Whispers from the Deep - Biplanes & Bisexuality

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Character Sheets
  • Informational


    • Character Sheet
    Isabelle Morgenthau
    A Fisher

    Isa (right) and her boyfriend Arren (left)

    Hard Keen Calm Daring Wild
    +4 -2 +4 +1 -1
    Moves
    Creepy: When a comrade sees you perform a ritual, overhears your prayers, or sees signs of your alienness, they lose Trust in you. Once they learn one of your Moves, they are no longer affected, but they gain Creepy as well.
    Deep Ones: You can call on your patrons to Help you on a roll. On a 1, you Break after this mission.
    Blessing: When you dab fresh blood on a piece of working equipment, roll +Calm. On a 16+, take both. On an 11-15, choose 1.
    • Take +1 Ongoing with this item this Routine. (+1 Handling for a plane)
    • The item cannot break or be lost this Routine. (+1 Armour on 1 Section of the Plane.)
    On a miss, you need a bigger sacrifice. Don't disappoint.
    Ideomotor Response: Your plane effectively has a programmable autopilot. It does not have to be switched on and off; it "knows" when you are behind the controls.
    Soul-Bound: When you paint a rune in blood on an aircraft, you are linked. While in flight, you can take incoming Structure damage as Stress, 1-1. You can take a hit that would strike a Component as Injury, or give incoming Injury to your Engine.
    Bond: (Witch move learned from Wulf) When you hold an object of significance and make an emotional connection to it, take 1 Stress. The object becomes a magical Focus, and you learn it's Nature (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Iron, or Blood).
    Contemplation: When you draw a ritual circle and stay within it, roll +Calm. On a 16+, you come out of it about an hour later refreshed; strike 3 Stress or 2 Injury. On an 11-15, it takes the whole night, and you're unreachable in that time.

    Mastery
    The Bushwack
    Ambush Predator: When you strike an enemy who is unaware of your presence, roll with Advantage.
    Forced Evade: When you fire to scare an opponent off, spend 1 ammo and roll +Hard. On a hit, instead of dealing damage, choose one: Target dives 1, target climbs 1, target loses speed in a forced turn. On a 16+, roll attack dice on them anyway.
    Momentum: When you dive onto a target, add +1 AP.
    Scissors Snip: When you disengage, give an ally +3 towards dealing with your target.

    Familiar Vices
    - Drinking
    - Prayer
    - Dancing

    Vice Progress
    - Breaking Stuff: ☑☐☐
    - Cannabis: ☑☐☐

    Intimacy Move
    When you are intimate with another, choose one of you to get a hold. They can spend that hold to give the other a command: if followed, then forward to their next +Stat move, they will always score at least a partial hit, regardless of what the dice say.

    If you use this move in the air, there are two holds, and they can be distributed however you agree.

    The Company
    People
    • Isabelle (Fisher): The PC. She's out to find her way in the world. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Arren (NPC- Confidant/Observer): Your cute fish boyfriend. Artist and recently trained observer. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Wulf (Witch): Former bandit leader. Actually half wolf. Hot as hell. Ex-Goth. 1 thaler per Routine.
      • Hard +3, Keen +3, Calm -2, Daring +0, Wild +3 (Avenger)
    • Minna Hammerl (Soldier): Inexperienced but highly trained soldier and passionate duelist. Speaks all formal-like. The most beautiful woman in the world. 1 thaler per Routine.
      • Hard +4, Keen +1, Calm +2, Daring -2 (Professional)
    • Heinrich Engel (Student): Political science student working on his thesis-slash-manifesto.
    • Anny Meldgaard (NPC - Mechanic): A young half-Fischer, half-Himmilvolk woman from Piav, trained by the mechanics there. Looking for adventure and her origins. Blushes red?
    Aircraft
    • Isa & Arren's Plane: A Teicher Möwen seaplane. Steel frame, liquid-cooled engine. Deeply possessed. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Fang Howl: Wulf's helicopter. An experimental pre-war model. Liquid-cooled radial. Three wolf moon. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Pup: Wulf's Kreuzer Skorpion prototype retrieved from a sealed hanger. Gets a lot out of an underpowered engine.
    • Minna's Kobra: An inline-engine powered, wood framed fighter. All around an excellent machine. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Heinrich's Reconstruction: A canard plane with a 30mm cannon in the nose. Awkward and unstable but hits like a train. 1 thaller per Routine.
    ​
    Stress XP
    3 7
    ​
    Cash Expenses
    41 10.5
     
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  • Informational
    • 2-11: Job Interviews feat. Ewald, Minna, and Hanna
  • Threadmarks
    • The bar was repurposed from the manor's grand ballroom, and it was huge. The first thing that occurred when you walked inside it was that the place could probably be used as a hanger, if you knocked out all the massive windows. Actually, it looks like age and the element had similar ideas, as many of those grand windows were boarded up, but the effect was still magnificent, the setting sun visible above the outer walls and the airfield just outside. Suspended above the floor was a massive chandelier, dotted with electric lights in little silver cups. As you found seats at one of the smaller tables and got drinks, you watched a group of observer planes buzz along the runaway, straining against the torque of their rotary motors.

    When you told the bartender you were looking to hire a pilot, he immediately handed you a small red flag with your drinks. When you got to your table, you stuck it in one of the big candleholders and waited, watching the sun disappear and the electric lights flicker on. People circled the table interested, on their way to conversation and drinks with others, and all around you more bodies filtered in until the once-sprawling floor seemed packed. The air was abuzz with different dialects and accents and even some languages you didn't understand.

    Not long after, you started getting takers.

    ---

    The man who approached your table looked like he'd just flown in, still with the telltale stain of oil everywhere on his face but his eyes, his jacket beaten and worn, his boots mismatched. The stench of booze clung to him like a cloud. He had a face full of uneven stubble, which made you a little uncomfortable; facial hair wasn't really a thing that happened to your people. You watched Arren subconsciously rub a hand on his own jaw; maybe discomfort, maybe jealousy?

    The man collapsed in the free chair, leaned back, and swung his stein up to his mouth, then slammed it down on the table.

    "So, what's the job?" He said.

    You shared a nervous glance with Arren, unsure of how to proceed.

    "Well... there's a team of bandits shaking down a small mining town..." You started.

    "We helpin' them or stoppin' them?" The man interjected.

    "Uh... stopping. In two days."

    He cocked his head, as if unsure, then shrugged. "Well, it's a classic, I'll give you that. You got me and my plane for six, I'll meet you at dawn. Wheels don't go up until I'm paid. 'S been a pleasure." The man started to rise from his chair as you shook your head in confusion.

    "Excuse me, whats makes you think we hired you?" Arren said, and you nodded in agreement. "We haven't even heard your credentials!"

    The man sank back into his chair, a look of utter frustration on his face. "Really kid? Alright, fine. I'm Ewald Köppen. I grew up in Jägerhort and flew in their youth guard, then formed up with a Circus out of there; you wouldn't have heard of them. After they died, did some jobs for the Red Talons, skipped out, worked for Checkmate for a few years, bounced on that when they missed my pay, worked some odd jobs, did some raiding. Eight confirmed kills, three balloons, shared credit on four airships. I've been shot twice and lost three planes in combat, I have a fully-loaded Spinne triplane on the runway, and I get paid up front. Any other questions?"

    ---

    The woman who approached your table was tall, a little heavier-set, dark skinned and black hair, maybe a few years your senior. Like you, she had facial scars; a set of cuts around her mouth and on her upper lip. She wore a simple green wool uniform and carried a leather helmet under her arm, and she sat carefully at your table like she was afraid she'd break something. You realized after she sat that she had a saber on her belt.

    You felt the urge to slap Arren on the wrist to stop him from staring, except you were kind of staring too.

    "Guten Abend. You are looking for a pilot?" Her accent was... well, it sounded like the accents the older people in your village would put on to make fun of the rich inlanders. Spoken slowly, every word deliberate. Posh. She sounded posh.

    You didn't know you could sound posh after the apocalypse.

    "Yes!" You said, a little too loudly.

    "We are!" Arren said overtop you.

    "Oh, well, good. My name is Minna Hammerl, from Greifenburg in the south. I would like to apply. I have had extensive training in my enclave's militia as a wingman and element lead, and I have top marks in exercises." She listed her credentials off in a rehearsed patter. "I specialize in close range gunnery and scout flying, and my plane is in top-notch condition. It is a Thelen Kobra with factory-standard-"

    "Back up, Minna." You said, holding up a hand. "Have you got any combat experience?"

    "Um... no. I have not. Yet." Her carefully prepared tone broke a bit. "But I really am quite good! I would not let a fellow duelist down!" She said, and winked at you.

    She winked.

    ---

    The woman who approached your table was a few years your senior, lithe, hard-edged. She wore a leather jacket with a fur collar, covered in patches and patterns, and on the back was Checkmate's insignia. She had a pair of unusual goggles around her neck that seemed to have a second pair of lenses, and her white-blond hair was cropped short.

    "Hey you two. Katrin told me you were the ones who intercepted her over the city. I'm Hanna Weigl. Thought I'd come see what was up. You hiring?" She was disarmingly friendly; she leaned against the table like she was chatting with old friends.

    "Yes. We're looking for a combat flier for a defense mission. Just scaring off some bandits who've been harassing a town." You explained.

    "Old-school. I like it. You need a combat scout for it? I've been Checkmate's lead scout for about eight months. Three kills, and there's not a lot of planes out there faster than my Eindecker. I could be a real as-set..." She said the last part as a little sing-song, and you couldn't help but smile.

    "But what about Checkmate? Don't you work for them?" Arren asked.

    "Fuckin' whatever. Rosa's got us parked here to send observers over the city for some fucking reason, which means I'm mostly just cooling my heels. She says finding the AA guns is steady money, but I think she's looking for a score down there and I got zero interest in that bullshit. I want action. I do a lot of baiting and evasive flying; maybe I could teach you a thing or two." She threw some fingerguns your way to emphasize the point.

    ---

    - [ ] Hire Ewald Köppen. (6 thalers)
    - [ ] Hire Minna Hammerl (6 thalers)
    - [ ] Hire Hanna Weigl (6 thalers)

    You can hire more than one, if you'd like...​
    Adhoc vote count started by open_sketch on Jan 11, 2018 at 5:55 PM, finished with 21 posts and 17 votes.
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Hire Minna Hammerl (6 thalers)

    Threesome Threesome Threesome Threesome Threesome
     
    Okay, so Ewald is probably a Soldier, Minna is definitely a Soldier and attempting to flirting with us, and Hanna pings as most likely to be an Air-born or a Student.

    We've got enough money to hire two of them, but that will eat up pretty much all of our advance. But we can probably get Minna or Hanna to accept half up front and half on completion. If we can get both of them to agree to it, then we're actually probably better off hiring the both of them.

    If we pick just one, Minna is more likely to be willing to go temp-to-hire if this job works out.

    [x] Hire Minna Hammerl (6 thalers)
    -[X] Half up front, half on completion
    [X] Hire Hanna Weigl (6 thalers)
    -[X] Half up front, half on completion
     
    As a side note, I might be doing some recalculations of your aircraft's performance based on some of the premade designs I've been producing. This will involve a Drag Penalty similar to the Mass Penalty so there's a bit more granularity available in drag, as right now it's very all or nothing and it can add up far too quickly, especially with wings. The performance of your plane will likely stay broadly the same, but it might result in a change in your speed or lift so I'm letting you know now.
     
    [x] Hire Ewald Köppen. (6 thalers)
     
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    - [x] Hire Ewald Köppen. (6 thalers)
    Adhoc vote count started by Darth on Jan 11, 2018 at 11:36 AM, finished with 16 posts and 13 votes.
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    So the thing to remember about Minna is that she has no combat experience...like at all.

    We have more experience than her. We've managed to shoot down one crazed oldster in a barely functioning piece of junk. But we're now going up against a bandit band. We need people who we can count on to actually be able to fight. Not just be endearingly confident and enthusiastic about their odds.

    Sure Minna's charismatic but we can't really afford to be just lead by our reproductive imperatives. She can be our face later sure but all of that comes after we're financially and materially in a place where we might need a face.

    Right now we just need people to fight with and we have a actual Ace (Ewald) and a scout with a nice looking record (Hanna).

    Admittedly Ewald's been shot down twice, crashed a third time, and might have a drinking problem. But 8 planes, 3 balloons, and assists on 4 airships provides some useful experience. On the other hand Hanna has a clean slate.
     
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    open_sketchbook said:
    The man who approached your table looked like he'd just flown in, still with the telltale stain of oil everywhere on his face but his eyes, his jacket beaten and worn, his boots mismatched. The stench of booze clung to him like a cloud. He had a face full of uneven stubble, which made you a little uncomfortable; facial hair wasn't really a thing that happened to your people. You watched Arren subconsciously rub a hand on his own jaw; maybe discomfort, maybe jealousy?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Hmmm?
    open_sketchbook said:
    The man sank back into his chair, a look of utter frustration on his face. "Really kid? Alright, fine. I'm Ewald Köppen. I grew up in Jägerhort and flew in their youth guard, then formed up with a Circus out of there; you wouldn't have heard of them. After they died, did some jobs for the Red Talons, skipped out, worked for Checkmate for a few years, bounced on that when they missed my pay, worked some odd jobs, did some raiding. Eight confirmed kills, three balloons, shared credit on four airships. I've been shot twice and lost three planes in combat, I have a fully-loaded Spinne triplane on the runway, and I get paid up front. Any other questions?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Waaaait.
    > Red Talons
    > triplane
    > german-sounding name
    Is he, perchance, of noble lineage?

    Anyway, sold.

    [X] Hire Ewald Köppen. (6 thalers)
     
    [X] Hire Ewald Köppen. (6 thalers)

    Hey, maybe he's getting paid before so that he has money on him when he crashes?
     
    I am pretty sure that he is at least a partial reference to Red Baron and/or maybe one anime.

    Not sure about other two, but.
     
    2-12: The Dance Floor
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Hire Ewald Köppen.

    You needed experience, plain and simple. You weren't going to have to work with the guy long-term, but for now you wanted one of the best watching your back, and the guy was an ace. You expressed that to the other candidates. Minna looked a little disappointed as she got up and left, while Hanna looked completely indifferent. Ewald gave a noncommittal nod and strode off "before things got too loud."

    As Arren took the flag back to the bar and came back with more drinks, the atmosphere of the bar was changing. More people were on their feet, drinks in hand, looking expectantly at one side of the room. You followed their collective gaze to a small raised area where a group of people were setting up some strange objects and plugging in wires. They made strange noises as they were handled, and an electric hum filled the air.

    Instruments. Those were instruments.

    You didn't have musical instruments back home. You had shanties, chanting out over the waves while you worked, but instruments... they'd drown out the whispers, they'd offend your patrons. The realization of what was about to happen left your heart fluttering, the transgressive thrill firing up your spine like electricity as the first tentative notes reverberated in the air.

    The music was slow at first, warming up. Background noise as people clustered and the sea of people flexed like the tide coming in. A few cheers and screams and requests echoing out as the tempo increased, the tide ebbed and flowed towards the stage. There was a tension you'd never felt before, joyous and anxious and escalating. A murmur in the crowd echoed in the lyrics.

    Then the drumbeats, like a misfiring gun. Cymbals, crashing like waves. The brass screaming out a discordant blast. Strings wailing and thrumming. A woman stood before a microphone and sang a song about love putting life in a tailspin, and the room lit up like the bodies in it were dancing flames. You watched, mesmerized by the crowd jumping and screaming and pressed against one another, as the quiet room turned to a joyous pandemonium. The lights flickered and dimmed like they were failing. A man dipped another against a table in an embrace and kiss him, knocking drinks to the floor.

    You got to your feet without really knowing what you were doing. Arren too. He grabbed you by the arm and pulled you towards the crowd, his face jubilant. You wanted to protest; I can't dance! You can't dance! What are we doing?

    You couldn't hear him. He couldn't hear you.

    It didn't matter.

    ---

    Somehow, you'd made it back to your room last night. At least, you figured it was your room. It was basically a closet with a tiny bed and a dusty window, and the two of you were scrunched in a tangle of limbs and half-removed clothes. The sun glared harshly down on you, and your lips felt drier than you could imagine. Your head was still pounding and your ears still ringing.

    The window rattled at the passage of aircraft outside. You glanced out to see a massive four-engine bomber with Checkmate's roundel roar past, loaded with bombs, barely clearing the curtain wall, followed by an escort of lighter planes. One of them was Hanna; you could see her fur collar as her little yellow monoplane puttered past.

    You'd leave tomorrow at dawn. Time for final preparations.

    - [ ] What do you do?

    This is a good time for final prep. You wanna upgrade your plane any, this is the time to do it. You could strap on extra guns, get it streamlined, whatever. You could get Arren some basic training. If you can think of an upgrade for an airplane, I've either already written it, or I can write it up for you. After that scene, I'll do your Advancement and we'll launch on the next mission.

    By the way, that last scene dealt with your Stress, so you're back to 0. Congrats.    ​
    Adhoc vote count started by open_sketch on Jan 12, 2018 at 2:21 PM, finished with 15 posts and 7 votes.
    • [X] Train Arren as an observer.
      [X] See about reducing drag on the plane. Get newer, less ragged parts in.
      [X] Hire Ewald Köppen.
      [X] See about reducing the drag on the plane. Get newer, less ragged parts in.
      [X] Get Arren some training with that rifle of his.
      [X] Train Arren as a gunner.
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Train Arren as an observer.
    [X] See about reducing the drag on the plane. Get newer, less ragged parts in.

    We have another pair of eyes and hands on the plane anyways, so we may as well make use of him.

    In the meantime, though, drag is the easiest plane penalty for us to mitigate. And penalty mitigation is important to staying alive.
     
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