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
    • Cookiesndip said:
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat

    I agree. XP is always good, and heavily overheating at the beginning of our mission isn't a great plan.
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    Actually yeah- absolutely fair, at least it won't be lethal

    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat

    Reese said:
    But Raynor? We've never met him. We've helped some of his people out, sure, but when it also benefitted us. And we came here as the sword of the distant UEF, here to liberate the sector (and a charismatic military leader saying they want to liberate the sector while actually having an ulterior motive is something Raynor has close and unpleasant personal experience with) -- and now we're claiming to be working with his Evil ex-girlfriend, who's also our ex-girlfriend but to a lesser degree, but not Evil ourself, oh and also turns out the UEF was bad and out to conquer the sector actually but now we're working with some different revolutionaries who want to liberate the place, except not exactly because we haven't opened contact with them yet due to this all maybe actually being a ruse and us actually wanting to eat everyone for biomass.

    Quite plausible Raynor doesn't trust us, I think, for a variety of reasons. Also, then we're in the awkward-but-interesting position of Zeratul and Fenix, who are Raynor's allies, trusting us, while Raynor thinks we're probably actually trying to crown either Kerrigan or ourself Queen Bitch of the Universe, while all three groups are operating in secret here with some shared goals.
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    Legionman said:
    While I don't plan to change my vote, this did make me realize something very funny, which is that Clarke DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS. Sarah has seemingly forgotten to tell Sam that Jim was the ex she mentioned prior to the betrayal, meaning that the first she's going hear about it is when he starts acting weird whenever Kerrigan's name gets dropped during negotiations.
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    minor thing but IIRC Raynor got transed/cracked an eggshell after they split I think XD zcvzxc
    If what DC said that one time stayed canon, so- very much "IIRC"

    anycase noted- and gonna be pretty fun if that's what happens lmao

    [X] Try and talk him down - a Diff 10 charm check, with a -2 enviromental penalty. This heavily overheats, so...
    [X] ...he believes you, but Raynor doesn't.
     
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat

    [X] Try and talk him down - a Diff 10 charm check, with a -2 enviromental penalty. This heavily overheats, so...
    [X] ...he believes you, but Raynor doesn't.
    [X] ...he believes you, but Fenix doesn't.
    [X] ...he believes you, but the Dominion shows up.
     
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat
    [X] Try and talk him down - a Diff 10 charm check, with a -2 enviromental penalty. This heavily overheats, so...
    [X] ...he believes you, but Raynor doesn't.
     
    Avangelion said:
    minor thing but IIRC Raynor got transed/cracked an eggshell after they split I think XD zcvzxc
    If what DC said that one time stayed canon, so- very much "IIRC"
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    This would be the pinnacle of fucking stupid, and this is coming from someone who is actually trans. Don't randomly forcefully shove them where they don't belong or make even an iota of actual sense. If you want Chihiro from Danganronpa to be trans, it makes sense as a strong possibility with the character so absolutely for sure, but when you have to bend over backwards multiple times to even make it a remote possibility for a character, it starts feeling more like an annoying PSA than actual good fiction, and completely takes me out of the experience and sours me to whatever fiction decides to do so entirely.

    It has zero grounding in canon, Raynor is decidedly a manly man, this is unquestionable. That's not even self-indulgent territory at that point, let alone an AU, it's just shoehorned in complete and utter nonsense for the sake of it with equally non-existent rationale for it while changing Raynor into some OC character and not respecting him nor the source material at all.
     
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    Cookiesndip said:
    This would be the pinnacle of fucking stupid, and this is coming from someone who is actually trans. Don't randomly forcefully shove them where they don't belong or make even an iota of actual sense. If you want Chihiro from Danganronpa to be trans, it makes sense as a strong possibility with the character so absolutely for sure, but when you have to bend over backwards multiple times to even make it a remote possibility for a character, it starts feeling more like an annoying PSA than actual good fiction, and completely takes me out of the experience and sours me to whatever fiction decides to do so entirely.

    It has zero grounding in canon, Raynor is decidedly a manly man, this is unquestionable. That's not even self-indulgent territory at that point, let alone an AU, it's just shoehorned in complete and utter nonsense for the sake of it with equally non-existent rationale for it while changing Raynor into some OC character and not respecting him nor the source material at all.
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    You do know that a lot of people present extremely masculine specifically because they're trans feminine and are trying to compensate? For example, one of my friends came out last year, and she presented incredibly masculine to try and "force" herself to be "normal."

    Like, you don't actually have internality to Jim Ranyor's character in the Starcraft video games - you have what he says, what he does, and like...one scene where he's remembering old friends, but you don't know his inner feelings, his inner thoughts. You can just base what you know on what he does because, lets be honest, he's not that complicated a character.

    Now, I've actually been unsure if I wanted to have trans Ranyor, but I do like to think that I've proven that I can write characters doing and thinking things that feel in character, despite taking wild, radical departures from the game's storyline AND characterizations. For, like, every single character I've had so far.

    So, like, maybe wait and see how it actually turns out before you judge anything?
     
    From what I remember of the writing is that the Protoss tend to be stubborn, jump to their own conclusions, and put little weight into the words of outsiders. Actions however have mountains more impact. Also, because I want Sam to put her foot in her mouth because of her Ego at least once.

    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat
     
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    You do know that a lot of people present extremely masculine specifically because they're trans feminine and are trying to compensate? For example, one of my friends came out last year, and she presented incredibly masculine to try and "force" herself to be "normal."
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    Same reason you see a lot of transfem ex-military folks, yeah. And on the flip side, a lot of trans men overperform masculinity for a time while they're figuring out what masculinity means to them! Trans women frequently do the same with femininity! Gender is a fuck and the same behavior can stem from wildly different sources, it's very hard to make any general statement about what someone's presentation Definitely Means.

    That said for what little it's worth (and that's very little, bc this ain't my story), Raynor as transmasc interests me a lot more as a read (though it's logistically trickier to write because it involves more backstory finessing).

    I look forward to seeing to whatever you do with Raynor though.
     
    ... Does it? i mean the bio-sculpt tech available to Terrans is kind of scary good.

    Every Medic looks and sounds exactly alike, as do the fire bats.
     
    Rule 2: Don’t Be Hateful
    DragonCobolt said:
    You do know that a lot of people present extremely masculine specifically because they're trans feminine and are trying to compensate?
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    You do realize trans folk are an extremely small minority (like 0.3%ish)? Therefore 99.7% of the time assumptions are absolutely correct? It's terrible logic, and I really do not enjoy seeing characters be butchered for awful reasons. Create an OC trans character if you want, don't bastardize an existing actual good character by distorting them into whatever nonsensical shape you desire no matter how little sense it actually makes. In truth, as trans myself, I see this sort of thing is basically modern blackface no matter how it's executed, and disrespects the characters I like to the core imho, especially since there's zero actual point for it.

    The other variations on characters thus far are close enough or are valid intepretations based on their canonical behavior if things went differently and are within a minor AU + crossover. Yuri and yaoi pairings in fanfiction is as old as fanfiction, so eh.

    DragonCobolt said:
    So, like, maybe wait and see how it actually turns out before you judge anything?
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    No because you're fixated on forcing characters to be whoever the hell you want them to be, the proposed Raynor is an atrocity. There is no indication, subtle or otherwise that he's trans in canon or anywhere, even vaguely. Just because you can't see every miniscule thought doesn't mean you can't make inferences with his actions, behavior, and even the extremely low probability he'd be trans anyway. You could also apply that shitty logic to the point of absurdity, like how can you possibly know Raynor isn't actually secretly a sociopathic homicidal maniac because we aren't reading his mind all the time? You couldn't possiblty know!

    Anyways, the very fact you're pushing so hard on it is silly, it's a patently bad idea on every level. You have failed to answer the one critical question. Why even do it in the first place when it doesn't even make sense from the get-go? I mean, literally every character in this arc doesn't need to fit into a LGBT role for arbitrary reasons, what the hell is the problem with having a normal dude?
     
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    You seem really mad at the idea that someone who doesn't exist might be trans, which I think you should probably interrogate before screaming at me for an idea I hadn't even decided I'd do.

    EDIT

    Cookiesndip said:
    I mean, literally every character in this arc doesn't need to fit into a LGBT role for arbitrary reasons, what the hell is the problem with having a normal dude?
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    Also, just to underline this: There are three queer characters.

    Three.

    Matt? Currently in a straight relationship. Tosh? Straight. Dr. Hanson? Straight. Fenix? Straight. Mengsk? Straight. Prince Valarian? Straight! General Warfield? Straight. Abathur, within the context of the Zerg? Straight! Cr is straight as a zergling can be, Duran is DEFINITELY straight (for a Xel'naga, at least.)

    So. Again. Maybe interrogate why you bristle at the idea of me increasing the count of three out of 13 to 4 out of 13.
     
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    DragonCobolt said:
    Also, just to underline this: There are three queer characters.
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    Damn, that's terrible news for the Sam/Sarah/Razshagal/Zagara polycule :V

    [X] Try and talk him down - a Diff 10 charm check, with a -2 enviromental penalty. This heavily overheats, so...
    - [X] ...he believes you, but the Dominion shows up.
    - [X] ...he believes you, but the Kel-Morian Combine shows up.

    Well, I voted for telepathy specifically so we could have the ACU hotdropped if need be, so here's our chance.
    Iirc at this point the Kel Morians are mostly vassals to the Dominion in canon, right? I forget if it's been established what their exact relationship is in the fic though.
     
    Legionman said:
    While I don't plan to change my vote, this did make me realize something very funny, which is that Clarke DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS. Sarah has seemingly forgotten to tell Sam that Jim was the ex she mentioned prior to the betrayal, meaning that the first she's going hear about it is when he starts acting weird whenever Kerrigan's name gets dropped during negotiations.
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    I'm not saying Sam should get drunk with Raynor and bond over Evil-ex-girlfriends ... but we do need to test if Zerg-Terran Hybrids can get drunk. For Reasons!

    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat
     
    As a mild reminder, the sexuality and gender identity of SC characters are in a state of "we don't talk about it unless it's relevant/funny in some way shape or form" since the story is primarily around stopping extinction events from happening. There may be supplementary materials that expand on it, but the core games generally don't mention or reference these topics .

    Also we're the highest level HEAT PC ever, let's go higher and break the system further
     
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat

    Non lethal fight sounds good. Then communication can happen.
     
    The more Gender that occurs, the better. Idk how many Reynor transmasc/transfem/NB/GF/etc etc head Canons are out there, I might not see any of them at first glance, but on principle I am at least intrigued.

    Also recently finished catching up to quest on advice of friend, I don't really know what I was expecting, it wasn't this, but I am *quite* happy with this so it does not matter. Great story DragonCobalt, keep it up!

    P.S Please have Kerrigan and Sam be more toxic, I need it emotionally.
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    I'm doing my best! I've never written this kind of romantic arc before so sorry if I mess it up!
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    I've never been engaged by this type of romantic arc before, so I'd say your are doing a more than fine job. I just want them to be worse for each other and more emotionally confused, as a treat.

    To be absolutely clear, basically no matter what you do I am still going to be engaged so please do not worry about apologizing! Imo you are doing well.
     
    [X] Fail to talk him down and fight back (non-lethally, of course!) - starts a 10 XP combat at 0 heat

    Protoss fights are the coolest fights.
     
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Jan 19, 2024 at 4:28 PM, finished with 40 posts and 22 votes.
    Click to expand...


    Time for an all out PROTOSS FIGHT!!!!!!!!!! *airhorn sounds*

    ...you can tell I've been watching Dead Meat...
     
    ACT TWO, MISSION THREE: The New Combine (0.5)
  • Threadmarks
    • Zeratul shot at you faster than you thought possible and you reacted faster than you had ever in your entire life. His feet thudded into the dunes, and he shouldered straight towards you as you drew your pistol. Time seemed to slow as you flung yourself to the side. His shoulder almost clocked against your chest - but you got your weapon out. At the same time, his forearm psi-blade sizzled in an upwards strike. You landed a few feet back, skidding on the dust and dunes and looked down at your pistol.

    The smoking, hissing stump of the barrel smoldered against your knuckles. Droplets of molten metal stung very lightly, searing lines along your skin - lines that healed as fast as the damage was caused. You tossed the pistol aside, frowning slightly.

    "All right then," you said, then did a quick double punch at the air to stretch your arms out.

    Zeratul came at you again. He moved low, fast. His second psi-blade hissed to life and he swept the left up, then pirouetted and brought the right down. You ducked left, right, keeping your arms close to your sides to prevent any extremities from joining your pistol on the ground - then as Zeratul came up for a double strike, you slammed your knuckles into his jaw with a perfect jab - just like you were back in the Academy.

    Boxing club.

    You made it to bronze.
    Zeratul's mouthless jaw compacted under the blow and his bandana fluttered aside, revealing a face seamed by scars. He stumbled, fell to one knee, panted, then lifted his head up.

    You are a true warrior, he said, sounding like someone who had just been punched very hard in the solar plexus.

    "Are you-"

    He vanished.

    "...I guess not," you muttered.

    Shadows writhed around you. A form emerged to the left, to the right, to the fore, to the back. They were each Zeratul. The darkness of the skies overhead seemed to stretch on infinitely and even the desert was gone - you were left in an endless dark abyss, surrounded by these images. Or were they images? You narrowed your eyes, slowly looking left, looking right.

    It grieves me to have to fight you, Zeratul said, his voice grave. One of the psi-blades on one of the copies hissed to life. Crackling and spitting, it sent sparks fluttering down to the ground.

    "I didn't come to fight," you said, frowning. "Sarah sent me on a mission of peace."

    And I don't believe her, Zeratul said, simply. She betrayed you - after you took her in, showed her kindness. I have been told everything of her actions by the noble Mathew Horner - and when he was told the truth and the whole of Sarah Kerrigan, he said the true Samantha Clarke would rather die than to live as a slave.
    "...goddamn it, Matt, stop helping," you muttered under your breath. Then, louder. "I'll prove it, then."

    Words will not sway me, the second Zeratul's psi blades hissed to life, behind you.

    "Fine," you said, rolling your shoulders. You brought your fists up, shifted to your toes, and began to bounce from side to side, settling yourself. If words wouldn't do it...then you'd have to use your actions.

    The third Zeratul's psi-blades came to life.

    I am sorry, he said.

    The fourth's blades crackled on.

    And you...

    ---
    HEAT: 0/6
    DANGER: 9
    ENEMIES: Zeratul (Diff 5), Shadow Clone (Diff 2), Shadow Clone (Diff 2), Shadow Clone (Diff 2)
    SPARKS: Disarmed (5), Surrounded (2), In Darkness (2), Which One's the Real One? (2)

    What do you do?
    [ ] Let them hit you - and feel which one's real, then coldclock that one. Then prepare to swarm.
    [ ] Unleash your full Zerg might - rip. Tear. Claw. Until it's done.
    [ ] Use your psychic powers to turn this darkness on the master.
    [ ] Write In

    So, usually, enemies arrive on the scene as part of a cinimatic - but when ambushed or facing a particularly dangerous enemy...they...can act in their first round. So, I have 20 Danger and have spawned a diff 5 Zeratul, and three diff 2 Shadow Clones, which spent their turns laying debuff sparks on you!

    Disarmed: You can't use your pistol
    Surrounded: You can't dodge
    In Darkness: You can't run
    Which One's Real?: You can only attack the fake Clones

    Vote One: (Use Resilience to snuff out the 2 Which one's Real? Sparks, then take a Diff 5+1 brawling check to knock out the real Zeratul - taking 4 heat to do so. Vent 4 heat to use The Living Swarm.)

    Vote Two: (Use Physical Perfection to destroy the CLones for 0, 0, 0 heat then attack Zeratul with Brawling using a diff 5+3 check - gaining 6 heat. Vent all 6 using Just as Planed.)

    Vote Three: (Use Telepathic Domination to destroy the clones, then vent 0 heat to use Adaptation at maximum power, creating 10 sparks - snuffing out In Darkness, Which one's Real and Surrounded and placing 4 In Darkness sparks on Zeratul.)
     
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