I'd go for the heart, if only because if you are already going to be so much in debt, might as well go for extra stuff that may make paying off the debt easier.

I like the runic illusion tattoos, but then I have a bias towards trickster spearmen.

I am all for "World based ‘Survivalist’ Combat Magic".

the Magic tech heart sounds nice. Besides, what is a little more time in service.

Take the Magitech Heart, and take Time-Based augment.

Enhanced perception and chronal trickery is AMAZING.

besides the augmentations, what are our other skills? Prefrences for certain weapons, overly charismatic, magic?

>>263838
Actually, I take it back, Grab the Weapon Ownership ability.

Magitech Heart and Illusion Soul Runes, may as well go all in on this one.

Magitech Heart and Time Slow sounds good to me.

Magitech Heart and Illusion Soul Runes.

NaiveOne 2010/12/12(Sun)13:40 No. 263954 ID: 69bee4
File 129219005013.png - (1.82MB , 1168x1475 , ScarsofYesterday.png )

>>263833
>>263837
>>263838
>>263842
>>263927


I stared back into those Eyes of Death, into what at the age of nineteen probably was the closest I ever came to giving into temptation and running. I sold myself into another five years of service, demanding that I be given the best his Deep damned technology would offer, for if I was to overcome Death, to overcome magic would be but one step in that direction. The smile and laugh that came after though would eclipse even that previous fear, but my soul was sold then.

Though I had suffered a thousand pains in my life, and despite the things given to make it not as severe, the only thing I will remember of that moment is pain. Final Weakness being made to leave my body, the installation of my second and third heart and the blessing of the marks made onto my body would leave me in a state between life and death for a full day and night. However, it was to be worth it, for it was this that would finally let me meet the true avatars of Death in my near future.

Upon completion and recovery, I was finally given my weapon, a warspear befitting of my refusal to quit, and granted my temporary name, despite my unworthiness, by the blessings of the empire. My weapon at six feet of haft stood slightly shorter than my body, an iron shaft given temperance to my hands with the use of leather wrappings, the blade itself though was an additional three feet of length, with the blade at its base being one and a half feet wide. No normal man could hope to carry such a weapon, but with my ready weapons training of almost all sorts and prodigious strength I was given a sort of fondness for its destructive power. Its sheer weight allowed it to be fairly effective in ways a pike or other pole arm usually never would, with capabilities to be used competently piercing, slashing, or even bludgeoning with the haft if need be. Even without such a weapon, my sheer strength along with grappling and a brutal form of hand to hand training left few in the military to doubt that a ‘kiss by number’, a headbutt from one such as myself, was almost always terminal. It was also this time I began to grasp the basics of my Soul Runes, very slowly augmenting the time they tended to last, using them fruitfully to both evade harm, and strike fear and feints that would land me victory in combat that no other could perform.

It was soon after I would be deployed to an area bordering the city I laughably ‘grew up’ in. I knew little more than that supposed neutrally enemy of the empire, Castiliathen, was leading a nearby area into daring to oppose the might of the empire and the blessings we gave them with their continued existence. I watched many of my laughable comrades be sent in and found wanting by the crucible of war. However, after a year of service, my formal movement to the title of Force Champion was approved, and in the empires nearly divine sense, this is when they decide to finish their judgment on those who dares oppose them.

I never fully understood why such an instrument of pure death and destruction could seem so oddly… beautiful. I suppose it never hurts one to something akin to that myself.

Staring off in remembrance, I consider one of the marvels of the Empire when I first saw it. Standing thirty five feet tall, it moved with an agility that looked more as if it was walking on air than with mortal beings on the ground. Its black armor was like some form of carapace, daring even the sun itself to shine upon its body and not face doom, a giant mouth in its body likely the last thing even the most powerful of persons could ever expect to see. Some sort of black hole where all hope would be banished if it dare stand up to the Empire’s might. It was into this black hole that I saw entire armies tremble and then disappear, it was with those fists on it that I would see the machines of war be tossed aside as if playthings, it was truly the first time I saw my chance to see Death do its work in person. This was The Scars of Yesterday.

However, death did not only gift us this, but it was also then that I saw another. About eighty feet tall, no head, but a massive torso that from the distances I generally saw it, appeared as if it held a thousand eyes that pierced into all the death that was caused on the field of battle, coming from its shoulders. Although it had two arms that massed destruction in its wake, it seemed capable of all times of building smaller arms that could delicately gather the spots in its tapestry of destruction that it happened to miss. Entire battlefields were cleared and fed to that machine, a behemoth that seemed to have a never ending hunger for flesh and souls. This was The Eternal Font of War .

The war was soon ended by these machines, able to tame the hunger Death sought that hundreds and thousands of the unworthy I had seen unable to satisfy.


I would end up found of sufficient worth in my ability to survive at that time, that I would be asked to be brought into a much larger and more glorious campaign in my title of Force Champion, the highest befitting its lowness. However, it was then that my dream and true aspiration would be revealed to myself, to stand at the power of a Royal Champion, I would someday pilot one of these machines of death, and in this way I would truly control death itself…

>Which Soul Grave does 32’s squad initially end up serving closer to in the coming campaign?
Soul Grave #03: ETERNAL FONT OF WAR
OR
Soul Grave #04: THE SCARS OF YESTERDAY

Voting for #04.

SCARS!

>>263954
I vote #03 for glorious 'I submit myself for experiment inside a Soulgrave made for experimentation'. You want to be of use to Mosmordre? Then let them make of you what they need.

Gonna go with 03.

#04 - THE SCARS OF YESTERDAY

Going to have to vote for #04.

>>264042
I really hope you meant FONT there, otherwise I am going to need some brain bleach...

I vote for #3

Soul Grave 3! ETERNAL FONT OF WAR. Let us be baptized by fire and blood.

rolled 2 = 2

---

rolling to see what Soul Grave wins, 1 is Font, 2 is Scars.

NaiveOne 2010/12/12(Sun)20:34 No. 264072 ID: 69bee4
File 129221487593.jpg - (23.51KB , 162x215 , Creature.jpg )

After my time fighting in the areas of the Duras/Empire border, I learned I was to be shipped far towards the south. It was to be many days of travel, but that there had been a request by a High Mage’s personal guard upon hearing of the soldier that survived the falling and reformation of his entire squad five times. I was not directly involved in the Soul Grave or the High Mage in question, but I was glad for the glory of being chosen.

Meeting Thomro was an… experience, to say the least. As someone who had dwarfed nearly everyone in strength for my lifetime, Thomro in those moments was more of a father then my pathetic traitor of a sire had ever been. The meeting directly consisted of little more than him nicknaming me ‘Tiny’ immediately, giving me a punch on the shoulder that sent me sprawling to the ground, my whole body as equally jarred by the blow as the point of impact, and his boisterous, almost mocking laughter, stating that he was impressed I'd managed to not kill myself fighting unarmed after being disarmed the one time he saw me in combat. I also had the honor at that time of meeting High Mage Figren Diova, the man who I saw but briefly, my rival in the sense he is the controller of The Scars of Yesterday, one of the Soul Graves I so desperately hope to prove myself worthy of using. This was also why it was brief, as although he appeared an elderly man, gaunt, quiet and yet muttering constantly, with eyes that borderlined insanity with such a fervor that I had not seen since the training of my youth. He seemed irredeemably annoyed that his time was demanded of by Thomro for such a waste and seemed almost ready to rage when forced to meet me (despite being the one to call upon me), maybe burn such insolence to the ground in ash. Instead he quieted and said, while rushing off surprisingly quickly with Thomro in tow, “a respectable performance in Duras.” A man who I would learn within a second meeting at the city before deployment that to call him a deep driven hardass would probably be taken as a compliment by hardasses.

It would take many days of travel across the state, but I would arrive with some time to spare at the barracks that would be our staging point, and introduced to the sniveling set that was to be my squad. Sergeant Sullivan, my immediate superior introduced me to the pathetic set of…

“THIRTY TWO! Stop daydreaming and look for this village, you know as well as I that I can’t see anything, so pay attention!”

Although not entirely true, I still wondered how he could tell with my closed face helm that this was the case, particularly with me leading the way straight forward about twenty feet in front. However, this was not a man who had proved himself incompetent yet, and I berated myself inwardly for such uncharacteristic behavior as daydreaming on the march. I quickly hefted my familiar warspear cradled in my right hand, adjusted my breastplate and metal plates of my war-skirt to a more comfortable state, and peered out towards the expanse of trees ahead while re-gripping the weapon.

Base Camp in the area was now one full day behind is, where we were regaled with the talk of the Empire’s inevitable rise into glory. We were going to take over this area, as one part of a grand plan to raise the Mosmorden Empire to its rightful place, and remove those who had given their existence too much assumption of safety. Their weakness will be our fuel towards controlling everything, this shall soon be their only solace. We began our march next morning, starting in a mass of units, led by the Soul Grave Scars of Yesterday and the High Mage. We soon began to trickle down, splitting off at the command of our officers and heading out into smaller and smaller groups, fanning out to maximally cover the marshlands we march in. Eventually, about an hour ago our squad split off, and we were informed by the Sergeant to be on the lookout for a village in the vicinity without any other word.

I stared forward, noticing something… out of place and blinked. Continuing forward, it appears that there are… trees that are moving? Small living trees? With parts that seem dead and rotten, and parts that are as green as the young? ...One conglomeration that looks as if a bunch of dead trees were fused together... Moving forward, the picture began to clear itself as we approached. Not trees, but… things… standing approximately five and a half feet tall on strangely gleaming legs, approximately ten I can count, but possible more behind the hulking one. They wear some sort of strange… armor I suppose, made of tree bark, reeds and weeds of some sort strapped to their flesh? It appears in multiple layers across nearly the entirety of their bodies.... a wooden form of plate? They walk as if grizzled elderly, all except the one I had seen as a pile of trees. This one was large… probably even moreso than myself by some small amount even in height. Standing at nearly seven and a half feet of dark, warty hide, with a mass that made the other creatures seem puny, easily seven times their width, obscured by armor that looks as if one took an insanely large and old tree and had wrapped it around the creature. I grinned inwardly, finally seeing a chance to have a foe to travel into the crucible of war with.

With a resounding call, all eyes of my squad and the creatures turned to eye upon me. I think I may have heard Sarge call my name, but this was far too much of an opportunity to waste. The creatures soon turned and walked towards the squad, bearing no visible weapons that I could detect, but beginning to move swiftly towards us, taking awkward leaps into the air with… rather extreme distances achieved. Bending up from their feebled old man sort of walk, I noticed now that their height was more accurately approximately eight feet standing upright, and their number was more a dozen than ten, leaping with awkward seeming legs that carried them much faster than I had initially anticipated. Beyond this, the hulking one now stood at least ten feet high, while maintaining its insane girth. I begin running towards the mass of oncoming foes about ten seconds later, hearing the Sergeant rally the apparently easily scared squad to some form of cohesion and battle readiness as weapons are drawn. At about 100 feet of distance to close, I begin my full charge even with the muddy conditions, powerful legs churning, much larger steps sending me hurting towards the foe’s line. My squad is certainly not more than a precious ten seconds behind when I engage the enemy. Giving the large brute a wide birth, looking to see how fast it can turn, I find myself free with my maneuverability to likely engage how I please into my foe’s lines, no real order to them, an irregular mass following the monstrous one, all within thirty feet of me, those nearest beginning to turn. ...The larger one does NOT corner more slowly... I feel my hearts thundering their primal duet as I act.


>How shall I enter into this fray of battle?
>Should I target specific foes (Large one, closest, farthest, smallest, etc.), or attempt to maneuver in some way before they get in melee range?
>Should I aim for gaps in armor, or do I think my heavy spear/polaxe hybrid can ignore it?
>Is there anything else I should consider or do?

>>264072
The weak. The slow. The hesitant. Those with decrepit armor. Any foe you think yourself capable of slaying in a single vicious thrust without fail, go after. Before your allies even reach the battle, claim a foe's life.

Go for slightly upward thrusts, it lets you brace more ably, and lets you hit the hunched chests more squarely. Plus, it will give you a bit of practice, as you'll need to do something similar to wound the Major.

Your situational awareness is more critical than your offensive ability right now. If at any point it looks like you would be unable to avoid taking a wound, trigger the nearest arm's tattoo, and use the resultant illusion as a distraction to turn the tide.

Gaps in armor don't seem necessary for the smaller ones, bark and reeds? you can put a whole lot of force behind your thrusts, just go for lethality not precision. This is to be reversed if the big one can't be shaken off while darting towards weaker targets. If forced to fight it, stay nimble, and stay in front of its knees. if it's hunched, kicking would be more awkward, and depending on how hunched they are their own knees could get in their way reaching you. In such a case, stab the shit out of its feet and keep ignoring it. As fun as an epic duel may or may not be, this is an unknown foe, unknown abilities. You should get a better sense of what these things can do before you start looking to take a level in badass.

As a thing to consider: The magic heart, what kind of time limitations have I learned to apply? Can it only be used for a couple seconds, or a dozen, or half a minute? How briefly must I use it to use it freely once every five seconds, or can your body not handle it that often?

Glue 2010/12/12(Sun)22:07 No. 264093 ID: 5c517f
File 129222042881.png - (1.30MB , 1134x1058 , froggock.png )

If you manage to slay the smaller ones, more attention could be paid to the larger enemies, less distractions to get in the way.

Go for the big one.

Aim for the head or cracks in armor. No sense trying to penetrate armor if we can bypass it altogether.


Next time sergeant says something, try to listen to him. He could say something important you might regret not hearing.

Cow the rest by killing the closest, an upward thrust through the jaw and into the brain

Here is a interesting plan. I can use the spear to try throwing these attacks into each other. If killing, or wounding, and using it to knock out another attacker then why could also interrogate or experiment on these frogmen who did not die.

rolled 99, 72 = 171

---

2 MINI BONUSES INVOKED, 1/2 FANART and 1/2 ???

>>264080
As I begin to close the distance to my foes, I consider the use of my magitech heart, however, with an unknown and certainly feeble enemy of the empire in front of me, I decide against its use presently. During my year in Duras, I consider that I honestly never had used the heart overly much, as it was usually only needed when Golems of some sort began to appear on the field, a task generally handed to the Mongren. The term used by the institute was a ‘magical cascade’ effect that occurred for its primary function. Best I can tell from experience and how it feels, with internal focus I can begin to activate the heart. Almost immediately, my strength half again increases from thrice to flirtingly five times that of a normal human, my body can sometimes resist wounds that would have punctured it previously, and very minor wounds have been known to disappear. Time has both never been and is the primary issue of the heart, over time the effect does become more pronounced, my overall power increasing slightly; however, the longer the heart is used the harder it is for me to successfully turn it off, and the more unpredictable side effects it begins to have. The longest I have ever used the heart was approximately forty seconds, at least fifteen of which was devoted to fruitless attempts to shut it down while finally finishing off the Stone Golem that had been terrorizing the battlefield. I do not remember much of what happened; only that things seemed to get very strange and my internal senses desperately wanted me to shut it down. My body though to my knowledge has never had any issues dealing with the heart as it functions, besides failure to immediately shut it down, and that the longer the heart beats, the faster and louder it does to the point it can be heard by outsiders. Uses of only a few seconds, to empower a single swing or such, have never had any issues this far. However, any usage of the heart, no matter how short, seems to require about ten seconds before the heart can be used again, no matter how much I may come to regret that choice.

I scan the battlefield, attempting to look for ones among the creatures that seem, enfeebled, or with lesser quality armor. However, this proves fruitless both because of the extremely foreign nature of the creatures, and that things such as their quality of armor are foreign to me, for why does it matter when they face one such as myself? The crucible of death is always willing to steal the foes whom dare face it, this shall be no exception.

>>264093
>>264229

Seeing that the creatures seem to have no issues coming towards me, I begin to brace myself into the ground. I see one of them pouncing upwards into the air, and take this moment to jump slightly forward, the land giving beneath me slightly more than expected compared to hard land, not compensating for the nearness to the marsh and swamps ahead; however it not much overall as we are not in the swamp yet, and my strike still finds the foe while in the air, impaling him onto my warspear through all three feet of blade, his armor but nothing before my might as the place where ones heart would be is destroyed. Quickly shifting my weight upon landing, I twirl the spear slightly and begin a slightly downwards slash, throwing the corpse off of my blade, and as fortune would find it, into the body of another of the creatures as it was landing, sending both hurtling onto the ground. Engaging another local enemy, I bring the slashing momentum towards my side as I turn, then lift the spear above my head for a dissecting downwards thrust that will meet it as it heads towards me.

However, instead my attack fails to find its mark, the spear ending a solid half foot in front of the creature, the creature stopping with alacrity of deceleration I never really expected possible. It is at this time I detect a blur of metal armor to my peripheral vision, and see a lanky soldier that quickly dispels my question as to how he arrived so swiftly into combat. Despite the creature seeming nearly two times Gee’s mass, his tackle throws the creature to the ground, which he quickly takes advantage of to drive his shortsword into the head of the creature. I color myself oddly impressed, as I had never suspected such a result from Gee by how he had acted upon our first meeting and his diminutive size.

As I had expected though, it seems that our performance has driven the nine of the smaller creatures who are currently standing (the tenth currently hindered by a corpse), into a state of shock. Only the massive one continues his path forward unabated, driving the other creatures into the line of combat; however, their momentum is certainly lost from their prior leaping into engagement, except for the massive one. I hear the sergeant, who was about to yell at Gee I suspect, instead readying to counter the slowed charge into the other creatures. I note that the creatures have wooden spears they throw now upon their approach, but the readied focus of the squad seems to make this ineffective at first sight.

Between me and Gee, we currently stand just outside the line of combat, the smaller creatures giving us a fairly decent berth as the squad is about to meet the large creature’s stifled charge with 7 others. Two currently stand in our way from that fight, and Gee will need a moment to recover it seems, but in the time all that occurred I am certainly prepared to strike again.

>How shall I dispatch these two creatures? Or should I attempt to bypass them, and instead flank towards the ensuing combat?
>Should I do or say anything to the now recovering Gee
>Is there anything else I should do?

[rolling for performance of Major and Minor creatures, Minors suffering penalty due to player performance and bonuses. Need two separate d100 rolls]

rolled 73 = 73

---

rollan

rolled 11 = 11

---

Rocka Rolla

>>264265
Go after the big one.

Its attention is off you, which means you can take some time lining up a potshot to get aroud that wierd armor. No matter how different the physiology may be, the back of the knee is impossible to armor-and don't these things leap? Crippling a leg joint is even more disastrous for them than for humans because they lose so much more. Ignore the two near you and go after the big one.

Just to be safe, activate the Magitech Heart as you strike, kae sure you make the hit as heavy as possible. Learn from your recent example, and be CAREFUL of your footing: Marsh equals terrain problems, so you'll have to start getting used to testing ground before bracing.

>>264265
Well, shit. Those rolls, man.

See if you can get Gee to back you up. Leaving these two to flank you later just doesn't seem like a wise idea.

Defend Gee, and lambaste him for his stupid. Start defending, just make these beasts work for every inch. One hit, one kill - or at least disable the enemies to the point that they are useless.

Pull Gee onto your back and then take a two-handed grip on the spear, holding it out in front of you sideways, then bulldoze your way past the two blocking your path toward the big critter. They'll have to either get out of the way or get clipped by the horizontal pole, and shouldn't have time to take accurate swings as you pass if you move quickly enough, especially if Gee can do a ride-by slice or two from atop you along the way.

¼ Bonus from ??? Invoked, ½ Bonus from ??? invoked.

>>264449
I consider for a moment taking Gee onto my back and lifting him with me towards the ensuing combat; however, I notice in my periphery that he appears to have fallen down instead of recovered like I had hoped. I see no reason to deny death its prize if he is going to prove so incompetent now, and if it wishes to save him, it shall.

>>264444
>>264411

I do decide however to yell at the dumbass for getting into this situation before I leave.

“GEE! Get your fear stricken ass up now and stall these two! I have bigger fish to fry.”

My voice booms, as the two creatures turn towards me, pushing my legs into a rapid sprint.

>>264284
The two creatures though seem hesitant to attack me, but do leap into the air upon my approach and attempt to slow my path. Fortunately for me, although somewhat marshy, the calculation to deal with the softness of the earth is trivial, possibly even irrelevant if I were not as heavy as I am. Both do land a rather annoyingly hard set of hits upon my body, as I slam my way through them as if they were not there. I certainly feel the metal upon my chest hit horribly, and it has likely dented, but I have faced much worse in my life as I quickly close the distance towards the battle line, leaving two slightly stunned creat…. Oh deep damnit, I just left Gee alone with those, but eh, my earlier point stands, bigger fish to fry, their probably worse off than me, odd to even consider that now.

I scan the battlefield ahead, looking for the current status.

>>264266
73 vs 57 (-15 for demoralization)
The squad as a whole seems to be faring well, and none of them have fallen yet. For the most part though it is obvious the more conventional weaponry the squad holds is ineffective against the armor these creatures have, combined with their tendency to dodge. I see that one of the creatures has fallen, decapitated somehow, and I see one lunging toward…. Ah Luken, well, at least that ones going to be down for the moment. I find myself oddly impressed as I close the….

>>264268
11 vs 99
[OH DEEP GOD!]

In moments I see potentially the entire battle swing, as Sergeant Sullivan is about the engage the huge, wart covered creature, it suddenly shoots out a large, long…. I presume tongue, wraps it around Sullivan’s feet while he seems completely unprepared for such an attack, and just lifts the sergeant upside down as if he were nothing as it leaps. Sullivan is then body checked with force that I suspect would even give me considerable damage. Thrown tens of feet backwards, landing head first into the ground due to being lifted by his feet, where he sinks slightly into the ground and slides for a final landing, his two handed blade thrown a good ten or so feet shorter. I severely doubt his survival of such an event, and it seems death hungers more than I had thought, but this does leave an opening.

Forcing my way through the maelstrom, I activate my magitech heart… time almost stopping for a moment as I feel my blood accelerate, veins begin to expand under pressure, and my muscles seem to tense automatically, accepting the new strength with the odd sensation that accompanies that my body is responding to come greater, almost outside, force. Creatures and humans alike are brushed aside to varying effect, some falling to the ground, some seeming to stop or cry in pain, as my single minded focus overtakes me and I shove all in my way aside. I take stock at the creature’s knee, knowing it must exist just under the bottoms of such tree armor…

However, to call it surprisingly agile might be an understatement, as with a leap it dodges the attack I had hoped would catch it flat footed. Yet my attack was not wholly unsuccessful, my refusals to take this sitting down as I instead force the spear upwards in an awkward motion under the tree armor. I feel some resistance, a guttural bellow flows from the creature as I know myself to puncture its skin, feeling the blade cut through more flesh before it is removed by the inertia of the massive creature’s leap. I see on the ground and my blade some form of grayish brown fluid… do their bodies consist of entirely some form of puss? I had seen much in my wounds during the training of my youth, but to find a creature made of such offends even my sense of the guttural.

About five full seconds have passed since the invocation of my magitech heart, and the creature has cleared some good fifteen feet of distance in that aborted leap, its attention now only on my person. I will need to act fast if I wish to take advantage of the power coursing through me before it becomes harder to turn off; however, I have no idea how strong that armor truly is… and I could possibly defeat it with a few well placed precise blows.

>Should I continue to use my magitech heart?
>How should I engage my now ready foe, after seeing how easily he dispatched Sullivan?
>Should I instead do something else, engage a different focus on the battlefield?
>Is there anything else I should consider, use, or do?

Keep the heart going for another ten at most, meanwhile close the distance and form a body double illusion to run beside you and then behind the critter to distract it while you strike at its back, using brief arm-illusions as need be to keep the thing unsure of where you'll strike should it survive long enough to turn back your way.

>>264465
I'd say go for broke. You have an officer down, morale is a hair from being borked.

This is what Force Champions are FOR.

Charge forward, activating your body soul tattoo. Create an image of yourself stumbling, losing footing to the treacherous terrain. Purposefully expose the image to attack. While you do this crouch down and take a moment to take better stock of the terrain, so you know where your footing is. This minimizes your profile, and keeps attention on the stumbling image right in front of you.

The goal is to have the frog monster leap at you. Once midair, it's agility means shit. With the magitech heart set up as it is, you will have even more enhancement to work with, so IF it does leap at the image, you need to coutner-leap right at it, using your dilated perception of time and knowledge this is what is coming to burst through your false image and stab the beast through the mouth or eye. The mouth should be easiest, as it may try to reflexively employ its tongue when startled.

If it does NOT buy the illusion, use the time it took to verify the above plan won't work to still stay still, then take off at a little below you prior speed at your foe. Then, after closing some, accelerate as much as possible, to make your speed shift as jarring as possible. It could keep it grounded long enough to reach it.

If neither plan works, shut off the magitech heart. If either plant works, shut off the magitech heart. Really, no matter how this plays out, shut it off. the cool down isn't too bad.

Illusionary you + illusionary giant sword (when I say Giant I mean GIANT)

Illusion you does a thundercats pose while seemingly charging up to strike

Real you goes around the side and flanks him.
Aim for teh head.

rolled 18 = 18

---

[rolling a dice, on a 1 something happens]

NaiveOne 2010/12/15(Wed)20:44 No. 264720 ID: 69bee4
File 129247464226.jpg - (8.21KB , 300x112 , HolyFloatinWeaponsBman.jpg )

[to make it clear, as it is slightly hard to describe in context: When the torso rune is invoked, a body double appears, with weapon, positioned in exactly the way 32 is presently. When the hand rune is invoked, an arm with weapon appears exactly where 32’s arm and weapon presently is, pointing exactly as they are. In this sense, the illusion always begins exactly in the location and state that 32 is in that moment. In addition, 32 can only mentally juggle the illusions a certain amount, particularly if more than one illusion is being used at a time. Illusions move faster than 32 does at maximum speed (determined by amount of mental focus on the task), but they cannot ‘teleport’ from location to location. The hand illusion, when separated from his body, looks like his floating arm wielding his massive spear in one hand. Loss of his weapon causes the images to instead become barehanded.]

>>264635
I decide I am certainly going to invoke my Phonomancy runes, and consider briefly what to make appear. By default, the body rune and the hand rune both create a weapon that is identical to whatever I am holding at a given moment, or in the case of being unarmed, only the arm itself. I suppose… I could modify it? But I lack the knowhow or the time at this moment for experimentation.

>>264469
>>264470
||\|/\C|\\//|E |-_/-\|_<|E

I speak the two command words, the first for my body, and the second for my right hand, invoking the illusions held within. I feel the slight presence of the magic involved, creating a pair of figures that now stand exactly as my physical form does. Taking the first second, I place the body double that has formed in front of me, and immediately morph its stature mentally so that it matches mine in a more aggressive mode. At the same time, I send the animated, floating, arm with warspear hurtling towards the creature at a speed that closes the gap between us within that same second.

Although I could hardly call myself able to gauge its thinking, hell, if it even does such, it seems utterly baffled at the sight of my right arm, floating with a full warspear held in its hand, leaping drastically backwards as more of the puss spews from its body into the air. It is at this time that I send my body double forward, moving it a speed highly inflated to what I can actually achieve, but hiding my mass behind the image as best as possible. At this, I see the creature once again sending out its tongue as it lunges into the air like it had done to the Sergeant; however, it reaches at an image a good ten feet in front of my actual location, lunging towards nothing but pure air it had actually grabbed, but I take the mental effort needed to at least first make it look as if it was rising.

For good measure, I use the last bit of focus I can contain on my two illusions to send the arm with spear onto the periphery of this creature’s assumed vision, finding it flailing its arm in a desperate attempt to knock away the weapon as I lung into the air, with my spear actually readied. My own fake body disrupts my field of view a good degree, but with the creature in such a panic from flailing, I am able to estimate a large part of its body location. As I feel the odd mixture of satisfaction from resistance, with the true pleasure of plunging my spear thorough the armor of the creature, our bodies end up meeting quickly as I focus more on the killing blow than anything else.

With a tumble backwards from the sheer mass, I kick my leg in preparation and dive off to the side from the creature’s much more painful landing due to my spear jabbed into it. In a span of about eight total seconds, I have caused the creature to go from fighting fully to flailing in an impotent fear as I broke through its mass of trees it called armor.
|C<\/|o|E|_C|

I quickly dispel my illusions, seeing as they require no more than the fraction of a second it takes to invoke them to ever call upon them again, and expecting a floating arm and a body double of a bare fisted self floating in the air now serves me little good.

I quickly scan the condition of my enemy, seeing my spear plunging through an area I would approximate a lung would be on a human, suspecting the spear to have entered its entire body and hit the other side of the tree armor before stopping.The entire three feet of blade having penetrated its body, plus some of the shaft leaving me to silently hate that I will need to clean it again, but thus is the consequence of finishing a foe.

I quickly glace towards the other parts of combat, I note that the squad in a quick glance seems to be holding well enough, but has not turned to face my combat and the melee is quite hectic, making anything certain impossible. Gee on the other hand is alive, but I suspect this may not hold for long if his random flailing form of attack is any indication versus two of the still standing creatures.

>Do I assume this creature’s death? Or do I take added measures to ensure its defeat?
>Do I recover my spear? Or continue onwards with my fists, my second most familiar weapon?
>Shall I now deactivate my magitech heart? Or should I continue its use to ensure this creature’s death or versus other opponents? [if deactivating, roll a D20, on a 19+ it fails to deactivate, first roll only counts]
>Is there any other weapon or consideration to take into effect before I act?
>What in the end shall I do in this calm eye within the hurricane of combat?

[need a d100 to establish Gee’s wellbeing in the coming moments, higher is better]

rolled 2 = 2

---

Rip spear out
Use blade and slice it's head off
Then turn off heart. (magitech, not real u silly person u)

rolled 40 = 40

---

d100 for Gee.

Stomp on your fallen foe and use your knee or shoulder as a fulcrum to tear your spear out and sideways in a violent, damaging manner to make this a certain kill or a utterly crippling injury. If this thing has non-vital organs like you then it still can't fight if it's almost cut in half. Make sure you don't get any pus on your bare skin. Who knows what that stuff does. Then shut down the magitech heart once you start moving on to the other enemies.

You probably have a knife on you to use as a tool. Make sure it's ready at a moments notice so you can cut off any assaulting tongues.

Expend your hand illusions to draw attention and help your comrades. Even if the frogs knows they are fake it's still hard to ignore realistic weapons stabbing into your faces and obscuring your view.

rolled 40 = 40

---

>>264720
[rolling a d99 because GEE DON'T NEED NO PERFECT SCORE]


Stab it through the mouth first, sever the spine's connection to skull, it seems rather clearly a vertebrate no matter how alien so such a strike should be fatal, and currently easily delivered with minimal loss of time.

...Or I would say this, if your spear was on hand. Lacking that, I suggest thumbs to each eye, full weight and force behind them, either rupture or pop out the eyes. Even if it is alive, blinded and wounded it will be no threat.

From there, glance at Gee. If he's about to be overwhelmed, go straight to him, get in CLOSE, inside the reach of one of the frog things, and go for the neck, even if it means having to beat back armored limbs. Throat punches should be as devastating to these creatures as they are to humans, so go with what's known as deadly.

If he's doing well enough, get spear first, then charge and ram through one of the frogs attacking gee, preferably without them turning your way. Efficiency is key.

Building on the prior plans, if you come out with your spear, aim for the legs and do your best to hamstring the critters then move onto the next. Leaping seems to be a favored tactic so if you eliminate their maneuverability they'll be much easier for your comrades to finish off conventionally. Stick and move, stick and move.

>>264849
>>264750
>>264725
[Unnecessary risk of roll with DOUBLE randomly occurring bonus, Gee’s roll treated as a 60. This will apply to any future roll of doubles, so for fun try for a 150 total someday. Though if you roll a lower number, it’s taken instead. Must be on two consecutive rolls for the same thing.]

I deactivate my heart successfully with a few moments focus. And notice in that time that Gee does seem to be holding his own just fine, having accidently flung his sword at the legs of the creature with his random flailing, causing them to stumble into eachother in an oddly hilarious way, ending up with them both on the ground tangled in their own bodies. This would secure Gee just fine, except for his now notable lack of weapon.

>>264849
I first head over to the creature, diving upon its back and reaching for its head. I hear it utter some alien form of plea for mercy I suspect, a loud groaning sound rumbling beneath me. My arms surround its head as I grope for its eyes, a slightly sickly slime feeling onto my body, but I nonetheless find its eyes and begin pushing with full strength immediately.

With a guttural roar of rage, I am thrown off the back of the creature and onto the ground as It leaps up and thrashes around wildly at nothing. I see liberal amounts of puss fly from the creatures body, my spear still firmly lodged into its body as it rampages blindly in nearly every direction. I suspect this tactic was as effective as it needed to be.

>>264750
I do find this though now impeding my ability to get my spear, and so I invoke my phonomancy runes once again. This time focusing on my two arms.

|-_/-\|_<|E|’|\()|_||-|)

I send my floating arms towards the swirling melee that envelops the squad and the creatures, it is only upon this action though I realize that without my weapon, the runes as per usual will default to being bare handed themselves until a weapon is in my hands again. Deciding it is only prudent now to aid the squad, I rush after my own floating arms, sending them flying into the faces of the creatures in the maelstrom of weapons and fists.

Leaping onto the nearest creature, I find it mercifully simple, and much less repulsive feeling to snap its neck once pinned, damning them with my far superior strength. Commanding my floating arms to swing wildly into the combat while I focus on the enemies.

It takes but thirty more seconds for my presence in combat, combined with the noticeably demoralized state of my enemy and the presence of allies to finish off the remaining smaller creatures in this area. Though my strength allows me not to use solely my fists to bypass their armor, I do find it fairly simple with allied assistance to merely grab or shock the creatures with a well placed blow, leaving myself to snap its neck, or someone else to stab it. This also appears to have followed on the one I had previously thrown its comrades body at, as it was found dead upon my arrival into the battlefield. With only a few remaining, I recalled my runes after a total of twelve seconds of use. The creatures I find on the whole have shockingly weak bodies once you bypass that armor of theirs, probably even less constitution than ‘normal’ persons.

Once this is handled, I recast my gaze where Gee is, to find a depressingly sad state of affairs…

Gee presently appears to have attempted to at some point to pounce on the twice as large as him creatures in an attempt to keep them from standing up. This appears to have in fact worked; however, only by Gee tangling himself entirely in the process, and as he is the smallest of the group of three, this leaves him in the most likely to be hurt state. They do seem to be handled though, so I see no immediate reason to rush.

I do sense something however, and glance around at the squad to find most of them staring at me, an odd mixture of emotions and silence now into this formerly hectic state, only the sound’s of the creatures moans and Gee’s yelling piercing it. My current plan relating to my spear simplified to waiting for a few minutes, as the large creature has stopped its flailing and fallen to the ground, likely to bleed out… or puss out, or whatever that stuff is.

>What shall I do about Gee? And how rapidly should I deal with it?
>What do I make of this odd mixture of emotion and the squad’s staring? And how do I react to them?
>Is there anything I should consider in this relative peace?

Not really sure on what action would be appropriate besides fetching Gee's shortsword and using it to finish off the frogpile while hauling him out of it. Though a response of "...What?" to the rest of the troops might be amusing.

I think the soldiers are looking up to you for the orders.
Now that the sergeant is dead (or severely incapacitated) they need orders and you are the most capable in their minds.

I suggest you order the to assist Gee. Have them split into two groups and attack from two sides, while we attack from the middle.

"Oh right. I hereby take squad command as acting sergeant. You two on me, we're retrieving Gee. You there make sure all the enemies are dead and check them for maps or clues. The rest of you cleanse, dry and bind everyones wounds properly as we can't afford infections and diseases in this marsh environment! Stay ready and keep your eyes open as there could be more enemies on the way."

As you try to untangle Gee consider crippling or binding rather than killing a frog to take as a prisoner. Food for the Soul Grave or fuel for the soul mage.

NaiveOne 2010/12/17(Fri)22:36 No. 265035 ID: 69bee4
File 129265419081.jpg - (55.47KB , 800x600 , #32.jpg )

1/4 bonus from ???

>>264915
>>264942
>>264865

I consider for a moment, and realize it to be true. With the Sergeant down, I am de facto in charge with no superior officer around as the Force Commander. An odd moment, considering I know next to nothing about the squad, have almost no standing orders, and even know only the name of two members besides Sullivan… well, time to make do as best I can.

"Oh right (fortunately, my hesitancy still sounds like an All Right). I hereby take squad command as acting sergeant. You two on me, we're retrieving Gee. You there make sure all the enemies are dead and check them for maps or clues. The rest of you cleanse, dry and bind everyones wounds properly as we can't afford infections and diseases in this marsh environment! Stay ready and keep your eyes open as there could be more enemies on the way."

The movement of the squad is sluggish, confusion seeming to rule, but with a bit of glaring it seems that people are finally able to get moving. However, to call it a disorganized mess would be an accurate term, as few seem to know what to actually do. Luken, a member I know not the name, and I quickly dispatch of the creatures on Gee, my desire for death taking precedence over some concerns for prisoner taking. Leaving Gee in their care, I retrieve my spear from the fowl smelling creature, and decide to check if Sullivan is dead or not while I return, if for no other reason than to claim his blade if he is.

It takes me only a few moments observation to confirm he is certainly still alive, shocking, considering I would expect such a blow to have harmed myself fairly badly. He is certainly breathing somewhat, and lacking any real medical skills, I can tell little about his condition.

Exacerbating the issues ahead of me, the squad seems to have already devolved into loitering, complaints and chattering between the members, little signs of actual productive work going on. In addition, my only known standing orders are to be on sight for a village in the direction we had been previously headed. The swamplands likely stand only a few hours away at most, and base camp at least a day away.

>What should I do at this point? With a seemingly inept squad and minimal orders, to control how this situation?
>Should I return to base camp? Head towards the village as per orders? Or something else?
>Should I attempt to deal with Sullivan? Any members of the squad?

---Combat Terminated---
[Primary Objective Completed: Survival]
[Tertiary Objective Failed: Capture a living Froggrock]
[Tertiary Objective Completed: Kill Froggrock Major mostly single handedly]
Bonus Experience: Combat Perception
Bonus Experience: Speechmaking/Command
Bonus Experience: Hilarity Double
Overall Battle Result: Victory (Major)

Total Experience Gained
Combat Experience: 54
Emotional Experience: 13

Explanations:
Combat Perception: Higher levels of this skill will increase the amount of small details that surface in the combat about enemy actions, these often provide hints as to potential enemy weaknesses. Covers terrain, equipment, and physical characteristic examination of enemies, and can reveal attempts for enemies to hide behavior of surprise attacks. Uses Combat Experience.
Speechmaking/Command: This skill reflects the ability of 32 to win over larger size crowds through oratory, attempts to inspire large groups into action, and command of a squad as a whole. Higher levels improve the chances of getting orders followed correctly, maintaining higher respect levels, restore morale, and avoiding errors in orders and commands. Uses Combat or Emotional experience.

Fatalism:
Belief that one’s actions and results are dictated by fate or some higher power.
Pros: Strongly improves 32’s personal sense of Morale and reduces ability to be overcome by fear, Effects of pain are lessened, doubt/inexperience is less of an issue.
Cons: Biases 32’s action towards accepting failing results if they are occurring. More bias towards potentially bad ideas if felt they are ‘destiny called’.

Contempt
An intense feeling of someone or something as inferior.
Pros: Improves defense against intimidation, lessens chance to flee due to fear.
Cons: Severely reduces interpersonal relationship cohesion, risks ill advised actions against those considered inferior, who may in face be equal or superior.

>>265035
So... is this an "invest XP in skills as you choose" system? If so, I advocate investing all emotional XP and 24 Combat XP in Command, and the rest of our Combat XP in Combat Perception, effective immediately. This squad is bloody useless and we need to shout them into good order without needing to beat sense into them first. But if you can't keep order any other way, well... you're the biggest, so you're the boss.

It's unlikely that any of the squad have any medical skills, but ask anyway. And by "ask" I mean "order anyone with any skill at all to step forward". If there's someone, have them tend to Sullivan. If there isn't, have a couple of them arrange something to carry him- they should be able to put together a stretcher of some kind without difficulty. Moving him, either with the squad or back to base, will require such a thing.

>>265043
I agree with this one.
Better not touch Sullivan before we know if there is someone with medical skills in our squad.


If we don't manage to save Sullivan, then go to the village.

Splitting the XP between Command and Combat Perception seems a good idea when leading a squad of rabble through foggy, treacherous marshland. It seems possible to raise Agility as well for 20xp, but that can wait.

You can't really do too much without knowing what your actual orders are. Gently try to wake Sullivan and get someone skilled to try to diagnose him. See if he has any written orders on him anywhere. Ask the squad if they have any clue what you were meant to do when you found this village.

If Sullivan is stable then you can leave him somewhere safe with a guard while you scout out the village. You might be able to track down where the frogs came from - it's likely to be the village.

rolled 33 = 33

---

You are part of the Mosmordren Army. They are not touchy-feely as some armies are. If you return to the base camp just to get a commanding officer looked at when you had sufficient troops to continue towards your objective, do you tink they will look kindly on you?

Dump experience into Command and Perception, perhaps 2/5 total XP into command, 3/5 into perception. No real getting around you being crazy new to command, but if you can tap those enhanced senses of yours more ably, you'll be a better informed new commander, something they should be more willing to follow.

make sure that your dead are eaither brought with you so they and their armor can still be of use to Mosmordre. At the very least salvage arms and armor, and if the bodies must be abandoned burn them.

Onwards towards your target. Prove yourself capable of success in uncertain and trying circumstances.

Plan?

Geta bit more familiarity with leading by trying to improve unit cohesion on the march, while inwardly you try period, very bief activations of your magitech heart, using your improved perception to see if you can learn anything about how it feels. Not expecting you to decipher it, seems like a pretty potent magic item, but hey, even a single glimmer of info could be useful.

[1d100 for leadership practice/magitech heart analysis]

Final note: DO NOT put up with insubordinate troops. Officially, you are behind enemy lines with wounded. If they can't get their act together now, they damned well better learn. Hard way preferable.

[A set of explanations, and some notes to add as I do not have time for a full update before I must head out. Update will come later tonight.

Basic Characteristics are always Combat Experience only.

Emotional sets are Emotional Experience only.

Talents unlock via upgrading of unknown prereqs, self training, or outside training.

A skill with a decimal as a level value means that has not fully been learned to the first level yet. A value of experience points equal to the amount missing will unlock the skill to level one (ex: a skill with .75 as its level, will need 25 experiance to unlock)

All Skills can be unlocked for free with sufficient player input towards the skill. For example, taking command of the squad when it was called upon garnered the free points and unlocked the Speechmaking/Command skill. Bonus experience is awarded for player influence that would improve the skill, such as finding an enemy weakness from the hints garnered by Combat Perception.

Emotional Sets work similarly to skills, except that Eexp used can be used to either increase or decrease the level of a set for the same cost. Note that this may cause unintended consequences, for example, 32 is currently essentially Fearless and immune to intimidation due to Fatalism and Contempt, reduction of levels in these will cause these to become potential issues. Emotional sets do not define 32's action, they do bias his preferences in choices available.]

>>265111
Then I change my vote to bringing Combat Perception fully to level one, and spending 20 points to upgrade Agility, keeping the remaining points unspent. Upgrading command with points precludes any other upgrade, and being able to show yourself as competent to the men would seem more important than structural leadership abilities, as it lets you detect threats and act on them earlier.

[One more fact: Experience can only be spent ‘out of combat’, unless specified otherwise]

>>265141
>>265063
[25 Cexp spent on Combat Perception (lvl 1). Other actions will be delayed until another set of votes]

>>265083
[low result, Fatalism interferes]
I consider searching for more of the secrets of my magitech heart, but in the end decide against it. I know most of its basic function, and truly if Death wishes to reveal its secrets to me, it will be on the battlefield, not some annoying little patch of dry land like this.

Still, I decide that this lack of order cannot stand, action will be taken, and results will be had.

“ATTENTION!” I boom from twenty feet away to the crowd of soldiers, this seems to silence them quite rapidly.

“If anyone of you know any deep damned things about medicine, get your ass here, NOW! The rest of you are a disgrace! I told you to take care of those wounds, get ready to move, we are finding this village NOW!”

Noone seems to step out on my call for any medical knowledge, it figures. However, even I can tell this is a poor shape to be in, maybe lethal, maybe not, but not good. He is at least alive though, more than I could say for most of these good-for-nothings to the empire. I take Sullivan’s blade and place it onto what would usually be my spear holder, used to carrying my spear over long distances, it should be safer there and be of little hindrance.

Oh? I see one of the group has not gotten into a state of readiness, and seems to be speaking.

”… the bastard! He mowed us over like we were nothing, hes unfit for command!
”Shut up Larson! Hes going to…

My looming figure quickly ends their talk, especially as I use but one hand to life up the dissenting soldier. I spare such incompetence no need for talk, throwing him to the ground like the ragdoll of usefulness he is.

“I said get ready soldier, or do I need to find you treasonous on the field of battle? We have an injured officer behind enemy lines, and deep damn if you are going to stop our mission. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND!”

Absolute terror seeps into the eyes of the grounded man, as he takes a good few moments after I leave to even get up and assemble with the rest of the squad, lacking the material and likely expertise, it is fortunate that fear makes volunteers easy to acquire as two men groups now have shifts for moving the sergeant with the group. I take my place at the front again, and order the movement forwards towards the swamplands again.

…

It takes but an additional three hours of time to sight the village as the sun begins to leave the afternoon and head towards its approach into the depths of the skies. Control of the men seems to be no major issue at this point, despite some complaints of carrying Sullivan. With this found, I have accomplished what I know of our objectives, but how I proceed for now? The village appears to be a mess of near tribal huts on the outskirts of the area, with little signs of life from this distance.

>Should I return with confirmation of the village? Or attempt to enter it?
>If I do enter, what do I do, request aid, attempt negotiations, or assume that this IS an invasion overall?
>If I return, how much longer do we travel before setting a form of temporary camp again?
>Should I deal with the squad somehow? Or any specific members in a time of some calm?

>>265207
First, check Sullivan, observe his condition. If he can, rouse him enough to see if he knew of further orders. If not, have men stay, personally scout, keep distance, just getting close enough you can confirm a general headcount. If village looks like its empty even when closing, go back to troops first, do NOT investigate alone.

All the while, keep your eyes open. This if foreign land. This is their home. That tree could be an old friend, it's every nook intimately known, these beasts taking only the most well-obscured hiding spots. Try to look for commonalities:

-Are there specific types of trees that seem conducise to stealth, be it hollows amidst above-ground roots, winding limbs that create crannies, or exceptionally dense foliage?
-Do you note any debris on water that could be the eyes of one of these creatures or some other inhabitant of this land?
-What do you hear, and do you recall if the normal sounds of the jungle stopped during your earlier fight?
-Are there any odors you have come to associate with these creatures?

After more in-depth scouting, situation shall be re-appraised, pending further action here, or return to basecamp.

Also revoting to up agility, I would assume it would make the above stealth easier to accomplish

Wait... did you kill that one guy?

Why would you do that? Don't do shit like that, man.

Anyway, enter the village. Go there alone or send a scout to see if it is safe. Then ask for medical help to heal Sullivan.

>>265285
[he was not killed, he was lifted single handedly, thrown to the ground, terrified as all hell, and took awhile to get up. He’s shaken to say the least, but fine]

>>265209
While we stand outside of the town, I order the squad to stop and look into seeing if I can get any coherent answer out of Sullivan regarding orders. A few minutes pass, but he stubbornly stays unconscious, his breathing slightly more regular I note than it had once been. I then order them to hold position and rest while I scout ahead slightly.

Considering the situation, I take an unusual for myself step of deciding to familiarize myself with the area. The situation is more random feeling than I have seen in a long time, with no known enemy, no standing orders, and people, no matter how undeserving, that I am in charge of.

Comparing the environment to the village in the distance, I note a myriad of small details before the light begins to wane.

-The entire area past the village is swampland in essentially all directions but the one the group is currently approaching. In addition, the land has become much less solid, and more a mixture akin to mud in consistency. I suspect approaching the village itself would make this much more pronounced. However, this does off a benefit that an approach from any direction but the present one, by looping a long way around, would likely be much stealthier.
-Attempting to examine the area for things such as creatures, I find myself having no real luck. Being unfamiliar with the environment, I would be lying to myself to say that most of the possible discoveries are also quite possibly just white noise of my own mind, or an unfamiliar animal that poses no real threat.
-I consider the sounds, but find that having not really paid attention prior to combat, I have no ‘baseline’ to compare to the present set of sounds I can hear. Assuming this is normal though, I now have some form of baseline from this moment, but that’s not particularly helpful. In addition, overall this entire area is rather quiet, heaving little from either the village or swamp of note, and less I could call possibly language, mostly the sounds of animals and grunts possibly. Overall, the squad probably contributes much more of the background noise than anything from the environment at the moment.
-Although I took no true note of smells in combat, Id be hard pressed to immediately forget the smell of the large creature I faced, particularly as some of it still lingers on my spear I suspect. For the most part, the smell is that of the swamp ahead, but there are some subtle differences I suppose… nothing ive really ever considered that much though.
-Watching the village itself, it appeared the residents were human, or at least of the rough size and shape. I maybe saw ten that were more discernable then the hodgepodge of huts and random backgrounds in my hour of watching.

[Skill: Camouflage/Stealth revealed, level .1]
[Skill: Combat Senses revealed, level .15]
Descriptions
Camouflauge/Stealth: The ability to both hide yourself, or to lead others in an action that requires stealth. This also covers attempts to ambush an enemy in combat. Advanced skill also aids Combat Perception and Senses in attempting to reveal possible ambushes.
Combat Senses:: The ability to deal with the environment with senses beyond simply sight. This skill covers overall proficiency with sound, smell, and potentially taste or touch (if 32 goes out of the way to include these). Improved levels will greatly reduce attempts for enemies to ambush 32 or anyone he is with, and also offers insight into battle situations that may not be noticed with only sight.


As the sun begins to truly threaten to set, I head back towards the squad and report my findings. Few seem willing to say anything, although Luken I note pipes up that there would be a much better chance of finding women in the village, which seems to kill some of the fear and quiet permeating the squad.

>With the situation somewhat better known, what should I do? Head towards the town? Return to Base Camp? Or set camp here for now and wait?
>If we are going into the village, should I go alone, or as a squad? How should I open towards the village? Or should I sneak myself or the squad in and act?
>Should I deal with the squad or particularly Luken somehow for his comment?
>Are there any other orders I should give or consideration to make?

Pay attention to how the setting sun effects the shadows of the area. Where do shadows start to dwell first, where do they linger? Attacks can commonly be encoutnered at dawn or dusk, every chance you can get to pre-emptively familiarize yourself with what should and should not be happening during these times now will make you more aware and able to detect ambushes before they are sprung.

Do you hear a shift in animal noises accompanying the sunset? this is a common time for the shift from diurnal to nocturnal predators, and could provide more background data of your surroundings. Don't leave this as just something for you to do: Ask your squad what they've noted of the environemtn as well, who knows, some might have noticed things you missed. This also gives you time to give an honest shot at assessing the squad. While they give a once-over to the surroundings before sharing their observations, you get a chacne to see how well you do at appraising their status: Are any favoring a side, or a limb? Any having shallow breathing, pale sweaty skin? Unbound wounds? Do you see lidded eyes, slumped shoulders, signs of fatigue? Check your assessment by asking for a condition report, and measuring it against what you compiled. If a soldier says they are doing far worse than your observations led you to believe, confront them on it, ask for proof. If they are as bad off as they claim, they can show swollen joints are untended gashes, otherwise establish yourself as coming down HARD on attempts to falsify data.

While speaking with the men, remember to keep voices down, and if possible have no one standing to minimize profile: Squatting in a circle with some foliage to break up your outlines would be ideal.

If it looks like enough people are still genuinely fighting fit, leave one soldier with Sullivan, collectively pick out the hardest to see hiding spot you can (check it before hand to make sure you are not inadvertently using a predator's nest, stash Sullivan and his guard there while you and the other seven soldiers move towards the town. As you go, point out any potential pitfalls you noted, soft patches of earth or mud that may cling at their boots. Keep an ear out for changes in background noise levels as being possible indication of an impending ambush, and try to lead them closer. Remember to stay low, and move slowly, fluidly. The goal is to make consistent motion: don't turn sharply, stop or start suddenly, or alter your speed drastically. It is change that draws attention to things in one's peripheral most, so endeaver to be boringly static in your approach. Between that, staying low, staying quiet, and approaching during sunset, there is just one more thing to do: Insure you do NOT approach from upwind. If you can make a downwind approach without going too far out of your way, great, if not just make sure they can't smell you coming.

On that subject, pay attention to the smell. You said you can't forget the smell of those beasts, or their blood: As you approach see if you can detect any scents matching the frog monsters. The sooner you can figure out what sensory clues these creatures give you, the sooner you can make killing them child's play.

If you have four or less fighting fit amongst the soldiers, it is time to head back towards base camp. If it comes to this, it will give an excellent chance to attempt limited foraging. Foragers travel in groups of three to insure no surprises catch a patrol completely off-guard, and if you must make a fire do so with a blind about it to keep the light from drawing every creature for miles. Likewise, those on guard duty must keep from looking at the fire to preserve night vision.

Go into village alone first.
Sneak in, if possible.

If it is safe, reveal yourself and ask/demand for a healer.
Bring healer to Sullivan, when/if he stabilizes him and makes it safe to transport him, take him to the village.

I find myself considering far too many options at once to fully respect what I should or should not do. First things first though, I need to get this squad in order and have a more accurate assessment of its fighting readiness.

“Alright everyone! For now I need everyone to be quiet, which includes you. Things have been more hectic than expected, and I have found your performance to be subpar. For now, I want you all report if you have noted anything of the area around.”

I am met with long moments of silence, confused looks appearing on most of the soldiers faces.

”ummm, sir, I assumed that was why you were scouting forward… erm… sir”
”Yeah, that’s what I assumed too”

Murmurs of agreement begin to spread throughout the squad. My glare at them seems to quickly dispel the sudden upraise in talk.

“Well, what the hell have you been doing them if not engaging the area!”

”erm… ummm, resting sir”
“Did I give orders to rest?!”
”No sir… but you didn’t give any orders and… I… erm…”
“That is no excuse! This is enemy territory, and you are solders! What contemptible Castiliathen-half breeds are you going to act like if you keep this up? We have orders and…”
no sir! We didn’t have orders except to find this village. In addition, we are not all favored soldiers who gave our body to the empire, so don’t expect us to behave like one!
>”We all can’t keep going on forever, especially if we have to carry things and march just after battle”

As this begins to happen, I see Gee stand up, and yell out a bit too loudly, causing the group to silence in his awkward attempt to speak.
”I…I…. SIR! My apologies for not subscribing to orders, I was unaware SIR! What needs to be done? SIR

With this temporary silence, I pounce on the attempt fate has shown me.

“For now you all also are scouting out the area! Report anything inconsistent or new with my findings There has been enough rest. Gee, lead two others to the east, Luken, take two on the west side of the village and scout, Larson, you stay here with the rest and the sergeant and watch his status, also prepare a fire and dinner, meet back here when the sun finally sets… NOW! Be sure to keep your profiles minimized, do not risk engagement, and use the environment to its advantage, we are on the enemy side now.”

In a sort of stupor, the squad gets up and begins to quickly assign themselves to the three people I noted, seeking to flee I suspect from their failures this night. As the six begin to walk away from our growingly makeshift camp area, I trudge forward alone and quietly observe their moving away. I do make a note that two of the men with Gee’s squad seem to be limping noticeably, and I see some possible signs of fatigue in general, but that could have more to do with their reactions towards me earlier.

I rub my head slightly as I head into the growing dimmer swamplands, approaching from the west and keeping vague sight with Luken’s squad as I look towards methods of entry of the village. I attempt to make some semblance of the environment around me, making note of some of the new noises and such, but I find my frustrations easily removing most useful attempts to focus void. It seems I likely have focused too much on the environment and those around, and with things chaotic, have left too little direction at least for some members of the squad. My hindsight on the issue showing I need to either take some decisive actions, or at least lay improved groundwork before I attempt anything more. Half breeds they may be, but I am responsible for them for now.

With night now setting in the area, I am only left with a few options as I return to camp for reports.
-Gee notes that his team found little more than I was able to report, with the night becoming a major hindrance to anything conclusive towards the village. He does state that one of his group, Reinold, stated that areas such as this were known for some dangerous animals, but that nearer to the dry lands like the village is, this should be less of an issue.
-Luken reports nothing of significance found rather hastily, before running off for the prepared food. He also makes a note that the village was ‘as quiet as the morning after’, whatever that means.

With little more gained in intelligence, and some stability it seems restored, I find myself needing to make a larger choice of more decisive action, as the squad seems amenable to little else. With the night now upon us, our options seem limited, but scanning the movements of the squad, I see that at least three have a noticeable injury of some sort, two limping, and one who has a healing chest wound, and hear two of those three also complain about dented armor out of the nine total members. Beyond this, injuries seem limited to fatigue.

>Do I give any standing orders to the squad to avoid further confusion? Do I punish them for insubordination prior?
>Do we immediately engage the village, Do we attempt a covert operation at night? And if so, what is our mission objective, and how many besides myself to bring in the cover of darkness?
Or
>Do we instead wait till morning and make camp? Do we return to base camp then, or engage the village? And if so, what are the objectives at the village?

rolled 20 = 20

---

[Rolling for final statement]

Alright, here's what to do.

The town is quiet, you're not sure about the locals, could be hostile, could be friendly. In a dark, swamp night, no ambient lighting, we are looking at a darkness that normal humans are blind in. You will not approach the village until daybreak. This accomplishes several things, and feel free to use these as counterpoints in case the troops try to question orders. If they do, answer all questions, then pull the objectors in close, then deadpan whisper that if they continue being insubordinate you'll leave them chained to a tree, imprisoned for mutiny. Let them consider how that would work out in these surroundings, and leave it at that. By first demonstrating your ideas have purpose, you effectively pre-supply them with belief in your competence preceding the proper fear you inspire, which can then become proper military respect.

The reasons to wait till morning:

-During the night like this, it is so dark you'd either need torches (which would effectively blind you while providing precious little illumination, or to approach blind. How will that go with a village that is not guaranteed compliant?
-It allows Sullivan further time to improve, improving chances the chain of command can be restored.
-Considering they'll have to spend a shit-ton of nights camped in situations like this or worse, this gives them a 'mild' experience in the matter. Future wilds camping only gets easier with practice, and caring for an already recovering commander and no known threat seeking you, it provides them enough to do they won't fall asleep with boredom during shifts, while providing them good reason to be vigilant about threats from the wilds.
-How might even potentially friendly natives view an armed force approaching at night?
-What if the village has low supplies? Given the innate hostilities of the native monsters you encountered earlier, would it be so hard to believe the place recently raided, its stocks in worse condition than the troops? Any who have been in THAT sticky situation know how much of a mess villagers demanding rations can be.

YOU, however, are going to reconnoiter the village more carefully. First, you'll need to put some mud over all exposed metal, the od bit of gleam would draw any watching eye. As an augmented person, you are much harder to instantly slay, and need sleep less. You can spend all goddamn night moving as slow as you need to insure maximum stealth is acheived as you reconnoiter the village. Any open doors you cautiously approach, and enter if able to insure no active threat within. When leaving for this trip, bring a branch with leaves on it with you, one large enough to wipe tracks. Your goals are, in order of importance:

-Don't make anyone aware of your presence.
-Be out of the village before dawn, on the path you took in, dragging the brought branch behind you to erase your only set of tracks outside the village.
-Where possible step on existing trail to minimize how trackable you are.
-Confirm whether or not local population is human, frog monster, or other.
-Get a precise headcount, which involves checking all huts.
-Use all-night snooping to get more in tune with your hearing, sense of smell, and sense of touch as you will be forced to rely heavily on them in this.
-Locate structures of import, cheiftain/leader's hut, medicine/doctor hut, barracks, supply storage, etc.
-If local population frog monster, find one sleeping alone and capture it at knifepoint. Immediately slit its throat if it so much as HINTS of crying out or resisting, the only reason you DON'T slit it's throat is if you wake it, it does not move, and makes no noise, then compliantly follows directions until you exit the village with them. ANY shit on their end, any at all, dead, look for another sleeping alone, keep attempting. Important thing is wake them up with the knife's pressure on the throat, no room for mucking about. ALSO IMPORTANT: If alone frog is one of the huge ones, do NOT pick it. only the smaller, softer ones, until ONLY big are left.
-If local population human, attempt to gain sense of supply strength, and self-defense capabilities, in the way of having an arms smith, stored weapons, etc. This would be critical for how you approach tomorrow's meeting.
-If local population human, attempt to discern disposition/awareness of the Mosmordren Empire by searching for flags, letters, any missives or statements. This is listed last as it is the hardest, since with so many unknowns you don't know just what could reveal the village's potential allegiances.

Gee will keep the Soldiers in line, and seeing you going all damn night working and possibly getting yourself killed will make their guard duty seem easy in comparison, and emotionally it will be harder for them to just say 'fuck it'. Come dawn, you will know all you need about how to approach the village officially, Sullivan may have wakened, you may have a prisoner, and you'll be more capable at night-stalking by a bit. As a boosted individual, you'll be missing less forgoing a night's sleep, and will be fine so long as you get sleep in the next night or so.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

You've already more than made your point about who's running the show, so further disciplinary action is inadvisiable in my opinion. Rather contrawise, perhaps a few words of understanding and/or sympathy about stressful situations and other such nonsense might be in order. Even if it's just bullshit lying through your teeth, it'd help put the troops more at ease around you instead of treading eggshells and harboring resentment at the harsh treatment, making them more responsive and willing to follow orders in the future. The object is to show a slight bit humanity to help them identify with you and the position you're in, even if the word doesn't fully apply to you anymore and though you might not actually care. Falsehood or not, it can only make them easier to manipulate in the future.

rolled 95 = 95

---

>>265772
And I forgot to throw a dice roll in for if it's needed.

NaiveOne 2010/12/22(Wed)18:16 No. 265938 ID: 69bee4
File 129307059139.jpg - (31.85KB , 451x300 , Swamp.jpg )

rolled 9 = 9

---

[A d100 roll is never necessary for use of a skill; however, it can be done to attempt to make a skill you think would normally come off poorly, successful. Failure of a skill, particularly with extremely low numbers though will often trigger an emotional set that will ‘lock down’ use of a skill. In the case of peering into the Magitech heart previously, a low-ish roll causes Fatalism to now kick in. This in effect caused 32 to believe that studying the heart was against fate, and has temporarily locked this from use until one major encounter passes in time. All skills hold this risk. A dice should never be rolled if the text of a speech is given, or an observation occurs in battle and is being pointed out, etc. only if 32 is to act independently on that skill. Skill improvements from a dice roll will always be smaller compared to direct interaction.]

>>265773

As I watch the group finish their dinner, I wait for a lull in conversation and stand to address them, my shadow, a feature looming as ominously as myself it seems quickly quits the chatter as I begin to recall concepts I had conceived while the others ate… I am stealing a mentality from someone I never truly liked, but such times I suppose call for such nonsensical sentimentality.

“Men, I believe with the exercises planned for today being over, that I need to address a few problems. Now, I can see the look on your faces, and I freely admit, not all the issues today were of your own faults. We have suffered a major setback, attacked while scouting in newly appraised enemy terrain, and the loss of a man such as Sullivan could easily have turned the tide in ways I hate to fathom. However! Despite the issues fate threw at us this day, let us all stand proud and know that we engaged an unknown and hostile foe, and have not lost one of the valued soldiers of the empire yet! This swampland may throw at us monsters, but we shall show them that monsters can stand not in the face of our empires justice and righteous fury! We enter this swampland soldiers, but have already tasted the fury of the crucible of battle, and found it our home. “

I see a fire, reflecting both from the camp, and the upright attention of the soldiers indicating that this stirring of morale appears to have been sorely needed.

“Standing orders for the night are as follows, Gee is to lead and schedule the rotation of guard shift, anything that can be taken care of or healed is to be done so, and any issues not resolved by morning are to be reported to me. Security of Sullivan and the camp are to be number one priority, and sleep is to begin early in preparation of our mission. Full orders will be given upon daybreak, and as I will be absent for a few hours tonight for security reasons, all requests are to be given to the person on guard at that time. Be ready for anything tomorrow, DISMISSED.”

The squad as a whole seems quite stirred, the awkward quietness quickly removed as people seem to gather and talk excitedly about a myriad of little things. I quickly bypass Gee’s salutes, preferring to tell him to be certain of camp security, and that I shall return by daybreak. As the rest of the squad begins to separate out, I eat my own ration, supply myself with water, and readjust Sullivan’s sword with my own polearm.

>>265652

Upon finishing preparations, I begin to move a good half mile outside of the village, entering directly into the path of the swamplands. I find an odd comfort in this place, even at night, similar to a simulated set of muddy environments I had been subjected to upon my training. The air itself seems to collect as I walk into the slick mud, hanging as if one were to walk through a cloud of mist at all times. I take care to muddy up my breastplate and spear in this area, observing the weaving set of roots and bark that characterize the trees of this area.

I find the area as a whole to be oddly quiet compared to what I had suspected, the noises of insects many times being the only accompaniment to the sloching sounds my body is apt to make as I attempt to move through a suspension of water and land. I give myself plunty of time, an hour or so, simply toward allowing my body to fully adapt to the pale glow of light offered by the moons. I note a few things during this time, the ever present smell of the swamp, characterized by an odd mixture of things ranging from the rancid and the nearly sweet, I note that the water itself has a smell all to its own, and that there are many forms of plants, unidentifiable to my limited knowledge.

I attempt to find a branch as I approach the village under cover of near darkness; however, the trees here are annoyingly hard to traverse to say the least. Their roots form an odd lattice that I note will almost certainly be a constant hassle when or if we approaching the more wet areas of the swamp. I for the most part avoid these, but with their extreme abundance, the fact that their branches for the most part are very high up, a good ten or so feet from these root networks, requires me the use of my polearm to successfully get a branch worthy of actual use.

It is during this time though, I do learn two fairly significant things, one that these trees are almost shockingly resilient, able to support my fully laden weight on but a few roots, and also that it appears that many creatures live in this lattice of roots, as my disruption caused by stepping on the root system was probably the most I had heard that night outside of camp, as innumerable small creatures ranging from swimming to scampering took flight.

My foray into the village was met with limited amounts of success, as I was surprised to find an armed set of guards, only approximately ten or so through the village, but enough that rampant infiltration would almost certain align with me being detected. I did learn at least a few things though.

-This ‘guard’ only consisted of approximately ten people through two hours of observation in approximately a half mile to mile long area that consists of the ‘village’.
-This guards’s weaponry consisted almost entirely of some crude, small, wooden clubs, and some metal weapons of uncertain quality. Armor seemed to be either extremely poor replicas, or possibly pieces of the armor I saw the creatures wearing.
-The village consists of thirty four buildings, possibly a few more, mostly huts made of nothing but wood and leaves.
-The only residents I saw, both in the guard, and the one hut I was actually able to sneak into, were all human.
-The one hut I did feel confident to sneak into seemed to be entirely a communal sleeping area, holding about thirty humans sleeping on the dirt floor, makeshift beds, and hammock like settings. I did not investigate details due to risk of detection.
-I see no signs of Mosmorden identity anywhere, but neither do I see identity of any sort in this village. Besides some minor use of torches as lighting sources, I saw no flag area, community center, and the paths to traverse the village (which I avoided by stating to the outskirts and swamps), seemed entirely dirt, with some wooden structures.
-Of the thirty four buildings, four were larger than normal, one of which I suspect must be food storage, as the smell that permeated at least a few hundred feet from there was of meat, salts, and unknowns.
-The only other notable builds consisted of one that had something shiny and metal like on its outsides near the door, the only one with adornments of the like. The other notable building was one that I saw people move out of, in what appeared to be a potential change in the guard.
-Overhearing some of the guard’s conversation in common, it appears the village has been raided or attacked by ‘Froggrock’ and/or ‘Freaks’ and/or ‘Planks’ within some recent timeframe. The names Savlar and Vodruk come up a fair amount, something called Lho is in short supply, and that it is likely some of the squads movements have been noted, as they speak of outsiders near the village. The rest is either mundane or gossip that I care not for.

With a full six total hours spent in reconnaissance, I successfully extract myself from the area with seemingly no complications. And leave to remove mud and such debris from my body.

I have a few hours now to plan as I begin the trek towards the camp, attempting to piece what I should do from a tangled set of facts I now hold. Returning to the camp, I am informed by someone I do not recognize that Sullivan has moved in his unconscious state, but that beyond this he has not gained any true consciousness, and has been given some water. He also reports that most everyone went to sleep at least four hours ago. I know it to be at least another four before the sun is to likely rise, possibly longer in this season.

>What should our approach be towards the village? Peaceful, show of force, something else?
>What will our main objective be? Or should we first speak and learn of their situation before such an act?
>Should I take over the guard? Or attempt some sleep before the sun rises?
>Is there anything I have overlooked?

[rolling a D20, on a 7 or 17 something happens.]

rolled 13 = 13

---

>>265938

>He also reports that most everyone went to sleep at least four hours ago.
>You told them to guard the camp.
> most everyone went to sleep at least four hours ago.

Get him to specify about people asleep, make sure they did not end the guard shifts just because they felt like it.

Otherwise, plan is to openly enter the village tomorrow. With no known affiliation, you could find out whether it can be used as a supply point. Don't enter armed, just weapons ready to be drawn , announce your intention to enter the village as representatives of the Mosmordren Empite, and wait in case they try to refuse entry. Such an approach should mean minimal chance they'll just attack you out of hand, and gives you a chance to open up dialogue.

NaiveOne 2010/12/22(Wed)21:03 No. 265977 ID: 69bee4
File 129308063653.jpg - (60.71KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

[Updated character sheet and unlocks]

>>265773
Due to high dice roll on Speach: Skill Unlocked
Bluff (lvl .00): The ability to lie, hide ones actual intentions, and manipulate the truth with or without prior preparation. Higher levels will reduce the penalty for attempting to bluff unprepared, lower the penalties for failure, and lower detection risk by being more likely to catch inconsistencies in a story before they are said.
[combat senses improved by .1]
[command improved by .1 due to impressive speech and regaining control of squad morale.]

The locals speak of attacks by unknown creatures, likely the same that attacked you. They are at least not allied with your assailants. Beyond that, there is little more we can learn without directly asking someone.
Give your men a chance to rest until morning. If nothing more can be gathered from Sullivan in that time, you must find another way. See if you can find a lone sentry or worker to accost for information. This will be delicate. You must ensure that they do not raise an alarm when you approach, but you cannot seem overly antagonistic to someone who may not be your enemy. I recommend the old standby:
1) sneak up behind your target and put a hand over their mouth, dagger at their throat, what have you.
2) Assure them that you want only to ask questions, that no harm will come to them if they cooperate. Secure a nod.
3) Find out who the people here are.

If no lone stragglers can be located, then I am afraid it comes down to suiting up and marching up to them openly. Be obviously prepared for trouble, but do nothing overtly aggressive until their response is clear.

rolled 20 = 20

---

I guess, rollan for sneaky if it comes to that. Blast your uncomfortably low skill. Dropping out of a tree or swimming up under the murky water are preferable to just trying to be quiet walking.

NaiveOne 2010/12/23(Thu)15:55 No. 266242 ID: 69bee4
File 129314850752.jpg - (32.12KB , 384x400 , old man.jpg )

rolled 13, 79 = 92

---

>>265967
>>266007
>>266009
[20 rolled, bonus opportunity unlocked]

I ask the soldier if a decent guard is actually being kept up if everyone went to sleep four hours ago, a tinge of annoyance in my voice. However, the guard quickly clarifies his mistake, noting that he is on guard in the inner camp, and that Gee volunteered for a double shift, and has himself hidden and circling the outer parts of camp to warn if someone approaches. Shifts are being alternated every two hours, with at least two persons on guard for possible attack at all times. The next shift is to begin in approximately thirty minutes.

With a small sigh of relief fate has not decided to make my headache worse, I tell this soldier to send himself to rest early, and that I will guard the internal area of the camp until next shift. With a slight salute, the guard gathers his gear and heads towards one of the four tents erected in our camp. A half hour later, Gee returns, salutes, and himself heads off to bed as the two female members of the squad are awakened for their turn at the guard.

I decide to get some sleep in, trusting my training to wake up at the first light of day.

[Day 2: Atenday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
I awaken as the sun first rays peer out from over the horizon, my training having proven itself useful once more in conditioning my body, lifting myself from the slightly sinking earth my body had lain. Upon waking, I decide to investigate Sullivan’s condition, eliciting a halfhearted salute and grin from Luken as I note him to be the only one awake I can tell, and eating an early meal.

Attempting to raise Sullivan results in mixed results, his eyes open slightly, and some garbled words are made out, but most of it is completely indecipherable. His wounds however do seem to be recovering, apparently either less serious than I had imagined, or internal. At least he shows some level of consciousness, but not enough to exonerate me from my self prescribed mandate.

A scant fifteen minutes later, and I find a slightly weary, but ready and hastily eating squad at my disposal once again. Thirty minutes later, with the great orb fully peeking out of the horizon, everyone is fully equipped, weapons sheathed and at the ready, and packed up for movement again. We head towards the village, colors held high, Sullivan being carried once again by ‘volunteers’, as I wonder if in hindsight some plan about that should have been made.

Nonetheless, as proud soldiers of the empire, we march towards a small path of the tamed areas in an untamed wilderness. Even from a distance, I see now much more activity than during the night, easily able to count twenty or so persons in the non-obscured areas, many of them noting our presence it seems, as I see most of them turned in our direction.

As we reach the artificial border of the village, simply a patch of area where there is less wilderness than the area around it, I call a halt to the squad, and call out to the now eerily empty village.

“We are representatives of the Mosmorden Empire, here to speak on its behalf to whomever is in charge”

A few minutes pass, and a lot of frantic movement of disorganized masses it seems, I hear some small laughter coming from the squad, but just miming the action to reach for my spear seems to shut them up.

Approaching us is now six men, with action still taking place inside the village behind them. Standing out is an old man in the center, with five men ranging from late teens to middle aged, dressed in that odd assortment of armor I noted earlier, all carrying metal weapons. A rather sad display of force, even considering I know this is likely their attempt to be intimidating. As the other side meets, the older man begins to speak.

“I am Savlar, the Major of this village, we have some citizens and some former of the empire here, but I doubt you send such forces as yourself for such things. We have little to offer, and less that can be demanded of a state that holds no sway here. Speak what it is you want, or leave as soon as possible, we do not need any trouble of yours here. If it is the man your men carry who needs healing, we will handle it on the condition you leave as soon as possible after. We have enough issues without soldiers unwilling to defend us around”

A… moderately hostile opening to be sure, but he seems to mean us no real harm. I see in the background that people have come to the outskirts of the village and are listening intently, ranging from younger teens, to older men such as Savlar… all of them seem to carry at least a few noticeable scars, their clothes torn, and their walking…. Peculiar I suppose.

>Nonetheless, how do I respond? Do I take the offer in regards to Sullivan? Do I attempt to learn more first or ask questions? We also are an army and armed, with little real resistance in our way, a show of force could sway things as needed.
>Or are there other options to note?

Show of force in unnecessary in mu opinion.
They probably know that nothing good will happen to them if they are to attack us or be overly hostile.

Tell him that you will not give any promises and the healing of the sergeant is a given. When Sullivan regains consciousness we will be ready to give final answer.

Tell him that you know that something is troubling them and it is most likely the frog people. Ask him more about that. When attacks began, their weaknesses, etc.
Say, that maybe we will be willing to help defend their village while we stay there but it largely depends on how 'inviting' they will be.

Anyway, whatever happens have Sullivan be healed.

If all fails, use intimidation (I am against this though).

>their walking peculiar
Watch and compare how much effort their gait seems to take in the muck, and how much noise.suction they have to deal with. As locals, they could teach you a great deal about how to walk in this swamp, lessons best learned as soon as possible.

For your response, I say that we would not ask supplies, only for the offered medical aid, and perhaps some place to reside in while waiting for the officer's recovery. This will give you time to investigate the village properly, and get a better sense of what is going on, while the rest of the squad is with Sullivan.

The reason you aren't, and wander the town? Because you would like to observe more of a village so able to defend itself from the frog-monsters, what with the recent attack you dealt with.. If they absolutely challenge it, then watch their movements from the shack as best you can, and otherwise do nothing.


If you're feeling lucky, try asking them (in the initial introduction) if they are having frog-monster issues, to warrant such scars. They may confide such is the case, or reveal a plot hook. Who knows until we check?

NaiveOne 2010/12/23(Thu)20:22 No. 266351 ID: 69bee4
File 129316454756.jpg - (60.89KB , 800x600 , 32.jpg )

>>266254
>>266249

“I am Thirty Two, Force Champion of the Thirty Second Relentless Warboars, designation Theta, that you see before you. We mean no immediate harm, but we need our commanding officer a more secure place for healing than the open plains and will accept your offer of healing. I make no promises of what the future holds though. In addition, I wish to ask, I see the status of the people here seemed… harried, have you been assaulted by the large frog creatures also?”

Fekkin obvious that should be, yous some obvious newcomers I recon. Occasionally we can make do with em, but they seem to like some o the random shit we have around, and sometimes they take it. Theys far from the worst thing ya run into here though. Yellin! Take the Leash here to the crones nest. And ye better fekkin leave is all im gonna say to ya for now.

With this, one of the young teen guards breaks off from the group and motions silently for me to follow, I can see even now that hes slightly terrified by my presence, but seems to also take this fairly in stride, leading me towards the far end of the village.

[bonus discovered, Concealment up by .05, 5 Cexp gained for Perception use.]
It is at this time I get to watch the kid move and get a better idea of their set of motion. Instead of walking in the normal sense, the youth takes small leaps with his bare feet, curling his toes slightly to grab onto the ground, jumping slightly, landing on the ball of his foot, and then placing his heel down in one fluid motion that seems to cause only a small initial impact into the soil, and then even out the balance of the foot so that further sinking does not occur. Although impossible to do in boots like I am now, it is worth noting I feel.

After a fair walk, about halfway into the village, the kid tells me to stand outside, and enters. A few minutes later he exits, me distinctly hearing the sound of an older lady shouting…. Quite a lot. He then takes us towards a nearby building, opening it to reveal one of the communal sleeping bunks that I had observed in my initial foray. He tells us that we can stay here for now, and that it would be ‘unwise’ to bug the crone.

As I begin the process to take Sullivan from the women, I see that a fair amount of the village seems to have followed our foray to our bunks. To say the least there is a mixed set of reactions, but certainly some seem fairly positive or smiling.

With this setup though, some issues arise.

>Do I take the kid’s advice and leave Sullivan alone with this crone? Do I demand that soldiers be stationed with them, and if so who, or just random people? Or do I demand to watch?
>I seem to have a fair amount of people to be able to talk to, do I target any specific sort? What questions do I ask about the creatures or the area?
>Do I take any other actions to establish our current presence?

>>266351
You are going to go bother the old crone, leaving your soldiers with express orders to wait and make no shit while you do so.

When old crone inevitably has issue, look her dead in the eyes, and resolutely talk of your dedication to your leader, your need to see him well. You know nothing of medicine, but if all you can do is watch, so be it, but you can't sit there not knowing.

Showing oneself as an earnest soldier seeking the direction of their leader (which is true for you largely) should circumvent any issue.

>>266353
If she lets you stay. Watch carefully what she does and try to remember as much as possible. These things might come in handy.

If we are going to speak with village folk. Try to pick the most friendly and inviting looking ones and speak with them about the state of the village, the frogmen attacks and anything else they care to talk about. Try to pick up nice looking women *wink*wink*

>>266353
>>266416

I decide that I will make it known that I am staying and guarding the sergeant. First though, I decide to take a few minutes with the people, after giving an order to the squad.

“Alright everyone, they are offering us healing, and not giving us trouble, so I want nothing to go wrong! You are to all wait here, and cause no trouble. Understood?”

With a range of quiet to somewhat hearty “Yes, sir”s, I head out of the hut, Sullivan held in place of my weapon. I peer out towards the small group of people who loiter around, and find a female in her late twenties that appears to be both less awed, and I have some sense is likely friendly, and move to talk to her. She does not flee as I approach, I take to be a good sign.

“Excuse me a moment, I wished to ask as the person before did not offer much, but what is of these attacks on your village?”

The woman stays silent for a moment, seemingly awed maybe that my attention directed solely on her? Something of the sort I suppose.

”Well now, I find your not addressin a lady right a bit offputting, and so very direct? Oh, I suppose Leashes tend to do that to ya. Well, the Freaks ya say? …”

I listen as the lady prattles on, things about her husband, the creatures she calls Freaks, as I quickly lose any real control of the conversation.

-I learn little more of the village then I had previously known, excusing her minor details and names mentioned with no context. Of the people though, it appears many are more rugged than one might initially expect, with many having titles in the village, and the guard having both male and female members.
-In regards to the Freaks as she calls them, which I take to be the frog creatures, the response of the village is often to attempt shows of force immediately to keep them away. They are apparently known for being not the most dangerous things around, but the most likely thing to be run into that is possibly lethal. The village apparently can deal with attacks though against them.
-leaving anything else to talk about proves an exercise in a headache… To end the conversation, I actually had to literally pick her up and tell her I had to go before she would listen.

Pushing aside gently some interlopers to the conversation, I lead the unconscious Sullivan to the nearby hit and knock to no answer. I presume with the kid having just entered, maybe this to be the correct idea, and so I open the door to enter…

To find myself looking down at a tiny, but obviously VERY angry woman, who despite being called a Crone, appears to be in her early thirties at the latest, possibly instead referencing some magical sets of knowledge? I do not know.

“What the fekkin deep are ya doin at my house ya giant ball of strangeness!?!”

I gather my thoughts for a moment, and attempt to preemptively assuage any complaints.

“I deliver to you my commanding officer, who was promised healing by who I only expec…”

I know what the fek ya need, besides snips from the death turtles, leave him here and get back to your kind.

“For the moment I must refuse madam, I am a soldier of the empire, and this is my commanding officer, I WILL stand as his guard, your objections or not.”

The woman stares back at me for a moment, an action I have hardly ever seen a human able to handle against me. She then swiftly swipes Sullivan out of my hands and places him on the ground, muttering that hes going to break his neck or spine if I continue carrying hi in such a stupid way. I am quickly conscripted into a combination of verbal abuse with assistant by the woman, and I attempt to note the work she does.

[First Aid Skill (level .00), unlocked.]

It appears Lho is some level of possibly narcotic? As she uses it to sedate Sullivan it appears when he begins to move too much for her liking. In addition, I learn that although his injuries are fairly bad, most were internal and likely beginning to heal, leaving him likely to have regained consciousness but been in considerable pain upon awakening. Using some unidentified plants, and I suppose ritualistic gestures and speech, she claims that he will be stable with time. Likely to wake up within a few hours and once again attempt to shove me out. Fortunately, or un, considering my headache is now at extremely annoying levels, she is unable to force me out the door.

A good few hours pass, the woman mostly complaining at me, claiming a waste of her potion stores and powers. However, I note that Sullivan appears to have actually come to consciousness, and she bids my help again as Sullivan is fed and taken care of, his eyes betraying high levels of confusion, but apparently also an appetite that rivals mine.

The sun now in the high afternoon, Sullivan has awakened, and begins to speak to me.

Thirty Two, what the deep banished happened? Where is the squad? Where are we, and how long have I been out?

>How do I respond, particularly as we are not alone presently?
>Are there any questions I should ask him?
>Is there anything else to consider right now?

NaiveOne 2010/12/24(Fri)23:08 No. 266503 ID: 69bee4
File 129326092661.jpg - (62.23KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

Updated Character sheet, including a fix on Command skill level mistake.

First Aid: The ability to treat wounds, prevent infection, and attempt to generally heal another person. For most practical purposes, this reflects 32's knowledge on stabilizing a person in a battle environment, and plants that can be used to improved healing rates. This can become a more full blown medicine skill with high level of training.

>>266500
Well, lead with:

'Sir, respectfully if you can walk, we need to start moving, I only negotiated a stay here until your recovery.'

Wink at him, maybe even a few times, while saying this. Hopefully he will get the message, and just go with it. That way you can give him the report while on the move back to the troops, while both of you keep an eye out for listeners, all without attracting attention.

At the slow speed you have to move in the mud, potentially helping someone walk, so you may also have time to ask him how he wants to proceed from here, as you don't know what the orders are past getting to this village.

Then get back to the troops, Sullivan maybe does, maybe doesn't talk to troops, but you know what you're supposed to do now.

So, we know if we need to start plotting the tactical destruction of this town, or how to negotiate a supply exchange, and how to negotiate it, or what. Too many unknowns before to really take aggressive action, but with a definitive goal we should accomplish more.

Since you are likely ending up helping him walk and supporting his weight, take this as a chance to see just how badly your legs can sink into the muck from all the weight, and how to get them out. Pay particular attention to the leg closest to sullivan. For normal walking these observations shouldn't be that useful, but in combat, say you block an over-handed swing by one of the Frog monsters? Great, but now your boots may be stuck, and THIS is where you get a better sense of how to best get those feet back out to restore mobility.

Because being stuck in one spot during combat, no matter the duration, sucks.

>>266556

I decide I need to act quickly, seeing that upon just waking, the sergeant is basically ignoring his issues and talking. I decide to be pointedly direct, considering it’s the only way that I can seem to get anyone to listen besides yelling, picking him up with one swoop and leading him out while talking.

'Sir, respectfully if you can walk, we need to start moving, I only negotiated a stay here until your recovery.'

I see the crone start to yell, but then realizes I appear to be leaving and quits for a moment, as a quickly slide my way out the door and place the sergeant on the ground. He staggers a fair amount, but balances himself it seems.

“By the empire sir, things are secure, but

I force Sullivan to balance against my body, I have to lean slightly to maintain a whisper, but ir seems to work.

…the situation is uncertain, I don’t want us to be overheard.”

”You make a decent point thirty two, but I still need to know what happened and where we are.”

“I assume you remember when we were last attacked? Those… I suppose they are called Demons? Nonetheless I…”
”Froggrock Thirty Two, their called Froggrock, and if you had either listened to me or bothered to ever show up to the meetings as ordered…
“Yes, yes, sir. Despite not knowing their name, I defeated the one that took you down.”
bah, I only never saw the thing coming
“I never know how you see any..”
Can it thirty two, more details.
“The simple version, the enemy was defeated, no casualties were sustained. We spent the night after scouting and resting upon finding the objective. Upon engaging the village, they offered us your healing in exchange for leaving right about now.”
Fat lot of healing it was, I still feel like my rib in where my lungs should be. But, I’ve survived worse, first, where is libra? And second, the squad.
“Libra sir?”
My sword
“With the squad sir, fairly conveniently, little else has been done though since we had no standing orders. We are in the village that we were supposed to find, but we have no idea what to do.”
”Take a long way, nowhere near others. I need to catch a moments breath anyways”

I lead a way past the hut where the squad supposedly waits, and attempt to examine the way that the ground reacts towards my feet. Not much can truly be gained, as when I observed the motions of the villagers, it seems that this was a habit of movement even on the dry parts, or the parts made of wood so as to avoid the mud. Right here, my normal footsteps though do seem to leave some obvious prints, especially compared to someone sized like Sullivan. I suspect I could be easily tracked if I did not take steps to prevent it. Worth keeping in mind in a new environment. I give the sergeant a break to sit, while glaring at the few passersby to keep them away. I pull him back up a bit later and head slowly towards the hut.

”The objectives as they stand are to scout out an assigned local area determined from possibly outdated maps, these are to be taken over or negotiated as needed, and conquest is authorized if need be. No matter what, we are to return to the original staging ground or send a messenger within five days to report the progress. At that time further orders are to be given. All things considered, you did give your word, and have effectively scouted out the area. When we return, give me your opinion, and we can do what we need to.”

As we head towards the hut with the squad, I consider what I know. The fairly small size of the village, with people now about I can suspect the numbers to be under four hundred or so, probably half as much practically. There is only minimal equipment… but they do survive the attacks I suppose, feeble as all sides involved may be. I could probably take this place from just normal humans on my own, but is that the right thing? Authorized or not, they have shown little enmity towards the empire itself, and have aided Sullivan’s recovery. As we near the hut, I have to consider what to do.

>What advice should I offer on dealing with the village? Or should I suggest we just leave?
>What pieces of information should I share or consider in my argument? Or just tell him simply?
>Is this something to involve the squad in? or retain the chain of command with only me and Sullivan?

>>267006
'The village is large, and should be an obvious target to... Froggrocks, yet it stands without any notable military, and paradoxically full storage sheds of supplies. SOMETHING is keeping them safe, and until we know what it is I'd personally not like to make an irreversible decision. Beyond that, I'd say that we ask for another two squads-with an additional pair of Force Champions and additional soldiers, we would likely be set for holding the village to use as a supply station while converting the locals, and have a defensible point to fall back to. The land seems solid, the populace knows the area, and it would make further missions around here far easier.

It would also give us time to make the locals give us current maps, their foragers, their hunters, their traders, all know some parts of this swamp far better than we. Between four hundred people, that could be a fair bit of accurately mapped land.'


If he isn't buying the cautious route, then I'd say offer to use some rations to host a party, force whatever is their defending force to show to take part in spoils, slip sedatives (identified by observing the crone and what she used on Sullivan) to spike the drinks of any possible threat. So, kind of an 'as needed' aspect to the plot. Anyway, after identifying any potential issues, that force that protects the village.... kill it.

Drug their/its food, challenge them/it to a fight while they/it is poisoned and severely drunk, and use that as a means to prove own strength to conquer here and now. Magitech heart, full set of runes.... you should be fine.

>>267016
Your plan A seems good but we should try to findout what trick or magic the villagers are useing aginst the Froggrocks before we get to the violent bit of plan B if it comes to that

We have our orders.
We should follow them.

Survey the area, make maps or whatever then report back where we have to.

Also, lets try to speak with more villagers and the elder to get a better understanding of the situation.

>>267361
>>267137

I attempt to consider as we enter the hut what could be gleamed about the how and why of the village’s defenses; however, considering I saw no real sign of any real defenses upon my scouting it does seem odd. I also considering maybe some way of asking the people about their defenses, but I see no way to do so without raising an alarm immediately to the likely conclusion that we were just attempting to gauge the defenses. Maybe if I could have come up with something, but as it stands…

Entering the hut, there seems to be an immediate brightening of mood as all eyes turn to Sullivan. A small bombardment of questions asking about his condition occurs, and he quickly tells everyone to shut up and get over it. Grabbing his blade somewhat protectively, and taking a seat on one of the ostensibly beds of this place, he turns to my standing form near the door

“So, Thirty Two, as it stands you were in charge and know the most about the situation, I want your recommendation”

I consider for a moment in silence, and begin to speak.
>>267016

“'Sir, The village is relatively large, at approximately two hundred plus persons and should be an obvious target to... Froggrocks, yet it stands without any notable military, and paradoxically full storage sheds of supplies. SOMETHING is keeping them safe, and until we know what it is I'd personally not like to make an irreversible decision. Beyond that, I'd say that we ask for another two squads-with an additional pair of Force Champions and additional soldiers, we would likely be set for holding the village to use as a supply station while converting the locals, and have a defensible point to fall back to.”

Sullivan seems to regard this a moment, calling over a person I do not know the name of, male though, and speaks to him in hushed tones. As the squad begins to phase into a more stable degree of calm, Sullivan speaks again.

”For now, we did make a promise I have heard to be held. Gather up! We move out FIVE MINUTES AGO!

In a fairly blinding speed, the squad goes into a stupor again
”THAT MEANS NOW!

And the squad begins to move with an impressive alacrity, me merely needing to pick up my polearm and pack, having little needs compared to those of the so called normal. Within minutes, we are led in an orderly march outside of the village, fully equipped and I am told to begin the march back to the base camp. I am informed by Sullivan during our march that he views the situation as such: The area if it is going to be used will be taken, and thus reinforcements will certainly be sent by the Captain if this is so. If the effort is conversion, the presence of soldiers is likely to be undermining, and command will send out someone more appropriate.

We camp out under the starts a few hours out of the base camp, my area once again very alone and quiet now with no need to command shackled to myself.

[Day 3: Washiday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
The next day, we arrive once again to the base camp, Sullivan sending in regards to the higher ups as we return towards the makeshift barracks of the area. I note this place to be fairly abandoned compared to previously, but that it still have some number of support staff and persons who seem to have already returned.

On Sullivan’s report back, it seems we likely move out again in approximately two days, I have some nonsense meeting I need to attend in a day around noon, but beyond that the order is mostly to rest for the moment due to the rapid movement. I consider what to do for these days, knowing such time spent idle to be nothing but a waste. Do I train though? Maybe attempt to get the squad into a less pathetic state or some such, possibly go attempt an audience with a higher up, or bug the supply tent until they give me something useful this time? Maybe someone would be willing to actually fight this time, which might last more than a few seconds. I do also have a scarce few marks to my name from little to use of pay, so I have options.

>What should I do with my expected two days of rest? Or at least until tomorrow, with it only early morning?
>Do I go to the pointless meeting? Do I engage with anyone within the forces?
>Is there anything to reflect upon with time in my hands?

As to the meeting, hell yes go, if you'd gone before you'd have known your orders without having to wait for Sullivan.
I'd say spend a couple hours morning and afternoon each day on some combo training. That being tring to flip and move about your spear in your hands, roll it around your back, basically keep it in motion circulating through awkward postions while you dash in the mud. Have someone on hand to call out 'left' or 'right' for direction changes to your dashing, and to call out when you should attack. With changing footing as you move across varying levels of mud/dirt/muck, it will require considerable personal dexterity to steady yourself and your spear enough to strike. You are going to be dropping your spear and falling down a great deal, be aware of this. But hey, if it means you can be harder to pin down, and more able to strike... what's not to love?

In addition to this, see if you can practice against some Morgrens, preferrably older, larger ones. That big Froggrock was a threat, and practice against an altered lifeform made to be superhumanly tough, durable and strong should give you some better ideas of how to fight such foes. How to turn their size against them, when/where to strike to make a counter capable of dispelling one's footing, or anything else such a warrior may want to offer. Take a younger Morgren if you have to, but you need one who can charge fast to simulate the Froggrock leaping, and one that can take a beating.

As for things to reflect upon.... The nature of combat itself. Untill now, you have seen it as a realm of death, and while that is an aspect of combat, an integral one, it is not its guiding force. War is ultimately a string of battles, each battle a collection of shifting brawls and duels. All conflict, no matter the scale, ultimately can be boiled down to you, and the enemy. And yes, Death will claim the loser in most cases, this is true... but it can claim the victor too, a lesson you know well. Is that still victory, when death has visited both combatants? Can it still be called a victory for the empire? In death, would you be proving useful?

No to all three.

So then, what would be most vital to insure success, given that both besting your foe and surviving is your goal? No matter how good you get at dispensing death, how do you protect yourself from its icy embrace?

With Ambition. With Drive. With Grit.

These concepts are bandied about so often, and are oft confused with courage, bravery, or heroism. Just like lethality, such things are important in war... but not everything. So, what makes ambition, what makes drive different from heroism? The nature of one's obsession. those called heroes act for the best interests of others, thinking their selfless ideals can somehow give them strength. And it does.... once. And the heroes DIE. They may shake the battlefield with their passing... but the war? Unlikely. That is why you must remember your greatest priority of all, is to serve the empire: If you die, what use are you?

This must be what drives you, what makes you sleep so lightly that none can sneak up on you, what makes you obsessively check terrain conditions in your surroundings and plot escape routes. Burn it into your hearts, into your soul, that you will not die without making those responsible pay everything for your life. It is a fine line to walk, between the drive to survive, and cowardice: Your military and brutal upbringing, your fatal nature-both lend themselves towards more violent survival, so by mind and body alike can aid you in making this your founding mental process.

tl;drBeing an avatar of death type warrior is fine and all, but an excessively paranoid person that plans and prepares for things like batman, or at least make that their goal for the purposes of not dying in war seems like it would be better, and fit 32's established personality norms thus far.

I say you spend some time training with others. Their performance was abysmal so it would do them good to shape up a bit. You might even have more experience in commanding if you do good.
Have a spar with Gee.

Actually, during the training see if you can distinguish some potential warriors. It is always good to have your back covered and if it done by very strong person, the better.
You should try to make some friends.

Some marks, you say?
Hmm... ehh... what can we get for that? How much do you have and what is offered?

Yes, go to the meeting, it is probably important if they are calling you, in future try to be more informed about the situation, it might save you life!

NaiveOne 2010/12/29(Wed)22:12 No. 267760 ID: 69bee4
File 129368956127.jpg - (39.42KB , 508x700 , Mongren.jpg )

>>267489

I decide to first allow all sides some rest, thoughts flirting into my mind about the cause and effect of war. The place of combat, the home it has built into m as a function and form of training, modification, and even mindset I suppose. I will never desire to be found wanting on the field, and Death itself will claim all those who dares to ease me into such a contemptible fate. However, as I almost I suppose saw with Sullivan, chance does play its larger role, and would his death or my own truly be an accomplishment to what I stand for? Or is there more to be gained in the sheer essence of survival, a refusal to die, to flee its grasp till the last moment with all tools available?

And yet, I find such notions that come associated with these ideas contemptible, acting as if one is to the point of paranoia in order to observe all forces at work? Taking all methods to win I suppose has its merits, but yet, what does it boil down to?

Ambition. Drive. Grit. Things I have taken to heart certainly.

These concepts are bandied about so often, and are oft confused with courage, bravery, or heroism. Just like lethality, such things are important in war... but not everything. So, what makes ambition, what makes drive different from heroism? The nature of one's obsession I supose.Those called heroes act for the best interests of others, thinking their selfless ideals can somehow give them strength. And it does.... once. And the heroes DIE, they always die on the pyre of these ideals, foolish or not. They may shake the battlefield with their passing... but the war? Unlikely, as I have seen many a hero fall. That is why I must remember my greatest priority of all, is to serve the empire at all costs.

Yet, the ideas sound so cowardly to my mind… to always have an escape, to plan to the point of paranoia, to deny my one peace in sleep so as to keep myself able in a split second. One must face death’s visage occasionally one must be reminded of their mortality, these things seem a bit… too much on their own. But, it is something to consider.

[25 Emotional Experiance gained]

I do though resolve to go whatever meeting it is Sullivan asked tomorrow, as to have known something suppose is not cowardly, but instead the hallmark of basic necessity.

>>267516
I allow myself time to rest for lunch, joining the squad at mess quickly, and upon our return making some insistence that we head to the training fields and spar. This is met with mostly puzzled looks by the squad, fortunately, much of this was handled when I grabbed Gee, yelled out to get his weapons and armor, and that he was going to face me. I believe I felt him shaking desperately to get away for the short walk, but seemed to allay some fears when I promised him I would only have my armor, would use no intentional lethal force, and that I would call off the fight upon any injury, and sending someone to ready the medics.

At least it did work, as Luken seemed to practically be giggling as he pushed someone to go get the medics, and claimed to be selling tickets to the event. A few minutes later, and Gee was fully ready to fight me, short sword and shield in hand.

Shame the fight lasted only about eight seconds, and upon landing my first punch the lanky thing seemed to be a bit out of it as he flew a few feet backwards. That wasn’t even really worth anything, but fortunately it did seem to grab some attention nonetheless.

“If you want to get out of facing me comrades, you better get to fighting now, we have much worse to look forward to. And whoever thinks they can take me! I’m willing to face the most veteran Mongren! Weapons or none, I need something to do!”

I hear a low rumbling guffaw come, a distinctive sound I remember of the Mongren from my time to the north. Slaps are shared, sending a low sort of shockwave into the ground, as I see one Mongren getting bullied towards the front, but upon seeing where he is, sporting a new bruise it seems, it seems ready and willing to go against me.

Standing a good two feet over me, and with a lot more overall mass between the pelts, muscle, bones, horns, and general bulk, I smile inwardly as I ready my fists for battle. I always respected the Mongren, lumbering brutes, but nothing handier to have on your side when dealing with a golem of any sort. I always regretted slightly inside I never faced one, but hey, life is throwing me a present it seems. It seems to have a devilish grin of excitement, and begins barreling towards me, fists flailing fairly wildly and I feel some minor insult as signs it is likely a younger one, but hey, take whatcha can get.

>How should I open this sparring match against an opponent in almost all ways larger and possibly hardier than myself?
>Should I say anything before opening blows begin?
>Do I invoke any of my runes or my Heart? Or wait and see a bit more.

Have a Full Body Rune jump directly into his face, fist first. He won't be able to ignore that and while he's busy slide under his legs and topple his ass. Then jump on his back force, his head into the ground with your right hand, cock your left fist back and yell 'Surrender or die!'

rolled 68 = 68

---

>>267760
Watch his feet. He's charging, and doesn't seem all that coordinated. Try to plant a booted foot on the ground directly in the way of one of his feet, use his own weight and momentum to trip him. Because the trip source is low, his legs will bend, and his spine will arch towards you as he falls, further exacerbated by the flailing arms.


With his belly so exposed to you, and you having just braced yourself, plant an elbow in his gut, bracing with both arms against your own body. Break him with his own force. I'd even recommend tapping your magi-tech heart for this as this is your chance to impress the other Morgren and get a real foe. Strike like a cannon, and take away his ability to breathe.

[d100 for plan]

Sure, wind the heart up and take advantage of it. And while you're employing the boost from your heart, it might do to consider it and its workings again, maybe you can come to understand more about it.

Now, the gradual increase in power from the starting point could be explained as the magic infusion being neccessarily slow to fade as part of its function, resulting in a slow build from the initial stage. Likely if you were to leave the heart active for long enough it would eventually peak at some point with no room for further gains.

The side-effects of leaving it active for overlong are as yet a mystery, due to lack of sufficient data, but a guess would be that the magical saturation of your body isn't entirely benign. Perhaps that the toughening of your body is the issue itself. While making you more difficult to damage it might also create problems with say, the air you breathe getting to where it should be going due to that extra resistance not exactly being able to designate between helpful and hostile influences.

Finally, as to why you have trouble turning it off after prolonged use...hmm. Venturing the hypothesis that it's because it's...well, part of your body, if an added one. Likely it works in concert with your primary hearts, synchronizing with the rhythm and natural flow so as to have a minimally-disruptive effect and not cause your body to go out of time with itself. And that might just be why you have trouble turning it off again. The longer you use it in a given period of time, the more and more in-tune it becomes as a functioning part of you, so your body would naturally fight against any attempts to shut down what it would consider to be just another working organ. And the delay in reactivation would probably be a timing issue, needing a few moments to synchronize with your natural rhythms again before being safe to use once more.

Hopefully a little understanding will help you keep better control of your heart and its functions.

I say we use our emotional experience to lower Fate for by one level and try to learn about our magical heart again.
I do not like that skill, it is too sombre.

When I asked for practice session, I meant for you to teach your comrades. Not to beat them up.
If we win the fight against the Mongren, gather the warriors and give them pointers on how to battle much bigger and stronger opponents that them self. Then start a training session again and have a spar against 3 warriors first and gradually increasing their number till they beat you or there are none left. They need to learn to work together against powerful enemies.

As for fighting.
Try to remember as much as you can about these creatures and how they fight. Do they rely mostly on brute strength? Or are their looks deceiving and they can be swift and agile?

>Should I say anything before opening blows begin?
Tell the warriors to pay attention to the fight, they might as well learn something from it.
Tell the Mongren that you are honored to fight fight him and wish him luck.

Also, don't use runes and magic heart just yet.
This is supposed to be a friendly duel. No need to go all out on it.
Start with conventional methods and if you find yourself wanting then use your abilities.

NaiveOne 2010/12/30(Thu)17:11 No. 267927 ID: 69bee4
File 12937578758.jpg - (62.46KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

>>267806
[Upgrades/changes cannot occur mid combat, but must be done while out of combat. With one very notable exception your about to learn. However, this does not allow Emotional Set changes right now.]

>>267807
I consider not using my heart for a moment, this is after all merely a sparring match in the end, and my normal strength was enough to knock back Gee fully.

>>267776
>>267768
>>267766

Then again, this is a Mongren, and sending this guy on me seems to show they are not taking me very seriously. So let them learn.

Moment of Inspiration: Minor
[Effect: One Skill or Characteristic may be upgraded during this encounter, at a 10% discount (rounded down).]
I notice this Mongren headed towards me to be displaying many signs that range from its youth to its attack, that it is fully vulnerable in one major way. A Mongren is usually suited towards fighting Golems, or sheer overwhelming power; however, unlike most opponents I am not to be cowed, and I am agile enough to take all the advantage I need. The creature is extremely top heavy, and moving towards me in an extremely unbalancing manner, as such I begin my bracing myself into the ground, a sort of manic grin of anticipation as I wait for the exact moment I need.

As he approaches less than a second later, I invoke my magitech heart simultaneously with a body rune, and throw my fist at his face for a mere fraction of a second, and move a leg directly into his path fearlessly, causing a small collision that the poorly braced opponent bears almost all the force of, and with all of his attention diverted towards a nonexistent attack. In the next two seconds, my elbow becomes planted firmly into the Mongren’s stomach, bypassing both its notorious natural armor and muscle as I begin to make the impossible occur. One, I hear what was deemed impossible on the battlefield once, the bone of a Mongren… cracking, and leverage my weight against his to lift his entire body over my head and throw him over my shoulders, landing behind me. Thus, secondly, causing a giant to be literally thrown over my shoulder and onto the ground. I guess the impossible is possible at times, as I just knocked the breath out of a Mongren, who I have seen deal with Golems as if they were nothing.

In the rush of excitement, I yell to an oddly silent crowd of humans.

“Pay attention and learn something! That’s what happens when you put DRIVE into it!”

The silence is broken quickly by the sounds of the Mongren, yelling, hollering, laughing, and hitting amongst themselves in what seems to be sheer excitement that I just effectively defeated one of their kin that quickly.

I quickly turn off my Magitech heart with no issues, as I feel a subtle movement of a mechanism somewhere within it, as the flow that was once entering my body is now stemmed somehow.

I glace to the Mongren on the ground, who after about four seconds seems able to breathe again and is as excited as any of the other Mongren. A medical team quickly gathers a bunch of persons to drag the Mongren away with some trepidation, as even having its breath knocked out, I suspect its willing to continue.

In less than half a minute, the cacophony of noise on the Mongren side has drawn even more people and Mongren towards the training ground, beginning to gain a small audience, as I see squad members muttering, shocked faces, and cheers rising. A few punches later it seems on the Mongren side, and I see one walking out towards the arena where its brethren once stood. This one stands a good half a foot taller than the previous one, and with similar sizable bulk. It bashes its feet into the ground with a small roar, and the outside Mongren meet with their own resounding road in reply. This one I suspect though to be a bit more… challenging, as it makes no immediate moves towards me, and unlike the previous one, has some impressive scars on its body that rival my own. Well, at least I got the fight im looking for this time, and my fists are raring to go.

>How should I this time open the sparring match?
>Do I say anything to the growing crowd, meet my challengers roar to the Mongren, or anyone else?
>Is there anything else I can reasonably consider in this time?
>[What Skill/Characteristic, if any to upgrade?]

I say agility, never hurts to be faster than you opponent.

Wombat Perception!

rolled 60 = 60

---

Upgrade Agility RIGHT NOW
then hold the rest for Combat Perception, unless it could be put into Combat Senses to achieve a quantifiable improvement beyond getting closer to the next level.
If Fatalism can be downgraded now great, if not leave as is.

If possible, speak to your foe. Ask him his name in a cavalier fashion, something like 'got a name, kid?' matched with your youth and smaller size, it should make the exchange both entertaining and biting, a multilayered verbal thrust. It could draw his attention, and if he answers, go into briefly asking about who he is in the broader sense, what accomplishments he has, what have you. Again, blatantly ignore your own youth and smaller size, and speak like a veteran to a pup. If he keeps going for it, milk it until enough time has passed for your magic heart to regain functionality.

If this can be accomplished, activate it before doing the following, and use it for at least fifteen seconds-focus not only on the fight but how the magic saturates your body... you were onto something with thoughts of skin and muscle, organ and bone alike hardening from the magic brought through your blood, your veins themselves subjected to much greater pressures than normal in the process. When you reflect on it in battle after that brief use, it seems to fit, doesn't? If the magitech heart dispenses supernatural force that not only energizes your blood but also hardens your whole body as it circulates, it would explain not only the increased strength, speed and durability, nut also why the power builds as time passes-along with why its sustained use can pose a threat to your health. With this new potential understanding of your third heart, courtesy >>267776, you may have a better base understanding with which to approach the use and analysis of your magic heart over a sustained period of time.

This battle could be almost ideal test conditions. See if it feels like this suspicion of function is true.

Again, your goal in combat is staying low, and small. They are used at best to fighting smaller brethren, which still dwarf you, up to full sized stone golems or their own elders. Something of your scale is not something they fight against as a serious opponent with any regularity unless they are the most respected of veterans. It just doesn't fit with their military function.

So use that. Make them fight you in a way they aren't used to, and strike not with your fist, but with an extended thumb cupped by your fingers as a makeshift spike to find clearance through his shaggy pelt. Likewise don't even bother striking bone areas, you will do yourself more harm than good.

While staying low, get in CLOSE, and keep weaving about his legs as you pound his lower bodies every exposed point until he can't stand anymore. With the amount of mass he has, shifting swiftly enough to catch you that close will be hard, and thus far your agility has not been shown.

The gaol is to keep dancing to his flanks and back, watching for kicks, knees, punches and hip checks as necessary while trying to batter your foe's legs so much he drops to the ground.

The moment he does, with your sustained-use magitech heart having reach either full steam or at least having built considerable charge you will pummel his head without stop, don't even give yourself time to breath, only exist to strike, and drop him the moment he's in range for this planned finisher.


Time to test out a giant felling strategy.
d100

NaiveOne 2011/01/01(Sat)20:07 No. 268361 ID: 69bee4
File 129394125822.jpg - (62.43KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

rolled 17, 3, 14 = 34

---

>>267939
[Agility upgraded at a cost of 18 Combat Experience]

>>267940
[Why am I so tempted to make this an actual skill? But, sorry, lost.]

>>267998
[Magitech Heart only needed 10 seconds to be ready again, the Morgren spent far more time than this hitting eachother till this combatant stepped forward]
I decide to attempt to goad my foe into a new semblance of thought, I am not sure quite what to achieve with this, but as they have treated me as nothing thus far. I will soon prove even this one wrong. I ignore its stomping and challenge, to instead calmly speak.

“Mmmm, hey, kid! Got a name?”

The Morgren for a moment stays quiet, and then speaks in an extremely deep voice, with a somewhat surprising amount of calm.
”I am Mekk Gurk sirs, ready fight now?”

I am hit with a mild bit of shock, having never really seen a Morgren act so… deferential I suppose, or even really that calm in all my experience on the battlefield. I find this stopping my attempted arrogance as I merely nod and prepare myself for whats to come. I look up briefly at my opponent, taking in the sheer scale of the foe, this is more what I am used to then the younger one, an opponent that is nearly the size of the golem’s they fight, a more mature set of horns, and not quite so willing to walk into the line of fire.

As I consider the scale though, I do note that my size is comparatively small to the opponents such creatures are used to facing. Recalling my own issues at times with training targets of such comparable difference, I resign myself to maximize this, and begin turning my side to my foe and bending on my knees. As Mekk, or is it Gurk? Or, meh, Ive never heard one with a first and last name such as that. However, his first throw of a punch , I find myself watching intently, the punch thrown awkwardly as I suspect my foe is gauging how to hit my size. I leap quickly out of the way and find myself…. Feeling as light as a feather it seems. I suppose having trained wish such a heavy polearm, and adding some needless weight to my sack has begun to show itself, as fighting now with little more than my armor and fists, I find myself noticeably more agile and quickly shift my weight back and forth on my knees, reveling in this newfound speed and lightness.

Bracing myself against the ground for a moment, I begin to rush in close to my opponent, testing my newfound speed, and meeting it with the activation of my Magitech Heart. I feel the familiar tensing of my body, the veins hardening , muscles flexing in some… new ways? My blood begins to pump with an odd irregularity, seemingly focused more on speed than anything else. I cannot focus too much, as it seems a moment’s thought has left me near barreling into my opponent with this increased movement.

Using the momentum, I slide a kick into the foot of the Morgren, and barrel my knee into its shin. Though I am displeased to meet much more resistance it seems this time than against the younger one. It does seem to cause some impact, as it swings one of its arms in an attempt to catch me between its leg. I quickly though just slide myself in a large gap of its swing, and end up instead on its side. Jumping up slightly, I meet my fist towards its face, and deliver a strong blow to its cheek that sends its head moving away partially from the impact. I attempt to grab onto its shoulder with that hand, and reach my left up to deliver a second blow to its face.

However, in what I suspect may be the most brilliant reflex ever invented, the Mongren lowers its head and instead moves with its matt of whatI suppose could be hair in between horns. Fortunately I do miss THOSE; however, I am quickly reminded of why Morgren are considered the only things to have heads harder than my kind as my fist impacts its skull. Even with the flow of my heart still going, I actually feel the impact quite painfully on my hand, as my reflexes cause me to let go and fall towards the ground at the Mongren’s feet. Im pretty sure I can land softly, but I do not want to use that hand for the moment in any way I suspect… Five seconds since my initial charge with my heart flowing, and I don’t know if I have done much at all.

>What is my plan of attack once I recover from the fall? And How do I recover so I don’t end up prone? Or do I prefer this to happen
>Do I wish to use any of my other tools? Do I continue the hearts use (Auto stop attempt occurs at 15 seconds, 19+ roll fails stop test right now, roll a single D20 if you wish to stop it.)
>Do I do or consider anything else?

rolled 31 = 31

---

>>268361
Okay, like you expected, thick pelt, bone plates, they make for issues in unarmed combat. You got two paths you can try for from here.

One is to go for joints, and the manipulation thereof, with grappling. After all, as originally based on human stock, Morgren's should have the same ranges of motion you are used to, even if they are larger and stronger. Personally, I'd recommend against the grappling route, due to how reliant on strength it can become.

Your other option is to reduce the surface area of your attack. Think of it as the difference between using a stick for training spearplay, and a sharpened haft. You make a thrust with the same amount of force, and what the normal staff just puts some pressure on, the sharpened counterpart plunges right through. Likewise, as hitting the bone itself is definitely a no-go, shrinking your impact points is good for your chances at striking areas only protected by hair, that DON'T have sub-dermal plating. This would mean the chest and back are out. Prime targets are in belly, in groin, thighs and calfs, anywhere fleshy.

The way to make your strikes more piercing is straightforward. Instead of your whole fist, use just your first two knuckles, supported by your thumb, to more than half the impact area while still keeping your own bones well braced.

For the hand you just jarred, give your knuckles some relief by cupping your own thumb like it was a spear, and using that to jab. It has an even smaller surface area, and should be able to up your hit's impact on such a naturally armored foe.

If doing that, while your magitech heart keeps pumping up your power, even when you get chances to brace yourself just does not work after even twenty seconds, then deactivate the heart, and dance away for at least another ten seconds for the heart to recover.

Right now, your goal is to keep dancing and keep the pressure up, to see if you can actually stagger him with your own force, or if like the prior one you'll have to find a way to use his own force and weight against him.

Stand up quickly by rolling back before Mekk can hit you while you are on the ground.

Try to hit the weakspots, like joins or celiac plexus.

When hitting him in the face, aim at his chin from the side. Hit him there with a spinning kick for more power, it might just knock him out.

rolled 90, 2, 29 = 121

---

>>268461

Seeing little other recourse, I prepare to roll myself out of the impact on the ground, attempting to avoid the use of my hand, which I do note to be losing the pain fairly rapidly.

Hitting the ground, I quickly roll out of the way as the Morgren pounds his open palm into the ground where I had landed, reverberating a shockwave across the ground slightly. I stand up and attempt to consider my target priority.

>>268366
I come to a quick conclusion that bludgeoning is unlikely to produce much of a result, as my use of my fists previously had shown. I consider that there may be some odd method of improvising a piercing weapon using only my own hands, manipulating the position of my digits I come to two satisfactory configurations, involving my knuckles primarily on my right hand and focusing on my thumb with the left. Sweeping in to charge, I deftly dive out of an incoming attack, and punch my improvised weapons into the flesh on the upper leg of my opponent.

There is some result, a slight grumbling coming from my opponents throat as I puncture his skin and armor, although not as much as I would like I suspect.

I am given little chance to find out, as a slap onto my shoulder both prys out my hands and sends me hurting painfully towards the ground with some decent force. I note that my left shoulder now stings something fairly painful, though fading, and deduce that I had likely been slapped by the giant creature as I quickly right myself and shake the slight dizziness from the discoordinating hit.

A quick glace at my opponent sees that he is indeed bleeding, though the wounds see so small as to be some attempt to bleed out a human with a single leech. This appears to not be the right route, and I consider a more direct one. I rush forward and consider attempting to kick towards the Morgren’s face; however, I find it unlikely I can reach that high or kick that accurately, especially to avoid possible horns. Grappling comes to mind though, and I lunge towards the creature, attempting to combine momentum with my strength, certain that the idiotic creature cannot truly hold me off.

My arms reach out, ready to push against the Morgren’s body, but this soon proves a poor decision. The Morgren gives very little in the battle of strength, and meets my force with a slight push forward on its own body, combined with bracing I suspect I had missed. Quickly I am held motionless by the recoil of the hit, and its right arm comes down and slaps into my left shoulder again, sending me flying away once again, my left shoulder stinging from a second slap into the same area.

>>268733
[Roll #1 is 90+, Combat Perception >=1, Combat Senses not >= 1]
As I land on the ground again, I begin to stand up, but suddenly notice something seems… off presently. The entirety of the air around me almost seems as if I was looking through maybe a window, and yet this seems to have no practical effect as I stumble forward slightly, the film following me as I move. I regain my balance, and look at my opponent again, having been thrown twice in these five seconds… to see him acting quite strangely. Its balance is seemingly completely thrown off, his hand has moved completely off of any defensive stance from before, and is being moved around his face. I notice other people on the sidelines reacting strangely, but I have no idea what to make of this.

>Should I press this towards my advantage and attack? If so, how? Or does it seem a trap?
>Do I attempt to figure out what is more going on, and focus less on the fight? If so, how?
>Do I invoke my runes, or anything else? Or stop the heart now, particularly if ending combat? (One single D20 roll on a suggestion to stop, fails to stop on 17+. Attempt to stop after an attack fails on 16+)

rolled 1 = 1

---

>>268739
attempt to stop the heart ONLY if you get proof this is not your foe's doing.

I would first test to see if your perception of reality has been transposed, right or left.
Then call out to bystanders, ask them to verify it.
If they verify, call out to foe, ask to pause while you figure out what it is.
If they do NOT verify, charge and continue fighting.

>>268739
The heart is beating...and making noise? Is it throwing off the balance of those around us? Perhaps it has some phonomantic combat magic ability?

>Do I attempt to figure out what is more going on, and focus less on the fight? If so, how?

Yes, try to figure out what is going on.... though I do not know how.

rolled 99, 55, 58 = 212

---

rolled 68, 93, 100 = 261

---

>>268891
[This may or may not be true; however, either way 32 has no knowledge of Phonomancy, or that there is a discipline named such. Try speaking to a mage, or improving 32’s basic arcane knowledge to speculate on this]

>>268746
>>268948
Though I see initially that my opponent is in a state of weakness, and have an urge to attack, my instincts also say that attacking while something is so murderously off is probably the least wise thing, especially if this is a trap.

I decide first to try actively stepping and observing the results of moving left and right in a more expeditious manner. I note that the same sort of minor distortion is in effect no matter which direction I travel. However, when I stop my movement and instead head towards the left swiftly, two notable things occur, one, the glass like layer almost seems to impact my body in perceived distance, but fails to do so and then proceeds to move as far away from me as previously. Second, when I shifted, the distortion went from being as if looking through glass, to suddenly becoming wavy and totally destroying my sense of sight.

I begin to call out towards the others in the arena, I notice that there is an odd echo in the air that reflects back my own voice, actively breaking my sense away from combat noting that many of those outside the combat seem to be… fleeing the area!? I begin to turn in circles, looking for a threat…

[Roll #1 >85 >90 >95, Agility >=2, Roll #3 >40]
Suddenly, a wellspring of vibrations seems to emanate from my body towards the ground, with an equal return from the body into me. I only prevent myself from falling fully prone by falling onto my arms and knees, and then quickly pushing myself back up as the shaking subsides. Fortunately, I had much experience in areas of unstable ground in training, but as I peer around I find a sight to behold, the wavey distortions likely caused by the tremors dissipating. At least twenty persons nearby have been knocked prone, another dozen Morgren are also collapsed in almost a near pile on eachother, and the camp for at least twenty meters, erring on the side of thirty is in complete disarray. The training area and arena has nearly every article of equipment toppled, tents have collapsed onto themselves, and the field medics are the only ones quickly scrambling to get back up and help, as most of the others who have not fallen prone are presently still fleeing the scene, panic having overtaken many of them it seems. I see in the medic’s tears forming in their eyes, likely from a mixture of dust now in the air, and what I now begin to notice. I now note a most foul smell permeates the air, fortunately it seems to be fairly weak, but prolonged exposure to it, and from an unknown direction and source, threatens to have it make me tear up or dispel into coughing fits even if it is not poisonous.

And yet, as all this happens, I sense no enemy, I see no enemy or anyone attacking. Movement from the camp has become extremely hectic, those from the outside headed here, those who were here attempting to flee past them. I think I see officers yelling, but yet I hear almost nothing, its as if all the sound is muted, much of it is distorted to the point of being unintelligible. In merely a few seconds, probably sixteen since invocation of my heart, and thirty or so since this duel has began, this inner part of the camp looks as if we had lost a battle. Yet vexingly, this filament around me has also yet to deter, though the shaking of the ground has stopped.

With no known enemy discovered, I quickly need to decide what to do.

>Do I run my Magitech heart any longer, not knowing if there is an enemy? I will soon run the extreme hardship of turning it off if I do not start now. (single D20 roll needed, 12+ to deactivate, -2 to roll due to natural 1 previously that was not used)
>How do I attempt to find what is causing this, whatever enemy this may be? Or do I cede to the oncoming force of allies and officers to handle this?
>Should I attempt to help in some other way? except the Morgren, I could carry many to safety, or do something else maybe?

rolled 4 = 4

---

>>269018
Deactivate heart. Shit has gotten complicated, and you're not going to deal with it quickly. Preserving yourself for the long-term is now your goal, untill you figure out what is going on

Do a circuit, try moving in each direction as you omin-directionally appraise the camp-is there a direction that the distortions or smell come most strongly from, or conversely a direction easier to pass through?

IT'S THE WOMBATS! OH GOD, THE WOMBATS!
WE'RE DOOMED MAN, WE'RE DOOMED!
IT'S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF NOW, RUN YOU FOOL!!

Heh,

Anyway, since everyone seemingly terrified of something and running away from the training area, or the place where you are right not, and since it seems you are the only one who doesn't see or sense the threat can mean only that they are running away from you.
It seems that you are trapped inside your own body, maybe not really physically as you perceive it but your consciousness is trapped inside and your body feels like glass for you. That's why everything is muted and looks as if you are watching through glass. And the reason why you feel barriers.

At least thats my theory.

>>269052
>[Deducing the cause of the issue is 32 himself: Moment of…
>[Wait? Hes trapped hinside his own body? Wait? WOMBATS!?! Er… ummm… Moment of Crash and Burn] (just kidding on Wombats)

>>269019
[Result w/ Modifier < 3]
I decide the first thing to do at this juncture is turn off my magitech heart, as the situation seems to have entirely flung out of my control, and being unable to turn it off may prove far more harmful. As it deactivates though, maybe it is the odd quietness I observe around me this moment, but I… FEEL a new magic reacting within the inside of my heart as I try to turn it off. When it strikes, my heart for a moment seems to less beat than a massive shudder, a small tremor going slightly through my body, but mostly towards the ground beneath me and dissipating. Is this part of how my heart functions? Im not sure, but it could be part of how it always does turn off, or why it becomes so difficult.

I become worried though suddenly that maybe my body has somehow been darkly influenced into this state. I glace and move around frantically for a few moments…

There… a medic attempts to pick up someone, using only one arm as the other clings to his vest

Waves begin to cascade across my vision again, there I see a Morgren yelling something… there further I see what is certainly a Captain judging by his attire, yelling even more forcefully.

The venire begins to enclose on me, a think I can feel it, a haunting smell… is death coming for me now? So strange.

I see Luken, the only one who seems to maintain some calm of the squad, I hear him yelling for Sullivan, I see persons gathering together.

The smell begins to overwhelm me, what was once an odd barrier barreling down on me as I move in resistance.

What seems like a hundred shadows through the haze begin to barrel down


and suddenly…. Light

The entire area is cleared in what seems like mere moments, what was just a massive gust of air both came and flew itself into a vortex overhead. I see a figure, floating on nothing but air, garbed in the attire of a robe that seems to peter in a light blue intermixed with white. His eyes solely on the vortex, as it flies into the sky. Though I hear tens of voices all yelling out throughout the camp, one of course sticks out.

[Sullivan]”…trieving all that need to be helped! The fact the air is clear is of no reguard. Everyone but Thirty Two! You aid the cloaks [medics], PRONTO! Thirty two, tell me what the hell just happened here, and help me untangle some Morgren!”

“Im afraid I know little sir, what happened?”

Pure disorder happened! Lueken reported that during your fight, suddenly an aura begin to infect the area with a foul smell that made the panic begin. As soon as I heard enough to get moving, the planet itself seems to have decided to take a htred to our training field! We have mages on the Warboars, so that leaves you and me on the Morgren, AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?

As we finally reach the Morgren, it seems that about a dozen have ended up… tangled for lack of a better word. With a lot of fists flying, and grunts, and yelling about mothers of Castel types. I see there is one Morgren who seems to have avoided this, just grinning wildly at the spectacle and helping. Around the camp I see one group led under the mage I saw before, moving things around. There are many others with weapon drawn, patrolling the perimeter. It seems even after this, there could be many ways to help out, with areas knocked down, people possibly fleeing… and oh jeez Sullivan did say the Warboars escaped.

>How do I respond to Sullivan’s…. request, for information? Report what I know? Possibly embellish the tale towards my favor, or report my fears of enemy? Or as I thought I saw Death, leave more to myself?
>What other areas of assistance do I peruse, or maybe just run off given the chaos after this is done?
>Do I look to aid anyone in particular? DO I attempt to speak with any superiors I may find, given at least a Captain and Mage on the field.

>>269279
I couldn't locate a direction in which the force seemed strongest, nor could I locate a caster. The earth shaking could be just that... the earth shaking, not all lands are as stable as the Empire. So, I'd say massive, untraced area magic that blocked off sound and... skewed how things worked while it was active, and a coincidental earthquake.

Well, unless they had a mage that could work earth well enough to make an earthquake, but that seems like a whole lot of earth to move. So, I'm assuming 'they', whoever 'they' are, have resources enough to either send and veil a mage force to do this locally, or enough resources to do it remotely, as I saw no hint of suspicious activity. Which ultimately does not fit with the effect. None of us died, and beyond some minor panic, what even happened? I almost want to say it was some freak natural occurence-a magic-storm, or whatever the term may be, just as the earthquake was. ...Maybe something that happens locally when an earthquake occurs? Honestly, this is so outside my grasp I couldn't really comment much."

>How do I respond to Sullivan’s…. request, for information? Report what I know?
Say that you honestly don't know what happened.
Try to convey what you felt but don't make it overly dramatic.
>Possibly embellish the tale towards my favor, or report my fears of enemy?
No, do not report any fear. Because you fear nothing!
>Or as I thought I saw Death, leave more to myself?
Nah, that will make you seem like a crazy person.
Just tell you saw a weird figure or something like that.

Try to find more calmer sorts and ask them what they experienced. Ask that grinning Morgren what he thinks of it and also what he saw.

Ask Sullivan how you can help and try to help as best as you can.

Ask the Mage if he knows what happened.

When this all calms down ask Sullivan or Captain if the meeting is still in order.

rolled 50 = 50

---

Oh, also, during the evening when everybody sleeping and its all peace and quiet use your emotional experience to lower your 'Fatalism', then try to meditate and learn about your heart and other enchantments again.
(do we need to roll for it? rolling just in case)

...

Huh, now that I think about it.
32 has very strong belief in fate, death and all the wonderful things sombre, right?
Maybe what we saw really was Death? Somehow summoned by ourself since it was clearly centered on use (as we saw by being right inside the vortex).
Though I am not sure what had triggered it.... the heart? But we use it regularly.... or is it because of the non-lethal combat we participated? Like, the Death is so used to claiming lives when we fight it became angry that we didn't kill anyone? ... I'm sure 32 had sparred/trained without killing anyone before... right?

Suggestion 2011/01/08(Sat)13:05 No. 269879 ID: 81f32a
File 129452071934.jpg - (92.81KB , 1674x977 , #32.jpg )

The first fan-art belongs to me!
Hahaha

>>269282
>>269471
I decide to be honest about the situation, telling as much as I can recollect. I scan the essentially pile of Morgren, many of them it seems perfectly willing to be writing around, almost jokingly punching others above.

“Sir, I cannot say that there was much to tell. From my perspective, there was a sort of odd… barrier? That seemed as if looking through glass, it messed with my sight, and gave off a foul smell”

As I scan the area, I find little manner innately to aid in untangling this mass of Morgren bodies. The Morgren from the side is doing little more than yanking on one nearby, who complains that the Morgren is a weakling.

“I could not determine a location of attack, or the direction of a caster. However sir, it is an odd thing, though whoever sent this attack must have had the power to make a minor earthquake as presented, and they must have been able to hide from our sight, but yet it was only a sense of panic that pervaded and no attack thus far. I honestly think that with magic seemingly involved, or maybe just some nauural phenomenon, this is outside of my area.”

>>269478
[Fanart Bonus! also, I like it.]

Looking at the pile though, I get an idea. There is no possible way to break this pile by pulling from the bottom, and so...

“HEY! You who isn’t stuck!”

The Morgren looks at me, as I brace my legs and begin jumping up the small hill of Morgren, taking enough care to not step on any faces, as I use the arm of a Morgren as a makeshift platform and wrap my arms around a Morgren at the top.

“CATCH!”

I quickly activate my magitech heart for just a few seconds, my muscles seeming to shake and risk giving in as I find myself unable to really lift up and throw the Morgren as I had hoped; however, I am able to throw it still with some force that sends it flying from the top of the pile, as the Morgren below stares down at disbelief as a Morgren is sent flying for the second time in a single day. It quickly throws up its hands and catc….er…. slows down the fall at least of that particular Morgren before collapsing onto the ground. Bah, I’ve seen them take worse and live.

Sullivan “Thirty Two… you’re insane, now clear the rest of that pile out!”

In what surprises me, a resounding cheer it seems evokes from the pile of Morgren beneath me

>Da! Little one throw giant yes? me next!
>Es good! Good small one, throw wat be good!
>[laughter] Throw like Desk! Show us!
>Korn Biss next ya nats! Castelborn nits!

My brain dissolves into a bit of sheer disbelief, that helps to make the time pass at least a bit faster. It takes me a good five minutes, and at least I find myself not having to throw the three at the bottom of the pile, but Sullivan I see just… smirks and leaves me to my work as I repeat the task I had shown with the first one. Adding to the sheer fatigue I end up feeling, I could probably have ended it with just five or so removed from the pile, but all of them kept cheering on and telling me to throw ‘Mekk like eh’ or ‘Slom ain’t throwd like dat since Gorth was got comin!’. Around the eigth one, im cursing the lazy things under my breath, but their cheers reverberate through the stadium, stompin as if nothing had just happened. Fortunately with the removal of the ninth one, all three of my hearts it feels like pounding, and my muscles aching worse than I’ve ever felt, I am done.

I collapse on the ground, not particularly pleased at Sullivan for doing that, but at least someone enjoyed that…stupidblindoldmanandloudmouthgiants… But something does enter my mind as I collapse on the ground with their attention.

>>269471
“H….H….Hey! what the deep happened anyways in the battle and after?”

Finally the earthquake of noise ends, and they quiet down a bit. Most of them begin to look at one far to my right, slightly smaller than the most of em, and he begins to speak up. His voice rumbling slightly less than the most I heard all the time during that lifting.

>“Well… yeah, uhhh, So, little one fight now Mekk yeah? Den urrr… sky cloud appear, but smell like boort pile of behin. Mekk trys fight real good, but wot following ya en geettiin biggah ja? Breaddin ‘ard, and knock ya like one knocka Gorth weh hesatalkin. Den ground getting all shaky, den da boss come round en yells a lot, den you come!

I find that… particularly uninformative. Then again, its pretty hard to follow their speaking as is, I begin to reflect on what to say, when I hear yelling, not distinctive by sound, but with the tinge of someone important.

”Stop bothering the citizen and get to work ya brutes!”

In a speed I really didn’t know such large creatures had… though that may be the blood pumping speaking, the Morgren quickly begin hauling it out of there, headed towards various individuals. As I look up, I see the distinctive medal set of a Captain, and begin to stand up at attention, though nearly stumbling, I’m only at the standing part when he begins to speak again. His voice carrying a strong air of command, only enhanced by the fairly regal look his form holds between standing taller than the average soldier, to the almost untattered from of his dress despite the circumstances.

”At ease soldier, Sullivan reported you would be here. As this was a bit of a rush job, I never got a chance to actually see you before we moved out. I am Captain Leshelt Lysander.

Oh jeez, Captain Lysander, hell even I know who that is. Captain of the Alpha, Beta, and Theta contingencies of the 32nd Warboars, and the person most likely to know of my… absence tendencies.

“Anyways, I did want to say, though I am certain you are disappointed, the meeting for tomorrow is canceled pending investigation of this incident. Though I did also want to meet the soldier who showed such devotion to the Research Department and was willing to serve an entire second term of service, commendable soldier, we need more like you. You didn’t break when this attack came, though Sullivan had a mixed set of things to say, speak directly to me tomorrow. We have a lot to do soldier! Rest over, back to work.”

With that, the captain turns around abrubtly, and as soon as he had arrived, leaves towards the lines where cleanup continues.

Night falls quickly as the rest of the day is held picking up persons for transport, claiming of injuries, I suspect little more than an excuse to get out of work. Training areas are picked up, equipment and tents reset to standing order, and the guard has been doubled for the foreseeable future for the night.

Having taken one of the earliest shifts though, I now rest at the fire of camp around my tent, night duly upon us, letting the silence billow in the air for a moment. I consider what happened today, was it death that came for me tonight… and if so, why was it so, inept? Maybe there is more to consider of the thoughts that have led me thus far, maybe drive is more important. Just look at the events now, there was all intentness of death it felt, and yet none of it came. It is worth… thinking on.

My peace though is interrupted, a more quiet set of feet contrasting two that are much more easily heard, as I see Gee, Luken, and a person I share no familiarity with, though much more muscular than the lanky two I do know. I stare at them, Gee, seeming to cower as I remember when I first saw him, and other seeming disinterested, and Luken is… grinning?

[Luken] “So, so, whatsup? Don’t mind me yo, but hey, impressive display there. What I need to know though, squadmate to squadmate of course, is how DID you do that? Ive seen a lot of clever tricks, and to get away wi…”
[???]”Jeez dumbass, stop assuming things, and even if he did do that, why the hell did you drag me down here? We… I should be sleeping, you can do whatever
[Gee]”G….guys, really, there is no need to bother… him… sorry… sir… I mean…”

>How do I respond to this set of… guests to my usually quiet area of the camp?
>How do I respond, if at all to Lukens questions, and do I ask any of my own.
>Is there anything else to consider this night? Anything while I hold company, or to bring up with them?

"If you were cleared to know you'd have been informed officially. You really want to go prying too far into R&D? They barely tell ME anything about my own augments, you think they'd let you know about something like THAT? When official word gets handed down, that'll be that, but until then, you can just wait. And if you continue to pester me I can let R&D know about your interest. Maybe they'll need more subjects."

If that won't make them shutup you're doing something wrong

Beyond that, pass the night with your shift as appropriate, get in some daily drilling on weapon stances and attacks not really to improve but just to pass time on shift, and wait till morning. Come morning, lacking a report on what happened, or any summons, seek out the Ragegluts-a bunch of them mentioned a name-Gorth, moreso than most others. Ask about that individual. Who knows, he could be more informed, or somehow connected to this-and lacking that, you could get back to your interrupted Morgren brawling.

Also, check over the area from yesterday, can you detect anything (heart off AND heart on) from where you where yesterday when shit went down?

>[Fanart Bonus! also, I like it.]
Thanks. Me too, it's one of the best ones I did yet.

>How do I respond to this set of… guests to my usually quiet area of the camp?
Ask them to introduce you to the unfamiliar guy and why they though it was necessary to bring him here.

Tell them that, no, you weren't responsible for that thing. And if they have any other questions they want answered.

Ask them what they think of this assignment and the last mission we had performed.

Then, when they leave, meditate or something.
I'd still like to lower fatalism and have a go at our hearts again.


Also, didn't you say that we have some marks as our pay? What can we possibly buy for them?

NaiveOne 2011/01/10(Mon)21:12 No. 270524 ID: 69bee4
File 129472275930.jpg - (62.45KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

rolled 2 = 2

---

>>270119
>>270207
[Contempt acts as overriding factor in 32’s behavior]

I stomp my feet into the ground, quickly drawing silence from the assembled group.

“First off Luken, I was in no way responsible for such actions on the battlefield, as I suppose unlike you, I do not need to resort to such trickery. Beyond that, if you were to know about the augmentations and modifications of my body, you would be told so formally. They hardly even inform me of the basics of my augmentations, and considering you have never served but a moment of the trials I have, I doubt they are willing to so offer them. Though if you continue to pester me, I can let R&D know about your interest. Maybe they'll need more subjects.”

My stony glare casts down at Luken, Gee seemingly almost ready to flee, and the no name at least very turned off, Luken though… shows no sign of falling back, his grin it seems only becoming more manic, as if having just been promised a treat.

“Is that so? Not involved at all eh? Dissapointing to say the least, I was sure that you had to be doing it, you seemed the one least effected, and I at any moment expected you to take the initiative and win that fight. Heh, and I’ve never been able to develop a stinker that was quite that potent. Fun Fun, though annoying that I’m no closer to learning how that was done. Anyways, sorry to bug ya, you already met Gee, and this here is Thermun, 21st, 418th, 6th something or another.

Thermun: ”It’s the 9th you ass and you know it”

I find their overall nonchalant reaction outside of Gee to be a bit… odd to say the least. Though I have no idea why they are not running.

“I feel obligated to ask why you were dragged along then”

”Bah, the ass probably wanted Big Boss here on hand in case you attacked him or something. Nimble and a cheapass as a fekkin Castel type, but he feels the need to have muscle along. As for Gee, eh, hes useful im sure ya know, and stop cowerin ya lout!”

Gee at this seems to stand a bit more solidly, though his still keeps eyeing the area away from my camp.

“I suppose as I have your attention, and you don’t seem to be leaving yet, what do you think of this assignment and the last mission?”
”Heh, it was fun to finally get a chance to knock something other than training dummies for once, and those Frog-whatevers have some weak ass knees. Its fun being the hero, though you did your part with the big one there. And for a lummox I expected to lead us into more trouble than it was worth, ya did alright kid.”
>[Gee]”W…well… um sir, Im proud to serve as part of this force. And…er….ummm, I think the empire is the best chance to civilize the world and make it good again, er…. Sir. I will do my best!”

I quickly note Gee to not exactly be much of a speechmaker, given he seems to have fallen off topic that quickly. Odd, considering he seemed to have some confidence in comebat, but maybe just a fleeting moment or insanity? I also note him to still be addressing me as sir.

“Anyways, we have work tonight, get ready for shift before Sullivan yells at me, since hes going to think I dragged you all here or some such nonsense.”

The trio leave my camp area as I prepare the nights shift. It would turn to be an uneventful one, passed with some drills, thrusts, parries, many of even my own squad slacking off slightly, Luken boisteriously telling the members of an adjacent squad of his battle with frog creatures, and dealing with them as his first set of ‘exploits’. It does give me some good time to think though on what had crossed my mind before. I suppose things may not always be so… set in stone, death may not always be death, Gee may be dragged into the ides of fear, and as I see a star dim suddenly in my sight, maybe even the nights above can change?
[Fatalism level lowered]

[Day 4: Corday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]

As the morning comes, I wake myself early as is usual for my ingrained settings. I consider what to do for the morning, my direct meeting canceled, though replaced with an unknown meeting with the Captain. I consider maybe using some of my stipend, presently something around 3 Marks and 20 Rounds, as most of my money is instead moved towards the funds to allow me to leave service and gain my name if I so choose. Technically, I need for very little, food requisitions for an investment such as myself are plentiful, and my weapon and armor are fully suitably for my needs. However, I know for a fact that most of the much less disciplined have their needs fulfilled through a sort of black market of the camp. As in theory, there is no need for anything within camp it is all provided, my money would mean little.

Claims about what can be done vary from the known, gambling, the attentions of the women of the camp, or various packs, charms, weapons and even armor. Some persons through my year of service though have claimed to have been able to have meetings with higher ups and and enchantments done through mages, have claimed promotions can be bought and sold to the highest bidder, that the medics or the researchers will sell their newest concoctions, information, or whatever. Some have paid to hear a talented person play music, and I know that Sillia of my squad has claimed a lesson with some small handheld instrument being paid for, though from the concophany it makes, I suspect she may lie on this account.

It also does occur to me I could continue the fight with the Morgren, from what little time I spent in the camp before we set off, there is lible a Morgren willing to fight most any time. There was the mention of A Gorth, maybe human? Sounded more Morgren, could see what the hell that is.

There are likely more mundane persons to fight though, Sullivan would be awake this early I suspect, and the old man likely would like to try and knock me down a peg or two for whatever halffekk reason he has. Beyond this, other Force Champions might be up for that meeting that was canceled.

>Do I wish to try and find out about anything, or the cost of acquiring something? Or just go and eat.
>Do I decide to continue the match leftover from before? Or find a less large opponent?
>I Could bug the squad instead, lazy asses as they are and bully them into being more productive.
>Or do I instead attempt to meet with the Captain now?

>>270524
First I say seek out Gorth, the name's been mentioned too many times to not be someone of note, could be a nice fight, who knows.

I say seek out some gamblers-where there's gamblers in the military, there's gambling on fights. A chance to see some real down and dirty styles for some brutally effective tricks? Sounds like a good use of time-and as long as you win, you don't dishonor the state investment in you, staying super-human. Win-win.

That or go for more Morgren fighting, this time with some training weapons-the more you do this, the less of a big deal those big-ass Froggrocks will end up being.

>Force Champions

Force Champions?
I suppose that means exceptionally strong people, right? Or is the title given to officers?
Anyway, try to recall what other Force Champions you know. Maybe they will be up for some training or such?

I guess with this measly amount of money there's no way we will be able to get any armor or weapons that are better than our own.
But windowshop for some charms and enchantments that mages can provide. Maybe we will find something useful after all.

Also see what are people betting on.

>>270552
[Just as a quick answer, a Force Champion is the present rank of 32. As the title suggests, its a 'champion' of a squad, just below the sergeant, and the rank of the strongest person you are going to run into who isn't of a higher rank, or a mage. There are stronger people than Force Champions, but they are all going to be of a higher rank in the army]

See if you can buy some good, strong wires or rope. One that could potentially cut your hands and one that won't. That stuff is incredibly handy. You can place tripwires or tie wire/rope to your spear. Then you can throw the spear and pull it back or use it as a grappling hook to climb. Also get some handcuffs for potential future prisoners and maybe a lightweight cloak for sneaking around in.

Also see if you can scrounge up some medical supplies and some instruction in how to use them.

>>270694

Oh, while we are buying stuff and getting services try to barter with them. We probably wont get much discount (or not at all) but we might unlock 'barter'/'mercantile' skills

NaiveOne 2011/01/11(Tue)22:52 No. 270833 ID: 69bee4
File 129481516623.jpg - (31.95KB , 400x300 , ThreeMorgren.jpg )

>>270694
>>270552

I decide to first spend some time aligning myself into what can be purchased while in camp. First though, I note a fair amount of action in the training arena from yesterday, and decide to investigate. Seeing little more though than some simple training, and Morgen in the distance watching the fight while roughhousing amongst themselves, I decide to move on for the moment.

Finding the equivalent of a ‘black market’ for the camp is on many levels both hard and a no brainer. All one needs to do in my experience is be far away from any of the officers as possible. In this case, as it is the main camp, this means primarily moving outside the camp, and into the offshoots where some of the less…. Desirable squads, the disciplinary legions, the Morgren, the Warboar pens and such are kept. I knew quite a few Force Champions in my prior campaign who made it a term of pride to venture out into the fights. As I consider though the force champions of this camp though, I do realize that I know not a single other one, even under the contingencies of Captain Lysander. There are easily thousands of us to be here or made through death or proving in this campaign, and I have likely seen many, but I know nothing of any at the present. Maybe in the future I should come to more of the meetings, but bleh, the less to deal with the cloaks, the better I’ve seen it.

[Combat Senses < 1]
I leave the camp, lazily gazing up at the sky and walking mindlessly for awhile. As I continue into the outskirts of the camp, I do hear a series of rumbles and clanking of metal off in the distance. Speeding up slightly, I suddenly notice the ground almost shaking behind me, as I turn around and find that the relative solitude I had been experiencing may likely not have been as a result of only myself.

Behind me stand three Morgren, almost stumbling on themselves as they screech to a halt as I turn around. One of them promptly…. stands at attention it seems?

[Combat Perception >=1]

Ah, I recognize this one, this is the one Morgren who I fractured the bone of in the sparring of yesterday. Though he seems to have recovered just fine at this point, not even showing any issues. The other two seem to be nearly as small as this one, one noticeably more muscular it seems, and one who has some rather crazy and large set of horns, but yet no signs of any farther advanced age.

>[Muscular/Gorth]”Aha! Little one has finally seen through hidy of very best! You see now Gorth Mekk Sith Zevn Urk L….”

I suddenly find that almost simultaneously, the other two Morgren have met a solid hook towards the face of the one who was speaking… I suppose I may have now met Gorth?

>[Horns/Lury]”Stop dat ya git! Yous want Urk and Mekk to beat us wot good again! Be smert like Lury, ya idjit!”

Though I don’t know for how long, as I doubt the survival of that sort of… er no wait, hes getting back up.

The next few moments fly through a flurry of events, Gorth successfully jumps back up, grabs the back of the necks of, and forcibly headbutts Horns and the familiar one into eachother while yelling “Stop hittin yaself ya Idjits!”. The familiar one, who I learn about 10 seconds in is called Moed, is soon enough pulling both Gorth and Lury by their horns after ‘poking’ them in the eye… with a fist. As the shenanigans begin to escalate, I decide to just keep walking as I last see Gorth stomping both Moed and Lury into the ground, and a crowd beginning to draw.

As I continue forth, the well regulated set of tents becomes more like a hodgepodge of corridors and passages, dead ends becoming possible if one is unwilling to just charge through a person’s tent… which I note a few people seem all too willing to do. Trash from the mess litters the area in places, odd sound ferment from many places, loud Fekks and Deep Damns piercing the rare moment of calm as I intrude into areas more crowded with persons. People throwing cubes [dice] and playing with stock [cards] litter around makeshift stores. Many ‘stores’ are little more than a sign, or a person holding up a trinket and making fanciful claims. I see many persons with the mark of the penal squadreons upon them, and among the more interesting ‘stores’ include at least a few that actually spell the signs correctly and legibly, a man claiming to be able to give a warboar as a mount to any person with a hundred marks, a large for a normal human with an impressive maul noted as for sale. One of the medics seems to be peddling… something. I do find what I’m looking for though.

Note: All fighting is nonlethal in intent, as killing another soldier is punishable by expulsion from the army, and exile from the Empire itself or death is not an uncommon effect also. Victory is secured by unconsciousness or surrender.

>Arena Type #1, Most Popular: Bet What’cha Worth
A Participant enters at the ‘booth’ an amount of money anonymously they are willing to wager in a fight as their entry, and is updated onto a board of possible entires. Any person wishing to participate need only match the applicable bet, fight the person who initially wagered, and win to get their money back plus their opponents. Fees are generally 10% of the wager, paid by the person taking up the bet. Fully refundable if no takers, up to one mark in fees unless special conditions are asked for (Weapon Battle, Mage, etc). Initial bet-ee must stay in the area, and is retrieved upon meeting bet made. Not much to bet on per se on the outside, but is insanely popular to watch because of incidents of extremely lopsided matchups. Seat in the arena to watch fights costs 20 rounds for an hour unless you want to be fightside, then its more.
Present bets: 1 Mark, 20 rounds, 8 Mark 87 Rounds, 4 marks, 200 marks, 81 rounds, 99 bits, 50 rounds

>Arena Type #2: Defeat the Champion
Named ‘champion’ is open to any and all comers who are willing to pay an entry fee. Payment is generally 5x that of entry fee, and champions are prone to setting preconditions in combat. Breaking the precondition is treated as an automatic loss. Popular when they occur, and where a lot of the betting actually takes place both prior to any event or during. Varying prevalence level though.
Current ‘Champion’: Sventon the Boar Beast (Warboar rider). Entry: 5 Marks, Victory: 25 Marks. Opponent must defeat both Boar and Rider, is not allowed a weapon, Mages prohibited.

>Arena Type #3: Dueling Arena
The closest to an acceptable promotion of these events, a person is allowed to come to an agreement to a fight with another person for purposes of settling another’s honor. In practice, this usually means someone pays some guys to get into a fight, and the hour before the fight begins is spent with tons of betting pools flying around. Many claim this form is staged.

Pool of Standard Items/resources and approximate cost ranges. Note: More specific things may exist, descriptions can be given.
Weapons (Standard Issue): 10-50 rounds
Weapons (Looted Castiliathen): 1+ Marks
Armor (Standard, infantryman): 20-70 Rounds depending on number of pieces
Pornography (Various): Varies, from bits to marks.
Alcohol (Various): Bits to Marks
Leaf Poison (Vial, Local, unknown effectiveness): 50bits-1 mark
Curage (Liquid, Exotic, Notoriously effective): 20+ Marks
Spitting Cave Viper Poison (Small Vial, common, mild effect): 10 rounds
Lho (Narcotic, known sedative to 32, local): Variable due to new introduction.
Fekk Paste (Narcotic, ???): 50 Rounds, pouch of powder.

Note: Due to large amount of persons being gone still on missions, the market has a rather low compared to normal supply.

I do find a person selling a spool of wire he claims to be magically enhanced iron in a surprisingly thin wire. Testing its durability, it does seem well suited towards cutting, but I have no real surety of its holding power or particular use, at a selling price of 1 Mark for a small spool of 10 feet. It is at this time, I see a giant shadow looming even over my own, and look up to see a grinning trio of Morgren, standing near me as if I was some of boss with minions, or perhaps bodyguards, just shrugging nonchalantly.

[i]Current Money: 3 Marks, 20 Rounds, 41 Bits

>Do I react in any given way towards the trio of Morgren on my side, or just go with this odd situation?
>Do I decide to participate in any form of combat directly, or maybe watch others fight?
>Do I buy the spool of iron wire? Consider any other items of worth, or look for a specialist?

Oh, well, it seems there isn't much we can do with the amount of money that we have.

Look at the weapons, standard and looted. While I doubt we will find anything better than our spear we might get some secondary and tertiary weapons like a short sword, axe and daggers. So that we aren't completely unarmed if we somehow lose the spear during the battle.

Also do what this >>270694 guys says and acquire the rope and the wires.

Still, try to haggle a bit.

>I see a giant shadow looming even over my own, and look up to see a grinning trio of Morgren, standing near me as if I was some of boss with minions, or perhaps bodyguards
Hehe, this is awesome.
I guess we instilled so much respect with Morgrens that they like us so much.
Ask them what they want and if our impression was right that they see us as a boss then we can start right ahead with that.
It would be good to have these three with us. But they need some intense training so that during battles we can function like one unit.
We will also need to instill some harsh discipline in them, their mischievous ways might hamper their combat capabilities.

After several training sessions and evaluation we might just be able to requisition of these three to our unit and for up a four-man squad with them.


Get a crate or two of alchohol and bring it to our boys. Make sure that none of the officers see you. This will be a small reward for the adequate job they did during the mission.
(Oh God, I hope this will not bite us in the arse)

Oh and since these three Morgren see us like a BOSS, ask them if they have some marks they would like to cough up (but don't make them if they are against it) then we might have some money to enter the 'Type #2' competition or 'Type#1' the bet of 4 Marks, anything lower we don't want to bother.

>>270833
Unless you spot a heavy poleaxe type weapon that can outclass your spear that you can afford, I'd only go for the snake venom (5 vials) and half a vial of Leaf Poison.

Poison is your friend. Make even nicks with your blade capable of slaying.

Beyond that, I'd say fight the Morgren. Prizefighting is cool and all, but how much better would it be if you could curbstomp them all from fight one thanks to relentless practice against Life Golems?

NaiveOne 2011/01/12(Wed)20:32 No. 271089 ID: 69bee4
File 129489317589.jpg - (131.70KB , 800x600 , AxeSquared.jpg )

rolled 18 - 2 = 16

---

>>270859
>>271081

I decide to spend the mark and acquire the spool of metal wire, figuring that between the standard issuance of rope that is used as spares for the tents and this I should likely be settled in that area for a moment. The ‘salesman’ it seems is far too happy to run off upon being paid.

Ignoring for the moment, the looming shadows overhead, take some small amusement in what I assume to be a reaction from the Morgren towards my displays earlier. I have no real clue as to that result, why they would want to stick around me, but who am I to argue with a literal ton of muscle?

Looking over the weaponry, I see little of immediate note. All of the standard issue weapons are made primarily for persons of much more diminutive stature than myself. Even the Castiliathen weapons for the most part speak to me only as pretty, not useful in any sense I am going to all too able to use. My weapon as is is mostly iron as far as I know, but it seems particularly resistant to rust, I heard some sort of coating caused that? Eh, but its more than the grunts get at least.

I do notice one thing though that stick out, in one area stands an impressively sized person, for a normal human. His face is noticeably tanned, and his arms look like they could attempt to rival mine in a contest of pure strength. Beside him stands an axe to call unconventional would be an understatement, a form of battleaxe, with no confortable grip I can discern, only wires of some sort riding up its sides. It looks to be nearly as tall as the man who is fiddling with it, at nearly six feet in length. He appears to have attached a wire of some sort near the axe head, is detaching it, and then moving the wire towards the handle, looking for something. The wire leads towards SOMETHING held on some sort of pack on his back. I decide this is worth finding out about.

“An unconventional weapon you have there sir…?”

”Don’t bug me ya lout, im busy making sure this fekkin thing actually does what its supposed ta. Can ya believe the idiots, claiming ya only can use runes? ILL SHOW EM ALL! Can ya belive….”

I judge quickly by the lack of reaction of passersby, that this is not an unusual situation in these parts. However, I need not wait long to see exactly what this weapon is.

”ILL SHOW THEM ALLLLLLLLLL

With this decleration, the man heaves the axe upward from halfway up its haft, and begins doing some sort of… maneuvers on the wires. Suddenly though, the pack on the man’s back seems to shake into life, and the entire axe is surrounded in an extremely disorienting aura, colors shift in front of my face, all noise seems to disappear except the crackle of the weapon, and with a hefting swing, it seems almost as if lighting and thunder is born in front of my eyes as the man OBLITERATES the outside of his own tent. Leaving the insides unscathed, revealing mostly only a sleeping bag and chest as the outside turns to ash instantly. I find this display… most impressive, as my vision returns to normal after the strike. I note the person, who is bald, to have a few tattered pieces of hair presently standing on end. As the wielder just stands there, laughing manically and yelling “SHOW THEM ALL!” I decide I am not getting much farther on this for the moment…

Leaving the Morgren along with the light show for a moment, I pick up 5 vials of the Spitting Cave Viper poison. However, on my attempts to get the local poison, I soon find I am bombarded with offers of only a mark or so, and refuse to take part in that. I do stow away my poison gains though in my sack.

I do decide to step into another store and buy a crate of the most affordable alcohol I can purchase for the squad. After all, they were of some use, and there was almost no fleeing by the squad when the attack yesterday came. Plus, this stuff I’m almost certain is a form of poison, so any survivors will be stronger, complete victory on all sides. Seeing looming shadows again, I decide to take advantage of my newfound muscle, holding up the crate.

“Hey Lury, take this for me.”

I smugly hold up my gains, and find the crate lifting up…. But I also find the ground moving away from me, and a pincer like grip on my head. As Gorth seems to lifting me up, and Lury has the crate.

[i][Gorth] “Nows dat ya got ya drinks, its time for a good stompin eh! Ya ‘urt me lad, and dat means ya gotta be a good scrap!”

Not quite having words to deal with this situation, and particularly having misjudged my standing, I find Gorth barreling ahead full speed, my body in tow, as he runs towards the Champion arena, the Warboar rider standing outside as a Morgren just barrels his way past everyone and into the arena, me in tow. I find it to be fairly impressively sized, an oval twenty feet across and ten feet wi…PTHUBT!

A few moments later, I am on the ground, tossed by the impudent little… well… not so little Morgren, little comparatively speak…. You know what! Im just going to punch that deep damn Golem fighter until he learns the meaning of apologizing to his betters! As I dust myself off the ground, to the sound of many persons piling into the arena, I note Gorth to be standing a good ten feet away, holding no defenses at all, just grinning like previously.

>How should I open this combat with Gorth? My weapon is technically on my back, and could be used, at cost of ignoring what I know to be the standard procedure of a fight, and risking death on both sides.
>What attacks should I follow up with, or any use of my runes or Heart?
>The place is a mess of things from previous bouts, and the terrain uneven, should I seek anything in particular?

>For any unarmed attacks/grapples, roll a d20dice versus Gorths d20-2. No dice needed if weapons used.

rolled 12 = 12

---

Right then, stand your ground for now. Should be easy enough to goad him into charging at you, so in that event, wait until he closes in. When he's just short of arms' reach, rev your heart up and step out of the way, then jump onto his back and give him a few hammerblows to the base of the skull.

What is against the standard procedure? Using a weapon at all or using a lethal weapon? You can still use the flat side of your spear if you get a good shot in. Also keep your eye out for good improvised weapons like metal bars or pieces of wood.

Practice some novel use of the illusion runes.

How perceptive are Morgren? I suggest you do an initial exchange and then run in behind some kind of terrain cover and activate your body illusion rune to have an illusion double emerge from cover wielding your spear. Then you can circle around and attack him in the back while he's focused on the illusion.

In fact if you're feeling extra smug then shout something about silent illusion ghost spear technique before you go into the cover and see if you can have your illusion body do swiping spear attacks at his sides from the front with the illusion spear while you are simultaneously pummeling him in the sides from behind with the haft of your spear or an improvised weapon to make it look like your illusion is doing all the damage while being untouchable.

If that doesn't take him down then grab a big piece of cloth or something in one hand and activate the arm illusion to see if the cloth becomes part of the illusion like a weapon. Then you can use the illusion cloth to obscure Gorth's vision. Also since the illusions move through solid objects can you move a fake arm through the ground to appear behind him for a real surprise?

Save using the heart until you really have to. See how far you can go with cunning and technique.

>>271227
[Combat for any reason is technically frowned upon; however, it is deemed that it is going to happen, and left open for training purposes. Little in practice is truly done to curtail it as long as dying isn't happening. Standard procedure for a fight is that weapons can only be used if agreed to beforehand, and must be used as non lethally as possible (it is still frowned upon, as giant lumps of metal tend to do alot of 'accidental' damage. Wooden weapons with a tendency to break are used in training and can be requisitioned by Sergeants and above). No natural weapons can be used by Morgren or by controllers of a beast without this same permission. As such, all combat defaults without agreement to all reasonable measures of nonlethal hand to hand combat. If attacked by a weapon outside of agreed terms, lethal force is authorized in self defense.]

rolled 8 - 2 = 6

---

>>271200
>>271227

I face my opponent, larger than me, even if slightly small for a Morgren, and decide the same method on some levels that took down his friend should suffice for this… just need to get him towards me then.

“heh, come at me then Gorth! You don’t seem as confident when I’m actually lookin atcha.”

With the billowing of a small earthquake on each step, the Morgren charges at me.
”hah! You can’t handle fury of Gorth Lurk Umk Blin…

As he reaches to grab me, I in a moment turn on my Magitech heart, and use the immediate boost to sidestep his grab, catching Gorth flat footed. Though I have some doubt, I decide I have no better option as I basically run up his arm and latch on towards his back, cupping my two hands together and hammerblowing my fists against his skull.

Unfortunately, one truth taught to us the the principle of equal and opposite reactions to attacks, and this guy’s skull is probably harder than even the larger guy I fought. I land a good solid three blows, that reverberate as essentially miniature earthquakes on my body, but Gorth seems to not really be fazed by this at all. I think one thing well established now with Morgren is that their skulls are worse than a wall… which by odd fate, is what I now suspect im about to be thrown at, considering I’ve been grabbed from behind.

Shutting off my magitech heart for the moment, I find myself hurtled relatively harmlessly across the ground, and into the other side of the arena, to Gorth’s annoyingly mirthful laugh.

Taking a moment to play with the concept I may be hurt, thus regaining my time, I pick up a nearby scrap of cloth and decide to test the effect of holding it on my arm rune. Using a single second from one rune, I find that when the illusion is created, the cloth does in fact become created as long as I hold it in my hand. However, it seems that this rune was ‘assumed’ somehow for combat, as the cloth is being held in what looks almost like it’s a grip of a weapon.

Standing back up, piece of cloth in hand, I consider what to do. I could draw my weapon and create an illusion with it; however, this would appear for all intents that I have drawn a weapon in combat, and there is a gathering crowd here. I could try the cloth trick, I am certain that I can find a bigger piece of cloth nearby, or I could just use the fist itself that defaults when unarmed. I have about two seconds on the Magitech, so stalling or a single fast attack should be all I need first. Gorth just… sits there again, grinning all the while.

>Should I draw my weapon and risk some potential ire for effectiveness? If I don’t use it physically, it should be fine I suppose.
>What do I do to attack Gorth? As Morgren and heads seem to work very poorly.
>Do I have any other thoughts?

Same dice rules apply, d20 for unarmed attack suggestion.

rolled 17 = 17

---

So he's strong, big and tough, right?

Well, good strategy against those kind of enemies is to use their size and strength against them. Redirect his attacks, put him off balance, grapple and throw him... that kind of stuff.
Try that piercing technique we did on that other morgre, aim for weak-spots, like joints.

Also, we did buy that rope, so why don't we use it? Try to catch his legs with it and tie him up, his legs and his arms.

To catch him off guard, use your whole-body illusions.
(also, use the heart if necessary)

A solid kick in the face might do wonders too.

>>271447
>17 vs 6
[Moment of Inspiration: Minor]
Effect: Bonus combat experience upon leaving camp, Combat Perception upgrade cost lowered by 5.

I do note that there is a noticable size disparity, and that Gorth does among other things seems to not take a lot of care in his movements or attacks. I now suspect that taking a more defensive posture, and use of redirection, while not exactly my strongest suit, is well within my training in hand to hand combat. Calling upon my body rune, I create a body double, moving it directly in front of myself, and separate it from me as Gorth throws a punch towards it. Dispelling the clone to Gorth’s surprise, I grab his arm and begin my work of redirection, pulling his arm as I spread my body and begin to kick out his knee. With this combination of actions, I find quickly that making the giant fall from lack of balance seems a much more prudent one, as I dodge into the direction against where the giant now falls.

I consider either use of the rope or wire as a holding mechanism, but it is obvious that normal rope would be broken of someone of my strength easily, and the metal wire is not of any extreme length to be wrapped in any real way around the Morgren, without a more specific plan to make it work, I see that as a waste of time.

I do like the plan to kick the insolent thing in the face though, and proceed to do that while I have him on the ground. I plant a good two solid kicks to the back of the Morgren’s head, not feeling excited by the prospect of moving towards the front and getting thrown again. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lead to much more then likely doing more harm to my foot. I decide that if I’m going to teach it some manners, ill have to risk it, as he seems to be using his hands to try and get up.

Activating my Magitech heart, I quickly leap over the head of the large Morgren. Twirling once on the ground, I spin and lunge slightly into the air, planting my kick directly into the face of the surprised Morgren. Sending his head flying back, and sending the rest of his body following for a good half a foot of dragging on the ground without much of a sound. Though I note his eyes are still open, and his face feels nearly as hard as his skull.

>Do I continue the assault, or hope this has taught the Morgren a lesson before I end up hurting him badly.
>Do I say anything, or continue the attack?
>A crowd has been gathering, should I play to this somehow? Or focus on the fight and environment?

rolled 14 = 14

---

>>271831
UPGRADE COMBAT PERCEPTION

"So Gorth, got to ask, why do you give so many names, and why do the others try to stop you? It's been bugging me."

He has at no point failed to be forthcoming, if you just ask, he could get distracted in the conversation, and the fight stop here. Because face it-if a full-force kick to the face doesn't even seem to have fazed him, you may not have much chance at putting a dent in him unarmed.

If the above does NOT work, keep alternating between the prior piercing hand attacks used earlier-go to slowly wear him down while minimally exposing yourself to risk, staying keenly aware of yourself and how to evade his attacks.

No matter how tough, he has to fall at some point.

>Do I continue the assault, or hope this has taught the Morgren a lesson before I end up hurting him badly.

I doubt that he has learned anything yet. he probably thinks this is fun.
Close in for further barrage of unarmed attacks.
If it seems like he's having too much of then stop.

>Do I say anything, or continue the attack?
Well, you might make sure if he still wishes to fight.

>A crowd has been gathering, should I play to this somehow? Or focus on the fight and environment?
Nah, just focus on the fight. No need to divert your attention from your foe.

joke around and tell her that she looks pretty, even with her hair like that.

>>271852
ignore this, was intended for another quest in another window. Stupid refusal to delete.

NaiveOne 2011/01/17(Mon)18:12 No. 272400 ID: 69bee4
File 129531674127.jpg - (62.71KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

>>271836
[Combat Perception Upgraded]

As I slowly walk towards the giant who begins to collect himself, a question comes to mind that I find little harm in addressing quickly.

"So Gorth, got to ask, why do you give so many names, and why do the others try to stop you? It's been bugging me."

Gorth begins to sit up slightly, and grins a toothy large grin. What happens next suddenly becomes a flurry of movement.

“Cuz Gorth iz da best and da strongest!”

I see it before it even becomes close to happening, my eyes having become accustomed to Morgren it feels like, but also having no other focus on hand but this now. In slow motion nearly it plays out, I see muscles begin to tense in Gorth’s legs and arms, he quickly begins bracing haphazardly against the ground, and lunges himself at me while using his body as an improvised projectile.

Unfortunately, despite seeing this coming, I am fairly powerless to stop such an immutable force, my reflexes not ready to respond to such a rapid attack with such mass.

I do decide though that I’m not going to let it end like this, pushing the fight at this moment is the only way towards victory, and power curacies through my veins. I quickly reorganize my right hand into the improvised blade I figured out earlier, and decide if all else fails that punching has never served me wrong in my life.

Instead of backing away, I thrust my right hand with the momentum of the giant’s tackle, piercing its flesh with the sheer inerta of the attack. Unfortunately, this is not what ends up happening, as my hand’s improvised blade only just breaks the skin of the Morgren, giving way only as easily as half a knuckle, before it seems to knit even harder than muscle should. Desperately with my left hand, I decide to punch with little concern for the consequences, my body pining for escape as I…. SEE the flow of his movement and attempt to predict it. Forcing my fist past any realistic safe punch, I impact onto the shoulder of the giant, and use the force to push into where I see much less of his body attempting to hit me.

CRACK

The last sound I remember for the next few moments, letting only my refusal to die take over. Upon clearing the dust from my eyes and wearily standing up, I am bombarded by the sounds of raucous cheering, keeping me further disoriented as I stumble to my feet.

>>271840
I see Gorth standing now, throwing a punch as soon as I stand, but its path is easily evaded, my fist still surging as I charge back into the giants range through the dodge and punch into his gut.

I feel a small trickle of… something… blood? As I look up to see the wound I inflicted with my hand bleeding slightly, but not as much as I had hoped. My left hand rails against the concept of being lifted up, but I throw kicks and punches into the Morgren’s undefended and massive gut. Gorth makes very little sound though, all I hear is more… cheering, and a booming and guggling… laugh? that causes me to end whatever it was I was doing, turning off my magitech heart as I begin to notice that my chest feels on fire.

”Dat vas good! Yus not smert like Gorth, more luk Lury, but little one can foight twas right! Gorth hungry yeah? Fight later”

And with that, no real ceremony, no NOTHING, Gorth just begins walking out of the arena, yelling loudly dat da grub bettah be ready to his pals, who excitedly agree as if nothing has just happened.

There’s an odd mix of noise and silence in the arena, people less sitting on the seats than milling around, many standing and talking, and some yelling at it seems either them or someone… kind of hard to focus too much. I think I dodged most of that trouble, but hell, its leg may have landed on me or something by how my ribs feel.

I now stand in the middle of an arena I was forced into, fairly alone, with no real direction.


>Should I say something to my odd crowd? Or maybe take a lesson from a Morgren and just get out?
>Should I deal with healing? I’ve dealt with worse pain.
>Do I have anything else I have in mind to do to rest or recover, or to meet?

NaiveOne 2011/01/17(Mon)19:50 No. 272460 ID: 69bee4
File 129532264640.jpg - (63.06KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

[improper character sheet uploaded, this one should be correct.]

Wait... what exactly happened?

>Should I say something to my odd crowd? Or maybe take a lesson from a Morgren and just get out?

Yeah, just get out.
No need to attract further attention.

>Should I deal with healing? I’ve dealt with worse pain.
If the injuries aren't too severe try to use your FIRS-AID skill to fix yourself up.

>Do I have anything else I have in mind to do to rest or recover, or to meet?
Nah, just get back to your post/camp, whatever.
Take the crate of alcohol if it's still here.

Then do whatever is it expected of you till we get to the next poiny of our mission (basically a timeskip)

>>272400
You are not in a combat scenario, nor are you very far from medical supplies. You might have dealt with worse pain before, but you do not know when you will need to be at full strength again. An attack can suddenly come at any time. Just look at what happened yesterday during your training battle. That was quite unexpected, wasn't it? ...At least get yourself bandaged up a bit.

Leave the arena in silence, see what Lury did with that crate, drop it off, then go get bandaged up.

And see if you can pick up some tips on prepping wounds out in the field for later, if the need ever arises.

NaiveOne 2011/01/20(Thu)21:00 No. 273313 ID: 69bee4
File 12955860345.jpg - (63.47KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

>>272622

I decide there is little to be gained sticking around, as this was far from any sort of sanctioned combat or had any betting pool on it. An amazing day when a Morgren seems like the prudent act to follow, but I’ll take what I can get.

As I walk, I decide to poke my body and attempt to determine what is wrong, certainly something happened to my ribs, I suspect bruising to occur on my chest from that. I have no real indications that I broke anything, and a general feeling of pain is not much for one to go off of. Returning to the stand I had so rudely been torn from, I am told that a Morgren ‘insisted’ to take my purchase, and that the man was going to need at least a case as large as that in order to be willing to say no. Not that I necessarily blame the man, but I do leave him a slight mark that will leave him to question whether myself or a Morgren is a worse opponent next time. On the plus side, that felt much better than punching Morgren.

>>272708
With no rush and no indications that the Captain is presently seeking me, I decide to head off to the cloaks office. Passing nearby, I make sure to threaten a pathetic grunt with a state worse than mine if he doesn’t deliver a message to Sullivan reporting that I’m seeking medical aid due to training with him. Feeling confident that will avoid any possible payments, I enter the tent to a white robed healer dealing with another patient. The healer is a relatively small man, slightly more than five feet tall, with a sorry condition of being overweight. It’s a shame when my muscle competes with anothers fekkin gluttony. The soldier on the table is in a more interesting state, a bit shy of six foot, but covered in an impressive array of scars that he is positively REFUSING to have healed, which seems to have my presence welcomed by the smaller man.

”Ach, another one, still… forward please, you seem better off than I usually get, I just hope you are less insubordinate than..”
Ahh, feekk off ya Morgren culinger! I told ya not tah Fekkin touch it! Ah in ya would just do it one more time, ill have ya strung like tha [i]livi suckin arse ya are!

As much as this is slightly amusing, my headache really has no more throbbing spac for such shenanigans. Fortunately, throwing people out is something akin to a specialty of mine, and the guy’s nails were are strong as his threats kind…

This does though seem to perk up the cloak, as he somewhat longwindedly explains that I suffered a massive force onto my gut, either a huge weight or some such, how odd it is, but that there are minimal signs of major internal bleeding. Asking him about things to look out for and avoid, he lists off signifigant pain while moving, headache, confusion, tensing of muscles, or particular variations of bruising. Asking about field stabilization, he offers little more than to use bandages, and that he would be happy to help me out if I would ‘deal with such suitable rif raff’.

[First aid up .03 Total from combined two uses]

Feeling the trip a bit more time than I would have liked, I find myself relieved of the healing at hand when a messenger arrives asking for me to report to the Captain’s tent. I don’t discern much has been done, but I do feel better. Taking the chance, I quickly barged my way out of the door, feeling less haggard than before.

Walking into the Captain’s tent is an interesting exercise in plush accomidations, but less than I honestly would expect. Maybe ive lived in a bedroll too long, because that bed does look nice, but I honestly expected bigger? I suppose. Large items in the room include an odd desk with some odd… sculptures on it? Many weapons and trophies of war scatter the hallmarks, staves, robes, but a noticable bias towards swords exist. I see the captain, standing in his usual tall, attention like manner, even before he acknowledges my entrance to the room.

“Ah, Thirty Two, glad to see you prompt despite your training injury. I will be brief, as it stands, only the Theta was able to find anything of use on its mission, and with Sullivan having been out, only you it seems have rendered any possibly valid intelligence. The village will be taken, and will act as a staging and supply point for the larger push of the invasion. Sullivan indicated you saw little likelihood of surrender, correct?”

”I can only say that they wanted us gone, Sir.”

[code]”Being gone is not an acceptable option, however, to the point, sources have regarded you as competent and of commendable loyalty in combat, I have to be with the exalted High Mage upon this first push. As such, for this attack, I am designating you the Alpha squad Force Champion for purposes of the mission hierarchy, though you will still report to Sullivan. If you haven’t yet, be sure to meet Catalina the Clawed and Kyon the Ward. Beyond that, if you have anything you wish to add, you know the best right now soldier. I have various resources I can possibly call in, but no promises are ever made in the present lean times.

>How do I respond? With an appeal towards broader diplomacy? Or agree with the need for a takeover?
>Do I request any particular resources? Of what sort? Equipment? A diplomatic envoy? Additional men? Outside squads, or auxiliary specialists such as the Morgren or Mounted infantry? Mages I suppose could possibly happen, or more Force Champions perhaps?
>Do I ask anything of the Captain?

>How do I respond? With an appeal towards broader diplomacy? Or agree with the need for a takeover?

If the captain says it needs to be taken over then it needs to be taken over.
But you could appeal to try more dimplomatic approach. No need to get violent at the start.
We could try to strike some deal with the village, they let us use the place as staging ground and we will help defend against Frogmen.

>Do I request any particular resources?
Yeah, a diplomatic envoy would be great.
We probably aren't persuading enough to convince the villagers to work with us, it's better to have someone who's a specialist in that field.

>Do I ask anything of the Captain?

Ask about this campaign of ours. We are still very underinformed.
What are we trying to archive here?

Ask who Catalina the Clawed and Kyon the Ward is and then go meet that person.

>>273326
>If the captain says it needs to be taken over then it needs to be taken over.
Right so-
>But you could appeal to try more dimplomatic approach. No need to get violent at the start.
The fuck are you smoking? Whatever it is I want some. Did you miss the whole 'unprovoked war of aggressive expansion, Mosmordren manifest destiny everyone else can suck on a bladed dick?' Why go diplomatic now AFTER starting a massive invasion of EVERYONE?

We could use a talky guy/gal, but not one of those supercilious, obsequious brown-noser. We want someone who knows how awesome our empire is, knows how to threaten directly and indirectly, how to lean, put pressure on people, get things happening and stir shit up. They'll either get shit in order QUICK using our threat of force, or bring their resistance to a head and we kill all the idiots that oppose the empire. Either way, we get resolution FAST. Any army member will tell you speed is king, so no need to get a envoy that drags their feet.

Beyond that, ask for a length of garrote wire, a two foot length with handles for normal use, and a fifty foot length for making a really crude trap. Takes up almost no room and when you need it, WOW will it be worth it.

I'd ask the captain the timetables of the invasion. What is our most immediate, short term goal? Conquer the first hundred miles of swampland to expand the border? Claim as many towns as possible? There are so many ways to run an invasion its insane, and even a grunt knows that we need details.

Beyond that, before we march we need to meet Catalina and Kyon both, and during a three-way spar to get to know eachother, briefly go over preferred methods of using the force we will have when we return to the village, all while getting one another abreast of each Champion's abilities.

>>273544
Have to agree with this. That Major of the village certainly implied that they weren't willing to become part of the Empire.

Ask the captain what kind of state they'd prefer to have the village in. Do they want the civilians mostly alive or? Ask what sort of rights and treatment the villagers would get while their village is used as a staging post. They might not resist as much if they could be promised some degree of safety. Basically what do you have to bargain with.

Either way you'd better just go in there prepared to make a superior show of force. Bring some Morgren or some kind of scary mage so you can show the villagers what they're up against. Second priority is bringing gear for keeping prisoners - handcuffs, cudgels and the like. Extra men might also be good to provide a suppressive force. Do NOT bring any mounted infantry to the swampland!

>>273544
Hey, in my defense, I can't really get into Evil Empire mindset yet.

So yeah, rather then using traditional prolonged diplomatic approach, try to use the quick, brutal one with lots of threats of violence and aggression.

We should request some Morgren for pure intimidation factor.

I still don't want to massacre the village, if we can make them surrender without any fight, then its better.

>>273326
>>273663

“Sir, first thing that comes to mind is that no one have seen here is equipped to deal with the situation diplomatically. I don’t need no fekkin bleed out though sir, nor some tredd fether who has to do it by the book. We need someone who knows how to fight, and how to break that will they have going, t make them fear the empire as they should before we kill them if need be.”

Hah, now that is the kind of spirit I respect. Victory or victory eh? I think I know just the guy for that. Assuming he’s in camp, he will likely be joining you on this little adventure.

>>273721
>>273737
“Glad to hear it sir, the next thing that comes to mind is that I need to know my objectives.”
”Explain”
“I know little about the war, only my duty to serve sir. Without further information, I do not know what is expected of me, or such thing as the preferred status of the village. Razing it to the ground will likely be easier, but may not be what is needed”
”Hmm… you make a fair point. Let it be known this usually reserved for your sergeants; however, you are a veteran of sorts and I have seen no disloyalty in your motives. The larger mission as you probably suspect is correctly known as expansion. This area and many others will fall into the control of the Empire, and those who refuse this gift shall meet the emperor’s swift justice. Upon taking this staging point, the sergeants will give you further locations. Since our elements returned earlier than most anyone else, we will be acting as the forward scouts and threat removal. In general, your squad’s mission will be either to investigate promising leads, engage enemy forces or natural threats and remove them, or to reinforce another area as need be.
“With that in mind, what condition should the village be ideally left in?”
We will have the resources to build a camp if need be, failure is not acceptable. With that understood, capture and the ability to use local knowledge is preferable. It does it little good to immediately destroy possibly loyal future citizens.
“Understood sir, with that in mind I am personally requesting supplies then.”
of what sort soldier?
“A thin, fairly strong metal wire, one of two feet length with wooden handles, and one of fifty feet length”
”An odd request soldier, explain yourself.”
“The first is for a weapon that can be used closer and more silently than my present one, the second is more for general purpose use and trapmaking”
… Different, but I’m willing to see how you perform with it, no promises, but send over your squads messenger and ill send out the requisition request at least. You may not see it in the near future though.”
“Good, and for one last…”
Pay your due respects soldier
“Sir, my last request is that I have reason to suspect there may be something hidden in the village. There were signs of raids, and the village itself had a near pathetic military presence, but the damage seemed incapable of dealing with near the threat level of the forces we engaged. I am requesting more squads be added to the engagement, and that we receive Morgren support for a possible hidden threat.”
”Hmm, reasonable enough I suppose if we had more people around camp or time. However, with the events yesterday, I doubt the command is willing to give up too much. I will see what I can do”

The captain now begins to move to a desk of papers and begins furiously scribbling, taking care to ensure that his cloak yet somehow holds no wrinkles even on the back of a chair.

“You are dismissed, send the messenger over soon, I am likely going to have to rush this a bit. Report to Sullivan what has been said here, and tell him that pending Alpha’s readiness, you move out tomorrow.”

Leaving the tent, it is only a short matter of time before I report what the Captain has said to Sullivan and move Gee towards the captain’s tent. Watching him speed off, I do sense there is some time remaining if there is anything I wish to do before dinner and watch begins.

>Is there anything I should do before the evening begins to fall beyond meeting what I assume to be the other Force Champions?
>Particularly in regards to my requests, should I attempt to get involved myself, or leave it to the Captain?
[I need two separate D20 rolls, choosing either Equipment, Morgren, Troops, or Mystery as a category. Either choose to allow the captain to do it [resulting in no modifiers], or explain what 32 does to try and make things go better [this can have a positive or negative modifier]. A result of 10+ [with modifiers] will get the category chosen immediately, an 18-19 will result in something special, and 20+ very special. Mystery will need 15+ to get anything to happen, and will only be hinted to involve higher ups.]

rolled 7, 20 = 27

---

>If you haven’t yet, be sure to meet Catalina the Clawed and Kyon the Ward

Meet with this guy, whoever he is.
And go to your meeting.
Don't forget to send the messenger.

>Particularly in regards to my requests, should I attempt to get involved myself, or leave it to the Captain?
I'm not sure what we can do. So...

>Morgren, Equipment

>>274701
Hmm

I guess we should try to influence the Morgren acquisition somehow. Maybe go there and meet them again? They should be happy to see us, who on numerous times sparred with them.
Maybe they will put forth their own desire to go with us.

No roll for MYSTERY? Bah.

See if you can figure out who is investigating the magical phenomenon that happened earlier. There'll probably be some kinda military police looking into it. Your experimental magitech heart might have been the cause somehow and it would be good to see what their hypothesis is.

Idea!: If your arm illusion runes can create illusions of odd objects you're holding then what happens if you grab a soldier and lift him by his shirt and imagine using him as a blunt weapon? Can you then activate your runes and create a frozen ghost soldier, held by your arm illusion? It would be a pretty cunning move sending illusions of flying, frozen bodies at the enemy front lines to shake them up.

>>274704
Maybe you could roll good for mystery and use that instead of recruiting Morgrens?
As it stands, the equipment roll should be something awesome, nut not the Morgren.

Dunno if Naive with allow that ofcourse

>>274768
[Considering what I had originally intended was two people would roll on a single topic, I will allow this. Also, mention if 32 becomes involved, and how if you do this, or if left up to Captain. I will through roll a D2 before I post, on a 1 the Morgren roll is replaced, on a 2 the Equipment roll is replaced.]

NaiveOne 2011/01/26(Wed)20:23 No. 275124 ID: 69bee4
File 129610218687.jpg - (184.90KB , 739x1080 , Kyon the Ward.jpg )

rolled 8, 2 = 10

---

>>274702
[You do not get to decide after the fact that you want to try for a bonus. You said you had no idea how 32 was involved, and so it defaults to Captain.]

>>274701
[Morgren = 7,Equipment = 20 stored. Also, Gee speeding off is because he is the Messenger of the squad.]

>>274704
As I head towards the Alpha and Beta contingencies, a thought occurs to me about the nature of my runes. Feeling a mild moment of excitement, I reach out and…. Er… no, that’s a Captain. Ah, there we go, picking up a more normally dressed person to their surprise, im met with a feeble kick as I conjure the power from my right arm and immediately send it forward to see what it looks like.

… Huh, this is somewhere between comical and odd. The appearance is that of me holding the sap by his head, the rest of his body rigid, wielding it as if some sort of odd long sword. Tossing him to the ground, and ignoring the wild looks at me as I continue onwards.

Finishing my walk without any other real ideas entering my mind, I enter the nearby encampment area of the Alpha contingency. I see little of note though, and after a few minutes of the stares from the lumps of flesh in our fraternal squad, I am led to an area towards the end of the camp, away from most of the mess. Where I see a singular figure sitting in solace, wearing an odd combination of robe with a breastplate and nearly a full set of armor. He is pointed out as Kyon, and a few things strike me fairly quickly. Firstly, he appears quite young in many respects except for his silvery grey hair sticking out of a wide brimmed hat. Secondly, his armor setup is just weird, as is his lack of noticeable weapon, and well… third that his hand is GLOWING blue. With the soldier leaving the area, the figure turns to face me, and I note that both of his hands glow slightly blue. He stares at me fairly passively for a moment, and speaks in a sort of airy, distant way.

“Judging by your appearance, you must be the alchemical soldier I have heard about under the Captain’s command. I am Kyon the Ward, as introduced by Slitzken there, Force Champion of the Alpha squad… though I suppose you have that title for now.
“Yeah, Captain told me to meet you and Catalina the Clawed, who’s I’m guessin is the one for Beta”
”Indeed, this is true. I must register my surprise you have not met her, she is rather… unforgettable. But once again, I can only surmise you must have arrived recently, as I had never seen you at the meetings. This just further expresses that. I will be glad to lead the way, though she is never hard to find honestly.
“Eh, Works for me”

Following the lead of the blue handed oddball, he attempts a few short lived times to get me to talk. However, having little mood for such weaklings, I ignore it in wonder as to how Alpha ended up with such a puny Force Champion. I have certainly seen many others of… lackluster quality I suppose, but he looks like little more than a grunt with odd armor and glowing hands. An odd circumstance to say the least.

Led to the Beta squad, I find an area in somewhat stark contrast to the Alphas. Whereas there area was mostly clean and tidy, this area is a comparative mess… though not A LOT worse than my own squads I figure in honesty. I even see person’s openly drinki…. WAIT A MINUTE! That’s the alcohol that was supposed to… and it…. ARG! I never specified the squadron properly!?

I suddenly see between the sight of mostly men, a woman of… surprisingly large stature. Standing nearly six feet and towering over the more normal sized Kyon, shes jovially waving towards us and chugging down the elixir that I suspected possibly sickening to normal persons.

BWAHAHAHA! And here is our benefactor boys! I told ya he was comin sometime today in readiness for our mission! CHEERS! TO KYON AND THIRTY TWO!

With a loud cheer the standing five or so members raise up their drunks and begin to guzzle it down. I note only one person to not partake of a drink, another female of more normal size dressed up in full armor and swinging a short sword that feels oddly out of place to one like myself who uses a much larger weapon. She merely looks at the scene and smiles

My glancing though is soon interrupted as the larger woman almost seems to pounce forward with surprising agility, and leaps herself up while grabbing both her arms around the back of my neck. I nearly flail from the unexpected reaction, instead merely trying to shake her off, but she surprisingly holds pretty fast, though with some struggling. Hanging like some animal on my body, she begins to speak with amazing speed breathlessly

”Hell…
“Hahaha, so he really is an alchie type huh Kyon? Is he as strong as he looks, oooh, and deliverin us drinks eh, smooth sailor huh? Ya even miss meetings more than I do, and such, haha, crazy. Oh, nice weapon, not as good as my babies but not everyone has hands like me and Kyon eh? Haha, lookin forward to this, and heyaaaaaaaa”
…o to you too Catalina

I stay silent for awhile, as the woman eventually lets go during my silence, jumps on the ground, and takles Kyon down.

”hello, hello, yes? Sooo, tell me about you hmm, since Kyon’s going to be all quiet agaaaaiiiinnn
I only just met… I don’t know the answ…
”EXCUSESSSSSSS!”

As the situation continues with Kyon stuck on the ground at Catalina’s mercy, I have done what was asked of me and met these two it seems. Though I had some idea of challenging them to combat at some point, or possibly working out a more team oriented thing… but these two seem so, useless. Sigh.

I consider for a moment how to react though, I do know little about them. As it stands we are in the middle of a… lively camp area, and I have assembled with the Force Champions of the Warboars.

>What sorts of things should I ask of these two, or tell of myself?
>Should we move into more private settings? Or move along with this… atmosphere? Should I just declare my mission complete and return?
>Do I have any ideas beyond the flirting of a battle with them, as I feel fairly fit to fight again if need be. Though having skipped eating, maybe after dinner…
>Does anything else strike me at this time?

[note: the 2d20 rolled are NOT negating your Equipment roll. This is for unrelated events.]

>>275124
This is an IDEAL moment to activate your magitech heart and manhandle her to the ground, arm twisted up behind her back, legs keeping hers from kicking or scissoring, and establish that while personality quirks are none of your concern, you have been appointed their superior for this mission, and while that is in effect she will show you respect, just as you would her or Kyon were they in charge.

The moment she tries any funny stuff, just pay attention to your senses, register any irregularities in tactile sensation, to balance, distortion of surroundings, general sensory aberrations, thermal change or invisible pressure-if she uses magic, get as much out of that fist use as you can-

While making your full body replica go flying as you spring down low and rebound with a counter.

>Following the lead of the blue handed oddball, he attempts a few short lived times to get me to talk. However, having little mood for such weaklings, I ignore it in wonder as to how Alpha ended up with such a puny Force Champion. I have certainly seen many others of… lackluster quality I suppose, but he looks like little more than a grunt with odd armor and glowing hands. An odd circumstance to say the least.

What the hell, man?
DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT OUR GLORIOUS EMPIRE WOULD PUT WEAKLINGS AS FORCE CHAMPIONS!!!
Do you not see his damn glowing hands?
DO you think he's weak?!
That guy is obviously a mage!

Either way, don't underestimate. Especially enemies.


Not sure WHAT to do here.
Maybe rather than just going away, try to know these people better, maybe ask what their skills are so that we know what to expect from them.

Say that you hope they enjoyed your gift, and are happy to see them have good time. High troop morale is always good.
Obviously they will try to coerce to join them ... dunno, maybe it will be good to play along to have better relations with the troops?

I guess they are a bit hard to respect. Just tell them you're set to serve the Mosmordren army for 10 years into the future so you're trying to pick up the tricks and skills needed for a soldier and hero alike. You despise failing and you respect strength and perseverance. Therefore they should come at you right now and show you what they can do on the battlefield.

If they prove themselves worthy in the brief tussle that should ensue then you can sit down and discuss your plan of attack against the village over some food. Basically let them know you've been out there and it's a village of ornery people who possibly have some kind of ace to protect them from frog people. Current plan is to go in with a show of force, like blast something inconsequential to bits with Morgren and alchemical might before negotiating their surrender, ready to take out whatever tricks the villagers might try. Hard but fair.

NaiveOne 2011/01/27(Thu)22:34 No. 275637 ID: 69bee4
File 129619646932.jpg - (146.69KB , 691x1024 , Sergeant Reinhold.jpg )

>>275314

I consider for a moment that the title of Force Champion being held by these two means more than I initially suspect. But as I look at the shenanigans and the helpless position of Kyon, it reminds me of far too many ‘Force Champions’ that led my squad in the north. Holding a title of Force Champion I suppose does mean something, but It means little more by default than being the best of approximately eleven persons.

I consider for a moment that the glowing IS odd, but the idea that this person is a mage is unfathomable. A Mage is NOT a Force Champion. Nor have I ever heard of a mage acting in any way outside a support capacity for a squad. Mages as best I know exist in their own ‘groups’, led by a Mage of some power that directs the apprentices and Mages at their own will. They are allowed a great degree of autonomy, and any person dressed in a way that could discern them as a mage could probably just shove Lysander aside and usurp the entirely of the Warboars with little more than a word. Mages are also fiercely prideful within their in-groups, I have hardly seen any talk to a person of a lower rank unless it was necessary. When I dealt with them in training, they didn’t even look at us, only told their apprentices when to continue or to stop on their test dummies. Nor have I ever seem one with glowing hands, as magical as that may appear. It is far more likely an enchantment if anything I surmise, like my own markings, except one that gives the glowing off.

>>275134
>>275369
[Contempt overrides attempt to talk nice/view alcohol as morale]
I decide though that I am not willing to put up with such shenanigans. Alcohol or not, if I am to essentially lead these two, I refuse for such insolence to stand unopposed. Activating my magitech heart, feeling power coarse through my veins again, my two hands reach for the two Force Cahmpions and tear them apart. Grabbing one arm and twisting around her back effortlessly, while I pin her legs down with the sheer mass of my leg compared to hers. I lean down somberly behind her head and speak in a loud whisper. Feeling her resist, with more strength than expected, but feeble in comparison to my own.

“Listen now little girl… I am your superior for this mission. I except to be treated with the same respect as I would treat you or Kyon if you were my commanding officer. Is. This. Understood?”

I ready in waiting for any funny business…. But her body instead just seems to go comparatively limp. Silence pervades the air.

“Was that under…”

My mind is simultaneously struck by two sounds, the first feeble, like a gasp of breath, the second holding a strong aura of command.
”…yy…..yes sir.”
”Stand down NOW Thirty Two! I am her officer, and discipline is my jurisdiction”

I look at the armored woman who had been smiling earlier. I know not if she is the actual sergeant of the Beta, but all eyes are upon her from the squad, many of the men seemingly ready to jump at her word I can sense. I had heard the Beta sergeant was a fatale from Sullivan… and this is likely pushing what I can get away with, though the cowardly little girl probably deserves more.

I deactivate my heart and lift myself off Catalina’s back, Kyon looking expressionlessly at the scene unfolding before him.

“I plan to serve this army for a decade of my life, I have not seen you serving even a moment. Kyon, having proved yourself at least helpful, I want a report of what you can do.”

Understood, though I feel it must be said she is mostly just unforg…

“I said a report of what you can do.”

”Understood. I am sure you have noticed that my hands and their coloration. As it stands, my hands appear to be conventionally unharmable, though that does not stand true for any other part of my body. I have grabbed bladed weapons in the middle of combat to no noticable effect or harm, punched solid objects as hard as I can with no harm done. Beyond this, my hands also deliver much more punishing blows than one I suspect normally sees in one of my stature. Beyond this, my squad believes me to be brilliant or a lucky charm at times, though I find that inaccurate personally.”

“and you girl?”

[i]”I presume you mean Catalina?”[/i}

“She can speak for herself Kyon!” I snap back.

The girl continues to lay on the ground for a moment, standing up slowly in what seems a dazed state, her face looking up at mine with some unreadable expression, though not one that seems to match what seems like… shaking from her body. Nothing I can discern, a grin begins to pop up on her face.

“… are you going to speak?”

SIR! I’d… Id describe it similar to Kyon, we both have arm… hand related powers. I can make my arms as sturdy and rigid as rock,I move quickly, and my nails can become like claws of rock as need be. Me and Kyon both usually spar without weapons, which makes you the odd one out, heh. Though I guess you don’t need that spear either, do ya… sailor? Er. Sir.

Deciding that my headache will not due with such disappointments for this night, I opt out of a fight or further communication. Instead passing the rest of the evening uneventfully. Though I deal with some minimal interaction with Luken asking me about the training battle, and Gee’s affirmations that my message had been delivered.

[Day 5: Lorthday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]

The next morning was opened to an interesting set of surprises, with the Captain himself visiting the areas, first speaking to Sullivan, but pulling me directly aside afterwards. I am regaled with an oddly serious tone, as he hands me what appears to be a small wire, two feet in length, with metal handles unlike what I had originally asked for.

In the captain’s rather rushed tale, I gather only from what he says that the person in charge of equipment could find no other equipment, and was extremely angry about the lack of supplies in this area. Handing the Captain with a glare the only item he had that met the description, and when Lysander attempted to protest, being threatened to be fed into the forges along with the mages who kept refusing to give him what he wanted. The Captain also reported that for some reason, the Morgren appeared to be on lockdown, and would not be available for support. Support squads were also out of the question, due to enhanced security from the attack during the training battle. A lot more time it felt like was the Captain making it very clear that I was to NEVER lose this weapon, and that he arguably would not hand it off unless it was these exact circumstances. Nodding my approval, I held the lackluster set of metal wire.

Well, lackluster until I got to play with it on the march. Because it appears this item was in fact everything I asked for. Just all in one…. And more. Given it seems to have multiple forms.

1) The default as given is approximately two feet long of wire, held safely by use of two metal handles. The sharpness of the wire is so much so that I am unwilling to test it fully on my body, in fear that I would remove a finger before I could stop myself. Using it on wood produced a sharp, clean cut through a branch as thick as one of my fingers that was easier to do than with any saw I have ever seen. The wire despite being very thin, was unable to be broken with my strongest attempts to break it using the handles, which is how I found out more.
2) By pulling on the handles in almost a direct horizontal direction, the handles collapse on themselves, the wire thickens, and becomes approximately twenty feet of metal rope. Unlike the wire, this rope does not appear to be sharp at all, and is once again unbreakable with my non-magitech augmented strength. The rope seems unnaturally light also, probably slightly less than wielding my spear, despite being a much larger mass of metal.
3) By swinging the rope as if to throw it, the rope begins to transform, holes forming into it and lengthening until it turns into a fifty foot long length of metal chain rope. This section of chains only seems to be slightly heavier than wielding my spear when held in a pile, and once again it shows the same level of durability as the other forms. Pushing the chain together in an action similar to sheathing a weapon causes the chain to pull together as if a released spring, and shrink back into the first form. Upon doing this a few times, it actually seems to attempt to reform the handles in your hands, and I have already learned to grab the chain while retracting.

It is an… impressive weapon in many respects. Though not one I am used to in any real way. It gives me some comfort though to experiment, and a great excuse to break ranks and surprise the hell out of people as I keep figuring things out with this.

Among those who seems to find the situation amusing is the supposed friend of the Captain, who is my answer to the question of a Diplomat. He is a portly, short man, who on the march is not wearing any armor at all, but instead what almost looks like some sort of winter robe, and matching blood red hat. He does keep up though, and seems more in good spirits than this combined force seems to hold on its own.

Sullivan, the woman I learned it Sergeant Reinhold, and the Alpha leader, and thus the leader of this whole force Sergeant Lysander (brother of the Captain it seems) stands not far behind the Force Champions. The walk is all in all quiet, Kyon walking in short but quickler steps to keep up with my strides, and Catalina seemingly leaping slightly with her steps. Neither says much to me, mostly keeping a vigil. However, I cannot help but notice Catalina staring at me occasionally with a very… determined? Angry? I don’t really know look, but she is definitely staring at times, drawing away whenever I seem to make note of it and continuing her watch. Her armos is more conventional than Kyons, who wears what I saw him in previously. In her case a breastplate, gauntlets without the hand parts, a two handed sword, and leggings with a chainmail skirt and half helm.

[Day 6: Castiday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
We travel straight through, stopping only upon exhaustion, and on the next day by noon we have arrived within sight of the village. However, me, Kyon, and Catalina all look towards eachother as we see figures darting from the trees into the village. Even I know it appears there are scouts then… and movement is noticable in the village, though its mostly inwards and not of any real unity.

Still, like with the Froggrock, pushing the charge now would force engagement with the village and a fight. Though we did bring the diplomat, and there are only signs of movments and scouts, not what kind. Either way, I need to make a decision, and I am now in charge of this group of three. Failure…. Being found wanting…. IS NOT an option.

>Shall I push the charge and begin the battle through force? Or shall I report the presence of the scouts instead and call a halt?
>What should I report or suggest to the Sergeants if I choose to fall back? Stealth may still be an option, as I know the terrain. Diplomacy is also not lost at that point.
>Or if I charge in, what should I do to sow fear and retreat? Should I wait for others to join in, or seek to control certain areas or destroy them?
>Is there some other option beyond this? Something better?

Well your diplomat guy probably has a plan for suppressing this village. Tell him you've been scouted by the villagers and ask if he wants you to assault or make a show of force. The best idea is probably to go in with confidence and show off the strength of your empire. Make sure you head the movement with the force champions to scout and check for traps. Then take up an elevated position where you can see any flanking attempts.

Regarding your rope of reaping, what happens if you hold one of the handles and crack it like a whip (be careful!)? Also what happens if you hold both of the handles in one hand and crack the doubled over wire like a whip? Other than that consider wrapping the chain around something and then retracting it. Does it shear apart whatever it's wrapped around?

Perhaps we take a small strike force with the diplomat, and leave behind orders that your 'army' is to attack should anything attack you. This means they have to keep an eye on you and whatnot.

As for the strike force we should take Kyon and Catalina, and a small squad of the four best warriors. Should something go haywire their job is to extract the diplomat while you make havoc while waiting for the backup to arrive.

Yeah, I say we try to make the use of our diplomat.

Why would have we brought him otherwise?
It's also stupid to expect them not to have sentries.

Hmm

We did notice that the villagers were hiding something... maybe they went to alert the village so that they get ready to meet us again and hide whatever they are hiding?
We could relay orders and go in alone, sneaking, for reconnaissance.

>>275637
First off you were OBVIOUSLY testing out the new weapon (I vote for a name, like, say, That Which Bindsor summat) since it is a genuine Magic Item piece of equipment, and the interplay between rope and chain form would let you supplement your spearplay with some great mid to mid-long range attacks, if you can learn how to whip, snap and crack TWB. I mean, this is your first external magic item-CLEARLY you are spending every spare second you have when not actively marching or leading on getting used to not just its changing forms, but its application as a ranged suppression device-right?

Also, did you test to see if you can cause the shifts between forms by applying pressure to just one end of the device, so that you could change it on the fly? Say, grab a section of rope/chain above one end, grab end, compress both points together horizontally? If it works, great, if not, file the thought away and keep experimenting.

Good.

Beyond that, rather than charging immediately, I'd say tell the diplomat to take point with you-keep him sheltered behind you during the approach, just to be safe-and march the whole damn force into the village, weapons sheathed but hands at the ready. Let the diplomancer start his shit.

If he can cow them into complying, great that's fine and dandy. If he can't-HEY, you get to try out what you've practiced with your new magic weapon!

NaiveOne 2011/01/29(Sat)20:00 No. 276252 ID: 69bee4
File 129636003038.jpg - (66.78KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )

>>275814
>>276021
>>275774
I decide that it is prudent at this time to fall back towards the larger group. As apt as a fight may be, there has been no hostile actions by the village as of yet. More importantly, I’m not going to drag some redcoat down here and not make some use out of a diplomat.

“Champions, fall back for now, we came here with intent to talk first. Lets give them that chance.”
Kyon ”Understood sir.”
Catalina ”Alright”

>>275774
On the short walk back, some ideas pop into my head about how to interact with my new item. In addition, some concept of… name begins to appear in my mind? Different I suppose, as not even my spear I have given one, but it is a customary thing. That Which Binds? So very… bland, not like me at all. That Which Reaps though? Heh, now that sounds like something that could instill some fear. Mybe ill consider something else, for now I decide to try out an idea.

I take both end handles of the wire and begin to hold them in one hand; however, before I even get an attempt to use the wire like a whip, the weapon makes a slight glow, heats up, and begins to morph as is customary in its changes. Within a second, my hand is no longer holding a wire, but is instead grasping the inner circle of a very flat metal hoop.

[Minor Moment of Inspiration: Chakram Form unlocked. Emotional Set Unlocked: Curiosity. Partial Experience from Morgren fight and Gorth fight unlocked now instead of post mission. +30 Combat Experiance obtained.

The sudden change stops all of us for a moment, before a glare and continuing my movement makes everyone else move. Looking at the odd disk, the inside I am presently holding onto seems safe to touch; however; the outside of the disk gleams with the same deadly sharpness as the wire. I had for a while thought all my fooling around with this thing, and all the new experiences I had faced thus far to be tedious. However, if I can see results like this, a weapon that seems to change as I wield it, with potentially more utility or deadliness than even my spear… it is an interesting feeling. Though tarnishing that a bit is that presently I have no idea how to change the disk back to its original form.

>>276021
Riding this wave of thought though, I do have to admit that possibilities open up with this weapon. The use of a metal rope or chain could allow me some much needed distance to my attacks. I also consider that the recall of the weapon might be able to tear things asunder that it is wrapped around… a shame that the unit approaches, and I have no way to test these things at the moment with the weapon being held somewhat awkwardly in my left hand, as the hole inside for holding seems designed for something slightly smaller in hand size than mind. The sergeants move forward to meet with us in private, the red robed diplomat in tow.

[Trigger: Do not immediately engage village, Diplomacy Skill revealed]

Sgt. Sullivan:”You’ve come back? I suppose you must have found something.
Sgt. Lysander:”Report.”
“Sirs, it appears that our approach was detected by village scouts. They rushed into the village, but beyond that there isn’t much else.”
”If I may add, there was no noticeable weaponry on them”
Lysander:”You read my mind as usual Kyon, any signs of engagement I want that place taken down immediately.
>[Diplomat/Havs]”And ruin my fun again Colin? You are even worse than your brother…”
”You know not to call me that, especially not here, and its not a fight… yet.”
>“You know you want to though, both you and Clyd…”
[agitated]”Stand down old man!”
32: “Sirs, If I may interrupt, I explored the areas before, I could probably sneak in if need…”
>Havs:”Bah, in broad daylight, foolish kids and their”
>Sgt. Reinhold:”ENOUGH! Bickering boys and your blasted boating. We did not drag a diplomatic envoy down here to jump into shouting matches at first drop. What willing widgets are needed for your wiles Havs?”

As she says this, an odd quiet falls upon everyone, a shared shame I suppose, as even I stop what I was about to say.

>”Fair enough my dear. From as much as the Captain said, I don’t believe I will need much more than myself.
Lysander”You know that’s unacceptable, the Captain would kill me if you head off on your own”
>”Fine, ill take the big one then.”
He says, pointing at me.
”That’s not even close to what I had in mind and you know it.
>”Bah, let me have my…”
Seeing that things are about to devolve, I decide to step in with my idea.
>>275793
[Expected strength by rank would go at the present: Sgt. Lysander, Reinhold, Sullivan, 32, Kyon, Catalina. Unless you believe a method to weed out who is stronger among the 28 ‘normal’ members of the 32nd, or ask opinions of the Force Champions and Sergeants, you have no idea how to suggest this. 32 has no way to prove that the ranking also accurately shows comparative strengths, as it is rank. Normally 32 would be at the bottom, but for this present mission is at the top of Force Champions.]
“If I may suggest a compromise a squad of four should suffice, me and my squad of Champions should be small enough, but potent enough.”

>Reinhold”Accepted, and don’t argue it Lysander, you know you would bicker if you went.”
Sullivan”Heh, she has you there.
Lysander”Fine, acceptable. You three will escort Havs while he negotiates. Know though Havs, if anything does go wrong, the squads will be entering.
>>275814
32”I have some suspicious of a possible trap sir from my first reconnaissance, that I feel should be accounted.”
[u]”Very well then, Reinhardt, you will lead the troops into battle if it calls for it. Sullivan being the expert he is and myself will be on the lookout for an ambush or trap and act appropriately, is that understood?”

With affirmations and orders given, me, the Force Champions, and this diplomat begin to move out towards the village. This at least gives me a few minutes in the silence that Havs seems to hold when not arguing.

>Do I speak up or suggest anything before we approach the village?
>Do I have any ideas about how to revert the disk, or if I should keep it as an awkward improvised hand to hand weapon for now?
>Do I want to suggest or get involved somehow with the diplomatic efforts?

-----------------
Unlocked Talent:
Brute Force Specialization: Although the many forms and functions of the (At least for now named: That Which Reaps) can be learned through careful thought and consideration. There is also the brute force method when all else fails. Buying this talent unlocks all non-purely arcane secrets of a weapon or armor, by reflecting a large amount of time spent on downtime brute force acting with the item.

Diplomacy: The ability to convince persons through negotiation, bartering, and other non intimidation forms. At higher levels, allows 32 to bypass active negotiations to get a lower price on many items, has some influence on leadership, and often improves efforts of interpersonal negotiations/friendships by giving him a sense that an idea might be looked upon poorly.

Curiosity:
A state at which you want to learn more about something.
[i]Pros: Makes unlocking additional skills and Emotional sets easier. Makes ‘passive’ growth towards level 1 in a skill faster. Improves Combat Senses.
Cons: Slightly weakens the effects of Combat Perception, Camouflage, and Combat Reflexes. 32 will begin to become more ‘scatterbrained’, and less likely to remember previous ideas without poster help.

Oh, yeah, Curiosity!
Upgrade that shit to lvl 1, son! Like, RIGHT NOW

Then during the negotiations or whatever keep attention on Havs. Look at how he behaves, what kind of words he chooses, his facial expression, hand gestures, body stances, etc. A skilled diplomat never does anything 'just because', they carefully calculate every single move and word. Havs might come around rather unprofessional at first glance, but I don't buy any of it, so learn everything you can from him while you have the chance. You might be able to increase your diplomacy skill quiet a lot if you do.

Ah, if this comes boiling down to blows you can also pay attention on how your force champions fight and take lessons from them. Sure, it will hamper your combat attention somewhat, but a possibility to expand your own combat efficiency by observing your companions should not be let up.

>Chakram
I say you try to grab it from inside with both hands at opposite sides of the circle and pull out as if you are trying to tear it. Later, when you have chance, I suggest seeing if it returns back to you when you throw it.

Some other path of exploring your weapon possibilities: maybe you can fuse it with your other equipment, like your spear or armor for example (just be careful not to slice your spear in half with it)

>Do I want to suggest or get involved somehow with the diplomatic efforts?
No. I don't think it is good idea to interfere with a professional. You will make everything worse for the negotiation efforts.
BUT, while going there try to give him as much as possible information about the village and the people you've seen there. Talk about the old man and the hag, their character and your impression of them.

>Reinhardt
So, who is this guy? Is it the Paradox Knight from GQ? Or did you just take the name?

Yeah I'll second the Curiosity upgrade.

What is Havs' overall plan? Mention that the last time you came around the village mayor just wanted you to leave saying they didn't want soldiers around that were unwilling to protect them. Is that an angle he could work with?

Other than that suggest that you're ready to do whatever it takes to make this takeover a success and that you'll try to protect him from any surprise attacks during the negotiations. You'll also tap your spear against the ground if you feel that something is afoot to give him a warning if possible.

Don't let the villagers get to you. The mayor might pull some kind of "you promised you would leave" and "no gratefulness to the people that saved your comrade" accusations, but this is a different mission and you're actually trying to resolve it in a non-violent manner so just ignore what he says and follow Havs' lead.

Also that weapon is very rope/string aspected. It's probably not just a throwable chakram. Try kind of throwing it down at the ground while holding on to the sides of it and see if you can make it fly off while leaving a wire behind it or something for easy retrieval. Failing that just grab two sides of it and try to twist it to configure it into another shape.

NaiveOne 2011/01/31(Mon)18:06 No. 276918 ID: 69bee4
File 129652598437.jpg - (94.13KB , 382x491 , Hasv.jpg )

rolled 3 = 3

---

>>276393
[Curiosity cannot be upgraded at this time, as Thirty Two must be at rest to upgrade unless under the influence of a Moment of Inspiration that allows it.]

>>276440
32“Havs… er. Sir? I don’t actually know your…”
>Havs”Just call me sir for now boy, I don’t have a real rank, just a veteran whos been around too long”
“Sir, I wanted to report about the last time I encountered the village.The village major just wanted me to leave saying he didn't want soldiers around that were unwilling to protect them. Is that an angle you could work with?”
>”Honestly, that’s fair standard offerings if we aren’t going to raze them into the ground. However, it’s a good catch, didn’t take ya for the sort.”
“Is there anything I can do to hel…”
>”Trust me, you just being there will be more than I need in help. Big strong, good intimidation factor for a normal type. I suspect if this is anything like the report its going to be annoyingly boring if anything.”

>>276441
While walking along, an idea for this presently awkward melee weapon disk comes to mind. The item seems rather fond of being wire and rope, maybe it’s a returnable throwing item?

I hold onto the disk with my right hand awkwardly and attempt a throwing motion onto the ground. Unfortunately, holding and throwing appear about polar opposites to eachother, and instead the thing just drops onto the ground. I quietly pick it up as the others look back at me, and proceed to move forward.

[Combat Perception >= level 2]
As we begin walking towards the village, the three force champions in lockstep behind the diplomat. I notice that as he has been walking around, the robe cloak thing wrapped around his body, that he is fairly obviously moving his hands around underneath that cloak. I can’t tell exactly what, but he definitely has a blade of some sort under there, and probably a few other things.

Heh, I think I like this diplomat already.

…

Major”I see your point, but its unacceptable to go back on a person’s word I say”
>”And I must respectfully point out that the situation has changed, let me explain..”

Arg, he wasn’t kidding when he said this might end up being annoyingly boring. Though I guess its worth watching how this sort of thing is done. Lets see, well, there is a lot of flair to his movements, though I note that his cloak seems to be not revealing that blade I suspect is there either way. He speaks noticeably slower, he’s less of an ass and the like.

[Diplomacy skill up .1, Concealment .05]

“I… hmm. Still, we demand to stay out of this as a whole.
>”I understand your concerns, but this goes farther than that…”

Its so very much boring though. Catalina looks around bored, then at the disk on my left hand, then up at me, then Kyon, then back at the negotiations… fidgety that one. Kyon seems to be intently listening… or half asleep, a bit hard to tell.

”It still stands! An agreement was made. Leave now
>”Very well then… I accept your surrender”

As the Major just blinks, Havs takes the moment to flip off what appeared as a robe, instead now revealed to be more of a long cloak. Inside of it though is a series of… rods? And.

BOOM!

From the man erupts a swirling vortex of light, as multiple bolts of lightning it seems appears to strike him. His voice begins to spread, as much of a boom of the thunder of those eruptions at this point. The Major, and all those nearby seem to have fallen to the ground, whole on my side, Kyon seems to be looking at his hands, Catalins is staring and braced to the ground, and I note a burst of wind hitting us.

>”The Mosmorden Empire gave you the chance you be accepted on your own terms. This area is to fall under our total control immediately, and no one will be harmed or killed if you comply. This is the final offer.

I KNEW I would like this guy.

”yes, yes… im sorry, I… I… I thought there was… and…
>”There is no need for worry, the area will be…”

Suddenly though, I hear a sharp snapping sound, and people off in the distance begin yelling.

”Ah…ah… ack… Guimu! … fekk”

Catalina: “the…. What is going on?”

Watching off in the distance, a vague figure begins to rush towards the scene. Humanoid… but with some kind of giant pack on his back?

”HALT VILLAINS!”

Suddenly, the figure takes a surprisingly high leap into the air, traversing a good twenty five feet in a single leap, and landing next to the village Major.

A small rumble of the ground takes place, as the Major and Havs are both caught off guard and end up tumbling into the mud like ground. However, the rumble appears to be weak here, and no one else is notably effected.

”Evildoers beware! For I ammmmmmm Guimu the Turtle Tamer!

I just stare at the odd figure and say nothing, hes a bit more impressive than most. He stands at nearly my own height, and a lot more massive girth. Though notably, most if it does not seem to be muscle, but pure fat. The guy must weigh at least as much as I do though in pure body, and hes wearing a MASSIVE turtle shell of a mud brown and green coloring, shimmering against the light in an oddly polished surface that reminds me of a dull yet polished meta. This shell covers all of the back of his body except for his head. In his hands is a rather crudely it seems made mace, with a handle held in both of his hands of multiple layers of bound wood or possibly large reeds, and a spherical, purely blunt head that is almost a meter in diameter, that is covered in a series of geometric patterns such as pentagons and arches with intermixed black and brown marks.

Heh, so a tub of lard with an oversized weapon and a hero complex… im pretty sure I can beat that out of him. I begin to reach for my spear, when suddenly I remember I have that damn disk in my left hand still, and though I could draw my spear with only my right, it would be a pain to wield that well. Bah, nonetheless if this is the village’s ‘hero’, they’re going to need a new one soon.

I do have a moment though, as this Guimu person is presently lifting his leg into the air and seems to be about to stomp it to the ground near him, his knees bent for a possible charge while a good twenty or so feet away from us. Glancing around, Kyon is looking towards me, his hands glowing more brightly than I had seen before. Catalina has a grin on her face and is reaching for her broadsword on her back, looking about to jump into the battle herself. The Major of the village is scrambling to get up, while Havs is rolling away from the large interloper.

>What should I do? Should I say anything, or just let my fists and/or weapon do the talking?
>Do I give any orders to my two person ‘squad’ to jump in or stand down?
>Should I look around for anything else in particular? This could be what the village hides for its safety, or maybe just a distraction?

[Rolling for others arriving, nat 20 causes Sgts. Sullivan and Lysander to arrive, Sgt. Reinhold and Squads cannot arrive yet.]

rolled 7, 13, 16 = 36

---

[Rollan for: 32, then Kyon and Catalina, if we can roll for them]

First, try to twist apart the Chakram, as if peeling it back into a straight object, to see if that will revert it to an earlier form. If it does, then hey try that whip-crack as rope to convert to chain trick to instantly bind him or put several meters of chain moving at supersonic speeds right in his face.

If it doesn't workd, just clip it to your belt-if you don't have generic loops to hold objects on your belt you have some severe equipment issues-then heft the spear in both hands, aim it at his shell, but be ready to divert it aside to either his head/throat, or either of his upper inner thighs. You want to either skewer a brain, or cut a major artery.

Throw the Disc at his arm, then bumrush him while whipping out your spear. He doesn't seem like the most intelligent individual, he should take the bait and swing at you. At the last instant duck down and swipe at his ankle. Take out his foot and the rest of the battle is won.

Provided he can't heal of course.

That Guimnu guys might be trying to throw you guys off-balance by calling forth a minor earth-quake. Seems implausible, but only if he's a normal human, you can't ever be sure what hidden strengths people hide under the cover.

Anyway, your spars with Morgren will come very much in handy. He looks like a person who strongly relies on strength and not finesse, so the lessons how to use enemies strength and momentum against them will find good appliance here.

Try to throw him on his back to Kyon and have him punch him in the face. Try not to kill him if possible.

Don't lose your disc. If you can put it on your belt or in your backpack, then do it. Then take your speak and try to break his mace.

So ... he has a turtle shell .... a real turtle shell on his back.
A MASSIVE TURTLE SHELL
AND he calls himself a turtle tamer....
that can't be good.

He's going to call forth his massive turtle ninja minions LOOK OUT!

When you get a chance,
Tap with your finger on your Chakram to see if anything will help.
Try to lay it down flatly on the ground.
Hold it at different positions and angles (like horisonatal, vertical, etc)

Ah shit
if you have no place to put your chakram just throw it at his leg or something.
Try not lose it though.... that would suck.

Hah, completely forgot about the magic heart and body runes.

Use them if you feel you need to.

This guy doesn't seem particularly bright, illusion is going to completely throw him of balance.

rolled 19, 16, 6, 17, 16 = 74

---

>>276920
[Rolling is allowed for other characters; however, it is generally more a support for trying to ‘lead’ them into combat, how well they respond, or work together. With no orders given by 32, the rolling ends up doing nothing this time.]

I decide that first things first, I need to do something about this disk, and fast. Taking it in both hands, I try peeling it back as if reforming it into a single ‘line’; however, the metal refuses to give, the same thing occurs when I try pulling it ‘apart’ from the inside, and I don’t dare spend much more time.

>>277358
I then try tapping on the metal of the disk in some hope it will revert, this only produces a slight ting-ing sound, and I see Kyon and Catalina are now all eyes on me.

>>277290
I consider throwing the thing, but hell if I’m going to lose it in some random swamp. Backpack… no, fekk, sharp object, backpack holds tent… BELT!

BOOM!

Definitely spent more time thinking than I should have, as the tub of lard is now firmly planted on the ground. Definitely not an earthquake, just a small shake. I quickly loop a string of my belt to the Chakram, looking down quickly to not cut my….

”FEKK! LOOK OUT!”

I glance up quickly to see a giant slab of fat and shell almost directly in front of… I briefly glance Catalina smashing her sword into the side of Guimu, sparks flying off where the blow meets. I see the handle of the mace at face level, the last thing...

[??? Not unlocked >=1: Fails]
I desperately try to dive back somehow, to move…
>>278147
The heart… it might

Laughter ebbing away…
Sinking earth, the taste of mud in my mouth
Muscles strained, but familiar pressure building
Pain builds… but ebbs away as each thump comes.
A crushing weight, the world becomes…
A mess, stars and spots
Yellow, green and brown
Flashing lights…


My body coughs loudly as I punch into the ground, forcing myself out of the mud in a simmering rage. I can hardly believe I let myself get tackled by a Fyce-laden castl… ARG!

Pain ebbs away even faster, I stand up, pulling off my spear and spinning around to face the lucky Spookin laden twist im about to kill. Mud flings off, my breastplate slightly sagging in it, and caked slightly, but slugging off my legs.

I see Catalina charging at the front of Guimu, her blade horribly chipped on one side. Kyon stands a few feet behind her, his hands glowing, walking cautiously behind her, seemingly unwilling to get between the sword and mace wielder as she lunges silently. It seems I am now behind Guimu a good ten feet, facing a giant wall of shell that skims the ground in sheer bulk. Now facing his back, I see that he has a variety of… supernatural looking trinkets of some sort? Mostly mostly totems of turtles it seems…ack, my head hurts. Still, good reminder why hes going to die. Fekkin shell though covers his entire body well tough on the sides and back it looks like. Very smooth and fairly shiny, with natural ridges, and muted but similar colors to the mace head.

[Combat Perception >=1]

Looking at the ground briefly, I definitely see blood leading up to the turtle shell, no idea whos though except that I don’t feel like I’m cut or bleeding. The big question though is…
>How am I going to tear this fekkin tub of lard apart?

[D20’s represent in order: Guimu’s, Lysander/Sullivan arrival imminant at 18+, Reinhold and Squads on nat 20, Magitech Heart.]

Jump up on his back, grab the top lip of his turtle shell with both hands and plant as massive a kick as you can to the back of his overgrown ugly head.
Then remove trinkets as fast as possible.

>>278375
He wears a shell

Which covers his torso.

His back is to you.

So are the backs of his knees.

You have a spear?

I shouldn't need to finish the thought, but take yon spear, stab yon legs in the back of the knees. Only need to hit one, and unless he has some form of regeneration, he will be crippled enough to wildly shift the flow of the fight.

Seriously, don't bother with anything else right now. Don't go for a kill, or to prove you can break the shell, or attempt to take the talismen.

Just fuck up his mobility-NOTHING is more important than that right now, since fucking his mobility will make all those other challenges far more easily surmounted.

Send an arm image at his head if he starts turning towards you or otherwise makes you think he's spotted you-the priority is still stabbing the fuck out of his legs.

>>278473
This,

If he insists on fighting further, jump and stab him in the neck through the crack between the shell and his neck. Or heck, just stab him in his head.
Though I wouldn't mind not killing him.

Also, he got a 19 on his roll. That might be a problem.

Distract him with your body rune for having better chance at successfully attacking him.

Shout to Kyon and Catalina to attack from both flanks. Tell Kyon to get his act together and not hide behind the girl, what are you, a pussy?
Tell Catalina to find weak spots thrust her sword rather than slashing at heavily armored foe.

We'll attack him on three sides at once. He'll have lower chance at defending.

>>278606

Have our body illusion attack from the front.
That will confuse him seeing that we were just behind him.
Have the illusion attack earlier than Kyon and Catalina so that he readies to defend against it, leaving openings for the rest of us.

Tell Kyon to go low while Catalina aims for high preferably head/neck.

Have Kyon attack right knee with his full might to try to shatter it. We are going to attack the left knee from behind with our spear >>278473.

Oh right and give the orders in Mosmordred tongue, or in codes (if such have been taught in military, if not, don't do it).
I assume these guys don't speak the Glorious Tongue (though in which language we have been conversing is beyond me)

rolled 19 = 19

---

Also rollan for Kyon and Catalina

rolled 18 = 18

---

>>278649
dammit.

This one is for Catalina

>>278649
>>278652
In terms of how to lead/direct them, some sort of three angle attack would actuall be a good idea, with you three forming the points of an equilateral triangle. It is hard as shit, ESPECIALLY if one is not particularly fit, slim, and is restricted by a turtle shell. Basically, no matter how defended his legs, if pulled in his shell they may be, or how well his torso is-his arms, his head, flesh exists to be struck at. I say, spear man, you go for the face/neck, Catalina goes for the off arm, and Kyon goes for the Weapon bearing hand. It suits their specialties, maximizes wounding probability AND minimizes the chance his attack will be lethal, since Kyon is your defender type.

Worst case scenario, Kyon somehow has arms broken and you/Catalina strike home, or he moves to strike at you or catalina, one of your strike home while Kyon moves to render the attack by this guy as negligible as possible.

Death is not some grand thing as some think-it is an inevitability, with the only question being when. As such, death is really just an equation.

Your just looking for favorable results.

[ATTEMPT TO USE FATALISM TO REACH 'MATHAMANCER' EMOTIONAL/METAL SKILL]

rolled 16, 4, 8, 9, 3, 14 = 54

---

>>278648
[32 like many of the soldiers is fluent in both Common and Mosmorden tongues. Communication with 'outsiders' will always default to common.]

[It is also worth noting that the shell covers something like this o] The shell from behind covers from top of head all the way to skimming the ground with no openings. Openings appear slightly from the sides, primarily at the tops and bottoms, and at the front provides no protection.]

>>278375
>[Magitech Result 17+, Combat Senses >=2 FAIL]

>>278379
I consider at first leaping onto the back of the lardass and striking at his head.

[Combat Perception >= 2]
However, I am mentally reminded of how smooth that shell looks like. I quickly estimate that attempting to grab it without some form of aid would cause me to slip. Grasping this even in my simmering, silent, fury I decide to go for a different route.

>>278473
[Contempt Override, ??? Override]
Take Spear. Stab. This is a plan I can get behind.

I charge forward, wielding my spear in both of my hands, heavy steps meeting the ground as I begin to thrust to go through the overgrown asses shell.

In the moments that pass, Catalina strikes with a powerful downwards thrust, as Guimu suddenly begins to spin like a children's toy in his present spot. Building extreme speed instantly in a clockwise direction. I see Catalina's blade fly off, deflected by the shell now in its place, her weapon flying out of her hands. For a second I see the fat body and nearly taste its pain.... only to see my spear bash into the spinning shell and deflect with the momentum of the turn harmlessly, and nearly like Catalina out of my grasp. However, I do manage to see his fist extended and try to cry out.

>>278473
19 vs 18 [Catalina fails to respond in time]

“INCO....”

I stop suddenly, stunned as I know that I spoke, but no words coming out that I could hear. Damnit of all the...

>>278649
19 vs 19 [Kyon Passes, Improbable Odds bonus]

As I expect to see impact, I instead see a blur of blue light. Kyon suddenly intercepting the blow from Guimu's punch inches before impact with Catalina with an open, glowing, palm. I do not hear, but I do SEE a sheer reverberation smash through Kyon's and Guimu's bodies, the shell on his back quaking as if I had punched it at full force. Kyon seems to fare less well though than the giant shell, falling to his knee and panting slightly. However, it is as I maneuver into position towards the front of our enemy that I see both his hands and feet are now glowing much more brightly than I had ever seem them, the light seemingly piercing Kyon's armor. Catalina is off balance in a late dodge, but quickly remedying that.

>>278846
>>278619
>>278608
[Catalina's 18 and Kyon 19's hold for Command]

I decide I must ignore the risk I cannot speak for now, Kyon seemed to have reacted, and there is no time to delay while the foe is off guard. I begin speaking in the glorious tongue to bypass this foe's attention and sheer unlikelyhood to know such noble things. I can't tell well what I'm saying, so I decide to keep it short.

“Catalina! Off arm. High, NOW. Kyon, UP! Weapon arm, low. Me. HIS HEAD MINE. TRINAGLE SURROUND!”

Military instincts kick in, Kyon immediately standing and punching towards Guimu's arm while he still seems offguard, I rush around near Guimu's left arm and break off a full body rune towards his bac....

Fekkin ARGGG, its not... why is... ARG. FEKK IT! I'm killing this bastard, ability to conjure that or not. I rush up towards the front of Guimu, who it seems has decided to stop holding onto his maul with one hand and using only his fist as his preferred attack of before. Threatening smashes blocked by shimmering hands, but forcing Kyon back.

Catalina seems to be holding back and waiting, Kyon taking a chance to disengage from combat now as they begin to obey my positioning orders. Catalina now sporting what I suspect is why she is called the Clawed, her arms bulging slightly, veins pulsing, and her hands covered in what appears like flowing rock, with her fingers now foot and a half claws of that same rock.

I cannot hear, but I see Guimu's lard shudder from what I suspect to be his laughing. I shall no longer take this, charging in, my spear pointed to his head, as the others fall into the attack moments later. With myself at the Castelborn fekkin BASTARD!

[Combat Perception >=2]
I note as I charge that a wound exists on Guimu's body, a clean cut of a few inches length that occurs approximately where his liver and a ton of fat should exist beneath. It bleeds well enough to explain the blood on the ground, but seems to be slowing.

As the other two charge in approximately at his left and right hands location, I leap for my blow.

BABUM
BA-BUM
BABUMBABUM
I see into the lardasses eyes, staring in a red glow back at me. He suddenly begins falling.. or did I jump too high? or...

Guimu falls to the ground, withdrawing into the turtle shell like the animal itself for a moment, my leap sending myself vaulting overhead. I loudly curse into the taunting silence, landing diligently on the other side, refusing to give the bastard a moment of relief from my fury.

Turning around, I find myself in an annoyingly similar position to where I was previously, openly cursing the air more. Rage builds as I attempt to gain the situation again. Staring at the back of his shell Guimu suddenly stands up again, swinging his maul towards the flat footed Catalina, who is delivered a blow to the chest that I see dents her armor and sends her to the ground. The large maul swinging wildly after the hit, Guimu reigning it in with both his hands. I JUST CANT.... ARGG

“Ill kill you feekin lardass! ILL KILL YOU! You needlin mage feltin Spect....”

Guimu it seems responds to this, and begins what I assume to be saying something... Kyon it seems needs no more introduction to attack than that, leaping at the lardasses head and wrapping his left arm around Guimu in a headlock, his right palm pressed into the bastard's face.

Heh, an opening at last, and as I begin to charge forward with my spear, I consider how to take this fekkin waste of breath down.

>What attack should I cleave into this bastards flesh with this exploitable opening? Do I risk Kyon's hands or body to deliver a more likely fatal blow?
>Is there anything else to consider before I make a move?

[Dice rolls as before]

rolled 10, 14 = 24

---

blow all remaining illusions on making your attack look like its coming from on high, as a downward stab. He will try to flip Kyon over to intercept blow. instead, you will be using your even more boosted form to dart in low as shit, and stab upwards. He won't be able to flip Kyon about in time to intercept the blow-you will have him.

Then deactivate the heart immediately.

rolled 17 = 17

---

Hey, 32, man ... calm down.
Is this how a soldier of Glorious Empire behaves himself? Charging blindly in rage? Do you think Empire craved out its magnificence as crudely as you are right now?
I mean, striking his turtle shell with your spear? Come on man ...


Anyway, throw your disk at his exposed wound.
Then thrust your spear in his neck. Don't hit Kyon though.

Also shout for Catalina to get her shit together, if the Lard man is attack her while she's dazed tell her where to evade.

[Rolling for 32]

rolled 75 = 75

---

Also,

This time of crisis
Unlock the secrets of your heart
Look deep inside you
and it will open up to you
There must be more
You need to go full out
You can't let yourself be embaressed
By this tub of lard
Open his ribcage
Feast on his heart

[rollan for heart secrets]

>>279803
Thoughts flit through my head, and my breath begins to quietly and slow.

>>279808
[Minor Lyrical Bonus, 75 > 50, 60, 70]
[??? Negates, Fatalism revives]

I start realizing that my rage had begun to overtake me. I can feel my breath begin to slow, I feel all of my hearts begin to pump in a new form of synchronization. My Magitech heart, which I note in hindsight I could feel previously shaking erratically inside my body, I feel instead stabilize. A bit of shaking I had not noticed throughout my body begins to subside, and I postulate within a fragment of a moment how this may have been affecting my heart in some way…

I shout out, my mind racing, despite my body’s pressure overall slowing, an odd combination. A moment of solace in the quiet of death, and the leeching of time that occurs when one nears it.

“Cat. UP! Attack.”

>>279727
I at this same moment attempt to conjure all three illusion runes, yelling out each summoning word with little care for stealth in an attempt to make it work. I immediately command all illusions in my mind to charge forward at Guimu’s face.

[10 vs 16 Guimu wins]
Whom at this point, I note to have removed Kyon’s hand and is struggling to throw him off while not letting go of his maul.

Exactly as predicted though, Guimu it seems responds poorly to suddenly seeing a huge spear go for his face, and sort of throws Kyon with a pure shrug towards me; however, it is at this time I begin my attack.

[Roll of 17 for 32, 16 for Guimu]
Deciding to throw everything I have into this, I grab the disk with a single hand, using the enhanced strength to hold my spear single handedly. Though experienced with some dart like weapons, this is a bit new, but the principle seems simple as I desperately throw a bit wide to avoid the body hurtling towards me, falling down to my knees and sliding as I continue forward, Kyon flying overhead.

Using fractions of seconds, I make a sorry leap in hope of more force, jamming my spear into Guimu’s body. I begin meeting far more resistance than I expected, and just keep trying to push more, demanding that death take this offering.

In—out—
Ba—Bum—
In---Out---

Looking up, I see that only my speartip has actually gone into Guimu’s body, his life blood leeching out slightly from around the dull metal. The disk it seems also made its mark, far to the right of where I intended, but I see it lodged painfully in his gullet also. Three marks now bleeding on his left side, and two weapons in his body.

I deactivate my magitech heart, a successful hit landed, and what almost feels like roar enters my ears as the sound of the wind, screams, running, so many feet running from death’s visage enter my ears. Clamoring of feet, rustling of metal on earth…

A roar of anger, as I look up at the face of Guimu with full comprehension for the first time in a while. The volume almost stunning compared to what I had been through in silence.

I suspect he is about to say something, when suddenly I hear a crack in the wind, a shocking and shuddering sensation through my body travels up my spear. This ends up forcing me to let go of my spear and zaps my attention to one knee. I hear the voice of the aging diplomat boom suddenly. My mind reaches out in the shock, and I sense my left hand’s illusion has flown hundreds of feet in the distance with no focus but to have it accelerate.

>{Hasv]”As foul mouthed as the boy may be, you need to learn your place and accept the glory your death will bring to the empire”

Guimu also seems stunned, giving me a moment to stand. However, I can’t see Hasv from this direction, the sheer blob and proximity of Guimu making a sickening musk in the air and a sight blocking blob of flesh. I feel some sweltering heat and sweat, and I’m holding something metal in my right hand, I can feel it…

In that same thought, my periphery sees that Guimu is now holding his maul with only his right hand, and is throwing his other fist towards me, only a second away from impact. I can feel the slob's flesh resting on parts of my breastplate, my blood pumping and ready to go again though with sizable time until the heart is ready once more.
[Combat Senses > 1, Fail]

I only have time for one real question.

>What do I do now? Fight, Dodge, Grab my spear? Or something else.

rolled 15, 9, 5 = 29

---

[Forgot Dice]
Sullivan/Lysander, Reinhardt now on 18+ also, 3rd is ???.

>>280423
Grab the spear with all your forward momentum on top of his to use both your combined force to further drive it deeper through his armor, AND fuck with the aim of his maul. You may have to take the punch-you've been hit multiple times by this guy, have something of a sense for his speed and power-you CAN dodge his blows, at least enough you don't get blasted away-its not like he's showing much finesse in his attacks.

Then, depending on how well he recovers from the re-stabbing, if his legs are out-
dagger (don't tell me you don't have a knife on your person that would just be crazy for standard military gear to not include at least one knife) and shove it into that tissue right below his kneebone/kneecap, as hard as you can.

If he is somehow still not showing his legs, go for his armpit. SO MUCH BLOOD can spill from there.

rolled 2, 16, 15 = 33

---

and rollan for... 32, plan, and outside aid, why not.

rolled 11 = 11

---

Damn, this asshole just doesn't go down.

Tell Kyon to kick him with all his might into his balls!

He should at least bend down from the massive pain.
If you have spear in your hand, thrust it into his eye.
Also, if you can manage, grap the chakram and try to slice his neck.

[For KYON!]

rolled 17 = 17

---

Oh and tell Catalina to stab him in the head when he bends down.

rolled 6, 16 = 22

---

>>280430
[Outside aid for now, due to lack of incoming aid, will default to Hasv. As he is not under 32’s direct chain of command]

>>280429
[Guimu actually wears no armor outside of the large shell on his back. His front is shirtless, revealing his tanned flesh the spear is presently jammed into, and he is wearing a pair of tattered pants. No shoes/boots even, very mud colored feet.]
I decide that this moment must be taken to push harm onto my attacker, even at a greater risk in cost of wellbeing. Looking down though, I see not the spear I expected in my hand, but the metal rope. Dropping it to the ground, I grab my spear with both my hands and try to plunge it deeper into his body, pressing against his body for leverage, but getting annoyingly little extra forward force, as his body proves more resistant than…

[Thirty Two’s roll = 2, ??? Skill Undefined, no dodging occurs]
A yell and a crack of bone against bone
Red and yellow dots blur vision
Rolling inside my skull, pain resonating
An all too familiar crash against earth
Feeling of blood flowing, pulsing behind my head.


I cough into the ground, shaking my head, clearing up some of the throbbing in my head in the process. I leap up quickly, refusing to be caught off guard, and survey the situation as it stands quickly.

I am only just outside of Guimu's effective range, having rolled slightly in my fall to be about seven feet away.

Catalina has stood up, although notably looking fatigued or pained for a moment. She seems to shake this off though; and she looks in between where I and she stand, her broadsword still in poor condition and a good fifteen feet away from her, ten feet from myself. She seems to sigh slightly, and her eyes steel with resolve as her arms once more bulge and turn into rock, charging towards Guimu.

I glance towards Guimu, and see that Kyon has already stood up and is rushing towards the giant mass of fat and shell, but with notable hesitation as Guimu seems to be readied again, maul in both hands.

[Combat Perception >= 1, PASS]
I note with some major annoyance that Guimu almost seems to not be bleeding at all at this moment. How does one dare to ignore Death's call with such impudence? Despite the growing marks on his body, there is little to indicate his wounds but some tearing of flesh. The metal rope is also still at Guimu’s feet.

[Hasv Roll: 17]
Being not close enough to smell Guimu this time, I also now see the middle aged diplomat, holding a relatively thin blade in his right hand and some sort of stick made of metal in his left. He strikes the two objects together, and I see a flash of light briefly before he strikes Guimu’s shell with the blade. This seems to cause the same stunning effect I had noted before on Guimu, holding on desperately to his maul as his legs seem to want to give.

[Combat Perception >=2, PASS]
I note at the moment of this attack, that the bleeding that had been mysteriously absent before now seems to come full swing again. The multiple cuts on his body now leeching blood, and my spear still locked in his body begins to stain itself in Death’s bloodlust. This only seems to stay true for awhile though, as the bleeding begins to slow notably within seconds.

I decide though there is no time to waste on this opening, I begin to yell commands in the glorious tongue that shall spell doom to the fool.

[Kyon: 11, Catalina: 17]
Kyon! Kosham [Cause Harm/Kick] him in the balls. Catalina, cut off his head.

Having no weapons at this time, but full faculties… in spite of the throbbing behind my head and on the side. I need to decide how to act now, and fast. Only five or so seconds have passed in total since I lodged my spear in the giant gullet.

>Do I decide to charge in, and hope to also take advantage of the momentary distraction somehow despite being weaponless?
>Do I do something else in an attempt to gain the upper hand? Grab the fallen broadsword first, maybe react instead to however Guimu counter attacks, or focus on something else?
>[Either choice, I need two single D20 rolls from two different posters versus Guimu’s own. No reinforcement rolls possible until next post.]

>>280558
grab the metal rope, which is quite OBVIOUSLY looped around both his legs, or will be once pulled into play correctly-

Activate the magitech heart in charge, and move to upend him. He can't be so heavy you can't move him with the multi-tool, so upset him on his back. Treat him like a turtle.

Catalina and Kyon can help drop this thing.

rolled 15 = 15

---

If you think you can do it without losing your momentum, grab the broadsword and throw it to Cat. Of course shout to her that you'are doing it.

That metal rope, is your magical rope, right? Grab it, it should be razorsharp, right? You could try to sever his legs.
Or try to get on his head like Kyon did and sever his head.

rolled 8 = 8

---

Yes.

>>280701
[The metal rope is the ‘magical’ rope, yes. However, in rope form there are no sharp edges to use against an enemy. The rope’s present form will always be referred to in relation to before mentioned forms that 32 discovered and/or those summarized now. ‘Wire’ is the two foot long form with handles, which is sharp except on the handles. ‘Rope’ is twenty feet of non sharp metal rope, ‘Chain’ is 50 feet of metal chain, also non sharp. ‘Chakram’ or ‘disk’ is the throwing disk, which has a sharp outside. All transformations from one form to another glow slightly, and take approximately one second to transition.]


>>280783
>[8 vs 16, fail. Guimu dosen’t get stupidly enraged vs 32.]
I note that Guimu for a moment looks rather angrily in my direction, risking the expense of opening himself to everyone else; however, this seems to shake off him and he readies against all comers.

>>280701
>[15 vs 6, Hasv is ignored by Guimu.]
All comers that is except Hasv, who it pulling out another metal rod and it seems ready to replicate his prior stunning attack unmolested behind Guimu.

>>280624

I come up with an idea, and decide I need to stall out the five or so seconds until my heart is ready again. I run towards Catalina’s broadsword, taking advantage of her greater distance to Guimu, and yelling for her to “Catch” as I toss the broadsword in the air.

[Previous Leadership Roll: 17, Passes]
Her claws disappearing, she just grins a bit and flips the sword to its non broken edge without losing a bit of stride in her step. Actually, she seems practically emboldened by the act. An odd affection for a weapon I suppose, but at least mine is doing actual damage compared to the pathetic thing.

Turning around, I begin running towards the collision of all the forces on the field excluding myself.

I briefly see a flash of light once again, as the diplomat almost contemptuously just strikes his blade once again onto the shell of the Death heretic. With this flash disappearing, and the now known effects on Guimu, I see Kyon with his now known to be usual air of calm immediately dive in at the opening, and obey his orders just like a good solder sho…

...

As much as I hate Guimu, I can’t help but feel some sympathy pain there, glowing feet DO NOT make that look any less painful…. Hehhaha, enjoyable show there.

As my thought flits from my mind, the joy of the sight is broken from a deep boom of sheer rage from Guimu.

[i]“RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH RAH! AHHHHHHHHH!”/i]

He almost THROWS his entire body into a very ill conceived swing of his maul that seems to have no real target. Kyon though cannot avoid having his side smashed by the wooden end of the maul and tumbling into the ground with an accompanying audible crack. Catalina at this point is too close, and as blind as the swing is, shes headed straight for it.

“WATC…”

Catalina though, either takes my warning, or as I suspect merely knows the right thing to sacrifice to death, throwing her blade directly into the path of the maul. There is no real resistance though as the maul just shatters the blade into fragments of shrapnel, Catalina losing her footing from shock and falling onto the ground below, but as appropriate for one so bold, not offered to death’s pyre yet.

[??? Unknown Skill FAIL, Combat Perception >= 1 PASS, Combat Senses >= 1 FAIL, Partial Total Success]
I sense an opportunity has opened though, and Death shall speak through me this time no matter what. I see a large opening in Guimu’s stance, and charge in ready to do whatever it is I must. I grab one end of the metal rope off the ground, in response to my earlier idea, and consider what it IS that I must do.

Charging into this spare opening, I note a few things of immediate relevance.
-My spear is still lodged into his body, within grabbing distance, though somewhat awkwardly as I am on Guimu's left side.
-My Magitech Heart is ready to go again.
-I smell something vaguely familiar besides Guimu’s musk in the air around him.
-Guimu is definitely still yelling, and his eyes stare ahead practically crimson like some sort of mythological demon.

>Do I still stick with the plan to upend him with brute force and try to use the rope against him?
>Or do I try something different, garner blows of opportunity against him, or something more subtle?

[D20’s for reinforcements, still arrive on 18+ for both. D20's not needed with any plan, High rolls (16+) for 32 will help, Low rolls will hurt (5-).]