Regime Quest 23

Results from Previous round votes:

1 Vote plan CCC

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Winning Plan:

Morning: Debrief Information Gathering Mission

Afternoon: Train the warband: In Ultra Combat. Smasher did a great job with them yesterday… but let’s magnify her efforts.

Owner: Acquire Funds: Offer a 50c donation to a charitable organisation that specialises in helping kidnap victims per purchase. This both appeals to the charitable instincts of her imaginary clientele directly, and enhances her company’s moral image; and thus, presumably, her overall income.

Go through with the donation, of course. The last thing you want is some imaginary journalist finding trouble.

This is also the start of building up towards creating – and financing – a private security contractor which specialises in rescuing kidnap victims, garnering income from bounties placed on the kidnappers and donations from grateful clients (which, in this world, will allow us fast access to some pretty neat guns and other equipment).

Builder: Memorise patterns: Bulletproof vests. Extra protection for the Warband.

Smasher (morning): Recruit Ultras for the warband, from the Yard. The warband could use a few more warm bodies, a better to bring them in early, so there’s more time to train them.Day 19 Log :

5 AP at start of day (4 at end of last day +1 for half night’s sleep)

-0 for debrief Resistance on gather info mission (5 AP)

Roll 6, +1 for success (6 AP)

-1 for Train the Warband (5 AP)

Roll 5, +1 for success (6 AP)

Builder: Memorize Vest pattern

Roll 6, success

Owner: Put out rewards

Roll 7, success (ultimately, only initiated now)

Builder: Smasher, Recruit Yard Ultras to Warband

Roll 10, Crit Success

End of day, 6 AP

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Debrief Info Gathering Mission:

I used my finger to carefully open slide open the ties holding the satchel together, noting the rough ‘Skiner’ finger painted on the side.

Personally, I figured she probably knew how to spell her name, but presumably the Resistance knew better than I did.

“Bitch came through,” I remarked quietly to myself, really to Snitcher, “I guess I don’t need to pay her a visit after all.”

The text inside, once I’d squinted my way through some atrocious handwriting and mentally corrected any obvious spelling mistakes, read as follows:

“Merlin is the name that the dumb Ultras who can’t hack it in the Regime call Vanisher.

It takes her about ten seconds of looking at someone or something to make them go invisible or quiet or not touch.  They stay that way till she fixes them.

The gift is less good than it first seems because it works both ways.  If you can’t get seen you can’t see.  If you can’t get heard you can’t hear.  The people that can’t get touched can’t get touched.

There are a group of invisible guys in Ar Harbor.  They are pussies who hide from getting seen, but they have Knight weapons that they stole, so they can chop real good.  There are usually about ten of them (or maybe more haha, but at least as many as I have fingers), but she could make more of them real quick when she wants to.

They are trained to follow around the ‘ghost knights’ who can’t get touched but do a lot of talking.  The invisible cutters and the guys you can see but not touch make their enemies confused.  There are equal numbers of both of them, they work in pairs.

Her dagger name is Terry, she lives in the house with the yellow paint on the roof in the middle of the city.  She has a girlfriend and she takes care of two kids like a total pussy.  She can use her gift on herself but she doesn’t do it much, and she needs a mirror from what I heard.

King Arthur trusts her and they are part of the same gang of losers who run things in this tiny city.  She is also a big part of their deal with the pussies in the Union, who send people into town to get made invisible sometimes and give them Union guns and stuff in return.  Getting help from other people is how you know how weak they are, cuz they need help from other people.

I did what you said and I’m not doing any more unless you say to.”

I put that down, grimacing.  Vanisher was going to be a problem in the big battle.  I’d never tried to fight invisible people, but it seemed trivially obvious that they would punch well above their weight class, and also mess with the optics of Her voyeurism.  I’d probably saved my own life by getting this information ahead of time, if I could figure out a way to put it to use.

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Train Warband:

“Where the fuck did everyone come from?” I asked.

“The Yard,” supplied Jumper, sporting a shiny black eye and an unflattering new haircut.

I scowled to myself at that response, because that wasn’t really what I’d been asking.  But it was presumably technically correct, so discipline would have felt a bit petty.

“Jumper,” I told her.

“Warlord?” she asked.

“How many of these Ultras are new, today, in our circle?  How many did Smasher collect this morning?”

“Oh,” she said, gaze wandering across the packed barracks common room.  “About half of them?”

I nodded, carefully.

I had done my thing in the yard, back when we were getting started.  I was a standout of the same area, a living inspiration to them.  I’d given a speech.  I was known, or at least rumored to be able to give people new Ultra gifts!  I was the damn Warlord.

I’d gotten 17.

Later events had bumped us up to 25, but still, I’d been expecting Smasher, a stupid woman with half of my advantages, to maybe pull in another 12.

Instead she’d brought, if my count was correct, another 21, nearly doubling our number.

“What…” I asked, “What appeal did she make?  Did she maybe just pick you all up and fling you here?”

“She said there was as much free beer as we wanted and some other stuff that nobody paid any mind to.  Then she killed a girl who mouthed off.”

Of course she did.

I stared to run the group through their drills, a foul taste in my mouth.

I was reasonably sure I could have said the same things, done the same things, and I wouldn’t have gotten remotely comparable results from them.  It was…hmm it was vexing.

I’d thought I’d gotten it all out of my system, bowed before Her and all that.  For it to grate on me that a stupid person was doing better than me felt curiously old fashioned, something that decades of Her reign should have beaten out of me.

It was something like, I did a flawless impression of a Regime brute, but it was still an impression.  They could tell, on some level, that I was acting.  Smasher didn’t take a second to ponder, didn’t have to think before she acted.  It gave her an unforgeable advantage.

In the end I got over it.  I ran the group through the hand to hand drills that I’d been planning, trained them and worked them through the fundamentals of Ultra combat.  Maxing strength to toughness, avoiding death touches, when to use weapons vs. bare hands, all that.  It was a very productive session.

I put my littleness aside, reminded myself that Smasher was inside the tent, pissing out.  Whining that she was too good at her work would do nothing for me, and was pitiful besides.

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Debrief Posse:

“Did you hear about how well Smasher did?” asked Owner, blithely cheerful.

I resisted the urge to grit my teeth, reminded myself that I was better than that, smarter than the brutal thug whose loyalty I’d gained and, you know, not jealous at all at her easy rapport with my followers.

“Yeah,” I said, flawlessly concealing my difficulties.  “It’s great.”

Owner and Builder exchanged a look, but it definitely wasn’t because they noticed my bad mood.

“Anyway,” I said, subtly changing the subject, “How did things go for you, Owner?”

She looked a little grim.

“I spent the money, things should be starting on it, but I haven’t really felt the results yet.  I’m starting to worry that my gift may just not be fast enough on stuff like this.  Maybe there are a lot of rules or stuff in the imaginary world.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll come through,” said Builder.  “You are putting in the work now so that you can sit back and rake it in later.”

“Let’s hope,” I said.  “This should ultimately come through for us in a big way, let us start bringing in things that there is no easy way to get permits to sell.  The good stuff.  Weapons, body armor, the works.”

They nodded along easily, unburdened by understanding.  They had no real concept of the world that Owner simulated, relying utterly on my old memories.  I hoped that I hadn’t steered them wrong.

“And the body armor?” I asked Builder.  “You used that patch I let you borrow?”

“Yeah,” she said.  “I made, well, I made that material, and I put some holes in it.  See?”

She held up what was basically a bulletproof poncho.

I could see what had happened.  She hadn’t had the straps, hadn’t had a real idea of how they should be, just the swatch of fabric I’d given her.  So she’d just put 3 holes in them and called it done.

“These are great,” I said.  “We might be able to make them even better, but these should work for now.”

I wasn’t sure if it was worth it to have her devote more time to this, get her to make helmets or hoods, that sort of thing.  I’d decide that later.

“It’s really going to happen,” breathed Owner, apropos of nothing.  “We’re really doing this.”

“We’ll try, at any rate,” I cautioned her.  “Remember, King Arthur beat the last two Warlords.  This isn’t going to be easy.”

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The Plan:

  • On the 30th day we set out, the Warband and my Posse traveling in the trucks that Builder creates. We drive to within a few miles of Ar Harbor, then take up a position.
  • We attack the following day, a frontal assault led by Smasher and myself. Our Ultras against their forces (both their Round Table leadership and the various minions they have) in a pitched battle in broad daylight, with Her watching through my form using Snitcher’s gift.
  • Ideally they make their stand outside of the restored downtown that I am supposed to preserve in the strike. If not we go in after them, wreck the place up in the fighting, and have Builder restore things afterwards.

Plan Assessment:

  • Lancelot should lose to Smasher and myself, if not some of the more energetic Warband members. She is a benefit to me, someone to use for the highlight reel, make sure Prevailer is entertained.
  • King Arthur is necessary so that they have enough soldiers to give us a good fight. She is also the ‘final boss’, and will hopefully command from their Union tank.  Another excellent drama point for Her.
  • Merlin, if uncountered, will cause the enemy to win the battle. I must come up with a plan to deal with her.
  • Guinevere will be another very large problem, though not quite so big as Merlin. I believe Smasher can defeat her, but there are a lot of variables in that plan.  Ideally I need to come up with a way to handle her other than hoping she dies in the fighting.
  • In general my Yard Ultras should be man for man superior to King Arthur’s gifted troops and whatever Ultars their side can scrounge up. I am confident in the outcome of the Ultra scrum provided no other factors infringe upon it.
  • As far as hardware goes, our side has bolt action rifles with a few training sessions, their side may well have Union guns with months of training. They will have superior guns if nothing is done, which may help them to suppress our force advantage.  Builder’s efforts have gone a long way towards mitigating this, but the gap lingers.
  • I need an answer from Her on what it entails to take the place intact. I’m putting a lot of hope on it being ok to have Builder fix damage afterwards.  If that isn’t acceptable, then I need to start planning right now for how to avoid damaging this place while I have an Ultra war there.

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Day 21:

Days remaining: 10

AP available: (6 at end of day + 1 for 6 hours sleep) = 7/10

Non AP Action: Swap in a new plan.  You write in a new plan, I’ll give you Mia’s assessment of it.  If you don’t do this then the existing one will be executed.  The plan that is in force when its execution date arrives will be used for the actual battle, though there may be mid battle votes that could alter it in process.

Prestige: 3

Timeslots available: 2, morning and afternoon

Builder Timeslot Available: afternoon

Owner Timeslot Available: afternoon

Smasher : Timeslot Available: morning

Posse: 3 or 3 out of 3 slots filled

Force size: 46

Condition: Healthy

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

Posse:

Builder — 0/0/0, a woman who can alter objects for miles around into other things, blessed with a ‘Bulletproof’ blend

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

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

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

Grower – 0/*0/1, an outside Ultra I sponsored into the Lair, has a bullet blend from me, can rapidly increase the size and mass of objects

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

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

Ultra Enemies:

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

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

Ultra Acquaintances:

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

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

Faction Rankings:

Regime 7

KEM 8

Pantheon 2

Union 4

Resistance 9

Prevailer 3

Knights 3

[spoiler=Actions]

Actions:

[ ] Contact Knights (Timeslot cost: 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success)

Motive: My recent actions have opened up the possibility of collaboration with the Knights of Purity. Their assistance could be valuable, insofar as they don’t count towards the Regime’s ridiculous rule against outnumbering our enemies, and I might be able to acquire some of their blessed equipment if I play my cards right.

Concerns: I don’t know if I really want to be associating with such a group. KEM wouldn’t mind, but the Resistance would pull away from me, and I might end up coming into contact with Second Fist or their sponsored Ultras. It is likely that anything they might want from me would be rather evil.

 

[ ] 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 visiting Blisser (Timeslot cost: X (slots spent until AP reaches max), AP cost 0, returns 3 per time period. DANGER, this action may cause addiction)

-[ ]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 areas (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

 

[ ] Action: Direct the Warband (Timeslot cost 0, AP cost 1, returns 1 if successful)

Motive: If I need to set my warband in motion, give them a project or whatever, it is as simple as telling them to jump.  My will is their command.

-[ ] Let [Posse Member] Supervise, takes up the Posse Member’s action, modifies success chance based on which Posse member it is, and which action

 

[ ] Action: Train the Warband (Timeslot cost 0, AP cost 1, returns 1 if successful) [Requires a timeslot from the teacher, who should probably be an Ultra combatant]

Motive: Yard Ultras are fierce, but undisciplined.  They are warriors, not soldiers.  I can get better outcomes if I teach them some basics.

-[ ] In Ultra Combat (Gives bonuses on their battle rolls)

-[ ] In anti firearm maneuvers (Makes them suffer less casualties under fire)

-[ ] In obedience (makes them more likely to obey my orders)

 

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

 

KEM Actions:

[ ] Assign Assassination mission [Timeslot cost 1, AP cost 3, returns 1 on success, can only be done in the morning, uncertain Snitcher risk]

 

Description: KEM are the only humans who fight back on a consistent, day to day basis.  We’ve come up together, they and I, and pointing them at my foes is only common sense.  If I give them a target, then I trust them to make a good faith effort to put that Ultra down.  Their odds of success, of course, vary wildly depending on how much info I can provide, and the gifts of the Ultra in question.

 

Resistance Actions:

[ ] Assign Information Gathering Mission [Timeslot cost 1, AP cost 2, returns 1 on success, can only be done in the morning, uncertain Snitcher risk]

Description: The humans are the ocean in which the Ultras swim, the saying goes.  The Resistance’s capacity to gather information about Ultras is unsurpassed.  If I give them a target, then they will give me every bit of public information on the target, and often times a little bit more.  Ultras are people, after all.  I believe this with all my heart.  And people trust other people, even those that they ultimately shouldn’t.  I can assign as many targets as I wish, but the more I assign the less details I will probably get, and the longer it might take.

 

[ ] Debrief Information Gathering Mission [Timeslot cost 1, AP cost 0, returns 1 on success, can only be done in the morning, uncertain Snitcher risk]

Description: The information that the Resistance gathers is worthless if I never regain it.  Using protocols I’ve worked out ahead of time, and my recent discovery of Snitcher’s habits, it should be possible for me to take the Resistance’s reports with minimal risk.  I expect I should give them a day or two for local targets, and possibly as much as four for targets in Ar Harbor or further afield.

Smasher Actions:

[ ] Recuperate [Timeslot cost All]

Description: Smasher hangs on the edge of death.  Her body and gift will try to knit her back together each day.

 

Owner Actions:

[ ] Acquire Funds [Timeslot cost 1]

Description: Owner takes action to get more and more valuable assets within our world, increasing her overall funding, hopefully permitting her gift’s actions to be swifter and larger in impact. (Requires Write In clarification on how to do this)

[ ] Change Company [ Timeslot cost 1]

Description: Owner presently runs a package store, located in downtown Washington.  She has, as near as I can estimate, a low six figures saved up.  With this action I can direct her to acquire licenses, expand locations, purchase other businesses, or perform similar deeds, all based around changing the operation and activities of her imaginary franchise. (Requires Write In clarification on how to do this)

[ ] Company Action [ Timeslot cost 2]

Description: This is a catchall action for anything I might think of that could let Owner impact the main battle in Ar Harbor.  Buying up local real estate and demolishing it on a certain date seems like the obvious course of action, but there are a lot of other fringe ideas that I’ve been entertaining. [Requires Write In clarification on how to do this.  The first Action spent on this is about Owner doing tests to make sure this effort will work, the second actually kicks off whatever changes I want in the imaginary world.]

Builder Actions:

[ ] Repair Structure [Timeslot cost 1]

Description: Builder can repair most any structure any structure in just a few hours, spreading broken portions back into place and generating new matter as needed.

 

[ ] Construct Known Structure [ Timeslot cost 1]

 

Description: Builder can construct any easily described structure with the same ease that she repairs them.  Her present education limits this to extremely primitive structures, but that might well be changeable.

 

[ ] Construct Known Items [Timeslot cost 1]

 

Description: Builder’s gits aren’t limited to buildings.  If she can get a perfect understanding of an objects, and samples for every component, then she can form any items that I might desire.  The easiest way to accomplish this, of course, would be to provide her with a sample.

 

[ ] Memorize Patterns [ Timeslot cost 1]

 

Description: Builder’s gifts are heavily limited by her imperfect education.  The more patterns I can get her to learn, the more she can construct from any given material.  If I provide her with patterns or specimens I’m pretty sure she can memorize them and add them to her arsenal.

[/spoiler]

 

 

3 thoughts on “Regime Quest 23

  1. Plan:

    Morning: Investigate ally: Smasher. Find out exactly what her power can and can’t do.
    Afternoon: Seek Information on Regime military operations: Ask around. Asking Subtractor didn’t help, let’s ask around and find other people to query. Especially with regards to whether or not restoring the damage afterwards with Builder is going to help.

    Builder: Let’s try something. Builder can take a substance and make more of that substance. Can she turn a bottle of water into a high-pressure firehose by vastly increasing the amount of water in the bottle? (She might need a strong bottle).

    Owner: Look after the Army for a while. Try training them in basic combat.

    Smasher: Tell me all about her power.

    ————–

    As to the Plan, here’s some thoughts:

    – We should attack on the 28th. We shouldn’t tell anyone about this until about the 25th. This will throw a spanner in the works of any trap they’re planning that requires that they have an idea of when we’re coming.
    – If we head over on the 30th, we can expect to ‘coincidentally’ meet a Union patrol partway there who will inflict some damage on us. We should prepare for this possibility, even at our earlier date.
    – Merlin’s invisible troops are, of course, invisible. They are also carrying Knight equipment. Picker’s assassins carried Knight equipment. Hmmm. ….the Knights would be interested in hearing about this – and would probably be interested in getting their stuff back, too. I don’t want to get too involved with the Knights of Purity, but…
    – Another option for dealing with Merlin is to take advantage of KEM. I know where she lives, what she can do and who she cares for; leaving that report on Merlin in the right place should be enough to get her killed outright.
    – Third option – use Owner to demolish Merlin’s house in the middle of the night (buying and demolishing the property)
    – Fourth option – take advantage of Builder’s stuff-stretching ability to ensure that our confrontation happens in an ankle-deep flood. Even invisible people can be seen walking through ankle-deep water – if nothing else, by the foot-shaped hollows in the water.
    – Guinevere is easily handled. I need merely imbue my Posse with fireproof; after that, Smasher can take her out easily. (Ankle-deep water soul mess with her, too, by extinguishing a lot of fires).
    – Lancelot and Arthur are unlikely to be trouble in the final confrontation.
    – That giant Union tank, on the other hand, is a problem (and not a small one). But Builder should be able to deal with it; her power works at any range. She can close off any gun barrels by extending the barrel material _inwards_, she can mess up the engine by making the internals just grow crazy spikes everywhere, and so on. Once she can see it, she can ruin it utterly – and probably without even leaving any external sign of her sabotage, so it can all be blamed on the Union being idiots.
    – If the Ar Harbour team don’t want to come out and fight, we can draw them out by taking hostages. from the people they care for. This strategy is unpleasant and distasteful, but it will work, and will draw them away from buildings.

    1. I’m very happy to see so much effort on a post. I’ll urge you once more to post it over at SV, but I get it if you don’t want to.

  2. Yeah… still can’t make an account there.

    In order to make an account, I’d need to agree to follow their rules; which seems fair and reasonable on the face of it. However, after an incident there a while back (to do with a fanfic I was following) it was made clear that if there is an ambiguity found in the rules, or if the rules are somehow misunderstood, then the rules are not corrected to avoid the ambiguity or clarify the misunderstanding.

    This implies that the rules *as enforced* are not entirely the same as the rules *as written*. And since I have no idea what those differences are, I am clearly in no position to agree to follow rules that I cannot completely know. (The abovementioned incident made it clear to me that differences exist between my understanding of at least one of the written rules, and what is enforced on the site. I have no idea how much further these differences run).

    So, yeah, short version, I won’t make an account there. But you’re welcome to copy/paste my previous post there to generate discussion, if you think it won’t go against their rules to do so.

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