File: 1350496773210.jpg-(1.45 MB, 1600x1162, Villain Quest Gang Map 3.jpg)

THIS QUEST IS NEWBIE FRIENDLY

This plot summary:

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Plot_Summary

Will get you caught up without having to read the archives, though for those interested in the long version, the archive can be found here:

>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=super%20villain%20quest

It's also worth noting that the map is now out of date, as the Goblin Gang has been swallowed up by the Iron Guard and the Ronin. It'd be cool if someone could make a new one.

Other helpful wiki pages:

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/The_Iron_Guard

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Master%27s_Mechanized_Army

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Active_Events

THE IRON MASTER
Health: 6 (8)
Power: 7 (21)

Athletics: 7
Cunning: 3
Technology: 4
Insight: 2
Observation: 3
Nefariousness: 2
Stealth: 4

Powers: Super Strength, Super Speed, Peak Durability, AI, SynthSkin, Model T, Mobile Dolls, Ghost Whisperer, Deathless

>Link to rules (including powers list): http://pastebin.com/jgDrRens

Action Points:

The Iron Master: 0/2
Julio Pedone: 0/3
Rica Rivera: 1/2

Resources: 19
XP: 0

When we last left off, Mesmer was scanning Julio, who is (according to Mesmer) being less than honest with you at the moment. There's been some physical evidence turned up as well: You've discovered a crystal spike which Mesmer detected in Julio's thoughts, but which he never mentioned and insists he hasn't seen before. Mesmer is increasingly agitated and nervous.

what is our insightful mech saying?

>>21165796

All the insightful mech can say for sure is that Julio is hiding something. Insight isn't telepathy, after all.

>>21165811
What about mesmer? Any indication that he is lying?

>>21165846

About the knife? Yes. Mesmer says that it was given to him by Lily during their conversation. Apparently it's going to be useful to him later on, but she didn't say exactly how.

>>21166023
Wait, so is mesmer telling the truth? Or is he (mesmer) lying/concealing something? Julio mentioned that Jill "said a bunch of cryptic bullshit" ask him what that bullshit is. He should think of it.

>>21166143

That conversation is from the thread I forgot to archive, so now we get to do this in super realistic mode where I actually try to remember the details of something that happened a while ago. It's anyone's guess what the exact canonical conversation was.

"Just something about the money being 'life insurance' and how I still had a part to play in things. I already told you about this."

"There's something else," Mesmer says, "she said that spike would be important for keeping him safe."

The mech checks Mesmer's answers now, and it does indeed appear that he's hiding something.

>>21166232
"what aren't you telling me mesmer?"

>>21166281

"If you asked me that question every time I didn't tell you what was on my mind we'd never get through a conversation," Mesmer says, irate, "besides, as the only person who's yet managed to keep their thoughts hidden from me it's hardly fair that you demand I yield my secrets to you."

>>21166232
WELL now that everyone is lying to me, or at least holding something back from me, can we get someone with magic to tell me what the fuck the crystal spike does?

>>21166339

Did you have anyone in particular in mind?

>>21166410
1)uhhhh, who's available 2)Whispers contact is in another city, doubt White Mage is willing to help, dont suppose we could ring up the Magician send him a few pictures?

>>21166410
Also, start doing a image search on the runes

>>21166480

Contacting supers from other cities is generally pretty tricky, particularly if they're Team Red, since they can't just have their number listed in the phonebook.

An image search doesn't turn up anything. Magic types tend to be very secretive and avoid using technology. Most magical knowledge is stored in private libraries, usually in another world.

>>21166563
huh, well anyway send Whisper a couple images of the runes and the dagger itself and ask him/her/other gender neutral pronoun what information we can get about this thing
also>>21166334
"I'm not trying to pry and figure out how to game you, I'm just wondering if that someone has their fingers in his head...besides you"

Is there seriously just one person left in my quest? Meh. Hopefully I can rebuild, we're only halfway through.

>>21166664

"If there were I would have said as much," Mesmer says, "as far as I can tell, he's just lying."

Naturally, Whisper isn't getting anything done for free. He demands four resources for the information.

>>21166724
Four resources is fine

also since it looks like I missed a thread, who in the FUCK is Jill, and why does this sound like Asreal has a cult?

>>21166791

"Jill" is a nickname for a girl named Lily who saved Julio from being murdered by Dead Eye, had her buddy Jack remove all the mics on her person, and then had a mysterious conversation with him. Finding out exactly what they were talking about is what we're getting at right now.

Since Lily and Jack demonstrate mysterious stealth capabilities and dress in white, we're assuming they work with Asrael, who has a similar aesthetic and abilities.

>>21166817
huh, well time for the shotgunning approach(no I'm not saying shoot him)
"Julio, what did she tell you, we're not accusing I'm worried that some cult popped just tried to recruit you, and threatened your family, or us"

>>21166724

I just got here, it seems I always arrive just when you are leaving.

Just tell Julio that you have Mesmer and your mechs saying that he's lying, and the knife to back up that claim. Tell him we can't take risks right now.

If he denies it again, ask him if he would be comfortable staying in a cell until we deal with Asrael.

>>21166949

"Boss, I already told you everything they told me," Julio says, "my family never did shit for me, and I'm not gonna back down just 'cause someone threatens to kill me, people do that all the time."

>>21166971

Julio denies it again and suggests that the knife may have been planted. That's something of a stretch: Asrael (or whoever) would have to know which room he went to and then hide the spike there without being spotted. Granted he has mystery stealth powers, but if he could slip in and out of heavily guarded safehouses on a whim, he'd probably be a lot more active than he is. Julio is reluctant, but eventually says "sure, boss, if it'll make you happy I'll stay wherever you like."

>>21167069

"Thanks Julio, I'm sorry for doing this but I can't let my guard down. We'll have some bots to cover you in until it's safe again."

We should deal with Asrael as soon as possible, is there an event for it?

Also, was he team black? It could be much easier to get rid of him forever.

>>21167069
hate missing threads,
"Mesmer, is someone messing with his head when we bring up the dagger, or does he know and he's actually lying to us?"

>>21166724
There is more than one person in your quest TM, alough readership has dropped off a bit I blame a few things:
1. No real enemy to hold ourself against. (Been mentioned before)
2. Glacial character developement. (See rica and jack. Kestral and us. Kestral and steve)
3. Near total lack of sexual tension. Let's face it, sex sells. Not saying you should go the brothal quest, or MSQ route in search of questers but I have seen Tg civ games with more sexual tension.

>>21167069
Just have Julio head home for a bit, We don't need him feeling threatened ESPECIALLY if she said to him that he would know when he had to use it. also ask Kestral if Team Blue has heard anything weird about Asrael lately, better yet have Steve do it and make it look like hes curious, not we told him to do something.

>>21167114

There's not really an event for it, in that I just decided to have Asrael start fucking with you so that you wouldn't completely steamroll every single Act II event. Basically, Asrael operates in a way that circumvents raw statistical power, which you have in excess right now.

That said, there is an Act III event for dealing with him entirely, so if you do manage to kill him, that would accomplish it early. And yes, he is Team Black.

>>21167123

"How should I know the difference between genuine thoughts and someone using powers to make it look like genuine thoughts?" Mesmer asks, "I've never even heard of something like that before. I look in his mind and I see him think one thing and then say the opposite, that's all I can tell you for sure."

>>21167158
it was just me for about and TM for about an hour, also trying to get some on screen time for Steve.

>>21167158

I agree on the first two points, but I think we're fine fine without a love interest, it keeps us focused on the important stuff.

>>21167158

1. Big problem with this is that nerfs are *also* unpopular and that's about the only way to get some major opposition going again. The Iron Master could take on Swordsman three times over right now, which is a problem for all kinds of reasons. Sooner or later the versatility of the mechs will have to be dialed back, but I'm trying not to nerf to pieces every really good build that gets made, otherwise my players will stop trying to actually use my rules at all, and then what do I even have them for? Omnus was meant to replace Swordsman/EdenTech as the main nemesis for Act II, but they don't have the stats to make it work against ten infinitely moddable mechs.

2. Players have made near zero effort to follow up on any of these, except occasionally mentioning that they should so...Something with Kestrel, but have never been able to make any suggestion as to what. I'd like to spend more time with characters too, but I'm not really getting a strong message that my players do.

3. Well. I'm not averse to adding some in. I even took a couple of stabs at it when the Cat was involved. I just suck at it, so I never went through with it.

>>21167158
I recall getting our shit slapped a few threads back by Chimera, so we do have an opponent, its just that they play the territory game like we are, so until we can FUCKING CRUSH THEM BENEATH OUT IRON BOOTS we just need to amass resources and get ready by taking down all the gangs and then crush Chimera

Yeah, I like how things are going with Chimera.

For now, though. You plan on doing anything else? Rica has the one action point left if you're done with Julio.

>>21167680
mmmm, have her see what the good Doctors are up to, location of lair, listen in on their conversations, if possible snatch one of their robots and look through their files.

>>21167298
We do what we can about #3, though the life of a super villain leaves less for free time to flirt, so the occasional compliment and kind gesture (see ambush of assault mechs on behemoth) is what we are able to do. Cat might take the nibble and insert herself closer to the I, though we cant very well ask her out on a data when assassins close on us.
Wait. We still have that Favor she owes us. And her debuffing/bad luck skills and stealth could work great against Dead Eye who has luck and sharpshooting. What happens when your coin always flips tails Dead Eye?
That or she swipes his mosin.

>>21167298
To be fair the last time we tried to explore Rica's character ark she told us to shut the fuck up. If you want a clever plan with Kestral there is always the old "get father arrested for reckless endangerment." Then just wait for Chimera to try to kidnap them from prison. We never did get Kestral's opinion on that plan.

>>21167991
Why dont we kidnap them both first, and use robot doubles to be arrested. Chimera comes to take the bait, and no risk.

>>21167851

Unfortunately with #3 the main problem is that I am just not good at writing any kind of romance or sexual tension.

>>21167816

They've got a bunch of projects going on; a Swordsman suit, some more iRobots, plus a generator which, while currently off, does look like something they're actively working on.

>>21167991

Well, yes. For two reasons: One, most of the people she used to know Rica will not flip out if you ask her about them, and two, "Jack" is just a really generic name and I didn't want you guys to go chasing a red herring.

ANYWAY, still think we to >>21167181
at least the Steve talking to Kestal part

>>21167991

Kestrel's opinion on that plan is that she would very much appreciate it if you'd leave her family out of your multi-step mastermind schemes. If even one thing goes wrong, one or both of those guys could end up wormfood.

>>21168153
How many more iRobots? Did they discuss who they were building the suit for? And was there any evidence of modifications? I'm of half a mind to try to recruit them, we're going to need a lot of SCIENCE! to make our Asgard plan come true. Lets get Kestral's advice for dealing with her dad.

>>21168153
was there any leftover data on project Omnus from when we raided the base in the sewers?

>>21168195
Point. Then what? Just play "wack a mole" for a while? Show up at their base and let them run away again?

>>21168256

Only about a dozen. It seems like it takes them a while to finish it. The suit was apparently intended for Amp, but he hasn't spoken with them in some time and they're not really sure what to do with it now. Rica couldn't see evidence on modifications, but she's not exactly an engineer.

Concerning Steve/Kestrel. I was writing a scene for them and realized something that's missing there. And I'm arbitrarily having Steve bring it up with you before that scene, to make it easier for me to write.

Steve needs to have *something* to do other than babysit/stalk Kestrel all the time. Not only is that really creepy, Kestrel is a super-active person; she is not going to have a ton of respect for a guy whose only job is to be extra nice to her. At the same time, she's also not going to be super attracted to a guy who gets upgraded to do the same thing she does. That says "little brother" not "boyfriend." Without something like that, it's very hard to imagine Steve not getting friendzoned hard (even though whatever it is he isn't doing probably won't much affect the conversation they'll be having).

>>21168434
Hard to say, mechanically he's a terminator and there is literally nothing he can do that can't be done with someone more expendable. I suppose we could have him run the legitimate business operation, but he's aesthetically a teenager. Maybe he runs that stuff behind the scenes? If we wanted to give him superpowers, it would be best to have a completely unique powerset and make him a genuine henchman. I wonder if Doctor Dueterand has a plan to make a robot superhero.

>>21168434
Kestrel is the only one outside our organization who knows that he is connected to us right?

How about making him play the role of the entrepreneur of one of our legitimate operations?
Steve's computer repair or something, also gives him a convenient alibi to be pretty much anywhere in the city when he needs to.
Hell imagine him getting a contract to repair some of the computers down at the local pd.

>>21168434
what would it take for him to be set up as hacker the Whisper for Team Blue? Does Team Blue have a Whisper? I was assuming that he did the maintenance for her suit

>>21168563

It wouldn't necessarily have to be something mechanically relevant, just some sort of actual job in your organization. Something which would ordinarily be run by Officer #4.

>>21168621

Whisper's main job is to facilitate communication between supers that are regularly working against each other. Team Blue is much more united and doesn't have any need for that sort of job.

>>21168601

Steve's connection to you is basically unknown to the world at large, yes.

>>21168601
Two problems:
1. He looks like a teenager.
2. He'd probably set off the police's metal detector.
>>21168621
I figured the office of the mayor served a similar function.

>>21168641
So have him either run or be the Head Technician at Droids Do, though it will be kinda weird that he doesn't appear to change, unless all of the employees are the robots we sell......

>>21168780

Well, Steve's appearance is very flexible. You could synthskin him as a 60 year old man on a whim. Or a 60 year old woman. I have to duck out unexpectedly for a bit, however I will hopefully be back in at around 20:00. Usually these things always seem to take longer than I anticipate, however...

This seems to be happening at the most inopportune times lately. This thread was just starting to pick up steam.

>>21168917
Consider a twitter, or a steam group that people can follow for when threads go up as well.

>>21168680
1) Not a major problem as OP stated we could easily change his appearance.
2) That would be a problem. OP is it possible to make a robot out of ceramics/plastics/other material which does not set off metal detectors?
Alternatively forge medical records that state that he's got a metal implant in his leg or something.
"Sorry officer this happens all the time, I have an implant holding my knee together after an unfortunate snowboarding accident. Feel free to search me if you are concerned about weapons and such."

I vote we syth him up as a 30-40 year old head of our legitimate buisness empire.

>>21169684
Well problem of that is Steve is a romantic interest to Kestral so his age in look cant be too high, we need to bump him at least to 22ish baby faced wonderchild fresh out of college.

Whether we use Steve or not I still think we should set up some sort of Geek-squad equivalent. The sheer number of computers we can access that way is enormous and could prove to be a great asset.

Will that took way the Hell longer than I thought it would. With a D&D game right around the corner I've only got 40 minutes, so unfortunately it looks like this is another microthread. Archived here:

>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21165665/

>>21169042

This is a good idea, especially since my ability to stay on schedule is so poor lately. All decent variations on "the Iron Master" were taken and "SuperVillainQuest" wouldn't fit, so I took the name that I used for the rap battle thread: My official twitter handle for quests is @MCJohnnyQuest. I cannot into Twitter, so I'm not sure how to post a helpful link or whatever.

>>21169745

Synthskin is very moddable. Steve can change from businessman to teenager literally like changing his clothes.

D&D game is on, so I'm just going to bump this to try and spread some word about the Twitter and hopefully keep this thing around until tomorrow, even though that doesn't seem to work very often.

How about using steve as a front fir our necromancy powers and if he gets exposed again by dying we just say he has undeath and posessed a robo body of his old body?
him being a front for our ligitimate businesses as well, I guess.