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​
     
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  • Informational
    • I have no idea how viable it would be, but could we just build a short range warp gate or other kind of transport, then shoot it out of a canon to the other guys?
     
    Well in that case, I would say we punch a whole through the zerg defences, send the prism through to the Confed position, then use it to either evac everything or move enough defensive stuff over to them that they'll survive the hit.
     
    The zerg just finished making a bunch of AA structures (Spore Colonies), making an air factory now seems kinda pointless.

    I'm definitely leaning towards artillery of some sort. Klink Hammers would be nice, but a pile of Lobo T1 mobile light artillery or Flapjack T2 mobile missile launchers should do the job with enough range to stay out of the static defense and comes straight from the land factory.
     
    @DragonCobolt so what would it look like to make a force of Lobos or Flapjacks rather than Klink Hammers? Would that any more affordable a path towards artillery?

    On another note, can Clarke make additional Warp Prisms now that she's captured the one or will the E1 crew have to do a bit more research before that's possible?
     
    [jk] Tie live zerglings to the exteriors of your ground transports. If the ferals won't attack fellow Zerg, make use of that to just pass on by.

    Sadly, we don't really have anything with the hands for this. Maybe later for other ferals.

    So, our main issue is that range is difficult to evac. We also would have some trouble making entirely new generators at the site. We also have a ground factory, no tier named, instead of the air I wanted despite it not being helpful at all in dealing with the zerglings.

    So here's my plan.

    Send the Shielding to them.

    Parashields. Send a convoy of mobile shield emitters, enough to shield the facility from the big drop, back it up with mech marines to handling the zerglings, anti-air to handle mutalisk reinforcements and a few artillery pieces to handle the anti-ground defenses from outside range.

    Totally ignore the anti-air ones, if it's anti-air it's not our problem. That should reduce the usefulness of the defenses somewhat, yes?
     
    Alright, I'll take the plunge and try a couple of write-ins.

    [X] When You Have a Hammer - build a Klink Hammer (T2 artillery installation) and use it to bombard the zerg defensive line
    [X] Multiple Smaller Hammers - build a fleet of Lobos (T1 mobile light artillery) and use them to bombard the zerg defensive line
     
    Mechasaurian said:
    It just feels a little silly flavour-wise, using control groups and hotkeys in universe.
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    It reads more as a proper interface of a advanced civilization where they can reach out and interact quickly to compete with the Cybran who can just think orders and the Aeon who have psionics.

    I mean, there's no mention of a mouse or keyboard, just reach over and tap.

    Would you prefer if she sets up commands by shouting them at the AI?

    "MAKE A DEFENSIVE LINE! Not 'break an offensive lime!' "
     
    Mechasaurian said:
    It just feels a little silly flavour-wise, using control groups and hotkeys in universe.
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    So, like, are you just going to come onto my thread to make passive aggressive comments or what?

    Shit, your first comment was to intimate I shouldn't be writing a quest because I made a joke about how the Tal'darim get zero backstory or set up until the third game in Starcraft 2, for fuck's sake. Now, you're saying that it's unrealistic and silly to...have...groups of units organized and given commands as a single unit, something that no military organization has ever done before!

    You don't have to like what I'm writing, but if you're just going to be here to be an ass, I'll have to ask you to please leave.

    Spart117MC said:
    @DragonCobolt so what would it look like to make a force of Lobos or Flapjacks rather than Klink Hammers? Would that any more affordable a path towards artillery?

    On another note, can Clarke make additional Warp Prisms now that she's captured the one or will the E1 crew have to do a bit more research before that's possible?
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    Since those are units rather than buildings, it'd be significantly cheaper! Basically, you'd use your Leadership skill, augmented by the factory and your nanolathe miracle. I'd say that, since building artillery is a good hard counter to the stationary defense, you can use it to snuff out their defensive sparks. So, the more heat you put into the artillery attack, the more defensive sparks will go out - reducing the danger of the follow up battle.

    And I'm going to say no, she can't make Warp Prisms - it's alien technology, and advanced alien technology at that mark. E1's crew needs to do more studying!

    Asmodemus said:
    Send the Shielding to them.

    Parashields. Send a convoy of mobile shield emitters, enough to shield the facility from the big drop, back it up with mech marines to handling the zerglings, anti-air to handle mutalisk reinforcements and a few artillery pieces to handle the anti-ground defenses from outside range.

    Totally ignore the anti-air ones, if it's anti-air it's not our problem. That should reduce the usefulness of the defenses somewhat, yes?
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    This would work pretty much exactly the same as @Spart117MC's plan - just different flavoring. This is where the relatively simple, fast paced resolution of HEAT mechanics show a slight weakness: There's no granular difference between snuffing out sparks using artillery or using portable artillery, beyond the narrative difference. But since creating sparks always has to be narratively justified, it would change future actions, since you'd have different narrative justifications for different actions.

    So, uh, hopefully that's enough of a distinction.
     
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    On the plus side their commentary has given me the idea of UEF commanders tossing out pre-packaged vocal command lines. Aka calling out attacks but with strategy moves.

    "GO INFINITE MECHMARINE SWARM!" = Factory set to mechmarine, loop
    "COVERED LOTUS DEFENSE FIELD!" = Set up shielded defense group
    Etc.

    DragonCobolt said:
    This would work pretty much exactly the same as @Spart117MC's plan - just different flavoring. This is where the relatively simple, fast paced resolution of HEAT mechanics show a slight weakness: There's no granular difference between snuffing out sparks using artillery or using portable artillery, beyond the narrative difference. But since creating sparks always has to be narratively justified, it would change future actions, since you'd have different narrative justifications for different actions.

    So, uh, hopefully that's enough of a distinction.
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    I'd imagine that the built artillery wouldn't be able to be utilized against future defensive sparks further out while the mobile ones could be personally, unless it was the big stuff that covers all/most of the operational area.
     
    Asmodemus said:
    I'd imagine that the built artillery wouldn't be able to be utilized against future defensive sparks further out while the mobile ones could be personally, unless it was the big stuff that covers all/most of the operational area.
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    Precisely!

    Also, like, you can be creative with it - like, artillery drops napalm so you could do anything that involves setting stuff on fire - shields are based on artificial gravity technology. Could you modify it to produce lifters? Who knows! Maybe!

    (Okay, probably not Clarke, but someone with a super science based mastery skill totally could.)
     
    [X] Asmodeus

    If we manage to get some engies to the civillians, we can demonstrate them we mean business and we have (narratively) additional flexibility in regards to positioning expansion.
     
    [X] When You Have a Hammer - build a Klink Hammer (T2 artillery installation) and use it to bombard the zerg defensive line
    [X] Multiple Smaller Hammers - build a fleet of Lobos (T1 mobile light artillery) and use them to bombard the zerg defensive line

    I just like artillery.
     
    [x] Asmodeus

    Question, can't we just rush to t2 and swarm the ferals with pillars or just go t2 arty and not even entertain the notion of close quarters? We severely out mass anything but ultras so we could just bombard them from range and have pillars and mech marines literally run over them.
     
    Sindri the loyal said:
    Question, can't we just rush to t2 and swarm the ferals with pillars or just go t2 arty and not even entertain the notion of close quarters? We severely out mass anything but ultras so we could just bombard them from range and have pillars and mech marines literally run over them.
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    Basically, the tech-levels in SC don't exactly map onto HEAT rules, beyond using higher level characteristics to represent bigger and better things - so, like, arguably, any skill check representing leading a successful attack against ultralisks can include "building to T2 and using tanks and arty from that level" as the narrative description, even if mechanically its the same as using an even bigger mass of T1 tanks!

    Also, looks like Asmo's plan is Asmowinning!

    So, I'm gonna Asmodo it!
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    Basically, the tech-levels in SC don't exactly map onto HEAT rules, beyond using higher level characteristics to represent bigger and better things - so, like, arguably, any skill check representing leading a successful attack against ultralisks can include "building to T2 and using tanks and arty from that level" as the narrative description, even if mechanically its the same as using an even bigger mass of T1 tanks!

    Also, looks like Asmo's plan is Asmowinning!

    So, I'm gonna Asmodo it!
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    Makes sense, is just find it funny that so far only the tal'darim have been a genuine challenge a worthy foe and we basically have been sending literal cannon fodder at them, I look forward to deploying a fatboy and out zerging the zerg :V.
     
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