Results from Previous round votes:

Two Votes:

Plan Nevill, on SV forum

One Vote:

Plan CCC (on my blog)

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Winning Plan:

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

-[X] Incapacitate them

[X] Investigate Acquaintance:

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

[x] Seek Posse Members

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

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Day 4 Log:

4 AP at start of day

+0 for 6 hour sleep (due to blend maintenance) (4 AP)

+1 for victory over Knights (5 AP)
roll of 1 provokes injury/destroys evidence

-2 for [Morning] Investigate Sticker (3 AP)

Roll of 5 (-1 for injury = 4)

Success, returns 2 for alliance (5 AP)

-1 for [Afternoon] Seek Posse Members [ Ultra Fights] (4 AP)

Investigate Acquaintance roll: 9 (Success)

+1 for Success (5 AP)

End of day, (5 AP).

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Defend myself from Knights [Do not kill, ok to use arsenal]:

The blade dropped down at me like an implement of execution, but a last minute roll saw it sink instead into the pavement.  I’d rolled towards my assailant, my shoulders and side impacting with his boots and robes.

I swung a hand up, capturing my attacker around their knee, toppling them over onto me.

I rolled again, desperate.  In my haste to knock my immediate opponent off their feet I’d lost track of the other Knight.  I had to assume he was coming in for another swipe, and with robes fouling my gaze I had to guess about the trajectory.

If I rolled and he was swinging his blade across the ground like a farmer I’d roll right into it.  If I sprang up and he was swinging down like someone hammering in a tent stake then I’d rise up directly into the strike.

Fortunately, I didn’t lack for resources.  In the split second where the falling Knight shielded me I reached out with my gift for the bullet that I had taped to my arm, pulling for Fastness and ‘firing’ myself the instant I felt the capacity rise within me.

‘Fastness’ was an imprecise description, of course, the actual quality was something more like ‘firingness’ or ‘bulletness’, whatever it was that let a bullet zip through the world faster than the eye could follow.

I shot out of my predicament with similar celerity, altering my trajectory at the last second so that I didn’t slam into my attacker, unwilling to chance my gift against Refiner’s famous blessing, and also hoping to leave something to interrogate.

My alteration was, perhaps, a little hasty.  I ended up digging a furrow across the street, grinding my head and shoulders through the pavement as I shot away from my assailants.  My durability protected me from serious damage, but my head was spinning and my eyes were watering as I finally got back to my feet.

They didn’t give me any time to rest, charging at me the instant I slipped back into human time.  I had to be careful now, my blend with the bullet could blast me off at any moment if I wasn’t careful.

I stretched out my arm as the first Knight closed, reaching around the Scythe and grabbing it by the handle.  He wrenched at it, but I let him drag me back along with it, my hand clenched firmly beneath the blade, controlling the arcs he had access to.

The Knight’s scythes were terror weapons, for the most part.  There was a reason that nobody had ever equipped soldiers with scythes.  They need a lot of room to swing, they weren’t terribly hard to carry, and they had a tendency to get caught up on things.

Consequently I didn’t have to worry about the second Knight as I grappled with the first.  The only swings he could make were large and predictable, and it would be simple enough to push his partner into the way.

The guy whose scythe I was holding made a quick decision, letting go of one hand and trying to pie face me with it, smooshing his fingers and wrist against my Ultra tough face, presumably in an effort to keep me blind and off balance.

I didn’t fall for it, ignoring all of his efforts and focusing on the scythe.  He couldn’t hurt me, couldn’t do any lasting harm.  He was just trying to let his partner get the clean shot that they needed in with the other blessed scythe.

I was ready for it when his partner swung, dragging him into the way, fouling the swing with the blessed cloth of Refiner’s-

The cloth wasn’t blessed.  These ‘Knights’ had real scythes, but fake robes.  The blade swung unhindered through the first guy’s robes, through his torso and sunk deep into my side.

No more time for mercy, no time for anything.  If they didn’t have real Knight’s robes, then there wasn’t anything stopping me from ending this.  I put my hand to the wound and called on my blend again, blasting forward through my last assailant and simply obliterating him in a brutal full body collision of my ultra tough form and his human body.

He just shattered, blasted into unrecognizable gibbets of flesh.

I reeled in place, hand pressed to the deep bleeding wound in my side.  I swayed where I stood.

I gave a quick look around.  Both Knights were indisputably dead.  The first had nearly been bisected, the second obliterated by my bullet speed body check.  There was nothing more to them.

“Nice job,” said Owner.

I nodded to her and stepped inside, every ounce of my energy going to keeping my stride unwavering, my face relaxed.

Only after the door had closed did I permit myself to crumple to my knees, the stain on my side spreading despite my best efforts.

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Investigate Sticker:

I wasn’t a hundred percent the next morning, but a long night of using my healing gift had born fruit.  The gash in my side was mostly closed up, and as long as I didn’t put too much pressure on my core I could generally ignore it.

I’d been tempted to stay in my house and rest up, but the Regime had a nose for weakness.  The most important thing was to show no weakness, no disruption to my schedule.  I set out to investigate another prospect without any delay.

I’d known Sticker on and off, for quite a while.  She had a good head on her shoulders, and her gift was stronger than I thought she realized.

First off, she was Ultra tough two.  I could occasionally ape that capability, when I used my blends to steal durability or endurance.  But she had the real thing, the full time invincibility to conventional weapons that had allowed the Ultras to destroy the Old World’s militaries.

Her other gift, the one that she was named for, was also better than I thought she realized.  She didn’t secrete her slime, she just kind of conjured it, and that amount didn’t seem to be limited in any real way.

I’d made arrangements to meet her for breakfast, so we dropped by Owner’s facility, picking chips and what I’d once have called bad gas station food, sausage biscuits and the like off of the rack.

“What’re you up to nowadays?” I asked her.  “I haven’t seen you in a minute.”

She grinned, reaching up and scratching her nose.

“Still doing my building thing,” she said.  “I really think She will realize what a big deal that is one of these days.”

“Oh?” I said.

It was rare for anyone to deliberately try to come to Her attention.

“Yeah,” she said.  “You know how my slime can be as tough as I want, right?”

“Sure,” I said.

“I hadn’t realized it before, but it can actually be Ultra Tough.  I got some Knights to try and test it, and my hardest slime is about as tough as their ropes.”

I chuckled, doing my best not to start at the mention of Knights.  Anyone else and I might think that they were trying to provoke me, drawing attention to my attackers to throw me off or something, but Sticker didn’t have a sneaky bone in her body.

“Holy shit,” I said.  “That’s incredible.”

I meant that.  I’d believed in her gift even before knowing it, but with this power she would be easily powerful enough to be a Posse member.

“I know, right?” she gushed.  “So I’m putting it to use.  I’ve been sliming the wall, putting my gunk all along the inside.  We are gonna have an Ultra Tough wall, nobody is gonna expect that!”

I grinned, almost in spite of myself.  The notion that anyone who would dare to attack Shington, the seat of the Regime, would be put off by some gunk along the inside of the wall was ridiculous.  But it was characteristic of Sticker, the product of her endless belief in herself.

“Genius,” I said.  “That’ll catch em off guard.  Imagine trying to bash through a wall, only to get stuck like fly paper.”

She laughed easily, munching on a chip.

“What’re you up to nowadays?” she asked.  “Did that whole fighting thing pan out?”

“A little,” I said.  “I’m actually the Warlord now.”

“Oh wow!” she said, eyes wide.  “You get to take the fight to our enemies.  That must be so exciting!”

I took a bit out of my sandwich, relishing the taste as I mentally checked ‘willingness’ off of her entry in my list.

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Seek Posse Members at Ultra Fights:

The evening found me at the Deeps, an old toppled skyscraper that had been cored like an apple by an Ultra gift.

I was given a place of honor, the fans crowded away from me by the officious staff.  Ordinarily I might have objected, might have sat squarely in the midst of the crowd, but the Knight attack had me careful.  I had a hidden enemy, one who had no qualms about striking through anonymous pawns.  Crowds had become dangerous to me.

I didn’t relish the thought, but facts had to be faced.  I let the workers keep me sequestered and gave my full attention to the matches.

Someone had clearly told the participants that I was out here,  because throughout the night they directed their performances my way.  It seemed like every one of them got a moment in the spotlight, their gifts carefully trotted out for my perusal.

The Ultras that I thought might be Posse material were as follows:

1: Gunner, 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One
2: Chiller, 1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken
3: Cutter, 1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant
4: Joker, 0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like
5: Smasher, 3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time
6: Swimmer, 1/0/1, she can ‘swim’ through solid surfaces
7: Burner, 0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see
8: Maxxer, 0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts
9: Puncher, 1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements
10: Replayer, 1/2/0, she can ‘step back in time’ to undo damage that she takes
11: Builder, 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things

I took furious notes, and was utterly unsurprised when, on my way out the door, the manager let me know that they’d be happy to put me in contact with any of their prospects that I might be interested in.

I might well take them up on it.

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Day 5:

Days remaining: 26 ***

AP available: (5 end of last day + 0 for half night’s sleep) = 5/10

Prestige: 3 (word of injury may reduce this if I don’t take public vengeance soon)

Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) 

Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled

Force size: 0

Condition: Moderate Injury (-2 on fight, -1 on socialize with Regime members), will last till day 8 if not healed with an action

 

(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

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

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

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

 Gunner — 0/0/1, she shoots tracking Ultra Blasts at roughly Ultra Strength One

Chiller —  1/0/1, can freeze any object she touches, leaving them brittle and easily broken

 Cutter —  1/1/1, she is a brutal front line combatant

Joker —  0/2/0, a woman who can change what other people/herself look like

Smasher —  3/0/1, a woman who is billed as the strongest Ultra fighter of all time

Swimmer —  1/0/1, she can ‘swim’ through solid surfaces

Burner —  0/0/1, she can summon Ultra fire from anywhere that she can see

Maxxer —  0/0/0, she can augment the gifts of other Ultras, pushing their gifts

Puncher —  1/0/1, her strength and speed both go up when she repeats her movements

Replayer —  1/2/0, she can ‘step back in time’ to undo damage that she takes

Builder —  0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things

 

Faction Rankings:

Regime 7

KEM 8

Pantheon 2

Union 4

Resistance 9

Prevailer 3

 

Actions:

[ ] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success)

Motives: I can’t rest until I drop this blend, and I can only do so on a person or an Ultra, or my turtle.

Concerns:  This blend would be practically a death sentence to anyone who doesn’t have at least Ultra Toughness one, and will have unpredictable consequences on the personality and capabilities of the recipient.

-[ ] Give it to an ordinary person (no timeslot cost)

Motives: If I can’t spare the time to find a proper target, I can just take the first person off the street.

Concerns: This would be acting like every Ultra I hate.  I’d be disgusted with myself.

-[ ] Give it to an Ultra I know [indicate name], one timeslot

Motives: An Ultra can survive this.  They would be a safe place for this gift.

Concerns: Strengthening a Regime Ultra won’t go over well with KEM.

-[ ] Give it to a weak Ultra from the outside, hopefully thereby generating a stronger Ultra who is likely to be loyal, two timeslots

Motives: If I don’t want to make a strong Ultra stronger, I can instead augment one of the weaker Regime Ultras.

Concerns: Leaving the Lair is always hazardous, particularly as I don’t currently have a warband out there.

-[ ] Give it to Napoleon (no timeslot cost)

Motives: Ultimately, it is just a turtle. 

Concerns: He is MY turtle, and turning him into a bullet turtle seems weird and bad.

 

[ ] Heal my wound (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 1, returns 0 on success)

Motives: I need more time to heal this wound, it is slowing me down

Concerns:  None (this action will automatically succeed)

 

[ ] Investigate attack on me (Timeslot cost: 1; AP cost 2, refunds 1 on success)

-[ ] By asking bystanders

Motives: The fake Knights came from somewhere, perhaps I can find someone who saw them don their disguises

Concerns: None

-[ ] By asking Knights

Motives: They had real Knight scythes, those must have come from somewhere

Concerns: I don’t like associating with the Knights, or their master.  They may well be behind the attack, and could take the opportunity to strike again.

-[ ] Other (indicate specifics)

 

[ ] 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]