You are Nicole Smith, a young woman with various anomalous abilities such as telekinesis and body puppeteering. You are a Cleaner. From meaningless errands, to exploration, to contract killing, to everything in between, you work in all manner of jobs as a deniable asset to the Companies of the City. Your goal? To get enough money, influence, power, and/or allies to break free of this dangerous and barely respected career path , to become something bigger in the City. No one wants to stay as a Cleaner forever and you're no different here. Especially with the men in silver keeping a keen eye on everything you've done. Waiting for you to slip up and become an easy target for them.So far, your missions have been successful. You have rescued a young man named Benjamin that was kidnapped by a gang. He was more than willing to join as an ally when you promised him to train him in your anomalous powers. You're not quite sure if you CAN do that but you can try.You followed this up by preventing a chef of a failing restaurant from turning into some sort of Anomaly and killing the people around him. While he wasn't fully cured, you earned the favor of both your Handler (who assigns you missions) and the best friend of the Chef, Adam. He owes you a massive favor for saving both his and his best friend's lives.Currently, your mission is to hunt down and kill the gang who kidnapped Benjamin. Not because of that but because they pissed off your Handler, a rich and powerful man. Turns out they broke into his house and he MIGHT be involved in a blood feud with a boss of theirs. After investigating his house and having to put down some of the gangsters in question, you are now trying to find their base. This is where the story picks up now. You can only hope you can complete this mission as well as the other ones you did. It's the only way to make quick cash in the City and that's one of the few things that is certain in it.ARCHIVE: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=CleanerPASTEBINS: MAIN CHARACTER SHEET (has your stats and inventory): https://pastebin.com/3y638TfKALLIES (contains their stats, recruitment costs, and RAPPORT): https://pastebin.com/8gdVZBPeMECHANICS (contains the explanation of stats and how stat checks work. Will shortly be updated to include Combat Mechanics as well): https://pastebin.com/A9nLYWP6Art done by MortisFriend. He's a damn good artist.
Before you do anything else, you have to address the elephant in the room here. You try your best to give them a disarming smile. "Just watch. It's easier to explain that way." It's cryptic but you don't have it in you to try explaining it further. You kneel down in front of the barely 'alive' corpse Quentin is in. You knock on the body's head before pointing a finger at Lilith's body. "Go there, please. I think that's a good option." You whisper at Quentin."What the fuck are you doing?" Lex gives you an incredulous look. "Shouldn't you be patching 'im up with somethin'? The fuck are you whispering for?" Ashley slowly backs away. She keeps a calm and collected tone in her voice but it's clear she's concerned where this is going. "Lex. I think she knows what she's doing and that's scaring me. Back away.""O-okay? Nicky, I hope you're not having an episode or somethin'." He backs up alongside Ashley to have a solid five foot gap between them and you. "Y-you know what you're doing, right?" "Right. Come on out, Quentin." You look down at the body that has long since stopped moving. Something squirms underneath the decaying face of the soon to be discarded meat puppet. It's long and thin, wrapping around the head with ease. Small limbs all over the long and thin body prod and poke away at the rotten meat it is trapped in. Eventually, the centipede makes a big enough hole to pop its head out of. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Lex gags upon seeing it, covering his mouth with his hands. Ashley is watching on with morbid curiosity and dread. "Holy shit. Is that a bug...?"You hold out your hand to the centipede. It crawls onto your hand. Its many legs tickle at your palm and god, holding it is making you retch. The seven inch centipede scuttles around your hand. It is clearly waiting for you to carry it over. With some hesitation, you head over to Lilith's corpse. The centipede leaps out of your hand to cling onto the corpse's face. It makes a beeline towards Lilith's ear. A sickening crunching of flesh and cartilage is the only sound you can make out over your beating heart. Lilith's body begins to convulse and twitch as unnatural life begins to force itself back into the lifeless husk. It almost reminds you of the thug you tased except it's more controlled, focused. Groans and unintelligible moans ooze out of its mouth. Its eyes blink wildly. Its breathing is hitched and forced.[UNSTABLE] It's like watching someone test drive a new car. Figuring out all of the unique quirks and flaws of it. Every vehicle is unique. It simply picked a new one. 'Lilith' gets up on one foot. Her second leg stops being dead weight and gets up as well. She straightens her back with a spine chilling crack. She opens and closes her mouth, testing various sounds with it. Soon, it speaks. "Thank you for keeping it somewhat intact." It's her voice. There's still emotion in it but it has dampened, lost its spark. It is not her anymore. "This one is usable. For now."
Perhaps it is the combat high. Maybe you were more fascinated by the resurrection. Maybe it is because it's a freak just like you but...your head feels fine after watching it. Sure, you physically feel sick but you're otherwise calm about the situation. You turn to look at the others.Lex has finished voiding his stomach of everything that was in it. His sweat soaked body is shaking violently. "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, NICK? T-THAT THING, IT- IT'S A ZOMBIE? ZOMBIE BUG?" He has his back pressed against the wall. "W-WE HAD THAT THING FOLLOWING US? W-WHAT IF IT ATTACKS US NEXT? W-WE SHOULD KILL IT!"Ashley is more reserved in her reaction. She's sweating just like Lex but she's able to keep herself from vomiting or screeching. "I think we should go. Now. We're fine with three people, not four." Her knuckles has turned white from how tight her grip around her bat is. You let out a small sigh. You can't deny the simple fact of what you saw was disgusting. Without really thinking about it, you hand over your cigarettes to the two. "Take a break outside. Smoke these. Get some fresh air." They don't hesitate at all to follow your instructions. The two dip out of the house without saying anything. It doesn't take more than five seconds for you to hear the distinctive sound of a lighter flicking on. Quentin looks at you. It's hard to call him that mentally when Lilith is staring right at you but somehow, calling 'her' 'Lilith' is deeply wrong to you. "I do believe that could've gone over better." Quentin mutters. "This new body is usable, however. They will understand." >FRESH BODY: +1 MAX FLESH >LILITH'S BODY: +2 TALENT, +2 CHARM>The body will decay over time. You will be informed when these boosts start to decay. You simply shrug. You make your way back to the Handler's office with Quentin trailing behind you. You sit down at the desk to look at where the image file of the desktop wallpaper is. It doesn't take long to find it. After some fiddling with the computer, you start the process of printing it out. As you wait for it to finish printing, you look back at Quentin. If it wasn't for what you witnessed first hand and the bloodstained hole still in Lilith's chest, it's almost like she never died. She's still breathing like a human, blinking like a human, she looks normal. Unlike the barely functioning husk that was Quentin's previous body. It is fascinating to see. [UNSTABLE] You swear you still see the centipede crawling underneath his new face. The picture soon gets printed out. You put it in your pocket and exit out of the office. You pass by the now fully decaying and rotting body that used to be Quentin's host body. It somehow fully decayed and rotted in seconds. You try not to question it as you step outside. Lex and Ashley are chatting with each other. They are already half way through each's last cigarette. They look up at you. The presence of Quentin kills the conversation. There's an awkward silence now.
"...Feh." Lex finishes his cigarette. He drops the butt on the ground and grinds it with his boot. "I don't like him. I don't know what you fucking see in this thing. I don't like how he's in some hot chick's body." "But I think we can both agree it's better if we tolerate his presence. For the sake of the mission." Ashley snuffs her cigarette in the same way as Lex. "Thanks for the cigs. That helped. A lot.""Yeah. Some fresh air helped. I dunno, I guess he's more helpful as a dude helpin' us instead of fuckin'...invading my head and turning me into a meat puppet. How the hell does a centipede even do that? Aren't they just bugs?" If it wasn't for you seeing something like this first hand yesterday, you would believe him. You would think it was your mind playing tricks. "I don't know. I don't care. He's helping us." That's all you can respond with. The two seem to tolerate this for now. "We got a picture. We'll ask some people. After a bit of patching up." You pull out your trauma kit. It doesn't take long to cover Lex's bruises with the appropriate creams and bandages to treat them. They weren't super awful to begin with and this kit is oddly user friendly with the supplies it gives you. He's right as rain once you're done. >-1 CHARGE on TRAUMA KIT >-MALTRO CIGGIES >+1 FLESH on LEX, ASHLEY and LEX will regenerate RESTRAINT over the mission. "Damn. High quality shit. You got that from that Z-Corp fag?" He takes a moment to check the quick patchjob you gave him. "Bought it from a store back in District 7. Not important. We got a picture. We'll ask around. Sound good?" It's best to keep yourself focused on a goal to prevent your voices from distracting you too much. You show the three of them the picture you printed out. "Sounds good enough." "Yeah, I'm fine with that." "I believe it's a satisfying option to pick." The two grimace at Quentin's new voice but whatever discomfort they felt is automatically washed away by the nicotine high they're on. That's one less issue to worry about. Without further ado, the four of you leave the house and the MANY corpses rotting there for someone else to find. The orange haze of District 8 has only gotten worse since you last saw it a hour or so ago. The grinding of gears. The horrid stench of sulfur and smoke. It's impressive how anyone can work, let alone live, here. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] Simply put, sometimes there is no other option for people. This is where you go when there's no other options. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] They are willing to do anything to get something better. Most of the people you're walking past are looking on at your outfits in fear. You didn't exactly have time to remove them in between your bluffing attempt and the swarm of combat. Oh well. You can always clarify that later. You just need to find someone desperate enough to answer your questions.You eventually stumble across two exhausted, bone tired workers sitting at a street corner.
Their face masks are stuffed to the brim with scented candle wax and long since wilted flowers. A poor attempt to keep the horrid smell of the District away from them. They narrow their eyes when you approach them. "Excuse us, sirs." Quentin steps forward. He points a thin finger at the picture you have in your hands. "Do you happen to recognize this man in a jacket? We are attempting to find him." The taller of the two workers lets out an exhausted sigh. "Don't you have. The same jacket? You should know. Where." His speaking is slow, half finished. He's barely there. The shorter one narrows his eyes at the picture and the four of you. "You aints ones of thems, rights?" He hisses with obvious strain in his voice. "I can tells. Ya aints like thems." He keeps slurring his words with so many "s"s. "It seems. So. I know how. It is." The taller one groans in agony. "Young lady. One. Two. And Three. I know. Where his type may. Be?" "Well? Go on." Lex taps his foot. "We don't got all day.""Yeah, yeahs. I recognize the jacketed guy. He keeps going to this dell I eats at. Latelys, he's beens sending some young punk with a similar jacket in his stead instead, since his head-" "Please shut the fuck up and finish the story, please." Ashley snaps at him, clearly impatient with what's going on. The smaller one shrugs with indifference. "Down the street. Take two lefts and a right. It's LambLambBamBam. Big building with yellows and pinks and other girly colors. Owner said it's because of his daughter. Weird but the meat's good."Good. You have a solid lead now. The four of you quickly head down the street according to his instructions. Luckily, most people are giving you a lot of distance, so passing by them isn't a real issue here. Soon enough, you stumble upon the building you think the main was describing. https://youtu.be/2wEpcwDefkQ - LambLambBamBam In a sea of grey and brutalist buildings, a small deli with a buncha bright and flashy colors stands out like a sore thumb. A horde of cardboard cutouts of cartoonish anthropomorphic sheeps in deli worker outfits stand at the front of the building. Various goofy posters offering deals like "SUGARED HAMS", "PICKLED CHICKEN EYES", and "HARVESTER APPROVED SPECIALS" line the windows; You can't make out much of the actual building from here. "Can we go back to killing people." Lex blankly states. "I don't want to be anywhere near here." "This is...something?" Ashley is bemused. "Harvesters, huh? Working in a deli? Fitting, I guess?""..." Quentin pouts. "This is an insult to all known marketing and professionalism standards. I would like a word with the owner. Preferably with a weapon.""No, wait, we can do something here. The gang boss supposedly sends a trusted lackey here." You snap your fingers. "We can do something with that. Lemme think." The others wait for your plan. What do you suggest to your three expecting allies? You got a decent amount of options here...
>You bought an aerial drone for a reason. Hide somewhere, have the drone observe at a safe distance. Watch for your target. (-1 CHARGE on your AERIAL DRONE. You'll likely find the location of where the gangboss is but not a lot of extra info. A safe option.)>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)>Take off your jackets and enter in there as regular customers. Watch and observe what goes on there. (Each ally rolls a DC 6 RESTRAINT check to keep their cool. The more successes, the more information about the various quirks of the Strikers and their base you can exploit you learn about.)>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer his body when he shows up, drag him into an alley, and have your bruisers beat him into submission. (-2 RESTRAINT, you'll get a lot of valuable information out of him and he'll reluctantly assist you to save his own skin.)>[CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Might as well use your disguises while you can. Go in, pretend to be Strikers, get whatever special treatment you can get there. (FREE ACTION. Liable to raise suspicion but you'll get a decent amount of supplies for free.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)>Write in.Welcome back. Sorry for the late update but turns out, my house had a fucked up roof. Had to get that sorted. It's all good now.
>>5850172>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
>>5850166Centipede Quentin crawling around in your hand and patiently waiting for you to take him to the next meat puppet for him to grotesquely ressurect and pilot like a putrid, decaying mech is honestly fucking adorable>>5850172>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)If this goes wrong, we just kill him, which which was on the itinerary anyway. In which case we just do one of our other plans from earlier, if we get absolutely nothing out of it.
>>5850172>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
>>5850172>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)How grindy is Limbus Company for someone who doesn't spend money? I love PM, but gachas scare me.
>>5850172>>[CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Might as well use your disguises while you can. Go in, pretend to be Strikers, get whatever special treatment you can get there. (FREE ACTION. Liable to raise suspicion but you'll get a decent amount of supplies for free.)>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
>>5850172>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)I wanna save the jackets and IDs for the base infiltration. They'll help us blend in stronger there
>>5850172>>You bought an aerial drone for a reason. Hide somewhere, have the drone observe at a safe distance. Watch for your target. (-1 CHARGE on your AERIAL DRONE. You'll likely find the location of where the gangboss is but not a lot of extra info. A safe option.)
>>5850172>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)>>5850246Base Heathcliff/Hong Lu/Outis will carry you a long way. You can reroll account on mobile if necessary then link to steam to get a good guaranteed 3 star on the f2p pull, N Sinclair / Rabbit Heathcliff are the big ones. Save up your lunacy for Walpurgisnacht when it comes around since you can't shard units there (though even that is unlocked after a few months), use shards instead for units, never pull on an EGO banner, always ten pull for guaranteed 00 if you can. You can pretty much just grind Mirror Dungeon Hard from there to slowly get meta units by shard extraction and you'll be fine. Faust Fluid Sac is a must have for lategame so make sure to extract that EGO and have a decent Faust identity (any are fine except base, LC Faust is cheap and strong). The seasonal Battle Pass is very good for its value though if you care enough to do dailies and a weekly mirror dungeon since it triples shard gain once maxxed (doesn't take that long) and comes with a fuckton of EGO/boxes
>>5850172>>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)
Alright, closing the vote. Stealing the wallet via telekinesis is the winning action. Two anons, roll 2d6. If the total of both adds up to 8, it passes.>>5850246It's ultimately still a gacha at the end of the day but you won't really hit any major brickwalls until Canto IV and V. Most of the game has been tweaked and nerfed from when I first played it ages ago.
Rolled 3, 5 = 8 (2d6)>>5851001Rollan
Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)>>5851001
>15 Nice. Passed. Writing.
The benefit of your, to be quite frank, not all there mental state is having powers. This is a perfect time to use one of them. You nod towards your three allies. "We'll wait for him to arrive. Then we'll follow him. Simple." Quentin and Lex merely shrug at the idea, accepting it. Ashley seems a bit more hesitant on it. "If he spots us, he's going to get all antsy. Four people trailing after you is gonna do that. I don't think staring a fight in public is a good idea either." "Trust me, it'll work out. You'll see!" Lex and Ashley both flinch at that. Right, the last time you told them something along that...oh well. They'll actually see this time. The four of you wait nearby the deli, pretending to do something other than waiting for one specific person to arrive. It doesn't take long for him to arrive. A boy who can't be any older than sixteen with short, blonde hair starts to approach the deli. He has the checkered jacket you've seen all of the other Strikers wear so you know he's the one. He enters the deli without any of you doing anything yet. You wait. After ten or so minutes, he exits the deli with a plastic bag. He has his wallet in his hand. Good. You take a deep breath in and clear your mind. You focus on the wallet and tug on it with your mind. The strain of forcing your thoughts to overpower the grip of his hand BURNS. It never gets easier. >5/7 RESTRAINT LEFT The important thing is that his hand loses grip on it remarkably fast. Before you know it, you already have the wallet in your hand. Understandably, your three allies are bewildered at seeing a wallet flying from his hand to yours. You start to follow after the non-walletless Striker. You can tell your pals have some questions on what they say but they're saving it for later. The streets begin to shift and change as you follow him. The industrial and brutalist buildings around you begin to decay and twist in on themselves. A clear sign of no one having bothered to maintain whatever part of the District you're in now. The stench of burning plastic and smog fills your noise. The sidewalk you're walking on is caked with a thick layer of garbage and waste. It doesn't take long for him to notice the four of you trailing after him. Ashley was right in that regard but this is part of your plan. He looks at the four of you, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "The fuck do you want?" He reaches a hand towards his belt. You hold out his wallet. "You dropped this. Didn't take nothing from it. You can check." He narrows his eyes even more until he looks like a character from a racist cartoon. He grabs the wallet and opens it to check what is inside of it. The four of you wait there awkwardly while he sees if you were telling the truth. With a huff, he puts the wallet back in his pocket. "Thanks. My boss would've killed me if I lost that." He unnarrows his eyes before glancing around. You do as well. The two of you realize that you're at the base he was heading back to.
https://youtu.be/clX4YQwnpL0 - THEIR BASE It can barely be called a 'base', actually. The thing in front of you is a barely held together pile of concrete, rebar, brick and wood in a poor facsimile of a building. What could be generously described as window frames have long since been boarded up with welded on sheet metal. Three guards stand around the front entrance of the building. Unlike the other thugs you've seen, they're in some pretty thick and bulky outfits made out of some sort of thick fabric, sorta like a fireman's outfit. Thick gas masks and helmets shield their faces as well. They have leashes made out of the same thick fireproof(?) fabric in their hands. They're connected to collars that are wrapped around big, stick-bug like creatures. Their limbs are sharp and jagged and their black carapace has several dark-red cracks on them. You recognize them. Firecrackers, you saw them when you found the warehouse they kidnapped Benjamin at. Seems like they learnt their lessons from your previous trick given how they're wrapped in as much fireproof stuff as possible. Lex seems to recognize what's going on to and lets out a small groan. Your attention is snapped back to the young boy you handed the wallet back to. He's already talking to the three guards standing outside of the base. You can't make out much from here but it seems to involve your group somehow. The young boy enters after finishing whatever he was saying to them. The three guards look back at you, seemingly trying to analyze you...but they shrug with disinterest. They start looking at anywhere and anyone passing by BESIDES the four of you. Whatever the boy said to them seems to have made them not even want to acknowledge your presence. Interesting. >DCs for the next vote have been lowered."I think we can just walk in if we wanted to." Lex crosses his arms. "That little favor Nicky earnt us is probably enough for them.""I don't know." Ashley scratches her neck with an agitated look on her face. "I don't think it's that easy. We got the right stuff to blend in but we'll be in the lion's den if we go that way.""So? Apparently we have a fucking psychic here." Lex places a head on your head. "I bet she has some wild bullshit she can pull off." He nervously glances at Quentin. "...and we do have a meatshield." "No offense taken." Quentin chirps. "I believe your own shells and layers of skin should be focused on over me. I believe they're quite fragile compared to my intended ones." "What the fuck is that supposed to me?" Lex is absolutely bewildered by the comment. Ashley rubs her arm with obvious discomfort."Psychics predict the future and read minds, Lex. I can't do that." Not yet, anyways. "Look, I'll think of something, alright?" You ARE at the base in question. You're probably close to the goal of crippling the gang enough to satisfy the Handler if you can pull off a decent plan. What to do, Nicole?
>Just go in through the front door? There's nothing stopping you this time. Show them the stuff they want to see and go in like normal people. (The guards might be a problem later but you'll get in without any hassle.)>Going through the front door is what they EXPECT. Take a moment to search around the outside of the building for any sneaky ways in. (COGNIZANCE DC: 18, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and you'll find a hidden way in to try launching an ambush from or to try stealing them blind. Fail and you'll probably raise some alarms.)>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)>[CHECKERED JACKETS] [MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Go up to the guards and ask them some questions. Pretend to be some clueless newbies that just joined. (FREE ACTION. Write up to three questions to ask them. They'll try their best to answer them.)>You got another plan. (Write in.)
>>5851159>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)We are on a mission to destroy these people, lets get rid of the potential future problem here. We might wanna take it easy next mission and try and regen our restraint though.
>>5851159>>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)>>5851168What happened after we destroyed Striker? We can end up creating a power vacuum. We may replace strikers with even worse gangs after the power vacuum fills up.
>>5851195We are cleaners, that means more money for us.
Should we investigate other gangs first to find out if they are worse than strikers, or maybe less worse than strikers, or potentially find a goodish gang to fill the power vacuum?
>>5851198It's the City.Whatever we do, things will only get worse.
>>5851195Change>>5851159>You got another plan. (Write in.)>Investigate other rival gang to find out if them are worse than strikers or less worse than strikers.
Question QM.Is this quest a nobledark or a grimdark?>>5851201I'm not a fun misery porn or grimdark for grimdark sake.
>>5851214Nobledark, if I had to slap a label. You are not liable to make massive sweeping changes to the world from your small position of "glorified mercenary/gig economy cuck" but you can make changes that positively benefit the people and world around you. You helped prevent a man from distorting into a horrid monster and you saved someone who was kidnapped. You have people who would stick their neck out for you. The City sucks but you do have the power to change it in small ways. It's not gonna be misery porn. That's simply not fun to write for me and it's not fun to read lest you go full Warhammer 40k with it.>>5851210 You can absolutely go out of your way to try finding a gang who could fill the power vacuum. The Handler only cares that the Strikers get fucked. Anything else is fair game.
>>5851221>Nobledark>Illustrated with a W-Corp reference
>>5851227Fair, W-Corp was a bad example, I just wanted to post a Don image. Again, I don't like slapping labels on things, but shit isn't going to be doom and gloom for the sake of it. That's my general point I was trying to put across. I don't particularly like using terms like Grimdark and Nobledark anyways.
>>5851210edit> Investigate other rival gangs to find out if they are worse than strikers or less worse than strikers. And try to find the least bad, or maybe goodish, gang to fill the power vacuum after dismantling or completely destroying the striker gang.
>>5851159>>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers.
>>5851159>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)
>>5851334+1, I like this. If Quentin does fail, well we're getting the gaurds off our backs anyways.>>5851198From my understanding, our job here is to just crush this gang at our Handler's behest because they trashed one of his houses. At the end of the day, we're simply just trying to get paid, and just trying to stay alive. But I guess who knows if opportunity will rear its head and if it'll be beneficial. We may be a bit out of our depth trying to intermingle with this district's gang politics, but having another gang's backing might just help us succeed here. Though it also may also give us some more unwanted attention
>>5851301Change>>5851159>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)
>>5851159>>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)
Alright, seems like it's pretty set in stone what people want. Two anons, roll the following >4d6 for Quentin's charm check >4d6 for your Willpower check
Rolled 6, 5, 4, 1 = 16 (4d6)>>5852197
Rolled 2, 6, 4, 3 = 15 (4d6)>>5852197
>>5852203>>5852206Decent rolls, passed. Writing.
"Okay, we'll go in, they're outright allowing us to. First, Quentin, uh...talk to the guards? You do have that whole Lilith...body. Thing." You're not really sure how to describe it in words but he gets the general idea well enough. He nods his head. "I'll try. That is all I can promise." With every second he speaks with her body, the voice loses more and more emotion. You're not quite sure how this is going to work but you hope it will. He barks out at the guards when he starts walking over to them. You can't quite make the conversation they're having from over here so to burn the time, you look over at Lex and Ashley. "So. I'm not exactly that well versed with gangs but...if we get rid of them, wouldn't it cause a power vacuum? Maybe we'll make things worse?" Ashley actually seems impressed you brought this up. "Oh, it probably will-" She promptly gets interrupted by Lex before she can say anything else. "So what? It's not like that's a problem we have to worry about. We're here to kill them. That's all we should worry on." "No, no." Ashley snaps her fingers. "She has a point. It would be something to worry about but I've seen my fair share of gangs rising and fallin'. If four of us can make a sizable enough dent in 'em to throw them out of power, they were on the chopping block anyways.""So, we're just speeding up the process if we're successful?" "If we don't get our brains splattered, that is." A low and snide giggle trickles out of her throat. "Maybe we can try finding a g-good gang to take up the power vacuum?" Even if you're more set on the mission than anything, you rather ask than not. Lex simply snorts at the comment. "A good gang? A good Syndicate? You have better luck finding a flower growing out of a dumpster than that." He pats you on the back. "I get the sentiment, Nicky, I do. But I think we should worry about ourselves first." [UNSTABLE] Perhaps we can take over the gang. Make them our bitch. Get our allies in high positions of power, even? It'll be WONDERF- [PERSON OF INTEREST] They make too much of a mess. Too much attention drawn to them. They would rat us out and sell us to the ones in silver. You're a bit disappointed at the lackluster reception of your concerns but you can hardly fault them. You wouldn't really know where to start either. You know a lot on the City when you put your mind to it but only in a general scale, not on the micro-level like this. Before you get too invested in your own thoughts, you see Quentin coming back to the three of you. "You three. Were the one at the house. Previous body ambushed them, he was heavily armed. We killed him. They believed it. Assume the part." The three of you exchange glances with each other. Well then. When you turn back to look at him, you notice he's carrying a small briefcase in his hands. He opens it up to show you what's inside. Wow, you didn't quite expect a haul like that with this idea.
A few wads of cold, hard cash would obviously be impressive but the thing that stands out to you are the various hard drugs just casually thrown in there. You're not even sure what expression to make. Ashley seems...almost insulted by the carelessness of handing out this stuff while Lex stares at you with puppet dog eyes. "We gotta try some of this shit out later." LOOT ACQUIRED>$150 >RASPBERRY SINSU x4 (A low-quality knockoff of a well known Z-Corp product. Lowers all FLESH damage taken by 1 for a short period of time when consumed.)>ARCADY DUST x2 (Powder from a lethally poisonous plant. Safe to consume in small doses. Heals 3 RESTRAINT and temporarily raises WILLPOWER by 1. Also temporarily lowers COGZINANCE, CHARM, and TALENT by 1 until you rest.)>BROWN VIAL x3 (A brown fluid in a glass vial. Formerly supplied to J and X-Company soldiers. Now sold as a street drug. When consumed, you roll d8s instead of d6s on the next skill check or attack you make.) >PISTOL ROUND x4 (Usable by your HANDMADE GUNS)>SHOTGUN SLUG x3 (Not useful currently but can be traded or sold at shops or saved for when you do find a shotgun.)"They really don't care who they give shit to, huh." Ashley almost sounds as dead inside as Quentin does with how deadpan she was. "Let's just go inside already. They frankly deserve to die." "Agreed." Lex simply nods his head. Quentin doesn't bother responding. You lead the way forward after you're done checking all of the stuff you kinda tricked out of the Strikers. The Firecrackers snarl and crackle when you approach the front door. The guards silently pull on the leashes until it's taut, shutting the stick bugs up. The guard closest to you nods his head. With his left hand, he gestures at you to go inside.You wait for your three allies to walk in ahead of you before you follow after. While feigning interest in the strange stick bug, you start focusing on the leashes the three guards are holding. It takes a lot more energy to force it out of their hands given they have a damn tight hold on the leashes. >4/7 RESTRAINT LEFTA light purple glow only you can see surrounds their leashes. The guards can clearly feel the odd pull trying to loosen their hold on their leashes. It becomes a game of tug of war between them and your thoughts. After some struggle, you get a clever idea. You simply stop using your ability for a short bit when the guards pull HARD against your telekinesis. This results in them pulling hard enough on their leashes to make small tears all across it. You take a moment to rip at the tears with your mind. Sure enough, now that they're without their leashes, they take this chance to start running around like crazy. You take this moment to enter inside while they're busy with that. They'll probably be real busy handling that for a while. "GOD FUCKING DAMNIT NOT AGAIN!!!" You hear a faintly familiar voice from one of the guards as you disappear into the base. Oh well.
Your head throbs in agony. You're not quite sure how much more of your powers you can use before your mind starts acting out. Oh well, you rather have some intense headaches over dying. You're quite shocked when you step fully inside the base and you see how active it actually is inside. The four of you blend in easily with the hordes of fellow checkered jackets roaming the hallways of the building. It only takes a few steps past the front door to spill out into what looks like a dance floor in a club. Wait.https://youtu.be/rsrmDs1LkP4 - PARTYNo, yeah, it is a dance floor. Dozens of men and women in checkered jackets are dancing around on the dance floor while several DJs are trying their best to keep the music going. It's nearly pitch black in here if it wasn't for the massive disco ball lighting the place up. A swarm of people are busy drinking themselves retarded at the two separate bars at either end of the room. Your face twists into a grimace when you see how touchy grabby some of the people on the dance floor are. You're just glad that they still have their clothes on. Doesn't make the fact you saw two people basically trying to devour each other's mouths any less repulsive to you.Lex and Ashley are in their element right now. They instantly go to get the attention off of you and Quentin by socializing with the various Strikers around the place. You take this moment to try exploring the place further to get more information on what to do. With their help, no one is bothering the two of you. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] It's been a while since you've been in a club like this. Last time you were at one, you blacked out and woke back at your dad's house. He never told you how you got back home. [UNSTABLE] Where are the drugs? There has to be some hard shit in here. Something to open your mind's eye, man! To remove this SHITTY SHELL YOU'RE IN! Most of the things you see are typical club stuff. The stage where the DJs and musicians are having fun, the bars, the bathrooms you KNOW smell like absolute dogshit. There's a few things that do catch your attention. There's a staircase between the bar to the east and the stage at the back. You can make out some windows at the second floor that show off some sort of office room. Sitting at the chair is a man with stark blonde hair and a familiar frame. You check the picture you printed out. Quentin takes a look at it before looking back at the man in the office. He nods his head. "I believe that is the target." He seems to be busy with two androids? You grimace when you realize they're wearing skimpy outfits that barely cover anything. He couldn't even be normal when it comes to this kind of stuff? Whatever the case, he seems far too busy with them to be paying attention to his surroundings. Though you do note how you can just barely make out two armed guards in his office. They're armed to the teeth with shotguns. That's both promising and a problem.
What's your plan now, Nicole? You're close to the goal at hand.>[LILITH BODY] You can probably just waltz up in there given the body Quentin is wearing. Go up to the office with you and your allies to meet the Boss face to face. (You might be able to get some information out of him this way.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Try to rile up a fight at the dance floor with some body puppeteering. A place filled with drunk thugs is a powder keg ready to blow. (-2 RESTRAINT, the massive fight that'll break out will absolutely get the boss's attention and throw the whole place into chaos. It could be the perfect chance to kill him while he and his guards are thrown off guard.)>[UNSTABLE] Go to the bathroom. Place the nerve gas canister you got in one of the stalls. Put your gas mask on. Open it. Watch the bodies drop. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS. The nerve gas is likely to wipe out or severely cripple most of the thugs here. You and Quentin will be unaffected for different reasons but Ashley and Lex will have to stay outside, which may bite you if there's any survivors.)>Perhaps you can sow a bit of discord in here with some bribery. Toss a few bills here and you'll have some 'friends'. (FREE ACTION. -$300 but you'll gain some temporary thug allies to help you out for this mission.)>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOGGLES] Knock the power out to the whole place with your ECM jammer. Use the chaos this causes to try ambushing the boss in his office with your allies. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. You'll knock the place into darkness either way but you'll get a solid sneak attack on the guards, leaving the Boss all alone for you to deal with Failure will result in your party making too much noise, causing you to enter a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)>Consume some drugs. You might need them in case shit goes south. (FREE ACTION. Write in what consumables you want to use.)>Write in (Leave the club to do something else? Use another one of your abilities? Tell your allies to do something? Something else?)
>>5852407>>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)I feel like we aren't in much of a rush, the most we lose is the guards managing to get the firecrackers under control. And even if that happens we'll be at a net even for restraint loss with a plus in rapport. Better to scope this out a bit before we get a plan going,
>>5852411>>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)
>>5852411>[UNSTABLE] Go to the bathroom. Place the nerve gas canister you got in one of the stalls. Put your gas mask on. Open it. Watch the bodies drop. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS. The nerve gas is likely to wipe out or severely cripple most of the thugs here. You and Quentin will be unaffected for different reasons but Ashley and Lex will have to stay outside, which may bite you if there's any survivors.)I mean, what else would we use it for?
>>5852411>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)
>>5852411>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)We're never going to use these things again once we behead this gang for good.>>5852501I want to do this after, once we know the boss is here. We can locate the air supply or AC control, and hook the gas up to that, then stay outside and kill whoever leaves
>>5852411>>[LILITH BODY] You can probably just waltz up in there given the body Quentin is wearing. Go up to the office with you and your allies to meet the Boss face to face. (You might be able to get some information out of him this way.)
>>5852411>>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOGGLES] Knock the power out to the whole place with your ECM jammer. Use the chaos this causes to try ambushing the boss in his office with your allies. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. You'll knock the place into darkness either way but you'll get a solid sneak attack on the guards, leaving the Boss all alone for you to deal with Failure will result in your party making too much noise, causing you to enter a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
There's no need to rush into things quite yet. You sit down at one of the bars inside of the base and, well, you try to get a drink. You're not going to get wasted during a mission but it never hurts to get some booze in your system. Your allies quickly join you the moment they spot you drinking at the bar. An old man covered head to toe in faintly glowing tattoos stare at the four of you. "Cards?" The four of you show him your cards. He barely even looks at them and you know that; Otherwise, he would be questioning why the pictures look wrong. "What drink?" "Rum and cola." Lex nods his head. "Whiskey." Ashley places her bat against the stool. "Gin." Quentin blankly responds. "Whatever." You shrug. You don't particularly care that much. "Soon." And he disappears to get your drinks after that. Ashley turns to you. "So, what exactly is the plan now?" "Look, we're never going to get value out of this things once we behead this gang. We might as well enjoy being a 'part' of it." You tap your fingers against the bartop. "That and we can scope things out." "Ah. I can respect that. No one seems to care anyways. They just give random drugs and shit to whoever these days." Ashley mutters. She's still raw about that? You raise an eyebrow at her continued seething about this. She seems to take this as a cue to continue. "We almost got away without killing them until you kept talking, they barely look at these stupid cards, it's like they don't give a shit! They're not taking this seriously! Most of them don't even have any proof of loyalty! No tattoos or anything! It's a fucking amateur's act here!" She huffs after ranting about the seeming lack of...what, professionalism? You don't get what she's rambling about. "They're probably lax about the rules to get away from the world. Their base is a dance club. I don't think they care THAT much." Lex points towards the dance floor. Frankly, if it wasn't for everyone wearing the same checkered jackets, it would look like any other. "Sometimes, people just wanna hang out with other people like 'em. I can get it." Quentin scratches at his cheek. Tiny bits of flesh cling to his fingernails. "I do not get the issue here. Is that something required for a syndicate?" "It just insults me. It's a buncha stupid kids who don't know what it actually takes to struggle in this world. I bet most of them have mommies and daddies hidden away in the Nests around here." Ashley nearly goes to pick up her bat but she stops, letting out a sight. "Sorry, sorry. Don't know what came over me." "I mean, I guess I get it?" You shrug. "I'm guessing you were in a gang with some close knit friends or somethin'." "Yeah. Used to." There's suddenly no emotion in her voice or face. [UNSTABLE] "Pfft, hopefully we don't suck as much as those dudes." Your brain spits out something before you can even process it. Before you even know what's going on, her hands around your throat. She squeezes hard.
Thankfully, Lex pries them off with his retard gorilla strength before she can actually hurt you. The bartender returns with your four drinks and quickly turns around to leave. You guess he saw whatever just happened. "Okay, okay, calm down. Nicky, the fuck was that about?" Lex narrows his eyes at you. "That was kinda fucked up to say.""I." You're not really sure why you said that. It just sorta came out of you. "I don't know. I guess I was trying to lighten things up? Look, it's been stressful lately." Ashley is trying to break free of Lex's grasp but he simply overpowers her in that department. He lets go after she stops struggling. She grabs her small glass of whiskey and chugs it down in one gulp. "Sorry. Sore spot. It wasn't long ago. That's all." "No, no. It was my fault for saying that." You try to brush off her apology. You don't really feel like you deserve it after what you said. You try your best to ignore the throbbing pain in your head as you nurse your own drink. It was some fruit flavored beer. It tastes okay but not really that great. Quentin and Lex begin to chug away at their drinks. Quentin is the first one to speak up to break the awkward silence that started. He places his now empty glass of gin on the table. "What is it like?" "Well, that's vague." Lex snorts. "Mind being less spooky about it?" "Human. What is it like?" He stares at the empty glass. "My intended shells were made to look like humans. I use human bodies. I do not know what it means to be one, however. Why is that?""Fuck, man. I ain't good at this thinking stuff." Lex half-shrugs. "I mean, it just comes naturally to us. We do what we do because...it feels good? We like doing it?""The things that make me feel good do not make humans feel good. Humans complain about working. I like working. The humans complain about the Companies. I like the Companies. Why is that?" "You sound like one of those Q-Corp drones. I guess those weird bug things are inside all of you?" Ashley is busy staring at her empty glass. Well, since the subject is being brought up, might as well bring it up."Yes." You speak up. "Yes, they are. I don't know how or why he's possessing human bodies instead of drone one but I saw something like that." "Wild." Ashley flashes a weird smile. "I guess being human requires, I dunno, creativity? We make art. Music, paintings, shit like that. A mental image you spill out. Like a band. Like one I used to work for. Strands of Silver." Lex's eyes almost immediately light up when he hears that. "Wait, hold on. I think I recognize ya. Isn't that the weird punk band with names like 'My Dad Fucked A Zeta Class Abnormality And Got AIDs' and-" "Yep, yep. And for the record, I fucking hate the names. You can blame the drummer for thinking up of them.""Holy shit! I've been listening to your stuff for ages! BARTENDER! GOT A PENCIL?" He waves his hands wildly in an attempt to get his attention.
Ashley tries her best to keep a straight face as Lex has his sperg out. Quentin looks down at his hands."Creativity? Interesting. That's one of the many answers I've heard. I also heard that 'friends' are another part of it. Is that true?" He's staring right at you. "I wouldn't know. I know that having friends and allies is better than not having them. I had people call me friends before. That's all, really." If you can call your allies friends, that is. "Hm. I do not like this...looseness of the definition. It is weird. I do not like thinking these thoughts but I feel obligated to think them. Is that...weird?" "Is it any weirder than being a centipede?" You remark. Quentin clicks his tongue. "Touche."The bartender comes back to refill your empty drinks and to hand Lex a pencil. You sip away at your watered down while watching Lex dig around for something of his to sign. Ashley steals some napkins nearby before taking Lex's pencil. She scribbles on a swirly mass of letters before doodling some wings around it. She tosses it over to Lex. "There you go, you fucking dweeb." The amount of amusement in her voice could kill a lesser man but Lex is too much in his fanboy zone to give a shit. "Hey. Maybe I can give you a teaser of my next mixtape soon." "Holy shit, could I???" "Pft." "Pft." You and Quentin fail to hold in your laughter at the same time. A dusting of red coats Lex's cheeks. "S-shut up." "Hey, it's glad you're enjoying yourself." You take a second to clear your throat. "When's the last time you played, Ash?" "Ah. It's been a bit. A year or so? Bandmates are busy with stupid shit these days. I'm just glad none of them are six feet under. The last song we recorded was..." She sighs. "'VerseWorseCurseHorse.' Sold well." You can barely hold your amusement at how retarded that name is. "Wow. I could make a better name than that." You can't even hide the disgust on your face."Shut up! Their names are cool! They match the songs well!" Lex overdramatically huffs. There's a hint of a smile cracking on his face. "No they don't." Ashley tries her best to respond with a deadpan tone but she's almost about to bust a gut just like Lex is. The four of you empty your glasses again before you even know. Then again. Quentin is the one who manages to stop you guys from getting TOO blasted on the mission by taking your glasses away. There's a gentle haze of drunk relaxation between the non-corpse piloting members of this party. Even Quentin is looking a bit messed up. You do wonder how much of the body he controls he can feel. "Feh. Maybe I can play a song for you guys if we get outta here alive." Ashley smiles softly. "It might be nice." This feels nice. Your head is no longer throbbing in agony like before. >+1 RAPPORT WITH ALLIES>6/7 RESTRAINT LEFT"Shit, we should go on the dance floor." You snap your fingers as you get up. Your allies nearly follow your order but your eyes catch something. You raise a hand to stop them.
You catch a glimpse of the man upstairs coming down to the first floor. His two shotgun wielding bodyguards follow right behind him. They're built like brick shithouses and, thanks to the masks covering their face, barely even look human. https://youtu.be/8AQFFvUhRTA - GANG BOSSIn comparison, the Boss looks like a lot less threatening by comparison. His baby blue eyes, messy blonde hair, and overall youthful physique hardly help him sell the image of a gang boss. Sure, he has the red and black checkered jacket and the general 'punk' attire but he's not really selling it to you. It's more like cosplay than an outfit he picked for himself. He gets up onto the stage. The performers playing up there instantly turn off the music when they do, causing the dance floor to shut up as well. The only sound anyone can hear is the Boss' leather boots stomping on the stage he's standing on. He taps at the microphone to get everyone's attention. "Hello." His voice is calm and collected. Polite, almost. "I would like to do a small little announcement. I believe all of you recall that little story about my brother, yes?" A sea of murmurs pour out of the captive audience of thugs watching him. "Great. I just heard that some of them got whacked by one man, if Lilith was right in her story." He instantly turns to look at the bar the four of you are sitting at. You try your best to play it cool. Your allies try their best to not look at him aside from Quentin, who stares right back at him. He turns his gaze away from your bar. "Now. I know who sent them. And I know he was supposed to train you guys to be able to handle ONE man. I don't care how armed he is, you have numbers for a reason." He snaps his fingers. Another masked guard comes up the stage with a short red-haired man in tow. He has ropes binding his hands together. "I believe I told you guys that I can't let my lil shitstain of a brother think he has a chance of getting back at me. If one of his stupid lil' homeless Cleaners can wipe out FOUR of my guys? Well, that's not right. The math doesn't add up." "W-wait, boss, m-maybe Li-lilith was just spinning a story! Maybe she fucked up! Ever considered THAT?!" The bound man tries his best to get out of this situation. The Boss clicks his tongue with a disappointed look on his face. "Her? Lie? Why, do you think one of my oldest associates would lie to my face?""I-It can't be me! S-she has to be-" He instantly shuts up when he feels the cold barrel of a shotgun placed at the back of his head. "Tsk, tsk. Throwing someone under the bus to evade blame. How distasteful." He snaps his fingers again. You hear two sounds one after another. A loud BOOM followed by blood and clumps of brain matter splattering against the floor. "Fuck." Lex covers his mouth, dryheaving as the body drops. Quentin stares on in silent horror. Ashley simply flinches but otherwise doesn't react. >-1 RESTRAINT TO LEX AND QUENTIN
"Disappointing." The Boss simply kicks the body off of the stage. It limply hits the ground without any real resistance. "Okaaaay then" The crowd instantly erupts into a fervent cheer at the sight of blood being shed. "Nooowww. I would like to talk about what I plan to do next to that sonuvabitch." The cheers only get louder. You were expecting SOMEONE in the crowd to freak out but no, they're all in it. "All of us. We're going over to his shithole in District 17 and we're going to 'talk' to him. I don't care how many of us it's going to take but we'll drop that motherfucker DEAD!" The cheers get even louder. The crowd is hungry for blood and it shows. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] The likelihood of you getting another Handler to give you missions is low.[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver will take this chance to grab you while you're weak. [UNSTABLE] WE SHOULD BE THE ONES TO KILL HIM ANYWAYS.Ashley turns to you. "...I don't like where this is going. I think we should do something. Quick."What do you do, Nicole? >Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer one of his armed guards and have him unload his gun. Staring with the boss. No gang without a leader. (-2 RESTRAINT. The Boss and a lot of thugs will be dead, just like that, but the resulting riot and panic will get your party in a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.) >Take this time to sneak into his office. You bet the Handler would pay extra for whatever information you can get there. (FREE ACTION. TALENT DC: 10, COGNIZANCE DC: 13. Pass the first to get in, pass the second to get valuable information to sell for a better payout. Fail the first and you're liable to be caught, fail the second and you'll waste your time, increasing the DCs of the other actions.)>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOOGLES] Black this place out and sneak up to the stage in the veil of night. Unload your gun. Get out. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll be out before anyone realizing what happened. Fail and while you might kill them still, you'll probably get hit hard by some returning fire, injuring you and slowing your escape to the point where someone might spot you and start a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)>[LILITH BODY] If he's willing to blow out someone's brains thanks to the story Quentin spun, what if you got him to do more of that? (CHARM DC: 16, with Quentin's dice. Pass and by the time he wises up to your lies, he'll already have a pissed off crowd ready to rip him apart for you. Fail and Quentin will lose his body in the process. You can guess how.)>Write in. (Use some items before doing anything? Do another plan? Use another ability? Tell your allies to do something?)
Lex has 3 RESTRAINT now after that Yoga Training boost he got offscreen. Quentin has 2 RESTRAINT by default.>Martlo Cigarettes (6 charges). Calms your nerves. Adds a +1d6 to a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll per charge spent. Can spend 3 charges to gain minor RESTRAINT regeneration for a mission.We used up all 6 charges on Lex and Ashley after Quentin did his thing. Ashley is OK and Lex can regen it off. What I'm worried about right now is Quentin. I hope he can hang on through this.>>5853801>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)The good thing is once everybody here is fucking dead from nerve gas, we can gasmask up and stroll into the boss' office to loot the place. Lex and Ashley can blow off steam killing off any living stragglers, and Quentin has plenty of fresh undamaged bodies to take his pick from, thanks to liberal amounts of nerve gas usage! Surely that'll get his RESTRAINT back up too! WIN/WIN/WIN/WIN!!!Now those two sex androids in the office might be an issue...
>>5853801>>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer one of his armed guards and have him unload his gun. Staring with the boss. No gang without a leader. (-2 RESTRAINT. The Boss and a lot of thugs will be dead, just like that, but the resulting riot and panic will get your party in a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)We can loot his office later
>>5853810There'll always be a replacement head as long as there's other members
>>5853801>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)
>>5853801>>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOOGLES] Black this place out and sneak up to the stage in the veil of night. Unload your gun. Get out. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll be out before anyone realizing what happened. Fail and while you might kill them still, you'll probably get hit hard by some returning fire, injuring you and slowing your escape to the point where someone might spot you and start a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
>>5853801>>[LILITH BODY] If he's willing to blow out someone's brains thanks to the story Quentin spun, what if you got him to do more of that? (CHARM DC: 16, with Quentin's dice. Pass and by the time he wises up to your lies, he'll already have a pissed off crowd ready to rip him apart for you. Fail and Quentin will lose his body in the process. You can guess how.)
>>5853805+1 to this, this is gonna be a bit messy and might get some heat down on us. So lets try and keep any witnesses to a minimum.
Alright, so I need four anons to roll the following. >4d6 (You) >2d6 (Ashley) >2d6 (Lex) >2d6 (Quentin)To determine how fast you find it. The higher, the better.
Rolled 3, 7, 3, 7 = 20 (4d8)>>5854906
Rolled 3, 3, 6, 1 = 13 (4d6)>>5854909Wrong dice
Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d6)>>5854906
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)>>5854906Rolling
Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d6)>>5854906
TOTAL: 39 Duly noted. Writing.
"Right. No time, we gotta act. Split up. We need to find the air supply here." You snap your fingers to get everyone's attention. They rightfully give you a weird look when you realize you haven't told them what your plan is and how. "The fuck are you going to do? Throw something rotten inside to stink up the place? I don't get how that works." Lex is clearly confused. "Ah. An attempt at biological warfare through attempting to spread your germs through it? Quite an inventive strategy." Quentin misses the mark completely. Your nose scrunches up at his implication. Ashley's eyes light up the moment her brain clicks the pieces together. "Oh no. Oh no no no." There's no mirth in the smile she's giving you, only sheer outrage. "Okay. How do you plan on gassing the place. Is that some other bullshit power you have?" "..." You pull out the small canister of nerve gas you have. Ashley can't even dignify you with a coherent response; she sputters to a stop at the sight of the canister. Lex and Quentin in the meanwhile are busy processing what they're seeing. "That's why. I think it'll work. Do you guys have a better plan?""I-I guess not?" Lex is still reeling from what he saw. "I r-rather just punch them but, uh, I guess we'll deal with any survivors that way." "It is functional. The causalities will be heavy. That is the point of the mission." Quentin barely pretends to care about the loss of human life. "Additionally, more bodies. That is useful to me. Hopefully without holes in the head." Seems like the shotgun thing rattled his mind still, huh? "Well, let's split up. Try to find where we can pump this stuff into so we can dip out and deal with the stragglers. Alright?" Your three allies nod in unison before splitting away from you, each hiding in a different direction. Now, here's the thing. You don't really know where it would be in this...abandoned building turned nightclub. For all you know there isn't one. That would be a real punch to the tit. No point sitting around and hoping the others find it for you, though. If you had to guess, it would have to be somewhere in a closet or basement? Though it might be different considering what they turned the place into. So you start by trying to find a basement in question. You saw some stairs leading UP to a second floor, surely there's some below. Yet when you get to the staircase you saw in the back, there's nothing leading down that you can see. That's weird, you would've thought you were rig- and Quentin bumps right into you. "I did not find anything. The lights were too dazzling. Mind if I assist?" Wow, he gave up quick. You simply shrug as you continue to look. You eventually manage to stumble into a weird looking closet door. You open it up to reveal a staircase leading to the basement. "Excellent." Quentin marks as the two of you travel down the stairs. It's a mess down here from what you can only assume is the previous junk from when this building wasn't abandoned.
Great. Crates, chairs, boxes, other junk. It's a mess of garbage down here. Given the...various fluids and stains down here, you doubt anyone has checked here in a while. You would use your UV Flashlight to try finding a trail but you rather not after seeing how filthy it is here.You start making your way through all of the garbage down here. There has to some sort of system down here connected to the air vents or something, right? It takes you a while to get through everything but you eventually manage to find what you were looking for. In the back of the room is a massive, ancient piece of equipment that reminds you of something from a shitty sci-fi horror movie. Turns out, you weren't the only one who found it. Ashley is standing right in front of it, fiddling with the machinery. "I'm not a mechanic but I know enough about bars. They probably got some shitty vent outside pumping in fresh air. Lex is out back plugging it up." "How long have you been here?" "Eh, ten minutes, why?" Well now you feel sorta lacking in how long it took you to get here. You approach the machinery and after some fiddling, you plug a tube from it into the nozzle of the canister. Quentin sits near the canister, ready for your orders to start pumping it out. Ashley squints at some readings she's getting. "Alright. Should be good enough. We got about ten minutes before people notice. We should leave." "I will follow after you once I know you two have left. It will be on in. One minute. I would hurry." Quentin grips onto the canister.The two of you do not diddle daddle and without further ado. It takes a bit too much time for your liking to push through the crowds of people but you're outside before you can start smelling whatever foul mess that's being pumped into the system. The guards are not paying attention to what's going on at all; they're still occupied by trying to calm down the Firecrackers. Quentin follows after a minute later. Lex turns around the corner of the building to show he's caked in soot and dust. He's noticeably missing his checkered jacket disguise. He winks at you. Ah. You can guess how he plugged it up easily. The four of you make some distance from the building to avoid getting gassed yourself and now, you wait. None of you want to say anything to break the silence because at any moment, something could happen. It doesn't take long for Ashley's body to tense up, as if she's expecting something. "Get ready." She murmurs. A handful of people try to push their way out of the narrow doorway of the front entrance. Blood is leaking out of their nose and their bodies are trembling like they're freezing cold. The guards try their best to keep the chaos organized but the crowd pushes through. For every member who stumbles back onto the streets alive, about two or three fall to the ground dead. The guards quickly rush into the building to check out what's going on. A small smile crosses your face. Excellent.
Due to their gas masks, you know they'll probably survive but that doesn't matter. What matters is that most of the people there are killed stone dead. The minutes pass by as you watch more and more people try to squirm out of the building. And that isn't even factoring in who might still be inside! From the amount of bodies on the floor ten or fifteen feet away, you had to guess this was a 75% fatality rate. The gang MIGHT be able to recover from this given time but you're pretty sure high exposure to nerve agents is gonna cripple whoever's left.Five men in gas masks slowly escort a very familiar man out of the building. The Boss has a gas mask stuffed into his face haphazardly, as if he barely managed to get it on before the gas could kill him. It's clear he's already getting fucked by the effects given the trembling and intense, rapid breathing that's muffled by his gas mask. "F-fu-f-ffucukkk..." You can barely make out what he's saying through the slurring in his mask. The guards are half-carrying him away from the building since his legs are loose and barely responding to his attempts to walk. "Fuck, where did you get that stuff from?" Lex turns to look at you. Your other allies follow suit. You simply tell him the truth, why lie here? "Found it in a cache of mine. Don't know where I got it from but I had it. K-Corp stuff. Guess it worked well.""You really are a bag of tricks, huh?" Lex lets out a sigh. "Well. What should we do about him? I don't think it's a good idea to keep him around." He jabs a finger at the direction of the Boss and his guards. "He could rebuild, couldn't he? This might only be a setback for them. We should kill them.""I'm sorry, there's a mountain of fucking bodies outside and his brain is getting fried." Ashley retorts. Your eyes glaze over the mountain of convulsing, barely alive people outside of the house. "I don't think they can recover. We should be happy with the damage we did and go." The five guards and the Boss suddenly notice the four of you watching the scene unfold. You don't think the Boss is aware of your group fully...yet.You're on the edge of the mission being complete. What to do?>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)>Just leave. The gang's fucked, no need to stick around. (A safe option. Lex will be disappointed at the lack of personal bloodshed and you might need to try convincing the Handler on why you left the Boss alive.)>[GAS MASK] Rush back inside with Quentin in tow while the others distract. You're going to take this chance to loot his place before the gas clears. (TALENT DC: 18, rolling 5d6 with Quentin's help. Pass and you'll get enough stuff to keep everyone, including the Handler, happy. Fail and the guards will catch you and Quentin in an unfavorable COMBAT ENCOUNTER)>Write in.
>>5855187>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL
>>5855187>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
>>5855187>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)FINISH THE JOB
>>5855187>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)Half dead cripples? No problem. Also loot
>>5855187>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)Now its time to mop up
>>5855187>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)We have a buncha pills that can help here. Plus, better to snuff this out before it has a chance to bite us or our Handler in the ass later, if any amount of this guy's brain is still working.
>>5855187>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
A unanimous call for VIOLENCE. Closing. Writing.
Your vision tints red. You're not leaving this mission up to chance. You were tasked with killing the gang and you are NOT stopping now. Not after what you did. The cold iron of your pistol's grip sends shivers down your spine. Who cares if they have shotguns? You are better than them. They are half dead FREAKS. You can do this. "Face the bloodshed." Your legs move without you consciously thinking. Lex and Quentin join you immediately while Ashley hesitates for a moment. She glances at the double barreled shotguns the guards have, then at the wimpy pistols you guys have. "You sure ab- Of course you are. Why do I even ask." Ashley trails behind you three with a inscrutable look on her face. "Face the bloodshed." She's rolling with it at this point, already getting used to whatever nonsense you decide to do."FACE THE BLOODSHED!" Lex yells out with a bit too much energy in his voice. Quentin follows up with a completely dead inside "Face the bloodshed" in an attempt to be like the others. You would go 'awww' if you weren't going to kill someone in like...the next minute? It takes effort to walk past the amount of half dead (and fully dead) bodies laying outside of the abandoned house. A mountain of frowning, groaning bodies between you and the targets. You kick one of the more twitchy ones to make sure they stay dead. You manage to get over to the six survivors after what felt like hours of pushing through bodies (even if it was a minute at most). One of the shotgun guards raises his hand up when you get within four or five feet of them. "Leave the premises. This place has been attacked by an unknown party who has used a biological or chemical weapon. This place is not safe." Huh, they still don't know you were the ones who did it. Good. Must've been a chaotic mess in there. One of the unarmed guards- Wait, didn't they have those Firecracker beasts before? You turn to notice that the Firecrackers they had have their leashes tied to a pole far away from the building. Huh. They decided to keep their guard bugs safe at the cost of being unarmed. Weird. Regardless, you turn back to the guard. He's staring right in your direction with an intense look. "How did you manage to get out unscathed?"Ashley and Lex decide this is enough talking and quickly shut him up with striking first. He manages to avoid Lex obliterating his head with his gorilla fists but he falls to his knees when Ashley smashes her bat into their leg. The other guards move into position. The three unarmed ones surround the Boss, who's barely able to stand up straight. The two shotgun wielding guards step forward with their barrels raised at you. BANG! Something slams HARD into your chest. You stumble back from the impact but thankfully, your suit managed to block it from actually damaging you. The Boss has a revolver with smoke leaking out of the barrel in his hand. "T-t-too sl-slow! T-t-too s-slow!" He cackles with twisted glee.
https://youtu.be/SJ_9DfTrbQU - INTENSE BATTLEYOUR PARTY VS THE BOSS AND HIS GUARDS...BEGIN! SPECIAL CONDITION: ARMED TO THE TEETH (The enemies will do more FLESH damage to your allies regardless of success or failure.)SHOTGUN GUARD A: 6d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESHSHOTGUN GUARD B: 6d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESHUNARMED GUARD A: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 3 FLESHUNARMED GUARD B: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 3 FLESHUNARMED GUARD C: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESHTHE BOSS (PROTECTED): 7d6 TALENT, 1 FLESH ASHLEY: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESHQUENTIN: 6d6 TALENT, 2 FLESHNICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 3 FLESHLEX: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 5 FLESHHe's still an amazing shot even after getting nerve gassed? God, you don't want to imagine what he could've done if you hadn't gassed his brains out. Your party is sweating bullets from what they saw. Quentin is barely able to keep his corpse puppet body from twitching out of control from fear.You only got a few seconds to do something. How do you try to turn the tides of battle?>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILTIES] Rip one of the shotguns out of the guard's hands and send it flying as far away as possible. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 13. Succeed and a Shotgun Guard will have his dice lowered to 3d6 for the rest of combat. Failure and you only distract him enough to gain the ability to reroll two dice you roll.)>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)>[SEARCHED THE HANDLER'S OFFICE] "Oh, the stories I'll tell to your brother when he knows you're a fucking cripple now." Try to get under the Boss' skin as much as you can. (CHARM DC: 14. Pass and the enraged Boss will be too busy seething to attack this turn. Fail and you'll only waver his aim to a 5d6.)>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)>Why overthink things? Hand Lex and Ashley your Booster Pills and go to town. (-2 BOOSTER PILLS. Skips to the ROLLING PHASE. Lex and Ashley will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH, and can reroll one dice on their VIOLENCE checks this combat.)>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)
>>5856280>>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)He's gonna have plenty of picks of new bodies pretty soon>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)Lets take out one of the shotgun guards
>>5856280>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
>>5856283+1
>>5856280>>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)>>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)Do we have willpower boosting drug?
>>5856296You do still have one dose of it. It boosts WILLPOWER and CHARM by 2, if you're willing to handle the hallucinations that come after.
>>5856288Change>>5856280>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
>>5856280>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)You'll get your new body reall soon Quint, just hang in there. We need those shotties GONE>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)The COOL option>[SEARCHED THE HANDLER'S OFFICE] "Oh, the stories I'll tell to your brother when he knows you're a fucking cripple now." Try to get under the Boss' skin as much as you can. (CHARM DC: 14. Pass and the enraged Boss will be too busy seething to attack this turn. Fail and you'll only waver his aim to a 5d6.)I want to piss him off HARD.
>>5856280>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)>POP OUT THE DRUGS. KILL THEM ALL
>>5856280>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
TASER: BM4, wcy, XrB UNSTABLE: 5xC, fYk, Int, y4I, /S8QUENTIN, EAT THE BULLETS MEANT FOR US AIE AIE AIE: Everyone. Alright, so first things first, two anons roll 2d6 for the WILLPOWER check. If it doesn't add up to 16, another anon rolls an extra 2d6 but you consume your WILLPOWER drug.
Rolled 2, 3 = 5 (2d6)>>5857312
Rolled 2, 4 = 6 (2d6)>>5857312!AAAAAAAAAA
>>5857312
Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)>>5857312
Rolled 4, 2, 6, 6, 1, 4, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 6 = 47 (13d6)You consumed your drug and you're probably going on a trip but at least that shotgunner is dead! Rolling the dice for the enemies this time around. 6 from the unarmed guards who are now flipping the fuck out, 7 from the Boss. The second Shotgun Dude is having his bullets eaten by Quentin's fat face.
Four 6s: 4 successes Three 4s and one 3: 2 successes. You have to beat six successes. Four anons, roll the following >6d6 (for your attack) >2d6 (for Quentin) >7d6 (for Lex)>5d6 (For Ashley)As a reminder, Lex can reroll all dice 3 or below he rolls in a VIOLENCE check twice per mission, and Ashley can reroll two VIOLENCE dice with each attack.
Rolled 4, 5, 5, 2, 5, 4 = 25 (6d6)>>5857408
Rolled 2, 5 = 7 (2d6)>>5857408Quentin
Rolled 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 2, 3 = 22 (7d6)>>5857408Lex
Rolled 1, 1, 4, 4, 3 = 13 (5d6)>>5857514Rerolling for Lex
Rolled 3, 1, 3, 5, 3 = 15 (5d6)Since you already beat six successes (4 on yours, 1 on Quentin, 3 on Lex with the reroll), I'll just roll Ashley's dice.
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)>>5857561Rerolling her 1 and 3 just in case, and I'll start writing the update now.
You reach your hand out to start puppeteering one of the shotgun guards. Thin, translucent purple strings launch out of the tips of your fingers. They latch onto the arms and legs of the first shotgun guard. Your fingers begin to ache and bleed when you try to move his arms. He's struggling hard against your influence, barely moving his gun with your attempts. You decide to go 'fuck it' and pop your SOMTOIN ALPHA pill in your mouth. Almost immediately your vision begins to twist and distort in on itself. The people around you twist and warp into something almost unrecognizable. Thick grey scales and silted eyes grow all over Ashley's body. Lex's skin peels off to reveal bleeding muscle and gore. The guards become a mess of misshapen limbs and boney protrusions in the vague shape of barrels. ...Quentin looks the same.You try your best to ignore your body twisting and turning, fingers merging into hooves and fur coating your body, as you yank your hand to control your puppet. BANG! Blood and gore splatters the floor. It squirms in delight when its host falls back to meet it. One of the guards is now DEAD. Dead-dead-DEAD!>4/7 RESTRAINT LEFT >-SOMOTION ALPHA, WILLPOWER IS NOW 6 AND CHARM IS AT 5. THE DRUG HAS LONG SINCE KICKED IN.The horrifying monsters in front of you screech in horror at seeing one of their comrades die. The one you puppeteered quickly stuffs a hunk of something down the barrel of his arm and aims it at you. Quentin jumps in the way. BANG! Quentin's head is blown clean off by the powerful blast. Yet he doesn't drop. His body continues to stomp forward to the absolute horror of the monsters and your 'allies'. There's no room for hesitation so your lizard and bleeding friends move in to capitalize on the distraction. The shotgun monster blasts another shell into Quentin's chest, knocking him down. With his last bit of control, Quentin wildly fires a round at the crowd before going limp. It rips right across the shotgun monster's cheek, ripping through the latex-like material of its face. A surface level but PAINFUL wound. The monster screeches in agony and holds a hand to its cheek. It is distracted now. Good. You blast a round into one of its many legs. It falls to the ground in a kneeling position or whatever rough approximation its twisted body can do. Ashley and Lex (you think? it's hard to tell anymore) are ripping into the horde of flesh and limbs guarding their precious leader. The shock of seeing one of their comrades die has clearly thrown the protectors off.For every punch or kick they land, Ashley and Lex land two of their own. Blood coats Lex's brass knuckles as he knocks more and more teeth out of the protectors. You swear that Ashley's bat begins to crack underneath the strain of her breaking another person's arm.Nasty if superficial bruises cover your allies- A ear-shattering BANG erupts out of nowhere. A hole is torn right into Ashley's shoulder.
She stumbles back, clutching a hand over the mountain of greyish-red blood gushing out of her shoulder. She grits her teeth in a vain attempt to hold back the pain. Sweat soaks her incredibly long red hair as her body begins to freak out.The Boss slides back to hide within his protectors after he lands his shot. Damnit, you wish you could just kill that fucker! "K-KILL THEM! K-K-KILL THEM NOW!" The Boss yells out to his monsters. "RIP THEIR THROATS OUT! I'LL PAY ALL OF YOU $7000 FOR EACH HEAD YOU GET!!!" The injured and battered monsters pick themselves back up, motivated by what they were told.>MONSTERS gain MOTIVATION, boosting their VIOLENCE!SHOTGUN MONSTER: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESHUNARMED MONSTER A: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESHUNARMED MONSTER B: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESHUNARMED MONSTER C: 2d6 VIOLENCE, 1 FLESHTHE BOSS (PROTECTED): 7d6 TALENT, 1 FLESHASHLEY: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH (VIOLENCE PENALTY NEGATED BY HER BOON)NICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 3 FLESHLEX: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESHQUENTIN: (REVIVES NEXT TURN)The fight is still going strong. How do you want to proceed? Choose one unless it is a FREE ACTION.>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You know something more valuable than money to them. "If you let us kill him, we'll get you out of this district." Offer them a way out of here. (CHARM DC: 16. The monsters will hesitate and the Boss will struggle to regain control, lowering all their rolls by 1. Fail and the monsters will just ignore you.)>[UNSTABLE] "YOU SAW HER KEEP MOVING AFTER HER HEAD GOT BLOWN OFF. WE'RE JUST LIKE THAT." Shake them to their core with FEAR. (VIOLENCE DC: 40, rolling 10d6 with your allies' help. Succeed and the unarmed guards will run, leaving the boss unprotected. Fail and while you will shake them enough to lower their rolls by 1, you're likely to get shot by the Boss while you're distracted, heavily injuring you.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)Due to the nature of Ally assistance, if you used a Brown Vial to gain d8s on a skill check, you'll roll 3d8+7d6 on the UNSTABLE check.
>>5857621>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)Those shots are annoying the fuck outta me
>>5857630+1, we have willpower boosted for a reason. The only things left to stop us are the second shottie guy and the boss
>>5857621>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)
>>5857621>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You know something more valuable than money to them. "If you let us kill him, we'll get you out of this district." Offer them a way out of here. (CHARM DC: 16. The monsters will hesitate and the Boss will struggle to regain control, lowering all their rolls by 1. Fail and the monsters will just ignore you.)>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)
>>5857621>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)
Alright, seems pretty uniform in what people want to do. Two anons, roll 3d6 to try passing the Willpower check.
Rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7 (3d6)>>5858447
Rolled 3, 1, 5 = 9 (3d6)>>5858447
Rolled 1, 5, 6, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 4 = 83 (21d6)16. Failure. At least you reduced his roll a bit. I'll say you consume the drugs to try counteracting that failure. So, let's see what the enemies roll.
4 6s(4 successes) 5 5s (5 more successes) 5 4s (2.5 successes) 3 3s (1.5 successes) You need to beat 13 successes with the following rolls >6d6 (You) >9d6 (Lex) >7d6 (Ashley) Lex can reroll all dice below 3 once more time this mission and Ashley can reroll two VIOLENCE dice of her own whenever.
Rolled 5, 4, 4, 6, 3, 3 = 25 (6d6)>>5858465
Rolled 2, 2, 6, 5, 4, 6, 1, 4, 4 = 34 (9d6)>>5858465
Rolled 4, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 = 25 (7d6)>>5858465
Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)>>5858476>>5858465Rerolling the 2 and the 1
NICOLE: 4 SUCCESSES (6 and 5 = 2, two 4s and 2 3s = 2)LEX (STILL HAS A REROLL) 4.5 SUCCESSES (two 6s and one 5 = 3, three 4s = 1.5)ASHLEY: 4 SUCCESSES (6 and 5 = 2, three 4s and a 3 = 2) One anon besides BM4, roll 3d6 for Lex to replace his 2s and 1s, I doubt you want to just eat the loss when you're 12.5 vs 13.
Rolled 1, 4, 2 = 7 (3d6)>>5858484Rerolling
13 v 13. A tie. That's going to be fun to write. Writing.
Those GOD DAMN shots are annoying the shit out of you. First, though, you need to help your 'allies'. If you could take it slow and steady, you could do this without hurting your mind, but there IS no time. You fling the pills to your friends with your telekinetic might. >-1 RESTRAINT They pop the pills in their mouth before immediately going to town on the monsters. You turn your focus onto the main threat, though, instead of seeing how they're doing. The Boss. You wait for a moment where he can pop out of the monsters he's hiding behind. THERE! He pokes his head out just enough to aim his gun at you. You instantly begin focusing on the gun in his hands, desperately trying to yank it out of his grasp. Your brain is screeching inside of your skull from the back-to-back usage of your powers but you have to keep going. You can tolerate a headache over dying. He seems to notice the weird pull on his gun and quickly adjusts his aim. You yank on it as hard as you can with your throats. You only manage to fuck up his aim instead of disarming him. The shot grazes your side instead of obliterating your stomach or shoulder. Still hurts like a bitch. >-1 FLESH. -1 RESTRAINT>2/7 RESTRAINT LEFT. YOUR HEAD HURTS! https://youtu.be/AMIvMdCL2H4 - ??? Your world begins to twist in on itself even more. The monsters and allies before you twist into indistinct blurs of noises and color. The City disappears into a grey haze. The only thing you can make out about your surroundings is yourself. At least you think it's you. There's only a blur of static where your hands and legs should be. Something is wrong. Your head is hurting even after you finished using your ability. You can't make out anything around you. The only sounds you can make out is the BANG of firearms and meat being tenderized. Everything else disappears into a haze of static and something banging at your head. [UNSTABLE PSYCHE] You are seeing the world how it is. Reach your hand out and pop one of those colored blurs. It'll be FUN. [UNSTABLE PSYCHE] You are a GOD, Nicole. Remember that. These faggots, these worms. They can't DO ANYTHING to you.You follow your thought without hesitation. You snap your fingers at an indistinct blur with some sort of long tube with holes in it. It pops like a balloon of gore and blood. Bright red coats the blurry floors and walls of wherever you're at. A smile crosses your face. It's A LOVELY DAY TODAY. That's when you hear the screaming. Your vision suddenly returns. Lex and Ashley are covered in bruises and scratches from the brawl they had. Lex has a nasty looking black eye and you swear Ashley has a broken nose. The fighting has seemingly stopped for a moment though. Why? You turn to look. Where there was once a shotgun monster is simply a pair of legs. Everything above the thighs has been blown clean off. It's like everything about was erased from existence, never there. The legs soon fall down.
Both of your allies are fucking horrified at what they saw. Ashley vomits up whatever was left in her stomach, spilling down her outfit and onto the ground. Lex just stands there, motionless. He's not even sure what's going on.>-1 RESTRAINT TO ASHLEY, -2 TO LEX. >LEX REGAINS 1 FROM THE CIGARETTES, LEAVING HIM AT 1/3. ASHLEY IS AT 2/3The unarmed monsters are covered in bruises and scratches from the assault but they still stand tall, if only physically. They are scared SHITLESS of what you just did to the guard. You look down at your fingers. Did you..do that? How? You...don't have that as an ability. Your head throbs again. >UNSTABLE PSYCHE will start manifesting physically in the world now that your RESTRAINT is low. Be wary. Thankfully (at much as you say that), the distraction gives Quentin enough time to get back up without horrifying your allies even more. This time he picked a body of a big, burly thug with glowing tattoos coating all over his body and face. In his hand in a metal pipe. He cracks his neck before moving over to the others. >THUG BODY: +2 FLESH, +2 VIOLENCE. HE NOW HAS 4 VIOLENCE and 5 FLESH due to it being a fresh body still.>-LILITH BODY The horrified monsters are quickly snapped back into reality when the Boss yells at them to keep fighting. You can tell that they're on the verge of running for their lives. Your allies (sans Quentin) are beaten and bruised, clearly expecting this fight to have already ended by now. The throbbing pain in your side keeps calling for your attention. [UNSTABLE] A GOD DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE PAIN. KEEP PUSHING FORWARD, NICOLE. NOW. You grit your teeth. You force yourself to ignore the pain for now. The Boss screeches out at his minions. "D-D-D-DoN'T D-DiE! K-k-KILL TH-THEM!!!" There's obvious fear in his voice but it keeps his missions pushing forward. They take in deep breaths and surround the boss even more, trying to protect him with their own bodies.>MONSTERS are DESPERATELY MOTIVATED, increasing their VIOLENCE further! UNARMED MONSTER A: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESHUNARMED MONSTER B: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESHUNARMED MONSTER C: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESHTHE BOSS (PROTECTED) (AFRAID): 6d6 TALENT, 1/1 FLESHASHLEY: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 3/5 FLESH NICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 2/3 FLESHLEX: 9d6 VIOLENCE, 3/6 FLESHQUENTIN: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 5/5 FLESHNo one is willing to make a move yet. What do you want to do, Nicole?
>Dogpile onto the monsters and rip them to shreds. NOW! No more wasting time! (Everyone will take light to moderate FLESH damage but the boss will be unprotected afterwards. He'll be easy to kill afterwards.)>[UNSTABLE] "Flee." Use what you did to mess with the monsters. Get into their psyches. (VIOLENCE DC: 8, rolling only your 3d6. Succeed and the boss will be left unguarded, letting you beat him up without anyone getting hurt. Failure will do the same thing but your allies will also take RESTRAINT damage.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)>You have an advantage over them in terms of how healthy your group is and your weapons. Just kill them. (Skips to the ROLLING PHASE.) >Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)
>>5858588>>Dogpile onto the monsters and rip them to shreds. NOW! No more wasting time! (Everyone will take light to moderate FLESH damage but the boss will be unprotected afterwards. He'll be easy to kill afterwards.)We have a medkit, we can fix ourselves up afterwards.
>>5858588>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)>use one ARCADY DUST
>>5858588>You have an advantage over them in terms of how healthy your group is and your weapons. Just kill them. (Skips to the ROLLING PHASE.)
>>5858588>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)+Arcady Dust
>>5858588>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)I wonder if we can get his bro to him alive, and have Handler kill him himself? One last confrontation before the lights go out? Or he might hate us for nerve gassing his bro, who he WANTED us to kill anyway. Fuck it, let's go for it>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)ARCADY DUST. We need to get back sanity NOW
>>5858588>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)Arcady Dust
>>5858856Supporting
>>5858652Change>>5858856+1
>>5858588>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)
Alright, Anomalous Abilities + using the dust to recover your sanity. Thanks to the Willpower boost of the dust, you're rolling 7d6 now. One anon, roll 4d6. Another, roll 3d6.
Rolled 6, 3, 2, 5 = 16 (4d6)>>5859327
Rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13 (3d6)>>5859327
The power of psychoactive drugs wins. Writing.
You pull out the bag of dust from your pocket and instantly snort it right then and there while everyone is watching. The pain in your head disappears almost immediately. A pleasant, dull fuzz floods every inch of your mind. You feel good now. >5/7 RESTRAINT >+1 WILLPOWER, -1 TALENT/COGNIZANCE/CHARM "JUST?" One of the unarmed monsters growls incoherently. You decide the only path forward is to blow its fucking head off. You strain your mind a bit to pick up the two shotguns laying on the floor with your telekinesis. The monsters screech and wail when they see the UNTAPPED POWER OF YOUR MIND! The lizard-humanoid and bleeding pile of muscle that you still recognize as Ashley and Lex respectively step back from the impending carnage. Quentin seems confused at what's going on. You pull the triggers. BANG! BANG! Eruptions of red burst out of the monsters. Blood and gore splatter all around them from the slugs tearing right through them. You jab your finger. "KILL THEM!" Your allies quickly move in, whether out of a desire to finish the fight or being afraid of what's going on. Flesh and scales and bone and metal and blood. That's all you can make out of the fight through your vision. A metal bat smashing through someone's arm. Brass knuckles caving someone's head in. Screaming. Yelling. Oozing, leaking blood. It's almost mesmerizing. A whirlpool of violence that draws you closer and closer. Pulling you- You move to the side as a revolver bullet nearly rips into your side. The wall of flesh that once hid the Boss away has now disappeared. He is surrounded and he plans on unloading everything he has into you. You quickly move to the side again as he tries to fire at you again. You fling the spent shotguns at his hands. They collide, sending his revolver flying through the air. He tries to run now that the monsters guarding him were dealt with. Despite the nerve and brain damage he received, the motherfucker is still fast. He sprints over to where his revolver was launched to. Like a man possessed. You quickly begin to chase after him... But you don't have to. Quentin quickly smashes his knee in with the metal pipe he has. When he falls to his knees in agony, Lex and Ashley quickly knock him out with a punch to the gut and a bonk to the head. He's now on the ground, face first. If it wasn't for the slightest movement of his chest, you would think you killed him then and there. The only noise you can hear is the heavy, labored breathing coming from you and your allies. A mountain of gore surrounds the four of you. A proof of your domination. A proof of your victory. You can't help but to smile. You did it! >MISSION COMPLETE! >REWARDS: $666, Your handler respects you even more, you'll find out about the underworld once you search his office. >TOTAL CASH SO FAR: $1316You fall down to your knees. So do Ashley and Lex. All of you are in some pretty rough shape after what happened. You take stock of everyone...
It's hard to accurately tell since you know your sense of perception is fucked up by the drug but wow, they've seen better days. Blood and vomit coats Ashley's jacket and crop top in a thin film of filth. Her snout is bent in an awkward angle and nasty purple bruises cover her scaly bodies, mostly around the arms and exposed stomach. There's also still the bullet stuck in her shoulder.It's somehow impressive how an already skinned man can look even worse. Lex's left eye has swollen up completely and chunks of flesh has been blasted away around his torso from slugs grazing his sides. There's even a small hole stuck in his abdomen from where a bullet hit. You think if it wasn't for the Boosters in their system, they would be screaming out in agony. They're clearly hurting but they're able to stop themselves from going into shock now. "...$175." Ashley croaks out. The drugs coursing through your brain must've made you look retarded since she repeats herself. "I need $175. Extra payment. For what just happened." "WHAT ABOUT HIM?" Lex squeaks with a voice in such a high pitched falsetto, you immediately know that's the drugs fucking with you. He points a bleeding finger at the passed out boss. "SHOULD WE JUST KILL HIM?"You process on what to do with the question and the request... WHAT TO DO WITH BOSS?>Just kick him until he stops moving. You don't need him anymore. (You won't lose any free time but you won't get any extra rewards.)>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)WHAT TO DO WITH ASHLEY?>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)>Don't pay her. She can handle it, she's seen worse, right? (Saves money but she leaves your party immediately. She might cost more to hire later as well.) While you dwell on what to do, you decide to start digging through the bodies. Your allies help you loot the pile of dead bodies for anything worth keeping.>CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMEBRSHIP CARDS x6 (Worthless to you now. Could be sold at a pawn shop or rival gang members for profit?)>DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN x2 (Highly illegal firearms without a license. Not that you care. Attacks made with it roll VIOLENCE+TALENT+2 and extra FLESH damage compared to other guns.)>.357 REVOLVER AND THREE REVOLVER BULLETS. (The Boss' favorite gun. Feels insanely satisfying to use and has a small chance of healing RESTRAINT when fired. Attacks made with it roll TALENT+3.)>GAS MASKS x3 (Protects you from viruses and toxic gases. Comes with three filters.)>$125. It's shocking how little they had on them.>UNMARKED VIAL (A glass vial with a bright glowing yellowish-green fluid in it. It feels like it would do SOMETHING positive if you used it. That's all you know.)
You quickly skim through the guns you and Quentin used for how much ammo you spent to take mental note of how many bullets you have for them...>-2 PISTOL ROUNDS, 9 LEFTYou look back at the building you just nerve gassed. You're going in there to look for stuff, no questions asked, but what are your plans AFTER looting it? Choose THREE (or two if you kept the BOSS alive for profit.) free time actions.>Take a moment to patch everyone up. (FREE ACTION. You have four charges on your trauma kit, two gauze rolls, and Ashley heals 1 more from healing items. Write in how much you want to use and on who.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Explore around District 8. Take in the sights and sounds. Learn what you can. See who you'll meet. (You might encounter potential allies, learn more about the world, or gets glimpses at the abnormal. Due to District H's nature, you are more likely to find useful shops to visit later.)>You really don't want to become UNSTABLE again. Take some of your anti psychotics and chill the FUCK out. (FREE ACTION, -1 dose of VIRITOXAP BRANDED ANTI-PSYCHOTICS. You'll be able to think and see the world like a normal human for a short while. Disables UNSTABLE choices, for better and worse. Usually better.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>[UNSTABLE] The blood puddles on the ground in front of you has a familiar face in it. TV MAN, YOU'RE HERE? TALK TO ME! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! (You may learn some things you're not meant to know if you pick this.)>Try to find a pawn shop to unload some of the useless garbage you have. These jackets especially. (Write in what you want to sell from your inventory. You'll lose them but get a tidy profit from getting rid of the junk.)>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)>You got a fuck ton of extra money, why not use it? There was that one weird ANOMALOUS STORE Adam recommended you to go to. Maybe buy something there? (You know it'll sell some niche but powerful and mildly anomalous items.)>Pick up your phone and call someone. (One of the allies you haven't hired? Your HANDLER? Someone else you know? Write in what you want to say to or ask of them.)>Try to ask your allies some questions while they're here. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies. They'll try to answer them as best you can.)>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)>Write in.
>>5859422>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece.He deserves this. This is HIS brother. It's his story to end, not ours.>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from.We can easily spare this right now>$125Let's give this to Ashley on the spot so she knows we're serious about her. The $50 can come from the junk selling>GAS MASKSWe can use these to enter the building and loot the place! Though anything in there to do with the Handler, that's for us to hand over to him when he gets here and AFTER we check everything ourselves.>Shotguns>RevolverKeeping>Jackets/CardsSelling>Unmarked VialWait, this isn't A-Energy? Why the fuck does this boss have this on him?>>5859429>Choose THREE (or two if you kept the BOSS alive for profit.) free time actions.I take it calling the Handler and reporting in, plus getting him to show up is one whole action in and of itself. That's why.>PATCH THE CREW UPAshley is -2 FLESHLex is -3 FLESHNicole is -1 FLESHQuentin's FRESH AS HELLSo we Trauma Kit Ashley with 1 charge so she heals 1+1 back up to max. This leaves us with 3 charges left for that emergency "Can heal near lethal damage with 3 charges." later. Then we use both gauze on Lex to heal him 1+1 so he's only -1 FLESH. He can get some drinks and patch himself up the rest of the way later on, plus we already used the Trauma Kit on him once earlier today. Nicole needs the rest badly no matter what, so no need to patch up herself here.>GO 2 BARAction 1. This is an absolute must after that fierce shitshow and the action-packed mission.>CONSUME CHILL PILLS (1 dose, duh!)Do this in front of the three so they can be more assured. Do NOT throw the bottle away, as we can give that to Benjamin so he knows THIS is what we seriously need. That gives him the opportunity to work towards making more for us>PWN SHP SLLNGAction 2.Sell these:>BAT>PIPE>3 KNIVES (leaves 2 for us)>ALL THE JACKETS>ALL THE MEMBER CARDSI want to save some knives to train TK with so we can eventually do DIO style knife attacks. I like the reroll on the bat plus the stun on the pipe though, don't get me wrong. We don't need these jackets or cards anymore either.We good? Anybody got better ideas? I'm going for the sanity this after-mission comedown, but we could just as well go for the UNSTABLE and ANOMALOUS POWER training...
>>5859429>>5859441Wait, throw in>1 SHOTGUNas a selling item. We don't need 2 shotties if we can't barely have enough ammo for 1 of them.
>>5859429>>5859441If we have enough money on hand to the point we don't have to wait, I want to immediately pay Ashley's $175 on the fucking spot, zero hesitation.
>>5859441+1
>>5859446Think the bar will let us borrow ice packs while we're there?>nasty purple bruises cover her scaly bodies>bullet stuck in her shoulder>Lex's left eye has swollen up completely and chunks of flesh has been blasted away around his torso from slugs grazing his sides. There's even a small hole stuck in his abdomen from where a bullet hit.They all fucking need that ice. Those descriptions are brutal
>>5859422>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>You got a fuck ton of extra money, why not use it? There was that one weird ANOMALOUS STORE Adam recommended you to go to. Maybe buy something there? (You know it'll sell some niche but powerful and mildly anomalous items.)
>>5859422>>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)>>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)>>5859429>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)
>>5859429>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)Avoid murder and dangerous missions and we're all set
>>5859429>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)
>>5859446Change >>5859429>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)>You really don't want to become UNSTABLE again. Take some of your anti psychotics and chill the FUCK out. (FREE ACTION, -1 dose of VIRITOXAP BRANDED ANTI-PSYCHOTICS. You'll be able to think and see the world like a normal human for a short while. Disables UNSTABLE choices, for better and worse. Usually better.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)
>>5859429>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)>[UNSTABLE] The blood puddles on the ground in front of you has a familiar face in it. TV MAN, YOU'RE HERE? TALK TO ME! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! (You may learn some things you're not meant to know if you pick this.)
>>5859429>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)
>KEEP HIM ALIVE>PAY HER THE EXTRA CASH Unanimous, from what I see.>FREE TIMEPATCH PEOPLE UP: 6y6 TAKE PILLS: 6y6, Int ANOMALOUS POWER TRAINING: 5xC, qZ6, /S86, 3Zj, Int, 8UH UNSTABLE: 8UHPAWN SHOP: 6y6ANOMALOUS STORE: 5xcBAR TIME: 6y6, qZ6, 3Zj, Int, 5mAEXTRA REST: /S8, 5mAOverall, people seem to just want to do anomalous training + hanging out at the bar without bothering with free actions much, alongside trying to appease Ashley and Handler.Let's start rolling for those anomalous powers. Two anons, roll 3d6. Another anon, roll 1d6.
Rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18 (3d6)>>5860573Rollan
>>5860574SADISTIC!
Rolled 4, 3, 5 = 12 (3d6)>>5860573
Rolled 5 (1d6)>>5860573>>5860574Jesus lmao
>>5860573We should still patch up without using medkits. Don't want to look bloody and disgusting!
35/42, with three 6s in one roll. I might give you a special treat for that luck. Success. Writing now.>>5860574Horrifying. Really, it is.>>5860588Of course, your allies are going to patch themselves up with whatever they got, but it's not gonna be as efficient as using your trauma kit. They're not gonna limp around with bullet holes. Well, lest they're Quentin, but you know what his deal is.
>>5860588I say we DON'T go for Lex and Ashley for a while. I want to give them time to recover after that brutal double fight. A less action-y mission would be nice for next time, and bringing Quentin a second time too.
>>5860591Oh and did we get an extra rapport with Lex for all that bloodshed?
>>5860601You'll see.
"Yeah, alright, fair." You pull out $175 from your overly full wallet and toss it over to Ashley. She stuffs it into her pocket without saying another word to you but her posture is a bit less tense now. Good. >TOTAL CASH: $1266. Ashley and Lex begin to self treat their own wounds. You're not sure if digging a bullet out of your shoulder with a knife on the floor is a great idea but you rather not bother Ashley much now. She cuts some pieces off of her stolen jacket and wraps the now bleeding wound with them. Lex is doing much the same with his own wounds, using the jackets as makeshift bandaging. As Quentin goes to help your allies treat their wounds you pull out your phone. You keep a close eye on the barely alive Boss while you dial his phone number. It takes a solid second for him to answer the call. There's party poppers and bottles of champagne being popped in the background. "I'm a bit busy. Did you kill them yet?" He mutters to someone talking to him in the background. "Oh, I meant kill in the metaphorical sense. Don't worry." "Yes? If I had to guess-" You look back at the mountain of bodies outside. "...a few dozen or maybe a hundred are dead?" You lose count after the fiftieth body. "The gang won't be a problem. I even got you a special treat." "Finally. Those cocksuckers have been a pain in my ASS for a while n- Wait, what do you mean 'special'? Maybe it's you~?"Your voice goes monotone. "No. Ew." You shake your head. "No, no, I have...your brother. He's alive. Barely."There's silence on the line. When he bothers to answer, his tone is laced with an unusual excitement. "You managed to capture that piece of shit? How?""Secret. Let's just say he's not moving any time soon. Come down to..." You ramble off the location of the base. "We'll be looting it anyways so, take your time.""I'll be there immediately. Do not let him out of sight." He hangs up immediately. You look back at the barely alive Boss. He hasn't moved an inch since you last checked. He is glaring daggers at you. He coughs up blood-laced spittle alongside a tooth.[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Internal bleeding is likely. If not for the gas ruining his lungs, the beating did it. He's going to die soon, he can't make it anywhere. You decide to let him stay there mostly unguarded. You frankly doubt he can stand up, let alone run. You head over to check on your allies and, for the most part, they look a bit less awful than before. Not great but Ashley has tried her best to clean up her attire and both have patched themselves up. You can already feel the drug beginning to wear off because you're starting to see less of their skinned and lizard forms. Before you go inside to loot, you kneel down on the ground and close your eyes. You begin to focus on clearing your thoughts. The lingering effects of the drugs you took are flooding your vision with a blur of pinks, oranges, blues, reds, greens, purples, every possible color in the rainbow.
You reach your hand out to parse through the spiral of madness. Swarms of nonsensical equations, numbers, and symbols flash through your mind. You can't quite make sense of it logically but you let your subconscious do the heavy lifting. >35: SUCCESS>SPECIAL SIXES: BONUS!You pick a path that seems a bit more familiar to you. It's all subconscious, instinctual feelings. You don't know where you're going in your mind's palace, you only know your destination. You push past a particularly dense field of symbols and numbers to find your destination. A flood of information rushes into your head before an intense pressure builds deep, deep inside your brain matter. A wispy, feminine yet not voice whispers into your ear again as the colors get brighter and brighter in your vision. You've heard this voice before today, while meditating for this mission. You don't know who it is or how you can hear them..."This world is governed by universal laws. My world. But I shall allow you to bend my rules. I love you. You will keep me safe." Your mind begins to bloom like a beautiful flower as you listen to its voi-Your eyes snap open. Ashley, Lex, and Quentin are staring at you with mixed looks of worry, confusion, and curiosity. There's no weird features to them and the world has lost all of the blurred, drug-fueled splendor. You're back to a grey, boring alleyway caked in a thick orange haze. Still in District 8. >SOMTOIN ALPHA has worn off. You get off the floor as you hand the three the gas masks you looted. "We're going inside to check the office and to loot whatever's still in there." You glance back at the Boss. He hasn't moved at all. Good. Your allies quickly put on their gas masks. Quentin raises a finger. "We should wrap up our bodies in as much cloth as possible. It may still burn our skin if exposed."You and your allies proceed to do that, wrapping as many extra layers of jackets, shirts, and jeans as you can get off the corpses. You'll throw them away given they'll probably be contaminated anyways, so no need to look presentable. You head back inside the gas-filled base to see what you can find there. https://youtu.be/wMLknPRq5rI - WHAT REMAINS It's a bloodbath in here, from what little you can see through the thick yellow gas that floods the base. The disco ball is the only light still on. Everything else has been smashed or knocked over in the mad rush to get out of here. You can hardly count how many bodies there are but it has to be a hundred at minimum. "Fuck." Lex shakes his head. "You really did a number, huh?" He tries his best to lighten the mood. No one, including him, feels like laughing. The four of you trudge along over to the office. You doubt anything on the first floor is worth collecting given how contaminated it is. The four of you go up the stairs and burst into the office, only to be met with high pitch screaming. What, no one should be here, who the hell could even be-
Two android girls in skimpy outfits are huddled at the back of the office; Fear has drenched every inch of their metallic bodies. One has a knife pointed in your direction but the pitiful display just makes you feel bad. "Right. Robots." Ashley remarks. "Go. We got what we came here for. Leave." The taller one with green eyes nods, dragging the shorter one with blue eyes out of the office. You completely forgot about those two but...it seems like they won't be a problem. You start looking around the office. Due to the gas being denser than air, the office is mostly free of serious contamination. It's a rather gaudy looking place with tacky paintings, sculptures, and (probably faux) gold plated junk everywhere. An expensive wine cabinet and several pictures of him with various associates and...android girls. Does he have a fetish for them or what? Fuck.What catches your attention the most is the file cabinet at the back and the safe hidden behind his desk. You gesture at the others to loot the place and they begin doing so. You head over to the file cabinet and begin to comb through all of them. You immediately find the safe password in there. You're starting to question if he had brain damage BEFORE you gassed him. You toss it onto the desk while looking for more valuable information there. There's a few worthless files you throw out before you notice some Company logos on the folders. A shattered light bulb that's shining light. A bright red "Z" with a Rod of Asclepius in between the three lines. A furnace with a chimney constantly spewing smoke. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] P-Company, Z-Company, and H-Company respectively. All companies you vaguely recognize. There's also a few files about various gang activities he was doing. You skim through all of the information you can from here. Here's what relevant information you managed to piece together. P-COMPANY FILE - "Thank you for your recent supply of assets to one of our facilities. Due to one of our most energy producing facilities shutting down due to various reasons, your workers will be useful for our continued existence. Please use the supplied A-Energy well. Continue to send us more resources whenever possible."Z-COMPANY FILE - "It is disappointing how you tried to take an asset of ours without approval. However, you do allow us to make 'products' that 'certain eyes in the sky' don't want us to make. If you keep that new chemist safe and make the products we want, we'll keep this a secret. Understood?"H-COMPANY FILE - "One of our highest quality incinerators will be supplied to you shortly. Make well use of it. You'll be doing us both a service. Burn this file when possible, please."GANG FILE #1 - "We've heard rumors of a new gang that has been spotted in District 4 and 14. We do not know much about them but we heard rumors most of the members have anomalous properties. Be wary of anyone with a bright blue scar visible on their body."
GANG FILE #2 - "I don't care what it takes. I don't care who I need to send. I want Ashton dead at any cost. He already destroyed the Ranger, Scrapper Squad, and X-Company vet I sent him. I will pay $10000 for anyone who can find his head NOW!"GANG FILE #3 - "The talk between the Companies and the Head is about to happen soon. We need to contact our allies up there to keep operations working. Send as much as you can to Z, H, V, G, and P-Company. Now. They need us as much as we need them."[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "The Head" is a slang term for the main operating government behind the City itself. While the Head may have one or two companies operating on its behalf, it is a separate entity all together.You put down the files and stew on what you read. They were in cahoots with several alphabet companies? And they were on good terms with them for the most part? You're starting to worry if there are other corporate sponsored gangs...and if this was just one of the weakest ones you could've fought. Food for thought. Lex inputs the password to the safe. You open it with your telekinesis in case there's any traps as you begin to scout out what loot you managed to get there. SAFE LOOT: >A-ENERGY BOX x3 (Liquid gold. Not literally. Very valuable as a barter item and you believe the ANOMALOUS STORE will trade you something good for it.)>H-COMPANY BUSINESS CARD (A sign of corporate approval. Can be used to access exclusive H-Company products from shops around the City.)>DIGITAL CAMERA (A highly valued E-Company product. Has enough charge to take up to 30 pictures.)>BOTTLE OF HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x7 (You're absolutely drinking this at the bar later.)Excellent shit. You have your allies carry the stuff out the heavier stuff while you exit back out of the building. That's when you hear the screaming. Standing above a battered and barely alive Boss is him. The burgundy red jacket with light pink swirls, now stained in blood. Light charcoal pants. Short bronze brown hair soaked in sweat. The Handler. He is currently beating the ever-loving shit out of the Boss. An ear to ear grin stretches across his face as he continues to wail mercilessly on him "THAT'S WHAT YOU FUCKING GET FOR NOT GOING TO THE FUNERAL!" He smashes his fist into the pulverized meat that was once the Boss' face. "THAT'S FOR STEALING MY GIRLFRIEND!" Another punch. "THAT'S FOR ALWAYS BEING A PAIN IN MY GOD DAMN ASS SINCE WE WERE KIDS!" Another punch. "F-fuck Y-you...f-faggot. I-I-I didn't need...d-daddy's money, unlike YO-""THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR NEVER!" PUNCH. "BEING THERE!" PUNCH. "FOR OUR GOD DAMN FAMILY!" CRACK!The Boss stops moving. Or fighting back. Or breathing.The Handler gets up off of the body with sweat and blood clinging to him. He looks at the four of you with a wild look in his eyes. "Thanks for keeping him alive. He deserved it. Fucking cunt." Lex is the only one to break the silence with some clapping and a smile..
He dusts his suit off before ripping the A-Energy boxes out of your hands. The four of you are about to complain but he shuts you up. "You're not getting away with carrying this much in public. I'll deliver it, alongside your bonus cut, later." He glances at your three allies. He tosses a handful of 20s for each of them. "Here. Buy yourself something good." He leaves the four of you in the dust. Just taking one look at the shredded meat that was once the Handler makes you realize...even in his weakened state, the Boss' face should NOT have caved in like that. It was like the Handler's fists were lead blocks. "...Bar?" You cough to get everyone's attention."I thought you would never ask." "Fuck yeah!" "If the others want."That's enough for you. The four of you head down the smog-filled streets of District 8. It doesn't take long for you to end up at a small, rink-a-dink bar. It's barely big enough to hold a hundred people and you can tell it's already has double of that but the four of you find a somewhat empty table to sit down at. https://youtu.be/g4Y8SXxWLHA - RUNDOWN BARYou sink into your chair. Now without the threat of death keeping the four of you moving, the rest of your allies soon decompress and slump over in their chairs, beyond exhausted. A waiter comes to take your orders before heading away to get them. You made sure to ask for extra ice. She seemed to get the hint.Ashley lets out a shuddering sigh, the pain of the fight hitting now that the combat high is off. "...Ah. Reid is going to kill me later when he sees me like this. I have to do practice later this week." "Fuck, man, you're worried about your band still?" Lex scratches an itch on his neck. "I like it, don't get me wrong. But you got beat up to hell. So did I.""I can understand the desire to continue a pursuit." Quentin leans his arms on the table. "Without a pursuit, there's no purpose to the things you do. Everything has a reason for being, no?""Exactly. Fuck, I can't believe I'm agreeing with a Drone here." Ashley snidely laughs at the seeming absurdity. "I ain't much for that thinking shit. All I need is a good fight and a good drink." Lex turns to smile at you. "And, sure, you gave me a real big scare there, but you gave me both. Thanks." You sated Lex's bloodlust. You have gained +1 RAPPORT with him. "Yeah, what the actual fuck was that about?" Ashley snorts. "Sure, Patricia sometimes gets in those moods back at the band, but...not with the exploding bits. Do you want to talk about it?" "I'm sorry. I don't really know what happened. It worked out in the end, though, right?" "I guess?" Ashley leans back in her chair. The waiter returns with your drinks and ice bags for Lex and Ashley. They quickly go to place them on their sorest spot while drinking at the cocktails. "Instability like that does not work well in prolonged contexts. That's what they said to me, you know." Quentin leans forward.
Quentin leans over in his chair. "They did not like...this ability of mine. Not this way, at least. A taboo of sorts.""I mean, fuck man. It's freaky as hell. I gotta admit, it's useful." Lex snaps his fingers. "You're not as awful as I thought you were when we first met.""...Giant Centipede Keeps Raising The Dead. Hm. Good song name."While your allies talk among each other, you take a moment to decompress and focus on yourself. As you look around the bar to see what interesting faces there are, you do wonder. What is your purpose? Sure, you want to eventually GET out of this gig, but what's your end game here? What is your purpose? What is the goal that will drive you forward from here? >[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You want to learn the secrets of secrets in the City. You want to know how everything ticks. This job is just an excuse to get you closer. (MAIN GOAL: SECRETKEEPER. You seek to find out the biggest secrets the Companies and City hold at any cost. You'll be sated when you learn the biggest Secret of all 26 Alphabet Companies.)>[UNSTABLE] You want to break out of the yoke of your human form. To become something BETTER. This body, your mind, it RESTRAINS you. Weakens you. (MAIN GOAL: ABERRATION. You seek to become better than humanity. You'll be sated when you have untapped the full potential of your mind and body.)>[ANOMALOUS POWERS] You want to learn as much about the anomalous as you can. You want to know how they tick, why they exist. Not to mention the voice you hear. (MAIN GOAL: RESEARCHER. You want to pursuit as much of the anomalous world as you can and the limits of your powers. You will be sated when you can fully understand how you got powers, why anomalies are the way they are, and who the voice is.)>[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver, why do they follow you? Why did they try to turn someone into an anomaly? What is their end goal? You want to know more. They clearly have friends in high places. (MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.)>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)>Write in.As you stew this, you look back at your allies. They seem to be busy talking amongst themselves so you turn to look around at the bar. While you do plan on asking them questions about themselves and going home after this, your eyes glaze over to the people at the bar. To be honest? You're a bit worried about hiring them for a while and, who knows if you'll get close to them only for them to die on a mission? It's wise to keep your options open. That and it gives you some time to unfurl your brain and your new powers..."And that's when I told dad that, no, I don't want to pet the Mermaid." Lex spurts out.
You glance around at the people at the bar. Who do you want to talk to and try to get as an ally? Pick up to two.>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An incredibly untrustworthy salesman is going around table to table, desperately trying to sell his products to people. He's somehow selling them?>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.>A bespectacled nerd is peering through a dozen botany textbooks while tinkering with some mixture at her table. She has vials of swirling, colored liquids hanging off her belt.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.>None of them. Let them be.>Write in. (Feel free to describe the person you're looking for.)Your brain begins to unfurl and bloom a lot more than you expected. Something inside you must've snapped since there's a lot more potential here. You have more options to choose from.Pick one new power to add to your roster. >For a split second, the world seems to slow down to a halt. The threads of time feels malleable to you. (Gain BORROWED TIME. Spend 3 RESTRAINT to slow time to a crawl for a limited duration, allowing you to do actions or set up traps without your enemies realizing what you're doing.)>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>As you hold onto your drink, you realize it's a lot colder than you thought it was. Then you realize it has turned into ice! (Gain CRYOKINESIS. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly freeze an object or create a small construct made out of ice. For 2 RESTRAINT, you can attempt to rapidly lower the temperature in a small area around you to slow down enemies or to help you escape.)>You look at your injured allies. They're so fragile. Everything is so fragile. You all ROT in the end. (Gain ROT. You can freely decay small items made out of organic material. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly rot a large amount of material to break through walls, doors, or to hurt people.)>Your mind and your body are one in the same. There's power in the blood you spill. (Gain BLOOD SACRIFICE. You may sacrifice 1 FLESH or gain 2 RESTRAINT or temporarily boost WILLPOWER by 1. You may sacrifice 2 FLESH to temporarily unlock a more powerful version of the abilities you currently have.)(1/2 for powers.)
>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane. They will ignore the world around them and will blindly trust you as long as you feed their delusions. This will wear off quickly, however.)And lastly, is there anything specific you want to ask your allies?>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.>Yes, you do. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies.)Sorry for the delayed update. And the massive wall of text. There was just a lot to write. Due to the importance of your powers and picking a goal, the vote will be open for a day and a half OR until there's been no votes for a WHILE.
>>5860807>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
Bleh. Noticed some typos. Meant to write "hear what they bring up naturally" for the last vote and "hold you down" for GRINDSET. Too late to delete, just clarifying
>>5860807>>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)
>>5860918>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>>5860930>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>>5860807>Write inMAIN GOAL: FAMILY. You seek to be secure enough to start a family. Boring I know, but every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in white.>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally
>>5860799>Due to one of our most energy producing facilities shutting down due to various reasonsI hope Admin got his girl and nobody died before P Corp said pool's closed on them ;_; Humanity wins in the end, right?
>>5860938The current year is 2255. That quest happened in 2261. Make of that what you will.
>>5860941There's still hope in this City after all.>>5860807>[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver, why do they follow you? Why did they try to turn someone into an anomaly? What is their end goal? You want to know more. They clearly have friends in high places. (MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.)WAR AGAINST THE SILVER GLOWIES>>5860808>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoosOld woman war criminal, a classic ProjectMoon staple>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?Somebody new?>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)Emotion reading, even passively, is too valuable to pass up in our line of work. I hope it stays that way>>5860844>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturallyAfter a mission like that with body and mind spent, I want to just let things happen normally
>>5860808>MAIN GOAL: FAMILY>An incredibly untrustworthy salesman is going around table to table, desperately trying to sell his products to people. He's somehow selling them?>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.>For a split second, the world seems to slow down to a halt. The threads of time feels malleable to you. (Gain BORROWED TIME. Spend 3 RESTRAINT to slow time to a crawl for a limited duration, allowing you to do actions or set up traps without your enemies realizing what you're doing.)>Yes, you do. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies.)I'd like to learn about our allies past and where they came from, especially Quentin.
>>5860918>>5860930>>5860932What are you doing anon?
>>5860807>MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.>>5860810>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane.We Malkavin' now>>5860808>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.
>>5860972Edit
Edit>>5860932>Write inMain Goal: Light in Darkness. You seek to make people's lives in the city a bit better by doing whatever you can while not being naive and fully aware of the dark, grim reality of the city, but you do it anyway to make people's lives better, comfortable, and happy. Evening If you fail and are powerless to change the city, it is still a worthy goal to fight for, regardless of failure. You can still do it in a small way or even by planting seeds of change in the future for others to take the torch for a better future. (Nobledark antihero or hero story)>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>>5860807>Write inMAIN GOAL: FAMILY. You seek to be secure enough to start a family. Boring I know, but every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in white.>>5860808>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>A bespectacled nerd is peering through a dozen botany textbooks while tinkering with some mixture at her table. She has vials of swirling, colored liquids hanging off her belt.>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>>5860810>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>>5860807>[ANOMALOUS POWERS] You want to learn as much about the anomalous as you can. You want to know how they tick, why they exist. Not to mention the voice you hear. (MAIN GOAL: RESEARCHER. You want to pursuit as much of the anomalous world as you can and the limits of your powers. You will be sated when you can fully understand how you got powers, why anomalies are the way they are, and who the voice is.)>>5860808>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally
>>5860807>Write in.Family>>5860808>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.>>5860810>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane. They will ignore the world around them and will blindly trust you as long as you feed their delusions. This will wear off quickly, however.)>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>>5860807>[UNSTABLE] You want to break out of the yoke of your human form. To become something BETTER. This body, your mind, it RESTRAINS you. Weakens you. (MAIN GOAL: ABERRATION. You seek to become better than humanity. You'll be sated when you have untapped the full potential of your mind and body.)>>5860808>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.>You look at your injured allies. They're so fragile. Everything is so fragile. You all ROT in the end. (Gain ROT. You can freely decay small items made out of organic material. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly rot a large amount of material to break through walls, doors, or to hurt people.)
>MAIN GOAL GRINDSET: 5xCLIGHT IN DARKNESS: By0FAMILY: 8UH, qZ6, /S8, XrBMUCKRACKER: pvg, 6y6RESEARCHER: 5mAABERRATION: FA6Seems like we're going with a write in this time, interesting. I'll take the other votes into minor consideration but seems like FAMILY is what matters the most. >WHO TO TALK TO OLD LADY: 5xC, By0, 8UH. 6y6, XrB, FA6TACTICAL GEAR: By0, 8uH, /S86, 5mA, FA6SALESMAN: qZ6PAINTER: qZ6, XrBBOTANIST: /S86SEEKER OF THE CITY: pvg, 6y6, 5mAOld Lady and Tactical Gear wins out. >WHAT IS YOUR POWER?MIND READ: 5xC, By0, 8UH, 6y6, /S8, 5mABORROWED TIME: qZ6MINDBREAKER: pvg, XrBROT: FA6Mind Read wins in a landside.>ANY QUESTIONS Most people just want to listen to whatever they ramble off naturally. Fair.Closing. Writing.
Really, the money is only half of the reason you're doing it. It's a means to an end to get security, safety, certainty. For what reason? To have a family. Something to take care of, to protect.That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to settle down with a dude for the sake of it. It could be found family. A group of friends and associates you trust and respect. A group you want to protect. You do ultimately want to foster a family of some kind however, no matter the cost. Who knows why you have this thought but it's something that drives you. >MAIN GOAL: THICKER THAN WATER. You will be sated when you can settle down and there's nothing left that can threaten those you love. If there's even a hint of anyone hurting someone you care about, there will be hell to raise. You shake yourself out of your thoughts when you start hearing voices flooding your head. It took you far too long to realize it isn't UNSTABLE screeching at you again. It's your allies whispering into your head. You tune your ear in to listen. <"I look like a wreck, don't I? Fuck me. Patricia is going to FLIP if I can't perform at Moe's later."><"I wonder if she's okay? Nicole been staring at me for a while now. I get she gets in a zone sometimes but it worries me."><"'A happy worker is a worker who produces. A sad worker is one who doesn't meet his quotas. Don't you want to be a happy worker?' It's weird how this slogan used to give me joy.">Huh. Holy shit, you can read minds now. That's a new one. You take your mind off this by chugging the watery beer you were handed. "So. What's your plans after all of this? Hopefully you, uh, take a break for a while?" "Oh, shit, you're still here?" Lex nearly jumps out of his seat from sheer shock. <"Woo. Okay. Thank fuck she's okay.">"Yeah?" You raise an eyebrow. "Calm down. I was just thinking about, I dunno, why I was doing this Cleaner stuff. It's fine now." "Fair?" Lex makes a weird half shrug gesture that's more like an involuntary twitch than anything. "I dunno. I was thinking on trying to get some gifts for my ma and pa.""Wait, you have parents you're on speaking terms with?" Ashley butts into the conversation. "What a lucky bastard you are. Haven't been able to talk to them in years." "...Family." Quentin is far more interested in the drink than the conversation going on. You read his mind. <"I miss Mother. Mother of a Thousand Legs. I need to get back to her."> He takes a swig of the gin in his glass. "I suppose it's better to have it than not." "Oh, right, you're some fucked up centipede. How does that work?" Lex says with as much tact as you expect from him. "How do they, uh. Do the thing."The deadpan look on Quentin's face evades your ability to read his thoughts. You can make an educated guess he didn't like the question. "...Eggs. Human females make them, right? You ape." He goes back to sipping his drink with a mildly upset expression.
You can't help but to scrunch up your face. Ashley doesn't have a much better reaction to it. Lex is eyeing you and Ashley with a weird look. "NO. WE DO NOT." Ashley pours her drink down her gullet in one fell swoop. After hissing through the bitterness of the booze, she starts speaking again. "Look, let's not question how bugs fuck. Thanks. Horrid mental image." "Pft, sorry, sorry." Lex slumps into his chair. "I apologize to all of the humans and weird bug people at the table. But seriously, what IS your deal, Quinny?""Don't call me that." Quentin sighs. "To be quite honest, I do not fully remember. I was stuck in that rotten old body for so long, my memories of before are hazy. Not a lot to feed on." He peers down at his half empty glass. "I remember Mother watching me. I remember trying to find a shell. I did not have the proper compatibility with my provided shell.""Something something weird skin suits?" Ashley snaps her fingers. "The ones with no faces and shit? Those things?""Correct. Then it was cold. Then I found that man's body. Then I found out I was compatible with him. Then I used him. I never had a true goal past that. I was lost." There's a tinge of some emotion you can't quite make out. Disappointment? Self hatred? <"I wish I could've been a useful Drone.">Ashley's expression softens when she hears the story. "I can relate. To the being lost part. Shit, I hardly remember my home district. I've been hopping around this fuckin' City to find...somethin'. I guess the band is the only thing I got besides this new job." She takes another swig of her drink. "Better than being with dad. Fuckin' J-Corp bootlicker." [SEEKER OF THE CITY] J-Corp, an associate of the Head, is tasked with maintaining PEACE and ORDER in the City. They're the closest thing to an organized police force you can get. "What, your dad was a police officer? That's kinda cool!" You try your best to lighten up the situation. Ashley gives you a nasty looking scowl in response. "He was a cock. Simple as. I don't get why Nadir looked up to him." <"...Maybe I should call them soon? It couldn't hurt."> "Sob stories and daddy issues? Yeesh." Lex grunts. "My life was boring as fuck until now. Wake up. Go to school. Go home. Study. All of that boring shit. This? This is the LIFE! Money, drinks, beating bitches up?" A half-laugh escapes him. "What else could you need?" <"I guess friends are nice too. I wonder how that Alexis chick is doing?">"A routine is something a man needs to stay sane." Quentin drones (heh) on. "All of us are slaves to it in some way.""Says the fucking Drone." Lex dismissively responds. Quentin takes a moment to process the statement before nodding his head. "Fair enough. I am biased here. I will not deny that. Is it wrong, however?" "Fuck, am I any different? I'm on a routine too." You muse. Though it's not like you have any better ideas on how to handle your life. How else do you make money?
"Sweetie." Lex shakes his head in mock disappointment. "That's called a 'job'. You're doing something called a 'job'. Do you need your meds?" You pull out your antipsychotics. "I do." This instantly shuts the table up. Ashley is utterly bewildered at the fact that, yes, you do have medication. "Well then. Maybe you should remember to take those." <"Rather not get scared shitless again, thanks!">The conversation soon dies down from there. Your allies finish their drinks before proceeding to leave the table. You say your goodbyes to them. The three drunkards stumbled out, clearly in better spirits than before. You feel better as well.>+2 RESTRAINT to you and your party! 7/7 RESTRAINT!You mull over the stories they told you while your legs move automatically to the people who caught your attention at the bar. The first one you decide to bother is the old lady. You sit down at the seat across from her that's luckily unoccupied. She barely even looks up from her tea when she decides to speak. "I do believe an introduction is well due, stranger. It is impolite to simply stumble into a stranger's life without such common courtesy." You are impressed how clear and understandable her speaking is despite her lack of teeth. "Well?" She coughs to get your attention. You take a moment to get a better look at her. Her outfit is a simple dull grey military-style jumpsuit alongside some old combat boots. Her skin is caked in what appears to be burn scars and deep scratches, with only her left eye being mostly unfucked. There's hardly any grey hair clinging onto her head. The tattoos are the most eye catching part. A swirl of bizarre symbols and patterns that look like they would belong on some sort of old tribal warrior covers her arms and face."Nicole! I, uh, just wanted to chat with you. About stuff." You're not super sure on how to bridge the subject. "Nice to meet you."A chat. Quite a unique thing to ask for." <"Alas. Even during my breaks, I can't avoid having the youngens call for help."> "You can call me...Naomi. Better than telling you my codename. No one would enjoy knowing that." "Codename?" That's interesting. That, the scars, and the military outfit is painting an interesting story on how experienced she is. "Ah. What does that matter? It's not like I've done that job in a while." <"Not like she needs to know."> She takes another sip of her tea. "Let's cut it to brass tacks, youngen. You came here for assistance. I could tell your friends were in a fight. A nasty one, I believe." "You would be right to assume that." You decide to drop all pretense now. "To be honest, I'm always looking for new allies. I'm a Cleaner, you see. I do...missions." Naomi slaps her knee before bursting out into a cackle. When she manages to calm down enough to make coherent speech, she flashes a toothless smile at you. "Ah. It's been a while since I've done this. I believe I can humor you."
<"Poor girl is going to get herself killed."> "I believe we can come to an...agreement on this. What sort of jobs do you tend to do?" She puts her hands on her knees. Her eyes seem to stare past you and into something deeper. Like she's trying to judge every bit of you she can see. Like an arbiter or adjudicator. <"She might be a good replacement for my title, if given the right push."> "Yes, yes. This will work. Go on, tell me." "Well, I do a little bit of everything. I did a hit not too long ago on a gang, I did some investigation work, I saved someone who was kidnapped? Stuff like that." "What gang?" This instantly catches her interest for some reason. "...Ace Strikers?"She's silent at first. She offers you a handshake almost immediately. "Thank you. I told them that one day, karma would rest on top of their head. Even if you only killed a few, that is enough for me." You return the handshake. Her skin is dry, cracked, and frankly threatening to fall apart at any second. Old age and a lifetime of scars has pushed her body well past the limits. "Eugh." You pull back your hand when you feel how fucked her skin is. A gentle laugh drifts out of Naomi. "Fair enough. I usually have my bandages on but I wanted to feel the fresh air today.""Tell you what. I shall come along on any mission you desire for a simple price of $195. I believe that is fair enough for my presence." She pauses. "I will try my best to teach you and any other friends you have all I know if you do bring me along.""Duly noted. Do you have any contact info?" You get handed a small napkin with a number written on it. You assume this is her number, so you stuff it in your pocket. "Thank you. See you later.""See you. Now, back to my tea." She goes back to enjoying her black tea. No sugar, no cream, nothing. Pitch black. Absolutely psychopathic. Eh, you half kid. You decide to check up on the other person you were interested in-"LISTEN HERE YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!" The man in the tactical gear yells at the top of his lungs into the tinny speaker of his walkie talkie. The rest of the patrons in the small bar are looking at him with equal parts fear and annoyance. "I fucking told you, we can't do this shit on the GOD DAMN fly! Everything has a PLAN to it and you can't just FUCK THAT AROUND WILLY NILLY!" He damn near cracks the table with his left hand with how hard he's gripping it. "I don't care what Bennett says. You listen to MY orders when you're doing MY jobs for me. If I hear one more fuck up from you, I'm cutting your GOD DAMN nuts off. Alright?"There's silence on the line, followed by a half hearted apology from whoever's on the other side. Then it goes fully quiet. The man huffs, slapping the walkie talkie onto his chest. <"Oh great, some schizo bitch is approaching me. Get the pepper spray ready, Frank...">
You raise your hands up in mock surrender. "I took my pills today. I don't hear any voices, nor do I think the government is chasing after me." Both of which are lies and you can tell Frank is half aware of this. He sighs, gesturing at you to sit down. You sit down next to him. He's a tall, somewhat skinny man with messy brown hair and some mild muscle in his arms. He's glaring at you like you're a piece of actual dogshit he stepped on. It's halting any attempt at you from starting a conversation. "Sorry. Didn't mean to intrude, sir." "Save the asskissing for someone else. Tell me what you want so I can tell you to fuck off." Well, he gets right to the point. You try your best to get enough courage to speak up. "I'm, uh, looking for allies. People to help me out. You seem like you're...good at your job? Mr...?" "Frank. Frank Smith. Though I suppose the actual title is ETF Kappa. I think that's retarded, do I look like some sort of fuckin' fish to you?" Frank chuckles at some sort of bizarre 'joke' he was making. "And you, schizo bitch?" "Nicole. Nicole Smith.""Huh, wack, same last name. Who would've thunk?" An ETF agent, huh? Explains the uniform. Very likely to be vastly superior in resources and experience, combat or otherwise."I guess so! I'm not exactly an Agent per se but I'm close! I'm a Cleaner. You know, a bit below the later?" "Oh. The dead meat that are sent to do the jobs we don't want. Excellent. Why would I help you?" He really isn't holding his punches back. He won't lie to you or your allies. For good and ill. "You get an extra paycheck? You don't have to yell at the walkie talkie so much? I dunno, I got a lot of money and an associate in some high places.""Hm. Money is good. I can dig that. Respect it. The grind, the hustle." Frank taps his foot to an imaginary beat. "$275. No more, no less." "That's a bit hi-" "Do you want me to humor your nonsense or not?" "Fair, I guess." You don't really have a high enough CHARM to try lowering his price any. "Great. Here's my card." Frank tosses a small business card at you. You catch it. "I'll tell you this, Nicky Wicky. If you ever meet a man named Bennett? Punch him in the fucking face for me." He mutters to himself. <"Fucking bunny mask wearing asshole.">"Riiight." You decide it's probably wise to get the fuck out of here before he feels like he wants to beat you up. You begin your walk back to the train station so you can get back home and get some fucking sleep. It's been a long day today, frankly. You will NOT miss the constant smell of sulfur and the constant orange tint of this district. Once you get to the train station, you show the business card you got so you can get on the next train immediately. Soon enough, you're back home in your frozen winter wonderland of a District. You stumble back into your room and fall face first into your pillow without a second thought. Everything goes black.
When you manage to wake up, it's pretty early in the morning. Probably seven to eight AM give or take. You notice your head feels a bit different now. >STAT PENALTY FROM ARCADY DUST REMOVED. >RESTRAINT RETURNS TO 6/6.You rise up from your bed like a zombie before heading to the bathroom. You check yourself in the mirror. Pink eyes. Reddish-orange hair. A wiry body. An outfit consisting of black shorts, a t-shirt, and some boots from your last mission that are caked in blood. You remove your shirt and bodysuit to check at where the bullet grazed you. It looks like it's not infected but it's swollen and hurts like a bitch when you poke it. Oh well. You take a quick shower to try freshening yourself up after the bloodbath you were a part of. You make sure to use cold water since you think that might help more than warm water? The shower is quick and as you wrap yourself in a towel and head out of the bathroom, you notice a large package on the desk next to your bed. You quickly rip it apart with your telekinesis. Inside are the three A-Energy boxes that the Handler took from you earlier. Besides that, you note the following; -A business card with a number and note labeled "CALL IN CASE OF SERIOUS FUCK UP" -$40 (Cheap much, Handler?)-Two shotgun slugs, three revolver bullets, and five pistol bullets. You pick it up and lo and behold, there's the Handler. "Hey, freakshit. Long time no see, huh?" He sounds pretty chill on the other line. Weird. "Again. Thanks for the assist kill. Don't expect us to be bwest fwiends but that made you less of a shitball to me.""You got the card, right? Call that whenever shit is completely FUBAR and I will arrive as soon as I can to assist. You're a useful asset to me with what you've done for me. You're too in deep to get out now, you fucking dyke bitch."Hm. You wish you could read his thoughts over the phone. Seems like there's a proximity requirement to your new power. Oh well. >You now have GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD. Calling the number on this phone will attract the attention of the Handler to assist you in an emergency to the best of his ability. "Enough buddy buddy shit. Let's cut the bullshit. Mission time."CHOOSE YOUR NEXT MISSION, NICOLE>[ANOMALOUS] "You remember that P-Company facility I mentioned before? They're STILL whining about not having enough employees. They're desperate, all you gotta do is work a few hours with them and you'll make BANK!" REWARD: $1350, improved relations with P-Company, the experience will help improve your and your allies stats and abilities. RISK: VERY HIGH.>"We tried to send some poor bastards to scout out an R-Corp building that went radio silent. None of them have returned. Go in there and try to recover them if you can. See what happened to them and the former operators of the building" REWARD: $550, 'finder keeps on any loot you find', eight revolver bullets 'to recoup costs'. RISK: MEDIUM(1/2 for MISSIONS)
>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.>[ANOMALOUS] "We got reports of a certain anomaly that's been terrorizing District 14. Some sort of big crash test dummy thing called APEX PREDATOR? Whatever it is, it's been killing a lot of people. Recontain or weaken it enough for the ETF to get." REWARD: $1200, improved favor with P-Corp, 5 A-Energy packets for recovering a high valued anomaly for P-Corp. RISK LEVEL: HIGH.>"An E-Company representative has reported that several rogue and unstable Androids were accidently released into the market. I don't care how you do it but make track them down and make sure they're not a problem anymore." REWARD: $500, improved relationships with E-Company, access to various cybernetics to improve yourself. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.>[ANOMALOUS] "I'm not sure how, I'm not sure WHY, but they had the bright idea to start opening a containment facility ala P-Corp. It went to shit. A buncha high value individuals were there for the opening. Get as many survivors out as possible." REWARD: $1100, improved favor with D-Company, saving high-ranking officials will permanently boost your CONNECTION stat and permanent access to D-Corp's exclusive catalogs. RISK LEVEL: VERY HIGH.>[BONUS MISSION] "This is a bit of a snorefest for everyone involved but I have a gut feeling that a rival office that works for L-Corp has been doing some incredibly shady shit with their paperwork. Get evidence of their wrong doings and file them to L-Corp." REWARD: $545, improved favor with L-Corp, L-Corp will reward you with a small residue drip feed of resources for the next three missions. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.>Write in. (Describe the mission and I'll assign the rewards and risk level.)Who do you want to bring along? Hire as many as you're willing to afford. AVAILABLE CASH: $1306>LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110 due to high RAPPORT. Probably still recovering...)>ALEXIS. A supplier of equipment and connections. Somewhat flaky and liable to draw attention. (Will ask for a 21% cut of the reward money.)>QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Allies besides Adam, Benjamin, and Lex will ask for an extra cut (30% for Alexis, +$25 for the others) to hire.)>BENJAMIN. Fully licensed as a pharmacist and is Open Minded to the supernatural. Delusional, credulous, and naive. ($60)>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)(1/2 on Allies.)
>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. ($50 if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $150 otherwise.)>ADAM. A man who owes a favor to you. You don't know much else about his potential. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)>MAX, an Aristocrat. High in demand with the Companies and has extensive access to corporate assets. Held in contempt by other Cleaners, very sheltered. ($175 if hired without Benjamin, $95 otherwise.)>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($110, probably still recovering...)>NAOMI. She has gathered a lot of experience and knowledge over the years. More than willing to teach you and your allies her tricks. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($195) >FRANK. His main job as an ETF agent grants incredible combat and non-combat experience. Has access to resources you could never hope to get by yourself. Incredibly blunt and crass, liable to piss other people off (including you). ($275)>No one. Solo time.Sorry for the delay. Meant to push it out sooner but I got distracted with making dinner. I'll update the pastebins whenever I wake up tomorrow since I'm crashing HARD
>>5862602>>5862608>>5862612>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.Something low-stress and low-stakes for the time being. Sounds like a good use of our camera drone and various intel gear. A very nice SEEKER OF THE CITY style jobAs for the crew>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)I wanna learn more about this suicide salaryman. His CONNECTIONS might give us something interesting with this film director friend of the Handler's too.>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. ($50 if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $150 otherwise.)Yeah this isn't an ANOMALOUS mission, which sucks, but this is a scout-and-explore mission. Kiara is a fellow City explorer. There might be good synergy there.I want to let Lex, Ashley, and Quentin recover. Quentin doesn't really need to recover with how he is, but you get the idea. Maruyama and Kiara are the muscle, Kiara and Nicole are the scopers. 120+150 means we spend 270 on these two, and with the $435 reward that's $165 that goes to us.
>>5862691+1
>>5862608>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.>>5862612>ADAM. A man who owes a favor to you. You don't know much else about his potential. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)
>>5862691>>5862612I'll second this
>>5862767Supporting
"So, here's the rub of the mission. I got this pal who works with A-Corp. You know, the fucks who make all of the capeshit and other slop entertainment your shitty little TV makes. Seriously, get that replaced. I think those were last made in 2175." [SEEKER OF THE CITY] He's right on the money with A-Corp's description. All you can recall is that they usually work with P-Company and other anomaly containment facilities for special footage. "My pal wants to work with them on some movie he was makin'. Trying to remember the name. Somethin' about cement and monkeys. Your goal is to try finding a set for it. You ARE an explorer or something, if your sheet is right." "Yes, yes, I recall the sheet. Still have it. Do you at least have a general area I should be looking in?" You don't recall any unique weather conditions in District 1. You start to put on your usual outfit of a pink blouse, dress jeans, and flats with your telekinesis. "Do you fucking know how big a section of a District is, let alone the whole one?"The Handler snorts like a pig. "Yeah, yeah. Trust me. He's not paying me enough to pay YOU enough to make you scout that. We both have better things to do with our time. It's along the border of District 1 and 2." He rattles off with barely any energy, as if explaining it is boring his brains out. "There was some incident back in '75 that left a whole residential block and a buncha buildings nearby completely abandoned. Used to be called Avalon or somethin'?""Alright. Is there any other details I should know about? Any specific instructions?" You finish sliding your shoes on. "Rather not get blindsided if I can." The Handler pauses for a moment. You hear him chewing on something. "Mmh. Tell you what." A snap echoes across the line. "I like ya, so I'll give you an optional bonus mission." Oh fucking great, more work? What could this motherfucker want? "I've heard an old rumor that there was a reason why that place got abandoned.""An anomaly."Oh god, you hoped for a relaxing mission. "Do you have any descriptions of it?" You try your best to hold your dread. At least he said it was optional. "We don't have a proper title for it but there's apparently some sort of highly advanced biomechanical thing roaming around there. Phases through walls and shit. You'll probably avoid if you keep an eye out BUT!" He snaps his fingers over the line again. "If you can get some great footage of that thing, we could use it in the movie.""You want me to get footage of an anomaly. An anomaly that might've made a place a ghost town. For a movie?""Yes!" "...What's the bonus?""$200." Mmh, it's something to consider if you want to bother dealing with. You're not exactly keen on getting into a fight, after all. "Anyways, get ready or something. Buh bye." You get hung up on. Well then. You start dialing the people to bring. You were tempted to call Adam but... Not this time. Maybe next time.
You first ring up Maruyama. You still have that small business card he gave you three days ago. You tap your foot while you wait for the call to connect. A tired sounding man picks up the line. "moshi moshi. donata desu ka?" You have no fucking clue what that means but you'd assume he's asking who you are. "It's me, Nicole. We met a few days back. Pink eyes, orange hair.""Oh, you. I honestly didn't expect you to call." You hear some sheets being shuffled through in the background. "I just got up. I assume you are calling for a job. What are the specifications?" He can barely hold back his yawning while talking. "It's a low risk one. We'll be exploring around an abandoned section of a district for a movie a director wants to shoot in. You'll get your usual $20 per hours, so about $120? It'll probably take a bit to scout it out." "Ah, exercise? I'm not exactly as spry as you." He grunts, presumably from doing some stretches. "Is that going to be a problem?""Who knows? Maybe we'll just explore musty old buildings." You pause for a moment. For some reason, you're actually a bit worried about his condition. Who knows, maybe some instincts are acting up after last night? "Do you have asthma or anything?" "Oh, no, no. Besides, over a hundred bucks for THAT? I prefer that over going back to the office. What district do you want to meet at?" "District 7. My home one. We'll travel to District 1 after. That works?" "I suppose so. I'll have to call my office to tell them I'm doing a job, so I might lag behind a bit.""That's fine, that's fine. I have to do some set up anyways. See ya." "See ya." The line hangs up. Well, that was better than you expected when talking to a person you barely even know. You dial the next phone number you got. Kiara, that weird android you met before. You are tempted to tell her about the anomaly but you're not one hundred percent certain on doing that optional mission. She'd be PISSED if you told her and didn't do it, so it's best to not spill too much right now. The line picks up. "Sorry I missed your call. Please leave a name, number, and a brief message after the tone a-and I-I'll be SURE to get back as..." For a moment you thought you were actually listening to a prerecorded voice mail.[UNSTABLE] Who's to say you're not? Do robots even dream of electric sheep? [UNSTABLE] Hang up. Now. NOW! WE WILL NOT TALK TO THIS AUTOMATON!You do so. Then after thirty seconds you realized how much of a retard you are and call back. You are greeted with tinny giggling over the line. "Sorry, sorry! I always have to do that! Yeah, yeah, you connected to me the first time. Sorry!" "Riiight. Don't do that, I have a mission for you. We're going to take some pictures of a place for a certain director friend of mine." "Oh? Now you got my interest." "In short, we're supposed to find a good set for him to shoot on. We'll explore an abandoned part of District 1 for that. We find a good location, we get paid."
"Ah! This is right up my alley. Frankly, I needed something simple like this after the last job I was working for." You didn't know an android should sound so exhausted. Her voice went from mildly peppy to dead inside as she talks. "Do you know how hard it is to deal with a Nest dweller? The pay was good but she...eugh." Considering your Handler's...quirks, you can understand where she's coming from. "Yeah. So, I assume $150?""Yeah, yeah. There's nothing really special to it. Nothing that makes a big headline in my newspaper. It'll be a nice article but nothing that gets attention. $150. Same as always." Her voice instantly switches to a cold, professional tone. "In cash. No barter goods. Before anything else is said or exchanged between us.""Of course, of course. I have the money on hand, no need to rile yourself up." You did get a great payday last mission. You can splurge a little bit, no?"Great! District 7 was when I last saw you and luckily, that's close enough to my district. I'll be there in a hour or two, okay?" "Right." You hang up. Well, you got a lot of time to kill. What do you want to do for the next few hours? Choose up to three.>[UNSTABLE] TV MAN! SAVE US! GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE DESPERATELY NEED! Turn on the TV and see what you can learn from him.>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Wander around your home District to see what you can learn from here. The more information, the better. (You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRET, INFORMATION, ALLY, and SHOP when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS and the WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. One offers more general supplies while the other offers more niche but powerful items.)>You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)>Call your Handler back and try to pry some more information out of him. Who exactly is the Director? Is there any specific tastes he has in his sets? Ask him more.>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You got a fuck ton of extra knives. Why not train your telekinesis with them? Try to become a great knife thrower! (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and you'll improve your technique with throwing objects via telekinesis, permanently increasing your attack rolls by throwing things. Fail and it's likely you'll just trash your apartment and hurt your brain from the strain.)>Take your fucking meds. You do NOT want to freak out your new allies like last time. (FREE ACTION, -1 ANTI-PSYCHOTIC. You'll act like a real human being for a while.)>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (Roll 3d100 to determine what loot you get.)>It worked before, time to do it again. Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)>Write in. (Use some items? Call someone else? Do something else?)
>>5863987>[UNSTABLE] TV MAN! SAVE US! GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE DESPERATELY NEED! Turn on the TV and see what you can learn from him.>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE.>It worked before, time to do it again. Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)
>>5863987>[UNSTABLE] TV MAN! SAVE US! GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE DESPERATELY NEED! Turn on the TV and see what you can learn from him.>You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS and the WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. One offers more general supplies while the other offers more niche but powerful items.)Anomalous store>Take your fucking meds. You do NOT want to freak out your new allies like last time. (FREE ACTION, -1 ANTI-PSYCHOTIC. You'll act like a real human being for a while.)
>>5863987>>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. >Call your Handler back and try to pry some more information out of him. Who exactly is the Director? Is there any specific tastes he has in his sets? Ask him more.>It worked before, time to do it again. Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)
>>5863987>You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)First the rest, then the rest>[UNSTABLE] TV MAN! SAVE US! GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE DESPERATELY NEED! Turn on the TV and see what you can learn from him.Is the TV really rotting our brain? Or is it ENHANCING it with static?!>Take your fucking meds. You do NOT want to freak out your new allies like last time. (FREE ACTION, -1 ANTI-PSYCHOTIC. You'll act like a real human being for a while.)ONLY after the TV check with UNSTABLE>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS and the WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. One offers more general supplies while the other offers more niche but powerful items.)Anomalous store
Edit>>5864004>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. >Call your Handler back and try to pry some more information out of him. Who exactly is the Director? Is there any specific tastes he has in his sets? Ask him more.>You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)
>>5863987>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. (WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE) >You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)>It worked before, time to do it again. Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)
>>5863987>[UNSTABLE] TV MAN! SAVE US! GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE DESPERATELY NEED! Turn on the TV and see what you can learn from him.It has been far too long since the TV Man has graced us with his wisdom>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE>You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)>Take your fucking meds. You do NOT want to freak out your new allies like last time. (FREE ACTION, -1 ANTI-PSYCHOTIC. You'll act like a real human being for a while.)Will probably be good to be sane if we're going to be interacting with some director later
Edit Again >>5864048>Best to stock up on some equipment for your allies. WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE. >You should probably just lay back down. That wound you got yesterday hurts like a bitch still. Relax. (+1 FLESH from the extra rest.)>It worked before, time to do it again. Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)
>>5864710+1
Your eyes instantly latch onto the television in your room. You're not sure what's compelling you here but your hands grip onto the dials and other little buttons on the boobtube. Your hands move automatically to tune it to some channel you can't quite remember the number of, even as if you're inputting it. Your hands let go once you're done tuning it to what looks to snowy static. Well, if nothing else? White noise will help you sleep. You lay back down on your bed while keeping your eyes glued to the TV. You wanted to meditate but, eh, you feel a bit lazy right now. Can you blame yourself?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrrM43p10sc - TV MANWhere there was once static is now him. The man. The television man. A pale man in a bright blue newscaster suit. He's staring RIGHT at you. Then he's not. He's busy with a set of papers he has in his hands. "...Recent reports say that a massive revolution attempt is going to occur soon. A few months if we're lucky. Weeks if unlucky. A delusional man, not unlike you, is going to do something reckless." The TV MAN clears his throat. "It doesn't matter what happens or who that man is but the City will be thrown into disarray for a long while once it occurs." [UNSTABLE] Trust what he's saying. This hasn't happened yet. But it will. "I would keep an eye out on ETF agents. They tend to think they're above it all. Just because you can wrangle anomalies doesn't mean you know what's best for the world." Vitriol is oozing out of the man's words. "Keep that in the back of your mind.""What the fuck am I supposed to do about that?" You muse outloud."You'll see when the time approaches." The TV MAN responds. "For more relevant news that you can act on? Let's see here..." He flips through the pages in his hands. "Ah, right." "K-Company has recently found out that an unauthorized usage of their chemical weapons has been detected in District 8." A pit drops in your stomach. "The only survivors of the attack were two stolen Model M-1L unit androids. Used for...unsavory purposes." The TV man mutters something. "Luckily for whoever the culprits are, it appears the androids were...sympathetic to them. They have not ratted them out. YET. However, K-Company is actively searching the scene for any evidence of what happened. I believe the silver men are going to be interested here, Nicole." Okay, fuck, that's not good. "Do I have a time frame of how long I got? Or any clue on when someone's a K-Corp operator? That'd be nice." "You have three days until they get a general idea of who you are and where. Give or take." Not a lot of time. Damnit. "I believe our other friend can help with the second one."[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You'll usually be able to tell through the outfits they wear. Safety yellow and bright orange. Even if they're trying to be discreet."Noted." You nod along. As if you're not acting like a fucking schizophrenic. "There's probably a third thing, isn't there?"
He continues on as if he didn't hear you at all. "I-Company is preparing to do a press conference with the assistance of one of their partners, the Krakatoa Family. They plan on showing off a brand new product produced by a new Singularity they just acquired."[SEEKER OF THE CITY] A Singularity is a piece of classified technology that is far beyond what can normally be created by humanity. Most are found in the Wastes as a result. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] That is what is outside the City you are accustomed to. You know little on it outside of it apparently being mostly desert. "Now, why is this relevant to the commonfolk such as you and I? To put it bluntly, they're going to do a power play. They're going to gather as many resources as they can for an upcoming expansion." He points at the screen. "Which includes Cleaners." "Mind being a bit less vague? What exactly does this company plan on doing with, I dunno, me?" "Simply put, they're going to headhunt for everyone who's willing to work for them. You're probably going to get a slip of paper in the mail or your Handler is going to force to bend the knee to offer it as an option." "Accepting it is probably a bad idea. The rewards? They would be worth it, Nicole, but it's probably going to throw you DEEP into the water with nary anything to hold onto. Be wary of anything asking you to go to District 9 within the next few days.""But if I wanted to risk it..." Dollar signs appear in your head. If nothing else, you do need enough money to eventually move to a safer place for you and whoever gets close enough to you. "Might be a good idea. It's your life you're risking. That's all of the news I have for today." You blink to realize you've been staring at a cartoon cat with a giant mouth on its tail. You weren't watching the news at all? Huh. You lay your head back on your pillow. You levitate your bottle of anti psychotics over to your bed. You open it up, pop a pill into your mouse, and close your eyes. >-1 ANTIPSYCHOTIC No dreams, just like always. You wake back up to see that the there's more light pouring out of your window. You were probably out for a solid two hours. You rub your side a bit and it doesn't hurt as much. The wound is still there but it healed enough to not be a liability. >+1 FLESH Since you're going outside now, you decide this is the time to slide your combat bodysuit underneath your clothes. It takes a bit of a hassle undressing and redressing but it's on now. This time, it's hidden fully underneath your clothes. Good. Huh.You know, normally a voice would be telling you something or freaking you out but it's been awfully quiet now. You just hear yourself thinking. That's about it. Wow, it's been a while since that voice has been shut up.>MEDICATED: UNSTABLE has now been disabled as a bane. The other voices will also pop up less frequently.Without anything holding you back now, you head outside with your four A-Energy boxes. Shopping time!
It doesn't take long to get onto the train heading towards District 6. Given that your district allows for mostly free travel, you don't exactly worry about paying fare. The benefits of G-Corp, you suppose. Once you're actually on the streets of the district, you realized how it still sucked as much as last time. A swarm of greasy, gluttonous people swarming around the food stalls lined every god damn sidewalk of this place. You're thin enough to pass through them without much effort. You take in a deep breath when you manage to get into a mostly clear street without B.O and lard suffocating you. You notice something quaint about the building you're standing in front of. A bright red and white stripped flag is hanging above it. You pull out the card Adam gave you before you knock on the door. That's when you notice there's a slit on the door. It opens up but it's too dark to make out anything on the other side. "Did you do what I told you last night?" "I made sure to drink my water last night." You read off the code phrase. There's a click of the door unlocking before the slit is closed shut. You pull the door open with your telekinesis before stepping into the building. You are immediately plunged into pitch black once the door is closed. https://youtu.be/oHkpCwzDY88 - ???It takes a minute for any kind of light to return to the small room you're in. Lit incense candles hang around the cramped shelves and the front desk of the shop. It's barely enough to let you see the stock on the shelves. Pickled limbs, occult books, bizarre looking knives, vials filled with unknown fluids...you're not sure what most of them even do. [ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] There's a ritualistic aspect to the Anomalous to most people. No one understands how it works so they do whatever they can to channel its power.The shopkeeper sits at their table, cloaked in the shadows provided by the faint light of the candles. A big, flowing robe hides everything about them aside from their face. That is covered by a really offputting looking wax mask of an elderly woman. You literally can't tell anything about them aside from their clothing and their general body frame, which is thin and wiry. They tilt their head at you before speaking. "My, my." A feminine voice, so a she then? "I didn't expect YOU to come over. I was waiting for that cute little boy. What's his name, Adam?" <"I suppose I could make an exception for her, mmh?"> You gag internally. Yeah, no. You shake your head to clear your mind."Yeah, well, he gave me the card and I feel like I have more to often than him." You place one of the A-Energy boxes in front of her. A small gasp escapes her and she damn near tries to take it from you but you're fast. You pull it back with your mind. This only gets her to gasp louder. "Ah ha. A fellow freak. I believe we can...relate in our struggles, hehehehe. Sure, sure. I'll show you what I got!" It's time to shop!
CURRENT MONEY: $1036 A-ENERGY BOXES: 4>This store has certain items that can only be purchased with A-ENERGY BOXES. You may also use them to pay up to $150 per box on a product.>If an item has '$X PER', you may buy multiple.>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)>CHAC CHAC. A seemingly simple shaker instrument. The combination of the pebbles inside and the various pearls tied onto it create a hypnotic rhythm that helps one to focus on the otherworldly. $175 per CHAC CHAC (+2 WILLPOWER when equipped, takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Allows the user to spend extra RESTRAINT to boost the effects of their powers.)>HOLY CANDLE. "Freshly made with the corpse wax a Graverobber helped me get. Powerful stuff, ya know?" $111 per CANDLE. (While lit, the candle deters away anomalies or other threats from the nearby area.)>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)>BLOOD BOILING CAPE. Holding onto this tattered fabric fills you with unwavering resolve. Reminds you of your childhood for some reason. 2 A-ENERGY BOXES. (+1 VIOLENCE, TALENT, CHARM, and minor FLESH regeneration while equipped. Drains RESTRAINT as long as its on.)>PICKLED CEO HEART. "Pure and utter capital. Consume it before it consumes you." $153 PER HEART (When consumed, temporarily boosts CONNECTIONS and CHARM by 3 at the cost of mixed FLESH/RESTRAINT damage.)>DOLOR NULL. A handmade, stitched together rag that has clearly seen better days. Something about it reminds you of better times. 1 A-ENERGY + $234. (Has three charges which fully recharge between missions. Consume one charge to deal moderate MENTAL damage to an enemy. Consume two charges to negate the next source of RESTRAINT damage taken.)>BLESSED CHAINS. A N-Corp relic. "Keeps your mind in check, you hear? Pain keeps the self grounded." 1 A-ENERGY and $32 per CHAINS. (When the user is about to go insane, the CHAINS will automatically be consumed to heal 3 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH.)>WEREWOLF FUR COAT. "Aye, real and trusted. Came from a shewolf, if you could believe. She was a doozy." $325 per coat. (Reduces FLESH damage taken by attacks by 1. Has a small chance of completely ignoring bullets or other ranged attacks.)>Surely, you can try haggling a deal out of the shopkeep. (Offer to barter? Try to ask for a discount? Write in.)>Maybe she has more than she's not showing you? Try and ask? (CONNECTIONS + CHARM DC: ???. Write in what type of item you're looking for. The higher you roll, the better the product offered.)
>>5865147>>HOLY CANDLE. "Freshly made with the corpse wax a Graverobber helped me get. Powerful stuff, ya know?" $111 per CANDLE. (While lit, the candle deters away anomalies or other threats from the nearby area.)>>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)>PICKLED CEO HEART. "Pure and utter capital. Consume it before it consumes you." $153 PER HEART (When consumed, temporarily boosts CONNECTIONS and CHARM by 3 at the cost of mixed FLESH/RESTRAINT damage.)>DOLOR NULL. A handmade, stitched together rag that has clearly seen better days. Something about it reminds you of better times. 1 A-ENERGY + $234. (Has three charges which fully recharge between missions. Consume one charge to deal moderate MENTAL damage to an enemy. Consume two charges to negate the next source of RESTRAINT damage taken.)>BLESSED CHAINS. A N-Corp relic. "Keeps your mind in check, you hear? Pain keeps the self grounded." 1 A-ENERGY and $32 per CHAINS. (When the user is about to go insane, the CHAINS will automatically be consumed to heal 3 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH.)Lets splurge, we are gonna want new equipment.Also lets eat the heart and immediately after>Maybe she has more than she's not showing you? Try and ask? (CONNECTIONS + CHARM DC: ???. Write in what type of item you're looking for. The higher you roll, the better the product offered.)
>>5865151>>5865147For type of item, lets look for some more ghostbusting equipment. We are gonna want some way of tracking anomalies as well.
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)GET 1. We're using powers a lot, this benefits Nicole>HOLY CANDLE. "Freshly made with the corpse wax a Graverobber helped me get. Powerful stuff, ya know?" $111 per CANDLE. (While lit, the candle deters away anomalies or other threats from the nearby area.)GET 1. Exploration aid!>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)A good knife for Nicole due to high WILLPOWER>Maybe she has more than she's not showing you? Try and ask? (CONNECTIONS + CHARM DC: ???. Write in what type of item you're looking for. The higher you roll, the better the product offered.)Test our luck
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)>HOLY CANDLE. "Freshly made with the corpse wax a Graverobber helped me get. Powerful stuff, ya know?" $111 per CANDLE. (While lit, the candle deters away anomalies or other threats from the nearby area.)>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)>BLESSED CHAINS. A N-Corp relic. "Keeps your mind in check, you hear? Pain keeps the self grounded." 1 A-ENERGY and $32 per CHAINS. (When the user is about to go insane, the CHAINS will automatically be consumed to heal 3 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH.)
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. >HOLY CANDLE x2>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE>WEREWOLF FUR COAT.>DOLOR NULL>BLESSED CHAINS
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE>BLESSED CHAINS
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)>HOLY CANDLE. "Freshly made with the corpse wax a Graverobber helped me get. Powerful stuff, ya know?" $111 per CANDLE. (While lit, the candle deters away anomalies or other threats from the nearby area.)>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)>BLESSED CHAINS. A N-Corp relic. "Keeps your mind in check, you hear? Pain keeps the self grounded." 1 A-ENERGY and $32 per CHAINS. (When the user is about to go insane, the CHAINS will automatically be consumed to heal 3 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH.)>WEREWOLF FUR COAT. "Aye, real and trusted. Came from a shewolf, if you could believe. She was a doozy." $325 per coat. (Reduces FLESH damage taken by attacks by 1. Has a small chance of completely ignoring bullets or other ranged attacks.)You know what's better than our bodysuit's +1 FLESH? Completely *ignoring* any attack that deals 1 FLESH damage.
>>5865147>ECLIPSE TALISMAN. An eastern style talisman with decorations depicting an eclipse of the sun. Oddly warm to the touch. $200 per TALISMAN (+1 MAX RESTRAINT while equipped, allows the user to reroll two dice on a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll twice per MISSION.)>BEYOND LOVE AND HATE. A pile of tear stained love letters that has been folded together into a dagger. It reeks of longing and sadness. 1 A-ENERGY BOXES + $66 (Takes up a WEAPON SLOT. Deals mental damage instead of physical damage, useful for physically resistant enemies. ATTACK ROLL: 2+WILLPOWER.)>PICKLED CEO HEART. "Pure and utter capital. Consume it before it consumes you." $153 PER HEART (When consumed, temporarily boosts CONNECTIONS and CHARM by 3 at the cost of mixed FLESH/RESTRAINT damage.)
ECLIPSE TALISMAN: eiJ, P22, 5xC, hh/, 3G4, bgb, 8UHHOLY CANDLE: hMc, eiJ, P22, 5xC, 3G4 (with 5xC being the only one asking for multiple)BEYOND LOVE AND HATE: EveryonePICKED CEO HEART: hMc, 8UHDOLOR NULL: hMc, 5xCBLESSED CHAINS: hMc, P22, 5xC, hh/, bgbWEREWOLF COAT: 5xC, bgbAll in all, the majority vote for the list of things to buy is ECLIPSE TALISMAN + HOLY CANDLE + BEYOND LOVE AND HATE + BLESSED CHAINS. You'll be left with $627 and 2 A-ENERGY BOXES for future shopping and/or ally hiring. Writing.
>-$406 and 2 A-ENERGY>TALISMAN + BEYOND LOVE AND HATE + CANDLE + CHAINS ACCQUIRED You look down at the weird little trinkets you bought from this shopkeeper. The ECLIPSE TALISMAN seems like a simple talisman that is wearable as a necklace. You wrap it around your neck. There's a gentle warmth around the area it's touching. >RESTRAINT IS NOW 7/7 The BLESSED CHAINS are a simple clump of golden chains that also feel warm to the touch. A faint glow from an unidentified source surrounds them. Considering what the shopkeeper said, you decide to tie them around your ankle like a cute little bracelet. The HOLY CANDLE is a greasy lump of wax with an oddly chalky texture when you hold it in your hand. Sigils cover every part of it, including the wick. You simply put this away in your inventory for now. The small dagger made out of paper you were handed seems remarkably flimsy despite the name it was given. The shopkeeper smirks when she notices your obvious confusion. "That there, sweetie, is a PARADIGM," She leans forward in her chair. "Well, not quite exactly the real deal. You need to earn my trust for that." <"Or perhaps she can do a 'favor'? Kueh kueh kueh.">"Let's just say it's a fragment of one. Thanks to the help of ol U-Corp's Singularity. It's a good PARADIGM, trust me!"[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] To put it in short, a PARADIGM is a powerful piece of anomalous equipment spawned directly from an Anomaly. Either given willingly, made with parts of their body, or forcefully extracted. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] U-Corp is the corporation most interested in them. They seek to 'understand' them on a scientific level and distill the origins of anomalies. That's all you recall. "I see. Never handled one before." You partially lie. You don't remember holding one but it's very likely you had access to a few during intense mental episodes. It's possible you have some hidden around in your caches, if you had any idea where to look. "I hope it's worth the money. Thank you.""No problem, kueh~" <"Kueh kueh kueh. Kueh kueh kueh. Kueh kueh-"> You turn away from the weird shopkeeper. You're not getting anything else out of them aside from a fucking brain bleed. You exit the store posthaste.You willingly tune out your brain and go on auto pilot once you're back onto the streets. If you weren't pressed for time and had a mission to do, you might've taken in the sights more. Your brain snaps back into reality when you're stumbling back into the snow-drenched platform at District 7. "Benefits of being drugged up." You mutter, dusting off the snow already clinging to your outfit. No voices to keep you distracted on the boring train ride back here. Your posture tenses when you hear two sets of footsteps approaching you. [PERSON OF INTEREST] Coast's clear.You turn to see who it is. A man and an android female. Ah, finally, you can actually meet these two face to face. Time to see what they're capable of.
Maruyama is in a slightly better looking outfit than last time. Same beige hat and black dress shoes but at least his two piece suit is purple now. You still can't make out any real identifying features about him otherwise. He rubs his baggy eyes with his right hand; His left is busy holding a briefcase. "I swear, sleep does less and less to you when you get my age." He mutters. <"She looks different somehow?">Kiara contrasts him by flashing a bright beaming smile at you. The android holds out a hand out to you. It's covered in a flexible latex-like material that's probably meant to mimic skin. Only her arms, face, and legs seem to have it. "Long time no see, huh?" It's still weird seeing a robot that looks kinda like a human talk to you. You grab her hand and shake it. "Long time no see indeed. Hopefully I didn't keep you two waiting for too long?" You sit down on one of the seats at the platform. Kiara sits down alongside you. Still rocking the orange pilot jacket and black turtleneck sweater, huh? "Mmh. No, no, we only waited for a few minutes. I've dealt with worse." <"Now if you ask Maru? Yeesh! That guy can be impatient.">Maruyama follows suit, sitting down next to the two of you. "Even five minutes in this weather is horrid. I will admit," A tired sigh drifts out. "The cold keeps me awake. That's a small blessing." <"I would kill for a drink now. Hair of the dog."> "Well, if the mission is successful, maybe we can drink later." You pull out one of the small bottles of whiskey you stole. This instantly gets Maruyama's attention. "As long as you help." You can't help but to smirk. You can see the benefit of your mindreading already. "Interesting. I wouldn't mind that as an extra reward-" Kiara butts into the conversation. "So, before we do anything, remember our agreement?" "Right, right. You get the money upfront. If things go fucky wucky, you still get paid." You mentally accounted for having to hire them when purchasing at the shop already. You hand over the agreed upon amount of money to both. <"Can't be too safe."> <"She didn't seem like the type to have this on hand. Checking."> You frown when you hear their thoughts while they check the money but you'll roll with it. You can't blame them too much. Once they're satisfied, they pocket the cash. "I believe it is official now. Section Chef Maruyama, at your service." Maruyama does a short bow."No need to be so formal." Kiara scoffs. "She already knows our names.""It would be rude if I didn't do it." Maruyama narrows his eyes. "It's not that big of a deal. Let's just wait for the train." You dismissively wave your hand at the bickering duo. "It should be here any moment now.""Of course." Kiara relents. Maruyama doesn't respond but you check his mind...<"Glad that's over.">>Maruyama and Kiara have joined the party! Their stat sheet will be posted in the following post!
KIARA KELLER FLESH: 3RESTRAINT: 3 VIOLENCE: 2 TALENT: 4 WILLPOWER: 4 CHARM: 3COGNIZANCE: 3CONNECTIONS: 2BOONS:[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Much like you, she's well aware of the City she's living in. She'll offer useful advice and information about the world around you and has a mild intuition on the needs and wants of Anomalies. [ANDROID PSYCHOLOGY] By her sheer robotic nature, she's far tougher from a regular human. She's immune to disease/toxins/suffocation, ignores Crippling Injuries and takes -1 FLESH damage from most sources of damage with few exceptions (such as EMPs)BANES: [RASH] She is very prone to making decisions without thinking hard on it at all. She's liable to do actions without your approval and can get easily excited when an opportunity presents itself.INVENTORY: SPECIALITY CAMERA (Allows her to take pictures of the area around here. Useful for gathering evidence and noticing details.)MARUYAMA DAIDOFLESH: 4 RESTRAINT: 2 VIOLENCE: 4TALENT: 1WILLPOWER: 1CHARM: 4COGNIZANCE: 3CONNECTIONS: 5BOONS: [DISARMING PRESENCE] He has learned how to weaponize his bland and generic appearance to his benefit. People and companies are far more willing to give up information to him. He also automatically passes most stealth checks due to blending in. Useful at gathering intel.[ENDURING MINDSET] No matter how much stress comes his way, he keeps pushing forward. No matter the cost. Three times per mission, he may choose between the following: -Regain 1 FLESH -Regain 1 RESTRAINT -Add 2d6 to a roll he makes (+1d6 when assisting on a skillcheck)BANE: [PAST HIS PRIME] It's obvious that he has clearly seen better days. In every sense of that phrase. His TALENT and WILLPOWER are rock bottom. In addition, he's more penalized for having low FLESH compared to other allies.INVENTORY: BRIEFCASE (Filled to the brim with papers and other office supplies. Powerful in the hands of a desperate business man. ATTACK ROLL: 2+VIOLENCE when used by Maruyama, has a chance to stun on hit.)After you're done categorizing them, you turn your attention to the railway in front of you. Seems like the time you took to mentally check them out was enough for another train to arrive. A distorted, crackling voice screeches over the station intercom. "ALL TRAVELERS. WHO WISH TO HEAD TO DISTRICT 1. PLEASE BOARD ON TRAIN. NOW." There's more static than understandable words in the following announcements "...DISTRICT 1...BETA-7....UTES.""This feels familiar. I recall an old tale about my grandfather having an incident with a train that acted up." Maruyama muses while he gets up out of his seat. Kiara gives him a look that would be punctuated with an eyebrow raise if she had them. "Riiight. It's a shoddy speaker. There's nothing else to it." She shrugs before heading to the train. You and Maruyama trail behind her. Once the three of you are on the train, you find some decent seats to sit down at before you are pulled out of the station.
You are nearly flung to the floor when the train picks up speed WAY faster than you expected. The damn thing goes from a slow crawl to what feels like a bullet train on crack. Maruyama had already grabbed onto a nearby metal pole while Kiara slams face first into the floor. CLANG! "owie." A tinny whimper escapes the android.You grab onto your seat like your life depends on it. Maruyama merely snorts at the two of you being this disoriented by the sudden speed difference. "As usual, A-Corp. cares about being flashy over being safe." He looks down at Kiara. "You okay?" "yeah." Kiara pries herself off of the floor and sits back in her seat. There's no real damage done to her face despite smashing head first into a metal floor. Both of you turn your attention to the blurs outside the window as the train picks up speed. The three of you sit in silence for what feels like twenty minutes at most before the indistinct blurs outside the window turn into something you can make out. Your eyes lighten up when you see what the new district you're stumbling into looks like. https://youtu.be/V7tGh1dstig - DISTRICT 1 If you weren't still hundreds of miles from the District, you would've been blinded. An infinite sea of neon lights blankets the sky in a blur of magenta and cyan. Billboards, screens, and neon signs litter every building you can see with advertisements of some new show or product. The skyscrapers that you can see stretch on way taller than most of the other buildings you've seen in District 6, 7, or 8. You have to narrow your eyes when the train gets closer to it. Neon light floods into the train car, coating the whole damn thing in neon pinks and cyans. If you focus your ear enough, you swear you can hear music and voices from the advertisements all the way over here. "It takes a while to get used to." Kiara grips her knees tightly with her hands. "It's best not to stare too hard at that. I've heard some rumors of people here becoming colorblind from sheer exposure to the lights." "Never liked this district." Maruyama huffs. "I always preferred District 14 or 20. Those were clean. Quiet. Not this rowdy mess meant for brain damaged teenagers and stunted manchildren." You notice he doesn't have his eyes open. Not like you can blame him."Better than District 8." You half-heartedly respond. At least there's no smog. "Fair." Both your allies nod their heads in unison. You're given something of a break when the train pulls into station and only because it seems mostly abandoned at this point. Same as your train you got on, even. It was hard to notice thanks to the lights blinding you before but there's no one besides the three of you.The train pulls out of the station, leaving you three behind at the abandoned station. The ticket booths are empty with no staff in sight. The chairs have more dust on them than chair at this point. The only source of light is up a set of stairs past some turnstiles.
With nowhere else to go, you head through the turnstiles and up the stairs. Outside the station doesn't look much better than inside. That's when you notice the 'AVALON' sign hanging above the station. "Oh, this place hasn't been active since 2175, huh?" Kiara instantly recognizes it. "heard a lot of rumors about some valuables still being around here. Most of it was left behind when they had to abandon it." "I heard something like that from my father. He was a teenager when it happened, I believe?" Maruyama comments. "It's been so long, I didn't think anyone young would still remember it." The streets around the station are completely abandoned. Buildings with long since boarded up or broken windows stretch on for miles on miles. It's a ghost town in every sense of the word. Cars that would collect a tidy fortune from a collector are scattered in the middle of the streets, seemingly abandoned in a mad rush out of here. Someone begins to approach your party. Everyone is immediately on guard when they see a figure approaching them but when you see who it is, your guard doesn't lower. Not because they're scary but- "Hallo, hallo. What are you youngsters doing here?" A tall, ancient looking old man stands in front of you two. He has to be in his late 90s at bare minimum given how wrinkly his skin is. A bright red overcoat that's nearly long enough to be a flatout cloak covers his wiry, stick-bug like body. A cotton white dress shirt and bright red dress pants seems to be the only other thing he's wearing. No shoes, no tie, nothing.Maruyama pulls at the collar of his suit. "We're here to investigate this district on behalf of someone. I assume you are said man?" "Correcto, correcto!" The old man claps. "I am Gregory Krakatoa, father of Roland Krakatoa." Gregory smiles, showing off his shockingly intact teeth. "Though, Director is a workable title as well." "Wait, Krakatoa?" There's sparkles in Kiara's eyes. Neither of you can stop her before she feverishly begins taking pictures of the man in front of you. You and Maruyama look at each other with equal parts confusion and worry. Gregory seems to be taking well given how he's not freaking out. Hell, he's laughing at it. "Alright, alright, take your time. It's not much you see one of us in the flesh." Despite being blinded by the constant flashing, he looks in your direction. "Your names?"Maruyama instantly bows. "Maruyama Daido. Section Chief of the Starlight Office. Pleasure to meet you, sir." You offer a more casual response. "Nicole. Cleaner. I'm the one who was hired to scout this place out for you."Kiara is done taking pictures of the old man for now so you can actually see his facial expression. He seems to be trying to recall something. You read his mind...<"That name sounds familiar. I recall someone complaining about losing to a Nicole. Who was it?">You're equally as confused as him. You brush it off for now. It's not too relevant, is it?
Kiara is still foaming at the mouth from the pictures she managed to get. It takes her a moment to actually speak to the old man. "Kiara. Kiara Keller. Reporter. Glad to meet you, sir!" She salutes him with a nearly infectious amount of glee. "Nice to meet you three. I believe you all know what your task is, so feel free to go ahead and do it. No need to let an odd coot like me slow you down." Gregory laughs it off. You take a glance around the streets. There's a lot of buildings to choose from and you're not too sure if randomly picking them is all that wise. Especially given what the Handler told you about.What do you want to do, Nicole? >[MARUYAMA ALLY] You have the impression that Maruyama has probably handled his fair share of interesting rich weirdos. Have him get intel out of Gregory. (CONNECTION DC: 15, using Maruyama's CONNECTIONS dice. Pass or failure, he'll give you a good idea to where to start, but he'll offer some useful hints on which buildings are dangerous on success.)>[AERIAL DRONE] Use that drone you have to speed up your process of interesting buildings to pick. (-1 DRONE CHARGE. COGNIZANCE DC: 16 rolling 5d6 with Kiara's assistance. Pass and you'll find a prime location to investigate while filtering out everything else. Failure will just result in a waste of time for everyone involved.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Let your body guide you to a building. You can trust your instincts on this, can't you? (Your instincts will pick a building for you to investigate at random. You're likely to find one that offers something of value but that's all you can confirm.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Something is worrying you. This place seems mostly abandoned but you doubt it's just the four of you. Ping the area nearby with MIND READ. (-1 RESTRAINT. You'll know for certain if anyone else is hidden nearby and if so, what buildings to avoid.)>It might be playing your hand too much but question Gregory about recognizing your name. You rather not have this bite you in the ass later. (FREE ACTION. You're honestly not sure how he'll react?)>Since you have some time to kill, might as well dig into your allies' brains. They seem to have some knowledge on this place. (FREE ACTION. Pick up to three questions to ask them about this place. They'll answer to the best of their ability.)>You got another plan. (Write in.)
>>5866038>MARUYAMA ALLYthen>Ask Nicole nameThen based on Maruyama's info>AERIAL DRONEAnd on the way there to the selected buildings>Since you have some time to kill, might as well dig into your allies' brains. They seem to have some knowledge on this place. (FREE ACTION. Pick up to three questions to ask them about this place. They'll answer to the best of their ability.)Ask Kiara about AVALON and the KrakatoasAsk Maruyama about District 20
>>5866057Supporting this
>>5866057+1
>>5866057+1Krakatoa? Oh, shit. Remembering what the TV Man said a few days ago:>"His family's nothing but trouble, Nicole. I wouldn't associate with those types." The man on the TV snarls.And just today, he said they're involved in something big that we should keep away from.>"I-Company is preparing to do a press conference with the assistance of one of their partners, the Krakatoa Family.">"Simply put, they're going to headhunt for everyone who's willing to work for them.">"Accepting it is probably a bad idea."Let's... tread carefully here. And try not to give this guy much reason to remember us.
>>5866038>[MARUYAMA ALLY] You have the impression that Maruyama has probably handled his fair share of interesting rich weirdos. Have him get intel out of Gregory. (CONNECTION DC: 15, using Maruyama's CONNECTIONS dice. Pass or failure, he'll give you a good idea to where to start, but he'll offer some useful hints on which buildings are dangerous on success.)
Since it's pretty locked in what people want to do, locking in now. Two anons, roll the following >5d6 (for Mr. Maruyama) >5d6 (for Nicole and Kiara using the drone)
Rolled 1, 1, 6, 1, 1 = 10 (5d6)>>5866530Maruyama
>>5866537OH NOOH NO NO NO NO NO>Add 2d6 to a roll he makes (+1d6 when assisting on a skillcheck)We can use this already, can't we?
>>5866538You, indeed, can. I'll say you can use the ability once per roll.
Rolled 5, 1 = 6 (2d6)>>5866539I want to use it here, as the first use of ENDURING MINDSET
Rolled 6, 1, 6, 3, 2 = 18 (5d6)>>5866530Drone
Pass and pass. Writing.
>>5866565What the fuck is going on with Maru's dice, these are his first rolls.
You nod your head towards Maruyama while gesturing at him to go talk to Gregory. He gets the memo and begins chattering away. While those two are busy, you grab Kiara's arm and pull her away from the two. She's obviously confused but she doesn't struggle as you drag her somewhere.Once the two of you are far enough away, you start to question her. "Look. I want you to tell me everything you know about that dude's family. I keep hearing that name on the TV and it's a bit concerning.""I thought you already knew?" Amusement is evident in her tone. It vanishes when she realizes you're actually not that aware on them. "Oh. Well, they're one of the biggest families when it comes to 'upper society'." You narrow your eyes. She takes this as a hint to cut to the chase. "Alright, alright, to the point then. Most of the Companies have one or two of the Krakatoas in a high position in the company. I can't honestly name one that DOESN'T have one." She tries her best to mimic finger snapping. It doesn't work but you can't blame her for trying. "Can't think of a Krakatoa free Company. And with THAT amount of corporate backing? They have access to more tools and augments than anyone besides the companies themselves." The two of you peek over in Maruyama's direction. There seems to be a lurch in the conversation but Maruyama managers to pick the pace back up. "They usually stay pretty private and cagey about their last names unless it's some big corporate event. Not quite sure why he was so open about it here." Cagey about their last name? That sounds faintly familiar but you can't place a finger on it."So, rich corporate family. Gotcha. You acted like you saw a god or something when you saw him?""Oh, yeah, they're hardly in public. Let alone without any guards. It's incredible that we even got a chance to interact with one like he was just a regular guy!" Wait, they're usually guarded? You look back at the old man. Why the hell wouldn't some rich coot in his 90s be unguarded? Kiara seems to realize this as well. "...That is weird, huh?" She rubs her chin. "I didn't see anyone nearby. Did you?""No? Okay, now you got me worried. You said these guys are super corporate-backed elites. Why the FUCK would he be here without a guard?" You can't even attempt to hide your confusion here. Kiara paces around the empty sidewalk you dragged her over two. "Lemme think, lemme think. What else are they known for? There's more than that..." While you wait for her to dredge up any other useful information, you pull your aerial drone out of your inventory. It's a small little metal ball with a recording device stuffed inside it. It shoots up into the sky once you manage to turn it on. You start fiddling with the controller (which has a screen on it) to get a good look around the abandoned buildings nearby. "Well, while you're thinking, here's another question. What do you know about Avalon? This place we're in?" The more you know, the better. Right?
"Oh!" You manage to get her attention with that comment. "Well, it was long before my time. You know how it is, right?" Well, she is a robot. You wouldn't be shocked if she was only a few months old at best. "I've heard a lot about it, though!""This used to be the hottest place to be in all of District 1! The latest movies would be shown here! The hottest actors and actresses would strut their stuff here! Chefs from District 6 would show off their work to the richest clients here!" The awe oozing out of her voice is almost infectious.It's hard to imagine that when you look back at the tiny screen on your drone. The bird's eye view only makes this place look more dismal and abandoned. Most of the buildings are threatening to completely crumble underneath their own weight."If you were anyone who mattered, you had to go here every March 10th to see the newest everything! Oh, oh, and the award shows! Unnamed Wolf Project! The Freedom Rangers!!!" You swear that whatever voicebox her model uses is about to burst into flames with how much she's squealing."Woah, woah, calm down. Anything of actual, I dunno, value you can tell me?" You wouldn't normally be so blunt but it feels necessary here.She takes a moment to process your statement before something seems to click. She moves to look at the screen you're looking at. "...I remember something. You know that family you asked me about? They used to be normal, non-corporate rich folks. Mostly actors and screenwriters back in the day.""Before this place was abandoned because of some sort of electric fire accident, a lot of the family would gather here to watch their family members at the shows. Supposedly, one of them died in the accident." There's an odd mixture of somberness and glee in her voice. "Quite interesting."You look back at the screen. The further you go in, the more the buildings have flatout imploded in on themselves. There's only a few that stick out but it's really hard to tell anything about them through the shitty screen. >18That's what you would say but Kiara points at one of the taller buildings with soot stained windows. "That looks familiar. Get closer to it." You follow her instruction. As you do so, you make out a torn and weather worn banner hanging above the double doors at the entrance. "AVAL...ATRE"On closer examination, the building your drone is hovering in front of stands out like a sore thumb compared to the others. It's at least twice as tall and wide as the others. Random block letters made out of gold that probably used to make up a word barely cling onto the front of the building.A lot of high class antique cars litter around the entrance of the building. You swear you even see a few limos among them. A soot and weather-worn carpet that you think used to be red lays in front of the building."I think that's where the awards used to be hosted." Kiara's eyes glimmer. She's absolutely awestruck. "The biggest event back in the day."
It clicks. No fucking shit, of course the big building with a literal red carpet would be where they held them. You call your drone back over. Maruyama and Gregory approach you and Kiara as soon as you do so."You owe me." Maruyama seems even more exhausted than he normally does. <"If I had to hear about his granddaughter's dating life again...I don't CARE that she's dating some naive nerd."> "Tell them, sir.""Our dear mutual friend had a long conversation and he's right. You should know a bit more. It would be foolish to ask you three to go in blind, especially since I am of no help to assist you." Gregory flashes a smile that rubs you the wrong way. It looks crooked, you think? "I am here for...personal reasons. Reasons you do not need to know the details of." The smile vanishes immediately. "Due to said personal reasons, I'm looking for buildings that once held the pizzazz of this place! The sparkle, the shine, life! Age has long since washed away most evidence of their beauty!" You can't really deny that. All of the buildings besides the one you just saw look the fucking same at this point. "But I knew this place once. They have their signs.""Well, cut to the chase. We don't need a long lecture. We're here to do a job." You tap your foot on the ground. The old man deflates a bit but he nods in understanding. "Don't bother with any buildings with boarded up windows. Those weren't any good, even before the accident. Same with any buildings missing a front door." Some actual information, good! "There is one exception. To the north, there was an old studio that used to make a lot of the old classics. Look for the sign of a crocodile. You'll know it when you see it." That would be a decent place to start. Could even be some old equipment you could steal to help in your mission. "Is there any buildings you would say are a good place to start beyond that?""Mmh. I doubt it would have much value to your mission but I do recall an old apartment block to the west. There might be some old items I still have sentimentalities with there. If you could, I would like you to bring them back to me."You nod your head. "Alright. That's good enough for now. Thank you." Before you leave to check out the buildings, you ask him a question. "Uh, you seemed to recognize my name? What's the deal there?"Gregory tilts his head in confusion before a faint light of recognition flickers in his eye. "Oh, it was nothing. My granddaughter was complaining about losing a game. You probably just share the same name."Otherwise, I would've killed you for humiliating her." The sheer lack of malice in his tone almost makes what he said WORSE. "Her mood perked up anyways. It is a waste of time to find whoever did it now.""R-right." You nod your head. You quickly gesture at your allies to follow you to make distance with the weird rich coot. They are more than willing to follow along after what he said."See you soon!" He waves you goodbye.
You slow down from a panicked jog to normal walking speed once he's out of sight."Trust me. You think that was bad? Try talking to him." Maruyama mutters. "You have to stoop to his level to get anything out of him. That drains me."While you try to think on which building to start with first, you are curious about something Maruyama said. "You said something about District 20. I've been to District 14 for another mission." Your first one, but who's counting? "What's up with it? Haven't been there in a while.""Oh, that. It's T-Corp's district, my home one. My office is actually a subsidiary of a subsidiary of T-Corp. It's a tenuous relationship but it works." Normally, SEEKER would've popped in to give you information but the drugs are muddling your voices up."What is it like back home?""Clean. Proper. Precise. The buildings are made exactly how they were instructed to be built. The clocks are tuned perfectly down to the nanosecond. Just prim and proper business operation. Only Q-Corp is anywhere near as good.""Business, business, business." Kiara murmurs."Principle. Patience. That's T-Corp's motto. They always make sure the trains are running. No self indulgent nonsense about food or religion or music." The snooby, prideful tone in his voice drops a bit. "It is hard to work within its system. They expect you to do everything perfectly. No room for delays. No waiting for stragglers.""So, what, that's all they're about? Business? Sounds more like what I know about Q-Corp." Quentin's face pops up in your mind for a moment."It's more about Time than anything. Keeping everything running along neat and proper." His grip on his briefcase tightens. "Not a lot of room for anything when everyone's schedules are synchronized by the Company. It's actually a Taboo to be later than a minute in most scenarios." A strained smile crosses his lips. <"It's the only way to keep the gears of time moving. One day, father, I'll be where you were at.">"...You okay?" Kiara asks. She doesn't get a response.There's a lull in the conversation after that. There's an equally part distant and tense look on Maruyama's face. Which building do you want to check out first? Hopefully it gets his mind off things.>The Awards Show Building. He's looking for pizzazz first and foremost and what better place for pizzazz than there? You'll probably learn more of the history about Avalon from here as well.>The Old Movie Studio with the crocodile sign. They should be a lot of good filming equipment there still. Maybe there's even some information on good set locations there as well.>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though!Apologies for the multiple deletions and reposts, I kept noticing small quirks that were annoying me. This is the ACTUAL final one.
bleh, I should just go to sleep, my sleep deprived brain keeps forgetting more formatting. Just pretend the mindread in the last post is in blue.>>5866671I don't know but it's hilarious. Five ones is NOT a good sign for his luck. Who knows, maybe he's the first one to die?Heh? Get it? First?
>>5866675>"If I had to hear about his granddaughter's dating life again...I don't CARE that she's dating some naive nerd.">Gregory tilts his head in confusion before a faint light of recognition flickers in his eye. "Oh, it was nothing. My granddaughter was complaining about losing a game. You probably just share the same name."Benjamin?>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though!Lets start here, I dont fucking trust this man at all, the more leverage we have on him the better.
>>5866681>The Old Movie Studio with the crocodile sign. They should be a lot of good filming equipment there still. Maybe there's even some information on good set locations there as well.
>>5866681>"If I had to hear about his granddaughter's dating life again...I don't CARE that she's dating some naive nerd."Granddaughter = MAX, an Aristocrat. High in demand with the Companies and has extensive access to corporate assets. Held in contempt by other Cleaners, very sheltered. ($175 if hired without Benjamin, $95 otherwise.)naive nerd = BENJAMIN. Fully licensed as a pharmacist and is Open Minded to the supernatural. Delusional, credulous, and naive.>Gregory tilts his head in confusion before a faint light of recognition flickers in his eye. "Oh, it was nothing. My granddaughter was complaining about losing a game. You probably just share the same name."My granddaughter was complaining about losing a game. = "Damnit." Max quickly develops a pouty lip as she crosses her arms. "Not fair. She distracted me with asking questions and stuff." Your brain takes a moment to process what happened. You collect all of the money from the pot. Removing your own money from the total, you just won $550!TOTAL MONEY: $871 "I wanna see what her hand was! Hopefully it was a good one!" She flips her hand to reveal...holy shit. She had a full house. You do not want to know how she's going to react to this. You flip your hand. There's dead silence at your table. Benjamin looks downright horrified while Max's pout only gets worse. "S-SHE WAS ON A HIGH CARD OF A 5?! WHAT THE FUCK?! HOW?" [UNSTABLE] TO BE QUITE HONEST YOU WERE NOT THINKING AT ALL WHEN SHE STARTED BRINGING UP CREDIT. YOU WANTED TO SEE HOW FAR IT WOULD TAKE FOR HER TO SQUIRM. Before Benjamin can say anything, Max pushes herself away from the table and exits the bar in a huff. He glances at you with an understanding look. "Yeaahh, sorry. She can be a bit of a sore loser sometimes." You pocket the money you earnt from it. (https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5796950)>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though!I don’t trust him too
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Something is worrying you. This place seems mostly abandoned but you doubt it's just the four of you. Ping the area nearby with MIND READ. (-1 RESTRAINT. You'll know for certain if anyone else is hidden nearby and if so, what buildings to avoid.)Should we use this?
>>5866675Oh, his granddaughter is Benjamin's GF.Holy fuck, did the man NOT dodge a bullet.>>5866681>The Awards Show Building. He's looking for pizzazz first and foremost and what better place for pizzazz than there? You'll probably learn more of the history about Avalon from here as well.
>>5866672>"Oh, yeah, they're hardly in public. Let alone without any guards. It's incredible that we even got a chance to interact with one like he was just a regular guy!" Wait, they're usually guarded? You look back at the old man. Why the hell wouldn't some rich coot in his 90s be unguarded? Kiara seems to realize this as well. >"...That is weird, huh?" She rubs her chin. "I didn't see anyone nearby. Did you?">"No? Okay, now you got me worried. You said these guys are super corporate-backed elites. Why the FUCK would he be here without a guard?" You can't even attempt to hide your confusion here. Kiara paces around the empty sidewalk you dragged her over two. Maybe an anomaly elite bodyguard with antimemetic power? or bodyguard with a stealth-tech suit to protect Gregory? Bodyguards may have anti-telepathy abilities or equipment. And may have an anomaly detector ability or equipment.
>>5866731Or the more scary idea, he doesn't feel the need for a bodyguard.
>>5866733Oh yeah, this may make sense. Gregory pretends to be a weak, weird, rich, old grandpa to fool people into underestimating him, but he has a secret super-cybernetic-up body or a genetic engineering superhuman-level body, or literally a mix of both, to easily annihilate and catch hostile enemies off guard. Or maybe he is literally a weak, weird, rich old man who is so confident or arrogant that he believes not a single person will dare attack him or is insane enough to attack him.
>>5866744We out bluffed his grandaughter, and he certainly hasn't forgotten that incident even he is pretending too. We are gonna have to bluff him again here as well, because I highly doubt we are capable of taking him on in a direct fight.
>>5866746Yeah, he may have an anti-anomaly tool or a cybernetic or biology engineering body to counter our anomaly power. I definitely don't want to risk fighting him.So far, he doesn't have an anti-telepathy tool, a cybernetic, biological engineering brain to prevent mind reading. Judged by our ability to read his mind.
>>5866681>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though
>>5866681>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though!>>5866746>>5866729>>5866723>>5866687We could use the fact that we saved Benjamin's life to avoid him murdering us or worse, if it comes down to a confrontation. We have Max's number and business card on us as physical evidence, and we can call her up on the spot if the old man will let us
>>5866681>The Awards Show Building. He's looking for pizzazz first and foremost and what better place for pizzazz than there? You'll probably learn more of the history about Avalon from here as well.
>>5866681>>The Old Apartment Block. You doubt there is much value there beyond stuff that would appeal to the old man's heart. He might reward you more if you get his old trinkets from here, though!
Everything about that old man is ringing alarm bells in your head. You would've probably aped out any other day but you manage to contain yourself. For now. You need some sort of dirt or information on him before you do anything else. "Let's go check out that apartment block. We're not in any rush right?" You pause. Probably not the best phrasing considering the previous topic. "I mean. He told us he would reward us if we checked there. Might as well humor him."Maruyama faintly smiles when he hears you correct yourself. "If it doesn't impact the mission much, I see no harm in it." Kiara is obviously disappointed at the 'boring' option you picked but she tries her best to keep up a smile. "S-sure. No harm."The three of you walk through the empty streets of Avalon. None of you particularly want to talk, leaving the place in complete silence. Aside from the metallic clanging of Kiara's body and your party's footsteps, that is. You keep an eye out on the various buildings you pass by. You make extra sure to stir clear of the ones that fit Gregory's warnings. You swear you saw something peering its head around the doorless entryway of one of the buildings you passed. It's gone before you have a time to make sure it was there. You hope it's just the silent and grey landscape messing with your head. Kiara chimes in. "You know, there's an old saying I recall. Whenever it's too quiet-" [SEEKER OF THE CITY] "That's never a good thing." You finish it for her. You do recall something like that. It's frankly vague and generic but it's valuable."This place has been abandoned for how long again?" Maruyama shakes his head. "I would be more unsettled if it was somehow bursting with life." You can't exactly refute that either. Oh well, you can worry about this later.You eventually end up outside of the apartment complex in question. Your first impression is that this place might've looked actually pretty good sixty years ago. There's hints of the bright and luxurious colors that once plastered the front of the building. Now, it looks like it's threatening to crumble in on itself but there's still a trace of what once was.Other than some empty cars parked outside of the apartment complex, you don't really see anything else of note. The three of you proceed to head into the apartment.https://youtu.be/mJN81sFxW_4 - ABANDONED APARTMENTYou damn near instantly choke on the amount of DUST flooding this place. Maruyama falls to his knees as his old man lungs crap out on him. Kiara quickly moves over to get him off of the ground. You and Maruyama quickly rush outside to recover from the sudden dust attack. You two try again a few minutes later. Kiara was still standing in the middle of the front room, completely confused at the reaction you two had. The dust hasn't gotten any better but you can at least expect it this time. "What was that about? It's just dust." Kiara chirps. Neither you or Maruyama are amused.
You take this moment to actually look around the building instead of suffocating on dust. The front room you entered has long since seen better days. A thick layer of grey dust coats the floors and walls. You're even able to leave visible footprints in it like it's snow. A drop of water hits your shoulder. You look up. There's massive holes in the ceiling that are about the size of your head if not bigger. When you look back down, you see your allies staring at something. When you turn to look, it's in the direction of the front des- Oh. That's a dead body. You approach it with obvious hesitation and poke at it with one of the regular knives you have. That's when the 'dead body' collapses in on itself into dust. "Oh." Maruyama lets out a sigh of relief. "That's good? I think." <"Dealt with corpses before. Didn't want to risk the paperwork.">Underneath the pile of dust is a small print out of the apartment's layout. You pull out from underneath the pile of dust to get a better look at it. Kiara slides right next to you to examine it as well while Maruyama roams around the room you're in. There's four floors, with the one you're one being the first one being labeled "VISTORS". You check the other labels."WORKERS""VIPS""STARS OF THE CITY"All of them seem to have rooms that could be rented out so you'd assume it's just the general price range of each of the floors. Each of the floors has about twelve rooms each, you think, but some of the lines on the printout are blurry looking so you can't quite be sure. There's a few specific rooms marked down on the layout with special comments. You skim over the comments...ROOM 2, VISTORS: "Find a way to open this room ASAP. Something is blocking it from the inside?" ROOM 4, VISTORS: "TREAT THIS ONE INCREDIBLY WELL. Order from a Star of the City. Better not disappoint."ROOM 11, WORKERS: "He hasn't left his room in a week. He keeps muttering and rambling about absolutely nothing. Worrying."ROOM 1, VIP: "Make sure to set up the room as per her instructions. If we treat her well, she'll gift us!"ROOM 5, VIP: This one is half erased but you squint to read it. "...afe code 1255. Steal his shit during the award shows."ROOM 7, STAR OF THE CITY: "Only allow the guest named 'Vanessa Anjaro' to enter. Don't question why she's visiting the man up there every night."ROOM 10, STAR OF THE CITY: "DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT AN APPROVED PERSON. Very, VERY important. Express orders from the family."Interesting, well that's at least something to work off of instead of randomly checking the floors. Some of them are a bit worrying but hey, you'll deal with that once you start exploring. You turn back to your allies. It's probably wise to try splitting up to cover as much ground here since there are four floors. The question is, who goes where?"Let's explore already!" Kiara whines like a puppy dog ready for a walk. "Let's get this over with." Maruyama mumbles through his hand.
Assign you and your party members to each of the rooms. You may assign multiple to the same room to make a more through search of the place.>Room 2, VISTORS. Why would someone be blocking it from the inside? What are they hiding?>Room 4, VISTORS. Someone super rich wants a random visitor to be treated well? How totally not suspicious. >Room 11, WORKERS. That description sounds familiar. Someone falling into madness. His room might hold some important clues on what happened.>Room 1, VIP. The old man wanted sentimental things from the time. This room probably has a lot of trinkets left over if they were told to set it up REALLY well.>Room 5, VIP. Maybe there's something still left inside? You might as well earn a tidy profit while you're here.>Room 7, STAR OF THE CITY. How scandalous! Maybe that old man will be tickled pink if you figured out the scandalous story here.>Room 10, STAR OF THE CITY. A rich family being very picky on who enters a room? You have a good idea which family that might be. Time to break some seventy year old orders.Is there anything else you want to do before searching? Choose one.>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Ping a floor with MIND READ. (-1 RESTRAINT, select a floor you want to check with your power. You'll be informed if anything sentient is on that floor.)>You rather not have anything sneak in. Light your HOLY CANDLE and leave it at the front door. Better safe than sorry.>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)>Ask your allies some questions. (Write up to three questions to ask them.)>Write in.
>>5867887>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)We have the connection, might as well use it.
>>5867887>Room 10, STAR OF THE CITY. A rich family being very picky on who enters a room? You have a good idea which family that might be. Time to break some seventy year old orders.potential combat encounters with a abandoned dormant Android bodyguard guarding room 10?>ROOM 11, WORKERS: "He hasn't left his room in a week. He keeps muttering and rambling about absolutely nothing. Worrying."Potential encounter with the memetic hazard or congnitohazard symbol written on the wall of room 11 by an insane man driving mad by anomaly influence?>ROOM 1, VIP: "Make sure to set up the room as per her instructions. If we treat her well, she'll gift us!"Potential anomaly ritual in room 1?>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)
>>5867887>Room 10Nicole>Room 7Kiara>Room 5Maruyama>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)Do this before splitting up, dumbass
>>5867887>Room 2Kiara. She's an android and might have the strength to get in? Plus, sounds like there might be weird shit in there if its blocked off and they wanted to get in asap. Maybe that'll interest her?>Room 1Maruyama. He's seems more apt to recognize what might be sentimental to the old man, and this doesn't seem like a very gruelling one. Y'know, take it easy on him, and all>Room 10Nicole. Seems more intense than room 1 and we have psychic powers.>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)ALSO: apologize to Max, OR uhh don't bring it up at all in case mentioning the gambling thing just ensures the old man knows its us and comes and kills us later, or gives us some sorta payback. I'm more for apologizing, since that was our last interaction with Max too.
>>5867898change>>5868330Support
>>5867887>Room 2, VISTORS. Why would someone be blocking it from the inside? What are they hiding?Kiara>Room 11, WORKERS. That description sounds familiar. Someone falling into madness. His room might hold some important clues on what happened.Nicole>Room 7, STAR OF THE CITY. How scandalous! Maybe that old man will be tickled pink if you figured out the scandalous story here.Maruyama>You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)
>>5868345Change>>5868430Support >You think you have an idea what Gregory meant by 'granddaughter'. Call up Max and have Maruyama try to get useful information out of her. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14, with Maruyama's dice. Pass the check and Max will trust you enough to give some valuable information just in case things goes wacko. Failure and you doubt you'll get more than a pleasant chat out of her.)>ALSO: apologize to Max, OR uhh don't bring it up at all in case mentioning the gambling thing just ensures the old man knows its us and comes and kills us later, or gives us some sorta payback. I'm more for apologizing, since that was our last interaction with Max too.Support apologize to Max
>>5867887I'll speed things up. Changing from >>5868028 to backing >>5868330. Apologize to Max too
Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d2)Well, now it's a tie between bgb's vote and hh/'s vote. To avoid miring ourselves too much in the nitty gritty of this and slowing things down too much, I'll just roll to see what rooms are picked for the other twoMARUYAMA:>1: Room 7 >2: Room 1 NICOLE: >1: Room 10 >2: Room 11Kiara dealing with the blocked in room is unanimous. While that goes on, I need one anon to roll 5d6. I usually like splitting up the rolls but I don't feel like it's that necessary given how relatively unimportant it is. If it fails, another anon can roll 2d6 to burn a charge of his ENDURING MINDSET boon.As a side note, I updated the main character pastebin to have her inventory categorized instead of just one massive clump of items. I also have to go to a christmas party today so the next update will probably be open for a few hours longer in case I wake up late tomorrow.
Rolled 2, 5, 3, 6, 5 = 21 (5d6)>>5868551
You nearly go to split the group up but something clicks in your brain. Right, you have Max's phone number. Maruyama will probably be able to get some information out of her. That and to be honest, you do want to apologize a bit since she seemed pretty wound up about that game. "Alright. I'm going to Floor 2, Room 11. Maruyama, Floor 4 Room 7. Kiara, the second room on this floor." You place the layout of the apartment on the front desk. Your allies begin to skim it to get an idea where to go."Stay here for a bit. I need to make a phone call real quick." You pull your phone out of your pocket as you head over to the stairs to get some privacy. You already see Kiara disregarding your instruction by heading towards Room 2. Oh well. You dial the number and wait for her to pick up. Maruyama walks over and stands besides you, "So. Who are you calling?" His face hides little, let alone his mind. <"I have a bad feeling about this."> "Backup? It takes a while to get here on train.""No, no. Nothing like that. Good timing, though!" You snap your fingers. "I will need you to talk to them once I'm done."Maruyama scrunches up his face but before you can hear what he said, the line connects. Heavy, strained breathing is the only thing you hear on the line. "Hello?" You really do wish you could use your powers over the phone. This is kinda getting really awkward. "Anyone there?" "huh? is that your phone?" You hear a muffled man's voice on the line. Wait, is that Benjam- "OH FUCK! UH, BE RIGHT BACK!" Annnd there's Max. You hear something being shuffled through before you can hear her more clearly. "Alright, who is this, I'm a bit bu- Nicole?""...Hey." You don't want to think too hard on what you accidently stumbled into with this call. "Look. It's about what happened a few days ago. I wanted to say sorry.""Jeez. Couldn't you have waited a few hours? Fine, fine, sorry about WHAT?" "About the whole gambling thing? I dunno, I just didn't expect you would take it that seriously." You hope you're not making a mistake by calling her about this. There's a pause over the line before Max responds. "It's...fine. Yeah. It's fine." She's clearly annoyed at the call but what you said seemed to have an impact. "It was only a few hundred dollars. I can always ask Leo for-" She sputters mid sentence. "...yeah. It's really not that big of a deal." God, she sounds so, so tired all of a sudden. "Seriously, you okay?" You can't help but to worry. "I know I, uh, interrupted something but has everything been okay?"Max tries to laugh over the line but it sounds forced. "Nah. Not really. Family stuff's been bothering me. It's fine, though. It happens sometimes and I just have to handle it. You know?"You rub the back of your neck. Yeesh, you didn't expect this. "I get that." If her family is who you think it is, you can't imagine the politics there are all that swell. "About that, though.""I have a friend I need you to talk to."
"Sure, sure. Hey, Ben?" Her voice gets quieter for a moment. "Thirty minute break. That okay, sweetheart?" You didn't hear his response beyond a generally positive one. "Alright, hand me over."You turn to Maruyama while keeping your hand over the phone. "Okay, this might be a member of the Krakatoa. Try to learn what you can about that old man from her."Maruyama seems oddly receptive with this task given the slight smile on his face. He grabs the phone without saying anything as you peer into his mind. <"I knew those five years at a call center would be worth it."> "Hello, miss. I would like to discuss something on behalf of my client." Wow, he sounds energetic for once? "It's about a certain client we're working for. One that I believe you have relations to? A Mr. Gregory, I believe?"You can't really make out what Max is saying as Maruyama keeps talking. "Due to certain concerns about my client's relationship to this client, I believe you can be a useful mediator between the two. Would you perhaps tell us about this client's...quirks?" He nods his head along as Max rambles over the line. He takes out a piece of paper from his notepad to start scribbling down what he's hearing. "Yes, yes, that's good. Thank you. Please, continue." More chattering over the line. <"Oddly forthcoming with this. Not exactly an issue."> "Yes, yes. Thank you. Please, enjoy the rest of your day." <"Still got it in you, Daido!">He hangs up before tossing the phone and piece of paper he was writing on. back at you. You catch it with some help of your telekinesis. "Let's split up before that robot is finished and wanders off." He heads up the stairs now that he's done, leaving you alone. You look through the paper he handed you. "NOTED DETAILS OF GREGORY: DIRECTOR, VERY SENTIMENTAL ABOUT THIS PLACE. ASSUMED THIS IS WHY WE WERE SENT HERE. TRIED TO ASK HER ABOUT GUARDS, SHE JUST LAUGHED AT ME. SMUGLY. WORRISOME.""PRONE TO HOLDING GRUDGES OVER MINOR THINGS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. BEST TO KEEP HIM DISTRACTED IF POSSIBLE. 'DO APPEASEMENT WORK ON HIM' WAS HER DIRECT QUOTE. WEIRD WAY TO PHRASE IT?""LIKES ANYTHING THAT'S SCANDALOUS, SPOOKY, FILTHY, AND OVERALL 'LOW CLASS'. THE MORE SCANDALOUS AND SPOOKY, THE BETTER.""CODE PHRASE IS 'SMILE SMILE' FOR WHAT? UNSURE. APPARENTLY IT'S SOMETHING HE SAYS?"You fold the paper up and place it into your pocket. Well, you're not sure how useful any of that is but that code phrase MIGHT help down the line. You start your trip up the stairs to Room 11. The stairs creak and groan under the strain of your weight. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] Shift your weight. You're going to break it. You adjust your footstance to hopefully put less strain on it. The creaking dies down. "Good." You softly mutter as you eventually make it up to the second floor. A foul smell hangs in the air. A mixture of mildew, rot, and something spicy. You don't recognize what it is.
The second thing you notice is that it's fucking pitch black up here. You would normally be stumbling blind but you have some googles right for this occasion. You slide your night vision googles on. Your whole world gets tinted green but you can actually see now.Now that you can make things out. The floor you're on consists of a single hallway with twelve doors, six on each side. There's a window (you think?) at the end of the hallway that's been blocked by a somewhat out of place bookshelf. Odd but you're not concerned enough to move it. You head down the hallway until you find Room 11. It really wasn't hard to tell which one it was. For one, the other rooms actually still have doors in them. Room 11's door has long since ripped off of its hinges. What used to be the door is laying on the ground half rotten. You step through the doorway to see what the hell's going on here. The place is an absolute fucking mess inside. You can make out the layout of a bedroom, small kitchen area, and bathroom. That's about all that's recognizable here. Papers cover every single inch of the walls of the room that you can see. The bed has been flipped on its side and smashed back into a wall. A pile of dirty blankets and pillows lays next to the knocked over bed. You take one look at the bathroom and you can SMELL how unclean it is. You're absolutely not looking in there, uh nuh. You have dignity. The kitchen area doesn't look much better than the bedroom. The sink has been completely filled up with murky, dark water. It's clear that the sink was left running given the obvious water damage on the counters. The fridge's door has been ripped off, seemingly used as a shelf instead of well...a fridge. Various bizarre looking artifacts are placed on the shelves. You glance down at the floor. Some sort of weird ritual circle has been carved onto the floor. You can barely make it out given the sheer age and damage the room has taken but you swear you recognized a sigil or two on it. You shiver. Reminds you of the cold but...why? You head over to the pile of blankets and pillows. Once you're closer, you can make out that there's an odd lump on the giant pile. You pull away at it to- oh dear lord that's an actual dead body. Or, you think it is. The man looks oddly fresh for a corpse in this place. You move the blankets away. Three large cuts lengthwise have been carved into his forearms. There's no signs of any blood spilling, though. It's as the blood has disappeared. This would make sense, blood decays eventually...but the corpse looks too fresh for that. There should be SOME blood somewhere.You're not quite sure where to even start here with this room. Banging can be heard on the floor below. You can assume that's Kiara going apeshit trying to break open the door, so you doubt you have much time before you have to move on. How do you want to handle this room? You think you have enough time to do three tasks here before you have to leave.
>Maybe you're feeling paranoid but this room feels just...wrong to be in. Light up your HOLY CANDLE and perform a short little prayer. (-HOLY CANDLE, WILLPOWER DC: ??. You have a feeling this might help but that's all you got.)>Start looking through the notes on the wall. Try to understand what was going on the head of whoever lived here. (You can choose this option more than once. The more actions you put into it, the more you'll piece together of the madman's ramblings.)>Wait, the director likes spooky shit. This is spooky as hell. Why not take some time to make this place even spookier so you can try selling it as a set? (You can choose this option more than once. The more actions you put in, the better it'll be as a set for a film.)>Take in a deep breath and try to enter the bathroom. Something has to be there. (FLESH DC: 10. Pass and you'll stomach the stench enough to search the place. You might get valuable items or info this way. Failure and you'll get really sick, messing with your stats for a while.) >[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Study that ritual circle some more. Why the hell did someone carve this here? (WILLPOWER DC: 13. Pass and you'll get a good clue onto what its purpose is. Failure and you might learn something you shouldn't.)>Examine the body. Something is clearly off here, why is a fresh body here of all things? (COGNIZANCE DC: 15. You'll piece together a good idea on what happened here on a success. On failure, you'll probably only get a vague inkling as to what's going on.)>Try to find anything in the room that's not madness and decay. Trinkets? Any written notes that aren't madman's nonsense? Something else? (Write in what you want to try searching for here. You'll try your best to find it.)>Write in (Use an item? Use an ability of yours? Something else?)
>>5868626I wonder how Gregory feels about his imminent grandson-in-law as well as his subsequent future great-grandkid. Probably all for them with how much he talked Maruyama's ear off.>>5868632>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Study that ritual circle some more. Why the hell did someone carve this here? (WILLPOWER DC: 13. Pass and you'll get a good clue onto what its purpose is. Failure and you might learn something you shouldn't.)RECALL THE FREEZER, THE ONE IN THE RESTAURANTThen>Take in a deep breath and try to enter the bathroom. Something has to be there. (FLESH DC: 10. Pass and you'll stomach the stench enough to search the place. You might get valuable items or info this way. Failure and you'll get really sick, messing with your stats for a while.)Lastly>Start looking through the notes on the wall. Try to understand what was going on the head of whoever lived here. (You can choose this option more than once. The more actions you put into it, the more you'll piece together of the madman's ramblings.)
>>5868644+1
>>5868632>Start looking through the notes on the wall. Try to understand what was going on the head of whoever lived here. (You can choose this option more than once. The more actions you put into it, the more you'll piece together of the madman's ramblings.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Study that ritual circle some more. Why the hell did someone carve this here? (WILLPOWER DC: 13. Pass and you'll get a good clue onto what its purpose is. Failure and you might learn something you shouldn't.)>Examine the body. Something is clearly off here, why is a fresh body here of all things? (COGNIZANCE DC: 15. You'll piece together a good idea on what happened here on a success. On failure, you'll probably only get a vague inkling as to what's going on.)
>>5868632>Start looking through the notes on the wall. Try to understand what was going on the head of whoever lived here. (You can choose this option more than once. The more actions you put into it, the more you'll piece together of the madman's ramblings.)>Take in a deep breath and try to enter the bathroom. Something has to be there. (FLESH DC: 10. Pass and you'll stomach the stench enough to search the place. You might get valuable items or info this way. Failure and you'll get really sick, messing with your stats for a while.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Study that ritual circle some more. Why the hell did someone carve this here? (WILLPOWER DC: 13. Pass and you'll get a good clue onto what its purpose is. Failure and you might learn something you shouldn't.)
>>5868644Support
Alright, seems like it's ANOMALOUS ABILITIES + BATHROOM + NOTES. Two anons, roll me the following. >3d6 (FLESH)>4d6 (WILLPOWER, you can reroll two WILLPOWER dice if you fail twice per mission thanks to your talisman.)
Rolled 5, 5, 6 = 16 (3d6)>>5869409Come on 10+
Rolled 3, 3, 4, 2 = 12 (4d6)>>5869409
>>5869417>off by one
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)>>5869417
>>5869417>>5869422>tries to reroll a 3 and 2 >gets another 3 and 2 You honestly earn the failure at that point. You manage to pass the flesh check with flying colors so...take pride in one of your weaker stats doing that. Writing.
Oh, Nicole, you have no self love for yourself. Why are you saying this? You're actually stepping towards the bathroom that stinks worse than a summer outhouse. You take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of your nose. Time to get this over with. "Fucking hell!" Okay, yeah, this sucks. The bathroom has been flooded with sewage water that goes up to your ankles. You don't even want to look at the toilet, you can tell that's where most of the smell is coming from. Your stomach twists and turns. You're about ready to throw up right here and now. >16: SUCCESS!Yet you don't. You swallow down anything threatening to burst out of your mouth. You can handle it. Ignore the rank water soaking into your shoes. You can do this. You try to look around to see what exactly is even in here. You only went in here on a gut feeling after all. Your eyes catch a glint of something inside the bathroom sink. It's filled with stagnant, dirty water but you are curious what's inside. You stuff your hand in there to see what it is. The urge to throw up comes back but you're a strong girl, so you choke it back. You manage to pull out whatever is inside of it. In your hand is a plastic bag with two things in it. An employee ID card and an old handwritten note. Which is odd, why would he be hiding these things in a bathroom sink of all things? Was he just having an episode- "Nevermind." You interrupt your train of thought. You can examine it when you're out of here.You stumble outside of the bathroom. It doesn't smell much better in the room but it's at least tolerable now. You open the bag to get a better look at the card and note. "PHILLIP SMITH. OCCUPATION: ASSISTANT MANAGER. DOB: 1/21/2141. ACCESS LEVEL: 3. AUTHORIZED BUILDINGS: AVALON THEATRES + WILSON AND MILLER STUDIOS. AUTHORIZED TO ENTER MOST EMPLOYEE ONLY ROOMS." Well, well, well. That should save you some time when you explore those areas! You place it into your pocket for future use. >+EMPLOYEE CARDYou skim through the note while you step over to the other papers on the wall."I'm done playing along with those rich motherfuckers down at the studio. They brought in a robotic replacement for me. Some new robot toy from E-Corp. Fine. Let them bring in their new toy. It won't do anything without my god damn card!"A robot at the studio? You vaguely recall that warning the Handler said about something biomechanical roaming around. You're not quite sure how androids were back then. Maybe the studio is dangerous to go into, then, if that's where it was assigned. Some decent forewarning at least.You put it back into your pocket before you try piecing together the notes on the wall. You don't have much time here so you mostly start skimming past the ones that seemed like they would take too much time to read. You rip off the three notes you feel like you could read in a short enough timeframe. Something about the handwriting seems familiar. A desperate, frantic scribbling.
NOTE #1 - "Every day. Every single fucking day. It's always been like this. This new director they hired keeps whining about something! Get new actors, get new equipment, 'we should get E-Corp to give us stuff', SHUT THE FUCK UP! WE'RE NOT MADE OF MONEY! Tomorrow, I'll talk to higher management about it."NOTE #2 - "They just fired me. I knew that shady fucking director had it out for me. They told me I had to get out of here and move back to District 24 once the awards show was over. I couldn't remember anything after that. She started to talk to me, to calm me down. To focus my mind into a way to rectify this situation."NOTE #3 - "She keeps talking to me. I love her so fucking much. She's a smart girl, you see. She told me I could do something to make them all pay for what they did to me. All I had to do was to carve a circle. All I would need to spill is my blood and love for her. I love her. She loves me. I love her. I love the City I live in. I love her-" The rest of the last note ends up repeating the phrase 'I love her' over and over again. A voice of a woman kept rambling in his head to make him carve this circle? You would be a hypocrite to just call him an insane lunatic but you have no fucking idea what he's going on about. You kneel down in front of the ritual circle. You clasp your hand onto the talisman hanging around your neck while you begin to study it. You're a bit of a novice when it comes to anything beyond your own powers so it's going to be tricky.It is actually carved into the floor with something sharp but the carving is swallow, as if the person doing it didn't have much strength left. Flecks of something cling into the grooves of the carvings but you can't make out what per se. The sigils you can still make out look familiar but you can't tell from where. >13: FAILUREWhether it's out of curiosity or a lack of awareness, you place a hand on one of the more intact ones. !NIGNISNLAMGOQIt's cold. So cold. You don't know how long it's been since a show has started. The show was supposed to happen today, wasn't it? You keep wandering around the building. The morning light is pouring through the ceiling hole as per usual. You pass by Mr. Richard again. You have to admire his attempts at getting in shape for his latest movie! You can see his pretty bones from how skinny he is! You wave one of your many arms. 'GOOD JOB, RICHARD!', you yell out. He doesn't respond. Ah, actors are such drama queens.You pass by the employee breakroom. You see that Ms. Molly and Mr. Jack are STILL on break? You walk over and rip Mr. Jack on the chair before throwing him at a wall. His skeleton shatters into many pieces. Ugh! Why does he always do this! He knows how much of a delay this will be for the shoot!Once you put him back together, you let him take another hour break. You place him back onto the chair and exit the breakroom. Time to check how the set in Section A-2 is doing!
Ah, seems like Mr. Gregory hasn't arrived yet. No wonder why the shoots haven't been happening. Our favorite director isn't here! You swear, he should've been here yesterday. This place keeps falling apart without him! Why do humans not understand how important the show is? You don't need breaks. Why should th- wait. Hold on. It seems like you have an eavesdropper listening to you! You can't have that, the film hasn't been finished! Without a perfect and spoiler free shoot, we'll never win that awards show! You're going to ruin everything! I can't let that happen! Get out, miss! GET OUT GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUGETOUGETOU GLAGINAGFNHAIHM<GSO!?!@#INT@ You scream. You keep screaming. You can't stop screaming. Something is screaming alongside you. Screaming at you to never come back. Something that knows where you are. Something that doesn't like eavesdroppers. Something that doesn't want the show to be ruined. You keep screaming. Screaming. screaming. SCREAMING.Your head THROBS in agony.[UNSTABLE] WE FUCKED UP. WE FUCKED UP REAL BAD. WE'RE NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS. RUN, NICOLE, RUN! >MEDICATED has been forcefully removed due to your experience. UNSTABLE is now active again.>-2 RESTRAINT. 5/7 LEFT.When you regain your senses, you see Kiara and Maruyama standing over you. Concern and worry oozes from every inch of their body language. Kiara has a flashlight pointed in your general direction. You remove the night vision goggles. All you can make out is the ritual circle you're laying down on. Your throat is so, so sore. You can barely even yell out anything right now. Maruyama kneels down to open his suitcase. He pulls out a small bottle of water and hands it to you. [UNSTABLE] IT'S POISONED. THROW IT AT THAT CUNT. WE CAN'T TRUST THEM RIGHT NOW! THEY CAN BETRAY US AT ANY MOMENT! [PERSON OF INTEREST] Who knows what ties he might have? So many connections. He must be connected to them. You push the bottle of water away. <"I'm not taking no for an answer. She was screaming like a fucking banshee! She NEEDS to drink."> He refuses to take it back. You take a small sip to appease him before getting back up. Seems like it was enough for him to take the bottle back. "What the hell was happening up here? We came rushing the moment you started screaming." Maruyama looks around the dark room. It seems like even with the flashlight, they can only make you out."I was going to talk about what we found in the other rooms but this seems more important now." Kiara nervously laughs. <"I REALLY wanted to talk about it. It would've been cool to show off my investigative skills!" She keeps her flashlight pointed at you. "Tell us the deets. Did you see an intruder? Should we be worried?"Shit. What are you going to do now? They're clearly worried about whatever was going on down here but trying to explain what you saw might be a bad idea...
How do you want to handle this situation? You assume either way, they'll tell you about what they found in their rooms on the way over to your next location.>[UNSTABLE] Tell them it was nothing. They wouldn't believe you anyways. Leave and head somewhere else. (Your allies will be hesitant to keep following you and will ask for more money but it's the easiest way forward.) >Try your best to explain everything that was going on up here. Don't lie, they deserve to know. (Telling Kiara about the possible anomaly will force you to do the optional side mission but you will earn their trust by being honest.)>Deflect from what happened and try to get Kiara to ramble about what she say. She wants to talk, give her an excuse to talk. (CHARM DC: 11. Pass and you'll keep them distracted enough to not question what's going on, allowing you to drop what happened without issue. Failure and you'll probably get them even more worried about what's happening with you.)>Apologize, take some more anti-psychotics, and tell them you were just having an episode. (-1 ANTIPSYCHOTIC, applies MEDICATED, your allies will drop the topic and accept it. You might have a harder time explaining any weird shit you may see to them in the future, though.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Try to ask Maruyama and Kiara anything they know about E-Corp. You want to know as much about whatever might be roaming in the studios. (It's very likely they'll make some assumptions that might bite you in the future but they'll drop the topic and tell you what they know.)>Write in. After you deal with them, where do you want to go to next? >The Awards Show Building. You rather not deal with whatever you just saw, especially since it seems PISSED. It won't provide as much but it'll probably be safer for everyone involved.>The Old Movie Studio. Something has to be there and you need to know what. You doubt anyone has managed to scavenge anything due to whatever's there so there might be good shit.>Go back to Gregory. You have some questions for that motherfucker.
>>5869562>>Try your best to explain everything that was going on up here. Don't lie, they deserve to know. (Telling Kiara about the possible anomaly will force you to do the optional side mission but you will earn their trust by being honest.)Side mission might get us some extra stuff.>The Awards Show Building. You rather not deal with whatever you just saw, especially since it seems PISSED. It won't provide as much but it'll probably be safer for everyone involved.Lets do this, get any extra stuff that might give us an edge. Then we can hit the studio.
>>5869564+1Guess we're getting that $200 bonus after all, as long as we get footage of the thing. We know from the Handler that it phases through walls and it's biomechanical. We know from the keycard notes in here that it's a robot from E-Corp. Do you guys think we should get Gregory himself in on this? He loves scandalous and spooky and filthy from what Max told us. This job is getting to be all 3 of those.
>>5869562>Apologize, take some more anti-psychotics, and tell them you were just having an episode. (-1 ANTIPSYCHOTIC, applies MEDICATED, your allies will drop the topic and accept it. You might have a harder time explaining any weird shit you may see to them in the future, though.)>The Old Movie Studio. Something has to be there and you need to know what. You doubt anyone has managed to scavenge anything due to whatever's there so there might be good shit
>>5869564+1
>>5869562>Try your best to explain everything that was going on up here. Don't lie, they deserve to know. (Telling Kiara about the possible anomaly will force you to do the optional side mission but you will earn their trust by being honest.)We warn them and clear up what the fuck that was. I see no downsides.Although: if we're worried that telling them about the entity's thoughts/actions will anger it further (you know, eavesdropping then gossiping), we can just say what happened to *us* and then say that "we shouldn't say further" or something. Maybe adding that we're worried it'd agitate it, etc. Or we can just say everything and not care.>The Awards Show Building. You rather not deal with whatever you just saw, especially since it seems PISSED. It won't provide as much but it'll probably be safer for everyone involved.But ask the two what they found before we leave, unless we wanna get the fuck outta here ASAP.>>5869576Before we come to gregory about any spooky or scandalous stuff, we should note that Max gave us that info. All *he* has told us is:>"I'm looking for buildings that once held the pizzazz of this place! The sparkle, the shine, life! Age has long since washed away most evidence of their beauty!"He's going to be suspicious if we come to him suddenly expecting him to be excited about a very different vibe, so maybe we should be careful when presenting this stuff, if/whenever we do. Like masking it as concern for this strange, scary shit we found, or like mention it as a note when talking about looking for what he asked of us, and see if he bites....Unless he's looking for prestigious or high-class buildings so he can see these once fanciful places in decay, brought down to trash and "low class". Max did say he likes filthy and 'low class'. So... maybe it's actually fine. But still: we want less reasons for him to be suspicious of us. Especially if he holds grudges over tiny shit real easily.Also, note Max basically flat-out saying we handle him like an Abnormality. 'Keep him distracted and "do Appeasement Work"'. At best, this means he's just a tard. At worst...But yeah, we should keep that in mind too when interacting with him.
>>5869795Supporting
>>5869795You're right about both being careful with Gregory and asking our two allies about their discoveries. I wonder if we'll have time to at least check one other place in this building before we fuck off to the Awards Show. All those rooms sound sensational
>>5869546Fucking stop it, Carmen>>5869562>Try your best to explain everything that was going on up here. Don't lie, they deserve to know. (Telling Kiara about the possible anomaly will force you to do the optional side mission but you will earn their trust by being honest.)>The Awards Show Building. You rather not deal with whatever you just saw, especially since it seems PISSED. It won't provide as much but it'll probably be safer for everyone involved.
You push past the annoying voice screeching in your head to give a rough explanation of what happened. For a moment, you're worried about if you should say anything about your vision- [UNSTABLE] Who fucking cares? You're going to anger that thing anyways. You explain EVERYTHING. Including the vision. If that thing gets pissed, good! Serves it RIGHT! Oddly enough, Maruyama seems to take the information in strive. "Huh. Of course there would be a nutcase involved in this. Made too little sense to be just a fire." Kiara is damn near vibrating with joy when she hears about the vision. "THERE'S AN ANOMALY HERE?!" You really do want to check the other places but she is mere moments away from running to find it. Best to divert her attention. "Yeah. Something weird is happening here and I don't like it. Not to mention all of the weird shit I keep hearing about the dude who hired us." You snap your fingers. "What did you two find in your rooms?""An affair." Maruyama states bluntly. "To cut a long story short, I found out about this 'Vanessa' type who went up there. New actress. Got the attention of some rich director who was working there." He fidgets with his tie in obvious discomfort. "I found a discarded wedding ring inside the sink." <"...Too close to home.">Ah shit. You reach your hand out so Kiara can help you off the floor. Once you're off the ground, you pat Maruyama on the shoulder. "Sorry about that." He gives you a weird look. Right, you haven't told them you can read their minds. You click your tongue. "Did you get the name of the director?"This is enough to distract him. "Yes but it's an obvious pseudonym. Who the fuck names their kid Liam Bean?" There's a shadow of a smile on his face when he says that. It's like he doesn't even believe what he's saying. "Typical fame-obsessed nonsense. Who needs to work when you can sleep your way to the top?" Well, you can probably sell that story to Gregory. This apparently shows in your face since Maruyama nods along. "Yeah, yeah, I recorded the story down on some paper. Made a few 'edits' to make it more 'spicy'." He flashes a sheet of paper that is filled top to bottom. You skim it to see that, yeah, it really does seem like an affair and nothing more. Though the prose he's using makes it read more like a really, REALLY shitty romance novel for a girl triple your age...[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You can't quite put your finger on it but something about this 'rich director' Maruyama is talking about is rubbing you the wrong way.Somehow you feel that's intentional. You turn your attention to Kiara. She's about ready to burst into nuts and bolts from how much she's fidgeting. "Kiara? What about you?" You hope she doesn't explode in front of you. Luckily, she manages to keep her structural integrity. She clears her throat (as much as that matters for her) before saying something VERY concerning. "There was a whole security system with cameras all over the place in there!"
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Oh god. You have to know. "D-did you find anything silver in there?" You sputter out. Your eyes glance around the room."No?" <"Why silver? Seems like a weird thing to ask."> "Anywho, seems like someone was keeping an eye all over Avalon in there. Though all of the ones in the movie studio were smashed into pieces!""Wait, wait. You said something was roaming around there." Maruyama seems to be piecing something together. "It's smart enough to know where the cameras are hidden. Are anomalies usually that smart?" Kiara looks down at her feet as she dwells on the question. "It did say something about not wanting any spoilers. Maybe that's why." It did seem to care a lot about you looking through its eyes..."Maybe. Not sure if that's more important than answering this: That place was blocked off from the inside, right?" Maruyama taps his foot. "But someone had to be manning it. How did they get out while keeping it blocked?""Dunno. The place was sealed perfectly shut by this giant shelf leaning against the door! You would somehow have to phase through a wall in order to get inside!" She pauses. "Well. Without breaking the door down.""That sounds nonsensical." Maruyama rightfully questions what Kiara is saying. "There has to be a better explanation than that. Maybe a hidden tunnel system?""Riiight. Explain how someone could get enough people to build a tunnel long enough to get out and hidden enough so no knows about it. Including me." The android responds with a deadpan look. The only thing you could think of is that whoever built it never intended to come back once they got what they needed."Did you at least get any useful information out of there?" You start heading towards the door. Your allies follow after you. To be honest, you want to be anywhere but this apartment right now. God knows what kind of attention you got from linking with the THING in the studio. "Mmh hmm! I marked down all of the important locations I saw on a handy dandy map!" She shows off a map that looks not too dissimilar to the maps you make. It's a rough layout on the Theatre you plan on going to next. She's marked down some interesting spots your group should probably check out. Nice. >+ROUGH THEATRE MAP! "Wish I could've seen the Studio! Especially if there's an anomaly there." Kiara mutters."Probably best we didn't see it considering HER reaction." Maruyama jabs a thumb at you.The three of you head down the stairs and right out of the apartment building. You do want to explore more of the rooms but...hm. You mull over what to do while you and your allies travel down the streets. Do you want to send an ally back there to explore more? >YES. (Select up to two allies and two rooms you haven't explored yet. They'll split away from the party for a time to examine them.)>NO. (Your allies will stick with you to assist you in the Theatre.)Regardless of your choice, you continue down the streets...
It doesn't take long for you three to stand outside of the Avalon Theatre. Now that you're in front of it in person, you now realize the sheer scope of how massive it is. While the original luster has long since faded, the sheer size of the building still hints you at what it used to be. Giant stained glass windows that have been shattered. Giant posters of classic movies barely legible through weather damage. The staircase leading up to the entrance has dozens on dozens of giant steps. A long, flowing red carpet torn to shreds near the front of the entrance. You can almost imagine how it used to be.There's a longing, wistful look in Maruyama's eyes as he looks at what used to be. "It's a shame. I'm not much for the people who occupy it but the upper-class sure knew how to make a place look good." Kiara is already rushing up the stairs as fast as she can. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! She really isn't trying to be stealthy here, huh? You start climbing up the stairs with Maruyama in tow. You manage to get to the set of double doors without much hassle aside from a tired, worn out man in his 30s staggering behind. Despite this, he pulls open the door to let you and Kiara in first. You narrow your eyes but you accept the gesturehttps://youtu.be/cbLSPnlWoEc - AWARDS SHOWIt is shockingly intact inside of the lobby. Not to say it's in great condition but it's oddly well kept for a place that's been abandoned for over half a century. Ignoring the moss growing all over the place and the obvious water damage, of course. The clear amount of effort spent to make it as fancy as possible is evident when your eyes adjust to the low light. Just looking up is making you dizzy from how high the ceiling is going up. A sparkling chandelier hangs onto the ceiling with a barely hanging together rusted chain.A massive staircase stands in the middle of the lobby that spirals up and up and up, presumably to where guests go to sit and watch the shows themselves. Closer to the entrance is a ticket booth with a computer that still seems to be powered on somehow. You take a look at the map to see where you can go from here. Looking between the actual lobby and the rough map, you link together that the two hallways with keycard locked doors correspond to the Actor dress rooms and the way to the backstage for the left one. The right one leads to the Managerial and Storage section. It would normally be a pain in the ass to lockpick those open but you just so happen to have a keycard. Your allies are busy wandering around the lobby, trying to piece together whatever they can here. You take a moment to think on how you want to proceed forwards. Where to go first?>You can split your party to check multiple places at once, assuming you didn't send both back to the apartments.>You may also decide to keep the party together so they can assist you, at the cost of time.
>>5870534Lets go towards Managerial and Storage, maybe with Maruyama in tow. And send Kiara towards the dress rooms and backstage.
>Check out that computer at the ticket booth. Perhaps you can piece together who was here when everything went to shit?>[AERIAL DRONE] You can probably get some pretty damn good footage of the Amphitheater by sending your drone up the staircase. (FREE ACTION, -1 AERIAL DRONE charge. You'll get some decent shots to impress Gregory with later. Lowers the DC of MARUYAMA ALLY by 2 if picked.)>Go up the stairs and start investigating the seating up there. You might get a better idea on how the audience was during the last days here.>You're curious about what the actors left behind in their dress rooms. Maybe there's some valuables there?>Check out the backstage first. Who knows what secrets are hidden behind there?>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You know there are cameras here. You need to figure out more about them. What's their deal? Search around the lobby for those cameras.>It might be wise to check out the managerial side of this place. You would imagine there would be a lot of valuable information there.>[ANOMALOUS ABILTIIES] Just in case, you light your holy candle and do a short prayer. You want to be safer than sorry. (FREE ACTION. -1 HOLY CANDLE, WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the longer the protective effects of the candle will last.)>[MARUYAMA ALLY] "Hey. Maru. Go get Gregory." Try to get him to bribe the old man to assist you. (FREE ACITON. CONNECTIONS DC: 16 (-4 from the SCANDALOUS STORY Maru found). Pass and Gregory might be willing to assist you in the mission. Failure and god knows what will happen. Can't be picked if you sent Maru back to the apartment.)>Write in.Sorry for the delayed update. Computer did a forced update and I failed to save some of the update in time. Shit happens.
>>5870537>>It might be wise to check out the managerial side of this place. You would imagine there would be a lot of valuable information there.Lets go give Maru the keycard and send him>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You know there are cameras here. You need to figure out more about them. What's their deal? Search around the lobby for those cameras.This with us>You're curious about what the actors left behind in their dress rooms. Maybe there's some valuables there?And lets send Kiara to play tabloid photographer.
>>5870540+1, solid plan playing to our different strengths
>>5870540+1
>>5870540This plus>[AERIAL DRONE] You can probably get some pretty damn good footage of the Amphitheater by sending your drone up the staircase. (FREE ACTION, -1 AERIAL DRONE charge. You'll get some decent shots to impress Gregory with later. Lowers the DC of MARUYAMA ALLY by 2 if picked.)
>>5870540>>5870762+1
Just to point out there was a vote option in >>5870530 that you didn't notice. Normally I would've closed the vote by now due to the unanimous(ish) votes but it would be unfair not to acknowledge that.
>>5870534>You may also decide to keep the party together so they can assist you, at the cost of time.
>>5870534>You can split your party to check multiple places at once, assuming you didn't send both back to the apartments.
>>5871170>>5871261Those weren't vote choices. Those were just clarifying that you could do multiple actions at once if you decide to assign an ally to it. Probably should've formatted it differentlyAnyways, closing vote, everything seems pretty unanimous except for the Drone thing. Two anons voted to do it while three just voted to do the manager + cameras + dress room thing. Do you want to send the drone to check the amphitheater?>YES>NO
>>5871333>>YESMight as well, we gotta get as much good shit as we can. We are doing APPEASEMENT work
>>5871333>YES
>>5871341>>5871422>>5871442Locked and loaded. Writing.
"Same thing as last time. You two split up while I check out the lobby here. Maruyama, you'll head towards the managerial side of the place." You toss the keycard over to him. He freaks out and nearly sends it flying when he tries to catch it with his butterfingers. He manages to eventually get it after a solid twenty seconds. "R-right." Maruyama huffs in obvious exhaustion. "Time to summarize more paperwork." <"At least I'm out of the office. Count your blessings when you can, Daido.">"Kiara. I bet there's a pretty nice scoo-" "She's already gone." Maruyama interrupts you. You look around to see where she went. She's already heading down the left hallway. You and Maruyama blankly stare in the general direction Kiara went into. Maruyama silently separates from you, leaving you all alone in the lobby. You start to wander around the lobby now that you're left alone with your thoughts. Now that you're stuck playing 'spot the camera', you take a moment to look around the environment more. Aside from the staircase in the middle and the ticket booth near the entrance, all that left of the former decorations is dust, ash, and mostly rotted away wood.You're not quite sure where the cameras would be hidden given that's barely anywhere to hide. [PERSON OF INTEREST] That's what they expect you to think. Check the piles of dust. There might be something left there.You're obviously hesitant to go digging through dust like a schizo but you don't have a better idea. You get down onto your knees and start working your hands through the piles of dust. You feel something inside of the pile between your fingers.When you pull your hand out, you find a torn cable with small wires poking out. As you try to pull on it, there's a LOT of resistance. Like trying to pull out a plant that has a deep root system in the ground. So, it's not a camera but it has to connect to something. You run your hand through the cable and follow after it to see where it goes.It was hard to notice in the low light and the sheer blanket of dust on everything but the whole floor of the lobby has cables hidden away in swallow grooves on the floor. You wouldn't even notice that you're stepping on them. Some of which leads to the ticket booth and the base of the stairs. With some quick searching, you find what you were looking for. Cameras. Small squares barely bigger than a bottlecap. You found one on each side of the computer monitor at the ticket booth, alongside what seems like three or four all over the railings of the staircase.[PERSON OF INTEREST] Not their work. This is cheap, shoddy stuff that you didn't even have to TRY to find. [PERSON OF INTEREST] THEIR cameras are small enough to be hidden in food and in tiny imperfections in the wall. AND THEY WOULD BE WIRELESS.Wait, if there's cables all over the place, there has to be connected to somewhere. You focus on the cabling on the ground. They seem to be trailing to one specific wall to the west...
Your footsteps echo throughout the empty lobby. You stop in front of the seemingly featureless wall where you saw the cabling lead to. It's oddly clean?[PERSON OF INTEREST] That's where they fucked up. It's too clean compared to the rest of the lobby. Stands out. Someone was here recently. You just need to figure out how to open it. You levitate up a piece of rotting wood to use as...a stick. Hey, having powers doesn't mean you're creative all the time. It doesn't take long for you to press down on some sort of switch hidden in the wall. You move out of the way in case there's any boobytraps. The section of wall in front of you slides ever so slightly to the side, barely enough for you to squeeze through. You take in a deep breath before squeezing your way past the narrow gap in the wall. It slides close behind you once you do so. [PERSON OF INTEREST] If done fast enough, you could enter and exit this room without anyone noticing. Quaint. The room you find yourself in is small. Meant moreso for a single practical function than any comfort. There's a large sprawl of screens covering the back wall of the room, with a small chair placed a few feet away. A small generator rests inside a small hole on the left wall. That's about all that's here. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] It's barely visible but you can make out a serial number on one of the screens. "K-E-KRA". You remember K-Corp being a security company...The hell does E-Corp want to do here, though? Or, to be more specific, who is buying from them? From what you've pieced together, you somehow doubt it's a corporation trying to ruin a rival company's district. It's clearly someone with a lot of money, though...You take a seat to examine the various screens. They're all over the place, going from the lobby your party was at, to the dressing rooms, to the managerial rooms, to the backstage, everywhere. The quality is super fuzzy black and white so you can't really make out much from here aside from your allies searching through their rooms. This system is OLD, probably at least fifty years out of date. Maruyama seems oddly tense about a piece of paperwork he's reading while Kiara is taking a LOT of pictures of the dressing rooms. Probably found something juicy to appease Gregory later.Though, you make out an odd shape on the amphitheater. It's damn near impossible to make out through this shitty screen but it's...clearly not human. It's vaguely humanoid but otherwise, you're pretty sure humans don't have spines that bend like that. It's dragging itself through the front stage, looking for SOMETHING. You pull out your drone out and, after fiddling for a way to open the hidden door from this side, you sent it flying through the air. It zooms over to the staircase and up into the amphitheater. You try your best to hide it from whatever is up there.https://youtu.be/kLW6ZnTlB2s - ENTITY What the fuck is that thing?
The first thing you make out about the entity is how freakishly tall it is. It's at least eight feet tall if not more. Then the rest of the details start to sink in. It's a humanoid-ish mess of wires, cabling, burnt flesh and exposed bone. It is stuck in a permanently half bent, crooked posture, as if its spine got shattered. Its head is a high quality film camera with at least three or four lenses on it. Its arms and legs are made out of a soft plastic. They presumably used to be regular looking humanoid arms but stress has broken them, leaving behind dangling wires that occasional shoot out a spark. From what you can make out, the flesh seems to be mostly on the surface of the machine. As if the machine used to be 'normal'ish before.It's dragging along some stolen equipment from what you assume is some sort of storage room here. Wrapped in the wires poking out of its arms are various stage props and old waterlogged costumes. It stops for a moment on the stage before slamming its 'foot' down onto it. A massive crack forms on the wooden stage and as it does, one of the screens on the hidden room's security system goes blank. It rips out the hidden camera with one of its many wires to add to its collection. It begins to walk again, disappearing to the backstage.[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Despite the damage it has taken and the clear decay around it, it still follows its single minded goal. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] You doubt it's even aware of the decay of both itself and the world it wanders in.You let out a short exhale. It didn't seem to notice your aerial drone for whatever reason, no worry about it tracking you down. You take this time to get a proper aerial shot of the amphitheater. The sheer size of it is almost enough to distract you from spotting the entity (or anomaly? you're not sure). Rows on rows on rows of seats stretch on forever. Your lowball estimate for how many people this place could fit is in the high 3000s. There's at least five distinct floors seats up in here. While the chairs have long since decayed and crumbled, and parts of the theater are about to fall away, there's an odd beauty to seeing it like this. >GAINED: THEATER AERIAL SHOOT FOOTAGE (An oddly awe inspiring aerial shot of a giant amphitheater. The decay only adds to it.) If you had to guess, you're about two good stories or shots away from impressing Gregory enough to satisfy your main goal. You did get some footage of the entity but you doubt it's enough to satisfy Kiara. You're on the right track though.As you get up from your seat, you notice something sticking to your back. You pull it off to see that you were sitting on an old piece of red cloth. Odd. You pocket it for later.>RED CLOTH FRAGMENT found! (Feels super smooth between your fingers. Reminds you of silk. High class stuff.)The question now is how to proceed from here. There's not a lot of information on who could've built this system inside this room...on first glance.
Choose one of the following.>[UV FLASHLIGHT] You still have this hunk of junk from your first mission. Start searching the room under the glow of UV to see who might've been here. (-UV FLASHLIGHT, COGNIZANCE DC: 17, +2d6 to your roll thanks to your UV flashlight. Pass and you'll get a good idea who was here and where they could've gone to. You'll probably just waste time and an item on a failure.)>Meet with Kiara. She might be able to give you some advice on what you say. That and you're curious about what stories she might've found.>Meet up with Maruyama. It's clear that someone rich and powerful on a powertrip brought this place down. Maybe the paperwork he was reading through has clues.>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Chase after the entity with your aerial drone. You don't care if it sees. You need to learn more about it. (TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll sneakily follow the entity, recording both valuable footage for your second objective and to learn more about it. Failure and you doubt it'll be pleased at you eavesdropper on it.)>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Something is just rubbing you the wrong way about this whole thing. You want to talk to Gregory, pry at him. See how much he's hiding.>Start investigating another part of the building on your own...(Check out the computer? The storage room? The backstage? Write in.)>Write in. (Use another item? Use one of your abilities? Something else? Another plan completely? Using an ITEM or ABILITY is a free action you can pick alongside another action.)
>>5871630>>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Chase after the entity with your aerial drone. You don't care if it sees. You need to learn more about it. (TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll sneakily follow the entity, recording both valuable footage for your second objective and to learn more about it. Failure and you doubt it'll be pleased at you eavesdropper on it.)I kinda wanna get as much info on this thing as we can, whats to say we couldn't come back at a different time to find some way of using it?
>>5871630backing >>5871632
>>5871630>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Chase after the entity with your aerial drone. You don't care if it sees. You need to learn more about it. (TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll sneakily follow the entity, recording both valuable footage for your second objective and to learn more about it. Failure and you doubt it'll be pleased at you eavesdropper on it.)
>>5871630>Meet up with Maruyama. It's clear that someone rich and powerful on a powertrip brought this place down. Maybe the paperwork he was reading through has clues.
>>5871630>>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Chase after the entity with your aerial drone. You don't care if it sees. You need to learn more about it. (TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll sneakily follow the entity, recording both valuable footage for your second objective and to learn more about it. Failure and you doubt it'll be pleased at you eavesdropper on it.)
>>5871630>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Chase after the entity with your aerial drone. You don't care if it sees. You need to learn more about it. (TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll sneakily follow the entity, recording both valuable footage for your second objective and to learn more about it. Failure and you doubt it'll be pleased at you eavesdropper on it.)Real ghost hunters vibe
SEEKER wins out. Two anons, roll 2d6.
Rolled 3, 4 = 7 (2d6)>>5872351
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)>>5872351
>>5872379CAN WE REROLL? DO WE HAVE ANY?
>12FAILURE.>CAN WE REROLL QM.The only drug you have that could boost TALENT right now is the ZANAL TABLET. It boosts all of your stats by 1 for a short while, which could let you pass some future skill checks as well, at the cost of having to eat a stat penalty later. Or, you can consume the UNMARKED VIAL to pass the check automatically at the cost of not knowing what the side effects are.What do you want to do? >Consume the ZANAL. Should help us with the rest of the mission. (You get to roll another 1d6 for this check and +1 to all stats for a few updates.)>Consume the UNMARKED VIAL. Fuck it, we ball. (Automatic success but you'll probably get some nasty side effects from it.)>Eat the loss, prepare for whatever happens next. (Failure state will happen but you save your item.)
>>5872392>>Consume the ZANAL. Should help us with the rest of the mission. (You get to roll another 1d6 for this check and +1 to all stats for a few updates.)
>>5872394+1 let's do this
>>5872392>Consume the ZANAL. Should help us with the rest of the mission. (You get to roll another 1d6 for this check and +1 to all stats for a few updates.)
Alright. One anon, roll 1d6. Whatever the result is, I'm writing.
Rolled 3 (1d6)>>5872471
>>5872495That's a pass
>>5872505>>5872495Thank you Xanax?
You waste no time here. You take the ZANAL tablet to steady your nerves before piloting your small drone after the entity. A small, electric buzz floods you from head to toe. GOD, your system lights up like a Christmas tree once it kicks in.>-ZANAL, +1 TO ALL STATS!>TALENT ROLL: 15. PASS!Thank the lord you took something for your nerves. You damn near bumped the drone onto the wall of the front stage. A lucky steer at the last second prevents it from making any noise. You trail behind the entity with your drone. You actually have to move your drone a lot slower than you expect, the biomechanical entity is pretty sluggish in its movements.The backstage area is as shitty as you would've expected from this building. Boxes that used to store various props and costumes are soaked completely with rain water. You trace this to the holes in the ceiling that have crumbled from sheer age. The entity moves over to the boxes regardless, bending over to search through them. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] It's making an odd noise while it does so. The tinny audio receiver of your drone is barely able to catch it. It's...crying. The costumes and props inside the many boxes backstage are beyond ruined. Anything made out of fur and cloth is a wet, bug ridden mess barely suitable for a fire. There's nothing rubber or latex left due to sheer age. Hell, even the metal and wooden props are hanging on by a thread. "I CAN'T FIND IT! I CAN'T FIND THE FINAL PIECE TO THE SET!" Now that you're not hearing it from its perspective, the entity's voice is laced in a thick layer of hazy static. You might've thought its voice would be 'cute' or 'friendly' without it. "NO MATTER WHERE. NO MATTER HOW! THE FINAL PIECE ISN'T HERE!"[SEEKER OF THE CITY] What could it be looking for? It doesn't seem to be crying over the lack of quality.It reels back its leg and smashes it into a nearby wall in a fit of rage.This knocks something loose above. You turn your drone up to see a metal beam from a catwalk way above falling all the way down to where the entity is. You move your drone back so it doesn't get hit. The rusted hunk of metal impales right into the entity's back...but only barely.The entity in front of you is vibrating at speeds you can't quite process. It abruptly stops vibrating after a few seconds. The metal beam clatters to the floor in front of the entity, seemingly having phased right through it. There's only a small scratch on its back from the initial impact. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] So it can sense pain and has a fast enough reaction time to do that feat. That is troublesome."NOTHING CAN STOP THE SHOW YET." It smashes a foot down on the beam, leaving a massive dent on the rusted hunk of metal. "THE DIRECTOR DID NOT ORDER FOR THE SHOOT TO END." It slowly limps over to a nearby corner of the backstage. It looks down at the various costumes and props it has wrapped around it."I NEED TO FIND. THE DIRECTOR. HE HAS TO BE NEAR."
"I NEED HIM TO. BZZT. FINISH THE SHOOT. SO WE CAN. BZZT. WIN THE AWARDS SHOW." It places a hand against the corner before it begins to vibrate again. It slides right through the wall like it's not even then, including the things it is carrying. [SEEKER OF THE CITY] It's almost awe-inspiring to see it for yourself. You don't really get many chances to see something like this in relative safety."NEED TO FIND THE. EAVESDROPPERS BEFORE THEY, BZZT. RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE!" Its voice gets muffled as it goes through the wall.It's fully through the wall in about four or five seconds. Stuck halfway into the wall is an old prop gun that it was carrying. Seems like if it drops something it's carrying while phasing, it gets stuck inside. You shudder to think what might happen if a human fell victim to that.You lean back on the chair you're sitting on. It's looking for a director for whatever reason. You know of one but you're not sure he's willing to play house with something that can probably smash his head in at any time...you think? You're not sure how strong or weak Gregory actually is in the grand scheme. All you know is he doesn't seem to have any guards."Huh? What's that doing here?" You hear Kiara's voice. You turn your drone around to spot her roaming around backstage. "Could've sworn I heard a loud bang here. What's the matter, Nicole? Messed up the controls?"You shake your drone from side to side. That's all you can really communicate. Kiara kneels down at the hunk of metal on the floor. She narrows her eyes. "Wait, the tip's weirdly bent. Do you know how?" She holds it up to you. The tip that went into the entity is horribly twisted and warped, like a piece of chewed gum. You move your drone up and down in a 'nod'. Kiara seems to piece together something in her head. "Wait, wait. Was it...?" You move your drone up and down again."So it's gone. Damnit, wish I could've gotten some pictures of it." Kiara pouts. "Well, might as well tell you what I found." In her hands are a few moldy books and some pictures she took. "It's probably easier to show in person sooo..." She puts them away before you could see any of them in detail. "Let's just say I found some juicy gossip about three actors having creative differences~!" Kiara coos out with the same joy as a teenager gossiper. "I'll be checking for anything more 'valuable'," She winks knowingly at you. "Call me when you need anything." She walks away from your little drone, presumably to keep searching the dressing rooms. Huh. Gossip about the actors. Maybe that'll be useful for messing with the entity later. You put a pin in the back of your mind in case that ever becomes relevant beyond appeasing Gregory. While you begin to move your drone back to you before it runs out of charge, you dwell on what to do next. >You have acquired ENTITY FOOTAGE (A decent few minutes of footage of an entity. Kiara will kill to see this. Maybe Gregory as well?)
>Meet up with your two allies to discuss what each of you found. Maybe they can offer some advice on how to proceed from here.>You probably have enough time to examine one location here before your allies begin to get impatient. Might as well do so. (Use your UV flashlight to check the hidden camera room? Check the computer? Something else? Write in.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Go over to the backstage and get a better understanding of where it came from and what it took. (COGNIZANCE DC: 15, with your dice. You'll get a solid understanding on the 'final piece' it's looking for on a success. Failure will result in wasting time and your allies getting impatient.)>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] It's odd how it talked so freely. So openly. You're not quite sure if you should trust what you saw. Ping the area with MIND READ just to be safe. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll be sure if it actually left or if it's trying to trick you.)>Write in (Use another ability? Use an item? Try another plan? Something else?)Pastebin has been updated with Nicole's new stats.
>>5872614>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] It's odd how it talked so freely. So openly. You're not quite sure if you should trust what you saw. Ping the area with MIND READ just to be safe. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll be sure if it actually left or if it's trying to trick you.)
>>5872650Change my mind. I don’t want a repeat of having an unstable psyche.>>5872650>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)
>>5872614>>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] It's odd how it talked so freely. So openly. You're not quite sure if you should trust what you saw. Ping the area with MIND READ just to be safe. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll be sure if it actually left or if it's trying to trick you.)
>>5872614>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)Let's see how the old man handles an anomaly
>>5872614>[MARUYAMA ALLY] Go find Maruyama and go back to Gregory with him in tow. You can try getting Gregory on your side and hear about what Maruyama found on the walk over. (CONNECTIONS DC: 14 (-6 from all the footage you got), with Maruyama's dice. Same success at last time but on failure, Gregory will only offer useful advice instead of joining the party.)
Unanimaous for Maruyama Ally, 3:2 majority to not bother with Mindread, so we're not doing it. Closing vote. One anon, roll 3d6. Another, roll 2d6.
Rolled 6, 2, 1 = 9 (3d6)>>5873170
>>5873173Armored Core 6?
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)>>5873170
Pass, even without all of the stuff you found to lower the check. Writing. As a heads up, I'll leave the vote open for the following update for a bit longer. You know, due to Christmas Cheer and being busy with family gatherings. Happy holidays to everyone.
It's about time you stopped beating around the bush with that man. It takes a moment for you to get outside of the secret room due to the stupid 'barely squeezable gap' design of the door. Once you do, you collect your drone and start making your way over to the managerial section. You pass by the still opened door leading to said section. Weird, you would think it would've closed on its own by now. You'd guess it's some fluke on how old everything is. Oddly, the hallway in this section of the building is pretty decent looking for how old the building is. Aside from some light dust, it's pretty damn spotless. It's a long, boring walk from the lobby all the way to the nearest manager office (according to your map) but you amuse yourself by whistling old holiday songs.You stop in front of the first office you saw. You make out Maruyama mumbling to himself through the door. You rap on the door to make sure he doesn't freak out before stepping into the small office.The office is small and compact. It only consists of a powerless computer, a desk, a few filing cabinets, and two chairs. Maruyama is hunched over on the other side of the desk, busy flipping through various pieces of dusty paperwork. "What did you find?" He clicks his tongue sharply. "It's been hell here. None of the shit here is organized. Look at this." He slides over four sheets of paper over to you. After a quick skim, you realize all of them are the exact same complaint about an old costume. "Yeesh." You click your tongue back. "Yeah that's not good. Well, I'll tell you on the walk over." "A walk?" Maruyama taps his fingers on the desk. <"Fuck it. If I'm here for any longer, I'm going to kill someone."> "Sure, we'll take a walk." You exit the office while he trails behind you. You try to find a good way to simplify what you found. By the time you do, the two of you are already out of the awards show building."So, there was another hidden camera system here. Had its own generator and everything. Then, I saw...the entity. It rambled a lot then left. Observed it with a camera drone." That's probably good enough. "Found this. Recognize it?" You hold up the piece of red cloth you found. Maruyama narrows his eyes. "That's Nouveau fabric. I think that's the same stuff that old Gregory fart was wearing." You look back down at the cloth. You remember seeing the Handler wear something similar. Interesting. After pointing it out and dwelling on the information you told him, Maruyama nods his head. He begins to speak as you two get to the bottom of the staircase. "Well, alright. You got some decent footage if nothing else." Something seems to be stewing in his head. <"The security systems have really shoddy quality, huh? That's what Nicole and Kiara told me...and we're tasked with getting good footage? Hm.">"Yeah, I was planning on showing some of it to Gregory. I need your help in, uh, convincing him to help." You hope to god he agrees.
"Fuck." Maruyama lets out a shaky laugh. "Do I have to? I'll be honest, between two friends," He takes a moment to collect himself. "He creeps me out. Something about him is just wrong."[UNSTABLE] "How fucking vague, Maruyama." You spit out with a bit more anger than necessary. "Be more specific, CHUM.""That fucking phase, 'Appeasement Work'. From that one weird girl you told me to call. I'm not good with anomaly stuff but that sounds like some P-Corp- Whatever." Maruyama sighs. "Sorry." You meekly apologize. "Stress, you know? What did you find in that old office?" The two of you begin to chat between each other as you travel the empty streets of Avalon. It's a nice reprieve from the deafening silence otherwise present here."Rich assholes doing rich asshole things. Story of my life." Venom oozes from his voice. "So, the long and short is that some hot shot director came in. Liam Bean. That same shitty pseudonym as before." You try your best to hold back a laugh when you hear that name again. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. No one knew where that kid came from, though! Nothing! Like some sort of fucking ghost in the system! All of the identifying paperwork on him was obviously fabricated!" "Wait, so you're saying some random director manifested out of thin air?" That sounds a bit farfetched. "That's the thing. Despite the paperwork about him being vague nonsense, he was attached to a dozen projects almost immediately! But he fucked up! Oh, he fucked up! I found a name associated with every project he was associated with!" There's an almost electric buzz to what he's saying. "Audrey Krakatoa.""No shit, huh?" It's this family over and over again. A Krakatoa assigned you to this, you had to talk to another Krakatoa over the phone, now a fucking Krakatoa is involved with this abandoned place. "You think Liam Bean was another Krakatoa?""No doubt. Couldn't find anything on that regard but the most recent order he asked from Miss Audrey was an E-Corp Filming Assistant and to fire a Phillip Smith. Same as the ID card. Supposedly they intended to automate the whole filming process here with artificial slop." "And look at how that turned out." He gestures at the abandoned scenery around you. He continues to speak before the silence returns. "I doubt creating anomaly was anyone's intention.""How come?" Maruyama doesn't respond to you at first but he hands you a sheet of paper. You read it in silence as the two of you keep walking."We need to leave. Now. I don't know what shady E-Corp guy you hired but he fucked up. Robots aren't meant to BREATH, Audrey. Father can't know of this. Set a fire, run, hopefully that damn thing dies." What a strange note.You eventually end up near the entrance of train station leading out. Standing in front of it is Gregory, who is staring up into the sky without a care in the world. <"Hopefully they're back soon. This place- Feh. No point dwelling.">
"Sir?"Maruyama's call is enough to snap Gregory out of whatever trance he was just in. "Oh! Are you finished gathering what I wanted? Hopefully you found some good set locations!" "We did!" You pull out your old aerial drone. "This should have some recordings you'll find interesting. Maruyama, show him what you found."Maruyama nods and hands over the heavily edited story he wrote. "Our friend, Kiara, has some more but please. Look over what we found so far."Gregory starts reviewing what you've found across the buildings you went to. He flashes a toothy smile when he reads what Maruyama wrote. "Oh ho ho, how scandalous. Such forbidden love between youngens.." The old man begins to drool as he continues to read over it. "Nice...nice..." He turns his attention to the footage after pocketing Maruyama's story. At first, he seems to be nodding his head along. "Nice, nice. It's always nice to see such a big theater, you know?" He begins to ramble to you. "Something that can hold a vast crowd of people to observe the splendor of these rising stars!""Something t-" He suddenly screeches to a halt when the footage swaps to what you recorded of the anomaly. "What is that thing?"[PERSON OF INTEREST] He knows. He fucking knows. Is it something he heard from another family member? No, no, can't be..."An anomaly, recorded by our dear mutual client." Maruyama's voice suddenly switches back to the one he used on Max. "This is well outside the original specifications of what her middleman told her AND what you told of us. Remind us of your assigned task?""To find some sets I can film at." The dazed old man is focusing more on what he's being shown than what he is being asked. "Which you did, right? And that thing didn't interfere, so it should be alright.""No, no. That was an untold risk that HAD interfered, given our mutual client had an...incident involving it." Maruyama continues to rattle off. "I believe we desire a certain level of compensation. Not monetary. If you assist us, we will be willing to overlook this.">20: PASS!He hands you your drone back without saying a word. There's a cold, resolute look deep in his eyes as he dwells on everything that he's been shown and told. "This is beyond what I originally assigned for you. It would look bad on my end if my neglect has hindered your task."<"...How is it...?"> "I accept. Lead the way." Despite the readiness of him accepting Maruyama's deal, you doubt you can really order him as well as your other allies. At the very least, he's actually going to help...right? >Gregory Krakatoa has joined your party temporarily. He will only assist you for this mission and you doubt you could easily hire him for others. >His stats will be provided in the following post. "Follow us. Kiara's going to freak if she thinks we left her behind." You lead the way back to the theatre with your two allies in tow. None of you particularly want to speak on the way back.
GREGORY KRAKATOA [SPECIAL] [TEMPORARY]FLESH: ? RESTRAINT: ?VIOLENCE: ?TALENT: ?WILLPOWER: 5CHARM: 6COGNIZANCE: 5CONNECTIONS: 8BOONS: [WELL-VERSED] Someone of his status is likely to know more about the City than you and Kiara combined. If you ask him the right things, you'll get some VERY useful information. [BULLETPROOF CONFIDENCE] He rebounds fast from shocking events, given how quickly he was willing to assist you. Three times per mission, he may reroll any number of RESTRAINT or WILLPOWER dice on a skill check.[???] ???[???] ???BANES:[INSCURITABLE] You barely have a solid read on him as a person, ability and motive wise. You'll need to observe him more to understand his deal.[PLAYING ALONG] He's only following you because you convinced him he had to. You doubt he'll show his true abilities unless absolutely forced to.[GRUDGEHOLDER?] ???You're not too comfortable with how little you truly know about him but it's better than nothing. You mentally check out until the three of you are back inside of the awards show building. Kiara is pacing around the lobby impatiently and the moment you three enter, she snaps her head in your direction. Any impatience she had instantly vanishes when she sees the man himself. "Mr. Gregory Sir! You gotta see this!" She zips right over to him like he's a magnet. "So, Kou Yoshihiro was dating Ace Chen, right, and-" She begins to rattle off. You notice her looking at you from the corner of her eye. <"You had to convince him to come here SOMEHOW. I better learn how, okay?"> She turns her attention back to Gregory.You nod knowingly at her before turning your attention back to Maruyama. The two gossipers are too busy chattering to really acknowledge you. "So, what do you think is the plan now?""We could always search around here a bit more just to be safe. Hell, maybe we go back to the apartments. If I had a say?" Maruyama rubs his chin. "I say we ask him as much as we possibly can before he has time to think of a lie.""You sure he would even say anything? I doubt he's just going to answer every question thrown his way." "I can only offer you my two cents. The client is the one with the final say here." He robotically drones out. Must've said that a dozen times before. Without saying anything further, he approaches the ticket booth to sit down on the counter. You managed to get Gregory onto your party and your allies have finished searching the various places in here. You have some time to think on how to proceed from here. What do you wish to do, Nicole?
Choose two of the following choices.>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Try to pry out his true intentions while his guard is down and the ZANAL is still in your system. He's an unaccounted variable. (CHARM DC: 25, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and he'll lower his guard enough to let you mind read him further or to accidently spill his true reasoning for hiring you. You're unsure about what happens on a failure.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] It might be wise to start making up some plans with your allies. Try to collect all of the knowledge between you, Kiara, and Gregory into a cohesive plan. (Ask up to three things to Gregory and Kiara. They'll offer up as much info as they can to assist you in making a plan.)>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] That thing was looking for a director. You could use Gregory's presence as a lure and sneak out with him. The anomaly should be distracted for a while then! (WILLPOWER DC: 21, rolling only your 5d6. Pass and you'll probably make the Movie Studio safer to explore for a while. Failure will probably just result in more mental strain and a far more aggressive anomaly.)>Go back to the apartments. There are still a few rooms there. You can probably milk more money out of Gregory if you explored it more. (You have enough allies to search all of the remaining rooms. You'll get more information and you'll increase your payday by a decent chunk.)>[UNSTABLE] Some part is telling you that being blunt here is a good idea. Flatly ask Gregory about a certain Liam Bean and Audrey Krakatoa. See how he tries to explain those two. (You're unsure how he'll respond.)>Cut to the chase and start heading to the Movie Studio with you and your allies. It's the last building you haven't checked. You'll probably be done once you explore it.>Write in.
>>5873399>>Go back to the apartments. There are still a few rooms there. You can probably milk more money out of Gregory if you explored it more. (You have enough allies to search all of the remaining rooms. You'll get more information and you'll increase your payday by a decent chunk.)Lets get informed
>>5873400You can choose two choices here. Feel free to pick another one.
>>5873399>Go back to the apartments. There are still a few rooms there. You can probably milk more money out of Gregory if you explored it more. (You have enough allies to search all of the remaining rooms. You'll get more information and you'll increase your payday by a decent chunk.)>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Try to pry out his true intentions while his guard is down and the ZANAL is still in your system. He's an unaccounted variable. (CHARM DC: 25, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and he'll lower his guard enough to let you mind read him further or to accidently spill his true reasoning for hiring you. You're unsure about what happens on a failure.)It has to do with the anomaly and what really went down here all those years ago. I bet it does
>>5873403>Go back to the apartments. There are still a few rooms there. You can probably milk more money out of Gregory if you explored it more. (You have enough allies to search all of the remaining rooms. You'll get more information and you'll increase your payday by a decent chunk.)>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Try to pry out his true intentions while his guard is down and the ZANAL is still in your system. He's an unaccounted variable. (CHARM DC: 25, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and he'll lower his guard enough to let you mind read him further or to accidently spill his true reasoning for hiring you. You're unsure about what happens on a failure.)
>>5873399>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Try to pry out his true intentions while his guard is down and the ZANAL is still in your system. He's an unaccounted variable. (CHARM DC: 25, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and he'll lower his guard enough to let you mind read him further or to accidently spill his true reasoning for hiring you. You're unsure about what happens on a failure.)>Cut to the chase and start heading to the Movie Studio with you and your allies. It's the last building you haven't checked. You'll probably be done once you explore it.
>>5873399>>Go back to the apartments. There are still a few rooms there. You can probably milk more money out of Gregory if you explored it more. (You have enough allies to search all of the remaining rooms. You'll get more information and you'll increase your payday by a decent chunk.)>>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Try to pry out his true intentions while his guard is down and the ZANAL is still in your system. He's an unaccounted variable. (CHARM DC: 25, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and he'll lower his guard enough to let you mind read him further or to accidently spill his true reasoning for hiring you. You're unsure about what happens on a failure.)
>>5873403+1
Voting closed, was busy with holiday cheer so I left it open longer than expected. One Anon, roll 4d6. Another Anon, roll 3d6
Rolled 1, 1, 1, 2 = 5 (4d6)>>5874242
>>5874249I blame my family for this. I hope they all die. Please tell me we have a way to reroll this cancer away
Rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9 (3d6)>>5874242
>>5874249>>5874271Oof. Alright so here's the rub. You really only got two options that could reliably get a 25 out of a 14. Choose one of the following. >Spend the FAKE ID, your last point of SUAVENESS, and have Maruyama use ENDURING MINDSET (Eats a lot of resources but they'll be no side effects if you pass using it. Roll an additional 4d6 if this wins.)>Drink that unmarked vial, baby! (You'll pass the skill check, zero questions asked. You will probably get some nasty side effects doing so.)>Eat the loss. Hope to god he doesn't get too angry. (Saves resources but you fail the check. Nothing else to say.)
>>5874274>>Drink that unmarked vial, baby! (You'll pass the skill check, zero questions asked. You will probably get some nasty side effects doing so.)
>>5874316+1, I do not want to fuck up relations with Gregory
Writing the update now, letting you use the UNMARKED VIAL It'll probably be a bit staggered to account for people busy with holiday celebrations and I have my own holiday obligations this evening that kinda got pushed onto me. I would expect something 6-8 hours from now at the earliest. We'll go back to regular daily updates from then on.Merry Christmas, everyone.
>>5874401Merry Christmas QM
You clap your hands to get everyone's attention here. Enough tomfuckery, you got a job to do. "Alright, Kiara, did you tell him everything?" You don't particularly care about what she found in the dressing rooms as long as it impressed Gregory. Given the stupid, goofy smile he has? Yeah, seems like it's doing that job well enough. You're close to completing the mission at this rate. "Yes, yes. What she said was quite interesting. I recall those old names from so, so many years ago. I even met a few back then." His eyes twinkle while he's busy reminiscing about the 'good old days'. "It is good inspiration for the movie I plan on filming." "The tickets better be fucking worth all of this." You mutter under your breath. This gets the attention of Kiara and Maruyama real quick. "Woah, woah. I haven't even gotten them yet." "Wait, all of this is going into a film THIS man is making?" Maruyama's face contorts into an expression halfway between shock and anger. "Wish I would've known that. Would've argued for a better contract.""Oh ho ho, you didn't ask us to sign a NDA! I am ABSOLUTELY putting these photos into my newspaper!" Kiara's eyes sparkle with infectious glee. "Too late to back down now!" "Ah. You caught me." Gregory shrugs his shoulders. "Whatever shall I do~? I suppose I will kneel and cry and shit myself over the free press coverage. Oh no." He isn't even trying to hide how unfazed he is but Kiara completely ignores him."FINALLY! I GET ONE OVER ON AN ELITE!!! EAT MY ASS!" Kiara is too busy riling herself up to be of much use right now. Well, you know one way on getting her attention somewhere else. "So, Gregory. Why are you actually here?" You cut right to the chase while everyone's still busy chit-chatting. "Why are there security systems all over the place? Why did you react how you did to the anomaly? You're not being frank with us."This grinds the atmosphere of the room to a halt. Kiara narrows her eyes before gesturing at you to hand her something. <"Hopefully she can take a hint. Hand me the damn drone."> You do so while you turn your attention back to Gregory. His smile has faded, resulting in an odd neutral look that doesn't give you any clues onto how he's feeling. You try your best to peer into his mind but...nothing. Your mind reading is returning nothing? "Whatever could you possibly be talking about? Security systems? Anomalies?""Yes! Security systems! There's one in this fucking lobby!" You point at the slit in the wall leading to the secret security room. "Someone rich had to purchase that! Someone like a Krakatoa! You had to know about this!" "And you reacted like you knew something about the anomaly! Spill it!" No one else is willing to interject on your behalf yet. Gregory simply gives you a warm smile."I believe the Handler said you were not like yourself when off your meds. I think you might be a bit of an unreliable narrator. Wouldn't you guys agree?"
Kiara looks up from the footage you recorded. "Well, I don't know her that well. She did scream a lot back at the apartment..." Maruyama seems a bit more aware of what Gregory is trying to pull but it's clear he's tensing up. [UNSTABLE] LOOK AT HIM. THE GLEAM IN HIS WRINKLED OLD EYES. [UNSTABLE] NICOLE, YOU'RE BEING MINDGAMED BY THIS SHITTY OLD MAN!"Off my meds? Excuse me, Kiara, you found a random security system in a barricaded room. Is that 'normal'?"This seems to be enough to convince Kiara for now. "Yeah, that was weird. Why would they block off the system they used? It wouldn't make sense." "Perhaps whatever blocked it simply fell due to a number of circumstances. It's not impossible." Gregory's smile grows wider. "As for the anomaly, it was an unaccounted variable. That's why I was shocked to see it."Maruyama clearly doesn't buy this. "We have records of an associate of a Krakatoa mentioning the anomaly to said Krakatoa. How is it possible for you NOT to know of this?" "My family is far, far bigger than you would know about. I am not obligated to know every single detail about every little event the family is associated with, am I?" Gregory refuses to budge, only offering a smile that's slowly getting wider by the second. "You clearly have some personal attachment to this place. Why? I mean, I like being able to take pictures of it, but why?" Kiara interjects. "My family worked here. I will admit that much." Gregory dismissively responds. "I wanted to find any old stories about them and the people they worked with."You're getting nowhere with this. While he's busy rambling in an attempt to avoid the question, you pull out the unmarked vial and quickly chug the yellow liquid inside before anyone can notice. It's thick and mushy and burns when it goes down your throat. Your brain twists and unfurls on itself as whatever you drank works its magic on you. Fuck, you taste iron in your mouth. You keep on a poker face while you resist the urge to vomit it up. >-1 FLESH, -1 MAX FLESH UNTIL YOU REST.Suddenly, you begin to hear chattering coming from his head again. It's louder, clearer, more focused than your previous mind reading. Yet it hurts your brain to keep up.>-1 RESTRAINT, -1 MAX RESTRAINT UNTIL YOU REST>Your powers have been upgraded temporarily!<"Why is she asking me all of these questions? How much does she know?"><"She knows about Audrey. Shit, shit. She has to know I bought that damn thing after firing that punk."><"The fire I set was supposed to kill it! I tried my best to evacuate everyone but there was no time! I had to do something!"><"I was a god damn star! I slept with whoever I want, I filmed whatever I want! Yet that DAMN anomaly ruined it. This incident was a god damn smear on my record!"><"Turns out family favors run dry when you somehow manifest an anomaly? I didn't do anything! Or..did I? Am I responsible somehow?">
<"I guess I always knew that thing was still alive. Why else did I keep coming back? Why else did I keep the two security systems maintained?"><"...I suppose it's only right I'm made to confront it after what I- Why is she staring at me like that?"> You're almost shocked at how easily you can just read him now. It's like he's an open book. You turn your gaze away after that last line. Wouldn't want him to assume too much. "...We're going back to the apartments. We'll search it for anything of value." You sigh after processing what you just heard. It wasn't simply nostalgia that kept bringing him back, huh? It doesn't take a genius to realize who 'Liam Bean' is with what his inner monologue was on about.Gregory is way too happy to accept the sudden topic shift. "Oh, excellent. It's been a while since I've seen that." <"Can she hear my thoughts? Nicole?"> You resist the urge to respond to what you're hearing."There were a buncha rooms we didn't check, yeah! Retracing your steps can always give us a lead forward!" Kiara claps her hands. "Let's get outta here!"Maruyama gets up with his briefcase in hand. He doesn't say a word.The four of you exit the theatre and make your way over to the apartments. The tense atmosphere between the four of you after the questioning isn't friendly towards small chat. Most of what you hear from everyone's mind is menial nonsense so you try your best to block it out. Soon, your party is back at the apartment. <"Nicole, you handle him. I'm not talking to him again."> "Taking VIP Room 5. See you." Maruyama quickly heads up the stairs.<"...Best to distract myself with busy work."" "Star of the City, Room 10. Be right back!" Kiara disappears up the stairs alongside Maruyama. Now it is just you and Gregory, alone at the apartment lobby. Neither of you particularly want to make a move given what you started twenty or so minutes ago. "So. There's the fourth room on the visitors and the first room on the VIP section. What do you wanna pick?" He doesn't respond. <"Does she deserve to know? Dragging some poor girl into a personal matter is beneath me but she already accepted and-"> "Gregory?" You try your best to get his attention but you can't yell much, given your sore throat. "Huh? Oh, right, I'll...take the VIP one. It's more within my comfort zone." He pauses. "You know, you're different. I hadn't have someone question me in a long, long time. I can respect that." <"She seems like the type of girl who could trick my sweet dear Max, now that I think of it.">"Alright. I'll take the other room then." You try your best to act casual as you prepare to head to the visitor's room. You'll probably have to go the Studio after this due to Gregory and Kiara's separate interest in the anomaly.Do you say or do anything with Gregory before you search your room? And what are your plans before heading to the studio, if any?
What to do with or say to Gregory? Even with your improved mind reading, you're not fully sure how he'll respond to any of these. Pick up to two.>"You know, I found a very interesting ritual circle..." Tell him about the room of Phillip Smith. He should know the consequences of his actions. >Don't tell him anything. It's best not to rile him up further. Search your room in peace.>"I know the truth, Gregory. Don't bother hiding it." While you won't tell him how exactly you got this info, honesty is the best policy. See how he reacts.>"I saved Benjamin, you know." Hopefully this gets you on his good side. He cares about whatever his granddaughter cares about, right?>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Use your improved MIND READ to figure out more of his quirks... (-1 RESTRAINT, one of his BOONS and some of his stats will be revealed.)>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "I can see why you liked this place. I keep seeing traces of what once was." Exploring this place is honestly relaxing compared to your last mission. Try to bond with him over Avalon.>Write in. What's your plan for dealing with the Studio? You're probably going there after you're done exploring everything.>No plan is the best plan. Just start heading there and see what happens from there. You can listen to what they found on the way over.>Discuss with your allies about the properties and behaviors about the anomaly. See what theories and possible plans they can make with this info.>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You know that ritual circle has something to do with the anomaly. Maybe you can fiddle with it to fuck with the anomaly? (WILLPOWER DC: 22. Pass and you'll be able to weaken or hamper the anomaly for the foreseeable future. You can only imagine how pissed it is if you fail the check.)>Wait until everyone's done investigating and discuss what you found in your rooms before doing anything. No need to rush head first after all.>Write in.UPGRADED POWER DESCRIPTIONS.>TELEKINESIS: You can now pick up large items (Around the size of a car) with the same ease as other objects. You also roll 2+WILLPOWER+VIOELNCE when throwing objects at people.>PUPPETEER: You can use your puppeteering to help allies in a snag. You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to give an ally +2d6 to any attack, VIOLENCE, or TALENT roll they make. Can only be used once per check.>MIND READ: In addition to bypassing mental barriers when mindreading, you may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally you know nothing about.Merry Christmas. Hopefully you guys had a good christmas this year. I am now going to pass the fuck out since I should've been in bed eight hours ago.
>>5874568>"I saved Benjamin, you know." Hopefully this gets you on his good side. He cares about whatever his granddaughter cares about, right?>"You know, I found a very interesting ritual circle..." Tell him about the room of Phillip Smith. He should know the consequences of his actionsBut I still want to thank him for this job once we're all done here, with how creepy and cool this abandoned movie district is. A light SEEKER OF THE CITY option post-mission>Wait until everyone's done investigating and discuss what you found in your rooms before doing anything. No need to rush head first after allAnd THEN I want to go with>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You know that ritual circle has something to do with the anomaly. Maybe you can fiddle with it to fuck with the anomaly? (WILLPOWER DC: 22. Pass and you'll be able to weaken or hamper the anomaly for the foreseeable future. You can only imagine how pissed it is if you fail the check.)Once we get the info from allies. It ties into the "show Gregory the ritual room" option. That initially puts the place in his head and ties it to that anomaly, and then our "use the circle to fuck with the anomaly" plan ties it to his desire to be rid of the fucking thing and willingly strings him along further. A sort of weird Appease/Insight work of giving him what he wantsAlternatively, forego the circle options entirely and go with SEEKER into info share into plan normally
>>5874690+1
>>5874702What do you think about this job so far? Me, I can smell the "rich and powerful old man faces the sins of his past in a literal movie KINO scene" buildup from here. Bonus if whatever is left of both his security systems records everything of his confrontation with the anomaly. I wonder how he'll react when we tell him the anomaly is deliberately targetting his security cameras. He probably already knows given his thoughts mentioned how he kept those two maintained. The Nuovo Fabric is also his, but we're not letting him know we have it. That quality loot is OURS.><"Does she deserve to know? Dragging some poor girl into a personal matter is beneath me but she already accepted and-">If we're playing out cards right, he might say fuck it and spill everything on his own. Sure our job was only to get him his footage and fuck off, but now that the anomaly is the center of things we might also be able to negotiate extra - especially with Kiara and Maruyama here. $200 is not fucking enough to deal with a robot anomaly that can phase through walls. I bet he's a TETH too. I'm not sure if we should do the negotiation before or after the anomaly faceoff.>I'll...take the VIP one. It's more within my comfort zone.>ROOM 1, VIP: "Make sure to set up the room as per her instructions. If we treat her well, she'll gift us!">She started to talk to me, to calm me down. To focus my mind into a way to rectify this situation.>She keeps talking to me. I love her so fucking much. She's a smart girl, you see. She told me I could do something to make them all pay for what they did to me. All I had to do was to carve a circle. All I would need to spill is my blood and love for her.Was bootleg Carmen here back then? Is that her room? But it doesn't make sense; she'd be as old as Gregory by now, 50 yesrs later. Must be somebody else.
>>5874568>"I saved Benjamin, you know." Hopefully this gets you on his good side. He cares about whatever his granddaughter cares about, right?>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "I can see why you liked this place. I keep seeing traces of what once was." Exploring this place is honestly relaxing compared to your last mission. Try to bond with him over Avalon.>Discuss with your allies about the properties and behaviors about the anomaly. See what theories and possible plans they can make with this info.
>>5874568>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "I can see why you liked this place. I keep seeing traces of what once was." Exploring this place is honestly relaxing compared to your last mission. Try to bond with him over Avalon.>"You know, I found a very interesting ritual circle..." Tell him about the room of Phillip Smith. He should know the consequences of his actions.>Wait until everyone's done investigating and discuss what you found in your rooms before doing anything. No need to rush head first after all.
Apologies for not closing the vote sooner. I got dragged into something by the family. I'm going with Benjamin + Ritual Circle since those won 3/4 of the votes and the circle due to that being the only one with multiple votes.Do you want to consume a BROWN VIAL to help with the check or do you wanna to go "FUCK IT WE BALL"?>CONSUME VIAL (you roll 5d8 in total)>FUCK IT WE BALL (you save a vial for later.
>>5875609>CONSUME VIAL (you roll 5d8 in total)
>>5875609>CONSUME VIAL (you roll 5d8 in total)We really need Ben to make us more of these
Eh, just to speed things up since I was already a bit late, we'll go with "consume a vial". One anon, roll 3d8. Another, roll 2d8. If you fail to get up to 22, another anon can reroll 2d8.
Rolled 7, 6 = 13 (2d8)>>5875644
Rolled 8, 3, 8 = 19 (3d8)>>5875644
>>5875652>>5875653The power of drugs wins. Writing.
"You know, I saved Benjamin." You click your tongue to make sure you still got his attention. "First job I did. Thought you should know that much." You try to gauge his reaction to this information. His face twists into a conflicted mess of emotions. "...Thank you." <"If I had a choice in the matter, she would've picked an actual MAN man."> "For doing that." <"She's happy, though. That's all that matters."> "He's a good lad." He's trying his best to seem appreciative about it."No problem. It's simply what I'm paid to do." Better than doing retail, you suppose. "Once you're done exploring your room, I have something to show you. See ya." You start to head over to ROOM 4. You hear him going up the stairs to the VIP section of the apartment as you turn your back. Just to be safe, you open the door remotely using your telekinesis before levitating a knife around there to check for any traps or other bullshit. After everything is confirmed to be safe, you step into the room. "What the?" Now this isn't something you expected. The room is shockingly well kept for a place that's been abandoned for seventy some years. The normal essentials are all there (bed, tv, fridge, closet) but it's clear someone put a LOT of money in furnishing the place. The TV is a huge wide screen, the bed has real silk covers, the fridge is an actual honest to god working fridge instead of a shitty mini one...The decorations aren't too shabby either. The carpet you're currently standing on is made out of a pure white wool. You don't even remember the last time you've seen wool in forever! It's not really in your price range at all. A variety of paintings from various artists hang on the wall. It's like someone was trying their best to make a shitty apartment 'classy'.Opening the closet reveals it is stocked to the brim with all sorts of dresses, high heels, and other high fashion accessories. Not something you would want to wear all the time but you're absolutely stealing some of those for yourself. You'll search it after checking the rest of the room.You notice that there's a small desk, similar to the one at your apartment, in the back of the room. Heading over there to get a closer look, you see there's a handful of letters left on it. You pull it over to you with your telekinesis to skim over it."TO PHILLIP"[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You flinch upon seeing that name. You can already tell this is going to be relevant."I'm sorry, okay? Look, I get you're a sweet guy. I really do. But I can-" A good chunk of the sentence is scribbled out. "Fuck, why am I writing this? He's not going to take it well.""TO PHILLIP. It's not you it's m-" Scribbled out. "TO PHILLIP. I'm already seeing someone and I can't really break up wit-" Scribbled out. "TO PHILLIP. Fuck, what can I even say?" More scribbled out words. This repeats a couple of times until..."TO PHILLIP. I can't help you. I'm sorry. I hope you have a good life back in District 24."
That last letter you read is crumpled up and stained with what you could assume is tears. Though it's been so long you can't quite confirm that's the case. Some part of you feels like these might be useful later, so you put them into your pockets. >REGRETUL LETTERS acquired. (A relationship smothered.)You do a quick sweep of the room to see what else you could find of value here (that you can actually drag out). It takes you a while to be confident that you searched the place completely. You take stock on the various knickknacks you found.LOOT FROM ROOM 4!>ACTRESS ID CARD (A young girl with a boyish face is on the card. The name is illegible. Can access certain rooms your other ID card can not.)>HIGH CLASS JEWELRY x4 (Various necklaces and rings made out of gold and silver. Worth a fortune, can easily be used as a barter resource. Can be worn in an accessory slot for +1 CHARM.)>$250 (Attached to it was a note reading "For a good girl who stays quiet -Z". Who's Z?)>PAINKILLER BOTTLE (Nearly empty, only has three doses left. Grants a +2d6 bonus to any FLESH check when consumed.)>BOTTLE OF EXPENSIVE WINE (Sharing this with someone is liable to make them love you. Improves RAPPORT of an ally by 1 permanently.)"Hallo?" You turn around to see Gregory standing in the door frame. "Are you busy? I would like to know you wanted to show me." He's rubbing his arm with an awkward look on his face. After you pocket the various goodies you got, you nod your head. "Lead the way, then." He steps away from the doorway. The two of you begin to head up the staircase leading up to Phillip's room, though he doesn't know that yet. It's probably a good idea to tell him beforehand. "You know, I found this very interesting room up here. A room with a ritual circle of all things.""Is that so? Do you know anything about the person there?" Your conversation is the only sound throughout the whole apartment. It's kinda eerie, you swear you would be hearing the others digging around their rooms. You end up in the pitch black WORKERS floor. "Well, first off, do you got a flashlight? It's dark in here." You slide on your night vision googles so you're not wandering around blind. Gregory chuckles at the mere implication of needing a flashlight. "I don't need one. My eyes can see just fine." "Is that so?" You chuckle as you head down the hallway. The laughing dies in your throat when you see how he's following you just fine, as if he could see right through the darkness. "Guess so, huh." It doesn't take long for the two of you to be outside of Phillip's room. You open the door. "This is the room of a Phillip Smith." You pinch your nose to tolerate the stench still lingering in the room before stepping inside. Gregory doesn't follow you immediately but eventually forces himself to. Regret on every inch of Gregory's face while he stares at Phillip's body.<"I just wanted him out of the studio. I didn't think he would kill himself!">
"Is that so?" He does his best to put up a good poker face but he's not even hiding his discomfort around the dead body. "Interesting c-circle." He clears his throat in a failed attempt to hide his voice cracking. "Indeed. Apparently he went mad hearing some lady's voice and killed himself to make it." You try your best to put on a cold, distant tone to your voice. "Fiddled with it, apparently it's tied to the anomaly somehow. We'll deal with it once the others are done."<"HE'S THE ONE WHO MADE IT? THAT SON OF A B- W-wait, I'm the one who got him fired so-"> Gregory's thoughts soon become a swirl of unintelligible white noise you can't make out. His expression of a dopey smile doesn't match with this at all. "...Could we possibly kill it if we mess with it?" An electric buzz laces each of the words he says. "It might be better to 'capture' it, profit wise, but that would be safer." You already know his actual reasoning for asking this. "We'll see." It might be good to string him along with this but first, information. You head back to your lobby to wait for your alliesAbout thirty minutes later, you're sitting around the lobby with all of your allies. "Alright, so what did you guys find?" It's best to get a general idea on what each of them found. "Information wise?" Maruyama is the first to answer. "Not a lot. The room was completely cleaned out. Nothing was left besides the safe and I'm pretty sure that's because it was too heavy. Hell, someone even tried blowtorching it open. I just put in the code like a normal person.""Anything valuable in there?" You question him."Mostly a lot of loose bills and some pointless novelties that I doubt even he would like." He gestures at the nearby Gregory. "Can't really tell you much else. I pocketed my fair share and HE doesn't need more, so..." He hands you and Kiara a wad of cash. >+$130."So someone already stole everything of value during the incident down here, huh?" Kiara scribbles something down onto a notepad. "My room was a lot more interesting. It belonged to a certain 'Liam Bean'?" Gregory tries his best to not react to that but you already know his secret, so it's a futile effort. "Yeah? That weird dude who magically appeared in the paperwork?" Maruyama hisses through his teeth. "What did he leave behind? That son of a bitch has been annoying me every time I saw his name in paperwork.""Well, apparently he had a map of the studio he was working at. Obviously, I snagged that. I'll show you it once we go there but the code to the back entrance's padlock is 2619." Oh shit, you can just sneak in now? "Going that way leads us directly to one of the movie sets. We could probably fiddle around and set up a nasty trap there.""Interesting." Gregory responds in an attempt to collect his thoughts. "What else?""A key to the producer's office. Apparently it belongs to an..." A sudden look of realization crosses her face. "Audrey Krakatoa?"
Gregory widens his smile even more. "How interesting. I wouldn't have expected a family member of mine to help someone outside the family." With how confidently he said that, you would think he was being honest if you didn't know the truth."And you? What did you find?" You're going to pretend he's not lying through his teeth for now. "You searched a room too.""...An old actress I used to know lived there. A Ms. Lilith Vanni. She was born to one of the families my own family was associated with. She probably got her position through this...mutual relationship her family had with Audrey." You can't detect any thoughts to the contrary in his mind, so you trust what he's saying for now."She was working with a Mr. Zayne Vanni to try getting other companies to sponsorship Avalon. E-Corp was the only one interested at the time." He places his hands on his knees and grips tightly onto them. "They were the ones who managed to ship the robot here.""So, one of the reasons the anomaly is here." Kiara hums quietly. "Did you find a manual or anything? Even if the anomaly is only partially based on the robot now, maybe there's a shutdown phrase or something?""Nothing like that sadly. It does say that a minor quirk of the robot is the specialty material of its lenses is VERY vulnerable to intense light. You would have to set the light a lot dimmer when filming with it." Great, some useful advice on how to actually handle that damn thing outside of your gut instincts."The only other thing I found is part of an old movie script." He hands the manuscript over to you. Interesting.>+UNFINISHED MANUNSCRIPT ("Written by Audrey Krakatoa. Directed by Liam Bean." Maybe the anomaly will find interest in it?"Well, you got some useful keycards, a passcode to sneak in through the back, and a weakness of the anomaly. "Well, Gregory, come with me. You guys wait here." You start heading up back to Phillip's room with Gregory hot on your trail.Back inside Phillip's room, you quickly guzzle down a brown vial before throwing the empty glass onto the ground. You can almost hear Gregory drooling at the prospect of doing SOMETHING to it without having to get his hands dirty. You pull out BEYOND LOVE AND HATE and without any hesitation, you stab it into the ritual circle.>31!Your vision goes black and a familiar voice begins to whisper in your head. That not quite feminine or masculine voice from before. "What are you doing?" It hisses with a mixture of venom and confusion. "He found his place in the City. He finally understood what he had to do.""Why are you taking that away from him?" The venom vanishes, leaving only behind concern and confusion. "I do not understand you, Nicole, even if I love you.""I hope you're making the right choice here." Soon, the voice leaves you. For a moment, you thought you saw the anomaly in the studio. It flickers in and out of reality, as if its connection to this world is being hampered. Then it all goes dark.
"Nicole? Nicole!" ...You wake up to see Gregory standing over you. He grabs your arms and with an unsettling amount of ease, he pulls you back to your feat. You didn't expect those twig arms to be remotely strong but wow. You turn to look at the ritual circle. A massive gash that's way too big for your knife to make is scratched right through the middle of the circle. An odd green smoke is leaking out of the ritual circle. If you had to guess, it's whatever is powering the ritual circle in question. [ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Almost imperceptibly, the gash is trying to heal itself shut. It'll take a long time for it to heal, if at all.You rip the BEYOND HATE AND LOVE outside of the ritual circle before turning to look at Gregory. His mouth is stretched into an ear to ear smile. "Well, well, well. I didn't expect that out of you. A PARADIGM of all things, huh?" He knows about those? Interesting. "That little stunt you pulled has gotten my attention. Let's see what else you can do, partner." <"I can't kill that thing by myself. But if she's on my side? I can finally fix this."> Hook, line, and sinker. Seems like he's a lot more invested in your survival now.>RAPPORT WITH GREGORY HAS IMPROVED! You got some valuable information, hampered the anomaly through damaging the circle, and Gregory is now on your side. What do you want to do now? >[SEEKER OF THE CITY] We should try sneaking through the studio back entrance while the anomaly is recovering. (You might be able to set some traps or find a way to ambush the anomaly.)>You feel like you should try your luck with negotiating something with him. (FREE ACTION, write in what you want to negotiate out of him. The more you ask out of him, the higher the resulting CHARM check.)>[UNSTABLE] You don't know how long that thing is going to stay down. Get everyone to rush over to the studio NOW. You have to find it. To kill it. (Very liable to start an encounter but Gregory will probably pay you extra for cutting to the chase.)>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You don't want to go to the studio just yet. You think you should try getting Gregory to spill the beans to the others. (CHARM DC: 20 (-6 from what you just did), rolling 7d6 with help of your allies. On a success, he'll finally crack, spilling as much information as he can. On failure, you're probably just going to rattle and mess him up, hampering how useful he is.)>[AERIAL DRONE] Get the map from Kiara and use your drone's last charge to scout out the Studio. You need all the info you can get. (-AERIAL DRONE's last charge, you'll get some useful starting points on where to search for valuables and info, and where to avoid the anomaly.)>Just go to the studio and enter through the front. The anomaly is probably all sorts of fucked up, you can take it slow and steady.>Write in.
>>5875759>>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] We should try sneaking through the studio back entrance while the anomaly is recovering. (You might be able to set some traps or find a way to ambush the anomaly.)>>You feel like you should try your luck with negotiating something with him. (FREE ACTION, write in what you want to negotiate out of him. The more you ask out of him, the higher the resulting CHARM check.)I think we've gotten ourselves set up pretty well, no need to rush into things too hastily. But its time we started getting a plan into action. And get paid, we have a bit of an upper hand on negotiations since he doesn't know how much we know yet. Lets try and get some extra cash out of this guy, or maybe some contacts that can get us better equipment after this.
>>5875759>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You don't want to go to the studio just yet. You think you should try getting Gregory to spill the beans to the others. (CHARM DC: 20 (-6 from what you just did), rolling 7d6 with help of your allies. On a success, he'll finally crack, spilling as much information as he can. On failure, you're probably just going to rattle and mess him up, hampering how useful he is.)
>>5875759>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You don't want to go to the studio just yet. You think you should try getting Gregory to spill the beans to the others. (CHARM DC: 20 (-6 from what you just did), rolling 7d6 with help of your allies. On a success, he'll finally crack, spilling as much information as he can. On failure, you're probably just going to rattle and mess him up, hampering how useful he is.)The truth will out, as Shakespeare said
Let's see>>5875748>well keptWe know Gregory comes to this location often due to his past, and he maintains both security systems we found. When the fuck did this bitch ever come here enough to maintain her own room? And does Gregory know?>>5875752>ACTRESS ID CARDWe have this and Phillip's keycard for access purposes too. Problem is do we ever need to use either if we have Gregory himself with us and he has full access to the entire place already? Could we use these against the anomaly as evidence in a confrontation? Or do we simply give them to Gregory afterward as mementos, since we will have no further use for them once the mission ends? Or keep them as Nicole's own mementos?>he could see right through the darknessHe's turbo-augmented in there, let's not forget>>5875754>someone even tried blowtorching it openThat shouldn't be Gregory. Who?>That son of a bitch has been annoying me every time I saw his name in paperworkI wonder how Maruyama will react once he realizes Gregory IS Liam Bean>Mr. Zayne VanniWe know from >>5875752:>"For a good girl who stays quiet -Z"They're both Vannis. Why would this Zayne want to suppress his sister or cousin from talking with his bribe money? And about what? Phillip's role in things? This is a definite loose end here...>specialty material of its lenses is VERY vulnerable to intense light.It's obvious what we must do. Let's have Gregory face the anomaly head on, and we use the big stage lighting to shine the spotlights on the robot to help kill it. Let's record it all too, for posterity and KINO footage.>set the light a lot dimmer when filming with itWell shit>UNFINISHED MANUNSCRIPTChecking the Producer's Office where Audrey worked should give us more combined with this piece>a familiar voice begins to whisper in your headFUCK OFF CARMENFUCK OFF CARMENFUCK OFF CARMENFUCK OFF CARMENFUCK OFF CARMEN>>5875759>those twig arms to be remotely strongHe's Senator Armstrong level augmented at least>the gash is trying to heal itself shutFUCK OFF CARMEN>BEYOND HATE AND LOVEI'm g
