Regime Quest 25

Results from Previous round votes:

4 Vote plan CCC (!!! New record!)

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Winning Plan:

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.

 

Day 22 Log :

4 AP at start of day (3 at end of last day +1 for half night’s sleep)

-1 for talk with Smasher about her gift (3 AP)

Roll 5, +1 for success (4 AP)

-2 for Seek Info on Regime Military Operations (2 AP)

Roll 8, +1 for success (3 AP)

Builder Experiment with Water

Roll 9, success

Owner: Train Army

Roll 5, success

End of day, 3 AP

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Talk with Smasher

“What’s your deal?” I asked.

She looked back to me, casually throwing a pill or two down her throat.  I hid a grimace.

The reason I’d chosen to speak with her in the morning was simple.  It was when she was soberest, the brief time between waking up and filling herself up with pills and booze.  It would probably be my only chance.

“I’m cool,” she answered, giving a shrug.

“Your gift, though,” she says.  “What does it actually do?”

I realized she was about to say ‘smashes stuff’ a second before she opened her mouth.

“Smashes stuff.”

“Right, sure,’ I said, conscious of her ever dwindling sobriety, “But you smashed your wounds off earlier.  What’s up with that?”

She looked a little confused.

“I smashed them,” she said, “they kinda hurt.”

I’d had that coming.  Alright.  I tried to reformat my expectations, get on her level.

“What other things can you smash?” I asked.

She was about to say ‘everything’.

“Everything,” she said.

“Could you smash all the germs out of a person?” I asked.

“What’s a germ?” she asked, seemingly curious.

Jesus, ok , right, why would she know basic things.

“Can you smash small things out of big things?” I asked.

“Small things are easy to smash?” she said, raising her voice at the end of the sentence to make it a question.

“But wounds aren’t a thing,” I said, aware that I was going down a rabbit hole, but powerless to stop it.

“Sure they are,” she said.

“No,” I responded, “They are an absence, or an attribute, or, I don’t know, its just a word that we use to describe how people…”

I trailed off, realizing that she was gazing at me with pity.

“Things are what you can see,” she told me, like she was telling a lesson to a child, “Since you can see  wounds they are a thing.  I think that absence or attribute stuff is just something you made up.”

I took a second to think of a way to say the next thing.

“You have to be careful not to just believe in stuff you think of,” she says, “Some of my buds never came back from their trips because of that.”

“Alright,” I said.  “Sorry, yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking.  So you can smash anything that you see, right?”

“Sure,” she said.

“What about the part of the gun the bullet come out of?” I asked.  “That should be a ‘thing’, right?  Could you smash one that part?”

She reached out a hand towards me, and I passed the gun over.

I wasn’t even really surprised when she plucked the hole right off the front of the gun, crumpling it up and tossing it off to the side.  I was learning.

I followed the hole’s flight with my gaze, it bounced off the edge of a chair, rolled to a stop at the edge of the dresser.  I was half expecting it to work like a cartoon ‘portable hole’, and now be a hole in the floor, but it just sat there, looking like a crumpled up piece of paper.

“I get it,” I said.  “Anything you can see you can smash.  Makes sense.  Does that stop collateral damage, um, do you only smash what you want to smash?”

She screwed up her face a bit, kind of looked away.

“I feel like you are leading up to wanting to fuck, Blender.  I don’t do that.”

“Uh…right,” I said.  “Good to know.”

We sat in silence for a moment, which she broke by opening a beer and chugging on it.

I left a little bit after that.

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Seek info from Veterans

I’d done this a few times before, and it hadn’t gotten any easier.  None of the Ultras associated with the previous Warlord’s failures really wanted to advertise the fact, and with 2 failures preceding me it was hard to find living representatives of prior missions, ones who might be less ashamed of their service.

But hard was not impossible, and I’d done this before.  I’d posted up in the Lair’s most prestigious Company Facility and let the word get out that I’d be very grateful for the information I was looking for.  A steady string of folks had come by.

The most common response was something along the lines of “She never asked NOT to kill everyone and smash everything.  That’s, like, the opposite of what She usually tells people to do.”  I had to process a lot of people like that before I found anyone else who had had an assignment even remotely like mine.

“We were supposed to fetch a red car,” said the old woman.  “The sort that She was never allowed to drive back in the old world or something.”

It wasn’t an exact match, but it was the best I was going to get.

“Go on,” I told her.  “How’d that go?”

“It was in Pantheon hands, one of their warlords had it.  We rolled up and caught them out in Tucky, took em out and dragged the red car back.”

“Did the car get smashed?” I asked.

She gave a sullen nod.

“What’d your warlord do?” I pressed.

She gave me a canny glare, eyes sullen and hard.  She’d been around a while, had an eye out for the main chance.  She could tell I wanted this.

“I’ll owe you a favor,” I allowed.  “Not unrestricted, but something reasonable.”

“Alright,” she said, “That’s fine.  Yeah, we fucked the car up, then Adder made a new one. I guess She was ok with it, because the Warlord went on for another 2 missions.”

I was able to keep myself from physically clenching my fist in triumph, but my grin probably gave the game away.  It sounded like we could go nuts as long as we left enough for Builder to put everything back together.

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Debrief Posse:

“How’d your meeting with Smasher go?” asked Owner.

“Fine,” I answered, shortly.

“You find out everything her gift can-“

“I got some stuff,” I said.  “It was great.  I also felt a hangover coming on from the proximity fumes, and I remind you that I’m not a pushover.”

I’d almost said ‘ultra tough’, but Builder hadn’t earned that particular revelation just yet.

Builder chuckled.

“Well, my stuff went pretty well?”

“Water cannons?” I asked.

“Sort of,” she answered.  “I can definitely add water to existing water, as long as it isn’t in a person.  So I can rupture bottles of the stuff, that kind of thing.”

“What would happen if the container was very strong?” I asked, trying to hold off the flashbacks to my earlier attempts at getting someone to explore their gift.

“I think it would still break,” she said.  “Like I’m adding a few feet of water a second, busts a hole right through the side.”

“You’ve tested this?” I asked.

“On Owner’s plastic water bottles.  I still get a kick out of that.  In your time they put water in bottles and sold it?  Did they, like, not know about rain?”

I smiled blandly, suppressing the ‘in your time they forgot how to make food for themselves and they send children to fight wars’ style retort that jumped readily to the tip of my tongue.

“Anything tougher?” I asked.

“I couldn’t figure out a way where I could still see inside to add the water if I didn’t use a see through container,” she said.  “I tried putting a hole in a truck gas tank, but then the water just came out of the hole.”

“Still,” I said, “Encouraging results.  There’s got to be a way or two to break that, get us some kind of water laser cannon.”

“Training went fine,” piped up Owner.

We both looked over at her.

“Like…just fine,” she said, deflating a little.  “There was some fighting and some stuff I told them to back down and they ignored me, but that wasn’t most of them.  It was fine.”

I massaged my temples.  I thought I’d trained them to take orders from the non combat duo.  Ultras!

“Good day?” asked Builder.

I gave her a weak smile, thoughts already turning to the plan.

 

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Walter Note (I’m going to be putting Mia’s thoughts in line by line instead of all at the end, I found myself scrolling back and forth anyway, and I think it is just easier.)

The Plan:

– 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.

“I like the idea of attacking at a different date from when I tell the troops that we will.  I’m concerned that they may be able to get a signal to King Arthur and his Union buds after we tell them on the 25th.  Maybe I should tell them the night before, or just the day of?”

– Merlin’s invisible troops are, of course, invisible. They are also carrying Knight equipment. Picker’s assassins carried Knight equipment. Hmmm. But what the Knights are asking for in exchange for the use of their equipment is morally completely reprehensible. I can’t countenance that, and would lose my Resistance contact if I did. (I would deserve to lose my Resistance contact if I did that. I would be truly a monster.)

“Yes, very true.  I don’t want to work with Refiner and his pets any more than I have to.”

– I need to bear in mind that Merlin and Arthur might have empowered the same people. That is to say, some of Merlin’s invisible assassins might have Ultra Strength, or Speed, or Toughness. They’re already hitting above their weight – on top of that, they may actually have some weight to hit on top of.

“Very worrying possibility.”

– 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. However, I shouldn’t use KEM on more than one person. Merlin is a greater threat than Guinevere.

“This is a good idea.  I tried to have KEM kill Merlin once already, hopefully there will be enough time to try again.  I really don’t think I can win the fight if they have invisible warriors.”

– Third option – use Owner to demolish Merlin’s house in the middle of the night (buying and demolishing the property).

“I’d rather use KEM, but this might be a ‘why not both’? situation.”

– 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.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt, but when I remember my past fights and try and imagine looking at the ground constantly to see if footprints are getting closer my immediate reaction is that the person I’m fighting would take that opportunity to hit me.  We’ll try this in the worst case scenario, but I’m dubious.”

– Guinevere is easily handled. I need merely imbue my Posse with fireproof; after that, Smasher can take her out easily. (Ankle-deep water should mess with her, too, by extinguishing a lot of fires).

“My ability doesn’t really work that way, but I can see how I forgot that for a sec.  (out of character, this is a CCC plan, and the clarifications were on the board, not the blog).  My gift adjusts people’s ‘metadata’, a set of 3-4 keywords that define them.  Adding one in, like ‘fireproof’ risks the possibility that the one that falls off will be something like ‘sane’, or ‘mobile’.  I got lucky with Grower and Builder.  If I tried the same thing on 50 people I wouldn’t have fifty fireproof people when I was done, or 50 living people.”

– 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.

“Builder can wreck it very fast as soon as she can see it, though she can’t grow stuff on the internals unless she can see into it.  But adding stuff to the outside where she can see it will rapidly render the tank unusable.  I like this idea.”

– 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. Moreover, I don’t actually need to permanently harm the hostages, not if I’m threatening enough.

“It sounds like I am allowed to wreck the place as long as we fix it, and I’m also really not loving the idea of taking hostages.”

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Day 23:

Days remaining: 8

AP available: (3 at end of day + 1 for 6 hours sleep) = 4/10

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

[spoiler=Ultras]

 

(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

[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Actions]

Actions:

[ ] Accept Refiner’s Bargain (Timeslot cost: 0, AP cost 4, auto succeed)

Motive: His blessed weapons and armor would be a massive force multiplier for our group.  He might also send along Knight backup.  He would be a powerful additional patron.

Concerns: I would be responsible for a massacre in the immediate aftermath, or be killed by Second Fist if I backed out.  Subtracter would also likely perceive this alliance as an attempt at weaseling out from under her command, so I’d have to tread very carefully to avoid offending her.

 

[ ] 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  competence. 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]

 

 

4 thoughts on “Regime Quest 25

  1. Morning: Assign KEM mission: Merlin. Leave the Resistance folder for them.

    Losing access to their invisible troops will make things *way* harder for the enemy. And when KEM find out that Merlin’s invisible troops have Refiner-blessed weapons which they can steal and then use on *other* Monsters… well, they’re going to love that idea.

    Afternoon: Train the Warband: In combat. After Smasher’s morning beating them into some sort of shape, I’ll train them to be better fighters. *Team* fighters, who work *together*.

    Builder: Experiment with turning a (reasonably unconfined) puddle of liquid into a veritable flood. Then having parts of the flood burst up in splashes.

    Owner: Try to earn some new funds with an advertising campaign.

    Smasher: Train the Warband: In obedience. If they don’t listen to a member of *my* Posse, they will face *consequences*.

    ————–

    As for the plan:

    – We attack on the 28th. The only person who finds out about this early is Prevailer, who gets to discover this on the 25th. On the 26th, those members of out Posse that we can trust not to blab (Owner and maybe Builder) find out. On the 27th, Owner collapses Merlin’s house (assuming we haven’t had Mission Success from KEM by that point).

    On the 28th, Smasher and the warband find out. Preferably while being herded into the trucks.

    – Builder needs to take some sort of coloured liquid with her. (Mud may well do, but consider green or yellow food colouring from Owner as well). If Merlin is still alive when we get there, an ankle-deep flod of this stuff along with a lot of splashing will hopefully leave the invisible troops with a bad case of colour on them, leaving them more visible.

    – Builder also takes along a pair of fire extinguishers (Owner should have a few, building fire codes being what they once were). She can use them to cover a small area with fire-retardant foam, and then use her power to cover a *large* area with fire-retardant foam. Just make sure it stays below eye level, so that Prevailer gets her show. This will mess with both Merlin (if around) and Guinevere. Again, splashes of fire-foam can reveal invisible troops.

    – Builder is also our go-to person for ranged anti-Union-tech operations. No machine can long survive her vengeful gaze, once she’s decided to smash it. And if the Union gets wise to the point of limiting our visibility (say, with smoke), the Smasher can just smash the smoke…

    – Talking of Smasher, if she can smash *fire*, then Guinevere doesn’t stand a hope.

  2. I picked this up in 2016 and then dropped it for a bit in mid-2018 before returning last week. I am a bit disappointed by the direction of things and the slow progress. These characters are flailing and are not behaving rationally. Of course, this is in the “superhero” genre..I’m hanging in there and hoping the promise I saw at the start pays off.

    Would you consider separating Regime Quest into its own thing? It’s already enough that this is written with every other chapter being some form of exposition, taking us out of the story. Adding in a third leg is making a muddle, at least in my opinion. I’m sure some people like it fine. For me, I may be interested in reading it when the main story is done or if it gets a story only version. Right now, it’s just making it harder to read TFD.

    Despite my criticism and dislike of the way this is organized, it still has my support. I very much hope that you cross the finish line.

    1. Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate you sticking with the story.

      I know I’ve said this before, but I believe that updates should be back to weekly as of now. I lost the job that was sucking up all my time, so I should be able to get my updates out at least!

      I definitely agree that the protags are flailing, but they are doing their best!

      1. I appreciate that you responded at all, though you didn’t actually address my question. I already checked and saw that this is much better and more cleanly organized on Sufficient Velocity. I’ve been avoiding that site to free myself of the temptation of Worm fan fiction but I’ll read this there from now on.

        I really do suggest you reorganize and find a way to separate your two stories, and maybe cut the informational posts and delayed update posts that are no longer relevant. The goal should be to keep the reader in the story. Even the most brilliant work can lose traction if things are disorganized. Heck, going into the archives had me reading the story backwards for a bit.

        It wasn’t enough to make me drop this but I can imagine some readers getting frustrated and bailing.

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