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The Enemy Within (WHF Witch Hunter Quest)

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Time to explore the consequences of one's actions, for good or for ill. From disability, to having to provide for people, to interacting with the characters we know and love.
Besides: can we be a non-action investigator here? Can we put together the pieces of the puzzle? "What good is it to know that a blow will fall, if you lack the strength to turn it aside?". Can we find that strength, and a way to exist without throwing ourselves in Mortal Kombat?

In whichever way it may.
[X] Live
[X] Break
 
LucidProp said:
Yeah, but none of those quests are about a Witch Hunter as compelling as Markus, nor are they about tackling Imperial society, its laws, and how mutants are treated as an enforcer of said laws, so I'd really rather not lose this one.
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I mean, given how many people are saying that the lesson here is "stop trying to be better, just take the easy way and be another indiscriminate jackboot", I have my doubts this one will be about that much longer even if Live wins. It's kinda why I voted Rest initially, I have zero desire to see Markus devolve into just another thug against all things abnormal.
 
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Maugan Ra on Jan 19, 2025 at 6:43 AM, finished with 157 posts and 94 votes.
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  • Voting
    • I guess the Empire was nice while it lasted.

     
    allmightytoaster said:
    I mean, given how many people are saying that the lesson here is "stop trying to be better, just take the easy way and be another indiscriminate jackboot", I have my doubts this one will be about that much longer even if Live wins. It's kinda why I voted Rest initially, I have zero desire to see Markus devolve into just another thug against all things abnormal.
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    It's moot to argue now that the vote is over, but it's the normal fatalism in quests after the players suffer a setback. SV's playerbase tend to be very adamant about doing the right thing, and they usually jump back at it after a update or two when the characters try to get their footing again.
     
    Dutch said:
    I guess the Empire was nice while it lasted.
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    The Empire has more defenders than Markus Brunner.

    It will take a lot of Witchhunters, Magisters and various officials failing completely before the Empire perishes.

    We were one man and we did our part in stopping the plots at Bogenhafen and killing the Sorceress here.

    It's vain to think that the fate of Reikland rests on us alone.
     
    LucidProp said:
    It's moot to argue now that the vote is over, but it's the normal fatalism in quests after the players suffer a setback. SV's playerbase tend to be very adamant about doing the right thing, and they usually jump back at it after a update or two when the characters try to get their footing again.
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    I think that's unfair.

    Our character accomplished his overarching goals.
    At the cost of the supporting cast.

    And we could end the quest there.
    Or shake up the quest so much we might as well have redone character creation.
     
    allmightytoaster said:
    I mean, given how many people are saying that the lesson here is "stop trying to be better, just take the easy way and be another indiscriminate jackboot", I have my doubts this one will be about that much longer even if Live wins. It's kinda why I voted Rest initially, I have zero desire to see Markus devolve into just another thug against all things abnormal.
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    Eh. We didn't say that we should stop trying to be better. We said that sometimes trying to be better alone isn't enough. Again. It was the dice and some of the prep decisions that screwed us over. Not trying to negotiate with the mutants. Hence there is nothing to forgive in what Markus did here. He did the right thing here as far as he could, but sometimes that doesn't work out.

    If anything the Break vote was the one that accepted that the Jackboot is needed. Because that one admits that it was his kindness that got these people killed.
     
    Honestly I already made a bunch of changes to the AP so predictions of that nature aren't necessarily reliable.

    For example, in the actual AP, the cult at Bogenhafen is entirely unrelated to the Purple Hand, the Red Crown at Grissenwald is literally just Etelka, no mutants or beastmen (Black Peaks is infested by a random tribe of goblins) and the big finale threat in the final book is... unconnected to either the Purple Hand or the Red Crown or indeed anything that has come before in the adventure to date.
     
    Nuts. :cry:

    This is the first time I witnessed voters killing a Quest on purpose.

    Should I ever make one myself again, I'll be sure not to include such an option.

    Poor Markus. :(
     
    LucidProp said:
    It's moot to argue now that the vote is over, but it's the normal fatalism in quests after the players suffer a setback. SV's playerbase tend to be very adamant about doing the right thing, and they usually jump back at it after a update or two when the characters try to get their footing again.
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    Its a story that had over 100k words and reached a natural stopping point. A Good man died trying to do the right thing and shooting a monster dead. It happens, I'm not really interested in dragging a story beyond that, it just leads to a decline of quality.

    The Life and story of Markus had value because he risked it all, saved some and then died.
     
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    Maugan Ra said:
    Honestly I already made a bunch of changes to the AP so predictions of that nature aren't necessarily reliable.

    For example, in the actual AP, the cult at Bogenhafen is entirely unrelated to the Purple Hand, the Red Crown at Grissenwald is literally just Etelka, no mutants or beastmen (Black Peaks is infested by a random tribe of goblins) and the big finale threat in the final book is... unconnected to either the Purple Hand or the Red Crown or indeed anything that has come before in the adventure to date.
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    IIRC that last one isn't entirely true? Weakening the PH weakens the big bad?
     
    buli-buli said:
    I think that's unfair.

    Our character accomplished his overarching goals.
    At the cost of the supporting cast.

    And we could end the quest there.
    Or shake up the quest so much we might as well have redone character creation.
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    Markus suffering a grievous wound and having to change his approach as a Witch Hunter after losing his friends is fuel for character development, not "might as well make a new character".

    With Live, his core beliefs in doing right by his faith, the people around him, and the law is still intact. He would need to change, but he wouldn't be unrecognizable unless people only remember Markus for his fighting prowess. Personally, the moments that stuck out to me were the social maneuvering rather than the butt kicking, sweet as the butt kicking was.
     
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    Markus accomplished all of his in-character goals. The greater overarching plot of AP is not important to his story.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    The Empire has more defenders than Markus Brunner.

    It will take a lot of Witchhunters, Magisters and various officials failing completely before the Empire perishes.

    We were one man and we did our part in stopping the plots at Bogenhafen and killing the Sorceress here.

    It's vain to think that the fate of Reikland rests on us alone.
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    Deadly Snark said:
    If the Empire relied on one broken and crippled Witch Hunter in order to not die in a world such as Mallus, then that's just natural selection.

    Also, going how "The Empire is doomed" in a post Endtimes fandom is a choice.
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    Yes. But most of the defenders that can do something about this one have already been subverted.

    Given that part of the privy council, the Reichsguard, the heir are subverted and the Emperor himself has been removed from the board.
     
    LucidProp said:
    Markus suffering a grievous wound and having to change his approach as a Witch Hunter after losing his friends is fuel for character development, not "might as well make a new character".
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    We lost a leg. Our witch hunting days were over regardless.

    Unless the Emerald College is both good enough at magic to regrow limbs and willing to drop that kind of power on an Inquisitor.
     
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