Results from Previous round votes:

Two Votes:

Plan Nevile (on SV forum)

One Vote:

Plan CCC (on my blog)

*************************************************************************************

Winning Plan:

[x] [Morning] Seek Target Information

-[x] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

[x] [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance:

-[x] Clawer, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)

*************************************************************************************

Day 2 Log:

3 AP at start of day

+1 for 6 hour sleep (4 AP)

-2 for [Morning] Seek Target Information from Survivors (2 AP)

Seek Target Information roll 8 (Superior Success, more detailed information gathered)

+ 1 for Success, Seek Target Information from Survivors (3 AP)

-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance [ Clawer] (1 AP)

Investigate Posse Members roll: 6 (Success)

+1 for Success, +11 for add Clawer as Ally Investigate Acquaintance (3 AP)

End of day, (3 AP).

*************************************************************************************

Seek Target Information from Survivors:

I resolved to hit the Yard early on in the day, looking to get some conversations in before the action could heat up too much.

It seemed to work out, as I got there during one of the rare quiet periods.  There were a bunch of Ultras clumped in their little gangs around the edges, but no one was actively staking a claim.

The Yard, of course, is the mechanism that we use to sort out what Ultras get to stay in the Lair and who doesn’t.  If you can press a claim against everyone else there for a few days then you can come in, otherwise you stay out.

I was surprised at the intensity of my feelings, looking at this place again.  I’d held court here for a goddamn week, piled up my rivals and strutted my way in.  It had been the start of my rise to power.

It had also been a carefully calculated performance, an illusion of effortless power and carelessness masking weeks of meticulous scouting and KEM’s covert assistance.  It felt like I’d been inwardly screaming the entire time.

But it had payed off.  I’d achieved what I set out to.  Hopefully that would be the precedent for what I was currently working on.  Lots of work for a glorious success.

“Shit, Blender?” asked someone as I walked up.

I didn’t recognize her.  Short, with mangy hair and a cloud of pot smoke around her.

“Looking for someone,” I said.

A few others jogged over, eyes narrowing.  An Ultra from inside was an uncommon sight out here.  They probably thought I was already starting to build up my band.

“Who?” asked the first person, scratching away at her head.

“Anyone who was in Menacer or Burier’s attacks.”

Almost involuntarily she looked to one side, and so did a few others.  They were all glancing at a tall blonde, her face disfigured by a big old scar on one cheek.

That was a stroke of luck.  I’d been trying to figure out how to make sure that whoever I sent out to look for survivors would come back, but it looked like I wouldn’t have to bother with that.

I whistled, and when she looked over I beckoned.

Scarface jogged up, her angry bearing crumbling into a servile humility as she realized who I was.

“You went to Ar Harbor?” I asked.

She flinched at the name.

“Yes,” she said.  The scar went up through the edge of her mouth, and it gave her a sort of whistling accent, so it sounded more like ‘Yesh’.

“Last time?” I pressed.

This time she just nodded.

“So you were part of Burier’s team?” I asked.  “Posse or band?”

She sort of gestured to the Yard, which I took to mean she’d been in the band.  If she was Posse quality, why would she be out here?

“Tell me how the fight went,” I said.

I was getting the idea that she didn’t like to talk much, probably took a lot of shit for that lisp.  I sympathized, but I was mostly just impatient.

“We got hit by the Union, the night before.  They sent flying things to blast our camp, Burier didn’t see it coming, didn’t have anyone watching.  She was fucking when they hit us.”

That wasn’t terribly surprising.  It was a bit of a bit of a warzone up there.  I’d need to establish whether Burier had crossed into Union territory, or whether they were actually working to protect the Ar Harbor gang.  My tentative bet was on Burier’s band getting lost.  She’d been a city Ultra, wouldn’t have known shit about navigating.

“Did she die in the Union hit?” I pressed, “Or did you make it to the target?”

I left out the possibility that they’d survived but turned back.  Burier would have been joined to Snitcher, and, like me, she wouldn’t have had any choice about continuing on.

“We made it,” she said.  “But we’d lost most of our people.  The locals knew we were coming, mobbed us.”

Hard to say whether that was just Ultra braggadocio or whether she’d actually been outnumbered.  She had every incentive to build up the people who’d beaten her.

“How many Ultras do they have?” I asked.  “Who are their leaders?”

“Maybe forty?” she said.  “Couple dozen anyway.  There were four main ones.  Called themselves by some pussy old world names, they talked a lot, had flags and shit.”

Flags?

“Oh,” she continued.  “There was a tank or something, some kind of big floating machine.  It didn’t do shit that I saw, but I bet it would’ve if they’d started losing.”

“Go back,” I said.  “They had flags?”

“Like stuck to their backs, or to sticks they carried,” she said.  “Boss was called King Arthur, Burier said she could loan Ultra gifts to daggers, make them fight for her.”

I blinked.

“Were the other leaders named stuff like Merlin, Lancelot, stuff like that?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, that’s right.  Merlin’s gift let her make stuff go through other stuff.  Gwen’s gift let’s her set stuff on fire and Lance was like a fighting Ultra.  There was something weird about her though.”

I had a lot more questions to ask, but a stirring in the Yard cut me off.  I’d never lost my familiarity with the place’s overall vibe, and this meant that a fight was getting ready to jump off.

“Gang coming?” I asked.

“Dolls,” said the mangy Ultra I’d talked to first.  “Some of their crew are pressing claims, Second Fist is supposed to be coming up to watch.”

I walked off without any more interaction.  I didn’t need to encounter Refiner’s crew today.  It was a start, at least.

*************************************************************************************

Investigate Acquaintance: [ Clawer]

Clawer wasn’t terribly hard to find.  I caught up with him just as he left a Company Facility, carefully cradling a bowl of protein powder in his hooks.

“Trade ya?” I offered, holding up my secret weapon.

I’d stopped by Owner’s gas station on the way here, filled up a bag with candies, chips and various other junk food.

He grinned.  Nobody liked the powder.

I reached out towards him like it was no big thing, draped the plastic over his hand.

I figured a lot of people probably shrunk away at the sight of his hooks, or stared at them.  I’d resolved to act like it just wasn’t an issue at all.  Hopefully that’d get us off on the right foot.

“What’s this about?” he asked.

I tried to look innocent.

“I’m curious about the Ultra Fight thing,” I tried.  “I’ve heard its fixed, but I know there’ve been deaths. What’s your perspective, as an actual fighter?”

He grinned again.  Most people liked a chance to explain something to someone who didn’t know it.

“It’s not all real, of course.  You don’t see the same people fighting for or five times if they are trying to kill each other.  We set it up ahead of time, work stuff out like the old world pro wrestling.”

“Sure,” I said.  “But the deaths?”

“Well, there are real matches too.  Sometimes people don’t like each other, or She shows up or whatever.  Same rings, same stuff, but actual fighting.  It makes the fake stuff go down better.”

“You aren’t worried?” I asked.  “Someone sets up a fake fight, then sneak attacks you in the middle?”

He looked somber for a second.

“It’s a concern,” he said.  “But I only work with people I trust, and a reputation for doing that sort of thing is a really bad thing to get.  People don’t want that, so if they have a problem with me they’ll be better off if they work it out in other ways.  Nobody wins if that kind of thing gets started.”

Most Ultras wouldn’t know about the prisoner’s dilemma, but it was apparently a universal concept.  It spoke for his intelligence that he’d realized the dynamic, and could put it in words.

“Clawer?”

We looked up as someone called his name.

A short Ultra with a sporty beret for a sigil came trotting up.  She casually reached out and scooped the bag of junk food off his arm, dumped it into a sigil.

“This is Stopper,” he explained.  “We work together a lot.”

That was interesting.  I hadn’t heard anything about her when I’d asked around about him.

“Haha, yeah,” she said.  She had a way of speak-laughing that immediately got on my nerves.  “We’re a unit, right babe?  I’m the hands, he’s the hooks.”

“Sure,” I said.

It made sense that he’d have a partner of some sort.  Even I had Owner to watch my rest, and I had thumbs.

We talked some more, and I got a better feel for their basic situation.

Clawer was the main one to consider, of the two.  He had the fighting power to live in the Lair, she coasted along in his wake, her own gift was the ability to steal momentum from forms by looking at them.

They seemed to have a genuine affection for one another, or at least they didn’t bicker in my presence.  It wasn’t the worst afternoon I’d ever spent.

“It was nice hanging with you today,” he said, as I was getting ready to go.

“Sure,” I responded.

“Listen,” said Stopper.  “You are recruiting people for your Posse, right?”

“Not just yet,” I said.  “I’m still in the early phases of-“

“When you do,” she said, speaking over me, “We’d be very interested.  We’d be a huge asset!”

I said something noncommittal, made my goodbyes and let them there.

*************************************************************************************

Day 2 results:

Incomplete information gathered on Ar Harbor defenders.  I need to know more, but this is a good start.  I could get more information from another questioning of the survivors, but what I’d really like is to get the Resistance’s take on the Round Table gang.

Clawer added to Ultra Allies after a day hanging out.  He seems to be on the level.  If I decide to bring him into the Posse, however, I will need to decide what to do with Stopper.  Should I bring her into the Posse as well, or just the band, or leave her behind?

The actions I started formulating yesterday should be done by tomorrow.

*************************************************************************************

Day 3:

Days remaining: 28

AP available: (3 end of last day + 1 for half night’s sleep) = 4/10

Prestige: 3

Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon)

Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled

Force size: 0

Condition: Uninjured

(Ultra format: Role, Ultra Strength/Speed/Toughness, other gift description)

 

Ultra Allies:

Maker- Friend, and protégé of Snitcher, 0/0/1, can summon the spirit of things

Clawer – Ultra fighter 2/0/1, melee combatant, deadly hooks for hands

 

Ultra Enemies:

Masher- Enemy, and fellow protégé of Subtracter, 3*/0/3*, trades off strength and durability as she moves or stays still

 

Ultra Acquaintances:

Owner – housemate, 0/0/1 operates an imaginary firm, with real effects on the world,

Picker – First Fist protégé, 0/1/0, ‘selects the outcome of things’

Tracker – Running buddy, 1/0/1, Creates tracks, and can move things on them

Shower – Adder’s protégé, 1*/0/1*, gains strength and durability from witnesses

Sticker – Did dentistry for her brother, 0/0/2, Creates slime, can choose its stickiness

Echoer – Singer I am a fan of, 1/1/1, can duplicate any action that she sees

Bubbler – Operates Ultra clinic 0/0/?, traps things in bubbles that heal and move them

Sucker — Ultra entertainer, ?/?/?, pulls objects/people towards her at incredible rate

Stopper – partner of Clawer, 0/0/0, steals form’s velocity by looking at them

 

Faction Rankings:

Regime 7

KEM 8

Pantheon 2

Union 4

Resistance 9

Prevailer 3

 

Actions:

[ ] Seek Transportation

-[ ] Scavenge (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: My current transportation sufficed for me in my troubleshooter role, but I will likely require a larger vehicle, or several vehicles, in order to bring everyone to Ar Harbor. I can seek to find something in the suburbs and surrounding towns.

Concerns: Leaving Shington could be dangerous, and I am far from guaranteed to find a bus or truck suitable to my needs, as the area has already been heavily scavenged.

-[ ] Trade with existing owners (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: As above, but instead of fixing up ruined vehicles I’ll negotiate to get them from their current owners.

Concerns: Snitcher may disapprove of a warlord being civil

-[ ] Seize by force (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: As above, but instead of asking my contacts for vehicles I’ll just take what I want. My role as warlord and my Tally should minimize resistance

Concerns: People like their vehicles, and won’t like the one who takes them. I will make enemies.

-[ ] Seek Transportation [Adder + Company] (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: As above, but Adder can use his gift to make something for my purposes, and the Company can duplicate it and make it permanent.

Concerns: Adder and I are not close, he may decline to aid me, owing to his rivalry with my sponsor, Subtracter.

 

[ ] Seek Target Information

-[ ] Company (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: The Company logs every Ultra they create. Their Ar Harbor records would be useful information

Concerns: Ultras migrate and conceal their gifts, this information would be incomplete

-[ ] Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: Subtracter is the military leader of the Regime, she will have information on this target

Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and violent, I don’t like to be around her

-[ ] Survivors (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: There have been 2 other attempts at Ar Harbor. I can seek out and question survivors in the outer city.

Concerns: I may be unable to find any survivors, and I may be misled by liars.

 

[ ] Seek Posse Members

-[ ] wander & gossip, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 1-6 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping, opening up in depth investigation options on them and adding them to my list of acquaintances.

Concerns: None

 

[ ] Investigate Acquaintance:

-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success, 2 if we become allies)

Motive: I can spend some serious one on one time with an Ultra I’ve chosen, evaluating the capability of their gift, the alignment of their values with mine, and their basic ccompetence. If all checks out, I might move them into my Ultra Allies column.

Concerns: None

 

[ ] Invite Ally into Posse:

-[ ] [Name], (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: If I want to bring an ally into my posse, get them to take actions on my behalf and rise or fall with me, this is the way to do it. I will only take this action on those I’ve already made allies, and once this has been taken it is difficult to undo.

Concerns: Posse members are most of the way into my circle of trust, and will operate on my behalf, representing me to stranger. A mistake here would be dangerous and damaging. I should be careful before taking this step, potentially investigating a prospect several times.

 

[ ] Seek Information on Snitcher’s patterns

-[ ] Passive listening (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: Snitcher can ride my senses at any moment, and bring Her along. If I am ever to contact my KEM allies, my resistance allies, or show any kindness or weakness whatsoever, I need to understand when this is likely to take place. Gossip can hint at this, particularly if I carefully steer conversations. This action would be mostly undetectable, even if he was riding me when I took it.

Concerns: None

 

-[ ] Active interrogation of Snitches (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 2 on success)

Motive: As above, but rather than listen for random gossip I will seek out other linked individuals and directly ask them how often he rides their senses, and what actions he has reacted to in the past.

Concerns: More likely Snitcher notices this, unknown consequences of that.

-[ ] Confront Snitcher Directly (Timeslot cost:1; AP cost 4, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: As above, but take the simplest possible route. Go to Snitcher and ask him for the deal.

Concerns: I am sponsored by Subtracter, not Snitcher, he may not wish to aid me. He may demand favors or other services in exchange for the information.

 

 

[ ] Seek Information on Regime military operations

-[ ] Ask Subtracter (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 3, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: My life depends on doing this right. I need to get a basic understanding of what She is expecting from my attack on Ar Harbor. Do I need to seize the Company Facility? Kill all the enemies? Are there any constraints on how I go about it? Subtracter is the leader of the Regime’s military, and my sponsor, she will know these answers.

Concerns: Subtracter is stupid and brutal, and she killed my neighbors, I hate spending time with her.

-[ ] Ask Around (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: As above, but ask survivors of previous missions instead of my evil boss.

Concerns: My predecessors may not have told them everything, their views of their missions may omit certain command level details that I need to worry about.

 

[ ] Relax and Recuperate

-[ ]By lounging around, (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)

Motive: I could do with some rest.

Concerns: None

-[ ]By patronizing entertainment ares (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: I could do with some rest, and I might learn some things by socializing

Concerns: None

-[ ]By using my gift to repair the city (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, refunds 5 on success)

Motive: It needs to be done.

Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk

-[ ]By using my gift to heal people (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, refunds 5 on success)

Motive: This is why I have my gift.

Concerns: This is not becoming behavior of a warlord, Snitcher may take notice, and people may talk

 

[ ] Organize Armory [Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 2 on success)

Motive: I carry, in my backpack and on my person, various items to blend with if the need arises. I am overdue to look through my setup and take an inventory, once that is done I could seek out new objects if I am missing anything useful.

Concerns: None

[ ] Seek new residence [ Timeslot cost: 3, returns 1 if successful ]

Motive: I could get a lot more done if I got a full night’s sleep

Concerns: Owner and I have guarded one another’s rest for a long time. I wouldn’t necessarily be able to trust a new person to the same extent.

 

KEM Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher’s surveillance, or resolve to defy him)

 

Resistance Actions: (Sealed until I figure out how to deal with Snitcher’s surveillance, or resolve to defy him)

 

[ ] Action: Other (Timeslot cost: x, returns x if successful)

Motive [Write in]

Concerns: [Write in]