>>33425182
Recette when?

>>33425281
Within 24 hours, if nothing else goes wrong at work!

>>33425302
Yayifications!

>>33425182
[ ]Keep listening in to Kris' story.

>>33425182
>[ ]Follow Ice, talk with the guys.
Let's hear their version!

Reminder that Sergei is dead and it's all your fault.

>>33425182
Keep listening

Follow Ice, talk with the guys.

>>33425554
No! I did everything I could! Stop saying things!

>>33425182
>[x]Keep listening in to Kris' story.

>>33425619
His wife and children are probably missing him very much. He died a painful death.

>>33425182
>[x]Follow Ice, talk with the guys.

>>33425706
No! It wasn't me! It was the tank! It was Duty who killed him with their tank! No! No, it wasn't them. It was the one who brought a tank to the Zone. That's the one that killed Sergei, not me! It was...

It was...

DAVE

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>>33425554
never forget

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As much as I'd like to hear what Kris has to say, Ice looks awfully serious, and I'd like to drop in on them and see what's going on in the big kids' corner

btw, how come you always used a much smaller version of this image?

>>33425182
>[X]Keep listening in to Kris' story.

"Of course, Dave's spending the entire time standing there being USELESS," she shouts this over the heads of her audience at him, "but the guys don't care. They're already roping up Jericho and getting ready to pull him out. Then Shorty's shouting 'here they come!' and starts shooting. And from where I am, I can't even see the tunnels to try and help out! Shorty's AK jams, and I'm thinking 'this is it, they're totally gonna die!' And then calm as you like, Ice just runs over to the tunnel and BAM!" She smashes her hand into her palm, resulting in a satisfyingly loud smack, "the snork stick his head out and Ice just PUNCHES IT IN THE FACE!"
The crowd reaction is mixed. Some cheers for Ice, a few calls of encouragement to Kris to keep going. But about half the audience seems to be in disbelief. Kris pauses her story, fixing her eyes on one of the veterans near the front, the loudest detractor. "Ha! He totally did. Saw it with my own eyes," she smiles dreamily at the memory. "You're just jealous you couldn't pull off something so manly," she tells him with a grin.

The veteran tries to protest, but he's drowned out by the jibes and jeers of the crowd.
The story goes on. Apparently Ice managed to throw a grenade into the first tunnel, before blocking the hole with the unconscious snork. Viktor ended up blazing away with his machine gun at the other tunnels, keeping an entire horde of snorks at bay while Ice and Shorty pulled Jericho out of the hole, then went back to pull him out while Kris fired pretty much blind into the dark after them until everyone was clear.

Near the end of the tale, one of the two rookies that your team came home with comes back down the stairs from the Doc. The room goes quiet, waiting for his verdict. "Jericho's gonna be fine."
A relieved cheer rolls around the room, and one of the guys asks him in a serious tone: "is that story true? How they saved you?"

[1/2]

>>33425999
The rookie smiles from ear to ear, looking with heartfelt gratitude towards the table of three men pointedly ignoring him and the crowd. "Every word."

"BEARD! Get those men a drink on me!"

With that, the crowd disperses. Some of the younger men stick around Kris, with Vasa leaning off uncomfortably to one side of the bar beside her. Most of the room go back to their own tables, returning to whatever business they had before the interruption.

[ ]Head over and talk to the guys.
[ ]Talk to Kris.
[ ]See what Beard is up to.
[ ]Other.

>>33426046
>Head over and talk to the guys.

>>33426046
[ ]Head over and talk to the guys.

>>33426046
>[x]See what Beard is up to.

>>33426046
>[ ]See what Beard is up to.
Beard can get things in and out of the zone right? That's what merchants do right?

Could he help us send a letter to our parents?

>dat vasa guilting

>>33426046
now let's see what's going on with the guys. I can't shake the feeling that this is a very important rendezvous, and something we should be a part of

>>33426046

[x]See what Beard is up to.

Rolled 1

Tie vote. Coinflipping.
1: the guys.
2: Beard.

>>33426046
>[X]Head over and talk to the guys.

You head on over to the far table to join Viktor, Ice and Dave. They're apparently in the middle of a serious conversation that Ice doesn't like. Dave is relaxed as always, and Viktor seems a little worried. Seeing you moving up, he pulls you to one side, shushing you and waiting for the two to finish whatever debate they were having.

"-or their deaths whould have had, no impact on our own existence." Dave shrugs, causing Ice's frown to deepen further.

"You wouldn't be saying that if it were us in there."

"No," Dave agrees, "because that whould affect us," he points out as if repeating himself to a simple child. "Hkowever if Ie, were in that hkole, I whould not hkave been... begging," he says the word with disgust, "for assistance from a stranger."

Dave dips his fork into the food tin Ice picked up for him before. "...Ice, may Ie inquire as to why this tastes like fecal matter?"

A smirk crosses Ice's face. "Well, since you're an ass, I figured that's what you should be eating."
Dave's mouth curls into wry amusement as he carefully replaces the lid on the tin and slides it back to Ice.

Viktor finally lets you go, twirling you around and asking you how you're doing. "Hey Loli. Feeling better yet? Think you'll be able to join us again soon?"

[ ]Not yet. Another day to rest, just in case.
[ ]Yep! Feeling good to go.

AND

[ ]Talk to ____
[ ]about ____.

>>33426799
>[x]Yep! Feeling good to go.
>[x]Talk to Ice
>[x]about the tin's contents.
Did you really, Ice?

>>33426799
The entire quest we've been unnecessarily hard on our body, and I can't believe we're still breathing. Another day of rest would do us well, especially since we've the windfall from the artifact we found. It would probably also do Vasa well to. Also, I'd love to know why Viktor and Ice are so eager to get to the center of the zone. Is it really as simple as the "mythical treasure trove of artifacts"?

>>33426799
>[ ]Yep! Feeling good to go. But Kris probably won't allow it!
But it's okay because Vasa taught me to put knives in things from far away so it was a good day anyway!

>>33426888
I don't think they are? They never suggested going there or anything.

>>33426799
>[ ]Yep! Feeling good to go.

>[ ]Talk to Viktor
>>[ ]about what really happened during that mission.

>>33426966
Then an even better question, why do they hang around with us when we clearly attract trouble? Surely they're not just here for poon.

Whatever the case, we should definitely know whether or not they intend to accompany us to the center so we can plan accordingly

>>33427057
>Surely they're not just here for poon.
Many men would consider that a perfectly good reason. They could also just like Loli in a completely legal way, or maybe they actually like the danger and adventure. Or maybe they're also plotting something and we never caught on.

Everybody is plotting.

>>33427219
All the more reason to talk to them. And when I said poon I didn't mean loli.You're a bad man.

>>33427273
To be fair, anybody would have made that mistake.

>>33426799
>[X]Yep! Feeling good to go.
>[X]Talk to Ice about the tin's contents.
>[X]Talk to Viktor about what really happened during that mission.

"Yep!" you say, "I'm feeling great! Me and Vasa spent all day having fun and playing games, and I'm totally ready again! But Vasa-neechan might need some more time. I think I made her hurt herself again. I didn't mean to, it was just we were playing and then she-" Viktor shushes you gently.

"Don't worry about it, she's a big girl. Whatever she did to herself wasn't you fault and she'll be fine." He smiles reassuringly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess... hey Viktor? What really happened out there? Ice said Kris was making it more dramatic." Viktor lets out a light chuckle.

"Well, she's not lying about what happened I guess. It just wasn't really something worth a story. We jumped in a hole to pull two guys out instead of leaving them to get eaten."

Ice leans over to cut in, "and her spreading the story isn't great. Now everyone's gonna think we're hot shi-" he chokes back a word, "better than we are. That ain't ever a good thing."

You hum, thinking about that, before asking Ice about the tin. "what did you do to Dave's food?"

Ice instantly goes defensive. "Don't look at me. I just asked Beard if 'e had anything tasted terrible. He 'ad that tin ready to go."

Glancing past him to the other side of the bar, you can see the few younger men have finally left Kris and Vasa alone, and they're talking quietly together by the bar. Beard is idly wiping down a clean glass while eyeing his patrons.

[ ]Stick with the guys, talk about something else.
[ ]Head over to the bar, talk to Beard.
[ ]Go see what Kris and Vasa are talking about.
[ ]Other.

>>33427624
>[ ]Stick with the guys, talk about something else.

"It's probably better when people think you're a hero than when they think you're a monster, right?"

Then ask how they feel about the whole going north thing. Do they actually want to after the first try went bad?

>>33427624
>[ ]Stick with the guys, talk about something else.

>>33427624
I really, really, really want to know if they're willing to come to the center of the zone with us or not, and what they're looking for here. If we don't take good care of our friends, they might not be our friends for very long

>>33427273
Honestly, they seem like they're just genuinely nice guys, don't they? Which I suppose should be making me suspicious. But it isn't, really. Maybe I just want to believe in them.

>Asking about the north? You got it! Writing! Though I kinda wanna go pass out. Didn't realize how gosh darn tired I was until just now.

>>33428146
I'd love to believe that to, but nice guys =/= doormats, and if they're not getting something out of a sojourn to the center we should try and work in their plans/desires into our longterm goals. If someone's not getting what they what then they're all the more likely to desert our happy little party down the line. Ice especially bears mention, since Kris awkwardly broke up with him a couple chapters before, and he seems just a tad disenfranchised

>>33428427
>Ice especially bears mention, since Kris awkwardly broke up with him a couple chapters before, and he seems just a tad disenfranchised

Yeah, though of course Loli wouldn't know about that before anyone tells her. Just like how she doesn't know that

Viktor kind of got the same treatment from Vasa, just faster.

Poor guys. But hey, if they want out it's not like they're the only stalkers in the zone. It's better than manipulating someone into doing something they don't want just because it'd help you get what you want!

>>33428576
>Yeah, though of course Loli wouldn't know about that before anyone tells her. Just like how she doesn't know that

>Viktor kind of got the same treatment from Vasa, just faster.

Fair point, but surely Loli is at least perceptive enough to notice Ice's change in disposition. ...right?

>>33427624
>[X]Stick with the guys, talk about going north.

Looking back to them, you comment on Ice's earlier complaint. "At least people think you guys are heroes. Better than being a monster." You didn't mean to, but you can feel your self-derision oozing from your own words.

"Ah, yeah. That's true. Sorry. Just not used to having people talk about me is all," Ice scratches the back of his head awkwardly. You really don't like the atmosphere you've just brought to the conversation. You quickly change topics.

"You three... about us going north. Do you really want to? Are you actually coming because you want to, or just because I asked?"

"Eh?" Viktor seems genuinely confused at the question. "Well, it doesn't really bother me. I'm just following you girls. It's been pretty good so far, I don't see a reason to drop out on you now."

Ice simply shrugs. "Ain't got anywhere else to be."

You frown. That's not... a negative response, but it doesn't fill you with confidence like you hoped. "But it was such a disaster last time! Aren't you guys worried it'll go the same again?"

Ice answers, "all the more reason for me to stick around. You three'll be dead in minutes if we're not around, right?"

Viktor nods his agreement with Ice's assessment.

Dave has stayed silent throughout the exchange, apparently deeply interested in the texture of the ship hull beside him.

>?

>>33428781
Sure, she remembers very clearly how one time Papa had that exact face on and then he was never really the same again. She doesn't get what it is, but she hopes it's not going to be like that again.

>>33428923
i'd go with a small "ok thanks" then try to socialize with dave...

>>33428923
>press the topic, see if there's anything we can offer/help them
Let's just make sure they have the chance to offer their input on where we go and any side-trips en route. If that's really all that's binding them to us now I still don't trust them not to skip out when the going gets tough (it will)

>>33428923
"It's just... I might lose you, like Sergei. I never even knew what he wanted, and now I can't ask him. So I want to know!"

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>>33429101
>sergei
fuck you, now I'm sad

>Guys, I'm fading fast but I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be. Would you all be cool if I left it here for tonight? I can pick up again tomorrow morning and try to push it to somewhere reasonable before/during Racketeer.
>I'm trying to flesh out the next update a bit before I post, going to try to get it down before I crash at the very least.

>>33429378
sure

>>33429357
Sad is often the way to make people give you what you want.

>>33428923
You step up to Ice, grabbing his sleeve and looking into his eyes. "I just... I wanna know this is what you want." You look between him and Viktor. "Sergei... he died without even telling us what he was with us for. He was just there, and then he wasn't. I don't want that to happen again! And... and it would be even worse if you just left." You plead silently with your eyes.

A pained look crosses Viktor's face, but he doesn't speak. Ice just grumbles. "Look, don't worry about it. Tell ya what, we think o' something we want, you'll be the first to know, right?"

Viktor agrees. "I don't really see there's an issue unless you go trying to get us all killed. But then, that's why we're coming, right? To stop you doing stuff like that."

You nod halfheartedly. You guess you can't really force them to want something you can give them. You'll just have to trust they know what they want to do.
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Kris leading Vasa upstairs by the hand.
Ice gently lifts your fingers from his sleeve. "Go on, let me eat."

[ ]Try talking to Dave.
[ ]See what Kris and Vasa are doing.
[ ]Other.

>>33429789
>[ ]Try talking to Dave.

>>33429789
>[z]Try talking to Dave.
Let's give Kris and Vasa some privacy.

>Aand dropping out.
>Sorry guys. See you in 10 hours, give or take.

>>33429789
what with all the eavesdropping we've spied on Kris & Vasa enough. Let's see what's up with Dave.

>>33429789
>[x]Try talking to Dave.

>>33429967
s'all good, though someone else might have to keep the thread alive, I'll be away from a PC all today

>>33430618
don't worry, i should stay awake the whole night

>>33430618
>>33431135
seeing as how we have 10 hours of fucking nothing, I have to ask: do we have an end goal in the zone? I mean adventure is fun and all but does our adventure works towards any anything, or are we just here to throw rocks at the hornets' nest and see what happens?

>>33431322
i don't think so, the end of this "arc" will probably be the wish granter, but who knows what will happen after that

>>33431322
Loli doesn't. There's shit going on, but she doesn't care particularly. Just fun and adventure with friends is fine.

>>33431322
Kaleun has hinted at a true ending, so I'd assume there is. I mean, the final boss has already revealed himself.

>>33431322
I kind of want Loli to make the Zone a safer place so she can make more friends and have more fun with less scary things hurting her friends.

>>33431566
Safe is boring though. If she wanted safe, she would've gone somewhere safe. Though if nothing finishes her off I'd imagine eventually she'll get bored of the Zone as well. What would she do then? Where to go after the Zone?

>>33431322
If anything, our most concrete goals are to help Kris find the Wish Granter, and help Vasa find our father. They're our friends, and we like our friends, so their goals are ours.

Our most personal goal at this point is to figure out what's up with Chocoshota, but we've got zero leads on that end.

>>33431968
>but we've got zero leads on that end.
Pessimist. We know things.

>we've only encountered him the Jupiter area
>we've only encountered him at night
>we've only encountered him alone (he was inside the station, but as far as we know nobody saw him)

Want to meet him? Replicate the circumstances and you may eventually see the same result.

There's the matter of Loli feeling drawn towards the center, even when she didn't know what was there. Though at the same time, when she did go north, there was absolutely nothing preventing her from turning back around so as far as motivations go that's more of a curiosity thing. It could be pretty much anything causing it.

>>33429789
>[x]Try talking to Dave.

>>33432160
Didn't we first find him in Skadovsk?

>>33432715
....anyone?

>>33432715
>>33435127
Did we? It's been a while, but I get the feeling he's not gonna appear unless he wants to, and that it won't matter where we are.

>>33435127
Pretty sure he gave us the chocolate when we first stopped by Yanov.

>>33435194
>>33435210
jesus, this shit is so complex and long-winded that H&K better get a goddamn book deal out of this

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>>33435411
>LSQ started September last year

It seems like only yesterday we were finding Doggy and discovering our intense love of stabbing dudes in the neck.

>>33435523
I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't got that nat. 20 when they started throwing grenades...

>>33437895
>Loli ZOMBIE quest?

>>33438191
so monolith mindrape all over again?

>>33439446
that too

>I have awoken. Lemme get to work and see what's up.

>>33437895
>You would have died and I would have ended the quest.

>>33429789
>[X]Try talking to Dave.

Stepping away from Ice and Viktor, you turn instead to Dave who is still intently examining the rust patterns on the wall.

"Dave," you call his attention. He doesn't look around. "Dave? Dave!" On the third time you call his name, he finally swivels his head around.

"Ah, hkello childe. Were you, wanting something?"

You shake your head no, "I wanted to talk." A playful look dances through his eyes.

"Whould Ie, be correct in assuming you are curious as to your destination? Hnnn~" He grins at the confused look you give in response. "All in due time, all in due time." His eyes turn dark as he glances towards the stairs. "Suffice to say that, whe are one step closer to utter, defeat."

[ ]'Utter defeat?' What does that even mean?
[ ]Ask him why he wants to go North.
[ ]Ask him if he knows anything about the boy with the chocolate.
[ ]What does he think about the others?
[ ]Other.

>You have time for two and only two choices.

>>33441432
>[ ]Ask him why he wants to go North.
>[ ]Ask him if he knows anything about the boy with the chocolate.

>>33441432
>motivation for going north
>opinion of the others
>how communicates to Sheila

>>33441432
>[ ]'Utter defeat?' What does that even mean?
>[ ]Ask him if he knows anything about the boy with the chocolate.

>>33441462
>You have time for two and only two choices.
...

>>33441432
Ask him if he actually expects us to trust him when he won't tell us anything and refuses to actually help out in fights.

>>33441593
RIP Skadovsk. Shit is about to hit the fan

>>33441432
>[X]Ask him why he wants to go North.
>[X]Ask him if he knows anything about the boy with the chocolate.

"Why do you want to come with us, Dave? North, I mean?"

He flashes his eyebrows with a grin, "there are... reasons. But, it is mostly that... Ie whould like to witness this, personally." He wraps his tongue around the last word, savoring it. "Rest assured, I shalle be with you, to the end."

You frown. "You never say anything normally! How am I supposed to trust you if you never tell me stuff?"

"Ie never asked you to trust me. Hnn~!"

You grumble to yourself about stupid Dave and stupid secrets, but when he starts to revert back to staring at the wall instead of you, you quickly move the conversation on.

"I met a boy before," you tell him. His head snaps around to fix you with a curious look. "He gave me chocolate and saved me once, but he keeps running away and not talking to me."

Dave swivels around to face you entirely, dead serious look on his face. "You hkave met him already? Ha, interesting. Good. But you hkave not spoken with him." He closes his eyes, running a finger slowly from his forehead down his nose to his chin.

"You know who he is?" you ask with excitement. Dave slips away from the table, sliding down to his knees to your level, looking you in the eye.

"Ie know. Hke is a very important boy. You wish to know about him?" You nod, gulping back a sudden discomfort. "Hke is your... brother. No, no." Dave shakes his head violently, "the wrong word wrong word. Sibling, no. Cousin, no. Kindred. Yes."
His voice suddenly takes on an edge of warning, he grips you by the shoulders. "Take great care with hkim."

He holds you there, in place, for a long time. You can feel your heart beating as Dave stares you down, the force of his warning not lost on you.
The moment is interrupted by your PDA ringing. Dave gestures for you to answer it, and you find Loki on the other end of the call.

>>33441985
"Christ on a crapper, will she answer the goddamn-" You greet him. "We're under attack!" In the background, you can hear a near-constant stream of gunfire from at least three sources. "Monolith squads have been hitting every one of our supply depots along the north passes." An explosion. "I'm holding Outpost Tatyana right now." From somewhere in the background, someone shouts a warning about a railgun, followed by a loud burst of static. "Get that tank here, right now!" The line goes dead.

>?

>>33442002
tell Dave to get Eliza ready to go while we round up the others

also, did we get any cash or gear from the missions the others went on? IIRC they went on 2 missions without Vasa and Loli, which should bring in some cash and gear

lets grab that gear and get our party on the road

>>33442002
>someone shouts a warning about a railgun

LOOT

we're so hitting that shit. Bring Vasa too, she shouldn't end up straining herself if she's on recon right?

>>33441985
It amazes me no one else has said this: Dave is a controller. Think about it.
>Awkward mannerisms
>Strange behavior
>Unwillingness to share personal details
>Communicating with inanimate objects
>WALKING RIGHT UP TO ANOTHER GODDAMN CONTROLLER AND SHOOTING IT IN THE FACE
He's subtly manipulating our collective perception of reality. To what end I know not, but I would love to confront him with this while we ride to Loki's rescue. Which leads to...
>>33442002
Freedom has done well by us, and Monolith is a common enemy to all. The goodwill to be earned from saving Freedom's ass not once but twice would be a godsend.

>>33442090
Oh and ask what a railgun is once we're on the road, just we're aware of that in character.

>>33442002
jump on a table and shout something like "my friends are being attacked by Monolith troops, if you are willing to help, follow the tank!" and go there ASAP

>>33442161
Not everyone in the bar loves Freedom (though they should), and announcing your soft spot towards them goes a long way towards removing you from the neutral camp.

This is a bad idea. Besides, we need to go fast and there's only room for so many people on the tank

>>33442196
We murdered a major Duty figure, stole their tank, and have trusted our companions with Freedom soldiers. We're about as far removed from neutral as possible without wearing green and yellow.

>>33442094
>Freedom has done well by us, and Monolith is a common enemy to all. The goodwill to be earned from saving Freedom's ass not once but twice would be a godsend.
theres also the deal we made with them where they'd patch us up and keep Eliza fueled and stocked if we helped them when they need it...

>>33432715
No, first night at the Station, same night we made our pact with Vasa.

>>33435194
Perhaps. But replicating the same circumstances would still be the method most likely to succeed, I believe. The fact that he only appears to us alone and at night tells us that he doesn't want to be seen, perhaps by certain people in our party. If we are separated from them, it would be safe for him to appear. If you throw going to the same place in there as well, then you'd be sending a pretty clear signal that you want to meet.

The question then is if he will see the signal (is he watching us at the time?) and will he act on it? The answer to those questions is not necessarily 'no' so if we wanted to meet him, I think that's our best option.

>>33442247
The tank is our fastest way there and there's no room for an entire platoon on it. That much is indisputable.

We only rekt Duty because they struck first. We acted in self-defence, and while our actions may skew us towards Freedom we're not precluded from the notion of mending fences with Duty in the far future. To be on good terms with Freedom is excellent, but let's not limit our options.

>>33442298
Reasonable enough. But it's going to take one hell of a show of good will for us to fix our relationship with Duty. They'll probably want Eliza back, for one.

this is not the moment at all, but at some point we should consider getting sugar pills and exchanging them with the ones Dave takes

>>33442335
>Questionably sane man takes nondescript pills
>Only time we've seen him fail to take his dosage, he runs off to murder snorks with his bare hands and comes back with an ear necklace

Let's not.

>>33442094
I really don't think so. You'd have to be one goddamn impressive controller to go around fooling everybody like that. And where does the living tank come in? Is he controlling it as well? How did he manage to have it go pick up V&V while he himself was kept busy with other things far away? If he's a controller who can do all that, he's just about the scariest thing to ever come out of the zone. Yes, more scary than a self aware tank.

>>33442432
>living tank
Think about how ridiculous of a notion that is

It wouldn't be difficult to change his perceived appearance, and don't forget Doggy's revulsion towards him that borders on instinctive. Remember also that in the games the Controller's innate psy-field. If you're within the radius you're severely affected. I'd think deceiving others with one's appearance not too difficult.

>pick up V&V
I don't remember that part, so I can't comment.

>>33442478
>>pick up V&V
>I don't remember that part, so I can't comment.
After Vasa was injured from the carbomb monolith ambush, we dropped her and Viktor off and a freedom outpost to heal her up, when she was ready to travel Dave had Eliza go and bring them to us

>>33442478
>Think about how ridiculous of a notion that is

Of course, the Zone is all about rationality. How could we forget.

>>33442478
It was just recently. We'd left Vasa at a freedom base and Viktor to watch her while we were off doing missions around Skadovsk. We had Eliza go pick up the two when Vasa was good enough to walk. Dave did not go with Eliza. If he was controlling Eliza all the time, his range would have to be tremendous. Basically everyone in the zone would already be under his influence. So if he really is a controller, he's such a goddamn strong controller, he's already won everything.

What's more likely is simply that he's part of some group that hasn't otherwise shown its hand but has interests in the Zone. That would explain why he has things like an intelligent tank and the huge stash we looted.

>>33442002
By the way Dave's face has gone back to its usual amused disinterest, you assume he could hear that call. Or maybe he didn't and he's just showing no interest in anything. You decide to make sure. "Dave, did-"

"Yes, yes. Ie shalle alert Eliza." He rolls back onto his feet and heads for the door. Ice and Viktor quickly swallow the res of their small meal in one mouthful before ducking out after him.

You sprint up the stairs to the barrack room to find Kris and Vasa sitting together on one of the bunks, talking quietly. They both jerk around to face you when you enter. "What is it?" Vasa asks, tone serious.

"Monolith are attacking Freedom. We have to help!"
They both quickly scramble out of bed, grabbing their kit and rushing out the door after you. Kris pauses at the doorway, placing her hand on Vasa's chest to stop her.

"You're not coming," she says forcefully.

"The hell I'm not."

"Vass, please."

"No. This is a fight, I'm going." She pushes past Kris without another word.

Outside, you find Eliza's engine already growling and ready to go. Viktor and Ice offer their hands to help pull you all up. You jump up yourself while Ice lifts Vasa up. When Viktor pulls Kris up, he leans in to whisper something in her ear. Her cheeks color, and she fumbles to buckle up the belt you've just noticed was still hanging loose.
So distracted is she, she almost loses her balance when Eliza guns her engine and throws you into motion.

[1/2]

>>33442617
Within moments of setting out, you receive a PDA data package from Loki. You hand the thing to Kris, who accesses it, and shows you that it's a map update with his current situation. She then hands it to Viktor, who talks at Eliza, telling her the path you need to follow.

With the outpost location on your PDA, and a map of the anomaly fields leading to it, Eliza makes good time, covering most of the distance in ten minutes. You're still at least five minutes away from the outpost when you begin to hear the sounds of desperate battle taking place in the next valley over.
One of the heavy guns, whose you can't tell, is firing almost continuously, only stopping two or three times a minute. Every so often, an explosion tears through the air, along with a sound you've never heard before. A strange sort of buzz and whoosh noise.
When you're a minute out, you begin to hear the screams as well.

Viktor points to the path ahead, turning to the rest of you. He shouts over the noise of the engine to be heard. "This edge... if we keep going straight, we'll hit the cliff and we'll be able to see down a good amount of the valley but we'd be silhouetted against the sky. Left would take us around, we'd be able to roll straight into the outpost. Right side would bring us into the valley. That should be behind Monolith positions, but they might have moved, or have something prepared."

[ ]Go straight, to the ridge.
[ ]Go left, to Freedom.
[ ]Go right, behind Monolith.

>>33442627
>[ ]Go straight, to the ridge.
Does Eliza know her berm drills?

>>33442627
>[ ]Go straight, to the ridge.

>>33442627
Split. Send Vasa up there, maybe accompanied by someone who isn't Kris in case of attack. She'll provide intel to the rest of us via that radio thing she and Kris probably still have. Probably also snipe things later. The rest of us go right if she doesn't see anything fishy.

>>33442627
Seconding >>33442708

>>33442627
changing my vote >>33442705

to >>33442708

>>33442627
>[X]Split up, get intel.
"Wait, wait here," you say. Eliza slows to a halt. "We should have a look first, to see what's going on," you say.

Kris nods. "Good idea. Vass?" They nod to each other and drop off the tank. Before they run ahead though, Vasa pauses as if remembering something. Turning back, she pulls a bead out of her ear, a little collar from around her neck and a compact radio from her pocket, handing them to Ice. He takes the bundle and quickly puts it on himself.

The four of you wait in silence for a few short minutes, before Ice presses a button on the radio. "Got it." He turns to the rest of you. "She said Freedom's dug in along the camp perimeter, taking fire from the woods to our right. They're using MMGs to spray the treeline, but so far they can't seem to hit anything. Monolith are staying concealed and only firing heavy weapons or bursts. If we can swing around the bottom of the valley, we could take them in the rear, but it's going to be close in down there."

>?

>>33443082
Can Eliza get shots into the treeline from the cliff? If so she should fire off a few AP/Shrap/MP at their heavy guns when they fire.

If she can't, then lets get everyone to dismount and cover her while we hit them from behind in the valley, the moment she can get clear shots at them she should stay at that distance while we can bound forward and assault to contact and keep them off Eliza.

>>33443082
Ask about the railgun someone on the phone was shouting about! Someone needs to explain that to Loli so we can act on that info. Also can she see it, and can she hit things from where she is?

>>33443122
we have HE rounds, let's get to the ridgeline and lob our shots into the trees. The suppressive effect of it and our coax MG should be enough for Freedom to regroup and take advantage of their sniping skills to start picking off Monolith

>>33443170
>we have HE rounds
well technically the 2A46M in Eliza can fire anything listed in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/125_mm_smoothbore_ammunition

Though specifically the -64 carried:
> - anti-personnel (APERS) version of the 3UOF-36, 3OVF-22
> - armour-piercing shells (APFSDS) 3UBM-17 or 3UBM-19
> - hollow charge shells, 3VUK-25 or 3UBK-21.

>>33443170
We should probably get some smoke on Eliza. I'm worried about that gauss gun doing some awful damage here.

>>33443232
But what do we actually have? We're not in the military, we don't have an arms industry backing us. That kind of limits our choices with regard to ammo.

>>33443277
I doubt a single gauss rifle can get through the ERA and composite armor of the T-64BV

>>33443391
>>gauss rifle
>Hue.

>Sorry for the delay. Writing now.

>>33443082
You recall something from the phone call and speak up"Oh! Oh! What's a railgun? Someone was shouting about a railgun before."

Ice looks blank. "Never heard of one," Viktor says. Dave looks uneasy but doesn't answer.

"Dave?" You probe him.

"Ie think it might, be better to refrain from this battle."

You frown at him, "nope. They need our help so we're going to help and that's that! Now help us or get out the way!"
He sighs resignedly, then hops off Eliza.

Viktor slides down into Eliza's turret, who then rolls up to the ridge per your instructions, a few dozen yards along the ridge from Kris and Vasa. Ice presses the radio again and talks quickly to Kris. "When we pop up," he relays, "we're looking for the treeline to our two o'clock."

With everyone ready, you give the signal and Eliza rolls a few more feet forward until her gun can see over the ridge. Below you is the open valley, with one end completely smothered in thick forest. To the left, the outpost stands in a cleared area with no concealment or cover for a hundred paces in all directions. The camp itself is a burning ruin, with fires gutting most of the buildings and explosion scars all through the ground. You can see the forms of the defenders cowering in fortified positions, with the two furthest forward firing machine guns at the trees.

If there are fighters in the treeline, you sure can't see them...

[DC12 Perception check]
>Let's go with some d6's for this.

Rolled 1

>>33443512

>>33443530
welp, I ain't rolling again...

Rolled 5

>>33443512

Rolled 4

>>33443512
Fuck you, Dave.

well we need a 6 to meet the DC and I ain't rolling again after that poor showing, kind of sucks that if anyone gets a 1 then everyone else has to roll awesomely to have a hope in hell

Question for you HK:

Any particular reason why we roll 4 total D6's to equate to 1 4d6+-4 roll as opposed to in the D20 system, its best of 3? It effectively means that we only roll 1 D20 with a more even center spread instead of several.

>>33443596
It's better than when someone rolls a 1 requires someone else to roll a 20, isn't it?

>>33443644
More statistically reliable, I guess.

>>33443659
>It's better than when someone rolls a 1 requires someone else to roll a 20, isn't it?
true

>More statistically reliable, I guess.
well you can only statistically compare compare rolling 3D20 against 3x4d6-4, not 3D20 against 4d6-4 as you only have 4 people rolling 1 1/4th the amount they would in the 3D20 system

I'm not saying the 4D6-4 system is crap, its much less crit happy and more stable, but if you only roll a potential of 1 set, as opposed to 3 sets, then its not a fair comparison, another quest uses the 4D6-4 but each player rolls 4D6+-4 so each player has a range of 20, not 6.

this was just an observation I happened upon and was curious about the reasoning behind it

>>33443710
>1 1/4th
derp, meant 1 1/3rd

a simple explanation, if you have 3 people roll 1D20 each, you have a potential sum total of 60, but you only use the best, so the end result is in the 1-20 range

if you have 4 people roll 1D6 then subtract 4, you have a potential sum total of 20

my simple brain equates this to effectively rolling 2/3rds less overall, though I'm sure that statistically thats wrong on some level

Rolled 6

>>33443741
Taking the highest of 3 means the average will be higher. You'll see high results more often and low results less often since the lowest are always the ones dropped. It's not quite that dramatic a difference, but it's certainly there.

Also samefagging 4th roll since nobody else is rolling the die.

>>33443791
>Rolled 1d6: 6
Thank you anon.

Also yes, best of 3 tends to skew things towards success, though I think thats better for quests as they are more narrative driven than crunch driven TT RPGs.

It just seems odd that in order to get more stable dice and results, we went from three people rolling and choosing the best (excepting crits), to one person rolling (effectively), which negates the advantages and desired results of switching to more stable dice by skewing the results lower...

>>33443791
Hot damn. You did good, anon.

>>33443791
>It's not quite that dramatic a difference
All evidence (all threads since the switch) point to it being a pretty dramatic difference anon.

>>33443791
>Taking the highest of 3 means the average will be higher. You'll see high results more often and low results less often since the lowest are always the ones dropped. It's not quite that dramatic a difference, but it's certainly there.
And? Whats the point of switching dice if the end result of the new format is that we would have the same outcome as 1 anon rolling a single D20 and taking only the first.

That does not make sense, it feels like a step backwards.

>>33443530
>>33443546
>>33443551
>>33443791
If I'm counting right, and I'm not entirely sober enough to trust myself to do that, then we meet the DC, hooray.

Now to get another drink while we wait for Kaleun

I think someone should kidnap Wrenloft so loli can start being the ridiculous badass she is.

>>33443817
>Also yes, best of 3 tends to skew things towards success,
No, it skews the results towards higher numbers. Success is a matter passing a DC. The DCs for comparable tasks with these rolls are evidently set lower.

>>33443829
>>33443853
The difference in outcomes is dramatic because we're using different dice more than because we're not keeping only the highest of three dice. It's the difference between a linear distribution across the 1-20 range (1/20 chance of each result) and a normalish distribution (results closer to 10 have high probabilities, results closer to 1 and 20 have low probabilities) that is most visible, I should think. Three rolls of 4d6-4 keep highest would have a lower average than three rolls of 1d20 keep highest since the latter lends itself far more towards the extremes.

>>33443977
>Three rolls of 4d6-4 keep highest would have a lower average than three rolls of 1d20 keep highest since the latter lends itself far more towards the extremes.
Quite possible, though we would have higher chances of rolling higher as opposed to rolling a single set totaling 20.

Like I said, we used to roll 3 times, now we roll once.

>People making me do work at work. Ughn.
>Gimme a few to wrap this up and I'ma get a post up.

>>33444032
>>Like I said, we used to roll 3 times, now we roll once.
>...An interesting point actually.

>How would you guys feel about possibly rolling 3d6, then choosing the best of those 3 and summing the 4 rollers?
>Alternatively, three rolls of 4d6.

>This is entirely experimental, so I'm really liking the analysis.

>>33444340
>>How would you guys feel about possibly rolling 3d6, then choosing the best of those 3 and summing the 4 rollers?
>>Alternatively, three rolls of 4d6.
I say why not give them a try and see how things go, though now might not be the most appropriate time as we're just about to get into combat, but I wouldn't be averse to giving them both a run.

>>33444032
Yep. It would. I can't really explain why one should be preferable to the other though. You'd still be about as likely to succeed at anything regardless of what roll system you use since it's just a matter of where the QM sets the DCs for a given action, and because all of your dice hate you, not just your d20. Rolling three or four sets of 4d6-4 might be more fun or less fun, couldn't really say. From my perspective it's about the same with regards to success or failure so whatever seems more fun to people is the right way to go I guess.

>>33444399
>You'd still be about as likely to succeed at anything regardless of what roll system you use since it's just a matter of where the QM sets the DCs for a given action
true

>all of your dice hate you
truer

>whatever seems more fun to people is the right way to go I guess.
indeed, and the logical fallacies my brain loves to use as reasoning generally prefers more of a 'margin of error', even if statistically such a thing does not exist

I always prefer dice in quests to be more forgiving because I'm here for the narrative, the characters, the story and all of them interacting as a whole, rather than the crunch of a dungeon dive

>>33443512
Looking closely, studying the shapes below, you notice that a few are shaped differently to the rest of the area. They don't look natural. "There," Ice calls, "two o'clock... a few paces past that little rock, by the fallen tree." You see where he means, a figure is steadying a long rifle at the outpost.

"Got him," Viktor acknowledges, before the remote gun swivels about and opens up with a quick burst. The figure crumples under the attack, the area around him exploding into

Then you see something else moving in the shade. A big, square-looking blast shield with two long flat bars sticking out of it. The shape reminds you of something... something you once saw in an old war film. You can't place it. In moments, it's swiveled around and is pointing directly at your position. An electrical buzz fills your senses. Then you place it.

"BACK!" you scream, "ROLL BACK!"
When Eliza reacts to your panicked shout, Ice doesn't have time to stabilize himself and rolls off the suddenly jerking tank. You roll back over the verge just in time, as the buzz shifts to a sudden WHOOSH, and you feel something whip overhead.

"What the heck was that?" Viktor asks in shock.

"Anti-tank gun," you tell him, equally shocked. "They almost got us!"

>?

>>33444550
>the area around him exploding into
think that line got cut off

>?
pop smoke, switch to thermals and have Eliza load whatever HE/APERS rounds she has on hand and put one into the AT gun before rolling back

>>33444610
>>think that line got cut off
>No kidding.

>>33444550
*The figure crumples under the attack, the area around him exploding into thick whirls of dust and blood. Many of the little shapes you'd picked out suddenly move, quickly shifting away from you deeper into the shadow of the trees.

>>33444550
>"Got him," Viktor acknowledges, before the remote gun swivels about and opens up with a quick burst. The figure crumples under the attack, the area around him exploding into

You keep dropping your sentences. You really need an assistant to keep an eye on them for you.

So we can pretty much confirm that Monolith was expecting us, given their somewhat defensive tactics and the fact they brought that beast of a gun. We'll need to take that out, preferably without wrecking our tank.
Could we hit the crew with sniper fire, then blast it while it's unmanned?

>>33444610
>put one into the AT gun before rolling back
some clarification on this

I mean for her to perform a basic berm drill, load the appropriate round, approach the depression point, sight and service the target, and then withdraw, very quickly

we know where the AT gun is, and it can't move all that fast, so Eliza should only need to take the time to shift the gun onto target and fire before retreating, minimal exposure time is paramount

Rolled 1, 5, 3, 15 = 24

>Mkay, going for sniper fire and berm drill.

>>33444866
>1
uh-oh

>>33444866
>>these rolls
>Based Vasa is based.
>writing

HK, why is it that you use underscore in your name today? You usually don't.

>>33444943
SPAH SAPPIN MAH SENTRI

also, what magic did he use to make >>33444866
>Mkay, going for sniper fire and berm drill.
not greentexted in his post

>>33444550
"Eliza, roll forward again! Hit them again before they reload and then roll back!" Ice scrabbles out of the way as Eliza rolls into the spot he'd fallen onto. You tell him to tell Vasa to shoot at it at well.

Cresting once more, Viktor shouts that he's got the target. You can see it, the crew desperately trying to move it to a different position. Both Viktor and Eliza depress their barrels, ready to blow it away.
Right as Eliza is about to take the shot, that electrical buzz fills the valley again. You look around, trying to find the source, and notice too late: further down the valley, a second gun is pointed right at Eliza's now exposed side.
You shout a warning. Eliza moves. The movement throws off Viktor's shot on the first. Eliza's not going to turn fast enough. It's going to hit you. You're... going to die here?

A crack report from the ridge, towards Kris and Vasa, and the gun suddenly swings off to one side, one of the two crewmen's heads snapping back as he falls to the ground, a geyser of blood spraying from his neck. Eliza uses the moment to get her cannon aligned and fires, the shell landing directly on the mantle and blowing the anti-tank gun to pieces, along with the surviving crewman.

You look back to where the first gun was, but it's disappeared into the darkness of the deep forest.

>?

>>33445036
If we can't see our targets anymore, we should get out of sight too. There might be more anti tank guns out there, so we need Vasa or Freedom to spot for us.

We might also have to consider moving Vasa or someone else to a position where they can overlook our flank in case of counter attack, if we intend to keep our current position on the cliff.

>>33445036
time for us to go hunting have Vasa and Kris stay up on the ridge, with Eliza in cover while we take Ice, Viktor and Dave with us down and behind them into the valley, have Vasa and Kris cover us and report what they see to Ice, and once we kill that AT gun hopefully we can get Eliza to provide more covering fire

though if the cliff is too unsafe for Eliza after we flank them and see whats wht, we should have her move to the left and into the Freedom outpost to help reinforce them

>>33445150
I think Dave quit? Also we'd need someone to relay info to Eliza or she won't know if it's safe or not. So we'd probably be just 2 trying to take them on? Seems like heading down there will get us killed seeing as they already know we're coming and are in concealed positions.

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>>33445150
>Tactical overview for those who enjoy them.
>Quality MS Paint job because work PC.

The two brown lines are the valley walls. Left is the burning outpost and two fortified positions marked. Top light is the trees you can see, the dark is the area you can't see. Also the first gun, which has fallen back into the darker trees and second gun now destroyed.

>>33445225
>Who's the big dot, Vasa or Kris?

Initial thoughts are that I really really really don't want to approach those woods, at all. The approach would leave attackers completely exposed and with no idea what to even shoot at. Horrifying.

We should call up Loki, maybe his guys can tell us something useful, right now we'd just be firing blind.

>>33445225
I'll second calling Loki >>33445313 we should update him on our position and see if he has anything useful, also we should move Vasa and Kris to the right of Eliza while we pull Eliza back and to the left a bit, once we have more info and Vasa and Kris covering us, we can decide where to go

>>33445353 here

its starting to get late here so I'm heading to bed now, good luck fellow anons

>>33445967
Seems like Kaleun was forced to do his job yet again anyway, so you're not missing anything!

>>33445036
Eliza rolls back from the ridge, back into cover while Ice moves up to the ridge. A burst of heavy fire from one of the shapes in the woods sprays across the ridge to your left, and after a few moments Ice calls up to you. "The girls are getting shot at, so they're falling back. Kris said she'll try to wrap around us to the right.

You nod, taking out your PDA and redialing Loki's number. The call doesn't connect. You try again, but have no luck. Something about being out of service. Great.

"We should move to the left, towards the outpost," you tell the others. Viktor acknowledges, and Eliza starts to rotate to comply. Then Ice shouts out to stop and look.
You hop down and rush over to see what he's talking about, and see none other than Dave wandering in a straight line (as straight as he ever walks) towards the forest, right through Monolith's lines of fire!

"What in the hell is he doing?" Ice watches in awe as the man saunters into the trees, apparently completely unfazed by the battle raging around him.

Several seconds pass after he crosses into the darkness of the trees. Then a minute. Then, suddenly, the sporadic heavy weapons and sniper fire from the treeline stops completely. A few seconds later, the gunfire from the outpost stops as well, as the gunners realize there's no-one shooting back anymore.

Silence descends on the valley.

Then Dave wanders back out of the trees, looks up to you and waves, a stupid grin on his face.

Ice just asks a one-word question. "What?"

[Part 38 End]

Thanks for reading, folks, but that's all for today! Sorry for getting interrupted so much.

As always, Q&A now and thread is open to discussions!
I likely won't be able to run another thread this week, however provided nothing changes I should be able to run Monday. Should being the operative word.

I fucking hate Dave.

>Kaleun lost his Herrhood

>"Ie know. Hke is a very important boy. You wish to know about him?" You nod, gulping back a sudden discomfort. "Hke is your... brother. No, no." Dave shakes his head violently, "the wrong word wrong word. Sibling, no. Cousin, no. Kindred. Yes."

So what does it all mean, anons? If he's our "kindred" why should we be afraid of him? And what does that even mean? Is he suggesting they're both mutants? How can that make sense when Loli grew up outside the zone? And Shota has been nothing but nice to us. Why would he do that if he's our enemy, it would have been so easy to just let us die. It doesn't make any damn sense, Kaleun.

>>33447365
He's a little stab-happy demon that is favoured by the Zone. Why should we not be afraid?

>>33447482
Because if he's like us, he also gets lonely and wants a friend.

The best friend.

>>33447518
I'm sure he already has a dog.

>>33447610
Nonsense. Don't you know dogs in the zone are extremely rare? You could walk right from one end to the other and you'd never even see a single one of them.

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>>33447365
>why should we be afraid of him?
Because he's the final boss.

>>33447763
You keep saying that, but why should we trust you? You're a lying QM running a quest full of liars running plots built on lies. For all we know, he's the only true good guy.

>>33447928
>only true good guy.
Don't be silly, anon. That's Dave.

>>33447967
None are purer than Mickey.

None.

>>33447763
Final boss? We should have a tea party with him.

>>33447928
the only good guy was Sergei ;_;

>>33448123
Or give him a box of chocolates.

>>33448218
Or both!

>>33448288
I honestly look forward to seeing what HK will do to convince anyone the kid is evil, if he's being genuine about it. I don't think I remember seeing any player at any point speak negatively about him.

>>33448377
I was thinking perhaps he would start by eating all your chocolate. If that doesn't convince you, I might have him murder Doggy.

>>33448377
The kid is basically Loli, but... shota. We're obviously going to become the best of friends-

>>33448405
Murder Doggy...?[/Spoiler] Kill him.

>>33448405
Woah there. Hold on just a second. This is important.

We still have chocolate?

>>33448436
According to my notes, you still have 1 bar yes.

>>33450454
Well shit. I should really start keeping my own notes about chocolate stores, it seems. Clearly my memory alone isn't up to the task. Hell, Shota could've been stealing from us all the time and I may have never noticed!

I still don't believe he would. He's a giver of chocolate, not a taker. What force could possibly turn a young and caring mind like that over to the dark chocolate?

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>>33446646
I told you, he's a GODDAMN CONTROLLER.

Normal humans could never pull off such a feat!

>>33450741
He's a preacher.