Yeah you read that right, there's two parts to this update. The second part is me asking your opinion on how the quest is run. As you can see, I'm involving increasingly more dice rolls as we transition from the prologue to the quest proper. Do you guys prefer the more narrative style quest we had before, or do you want a more rules heavy one? If you prefer rules heavy, do you want me to make the rolls as I write or crowdsource the rolls?
[] Narrative Style quest - Success has less reliance on RNG and more on your decisions.
[] Rules based quest - Uses RNG and stats for stats, with good decisions being rewarded with modifiers.
- [] I make the rolls as I write.
- [] I crowdsource the rolls.
The second part of this vote is concerning Inspector Colt. Do you guys want him to be a reoccurring playable character as he investigates the moles in the PRT and discovers why Coil is so interested in Taylor? If you do, his name will be recursively changed to Hayden Tenno as he will be more important to the storyline.
[] Make Colt/Tenno a playable character.
[] Leave him as a background character
That... is not a good idea. Remember that this is Brockton Bay and the word Tenno is Japanese for 'heavenly sovereign' and occupies about the same place in pre-WW2 Japanese language that 'Christ' does in English. Lung would not allow a Caucasian with that name to live in his city - or live at all really - let alone work against him in the
Adhoc vote count started by Cryptix on Mar 10, 2018 at 11:44 AM, finished with 9 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Find another way, the Technocyte is too flawed for use on a living warframe (Requires INT test).
[X] Narrative Style quest - Success has less reliance on RNG and more on your decisions.
[X] Leave him as a background character
-[X] With non controlled interludes.
[X] Find another way, the Technocyte is too flawed for use on a living warframe (Requires INT test).
[X] Narrative Style quest - Success has less reliance on RNG and more on your decisions.
[X] Leave him as a background character
[X] Find another way, the Technocyte is too flawed for use on a living warframe (Requires INT test).
[X] Rules based quest - Uses RNG and stats for stats, with good decisions being rewarded with modifiers.
-[X] I make the rolls as I write.
[X] Leave him as a background character
-[X] With non controlled interludes.
Sighing, you put away the vial of technocyte. It's not ready yet - you'll do this by yourself. Even if Harrow is a complex, nearly eldritch piece of machinery, he's still one of your Warframes. You lay out the needed tools but before you can begin, a knock on the door calls you away from the patient - answering it reveals the intruder to be none other than Armsmaster, standing stiff and the tall in front of the door. His massive bulk makes you feel slightly insignificant and self conscious and you stand before his cold stare for a moment until he says, "Madame has settled in and wishes to see you. Come with me."
You walk side by side the older parahuman down the hallway, with him holding your wrist and the two of you being flanked on either side by PRT officers armed with containment foam sprayers. You're beginning to feel a bit caged in, not helped by your claustrophobia. Your levels of stress are skyrocketing when a friendly face comes into view exiting from a room on the side of the hallway - the PRT sergeant that was on the courier job. You wave him down, and when he notices you his face transitions from recognition to rage, strangely enough, until settling on concern. He confronts the small convoy, coming face-to-chin with Armsmaster. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you taking the ti-Taylor that she seems terrified out of mind?" You feel a bit of indignation at being made a victim but keep quiet.
Armsmaster looks down his visor at the officer, which you're beginning to recognize as a habit for the hero. "Inspector Colt, I'd advise you take care of your own affairs before meddling in that of others. I'm sure you have other more important places to be." You follow the parahuman's gaze to the cardboard box in Colt's hands - you didn't even think that he would get in trouble for the convoy incident in all the commotion, but you hope you didn't inadvertently get the man fired. And yet that explanation didn't fit the situation, since Inspector would mean he had been promoted from his old job, and the officer's face looked like he was staring at utter filth.
The conflict is interrupted by Ms. Militia exiting the room to your left. She takes one look at the situation and steps aside, pointing a finger at the conference room. You follow her instructions immediately and close the door while the two heroes move to somewhere where the female parahuman's verbal beatdown wouldn't be so easily heard, leaving Colt alone in the hallway. The former sergeant grumbled and continued moving his things to his new office in the West Wing.
Once you close the door you are greeted by a dark room with a strange kind of music playing in the background. A thick bass reverbs through the floor and the sound of a choir stirs the clouds of incense in the air. You shift towards the only furniture in the room, a plain table and office chair with the censers and speakers producing the aforementioned effects underneath it.
Your inspection of the objects prevents you from noticing the screen that was wheeled in until it flashes on with a blue symbol. "Good afternoon Taylor," the television begins, it words causing the symbol to pulse. "I am the parahuman known as the Madame, though I prefer my name from the homeland, Sudanyoi. Apologies for the separation, but the master component of my powers would interfere with the thinker component if I was in the same room as you. These circumstances are hardly ideal for my work, but it was all I could do with the limited time I had to prepare. Now please, sit in the chair and relax."
You do as the voice says, getting comfy as you somehow have the feeling this will take a while. "Taylor, close your eyes, let your other senses roam. Feel the beat of the music, hear the voices sing in a rising crescendo, let the incense flow through your body." she commands, and her voice is alluring indeed, like a succubus luring you into a deep slumber. "I need you to remember all the days since you triggered, Think of everyone you've interacted with, everything you've touched or seen - what stands out to you?" Your subconscious races as you scatter your memory in search of what she wants. "I-I remember…fighting something. I was in a battle for survival, but not for my sake - for something far greater." you begin. The parahuman on the other end of the connection urges you on; "Go on, tell me more. What were you fighting about? How did you fight back?"
[]I engaged the enemy relentlessly, like nature unleashed.
[]I countered the enemy at all times, nullifying any advance they made.
[]I planned my attacks carefully, staying one step ahead of the enemy at all times.
[]I outlasted them through sheer force of will - they could not break me no matter what they tried.
[]I controlled the enemy effortlessly, making them waste away while I grew ever stronger.
Adhoc vote count started by Cryptix on Mar 16, 2018 at 9:37 AM, finished with 14 posts and 13 votes.
[X] I planned my attacks carefully, staying one step ahead of the enemy at all times.
[X] I planned my attacks carefully, staying one step ahead of the enemy at all times.
[X]I outlasted them through sheer force of will - they could not break me no matter what they tried
[X] I planned my attacks carefully, staying one step ahead of the enemy at all times.
[X]I outlasted them through sheer force of will - they could not break me no matter what they tried
"Very interesting. Can you elaborate?" Sudanyoi's voice, even if butchered by the process of digitization process is still absolutely sub73 75 62 6c 69 6d 65 2e 20 49 74 20 6d 61 6b 65 73 20 79 6f 75 72 20 68 65 61 72 74 20 73 6f 61 72 20 61 6e 64 20 79 6f 75 72 20 74 69 6e 6b 65 72 20 73 68 61 72 64 20 6d 61 6c 66 75 6e 63 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 61 20 6c 69 74 74 6c 65 20 62 69 74 2c 20 73 63 72 61 6d 62 6c 69 6e 67 20 79 6f 75 72 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 74 73 20 61 73 20 79 6f 75 20 64 65 73 63 65 6e 64 20 69 6e 74 6f-
"Taylor, focus! I need you attentive. Ignore the sound of my voice and listen to what I'm saying." All of a sudden you snap out of your stupor and reawaken to the dark room again, still alone except for the television. "Thank goodness, I thought I had lost you. Now, tell me more about the man you were fighting. Did he look like anyone you recognized? Anyone who might want to hurt you?" You shake your head, followed by a firm verbal negative. "I couldn't see them that well, but there was only one person it could be...myself."
"Very interesting. Give me one moment." The symbol on the screen blinks out of existence and the music stops. You find yourself slightly sorrowful that the experience is over. Suddenly, the door to the outside opens, blinding you with the light of the outside world. You recover quickly, and exit the room to where your father is waiting outside."
___
You are Ms. Militia, and you are in a room with Armsmaster waiting for Madame to exit her session with Taylor. Looking through the transparent mirror, you see Taylor in a trance as she listens to the Madame's instructions. Suddenly, the "End Meeting" light on the console blinks - you look on the other side of the partition in the room, where Madame is looking up at the control center and is shaking her head at you even as she rolls out of the meeting room.
It takes a few minutes for the disabled elevator to reach it, but eventually the parahuman makes it to your location. Out of respect you try to avoid staring at the ruined form of the parahuman - the several mismatching skin grafts, the metal plates inserted in her skull, and the thin and limp nature of her legs made her look like she had been in a car accident, and that wasn't too far from the truth. The car bomb that ended her acting career with an explosion also began her parahuman career, leaving only her singing voice intact.
She begins to speak, turning her motorized wheelchair to face you. "I highly doubt Taylor has been under the effects of a parahuman master power. If anything, her susceptibility to my power makes it unlikely she had any recent encounters with a master, since it's less effective against those currently under the effects of mind alterations. As a side note, please make sure she signs a non-disclosure agreement - I doubt she's ever heard of me, but the Taliban's spies are everywhere. Just to be safe, I don't want her talking." You nod in agreement, saying "I'll get her to do it later, when she's recovered more. Right now, we're sending her to power testing to take her mind off of it." The parahuman nodded her head as best as she could. "Good. Best to have some physical exercise after being exposed to my music."
___
You are Taylor Herbert, and you just finished having a physical with a PRT physician as part of your power testing. As far as either of you could tell, you haven't had any physical changes in your body.
Now, you sit on a bench in front of an obstacle course of some sort in a PRT-issued sweatshirt and pants while waiting for your examiner. The door to your left opens, allowing several officials with clipboards and pens, Ms. Militia, Armsmaster, and your father to enter a protected room. Armsmaster is the first to speak once everyone is settled in. Using a microphone, he says "Good afternoon Taylor. We know you've had a long day, so we'll try and keep this short for you. Before we begin the physical test, we're going to need to ask you some questions. Do you understand?" You nod your head to agreement. "Right now, we have you on file as a Tinker 5. Your only noted power is a tinker specialization in advanced robotics and weaponry. Do you have any other powers you'd like to declare before we begin the testing?"
Here's the moment of truth - You've tried to avoid using void energy nearby other people for this very reason, to conceal your other power until you can know more about it. Right now all you can do is produce the energy and normally you would have just answered no to this question, but in the trance like state you had earlier you saw yourself using the void energy for so much more. You could fire a beam and emit a radial blast from your hands, become intangible and leap across dimensions for a short period of time, and emit a powerful beam of energy from your chest. If you can learn to use void energy in this matter, it would only be a matter of time until someone found out about it, and you could get in trouble for revealing it. What will you do?
[]Reveal your command of void energy, despite not knowing much about it.
[]Lie and conceal the power as best as you can, despite the fact it may hinder your growth.
[]Mention that you have another power but ask to keep it hidden for now - best to take the middle road.
As the threadmark says, I've now mostly recovered my accidental eye dilation and today the doctor cleared me for longtime computer usage. I'm planning to have the next chapter covering part 1 of saya's vigil out by tomorrow, friday latest, and then update third dream by friday and small problem by next monday.
You resist the urge to stare at your feet. "Your information...isn't exactly up to date." you hesitantly announce. "I have a minor sub-power...but I'd rather keep it under wraps if that's quite alright?" The PRT officials in the recessed observation room seemed to discuss among themselves before one of them stepped forward, motioning for Armsmaster to give her command of the microphone. The hero bent the stalk of the device towards the official, and she simply responded, "We'll mark it down on your records for now, but we expect that if anything changes, you'll inform the PRT." You nod in response, and she passes the microphone back to Armsmaster.
`In control once more, Armsmaster begins the test. A recessed bunker door extrudes itself from the wall before its circular lock rotates and the seal opens. "This is a timed obstacle course designed to test your agility and ability to operate under pressure. You have 5 minutes to progress through a series of 3 obstacles of your choice - choose wisely based on your abilities and how much time you can afford to lose. Good luck."
You enter the technological maze at a brisk pace. Almost immediately, a tinker drone descends from a charging port on the ceiling and starts displaying your remaining time. It hovers just out of your peripheral vision and its engines are quiet so as not to distract you, but you can turn your head to see at a glance how much time you have left.
Soon enough you reach the first junction of the course. To the left is a hallway of cylinders that drop and rise at seemingly random intervals. The puzzle is mercifully short, but it seems to have been designed for thinkers or movers who could figure out a fast way through.
To the right is a much easier, but longer route. In the middle of the hall is a wide hole about 10 feet deep with blue rubber cushioning at the bottom. Attached to the wall on either side are foot and handrests - A horizontal wall traversal.
Which path will you take?
[]The moving cylinders ability obstacle (Requires MEDIUM skill, takes 25 seconds).
[]The horizontal climb (Requires LOW skill, takes 50 seconds).
You choose the path to the right. Grabbing the first of the handholds, you steadily make your way across the wall. Hand over hand, you move as quickly as you can across the obstacle.
You're almost three-fourths of the way through the wall course when disaster strikes. Your foot slips misses the handhold you were reaching for and for a terrifying moment you're left with only 3 handholds and beginning to lose strength in your arms. At last, your foot finds another place to rest, but that cost you a few precious seconds.
(1st obstacle down in 56 seconds. 4:04 left)
Once you reach the gate on the other side, it lights up a bright green to indicate you've successfully completed your first obstacle. A short jog away, the path splits into 3 divergent paths. To the left, a tiled pathway seems safe, but you see that one of the panels is slightly askew. Most likely there is some sort of pattern to which tiles aren't solid, but it will be costly to attempt to figure it out.
In the middle pathway, the way through isn't even visible because of a locked door. The locking mechanism appears to be some kind of puzzle that needs to be assembled in order to unlock the hatches. Even now, your tinker instincts are pondering how to solve the puzzle.
Finally, on the right is a branching maze of sorts. Thick tall walls are set in place, likely to have brute proofed. Strangely, each wall has a portion that has been removed and replaced by a window. If you can manage to find a window to the exit, it should be a simple enough matter to figure a way out, but that requires time.
Which path you will go through?
[]The falling tiles pathway (HIGH skill, takes 45 seconds)
[]The locked door pathway (MEDIUM skill, takes 1:00 seconds)
[]The maze pathway (MEDIUM skill, takes 1:30 with a chance to takes 45 seconds)
