guess you could," I said.
She smiled, seemingly genuinely pleased.
"I've worked so long," she said. "But it'll all be worth it."
I was, to put it politely, perplexed. Most everyone with a lick of sense avoided Her at all costs. I guess that didn't say much for my own judgment, but presumably Grower wasn't about to try for Warlord.
"Oh?" I said, making a gesture, as though to encourage her to elaborate.
She looked like she was about to speak up, then seemed to think better of it.
"Thanks for all you've done," she said. "I won't forget it."
I grinned gamely back at her.
"See that you don't," I said. "I might look you up soon."
She raised a fist for a bump.
"You call, I'll come," she said.
*************************************************************************************
Day 10:
Days remaining: 21
AP available: (10 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep (already at max) = 10/10
Prestige: 3 (word of attack may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon, 3 days left)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Grower – 0/*0/1, an outside Ultra I sponsored into the Lair, has a bullet blend from me, can rapidly increase the size and mass of objects
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Three Votes
Plan TalonofAnathrax, on SV forum
One Vote
Plan CCC on my blog
*************************************************************************************
Winning Plan:
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Builder, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
[X] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[X] Grower, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
************************************************************************************
Day 9 Log:
10 AP at start of day
+0 for 6 hour sleep, due to already full AP (10 AP)
-2 for [Morning] Investigate Acquaintance, Builder (8 AP)
Investigate roll 8, Success
+1 for Success, +1 for accumulate Ally (10 AP)
-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance, Grower (8 AP)
Investigate roll 5, Success
+1 for Success, +1 for accumulate Ally (10 AP)
End of day, (10 AP).
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance, Builder
"So," I said, as I tossed her a bag of chips. "You make the arenas, eh?"
She gave an enthusiastic nod, already tearing them open.
"Yep! Suzy tells me what they are gonna do, and I make sure they have a place to do it in. The Deeps is mostly my work."
"That's very impressive," I told her. "Your gift allows you to create these arenas? Like Adders, but permanent?"
It obviously wasn't that. She'd be much more involved with Her people if she was that powerful, but the easiest way to draw someone into describing something, I've found, is not to ask them about it, but to confidently state something wrong. People correct with a lot more enthusiasm than they explain.
"Nuff, no way!" she said, stuffing the salty snacks in her face, "My gift changes things into other things. That old tall building was already there, but I was the one who bent it into a cool battle arena."
"I'm still not sure I see," I said. "You 'bent' it?"
"Omfhgu," she said, continuing to chow down on my gift.
She held up a finger, as though to ask me to wait a sec, as she hastily scarfed down the rest of the bag.
I couldn't exactly blame her. Builder was basically anorexic, in terms of how she was built. She looked like she'd need to lean back and use both hands when pulling a door open, like you'd lose track of her if she turned sideways.
"With my gift," she said, when she'd finished licking the salty taste off the inside of the bag, "I can make forms bend and twist into other forms. Not alive stuff, but anything else."
"So," I guessed, "You could make, for example, a car into a different kind of car?"
"Well, like, I could make spikes and stuff come out of it," she allowed, "But the inside of a car is probably really complicated and fiddly, so it wouldn't work if I changed it up at all. If I wanted it to work I'd be making like a car jacket that the thing that was already there would wear."
"Wouldn't that kind of ruin it anyway," I asked, "Since you'd need to take material from the existing form in order to make the jacket?"
She looked confused for a second, brow furrowing.
"Oh, no, not at all, I can just stretch the material out, see?"
She put her hands on two corners of the empty bag, and carelessly pulled it wider… and wider.
She stopped when it covered the table.
"How close do you have to be to do this?"
She shrugged.
"I've never had my gift not work before," she said. "I don't think I have to be close or far away. I just have to know where the thing is."
"Ah," I said. "So if something wasn't where you thought it was, your gift wouldn't work?"
She gave an enthusiastic nod.
"Yep. Once I see something I can change it around, make it bigger or smaller or in different shapes, but if there isn't anything there for my gift to work on it won't go off, you know?"
"Fantastic!" I gushed. "What a gift!"
I meant it, honestly. My mind was swimming, almost against my will, with all of the ways that her gift could have been used to help the world.
"Thanks," she said. "It isn't anything really cool like Ultra toughness, but it is what I got, so I try to make the best of it."
I nodded at that.
"But," she said, giving me the puppy dog eyes, "I really think that if I stayed way back there are some things I could do to help you in your warlord job! Like I could scout ahead and make the other team's buildings fall on them or stuff!"
I couldn't help noticing that she was apparently staying way back while scouting ahead, but it didn't seem useful to mention.
"I'll give it some thought," I said. "I may be in touch."
She nodded.
"Before you leave…"
I sighed and fished out another bag of chips.
*************************************************************************************
Investigate Acquaintance, Grower
Visibly shaking but with head held high, Grower strode into the Lair.
She stopped after the first step.
Clap… clap… clap.
She turned around and looked over to the side, where I was leaning up against the wall.
"Warlord," she said. "I guess you were waiting for me."
I was a bit miffed that I hadn't gotten a bigger reaction. The 'already leaning against the wall of the door you walked through' move was, in my opinion, about as cool a move as one could do, but I guess the younger generation probably had their own power poses.
"I happened to be in the area," I said, with transparent falseness. "I'm glad you made it."
That was the simple truth of the matter. It would have been a bit of a let down if the woman I'd spent a whole day scouting and given my blend to had failed to pass the Yard.
I'd been blissed out during her pivotal fights, but from what I'd heard the bullet blend had worked just as well with her item growing gift as I'd expected it to. She'd attacked at range by throwing things and expanding them while they were in motion, then bulleted away anytime anyone managed to get close enough to counter.
"Me too," she said.
"I expect you are going to be looking for a place to stay?" I asked. "I remember that was a bit of a hassle on my first day."
It hadn't been, actually. KEM had briefed me ahead of time, and it had simply been a matter of making the arrangements.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead," she said, which I wasn't sure I believed, "With the way things work around here, I expect I have to fight someone for their room?"
I chuckled.
"Not a bad guess," I said, "But things aren't quite that bad yet. You can probably just room with someone."
"You offering?" she said.
I chuckled, although honestly I'd given the matter some thought. Another roommate would let me get some actual sleep for once.
"Not just yet," I demurred. "But I do have a few recommendations."
She listened avidly as I gave her the basic lay of the land in the Lair, mostly focusing on which Ultras had dominion over which areas.
"And Her?" she asked. "Will I get to see Her, now that I've come this far?"
I was taken aback a bit.
"I guess you could," I said.
She smiled, seemingly genuinely pleased.
"I've worked so long," she said. "But it'll all be worth it."
I was, to put it politely, perplexed. Most everyone with a lick of sense avoided Her at all costs. I guess that didn't say much for my own judgment, but presumably Grower wasn't about to try for Warlord.
"Oh?" I said, making a gesture, as though to encourage her to elaborate.
She looked like she was about to speak up, then seemed to think better of it.
"Thanks for all you've done," she said. "I won't forget it."
I grinned gamely back at her.
"See that you don't," I said. "I might look you up soon."
She raised a fist for a bump.
"You call, I'll come," she said.
*************************************************************************************
Day 10:
Days remaining: 21
AP available: (10 end of last day + 0 for half night's sleep (already at max) = 10/10
Prestige: 3 (word of attack may reduce this if I don't take public vengeance soon, 3 days left)
Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)
Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled
Force size: 0
Condition: Healthy
(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)
Ultra Allies:
Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things
Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands
Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form's velocity by looking at them
Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness
Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things
Grower – 0/*0/1, an outside Ultra I sponsored into the Lair, has a bullet blend from me, can rapidly increase the size and mass of objects
Ultra Enemies:
Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still
Ultra Acquaintances:
Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,
Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, 'selects the outcome of things'
Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them
Shower – Adder's protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses
Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees
Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them
Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate
Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
Chiller — 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
Cutter — 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
Joker — 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
Smasher — 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
Swimmer — 1/0/1, she can 'swim' through solid surfaces
Burner — 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
Maxxer — 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
Puncher — 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
Replayer — 1/2/0, she can 'step back in time' to undo damage that she takes
Faction Rankings:
Regime 7
KEM 8
Pantheon 2
Union 4
Resistance 9
Prevailer 3
Knights 3
Actions:
[ ] Confront Picker (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, returns variable on result)
-[ ] Write in (Should I ambush her, accuse her publicly, reach out privately? This is a complicated situation, so if you have any questions about what is appropriate, what Mia would expect to follow from a given course of action feel free to ask)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ] By visiting Blisser (Timeslot cost: X (slots spent until AP reaches max), AP cost 0, returns 3 per time period. DANGER, this action may cause addiction)
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
[ ] Confront Picker (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, returns variable on result)
-[ ] Write in (Should I ambush her, accuse her publicly, reach out privately? This is a complicated situation, so if you have any questions about what is appropriate, what Mia would expect to follow from a given course of action feel free to ask)
[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
-[ ] By asking bystanders
Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises
Concerns: None
[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)
Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don't count towards the Regime's ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.
Concerns: I don't know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn't mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.
[ ] Seek Transportation
-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.
Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.
-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I'll negotiate to get them from their current owners.
Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil
-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I'll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance
Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won't like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.
-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.
Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.
[ ] Seek Target Information
-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information
Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete
-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don't like to be around her
-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.
Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.
[ ] Seek Posse Members
-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.
Concerns: None
-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)
Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.
Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.
[ ] Seek Warband Members
-[ ] At the Yard, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras. The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose. I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.
Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off. I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more. Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.
-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong. If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.
Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with. Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I'd had time to win them over.
[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)
Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I've chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.
Concerns: None
[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:
-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I've already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.
Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.
[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher's patterns
-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.
Concerns: None
-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)
Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.
Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.
-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.
Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.
[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations
-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime's military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.
Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.
-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.
Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.
[ ] Relax and Recuperate
-[ ] By visiting Blisser (Timeslot cost: X (slots spent until AP reaches max), AP cost 0, returns 3 per time period. DANGER, this action may cause addiction)
-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest.
Concerns: None
-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)
Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing
Concerns: None
-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: It needs to be done.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)
Motive: This is why I have my gift.
Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk
[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)
Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.
Concerns: None
[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]
Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night's sleep
Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another's rest for a long time. I wouldn't necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.
KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher's surveillance, or resolve to defy him)
[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)
Motive [Write in]
Concerns: [Write in]
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