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292 KB JPG

Your heart warms to me
So battle-scarred and deformed
I can't catch you yet

Sapphire City, much vaunted capital of this dustball planet. 9 million souls followed the water to the lowest point on the map and attached themselves like barnacles to a ship. The lake is more brown than blue now but that doesn't stop tourists from cruising on luxury casino barges, gnawing on hor d'oeuvres of Crim Lizard Satay and Black Lobster Caviar before tossing their waste overboard. But you're not here to gamble. You're here to see him.

The steps down to the club are slick with moisture; you struggle to make your way without falling on your bad leg. Pale vapor churns against a mottled blue-black ceiling, a cold curtain over young people who dance to the stone-faced Senryeans playing their shaminsen upon a miniature proscenium. He sits at the bar, near the alcohol as always.

No hurry.

>Listen to the music a little longer.
>Watch the dancers.
>Go to him.
>Drink alone.

>>118140

>drink alone

Take a minute to collect yourself and read the atmosphere here.

>>118180

You stay in his blind spot (which is easy, you just sit to his right) and order yourself a highball made with Senryean ginger beer.

Units: 671.5

As you sip it and enjoy the burn, you attempt to get a better feel for your surroundings. This isn't your first time at the Kaminari but it has been a long time. There's new holographic projector in the back wall and you don't recognize the bartender anymore but it still carries that pleasant tang of home for you.

You could leave if you wanted but you're not sure if you could find anyone else willing to take the trade on your heretical jet.

>approach him
>watch the dancers
>continue to keep an eye out for anyone who looks like a Tauran agent
>enjoy the music
>leave

>>118246

Do one last sweep for Tauran agents and meet HIM

>>118270
+1

>>118270
>>118274

You do one last look around the place for Tauran agents and don't see anyone too likely. The most likely candidates are a few homesick Senryeans in the corners that are drinking themselves into oblivion. You strongly doubt that they'd even remember to report you in their current state.

You walk over to where he is sitting. He's wearing an emerald suit of crushed velvet with a brown paisley ascot, a cylindrical merchants cap balanced precariously over his bald spot.

"Lover."

The bartender gives you an odd look.

"That's his name, bar boy. Now give us some privacy."

The bartender quickly scuttles to the far end to mock up fresh drinks for the Senryeans.

"Tanzer? Is that really you?"

Jack Lover lifts his eye patch, as though to get a better look at you. An old joke.

"It really is! I heard Bronson wasted you out in the desert!"

"Keep your voice down. I'm obviously fine."

He looks at your crutch and smirks, even as he does what you say.

"If you say so. Do I want to know what actually happened out there?"

>Tell him everything
>Tell him about everything but Patroclus
>Make something up (write-in)
>"It's not important. I need to make a deal with you."
>Write-in

>>118347

"Not really - I still have sand everywhere. Let's talk business, if you don't mind?"

>>118347
>"Not really - I still have sand everywhere. Let's talk business, if you don't mind?

>>118381
>>118392

"Suffice to say I had to get my race suit dry cleaned. Now, maybe we could cut to the chase?"

"Oh, that's just like you. Never share a juicy tidbit with an old friend."

"Look, it's really not important. I just need you to take a piece of H-tech off my hands, maybe in return for a new jet?"

"What happened to your old one?"

"What do you think happened, numbskull? Bronson took it."

"Tough luck. Well, I might be able to help you out. What kind of h-tech is it?"

"A jet."

"A jet? Ah, I dunno Tarren. That's a pretty big thing to flip."

"Somebody will take it. I'm sure there's someone looking for a jet that can't be traced. And I bet you take tea with them."

Lover grimaces.

"I do have a contact who might be interested... but I'm not exactly as tight with them as you might think. I wouldn't want to go alone."

>I can go with you.
>So hire some muscle.
>We can work that out. What about a replacement jet? Do you have one?
>Write-in

>>118461
>We can work that out. What about a replacement jet? Do you have one?

>>118481

"We can work that out somehow. What about a replacement jet, do you have one?"

"I have a few. But you know there will be costs even for y-"

Before Lover can finish, the drunken Senryeans suddenly burst into argument.

"Kaya Kudou is the greatest Senryean racer, I won't hear anything else!"

"Bullshit! Thunderbolt broke every record on the Saga circuit and even beat Ulf MacGroy! He's the closest we ever came to winning the Ring!"

"He was a choke artist!"

"And Kaya is a prostitute!"

Fists are clenched and the two seem on the cusp of blows.

>try and intervene
>wait see what happens
>write-in

>>118481

"So we hire some muscle and give them a tiny slice of the action. I'm going to need a replacement jet though..."

>>118534
>try and intervene
"Guys, please. This isn't the place for fights."

>>118556

"Guys, please. This isn't a place for fights."

"Who the fuck are you?"

>Tarren "Thunderbolt" Tanzer
>Just a fellow Senryean
>Does it matter? Just shut the fuck up.
>Punch the impudent one's lights out, that should help turn things down.
>Write-in

>>118592
>Tarren "Thunderbolt" Tanzer
>A fellow Senryean

>>118660

"I'm Tarren Tanzer and a fellow Senryean. So turn this shit down!"

"Like hell you are!"

The Kudou supporter swings for your face.

>Roll 1d100+6, I'll take the best of three

Rolled 92 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>118701

>>118746
That's definitely good enough but I'll allow samefagging if you want to try and roll higher.

Rolled 79 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>118801
Very well.

Rolled 46 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>118815
Hmm, not bad.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>118801

I'll throw in a roll as well.

>>118821
Geez, I'm glad my first roll was good. This always happens.

>>118746
>>118815
>>118821
>>118826

>98

You lean back and expertly dodge the blow. You wince due to the pain put on your right foot but this is fantastic luck for the drunken bar fly, who almost certainly would have broken his hand against your reinforced chin.

The man who was championing you as the greatest Senryean racer of all time (a technically untrue statement; you weren't born on Senryu) gapes in awe, but has little time to do so as a seven foot tall bouncer emerges from the shadows to confront the three of you. You wonder how you didn't see him before when you were scanning the room.

"I'm going to need all of you to leave."

"I'll meet you outside as soon as I'm done with my drink!" shouts Lover.

>Do as the man says
>I'm not going anywhere!
>*strike the bouncer*
>try and plead your innocence
>write-in

>>118911
>Do as the man says

>>118927

The bouncer escorts the three of you to the door and lets you walk yourselves out. You turn back to take one last look at him but he's already vanished. Mysterious.

The Kudou supporter seems loathe to hang around and immediately calls a taxi to jet off in. The Thunderbolt fan seems eager to ask some questions while you wait for Lover to finish his damn drink.

>No autographs, buddy.
>Tell him a story about an old race on Senryu
>Deny that you're really Tarren Tanzer
>Write-In

>>118911

Do as he says.

No need to tangle with a very large man doing his job

>>118946

Tell him that you'll give him an autograph on the condition he keeps it quiet that you were here for a year or two.

>>118946
>Tell him a story about an old race on Senryu

>>118958
>>118957

Going to combine these. Please wait while I hastily improvise something.

>>119011

"Are you really Tarren Tanzer?"

"Guess so."

"Wow, the greatest racer to ever come from-"

"Look, I wasn't born there."

"Really? I always heard-"

"I don't really know where I was born, buddy. It's a mystery to me and now it's a mystery to you."

"Oh, well, can I get an autograph at least? I always looked up to you."

You stare at the grown man in front of you. He looks sincere but you can't help but feel old knowing you were this guy's childhood hero. Finally, you cave.

"Sure, just keep quiet about me being here for a few years."

"Gee, thanks."

He fishes out a crumpled receipt and a pen from somewhere and you sign.

"Do you ever miss racing? I haven't heard anything about you since..."

"The Ring, yeah. I've been sorta... just going around since then. I do miss it though."

"Do you remember your first race?"

"Of course... it was off the books on Senryu, between me and a couple of other amateur kids..."

You remember it like it was yesterday. You were piloting your first skim jet, a vehicle designed for quick personal transport over the freezing oceans between the enclosed dome cities of Senryu. Not a shabby piece of work but barely able to crack Mach 1.

The stakes were low. Just a couple hundred units, pooled together by the four of you.

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>>119077

The route was over the ocean and through a tunnel bored by a long-gone snow serpent colony through an impossibly enormous iceberg. You remember sitting in the cockpit of your jet, poring over everything you knew about racing up to that point...

Note: System is a work in progress. The original system (which I lost while working on it) was more complicated and had a more sophisticated weight/acceleration/thrust system. So this is all subject to change depending on viability and how much we enjoy the crunchiness.
Rolling:

For all rolls we will take the best of three separate 1d100 rolls to determine results. Rolls must be properly formatted.

Pilot Stats

Grit: Ability to withstand G-forces, recover from destabilization
Heart: Adds a modifier when you are behind in a race or otherwise disadvantaged
Skill: Makes all maneuvers easier
Reflexes: Determines initiative for races and in other situations.

Jet Stats

Weight: Affects top speed, acceleration, maneuvering, attack/defense
Thrust: Affects top speed, acceleration
Maneuverability: Affects turning, attacks, and evasion

Terms:

Initiative:

Determined by three rolls of 1d100, reflexes are treated as a positive modifier. Initiative rolls are compared against one another but a roll of 80 or above will subtract one turn from your time to top speed.

Stages:

Each maneuver consumes a stage, after which the MCs location will be re-evaluated. Map length will be given in stages required to complete them at a jet's top speed.

Manuevers:

Maneuvers are actions that you take at each stage. They will have an invisible difficulty score that the players will roll 1d100 against. They will receive a number of modifiers and your skill will lower the difficulty check

Acceleration:

Number of turns required to reach top speed, determines by how many times thrust can be divided into weight. Speed is gained each turn unless players determine otherwise, in scenarios where they are approaching obstacles or turns that seem likely to be High-G.

G-forces and turning:

Turns will have an assigned G-force score. That score will be divided into your current speed to determine the G-forces exerted... So a higher score is better. If the G-forces are higher than your grit, you will begin to suffer negative consequences. Exceeding your grit by 1-2 g forces will impose a -20 on your next manuever roll, 3-4 will do the same, with a chance of blacking out (50%). 5 or higher will automatically cause black out, with a chance of death which will escalate according to the score and QM discretion.

(cont.)

Dice System:

First, select/describe a maneuver

Passing/gaining maneuver:

20 or below: Major setback (1/2 speed lost)
45 to 21: Setback (MC loses 1/4th total speed)
55 to 46: Ground held, no gain
56-79: Ground gained, one quarter mile
80-94: Ground gained, half mile
95+: Overdrive, ¾ mile gained, +10 bonus to next roll on any maneuver

Attack:

Modifiers: Weight score is added to Maneuverability

Attack rolls must overcome an opposing evasion roll by the QM to succeed (3d100 with modifiers, best roll is chosen).

40 or below: Backfire, MC loses ground determined by instability dice
41 to 59: Jostle (both MC and target are slowed, losing -10 from next maneuver (can be negated by grit))
60-79: Success, opponent loses half their total speed and is heavily destabilized (-30) on their next roll, chance for destruction (15%, their grit is subtracted from this number). MC loses no speed but is mildly destabilized, losing -10 from their next maneuver roll.
80-99: Major success, opponent loses ¾ speed, high chance for destruction (30% minus their grit), -30 destabilization
100: Evasion roll is ignored (unless also 100, in which case the attack defaults to a “jostle”) Opponent is forced to stop, 65% chance of destruction, -40 destabilization

Evasion rolls:

Evasion rolls succeed if they overcome the appropriate attack rolls or obstacle difficulty. Evasion rolls for enemies will be rolled by the QM while evasion rolls for the MC will be rolled by players. Modifiers will be added from reflexes.

>>119132

Stats for Young Tarren Tanzer

Grit: 5
Heart: 5
Skill: 5
Reflexes: 6

Stats for his first jet:

Weight: Medium-Low (5)
Thrust: Medium-low (2.5)
Maneuverability: Medium (+10 on turns)

>>119132

Sorry, where it says "mile" here, it should say portion of one stage relative to total map length. Or something similar. Point is, I know what it means (I think) and it doesn't mean mile.

>>119172

You sit in the cockpit of your jet, hands sweating. The horizon is filled by the sight of the massive iceberg. You and your competitors are aligned together at an agreed upon starting position, hovering over the choppy waters of the sea.

You've only hit Mach 1 once before, practicing on your own, and it was terrifying. Now, you have barely enough time to calm your nerves before the race begins.

>roll 1d100+6 to start the race

Rolled 21 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>119199
Rolling

>>119222
No... ;_;

>>119250

It's best of three anon, do not fear too greatly.

Assuming we ever get 3 rolls... Ah well, I'm patient.

>>119323
Hope the other Anon comes back.

>>119338

Me too anon. In the meantime, I'm going to go get something to eat and some fresh coffee. I'll leave the thread open for when I get back.

>>119443
I'm going out to eat as well but I'll be back. I like this quest so far.

Rolled 47 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>119222

Sorry I'm late!

Rolled 17 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>119338

Have another roll for good measure

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>>119222
>>119745
>>119776

>53

Your nerves get to you and you're slow to the throttle. Thankfully, you're not so bad off, relatively. Henry is even slower off the starting line than you are and Sara seems incapable of starting her engine at all, so you quickly outrun both of them.

Jack takes off just ahead of you however, and the two of you are soon neck and neck, leaving vast plumes of water behind you as the first turn approaches.

>Current Speed: 380 mph
>Current position: 2nd
>Stage Progress: 0.5/7

As the smaller sibling of the enormous iceberg grows nearer, you prepare to execute your first maneuver.

Roll 1d100 and choose a suggested option or write your own.

>take the turn at current speed and attempt to pass
>accelerate to your limit and attempt to pass
>accelerate past your limit and attempt to pass
>take the turn at current speed and attempt an attack on Jack

My slow response time seems to have killed the thread for now so I'm just going to go to sleep. If this thread is still around later, I'll resume it.

>>120237
Thanks for running, though. Hope you continue.