Actually, @zagan how does Controlled Reproduction work with 'man-made' or artificial creatures? They 'reproduce' via someone making them so is Alex granted understanding of the processes by which they are created? For instance, would he suddenly know what enchantments went into the creation of the Sorting Hat or how Dragon-type AI are programmed?

Obviously he would still need the materials and ability to make the creature, but the only way I can see Controlled Reproduction working with such entities is if it gives a 'blueprint' of some sort.

This would be fairly valuable as a pseudo-tinker ability since logically he would be able to create, for example, the forcefield emitter from the Spiderbot by using an incomplete reproduction of the creature.
Yes, the same way as robots.
With indeed the limitation on materials and specific magic types.
For the Sorting Hat, he would know which spells, runes, potions, or whatever are needed to craft another one. But he wouldn't know how to cast those spells and wouldn't have access to the ingredients for the potions. Some of those could be substitutes with other abilities, and Olky could provide some but not necessarily everything.

For AI, it's truth too. But I don't think I'll take the story in that direction. And it wouldn't Richter power, if Alex (or I) decided to go for it. It would be identical to a newly created Dragon and without her Parahuman power.
 
[X] 100 Controlled Reproduction

Let's hope this doesn't set Piggot off after all Alex has done and is about to do today.

The Voice's main use is indeed stealing voice. But once stolen I don't see why it couldn't use the stolen voice. I don't remember in what chapter but I think Alex also used it to amplify his own voice, he could use it to soften it too, or to transmit it.
The Song can indeed copy a voice, but it's easier if it's a singing voice. But I could very well see it being used to improve someone's singing ability. Or help someone learn to sing in tune faster.

I definitely agree, and has been something I was already aware that you've shown in story. My issue was I couldn't believe it working as The Voice hadn't been shown as stealing Bakuda's voice to use at some point, along with the vote saying as mimicking rather than as utilizing her voice instead. I didn't understand what you were going for in the vote option as it was written and I hope this clarified things.

I would also like to go a step further and say The Voice could conceivably steal a person's ability to speak a language as well, songs aren't sung in only one language after all.
 
I definitely agree, and has been something I was already aware that you've shown in story. My issue was I couldn't believe it working as The Voice hadn't been shown as stealing Bakuda's voice to use at some point, along with the vote saying as mimicking rather than as utilizing her voice instead. I didn't understand what you were going for in the vote option as it was written and I hope this clarified things.
Ha, I see. Of course, it wasn't specified in the vote but it would have required extracting Bakuda from her seal. Making her talk a little, maybe with Star, and then stealing her voice. Emulating her voice from nothing could be possible but would have been much more hazardous.
Glad we're on the same page.
 
Vote Closed: Winning vote: Controlled Reproduction

This one will be interesting to implement. It will be slow but could yield fantastic results. We'll see.
 
I have a minor lull in my schoolwork so I thought now would be a good time to ask some questions.

@zagan how do Dungeon Cores reproduce? Is it a form of mitosis that triggers once they reach a certain level of mana density? Or something completely different?

Incidentally, out of pure curiosity, could Grimoire the Death Tome and Booky the Monster Book reproduce? I have no idea what would be produce nor do I think it a good idea but it is certainly intriguing.

By the way, although it is still a ways off I promote the idea of Armsmaster taking the Incarnation of a Hero (Daedalus) class. Daedalus' legend effectively paints him as an ur-Tinker anyway. Alternatively, there are the other legendary craftsmen of antiquity to consider. I just wanted to float the thought by other people.
 
@zagan how do Dungeon Cores reproduce? Is it a form of mitosis that triggers once they reach a certain level of mana density? Or something completely different?
It depends on the setting. I've seen the mitosis things a few times but it's not the most common. In most cases, Dungeon Core spontaneously appears, created by Gods/the System/wild magic/whatever.

In our case, I'm inclined to go with the second option. Mainly so I don't have to worry about it.

Incidentally, out of pure curiosity, could Grimoire the Death Tome and Booky the Monster Book reproduce? I have no idea what would be produce nor do I think it a good idea but it is certainly intriguing.
Not with each other. They're both enchanted/animated items. So they're closer to golems and robots. If Alex wants more he'll need to enchant a normal book in the right way. For the Monster Book, I'll say that he doesn't have access to the right tools. He'll need to visit the Harry Potter settings first. (And the new book would only contain the information he wants, not everything in the CM)
For the Grimoire, it's similar. He'll need a few things from Minecraft. Redstone would be appropriate. Maybe something from Twilight Forest.

By the way, although it is still a ways off I promote the idea of Armsmaster taking the Incarnation of a Hero (Daedalus) class. Daedalus' legend effectively paints him as an ur-Tinker anyway. Alternatively, there are the other legendary craftsmen of antiquity to consider. I just wanted to float the thought by other people.
That could be some awesome synergy.
 
It depends on the setting. I've seen the mitosis things a few times but it's not the most common. In most cases, Dungeon Core spontaneously appears, created by Gods/the System/wild magic/whatever.

In our case, I'm inclined to go with the second option. Mainly so I don't have to worry about it.
'Spontaneously appears' reminded me of something.
Doesn't get explored till later but the ability to reproduce doesn't till the Dungeon Core reaches a certain level and certain conditions are cleared. Don't wanna spoil much but when a DC is born it randomly teleports to anyplace that qualifies as a Dungeon. Basically a cave of sorts and pedestal or pedestal like spot is the bare minimum.
The MC is a Isekai man in a Frankenstein core created to help run a Magic Academy on it's opening year. Part of that is creating a number false Dungeons for the Teachers to act as the Dungeon Lord to teach specific survival skills.
For certain reasons beyond the MC's control he gets transported to another country. It's a funny oh shit moment when he realizes what might happen if all those Dungeons get Cores in short order given the typical nature of DCs without someone to keep them friendly.
...
I feel like I mentioned this fic before?
 
Chapter 216: Confronting a False Dragon.
[X] It worked so far, no need to change things up. Star for the win.
[X] Power
Power Roll: (290 points)
Entry Roll D18=9
100 Controlled Reproduction, 300 Multi-Boost (Too Expansive), 200 Companion
Sub-vote results: 100 Controlled Reproduction
Banked: 190

Here we are at the end of the ABB. Enjoy!
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Wednesday, 05/18/2011 (9:45 PM)

Briefly, I considered challenging Lung. His pride wouldn't allow him to refuse. But that would be too hazardous. Despite the problem with Oni-Lee, Star has proven to be reliable. For a covert operation like this one they were perfect.

I also entertained the idea of impersonating Bakuda and asking him to come see the new bomb. Allowing me to act, while he would be in transit. It was quickly discarded. I had too few samples of interaction between her and Lung. And I wasn't confident enough in my acting abilities to make it convincing.

It took less than thirty seconds for Bruce to position himself above the brothel.

There I faced my first problem, unlike my first two targets, Lung wasn't alone. He was sitting behind a luxurious desk and on an equally luxurious chair, both decorated with an exaggerated number of traditional Asian symbols. Two men and one woman were with him, they were sitting on simple wooden chairs, with wads of papers in their hands.

They appeared to be lieutenants of some sort. Currently, they were making reports on the gains and losses experienced by the gangs in recent days. I charged Clank to memorize all that, it could be of some use in the future. After all, even without their Parahumans, the ABB would still be a gang with numerous members and assets.

In addition to the person present in the office, two armed guards stood in front of the only door. So I need to either neutralize those two too, or act in a way that they didn't notice anything. And if that wasn't enough the nearby rooms also contained people.

This made things more complicated. Those people couldn't stop me from putting Star on their boss, but they could raise the alarm. I pondered for a minute how to go about it. Lung didn't appear to be deeply invested in the prattling of his subordinates, he kept glancing toward the phone.

Again I would need to do multiple actions at once. The Mental Partition power that provided me with my Mind, would prove once again to be invaluable. The only drawback was that I would need to be present in the room. The power I chose couldn't be used remotely.

I started by recalling Shadow, ending the Servant Summoning Ritual's effect. And resummoning him as armor, his presence concealment would be of great help. Unlike my earlier attempt at stealth, it was much more important to be undetectable from biological senses than from electronic sensors.

Then I teleported into an empty room adjacent to Lung's office. I scrunched my nose in disgust when I reappeared. It reeked, it must have seen some heavy use recently and not been cleaned since. It was disgusting.

Equipping Cujo's intangibility, I hurried to phase through the wall. Despite that I remained cautious, only letting my head pass through at first. The scene inside the office was just as I expected it, one of the lieutenants was droning about the drug profits generated. I tuned it out, I had bigger concerns. The bulk of my attention was on Lung. He looked bored and most importantly didn't appear to notice my presence.

Satisfied I fully entered the room. Then I put myself flush against the wall in a corner opposite from Lung.

After one last deep breath, I put my plan in motion.

In a whisper, I cast Dream Flower. "Sleep.". The effect was immediate, the three lieutenants slumped down in their chairs. Lung was similarly affected even if he put much more resistance. But it wasn't the sum of my plan for him, in the same instant one of my Minds summoned Star right on his face.

To his credit, he did manage to raise a hand a few centimeters before succumbing to Star's control.

I step forward, looking at the leader of the ABB.

Was that all? Was it that easy to deal with a whole gang? Should have I acted earlier? By definition hero's work, and police work in general, was reactive. Wouldn't it be better to be more proactive? Actively hunting down threats. Or would that end up just being tyranny?

My philosophical musings were interrupted by an alert from Star. Lung's body was getting hotter and bigger. He was ramping up.

I couldn't stop myself from swearing. "Fuck!!!"

It was impossible to know if this was an automatic response to being under a master effect or if his Shard was cheating. The result was the same, I couldn't allow him to continue. Even unmoving his temperature alone would eventually set fire to the building.

For the second time this evening, I called on Kupuna Wa, just so I could decide how to deal with this new clusterfuck.

Should I kill him? It was what I set up to do originally. This monster in human skin didn't hesitate to kill innocent people and animals as a warning and a threat. He ordered Bakuda to put a bomb inside someone. Burning the man he sent as messenger down from the inside. He was profiting from numerous criminal activities. He was a tumor on the city.

Two or three salvos of 1000 Needles would solve that problem permanently.



And despite all that, I couldn't do it. Not in cold blood. Not when I had other solutions at my disposal.

I addressed the immobilized man in a whisper. "You're not worth it."

With that decision taken, I felt much better. Now I need to address the situation.

Step one was helping Star to resist the rising temperature. In quick succession, I applied the Fur Theme, the Brute and Half-Shadow modifiers, and the Lava Eel's physiology. As a bonus, I also applied the Champions modifiers. (D14=3). And we got lucky, with the Undying attributes, which would provide excellent regeneration.

Star was now big enough to engulf Lung's whole head. Their thin purple skin was replaced by grey elephant-like hide studded with glossy black scales.

With all that Star could endure the heat pretty much forever. Or until Lung's physiology changed so much that Star couldn't control him anymore. An all too likely possibility considering that after some point he was covered in metallic scales and his organs were closer to furnaces than to biological parts.

For now, Star was holding on, and to make things easier was only keeping Lung immobile.

I need to act fast, however. Already my nose could detect hints of burning leather coming from Lungs chair.

How to transport him?

In the end, simplicity was best. Olky, with similar modifications as Star, grabbed Lung and apparated him to Bruce, dumping him in the cell.

On the way out I grabbed every last bit of paper in the office, as well as the phones, as evidence for later. The lieutenants would wake up in a minute but my priority was their boss.

Laying on the ground of the cell, the man was now obviously ramping up even while controlled by Star. Lung was a tall man by default, pushing just past two meters. But now he was reaching two and a half. His clothes were in tatter from the pressure, and the remains were smothering. His forearms were already covered in scales, and claws were poking out of his shoes. A red glow was also visible under his skin.

I couldn't let this go for much longer. I had no way to remove his power, that would be the easiest solution. But for now, It wasn't something that I could do. After some more discussions with my Minds, I settled on something. I was a little brutal, it would cripple Lungs for days, or even weeks, but that way I could be sure that even a civilian could handle him.

I enlarged Bruce, so I would have some room and then summoned five of my partners to assist me, Cressidus, Kane, Shadow, Max, and Thorne. All of them as Half-Dragons, as well as myself.

Mentally I informed them of the plan, and they nodded in understanding. We took positions in front of the cell, forming a half circle. In unison, we breathe in and then breathe out. Six cones shadow covered Lung. Under our eyes, he appears to shrink, his skin paling, his muscles mass melting, and his hairs falling off. What was left under our eyes looked like a mummified corpse. Only the subtle movement of his ribcage, visible through my enhanced sense, showed that he was still breathing.

But I didn't stop there. For the next step, I called Scorgem. Under my command, using psionic energy, they attacked Lung's psyche directly. I stopped them after five strikes, it would be plenty.

With the drain of his vital energy and the temporary damage to his personality matrix, Lung would be as harmless as a kitten for a good while.

Star jumped from Lungs head. Then I proceed to seal him too. I would need to ask Shifu for more of such scrolls, they were extremely useful.

After thanking my partners for their help I dismissed them all except Thorne. And then I slumped down against the wall. My faithful Cactuar joined me, sitting by my side. I shot him a thankful smile for his solidarity.

This whole thing ends up being very anticlimactic. I mean I encountered two unexpected factors on the way. But I handled them with little trouble. This was it, another gang down. Well, not completely, the unpowered gang members were still a threat. They would need to be handled. But they couldn't deal the same amount of damage as the parahumans.

What next? The Merchants?

I licked my lips, considering the matter. Should I go for broke? Only two parahumans remained in that gang. When the Merchants realized that the ABB was no more, they may go on the offensive. Or would that be too much? Unlike with Lung's gang, it would be an attack with no provocation. At least not recent ones. And it would delay my inevitable dressing down from Director Piggot.

My musings were interrupted by the Menagerie. A power that didn't feel that big but that could have some far-reaching consequences.

That one is easy to understand, it just removed a limitation. Or more precisely it allows us to selectively a limitation previously imposed by the Menagerie./If we wish we can all allow our partners to reproduce./The child will have a favorable impression of us, but cannot be targeted by Creature Acquisition unless they're somehow a different species from their parents. Also, we can make them grow up twice as fast./Obviously, the ones with a gender need a viable partner, either another partner or a being from elsewhere. So for the majority of them, that's still a no-go./I'll note that Replica will be compatible with all our gendered Pokemon once they learn Transform./I'm not sure it would be wise to have more Frillish or Sneasel running around./For the plants it could be much more interesting, we only need seeds or a cutting. There are some risks inherent in bringing plants from other dimensions on Earth, but our medicinal plants could change the world.

The Senzu Bean and the various Berries immediately came to mind. I could already see a garden taking shape inside the Orb or in my quarters. It may be worthwhile having a partner gain the Gatherer class from Nimue just for that.

That said our more immediate concern is for artificial partners./We could start production straight away for some of them./Just the Spider Bot could be a great boon for the Protectorate./Also we could give that power and a robotic partner, to create a Tinker. A very specialized one but still./And now we have much more insight on Dragon. I wouldn't want to create an AI, it would be too much like a violation of her identity, but this could be a massive help in freeing her.

That was an excellent point. Hunting down the Dragon Slayers would be much easier. But this was a matter for another time. I still need to decide if I want to go after the Merchants.

[] Yes, let's clean up Brockton Bay.
[] No, it's enough for today. It would cause problems.

Wordcount: 2030
Excess words: 185
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Surprise! He didn't go through with it. I'm sure most of you have seen it coming. And I wouldn't call it a twist. Still, I'm happy with the result. Not exactly character growth, but more of a character affirmation.
And you get to decide if you go after the Merchants or not. It's a more important vote than it may seem.

For the roll, 190 (Banked) + 240 (Chapter) + 0 (Excess words) = 430 points.

[] Creature

[] Power

Voting will be closed Thursday at 3 PM GMT

Edit: I changed teardown into dressing down. It's much more appropriate but I couldn't remember the correct terms when writing that part.
 
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[X] No, it's enough for today. It would cause problems.

Alex has already toed the line regarding obedience. While he likely could take out the remaining Villains in the Bay doing so without any form of forewarning much less permission will be seen poorly by those in charge. Not that I personally care too much for the authorities of Bet, but such a thing would make life difficult for Alex.

Also, preparations need to be made for any potential newcomers to the Bay. I am not willing to claim with certainty that a "Boston Games" scenario is destined to erupt, but I can see how some Villains might try to move in or possibly Trigger in response to the massive change Alex just made to the criminal scene. Best to consolidate and go after the Merchants later, maybe next week?
 
[X] Power
[X] No, it's enough for today. It would cause problems.

Alex could get away with taking out the ABB as it could be simply seen as a response to their own escalation of conflict.
 
[X] Power
[X] No, it's enough for today. It would cause problems.

ABB we have justification for going after- Merchants we do not, or not as good a one.
 
[X] Yes, let's clean up Brockton Bay.
[X] Power

Mainly, so the story can move on from BB to larger concerns, rather than having at some point to have an entire separate story line just for the Merchants.
 
[X] Power
[X] No, it's enough for today. It would cause problems.

The whole point of this excursion was to show that targeting people Alex cares about will just bring the wrath of god down on you. Let's not dilute the message by going after people who weren't involved.
 
[X] Yes, let's clean up Brockton Bay.
[X] Power

Mainly, so the story can move on from BB to larger concerns, rather than having at some point to have an entire separate story line just for the Merchants.
To be fair, there are other Heroes on the Protectorate ENE payroll who can take care of the Merchants. It doesn't have to be Alex when there are only two Parahumans and everyone in the gang is drug-addled to various degrees. Also, Alex is going to be heading on "tour" soon-ish if I remember correctly so the narrative will be moving from Brockton.

My primary concern is actually what new Villains will move in or pop-up in response to the newly vacated "real estate" Alex left behind. I believe it is noted that each city with a Triumvirate member contains Villains who have adapted to survive despite the presence of such a powerful Hero, possibly by running and hiding. I wonder if there wouldn't be a focus on teleportation in the Bay given it is one of the only "weaknesses" Compendium has demonstrated.
 
Also want to see alex travel and solved problems in others cities to see the situation across the country maybe join the guild in the future.
 
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