>>28324715
>Just the Basics
We want to look ignorant here. Worst case things look less intentional, best case they underestimate us completely.

>>28324715
>Just the basics

>>28324715
>Just the Basics

>>28324715
Basics is fine!

>>28324715
You've been playing your cards close to your chest this far. No need to make yourself look any more interesting than possible.

"The OAA? You deal with stuff related to clades and mutants right? Like crimes and registration and all that?" You do your best to affect a look of bored confusion, without being too obvious about the deception.

Templeton smiles softly again. "That's more or less the gist of it, although we don't use terms like "clade" or "mutant" here. They're just people with genetic conditions after all." He leans in slightly closer. "After the war when these aberrant genetic patterns started popping up in the general public nobody was quite sure what to do. So in 1947 the OAA was created to investigate and oversee the afflicted population. As our understanding of genetics has evolved we've also taken on regulatory roles. It's important that we keep track of alternately gened individuals to ensure their health and safety, and make sure particularly debilitating strains aren't allowed to spread."

((1/2))
Apologies for slow updates. I'm still running on minimal notes and years of working in systems analysis has obliterated my hands. Expect updates roughly every 15-20 minutes.

>>28325007
That's okay, I'm used to far slower in some quests.

>>28325007
eh had slower

>>28325007
"And that's why we're here." He punctuates the sentence by producing a photo and sliding it across the table to you. It's definitely the same girl last night. "This is Abigail Summers. She failed to show up for her annual medical examination a week ago, and as of yesterday is missing. We want to find her. So tell me, what were you doing at Abigail's apartment last night?" His eyes flash over to the bookbag sitting in the corner of the room before returning to you.

>I'm a Friend
>Just Returning Something.
>No Connection (Charisma 1d100)
>Other

>>28325161
>Just Returning Something.

>>28325161
>Just Returning Something.

>>28325161
>Other
>I was just returning something that she forgot to bring home with her

>>28325161
>Just Returning Something.
Alright, obviously we don't want to give up the bag itself, so what's something she'd probably be carrying in it that we can reasonably guess (in case they ask what it is before allowing us to search it)?

>>28325264
>obviously we don't want to give up the bag itself
We don't?

>>28325329
Of course not anon.

>>28325352
Why not?
Well, even if there -is- something interesting/important, it's lost for us at this point

>>28325402
Sure it isn't, we come up with an item in it and claim it as our own. What are they gonna do about it?

>>28325161
"I was just returning something she had left on campus before. The manager at her store was nice enough to give me her contact information so I decided I'd swing by." You state the facts coolly. It's not like there's any reason to lie about that.

"In the middle of the day? Downtown? Quite the good samaritan. Do you always go so far out of your way for people?" He looks at you inquisitively.

"Not usually, but she seemed like she was in a big hurry when she left it. I felt bad for her."

Templeton's eyes flash momentarilly back to the bag again. "And by "it" I assume you mean that bag? It was the only thing I saw you carrying aside from your own effects."

>The bag is hers.
>The bag is mine.
>Other

>>28325450
*claim the bag

>>28325459
>>The bag is hers.

>>28325459
>The bag is hers.
Let's not lie to a police officer.

>>28325459
>The bag is hers
He most likely already knows it's hers. He's testing us to see if we are lieing or not.

>>28325459
Do we know if they've searched the bag yet?

>>28325459
"I hardly think it is in my best interest to proclaim the owner of the bag. Unless you have a warrant, that is."

>>28325459
>The bag is hers.
"What was I supposed to do, keep it? If she had documents in it she'd need it ASAP"

>>28325459
>The bag is hers.
Too much risk that it contains Bad Shit.

>>28325459
You hesitate for a moment before answering. Whatever is in that bag seems to interest the agent greatly. You feel a little bad for the girl but whatever it is, it's not worth lying about. "Yea, that's the one. I figured it might have some important stuff in so I wanted to get it back to her as soon as possible."

"You didn't check first?" Templeton gazes ahead impassively, betraying nothing about his intentions

"No, seemed a bit rude. Why, it wasn't something illegal was it? I swear I wasn't trying to get involved in anything."

Templeton chews this over for a moment, before slowly going to retrieve the bag. He empty's a small pile of books onto the table.

"ROAD ATLAS 2008"
"A HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO AMERICA"
"AMERICA ON TEN DOLLARS A DAY"

"It seems miss summers was planning a trip. Do you have any idea where she might have been going? Or why?"

>Mention the fight.
>No idea.
>Make something up (Charisma 1d100)

>>28325666
>No idea
>"She got a job here just recently. I cant imagine why she would be leaving already."

>>28325666
>Mention the fight.
>No idea.
"Cumulatively I knew her for like 45 seconds"

>>28325666
>No. Seems like you got a good lead, though.

>>28325666
>Mention the fight.
"Maybe they knew where she lived or something."

>>28325703
>>28325704
>>28325715
No idea, but should you mention the fight or keep it simple?

>>28325771
She lost the bag in the fight. I cant see her ditching town as being relevant to the fight, as the bag was already packed prior to the fight.

I say we keep it simple. They cant be related.

>>28325771
Mention the fight, likely happened more than once.

>>28325771
Mention it, I mean why not.

>>28325771
mention the fight that you intervened

Wireless is being a bastard. Didn't expect QM curse to kick in this soon. Looks like we're good for now.

>>28325666
"No idea. She got a job here just recently. I cant imagine why she would be leaving already. I mean she got in a fight with some local frat boys. That's where she lost the bag, seemed really shaken up about it."

Templeton raises an eyebrow. "And that didn't occur to you as something worth mentioning before?"

"You didn't ask. I mean, it was just some drunk assholes coming on to her too strong. Not the kind of thing you skip town over."

Templeton pauses and stares into the distance for some time before continuing. "This girl, she's gotten herself into some trouble. Now what exactly I couldn't say but if it was serious enough to set her running it's only going to get worse." He looks you square in the eyes. "Right now this just a case of a girl missing her annual medical checkup. It falls under the jurisdiction of health and human services. But if this becomes a criminal matter, well it's going to be out of my hands. I know you want to help this girl. Is there anything else you want to discuss?"

>Anything else?

>>28326206
Well, we've actually mentioned pretty much all we know so far, so I'm not sure what else we could bring up. I guess ask how we can contact them if we need to.

>>28326206
Sure, ask how to contact them.

>>28326206
Guess there's nothing.

>>28326206
well I did see something strange....after I chased the drunks away I saw that a man was watching the scene with a pair of binoculars and disappeared after she ran away

"Sorry that's everything I know. But if I see anything I'll be sure to call it in."

"I see," he says with the slightest trace of disappointment carrying through his voice. "You've been very helpful miss DeVega. One of the officers will show you out. Oh, and if you notice anything out of the ordinary, anything at all, you can feel free to contact me personally."

You collect Templeton's business card and make your way back through the station with one of the local officers. By now it's well into the morning and you want nothing more than to get home and fall into bed. At the very least, this should cover your good deed for the day. Trudging across the neighborhood towards the bus stop you suddenly curse yourself for not asking one of the officers for a ride. If you're going to keep going out alone like this you really need to get some mace. Or -a- mace. About a block off from the station you catch sight of a clade smoking a cigarette and watching you intently. She's around five eight with brown black hair that ends in a neat braid and two sharp canine ears. She wears a high end leather jacket over a turtle neck and a silver cross. Quite nice actually. Far too nice for the neighborhood.

"Having a bad night kiddo?" She smile broadly, flashing a set of fangs.

>Engage Her
>Just Keep on Walkin Felicia
>Other?

>>28326529
>What's it to you?
She's way too blatantly suspicious to bother ignoring, can't imagine she'd leave us alone.

>>28326529
>Engage Her

"Something like that, or at least a long one.

Got a cigarette I can bum?"

Get a conversation started before we ask more about what she's doing here, you don't want to start by pressing too hard, but she is rather suspicious and I do want answers.

>>28326529
>Engage Her
Just raise an eyebrow

>>28326529
>Engage Her

>>28326529
>>Engage Her
Not very subtle, huh.

>>28326529
You look over at her, studying her for some hint of intent but find nothing. Her whole posture is loose, she seem quite at home despite her surroundings.

"Something like that, or at least a long one. Mind if I bum a cig?" Watching her has made you painfully aware of your old habit.

"Sure." She produces a fresh cigarette and lights you up. "Saw you coming out of the station there. Trouble with the cops?"

"No trouble, just answering some questions about something. Whole neighborhood's going to shit. How bout you? No offense but you don't exactly look like one of the locals."

"I'm here working, clade outreach. Saw you come in with Templeton, that's why I stopped you. Nothing too bad I hope?" Her gaze travels up to meet yours. The glow of the cigarette reflects off her eyes, giving her a slightly monstrous look in the darkness.

>>28326765
We hope so too, not really in the know though.

File: 1384646237575.jpg-(44 KB, 480x384, Paranoia_in_a_nutshell.jpg)

44 KB JPG

>>28326765
>No, not really.
DO NOT TRUST HER.

>>28326765
'Not for me, at least.'

>>28326765
"Not for me at least. They just asked me some questions and cut me loose."

"Yea, it's never too bad with Templeton, he can be a real sweetheart when he wants to be." She takes a drag and exhales. "Kind of odd though, don't you think? Federal agent getting involved in small fry stuff like this? Didn't it ever cross your mind?"

>Keep talking.
>Get to the Point
>Leave
>Other?

>>28326765
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know Templeton.

But as for how bad it is, I don't really know enough to say."

>>28326909
>Get to the Point
Jeez lady.

>>28326914
Can't think of anything better than this

>>28326914
Backing.

>>28326909
*sigh* what do you want?

>>28326909
>Get to the Point

>>28326909
>Get to the Point

"It did cross my mind, it was about as odd as you showing up knowing quite a bit about what's going on.

I'm sure you already know what you're going to ask, so shall we stop beating around the bush and get to the point?"

>>28326909
You shrug. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know Templeton. But as for how bad it is, I don't really know enough to say." You put the cigarette out and turn to her. "Now unless you're ready to spit out the real reason you're here, I've got a bus to catch."

Her smile fades. "Fine then. I work for a group of.... let's say public affairs consultants who are interested in this case. Two days ago that girl's boyfriend turned up dead. She killed him, purely self defense of course, but there's a problem. Happens he's the son of William Graston."

"Representative William Graston?"

She touches her nose. "Sharp girl. Yes. We've already spoken to the family. Junior's temper was well known and they agree that it's best we keep this out of the papers. I know where the girl is. I just need somebody who can approach her, and convince her to give herself up. Once she's in custody, -police- custody, we can get her lawyered up and strangle this thing in it's crib. Happy endings for everybody. What do you say?

>Agree
>No Way
>More Info?

>>28327162
>More Info?
Reaaaaally, this Clade killed someone important, and somehow she's going to NOT get fucked over in court? How, exactly, would that work?

>>28327162
>More Info
We're not doing this on a whim, that's for sure.

>>28327162
>More Info?

"I'm interested. But why me? I barely know the girl.

And you're oversimplifying, I doubt under most circumstances the court would let a case like this go so easily, especially if you got the wrong judge in charge."

>>28327162
>More Info?
What would we get out of doing it?

>>28327162
>More info?

>>28327181
"So let me get this straight. Some clade girl offs her boyfriend, and you expect a court's just going to let her waltz out? They'll crucify her in a trial."

The woman chuckles. "Glad to see you're asking the right questions at least. The short answer is, there isn't going to BE a trial. There were some nasty rumors surrounding the Graston family, particularly the boy, and they're every bit as eager as us to keep this out of the papers. They've agreed to corroborate the girl's story to keep this thing from becoming a media circus. Election seasons can be so stressful you know?" She stamps out her cigarette and lights another as she speaks. "The only hitch is that somebody sent Templeton sniffing around. This is way out of his neck of the woods, so it could only possibly be political. We need to make sure this stays local. If Templeton picks that girl up before we get to her, there's no telling what she might say to him."

You weigh her words carefully, grinding a bit of stone on the ground as you think. "So why me? And what makes you think I care about any of this."

"One of our guys, Gibbs, saw you help her before. Most norms wouldn't give a shit about a clade, let alone start a fight for them. You wanna help that girl don't you?" She looks up hopefully.

>Alright
>What's In This For Me?
>Ask Something Else?

>>28327427
>>Alright

>>28327427
>Alright.
Fine, but be watchful for things that would conflict with her explanation from now on. No need to trust her yet.

>>28327427
>Alright

"Alright, I'll help."

>>28327427
>Alright

but remain sceptical

>>28327427
This chick's still suspicious. But oh well, worth the risk I guess.

>>28327427
You think back to the fight. How scared the girl looked. She couldn't have been any older than eighteen, though it's hard to say with clades.

"Alright, I'll help," you say firmly.

"Lovely. Name's Caitlin Novena by the way, everybody just calls me Novena. The girl's holed up in a hotel on the east side. If we catch a cab we can get there in under an hour." She starts dialing her phone.

"What, you mean now? Like tonight?" You hope to god she doesn't.

"Yes, now, you think Templeton's sitting on his ass right now? The guy doesn't have a life outside his job. We need to put this thing to bed, tonight."

A few awkward minutes later a cab pulls up and picks you up. You sit silently next to the woman as she taps away on her smartphone. It occurs to you that you should probably say something.

[ ]Who are you?
[ ]Who did you say you worked for?
[ ]How do you know so much about me?
[ ]Something Else?

Gonna eat some dinner. Next update might be a little slow. Well, slower, who am I kidding.

>>28327599
>[x]Who are you?
Might as well start with the basics.

>>28327599
[x]How do you know so much about me?
She been spying?

>>28327599
>[ ]How do you know so much about me?

>>28327725
FUKKIN CATLIKE STEALTH
Wait, I think she's a dog or something.
FUKKIN WEREWOLFS THAT'S EVEN WORSE
Oh yeah and [x]How do you know so much about me?

>>28327599
[x]Who are you?
Well??!

Writeup got deleted, everything's comin up aces tonight! Reposting in chunks.

>>28327599
"So what kind of name is Novena anyways?" The icebreaker comes out sounding a lot more hostile than you'd intended. You glance up to see if she's taken offense, but the question barely seems to have registered as she types away.

"Me? Grew up in a Catholic Orphanage. Sisters named me and it just stuck. Stayed there for twelve years before I got a real foster family if you can believe it. The laws for adopting clades back then were a real shit show,"

"And you... I mean you really call yourself a clade? That doesn't bother you?"

She stops typing and turns to you. "Kid, we are what we are. Words aren't going to change it. Don't go walking around on eggshells for my sake."

((1/2))

>>28327953
You may truly be cursed. Fight through it!

>>28327953
You let that sit for a time before working up the courage to make another stab at conversation. "What about me? You knew where I was going to be. You knew I was in that fight. Just how long have you been spying on me?"

She sighs. "Try not to take it personal kid. It was the girl we were following. I was about to make contact when that fight broke out. After that the kid was too hot to tail, so I followed you all the way to that apartment where you got picked up by Templeton. No offense, but you kind of cocked up the whole operation." She suddenly snaps her phone shut and looks up. "We're here. Might wanna start thinking about what you'll say to that girl. This'll go a lot smoother if we can convince her to come with us."

>>28328067
We cocked it up? Maybe they should have intervened when the girl was being menaced by two goons then.

>>28328067
What, she doesn't have any suggestions? Felicia's not exactly this chick's best buddy, how would we know what makes her tick?

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44 KB JPG

>>28328067
"Here" is a dingy Holiday Inn on the edge of town. You and Novena quietly make your way up three flights of stairs to the room in question. She signals for you to come over.

"You're up kid," Novena whispers. "Try to talk her out. If that doesn't work I'll call the cops and we'll just need to keep her here."

"What am I supposed to say to her?"

Novena shrugs, "I don't know if you noticed kid, but they don't exactly keep me around for my human touch. Improvise!"

You walk hesitantly up to the battered hotel door and knock. You can hear some skittering inside briefly but no answer is forthcoming.

"Abby, it's me. The girl from the other night...."

>Be Gentle (Charisma 1d100+Speech Modifier)
>Be Insistent (Charisma 1d100+Speech Modifier)
>Other?

Rolled 11 + 999

>>28328238
Gentle.

Rolled 9

>>28328238
Gentle. GENTLE. WE ARE IN A DELICATE SITUATION HERE PEOPLE.

>>28328295
>>28328289
Uh...
I seem to remember in the last thread the GM saying it was roll-under...

Rolled 60

>>28328238
>Be Gentle (Charisma 1d100+Speech Modifier)
She's probably terrified, and we can always switch to insistent later.
"...I've heard you're in some difficulties. Sounds pretty bad too, can't blame you for panicking and closing yourself in here. But from what I've heard, you were probably in the right, yeah? You didn't do anything wrong. And I'm sure you - we - can fix this if you let us try. Staying closed up in there sure isn't going to help. Won't you let me in so I can help?"

>>28328238
What's the speech modifier?

I'd probably include the modifiers you expect us to use in the post so we don't have to search for whatever character sheet you are using.

>9 (Success)
>>28328238
"Abby are you in there? I tried to bring your bag back yesterday. You were in such a hurry you left it in the alley." You wait quietly for a response. a slight sniffling coming from behind the door let's you know that you're on the right track. "I'm here with some friends, we want to help you. Can I come in and we'll talk about this?"

"Stop following me! If you want to help just leave me alone." The voice emanates weakly from behind the thick door.

"Sweetie I heard about what happened. You can't just run away from this. I've got a clade friend here with me, she told me this wasn't your fault. We're going to make this right, but you need to let me in ok?"

A long pause follows, before the door creaks open. You step into the room and find Abby, sitting in the dark on the bed crying.

"I didn't mean to hurt him! I just said I wanted to take a break and he started acting crazy. He said he wasn't going to let some 'little slant eared slut' ruin his reputation by breaking up with him. I only picked up the knife to scare him!" She devolves into another bout of choking sobs.

Well, the easy part's over. Now you need to convince her to turn herself in.

>Be Firm (Ch 1d100 + Mofidier)
>Be Evasive (Ch 1d100 + Modifier)
>Other?

>>28328406
Speech modifier is a bonus or penalty based on particularly good or egregiously ill placed write in responses.

Your current charisma score is 35 by the way, I'll make a character sheet after this thread.

>>28328589
>Be Firm, but gentle
"Don't worry, his attitudes and history don't speak well of him, and his family doesn't want to make this a big deal. As long as you turn yourself in, this can go away quickly. But someone wants to make things political and are trying to get the OAA involved, and if they get you, things won't go so smoothly. I really think turning yourself in is the best choice even if you had options - as it is there's only a matter of time before they find you anyway."

>>28328589
>Be supportive

"Honey, I understand completely. His family has agreed to let it drop. We can get you off the hook and put this all in the past. Im here to help you."

>>28328589
Sit down next to her and hold her hand. "I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone. But we can fix this, alright.

His family knows what happened and just wants what happened to disappear and be done with. If you come with me we should be able to make it all go away, if you wait someone else will find you and then the problem will get bigger and we won't be able to just sweep it under the rug."

File: 1384654051099.png-(1.03 MB, 1800x2400, Gameof1s.png)

1.03 MB PNG

*cough* Rolls *cough*

Rolled 92

>>28328903
Right, forgot about that.

Rolling for >>28328720

Rolled 21

>>28328903
>>28328668

Rolled 27

>>28328903
Alrighty then.

>>28328589
> 21 (Narrow Success)
"I know. We all know. His family is going to back you up too. You're not going to be in any trouble."

She starts suddenly. "His family -hates- me. They always hated me. They're never going to take my side! The only reason he ever dated me was to show what a great guy he was, slumming it with some clade..." She looks down at the ground and sobs again.

A tale as old as time. She's hardly the first girl to date an asshole. Hell, you had a couple when you were her age. "I don't know about that, but I know they can't afford to let this get out. They know what happened. They know if you take the stand it'll be bad for them. So they're going to let it go."

"R-really? So I can go home?" She looks encouraged for the first time.

"Yea, right after we straighten this out with the police."

Bad move. "Po-police! No, I'm not going to the police. I didn't do anything wrong!"

You hold her hand, firmly. Partly to calm her and partly to make sure she doesn't act on what seems to be an increasingly powerful instinct to run.

"Look at me Abby. Look at me." You bend down until you're face to face with the frightened girl. "This is the only way this works. There's nothing to be scared of. We're going to be there the whole time. Now I want you to come outside and talk to my friend. Can you do that?"

She nods weakly.

"Good."

You lead her out and wait for a taxi to arrive. Novena introduces herself, and regales Abby with stories of "a lawyer that could have gotten Hitler himself off". You get the distinct feeling that the girl doesn't care for her by the way she edges towards your seat. You get to the station. The lawyer is already there. Abby is processed, she cries. After several hours of confessions and legalese she is finally led away, and you return exhausted to the waiting room.

Really, really, really hope we did the right thing.

>>28329144
Damn, what a thankless job. Hopefully Novena was talking the truth at least, and not lying or being naive.

File: 1384655136490.png-(673 KB, 1194x854, HouseofClades.png)

673 KB PNG

>>28329144
"That went a lot better than expected," Novena says. "I was almost certain you were going to fuck it up." She smiles in what you're sure she means to be a congenial way. "Now come on, boss wants to talk to you!" She starts dragging you out towards a waiting taxi.

"Wh- What?"

"After that little production we're late too! Are you always so lazy?"

God damnit.

((And that does it for tonight folks. Thank for playing. I'll be back next week same time. Things should open up from here and get a lot less railroad-y once the big picture becomes clear. Comments and criticism welcome. I'll be here for a while.))

>>28329187
Well look on the 'bright' side; the way she was acting, she had no chance of avoiding the OAA anyway.

>>28329219
W-what. No! She can't do that!

>>28329219
Thanks for running!

>>28329249
Did we just get tricked?

>>28329302
Say what you will about Novena, she has about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer.

>>28329327
And is about as nice. We need rest dammit! We didn't even sign up for anything!

>>28329302
Looks more like she's going to try to rope us into her organization.

>>28329370
Thanks, his comment and the work production threw me off.

>>28329407
*word

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=clade

Archive updated, upvotes always appreciated (especially since some people will absolutely kneejerk downvote anything with the tags I have in mine.)

Any feelings on the format or timing? Is Saturday at 16:00 good for anybody or was Wednesday better? Hopefully Next week I plan to be better prepared with a week lead in time.

>>28329219
Honestly I think this entire was part cleanup, part job interview

Also I like this quest, so I will lurk around for a bit

>>28329519
This is better for me since I'm EU and I can only stay up for this on Fri/Sat. The format was pretty good, though I'm way too impatient so 4 1/2 hours once a week is painfully little. More clarity about the mechanics would be nice in the future.

>>28329526
Basically yes. Also I kind of painted myself into a few corners with the original ad lib quest, so I had to rejigger some aspect (oh yea, minor retcon. It's late summer, not mid autumn). As it progresses the plot will get a lot less linear and the scenes will be less dialogue heavy. I feel like that got a bit talky.

>>28329643
That sounds good.

File: 1384657538706.gif-(1.32 MB, 640x360, ITS TIME.gif)

1.32 MB GIF

>>28329564
I can definitely push back to 15:00 start time if it's easier for euro-friends. Unfortunately I just don't think I can run more than once a week. Gotta keep working to fund my glamorous borderline-NEET lifestyle (you think you'd be more creative after a mind numbing job but no, mostly you're just tired).

The good news is once I get all the glitches steamed out and push back the timing we can easily get 5, maybe 6 solid hours in. I actually had a whole 'nother plot thread queued up that I thought we'd have time for tonight.

Fucking shitballs, I missed cladequest after going through the trouble of archiving it.

Oh well, at least you had enough interest anyway. See you next time, and good job so far!

>>28329897

This sounds good. Hope to see it again soon.

Waiting Warmly for it to resume.