>>5885101
>This is definitely one of ours. Thanks for the heads up, we’ll take it from here

Köhler nods and thanks you for doing this. He has a solemn respect for you in his eyes- from his perspective, you’re a hero, a normal human who put himself between the normal citizenry and these divine freaks. His respect for you is evident. You don’t have the heart to tell him that you signed up for the money. Not that you need it anymore, since, no matter how much cash you threw at it, the cancer still took your father.

You drive back to the base to brief Chen on the new case. When you enter the training area with the file in your hand, her eyes widen in surprise.

“Already, sir?”

You shrug and say, “Those Greeks came up with way too many gods. It’s like they were trying to work me to death.”

Seemingly noticing you passing the files to Chen, Rosa stops her training: it looks like she’s been practicing flight in confined spaces, and glides down next to Chen.

“Do we have a case?” she asks, with a hint of excitement in her voice, reaching for the case file.

“WE don’t have anything. You’re not ready,” she says, snatching the brown folder, and its contents, away from Rosa’s reach.

“Sir,” Rosa says, turning to you, “I came here to fight back against criminal incarnations. I came here to work with you, not sit around in a basement and balance a book on my head like a 15th century noblewoman. Sir.”

“She hasn’t even started her combat training, sir. We can’t take that risk.”

On the one hand, if the suspect has the type of powers you think she does, Rosa would probably be a massive help in fighting them off. On the other, Chen does make a good point: there’s no sense in sending out kids to fight murderers in the first place, but the least you can do is teach them some self defense first. What should you do?

>Side with Rosa
>Side with Chen

>>5885102
>>Side with Chen
Rosa, do you really want to risk hurting innocent bystanders by mistake again? You gotta learn to walk before you run.

Also, if anyone is interested in filling it out, I made a form to gauge the popularity of various characters in the quest, it's mostly just to satisfy my personal curiosity, but if the results are wildly against my expectations it could convince me to reroute my plan for future events a bit

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19AVLJyIZgjl8kHp0Y3WkOLnN1tjJSC1UWYCOgKe8tdE

>>5885102
>Side with Chen
You have to learn to GIT GUD

>>5885102
>Side with Rosa
We're a wild card who doesn't play by the rules

>>5885113
>>5885178
>>5885186

>Side with Chen

“Chen’s right, kid. You’re not ready.”

“But sir, even without the training, I know I can fight. The system gives me corrections, I’m definitely stronger than any mortal cop, and I’m pretty sure I could even take you. Sir.”

“Even if that were true, you’re missing the point, kid. The training isn’t just to protect you from the world, it’s to protect the world from you. Remember what happened with Morpheus? If you can’t restrain yourself properly, and if you can’t fight without relying on your powers, you’ll overuse them and everything will go to shit. Again.”

She looks at her feet and doesn’t respond.

“You’ll get to help us on a case soon, kid. Just not yet.”

She nods. You tell Chen to read up on the case files while you begin teaching her the basics of fighting: how to make a fist, how to assume a proper stance, and how to apply her balance training in a fight. Again, she’s a natural, but there’s only so much you can do in a few hours. You suspect that Chen is doing some more of the footwork while you train with Rosa, both to save you some trouble and give her some time to learn.

Once you wrap things up, you tell her the nature of her next training: berserk management. Essentially, she’ll have to use her authority without allowing her anger to escalate. She gives it a shot, but she spirals out of control quickly. You think to yourself that you finally found something she isn’t gifted at.

You reconvene with Chen. She already has a few leads, but she isn’t entirely sure what your next step should be. What should you investigate first?

>Radical environmental activist groups
>The companies the victims belonged to. Maybe there’s a common thread?
>It’s possible that the criminal was using the other killings as a cover to hide their true target and motive
>This reeks of corporate espionage. Maybe I should investigate some competitors
>Write-in

>>5885242
>The companies the victims belonged to. Maybe there’s a common thread?
The ecoterrorism angle might be a smokescreen? Just because the perp has plant-based superpowers doesn't mean they are killing these rich influential people over that. An incarnation's myth doesn't dictate their own actions completely; it is up to them to decide how to play things out in this twisted game.

As for Rosa, it makes sense that her authority's anger part keeps reasserting itself. It isn't her own power as a living being, but one lent to her in this game by the system within the gestalt of whatever her myth is as an incarnation. The only way might be to level the authority up to give it more control by default. That involves her gaining influence exp, but how can we do that for her safely without causing undue damage or chaos? We'd need her to tell us everything she has from her golden system character sheet, and go from there

>>5885242
>>Radical environmental activist groups
God damn hippies

>>5885242
>>Radical environmental activist groups
I HATE HIPPIES

>>5885242
>Radical environmental activist groups

>>5885242
>The companies the victims belonged to. Maybe there’s a common thread?

>>5885101
binged the first thread in its entirety today

>>5885242
>>Radical environmental activist groups
We get the sentiment, but fuck off, klimakleber
At least this one did something that could actually invoke change and went after some top shelf people

>>5885261
>>5885309
>>5885405
>>5885472
>>5885539
>>5885580

>Radical environmental activist groups

You remind yourself of the way the system grants people these <Myths>: by synchronization rate. In other words, a tree hugging hippie is a lot more likely to get some kind of plant-adjacent god or spirit than a cutthroat executive would be.

“We’ll be looking into the green freaks this time around. In the past, they knew that they stood no chance of effecting real change through violence. Now? One of them might fancy themselves a revenant who can defend and avenge nature.”

“Like a murderous Lorax?”

“Yeah, just like that.”

“Still, aren’t these kinds of groups not exactly cooperative with law enforcement? Especially since the members of any one of these gangs would more likely than not agree with everything our serial killer is doing, it’ll probably be difficult to get anything out of them.”

She makes a valid point. The organization you’re investigating, ‘Defenders of the Natural Earth’ has a history of making problems for your side of the law. Even back when they were gluing themselves to trees like a bunch of morons, they were still more than willing to dip into illegal activity. Now, when they finally have someone getting shit done- hell, maybe they’re even cooperating with them actively- there’s no way they’d willingly turn them over to you.

You could really use a smoke. Now that you can’t get sick anymore, you guess your dad would probably take back his request. He’d say something like, “You lucky bastard! Guess that supercop garbage really did have perks. And here I thought you were doing that for me!”

Then again, a promise is a promise.

You snap out of your musings and refocus on the case. There are a number of ways to get at these losers without tipping our hand. What should you do?

>Have Chen infiltrate the organization as a member and gain information from the inside
>Investigate them under false pretexts. You do have a much longer rope for technically illegal stuff than you did as a normal detective, after all
>Classic stakeout. Pick a target and watch them from a distance
>Make an arrest on a member with wavering commitment and only drop the charges on the condition that they spy for us
>Write-in

>>5885601
>Classic stakeout. Pick a target and watch them from a distance

Chen can literally look through walls with impossible detail.

>>5885601
>>5885603
+1

>>5885601
>Classic stakeout. Pick a target and watch them from a distance
Chen OP

>>5885603
+1

>>5885601
>>5885603
+1. EZ choice.

Also maybe Braun should pick up some beef jerky or lollipops. Something to chew on. Maybe even just some toothpicks. Apparently that can help some smokers trying to quit/stay dry.

one of the unaddressed issues of last thread: the guy who wants to find out Atë's name and location
I have only skimmed the posts of anons as I caught up to the this thread, so I don't know if others have posted suggestions
We already know of the boar kid going on a rampage when someone attempts to alter their mind. It stands to reason that others get notified too in some way who will realize that the online personas we have are incarnations.
I suggest we set up a honeypot to trap them

>>5885603
>>5885605
>>5885620
>>5885622
>>5885630
>Classic stakeout. Pick a target and watch them from a distance

Since the organization has caused issues in the past, you have reasonably detailed records on their core members and meeting places, most of which are in or around Leipzig. You decide to start your stakeout in front of their primary point of congregation: a building that was once a small printing house that had since been bought and somewhat renovated by one of the members, Jan Bauer, who came into a significant inheritance after his wealthy parents died in a car accident. Jan is a core member, but despite bankrolling most of the operation, he isn't the leader. That distinction goes to Emma Krause, a young professor of environmental sciences at the University of Leipzig.

You and Chen dress in civilian attire and sit in coffee shop across from the building in question. Chen gets one of those massive, elaborate drinks that are only about as much coffee as homeopathic remedies are their respective medicines, while you settle for a black tea. You never did like coffee.

"Don't you usually take your coffee black?"

Chen shrugs, "If I want black coffee, I have a machine full of that at home. When in Rome, right?"

Fair enough, you suppose.

You take your seats inside, and position yourself in such a way that you sit between Chen and the Defenders' hangout spot. You also exchange canned conversation so as not to come off as suspicious to passersby.

"Anything interesting at work?"

You ask. The words are a code, of course, asking about the conversations inside.

"Some of my coworkers were chatting about the news," she replies. The victims have been mentioned.

You cock an eyebrow, "Oh, did they have an opinion about it?"

She shakes her head, "Not sure. They've been vague. Besides, I still have some trouble reading the room."


So they haven't said anything incriminating, but her lip reading still isn't good enough to catch the entire conversation.

"Do they seem informed?"

"A little. But they're definitely happy about it."

You take another sip of your tea.

"I heard you had a party at work last week. Was everyone invited?"

She shakes her head, "Not everyone. You know how cliquey the office can be."

In other words, she suspects that this organization is at least related to the murders, but that any involvement is only known by the core members.

Chen continues monitoring the conversation, but nothing else related to your case comes up.

You've probably gained all the intel you can just by watching the larger meetings. How should you proceed?

>Flip one of the unawares by threatening to charge them with conspiracy to commit murder
>Tail one of the core members and monitor for incriminating details
>Arrest one of the core leaders and use some enhanced interrogation techniques to extract information
>Write-in

>>5886466

>Tail one of the core members and monitor for incriminating details

No need to tip our hand yet, once we make a move they'll lock down and wall up hard, or worse get lawyers involved.

---

Man, I bet Atë and Pheme could live cushy lives consulting for the government. Makes me wonder if pretending to go straight and work the government as an agent, only to backstab them from the inside eventually would be a good move. We could get government resources and protection while hunting other Incarnations, and get a shopping list of targets to assassinate later.

>>5886466
>Arrest one of the core leaders and use some enhanced interrogation techniques to extract information
I always enhance my interrogation techniques

I'll wait until morning for a tiebreaker. If there isn't one by then, I'll just roll for it

>>5886487
+1

>>5886487
>>5886505
>>5886718

>Tail one of the core members and monitor for incriminating details

You subtly inform Chen of your idea, and she affirms it. You imagine that this is the idea she would have come up with as well.

However, the question remains. Who should you tail? There are multiple core members, after all.

>Emma, the leader
>Jan, the piggy bank
>Aisha, the financier
>Elias, the scribe and social media rep
>Levi, the protest organizer

>>5886789
>>Levi, the protest organizer
Knowing when people are ready to do shit usually means knowing what they do by happenstance. And being someone who actually gets shit organized and done means they're most likely to have dirty hands.

>>5886789
>>Jan, the piggy bank
I yearn to hear the piggy squeal

>>5886789
>Levi, the protest organizer

>>5886820
+1

>>5886789
>Emma, the leader

>>5886487
>Man, I bet Atë and Pheme could live cushy lives consulting for the government

Just saw this and while it does sound cool to try, they'd probably be pretty suspicious of an incarnation of ruin and folly. Also if we run into any members of our pantheon they have on payroll we're boned.

>>5887169
we just need to find one fitting incarnation and claim to be them
we have pandora, and can say we already gain passive divinity from all the hell that was unleashed simply from incarnations being a thing
I don't want to go down that route.
I binged the first thread on monday and I'm gonna do it again while writing a sort of todo-list of things I want to try or I saw other anons pointing out we haven't tried yet

>>5887187
>we have pandora, and can say we already gain passive divinity from all the hell that was unleashed simply from incarnations being a thing
?

>>5887169
They're employing a Fury of Vengeance. And we don't have to be honest, we could say we're the Calydon Boar, and we picked up some of our other abilities by fending off other incarnations. Touch of Madness and Whispers could be abilities we keep hidden...

Of course Divine Tutor might out us.

>>5887190
my bad, we have a relic pithos of pandora
point I was trying to make is that we can claim to be someone else
then again, information warfare's a bitch

>>5887203
>>5887205
I just think between Tutor, other abilities, shop items we might not have seen yet, pantheon members, it's very risky.

>>5886820
>>5886837
>>5886933
>>5887050
>>5887166

>Levi, the protest organizer

You decide that your best bet for finding whatever radical actor is engaging in these killings is the person who’s been responsible for orchestrating the Defenders’ stunts in the past, regardless of (and on several occasions in spite of) the law. As you and Chen get back in the car, you tell her who you’ve decided to investigate, and she agrees.

You follow Levi for a while, taking care to not be too conspicuous in your tailing. By the time he’s made it back to his apartment, he still doesn’t seem to have noticed him. You and Chen sit in the car, parked in a location from which you couldn’t possibly watch Levi using natural means. You decide to check in on Rosa while Chen watches for anything suspicious.

>How is the training going?

>good! i was able to activate berserk for like twenty minutes

>Impressive. Did you cut it out on your own or did you break something first?

>i uh
>maybe put a little hole in the wall

>That’s fine, those sorts of things are covered.

>ok cool
>sorry about that

It’s a good thing your task force has so much leeway from the government. Least they could do, you suppose, since you’re basically a suicide squad.

You decide to check in on the surveillance.

“Anything suspicious?”

“No sir, he’s just playing video games with his little sister. Smash Bros, it looks like. The new one.”

“Keep me posted if anything noteworthy happens.”

“Yes, sir.”
You’ll have a lot of time to kill while you wait. What should you do?

>Coach Rosa over a video call
>Practice precise control of <Fires of Wrath>
>Look into the Defenders
>Look into Levi
>Look into the victims
>Write-in

>>5887218
>>Look into the Defenders

>>5887218
can Braun simply buy a Diviner in the shop?

>>5887223
He certainly could. That being said, it won't give any information about the incarnation's human identity if activated

>>5887218
>Practice precise control of <Fires of Wrath>

Weapon is no good if you don't have the confidence to use it.

>>5887218
>Practice precise control of <Fires of Wrath>
Light cigarettes and then throw them away unsmoked
It will also train self control

>>5887221
>>5887251
>>5887320

>Practice precise control of <Fires of Wrath>

You create a small flame. You notice that, though still blue, your fire is much less so, almost gray or silver in comparison to the bright cyan blaze you’ve seen from Rosa. You can manipulate its size and, to some extent, its shape. You try making two sparks and controlling them independently, which is possible for you but puts considerable strain on your concentration.

About an hour passes with you running various exercises with the small flame: sculpting it into distinct forms, partial movement, and sudden shifts and stops. You can tell that your proficiency with the skill has increased significantly. While you’re trying to mimic flight with a crude bird you’ve fashioned from the fire, Chen speaks, breaking your focus.

“They’re discussing the victims, sir.”

“Is Levi on the phone?”

“No sir. Him and his sister.”

Your eyes widen. “How old was she, again?”

“Sixteen, sir.”

“Christ.”

“It gets worse, sir. From the way they’re talking… I think she’s the incarnation. The murderer, sir.”

Looks like you don’t have the only child soldier in town.

In all seriousness, this complicates things. It’s impossible to tell if the kid is a true believer or is just acting to impress her older brother. More to the point, regardless of her intentions, the people she’s killed have been too high profile for the government to let you do what you did with Rosa. And that’s assuming you can survive at all. What should be done?

>Wait until Levi leaves home and then attack
>Take Levi as a hostage and use him to capture the killer
>Arrest Levi and keep close watch of the girl. Only act if it looks like she’ll kill again
>If I can find a good position, I can probably take the girl out through the apartment window
>I should call in backup. Either cops or social services
>Write-in

>>5887452
>Take Levi as a hostage and use him to capture the killer
Everyone lives! Unless she resists

While there isn't a tie, I generally like to wait until there's more than one vote before I decide things. If there aren't more votes by morning, I'll just update tomorrow anyway

>>5887452
>>Take Levi as a hostage and use him to capture the killer
I will vote so that we can keep schmooving

>>5887481
>>5887452

Supportin! Arrest big sis and use her to goad little sis into a disadvantageous location (with a lot of concrete and very little soil)

>>5887481
>>5887782
>>5887796

>Take Levi as a hostage and use him to capture the killer

You decide that the plan with the best odds of neutralizing the situation nonlethally is to take a page out of the criminal handbook and take a hostage. You explain your idea to Chen and, though you can tell she wants to object, she recognizes that your plan is the only practical solution that doesn’t involve killing a kid.

You stake the apartment out until Levi leaves for groceries, at which time you intercept his exit and apprehend him. He tries to flee, but you react faster, tackling him to the ground and pinning him as you put the cuffs on him. He curses at you and Chen, accusing you of being an accomplice to the murder of the planet once you tell him of his charges. You prop him up to his feet, and he seems confused as you start to take him towards his apartment instead of away from it. As he tries to figure the situation out, he doesn’t even notice when you plant the barrel of your pistol on his back.

“Wh-what are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to like, take me in?”

“You’re just an accomplice. What we want is the killer.”

His eyes widen as he realizes your intentions.

“No. NononononoNO!” He screams and thrashes, attempting to escape your grip. However, especially considering your newly enhanced body and his small, wiry frame, he never had a chance of escaping.

You have Chen pat him down for his keys while you email the names of the suspects to yourself should this whole thing go south.

You unlock the door. You pulled the birth certificate for Levi’s sister, so you know her name.

“Annika Wagner. It’s the police. We’re just here to talk.”

The girl walks towards the doorway from the kitchen. She’s small, stunted, almost, and takes after her brother’s slight frame. She’s dressed warmly, wearing a thick, woolen sweater and stocky gray sweatpants over her pale, bony figure. As she turns her gaze to you, her eyes widen when she sees you have her brother in handcuffs. The gun is obscured from her vision. She speaks, projecting a confidence that she clearly doesn’t have.

“What is this about?”

>>5888297
“We’re investigating a string of murders we suspect to be serial killings by one of those supernatural guys you might have seen on the news. Incarnations, they call themselves.”

You can see her begin to sweat, “A-and, what does that have to do with us?”

“The game’s up, Annika. We know it’s you. Please don’t resist.”

Her face springs into full blown panic as a wooden spike emerges from beneath her wrist.

“A-and what are you gonna do about it, huh? You’re just cops. I’m a GOD.”

“We’re incarnations too,” Chen interjects, “and our job is to protect normal people from the monsters.”

“We know you think you’re doing the right thing, and maybe you are. But right now, you’re a threat. We can’t let that pass.”

“I “THINK” I’M DOING THE RIGHT THING? I AM DOING THE RIGHT THING. CAN’T YOU HEAR IT? CAN’T YOU HEAR THE FOREST SCREAM?!”

Bark begins to creep out from under her clothes, wrapping around her skin like armor.

“Don’t do anything stupid. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Her eyes turn from your face to her brother’s.

“You bastard! Aren’t you supposed to be the good guys?”

“If I were a bad guy,” you retort, “I wouldn’t have bothered with the hostage. I would have shot you dead. Both of you.”

“This isn’t America. You don’t even HAVE guns.”

“Most cops don’t,” you reveal the gun you’d been pointing to Levi’s back, “but these ones do. Don’t resist.”

She freezes.

“You… you’re monsters.”

“Maybe,” you reply, “but what about you? Aren’t you a killer, too?”

“Have you read the Defenders’ Manifesto?” she suddenly asks.

“I have,” you reply, “For a radical environmentalist group, their demands were shockingly reasonable.”

“Then why? Why are you stopping us? We’re not asking for law enforced veganism, or even an end to all manufacturing. We just want basic respect for nature. To not flood our rivers and seas and air with chemical garbage, to not turn our own home into a wasteland. Do you know what the number one cause of deforestation is? They needed ranching space for cows. Not because they needed the wood for homes or heat or tools, but because they wanted to make money. The reward to the common folk? Twenty percent off beef. Is that really worth it? Worth all of that death and destruction?”

You shrug, “Listen kid, I don’t make the rules here. We have laws, and you broke them. Wanna change the rules? Vote. You don’t get to play judge, jury, and executioner.”

“Voting doesn’t work,” she says, the energy seemingly sucked out of her, “Activism doesn’t work. Nothing works. Except this.”

“Seems like this doesn’t work either.”

>>5888300
Defeated, she slumps to the floor. Chen walks up to her and, as a safety precaution, knocks her unconscious.

“Sir,” Chen asks, as she takes Annika up.

“What is it?”

“I think she’s paralyzed.”

“What?”

She pulls up her sweater. Tendrils of wood and root trail down her flesh like veins.

“Looks like she’s been using an authority to move.”

You turn to Levi, and he begins to explain. Apparently, his family used to live in a small town downriver to a chemical plant. The same one that one of the victims hailed from. While her mother was pregnant with her, the town’s water became contaminated. This, according to the doctors, was the cause of Annika’s deformity.

You think to yourself that, despite being an agent of the law, justice and legality are often very different.

>Congratulations! You have subjugated a higher level incarnation! Granting appropriate influence from your <Directive>.

Influence: 154->294/400

Level: 2->3

You’ve gained considerable influence for apprehending Annika, but the situation is far from resolved. You keep her in a holding cell contained in your task force’s building, specially designed to hold individuals with supernatural strength, but it will be difficult to keep her there forever. Ultimately, her fate lies in the hands of your superiors, but they will more likely than not defer to your opinion. What should be done?

>Execution
>Give her the opportunity to renounce her abilities. Execute her if she refuses.
>Keep her incarcerated here
>There’s an incarnation working with the Austrian government with the ability to wipe memories. We’ll call for her help
>We’ll attempt to re-educate her the old-fashioned way
>Write-in

>>5888303

> Shit's fucked boss, you make the call. I'm getting drunk so I can keep pretending the system is worth defending.

>>5888303
>Keep her incarcerated here
I think there's some legal precedent for some weird bullshit involving aggrieved parties, and she would technically be one. However that wouldn't extend to the various uninvolved parties she's killed. Put on top of that she can "hear" nature in pain or whatever means that reeducation is effectively impossible. And if someone else were to pick up her aspect they'd probably also start to hear plants screaming and shit it would lead to another radical maniac popping up. So killing her and freeing the thing to go wherever is a bad idea.

Sucks for her, but it's time out box forever. Wish she could be reformed. Nature-related incarnates can probably do a lot of good for the world, too bad she got stuck with a vengeful bent.

>>5888314
+1; I want to show leniency and let Levi visit her too
I think she's doing the right thing. Problem is the law isn't necessarily "right" in life.

>>5888313
>>5888314
>>5888345

>Keep her incarcerated here

You advocate for her long term incarceration to your supervisor. Talking to him is always uncomfortable; due to the morally dubious nature of your entire operation, your high-profile boss generally doesn’t want to be associated with you, and, should it come to that, wants to be able to cut all ties to the project should it become necessary or politically expedient.

Your boss suggests making use of Lethe- the Austrians do owe you a favor, after all, but you respectfully disagree, arguing that the powers Annika holds are inherently radicalizing, and that you’d rather deal with the demon you know than the demon you don’t. He leaves it to you, but reminds you that, should Annika escape, you will be held accountable.

This case has proved just how valuable Chen’s new powers are for the purposes of gathering information. Essentially, she bypasses not only the need for informants, but also wiretaps and even most warrants. It’s a little terrifying in theory, but, you think to yourself, if you’d trust anyone in the world with a power like that, it’d be Chen.

Regardless, your superiors are very happy with your recent performance and are eager to reward your successes. What should you ask for?

>Better facilities
>Better weaponry
>More manpower
>Pay raises
>Write-in

And what should you do with your on the clock downtime?

>Talk to Annika
>Train with Rosa
>Spar with Chen
>Look into other cases
>Spend your influence
>Write-in

>>5888358
>>More manpower
>>Talk to Annika

>>5888358
>should Annika escape, you will be held accountable.
What a dipshit. Would he be held accountable if his idea didn't pan out and she fell back into murder? Of course not. Fucking bureaucrats.

>More manpower
More important right now is to be able to cast a wide net to intercept the most fish, so to speak. A handful of people just asking everyone else about weird stuff happening won't cut it.

>Train with Rosa
>Spar with Chen
Time spent not on cases but still on payroll should be spent doing stuff that helps with the job. So one of these, please. Or both if we can squeeze it.

>>5888367
+1, but get her brother to visit often for her own mental health

>>5888367
>>5888370
>>5888380

>More manpower

You decide that your primary priority is to get more people for your operations. Given your current numbers, it’s essentially impossible to do multiple things at once with any degree of safety. Your superiors give you a couple of options:

>A tech expert and former white hat hacker who’s lent considerable aid to the police multiple times in the past. Currently in dire need of money and therefore willing to join your risky operation
>A small handful of seasoned detectives who agree with your mission
>A team of a dozen or so current beat cops and military men
>An incarnation who recently approached the police, claiming to have deified very recently and offered to work with the government
>A mercenary currently residing alongside many other non-government incarnations in Switzerland. Can be called in for fights, but won’t help much regardless

>Talk to Annika

You also decide to check in on Annika. Her room is padded, but the exterior is reinforced with several layers of metal: stainless steel, lead, titanium, and then steel again. The cell is also outfitted with a hatch for food delivery, a bathroom designed to make suicide difficult, a bed, and a television screen. Of course, every square inch of the room, including the bathroom, is under 24/7 camera surveillance.

You input your access code and enter her room, prepared to fight if it comes to it. You could have spoken to her over the intercom, but you prefer to talk face to face.

She looks at you, visibly depressed. You seem to have convinced her that the world is unfixable and her life’s mission was doomed from the start.

“What do you want?” she asks.

>You said the forest was screaming. What did you mean by that?
>Is there anything I can do to make things more comfortable?
>Would you like to see your brother?
>Tell me about your <Incarnation Status>
>Would you like to give up your <Divinity>? If you do, maybe we can set you free.
>Write-in

I personally think the world is fixable, it's just that the people at the top need to screw themselves over, or somebody we cannot possibly impede in any way does all the dirty law-breaking justice for us. With us being all Lawful Good as we are, powers of a god or not, we cannot do it ourselves. We hate the system for protecting those ruining the world, but we have to work within it for what good it does have and do for the people. Annika's nature powers mean she needs to stay alive to be able to help fix things later. We still need a planet to live on and nature to live with, and humans are a part of this planet and nature too. Being Lawful Good sucks when the law itself is warped as it is.

I hate this situation because of how real it is. But even in real life, all of us are powerless to save the world aren't we?

>>5888395
>>A tech expert and former white hat hacker who’s lent considerable aid to the police multiple times in the past. Currently in dire need of money and therefore willing to join your risky operation
The only place Chen can't see. And he can probably check on stuff on the other side of the country so we can get clues when we are indisposed or displaced.

>You said the forest was screaming. What did you mean by that?
>Would you like to see your brother?
We probably can't get him visiting hours but we might be able to let them talk. Maybe over a short distance like internal land lines or something. Have to be careful, but it's better than nothing?

>>5888395
>An incarnation who recently approached the police, claiming to have deified very recently and offered to work with the government
> hoping this will be ate
>You said the forest was screaming. What did you mean by that?
>Is there anything I can do to make things more comfortable?
>Would you like to see your brother?
>Tell me about your <Incarnation Status>

>>5888483
>wanting to kill Braun and co. this quickly
bruh

>>5888472
+1

>>5888395
>A tech expert and former white hat hacker who’s lent considerable aid to the police multiple times in the past. Currently in dire need of money and therefore willing to join your risky operation

>Is there anything I can do to make things more comfortable?
>Would you like to see your brother?

>>5888510
Bruh I never wanted to be these other people. It cut out with us waiting to engage them both when they were both weak. Instead we swapped characters and ate is no where to be found. I don't want to be some goody two shoes white knight simp king.

>>5888728
Yea I gotta agree this is cringe. I stopped reading since I came for Ate’s chaos and violence not cliche random cop drama.

>>5888758
>I stopped reading
And yet here you are. A fibber, then.

>>5888764
I came back hoping it would have switched to Até. The cop stuff just isn’t as interesting as what we’ve already built up.

>>5888774
And at a very convenient time. I for one would like to build up Braun for there to be a proper antagonist for Ate instead of just random targets that pop up. You got no sense of style, daddy-o.

>>5888435
>>5888472
>>5888483
>>5888510
>>5888518
>>5888612

>A tech expert and former white hat hacker who’s lent considerable aid to the police multiple times in the past. Currently in dire need of money and therefore willing to join your risky operation

You decide to hire the hacker. He’ll report to the office in a day or so.

>You said the forest was screaming. What did you mean by that?

“The trees of the world, they… resonate. It isn’t like speech exactly, since the forest- not a specific forest, I mean, THE forest, sorta transcends language and individual consciousness. The consciousness, if you can call it that, shifts around a lot, but mostly, it kind of wails. It’s painful to listen to, but it’s also sort of beautiful. I dunno, it’s hard to describe.”

You don’t really get it.

>Is there anything I can do to make things more comfortable?

“A potted plant would be nice, but I know you can’t give me one. It’s a bit of an ask, but can I have my switch back?”

You can do that, you suppose.

“Sure. I can get you a port to link it up to the tv, but I can’t give you open outlet access.”

She nods.

>Would you like to see your brother?

She shrugs.

“I don’t know, honestly. I kinda regret the stuff we did. For both of us. I don’t really wanna see him right now.”

You spend the next few days chatting with Annika, keeping up with your training with Rosa, and doing the occasional spar with Chen.

You check your sync rates. They’ve both gone up. You don’t really wanna think about it.

The hacker comes in. He- Gerald Weber, apparently- is a taller guy, but a complete beanpole, with neatly cut blonde hair and gray eyes.

Over the course of this week, what has your main accomplishment been?
>Building a rapport with Annika
>Getting Rosa ready for basic combat
>Mastering your use of Chen’s lent <Eyes>
>Perfecting your own authority use
>Getting Weber up to speed
>Write-in

One day, while you’re working on some paperwork, a call comes in to your office.

“Sir!” Chen shouts after taking it, “We have something!”

“What is it?”

“Molotov, sir. We’re getting reports for the location of his base.”

“The anarchist gang guy?”

“Yes, sir.”

This is annoying.

The incarnation itself is enough of a problem, with hordes of super powered goons and a practical armory of combat authorities, but what’s almost worse is that Germany’s resident superhero, Hyperion, has personal beef with the bastard, and if you take him down, he’s gonna be pissed. But if you do nothing, your boss is going to throw a massive fit. Plus, a lot of good cops are going to die.

Should you go?

>Yes
>No

And who should you bring (Choose as many as you’d like)
>Chen (Will be brought by default unless people actively don’t want her to come
>Rosa
>Annika
>Write-in

>>5888821
>Yes
Chen and Rosa

>>5888821
>>Building a rapport with Annika
If we want to flip her the early time is the most important one

>>Yes
Hyperion can be pissed all they want to be, first come first served, and it's our actual job, not some act for gaining divinity or popularity or whyever he does it.

>Chen
>Rosa
unfortunately a gang is rather large so we need the firepower of bringing Rosa.
Also I'm not gonna manipulate Braun for the express purpose of making it easier on Ate

>>5888859
+1

>>5888821
Yeah honestly I'm done with this quest. You never asked us if we wanted to change characters.

It literally feels like we got thread jacked and someone else is now running the game. Why would we go to all this effort building up a team of supers. That we are obviously just going to murder?

Makes 0 sense. The qm could of easily done this shit through the newspapers rather than make us do all this shit.

"Breaking news international incarnation assault detachment has been formed and took down their first incarnation in Germany" fin

Quite disappointed I was looking forward to fighting stronger incarnations or getting ambushed. Destroying a country or starting the world's most massive cult.

I almost wish it had just been a QM who ghosted us.

You ungrateful pieces of shit.

>>5888974
That's fine, and I am sorry you haven't been enjoying the new arc. That being said, maybe I haven't been clear, bur Atë is still the protagonist of this quest. She will be back soon.

>>5888843
>>5888859
>>5888890

>Building a rapport with Annika

Over the course of the next week or so, you and Chen have made multiple visits to Annika. Since you’re already letting her keep the plant that lets her walk, you decide to go ahead and give her that potted plant. Towards the end of that week, Annika mentions something interesting.

“I’ve been listening to the trees. More closely this time. I think… I think I might have been misjudging them.”

“In what sense?”

“When I heard their wails, I thought it was pain, but that isn’t right, I think.”

“Do you know what is right, then?”

“It’s a dirge,” she says, “an elegy for their prodigal son.”

You ask her to elaborate, but she simply shakes her head.

—

>Yes
>Chen and Rosa

You decide that you’d rather deal with a pissed off hero than let a bunch of innocent people die.

You call Rosa.

“Sir,” Chen says, “She’s not ready!”

“The target is pretty far from normal civilian living spaces,” you reply, “The risk for collateral damage is minimal.”

“That isn’t what I-”

“Chen. Do you think I want to do this, either?”

She lowers her head as Rosa enters the room. She does a clumsy salute upon noticing you (one of her more recent running gags).

“Reporting for duty, sir!”

“Cut the jokes, Rosa. You’re in on the next mission.”

Her eyes widen and then narrow, determination evident on her face.

“Yes sir.”

After a few minutes of driving, you make it to what seems to be the right place. It sounds like a warzone. Explosions sound every few seconds, followed shortly by screams and the sounds of crumbling buildings. Chen looks into it, and sees Molotov slaughtering what appear to be his own men.

“Has he gone insane?” Chen asks, horrified by the carnage.

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s been betrayed.”

How should you go about this?

>Chen and I distract Molotov, Rosa strikes while he isn’t paying attention
>I should hide and line up a sniper shot. Normal guns haven’t worked, but I’ve got some nice perks from <Diomedes>
>We set up an ambush
>We don’t have time for games. People are dying. We need a full frontal assault
>Write-in

>>5889021
>>Chen and I distract Molotov, Rosa strikes while he isn’t paying attention

>>5888974
first of all, fuck you
that is to say that I also feel that a shift to a new character as the POV character was rather sudden and has dragged on for too long
weird creative decision to make up a second protagonist that the first one will come to clash with

>>5889029
Yeah, I knew that it'd be unpopular, and it did end up lasting longer than I intended it to, but I had a list of things I wanted to get through with Braun and was expecting myself to update more frequently than I did. I fell into the pitfall of kinda forgetting this was a /qst/: I really like perspective shifts in books, but that's when you don't have to wait two weeks for the actual protag to come back. So, sorry. I wanted to try some stuff out, but this is my first quest, so obviously I'm gonna fumble a bit. Won't happen again

>>5889032
for a first quest, its outstanding

>>5889021
>I should hide and line up a sniper shot. Normal guns haven’t worked, but I’ve got some nice perks from <Diomedes>

Molotov probably isn't expecting an authority that bypasses his own protection abilities. Even if it doesn't kill him he'll probably have to burn divinity recovering from it.

>>5889043
Thanks. There are some beats that I haven't been completely satisfied with, so that really means a lot.

Also, I checked the archives and Braun's only been around since the fifth. His full tenure will be about a week, which is less time than I thought.

>>5889061
If you wanted to do more of this in the future I'd make a dedicated 'Interlude' thread myself, that way people who aren't interested can excuse themselves without fear of missing a jump back to the primary storyline.

Personally I'm enjoying our side trip, even if it's been longer than expected, it's a good way to flesh out the world at large, and I'd assume a good way to keep things fresh and interesting for you as well. Some of the brats here might disagree, but your enjoyment of writing the quest is extremely important.

>>5889068
It's more so the fact we weren't told we jumped backwards in time or the reason why we jumped to this new character. We were never told when if ever we were going back to ate. It felt incredibly random. And desu you're going to have another issue with all the simps. Just like we did with the university student. OH NOES WE TALKED TO HER SHES A PERSON WE CANT KILL HER WAHHHHAHAHHHH.

like you really expect all the people enjoying the Segway are now gonna be super thrilled with killing these three now? No they're going to cry about it and vote against it. All because we the reader know more about these characters. Remember ate hasn't met them let alone talked to them. Yet now the simp anons are going to throw a fit. I just don't see the point... unless you're trying to force an ate personality change...

Like the best vote is to have them all try to go melee molotov. So then we can kill all of them easier as ate. So ya know conflicts of interest.

>>5889061
And so you don't think I'm just being a dick. Your writing is great and the premise of the story is absolutely awesome. I just wonder why you'd humanize our enemies this much. Simply cause ate would not care.

>>5889089

Atë not caring is exactly why I'm doing it. She doesn't care, but I want (you) to care. A villain mowing down hordes of faceless battle dummies isn't very interesting to me: letting the players watch as the monster they made tears through a bunch of likeable human characters, puts you in her shoes a lot more. Like her, you personally have to choose not to care, and that's more interesting to me, personally. If you want to be a villain, (you) have to be one too

>>5889094
That being said, I do fully recognize that the time sink, plus doing it in the main thread, will put a lot of people off. Again, I recognize that I blundered here. In the future I'll do it in a less intrusive way: a separate site for weekly news articles, breakaway threads for side characters, etc. Again, I apologize for the clumsy execution

>>5889021
>Sniper shot

>>5889032
Agree with >>5889043
not everyone liked it but I did

>>5889068
Has a good idea about making it a dedicated interlude thread for wider appeal

>>5889021
>>Chen and I distract Molotov, Rosa strikes while he isn’t paying attention
Try and nix his abilities

>>5889029
>>5889054
>>5889082
>>5889187

>I should hide and line up a sniper shot. Normal guns haven’t worked, but I’ve got some nice perks from <Diomedes>

You take a position and wait for Molotov to make an appearance. He leaves the first building- now more of a ruin than a restaurant. As you squeeze the trigger, you notice your target’s head swivel to look not at you, but in your general direction. In an instant, he falls back and puts his arm between himself and the bullet which, despite having enough power to tear through the metal of most cars and keep going, lodges itself in his arm.

He lunges forward, at first, you suspect, to attack, but you soon see the real reason: he was dodging something else. However, the criminal finds himself unable to evade both your gun and the interloper’s onslaught, and after contorting his body in ways that would baffle an Olympic gymnast, finally succumbs. Blood gurgles from his mouth after he clutches the pipe protruding from his torso. He collapses to the floor, dead.

You look to Rosa and Chen- neither of them are responsible. You turn your attention back to the source of the barrage, and from it steps a large, mustachioed man in a clean brown trench coat and a sharply cut gray suit. He approaches with a friendly smile.

“Braun, isn’t it?” He speaks with a slight Swiss accent.

“Polizeioberkommissar Braun, yes.”

“Of course, of course. I heard you were having some trouble, so I decided to step in.” he extends his hand, “Huber. Mercenary.”

Hesitantly, you shake his hand.

“And you have a team, I’d assume?”

“Yes.” you gesture towards Rosa and Chen, and he greets them as he did you.

—

“Jesus sir, when that Huber guy showed up I thought we might have a fight on our hands.” Chen says as you drive her to her hotel. She’s had a gas leak in her house, apparently. She told you that… when? Doesn’t really matter.

“We got lucky this time. Also, we’re off duty. You don’t have to call me sir.”

She chuckles to herself, “Ha, sorry. Force of habit. So, Johann, wanna grab a drink?”

The time seems to slip from your fingers. Your recollections of the hotel bar, the drinks, and the conversation is hazy. Somehow, you find yourself in front of Chen’s room. She leans into you, hot breaths scented with fruity cocktails tickling your nose as she straightens your jacket.

“You don’t have to go so soon, sir.”

You feel a foreign heat in your chest as you attempt to step back, “I told you not to call me that, Chen.”

“Anna.”

The air thickens with tension and perfume as she pulls you closer.

Your mind slows to a crawl, as if swimming through syrup, and time seems to slow to a crawl. What should you do?

>Accept her advances
>Reject her advances
>Use an authority
>Write-in

>>5889441
Wrote "to a crawl" again. meant to write "even more". Whoops

>>5889441
>Reject her advances
Weird, she's usually so professional

>>5889456

—

“Jesus sir, when that Huber guy showed up I thought we might have a fight on our hands.” Chen says as you drive her to her hotel. She’s had a gas leak in her house, apparently. She told you that… when? Doesn’t really matter.

“We got lucky this time. Also, we’re off duty. You don’t have to call me sir.”

She chuckles to herself, “Ha, sorry. Force of habit. So, Johann, wanna grab a drink?”

The time seems to slip from your fingers. Your recollections of the hotel bar, the drinks, and the conversation are hazy. Somehow, you find yourself in front of Chen’s room. She leans into you, hot breaths scented with fruity cocktails tickling your nose as she straightens your jacket. You look down to meet her gaze, but are pulled away from her eyes by her outfit: an elegant but uncomfortably form fitting sheath dress. Its silk-adjacent, deep red fabric glistens dully in the light of the hotel hallway. When did she have time to change? Your brain seems to creak as you search for a recollection through the crimson haze clouding your mind.

“Please don’t go, sir.”

An air of desperation is evident from her voice, despite your intoxication. Her watery brown eyes meet yours, and a plea for you to stay is painted on her face.

You feel a familiar heat in your chest as you attempt to step back, even stronger than it was… when? “I told you not to call me that, Chen.”

“Anna.”

The air thickens with tension and perfume as she pulls you closer.

Your mind slows to a crawl, as if swimming through syrup, as time seems to slow to a crawl. What should you do?

>Accept her advances
> Rej**t *er a**an*es
>Use an authority
>Write-in

>>5889469
>Use an authority
Combat Acuity and Infiltrator
Try to run away

>>5889508
+1

>>5889508
>>5889511

>Use an authority

You activate <Infiltrator> and <Combat Acuity>

Immediately, the world around you dissolves into a scarlet mist as a cool clarity washes over your body, blowing away the tantalizing sights and the oppressive air of the scene in the hotel.

You’re back at Molotov’s base and you can see Chen and Rosa barely fending off the mustachioed mercenary. He moves without a semblance of combat training, engaging in combat less like a soldier and more like a rabid animal, driven purely by instinct as he dodges attacks and lands blows in ways that would break standard human anatomy. The ground quivers and cracks at his step, and the breakneck speed and impossible reflexes he exhibits more than make up for Rosa’s superior training.

Rosa’s injuries are minor, as she’s mostly been playing a supportive role, but Chen is visibly on the ropes: the white of her dress shirt is stained crimson, and her bulletproof vest is in tatters as her adversary, now outfitted with sharp red claws, tears away at her piece by piece.

To put it bluntly, the situation is dire. As things stand, Chen and Rosa stand no chance. What should you do?

>Activate authorities and enter the fray
>Order a retreat
>Line up a shot with your gun
>Buy items
>Write-in

>>5889581
>>Buy items
Maybe a lizards tail or something?

>>5889581
Buy lizard tail yeah

>>5889584
>>5889591

How many? You can buy up to 2

>>5889595
2 if we can give one away, otherwise just 1

>>5889094
>Simply cause ate would not care.
Yeah, we already forced an innocent college girl to commit suicide after becoming her best friend and have killed a literal child. It would make very little sense to spare the cops when they don't even compare to the innocent lives we ruined. I do feel kinda bad for the deer girl tho. I can't get the fact that the best moment in her life was us manipulating her. It's really fucked when you think about it.

>>5889032
>this is my first quest
This is really good for a first quest. The concept is extremely interesting and I enjoy the vivid details.

>>5889584
>>5889632
>>5889591

>Buy items

You buy 2 <Lizard’s Tail>s with the intention of giving one to one of your teammates.

Influence: 294->94/400

You have a safety net now, but the situation is still immensely disfavorable. Chen is still standing, but she obviously won’t last long at this rate. What should you do?

>Activate authorities and enter the fray
>Order Rosa to retreat and attempt to give one of your <Lizard’s Tail>s to Chen
>Call over Rosa and give her your <Tail>s, ordering her to give one to Chen and then escape
>Line up a shot with your gun
>Write-in

>>5889637
This makes sense, and rest assured, even if the players wanted to suddenly face turn, that has long since stopped being an option. Some degree of lesser-evilness is still possible, but the vigilante/antihero route died alongside Jane

>>5889640
>Activate authorities and enter the fray
Try to create an opportunity to do
>Order Rosa to retreat and attempt to give one of your <Lizard’s Tail>s to Chen
But give Chen the tail first

>>5889647
Support. Dumb hero time!

>>5889647
+1!

>>5889647
>>5889661
>>5889666

>Activate authorities and enter the fray
>Order Rosa to retreat and attempt to give one of your <Lizard’s Tail>s to Chen

You activate all of your available passive authorities, pull out your pistol, and unload a clip into Huber. He instantly launches himself into the air to evade, leaving a crater in the cement from the force of his legs facilitating the leap. While he’s in the air, you switch back to your rifle with impossible efficiency and line up a body shot. The bullet blows through the mercenary, putting a hole where his heart should be.

Taking this opportunity, you rush him, throwing your <Flames> in his face and landing a powerful strike to his groin. To your surprise, you don’t feel the true target of your attack beneath his clothes, and, when you look back, you see the bullet wound has completely healed.

The incarnations you’ve faced so far have been people with powers, but this one is different. This is a real monster.

You predict a counterattack and roll away towards Chen. This was always the intention. You take the <Lizard’s Tail> from your inventory and give it to her. Immediately, she vanishes in a flash of light.

“Run away, Rosa!” You scream at the top of your lungs the moment Chen has been secured. The enemy incarnation, now thoroughly pissed, takes advantage of your moment of distraction and attempts a lethal strike. You block, but the attack shatters every single bone in your arm.

The effects of <Grit> come into play. You can feel the divinity keeping the bones of your forearm in one piece, not healing them, but providing the leverage your muscles need to move. It temporarily connects and replaces torn sinew and shredded muscle. Your nerves scream.

Rosa has begun to fly off, but before she can even get off the ground, Huber throws a piece of shrapnel at her with a velocity that puts most bullets to shame. It avoids her body, but creates a massive hole in her left wing. She plummets to the floor as a grin forms upon the man’s lips.

“Do you have a lizard’s tail?” You ask, barely evading another strike.

“No sir. I spent my influence on upgrades when I was tracking down Morpheus.”

Shit.

You can throw her your <Lizard’s Tail>, but in the moment you do so, Huber will skewer you like a shish kebab. What do you do?

>Keep the tail and fight Huber while Rosa takes the car and gets to safety
>Keep the tail and have her fight with me
>Give her the tail
>Write-in

>>5889682
>Keep the tail and fight Huber while Rosa takes the car and gets to safety
Hopefully we can lock him down long enough for her to escape. If we survive this we're mandating one tail possession for all members at all times.

>>5889682
>Keep the tail and fight Huber while Rosa takes the car and gets to safety

Seems like the smart play here. Atë isn't fucking around. Our angel of Ruin is a one woman wrecking crew.

>>5889682
>Keep the tail and fight Huber while Rosa takes the car and gets to safety
I want these guys to get mental resistance and maybe end up struggling further before they inevitably lose forever to our villain protag

>>5889682
>Ate goes after the downed bird.
>Then offers friendship to molotov with bruan between them. Use whispers and sweet venom.

>>5889799
Not updating yet, but just a quick reminder that Molotov is dead. The illusion began after she/Huber touched Braun's hand, the preceding events actually happened

>>5889801
I didn’t realize our illusion powers had gotten that strong. Consequences of jumping multiple levels at once maybe.

>>5889690
>>5889751
>>5889752
>>5889799
>>5889991

>Keep the tail and fight Huber while Rosa takes the car and gets to safety

You hold onto the item and continue to fight against Huber while Rosa runs to the car. Your strikes seem to barely faze him, whereas every single one of his attacks are lethal, despite being filled with openings and lacking in terms of martial skill.

You pray that you can hold out long enough for Rosa to escape.

—

This encounter has highlighted a couple of noteworthy factors regarding in person conflict.

Firstly, there seems to be an increasing presence of incarnations among law enforcement. In the future, this will make the police a much less helpful tool in taking down enemy incarnations. Had you not stepped in, the male cop, Braun, would have taken down Molotov before you even had the chance.

Secondly, it’s probably bad to have fewer than 2 available authority slots before any given fight. You had to delay resolving the rewards for killing Molotov until you had the chance to sit down, buy some crystals, and manage your authorities.

Third, <Assess Hamartia> is an excellent tool not only for the authorities that it directly affects, but it also gives fantastic utility for your <Faces> due to it granting you the names of your targets. It doesn’t intuit things like rank, which was slightly problematic this time around, but it still put you in prime position to disable Braun.

Fourth, <Traits>. You’ve overlooked them for now, but the demon and the female cop both had traits that essentially hard countered your powerset. Since you can’t even steal them afterwards, your enemies’ traits are nothing but detrimental to you and, worse, they’re almost wholly unpredictable.

Fifth, and possibly most crucially, the personal, mortal capabilities of the incarnations themselves. Combat experience, martial arts training, proper coordination, and sheer force of will: all of these can make up for massive gaps in level and even completely bypass the effects of <Authorities>. It seems that even some mortals might be able to resist against incarnations.

Finally, <Lizard’s Tail>. You might be able to bypass the effect by eliminating the target in a single strike but, barring that, it’s essentially impossible to kill an incarnation with proper preparations. Maybe there’s a shop item that can counter them at higher levels? Regardless, it’s imperative to have one at all times.

>>5890323
Which leads you back to the current situation. Currently, the female cop has escaped using a <Tail>. The demon is running away and the male cop is sacrificing himself? He’s certainly stalling for time, but… no. You look into his eyes and you find guilt mixed in with all that determination. Involuntarily, a smirk forms on your lips.

“You have a spare, don’t you?”

His eyes widen, and the shock gives him a millisecond of pause. You take advantage of it, thrusting your arm into his chest. He tries to evade, but your hit grazes his torso, still imparting enough force to break his skin and crack a few ribs. He lets out a grunt as silver light wraps itself around his ribcage.

You could certainly pursue the girl- Rosa, was it?- but that would leave your back wide open. If you try to send your dance partner home first, though, she might get away before you can get at her. Your authority worked on him once, but successive attempts seem to have been mostly blocked. You have been able to induce minor changes, but personal mental strength combined with, according to the system, multiple resisting authorities have made the situation complicated.

What should you do?

>Take down Braun
>Pursue the girl
>Write-in

>>5890325
>go for the girl. We're super fast. We can then play on his morality. "I'll let her live if you give me the tail and yourself. I dislike hurting women. You remind me of my dad."

>Whispers him. We use touch of madness on the girl. That's the enemy over there. I'm obviously Braun. Use many faces to sell it to the hurt girl. Hopefully that'll trigger sweet venom.

Then have her "help" us fight the incarnation. That should look like Huber through touch of madness + whispers + sweet venom.

This'll be fun to watch.

>>5890346
+1

>>5890346

In case it was slightly unclear, <Touch> was already attempted on both Rosa and Chen. They both have traits that resist mind-altering affects. You could try again, but it isn't guaranteed to work

>>5890325
if we were to go after him, she could get away in the car and he with the tail

>Pursue the girl
even if he manages to throw her the tail, that still leaves him there
and until then, we should be able to dodge the lethal stuff with omen/speed/preservation instinct while tanking the non-lethal ones with then regeneration.

also: wings!

>>5890325
also also: what has Braun's Hamartia been?

>>5890359

In descending order

>Duty, Self-Loathing, Lust

>>5890346
>>5890347
>>5890357

>Pursue the girl

Your best odds of getting at least one more kill are going for the girl.

Activating <Supernatural Speed> at maximum output, you begin to race towards the girl with the velocity of a prize race horse. Braun, seemingly expecting this, pulls out his pistol, quickly reloads, and begins to fire. <Omen> activates, and you realize that he’s aiming for your legs.

You start dodging the shots, but doing so slows you down considerably. The girl has almost made it to the car, but you could still make it if you run there as fast as you can. What should you do?

>Stall until Braun runs out of bullets
>Focus on running, regardless of the consequences
>Activate <Bane of Calydon> (specify carryover authority)
>Use a different authority
>Write in

>>5890364
>Focus on running, regardless of the consequences

>>5890364
>Stall until Braun runs out of bullets
If we can't prevent her from escaping, go back and make sure we instakill Braun

>>5890364
>Activate <Bane of Calydon> (specify carryover authority)
>Carryover SPEED

TRAMPLE THAT BITCH IN THE CAR! Ideally we'll disable the car and trap her in it. Then we gut the cop, and take our sweet time with the girl.

>>5890466
Do you ever wonder if we could kidnap and disable an Incarnation, then force them with torture to put all their Authorities in crystals for us? A risk of them just abandoning their divinity though. Maybe Touch of Madness could make them think they're so worthless we deserve their Authorities more.

There's a 3 way tie between stalling, chasing, and transforming. I'll wait until tomorrow for a tiebreaker and, barring that, I'll roll for it

>>5890466
>>5890364
>support

>>5890364
>>Focus on running, regardless of the consequences

if it'd be again a tie I'd switch to >>5890466 too

>>5890466
+1

>>5890370
>>5890401
>>5890466
>>5890954
>>5891056
>>5891156

>Activate <Bane of Calydon> (specify carryover authority)
>Supernatural Speed

For the first time, you activate <Bane of Calydon>, bringing your speed authority along with you. A feeling that can be only described as childlike glee rushes through you as you take in your new size and power. The ground shakes with every movement of your powerful new legs, clad in dark red fur that seems closer to steel barbs than hair. You launch yourself forward and, in combination with <Supernatural Speed> reach speeds that put some cars to shame. Braun continues to shoot at you, but his bullets, which once tore through your flesh like paper, now barely register as they just manage to penetrate your thick hair and tough hide. Even when wielded by an incarnation, a mortal weapon is a mortal weapon.

You bring a hoof down on the police car’s hood, crushing the engine, popping the tires like balloons, and causing a shockwave that would show up on seismometers. You move onto the doors, crushing and twisting them in such a way that the opening mechanisms were completely inoperable. Even in the form of a boar, a toothy grin forms on your tusked mouth.

You have the girl completely trapped. Unless she’s been hiding a strengthening authority that can bend steel, she has no hopes of escape. Braun screams Rosa’s name and, it seems, he must think she’s dead already. What should you do?

>Finish the job
>Go after Braun
>Write-in

>>5891322
>Finish the job

>>5891322
>Finish the job

>>5891322
>>Finish the job
gimme them wings, baby

>>5891334
>>5891338
>>5891351

>Finish the job

Deciding not to drag things out unnecessarily, you swing your head forward, tearing through the metal walls of the car like paper and impaling your prey.

>Congratulations, you have successfully…

You decide to ignore the system for now. Again, you have limited authority slots and lots of rewards to manage. You turn back towards Braun, ready to charge at him. He seems to be out of bullets, and you can tell just by looking that he’s deeply fatigued. He looks you dead in the eye and spits on the ground. No wait, it isn’t just spit- a bloody blob of pale pink flesh lies limp on the asphalt.

The crazy bastard just bit his own tongue off.

He gives you a bloody smirk as he vanishes in a flash of silver light.

You deactivate <Bane of Calydon>, flee the scene, find a private space, and then transform into a different face. By the time you make it back to your hotel room, your wounds have healed but your stamina and divinity are both nearly depleted. You lazily flop back on the fluffy hotel mattress.

You check your influence: 942/1600. The incarnation level of the girl must not have been very high.

What should you do first?

>Buy items
>Resolve Molotov’s rewards
>Resolve the girl’s rewards
>Take a nap
>Write-in

>>5891390
Wrote 942/1600, should be 942/3200

>>5891390
>Buy items
>2 authority crystals
>store "cursed gold", and "life insurance"
we can take life insurance back later to buy down our age, no need to have it active

>Resolve the girl’s rewards

>>5891396
Support, but I want to see Molotov first. Molotov has some sort of Information Shield that I think we should grab. Not sure if any of the Fury's authorities will be worthwhile. Remember we can buy Flight from the Shop.

>>5891407

Checking back, she had Claws, Wings, Rage Power, and Flames. None of those strike me as particularly important, especially considering we can buy Flight from from the shop later.

>>5891390
>>5891396
>>5891407
I'll back buy 2, store "cursed gold", and "life insurance", and resolve Molotov

>>5891396
>>5891407
>>5891420

>Buy items
>2 authority crystals

Influence: 942->342/3200

You buy two <Authority Crystals (Low Grade)> from the shop. You take them out of your inventory and hold one in your hand. It’s a mostly transparent chunk of quartz-like crystal, with a tinge of white permeating its glass-like lattice. You put an authority, <Cursed Gold> into the crystal. A red light seeps from your fingertips, shifting from crimson to orange to gold as it approaches the center.

>You have lost the Authority <Cursed Gold>.

The crystal, now shimmering with a dull yellow light, floats a few inches and then vanishes from existence. You check your inventory, and find:

Authority Crystal (Cursed Gold: 1)

You repeat the process for <Life Insurance>. The process is almost identical, but this time, the light is a bit brighter.

You check again, and are met with:

Authority Crystal x2 (Cursed Gold: 1, Life Insurance: 2)

You resolve Molotov’s rewards.

>Congratulations! You have successfully destroyed another incarnation, Dysnomia!

Wait a second, you recognize that name. That’s your sister, the Daimon of lawlessness. You frown: you were certain that Molotov was a man. That leaves three possibilities: a transformation authority seems possible- she was related to you after all, but there are two other possibilities: either people can deify as a god of the opposite gender, or somebody else, probably a mortal, killed the original Dysnomia.

You continue reading.

>You have already been granted the <Influence> for the subjugation
>You gain an additional 300 influence for your secondary directive!

Influence: 342->642/3200

>Your skill <Divine Folly> grants you a random skill from the target!

>Guerilla Tactics (1):
Hides the presence of yourself and designated allies. Consumes influence proportional to the number of targets. Can fail against higher level authorities. Does not negate the effects of items.

Would you like to take another of <Molotov>’s authorities or level up an existing authority?

>Take another
>Level up
>Write-in

>>5891390
>The crazy bastard just bit his own tongue off.
>He gives you a bloody smirk as he vanishes in a flash of silver light.
This is up there on "best moments of this quest" list

>>5891443
>Take another

>>5891451
>support
>>5891443

>>5891443

> Level Up

Guerilla warfare was what I wanted from him. From what we saw he's mostly combat authorities otherwise. Let's drop a level on Whisper instead.

>>5891451
>>5891459
>>5891493

>Take another

>Symbol of Lawlessness (EX):
Images, recordings, and written works by or about you slowly erode trust in public order by anyone who perceives them.

>Mob Rule (1):
Allows you to let a subordinate use an authority as if they possessed it, using their own divinity to do so. You may use this on a number of followers equal to the level of this authority. Passively consumes two divinity for both yourself and the target.

>Explosion (1):
Allows you to use your divinity like a bomb, causing an immediate explosion

>Divine Allure (1):
Induces a positive impression of yourself in others while the authority is active. Consumes 1 divinity per hour.

>Divine Body (1):
Expends divinity to temporarily increase the strength, endurance, and speed of an incarnation, proportional to the divinity expended (from 1 to 60 divinity an hour. Higher usages may be harmful to the body).

> Omen (1)
You already possess this authority

>To Mortals, A Scourge (1)
You already possess this authority

>>5891527

>Symbol of Lawlessness (EX):
Images, recordings, and written works by or about you slowly erode trust in public order by anyone who perceives them

Lets become a cognitohazard!

>>5891527
>Divine Allure (1)
I don't see any note about resistance by higher level incarnations, so hell yeah

>>5891527
i am a bit partial to mod rule imagine the things we could do with our whispers or really any other of our abilties
if not a horde of boars a bunch of shapeshifting abominations and demonic whisperers and tempters unleashed into the population

>>5891527
>Symbol of Lawlessness (EX):
MEMETIC TAKEOVER THE PLANET

>>5891535
>>5891564
>>5891567
>>5891569

>Symbol of Lawlessness (EX)

>Symbol of Lawlessness (EX) degrades into Scribe of Dysnomia

>Scribe of Dysnomia (1):
Any recordings or images taken of you while this authority is active, as well as anything written or spoken by you while this authority is active, including verbatim copies or transcriptions, slowly erode faith in public order when perceived.

>You have gained 3 new epithets!

>Dysnomia, Goddess of Lawlessness: 79.83%
>Philotes, Spirit of Friendship and Intercourse: 3.3%
>Opaline Offering, Cretan Bull: 82.5%

What should you do next?

>Buy items
>Upgrade authorities
>Resolve the girl’s rewards
>Write-in

>>5891588

Minor slip up, rewards are available for both Dysnomia and the Cretan Bull

>>5891588
well thats sad that it degraded

>>5891602
We can just turn it on and off then to achieve the same result. It does suck it degraded, but it's better than not having it

>>5891602

(EX) rated authorities are always taken in a degraded state. Most incarnations can't take them at all, but Atë is able to do so in this way thanks to her title. For more information, you can either check out her character sheet and system info in the link provided in the OP, or you can look through the previous thread

>>5891588
> Get Rewards for Dysnomia sync

Holy crap, we could destroy society with a single hit song.

>>5891588
>>5891643

>>5891643
>>5891646

You decide to check the synchronization rewards for <Dysnomia>

Would you rather take the <Item> Thieves’ Satchel or the completion rewards for the <Quest> Sister’s Promise?

>>5891658

> Thieve's Satchel

Difficult to say who the sisters are. The Three Fates perhaps? I figure a Thieve's Satchel is probably a bag of holding, or a bag of useful sneaky tools, and that sounds handy.

>>5891658
>Sister’s Promise

>>5891658
>Sister’s Promise
QUEST

>>5891687
>>5891691
>>5891704

>The completion rewards for the <Quest> Sister’s Promise

You have avenged the death of your sister incarnation Dysnomia!

>You have gained 600 influence!
>You have gained 3 <Purified Drop of Chaos>!
>You have gained the divine relic Dysnomia’s Crown

>Dysnomia’s Crown (0/1,000)
Allows you to spend the 1,000 divinity stored in the relic to make a target within eyesight forget that something is illegal. May be resisted by an incarnation of a higher level.

What should you do now?
>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull
>Resolve the rewards for the girl
>Buy items
>Write-in

>>5891867
>Cretan bull

>>5891867
>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull
Also use the drops of chaos

>>5891867
>>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull
another labor of heracles?

>>5891867
>>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull

>>5891884
> Atë slowly converting the labors of Heracles to just defeating her.

>>5891897
After seeing how she manhandled a few other incarnates I wouldn't be surprised if that winds up being a genuine Herculean task.

then change from herculean tasks to being a tiddy streamer again
we need to start using our influence to abuse the algorithm. make viewers like comment and subscribe, share the videos, ask them in the beginning to watch it entirely, even if they are new, watch another video, make them believe that we're more fun and witty than we may actually are.

>>5891867
>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull

>>5891867
>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull

>>5891874
>>5891883
>>5891884
>>5891887
>>5891897
>>5891929
>>5892013

>Resolve the rewards for the Cretan Bull

You may either claim the Authority <Divine Allure>, the item <Pasiphaë’s Mask>, or the completion rewards for the quest <Seventh Labor>

>Authority
>Item
>Quest Rewards

>>5892164
>Quest Rewards
Divine Allure we kinda already have stuff for that and it might be a waste of an authority slot to take something rather similar.
and knowing why Pasiphae needed to disguise herself... I pass on the mask

I generally don't like to resolve things when only one vote has been cast, so I'll wait another hour or two for more votes to come in. If they don't, I'll close the vote and update anyway

>>5892168
+1

>>5892164
> Divine Allure

Let's us automatically trigger Sweet Venom. Synergy!

>>5892168
>>5892238
>>5892245

>Rewards for the quest <Seventh Labor>

You gain the title <Seventh Labor of Heracles>!

>Effects:
Whenever you use a <Beast Tracker> you may overcome masking or stealth authorities used by your target that are lower in level than your Incarnation Level.

All <Labor of Heracles> titles may be freely exchanged between incarnations, unlike other titles. A special reward is granted to any incarnation that collects every <Labor of Heracles> title. Only one incarnation can hold any given <Labor> title at a time. Even if another incarnation meets the requirements, they cannot gain the same <Labor> title as another living incarnation.

You gain 300 influence!

Influence: 1242->1542/3200

What should you do next?

>Spend influence (specify on what)
>Resolve the girl’s rewards
>Write-in

>>5892248
>Resolve the girl’s rewards

Been wondering if it would be worthwhile to hunt and personally kill some beasts tk try and boost our Artemis sync, might get some useful tracking ability from the Huntress.

>>5892248
>>Resolve the girl’s rewards

I want to conserve influence and rather level up than spend it
if we buy stuff I'd be in favor of random quests and beast trackers.

>>5892255

To clarify, since the descriptors for the boar and hind might have thrown you off, you don't have Artemis as a myth. The huntress in your epithets is Atalanta, a famous Greek hero, but not a goddess

>>5892257
>The system uses human fables, legends, and religious practices to create <Myths>.
what does it matter how major or minor a god or hero is?

>>5892260
God rank doesn't matter much in general, but there are a few consequences in terms of the strength and versatility of authorities and items. Minor deities are usually a lot more specific, meanwhile a deity like Poseidon might have a broader variety due to how many roles he plays in the mythos

>>5892255
>>5892256

>Resolve the girl’s rewards

>Congratulations! You have successfully destroyed another incarnation, Tisiphone!

A fury, huh? Makes sense, you suppose. The demon in Palestine that you read about on the news had a similar description. Maybe another fury?

You continue reading.

>You have already been granted the <Influence> for the subjugation
>You gain an additional 100 influence for your secondary directive!

Influence: 1542->1642/3200

>Your skill <Divine Folly> grants you a random skill from the target!

>Berserk (1):
Increases all of your physical attributes, including durability, proportional to your rage. Additionally, deepens your anger when in use. Consumes divinity proportional to the strength of the authority’s manifestation


Would you like to take another of <Tisiphone>’s authorities or level up an existing authority?

>Take another
>Level up
>Write-in

>>5892267
>Take another
I've been pushing for the wings, while I know we can purchase flight itself
maybe she has something similarly interesting, but I want something with utility

>>5892267
> Level up Whispers
Wings are cool, but we'd get it degraded, maybe directly to the existing Flight.

>>5892267
>Level whispers

>>5892267
>level up whispers
>level up assess hemetia

>>5892277
>>5892287
>>5892303
>>5892315

>Level up an existing Authority
>Whisper of Temptation

Whisper of Temptation (5->6)

It is possible to use this authority with nonverbal sounds, such as breaths, footsteps, or clapping

At first, you’re somewhat disappointed by the lack of functionality, but are reminded that, aside from the written text, the power and effectiveness of authorities increase when leveled up anyway, so its potency has still improved substantially.

Having resolved all of the spoils from your most recent hunt, you’re left with a decent amount of free time. That being said, your divinity is close to zero, and your fatigue has built up to the extent that you’re on the verge of passing out. You have a few more days in Germany before you have to go home. What should you do?

>Relax until I have to go home
>Start some riots
>Hunt down those cops
>Stream, but don’t disclose my location
>Make tourist content
>Write-in

Also, how do you guys feel about dice? They haven’t really come into play too much since either the odds were overwhelmingly in Atë’s favor or the perspective wasn’t on her at the time of casting, but in the case of an actual contest, should I have you guys roll or just decide the outcome myself?

>>5892331
I think dice would be best it adds a feeling of risk and reward. Though I think it should be weighted in terms of a specific action we’re taking. Like trying to chase and gore somone who’s faster then us while we’re in bull form should be difficult, but like using our mind control power on them might be easier.

>>5892339
Yeah, if I were using dice I would absolutely include relevant modifiers, and best of #s depending on a number of factors. This was just asking whether a strictly deterministic or slightly random system would be preferred

>>5892331
>Stream, but don’t disclose my location
Sigma grindset, regain divinity
Pheme can help out with the IP masking and everything

>Dice?
I feel so engaged when I roll dice

>>5892331

> Buy a quest, maybe you'll get something interesting for the local area

>>5892373
Also, the Whisper Upgrade is insane. We can corrupt people by tapping our foot nearby. Could we sound our death whistle and transmit whisper through it?

>>5892346
+1

>>5892380
The ASMR simps are going to go completely rabid since they are already sad, sad individuals with no willpower.

>>5892373
>>5892331
>support
>let's walk with the whispers of murder suicide.

>>5892339
>>5892346
>>5892373
>>5892397
>>5892407

>Stream, but don’t disclose my location

You fire up some livestreams as cyber_syren from your hotel room, and play coy on your current location. They’re a hit, especially considering your brief hiatus, and the donations roll in like water downstream.

Follower Count: 52,453

Influence: 1642->1789/3200

After one of your streams, you feel an unexpected rattle from the black feather sequestered under your clothes. It speaks, saying,

“Sorry for the lack of communication. I’ve been very, very busy making this as good as I can. It’s all set up, and the whole system’s about to go boom. I’ll continue to monitor the situation, but I’ll be back soon. Don’t get yourself killed until then. Over.”

You get that she’s been busy, but could she really not send at least a few words earlier? You thought that she could have died, or worse, stabbed you in the back. The latter is still possible, you suppose, but if she was going to do so, it would have made more sense to do it before the influence and authorities flowed in.

As you arrive on the plane home, the influence begins to pour in (it will continue to do so for the immediate future).


Influence: 1789->4835/3200

Due to your secondary directive, bonus influence is provided

InfluenceL 4835->5943/3200

You have leveled up! 6->7

Divinity: 203/275->300/300

Due to the effects of your authority <Divine Folly>, you gain an authority!

>Riptide (1):
Allows you to summon saltwater from the sea, at a rate of 1 divinity per pound. This water is infused with your divinity, and can be manipulated freely by you.

>Notice! Your authority slots are full. Would you like to:

>Replace an existing authority
>Purchase a crystal (specify which existing authority you’d like to store this way)
>Not take this authority

You arrive back home. Work restarts in two days, so you have some time to yourself before you have to go back. You should:

>Foster your online cult
>Spend influence
>Start riots
>Focus on streaming
>Focus on music (specify between cyber_syren or your musician persona)
>Learn some skills the old fashioned way
>Write-in

>>5892416
>Purchase a crystal (specify which existing authority you’d like to store this way)
Store Berserk and Riptide
>Foster your online cult

>>5892442
Support! Don't really care to toss powers away, even if storing them is a bit of a tax.

And cult buisness is good buisness.

And buy Pheme a fucking bottle of wine or six. Dammmn girl.

>>5892416
backing >>5892442
>>5892485
except only store berserk, let's experiment with the new toy a bit
1000 pounds of water can be hella OP

>>5892485
>And buy Pheme a fucking bottle of wine or six. Dammmn girl.
I wonder if we should talk to her about future goals. The whole "how can you become stronger and do your own thing if we're spreading so much chaos and madness that the planet is suffering?" deal. If we're going to be a mass scourge on the planet as a deity incarnate, wouldn't Pheme try to stop us if she has any sort of investment in humanity? I figure she does no matter what, because even if she went like Ate did and abandons her own humanity to permaLARP as a goddess, she cannot deny rumors need living sane people to be able to spread them to others. There can't be rumors or speculation or anything of her core gimmick if there's nobody alive to make or receive them.

>>5892442
>>5892485
>>5892488

>Purchase a crystal (specify which existing authority you’d like to store this way)
>Berserk and Riptide

Replete with influence, you decide that the cost of 600 is more than worth the ability to use either of these tools in the future, should they come up.

As you’re looking through the shop anyway, you decide to check the level 7 shop items.

Items:

>Trapper: 500
Cancels the usage of a <Lizard’s Tail>. Disappears upon use.

>Hydra’s Head: 500
As <Lizard’s Tail>, but cannot be canceled out by use of a <Trapper>.

>Epithet Holder: 2,000
Holds up to one of the <Myths> stored as an epithet. Can be sold for both the price of the holder and an amount of influence proportional to the god rank of the epithet. Epithets at a synchronization rate of 100% cannot be placed in an epithet holder. Alternatively, can be used to transfer the epithet to another incarnation or <Deify> a willing mortal. Mortals deified in this way will not grant any influence or authorities upon being eliminated.

Authorities:

Enchant Item (1): 500
Allows you to create a Divine Relic. Works better for items made by the incarnation using this authority. If an authority crystal is used, a specific effect may be imparted. The item is severely damaged in the case of failure.

Induct (EX): 1,000
Allows you to grant an authority to a mortal, either directly or via an authority crystal. The target will gain the Pseudo-Myth: <Cultist of <Your Incarnation Name>>. They share your directives, and any influence, authorities, epithets, or titles garnered by the target are granted to you instead. It is possible for an <Inductee> to betray their god, at which point they will lose their power and pseudo-myth. Authority vanishes upon a single use.

>Foster your online cult

Back home, you now have full access to your setup. How should you foster your digital cult?

>Use authorities on existing members
>Network to increase your numbers
>Institute systems that encourage increased dedication
>Write-in

Also, would you like to use a <Purified Drop of Chaos>?
>Yes
>No

>>5892498
I feel like this is the same sort of conundrum that any real deity of anything inherently tied to humanity and civilization needs to face and consider in the wake of their intense powers. Going on this "I don't want the planet destroyed or all humans dead or brainwashed, because then the thing I exist for will cease to be or have nobody to use or rely upon", is very much the same ultimatum as the whole "I will team up with you good guys because, even though I am the villain here, I still want money/power/fame/revenge/etc. and I will not be able to do so if the whole world is destroyed and everybody is dead" issue. No chance in hell it'll ever happen to Ate though, with what we've resolved upon with the deer girl debacle. Where the fuck is Ate going to live? How the fuck is she going to survive? Without considering or caring about any of these, she will remain a ceaseless force of nature on this path of full black morality disaster bitch. Everybody and anybody will eventually become her enemies, and I am certain Pheme is no exception to this.

I see no way this will end outside of us eventually popping Pandora's Box and making the whole Earth unlivable, dying in a blaze of horrific glory along with all mortals and immortals. There will be nobody else to tell any tales. That's how the gods will end here.

>>5892498

On the other end of the stick, there are ten billion people on this planet. Immortality is at one million influence. I presume we become quite unshackled from mortal concerns at some point. As long as we're not triggering nuclear war, it's going to be tough to wipe out the human race. We can probably kill a hundred thousand people a year without even denting the human race.

>>5892503
oh nice
buy a trapper and hydra head
Induct is tempting too but we're kinda full of authority slots

>Network to increase your numbers

>>5892506
Or we kill everyone else playing and win and rule as the only god over any remaining mortals. There, way 2.

>>5892503
Oh! Actual votes.

>Network to increase your numbers

>>5892503

And
> Yes, use all three drops of chaos

Rolled 82, 37, 84, 27, 60, 81 = 371 (6d100)

>>5892578

Rolling for type and grade of <Drop> drops
Reminder: 1-20: Influence, 21-40: Shop Item, 41-60: Authority, 61-80: Weapon, 81-90: other relic, 91-95: title, 96-98: trait, 99: myth, 100: directive

0-20: dud, 21-50: common, 51-70: uncommon, 71-80: rare, 81-90: super rare, 91-95: legendary, 96-100: mythic

>>5892506
>>5892519
>>5892541
>>5892576
>>5892578

Drop of Chaos Results:

A <Common> Relic
An <Uncommon> Shop Item
A <Rare> Relic <Psyche’s Lamp>!

>You have gained the relic (Dryad’s Bough)!
>You have gained an <Idol>!
>You have gained the relic

>Dryad’s Bough:
The holder may expend divinity to make plants grow, proportional to the nature and extent of the growth

>Idol: 300
Provides influence when worshiped by a mortal

>Psyche’s Lamp:
Consumes divinity. Reveals the true forms of incarnations using disguise or stealth authorities lower than your incarnation level. Only reveals the true form to you, and does not affect the target’s current shape

>Network to increase your numbers

You emphasize your patreon and its discord to your audience, and take many more cosplay pictures that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming without the clothing provided by your <Faces>, and making sure that the pictures are incredibly suggestive but barely not pornographic in nature (you’re saving that bombshell for later).

Follower Count: 60,769
Cult Members: 684

As the week progresses, influence comes in passively:

From streaming: 5343->5853/6400

From the incidents in Colombia: 6153-> 8085/6400

Your incarnation level has increased! 6->7

Divinity: 280/300->325/325

You get another missive from Pheme:

“I’m back, but I’m dead tired. You’ll probably see more influence roll in over the next two weeks. Personally, I gotta get some rest. You can come visit if you want, but I’m staying home for a bit.”

What should you do?

>Get your cult to worship your idol
>Spend influence
>Start riots
>Focus on streaming
>Focus on music (specify between cyber_syren or your musician persona)
>Learn some skills the old fashioned way
>Visit Pheme
>Write-in

>>5892596
Correction, wrote 6->7, meant 7->8

>>5892596

>Visit Pheme
Girl's Night! Deets on the carnage! Wine!
>Get your cult to worship your idol!
What does it look like? Can we customize it into scantily clad versions of ourselves? (Ewwwww)

>>5892617
As long as the idol is recognizably of you (for Atë, that essentially means any of her personae), then you can make it look like whatever you want

>>5892617
>>5892596
>support
>level up whispers to 7
>touch of madness to 6

>>5892596
>A <Rare> Relic
Shouldn't that've been a super rare on an 81?

>>5892640

Oh yeah, that's right. My mistake. What should be done?
>Add functionality to <Psyche's Lamp>
>Get something else

>>5892641
> Boost Psyche's Lantern!

>>5892617
>>5892638
+1 both

>>5892596
backing >>5892638
then visit Pheme

>>5892623
That is going to be some greasy nasty influence, but wank worship is still worship.

>>5892617
>>5892638
>>5892640
>>5892643
>>5892694
>>5892710

>Psyche’s Lamp:
Consumes divinity. Reveals the true form -> (and primary myth) of incarnations using disguise or stealth authorities lower than your incarnation level. Only reveals the true form to you, and does not affect the target’s current shape

>Whispers of Temptation: 6->7

Individuals who succumb to this authority will feel a sense of reverence for you if they are aware of your existence

>Touch of Madness 5->6

It is possible to temporarily paralyze a target who is seeing illusions, allowing them to freely move within it while remaining static in the real world. This does not affect involuntary bodily functions.

Influence: 5853->1053/12800

>Get your cult to worship your idol

You manifest your <Idol> in the form of a slightly anime-stylized figurine of cyber_syren dressed in clothes just skimpy enough to tantalize while evading TOS. You place the idol in a jar, set up a camera feed, and stream it in your server to worship “as a joke”. After all, even people who essentially worship you would still take some pause at literally praying to you. Instantly, you start to see its effects

Influence: 1053-> 1247/12800

You buy two bottles of nice champagne and drive to Pheme’s apartment. When you get there, the door opens automatically and, as you see when you enter, a black, translucent hand is responsible for doing so, not a high tech system. Pheme, wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, lazily lifts an arm up from her bag of potato chips to greet you. She has a grin so wide that you’d hurt yourself if you tried to replicate it.

“Sup partner,” she says, “how’ve you been?”

You shrug and say, “I’ve been. Got my hands on some cool new stuff.”

“Oh? Spill.”

“What, you don’t already know?”

“I’ve been BUSY. I decided to go above and beyond and take it from normal regime change to full blown civil war. I wasn’t exactly rolling in time to stalk you. Plus I’ve been away from my setup.”

You sit down next to her- her couch is maybe the most comfortable thing you’ve ever sat down on, pull out the bottles, and hand it to her.

“What, you don’t want a glass for these?”

“Do you?”

You take the other bottle and take a swig.

“That’s what I thought you crazy bitch.”

You stare at each other for a few seconds of dead silence before you both burst out laughing.

What do you want to talk about with Pheme?
>Exchange stories
>Talk about the immediate future
>Talk about long term goals
>Let's just play some Mario Kart (roll 3d6)
>Write-in

>>5892739
*pull out one of the bottles

Rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8 (3d6)

>>5892739
>>Let's just play some Mario Kart (roll 3d6)
Have fun : )

Rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14 (3d6)

>>5892739
>All of the above, while playing mario kart

Ask what Level she's at while revealing our own too

What's her endgame? For us we can't bring about the total downfall of humanity, we still need people to be able to continuously ruin them. But a slight decimation wouldn't hurt.

immediate future plans:
spread a rumor about a murder video like from the ring that makes people want to kill themselves. Produce said video and distribute it in some edgy goth alt whatever circles
We use Whispers of Temptations as people who watch them want to be slightly overwhelmed by sadness, despair and horror when they watch an underground creepy video. The "wanting to kill themselves" bit only sets on if you watch it too often. But things like moonlight sonata also had the effect of increase in suicide after good performances. Only works on those susceptible

Highjack another internet celebrity get a rival e-thot to make a sextape, have it get leaked, have her very distraught crying stream about how she was coerced into it and then that last bit of trust break of posting it, and kill herself on screen, with our whispers of temptations that her followers should "follow her into death"


We also need some more manpower for our own media enterprise so we have more time on our own hands

>>5892739
>Exchange stories

How does one topple a regime anyway? You knos, just in case we decide to become a god-queen somewhere.

Rolled 5, 5, 1 = 11 (3d6)

>>5892807
>support

>>5892807
on the streamer thing: what's in it for Pheme?
only the spreading rumor that a streamer is having a mental breakdown live which should spread like well enough
we also got to use our whispers of temptations so nobody reports it, but wanting to see how it plays out

Rolled 4, 5, 5 = 14 (3d6)

>>5892807
+1

>>5886162
i have a different IP now, but I alsowant to bring up that potential stalker again
we shouldn't ignore potential threats

>>5892739
>Exchange stories

>>5892793
>>5892807
>>5892811
>>5892813
>>5892818
>>5892914
>>5892981

Dice are best of 3: 14

The races are close, with you taking the first two and Pheme taking the third. The last race is on Mount Wario and, with a little below the table help from <Supernatural Speed>, you pull off some impressive tricks and a difficult shortcut and manage to pull ahead, definitively winning the set.

“You cheated.” Pheme says, a touch of poutiness in her usually smug voice.

“Nothing in the rules says you can't use powers. Besides, you’ve been using your feathers to watch the game. That's probably just as much of an advantage if not more.”

“I have a disability, jackass.” She shoots back. You can tell that she isn't actually offended, but the comment catches you off guard.

“Really, what’s-”

She pulls her hair up from her face, and what you see immediately stops you. Everything above her nose line is covered in small white scars, just barely visible on her pallid skin. In lieu of eyes, two black marbles look back at you.

“When I was a kid,” she explains, “there was this gaggle of girls who picked on me. I guess they thought it was fun. One day, before class, my dad bought me one of those genuine coke bottles: the real ones, with the glass, that look like the ones they made before everything was plastic. Maybe she was jealous, or maybe she just wanted to see what would happen, but one of the girls, Abigail Skinner, took it from my hands and threw it right at my head as hard as she could. It cracked my skull a bit, and the glass cut me up, all over my face. The doctors couldn't recover my eyes, so they removed them. They gave me normal glass eyes, of course, but I prefer these.”

You feel a sense of secondhand rage smoldering in your gut.

“What happened to Abigail?”

“Nothing. Her parents are super rich, see, and my parents were broke. It was one of those expensive private schools- I only got in because of the scholarship program. Well, they lived comfortably after that, and I guess so did I. Minus the whole vision thing, anyway.”

“So you're still letting her walk around after what she did?”

“Yep. Because I’ve got something fun in mind for her later. Might ask for your help with that.”

“Gladly.”

You plan on covering everything listed in the previous vote tonight, but what should you talk about first?

>Exchange stories
>Discuss the immediate future
>Discuss long term goals
>Go home
>Write-in

>>5893035
>>Discuss long term goals

>>5893035
Birthday present confirmed!

>Discuss long term goals
Where do we take this? God queen of a small country? A big country? Cozy retirement after we build up to the Immortality Authority?

Total wipeout of all opposing gods?

>>5893055
+1