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
    • The whole "do we want the bastard offspring of the SS and Boko Haram in our party" problem is why I voted for pointing him towards the mechanics. It offloads him in a way that has a decent chance of letting him reintegrate into society, rather getting forked between the inevitable disaster of forcing Wulf to work with him or murdering a child soldier we've already taken prisoner.
     
    [X] Point him towards the mechanics working at the hanger.


    On lighter topics:

    open_sketchbook said:
    A few minutes later, you staggered out. Arren back at the bar getting food, and you sat back down in a sort of daze.

    "You okay, little fish?" Wulf asked.

    "Um. Wulf. I have some questions." You said, your voice coming out very small.

    "Oh. Yeah." She said. "Question away."

    "Is it a magic thing?" You asked. "Like, did you inheret it from your wolf-dad?"

    "Weeell... I mean, no, but I guess, kinda yeah? But no. Not magic."

    "Okay. Next question. You are a girl, right?"
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    open_sketchbook said:
    "Uh huh."
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    QQ omake when? :p


    On a more serious lighter topic, would Water magic be suitable to do body modifications? Like, removing scars and tatoos, healing injuries/missing eyes, reassignment surgery? Or would we need Blood magic for that?
     
    open_sketchbook said:
    When you cast a spell, you target something with it, pick one of your Bonds, and roll +Wild. On a success, you can choose an effect from the Bond's element and have it happen; for Water, that's "bridge a gap of understanding", "restore life or movement", and "induce sympathy". On a partial success, this also transfers one of the effects of the target's nature to you or your Bond, GM's choice. On a miss, I get mean.

    The two special Bonds are Metal and Blood. Blood is cast from yourself and your family as a focus. As a Witch, Wulf can also cast it using her lovers, just FYI. Blood has really powerful effects for healing destruction, or insight, but its also by nature dangerous because you are always the focus. Metal is anything made by industry, especially planes and guns and stuff. Metal can't be used as a Bond, it can only be a target, and metal does terrible, terrible things to stuff. So be careful about casting spells on aircraft, weapons, or the products of industry, it can rebound on you hard.
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    Water and blood magic can both do healing. Can't remember what the others want.

    Seeing as Wulf is an experienced witch though, the very fact that she hasn't put back her eye may indicate she doesn't want it to be back.
     
    can’t be a dog if ur a wolf
  • Informational
    • the healing of water magic is subtle and gradual. the healing of blood magic is dramatic. but blood magic is dangerous as all get out. wulf has only done it a handful of times, and her first advice to Isa was "don't ever bargain in your blood" for a reason.

    water might remove a tattoo though. she wouldn't know. wulf works in fire and earth.

    wulf has... a lot of mixed feelings about her body, and her life. she's the egotistical ball of maniac energy she is because her natural reaction to discomfort is confrontation and defiance. she can't feel bad about her body if she's the hottest air pirate in the skies! she can't be mad about her eye if the eyepatch makes her look like a badass! she can't be hurt by her past if she doesn't care!

    she can't be a dog if she's a wolf

    i didn't intent any of this, lol. she was literally just going to be a villain so minor i gave her a cliche nickname instead of an actual one. but now i love her

    Gnarker said:
    QQ omake when? :p
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    ... a few updates back there is a link to the first ever erotic fiction i ever wrote thanks to this quest. and it's het. i love these three idiots and i hope they have a good time, and if inspiration strikes ummm...

    well, you couldn't pay me to post on QQ, but this forum actually has some pretty lenient rules about that kind of content. i'll always have it behind a link or spoiler button, but...
     
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  • Informational
    • veekie said:
    So...go aztec? Use another's?
    Maybe a fluffy bunny?
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    blood doesn't mean like, blood like blood sacrifice. blood means family

    if wulf used you as a focus, she'd cast water magic. if she used Arren, i think probably earth. if you used wulf as a focus you'd get fire.

    blood is yourself, your children, your siblings, and your lovers. that's it

    (one of the starting "items" a witch can start with is a child. ponder that)
     
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    open_sketchbook said:
    if she used Arren, i think probably earth. if you used wulf as a focus you'd get fire.
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    What do these two do? We know water, metal and blood, but I don't think you really mentioned these two.

    open_sketchbook said:
    the healing of water magic is subtle and gradual. the healing of blood magic is dramatic. but blood magic is dangerous as all get out. wulf has only done it a handful of times, and her first advice to Isa was "don't ever bargain in your blood" for a reason.
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    That was about Fae though, no?

    Anyway, I guess that's an option then, I guess. I suppose you could also ask the Deep Ones beneath the Sea. Maybe they can lend an eye. You can even keep the eyepatch for dramatic effect.
     
    10ebbor10 said:
    What do these two do? We know water, metal and blood, but I don't think you really mentioned these two.


    That was about Fae though, no?

    Anyway, I guess that's an option then, I guess. I suppose you could also ask the Deep Ones beneath the Sea. Maybe they can lend an eye. You can even keep the eyepatch for dramatic effect.
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    earth is mostly about stopping, grounding, and growing. air is about motion, movement, and flight. fire is destruction and anger.

    the fae, magic, same continuity of things. similar consequences. all magic is cutting a deal.

    you don't really want the deep ones trying to help you with a body. not even the ones who understand the idea of consistent physical forms.

    "how many legs? it's eight, right?"

     
    open_sketchbook said:
    earth is mostly about stopping, grounding, and growing. air is about motion, movement, and flight. fire is destruction and anger.

    the fae, magic, same continuity of things. similar consequences. all magic is cutting a deal.

    you don't really want the deep ones trying to help you with a body. not even the ones who understand the idea of consistent physical forms.

    "how many legs? it's eight, right?"
    Click to expand...
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    But being turned into a shoggoth would be an upgrade from our current meatbag form! Like, if Isa fell out of her plane from a thousand metres up and got turned into squishy paste, she'd be able to put herself back together afterwards and even look mostly the same as before.

    The deep ones don't understand why people get so upset about their gifts; they're just trying to improve on the many flaws the human body has, like "not enough tentacles" or "too many vital organs that they lack backups for".
     
    5-16: Back to Normal
  • Threadmarks
    • Of all people, Wulf had given you a way out. She had told you earlier that the man who had once run her gang, the closest thing she ever had to a father, was the head mechanic at the hangers, having retired there two years ago (Wulf had more or less taken charge at that point, despite being just 18, on the dint of force of personality). He knew everything that Wulf had gone through.

    "I think I can get you a job at the hangers." You explained. "Working on planes for travelers. They'll pay you for it. Would you like that?"

    He nodded.

    "Do you think you can walk?"

    He nodded again, so you helped him up and guided him down to the hangers, the whole way doing your best to give him a crash course on... everything, really.

    "So this Mr. Steinhäuser is going to be my new commander?"

    "No, Wexler. If you get the job, he's just going to be your boss." You said.

    "What's the difference?"

    "You only have to do what he says for part of the day." You said.

    "What do I do with the rest of my day?" He asked.

    "Whatever you want. Um, as long as you follow the laws of the town."

    "Oh. What are the laws?"

    "Well, a good starting point is: Don't take anything that isn't yours, don't go into people's houses unless they invite you, don't touch anyone without their permission, and don't hurt anyone." You said. "If you do, those guys..." You pointed to a pair of the town watchmen, standing at the end of the road smoking and talking "... will come punish you. But other than that, you can probably do whatever."

    'Whatever' was a possibility space simply too big for Wexler to comprehend. He kinda just stood silently for a moment.

    "What makes you think Joachim's gonna take in this little lost Goth, huh Isa?"
    ​
    Wulf's voice echoed through your head, mocking. He took you in, remember? you thought.
    ​
    "Fucking ouch. I walked into that one."
    ​
    Mind if I impersonate you for a bit?
    ​
    "Ha! Go ahead. Just don't embarrass me in front of Joachim, okay?"
    ​
    You arrived at the airfield and made your way to the office. Joachim Steinhäuser was a man maybe in his late twenties, handsome and rugged, missing a hand at the wrist. When you entered, he stood up and beamed

    "Wulf! How are you!"

    "Um, you know. Awesome." You gave a weak thumbs up. "Doing super as usual!"

    "Glad to hear it. Who's the kid?"

    Wexler had almost immediately retreated to one of the back corners of the office, and was averting his eyes, but the moment Mr. Steinhäuser took notice of him, he snapped to attention. You knew with his injuries, that couldn't be comfortable.

    "This is, um, Wexler. We pulled him out of the Goth base. He's like me, he was just in longer." You explained. A lot longer. "He's... a mess, but he's a good mechanic, and he wants to work."

    Mr. Steinhäuser nodded slowly. "You want me to help him."

    "Yeah?" You said, putting on your best Wulf gesticulations. "If that's cool?"

    "Hmm. Son, do you know your way around a Bischof D.8 engine?" He asked.

    "Yes sir! A and B models, sir!" Wexler replied at a near shout.

    "Alright, cut out the sir shit and sit down. Let's talk."

    Mr. Steinhäuser nodded to you, and you took your leave.

    ---


    By the clocktower in the center of town, you'd ended up spending four hours and a half hours talking with Wexler. It was late afternoon now. Time to head back and get back in your proper body.
    ​
    "I'm waiting in my room. I have everything we need."
    ​
    You walked up the steps, simply exhausted. You hoped whatever process would get you switched back would be less exhausting than hours-long talks with a child soldier.

    You pushed the door open onto possibly the most cursed thing you'd ever seen. Wulf was there, in your body, lying seductively on the bed. She (you) seemed to have worked some healing magic: the bruises on your face were gone, and she wasn't wearing a bandage anymore. Instead, she (you) were wearing a red and black drindl, save that it was cut absurdly short and with a much too extreme neckline. The material was sheer enough that you could see the glow of your tattoos through it, and there were matching stockings.

    "What the actual fuck are you wearing." You said, overwhelmed.

    "You like it?" She said, smiling seductively. "It's very you."

    "Wulf, this is a defilement. You stop that right now!" You said, and she laughed. "And furthermore, where the hell did you get that?"

    "I know everyone in the village!." She waved a hand at you dismissively. "Lisa's husband's sister is the seamstress and I put in a rush order and when I told her what it was for she just about lost it."

    Well... fair play, you supposed. "So, while you were doing all this, did you actually bother to get ready to switch back?"

    "Yeah, of course, come on! I just dropped off some of your clothes with Martina for measurements. I got everything we need." She said.

    "Well, come on then." You said. "Let's get to it."

    "Wait!" She said. "Before we do..." She rolled off the bed and to you, leaning in close. "Last chance for an out of body experience..."

    Your palm connected with your face at speed.

    "Awww, come on." She said.

    "... fine." You said, exasperated. "What the fuck is my life..."

    "Fun?" Wulf replied.

    ---

    Things didn't get very far. It turned out to be too weird even for Wulf. After about a minute of hesitant makeouts, you were now just lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

    "Okay, I've officially found my limit, I guess." She said. "This is where I draw the line."

    "Let's switch back." You said.

    "Okay."

    You pushed the bed to the side of the room, and Wulf drew an outline on the floor with chalk. The materials turned out to be a bunch of weird rocks, crystals, and leaves. Wulf explained the symbolic nature behind each one, being related to mind, identity, stability, and so forth, and how she'd arrange them in a resonant manner.

    "Is this actually something that happens frequently enough that there's a ritual for it?" You asked.

    "Fuck no. I'm just winging it. That's the thing about magic though, it cares a lot more about intent and symbols than it does about consistency. Now lie here, and don't move." You did, and she balanced one of the crystals on your forehead, the she lay opposite of you in the circle and did the same.

    "Okay, count of three, alright? Close your eyes and think about being back in your bod. One, two..."

    She snapped her fingers.

    You waited a few more seconds. No Wulf voice in your head, just the whispers. No discomfort from awkwardly lying on a tail, no weird smells. Pain and discomfort, but a lot less than before. You put it down to a combination of Wulf's magic and her tea.

    You opened your eyes. The ceiling was oriented the other way. You sat up and looked at your hands. Grey, arms swirled with tattoos.

    Back to being you.

    "Wulf, you good?"

    Beside you, Wulf sat up as well. "Urgh. Yeah. I'm alive."

    You reached over and hugged her. "You gonna be okay?"

    "I'll live." She replied. "Thanks."

    You stayed like that a while, just holding her. You'd both gotten a hell of a view into each other's worlds over the last day.

    There was a knock on the door. "It's Arren! You back to being yourselves yet?"

    "We are!" Wulf said, and she helped you to your feet. There was suddenly a devilish look on her face. Oh no.

    "Come on in, Arren!" She cried, before you could stop her.

    The door swung open, and Arren walked in. "I just wanted to-" He stopped, staring at you with wide eyes, mouth agape. "Whoa. Uuuhhh... Hi Isa. Nice... dress."

    ---

    You shooed Arren out of the room and changed back into something more reasonable, and met the two of them downstairs for drinks. Outside, the sun was setting, the cargo plane thundering back in. Wexler came back in that evening wearing a hand me down shirt, already oil-stained, and waved at Wulf as he past. Wulf tried her best to hide behind her stein.

    "Okay folks, what's the plan?" She said, the moment he was gone.

    "Well, we should probably go back to Irma and get paid." Arren said. "That'll be something good for tomorrow."

    "That sounds right. Want me along for the trip?" Wulf asked.

    "Sure!" You said. "We could probably do some shopping down there too."

    "Forty thaler... I haven't had that much cash in like, a year a least." Wulf said.

    "I haven't had that much cash ever." You replied.

    "We should... probably work out how we're going to spend it. Instead of just impulse buying whatever looks cool." Arren said, taking out a sheet of paper and a pencil. "What do we need?"

    "Boooo." Wulf said, but she smiled. "You need to get that crate of yours repainted. That thing should be an advertisement for you, it shouldn't look like you just stole it."

    Arren wrote that down. "Okay, what else?"
    ​
    Shopping Trip!
    [ ] Write In: Hireling
    [ ] Write In: Plane Upgrades
    [ ] Write In: Items

    Paint Scheme
    [ ] Write In How You Want To Paint The Plane!

    I don't want to give you stats or lists. I want you guys to tell me what you want, so if it doesn't exist I can make it exist. We'll have a chance to confirm purchases later when you're about to buy, with prices attached.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • So...
    Once we get a prisoner who we want to be dead and badly so, may we by the way of water magic impress upon him knowledge of magic and an overwhelming desire to heal Wulf, even at the cost of his own life?
     
    [X] Plan Shark
    -[X] Write In: Plane Upgrades
    --[X] New paint job
    ---[X] Paint it a teal greenish color and give it eyes and a mouth full of shark teeth up front. Put a series of three red slashes around the body of the airplane somewhere between the tail and Arren's observer seat. Get your kills painted onto the plane underneath the cockpit.
    --[X] See if the plane can handle a ring mount and a light machine gun for Arren so he's not stuck with only the rifle. If not, maybe get some mounting points for the rifle installed instead to give him a more stable firing platform.
    --[X] Tune up the engine for MORE POWER
    -[X] Items
    --[X] A shoulder holster for your new pistol
    --[X] Parachutes for you and Arren (Just in case). And Wulf if she wants one.
    --[X] Matching flying scarves for the whole Circus
    --[X] Matching flight jackets for the whole Circus!
    --[X] Secretly buy something nice for both Wulf and Arren. They deserve nice things.
    -[X] Hirelings
    --[X] See if you can find that Minna girl. She at least has nice new equipment and the right attitude.


    I'm open to additions or modifications. This is just everything that came to mind for me right away.
     
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    Artificial Girl said:
    I'm open to additions or modifications. This is just everything that came to mind for me right away.
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    Maybe make the parachute as a bit more of a "not sure if you need this" sort of thing - Howl's a helicopter, and unlike the Mi-24 and such, it doesn't have explosive rotor bolts as far as I know, so trying to bail out is just as likely to get Wulf shredded by the rotors as it is to work.
     
    One neat thing is that we're in a village which has currently just exploited major source of parts and newish technology. While it's still not going to be cheap, it should be relatively more affordable to buy advanced technological stuff now.
     
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