Hm. You’ll try for later today, maybe? You wanna find that other chimera and pass on the message, for one. Also, you don’t know for sure if the vice-warden will even let you go even if he does realize you’re not Reiner - this place collects chimera after all and the purpose of that hasn’t quite been sussed out yet. If he’s a real dingus, he’ll bury you just so he can pretend Reiner didn’t actually successfully escape on -his- watch!

Might wanna present a purely theoretical scenario to ‘im asking about what he’d do.

>>1054220
Pascoe: have confusing and slightly-troubling thoughts about seeing yourself in makeup

>>1054220
Are her fingers literally feathers?
While crimson on golden can be very stylish I suspect that's not a design feature of the scissors.
Can you brush feathers? I honestly have no idea.

"Hey Berascus, how do I look?" I'm very curious about how this translate for an ave.
Are the guardas assigned to specific prisoners? He seem to be your watcher no matter where you go.

Let's meet Mako. From Pascoe's point of view talking his way out of this should still sound possible. The only downside of succeeding would be the possible lost of access to the deaf chimera, but that's a low priority compared to securing our freedom.
Since there is a possibility that Mako wouldn't release us even if he believe we are a different person let's avoid the topic of gender. Assuming the riots threats are true, if he became aware of this imminent disaster he might transfer us.
So, important to inform him: name is Pascoe, postal officer, and our crew is scheduled to leave in two days. That is how long he have if he want to capture Rainer. And we strongly advise contacting the crew beforehand to avoid a conflict due to a misunderstanding, preferable with us tagging along.

>>1054274
Agree with everything here

Try for later today, you're recovering from a little fight right now and can't speak well. You could even really sell it by whispering to Teller and having her relay the message.

Yeah, the first thing we need right now is organization and information, I have more of an idea on how to possibly handle all this once that's done with but for now it's best we make sure everyone knows everyone, then we can prepare a speech for the hive.

I will say, there seems to be a lot of diversion from significant change prevalent so far when that's what we really need. We can't really expect everyone to just continue their lives like nothing happened, so we'll need to get a little culty. By that I mean we need to act as a whole and essentially sacrifice our individual lives to make a collective one.
Basically what I propose is that everyone that's now a part of our hive and is willing to do so should sell anything they wouldn't take with them and consolidate a hive fund that we can put forward into a single building. Basically, we need to start fundraising and proving ourselves to be self-sufficient.

As shocking as this all is, time is of the essence and we must make use of this gift fully while it lasts.

Go out to meet with the ex-rogues outside and encourage them to share in the joy and comfort from this new chance you all now have.

After that, you should seriously consider going to the police station where the other rogues have been detained to get into empathy range and let them join yout hive.

>>1053228
>let them join yout hive.
I doubt we're actually still mentally "open", it sounds like it happened semi-instantly to those who were watching the play from the start during its climax.

The entire performance was about Ryka communicating Arvenia's thoughts and emotions and getting all spectating neumono to feel exactly like her, to the point that rogues ended up synchronized and attuned after the climactic lines.

Wait... We only affected rogues (or possibly soon-to-be rogues), right?

>anxious

Well, now that you're stable, it's sort of a sign that the clock is ticking, right? Or maybe even already run out. There might be another stampede when you go out. At the very least a lot of desperate people are going to be hurt. I don't know, maybe you can come up with something to say to people?... there might be a lot more than just these five who are in the room with you, too.

They could also be anxious just because this is a big life change. Everything's changed course and who knows to where, right? Maybe you can get someone from the police or government to talk to about safety and supports and stuff. Aliens, maybe. Does becoming part of a hive again make the empathic xenophobic response stronger again?

Just ask why they're anxious. Best to let out any worries now, while we're in a more safe and secluded spot. They make it sound like we've got a hive bigger than just the five of them.

Put an apple on the stick

ArtisanBubblegum 2023/01/04(Wed)06:25 No. 1053201 ID: f9d74d
File 167284234897.png - (64.39KB , 960x640 , Crundis 006.png )

You place an Apple on the Business end of the Forked Stick.

The porcupine pays you no mind, but the squirrel seems to ask for treats.

Crundis: I have no Treats for freeloaders!

Mr. Squirel: ...

You and the Squirrel head north along the forest trail. After some time, you reach a Small Pond.

There's a familiar face across the water.

Crundis: "I was hoping I wouldn't have the misfortune of running into someone, but at least he doesn't ever have anything to say."

"Unlike you, Mr. Squirel.."

ArtisanBubblegum 2023/01/05(Thu)04:22 No. 1053273 ID: 6e4a4c
File 167292135402.png - (63.88KB , 960x640 , Crundis 007.png )

You elect to spend some time here, enjoying the day pass by. The Squirrel eventually loses interest and leaves to find food elsewhere. You watch the fish swim in the pond, eating the bugs that rest for too long on the waters surface. A nice fat fish get's a little too greedy, and is snatched up by a bird. You imagine that bird has a little bird family to feed, those little mouths will be full tonight! Between the active wildlife and the serein ambiance of the forest, you've whiled away your whole day.
[Spirit Points already full]

Crundis: "I guess I'll be having Crab Apples again tonight.."

Only obvious exit is <South> Back to Forest Clearing.

Take a bath before supper

Wave to the familiar face before going home.

Elevator, bottom floor please!

>>1052330
Dodge past it while it's distracted, get in the elevator and close the door asap.

Why mess around with a mop? Just throw the whole damn bucket at it, would be just as effective, or maybe even carry the bucket with you, you never know, that doggo may not be the only one here with you.

Slide under it and kick it in the balls, then run to the elevat. The balls kicking is optional.

>>1052330
Next time we should find a lighter to light the mop on fire and burn the DOGGO.

>Waiting it out like a Chartist seemed safer than trusting the helm of a Tempest-class strike frigate to an illiterate nine-year-old.
Further-Lord can't help himself. He lets loose a bellowing chortle.
"*Ahem* S-sorry, inside joke about expiration date of bio-organic warhound liver spouts. Don't ask-tell.
Wait, you said illiterate? T-that's no-no joke! The girl must travel-sight a marvel of Inter-Chaotic ship technology, and she doesn't even know how to tell the stop / self-destruct buttons apart, let alone a space-flight manual?! Who do I need to report for kill-kill- I mean execution?"

Further-Lord realizes the whole room is now staring at him.

"Yes-yes, all of you praise the All-Saviour-All-Destroyer, He who shall obliterate all Chaos in all things for all the Imperium (once we man-things get our God-Emperor-be-Damned act together). Apologies for the verbal tics, can't stop them, install-grafted sacred biotechnology to save-preserve it from decay out of broken tube. Manual said it was tested on rats. Manual never said it harvested brains of rats and grafted them to user.
...A demonstration is in order. Yes-yes."

Further-Lord finds the nearest piece of technology or aching crewmember and 'repairs' them.

JamesLeng 2022/11/12(Sat)02:47 No. 1049086 ID: f57349
File 166825003423.png - (519.91KB , 698x366 , daring_escape.png )

>>1048961
Everyone in the meeting room whips out a pistol and aims at the babbling rat-monster, who promptly vanishes into thin air.

>Pozzo Ekasdottir equips archaeotech laspistol (unloaded)

Acting Captain Flinders taps a button on the table, engaging an in-ship vox link.
"Gellar field status?"
"All green, sir. Nothing to report." The assembled senior officers relax, slightly.
"Acknowledged. Over and out." Taps again, disconnecting. "Goddamn hallucinations."

Any exorcist worth her salt could tell you that "neither within the law nor outside it" and "entire star system" do not belong in the same sentence.

Quaddis is essentially a planet-sized vacation getaway for the upper crust of the Calixis Sector's nobility, kept in perpetual extraterritorial limbo by a legal loophole. As heir to the Haarlock line, May is the closest thing it has to a planetary governor. There were no fixed orbital facilities or other industrial infrastructure to speak of, even before some more recent catastrophe. Interplanetary-range vox chatter is mostly a mix of eerie silence and variations on the Voidfarer's Prayer for Aid.

Initial skim by the astropathic choir estimates only a few hundred thousand people left alive across the entire system. When the Sigilite's Word last passed through here, just a few months ago, that was roughly four million, expected to swell to over five million as offworld visitors arrived to view the Grand Conjunction and attend the concomitant Festival of Tattered Fate. That event was last week - around the same time as the incident at Ice Station Mara, and far too recently for conventional transport to have departed via any safe jump point unless they broke orbit before the festival started.

Your party has effectively been reunited. Novator Benhamin "Old Ben" Nostromo, alpha-level psyker Lottie "The Burning Princess," Anguish, and Magos Biologis Sarcos "Bubbles" Vathek, aren't in the same room with Acting Captain Flinders, the rest of the navy officers, Ekasdottir, Further-Lord, and May (who hasn't been formally recognized as being in charge of much of anything yet), but from their respective duty stations they can all speak to each other easily through the in-ship vox, and everyone else seems to be assuming Maioigo Haarlock knows more than them about what the hell is going on.

Ships in orb

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>>1050233
Let's start by asserting control, rounding up surviors- locals can likely tell us the rough shape of the thing, then we can get detailed examinations later. Standard quarantines protocols, let's make sure we're not losing anyone from our crew to whatever happened here.

First distinction in ship types is warp capability. Non-warp-capable ships include orbital habitats, semi-static planetary defenses, and everything from tiny passenger shuttles (such as the ever-popular aquila lander) to multi-million-ton in-system vessels which could in principle be fitted with a warp drive but simply haven't been.

Among warp-capable ships, the major distinction is size.
Smaller category is escorts, subdivided into transports, raiders, and frigates.
Largest common category is capital ships: heavy transports, light cruisers, cruisers, battlecruisers (also sometimes known as heavy cruisers), and grand cruisers.
Finally, battleships. They're equivalent to at least two cruisers each, ranging on up into huge, absurd superweapons. Rarely seen outside major fleet engagements.

Raiders are fast but fragile. Frigates are more well-rounded. Usually takes five or six of either to be a fair fight against a cruiser, and you could expect to lose at least one in the process, but they're not really meant for fleet battles - any given ship of the line can only be in one place at a time (not counting arrive-before-you-left warp shenanigans), so if you've got five escorts and your enemy has one cruiser, ideal strategy is to spread out. One encounters the enemy capital ship and retreats, while the other four get to play "I brought a space warship to this meeting and you didn't."

Not quite up to that level yet, though. So, what do you want for your family's new flagship? Your father, and several generations of Haarlocks before him, operated out of a frigate known as the Spear of Destiny. It's not here, but there are about a dozen escort-sized vessels to choose from, could probably find something similar.

Could even combine the best of two or more of them, thanks to the Viat Lux, a Goliath-class heavy transport outfitted as a mobile shipyard

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>>1050482
Might I ask who and why?

"So what's keeping you, then?"

Is that why we're in front of the hospital, then?

>>1050565
Ooh, very good question. Seconding this.

Surely they deserve this, I would imagine.

DONUT will purchase the +3 resistance to projectiles, and ask if I can also spend 1 Karma on ½ heart armor. Because why not.

Actions: Move to E5 and collect the roses.

Err, sorry swordman, I think we perceive the world very differently, I wonder what we look like to you... I'd gladly explain what little I know but that would be weird and stressful, so I can't, sorry.
But I can probably give advices I think? You should try to cause change. Big changes are better if I understand correctly. "May your passion incite change."
Maybe you knew that ? That's all I got anyway, good luck, whatever you choose to do!

>>1049840
I confirm the purchase of the infinite watering can.

Coda advances to E1
Coda starts tending to the flowers and watering them.

You grew well, you're even prettier than I thought! You'll be a beautiful meadow in no time, I'm sure of it.

>>1049840
I will PURCHACE this tool if the end result of crafting is alive if i so choice

-Full Action: DO; Continue to CRAFT the [BOW]
- *Bows head to [CURIOSITY].
-- "I confirm my purchase. Thank you for your time, and your answers. I apologize that I cannot give you any gossip in return, it needs to be someone else who finds it, not me."
- Free Action: ADVANCE G2.

Setval's got the right idea here
SVilHQ

>World
Just as suspected there is a world outside of this. Walls are artificial limitations. Ones swrd1 is probably bypassing without issue because he's native. Still say he should flee. Would be best to warn without commanding... perhaps this?
Swrd1, should you stay your life will be risked while those of the blues will not be. Staying here is pointless if you can earn your sword places outside of here.

> [CURIOSITY] Makes sure that only the players can hear the following
Hostile suggestors too? Was a hostile query so probably how that was intended.
Hmm so either way total victory involves genocide. Would stalemate of endless war be better overall?
While consumption does sound bad, we're given no info how severe it is. Given that these supposed gods set up this system instead of getting a full war campaign it may not be that bad. Or perhaps... well, since they may be listening you guys can figure out what the rest is.

Of course with rule 16, quite a huge question is raised.
How could beings that can be sentenced (thus punished) grow powerful enough to endanger worlds?
Or does rule 16 not apply to them at all?
Dimensional refugee is a term that has been used...
[Justice] had a list of what kblin04 did... so supposedly should be sentenced...
What exactly is going on here...?
Have to get further evidence.

rolled 9, 9, 1, 4, 8, 3, 7, 7, 4, 7, 6, 4, 10, 7, 4, 9, 7, 9, 8, 7, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 8, 2, 8, 3, 5, 7, 3, 8, 4, 8, 7, 3, 7, 8, 8, 4, 8, 6, 3, 4, 5, 10, 9, 6, 7 = 314

---

>>1046641
Not sure if social stuff timing and actions are still relevant, but if I need to roll Join Debate or Join Battle in order to jump in, that's (Wits 5 + Awareness 3) either way.

Marisa will attempt to step forward and interject before things get too. "Woah woah, 'su! Just out of curisority, what's the penalty on the books for bandits engaging in mass poisoning and murder to facilitate looting, again? Maybe it woulda been neater if someone official executed or enslaved 'em... but if a faerie got in the local's heads, well, that's what faeries do, innit?"

"In fact, why don't we make sure you are thinking clearly and not whammied..." the air aspect muses, before shoving her Illusion-Shattering Mirror in Illicium's face.

rolled 1, 7, 10, 2, 1, 1, 10, 6, 1, 5, 4, 9, 7, 5, 3, 9, 3, 8, 3, 1, 4, 3, 10, 5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 1, 4 = 147

---

>>1046641
Ribbons would also try and join in as this has escalated to much more violent direction then expected.trying to join Mar in stopping this breaking point in the conversation.

"Hey! Hey, you go on about doing things legally and just, and while I do not doubt that this punishment is fitting. You HAVE to do it by the books, else your no better then the magistrates you say your better than. Plus they get it now. This opens up plea deals. Why kill a single roach, when you can take down a hive, yea?"

They stated, trying to help Mar calm the situation down to a less violent level.

rolled 9, 5, 4, 4, 10, 2, 1, 6, 10, 9, 5, 3, 9, 10, 10, 6, 9, 6, 6, 10, 1, 9, 2, 10, 4, 7, 9, 10, 6, 4, 9, 3, 1, 5, 9, 10, 10, 8, 10, 10, 7, 8, 1, 1, 5, 10, 3, 9, 7, 6, 10, 3, 4, 9, 7, 2, 7, 1, 4, 2 = 377

---

>>1047354
>9, 9, 1, 4, 8, 3, 7, 7
five successes,
>>1045480
>7, 10, 9, 8, 2, 6,
Posu also got five successes,
>>1048082
>1, 7, 10, 2, 1, 1, 10
and Ribbons got 4.

Marisa starts calling out to Ragara Bolang Posu, but, like the tide, the water aspect is not halted or slowed and her terrible strength crashes against Illicium's bones. By the time Marisa finished putting the mirror up to the mans face, his arm is already broken.

Sweat drips onto the mirrored surface as he tries to breath through the pain- fast and shallow, air being sucked through his teeth. Finally though, he looks, and he sees- himself. Twisted and bent forward, he stammers out a response to your questions while Ribbons attempts to talk down Posu.

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rolled 1, 9, 1, 9, 4, 2, 1, 1, 8, 10, 2, 10, 1, 3, 5, 10, 4, 7, 5, 8, 5, 1, 9, 1, 5, 2, 9, 4, 2, 3, 4, 1, 7, 8, 2, 3, 10, 4, 3, 7, 9, 8, 10, 1, 3, 6, 8, 6, 3, 10 = 255

---

>>1048616

Well, that was the piece that Posu was missing, and she would let the man go from his arm, spine unbroken.

"There shouldn't be exactly much to get in the way of that. You've already been conscripted, and while it might not be enough, service is a step in the right direction."

>>1048082

In regards to Ribbon's words, she had to point out. "Actually, widely accepted legal doctrine is to disregard the words of any non-citizen of the Blessed Isle in defense of their actions against any persons living in territory controlled by the Realm. Obviously it's set up that way with the usually correct notion that a Judge would rarely if ever actually leave the isle and most trials involving non-citizens would be tried in local courts to the satrapies involved or with stowaways, who didn't pay the four to six talent cost of immigration or are in dereliction of the terms of their ten years of labor, but by all accounts even using torture as opposed to just jumping directly to enslavement or death at the moment that he was a suspect is already going above and beyond the call of duty. Though in practice I imagine any judge with more than a decade of experience to behave similarly."


>>1047354

"And speaking

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rolled 8, 6, 2, 9, 8, 4, 4, 10, 2, 9, 7, 2, 7, 10, 4, 9, 8, 5, 6, 5, 1, 8, 9, 2, 6, 7, 2, 9, 10, 3, 8, 2, 8, 6, 4, 3, 10, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9, 3, 2, 3, 7, 9, 5, 6, 6, 3, 3, 10, 2, 4, 8, 2, 9 = 354

---

Rolling to treat injury, setting the broken bone correctly so it'll heal without permanent impairment.

I don't see the benefit in paying 5 extra points in reviving a attendant/minion/adviser when we can get a new one for 10 points. As much as I want Kog to return, it doesn't seem like he is any stronger than if we got a new attendant/minion/adviser

lets get...

2 attendant/minion/advisers
1 volatile ranged weapon (for one of our attendant/minion/advisers)
2 ranged weapon (one for our other attendant/minion/advisers, and the other I think for Pawkaf. Right now, we only have melee users, and unless the next commando has a ranged weapon, we could definitely use at least one ranged weapon user on our team)
1 grenade (for crispen as long as he can still use his melee weapon and the grenade is a sub)
1 article of clothing (if we're going to give a hat to Gerbera, then I'll push for it to be a PIZZID hat from 30 UPDATES OR LESS quest. No one can resist their pizzas! plus they're the only one who didn't get anything, so they might as well should get a hat)

>>1049325

I agree with all of this, save for one point I'd like to question. The queen's a bit underdressed at the moment, so if we need to use points to re-clothe her then we should go for one less attendant to open up some points to do so. Don't forget to dress any surviving guards who got damaged from the last battle. Put about 5 points into Chinz's wardrobe, and then split the rest among the guards based on how much they lost already. Polt mentioned Gerbera getting a hat, but I feel like glasses should come first for them.

Also, since we're grabbing new clothes I suggest something far more slapdash for thr queen. No dresses this time, she has to make do with whatever they had lying around to reflrect the humiliating defeat we suffered. Let's see her in a chef's apron, a butler's tuxedo top, a maid's feather duster (makeshift wig), slippers, and a belt. I'm sure she can arrange all of that to get an outfit that covers all the important bits. Might even look stylish in a way.

Final note: I would just like to directly vote against ever reviving Humphrey. That monster is a thing of nightmares and his death was a miracle.

Can some of the points be used to restore clothing to the royal guard?

Revive Kog, he was the most effective of the attendants and he is only KO, his clothes are still in good conditions.

>>1049325
I'm changing my vote since we got confirmation that revived minions can keep their weapons. It's pretty much the same except I'm removing 1 attendant/minion/advisor and one ranged weapon to bring back Kog and his weapon. He's great.

lets get...

1 revived minion (Kog Sillyman)
1 new attendant/minion/adviser
1 volatile ranged weapon (for our new attendant/minion/adviser)
1 ranged weapon (for Pawkaf. Right now, we only have melee users, and unless the next commando has a ranged weapon, we could definitely use at least one ranged weapon user on our team)
1 grenade (for Crispen as long as he can still use his melee weapon and the grenade is a sub)
1 article of clothing (if we're going to give a hat to Gerbera, then I'll push for it to be a PIZZID hat from 30 UPDATES OR LESS quest. No one can resist their pizzas! plus they're the only one who didn't get anything, so they might as well should get a hat)

First one is Samuel, or Sam
Second is Samantha, or Sam
Lastly, we have Samson, or Sam

>>1048701
+1

Excite Bird is Jessica, or Jessy~
Punch Dog is Judy or 'Judo'.
Your third friendo is Jane.

Together you're the J-Force. Or the J 4.

>>1048701
This one, but the bird is called Samantha and the dog is called Samira.

Also, the third friend is a mythological creature, because halloween quest.

>>1048724
Seems good with the names, not sure about mythological status though

>>1048350
Ask about the school. Is this it? Just one house?

Are there monsters around here?

coincidence that he has a package for the place we're going to. It could be likely it is related to us in some way in that case. Ask about the package.

Is it bigger on the inside?

Rather small building. Am I the only apprentice here?

Hmm, until Tronklis snaps out of it it'll be difficult to go up or down stairs.

Go in and look into that door with the triangle on it.

>>1048412
The necklace is bad luck in and of itself. Toss it. See how far it flies. Pour some water on Kloldril's head to cool him off. You have an entrance to find elsewhere. Don't think there's enough rope for you guys to scale down the side.

>>1048435
This

I disagree with tossing the necklace, remember Slorsnis has our highest knowledge stat. She may have a point. (also that sounded like an "are you sure?" prompt)

Don't toss necklace. Splash some water over Kloldril and drape a wet cloth over his armor and go explore the deck.

Marisere 2022/10/24(Mon)16:21 No. 1047399 ID: 631640
File 166665367260.png - (32.49KB , 800x600 , S37.png )

I know it's been forever but real life and artist's block swallowed me up big time. I know the update image won't wow, but it should suffice. I'm really sorry for the delay!

>>1039843
>>1039895
>More info
Hm... good point, shard. Flash cannons are highly energetic anti-armour beam cannons. From great distances, they can crack open even the most heavily armoured vehicle like an overripe fruit. The Scintillator we pilfered from that Hoplite can't hold a candle in terms of raw firepower. But they're so rare for a reason. Besides the sheer weight, they take time to recharge and there's a delay between the targeting array getting a firing solution and the weapon actually firing. Plus I doubt Polemophilos is the sniping type.

Thermal claws are just a claw-based version of the thermal knives Hoplites and many other Tetras are armed with. They're likely in line with my air blades in terms of cutting power; our shields should be able to take a few hits. The claw form factor is probably a concession to her vanity, whether she admits it or not.

Looks like according to your predictive analysis, we hold the advantage in our sensors and Electronic Warfare capabilities, but our true trump cards lie in my sheer speed and agility. We can run rings around her. She holds the advantage in raw strength and durability though. I'm under no illusions about what may happen if she somehow manages to pin me down.
I don

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I think it's pretty clear you want to avoid melee here.

If we go with melee, we could definitely go with hit and run tactics. Just some real frustrating stuff like lunging in to knick a tendon and then ducking back out before they can retaliate, retreat behind trees and reposition before striking again. It'd be slow and mostly ineffectual until we get that one good crippling strike in.
So confirm on the "melee fight" terms of combat

So a slow brute force close quarters specialist vs a versatile evasive maneuver operative. Dodge close quarters, will not go well.

>delay between the targeting array getting a firing solution and the weapon actually firing
Heh. Would matter less for a larger scale. For a 1v1? Where we can use drones to inform if it's primed? Huge disadvantage. Especially if it has to fire at where it's targeted. Very dangerous if she can manually retarget while it spins up, though.
Still, DO NOT GET HIT BY THE THING. Designed for armor so it'd likely vaporize your fleshy self.
High ground will help, especially if you minimize your profile.

Still, with Arvin here, plus the new info, got a plan of sorts. We get distance, while the drone keeps a bead on the hostile. Get that bead to Arvin's feed. She stays in the open we use crossfire to fill her with holes. She stays to the trees, we flank her to use crossfire to fill her with holes. Goal is to overwhelm her with fire before she's aware she's ripped to shreds. Should we be spotted by a hostile drone, we hack it ASAP. Lose the bead if we have to.

Primary goal is to kill the hostile.
Subverting drones is useful past this fight though.

Details are vague due to that 7/10 special. Quite tough to deal with a surprise, so will have to maximize odds to our side so she has to use her special while we have maneuvers to expend.

So revised terms.

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We should get a decoy for the cannon. Maybe the drone or a rock?

rolled 14, 8, 1, 18, 15, 7, 4, 7, 19, 3, 4, 2, 10, 3, 11, 19, 20, 20, 8, 13 = 206

---

>>1045364
>"Really? I was trying so hard to play it cool...I have been told I'm about as subtle as an earthshaker, before."
An aborted laugh comes across the communication cable in response. "Much as I'd like to credit your success and spare my dignity, they may have been correct."

Natalina continues, hesitantly. "A part of me feels like I should expound on the perils of a workplace romance, or one between two people stranded alone with one another. ...although, no, we're not the only two people present counting our inkeeper-abbot. And of the two of us, I'm not the one you kissed.

"...I'm sorry, I quite lost track of where I was going with that."

>You think we can fix it up and let it go?
>Working through [the augmech] provides three free levels of Effort on medical care and repairs to biomechanical creatures
Natalina, operating Milaconi's cousin, will attempt to extricate and repair the impaled lightning mourn. Not sure how quickly the creature can travel, but if we're engaging in catch-and-release, we should do so away from the nest we're trying to evict it from.

>"Haha that sounds really risky. I'm all for it though, what do you think?"
If only one of the pair ventures out onto the platform to plant the grenade, the risk of falling into the abyss is a lot lower, since they'd be tethered to the other and the augmech. Paprika would be better at a balancing act, but Natalina could apply discounted

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>>1045399
>rolled 14
Lightning mourn has been patched up, and gently reprogrammed to see you as neither a threat nor a food source. It immediately zooms back to suckle at the sparking end of that loose cable, though.
>rolled 8, 1, 18
You find the correct spot, and (after burning xp on a reroll) a position from which Milaconi's cousin can simply throw the gravity-pear with exactly the right speed, angle, and timing. Detonation is shockingly loud, in contrast with the near-total ambient silence of the station exterior.
>rolled 15
By the time you hike back to the dish, that mangled support truss has somehow been completely repaired or replaced, and farspeaking pylon landed in what looks like the right spot atop it. The lightning mourn gives you an insectile salute before skittering away.

After simply touching the reconnected cable, Milaconi's cousin can interface with the farspeaking pylon, and even maintain the connection from a distance. Local datasphere is still very crowded, but seems to be making progress toward clearing the queue.

Now, to see if you can remember the chainpod's ID code...

First attempt: at the other end of the connection you're looking up from the bottom of a squarish shaft, 2.5 meters by 3 meters and at least five meters deep. No light apart from the display screen itself. Error message, core... something something... not found... reserve power... blah blah catastrophic blah... This chainpod is in very bad shape. Not just neglected maintenance, somebody tore important pieces out of it. Only other item of interest visible through the dashboard camera is a jumbled pile of bones including at least three h

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rolled 14, 4, 12, 8, 18, 5, 9, 10, 5, 12, 16, 11, 5, 7, 1, 19, 12, 11, 2, 5 = 186

---

As the weeks pass, Reiko's new workshop hums and grinds to the tunes of her whimsical experimentation. Most of her work is centered around replicating the fine-tuned components of the chainpods, with the occasional request from the weary townsfolk for something she doesn't think is important like an aneen fence or a bakery. As the last component is cannibalized from the former Volcano Tamer, Reiko recommends to Mia Xan that they turn it into some kind of fire department as a (literally) practical joke. Or at least a major storage area so the next disaster doesn't starve everyone.
(Timeskip is spent developing Parts and improving/repairing the chainpods)

The calm after the stress-fest has given her enough clarity to realize she may have been blowing her personal problems out of proportion - but it was her new friends that found violent, hilariously improvised solutions. Reiko concludes that she likes this new party and would join them even if this temporary contract didn't pull the fur out of her arms.

A fortunate function of her brain implant created a neural copy of the manual she downloaded from the datasphere was kept intact. This copy is linked to her mental experiences when viewing the files rather than the actual data, and so will only work for her. It managed to compress and encrypt the copy in time to delete the raw evidence, lest the Archive she downloaded the manual from confirm her data theft and send out a cease-and-desist order for evidence of copied data - which usually means sending assassins.
Unfortunately, the Archive's cybersecurity has a creative way of dealing with hackers - they counter-hacked her implant and purged the file containing all the encryption keys. And then managed to forge evidence they had simply erased a folder of porn - that constitutes a lip-service fee for the Archive

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>>1045669
>developing Parts
>rolled 14
A full barrel of parts is only 80 units, when they're sorted and packed safely. Could plausibly gather more than that, by some combination of scrounging under the Eye of the Sea and early-completion bonus from the King Under the Mountain, but if you're sharing three single-seat vehicles with five other people (Saoirse ran off - something to do with that duke of the Beyond to whom Eliznyabeth sold a hundred-ton pack animal) there's already not much room left for luggage.

>and improving/repairing the chainpods
Each of the three pods is, more or less, a two-meter hamster ball with gyrostabilized throne inside, ominous sealed box under the seat, handspan-wide textured belt like the bastard spawn of a sawblade and a monster truck tire wrapped around the outer circumference, serving as both access hatch and traction surface. Cruises up to eighty miles per hour over good roads, half that on rough terrain or submerged. Typical humans will need to surface for fresh air every four hours or so. Any single pod can only roll along under its own power for five hours before needing to rest in direct sunlight for an hour - clear canopy gradually darkens, reaching full opacity when exhausted. However, pods can magnetically link up in a chain (hence the name) like a string of beads. Leader pulls while allowing the others to rest. Three is just enough to keep moving nonstop, provided it's not too cloudy around dawn or dusk. The seats and controls seem to have been originally intended for humanoids almost three meters tall, hunched up into a fetal position.
The three chainpods you've got access to have consecutive serial numbers

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rolled 9, 17, 14, 3, 10, 9, 14, 20, 16, 5, 2, 11, 3, 9, 10, 19, 10, 1, 11, 10 = 203

---

>>1042427
>Based on what's spilling over into the augmech's communication queue, immediate vicinity of the farspeaking pylon seems to be very crowded from the datasphere side, like the line outside a popular nightclub, or the office of a politician who just made a very unpopular policy decision.
>>1045410
>Local datasphere is still very crowded, but seems to be making progress toward clearing the queue.
Natalina is quite pleased their effects have apparently helped their invisible data-compatriots. There are more people (or close enough) up here than she first throught.

>>1045410
>Fourth attempt: last linked pod, fully functional, empty, and wide open to the sky. Shattered wall of a building - one you recognize as among the few in Hallux which were completely intact during the eruption's immediate aftermath - and to the other side, greasy smoke rising from out of frame in front of the wrecked volcano tamer. Reiko is laughing somewhere nearby, but it doesn't seem like the happy sort of laughter. Several other voices, crying or shouting, mostly unintelligible. A not-quite-humanoid silhouette approaches. Bright red eyes flicker "This confirms that you survived." Reaching toward the 'disconnect' button, a finger of angular stone.

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was considering the cool void beast or due-wings choices, but I think normacy in itself is really respectable

go for Fighter (In Improv Technique) the idea of using ANYTHING as a weapon is fun

Fighter -> In Improv Technique
Because if you have done everything the knight is saying? Then you must have mastered improvisation and the art of bringing death with everything and anything.
Also it's just cool, there is all those knights with armor and secret trainings, wonderful creatures with magic and supernatural capacities, but you? You simply decided that you wanted to beat your opponent no matter the circumstances, and trained to do just that. And you got real good at it.

I like:
* Knight of the Reflecting Blade
* Fighter of the Bang Boom technique
* Due-Wings
I can't choose.

Knight of the Bucket "Quantum Scientist! I am a Quantum Scientist now."

Motive: "I... saw. I saw beyond this microscopic world. I saw endless fields of tormented. Horrors that eclipse my own. Atrocities that would make every evil god repent.
I saw a chance to stop it. The price for my chance was this One. Tiny. Rock.
It was the slimmest chance, and I have failed, and now it is for nothing.
And I regret not my resolve, but suffer for it.
DO IT."

Knight of the Reflecting Blade, and the reason you did all those horrible things was because one of them ate all your chips and didn't even tell you

PARKER crows 2022/10/05(Wed)16:16 No. 1045531 ID: d98cb8
File 166501181049.jpg - (27.26KB , 256x256 , d19.jpg )

You are Parker

-

I really screwed up here, I think.

Hours upon hours at the office, only leaving to go home and read before returning, it left me lacking I think. Despite the act I put on for clients, I’m actually pretty bad with people.

I keep a whole list of good conversational topics memorized with fun anecdotes to follow up on, if I need to make small talk. Always found that easier than being spontaneous.

Addison seemed interesting though. Genuinely confused by the situation she’s in with this house, standoffish and slightly rude, and with a terrible habit of sliding random cusses into her casual language as if to replace punctuation. The exact sort of person I’d never really been able to spend time with in school, whether high school or university, with my nose buried so deeply in the textbooks and books of law needed to make my eventual mark on the world.

I thought I saw someone lonely in her though. This was a girl willing to drop her life and move more than fifty miles in a single day, with no plan and only her little beat up car. Maybe someone in need of a friend like I am.

I think I might have been wrong. I’m sometimes bad with signals like that.

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ALICE crows 2022/10/05(Wed)16:17 No. 1045532 ID: d98cb8
File 166501186647.jpg - (3.95KB , 256x256 , d20.jpg )

You are Alice

-

“Perfect.” I say to myself, sighing in satisfaction. Dishes are done, food is ready, manor is quiet for now.

It’s not that I can’t cook in the burrow. We have perfectly satisfactory kitchens down there. Modern conveniences. Electricity.

Just because we kin live in a burrow does not mean we do not have AC.

But that’s not MY kitchen down there. This is my place, where I know the location of every utensil without thinking about it, and I’m long adjusted to standing on a stepstool to work.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Might need to discuss groceries with Addison though. There’s nothing of nutritional value here, all easy microwavable meals and quick fixes. We can do far better than this. Regardless, it wasn’t too hard to whip up some quick gyoza sauce for the stir fry, and there’s enough leftovers for both of us later. She needs to eat better.

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Parker: gawp incoherently for a few moments, and then struggle to apologize and explain
Alice: hear her out, at least for like 60 seconds, because you're gonna have a hard time fixing a situation you know nothing about

Parker: Point and laugh madly at the bnnuy.
Alice: Bunny Chittering until Parker calms down.

>Parker: gawp incoherently for a few moments, and then struggle to apologize and explain >>1045578
>Alice: hear her out, at least for like 60 seconds, because you're gonna have a hard time fixing a situation you know nothing about
This sounds good to me.

>>1045026
>Level 3 Traps are impassable to your troops
Barricades are passable.

>Ranged units cannot move and fire
I cannot find where this is referenced.

>>1045029
My bad, it's the lvl 3 traps.

*We have two hospitals. We can capitalize on this by having Yorzzyll waste a turn attacking an opponent below them. We should also 'expend' a unit, most notably the hornets.
* Sorry, little doggos, but this hulking angry supermonster is worth far more in military strength than you. Even more importantly, Yorzzyll's deluge is a game-breaker that can easily neutralize the lava rooms. Once we've defeated Yorzzyll , replace the hounds. Alternatively, if Yorzzyll's deluge kills the hornets outright, have them replace those. Or, perhaps it will take a liking to the river.
We have a better chance than it looks, but the true danger is any hidden abilities that we don't know of. Have a reserve force ready for additional reinforcements, and this should be a general success.
C5 (Cannons at Depth 5): Get into the elevator, immediately ride to Depth 2 to reach D2, Unleash everything (Projected Health: 105 -> 45)
E2 (Cannons at Depth 2): Move to F2 and prepare to unleash a barrage.
E3 (Mages at Depth 3): Move to E2.
F2 (Fire Hornets at Depth 2): Move to F1, have them act as a bulwark or at least get them away from potential flooding.
G1 (Soldiers at Depth 1): Okay, this one's complicated. Move to D1 and drop down to D2 as the elevator moves the cannons up. Defend the cannons from the monster, and prepare to aggro or flank.
G2 (Clerics at Depth 2): Hold position.
H1 (Soliders at Depth 1): Move to E1, fire all (Projected Health: 45 -> 23).
I1 (Hounds at Depth 1): This will be the sacrifice. Move to D1 and attack (Projected Health: 23 -> 8).
Yorzzyll: Will unleash a deluge that causes water to sink through the elevator, thereby ensuring we at least deal with the bottom layer of lava even if Yorzzyll dies entirely, attack and decimate a unit (which can then be healed by the hospital).
Kill or Capture on next turn.

I'm sorry for the kitchen! I didn't know that thing was there! I swear!

>>1045032
I like this sequence. Let's hope it goes as planned!

>>1045032
Just need to injure it so it does not grow stronger and milk it for its water

>>1044325
"Be excellent to each other."

>>1044325
Think laterally and avoid public transit at all costs!

"We need more security in our public transports. Support your local make-better-police-stuff fund today."

>>1044496
*DROPKICK WITH A CHANCE OF RAINBOW+RAIN*

>>1044499
It's a make the police better fund, not a give them more bullets fund, calm down!

>E(5)vil monolith
Would purifying E5 help?

>Homicide
Sheesh, this does not feel like it's over, not at all. Feels awfully convenient that suddenly we have obvious evidence. Especially evidence from two suspects. Plus, it's eyewitness testimony with no corroborating hard proof. Does it fit? Loosely, but we're still short of a few key details like motive. Questioning coworkers of the suspect may show if odd behavior was exhibited or if there was a motive.

>Foamblood
Well, explosives were a good call. Should have used additional explosives or explosives with extra power, though. Oh, also rigged 'em to go off if the glass broke. [expletive].

So. How to deal with this Kiter female. Quite bluntly, appeasement seems stupid. From a strategic perspective, we're looking for a thing feared by the Kiter, to be used to oppose the Kiter, so expecting one to help seems quite naive.
Plus, the first thing it did was to attempt to get comms to its superiors, so it still sees itself as part of the Kiter hierarchy rather than as a rogue. Of course, that's if these Criai are aware that Kiter do go rogue, otherwise it's pure metagaming.
However, because we're playing as ugh pacifists, attempting to find a peaceful solution via diplomacy is a thing. So, set up video chat - no need to be too stupid - with Pavono to see if a deal might save lives. Diplomacy may stave off its boredom, too. Secondary goal is to gather intel.
1) See if she knows where she is. Should she dislike the idea of a world feared by the Kiter, free passage offworld might work

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Leaning in favor of immediate (explosive-supported) attack. Waiting gives the Kiter a chance to prepare countermeasures.

If we're going to build this Kiter their special room, I would build explosives into every surface where they can be hidden. Problem is, "this strain of kiter is also able to anticipate and predict the actions of the enemy with startling precision." I'd also be tempted to feed the Kiter to the monolith, but there's a chance it would just make the Kiter stronger.

Not many good options here. Is there some way we could just ask the Kiter to leave, and let the death planet take care of the problem?

>>1043623
I agree with most of this.

I'm in favor of allowing the rogue Kiter a chance to help. If nothing else, it likes to prattle on. Which means it could let slip some important information about the Kiter that would be valuable back home - we can just claim we found it in an information cache or something.

However, this also adds another layer to not sending anyone back. They could leak this information.

recruit the bitch-in-chief, we need a new breeder anyway
talk to her and tell her that you'll make that bedroom she wanted
also that there's imminent danger, so if she can use her prediction powers or whatever other fucking skills she's got, now would be a good time
can't really tell if Sei is screaming because of Aze, or the monolith, or due to kiter, but we can't afford a bad fight here because if Iti dies, we can forget about doing business with Jade Claw again

so... what's the kiter room do? Is it at all useful if we manage to throw the new lady at something on this planet that's almost certainly worse than her?

She's only 5 power stronger than the tutorial beast, but unfortunately we kinda suck at the moment

>>1042954
DISPLACE ASPIRANT to get his attention, then fondle your boobs and give him a seductive look.

>>1043146 I don't think this will work, as per >>1042958
>I blocked DISPLACE from targeting me
We didn't target him with displace, we kind of targeted where he was.
(in fairness my earlier suggestion is trying to retroactively create branches, which >>1042963 on later reading does not seem to be one of the options.)

>>1043169
Doesn't need to work, just needs to get him to pop in.

>>1042963
Displace lack of Lard Fried chicken nuggets dimensions of bits 4x1x1cm total volume 2 meters squared 0 from ground level at aspirants location

1-θ -> 2-θ-ζ: DISPLACE Bearquest Jr.
Adherent-2-θ-η: Console angry proto-Aspirant.