Results from Previous round votes:

Three Votes:

Plan TalonOfAnathrax, on SV forum

One Vote:

Plan CCC (on my blog)

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

Winning Plan:

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

[X] Investigate Acquaintance:

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

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

Day 3 Log:

3 AP at start of day

+1 for 6 hour sleep (4 AP)

-2 for [Morning] Organize Armory (2 AP)

No roll required, success

+ 2 for Success, (4 AP)

-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate Acquaintance [ Stopper] (2 AP)

Investigate Acquaintance roll: 10 (Critical Success)

+1 for Success, +1 for add Stopper as Ally (4 AP)

End of day, (4 AP).

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

Organize Armory:

I didn’t even head outside this morning, simply stayed in my house.  I pilfered a few cans of Owner’s soda, got the Packers to fetch me some breakfast from the Facility.

It was time to get organized.

I carefully spread the contents of my various pockets onto my work desk, pushing the papers aside for a moment.

I didn’t need these for the primary usage of my gift, of course.  My gift fell under the overall category of ‘death touch’, in Regime terms.  That is, I could kill most anyone that I touched by taking a quality that they needed to live away.  The actual qualities available varied based on the person, of course, but in most cases there was something that they couldn’t function without.

When you combined that with my Ultra toughness, you got a fairly complete combat package.  I could take most hits, and strike back with an unendurable draining effect.  I was, on the surface, a simple Ultra melee combatant. 

A simple melee combatant, of course, would never have made Warlord, or at least not one with my 2/0/1 selection of gifts.  What truly made me deadly, what I’d exploited to win my fights thus far, was that the qualities that I stole didn’t just vanish away, they clung to me, augmenting my natural abilities.

And it was this secondary effect which gave rise to my collection.  It wouldn’t due to be caught in a fight without something to drain.  I kept a decent array of objects in constant contact with my skin, ready to blend their effects at any given time.

My present reserve was as follows:

1.       Knife, strapped to upper arm, contains Sharpness, Metalness and Throwability

2.       Other Knife, strapped to thigh, contains Sharpness, Scariness and Brittleness

3.       Sponge, strapped to thigh, contains Bonelessness, Water Absorption and Lightness

4.       Engine scrap, strapped to belly, contains Drivingness, Explosiveness and Tirelessness

5.       Dog bone, strapped to belly, contains Tracking by Scent, Loyalty and Aggressiveness

6.       Bulletproof Vest scrap, contains Bulletproofness and Bulkiness

7.       Lightbulb shard, strapped to belly, contains Glowingness, Fragileness and Inconspicuousness

8.        Bullet, strapped to upper arm, contains Fastness and Explosiveness

9.       Pliers, strapped to upper arm, contains Grip, Sharpness and Metalness

10.   Microchip, taped to upper back, contains Smartness, Obedience and Soulessness

I still had a lot of space left to put more things on.  If I had to put a number on it, I’d say that I had spent about half of the total real estate that I could manage without getting conspicuous about it.

I looked over to Napoleon, who was mostly just sitting there being a turtle.

“You think I ought to start looking for more stuff?” I asked him.  “Or would I be better off spending that time getting my group together?”

This wasn’t entirely rhetorical.  For no reason I’d ever understood, Napoleon could take qualities, which was normally something that my gift only let humans do.  A long time ago I’d won a fight by stealing someone’s ‘thinkingness’, and when I got tired of maintaining the blend I’d dumped it on my pet.  He was presumably pretty smart, but had never given any sign of it.

As ever, he maintained his silence.

I rolled my eyes and gathered up my gear.  I might decide to scrounge up some more stuff.  I might not.  No reason to make that decision right now, I’d keep my options open.

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

 

Investigate Acquaintance: [ Stopper]

I’d arranged to meet Stopper immediately after lunch.

We got together in the ruins of a wrecked old church.  She had a bunch of people gathering up stained glass for some kind of art project, and that had seemed as good a way to get to know her as any.

She actually had a bit of talent, as far as I could judge these kind of things.  She’d taken an old fur coat and was carefully attaching the bits and pieces of stained glass that her human helpers brought back in order to make it look impressive.

Judging by the dimensions of the cloak it was probably for Clawer.

“Have you told him about it?” I asked.  “Or is it going to be a surprise?”

She chuckled.

“He hates surprises,” she said.  “And this is too important to screw around with.  He knows its coming.”

“Does he take an interest in that sort of thing?” I asked.  “He didn’t strike me as someone who was terribly concerned with his appearance.”

“Its just an act,” she said, carefully inserting a red fragment into a section of the cuff.  “No one in the Ultra Fight business can afford to stop thinking about their first impressions.  The spectacle of the whole thing is very important.  He needs to stand out.”

I kind of felt like the whole ‘hooks for hands’ thing was enough to let him stand out, but a cool coat probably couldn’t hurt.

I hung around making more small talk until nature called her away, then got to the real purpose of my visit.

“You,” I said to one of her workers.  “You know me?”

He dipped his head in a sort of half bow.

“Doctor,” he said.  “Everyone knows you.”

I waved the remark aside.

“This woman, Stopper, what’s really up with her?  Should I think about getting into bed with her?”

They looked to one another, then back to me.

“She told us you might ask,” said the man who had bowed.  “She told us to tell you that we are well treated, spared from a life of pain on the outside and grateful for her attention.”

I nodded, looked to his companion.

She shook her head, sharply, pulled down a collar to expose a pair of old cigarette burns.

“Ah,” I said.

“It’s not all bad,” said the first guy.  “She’s actually-“

I waved him to silence, not terribly interested in hearing any more along that line.

“Before she gets back,” I said.  “Is it him too?  Or just her?”

They looked to each other.

“Clawer doesn’t really care about us,” said the one who was doing all the talking.  “He doesn’t stop her when she gets in one of her dark moods, but he’s never started anything on his own.”

“He needs our hands,” said the woman, speaking for the first time.

“I bet,” I said.

Stopper got back a few minutes later.

“Anyway,” she said.  “I hope you are thinking about us as part of your Posse.  We bring a lot to the table, you know.”

I nodded noncommittally.

“I’m still deciding,” I said.

“Clawer’s appeal is obvious, of course, he’s one of the city’s finest warriors.  And my own gift is really helpful as well.”

“Oh,” I said.  “You stop things, right?”

She nodded appreciatively, dropping a grin sliver of glass and holding it in place, then reaching out and plucking it out of the air.

“If we bring people who aren’t Ultra tough, then guns would be a big worry, right?  Well, not with me!  They’ll just halt in mid air, as long as they are in my line of sight.”

“I thought you had to see the target,” I said.  “Don’t bullets go too fast?”

She chuckled appreciatively.

“It doesn’t work like that,” she said.  “I can stop anything that doesn’t move under its own power.”

I waited a bit, but she didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, instead turning the conversation to more conventional topics.

I made my excuses and departed a little bit later.

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

Encounter

The sun was just going down when I got back to the Packer House.  I was unpleasantly surprised to see a pair of Knights out in front, talking to Owner.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I walked up.

We didn’t really have a lot to do with the Knights of Purity.  I’d never seen them here before.

“Blender?” asked one of them, turning to face me.

“That’s right,” I said, “Who sent you to-“

I didn’t finish the rest of the sentence, as he hauled off and swung his Refined Scythe at me.

I very nearly died, my reflexes dulled just slightly by the fact that I’d been talking and looking to the other one, but I caught his slash in my peripheral vision and dropped quickly to the ground.

My gift meant that falling on my back didn’t hurt at all, but that was little comfort at the blade whistled by overhead, his comrade stepping up to swing his scythe down at me like a woodsman splitting a log.

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

Day 4:

Days remaining: 27

AP available: (4 end of last day + 1 for half night’s sleep) = 5/10

Prestige: 3

Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + bonus combat timeslot for encounter

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

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

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

 

Faction Rankings:

Regime 7

KEM 8

Pantheon 2

Union 4

Resistance 9

Prevailer 3

 

Actions:

[ ] Defeat the Knights them (Timeslot cost: Special; AP cost 0, refunds 1 on success)

Motives: They are trying to kill me.  I don’t want to die.

Concerns:  I don’t want to expend any of my arsenal on this random assassination attempt, and I’d like to interrogate them, but doing anything less than fighting to my utmost and using everything available will increase the odds that I lose this fight, and die.

-[ ] Kill them

-[ ] Kill them (don’t use arsenal)

-[ ] Incapacitate them

-[ ] Incapacitate them (don’t use arsenal)

 

[ ] 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

-[ ] At Ultra Fights, (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 1, refunds 1 on success)

Constraint: Only available in the afternoon or night on days divisible by 4 (day 4, 8, etc)

Motive: There are dozens of powerful Ultras in the Lair. I know only the barest fraction of them. I can learn the basics on 3-12 of them in a few hours of socializing and gossiping at this kind of event.

Concerns: Ultras associated with the Fights are more likely than most to be melee combatants.

 

[ ] Seek Warband Members

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

Motive: The Lair is surrounded by hundreds of Regime Ultras.  The strongest come to the Yard to show their power and appeal to those like me, who would give them purpose.  I should be able to gather between 5 and 20 Ultras of such caliber.

Concerns: I will need to provide housing and direction to these Ultras, or risk them wandering off.  I can expect to spend at least an action a day on them, and training them might well eat up more.  Ideally a Posse member will be tasked with this.

-[ ] [Gang name] From a Gang, (Timeslot cost: 2; AP cost 5, refunds 3 on success)

Motive: The Ultras that surround Shington are organized into Gangs dozens strong.  If I can recruit such a force I might have my whole Warband right there.

Concerns: These Ultras likely already have patrons in the Lair, who I would need to negotiate with.  Their leader would also likely want a place in my Posse, and she would be the primary locus of their loyalty until I’d had time to win them over.

 

 

[ ] 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]