THE INFINITE BROOD (Starcraft/Supreme Commander Crossover Quest!)

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THE SWARM SHEET
  • Informational
    • The Brood of Blades
    ​
    Cerebrate Prime: Samantha Clarke
    LEVEL: 5
    XP: 205/210
    TRAITS
    Strategic Genius: Once per structured encounter, Sam can create a piece of the environment that is in her favor as a sticky spark. Roll a d3 for its value.
    Empathetic: upon meeting an NPC, learn their motivation!
    Legendary Commander: Gain 4 Command sparks at the beginning of each mission/combat. Command sparks may be spent to give NPCs orders, which they may either obey or refuse to obey (doing nothing instead.) Command sparks may not be regained via skills or powers.
    Hunted: Something wants her - but for what? +1 Danger to all scenes​
    SKILLS
    CLOSE COMBAT (2): Brawling, Edged Weapons
    PERSONAL (2): Awareness, Resilience
    SOCIAL (4): Charm, Empathy, Leadership, Taunt​
    MASTERY
    ACU Pilot (2): Nanofabrication [Mass], ObSat Operations [Range]
    The Hilt (4): Biomorphic Spawning (People), Regeneration (Durability), Physical Perfection (Speed), Telepathic Dominion (Range)​

    POWERS
    The Living Swarm
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Gain 1 Living Swarm spark, +1 per vent reduction.​
    The Living Swarm: While this swarm exists, move in three dimensions and through anything smaller than a keyhole, reforming at will. You may expend these sparks to cause 3 Hit Sparks in a Area 2 radius.​
    Area Upgrade: +1 to Area Characteristic​

    Biomorphic Reinforcement
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create 1 Biomorphic Reinforcement spark, +1 per vent reduction, which can be given out to anyone within Range 2, or to yourself
    Biomorphic Reinforcement: +1 to Damage or Mass characteristic for the purpose of raw physical strength/feats.

    Back to Back
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Choose 1 ally (+1 per vent reduction), within Range 1. Each can take one action using one of your skills, any of them that you wish. Once they have done so, you may make a free attack with your melee weapon, getting +1 to your skill per ally that acted.​

    Adaptation
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create a number of sparks equal to the enemy's difficulty, narratively based on turning their abilities against them. Works on enemies of Diff 2>, +2 per vent reduction.​

    Just as Planned…
    Vent: 6-0
    Effect: Vent 6 heat and create 1 Planning Spark for her or an ally, +1 Spark per vent reduction.​
    Planning: The person holding this Spark can expend this to get +1 to a skill check as a free action. Using this Stack counts as you are helping for the purpose of relationships.​

    GEAR
    Zeratul's Psi-Blades
    Adds: +0 (Edged Weapons) | Characteristics: Damage [Speed] (4)[1]​
    Shadowstep (3): Can expend as a free action to move without crossing intervening space.
    Guarded Space (3): Can expend to use Damage as a secondary characteristic for Durability, reducing incoming Damage characteristics.​

    GALACTIC WAR
    Victory Points: 5    ​
    RESOURCES​
    TERRAN DOMINION [Background] (1)​
    The men and material of the Dominion - limited, but they're mustering as we speak. ​
    ALLIANCE EXPEDITIONARY FORCES [Mastery] (1)​
    While you have access to several ACUs of every faction, they lack economic and technological support to be fully effective. ​
    ZERG HIVE [Mastery] (1)​
    The scant few Zerg you control that are free of Amon's influence. Mostly Zerglings. ​
    AEON FLEET [Background] (1)​
    While half a dozen CZARs seem impressive, they're not actually well made for ship to ship combat. ​
    ALLIED COHESION [Motivation] (1)​
    The alliance is fragile and weak.​

    FRONTS​
    Trade Sector-34-51 [Pirate Activity]
    Pirates Raiding 6 (Supply Lines in Disarray 1)
    COMMAND: Jim Raynor | ARMY: Raynor's Raiders
    RESULTS: Pending

    Braxis [Zerg Invasion]
    Borealis Siege 6 (Zerg Rampage1)
    COMMAND: General Samantha Clarke | ARMY: Brood Clarke
    RESULTS: Pending

    Typhan II [Active Xel'Naga ACU]
    Typhan II Occupied 6 (Xel'Naga ACU Spotted 1)
    COMMAND: Lt. Colonel Mathew Horner | ARMY: UEF Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending

    Deep Space Sector 981 [Hive Fleet Identified]
    Zerg Hive Fleet Spotted 6 (Kerrigan? 1)
    COMMAND: Citizen-Commander Dostya | ARMY: CN Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending
    ​
    ENEMY ASSETS (Currently Known)
    ​
    THE GOLDEN ARMADA
    ACTIVITY: Unknown | Threat Level: 6​
     
    Last edited:
  • Informational
    • [X] Plan: Air Theft - ...can you do it a second time? Yank the scourges with your telepathic powers to have your own set of cruise missiles just in case. Then focus on crushing the roaches with swarms of your mechs.
     
    Squishy said:
    The only grave disappointment is that while Raynor made it with Kerrigan, never when she was Zergified!!!
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    Click to shrink...
    My big disappointment is that Kerrigan wasn't obsessed with revenge to the point where she sabotages others safety, her goals, and her happiness, till she realizes what she's done and moves beyond just murdering Mengsk. But yeah, Jim should have taken his own advice, manned up, and kissed his girlfriend.
     
    Evillevi said:
    Out of curiosity, Do we have the Mutalisk DNA we caught a long long time ago?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I'm assuming that was part of an earlier structure that DC planned to build on, but realized it was a bit much, especially when we started to do a lot of solo ops and then did a bunch of custom write-ins, smashing the board and instead gaining an actual coalition of allies.
     
    Also, you probably do, since you can spawn any Zerg unit you want!

    you have the ability to do biomorphic spawning, so, you can spawn mutalisks whenever you want!
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    For just a second, you could feel its feeling, its emotions.

    Pure affrontery.

    How dare! How dare something small bite so hard.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    For as gory as it went, at least it- or, we- can have a laugh at that thought


    Whichever i suppose
    [X] Plan: Air Wall - build as many air defenses as you can really, really, really fast. It will take some of your economy away from producing Titans, but that's okay - your micromanagement can keep the roaches busy while you deal with the scourges and plug this hole.

    [X] Plan: Air Theft - ...can you do it a second time? Yank the scourges with your telepathic powers to have your own set of cruise missiles just in case. Then focus on crushing the roaches with swarms of your mechs.
     
    [X] Plan: Air Theft - ...can you do it a second time? Yank the scourges with your telepathic powers to have your own set of cruise missiles just in case. Then focus on crushing the roaches with swarms of your mechs.

    Between that and our existing air assets, that should basically be air supremacy assured for us here -- then we can focus on the ground war.

    ...Also, taking Daggoth's Zerg and giving them to Sara seems to make her happy and probably really annoys him. :D

    ...And, actually, hm. Between that and the psi disruptor... could we end up inducing a cascade effect? The more of his forces we take, the less good a leader he appears, and the less difficult it is to, under the effect of the psi disruptor, defect?
     
    They killed one of our ultralisks.... we shall have more of Daggoth's minions as recompense.

    [X] Plan: Air Theft - ...can you do it a second time? Yank the scourges with your telepathic powers to have your own set of cruise missiles just in case. Then focus on crushing the roaches with swarms of your mechs.
     
    [X] Plan: Air Wall - build as many air defenses as you can really, really, really fast. It will take some of your economy away from producing Titans, but that's okay - your micromanagement can keep the roaches busy while you deal with the scourges and plug this hole.
     
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Apr 13, 2024 at 10:03 AM, finished with 16 posts and 11 votes.
    • [X] Plan: Air Wall - build as many air defenses as you can really, really, really fast. It will take some of your economy away from producing Titans, but that's okay - your micromanagement can keep the roaches busy while you deal with the scourges and plug this hole.
      [X] Plan: Air Theft - ...can you do it a second time? Yank the scourges with your telepathic powers to have your own set of cruise missiles just in case. Then focus on crushing the roaches with swarms of your mechs.
    Click to expand...


    ~you dig a hole, I build a wall~
     
    ACT TWO, MISSION SEVEN: The Culling (0.6)
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    • You had fought this kind of thing before. It was part of the...strangeness of being an active warrior on a battlefield...and yet never having to really sprint or run anywhere unless something actively went very wrong. You coded in the first line of defenses with a series of rapid button presses - using your left hand to tap as fast as possible at your console and your screen. Green outlines of buildings that hadn't been built yet started to cover the ground between the Plateau and the incoming air forces - your brow furrowing as your other hand pushed forward on the stick. The ACU started to thump forward as your engineers shifted from assisting the construction of Titans and Mech Marines and towards this task.

    The first job was leveling the ground. Nanolathes flickered across in a fast grid pattern - leaving behind simple concrete weave. It wasn't even tough enough to stop a Zerg burrower, but it would at least give the buildings something to go up on that wasn't volcanic glass and cratered holes. You glanced up overhead and saw that the Scourge were starting to take to the wing, moving in thick clumps as they were focused on by Daggot, then sent out towards their targets. This meant the formed a jagged string, like beads on a necklace. You could see where they were going too - the carriers.

    Artanis, though, wasn't asleep on the switch.

    A double wing of scouts and corsairs swung away from the main Protoss formation. Strobing blue flashes came in through the side cameras of your ACU as your nanolathe joined the engineers, dust pluming up around your massive feet. "Come on, come on, come on..." you muttered as more and more Scourge were born from their eggs and screamed into the sky...

    ...and ran into the first three heavy flack cannons that your engineers had built. Exploding flashes of glittering white monomolecular chaff bloomed into the air, spreading out and turning the Scourge's own speed into their own doom: The flimsy critters came apart as they streamed forward, exploding into bursts of gore and their binary explosives, which mixed together to create a shimmering curtain of fire overhead, fire that was joined by the hammering of railguns, and the hissing streak of surface to air missiles as the tier three defenses started to come online. Your grin was fierce and feral as you watched the SAM missiles slamming into scourge after scourge - and the entire massive swarm was whittled down.

    We can do this all day, Daggoth.

    He didn't respond - but an intense low droning note of pure superiority rang through your mind, like a God was playing the cello.

    The scrouge were delt with. But at the same time, you had needed to work on the tunnels. Roaches were streaming through them, and without your attention, they were going to overwhelm your forces. You couldn't just...rely on production now, not with your Titans having dropped to a standard factory rate of production. It'd take time for your engineers to get back, and to resume pumping them with extra nanolathe beams. Which meant the fifty or so Titans you did have were all you could work with for the moment.

    You could handle this.

    You drew a central core of your Titans back into the main nexus of tunnels, putting them back to back. The roaches started burrowing, appearing on Dostya's omni-scanner and piped directly to yours. You grinned and started to tap and give specific target acquisition orders, hitting the underground units before they could emerge. The result was a lot of blasted silt and crumbling tunnels, smoke obscuring the visual cameras - but the Titans had a suite of sensors that would let them operate in pitch blackness. They could handle this. Within a few moments, the very basic adaptive programming on your assault bots had figured out the basics.

    Meanwhile, Dostya's Monkeylords had reached the plateau proper. Their massive legs were reaching up dragging themselves up inch by inch as their direct fire weapons ceased - but their missiles continued to streak up and slam down, impacting into creep with sprays of gore - fountains of red blood spurting into the air.

    "We're running into some static defense, but it should-" Dostya started.

    Six tentacles exploded out of the mesa wall. Their tips were hardened chitin, their bases were glistening, almost tongue-like muscle. They slammed into the belly of one of the Monkeylords and ripped through the relatively thin metal, tearing and exposing machinery. Then three more tentacles slammed in...and through. The entire experimental trembled, then started to fall backwards. It tumbled away from the mesa, dropping a mere ten, twelve meters. it was still enough. The entire thing exploded with a roar of white light and a concussive shockwave that blew through your base camp and caused the tunnels to shiver.

    "Sunken colonies," you growled quietly. "They must be in the secondary level - they can attack through the ground."

    "Hell!" Dostya snarled. "Why are they so powerful?"

    "They're the last line of defense for most Zerg hive clusters," you said, quickly, thinking as you adjusted your thinking. The Monkeylords were continuing up the mesa, but with one down...and-

    More tentacles exploded from the plateau wall. The Monkeylords were ready for it this time - and electron bolters slammed into rock and tentacle alike.

    It didn't help.

    One of the monkeylords started to fall - its left upper arm sheered off at the exact join between body and limb. Sparks flew as it tumbled backwards, then crashed into the ground on its side, crumpling armor and sending out a spray of flame and sparks as internal components burst apart. "Shit," Dostya muttered, sounding less furious and more mildly annoyed.

    The reason why was that two more Monkeylords had just emerged from her base, and a third was almost finished.

    I wonder if Daggoth is beginning to feel what he has made others feel for so long, you thought, grinning slightly. This is what it's like, you ugly motherfucker.

    ---
    HEAT: 5/6
    SPARKS: Econ (7), Ultralisk (1)
    HIT SPARKS: Roach Infestation (1), Sunk Attack! (4)(6)

    [ ] Operation: Point Blank - absorb the destroyed monkeylord to buff your economy, repair the damaged one to get it moving again - then, at the same time, direct your engineers to build some Tier 2 artillery and fire them through the mesa into the sunks - they can penetrate. Just barely.
    [ ] Operation: Lead from the Front - Teleport with your shadowstep into the sunks and start taking them out like how Zeratul might - while disrupting the hive mind as much as possible to open up avenues for Matt and Dostya to send in their forces en mass.
    [ ] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
    [ ] Write In

    XP: 20
    DANGER: 0
    ENEMIES: Roach Swarm (Diff 2, Durability 4(People 1), Sunken Colonies (Diff 5, Durability 5 (Size 2), Damage 5 (Durability 2)

    So! Things are coming down to the wire here. You take out scourges, then created sparks that the Roach Swarm had to deal with - so they didn't create any additional sparks. But then BOOM! Sunken colonies! They are whacking you! Now, I didn't apply your durability to the roaches because they were attacking your units, but I did apply your durability to the sunks, what gives? well, simple: Narratively, they're attacking monkeylords, which are big lads, so it makes sense that durability would apply.

    ...listen, heat isn't actually made to play RTS games. I will make an Advanced Tactics chapter at some point if the kickstarter does really really well, so I'm mostly just loosy goosing it. And honestly, the fact that even with me improvising a lot, it still works really well? That's cool!

    ANYWAY!

    Plan One: Use your Nanolathe ability to bump away your hit sparks for 0 and 0 heat, then vent 2 heat to use Adaptability to destroy the Sunks with their own Damage characteristic.
    Plan Two: Use Shadowstep to teleport to the sunks, then vent 3 heat to give Matt and Dostya an action using your Leadership to attack. Then make a melee attack with a +2 bonus, taking 1 heat to kill the sunks.
    Plan Three: Use biomorphic spawning as a narrative justification to slap away all the hit sparks for 0 heat and 0 heat, then use it to attack the Roach Swarm (diff 2+2) for 0 heat. Vent 2 heat to destroy the sunks with their own Damage characteristic.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    Do we still have Command Sparks on hand? If so could we use one of them to direct Artanis to send an Arbiter our way to stasis the sunks until the Monkeylords have finished the climb?
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.

    The main weakness of sunken colonies is that they kill one target at a time. It makes sense that a swarm would clean them up pretty well.

    (Also, it's 0 heat and 0 sparks spent, so it's not like there's much room to improve the plan.)
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.

    We came here to outzerg the Zerg and so help me QoB, we will outzerg the Zerg!
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.
     
    [X] Operation: Swarm - bolster your economy by getting out of your ACU and spawning some Zerg bioforms - send Zerglings in after the Roaches, and burrowing Roaches in after the Sunks. Supported by your titans, of course.

    Does this technically count as combined arms?
     
    ACT TWO, MISSION SEVEN: The Culling (0.7)
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    • Your eyes flicked from the camera view - as more sunken colony tentacles plunged out and crashed into the belly armor of the third Monkeylord. Armor crumpled, but it kept stomping up, trying to get onto the top of the mesa before it was taken down - then down to the display of the strategic situation. You chewed your lower lip...nodding.

    You didn't have the economy to produce enough. Not to take out the sunks and the roaches.

    However...there was another economy that was running alongside yours. One that you could have tapped at any time. You hesitated, then smiled.

    You were the Hilt, after all.

    You tapped a few buttons. Matt, his voice concerned: "Uh, General CLarke, I am reading that your ACU hatch is opening. Everything all right there." Your thumb swiped, giving the ACU some automated commands to rebuild some economic systems to support future operations. Your grin was fierce as the silt and singe of Char came to your nostrils. You breathed it in and breathed out an aggressive sigh. You had to admit...a big part of you wanted wanted this for a while.

    "I'm good, Matt," you said, then leaped.

    You landed a few seconds later, the ground splintering under your weight. You had aimed at the basalt beyond the concrete sprawl of your base. The heavy rumble of mechs stomping away from the factories came to your ears as you rubbed your palms together, then placed them against the ground. You felt something deep lurching in your body...and then groaned quietly as you felt skin splitting. Tearing fabric. Shifting bones. Your eyes closed - a human part of you withdrawing from what was about to happen. You groaned, pained and soft, as something surged from your body. When you opened your eyes, you saw creep was spreading out between your palms, a pulsating tumor throbbing at the heart of it.

    THe creep spread and spread - and your hands wrenched, then lifted upwards, twisting fiercely. Your teeth clenched as you called out - snagging onto the world around you.

    The first zergling emerged with a squalling hiss, digging up and out of the ground. First there were a little. Then there was a lot. They scrambled out again and again, drawn by the Creep, drawn by your call. And they were eager. One of them brushed against you, Cr's head bumping against your shoulder as he chittered. Without an overlord, the context lacked the familiar voice- but you didn't need it. You pressed your head against his side, then whispered.

    "Fuck them up."

    You could see it all through her mind's eyes - the information spiking into your brain, through your senses. It came from all the Zerglings, and you saw their red-tinged vision, felt the eager song. They crashed into the roaches, a hammer against your Titan's anvil. Claws bit into chitin and the tunnels began to flood with rusty red blood, greenish gore. Roaches sprayed acid, and Zerglings died, but they died knowing they were winning. Your hands thrust out - and you caught the surviving roaches. In their fear and their panic, you felt their structure, heard their pattern. Your eyes closed and you felt pressure against your spine.

    You cried out and closed your eyes - not wanting to see your body twist and distort. Not wanting to see how far your form could be...changed.

    When your eyes opened, you saw glistening eggs, dozens of them.

    You felt wrung out and light headed.

    Your earpiece crackled.

    "My second formation of experimentals are arriving," Dostya said.

    "Good," you whispered.

    You leaped from the ground to the back of your ACU. A touch and a key-pad combination got the hatch to open. You swung in, slid in, strapped down, and watched through cameras and your eyes. The Titans were advancing through the tunnels. They had reached not just the deep tunnels, they were reaching the underground hive cluster. The Sunken colonies were forced to spread their attacks from the exterior of the mesa to their own internals. You watched as a tentacle slammed down and glanced off a Titan's shield, shattering it into a spray of hissing sparks. A second and third plunged through its core, ripping it apart in a flare of white light...and through the rubble marched another Titan, and another.

    They entered into the hive cluster under the mesa and you could see the glistening eggs. The hatcheries. The lairs. The cobweb of complex organs that were the 'buildings' of a Zerg base.

    And you watched as electron bolter rounds and Zergling claws alike ripped into them. Blood splayed and misted as you nodded, then focused - your telepathic awareness finding the eggs...which were hatching. Your own roaches. They burrowed immediately - digging in and rushing. Rushing. Without an opening for the sunks to target, they were unstoppable. Implacable. And so, a Titan after Titan fell, as the hives and hatcheries blew apart, the roaches reached the sunken colonies and began to vomit their acid upon them.

    It was absolutely hideous.

    The noose was drawing in tighter and tighter. From overhead, you could see the Monkeylords mounting the mesa. AS they reached the top, their microwave lasers swept back and forth, back and forth. Hives and hatcheries there began to flash into clouds of boiling red mist. Creep erupted. Eggs shattered. The Zerg were being burned off the surface of Char - not all of them, you could feel the song of them beyond this point. But the cancer that was Daggoth was being scorched away.

    Only the energies of a Dark Templar can slay this beast...

    You weren't sure if it was a memory or Zeratul speaking to you directly. Your hand went to your chest and you rolled your shoulders.

    Your ACU started to advance, stomping towards the mesa.

    ***
    ​
    An ACU was not meant to climb.

    That's why you didn't.

    Instead, once you were close enough, you programmed in a return route, focused, and slipped between spaces. Your body vanished and appeared again with a flash of smoke and a rippling sound. You landed and saw the Monkeylords advancing from the far side of the Mesa, the roaring blaze of their microwave lasers adding an apocalyptic screech to go with the Armageddon thunder of Matt's artillery. Explosions roared and rocked and the ground quivered. You kept your feet, jogging forward. Several hydralisks that had survived everything so far hissed, writhing up like snakes, barring your pass.

    One spat some shards at you. You rolled aside, parried a spine, then thrust your psi-blade into his gut, ripping up, spinning and bringing the other into the head of the second. Both fell.

    And there, ahead of you, was Daggoth. He had formed into the sprawling, brain-like shape of the Overmind, his spurs reaching up towards the heaven. The psychic weight of him this close was stronger than you thought it would have been.

    You can't kill me, he said, his voice deep and throbbing through your bones. I know things. I know what you don't. I can offer this knowledge to you, General Clarke. Knowledge that will save...billions of human lives!

    ---
    HEAT: 0/6

    [ ] Accept his surrender (gain 15 Daggoth Chained sticky sparks)
    [ ] Destroy him (mentally - 30 XP fight)
    [ ] Destroy him (physically - 30 XP fight)
    ​
     
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