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The Zone — S.T.A.L.K.E.R. RP

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I'm willing to dip in if you need players. Playing a shitload of Stalker Anomaly really got me back into it all.
 
MiracleGrow said:
I'm willing to dip in if you need players. Playing a shitload of Stalker Anomaly really got me back into it all.
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Wow, I really appreciate that. But only if you really want to! I'm going to try my best to keep the post rates up but I know stuff happens and I drop the ball from time to time. Feel free to ask for help on here or the Discord though.
 
Sushi said:
Wow, I really appreciate that. But only if you really want to! I'm going to try my best to keep the post rates up but I know stuff happens and I drop the ball from time to time. Feel free to ask for help on here or the Discord though.
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Yeah I'm sure, just give me a couple of days.
 
@Unlucky Bibliophile So, Vera's job is broad, but simple: Monitor health trends and the new stalker behavior in the region and report back to the M.S.F. You'll want to find some long-range radios soon, like the kind used by major factions like Duty, Freedom, or the military checkpoints. The Econologists in Agroprom valley may have that same equipment, too. Raven is suggesting following the path of the helicopter crash, as it would hold a possibility of finding some proper radio equipment, or perhaps some surviving squad-mates. It's logical to find someone to team up with, and the group of loners sticks out like a sore thumb from the bandit-dominated environment...
 
@Wizard_Marshall although we've only been in the zone for a day or two IC, I'd planned to have the characters eventually affected by the presence of the Zone and in some cases, gain unique abilities. Yours is as follows:

Marked by the Zone: Hidden
It's been a while, but something about the Zone is sharpening your senses. Your sense of timing. Once per Scene, upon successfully taking out a target, you can spend a Fate Point to make the kill unnoticed, even when it would normally be obvious to others nearby.​

@PanzerWaffles and for you:

Marked by the Zone: Protected
Someone or something is looking out for you. You know when someone's trying to do you harm. When you are attacked or ambushed, you can pay a Fate Point to take initiative and have the first attack, instead.​

@DB_Explorer

Marked by the Zone: Sharpened
You thought you had seen everything before the zone. Now you aren't sure, but the people never change. You've gained insight on the weaknesses of living things, and can spend a b]Fate Point[/b] upon a successful attack to b]Cripple[/b] a living thing.​

@Yurihime Himeyuri on your first stunt, reduce the AR bonus to +1 instead of +2. I'd also cull your equipment list down to basics.

Marked by the Zone: Cut Away
You know the wilderness, and even the Zone in some way is familiar to you. You can recognize the signs of healthy fauna. With some time for observation, you may make a Survival roll and identify what animals or mutants are suitable for butchering or processing.​

@dryskim You are still missing the "Skills" in your profile.

Marked by the Zone: Guidance
Something has changed in your body, in your coordination. You find that it almost feels the Zone itself guides your hand. You may spend a Survival to throw an object and hit what you are aiming at perfectly, despite obstacles or distance that would make such a throw difficult, although not impossible.​

@CthuluWasRight @Unlucky Bibliophile @MiracleGrow will get similar abilities as the RP progresses.
 
Mind if I make my guy a
A merc that got zapped by monolith but broke control after a couple of years. Now he stays in the deeper areas of the zone scared shitless that other would recognize him and a lack of memories of his life outside of it.
 
A WIP, waiting to confirm a few things.

Name: Yuriy Chayka (Юрій Чайка)
Gender: Male
Age: 27 (b. 1984) (Conscripted in 2004)
Faction: Ukrainian Army
Rank: Sergeant
Hometown: Odessa

Appearance:

Aspects:
High Concept: Eccentric Superior
Trouble: A Name Within the Zone
Aspects:
-Always Ready
-Heart of a Killer/Warrior
-Quick Witted

Refresh: 3
Fate Points: 3
Physical: [] [] [] []
Radiation: [] [] []
Morale: [] [] [] []
Wealth: X
Consequences: X

Personality & Bio: X

Skills:
+4 Melee
+3 Physique Will
+2 Shoot Survival Heavy Weapons
+1 Medicine Connextions Drive Athletics
Stunts:
Feel the Burn: You can push through incredible pain in order to reach your goal. You gain an additional mild consequence slot. This slot can only be used for physical harm.
Army of One: You are a one-man army; the odds don't matter to you. When you are fighting a mob of nameless NPCs, you deal one additional Stress on a successful physical hit. Additionally, mobs do not get a teamwork bonus to their attacks against you.
Destroyer of Abominations: You hit harder when your enemy is something blasphemous or monstrous. +2 when shooting down monsters/mutants.

Possessions:
  • AKM-74/2U (Personal)
  • Fort-15 (Personal)
  • Black Light Body Armour (Personal)
  • Black Tactical Backpack - Waterproof (Personal)
    (Equipment Requests go here as well.)
 
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Thank you @dryskim, I was confused because you still had "Skills: X" at the bottom with your skills pyramid at the top. You can add the stunt at your leisure.

MiracleGrow said:
Mind if I make my guy a
A merc that got zapped by monolith but broke control after a couple of years. Now he stays in the deeper areas of the zone scared shitless that other would recognize him and a lack of memories of his life outside of it.
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Mmm... a few problems with that.

We're around Clear Sky in the timeline, so there's no great emission, there's not been a proper exploration to Pripyat in some time. Monolith as a faction are poorly understood, and there's never been a captured ex-Monolithian.

So, would you be open to playing your mercenary before they get captured by Monolith? We could have a merc haunted by vivid dreams and drawn relentlessly toward Pripyat...

Terran Imperium said:
A WIP, waiting to confirm a few things.

Name: Yuriy Chayka (Юрій Чайка)
Gender: Male
Age: 27 (b. 1984) (Conscripted in 2004)
Faction: Ukrainian Army
Rank: Sergeant
Hometown: Odessa

Appearance: X

Aspects:
High Concept: Eccentric Superior
Trouble: A Name Within the Zone
Aspects:
-Always Ready
-Heart of a Killer/Warrior
-Quick Witted

Refresh: 1
Fate Points: 1
Physical: [] [] [] []
Radiation: [] [] []
Morale: [] [] [] []
Wealth: X
Consequences: X

Personality & Bio: X

Skills:
+4 Melee
+3 Physique Will
+2 Shoot Survival Heavy Weapons
+1 Medicine Connextions Drive Athletics
Stunts: X
Feel the Burn: You can push through incredible pain in order to reach your goal. You gain an additional mild consequence slot. This slot can only be used for physical harm.
Brawler: You're at home in any big old burly brawl, with multiple opponents and ideally some beer in you. When fighting a mob of nameless NPCs, you deal one additional stress on a successful physical hit.
Army of One: You are a one-man army; the odds don't matter to you. Whenever you are physically attacked by a mob, opponents in that mob do not get a teamwork bonus to their attacks.
Army At Gunpoint: You take no penalty—and grant no bonus—for being outnumbered, no matter how preposterous the numbers.
Destroyer of Abominations: You hit harder when your enemy is something blasphemous or monstrous. +2 when shooting down monsters/mutants.

Possessions:
  • Item (Personal)
  • Item (Personal)
  • Item (Personal)
    (Equipment Requests go here as well.)
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Might not be entirely advisable to have 1 FP / Refresh because I do intend on giving you stunts and opportunities to spend them.

Delete "Army at Gunpoint" and "Brawler," and we can modify "Army of One" as follows: You are a one-man army; the odds don't matter to you. When you are fighting a mob of nameless NPCs, you deal one additional Stress on a successful physical hit. Additionally, mobs do not get a teamwork bonus to their attacks against you.

That will give you 3 stunts and 3 FP.

So, the way the Zone works is that the Ukrainian military has their outpost on the "Cordon" (the outer-most area of the zone) and enforce the control of people entering and leaving. While the Loners (the loose faction of stalkers and explorers) have an uneasy truce with the military, in general, walking the inner sections of the zone as a uniformed military member is suicide, as the Bandits, Freedom, and other factions will shoot you on sight. Thus, any current members of the military go to great lengths to avoid being identified; long hair, beards, sometimes sending female stalkers or younger, junior enlisted to avoid the appearance of being military, equipped with common, easily acquired equipment.

A good example is Major Degtyarev from the third game, whom only reveals his military affiliation when contacting military forces. He is equipped like a normal stalker and brings no military ID with him. They call these people "military stalkers," as opposed to uniformed members of the military. ("Army Men" or "Green Men.")

Another alternative is a deserter, who would be compelled to very quickly abandon their military equipment to blend in with the general population.
 
Sushi said:
Thank you @dryskim, I was confused because you still had "Skills: X" at the bottom with your skills pyramid at the top. You can add the stunt at your leisure.


Mmm... a few problems with that.

We're around Clear Sky in the timeline, so there's no great emission, there's not been a proper exploration to Pripyat in some time. Monolith as a faction are poorly understood, and there's never been a captured ex-Monolithian.

So, would you be open to playing your mercenary before they get captured by Monolith? We could have a merc haunted by vivid dreams and drawn relentlessly toward Pripyat...
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Ah didn't know it was clear sky time. So I got something else in mind.
 
@dryskim I'm assuming Dexter is sorta... you know *lost* so he has no idea where to go to get to the car.... maybe try to orient ourselves. I could use Lore in lieu of survival by looking at key landmarks and figuring out what direction to go based off that.
 
@Sushi

Going to have Talon investigate the outer perimeter of the train yard in search of Kraut. [Edit:] Going to use her +2 of Notice to investigate, and here is my roll.
Cheburashka threw 4 6-faced dice. Reason: Notice+2 Total: 17
4 4 5 5 5 5 3 3
 
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@Sushi

Cleaned up that little weirdness regarding the skills table and slotted in that new Stunt. Only oddity I noticed was that it uses the Survival skill for throwing grenades/objects whereas I thought we used Athletics for that.
 
dryskim said:
@Sushi

Cleaned up that little weirdness regarding the skills table and slotted in that new Stunt. Only oddity I noticed was that it uses the Survival skill for throwing grenades/objects whereas I thought we used Athletics for that.
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My apologies, that was a 4 AM typo I forgot to fix, it should say spend a Fate Point to make a perfect throw, not any particular skill. Though Athletics, Physique and Melee also work if the circumstances are right.
 
@CthuluWasRight I'm going to update ICly shortly, was Brother just going to walk in after hearing a juicy / interesting deal? Or did you want someone reaching out to him in particular. Also, please check the gear list for any last changes or requests.

@Terran Imperium @MiracleGrow Should I wait a bit to have your PCs join at the Garbage where people currently are? Or if it's going to take a while, join along the path later on?
 
PanzerWaffles said:
@Sushi

Going to have Talon investigate the outer perimeter of the train yard in search of Kraut. [Edit:] Going to use her +2 of Notice to investigate, and here is my roll.
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Popping off your headset and straining to take everything in, you think you can hear the faint chatter of that distinctive weapon, the MP-40, echoing into the woods to the north of the trainyard, toward the region they call Yantar.
 
Sushi said:
@CthuluWasRight I'm going to update ICly shortly, was Brother just going to walk in after hearing a juicy / interesting deal? Or did you want someone reaching out to him in particular. Also, please check the gear list for any last changes or requests.

@Terran Imperium @MiracleGrow Should I wait a bit to have your PCs join at the Garbage where people currently are? Or if it's going to take a while, join along the path later on?
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Gimme a sec, I've gotta go to class and then I'll get a post out. But yes, I do plan to just walk out and overhear the rest of the crew talking
 
Sushi said:
@CthuluWasRight I'm going to update ICly shortly, was Brother just going to walk in after hearing a juicy / interesting deal? Or did you want someone reaching out to him in particular. Also, please check the gear list for any last changes or requests.

@Terran Imperium @MiracleGrow Should I wait a bit to have your PCs join at the Garbage where people currently are? Or if it's going to take a while, join along the path later on?
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Pardon me, been a bit distracted and towards the end of the week I can really start.
 
Hoshino Yumemi said:
@Sushi
This buggy still going to the Exclusion Zone? I think it's probably time I had Lilith formally introduce herself, if she still looks in order.
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People are already in the Zone, so you would be getting into the zone through your own means and encountering the party separately at this point. That works for you?

In terms of party composition, we've since picked up more or less a dedicated doctor through @Unlucky Bibliophile (ironically works for Doctors Without Borders) so you may also reconsider your surgical / medical focus a bit, and also to some extent with @Yurihime Himeyuri But that's also up to you. Some redundancy doesn't hurt us and it does split your responsibilities a bit as a fighter, also.

Hoshino Yumemi said:
Working on a character. A very fighty engineer/medic, I'm just having trouble throwing together a good backstory for her.

EDIT: Here's my draft, please tell me what I'm missing, from some of the obvious stuff to like if there's other consumables or items that would be really useful.


Name: Masumi Fukui, alias "Lilith"
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Faction: Loner
Rank: Rookie
Hometown: Kyoto, Japan

Appearance: A tall, attractive, but not too terribly-athletic-looking woman with a prominent bust and long, thick legs who appears Brazilian-Japanese with straight, long black hair parted right down the middle. Lilith has delicate, rounded features, pouty lips and big, reddish-brown eyes that make her look as if she's about to burst into tears at any moment.

High Concept: Engineer Without Borders
Trouble: Thinks With Her Heart, Not Her Head

Aspects

Service With A Smile (Lilith's looks and disarming personality for calming people down)
A Most Curious Woman (General curiosity, brains and SCIENCE!)
One Gun Keeps Another Holstered (She's still tall and comfortable whacking someone back into line so she can be dangerous/threatening)

Refresh: 3
Fate Points: 3
Physical:
Radiation:
Morale:
Wealth:
Consequences:

Personality: While Lilith appears to be meek and not very combative at first glance, she is really a woman of few words, and a very dedicated individual gifted with a sharp mind and the drive to do important things with it. She insists on being of help and is often very hesitant to resort to violence, which is just the combination to get herself into trouble often enough that she's used to plotting daring escapes from danger she blunders into. She detests fighting unless it's in self-defense not because she's morally-opposed to using it: she just hates escalation. If she had her way, laying down ground rules backed up by the threat of retaliation would be enough. However, if somebody needs to be taught a lesson, she won't worry much about it.

Bio: A woman of secrets, Masumi Fukui is known for a few things: playing her cards very close to her chest, having steady, nimble hands that would put a watchmaker to shame and preferring to go by a pseudonym: Lilith. A freelance researcher based out of Japan and currently working for a firm she prefers to keep secret as part of a personal code of professional courtesy, it's said she earned her name because acquiring her was a deal with a demon: snatching her up meant power at an unspeakable price...which is to say, when hired, groups tended to have to pay her through the nose. Her self-granted pseudonym has traveled so far and wide in these communities that she's been referred to as "Lilith" or "Lilly" more times than her actual name, which suits her just fine.

This is the best explanation as to why she keeps her professional code. Be courteous, be professional, and above all, be confidential. A life of working on sensitive projects with equally brilliant, eccentric personnel all with their own little secrets and hidden pains has made her good with people and even better with anything requiring delicate, precise handiwork.

She has been sent to the Zone by her backers to find Artifacts because of these qualities: anyone can blast through to the Zone and attempt to walk away from causing an international incident, but only a real expert would be able to slip in and out like the sheriff in a Spaghetti Western, winning the day, righting little wrongs as she goes, and only messing up anyone who already had it coming. After all, they say the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled...

Skills

+4: Crafts
+3: Empathy, Melee
+2: Medicine, Survival, Electronics
+1: Contacts, Will, Provoke, Investigate

Stunts

Odds And Ends: When adequate materials are available, Lilith can use Crafts to present a gift to someone instead of rolling Empathy.

Helping Handiwork: Once per session Lilith can reduce someone else's consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on a Craft Roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. She must spend at least an hour working on this gift in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and she can't use it on herself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.) ("Psychologist." Fate Core, p.109)

Leatherslap: Lilith can use Melee instead of Shoot to make quick, reactive shots that don't involve a lot of aiming. However, because she's making a knee-jerk reaction, she is not allowed to concretely identify her target before using this stunt. So, for example, she might be able to shoot at someone she can see moving in the bushes with this stunt, but will not be able to tell if it's friend or foe before pulling the trigger. ("Reactive Shot," Fate Core, p.117)

Possessions
Personal Possessions

Consumables
  • Boxes of .45 ACP ammo
  • Smoke grenades
  • Flashbang grenades
  • Some MREs
  • Spare batteries
  • Medical drugs (painkillers, antibiotics, Epipens, that kind of thing)
  • Bandages, gauze and splints
  • Surgical tubing
  • Rope
  • Rubber gloves
  • Replacement trauma kit components (blades, needles, sutures, etc)
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In respect to aspects, I mentioned prior that you'd want to have a trouble that would directly interact with the idea of the "Wish Granter," and that there is some specific, internal reason that brings her to the zone. Your trouble is pretty good though, so I'd bump it down to a normal aspect, maybe replacing One Gun Keeps Another Holstered. Things like "Drawn to the Zone," or "Yearning for Purpose" work great as a trouble to get you into difficult and interesting scenarios.

I would also ask that you take the opportunity to elaborate on what organization hired her, maybe twist one of the aspects that way. Maybe "Mercenary Engineer." Or at least some OOC clarification on what sort of people they are and what results they're expecting, if you're actually an artifact hunter more than engineer for example.

In terms of gear, I'll simplify your gear when I get a chance later tonight. Your main firearm is highly noticeable and hard to smuggle into the Zone, though, so I might work that into a small sub-quest where you find your gear later on. Handguns are notoriously hard to get in these areas, so the process of getting them is usually pretty involved. What I'll probably do is give you a temporary gun when you come in and some coordinates to find your gear later.

Sound good?
 
Sushi said:
@Terran Imperium @MiracleGrow Should I wait a bit to have your PCs join at the Garbage where people currently are? Or if it's going to take a while, join along the path later on?
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Sure! I really don't want to hold you guys back due to my schedule. I don't mind joining up slightly late to the party.
I can be fashionably late like that and make a magnificent entry, mayhaps. :V

I'll have enough time to write a bio and the rest this Friday.
 
Sushi said:
@Wizard_Marshall although we've only been in the zone for a day or two IC, I'd planned to have the characters eventually affected by the presence of the Zone and in some cases, gain unique abilities. Yours is as follows:

Marked by the Zone: Hidden
It's been a while, but something about the Zone is sharpening your senses. Your sense of timing. Once per Scene, upon successfully taking out a target, you can spend a Fate Point to make the kill unnoticed, even when it would normally be obvious to others nearby.​
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Thanks Sushi. That's a pretty nice ability with some interesting implications for all the players. My mind is already coming up with theories, all of which I'm sure are wrong.

Must farm Fate Points!
 
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