Results from Previous round votes:

Three Votes:

Plan TalonofAnathrax, on SV forum

One Vote:

Plan CCC (on my blog)

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Winning Plan:

[X] Heal my wound

[X] Investigate Attack on me:

-[X] By asking Knights

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Day 5 Log:

5 AP at start of day

+0 for 6 hour sleep (no benefit due to blend maintenance) (5 AP)

-1 for [Morning] Heal my wound (4 AP)

No roll required

-2 for [Afternoon] Investigate attack on me [ Knights ] (2 AP)

Investigate roll: 2 (failure)

End of day, (2 AP).

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Heal myself with my gift:

“Damn it, Owner, I’ve explained this before!”

I’d elected to stay at home this morning, putting in the time to heal my wound before the world could get used to me in a wounded state.

I’d expected it to be a restful change of pace, but I hadn’t reckoned with my roomate’s insistent curiosity.

“I get that the plastic cards are worth more than the green paper,” she said.  “But why isn’t it the same every time?  Some of the ones I give my gift, I feel like it might actually be taking away from my total.”

“It isn’t that complicated,” I said.  “The card represents a big box of money somewhere else.  Each one is worth however much money is in the box.  That’s going to be more than any single piece of paper, but how much more is going to depend on the number of papers in the box, and what numbers are on each of them.”

The next worker stepped up, and she reached out and banished him into whatever alternate world her gift worked its magic in.

“So you are saying it doesn’t have anything to do with the numbers on the cards?  I know how cash is worth whatever the number is on it.  Why do the cards even have numbers on it if they don’t mean anything?”

“It’s like,” I struggled for a moment, trying to figure out the easiest way to say this without getting into the complexities of credit agreements, “the numbers are different on every card, right?  That’s how they know what box that card controls.”

“So the numbers are like the card’s name?” she asked, as the person who had worked the last shift winked back into existence beside her.

“Yes, exactly,” I said.

“So why do they also have names written on there?” she asked triumphantly.

I gritted my teeth and tried to make the time go faster.

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Investigate Attack on me [ask Knights]:

“A deplorable incident,” allowed the Knight Commander.

It was hard not to be intimidated by this woman.  The skull mask of the Knights was augmented, on their leadership, by a pair of antlers.  The robe had striping along the arms.  But the thing that made her frightening hung at her waste.

A shotgun, cut down for a quick draw, and no doubt blessed by Refiner’s power.

Only in Shington, only in their center of power within the Lair, would you find Knights so trusted.  Before such a firearm an Ultra was only a woman like any other, and could be cut down in the blink of an eye.

“An attack,” I stressed.  “not just an incident.”

But I couldn’t back down, couldn’t show any weakness or fear.  The Regime is no place for such things.  I had to put her in her place if I was to get anything out of this trip.

“Of course, Warlord,” she murmured.  “A deplorable attack.  We’ve taken the liberty of preparing the parties responsible.”

She stood and headed for the door, indicating that I should come along with her.

“Two of our newer members, I’m afraid, didn’t leave their regalia at home as they visited Blisser’s quarters.”

Blisser was an Ultra whose gift could induce mind bending euphoria in anyone she touched.  Ordinarily this would be too weak of a gift to allow one to operate within the Lair, but she benefited from the same kind of allowance that Owner did.

“I don’t see how that explains their actions,” I responded.

We left the ruined office complex, heading out into a courtyard, where she signaled a waiting Knight.

“They were not the ones who attacked you.  They spent their allotted time in Blisser’s den, where Resistance elements seized their scythes and used them against you.

I was pretty sure that they hadn’t been Resistance, but obviously that’s who would take the blame.  If this got back to Her there might even be a Decimation.  Ultras didn’t like it when anyone fought back.

The Knight returned, shoving a pair of blinking and abused figures before him.  These two had been stripped of their robes and beaten heavily.  Blood crusted on their mouths and nose, and I could see missing fingernails.

“We knew you’d prefer to handle their final sentence, Warlord.  Their carelessness put your life at risk, their own lives are scant recompense, but they are all that they have.”

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5 day progress report:

Goals:

Investigate Target:  I’ve learned the rough number of Ar Harbor’s defenders, as well as a brief description of their leadership.  I have also learned the rough contours of the kind of engagements that She will accept (open battle, we shouldn’t outnumber the enemy).  I can’t help but notice that that doesn’t sound like a recipe for victory.

I would like to learn more about the enemy’s gifts and overall situation.  The thought of putting my fate at risk in an even battle is hateful to me.  I’ve got to figure out some way to set things up so I’m sure that we will win, without that being obvious to anyone riding my senses.

Investigate Route: I was a Troubleshooter long enough to have few worries about getting to Ar Harbor.  The only thing giving me some pause is the news that the previous attack suffered Union strike before their arrival.  I’m relatively confident that I would ordinarily be able to evade Union patrols, but there is always the possibility that they are explicitly protecting Ar Harbor, which would be a huge complication.  I should probably double check that at some point.  If I’m going to be fighting the Union it would be great to know ahead of time.

Assemble Posse:  I’ve been focused on finding prospects for my Posse.  I am pretty content with the rate at which that is going.  I doubt I’ll need to search out too many more, just got to decide who I can trust.

Understand Snitcher:  I haven’t really started on this yet, but I think the time is coming.  Once I know the contours of his spying I can start contacting my KEM and Resistance contacts, and get them to take actions for me.  That should greatly increase the rate of my investigations, and they are also probably better at certain tasks than I am myself.

Assemble Warband:  I’m currently planning on leaving this until I have a Posse member to do it for me.  My time is too short to spend it herding young Ultras.

Complications:

Subtracter’s Errand:  I don’t have to take care of this till sometime after day 10.  Not looking forward to that.

My Attackers:  Someone is trying to kill me.  I’ll feel a lot better once I figure out who that is, and return the favor.

 

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Day 6:

Days remaining: 25

AP available: (2 end of last day + 0 for half night’s sleep while maintaining blend) = 2/10

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

Timeslots available: 2 (morning, afternoon) + special action for responding to Knight scapegoat offer 

Posse: 0 out of 3 slots filled

Force size: 0

Condition: Healthy

 

(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:

[ ] Respond to Knight Offer [0 AP, 0 time slots, gain 1 AP if I get rid of the bullet blend for Day 5 night’s sleep]

-[ ] Execute them.  These two are not actually responsible, but killing them will let me punish someone, thereby removing any possibility of losing prestige.  Further, I can rid myself of my bullet blend by transferring it to someone just about to die.  On the minus side, it will be next to impossible to continue to investigate the attack after officially punishing someone for it, and my rapport with KEM may be damaged (their membership and that of the Knights are rather intertwined.)

-[ ] Let them live.  Not punishing someone will allow me to continue investigating, and potentially find the actual responsible party.  My relations with the Knights, and potentially Second Fist will also improve, and KEM will hear that I had the chance to kill people and declined it, which may keep them from getting antsy about our continuing lack of communication.  On the other hand, the longer I don’t take revenge for this attack the greater the odds that I lose prestige over it, and I’ll still have to figure out a way to get rid of my bullet blend.

-[ ] Other (write in for details)

 

[ ] Get rid of my bullet blend (Timeslot cost: varies; AP cost 0, refunds 0 on success, unavailable if I already got rid of the bullet blend as part of resolving the Knight affair above)

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, not available if I punished the Knight scapegoats)

-[ ] 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 Blisser

Motives: She might well have seen who took the Knight’s scythes

Concerns: None

-[ ] 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]