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263831 No. 263831 ID: 69bee4

Golem Dreamer Quest
For some, their twelfth birthday is a time of passage, the beginning of the journey to manhood, or the time they become an apprentice so I’ve been told… for me, I remember an executioner, the smell of my own fathers blood hanging in the air after those fated words ‘… Found Wanting at a time of critical need for the Mosmorden Empire.”

From that moment, I was given a choice, to live and redeem myself for my parent’s failure, or to die with them for their failures. I suppose they saw it as a mercy, to spare me the certain failure I faced, to spare someone of such poor stock.

However, I made a vow that day upon my release, that I would never beFound Wanting like my parents. I would succeed any challenge thrown at me, I would live through any time the Deep came for me, and I would someday command the power of death itself, to make sure failure would never be an option.

So that began to define entry into such a manhood. Taken into the care of the state, I began nearly a decade of change and training that would dominate my life. In training, I did not escape the specter of death, as it claimed person after person, some deserving, some only taken out of a vindictive spite for those who dared to challenge it. Fellow supplicants fell like leaves, yet where where I watched those more talented than I fall, I however refused to allow my own life to end, I dared fire, frost, falls into the abyss, I was subjected to the whims of mage apprentices and their exuberant sadism, given no other command but to do to us what they willed, and that our death was acceptable. I saw dozens of my fellows die when being subjected to rounds of plagues and infections to harden our systems and weed out the weak. So many more enter into the buildings where the changes were made, than ever come back.

Over time my body was morphed, I have been informed short of my brain, there is not a single organ I lack a backup for. That no single blow should be enough, unless my head itself were to be removed or body eviscerated. I nearly died twice during the augmentation process, and the emperor himself found my refusal to let death claim me amusing during an inspection of the training grounds. It was with this I was given my options, a choice of growth for my training….

I, given my name Thirty Two upon my graduation, the thirty second survivor of this program of a class of one thousand, was visited by the Eyes of Death within that program, and given a set of special choices that met the Directors whims for the final augmentation. This one would be my extra heart, and it was with his blessing that I could see some direction of the way combat would take me.
Major overview of 32’s Characteristics: 32 is an Alchemical Soldier, and as such has been extremely augmented. All of his organs have redundancies except his brain, all physical characteristics such as Strength, Stamina, and Reflexes are thrice that of a normal adult human, including a minor regeneration rate measured in days and weeks.

As cost of all the augmentation, all Graduates owe approximately 1000 Marks to the empire, paid by serving for at least 5 years in the army. All officers of sufficient rank have the discretion though to award pay for acts they feel are above the normal call of duty towards this debt. As such, few serve a full 5 years, either by death or honor. It is at this point that a soldier can earn and take a name beyond its number.

As I recall those days, I remember the options given to me…

Optional Augment
Magitech Heart (This option adds an additional 500 marks owed to the Empire): What the Eyes of Death offered me as a ‘gift’ for 'failure to die'. Acting as a third heart, this can be invoked to cause a flurry of raw, primal magic to suffuse 32’s body temporarily, causing a further temporary augmentation of his overall physical characteristics. However, 32 would also be given a final warning that the use of such magic was not without its risks…

Combat Magic Augmentations, one MUST be chosen.
Illusion Soul Runes (This option adds an additional 500 marks owed to the Empire) : Ritualistic tattoos carved into 32’s body serve as pre made illusions that can be conjured when needed. Consisting of high quality Soul Runes on each of his hands, and one on his body for a total of three. When called upon, the hand runes conjure an illusory arm with weapon that in all ways looks real to normal sight, and can be easily viewed by anyone that lasts up to a minute. When the Torso rune is used, a body double is created with similar perceived realness; however, lasting only up to thirty seconds. Recharge on each rune is automatic, and is approximately known to be from the point of full use a full nights rest, or a full day and night if constantly on the move with no rest. A rune’s effect can be ended prematurely to preserve charge.

Will Induced ‘Time Slow’ Combat Magic: Through focus of mind, 32’s can force his perception of the world to make it seem as though it has slowed down. During this state, any issue of fatigue can also be fully ignored. However, 32 learns quickly there is some form of recoil with this that can occur, and cause him to become more exhausted after use.

World based ‘Survivalist’ Combat Magic: This form of Combat Magic passively acts to protect the user from the worst effects of the ravages of extreme conditions. It also handily has capabilities to always allow 32 the ability to boil water in close proximity, and to use his hand to cause the effect usually needed by kindling for a fire. He has also been informed of some extreme basics of World magic, primarily the existence and ability with focus to detect a Leyline’s existence in order to augment his magic.

‘Weapon Ownership’ Combat Magic: When holding a purely metal weapon with predominantly iron bias, 32 literally can gain enough ownership with some time spent to call the weapon an extension of himself. This translates into an ability to understand approximate strength of a foe from blows against the weapons, know when the weapons durability is under threat, and when holding a foreign weapon, can sense the removal of a previous person’s ownership.

It was after this that would begin my move to the military, where I would be given my weapon, unusable in the hands of the normal, but now to be held in a form of Death itself.
Expand all images
>>
No. 263833 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 263836 ID: 7e74f1

I am all for "World based ‘Survivalist’ Combat Magic".
>>
No. 263837 ID: 7e74f1

the Magic tech heart sounds nice. Besides, what is a little more time in service.
>>
No. 263838 ID: d4f98d

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

Enhanced perception and chronal trickery is AMAZING.
>>
No. 263840 ID: 7e74f1

besides the augmentations, what are our other skills? Prefrences for certain weapons, overly charismatic, magic?
>>
No. 263841 ID: d4f98d

>>263838
Actually, I take it back, Grab the Weapon Ownership ability.
>>
No. 263842 ID: 6dd58d

Magitech Heart and Illusion Soul Runes, may as well go all in on this one.
>>
No. 263848 ID: 903f16

Magitech Heart and Time Slow sounds good to me.
>>
No. 263927 ID: d0d015

Magitech Heart and Illusion Soul Runes.
>>
No. 263954 ID: 69bee4
File 129219005013.png - (1.82MB , 1168x1475 , ScarsofYesterday.png )
263954

>>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

>>
No. 263957 ID: 6dd58d

Voting for #04.
>>
No. 263963 ID: a5b5fa

SCARS!
>>
No. 263973 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 263989 ID: d4f98d

Gonna go with 03.
>>
No. 263994 ID: d0d015

#04 - THE SCARS OF YESTERDAY
>>
No. 264027 ID: 903f16

Going to have to vote for #04.
>>
No. 264043 ID: 6dd58d

>>264042
I really hope you meant FONT there, otherwise I am going to need some brain bleach...
>>
No. 264044 ID: a2f0c7

I vote for #3
>>
No. 264047 ID: 21e57a

Soul Grave 3! ETERNAL FONT OF WAR. Let us be baptized by fire and blood.
>>
No. 264063 ID: 69bee4

rolled 2 = 2

rolling to see what Soul Grave wins, 1 is Font, 2 is Scars.
>>
No. 264072 ID: 69bee4
File 129221487593.jpg - (23.51KB , 162x215 , Creature.jpg )
264072

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?
>>
No. 264080 ID: a76809

>>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?
>>
No. 264093 ID: 5c517f
File 129222042881.png - (1.30MB , 1134x1058 , froggock.png )
264093

If you manage to slay the smaller ones, more attention could be paid to the larger enemies, less distractions to get in the way.
>>
No. 264107 ID: f2e624

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.
>>
No. 264229 ID: d4f98d

Cow the rest by killing the closest, an upward thrust through the jaw and into the brain
>>
No. 264264 ID: 21e57a

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.
>>
No. 264265 ID: 69bee4

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]
>>
No. 264266 ID: d0d015

rolled 73 = 73

rollan
>>
No. 264268 ID: 21e57a

rolled 11 = 11

Rocka Rolla
>>
No. 264284 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 264411 ID: d4f98d

>>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.
>>
No. 264444 ID: 21e57a

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.
>>
No. 264449 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 264465 ID: 69bee4

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?
>>
No. 264469 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 264470 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 264635 ID: 2b8d27

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.
>>
No. 264716 ID: 69bee4

rolled 18 = 18

[rolling a dice, on a 1 something happens]
>>
No. 264720 ID: 69bee4
File 129247464226.jpg - (8.21KB , 300x112 , HolyFloatinWeaponsBman.jpg )
264720

[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]
>>
No. 264725 ID: 62061c

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)
>>
No. 264750 ID: c70116

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.
>>
No. 264849 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 264855 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 264860 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 264865 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 264915 ID: 03d838

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.
>>
No. 264942 ID: c70116

"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.
>>
No. 265035 ID: 69bee4
File 129265419081.jpg - (55.47KB , 800x600 , #32.jpg )
265035

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.
>>
No. 265043 ID: f6360f

>>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.
>>
No. 265055 ID: 81f32a

>>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.
>>
No. 265063 ID: c70116

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.
>>
No. 265083 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 265111 ID: 69bee4

[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.]
>>
No. 265141 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 265207 ID: 69bee4

[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?
>>
No. 265209 ID: a76809

>>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
>>
No. 265285 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 265393 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 265396 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 265417 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 265610 ID: 69bee4

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?
>>
No. 265652 ID: a76809

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?
>>
No. 265772 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 265773 ID: 6dd58d

rolled 95 = 95

>>265772
And I forgot to throw a dice roll in for if it's needed.
>>
No. 265938 ID: 69bee4
File 129307059139.jpg - (31.85KB , 451x300 , Swamp.jpg )
265938

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.]
>>
No. 265966 ID: a76809

rolled 13 = 13

>>265938
>>
No. 265967 ID: a76809

>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.
>>
No. 265977 ID: 69bee4
File 129308063653.jpg - (60.71KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
265977

[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.]
>>
No. 266007 ID: 9a5057

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.
>>
No. 266009 ID: 9a5057

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.
>>
No. 266242 ID: 69bee4
File 129314850752.jpg - (32.12KB , 384x400 , old man.jpg )
266242

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?
>>
No. 266249 ID: b6269e

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).
>>
No. 266254 ID: a76809

>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?
>>
No. 266351 ID: 69bee4
File 129316454756.jpg - (60.89KB , 800x600 , 32.jpg )
266351

>>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?
>>
No. 266353 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 266416 ID: b6269e

>>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*
>>
No. 266500 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 266503 ID: 69bee4
File 129326092661.jpg - (62.23KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
266503

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.
>>
No. 266556 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 267006 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 267016 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 267137 ID: bdd665

>>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
>>
No. 267361 ID: b6269e

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.
>>
No. 267478 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 267489 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 267516 ID: b6269e

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!
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No. 267760 ID: 69bee4
File 129368956127.jpg - (39.42KB , 508x700 , Mongren.jpg )
267760

>>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.
>>
No. 267766 ID: d3dfb8

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!'
>>
No. 267768 ID: a76809

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]
>>
No. 267776 ID: 6dd58d

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.
>>
No. 267806 ID: b6269e

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.
>>
No. 267807 ID: b6269e

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.
>>
No. 267927 ID: 69bee4
File 12937578758.jpg - (62.46KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
267927

>>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?]
>>
No. 267939 ID: b6269e

I say agility, never hurts to be faster than you opponent.
>>
No. 267940 ID: d3dfb8

Wombat Perception!
>>
No. 267998 ID: a76809

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
>>
No. 268361 ID: 69bee4
File 129394125822.jpg - (62.43KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
268361

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?
>>
No. 268366 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 268461 ID: b6269e

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.
>>
No. 268733 ID: 69bee4

rolled 90, 2, 29 = 121

>>
No. 268739 ID: 69bee4

>>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+)
>>
No. 268746 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 268891 ID: bdd665

>>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?
>>
No. 268948 ID: 81f32a

>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.
>>
No. 269012 ID: 69bee4

rolled 99, 55, 58 = 212

>>
No. 269018 ID: 69bee4

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?
>>
No. 269019 ID: a76809

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?
>>
No. 269052 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 269279 ID: 69bee4

>>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.
>>
No. 269282 ID: a76809

>>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."
>>
No. 269471 ID: 81f32a

>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.
>>
No. 269478 ID: 81f32a

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?
>>
No. 269879 ID: 81f32a
File 129452071934.jpg - (92.81KB , 1674x977 , #32.jpg )
269879

The first fan-art belongs to me!
Hahaha
>>
No. 270106 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 270119 ID: a76809

"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?
>>
No. 270207 ID: 81f32a

>[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?
>>
No. 270524 ID: 69bee4
File 129472275930.jpg - (62.45KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
270524

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?
>>
No. 270545 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 270552 ID: 81f32a

>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.
>>
No. 270598 ID: 69bee4

>>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]
>>
No. 270694 ID: 487c9b

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.
>>
No. 270717 ID: 81f32a

>>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
>>
No. 270833 ID: 69bee4
File 129481516623.jpg - (31.95KB , 400x300 , ThreeMorgren.jpg )
270833

>>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?
>>
No. 270859 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 271081 ID: a76809

>>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?
>>
No. 271089 ID: 69bee4
File 129489317589.jpg - (131.70KB , 800x600 , AxeSquared.jpg )
271089

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.
>>
No. 271200 ID: 222dba

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.
>>
No. 271227 ID: 912103

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.
>>
No. 271254 ID: 69bee4

>>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.]
>>
No. 271417 ID: 69bee4

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.
>>
No. 271447 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 271831 ID: 69bee4

>>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?
>>
No. 271836 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 271840 ID: 81f32a

>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.
>>
No. 271852 ID: 69bee4

joke around and tell her that she looks pretty, even with her hair like that.
>>
No. 271855 ID: 69bee4

>>271852
ignore this, was intended for another quest in another window. Stupid refusal to delete.
>>
No. 272400 ID: 69bee4
File 129531674127.jpg - (62.71KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
272400

>>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?
>>
No. 272460 ID: 69bee4
File 129532264640.jpg - (63.06KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
272460

[improper character sheet uploaded, this one should be correct.]
>>
No. 272622 ID: b7494d

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)
>>
No. 272708 ID: 815cd1

>>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.
>>
No. 273313 ID: 69bee4
File 12955860345.jpg - (63.47KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
273313

>>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?
>>
No. 273326 ID: c291f1

>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.
>>
No. 273544 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 273663 ID: 815cd1

>>273544
Have to agree with this. That Major of the village certainly implied that they weren't willing to become part of the Empire.
>>
No. 273721 ID: 46c957

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!
>>
No. 273737 ID: 357d93

>>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.
>>
No. 274611 ID: 69bee4

>>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.]
>>
No. 274701 ID: 2d1c20

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
>>
No. 274702 ID: 2d1c20

>>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. 274704 ID: 8096df

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.
>>
No. 274768 ID: 05ca39

>>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
>>
No. 274776 ID: 69bee4

>>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.]
>>
No. 275124 ID: 69bee4
File 129610218687.jpg - (184.90KB , 739x1080 , Kyon the Ward.jpg )
275124

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?
>>
No. 275128 ID: 69bee4

[note: the 2d20 rolled are NOT negating your Equipment roll. This is for unrelated events.]
>>
No. 275134 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 275314 ID: 1d9796

>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?
>>
No. 275369 ID: a268d6

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.
>>
No. 275637 ID: 69bee4
File 129619646932.jpg - (146.69KB , 691x1024 , Sergeant Reinhold.jpg )
275637

>>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?
>>
No. 275774 ID: 64df73

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?
>>
No. 275793 ID: d3dfb8

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.
>>
No. 275814 ID: 5ffd04

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.
>>
No. 276021 ID: a76809

>>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!
>>
No. 276252 ID: 69bee4
File 129636003038.jpg - (66.78KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
276252

>>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.
>>
No. 276393 ID: 81f32a

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?
>>
No. 276440 ID: 276e18

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.
>>
No. 276441 ID: 276e18

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.
>>
No. 276918 ID: 69bee4
File 129652598437.jpg - (94.13KB , 382x491 , Hasv.jpg )
276918

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.]
>>
No. 276920 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 277017 ID: d3dfb8

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.
>>
No. 277290 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 277309 ID: 81f32a

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!
>>
No. 277358 ID: 81f32a

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)
>>
No. 277360 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 278147 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 278375 ID: 69bee4

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.]
>>
No. 278379 ID: d3dfb8

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.
>>
No. 278473 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 278516 ID: 81f32a

>>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.
>>
No. 278606 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 278608 ID: 81f32a

>>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.
>>
No. 278619 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 278648 ID: 81f32a

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)
>>
No. 278649 ID: 81f32a

rolled 19 = 19

Also rollan for Kyon and Catalina
>>
No. 278652 ID: 81f32a

rolled 18 = 18

>>278649
dammit.

This one is for Catalina
>>
No. 278846 ID: a76809

>>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]
>>
No. 279703 ID: ba0561

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]
>>
No. 279727 ID: a76809

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.
>>
No. 279803 ID: 81f32a

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]
>>
No. 279808 ID: 81f32a

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]
>>
No. 280423 ID: 69bee4

>>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.
>>
No. 280425 ID: 69bee4

rolled 15, 9, 5 = 29

[Forgot Dice]
Sullivan/Lysander, Reinhardt now on 18+ also, 3rd is ???.
>>
No. 280429 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 280430 ID: a76809

rolled 2, 16, 15 = 33

and rollan for... 32, plan, and outside aid, why not.
>>
No. 280530 ID: 81f32a

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!]
>>
No. 280535 ID: 81f32a

rolled 17 = 17

Oh and tell Catalina to stab him in the head when he bends down.
>>
No. 280558 ID: 69bee4

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.]
>>
No. 280624 ID: a76809

>>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.
>>
No. 280701 ID: 81f32a

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.
>>
No. 280783 ID: 21e57a

rolled 8 = 8

Yes.
>>
No. 280811 ID: 69bee4

>>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-).]
>>
No. 280812 ID: 69bee4

rolled 20, 17 = 37

Rolls for reinforcements.
>>
No. 280820 ID: a76809

rolled 17 = 17

You have two arms.

One arm, swing about to loop grabbed rope length about forearm, then lunge forward, try to grasp another bit of rope so you can guarantee that pulling will result in a loop about your foe's feet, all while getting your other hand on the spear.

The plan here is simple, you pull on rope while pushing on spear. It allows you to act more ably to upend him because of how the forces amplify one another, whil giving you a means of 'steering' his chest, as the blade has stayed wedged in this whole time-if it was going to shift, it would have done so already.

So, maybe make his chest wound worse, keep your body mobile enough in the ducking and weaving to be hard to catch, and still put in a solid effort to upend him.

In case it was not clear both from your own life experience and how this battle has gone, you are an idiot if you attempt this without the Magitech heart active for strength and reflex boosting throughout the entire process. And remember the lesson you may have learned-it could be that emotional stability is required for safe synchronization, as the heart became far more compliant once you discarded your rage.
>>
No. 280904 ID: 81f32a

rolled 20 = 20

Yes, turn on the magic heart.

Also use illusions again for distraction, in his blind rage Giumnu probably will not notice the illusions.


>-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.

These are worrying. Would you say that the smell is somthing you might have picked up in the swamp? That couldn't be froggock smell, those were repulsing.
But Giumnu did say he's a turtle tamer, and you probably know about the machines of destruction which are called turtles around here.
Giumnu seems to have very high constitution and is not bleeding as he should, maybe he is using some kind of extract from dead turtles or plants that they eat to increase it?
It could have a side effect of luring in the turtles, so look in the direction where Giumnu is staring, maybe he is being charged by one of them?

If that is the case, then retreat! You really don't want to mess with them. Grab Kyon and shout to Cat to retreat.


>>280820
You want for him to fall, right?
He might fall down on our allies. Be careful so that doesn't happen. Shout to them to be roll away or something.
>>
No. 280999 ID: a76809

>>280812
>>280820
>>280904
[20, 17, 17, 20]
Palandromic, and out of eighty possible points, only six were missed, with half the rolls being perfect.

Guimu is fucked.
>>
No. 281032 ID: 69bee4
File 129748885361.jpg - (71.58KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
281032

>>280999
[Although the rolls on my end were reserve rolls, point is taken.
Will of the Dice Made Manifest Bonus!
Before Bonus: Sullivan/Lysander arrive, 32 causes harm, Reinhardt still fails to arrive battle continues.
After Bonus: … ]

>>280904
>>280820
[Fatalism Invokes, Moment of Inspiration: Medium, Fatalism Levels Up to 4, Talent Unlocked.]
I activate my magitech heart, and am flooded with the familiar power. Yet, in a fraction of an instant my mind senses something… feels… some…

AHAHAHAHAHA! YES! It all makes sense, it all makes sense!

I stand tall, no longer feeling any need to evade, the pulses of power and certainty my guiding light. I reach for my spear with my right hand, and take the rope into the other. I smirk silently, now recognizing the smell as that of blood, of the life force that I had given to my god, and this insolent fool had dared to hold onto.

The prophecy Fate now tells me must be held as true, this is a SIGN! The fools resilience is gone now, this I KNOW! and I have been designated Death’s reaper. A prayer enters my mind, my path is driven in front of me further still, and I shall stand as its avatar. I speak in common this time, to deliver the last words of a thrice condemned mortal.

˙ǝʇɐɟ ɟo ʇuǝɯnɹʇsuı uɐ ɯɐ ı
My spear swiftly moves from the right side to the left side of Guimu at my command, resistance nothing but a futile notion before my might. I feel bones shatter, organs surrender to the inevitable path of my spear, and lifeblood willingly cheer to leave this nest for its proper home. I wordlessly summon the rune on my body and float it as if a spectre in front of his face.
˙ɹɐǝɟ ou ʍouʞ ןןɐɥs ı
Guimu’s eyes lose all luster, his tanned skin rapidly pales, sheer abject horror enters his face. He makes a motion through his body as if to cough, but nothing comes, not even the condemned’s offer of blood comes out. He feebly tries to redirect his maul towards my form, but I know that his strength when enfeebled in any way is not sufficient to fully control that maul. He shall fall before it.
'ǝɯ suoɔɐǝq ʎuıʇsǝp ǝɹǝɥʍ ɹoɟ
I release my spear, its duty done for now, and throw the rope around Guimu’s legs. His state becomes even more dazed by the moment, his legs threatening to surrender, and his breath becoming short. However, to surrender would be to acknowledge such an existence as what it is. That is not what is foretold.
˙ǝq ʇsnɯ ı ǝɹǝɥʍ sı
I pull on the rope, sending the blob of a man tumbling downwards onto his shelled back, a mere formality in the steps fate has already given. Normally this would be to his advantage, but at deaths door his comfort shall be nothing more than a further instrument of his undoing.
ǝʇɐds uɐɥʇ ǝɹoɯ ǝןʇʇıן ɯɐ ı ɥƃnoɥʇ
My body illusion follows the falling man, as I gregariously step towards his preordained spot of landing. His words attempt to mouth defiance, but breath truly was lost to him before this battle even began. I hear the screams, the lamentations of war from the village, the fools who might have dared fight on a doomed man’s side given a different whim of fate.
˙ɹɐǝds sıɥʇ ɥƃnoɹɥʇ uʍoɥs ǝq ʎuıʇsǝp ʇǝן
Meeting once again near the front of Guimu, the pitiful man just stares at the looming spectre, his new vision of death. I see some twitches of his body, some feeble grasps of air, a knee manages to bend slightly, an arm tries to reach but fails, his maul now merely a discarded trophy of an event that might as well be a million years in the past. I steal my scythe back from his body to a wordless groan, and slice my offering’s heart and body in two, the final unspoken verse of the true prayer.

As the campfire flickers around me, night’s canopy a silent contrast to the flickering flame, I recalled the comparatively uneventful events that occurred after. I would turn to see that all the sergeants and troops had arrived at that moment, and wordlessly had seen me single handedly finish off the foe who had given us such trouble. Any sense of resistance was quelled immediately, the Major of the village both stunned beyond belief at their Guardians’s defeat and thankful to Hasv for his guarding both himself and escorting people away when the attack first came. It would take at least a week Sullivan said before the situation was likely fully consolidated, but there was plenty of time for now to just…. Think.

>So many avenues to explore, either through the village, the arrival of more members of the military to reinforce, or just the people here for now.
>Given such comparative idleness, there will be much time to reflect and train.
>Spoils are divvied by Sgt. Lysander between the Sergeants as it stands, but I suspect I could ask for something if I wished.

---------------------------
[Mission One Complete: Take the Village.
Bonus Objective: BOSS BATTLE, Guimu the Turtle Tamer. [Completed, Talent Learned]
[Primary Objective Completed: Secure control of the village.]
[Primary Objective Completed: Defeat Guimu either before reinforcements become actively involved, or deal the most damage. If failed: Treated as tertiary for exp.]
[Tertiary Objective Completed: Morgren fight]
[Tertiary Objective Completed: Gorth Fight]

[Secondary Objective Failed: ‘Defeat’ Gorth]
[Secondary Objective Failed: Defeat Mekk Gurk]

Bonus Experience: Instrument of Fate, Talent Discovered
Bonus Experience: Minor Moment of Inspiration.
EXP Modifier: Earlier Moment of Inspiration already gave 30 Combat Experience

Total Result: Victory (MASSACRE)
Massacre Bonus: Choose a single ‘locked/unknown’ skill or Emotional Set, and have it automatically unlocked. Else choose a known, but non level 1 skill and receive +.15 towards its natural progression, and gain 10 Emotional Experience immediately. Indicate choice of unknown by defining if it is a Skill or Emotion, and what row and column it is in.

Combat Experience: 128 – 30 = 98
Emotional Experience: Automatically Spent to Level Fatalism to 4.

Talent Learned:
Instrument of Fate (Requires level 4 or higher Fatalism, ???, ???): Thirty Two’s belief in fate is so strong, that at times an outside force will answer his call, and truly become an Avatar of their bidding. Higher levels of Fatalism increase the likelihood of occurring. Invocation of this talent, like Fate much of the time is random; however, when it does occurs, 32 is treated as if he invoked a Medium level Moment of Inspiration for purposes of results in combat, a skill use, or an other relevant THING to the situation if possible. This can result in all bonuses or permanent things/effects a normal Moment of Inspiration can grant, and stacks with any other ongoing Moment of Inspiration. Fate though is a creature of whim, and although it only acts when Thirty Two is also in its interest, there can be side effects to making its will known (Such as the ‘free’ level of Fatalism).
School of Hard Knocks (level 1): Thirty Two’s alchemical augmentations provide a myriad of benefits; however, recently they are becoming a bit more concerned about his noggin. Taking this talent represents his augmentations passively responding to the amount of hits on his head by making his skull stronger and thicker (Protectin dem brain meats from stabbins and the like), and minor tweaks in his head that give him noticably more resistance to concussions and dizziness from blows to the head. Multiple level skill.
>>
No. 281039 ID: d3dfb8

Level up agility and strength!
Agility because speed is the best way to win in the GQ universe and strength so we can actually hurt a morgren.
>>
No. 281040 ID: d3dfb8

Oh, and first column third row.
>>
No. 281042 ID: a76809

>>281032
Grasp of Motion/Projectile Motion Physics/Spatial Geometry-whatever you want to call a skillset oriented around getting used to how things move on their own, be it throwing weapon, shifting weight to throw a larger foe than normal, or how determine an arrow's eventual destination is spotted mid-flight. Sort of a supplement to combat and general perception alike, in that it allows for a more responsive body.

Then upgrade strength AND Constitution, so you are stronger, more durable, and more responsive.

Or save it all and shoot for the Brute force ability.
>>
No. 281044 ID: d3dfb8

>>281042
Seconding getting maths.
Edjucations are important.
>>
No. 281054 ID: a76809

>>281042
In downtime, look for-logistics officers, preferrably ones that also engage in combat, officers involved in artillery use who have to deal with air currants and third party vectors, hell even look for instructors for the basic army-

GET YO ASS SOME MATHS
>>
No. 281078 ID: 81f32a

Upgrade Curiosity, Strength and Constitution.

>>281042 Edumacate yourself.

Apply your meager knowledge of First Aid to check your condition and see if you can fix yourself up. Do this for practice and training, if there are any serious injuries you should, of course, refer to medics.

[Also, there we had commanded our troops... why didn't Command skill increase?]

I want to suggest to go around the camp and talk to people, preferably Catalina and Kyon to see how they are doing. Even go as far to use our left-over funds to fix Catalina sword at a blacksmith and present it to her.
... But I know Bob will fuck this up and have Contempt override all the friendly stuff!!!
But do it anyway.
>>
No. 281093 ID: a76809

Oh yes:

GET THAT TURTLE SHELL

Let's recap-massive shielding device, that could have its interior refitted so you can use it like a massive bowl-shaped tower shield, knobby ridges fr bashing people, and shell coloration should match the local environment, so you can use the shield for stealth, both in slow advances or Solid Snake style box (turtleshell) sneaking shenanigans.

And with the strength/constitution upgrade, you'll be more able to carry it, and more able to use it in combat for extended durations.

Giant turtle shell one man shield wall/battering ram in one arm, spear held one handed in the other.

Become some sort of crazy Mosmordren Spartan.
>>
No. 281098 ID: 81f32a

Hey, maybe they are examining Giumnus body somewhere.
If so, maybe you can learn how he managed to stop bleeding and somehow apply that skill to yourself.
>>
No. 281307 ID: 69bee4
File 129763733314.jpg - (62.31KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
281307

>>281078
[A decent point about Command skill, though it’s worth noting all commands were given with dice rolls, which lowers the amount gained. +.7 Command Improvement though occurs.]

>>281042
>>281078
[Strength, Constitution, Curiosity Upgraded]
Staring silently into the flickering flames , I roll my shoulder slightly, muscles aching slightly and head pounding, but far less than earlier today. I reflect for a moment more, and while realizing how annoying that fatass was, it has been a long time since I had a string of opponents who did not just die to a few well placed blows. Even the Morgren have been a good fight, if a bit blunt and more irratic than just about anything I have ever seen. My muscles ache, but I know in the end that this serves me only better in the long run, and I feel stronger, more durable for having faced the trials I have.

I consider for awhile all that I have learned in this relatively short time. Tactics of stealth, attempts to perceive that which is not easily seen, responsibilities of leadership, even the jovial mood that still fills the camp, an elation of victory. I certainly have no desire to be a pompus mage brain, eternally wasting their bodies for one more minor fact to add, one more paper to be throw around and argued, one more mindless meeting full of mindless arguments. Still, to explore things more than just my combat training could be of some merit.

>>281054
>>281078
>>281042
[MATH ATTACK]
What ends up immediately coming to mind is something I had only been given a very rudimentary training in. I have some experience with throwing weapons, primarily my spear, but I cannot rely on that alone, I have heard of those who with a disk… well, a wire for now, like mine held in their hands, they could remove a man’s head, instead of merely inflicting some bodily harm. I suppose I can bug a Stormfire [ Mosmorden Artillery Piece, Stormfire Cannon.] officer, maybe a more conventional weapon trainer, or something if they come to this area, throwing shells and throwing weapons must have some similarity, and I don’t know anyone who uses throwing weapons right now.

>>281040
[1st Collumn, 3rd row: Hot-Blooded unlocked]
Setting the thought aside, I reflect though on the rage that had befallen me. Fekkin ‘heros’, kill them and their self righteous need for pity, a conviction that finds them only wanting, a blindness of the soul… But, I did take note that my hearts seemed to stabilize when my rage left me. The person that comes to mind though is the diplomat, Hasv, who I hear along with many members of the squads cheering. Vague words of the glory of the Mosmorden empire, of our right to rule flow through the wind. I see the eyes of villagers reflecting off in the distance, the light of the fire reflecting what I can only suspect is a fire for that power now burning in their mind. Rage seems comparatively pointless, it leads to one moment of glory or two, before Death takes its prize in the end. Yet what that diplomat holds, the zeal to believe without doubt, the power in his words to lead to the side of righteousness, THAT holds some merit. Though it seems too easily torn into something as blind as rage or heroism, it is something of note I am beginning to believe.

Hot-Blooded
Pros: Extremely synergistic with whatever is the highest Emotional Set, Major improvements to Command/Diplomacy/Bluff with those who agree with your message/belief in even vague terms. Belief in fighting for a cause vastly raises 32’s morale in combat, and thus overall combat proficiency. Allows at higher levels for a target to be ‘Marked’ as a heretic of 32’s Belief, and grants 32 large bonuses in hostile action and understanding versus that person/race/etc.
Cons: Major losses to Command/Diplomacy/Bluff if a person or group does not agree with your message/belief, 32 is less willing to compromise in social situations, More willing to rebel or disobey things that go against the belief. A ‘Marked’ target near 32 but not actively engaged will be extremely distracting, and lower his competency in skill checks, combat, etc.


For now though, it is a time of rest. Even with the celebrations continuing on, Kyon staring ahead solemnly as he recounts the battle again to the delight of soldiers, bandages wrapped around his torso, Catalina and her Sergeant have a cheering group on as they arm wrestle, Luken it seems is taking bets. I see two soldiers singing horribly, but yet all I hear is the sound of the swamp’s night, the ache of my muscles, and fate meeting my body’s demand for sleep halfway.

[Day 7, Enduday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
>>281093
Today is pretty much given as a break to the Force Champions, reinforcements or air for the camp not having arrived, but the soldiers now acting as a form of town guard. I take this time to ask Sgt. Lysander about possible acquisition of Guimu’s large turtle shell, explaining my desire to have it converted to a tower shield or a bashing weapon. In short, I am told he will think about it, and possibly at a later date, particularly if I can come up with more of a solid proposal why a two handed spear user wants a giant shield, and why the Vanguard of Sullivan’s squad wants something that could easily slow him down. I bite back my tongue, but am not pleased at this dismissal.
The rest of the day is spent with Catalina, surmising her likely willing to spar with that excitable attitude. She takes little coercing, and has a surprisingly strong hit to match her grace on the ground. I find my muscles adapting further to a decent set of hits after that encounter.

[Day 8, Rathday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
>>281098
A thought occurs to me through the night, and despite being busy with mundane and boring guard work, I find time to ask Sullivan about the possibility of learning about Guimu’s remains, though without much mention of intent. He reports back that night that apparently the body is to be held under the Magery of Augmenting and General Experimentation’s jurisdiction, and I would need their approval. Adding he doubts it would be worth the hassle.

Great… R&D, although I would definitely be known there, I’m not sure my desire to learn anything is quite enough to overcome how much they all deserve to be stabbed a few hundred times. Wonderful times there, with the surgery, plagues, and all that.

[Day 9, Randinday, Cycle 1 of Perennius]
The reinforcements finally arrived, and being the big guy is always a fekkin hassle when it means building for days. Oh well, decent workout, and plunty to do.

[Day 13, Washiday, Cycle 2 of Perennis]
My body finally feels fully recovered, the loads they keep delivering to me seem more and more like nothing. I feel STRONG. The area is also secure enough to not have do so many fekkin double shifts on watch.

I finally have a chance to do something besides work, what seems like near hundreds beginning to move into this area. Definitely the beginning of something bigger I suppose, news comes that the exalted Mages have been reaping the Empire’s wrath across many of those Frogrokk with our invincible Siege Golems, but anything besides tones of victory and the inevitable continuation are mostly boasting accounts already. Sullivan says at least a week more though before we begin to do anything interesting again, which I find acceptable after the monotony.

I have found two seemingly valid candidates for discussions on ranged weaponry. The first is a Gunnery Sergeant known as ‘Sure Shot Samir’, who apparently lives up very well to his namesake, and is known as a swell guy who’s willing to talk guns, explosions, trajectories, arks, and other made up words for hours ‘if ya pay for the tab on the drinks’. Problem though is that each time I try and stop by, work is exceedingly hectic in the area, cannons constantly going up, fortifications being built, etc. The Captain in charge to quote, seems to think letting me in “Would be like fekkin giving Morgren a cannon, the place is a powderkeg ya fekkin idiot! You’ll knock over something and kill us all, now go and do your job!.” The captain refusing to let me in is known as an ornery old bastard, too old and explosion prone to see or hear right, yet kept around because he’s not dead yet, and he can operate any cannon without exception.

The second is named Eldna Florence, a woman who I had never met or heard of because of her specialization in mostly archery, something that I had never had any interest or training in, except maybe in how to dodge the arrows. She’s apparently considered very important in training for fortifications, having been used at one point for aiding mage’s artillery work for what would be the Soul Graves according to rumor, and was redirected here because of “Eternal Font’s lack of need for such a person”. This has garnered a minor bit of celebrity, and the issue is that she has only arrived as of Morday, but is apparently booked solid until her departure towards a larger forward base in less than a week. I have no idea how to get any time with her, and as everyone who isn’t her is being trained under her, there seems almost no other real candidate immediately in such a field until possibly after the squad leaves.

I have a week ahead of me, and much to figure it seems.

>Should I attempt to get into the autopsy of Guimu, dealing with vile creatures such as the R&D mages though? If so, how should I convince them.
>What person should I attempt to meet? How could I get through to actually asking them also.
>Is there anything else I should consider, get or do while I’m here? People to meet, places to go, things to have explained.
[Note that 32 has only a certain amount of time per day to do anything, as much of his time is eaten up ‘On Duty’ and Sleeping. Last call Preparation on Mission #2 will begin Zakday. Time can be sped up and things ‘automated’ on request for any day. Some benefits or events will only occur on days where nothing is planned. Spending all your time ‘learning as much as you can from X’ will be automated to that particular benefit, unless in depth learning is requested or required for 32 to learn it. Off time such as this will be worked usually in sets of 1-3 days per post, unless combat is desired, or time is automated.]
>>
No. 281335 ID: a76809

To preface everything I am about to say, consider how the diplomat performed, verbally speaking, when attempting any of the following-his is the art of command through misdirection, implied threat and careful wording-a handy thing to try to emulate to improve your own speechmaking abilities.

As to the autopsy-

Well, depends. Make an official request to be party to the autopsy-the point is to submit the paperwork, you aren't banking on it getting back to you. With the paperwork submitted, use that moment you submit it to clarify when and where the autopsy will take place. Purposefully submit the paperwork a bit late so its highly unlikely they will get back to you before the autopsy. Then.... go to the autopsy. The guards won't know the faces of everyone who will be there, no army has the logistics to insure that, especially for something relatively minor like this. Then, say, and I quote 'I submitted the proper forms, of course I should be here'. You aren't saying you have permission, you are just telling the truth in a manner they may misinterpret. You've heard about those pesky truth sensors-if one's here, they won't get squat off you. If this works, and you can bluff your way in by relying on military inefficiency and careful wording, great. If you can't get in, don't worry about it, you tried. If you do get in, and they figure out you didn't get permission, default to 'I hadn't gotten a rejection letter back, and lacking precedent on how such orders worked it seemed reasonable to assume the default was acceptance. Was this not accurate?' This line also protects you from outright lying, and should provide a safe out.

So in recap, try to finagle/bluff your way in, if it doesn't work, at least you tried.


As to a person to meet-

Gunnery Sergeant Sure Shot Samir is your SECONDARY goal, but you will pursue him like your primary. Your goal is to submit official requests to have a meeting slot with him, the same as you are officially submitting papers concerning the autopsy. Since they are completely different departments, no one should get suspicious about you all of a sudden showing an interest in things-there's no time for that kind of thorough cross-checking. Now, that paper you officially submitted to have a meeting with him? That's only there for Eldna's benefit. Each night, you will try to ACTIVELY meet with Samir while he is drinking-if he likes to talk when drinking, become his friend in the mess hall, get him to talk some, and maybe a few nights of that can get you enough rough idea that you can dispute the claim you know nothing on the subject of projectile motion and all that jazz. During the day, you will keep an eye on Eldna and her constant string of appointments-you are looking for someone to cancel or be late-this will be your chance to meet with her, under pretense of 'I have a message for Eldna, I'd like to catch her between meetings (And say you have to deliver it directly to her so no one shuts you out)'. Then, when you meet her, say her next appointment is late/cancelled whichever it is, and that you had a few questions that you are still waiting to ask another ranged expert, and you wonder if she could possibly provide some insight. Only spend, at most, ten minutes asking about thrown/projectile weapon dynamics-the goal is to seem earnest, intent on learning, and professional. Then make your leave before anyone gets too suspicious the message is taking so long, or that the late individual runs into you.

So, to recap, your primary self-improvement plan here is:
-Submit official papers to be part of the autopsy, and submit them a day late so they can't get processed in time.
-Submit papers to meet with Gunnery Sargeant Samir.
-Spend nights paying for drinks for Samir to get informal lessons from 'bar buddy'
-Use late-submitted papers to attempt bluff based entry into Guimu autopsy.
-Use papers /bluff to secure brief first meeting with Eldna.
-Do all of this while considering what the diplomat would say in each situation as you strive to further improve your self-taught command skills.



So that covers your primary objective-beyond that, I would say try to meet with Hasv as often as you can, to remind yourself how he tactically aproaches conversation, and in building some possible camraderie, ask if, as a magic item user, he has thoughts on how to best refit Guimu's shell, given its perfect camoflage for this entire campaign and its resilient, fireproof structure-runes that might reduce weight, or improve durability-what have you. Don't be pushy, and don't demand anything from him-just ask, and if he does nothing, leave it be. Goal is to maximize exposure with him, get in close, and maybe get some tips on how to reword requisition request for the shell.

In any down time, spend it fighting with your spear one-handed-you've gotten stronger, you should be able to try. For now switch between buckler and your multi-tool as off hand item, as you break ground into one handed spearplay. This is also for eventually making your request for the shell more difficult to reject later.

This should fill up all your spare time, as you have your regular duties to attend to on top of this.

You are finally starting to get leadership possibilities-and with them come the chance for increased pay, and paying off your debt to the Empire faster-which means acquiring funds for more personal gear faster. Learn, grow, thrive-and act.
>>
No. 281371 ID: 21e57a

>Should I attempt to get into the autopsy of Guimu, dealing with vile creatures such as the R&D mages though? If so, how should I convince them.

With you fists and your spear, how else? If you do that, I mean.

>What person should I attempt to meet? How could I get through to actually asking them also.

Eldna Florence, and just ask her. You want to train, so is very good at training, and she will be leaving soon. You have a great desire to learn and are a capable student. If she denies you, challenge her ass to a duel and break her arms.

>Is there anything else I should consider, get or do while I’m here? People to meet, places to go, things to have explained.

Mmhm...Well, meet everyone you can, I guess. Best thing to do, learn from them and see what you can do.

Oh yeah, asshole who argued against Shield and Spear. You're strong, right? Damn strong. You can wield that spear one handed, I'm assuming - and if you can't, why haven't you bulked up till you can? - and if a shield weighs you down, you drop it and pick it up after the battle is done. Simple. I'll get some Spartan information for you later.
>>
No. 281374 ID: 903f16

>>281307

>Should I attempt to get into the autopsy of Guimu, dealing with vile creatures such as the R&D mages though? If so, how should I convince them.
I'm not to sure on this. Did they leave any bits of Guimu around, like flesh or blood? You know how mages are always so interested macabre bits like that, and if you tell them about that healing trick he did and return with a sample they might let you in as you could be of some help. I mean the main problem with this is the body has been removed and any samples subjected to the elements for days, but it's worth a shot. And if it doesn't help just fall back on the argument you could help with your observations.

>What person should I attempt to meet? How could I get through to actually asking them also.
Go for Eldna Florence. It seems like with so much acclaim and demand behind her she must be the very best you could get for yourself at the moment. How to get her? Well if there are no openings you could make one. You know there's always some fights and gambling going on. It stands to reason if everyone you can think of is being trained by her than there must be some cross between that group and the group of people participating in said fights. Then all you need to do is find one of the individuals that is a part of that crossover and meet him in the ring. From there all that's left to do is hurt him bad enough to open up his lesson slot. Sure it's mean and sure it's cruel, but really if he can't best you does the weakling deserve those lessons?

>Is there anything else I should consider, get or do while I’m here? People to meet, places to go, things to have explained.
I don't know of anything in particular, but keep your eyes open. Try to get a good feel of the camp and it's patterns while you walk around. Take an hour or so a day if you can spare it to do this. It will give us a good idea of what things are like, what interesting things people are doing.
>>
No. 281545 ID: 81f32a

I think... I think it is important that you spent some time practicing Command skill. It is almost at lvl 1 so it should not be too hard. Ask Sullivan or Havs for tips and lessons (if the can), maybe find someone else to help you. This is an important skill and will help you to maintain better discipline and morale among the troops.
Other than that, train your combat senses.

>Great… R&D, although I would definitely be known there, I’m not sure my desire to learn anything is quite enough to overcome how much they all deserve to be stabbed a few hundred times. Wonderful times there, with the surgery, plagues, and all that.
What?
32, am I hearing you right?
Are you questioning your FATE?
The R&D is not to blame at anything, 32, in fact you should be grateful to them that they made you the instrument of death that you are. The R&D was merely a tool in Fates hand to determine whether you were found wanting or not. You have passed the test thanks to them.
Do not feel anger, do not feel contempt.

If they ask what exactly you want to learn from Giumnus body, tell them about his ability to completely stop bleeding and that you'd like to replicate it, if possible.

>if I can come up with more of a solid proposal why a two handed spear user wants a giant shield
You have become much stronger, and undoubtedly you will be able to wield your spear as effectively in one hand as you used to in two hands with a bit of training.
Concerning the heaviness of the shield. With your newfound strength, you'll be able to carry it without being slowed down. If it is actually heavy, it might become a good exercise.

>Some benefits or events will only occur on days where nothing is planned
I'd like some of these benefits and events to play out. Could be interesting.


Play with your damn wire for more. Practice the use of different forms.
Also see what caused the disk to turn back to normal again, maybe it returned to normal state after it was left untouched for a while?
Also, ask Captain if there a manual for it or something.
>>
No. 281635 ID: 69bee4
File 129774122894.jpg - (62.78KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
281635

>>281371
[While using fists and spear to get into anything he desired really appeals to 32 in some ways, and he would have little moral issue killing people, especially in R&D, he also has very little desire to end up court marshaled, declared a traitor to the empire, and executed. Try the more vague ‘Attempt to intimidate’ next time (Unless you want him to actually kill people), as it does fit into his Contempt, but 32 would ‘read’ this more… violently than he could deal with consequences wise. Also, that shield is about five and a half feet tall, and weighs a few hundred pounds easy, though 32 is still annoyed about the denial.]

The thought flashes through my mind of just barging into Guimu’s autopsy, and getting some well deserved revenge; however, the moment passes fair enough, and I sigh, realizing I cannot have everything I want in life sometimes.

>>281545
[Emotional Experience +15, Fatalism levels permanently reduce by 1 for any level up or down due to shift towards a more ‘pure’ interpretation. Also, Sgt. Lysander is Cpt. Lysanders younger brother, the Captain is currently off as part of the retinue of Scars of Yesterday, and is not known in location to 32, and thus unable to help with the weapon.]
When suddenly a thought flits through my mind, and as if losing a debate with an opponent shuts me up mentally for a moment.

Shutting that out of my mind, I consider that I certainly feel stronger, and a brief test in fact shows that I can fairly competently wield the spear single handedly now… amusing. Though I note a lack of control using only one arm to wield the weapon, and that precise strikes are likely going to be difficult for awhile. Though there may some… validity to Sgt. Lysander’s argument about the shield I will begrudgingly admit, it being probably hundreds of pounds, a little under two meters to my two and a half frame, and my traditional setup being a Vanguard, I still find his denial quite annoying. I mean, really, who denies an equipment request!? It’s obviously for the good of the empire, what kind of slave driver does these things, and I would know best what armament to use… grumble…

>>281374
>>281371
I do some investigation into the situation with Eldna, attempting to decide if I can get into a class or somesuch. I learn within a few hours that the issue is not something like meetings or supervision, but that she is apparently on some insane schedule where she is constantly teaching classes in archery through massive sets of rotation, each at least twenty or so large. Attempting to fortify the skillset into complete amateurs, with apparently some rather good result. Most immediately, I could probably just join the class, no need to take anyone out, and just hope I am not questioned too thoroughly. With the notable restriction that I would probably learn a lot about archery, but possibly nothing about any other weapon. There may be other issues I am not aware of on top of it for now.

>>281335
Gathering this semblance of order though, a plan begins to form in my head. Certainly not as straightforward as I usually ‘plot’ to do… but it certainly has a large level of appeal, particularly to a devious side of me, and this new… though somewhat odd… appreciation?... For R&D’s existence.

As much as I hate paperwork, particularly because no form or writing implement was ever designed for someone with hands as large as mine, It seems worth it to try something like this. Fortunately, if there is one thing an officer knows, it’s the location where they get all their dreaded paperwork, as such, Sullivan points me there without a moment’s hesitation, and a look of befuddlement.



Despite my ‘inventive’ methods of speeding up a few things, and a lot of obvious fear, there was a staggering amount of time needed to get the right questions answered, the right information, and to fill in SO MANY FEKKIN FORMS! Seriously, Death’s greatest rival may be whoever designed paperwork in the realm of stealing time… Primary autopsy was already performed two days ago, but I know R&D better than about any soldier, they don’t let things go often, and so with lack of a better thing to do and evening near approaching, I decide to try and bluff my way in.

[It’s worth noting that a Truth Sensor to 32 is more like a mythological creature, something threatened, but not certain if actually exists. But he’s enjoying the subtle approach anyways right now since its more action than paperwork.]

Talking my way in actually was more simple than I had imagined, telling them I belonged here was taken almost as a given, and when one person questioned my presence (a mundane guard also), he seemed easily cowed by the threat of denying someone who had submitted proper paperwork.

To summarize what had occurred, there were many blue and red clad researchers who seemed almost terrified to see me, glancing from me to my spear, one even recognized me by name, and upon figuring out my non hostile intent, seemed able to draw others. Treating these people… vaguely nicely was an odd sensation, and some interest in sharing their findings with me seemed to confuse them, but also like always, they couldn’t keep their traps shut. Although I far from understand what they were talking about, I did garner a few things.
-Apparently some persons can be mage-like, without being ‘true’ mages, and use such feats in combat.
-There were ready signs of exposure to…. Blah blah bleh, something about water based control, thickening of cellular something or another, being used to make his body move more ‘purified oxygin?’, thus somehow making his muscles stronger and such. They also said it was consistant with his lack of bleeding somehow.
-They also said that as is, there was no way I could replicate any of this, nor be taught how to.

…Disappointing, even if less unpleasant than expected, with a new mindset on the people involved. Though if non mages can do stuff like that, I see little reason why it’s impossible? Maybe there is more to it, but that is more up to fate to decide than nonsense I can’t understand researchers.

Leaving in the late evening, I decide to attempt my plan to meet with Samir… though it takes me more time than I would like to find the right location, there being many bars apparently in a newly constructed camp…. Damn drunk simpletons. Also, I learn in the process that he commonly is at a bar… inside the artillery area, because of course that’s where all the artillery folks gather to ‘talk about the booms’. I am able to get a quick meeting though, since at night it appears the captain is off duty, and does not drink I suppose. Getting past the people blocking the area is actually as simple this time as saying that I have proper paperwork submitted, and general apathy of guard staff. I only get a brief meeting, far too much attention focusing on me when I enter, only silenced after awhile of being there in an awkward state. I did meet him though, and he seemed interested when I asked about how ranged weapons worked, going on about his favored cannon and sharing some kill stories.

[.26 Bluff, .11 Diplomacy Gained total]

[Day 14, Corday, Cycle 2 of Perennius]
The next day, I attempt mostly to mull around in my head concepts on how to deal with getting these meetings more secure. Both Eldna and Samir right now are issues of time in the long term, as right now, spectacular kills are fine, and archery might be useful… maybe…. Yeah right, but still. Especially because the plan to formally meet with Eldna may not work that well if the issue is more a lack of her having free time at all. Oh well, I have a cycle, no need to get too worried.

>>281545
I find myself doing a few things later for Sullivan, apparently the Morgren are set to actually arrive soon, and this has a lot of the organization on edge, and I am to help clear out the area of anything potentially dangerous. Boring work, but I did find a series of interesting plants I was told were ‘highly poisonous and to be ripped out and burned’. Of course, as such things MUST be of use to the empire, I did the only honorable thing and stored it away for later personal use. Heheh.

[??? Acquired]

I gain some further conversation with Samir, though he still finds me I suspect an odd or maybe even annoying presence. He tries to tell me about the basics of using a cannon, and seems somewhat pleased my main reaction is a desire to use one to defeat my foes... though apparently holding one is very impractical. It is progress, and he claims that aiming a cannon is actually almost the same among all cannons, but I see little in how this is useful for me. Time is also cut short again overall, due to desired avoidance of annoying captains making my presence late at night once more.

[Day 15, Lorthday, Cycle 2 of Perennius]
The end of another morning shift, and time to put my plans into action for the day I have mulled over.

>How will I resolve the issues with Eldna and Samir? Or will I only focus on one for my gains?
>Do I have any other plans for the cycle?
[Note: If you wish to spend time learning about the wire, without direct suggestions, an entire day must be devoted, you will get 2D20, and need a 19+ to learn anything signifigant about the item itself. A Lucky 7 will give 32 an idea of how to use the currently known forms. Other things may occur. Anything learned lowers the cost of Brute Force Specialization for the item.]
>>
No. 281667 ID: a76809

rolled 5, 7 = 12

Well, use the exact same trick that worked for getting into autopsy and whatnot to get into archery lessons at least once or twice-just remember to bring a bow-borrow the largest from among your squad, give them some booze in exchange-its fine to eat up personal funds for this if necessary-and continue to meet with Samir in the bar-drunks asked about their favored interests are the best training ground for diplomacy-they practically tell you what they want to hear, they are easy to read, and easy to lie to-and if you fuck up, get them drunk enough they forget the whole thing. So, you get to work on your wordskills while getting a better in with the teacher that seems most inclined to actually impart mathematical expertise-just be nice and easy working your way towards picking up projectile motion equations and wind resistance stuff, he obviously knows it, but the best way would be to take your existant knowledge, supplemented by his past comments, and lead him into teaching you as if you already knew. Makes you look smarter, gives constant wordplay, bluff and diplomacy boosts as you get more silver-tongued (and keep getting Samir drunk), and should mean that once the break period ends, you have REALLY improved your linguistic options-and all the interpersonal experience is bound to give a kickback to speechmaking and command ability as well.

As to further plans, I'd say get in more practice against the Morgren-try and make time for at least a half hour, if not a full hour of one on one, unarmed contests-and also make time to try fighting with your spear weighted, held one-handed, and using a Morgren shield in your off hand. Your constant training with the Morgran should provide ample opportunity to secure such.

That way, in getting more experience against foes that OBVIOUSLY are more threatening than those bigger froggrocks, you also very publically make time to practice your new spearplay method, insure you're strong/enduring enough to even do it, AND make that coming re-request for the shell MUCH harder to resist. You'lll re-request right before re-deployment.


As one final goal, try to get back into that intensive post-autopsy-and keep playing the genial individual-fate lead you to making such a good reconnection with those of R&D, surely you can start gleaning more from their words-and you may see some reports on the autopsy-perhaps a copy could be requisitioned, on grounds that this may be indicative of native body magics, and if so you and the others here on the front line need something to work off of.
>>
No. 281776 ID: 81f32a

Heck Yeah! Emo-exp!
Upgrade Hot-Blooded, that will come in handy to rally the troops!

Man, you know what
forget about the Shield.
Sergant is right, it will slow you down and its bulky. You are going to become stronger and durable anyway.
If he asks you why you wanted it so much, you can say you wanted some kind of practical trophy from the foe that gave you so much trouble.

What you need is a Huge Siege Bow if you are going to attend lessons.
Even the biggest regular bows are going to be twigs in your hands and break down to slightest pressure.

Also, going to suggest training Command/speechmaking skill again.
>>
No. 281849 ID: 69bee4
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281849

>>281776
[Hot-Blooded upgraded: Belief defaults to Fatalism (Death), Default ‘Marked’: Excessively optimistic persons and those who believe in Immortality. At low levels, does not need to be further defined; however, these can be modified either automatically by a change in 32’s outlook passively, or by actively pushing towards acceptance of a belief.]

>>281667
I decide to open the day by seeking out the Morgren, and instead of my normal exercise, I suspect a brawl with them will be much more invigorating. Fighting even a smaller one is still a fairly thrilling experience, particularly since my name had apparently spread some, and they were warned not to be ‘doofin numbnuts! Da git can urt ya!’. One even without my asking reported that Gorth and many of the other Morgren were sent off into the main fight with ‘da big shiny one, with da dark shell’. Having only allocated a short time though for them, I only get a few fights of any merit.

Fighting one handed with my spear is not much of an issue, but apparently many of the Morgren do not want to be bothered to get their shields, since they are not generally allowed to hold onto them outside of combat. Asking someone who looks remotely related to their ‘care’, I am informed that there are concerns with Morgren of them breaking their equipment or forgetting about it, and its usually kept away from them unless needed, especially since it is not needed for training normally.

[7 Combat Experience gained]

I decide to replicate my efforts though with the paperwork, feeling this will likely work just as well for getting myself into the archery classes. It turns out though, approval is not really needed, all troops who are to be garrisoned for any period of time are required to spend twenty four hours during the cycle training, and can come and go as they pretty much please. An outsider can train, they just don’t see ‘any reason that anyone of your stature would want to…. Not that their questioning your decision or anything, pleasedonthurtme’.

I decide with this in mind to stop wasting time with incompetent paper dealers, and just go to the darn class. I have no idea where to get a bow, and no one in my squad is remotely my size. Fekk it, im going, and if I have to tear off a mounted cannon to get in, I’ll do it and point it until I get results! Only fate is denying me, and paperwork involving stupid small bows is not fate.

Arriving at the class finally, and just standing with implication of getting involved, one of the ‘assistants’ looks at me strangely for awhile, along with many of the other students, until Eldna glades at all of them hard enough to wonder if I’m looking at my own reflection, and they get back to work.
A few moments later, Eldna herself is talking to me, asking about my intent to participate and why. I consider a moment… trying to think of an answer Hasv might give, and respond about bettering myself for the glory of the empire. She seems to chuckle at this, and disappears for awhile, coming back with a BEAST of a bow, almost seemingly tailored to someone of my size, or possibly larger. The construction reminds me most of my weapon identification training of a longbow… though of a kind suited to someone of my stature, which is not something I expected. Without another word though really, she tells me to get in line and pay attention.

[Curiosity level 1, 32 stays awake!]

This is certainly far more boring though than the slashing of a weapon, and the basics seem very simple. Though at the present, I find myself slightly at issue because despite having a bow, I have no arrows… and these motions don’t want to work with my fingers and ARG!

… Time passes though fairly quickly, and I feel I have learned some basics of bow use, breaking off in the mid afternoon after a few hours.

As evening passes again, I find myself once again meeting Samir, and take some more… manipulative I suppose, approaches to the encounter. Instead of a more subdued approach, I make efforts to involve the bar sort of as a whole, throwing much more money around, and being more willing to experiment and risk failure, to see moreso how I can push people into behaving. By the end of the night, I have an interesting set of dares piling up, with various cannoneers claiming to know the right barrel size to fire someone like me into combat, laughs rolling around, and an impressive tab… At this point, nearly a mark will be lost to this venture soon. Less information has been learned this time, but a more jovial mood seems to fall around me.

[Command +.06, Diplomacy +.06, Bluff +.11, Partial Progress made on practical concepts involving ballistic weapons (Importance of force, concept that almost all weapons fall over time, use of variable power).]

[Day 16, Castiday, Cycle 2 of Perrenius]
[Weapon rolls: 5, 7, Lucky 7 invoked]
I decide this day to spend more time working with the relatively unknown and somewhat odd wire weapon I have in my passion, named for now That Which Reaps. I make no real progress in discovering anything too new, spending a fair amount of time also thinking vaguely on how I am to make a new style of spearplay noticable. I can practice it on my own without issue, but that has no real ability to get noticed, which I do spend some time doing. However, fighting anyone with a weapon is rather hard to get approved, the Morgren would probably not be allowed at all, and I doubt anyone wants to fight such an overwhelming force as myself and risk an inevitable brutal death.

[Seven Result, 32 learns something about how to use weapon with present forms]
I do learn two major things though about That Which Reaps.
-To convert the disk into the wire, it must either be thrown without hitting anything, after twenty feet of travel, it will transform into the wire and try to land in my hand. Else, if it does hit a target, if I move away from the target, it will dislodge from the target and turn into the wire. At this point, it transforms into the chain as per usual.
-The wire as I suspected is in fact extremely sharp, and when I tested it on some relatively useless, but solid pieces of iron, it cut right through them. I suspect that if I were to ‘grab’ a weapon with the wire and pull/cut with it, it would likely cut right through almost all lower quality weapons. This could possibly apply to a metal more like steel, but I do not care to spend the money to find out right now, nor do I have any steel equipment to my knowledge. As far as I know, my spear is iron despite not rusting, nor do I feel like risking breaking it.

I do make time though to once again visit Samir, and continue my trend, finding a slow but steady string of results as far as understanding his concept of ‘ballistics’. He claims that no matter the cannon, there is a level of predictability, that all shells if designed right or not ‘ark’ in some predictable way. When I ask him to elaborate, he only laughs and says that it would bore me, or get him in massive trouble for shooting off the cannons again.

[Command +.04, Diplomacy +.06, Bluff +.06]

[Day 17, Enduday, Cycle 2 of Perennius.]

>What shall I do today? I still have I suspect about five days or so by Sullivan’s guess.
>Should I prioritize anything else? Meet any new persons, deal with something or someone? Possibly just rest.
>>
No. 281872 ID: a76809

First up, you obviously woke up early today, because oh boy, getting regular sleep? Shit's like, TOO MUCH for you now. so you're shaving a couple hours out just so you don't feel so energetic-and with that morning dawn, I think you and I both know what you're gonna do-

Two pieces of lumber for a firepit. Some rope.

Wrap that shit around the spear's head, make it as hard to use one handed as possible-and take a tower shield, practice how to brace as solidly as possible on a moments notice with arm, shoulder and hip against the shield, and lash out lightning fast stabs with your weighty spear. For now, just work on bracing solidly, making a fast, accurate stab with the weight, and start building your speed at switching from there. That should make a good morning one.

Another day of practice with Eldna-beforehand hit up requisitions, say 'you've been waiting a week for your re-supply of siege arrows, and at this point, you don't care what it is, but you need something that THIS' [put bow on table] 'bow can fire, and I need it ten minutes ago.' Don't be outright rude, just seem hurried and clearly intent to get to a duty, but otherwise courteous if insistent-don't lean on him, let your size and intensity do it, and keep giving that tongue a workout-you've been getting some real solid experience at bluffing and diplomacy-both can apply to trying to wheedle a favor from someone largely like a merchant. If it fails, go to class, tell Eldna you didn't get your resupply, so unless she happens to have some, you'll have to just watch today as well. Between these two approaches, you should get SOMETHING, more verbal practice, and a more rewarding lesson.

For afternoon/evening. afternoon I assume is for your normal duties, if no such things exist this day then I suggest another Morgren training round-keep getting more familiar with one on one fights against larger, tougher foes, how to slow, hinder and topple them, how to grapple and manhandle them-since you use a spear in war, throws are more useful than punches, as they can be integrated into weapon play more easily.

Alternatively, have the Morgren help teach you how to kick. Seriously, ONLY Morgren, and you getting kicked is fine, you've gotten tougher, you can take it as long as you ask them to start at non-full strength. Then, try to take the ideas of what a kick should be from as many Morgren as possible, keep trying to do their kicks, each one they demonstrate. With each Morgren supplying their preffered, go-to kick for combat-if any-and you systematically trying to get a grasp of them, you will get a core understanding of how Morgren think of kicks-

Which is as a brutal, terrible weapon, something that has to be fell enough to be worth the loss of a leg's bracing, given the Morgren's weighty nature. These are not swift, nor sharp kicks-they are the kicks of the breaker, the ravager, and as such could ALSO be integrated into the sword and shield style, both in improved leg strength and additional attacking options with occupied hands. Or possibly learn both over multiple days. Really, you want as polished a style concept for Lysander as you can make.

Evening, more Samir-not massive rounds of drinks this time, oh no-instead, try practicing with bluff-jokingly bring up last night's funnier moments as an ice-breaker, and settle in to drink some but largely wait for the regulars to get drunk while getting what info you can with your humor prod. Once people are getting more inebriated, start mentioning bets from the prior night-nothing specific, and nothing antagonistic in tone, just a mention-then say they had said they were going to buy a round for Samir, for 'that thing he did' Act like they OBVIOUSLY should remember-considering you spent so much, reasonable chance their memories are fuzzy. So, use those free drinks to Samir as an in to really open the guy up again, bring back up topic of how shots travel, and him possibly showing you, after talking about some of last night's highlights to warm him to the idea of doing favors.


Actually, lets spread this over... three days, each of two-three hour earlier rising since you don't need THAT much sleep, and do the following:

-Each morning, two hours practice rapid shield bracing/accurate weighted stab, last twenty minutes with weights off.
-attempt to wheedle arrows out of quartermaster with bullshit
-early day pre-duties spent with Eldna more archery lessons keep supplementing those ranged combat ideas.
-later day post-duties time spent training with Morgren-alternating learning grapples, throws, trips and locks, and Morgren-scale kicking styles.
-evenings spent boozing to dull pain from morgren training while using more bluff to use last nights success to keep prying Samir for more data.

And if you ask where you could get a towershield-honestly, no army this equipped is not SHITTING towershields, even if in practice form, get a big, heavy shield. Goal is to get permission for a Morgren shield if not Guimu's shell before shit starts going down by showing solid style ideas and physical ability for its use, and mental capacity to not lose it-plus you will have been chatting up the Morgren handlers a bit each day as they watch you spar, in that you should easily be able to get them positively inclined towards you.
>>
No. 281963 ID: 81f32a

Yea, while doing combat training is cool and all, I think we should train one specific skill.
Namely, Combat Senses.
Not sure how to do it right but, get several opponents. Strong, weak, does not matter, you are not going to be on the offensive.
Rather, you will instruct them to attack you (with wooden training weapons) from several directions and angles, maybe even have them throw rock or two.
What you will have to do, is try to intercept or dodge the attacks.
If you want some regular sparring, you should train with other force champions like Kyon or Cat .... or maybe someone else.

You are getting better and better at talking with people.
You might be able to sway people at the bar without paying for drinks. Try to use your hot-blooded temper and get them into the state of jovial mind. They would might want to share more expertise and even maybe show you how to shoot cannons if you play your cards right.
You should already know a lot about these people, which topics they like and how to get them in great mood .... this shouldn't be too hard.

If you don't manage to requisition siege arrows .... you could always try to buy them...

Go find Havs and talk about the specifics of diplomacy and bluffing.
Try to comment his performance (no matter how boring it could get) and ask if he can teach you something or give you tips.
If you can't find him, try some other diplomat-person..

Also, find some doctors/medics, go to a medicine tent or maybe find that old woman
and bug them about the specifics of first aid and medicine. Look what they are doing and try to learn something.
Don't let your mind wander when they finally concede and try to teach you something. Be very attentive and even if the words might not mean much to you, try to remember them. Concentrate on your learning and try not to get distracted by random thoughts.


>Actually, lets spread this over... three days, each of two-three hour earlier rising since you don't need THAT much sleep, and do the following
I agree with this.
Sleep is for the weak.
FATE does not wait on the lazy.
Do not let her down.
Or you might find that she lost your favor and took on another.
Always strive to be a better Champion of DEATH.
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No. 282014 ID: 69bee4
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282014

[Sleep deprivation or reduction is a completely valid choice; however, it is worth noting that making it a habit to sleep deprive him could have consequences. Particularly since this is his ‘downtime’ right now, and he is not working nearly as much as he normally is. It is not likely to be an issue unless it is prolonged, or he is forced onto a harsher military setting, but it is worth noting that 32 is essentially human. Also, 32’s shift usually covers Morning to early Afternoon as his non free time, which is about quarter time compared to a ‘normal’ shift of either Morning to Evening, or Evening to early Morning. Garrison is covering this though for now.]

>>281872
>>281963
Waking up particularly early this morning, I yawn slightly and stare out at the sun, daring the sky to stop its ascent. The cool early spring air is somewhat refreshing actually at this time of day, compared to the usual feeling of walking in a hot cloud that the meeting of swamp and heat inspires. Something I am not particularly fond of for what should be the so called joy of Perennius. I hear the shuffles of persons under sleeping mats as I gather my stuff and move out towards the requisition tents. I unfortunately do not have the bow, it was taken upon my departure from the archery class at Eldna’s demand, but it is obvious that Siege arrows –should- work.

It probably takes me more time to get the fekkin officer on charge awake than it does to get my order. A combination of sleepiness, a looming figure of strength, and demands that include some level of official sounding existence along with a hurry having its once again desired effect as I receive a bunch of spare siege bolts. At this point, I find myself readily becoming familiar with the tactic, and feel some ability to gauge its effectiveness just by merit of having done it and seen it being so effective. I feel that my natural size also provides a very good template for a minor bout of intimidation. In addition, I use this opportunity to get pieces of wood for another idea I have. I also have a Tower Shield on loan for now, though it must be returned before I leave camp. It does not suit my size properly, but it does have significant bulk and weight I suppose for the punier kinds.

Returning with my gains, I set to taking the pieces of lumber and shield and beginning the practice I need, bracing, thrusting, and swinging the spear single handedly while grasping weight in my off arm. Although only having a few hours before shift begins to fully put this to any use, I find myself making a marked improvement. Though the spear is far longer and weightier than my training had ever intended for use a single handed spear, I am definitely no longer ever going to be completely awkward and inaccurate with it.

After the shift concludes and I eat, I return to Eldna’s classes, and this time receive a bow, and a few siege arrows… well, at least having my own supply means I do not need to worry about running out.

[Curiosity level 1, 32 stays at same level of attention]

All in all, I find the class still too lacking in action to learn a lot. I do have a more foundational grasp of shooting the bow, and I do get to fire some arrows that land remotely near the target at times. I feel I’m close to picking up something, but only since I have more to work off of with Samir and his talk.

>>281963
[This is the wrong idea for combat senses (that is more about Touch, Smell, hearing, etc); however….]
For the time before night, I decide to gather a few persons I can collect in the training area, and have them come at me with training weapons. I soon find myself in an odd conundrum, I can watch the three people coming at me, and I can nearly dodge most of the time; however, my reflexes I soon discover are poorly suited to any long term evasion. I often find myself dodging one blow to land into another, or spending more time watching a blow, but taking far too long to actually respond to it and getting him. Most of the soldiers find this good fun, but I’m still down quite a few bits to keep people around past dinner.

[Combat Reflexes Unlocked, .11 Gained due to training.]

This night is once again spent with the growingly familiar group of insane gunmen, as I use my ability to be sober and more… calculating than before, along with my growing familiarity to try and swing things more how I please with them.

To say things go well would be an understatement, the group it seems has basically accepted me as one of their drinking buddies as if I had not been only a recent transplant. I find instead of having to pay for drinks for them, I am able to throw in a mixture of real and falsified dares and bets that end up by the end of the night with my tab being cleared for me. The only low point of an oddly crazy and exciting night with these guys is my attempt to say id be by more, except for the captain. Apparently no one at all though is willing to address dealing with the captain, saying that it would be safer to attempt to unjam a live Disintegrator Round from a Vindicator Mk3 than deal with the captain. In regards to learning though, I’m finding some of the terminology much more accessible now, such as ballistics, some familiarity with the most common types of rounds and cannon, and the like. Also, I have an uncertain promise from Samir that if the guys can cover for him somehow, he promises to show me how come he is certain of his title ‘sure shot’ for me before I leave.

[Combat Perception or Senses > 3, FAIL]

[Command .06, Bluff .16, Diplomacy .16 gained.]

[Day 18, Rathday, Cycle 2 of Perennius]
I wake up early once again, and set myself some more time in working with my borrowed Shield and single handed spear technique. I once again find some notable progress with my proficiency on the weapon, not akin to my nearly two year use of it two handed at all, but enough that I would have confidence using it in combat in this new form and not cripple myself in any significant way.

Class with Eldna goes fairly smoothly, although judging by her looks at my direction, I guess she had hoped to see more from me. My arrows now find the target occasionally, but I can almost feel that she had hoped to see more from me. This is the most progress I made in a single day, but that appears to not be saying much in her eyes.

I decide for the afternoon though to instead head out towards the Morgren, and see what can be gained through trying to adapt their sort of… style for fighting. My mind immediately focuses on a ‘kick’ concept, as such large things, somewhat akin to myself, must know how to kick in a truly devastating way.

I ended up escaping that afternoon with a lot of bruises, and some aching muscles again, but I think I have some basic concepts down of how the Morgren abuse their weight in combat. I would need at least another time or two there though to really learn anything of use though I suspect.

That night, things once again go swimmingly with Samir and the rest of the group of gunners. It is an odd sense of welcome I don’t know if I have felt in a long time, possibly ever really. And they tell me, they have set up things so that Samir can be a ‘glory hog’ and show off for me a little.

[Command hits level 1, Diplomacy and Bluff both receive .11]

They make me promise I have to pay the next round, but if so they will even let me fire off a shot, considering that I know it the graceful thing to do now, I accept to a hearty round of cheers.

I almost don’t know how we did it, but Samir got off two rounds, and he made me, MADE me, and showed me how to fire that round just so it would go where he wanted. It was shocking really, Somehow with that hands on shot, I just knew exactly what to do, and Samir’s explanation just made… sense about how he predicted where the shell would go. I can see it in my head now clearly, what an ark is, how it related to all three of those rounds… Samir swears there is some form of math to this, that he can just do it in his head and see it where it’s going to land if he adjusts for wind, and I see it to. I find it almost impossible to believe that something could be so… predictive and reliable, but hell if I didn’t feel the cannon shudder in my hands, and a tree split asunder by cannonfire.

Fortunately, I suspect this is not the first time Samir has done this, as we somehow evade the giant mass of people scrambling to the area with a mix of nonchalance and hussle, and get back to the bar with a rip roaring cheer, and declarations I am an honorary gunner now.

Filled with an oddly high amount of good cheer as I left that night, I scrambled back towards the tent under the gaze of the full moon.

[Combat Perception or Senses >= 2, Pass]

Only to see a silhouette of a fairly lithe figure just barely reflected against the harsh light of the moon. I am slightly disconcerted by this, as his ability to blend in should not be that easy to someone as alert as myself, and with so much relative light. Seeing the figure though, I can define it to be Luken, who noticing my gaze steps away from my tent and walks towards me.

Luken: ”Heh, so ya caught me eh 32? Sharp eyes, though I will say in this case that does not serve you necessarily very well. I’m going to be blunt here; Sullivan is not the only one who has noticed your disappearance every night, and unlike the old man, I know better than to assume that you’re on the up and up, I hear things, I know things. Long story short, I know where you keep disappearing to each evening, and I know you must be involved in some racket. There is no way you would need to make that big of a distraction unless your covering up something big. I give you a simple offer, I want either a cut, or to be in on whatever it is if it’s profitable enough to need that kind of cover. We ain’t children here, and I’m not pla’in any games, and anything but the correct answer will go worse than it needs to.”

I just sort of stand there a moment, caught in an odd arena of accusation, with no idea of a response.

>How should I respond to Luken’s demands? I have never encountered such a situation before.
>If I feel I can get this resolved quickly, what should my plans be for tomorrow? Or must this be approached more cautiously?
>>
No. 282016 ID: a76809

rolled 1, 17 = 18

Tell him the following.

"You mistake the nature of my greed. I harber ambitions of adnvancement, of both more chances to prove myself, and more opportunities for command. I'm here for power, and for that, I am making connections, building a base in this camp-all I can offer you is prefferential dealings as I rise through the ranks-and I tell you now I will-it is my fate, both predetermined by the past and driven by my burning present efforts. But if you seek money from me, feel free to search my tent and person, but I have nothing of genuine value, a mark and change or less-I haven't done a total summation for a time. So either wait until I rise high enough I can pay up on my offer, or... we find alternative ways to settle this."

Don't try and lean at him or be intimidating-just stand there, ready and waiting,

Honestly, he should buy it, he seems either keen enough to recognize the truth, or inclined to believe the level of personal greed represented in what was just disclosed. The synergy with NEWEST and STRONGEST emotional traits should lend weight to your words too, if I understand the mechanics correctly.

If he doesn't.... potential bet on a bout between you (his choice of method but not a race) on whether he lets it go or you give him 'a cut' as in all your current funds, since you could get in SHIT for that shot.

As to plans for the next day. once again wake up early-this time, weighted spear, instant shield bracing, AND do the switching on the move-focus here-you are inspiring CONTEMPT in your teacher, Eldna-this cannot stand. Supplement your curiosity driven level of focus with CONTEMPT driving you to avoid being the subject of such. It should let you finally pull together the basics of her lessons, and get semi-regular at hitting the target-and able to use that strength for long range, armor punching shots, which is kinda the point of bigass bows like that-or mid range to point blank shots to pierce that super thick giant froggrock hide.

Then, with the rest of your day, train with the Morgren again-you see something as possible here-show yourself worthy of the augmentation done to you, learn how to fully ply the augmented body you have-learn to kick from living beasts, from Life Golems, from Morgren-and learn a kick that could rattle bones through armor, sunder shields, even shatter skeletons. This could be a kick of-oh fuck massive internal bleeding, broken bones puncturing organs, dying while I'm flying away. So really, take those lumps, keep building on your durability as you get through as many Morgren as possible-and now more focus on older ones that have hung back, and REQUESTS that they show you, not orders, and look for enough veteran morgren volunteers to polish off the foundations of your new kicking style.

Skip bar, attention will be there at least tonight, so extra time split between the two different types of lessons with your time.

The next day, unless you get orders, DON'T wake up early-and spend the whole day with your squad, drilling, going over swamp terrain, how to spot enemies and ambushes, and in general project an air of a professional leader concerned that those he is 'in charge' of are performing as well as they can-not contempt, just assuring fate is supplemented as much as possible by one's one choice-after all one cannot simple watch fate, they have to live it. Hopefully, there will be some sort of preliminary meeting about coming battle that day, or upcoming-that is something you should try to attend, unless it would prevent you from establishing the kicking skillset.
>>
No. 282102 ID: 81f32a

Heh, 32, with your recent increase in your social skills you should be able to determine which parts are true and which are lies in social situations. 'Detect motive' if you will.
I think Luken is partly bluffing, sure he knows that you go off somewhere to do your business and he says he knows what your are doing ..... But if he really did, would he ask a cut on your 'racket'? I don't think he knows what you do during the evening.
So... I propose to get along. Tell him that he can get on the 'deal', he'll have to come with you to the place you disappear every night to get into the 'action'.
And when you bring him to the bar with all the insane gunners, loudly announce to your gunner-friends that "my friend, just as me, has shown a great interest in cannons, explosions and all the all the great stuff, and has asked me to get him into the action. I said yes but only if he buys rounds for the night for the entire crew... and he agreed. All the drink on Luken, [insert acceptable nick-name for gunners].
The look straight in Lukens face with the most intent and intimidating look that you can pull, the face that says "don't expect to walk out of here on your two legs if you pull back now"
The spend the night as you did before. Being generally a good sociable guy, trying to carefully manipulate the conversations and the attitude towards yourself and glean more info on ballistics and such.

Also.
32, the might of the cannon felt amazing, right?
The sheer destructive power hidden in a tube an a shell must have been invigorating. Wouldn't it be great to have a weapon like that for yourself?
Maybe not entire cannon, no, but something personal? Like a hand-cannon?
But not made for regular soldiers. Something bigger, suitable for someone as yourself.
Talk with Samir if such things exist.


>[This is the wrong idea for combat senses (that is more about Touch, Smell, hearing, etc); however….]
Ah.. I know!
Have a similar training with couple of dudes ... but this time blindfold yourself and try to rely only on your sense of hearing and touch (the tremors in the ground and such).
This way, you will train your Combat Senses and Reflexes at the same time.
Start slow at first.
Spend few hours each day doing this.


You should play with your wire weapon some more (don't take too long on it though).
Lets see what happens if you hold the two handle in a 'corner shape', 90 degrees from each other.
See what happens if you connect the handles, from both side.
What happens if you take the wire vertically.

Concerning Eldna.
She is FINDING YOU WANTING, 32! You can't have that can you? Do not the let the Empire down!
It is a shame that you can't take the siege-bow for extra practice...
But what you can do is this:
First, find a quiet place, away from the noise and reflect deeply on the things you have learned from Samir: the trajectories, how the wind play the role how the object will fly, the different ways that different sized projectiles fly through the air, etc...
Then, take the siege arrows ... and play around with them some more. Feel their weight, their complexity, their shape and size... Imagine how the will fly, try to apply your teachings from Samir to these arrows. You don't have the bow, but you can still throw them by hand to see how they behave, how the wind affects their trajectory.
While you are at it, do the same for your throwing disk. Accurate and strong throws with it could save your life sometime.
Take as long as you need till you are comfortable that you will perform greatly during the archery trainings.
I think you should strive to impress your Eldna as much as possible till she goes away, I have a fleeting suspicion that she will gift you the siege-bow if she finds that you are worthy enough.


I'm liking the direction that 32 is taking.
Finding something that he is unfamiliar with and trying to improve himself in that field in short time.
The socializing skills for example. I doubt anyone would think that 32 would be great at manipulating the flow of discussion and using the 'diplomatic' skills for his advantage.
And look at him now ... just a little bit more and he'll be as good as people who 'specialize' in that field.
Maybe that is your destiny, 32? That might be your Fate.
Think about it ... why would Fate choose you as a champion? Why would Death?
Certainly you are strong individual ... but so are hundreds of thousands others. In the grand scale of things, your combat level is not so great as to set you aside from other people.
You have seen a lot of other Force Champions who are certainly stronger than you ... why would fate prefer you over countless of others?
...
But you have something that others don't
you have the dedication, the will, to better yourself for the empire. And it does not end purely in combat areas or even in weapons that are expected of you. Surely you know how useful many not directly violent related skills are for the Empire. People like Havs, doctors and even R&D might not be great for fighting, but their value for Empire cannont be argued.
You seek skills and traits that you find lacking, that you find wanting and see if you can improve them, learn them.
Certainly, no one else id wasting their "precious down-time" learning archery, diplomacy, shield fighting or even just extra training.
This is what your defining trait should be 32, this is your goal. Doing what others are to lazy to do, trying to at least specialize in every useful skill that you can find. Having wide range of expertise would put you great regard in Empire.
Dedicate into bettering yourself, 32, and no one will find you wanting again!

>>282016
>since you could get in SHIT for that shot
What? Why?
As far as I see it, 32 did nothing wrong.
Certainly, no one can forbid him how to spend his evenings during his free time, so going to the bar with gunners cannot be a problem.
And the only ones who could get into trouble for shooting are the gunners. 32 cannot bear the responsibility for that .... besides, 32 noted that these kind of things happen rather often and I doubt anyone would mind.
Certainly do not give away your funds .. .we might need them for buying drinks for Samir or something else in the future.

Concerning the kicking training.
Maybe 32 could be able to requisition some Earth Shattering Boots of Destruction, which will make his feet into deadly weapons that they deserve to be?
Or at least buy some or omission at blacksmith?

>The next day, unless you get orders, DON'T wake up
While I totally agree with spending "quality" time with the squad, 32 should wake up early again.
He could spend the extra few hours solo-training and reflecting on things that he has learned.
Besides, early morning is very refreshing.


[Naive, can you put 'Inventory' into the character sheet? Knowing how much money 32 has and what kind of stuff he can use is very useful]
>>
No. 282155 ID: a76809

>>282102
>What? Why?
>As far as I see it, 32 did nothing wrong.
>Certainly, no one can forbid him how to spend his evenings during his free time, so going to the bar with gunners cannot be a problem.

Lets review:

Using military hardware without the proper clearance (not even remotely related to artillery on an official level), unauthorized use of military munitions supple (the shot fired, nevermind that Samir fired double what you did, no doubt he is covering his ass now too.), action taken beyond scope of rank (in the form of the HIGHLY independent choices of how to spend time, including FILING OFFICIAL REQUESTS without ever informing your superior of ANYTHING), OH, AND LET'S NOT FORGET that you lied to officers in convincing people of drunken bets, SOME OF WHICH were fabricated, never-mind the majority were accurate.

Someone with a mind for it and enough mind could FUCK YOU just for that night, you did a shit ton of illegal things...

So yes, 32 has EVERY reason to lay low, and avoid attracting the attention of the initial investigation.
>>
No. 282416 ID: 69bee4
File 129807880866.jpg - (58.42KB , 800x600 , 32InventorySheet.jpg )
282416

[Adding an inventory. However, in part to represent 32’s fallible memory, to change the inventory sheet in a meaningful way, it must be requested (organization of items, to remember an item 32 has forgotten he has, etc). Default will usually stand towards Character Sheet, Inventory sheet must be asked for. Inventory will be updated up to after this post’s expenses, but before the last event.]

>>282016
[Approach taken with Luken Randomized]
[Rolls = 1, 17]
I stay silent for a long moment, attempting to piece together how to respond to a mix of problematic and arrogant claims against my person.

[Roll = 1]
I notice though I am definitely taking too long, as Luken’s look turns into a glare.

”I am not an idiot Thirty Two, nor am I dropping this, I expect an answer sometime today

I take a breath and quickly gather my thoughts.

"You mistake the nature of my greed. I harber ambitions of advancement, of more chances to prove myself, and more opportunities for command. I'm here for power, and for that, I am making connections, building a base in this camp-all I can offer you is preferential dealings as I rise through the ranks-and I tell you now I will-it is my fate, both predetermined by the past and driven by my burning present efforts. But if you seek money from me, feel free to search my tent and person, but I have nothing of genuine value, a mark and change or less-I haven't done a total summation for a time. So either wait until I rise high enough I can pay up on my offer, or... we find alternative ways to settle this."

[Partial Bluff and Diplomacy <= 3 Minimal mitigation, Fatalism-Hot-Blooded Bonus enhances level of perceived truth, ??? broached, Result: Critical Failure]
Luken just stares at me strangely as I speak in my bold words upon my ideals, his look of annoyance not seeming likely to leave him, as he shrugs against my tent.

”So you think you can play games with me eh? Bribe me with some far off promise of wealth and glory hmm? I’ve never heard a cannon round going off in order to celebrate a promotion your highness, only a funeral for war heroes. Trust me there kid, you’re as much a war hero as I am, probably even less so. I can promise you a funeral someday though if you feel like feeding me lines of self righteous bullshit again.”
He flicks his hand against a dagger concealed on his clothes, then resheaths it into his pouch as he continues.
“ I hope whatever the fekk it is your doing is worth it, cause’ if it ain’t golden palaces with a good honor guard, I don’t suspect you are going to get far. I don’t need the alternatives of a pompous wanna be highbrow, I’m gone, but you’re going to have just as much to look forward to, mark my words.”


With that, Luken dislodges himself from the tent and begins to walk off into the darkness, his paranoid ramblings already beginning to become nothing but blunt accusations in my head.

>>282102
I decide to just head off to sleep for now, maybe deal with it tomorrow if I feel the tiny Luken poses any sort of real threat. I play around some with the wire, particularly trying to make an L shape, but find that the wire though easily bended, does not seem to have any real effect from the action.

[Day 19, Randinday, Cycle 2 of Perennius {Spring}]
I wake up early once again, taking up my recently borrowed tower shield, and weighing down my spear with the pieces of wood as before.

I find my progress training even for only a few hours to be more than adequate, it appears that my training with single handed spears from my past, augmented by my growth in strength is finally allowing me to treat this weapon almost as well as any other. It certainly cannot be called my primary weapon as of right now, but as I slash and thrust at invisible targets, I easily envision myself making fairly precise hits once more, and being able to hold my ground, use the shield as a brace with some comfort, and fight with this style as if holding one of the lesser preferred of the many other weapons I was trained how to use growing up.

Though I feel I could do much more given time, duty calls, and staring off into the swamp won’t do itself… fekkin guard duty.

>>282102
As I head towards archery training, a series of thoughts begins to approach my mind. A series of thoughts upon fate… why was I chosen? As loathe as my mind is to admit it at times, there are those stronger than myself, plenty more high ranking, and yet I KNOW that during the fight with Guimu I was chosen at that moment without doubt. Walking towards the fields, I find the answer obvious, all the other persons here are but mere garrison workers, those intended to stand behind and guard. I on the other hand am not, I am essentially on leave, and yet here I stand, ready to let arrows fly in honor the the Empire, in honor of the might it stands for. Am I to risk being found wanting like so many others just because it is something I find distasteful? Am I to risk it even in something that seems so minor. I should refuse to do so, and so I shall!
[Fatalism level replaces Curiosity for Bonus to Archery Class for today, +15 Emotional Experience, Emotional Set almost unlocked.]
Given the somewhat familiar bow, and a set of siege arrows again, I take aim and attempt to recall what I have learned.

[Roll = 17, Fatalism Bonus, Multiple days of improvement in one.]
… Better, certainly not bull’s-eye every time, but an aimed shot is certainly becoming much more respectable, hitting the target having gone from rare to almost impossible to miss in its entirety. In addition, I find myself able to combine what Samir had taught me, and shoot the arrow in an ark now with some level of accuracy. Beyond this, Eldna seems pleased as I prove myself capable of modulating distance towards the target, either using an arking shot, or to some extent controlling the level of … she called it ‘draw force?’ or how much I pull back on the bow. It’s certainly about the level of many of the average students who had also tutored under her, as she is an impressively good teacher, but in my case with three less days of training, and no real personal tutoring unlike some of the students somehow seem to get.

This evening I decide to forgo the travel to the bar, and instead decide to ‘lay low’ for a little while. I’m sure after drawing such an… explosive reaction yesterday… heh, Samir will understand.

I instead decide to work towards something different. Yesterday was a bit of a shock that I really need to work on my ability to dodge and react faster. Gathering up a few people once more with the promise of some Rounds, I am this time set up to try and dodge while blindfolded. This being the most immediate thing that comes to mind.

[High Combat Perception bonus: End result slightly above average.]

I find myself rewarded for my earlier efforts at trying to take in the world around me, as although I have to resist the urge to pound in the faces of some of the insolent pricks. I seriously think they enjoy hitting me. I find myself adapting swiftly to the sounds of their feet hitting the ground, and some minor ability to predict location and speed. I still do not dodge as well as I’d like, but its progress.

[Combat Senses: .11, Reflexes .06]

With the evening seriously beginning to be threatened, I find the Morgren and kick them a bit until their willing to tell me more about ‘how ta kick good n proppa ya git! Ya gotta use ur horn ead right’. I only find myself able to stand an hour or so before the night threatens, and my body finds itself too weary to continue with such minor behemoths. I feel exceptionally close to getting what they’re doing, but their constant insistence I act like im putting my ‘orn into it confuses me to all deep. Eh, I’m pretty sure another time and I’m pretty much guaranteed to get it, and the kick is better anyways at least.

[Day 20, Zakday, Cycle 3 of Perennius {Spring}]
I find myself woken to a slightly startling poke in my ribcage, as I go to grab whatever insolent animal does this… only to find myself jabbed slightly again. Sitting up in a blur of annoyed awareness, I see that the light of the moon still shines, and that it is instead Luken who has woken me.

”Get up kid, I know your probably expecting the old man, but he’s busy running around, so he asked me to. We’re apparently moving out, like… almost now…. Fekk its too early for this. Get your mug up and get movin”

Scratching his head, the skinny squad member leaves the room before I can fully articulate a thought to bash his face in for waking me up this early.

However, as I get packing, I see that the entire camp is a flurry of movement. Echos of sergeants yelling grating on my mind as much as my slight muscle ache as I begin to start the process of packing up to move.

Meeting up with Sullivan and the squad at the central campfire, we are informed that the “Main Advance” is calling upon all non-garrisoned troops to move out now. This was at least a few days before Sullivan had suggested we were moving, and at this time? Fekk… annoying, somewhat odd.

We are informed that we have about half an hour to be ready to move out, or else Thirty Two will… “Hey! I’m not your fekkin enforcer old man! Fight your own battles” ”You’re the Force Champion, and ill force you to champion getting their butts moving, SO GET MOVIN!”. Either way, most of the squad begins to move out to pack up tents and Bedrolls. Fortunately for me I suppose, I already pack that stuff up, since unlike most of the weaklings, carrying the tent and such doesn’t trouble my strength. Well, I have some time, about enough to run to the other side of camp where most of the stores are and back, or to meet up with just about anyone I wish around here from the 32nd unless I wanted to go bug another squad.

>What should I do with my spare bit of time? Go somewhere, do something, help some people pack?
>If I decide to talk, what about? Do I have anything in mind?
[4 D20 being rolled, first D20 is how your squad compares to the others headed towards the Main Advance time wise (1 being first, 20 being last to arrive), other 3D20’s represent possible encounters on the path, low being most potential for bad things, high being most potential for good.]
>>
No. 282417 ID: 69bee4

rolled 18, 14, 8, 14 = 54

>>
No. 282439 ID: 252e1b

Find anyone in our squad who is having trouble packing in a timely manner and help him. If it looks like everyone in Alpha can get it done in time, go help the drunkies in Beta.
>>
No. 282453 ID: a76809

>>282416
These are what you will try, in order of importance. If at any time the highest priority meeting looks like it will not happen, immediately default to the next on the list.

Try to meet with Eldna
Your recent glut of archery improvement SHOULD let you attempt to acquire a scaled bow, and a quiver of arrows. Basically, tell her of your need to impair/kill Froggrocks at range, and be willing to agree to return whatever bow she gives, if that's what it takes.

IF Bow plan not working-

Try to meet with Morgren staff
Meet with the requisition officers for the Morgren-who you have met multiple times for about a half cycle, and now know you-ask them for a Morgren Shield, and if they balk say something along the lines of 'I submitted the paperwork last night after I was here, we need to march and I need that shield NOW-' the general urgency of the camp and your increased skill at bluffing and new-found knowledge of military paperwork should let you pull this off. Yes the shield will add to the weight you are transporting-and if you want to whine about it, stop being a Force Champion.

IF Morgren shield plan looks like a no-go-

Try to meet with Samir
Attempt to meet with Samir, see if he has any explosives he might be willing to 'lose', so you can have more options on the field.

If NONE of that looks like it's gonna happen-

Go find Luken.

Tell the little shit the following.

"You are a paranoid idiot-and part of my division, so we need to clear this up now. What I told you was the truth, question the truthfulness of my statements again and no matter the consequences, I WILL kill you-inf fact, question it again and I would be HAPPY to wait for a court martial. Are we clear?"

Don't give him time to answer, go on.

"You also assumed I wanted advancement for some humanitarian reason, or some other high-minded ideal-which I never said, nor even implied. I want advancement because I want MY life to be better, I want more control and power, NOT because I want to help-now, you can either accept you mistook my meaning and threatened me for no reason, and apologize now, in which case we put this behind us-or you will have to do everything you can to keep me from ripping out your jaw and beating you to death with it. NOW."

Lean in close.

"ARE. WE. CLEAR."
>>
No. 282578 ID: 903f16

rolled 8 = 8

>What should I do with my spare bit of time? Go somewhere, do something, help some people pack?

Well let's address your inventory. First thing you have got to do is go get payed, so go down to the office and get that sorted. Don't bother trying to request more than normal, just be happy with the meager sum they give you and get out.

Then try to do something with that plant. If I recall correctly it was a rather toxic, so the next step would be to put this quality to use and make a poison out of of it. Now instead of having someone make it for you I would suggest purchasing the basic tools that would allow you to create something from it yourself. I suppose with how potent the plant is that pulverizing it with a mortar and pestle into either powder or paste would would be sufficient. Now you may be put off by the nature of what you're making, but it's not the poison itself that matters, it's what it leads in to. with a little training you could probably expand and use your new set of tools to create other apothecary items.

>If I decide to talk, what about? Do I have anything in mind?
Talk to your squad I suppose, try to get to know some people.

>Wire-ROBE-Chain-Disk thingy
Oh man it turns into a robe too? What? Ok, I've been informed this is a typo, but I want 32 to acquire a bathrobe he can wear into battle like some sort of angry old man warrior. I suppose this roll is for his success in finding one.
>>
No. 282600 ID: 81f32a

Return the shield, first priority. Wouldn't want to get into shit because we forgot to return it.

Then go speak with Samir.
If you can, buy him some good quality spirit that you know he'll enjoy (from your numerous visits you should know his tastes). Give it as a thank-you gift (always good to leave better disposition towards you, it will help you in future). Say that you are sorry you couldn't make it yesterday as you were busy, you were hoping to visit him and the boys today for more fun times and artillery talk.

Then you might try to visit Eldna to thank her for her lessons.
Don't tell it outright but try to somehow get her to gift you with the huge bow, be it with your body-language or carefully picked words and sentences.

>although I have to resist the urge to pound in the faces of some of the insolent pricks. I seriously think they enjoy hitting me
Ah.... this again, 32?
I think you should really reevaluate the way you serve Fate. Maybe you are not that worthy of her? You seem to question your comrades and events too much.
Remember, while these guys have fun, they also help you to better yourself. The help you to make you a better champion of Death. The are the instrument to your Destiny.
Those, who are lower to yourself have a place of their own in this world, and you should be grateful for that, they help you to reach new heights.
It only took you few bits (and you should not place too much value into money, 32, if you can use it to better yourself you should never hesitate to spend it) for their time to visibly increase your performance.
Reserve your Spite for those who are truly deserving of it.


While marching, I propose you spend your time more productively, 32.
While there isn't much you can do during that time, you CAN try to build on your senses.
Try to concentrate on your sense of hearing and touch. Listen to the world around you, listen to the swamp, try to determine the direction of the sounds birds, try to distinguish one bird from another.
Then listen to your comrades. See if you can distinguish the sounds of footsteps from the people far ahead of you and the ones behind you accurately. Try to hear the different from the steps of bigger-sized members of the army, soldiers dressed in heavy armor and the ones in lighter attire, women from men, archers from warriors, etc. Listen to how Morgren step, listen to more 'stealthy' people.

If the march lasts for a long time and you have to make camp, you can spend your time training with Morgren or doing blindfold exercise again.

[Also Naive, when doing ANY kind of combat actions, even when training, shouldn't 32 get some cexp? ... Just a little bit?]
>>
No. 282740 ID: 69bee4
File 129817782268.jpg - (66.29KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
282740

[Beginning: Mission 2- The Fractured Fate of a Fatalist]

>>282600
[The experience you gain is a form of Combat Experience (as you would spend it to learn skills otherwise for the most part); however, it is automatically allocated, gets bonuses from things such as Curiosity, and is easier to obtain.]

>>282600
>>282439
>>282578
>>282453
Many possible things flood my head to do, from helping the squad, to speaking in appreciation to those that have aided me. However, I note first things first; I am not dealing with the fine or paperwork if I do not return this fekkin shield. I had almost entirely forgotten about it, I suppose that’s some arguable downside to my growing strength… I hardly even noticed its weight with all my other stuff, even if my back was feeling a bit crammed. Either way, that takes me to the other side of camp, and makes doing a few things a bit easier.

Returning the tower shield to a very sleepy night shift guard in the armory is an uneventful affair, though I make SURE he gets my name down correctly, I am not having a repeat of the fekkin buckler fiasco nearly a year ago. Men will get sent to their death, but never lost a few rounds of the fekkin money, I swear.

[Diplomacy and/or Bluff >= 3, FAIL.]
As the separate armories are not that far attached, I charge on into where I find a oddly not so sleepy Morgren sergeant dealing what I assume to be movements also occurring for the Morgren. I attempt to make my request known, and I find myself shot down immediately, apparently a man who deals with Morgren alot does not find me particularly intimidating, he does not buy my story on the paperwork, and apparently the shields are rather hard to replace, and have never been given out to foot soldiers to his knowledge, so losing one would be quite noticeable. As my mind seems to be bent somewhere on the back of my head, berating me for my lackluster faith in well… fate, I decide not to push this too hard.

My trip towards the processing area is probably the fastest I have ever been through by about half an hour, as there is no one at all in line to get paid. Having an easy time convincing them that yes I am 32, and no deep im an Alchemical, I collect my meager payment… less than a mark, fekk. If there is anything more powerful than fate, its fekkin cheapskate beau…. Ok, ok, yes brain! Jeez. Yeah, I have a lot to learn about being so cavalier about it… especially as I felt its gifts in my hands just recently.

I decide next to hightail it towards the Gunnery area, and find thankfully not only is the Captain not here this early, but it’s a pair of guys I know from the bar. Giving a quick greeting, I come up with an idea for a gift, and they help me ‘get into’ the bar, and throw in a round or two they owe from trying to challenge me to arm wrestling, ‘really… you would think that’s a sign ya had a few too many to drink’, to leave in exchange for the expedited sale of the spirit.

Quickly waking up Samir, I hand him off the spirit and apologize for my absence, explaining it was a fun time and that I have to run off due to the unknown and exciting life of gruntwork. With a laugh he thanks me and fairly simply says he fondly recalls those days. Before I head out though he hands me three sticks of someth… oooooohhh, pretty little buggers, a solid three pack of Nine Twentys (20 cm long Tube shaped explosive, normally allocated in singles by Sergeants to trusted troops, normally used for exploding enemy cover from a distance, also used for minor demolitions or as a fragmentation grenade. Used by pulling off top, pressing rune underneath, and explodes in 4-5 seconds. Called Nine Twenty’s both for their length of 20cm, and their usual cost on the black market being that many Rounds.). I give back the little man’s hug and grin, his farewell of ‘blow the legs off a castelborn bastard!’ combined with the promise of explosives making me grin ever so slightly inwardly.

Fekk, took too much time though, I can tell, no time for Eldna, she’s on the far west side. I begin my run back towards the meeting place of the 32nd, more chaotic troop movements almost standing in my way as I get back just barely in time.

[Sullivan] “32nd Thetas! We move out now.”

With that, we begin the exit to the camp, placing my spear in my hands, adjusting my breastplate, and silently thanking and cursing fate… though I can’t complain too much with a three pack of Nine Twenty’s, I’ve seen the impressive kaboom they offer back towards Duras, heh.

[Emotional Experience +10, 3x Nine Twentys’ obtained. 86 Rounds and some bits gained, 10 rounds spent]

>>282417
[18th to arrive: Majorly Stalled]
[14, 8, 14, none <5 or >15, Merits of Mediocrity, minor bonuses, no risk.]

Day 23, Washiday, Cycle 3 of Perennius

I signal towards the rest of the squad on my flank, seeing the towering carapace of menacing steel just as readily now as I see the signs of a patchwork civilization in the middle of a swamp of all places.

The last day and a half of delay had been nothing but a sheer annoyance to say the least. We were held up horrifically when we stumbled into a large Froggrock encampment. However, as we were to learn, this was about THE worst place to pop up, as apparently this was a nesting ground, and the females of the Froggrock are not the kind you want to accidently intrude upon there…

Although I advocated for a frontal assault, Sullivan refused, stating that the risks were far too heavy, the territory was far more familiar to them than us, and that he trusted the squad to get us out alive.

To be fair, I was mildly impressed that we maintained stealth as long as we did, it was very slow going; however, no one in the end was lost, and I learned quite a few things.

-Sullivan confided early enough on to me that the reason for out abrupt movement was that the main force had been hit heavily by something unknown while one flank was scouting. Over a hundred between Morgren, Warboars, and men were lost, with only single digit number of survivors reporting on some monstrous creatures as the cause.
-I learned a lot about the squad in the process of dealing with the slow moving issues and some things afterwards.
-Gee: Fastest member by far, and apparently Sullivan considers him the most reliable for following orders to the letter. Although cowardly as far as I have known him, when ordered to do something, he seems entirely different.
-Luken: As I somewhat already knew, the guy is stealthy as the deep, but also a bit scarily good at assassination. He ended out taking two Froggrock undetected when they threatened to get too close to our position. Although skinny, his height served him well with single stabs to the neck, with what I suspect are poisoned knives.
-Larson: The strongest of the squad besides myself and possibly Sullivan, able to keep his trap shut when danger is around, but not much else.
-Lehel: Apparently the squad has an expert of sorts on the area, or at least he knows plenty enough about Froggrock to tell us why the area was so risky, that those were female and not male, what would be helpful in evasion, plants to avoid…. Yeah, traveling info center I guess, apparently served somewhere else before, and Sullivan likes to talk with him.
-Minnie and Bertha: The two females of the squad, almost always found as a pair. Minnie is much smaller, but I suspect she must have something going for her, as she has at least three blades on her, a longsword, short sword, and dagger, and was suggested at one point to go with me as a distraction if needed. She also told me a few hours ago that the ‘disk’ I had been playing with was called a Chakram, which I called a stupid name, but better than Disk I suppose. Bertha on the other hand I have no idea about other than her chattyness, which she continued despite the risks at times.
-Martin: Fancies himself a ladies’ man, would place him fairly highly on the list of people to kill with his incessant flattering. Fortunately, he’s scared of Minnie it seems, and so shuts up easy enough.
-Flloyd: The person Sullivan entrusted wordlessly with a Nine Twenty before sending Luken out to kill the threatening Froggrocks.
-August: A strange name for a strange person, quiet, but I notice him always seeming to be looking around. Was the one who alerted Sullivan to the Frogrock females that would end up killed, and spent time with me at the Vanguard later on.
-Sullivan’s first name is Artur… I just find it sorta funny.

Encounter Benefits: [Minor squad relationship improvement, Squad information learned, +.2 for both Combat Senses and Concealment]


Arrival though at the main camp was a bit lackluster, between copious amounts of mud coating my boots I suspect to be permanent, Sullivan having to explain extensively why we took so long as we stood at attention, about the only good thing before collapsing that night was getting to marvel once more at The Scars of Yesterday, a gleaming sea of black and death, even at its most passive. We are informed one day of rest, and we will receive our orders before the camp moves out at late noon of Lorth. Considering the deep damned of being on my feet, I take a cue from everyone else and collapse to sleep.

Day 24, Corday, Cycle 3 of Perennius
Waking up to the morning air once more, I glance out to see that most of the squad has already awakened, glanceing at me since my tent is usually farther, but then continuing on with their mornings, mostly breakfast. I have at least some time of the day ahead of me… I never spoke to Luken yet, Captain Lysander and the rest of the 32nd is assumingly here.

>Is there anything I should do, or person to talk to before we receive our mission?
>Should I try to learn about anything such as the goings ons, or catch a quick lesson possibly in something?
>This is the main camp, could go try and… mingle or some stupid fekkin shit like that. Only a few hours though really. [Choose a group such as Artillery or Cavalry(roll a D20, no modifier, one group per poster) or Officers, Mages, R&D (D20, modifier varies, but always negative since they outrank 32)
>[Can choose to bypass any event, will get some bonus Intel related to the mission as you will be there when Sullivan gets his version of the orders. Else you get 2 ‘events’ you suggest in camp, besides talking to squad mates or other nearby infantry level persons]
>>
No. 282760 ID: d3dfb8

rolled 7 = 7

ARRRRRTILLERY!
>>
No. 282832 ID: 81f32a

>>282740
>[The experience you gain is a form of Combat Experience (as you would spend it to learn skills otherwise for the most part); however, it is automatically allocated, gets bonuses from things such as Curiosity, and is easier to obtain.]
Ah .. I see
So after we get to the first level of, say, combat reflexes and continue with that kind of training, we will get cexp instead of increasing that skill?
Will there be any bonuses if we focus on one skill (which is already lvl 1 or higher) when we train/exercise/spar? Would it help to increase that level or give more cexp ... or will it not make difference at all?

>[Diplomacy and/or Bluff >= 3, FAIL.]
This is the second time we needed to pass 3rd level skill for diplomacy.... Didn't you say that person with a lvl.3 skill is a master, the est in the whole region? I expect that kind of expertise from Havs or any other full-fledged diplomancer.
Making us pass that kind of check is a bit crazy, imo.
Or does it stand for both of them when added together? As in, for example, we could pass this if we had Bluff:1 and Diplomacy:2 (or vice-versa)?

############

I am voting against visiting any of the listed places.
The most useful one of them could be Artillery as we have some expertise in it ... but remember how hard it was to get something useful out of Samir&Co and that was in the bar where everyone was having good time, this time however, we don't have that advantage.
The cavalry division is useless for us for now.
We shouldn't even thing of bothering mages.
I don't know what we can get from officers or R&D.


What you can do during this few hours however...
>-August: A strange name for a strange person, quiet, but I notice him always seeming to be looking around. Was the one who alerted Sullivan to the Frogrock females that would end up killed, and spent time with me at the Vanguard later on.
This guy.
He seems very interesting.
I suspect he has very high Combat Senses and Perception.
32 should talk to him, maybe try to befriend him (not completely necessary), and get as much of info about sharpening your senses as possible. Ask him for theoretical stuff and some tips.
The ask him what other good ways he knows to train Combat Senses, tell him you've been trying to increase them by trying to avoid blows while being blindfolded.

>-Lehel: Apparently the squad has an expert of sorts on the area, or at least he knows plenty enough about Froggrock to tell us why the area was so risky, that those were female and not male, what would be helpful in evasion, plants to avoid…. Yeah, traveling info center I guess, apparently served somewhere else before, and Sullivan likes to talk with him.
Then this guy.
He seems interesting too.
Talk to him, get to know him.
I want to know on what subjects he has information on, if he is only specialized in Froggoks that might be a let-down.... but I suspect he knows a lot.
This guy could potentially be our "geek" dude, to who we could refer if we have trouble with some knowledge.
If he's expertise is as wide as I suspect it is, show him your wire weapon and ask him if he knows anything about these kind of things and if he has any idea what other forms it could have and how to trigger them.
Also show him the plants you collected and ask him if there's anything we can do about them.... And the poison we had bought before, maybe he knows how to coat the blade properly or something else about them.

>[Partial Bluff and Diplomacy <= 3 Minimal mitigation, Fatalism-Hot-Blooded Bonus enhances level of perceived truth, ??? broached, Result: Critical Failure]
>[Diplomacy and/or Bluff >= 3, FAIL.]
Also, I want 32 to reflect on his recent dealings in "social" environment.
His success with Samir and bluffing at requisition office have taught him alot and probably improved his inter-personal skills (which he had close to none before]
But why should he learn ONLY from his successes??
Surely, one can also learn from their mistakes. Reflect on the situation and think of better approaches they could have used. Try to determine where they went wrong, what their mistakes were, etc.
Have 32s idle thoughts linger on these, maybe he'll learn something from his mistakes and do better next time.


If we have time after all this.
I guess we could train for some more.
First I would suggest improving combat senses and reflexes again. If August gives you any tips, this will the a good time to implement them.
2nd priority: one-handed spear fighting.
Even if you don't have a shield right now, you could always find a good use for your vacant hand. For example, using That Which Reaps as a whip (after transforming it into chain or rope), catching enemies, pulling them into you, throwing them to ground (by pulling their legs) and using your spear to finish them.
Or throwing the Chakram with the left hand, could prove an excellent distraction when needed.
3rd priority: throwing rocks.
Yes. Rocks.
I really don't want us messing up and killing half of our squad because we couldn't properly throw nine-twenties. So pick up rocks of the same weight and train accurate throwing for a while.
The lessons you learned from Samir and at archery range will help you immensely here.

Do all of this not far away from your camp. I want to get into the extra information, might prove very useful.


>-Martin: Fancies himself a ladies’ man, would place him fairly highly on the list of people to kill with his incessant flattering.
While people like that are very irritating, 32, do not completely dismiss them.
Is this guy all talk and no action kind of guy? Who desperately tries to hit on women but never actually succeed in anything?
If that is the case, then you can forget about him, he is no use for us.
But if the opposite is true, if the guy can actually talk.... well, maybe, you should keep that in mind. You could learn a lot from a guy like that as the half of the entire population consists of females it would do you good to know how to talk to them properly.
Though, that is not for now, we don't have enough time for that (I think) ... Just something for you to keep in mind, you should always search for opportunities to better yourself in any area you might find yourself wanting.

[are Cat and Kyons groups also here?]
>>
No. 282838 ID: 81f32a

Oh wait, this is the main camp, right?

Maybe we can requisition or buy a siege-bow worthy for one of our strength?

If Sullivan bothers you again why you need a bow, tell him that you had a great progress training during your down-time and would like to use the acquired skills in more direct application.
>>
No. 282973 ID: a76809

>>282740
For once, I'd actually say skip extra stuff to insure the most clear orders possible-remember last time how Sullivan got fucked up and you had no idea what to do? Don't want to repeat that.
>>
No. 283053 ID: 69bee4
File 129827018518.jpg - (66.47KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
283053

>>282832
[Correct; however, please move these types of questions in the future to Discussion or talk to me on IRC. I do not feel answering them here is the correct place.]

>>282760
>>282832
[32 biases towards doing things, easily bored]
[Roll = 7, Artillery, LUCKY #7!]

Deciding that there is no real reason to just waste time when there is so much more here, I decide to head to where I see some beauuuutiful looking pieces of military hardware. As much as I find my home up close and personal, destroying those who mock fate and death by their existence, there is something just… beautiful to a good proper explosion. Heh, reminds me of the idea that flitted through my head before, some kind of cannon mounted on me, sounds like fun in theory; however, talking about it with Samir a few days ago he laughed and said even a guy like me would just end up on my ass.

Ah well, as I head towards the oddly calm outside of the gunnery area, I suddenly hear an odd voice… strained, slow almost, as if the wind had gained a voice a fair amount louder than itself.

“Hey you”

I look around, seeing nothing but the empty courtyard like area, and tents not too far off in the distance, the ground a only semisolid mud as far as the eye goes.

”look fekkin down ya giant”

I look towards the ground and see… a green jar? Inside of it is… a human head? A bit macabre for my tas… wait, is this fekkin thing talking to me?

”final ly get me in the fekkin artill ery area”

The head appears to be vaguely that of a clean shaven… older thirty’s male? He has some sort of contraption though where his mouth should be. Large-ish black tubes that move in and out, a lot of his face has various bits of… metal with runes it looks like, nothing I really recognize in any real way. I pick up the jar, and walk into the… unguarded? Really, who the fekk leaves the artillery unguarded!? I usually wouldn’t care, but after all the trouble I went thr…

”three r down four”

“the hell you want?”

”tell the kid there that

His eyes move to my right, where I see a soldier appearing to calibrate a shot, recalling what Samir told me. Taking orders from a fakkin talking jar? Fekk that, I'm taking this into the barracks or something, despite the jar’s… complaints, if you can call nearly a whisper that.

When I arrive at the barracks, I am greeted to an oddly exuberant mix of surprise and cheer as I learn what the fekk is going on with the jar.

Apparently this… jar… person, is a sort of mascot of the major artillery division currently with the campaign. Not only is he an expert at gauging where to aim, he is the only person to have survived three explosions that have occurred INSIDE the cannon during a particularly bad bout or bad ammo about a good six or so years back. Most people consider his real name a hassle, even jarhead himself, so they call him “Lucky”… I'm not sure if they are boarfekkin me there, the bastard is actually lucky to be… sort of alive, or if it’s a sick joke. Apparently though the entire division almost had been looking for him, which also is their explanation for why the area was left unguarded, considering I see three people head back towards the entrance pretty quickly. A younger girl, introducing herself as Quintina thanks me PROFUSELY, as the obvious person who must have been in charge of jarheads safety I guess, judging by her guilt trip. I find her an odd fit, short, not a lot of meat on her bones, and dear death the awkward mix of shy and barrage of apologies. Fortunately, making up an excuse of having an order due for me, I leave after giving into her demand that she get my name and squad so she can find a way to repay me once she has money again.

Sheesh… odd as the deepest deep group there it feels like, but there was plunty of thanks going around so eh. I have a blind eye, they get a jarhead. An odd day when I feel almost the normal one.

>>282838
I decide that this is the main camp, by and far my best chance to get an actual bow made for one of my size. Although unlikely an actual siege bow, those are wheeled machines that can be converted often to fire either bolts or arrows in impressive volleys as needed, primarily as defensive machines of war against a siege. Although it would be impressive, I can only fathom that would REALLY get in the way, and not even be that useful unless the large contraption could be wielded somehow. Probably would need to be a massive sized Morgren to pull that off, and I’m not that big.

Siege arrows merely worked well as singles for the bow I was given, which was a sort of longbow for someone around my height. Fairly hard actually at times to get a full draw on the thing, held force well, made for hilariously more effective stuff than the grunts.

I talk to a soldier, who leads me to talk to paperwork, which leads me through a rather annoying walk across camp towards where apparently most of the manufacture is done. Speaking to an auxiliary Armsbuds, he states that normally a bow would fall under normal requisition via approval of a sergeant; however, the cost of producing one that will hold up to one made to my size, and as a decent quality longbow he suggests is going to make that not possible after consulting with a few smiths over cost. He states that approval will require either a Captain II or III and the sergeant, or my Captain’s Captain Superior’s approval before it could be done. Expect a cycle or two for it to be made upon approval, due to the huge numbers of requests as is. For a shortbow though, just a bit over sized for someone like me, Sergeant would be fine, and probably a cycle before its ready since its slightly special order.

Well, not too horrible, Captain Lysander is obviously a Captain III, so just need him and Sullivan then. Though not finding this fully acceptable, I decide to look for…. Alternatives.

A smith says he can make a shortbow for one of my size, would enjoy the challenge, but it would be something like 3 marks he claims for his time and material, with 1 upfront in probably a half cycle. I also speak to some more… shady characters, a guy who [Combat Perception > 1, PASS] laughably tried to pocket a mark from me while making the deal said he could get me something akin to what I’m asking for about 3…. 1 mark right now, and not breaking his arm, he has no real timeline.

Having dealt with that, I take the long walk back toward the camp, considering my earlier conversation with Luken. I suppose they may be something to learn in failure… fekk if I can remember what really happened though? Guy’s a fekkin nobody, I don’t care, serve more use in death I suspect if he’s going to get so uppity at me.

Returning to camp though, I seek out August, and decide to try and talk with him to further enhance my attempts at what I think he can do.

The man is well, really quiet all in all, and as I explain my efforts with the blindfold, he seems to not even look at me too much, but just nod. I note though the puzzled reactions of other squad members around and silent whis… like I care what they think. Anyways, he does give me something to think about, explaining in a short few sentences that to listen is to know what is natural for an area, to see is to look beyond the natural instead, to follow something is to know what it is, and the sight is lazy and lies.

I listen, and oddly enough begin to grant a lot of what he says. I recall that I have in fact been listening to what is natural, and if I replay the scenes in my head, I note how he must have found the Froggrock movement, additional outside movement followed by silence in the air. They really didn’t hide, only moved fairly silently… I begin to really take in for a moment some of what I had listened to earlier, I note that movement is rare, and something to focus on, and that the eyes can in fact make things seem more still than they are.

Oddly… rewarding I feel for so few words.
[3 Combat Experience, +.11 Combat Senses]

Things are cut though as the rest of the squad begins to file in, Sullivan and Captain Lysander following at the end, as the Captain looks across the room and begins to address us all.

“Soldiers of the Thirty Second, as I suspect you all are mostly aware, we suffered heavy losses earlier that called for your immediate arrival. It pleases me to let you know that advancement will only be slowed, and with your arrival we shall push forward once more. The Thirty Second is to be part of a larger detachment that will be driving the Froggrock away from the area, the area in fact you ran into was one of our targets, and an area where one squad likely passed through but has not reported in yet, the 35th Bladebanes. There will be six squads assigned to this mission total, the 32nd, 37th Curricles, and 94th Outloads to take out these villages and find the Bladebanes if they have indeed been killed or lost in the swam[lands, I have secured a squad of Warboar cavalry to join you all in my stead, and I have a request from one of the brave survivors of the massacre mentioned earlier who may very well be joining us for this mission. I expect a commendable report from all sides, and further glory for the empire to follow our prior success! For the Empire!”

We all join in, saluting our captain as he turns and begins to move out.
For the empire! Well, you heard him, get ready, and I expect you in a hundred to be ready, all of you. Payback time for all that standing around. Dismissed.

I begin the process of packing up once more, counting out what once was about five marks, and considering…

>What deal did I take for my bow? [Roll a D20 and a bartering tactic to reduce price, or in talking to Sullivan/Lysander]
[For all Choices, I roll a dice later: If taking Thief, I roll a D20 later, 1-2 and 19-20 get best result, lower takes longer, 7-14 yields no result at all. Smith yields a shortbow of D20-4 quality.]
>Knowing my mission, do I grab anything or talk to anyone before we leave?
>Do I have any ideas on how to be best prepared?
>[Spend any EXP? Last call on true break until Mission 2 probably completes.]
>>
No. 283098 ID: 81f32a

rolled 19 = 19

I say forget about buying the bow.
32 doesn't need oversized short-bow, he needs a true longbow... maybe even a magnificent composite bow.
So talk with sergant and the captain.
>>
No. 283175 ID: 81f32a

>Heh, reminds me of the idea that flitted through my head before, some kind of cannon mounted on me, sounds like fun in theory; however, talking about it with Samir a few days ago he laughed and said even a guy like me would just end up on my ass.
I meant handguns, really. Big caliber guns, like Keddic has.
I believe those should be around. I mean ,if there are cannons, logically handguns should have been invented too.
Of course, mounting big-ass cannon on our back would be pretty bad-ass though I thing we would need lvl 5 strength and constitution for that.

>I expect you in a hundred to be ready, all of you.
Does that mean 100 minutes?
Well, I guess we have time for some shit.

>Knowing my mission, do I grab anything or talk to anyone before we leave?
Well, you are going to take all your gear as always, no? Grab your 9-20s they might prove useful.
If Sullivan trusts Flloyd with that stuff, you should too if there'll be need for it.
If it is possible try to get to know this guy better.

Talk to Lehel.
(see previous post >>282832)
Also ask him about Frogokks and anything else he might deem useful in the upcoming battle.

If you have time after all this, do some exercise. The throwing, for example, from my previous suggestion.


When you are on the march again, 32, try to incorporate what you have learned from August (and your own knowledge) and use it to full extent to expand your senses. Listen to the swamp, feel the swamp, see the swamp.
Additionally, keep your eye on August and try to learn more from him. Of you have time and chance talk to him about 'senses' again.


>[Spend any EXP? Last call on true break until Mission 2 probably completes.]
Dunno, the only thing we can upgrade right now is Command/Speech, dunno if we really need that.
Also, we should have 26 emotional exp, Naive, don't skim that off from us!

Forgot something I was thinking to suggest for previous update
>money in pocket
Putting all of your money in one place might not be the best idea, 32
Split it between 2 or 3 places on your body.
>>
No. 283292 ID: a76809

>>283098
this is a great enough roll for getting a bow that I don't see much to add to it.
>>
No. 283658 ID: 69bee4
File 129844387120.jpg - (59.74KB , 480x600 , CaptainOnAlchBoar.jpg )
283658

>>283175
[Although normally EXP possibilities would be low, you are always allowed to spend experience to up a ‘in progress’ Skill towards level 1 in partial increments, and you can also spend partial experience over time on something. (examples: spending 25 experience can be done to make a skill go from .50 to .75, so that you can push for it during the mission go get to level 1 when you think it will be needed. You could also spend 25 experience to ‘prepay’ for the next Strength level, lowering its ‘cost’ to 75, but not allowing you to ‘pull out’ the experience at a later time]

>>283098
[Roll = 19, Success w/o Diplomacy or Bluff needed]
I recall meeting with Captain Lysander prior to my return to the campgrounds, seeking out his characteristic white and red tent amidst a sea of greens, and greens mixed with brown due to mud. He seemed a bit surprised at my intrusion, but made the necessary time.

His eyes immediately rolled when he figured out it was another request involving equipment, and I had to bite my tongue for a moment not to say a few things, but, I had a hunch about how to appeal to him. I opened with an imploring speech about the need for ranged weapons being shown from the holdup that occurred while dealing with the Froggrock. I further argued that the weapon was of negligible weight to me, was to be made to exacting specifications, and that with my strength would be as effective as a siege weapon being added to the front lines. Where he really perked up though, and what I ended up exploiting was that he seemed to be familiar with Eldna, or at least knew who she was. I explained that during the time since he had last seen me, I was devoted to bettering myself to the empire, describing my feeling of being fated to its service, and to furthering its glory. Using this I had sought out the best teacher I could find, and had done enough I felt to make a real impression on some level with her.

Asking for the specifics of my request, I told him of a need for a longbow dedicated to one of my size and strength, that could fire Siege bolts so that I had a ready supply of ammunition and resupply, as customized arrows would be in poor form. Further advocating that a long bow using a siege sized arrow would allow targets to be eliminated as effectively at range as close combat.

Agreeing that I made a decent case, and impressed both by my choice of teacher and covering his immediate objections, Captain Lysander agreed to requisition the form and sign off on it. He stated that I talk to Sullivan before we left for the mission to work it out.

>>283175
Having only now been given an hour to work things out, I decide to immediately talk to Sullivan, and explain to him my desire for a Longbow. Considering the rush, I ask him if hes fine that the Captain Approved it and if he will take my work that I worked with Eldna during my time off and will actually be useful with it. Sullivan sighs something under his breath like “lamest excuse for always being away ever ya lug, but eh, Captains enough for me, just don’t let it get in the way”. I send off a messenger to Captain Lysander with Sullivan’s signature, and spend only a few minutes to hopefully get this all handled.

I make sure to pack my Nine Twenty’s in my pack, and move my money supply to three different locations, a sudden paranoia gripping me with that encounter with the thief… fortunately, I took the deal where I broke his arm, heh.

I decide to talk to Lehel briefly…. Well, try to, he is instead cagey as all hell towards me, and refuses to give much more of an answer than ‘Don’t worry, someone like you will be fine”. Unless I want to push him harder, I doubt him getting much more out of him than that ten minute waste of time.

I spend the rest of the time packing, then practicing some offhanded throwing with the Chakram. Considering my general unfamiliarity with non-spear throwing as projectiles, besides use of a bow, it goes about as well as expected. At least it takes almost no time since the thing keeps returning to my hand as a rope each time I throw it.

Packing up, I reflect upon what August said, and decide to see if I can take some of these lessons to use.
Day 25, Lorthday, Cycle 3 of Perennius

Sleeping in the swamps still is fekking awful. Warboars are about as subtle and stealthy as probably walking around with Scars, except without any of the benefits. Their captain though I must say wields an impressive weapon, large purple lance that is probably as long or longer than my spear, and considering what he did randomly to a tree by felling it to clear space, got something nifty going on. Its sort of odd walking around with between sixty and seventy of us in such fekkin crowded areas of tress and so much trudging and hard movement. Even the boars don’t seem to like it, but there is certainly a sense of power, even as we all complain about the mud.

Day 26, Castiday, Cycle 3 of Perennius
According to Sullivan, Sgt. Lysander will be leading the infantry into a charge, with the Warboars taking the first initiative and charge against the enemy. Even from here I can see some outlines of civilization… mostly just unnatural existences of trees or the lack thereof, movement at times. I have no idea if we are safe at all here. I hear someone complaining fairly silently, though enough to be heard still through four rows of soldiers about mud and insects and fekkin hell, we get it, we all get it. The trudging of the warboars through the mud is drowns out alot else, as bored soldiers check weapons and shields again, the cavalry lining up slow and purposefully. A fairly impressive sign, standing taller than I do on their mounts, lances at the ready, almost sinking into the earth it looks like, yet continuing to move forward. I have no respect for foes that deserve no honor, but I almost feel sympathy, as I cannot see much surviving this.

With little more than a movement from his lance, the mass though begins to pick up speed, as the sergeants, Force Champions just behind begin to move behind. The boars now begin to pick up steam, sheer movement and force to do more plucking them from the ever grasping mud below, as it becomes less and less of an issue. They break into the treelines, lost almost to our vison, as we half a minute later begin to traverse it, roots broken beneath the weight and anger of warboars giving last ditch efforts to slow us down.

Another half minute later, and the Vanguard breaks the treelines, clear sight to their pathetic village…

Where chaos has already made its home, a few bodies of Froggrock litter the area ahead, but disappointingly it seems few. One warboar rider has been knocked off its mount, clamoring to get out of the mud already. The Froggrock just…. Dance contemptuously in the air around the warboars, lance strikes failing to find their mark time and again. I look around and see at least a hundred of the things, ranging from already engaged, to at least fourty who only approach. So far though its only smaller ones it seems, directions given earlier telling us to attack from this side seem accurate. I both hear and nearly feel the rising fury as the sound of brances, metal, and slopping mud invite the doom of these creatures.

Scanning the area though, there are three major pockets, a good ten of the things are harassing the fallen Warboar rider, while the Boar itself rampages. Pathetic cowards don’t even care to fight a decent opponent eh? Looks like his heavy armor though is keeping him alive for now. Two other pockets are father ahead and more in the frey, one has the Captain of the Warboar cavalry, the only one it seems able to kill decently, swinging that lance as if it was paper, with three other soldiers and boars on his side. Offset to the right are the remaining soldiers of the Warboars, having lost all continued movement and just flailing at the Froggrock. Sullivan it seems is heading straight forward towards the Captain’s group, his broadsword gleaming against the cracks of light in the canopy of trees.

>Where should I go? Towards the fallen Warboar fighter? Towards the Captain’s squad? Or towards the other large fight without him?
>I could also just head into their… village, as one soldier is unlikely to be missed. It mostly looks like odd assortments of wood and trees, but it could be more interesting.
>Should I say or do anything, or just get right into the good stuff, spear in my hands?
>>
No. 283677 ID: a76809

rolled 2 = 2

>>283658
Go after the fallen Warboar rider, cut a path for troops to follow you along, and don't get too far ahead of support.

While doing this, keep an eye on the warboar leader-if you see a threat to his life in his isolated pocket, use that support you are insuring keeps up with you for cover and plink down an arrow in whatever's attacking-if you can only wound it while insuring there is no friendly fire, then so be it, but seriously, NO FRIENDLY FIRE.

So, use the chance to save the Warboar riders (and hopefully get the fallen rider back on his mount) to see how well your spear and shield style works-you've got the muscle and the general idea, now it's time to put it in practice. You've fought Froggrock's before now-you know about their jump, their wood and vine armor, their fragile bodies, their lashing tongues.

Until you spot a big froggrock in your vicinity, build on that combat reflex and perception training you did, keep your shield up, and fight a war of attrition-keep yourself safe, look for chances for clean shots, and save enough strength as possible for as of yet unseen threats.
>>
No. 283773 ID: 81f32a

rolled 14 = 14

Seems straight forward enough for now.
Kill as many of the bastards as fast as you can till shit hits the fan.
Don't go inside the village alone, stay at least remotely close to your people.
Since these are low-level enemies who posses no real danger, use your spear one handed to get better control of it... nothing improves you better than real combat situations.
Could also use your Chakram in your off-hand, to get better sense of it.

Also, use your senses as best as you can. Trying to be constantly aware of your surroundings.
Need, to keep leveling dem Combat Senses.
>>
No. 284352 ID: 69bee4
File 129869438982.jpg - (66.90KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
284352

>>283773
>>283677

I decide immediately to head towards the fallen warboar rider, as even if his armor is stopping them for now, I suspect that cannot hold true forever. I switch my spear from both of my hands to a single hand, determined to prove that this new style works in the crucible of battle, even if for now I lack a shield to fully defend myself in the style.

Trudging through the mud, slooping sounds following my footsteps as I check behind me towards the treeline. Soldiers continue to pour out, many charging ahead, forces should begin to overwhelm such puny resistance soon.

I thrust my spear forwards, only to note that the sloching of my feet through the mud probably tipped the creatures off, as the one I aimed for just leaps from the mud out of the way. Grunting out some sort of… croak I guess, the other three turn and take a long leap that I know will have them next to me within moments.

Making for their attacks though, this time I am ready, even encumbered by the annoyance that is mud, while the fekkin things seem to glide on it almost as if land, I am able to move my torso and arms out of the way, taking attacks of opportunity and piercing the weak flesh of the creatures easily, leaving two standing, and the other half dead within moments. The other two though quickly begin starting to back off, not so much trying to punch me anymore. With their focus now on dodging, I find myself in an annoying game of cat and mouse, where the mouse has super speed….

[Combat Reflexes +.07]

Heh, well, at least for a little while, the arrival of a now fully functioning lancer Warboard rider at their flank aptly removes the two, as the person lets out a nice bit of rage and strikes them both down in a single blow. Most people are useless, but a flanking buddy will never be that, thank you fate.

Leaving the lancer to their panting, I listen and glance around at the growing situation. Screams of men, croaks of the deep damned, the silence and fugue that accompanies death as it feasts. I note though that the movement of the Froggrock are annoyingly silent, sloshing of the mud from the more normal troops a very dominant sound in the background. One thing sticks out though, I hear wood cracking on wood in the distance, snapping twigs? No way at this distance… odd. I hear the grunt of a Warboar also off in the distance, probably this one’s mount, its definitely just rampaging through the village at this point I bet. Lovely little demons of destruction, and more true to fate than I at times judging by my berating of self.

The lancer lifts up their visor and begins addressing me quickly, huh, female, hard to tell with all that gear they wear I guess.

’Thanks, now lets crush some o’ da fekkers ya?

Nodding my agreement, I look and consider where to head. Allies are nearly upon us at this point, Froggrock are swarming out of the village, and I see…. Gah, giant flash of light, FEKK.

The village extends a good quarter or mile I would guess in front of us, I find myself on the west end, probably among the farthest away from the action. Village is directly north, mostly some poorly made huts of wood it seems, I see some destruction already in the path ahead north. Heading to the northeast will put me back into the fight much faster I suspect, a lot more hostiles, heading pure east would probably just ram me into troops at this point.

>Which way should I go?
>Do I want to be on the look out for anything, or prepare anything?
>>
No. 284354 ID: 69bee4

[combat senses also went up .08]
>>
No. 284398 ID: a76809

>>284352
Pay attention to how those frog things move on the mud so smoothly-surely SOME of it is in body motion and balance, and not just physiology-try and isolate that, as you go northeast to fight as many of the Froggrocks as you can. Just keep a retreat path open.
>>
No. 284457 ID: 81f32a

Head North-east in such a way that other troops and you meet the enemy at the same time.

Continue with your single hand, dodge oriented fight. Try to replicate the way that the Froggok move (iirc, the village we went to at the beginning of the quest, had habitants move a very specific way so that muddy terrain was no problem for them ... 32 even learned it and did it himself too...).
Keep you sensual input working, as the sound of battle might be in the way to determine the froggok positions, use the visual cues. Remember what August told you.

Keep this up till you run into much more dangerous enemies, then you should switch to much more comfortable 2-handed spear fighting and concentrating on the enemy ahead.


What kind of weapon does the lancer have? Just a lance or other melee weapons.
If she has other weapons, tell her to leave the lance as it will only slow her down and be in the way (if she insists on taking it).
Of course, goes without saying, take her with you.
Have a small talk on the way, ask her name at least.
>>
No. 284624 ID: 69bee4
File 129878439119.jpg - (67.11KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
284624

>>284398
[Combat Perception aids, Reflexes too low to aid]
I consider the Froggrock movement and meet it with my memory of the movement of the villagers earlier, almost laughing silently at myself that I had forgotten to take that in. If I am to truly be an instrument of death, and a weapon of the empire, I must not be so lax about such considerations.

I take into mind the movement I can recall, and note that it does in fact lead to a more minimal sinking into the mud, though at a cost as I figure it thus far. In order to stop sinking, I must keep moving, and using only particular, slightly awkward leg movements. Definitely a lot better than being constantly being stuck in the muck of this place; however, I’m not quite sure how I can stand my ground in any realistic way, or brace myself while doing this.

[Combat reflexes +.03, more effective dodging on the muddy environment if 32 is moving, does not aid while standing still.]

>>284457
I decide that heading to the northeast is the only place for someone like me, the thrill of battle calls, and it is my duty… nay, my fate to answer. And I feel the tug of this girl, she is to answer the call with me, at least for this moment.

[Random minor Fatalism Bonus]

I turn to her, hesitant on some levels to break the flow I wish to hold with conversation, but I suppose it must be done.

“Your name.”

”hmm? Ah, ya, I am Nadeah, and you are?”

I inwardly grin at her name, seemingly inherently knowing its meaning, she is to be my… Hope? In this battle, odd… but I am done questioning fate for now.

“I am Thirty Two, and we need to move, if your lance isn’t your only weapon, leave it, I shall be the spear you need for now. Keep moving, keeps the mud from slowing you down”

She just laughs a bit, I can just know, even behind the plate she must be grinning.

“Da? A bold one are ya? Vury well, Lets get some o’ dem den.”

She place her lance on her back quickly and pulls out a sheathed shortsword from her belt, probably their weapon for moment just like this. I begin moving to the Northeast, letting my steps on top of the mud guide my way towards my foe. I see a critical mass, and even squad-mates begin to push forward into the waiting forces of the enemy. Scattered around I see corpses of the Froggrock, noting only their peculiar, mostly swamp like stench… there's that noise again, wood snapping, closer than before. I also feel, something, in the air I think. I can see more Froggrock approaching, at least two of them are those bigger things, I head a few soldiers call out, Sullivan and a good three or so of the still mounted Warboars seem ready, farther ahead than the rest.

I ready my spear and push forward, cleaving my way through the back of a Froggrock who never saw me coming, not even losing momentum. Too much noise still, so much sloshing of feet, why can’t these soldiers learn to walk properly, I see my breath mist up slightly before me, blink and turn my head away from its intrusion, looking through the village.

… at least two more of the big ones coming from the west, heh…. So fate truly does lead me to glory.

Deciding that fate has led me to break the attempted flanking of the enemy, I roar out a challenge, drawing the attention of both… one lashes its tongue at me, the fool. Its croak of a scream only makes me nearly laugh as its pathetic tongue is cleaved in the air, fate guiding my hand. It dives towards me and…

[Combat Reflexes >= 2, FAIL, Perception >=2 PASS, Minor Success]

The thing is even faster than last time, and worse than the little ones… fekk. Holding my spear one handed leaves me lacking confidence in stabbing the thing, as I bearly get out of the way. The other one, TONGUE!


Ack… the thing has my right and spear arm wrapped well, and it’s just as annoying as I suspected when it got Sullivan. It’s definitely not going to pull me or lift me as long as I can focus on pulling it back, and it’s not diving at me or anything yet, instead sinking into the mud slightly as it tries pull me. But im going to tire out soon, probably can’t swing at all like this with my spear, and the one whose tongue I cut off is probably not pleased at death telling it to shut up.

>How am I going to get out of this?
>What kind of punishment does fate have in store for the lumbering giants in plated armor of wood?
>What else can I do to accomplish what fate as set for me?
>>
No. 284625 ID: d3dfb8

Use That Which Reaps to cut the tongue.
Aim to hit them midjump, while they cannot dodge.
>>
No. 284776 ID: 81f32a

Using the wire with one hand might be tricky.
If you can't manage with the wire convert it into Chakram and use it as impromptu knife to slice off the tongue.

Then grab the spear with two hands, as your are more comfortable fighting that way.
Shout for the lancer to attack the flank (using Command skill).
Rather than trying to kill them, try to guide them towards Nadeahs blade. Work fluently in team.
Their great speed will make it to bothersome for taking them out on your own.

Try to be constantly on the move, circling around and such to keep the advantage of mud-walking.

Also, pay deep attention to their body movements, eyes, position ... if you do it right, you can predict their next move their subtle muscle movements and/or paying attention to their eyes and faces.
Then you can strike according to your hunches. If it works, you will attack not directly their bodies but the space where they are going to be.
>>
No. 284871 ID: a76809

That which reaps is pretty much your best bet.

Actually, if you can, hold handle to wire under spear holding arm's armpit, loop the coil around the tongue, and pull tight. It will either slice through the tongue-or turn it into a chakram, and get it stuck aroudn the creatures tongue. The moment it goes back in its mouth, it should cut itself up so much it dies from blood loss.

So it either stays a wire, cuts of the tongue and probably dooms it to bleed out while freeing you-or it doesn't cut, reverts into a chakram, which will likely shock the major into letting you go-and put the chakram in its mouth so it gets cut up and bleeds to death.

Once again-either way, froggrock with tongue on you is likely to die.
>>
No. 284957 ID: 69bee4
File 129887078512.jpg - (32.56KB , 293x484 , Froggrock.jpg )
284957

>>284871
My mind makes my path clear, That Which Reaps should be easily able to cut that tongue off if I can even get it remotely near. I take a deep breath, the white mist of a deep exhalation becoming visible as I brace my body to hold onto the ground while taking some focus onto grabbing my wire. I reach with my left hand and break the loop on my belt, taking speed over quality of clothing at the moment. I consider placing it under my armpit and using that as leverage; however, I get nervous very quickly that there may be not enough length, that I probably cannot continue to pull at full strength while doing that, or of hurting myself. My left hand is definitely not my dominant hand, and I can’t really afford to take that risk.

>>284776
>>284625
I sort of… toss the wire while still holding it across the tongue, away from my arm, and with a fairly pleasing ease, I find the tongue losing all force as it becomes chopped in half, and a brownish red puss I am familiar with flies out of the tongue’s stump, a bellow of rage as the creature flails, its fists flying feet away from anywhere could even remotely be, its eyes closed and arms just flailing. I decide to take charge and initiative, yelling out to my fate’s hope.

“Nadeah, on their flank, I will lead them towards you”

I hear from my south, at least a good ten or so feet away her voice pick up. It would only be in hindsight I would be annoyed at how calm she sounded.

”Hon, not all of us can move like you, and your new ‘riend wants to say hello”

The fekk is she talkin…

I suddenly am bombarded by the sheer mass of a Major Froggrock, the one I first removed its tongue, in some insane mixture of charging and flailing, as it is not really hitting me with its fists, but it is sliding me across the muddy ground. I end up eating the beginning of another headache, and just SO delicious scummy swamp water and mud

Stepping up out of the mud though, it seems to have actually run past me, croaking and beginning to turn again. I throw some mud off my face, and attempt to access the situation.

Although that wasn’t an ideal way to stall time, I can see Nadeah is only a few feet to my south now. The Froggrock I just reaped its tongue off is to the north a good ten feet, just pounding into the ground wildly. The other is a good seven feet to the west, turning around and headed back towards me, this time its fist looks ready moreso than some strange ramming attack.

I decide I want to hold my spear two handed, only to hear a clank as That Which Reaps I realize is still in my left… and oddly enough the only part of me not covered in mud, gleaming silvery metal. I decide though to take the chance even one handed, and attempt to plunge my spear into it while it’s in midair. This proves quite fruitful, though I have no movement as is right now, I find myself properly heavy and braced sinking in mud, yelling out a deep cry that shows as a white smoke of fury as my breaths make more mist on the air. As I jam my spear into its analogue of its right shoulder. Roaring in pain, it just sort of leaps… overhead of me, completely missing its attempt to hit me and speeding off in another leap. Somewhat a glancing hit, but I suspect its arm is nearly off. Instead of being seven feet to my west, it is nowso seven feet to the east, turning around again, the one to the north is finally heading my way, less leaping like its comrade, as barreling directly in my direction, albeit somewhat slowly as it dosen’t leap on the mud moreso than charge slowly through.

”Hon, as much fun as seein ya eat mud is, dat is noth’in for me to actually flank.”

Fast one to the east, slower one from the north, Ineverknewhopewassuchasmartass next to me to the south. I either need to do something with That Which Reaps, or continue to work one handed, fortunately I can at least do a lot more not having one hand actively pinned.

>How do I deal with my foes?
>What do I do weapon wise? remove That Which Reaps somehow, or use the two weapons in my hands?
>>
No. 285123 ID: 81f32a

Can't you... can't you like put That Which Reaps back where you took it?

I guess the spear is still in your hand? I was worried that the froggok leapt away with it stuck in its shoulder.

>”Hon, not all of us can move like you"

She's right. We should have accounted that she is not as strong and fast as we are.

Okay, so you had your lessons on maths (although creative ones) and projectiles and shit, right?
You should be able to figure out where to stand and how to manipulate the rush of those two so that they run into each other.
Move to a spot where you suspect they will collide if they keep at it, and at the last moment leap away. When they bump into each other, take quick action and spear the head of the quick one.
Oh, and tell Hope to stay move away for a bit till we try to enact our plan.

If that doesn't work....
Convert the wire into the chain and try to catch and bind the legs of one of the froggokks.
>>
No. 285194 ID: a76809

>>285123
>Can't you... can't you like put That Which Reaps back where you took it?
No he can't, as if you re-read the update you will note that in getting it free he cut/tore the loop it was secured on. Now, if he has OTHER spare loops on his outfit to loop it into, fine, but I doubt it.

Honestly, pop your spear up so it stays airborne for like a second (just give it a very light lob, goal of like three feet elevation) while you twist That Which Reaps, make it a chakram, and wear it like a bracelet. Don't say your hand won't fit throught, make it change around your wrist-and don't say your wrist is too thick, that does not mix with the dimension given for yourself and your weapon. That way, weapon stowed, hands free.

Catch the spear, and switch back to two-handed spear use.

Go after the closest big Froggrock, keep it cupped in just one hand so it looks like you're sticking with one handed, and do a one-handed stab. Shouldn't impress the Froggrock, who in all likelihood is going to eat the impact since with one hand it will be hard as hell to fully pierce that hide.

IMPORTANT: Spear blade is to be horizontal, not vertical, so it does not get stuck on the ribs and can get at all those delicious organs inside. Rip and tear my friend.

Which is why your OTHER hand is going to come forward and, as you brace your entire body, slam your palm into your spear's base. Basically make the thrust a two-tiered affair, with the majority of the power being supplied AFTER the point has made contact with the foe. The manner in which you apply force this way, coupled with your greater strength, should mean that, barring the nearest Froggrock being larger and more durable than the one you fought before, you will shove that spearhead stright on through for a nice, messy, lethal wound.
>>
No. 285238 ID: 69bee4
File 129895514068.jpg - (51.05KB , 800x600 , 32InventorySheet.jpg )
285238

>>285123
[32 does indeed have more loops; however, it is not practical for him in a combat situation to put things on them again. A person of his rank has a belt that has about twenty (18 now, since two were ripped off) soft leather strands that are about 6” long, stitched into the harder leather belt at the front, and must be tied together to hold an object (as such he can hold 10 or so small items on these loops, though they can still get in the way if they are large). It takes him approximately three seconds to tie a decent knot, and he needs both hands free to do this (particularly since his fingers are a bit large compared to these strands). 32 as such without a lot of pushing will not tie things back onto his belt while in the middle of combat, it leaves him too vulnerable, or it’s a lot quicker to just drop the item than halfass a knot and lose the item anyways in his experience. Objects can also be placed (essentially thrown) in his backpack, and it only requires one hand and about one and a half seconds, but leaves that arm useless for that time, and risks crushing/slicing/etc anything in his backpack if the object is heavy/sharp/etc. Pulling it out of the backpack also could take anywhere from seconds to more than a full minute if his attention is divided (plus risk grabbing the wrong thing), whereas the belt is easily accessible. Unless other ideas are conceived/implemented, these are the options 32 generally has to his knowledge.]

>>285194
Fate hands me a brilliant idea, though my stupid conscious mind attempts to interject with some qualms about such silly things as the Chakram not fitting around my wrist. This of course is a completely silly notion, as the hole in the middle of the Chakram is obviously large enough, and could only conceivably not fit around my arm if I were to try something as silly as placing it around my shoulder.

I lob my spear a few feet into the air, quickly grad That Which Reaps, and while I feel the somewhat soothing heat flow onto my left arm, toss it around my wrist and grab my spear with both hands, giving it a bit of flair with a twirls while meeting its familiar weight.

I decide to try something, and attempt to gauge the movement of the creatures, and see if I can force them to…

“Seriously, dis’ is getting borin’”
In half a second, not only do I have a bit of a headache, the concepts involved being vague but still very foreign to my brain, and I hear the muffles shout of a girl in plate mail, as she just rams herself into the western Froggrock and begins stabbing at it. On the headache, I guess I could predict the arrival of one, but dealing with two just hurt my head, estimating a branch of multiple things is complicated.

I turn instead to face the Froggrock charging… if you can call thrashing himself in the mud that, at me. Inspiration though continues to flood my mind, as I turn the spear horizontally and prepare to replicate a very Morgren-esque move. As the creature begins to bear down towards me, I make a long stab, and plant my spear firmly into its wooden armor, knowing fate will guide the force needed. With a dramatic mix of lunge and push, I thrust my palm with my body’s weight into the spear, as the Froggrock’s armor gives away at the force, thrusting centimeter after centimeter of death into the thing’s pathetic body.

Unfortunately, being dead seems to have not stopped the fekkin thing yet, as it just rams more of my spear into its body, and begins pummeling me with its bare fists, and opening its mouth as it dives towards…

A mess of brown and red, teeth digging into the back of my armor uselessly.
Scratching sounds, unknown pummeling, the clank of bone and metal.
Muffled though, everything is muffled.
Did the fekkin thing just try to eat me?
The fekk
Deep… being eaten by a frog.
Wait, spear, its doomed, fate would not leave me now.
Flailing arms wildly, as the interlopers arms get notably weaker with each blow.
Chest hurts though some, dents possibly, definitely a bruise.
Oh fekk this, im getting out


Taking my hands off my spear, I toss the hulking mass of pus off my body, its useless teeth scraping against metal, and then nicking my flesh before it slams into the mud.

Having finally been freed, I note how positively… slimy I feel while pulling out my spear. I’m sure death won’t mind a bit of extra holes in his cheese for the thing trying to FEKKIN EAT ME.

”You alright there hon?”

Glancing around, I see that Nadeah has taken down the Froggrock, while not covered in slime, by just stabbing it, andprobably NO ARGGGGG. Really, combat was supposed to be a sort of calm in the maelstrom, getting too annoyed, my panting just making an air of mist that fades with the wind…

Wait, it’s the middle of spring... its fekking hot…. Why is my breath misting up like its winter?
[Combat Perception and Sense bonus missed]

I find myself with little time to get an answer, as I hear something LARGE and close. Glancing northward to the village, I see an entire new wave of Froggrock coming out towards the lines, at least… fifty id say? And a good seven or so are the Major types. One is wielding what looks like someone uprooted a tree and decided it would make a good club, and this one is big even for a Toad-like Major, standing at least twice as tall as me, leaping tens of feet in a bound. I see the Warboars up a good thirty feet to the north getting ready to deal with that, as the men who aren’t engaged resteel themselves for another attack.

Being non-enagaed, I find myself with options… the huge one is headed straight for the Warboard and… I see Lysander and Sullivan there, among others, at the front. There will definitely be plenty of Froggrock and a few Majors though slipping through to the west towards where I am now, and I could just meet them here, or rush towards them. Else I could move to reinforce the squads to the south and east, Nadeah seems to just be staring at me, so…

>Which way should I go, and how should I engage this battle.
>Is there anything I should do with a free moment?
>>
No. 285260 ID: a76809

>>285238
Tell Nadeah to use her best judgment in either pursuing her mount or rejoining her squad.

Then show how awesome you are with your adaptations of local walking styles to get across this muck as fast as possible, so you can do what you are supposed to do:

Be a Force Champion, on the front lines, facing the most potent foes.

And to tickle your recently stoked ambition for promotion, a whole mess of officers your could impress-just remember not to engage directly, but to assess the battlefield first.

On the way over, consider your breath-

Does it continue to mist?
Is your body notably warmer or colder than it has been known to be with similar levels of exertion?
If so, do you recollect if the temperature change timed with the breath misting?
Are you feeling any possible symptoms of poisoning, numbness, lethargy, sensory distortion, shortness of breath?
Does anything feel irregular about your Magitech Heart?
>>
No. 285435 ID: 81f32a

Look above you.

Also, stop getting so easily annoyed and angry.
You need to keep your cool, man.

Go after the huge one.
Engage him together with others.

Or if you can, catch his legs with That Which Reaps tranformed into the rope, so that it fall face down right infront the other champions.
>>
No. 285842 ID: 69bee4
File 129913045410.jpg - (183.14KB , 682x722 , FroggrockArdArmor.jpg )
285842

rolled 18, 13 = 31

>>285435
I decide first things first, I do need to calm down some, I take a deep breath in, and breathe out deliberately and slowly. Shaking my head slightly and getting ready for the charge ahead. My target is obvious, the big one must fall, both as a Force Champion and for what fate has set in store for me.

>>285260
Turning to Nadeah, I quickly tell her it is up to her judgment whether to retrieve her mount or find her squad, I have a giant frog creature to kill. With that, I begin to walk on the mud as if it were ground, my spear readied, a grin beginning to plaster my face at the freedom and expectation of a strong opponent. My thoughts though drift to the mist though, thinking back to my long breath.

Yes, it certainly continues to mist, in fact, looking around the mist has affected almost everyone as far as I can tell. Human soldiers certainly have an almost hazy white forming around them as they pant where there is any large group, a smaller cloud is around where Sullivan is, though the area to the east, where the other half of the warboar riders are, there is almost no real mist effect, it dissipating as quickly as my relatively isolated area.

I note no temperature change my spear is not cold, I do not feel cold, sweat adorning my brow through sheer humid air, annoying heat of the rising sun. If anything it is warmer now than when the combat began just a few minutes ago. I feel nothing wrong with my magitech heart at all, though with it not pumping at the present, I would not suspect to feel anything from it either. I do not feel any signs of being poisoned, having been exposed to some mild and moderate toxin levels as part of my ‘training’. I do though feel of the symptoms passing through my head a very slight shortness of breath. If not so used too much harsher levels of fighting and training, I might pass it by, but I know my body well enough to know I should not have any level of exertion really at this point, and yet I breathe as if I do. This was also not the case awhile ago to my knowledge.

Regardless, my fast pace places me at the beginning of an impressive mass. The warboar captain stands at the ready, with two subordinates of his squad standing nearby. I see Sergeants Lysander and Sullivan, the glowing hands of Kyon, three unknown persons of non-standardized gear that suggests to me either Force Champion or Sergeant rank, and six who appear to be regular soldiers, including Minnie and Bertha of my own squad. Of note, I see that Sullivan seems to be worn out, Bertha is injured and Minnie seems to be pulling out of battle with her, Lysander apparently battles with a very thin blade the length of a longsword, and one of the unknown persons of suspected higher rank has a glowing red one handed axe that gives off a haze as if a small fire.

I consider using That Which Reaps as a rope, but I see little practical assessment to that, as I just regained two handed use of my spear, and have it out of the way as is.

The huge creature is already beginning to rampage though, everyone, even the relentless warboars being slowly led backwards, as no one has the effective range to deal with a lumbering good ten or so feet of a hybrid tree/club, combined with an arm length of five or so feet. The Froggrock is massive, standing solid sixteen or so feet I suspect if it stood fully upright. Larger than quite a few golems I had the displeasure of encountering, and most Morgren. It does not swing its club that quickly, and as of right now it mostly… lumbers forward, swinging its club/tree with no real… intent to smash I would call it. Its armor is unlike any of the Froggrock I have seen prior, a mixture of as if plated armor and wood. The construction looks almost as if doors were flung off, broken into pieces, and then fused with metal bits and sheet. The armor has many glaring gaps, particularly from behind or the sides, but includes what could be called a form of top heavy helmet, and a shield that it so far is not using, but stands nearly my height and is placed on its back, though arguably it could be merely a replacement helmet, at a similar size. The armor is adorned with what looks like teeth of various creatures I suspect, visible canines and molars of sizes associated with things like humans, up to the size of warboar teeth, though there are also bones, recognizing femurs, radii, ulna, ribs and sternum from my old classes, possibly of humans, but generally mammalian. Beyond this, the thing seems to have skin that reminds me of some kind of scarred leather, warts, scars, and a similar tough toad like skin of the Majors. A nominally impressive foe, to be certain, possibly the strongest I have been called upon to face...

Oh fate is so generous, this should be fun.

>What should I do to break this pathetic stalemate?
>What sort of attacks would work the best to bring this foe down?
>Do I reconsider the use of rope? Use a different form? Fate will grant me another clever plan.
[roll a D20 with a course of action, Froggrock gets higher of two counter rolls before any modifiers.]
>>
No. 285890 ID: 81f32a

rolled 18 = 18

I say run up to him from behind, turn on your magic heart and leap on his back.
The climb up till you reach his head.
I suspect he has really thick and resistant skull, so try to aim at weak point. Like stab him in his ear, aiming for brain.
Or at his neck, between the vertebrae.


Or you could take your mono-wire and cut his head off.
>>
No. 286139 ID: a76809

that many people paying attention to the beast, should be hard for it to focus on all of you.

Which would make this a perfect time to run up behind it and do you double-tap maneuver to the back of a knee. If you sever even one tendon, that thing's mobility is going to plummet and it won't be able to jump-both are good things.
>>
No. 288139 ID: 69bee4

>>285890
>>286139
[Roll 18 vs 18, -2 Stupidity Modifier for Froggrock, Minor Victory.]

I decide it is a good idea to attempt to get around the creature’s flank, there are plenty of places such as joints I should be able o hit that although non lethal, would severely hamper its mobility. Definitely a tendon and a muscle group around there that should be an ideal target, near one of the hinges.

Clearing my thoughts, I begin pouncing once again in earnest on the thick muddy terrain, finding that as my speed builds, it also is much easier to keep going as even less time is spent at risk of being sucked under. I do sink a bit, but I easily can maintain about half of my running speed with some focus.

Getting around the large thing is a bit of a problem though I soon find, despite my speed, it decides to wave its massive club at me as I attempt to speed by. This forces me into a stop as I nearly fall face first into the mud, a small wave of water and mud formed as a tree smashes into the murky ‘ground’ of the swamp only a foot or so in front of me. A loud croak though echoes soon after, as I see that at least a few of the group took ready advantage of that to charge in and swing weapons at the fairly defenseless creature.

Lumbering to its side, turning its attention off me, the creature removes one of its large hands from the club and begins swinging it towards the attacking group, something akin to swatting at flies in motion. Attempting to seize that initiative, I begin climbing over the tree of a club, only to find myself moving and grabbing onto whatever I can as the tree/club begins to rise with me on it.

Not needing the obvious pointed out, I quickly figure I need to get off of this before it comes crashing down, I scan at the Froggrock… vaguely humanoid, but I see nothing on its form that strikes me as ‘ears’. Vaguely triangular head, its nose is a bit out there and could be targeted if I don’t mind falling near allies, I see some color irregularity around its neck analogue, black spots dot its lower chin area. Plenty of signs it can hear, if its croaking is any indication, but I see nothing that arises to me as an ear or its equivalent.

Try and strike behind it? More than likely going to just hit bone if I am wrong at all, and anything struck wrong or solid enough would throw me into the water unbalanced. I can easily enough go for its skull at this direction, but that’s usually a tough nut to crack to say the least. I could jump down and stab the side a few times, a form of odd flanking I suppose, but still bone I risk hitting mostly likely, and some of that doorplate.

I see some ichor flowing, and the group relaying a few hits through the fleshy bits of the odd armor the beast wears, though I see at least a few get knocked back by the random flailing of a huge arm. Lysander in particular seems to continue to make a few insubstantial pinpricks with that oddly thin blade, Sullivan blindly just swings into armor, blades continue to fly, and the guy with the axe is doing…. Nothing? Strange, but nothing death usually doesn’t remedy.

>Where should I try and strike while jumping off? Or should I stick around for the ride?
>A lot of em scrambling at its feet, anyone I should call on, or tell them anything really fast?
>Anything else I should keep in mind?
>>
No. 288142 ID: d3dfb8

rolled 14 = 14

AIM FOR THE EYES!
>>
No. 288151 ID: a76809

>>288139
32, some points that are always good to attack-

Eyes
Throat
Mouth
back of joints


That is in order of how effective a target each location is. I think you know what to do here.
>>
No. 288379 ID: 69bee4

rolled 5, 17 = 22

>>288151
>>288142
[Roll = 14, Enemy stupidity modifier +2, Success]
A few places to attack flit through my mind, eyes, throat, mouth, joints… all seem perfectly valid. For now, that triangular head speaks to me as a perfect shot for the eye though. Its awkward to say the least getting a real grup on a slightly smoothed tree/club, but I find enough of one to make an acceptable leap.

I pinpoint my sights towards his eye and realize I really didn’t consider the best way to even try and get such a stab, but right now I’m suited for thrusting, and so that is what I do. There is a bit of morbid glee that enters my spear and runs through my arms as the spear easily punctures the cornea of his eye, and its split second realization comes only after my spear is easily embedded and about to tear downwards with gravity.

Though I note this is slowed for a bit… something, seems to come from its eye, and actually grabs onto my spear as it’s still lodged in there. I cannot see anything, but it leaves me almost dangling for a moment, before I feel something tear and my spear begins to actually fall, cutting a ichor and pus filled path down the side of its face.

For one who dares to ignore an instrument of fate is certainly doomed by its blindness, let me be its deliverance.

Unfortunately, that does not seem to stop nay, only makes it begin to rampage further. I almost wince inside as the tree comes crashing down at the front of the Froggrock beast, bodies scattering. Though to pretend I could tell if it’s from the force of the club, leaping out of the way, or what would be a lie. Landing with a splash into the mud, I feel splashes of red blood and brown pus hit me, followed by a small wave of water from the crash that sweeps over… arguably cleaning me, but threatening to push me to the ground. Staring though at the spot the tree landed, shaking the water from my face, I marvel at the incompetence of any fool caught under there. Yet I certainly see red in the water… death offers no qualms today.

I ready myself to charge forward, steadying myself in the aftermath of the wave of sheer force. The Froggrock is now rambaping, with me clearly at its front, but in its newly made blind spot. Yet, entry to attack seems difficult, I see it already lift its club, flailing it with both hands wildly, a weapon that could cleave entire ranks if not for the lack of foes in front of it. Unlike Guimu though, it seems to have no issue bearing the weight, and it now practically leaps like a true frog, crashing and croaking in a vibrating cacophony of what I suspect to be anger. I see it begins to head slightly west, biased towards where it can see, it briefly turns towards me, and stops a moment, but then heads towards the west, ignoring me, leaping and crashing like a falling tree, unbalanced leaps easily within rrunning spead of a normal soldier, but very dangerous to get close to with its flailing.

Looking to the west, beyond the mess of metal now in the watery ground, I see a large group of soldiers and a few Warboars, actually what looks like nearly all the Warboars. Scanning the path towards the creature, I find it littered with metal, some moving some not…. I see the muddy form of Sergeant Lysander picking himself up, and the guy with the haze-y axe is actually still standing along with me it seems. He is actively running, albeit slowly, towards the Frogrook.

I am about to run towards the creature when I see something to the north, the village, which had once been easily visible, is now shrouded in a silvery Fog. It looks as if to threaten eruption towards the battlefield at any moment, the village nothing but hazes in the fog, as it begins spilling out from the ‘tree/houseline’ and into the swamp itself. I still feel nothing of cold though, and the mist of my breath though does continue just as before. This… certainly was not here before, nor does it make sense, and I know not what to do for the moment, but fate will deliver.

>Do I attempt to investigate the fog to the North, or go after the large Froggrock now headed West?
>Neither the one eyed Froggrock or the fog is moving overly fast, I could examine the mst/fog briefly and likely catch up, but the now one eyed would likely get to the other troops in the meantime.
>Or do I stay and check the area around me? Lysander seems fine, if annoyed and muddy, but others could use help potentially… this would take time though also.

[Rolling not required, but can be included with any plan of action. If I roll a 7, 13, 1, or 20, something interesting happens.]
>>
No. 288512 ID: 81f32a

Ask Sullivan or whoever if they can see/sense the fog.
If they can, ask them what they think of it. If not, don't mention it.

I say we get after the Big Froggok and pull the same shit again but this time aim for another eye.
Also start up you heart when you go directly against the Froggok, I thought I had told to do that before.

When attaking the eye again, breach the eyeball and hold the lid tightly so that you don't fall.
Take a deep breath go/tunnel inside the eye so that you can reach its brain.
Yes, I know it's messy. Yes, it is disgusting.
But who said Death is neat?
Who said Fate is nice?
Your Destiny will make you do pretty nasty things and you should not complain or be reluctant. Do as Death orders you, no matter how much you like it or not.
>>
No. 288629 ID: a82b5e

rolled 80, 25, 39 = 144

>>288512

I call out to Sergeant Lysander, the only person I both immediately recognize and is standing at the moment. A few other bodies appear to be lifting themselves from their position in the mixture of mud and water, quite a few likely injured even at a cursory glance. I see no signs of Sullivan, and unless I wanted to search, feel it more likely the old man can handle his own concussion of flying off or whatever.

“Sergeant Lysander, Sir…

He turns around and faces me, clearly a bit annoyed at his present situation, messing with his hair and looking all around the area, not even really fully focused on me it seems.

“I need confirmation it’s not only me. I see a fog that has been growing, mist forming around my breath, and it appears an imminent flow of it from the village.”

”A moment, have you seen my blade? It’s somewhere in this direction.” He says while reaching slightly to the north, with a vague certainty, but little else. “Ah, not that..let me see”

He looks up towards the northern village, his eyes opening widely a the sight of the rolling mist, though I note to have not really moved past the line it had previously at this time. It does still veil the entire village in what looks like contrasting white with shadows of grey where buildings or trees may now be.

[i]”Well, I can certainly confirm its there by sight, and I had noticed the mistof our breath earlier, but nothing hostile about it. Either way, there is too much going on to get bogged down by this, I will find my blade and rally the attack, you need to get that creature away from the Warboars, or havoc will soon result, that is an order!”

“Understood Sir.” And with that, I set off, walking on the muddy ground as if a sinking land once more with my combination of techniques. It takes me not too long to find the beast, rampaging the ground ferociously with his club, sending waves that actually cause minor disruption to my flow of movement at times. However, invoking my Magitech heart and feeling my muscles respond just that much faster, I find these ebbs and flows to be nothing as I hurtle towards the closing enemy.

The man with the haze-y axe it appears has already caught up, and I note with it somewhat on my focus and keep perception that what appears to be happening is that mist, such as on my breath, is constantly being formed and then dissipating around the axe. A strange effect, but worth nothing.

Well, worth noting that is until the man lifts up almost hilariously a single handed axe as if it was a massive two handed one, and cleaves it down dramatically, with an over the top yell.

”Axe… that will PIERCE THE HEAVENS!”

Hilariously that is, until it cleanly cuts straight through the area above the ankle clean off. As if slicing through paper and with a moment delay, the creature tumbling down due to its sudden loss of leg.

I find myself mildly impressed. Pictures moreso of the gore from tearing out its brain through its eye had flooded my mind before, calls of what should be the end result by death, but this is certainly satisfactory. Besides, I have a good run going, and its falling face first, no reason I can’t turn its brains into goo now.

Leaping into the air, I drive my spear into the creature’s back, meeting a sild few inches of flesh, before I find resistance from bone, but refuse to let that stop my furious charge. Shattering instead occurs, I surmise maybe a rib? Possibly something farther back, not familiar with their physiology though… either way, a good foot and a half of my spear lodges into the body of the creature, as it smashes to the ground with me on its back.

Pulling my ichor and pus coated spear out of its back, I grin inwardly as I prepare to strike the back of its skull, when instead the hole in its body my spear once was billows out hot air, and the creature begins flailing, a weak mixture of croak and whizzing air polluting the airwaves. I though go flying off at the creature attempts to stand once more, only to fall again, I land on my back and quickly recover, annoyance slightly rising from my lost kill, but a small glee once more as it smashes into the ground. Though this time as I begin walking to strike again, the creature begins kicking and throwing itself in nearly all directions, its head turned towards me, and its club flailing fairly speedily in my general direction.

[Combat Reflexes >= 1 FAILS, Magitech Modifier, Fatalism bonuses sacrificed to keep 32 alive.]

[i]I see it coming right for me, my body is too slow…
Death, have you come for me?
Was I such a failure as a servant?
No. No. Messy or Cruel. Fate has not said so.


I fall to the ground, and in a series of frantic seconds mix burrowing and swimming through the ground as I feel shockwaves of the club smashing where I had once been more than once. It’s a tiring thirty seconds, and by the time I arrive up to breathe again I feel all three of my hearts pumping. Mist practically oozes into the air and forms a small layer of fog around me, and I find myself about thirty feet away from the creature, just outside of its range, panting ebbing quickly as breath begins to catch up to me.

I pick up my spear, throwing mud off haphazardly as I prepare to charge in again. The club is fairly slow, though obviously deadly, I am a good distance out, but that club is definitely a hazard. I think there is about a three second gap between full swings, my hearts have all been pumping a good eight or so seconds, and I need a good way to get past the defense of sheer mass of wood and kill the thing. Its still mobile to some extent, slowly mixing a crawling the lunge sort of motion to get closer to me, and its eyes are all on me. The area around is fairly clear, I see the axe guy about ten feet off, also unwilling to venture into that club range I suspect. Warboars are nearby, though held up by some smallfry Froggrock. The air is definitely getting misty around me, but ebbing as my breaths begin to slow somewhat. A complete lack of silence is all around, blades clashing, screams, billows of air as if from a pressurized holding area being escaped. I hear sloshing of water behind me, but cannot afford to look…[Combat Senses <=1] heavy and slower movement I can tell. Chaos overall… just how death likes it.

>How should I bypass the club and get within range to strike?
>Should I involve others somehow? Deal with the possible risk behind me?
[first two dice for magitech risk, third for Froggrock 'attack' (will have modifiers). Need a D100 roll.]
>>
No. 288733 ID: 81f32a
File 130029934045.jpg - (171.04KB , 800x600 , 32 - DEATHBLOW.jpg )
288733

The stupid creature
tries to go against its Destiny
Refuses Death its due
Show it the error of its way and end its miserable existence!

Hmm
I was thinking of our capabilities and remembered that we gave those 9-20s.
Bellow to your fellow comrades that you are going to use one.
Throw one of those things so that it explodes as near to its face as possible. The idea isn't to harm it but to blind and distract it.
After the explosion do not waste even a millisecond and go into full-charge

Let it feel the Deaths Wrath
Strike its weak skull open
Let the brain-matter flow freely!

>>
No. 288819 ID: 69bee4
File 130033183548.gif - (26.28KB , 295x295 , Kaboom.gif )
288819

>>288733
[39 vs No Roll, FANART BONUS, Moment of ins…Fekk it, I like explosions]

A manic grin I can feel begins to plaster my face, as I remember the nifty little sticks I have inside my backpack. Moving slightly backwards in order to avoid the slow arrival of the club towards my body, I place my spear in one hand and rummage through my backpack, shunting off my Magitech heart in a light fit of common sense. It takes me a good half minute before I can actually find the stick I am looking for.

Taking this time to turn around and look at whats coming towards me from behind, I find myself somewhat surprised to see Nadeah, spear and sword at the ready.

”Hon, I came here ta hel’p ya, and pardon my tongue, but what the fekk has ya grinnin’ like some kinda deranged man?”

“Oh, you’ll see, I got just what I wanted around here, plus this thing is going down… there we go. Ah, and just as a warning, TAKE COVER!”

Pulling off the top of the stick, I place my finger exactly where I see a slightly shimmering rune. That is where my mind freezes up for a moment… how long were you supposed to hold such a thing? Does it work with such water risk? …. Fekk it! A second and a half later I toss the Nine Twenty, flopping in the air, headed dead on for the target though with the blast radius.

[Untrained, first time use, no fatalism bonus, no roll]
I ready my spear outside of the range of the club just bearly, eager to charge in and finish whatever may be left of the enemy after the explosion. I hear though lthe sound of a small artificial wave, apparently Nadeah is fleeing… rapidl…


I see the stick plinked by the swing of the club, flying up into the air, seven or so feet from the face of the Froggrock.
Blinding light, pain starting in my eyes, blind assaults on my ears a moment later.
A wave that makes my body shake.
A thousand small pains
Become one large one
Soothing murkyness… does nothing to stop the pain
Darker…
Darker…. Than black
Only
the light…
of hope.


To call my sight hazy would be an understatement, the world a series of shadows… some with shape, some just… are. I recognize… hope… no, Nadeah. An odd mix, I can bearly hear it… ringing, but her mouth is as if shouting.

“..IDIOT IDIOT! WAKE UP!”

I groggily get up, ready for another ‘random’ inspection. Fekkin morning inspections…

I lurch forward, my body daring to inform me of a multitude of marks in my body all at once. Becoming much more conscious, an uncomfortable mixture of mud and water with the texture and feel of vomit forced out of my mouth. I first note the odd feeling of being unarmed, and then the realization that my entire body feels nearly wracked with pain, pain I quickly shunt to some other part of my mind. Black mark on my body, as color begins to seep back into the world. My chest and legs stick out, besides finding breathing hard, feels far less badly than my arms, face, ears, eyes, or most other parts of myself. I see on part of my left arm a bloody series of gashes six or so inches down from my hand, up to my fingers, and stumble forward, almost falling again as the ground moves beneath my feet.

I look forward, seeking my foe with some part of my mind… to find nothing, murky water, and what looks like a split tree trunk. Splinters of woo… oh, sound, do I hear? Something.

”et… oing… ut”

Can’t hear her well, regardless, have to do something. Orders, sir? Ah, she brought me my spear, though the nice necklace she gave me is gone, such a good spirit. Sergeant waiting… people… east, enemies, all over, death, must have its…. Spotzberrycake… desserts.

>What should I do, must… defeat the enemy.
>Cannot… be found wanting…
>Fate, I must carry out.
[32 will default to more instinctive actions at the present time, and will not collapse or willingly exit battle.]
>>
No. 288929 ID: a76809

>>288819
Not very lucid now-concussion, most likely.

Well, here's something to focus on-where are you?

As in, where were you at last?

Because it seemed like you were in the middle of a battle with Froggrocks-do you recall leaving that battle? No?

Then you are still in that battle.

Shout out a caution-

'Friendlies keep back'-something to that extent-and keep saying it LOUD.

While you stab absolutely every motherfucker that gets near you while you wait for your head to clear.

If it doesn't clear-you'll want to get checked out in R&D-you're an augmented warrior, a Concussion shouldn't be that bad, and you've been subjected to far worse than this before so you shouldn't be getting shell shock either.

tl;dr Hunker down, keep shouting at friendlies to keep back, stab everything that does NOT keep back, wait for head to clear.
>>
No. 288974 ID: 81f32a

rolled 93 = 93

HAhahaha!
This whole mission is looking like a string of blunders.
We are going to fumble our way to victory if we keep this up.

But seriously, that result even with the fan-art? I dare not to ask what would happen if we didn't have one.
But either way, Naive, I think you have failed to get across the sheer destruction value of 9-20s to us as players, I thought it was on the par of modern hand-grenade ... but even if we didn't know it, 32 should definitely have known. For one, he has witnessed 9-20 in action before. And two, after all the talks he had done with Samir, I would have expected him to know at least the basics about the exploding weapons and theory on how to handle them.

Anyway, 9-20 are a whole lot more awesome than I thought! You said they go for 20 bits a piece on black market? I think it is a bargain for the destruction they deliver. Good to know we could get more of them if we need to.

Also, when we get back to the camp, after we acquire our bow and siege arrows, we should visit the artillery brigade again. Since they owe us a favor for finding "Lucky" we might be able to persuade them for making special arrows for us.
Basically the idea is to attach 9-20 to the siege arrow and have it explode on impact.
But this is an idea for later, we'll think upon this later.

>though the nice necklace she gave me is gone, such a good spir
What? A necklace? I don't remember any necklaces ..... damn, we ought to search for it later. Maybe some incredible luck will help us to spot it right away? [rolling for extreme lucky necklace finding]

>>288929
Getting our head cleared up is a must but try not to stab anyone, please?

If we fail at that. Just so that we don't make further fools of ourself, don't act on impulse try to see the general direction where Sullivan wants us to go and go there to kill enemies.
If you fail at that, just look for allies in middle of a fight and go to aid them till your head clears up.
Don't go solo.
>>
No. 289006 ID: 81f32a

>>288974
>rolled 93 = 93
Whoa,
I guess Fate has something planned for that necklace. [wish i had rolled for something more useful]

Also,
>must have …. Spotzberrycake… desserts.
Now I am totally fixated on this and will not let it be till we bug a pastry-chef somewhere to bake us some of the delicious spotzberrycakes
>>
No. 289044 ID: 69bee4
File 130041818870.jpg - (66.98KB , 800x600 , 32InventorySheet2.jpg )
289044

>>288974
[32 would be glad to consider this if not for his present state of mind. However, that was NOT a usual Nine Twenty explosion, as he would have fallen back if he thought he was in immediate mortal danger. Also, you misunderstood the price; it’s in part called a Nine Twenty because the ‘normal black market’ cost is about 90 Rounds 20 bits, or almost a Mark, for a three pack. Also, a Nine Twenty is biased more as a small cover busting demolition charge than a fragmentation grenade, as such the levels of fragmentation wounds on him are also not usual, the explosion splintered the wood of the club and made shrapnel.]

>>289006
>>288974
[Roll = 94, That Which Reaps (or what 32 thought was a necklace) no longer lost]

I suddenly see a shining light next to Hope, as a shining metal rope flings itself into my hand and coils around my wrist as if some strange serpent. Oooh, necklace can be a bracelet! No wait, it already was one? This one’s shinier though, I can appreciate that.

My thoughts turn back to spotzberrycake, the delicious red and blue and rainbow and purple and green swirls of sweet tart goodness. Haven’t had one in at least a year, now im sad… oh wait, maybe Hope has some, shes been a good girl thus far. Despite all the yellywhisperythings.

Yet try as I do asking her for cake, she seems to be still yellywhisperyandIhearbeatsandwhoathingsgotslowandyetfast.

>>288929
I cough a bit as my body restabilizes, my head clearing some. Tried too hard, It fekkin hurts a bit, but I have definitely felt a lot worse in my life.

Reorient self.

Where was I? Battle at village
What was I doing? Attacking Froggrock creature.
Confirm… yeah, that’s a confirmed kill, blurry a bit, but either the thing disappeared, can run really fast, or is dead. Considering what close range Nine Twenty’s have done to a golem…

Head’s shaky. A lot of body hurts. Constant buzzing sound. Might be… whatshername. Damn quiet here though.

However, I am still in a battle, and I have a job to do, this isn’t going to stop me.

“FRIENDLIES KEEP BACK! BADASS ON THE LOOSE!”

I ready my spear and charge towards the pupleblurplegrey… mistyness and… why am I so hungr… OOH! Squishy thing, stabby stabby, Bwahaha.

[Orders issued, Battle Automates until end under that preset, as he cannot effectively hear any other countermanding orders until completion.]

End Battle Statistics:
‘Normal’ Froggrock killed by Thirty Two: 15 (7 Soldier lives saved)
Leading Froggrock of Village Fragmented into bits (3 Warboars and Riders, 1 Force Champion, and 8 Soldiers saved by this between Sergeant Calus (man with Axe) and 32.)
2 Normal Froggrock Major killed (1 Additional Major in later combat) (Flanking with Lead Froggrock lost, Injuries/Fatalities lessened against higher ranking members)

Outside News:
Sergeant Lysander was reported to have engaged a Froggrock mage of some sort on his own and sustained moderate injuries in the battle before killing the beast. Reports also conclude that the odd mist effect appeared to disappear on its death.
A second wave of Froggrock appeared to be hiding in the mist, as a wave of female Froggrock engaged soon-after.
Cavalry Captain Avery Solincus II was reported to have taken a direct hit from enemy Commander and survived with no injuries.
Majority losses occurred when a Major Froggrock surprised the East flank while the Sergeant and Force Champions were elsewhere, and from random losses due to slightly more resistance than expected, easily outnumbering Mosmordren forces in sheer number.
Unauthorized use of a Nine Twenty has been floated about, resulting in the injury of a Force Champion and Sergeant Calus. Both a Warboar rider and Sergeant ‘Inferno’ Calus publically clarified this as an effect of his new attack method on the creature, issued a formal apology for not warning the nearby Force Champion due to not knowing of his presence, and investigation dropped.
Nadeah was happy to report that her Warboar was found in the village unharmed post battle to Thirty Two, who she invited to talk whenever as ‘von of ze most insane fekkers I’ve met, but ya is pretty good at clearvin em out.’


Mosmordren Losses total: 10 fatalities out of 76 soldiers, 17 reported injuries returned to Base Camp.
Notable Losses/Injuries: Sergeant of the 35th Baneblades killed battling Leader Froggrock, Ranking Sergeant Lysander Injured and taken off mission to lead injured back to base camp. Sergeant Sullivan minor injuries, remains on battlefield.
Note: With Lysander’s departure, control of Infantry no longer falls under a true Alpha Sergeant, as such command of Infantry falls under Cavalry Captain Solincu. Baneblades have been reassigned to control of true Beta Sergeant Reinhold of the 32nd Beta squad.
Force Champion of 94th Alpha Outloads Minorly Injured, remains on battlefield. Force Champion of 32nd Theta moderately injured, request honored to remain on battlefield after treatment. Warboar rider reported injury, refused treatment.
94th Outloads Beta have fallen to half strength, and been temporarily fused with 94th Alpha.

----------------
Heh, on the march again. At least one more village to go it seems, Sullivan’s a bit shakey, but he’s a hardy old man. We lost Bertha, Minnie has not spoken a word since, and Flloyd was injured enough that Sullivan ordered him to travel with Lysander.

At least a day before we arrive I am told, my injuries still sting, but its only really an issue on my left hand as of now. Most of the minor ones on my body, and my breathing are already pretty much nothing in the day we rested in the captured village post battle. Headache and a bit of hearing loss maybe? Too hectic though, not even time for a man to think or reflect on battle, well, maybe after this. Backpack got soaked, will need to requisition a new tent and possibly wooden stuff after this is over.

Before we leave though, I am informed by Sullivan that Sergeant Reinhold has requested my presence with the Beta’s as a bodyguard with Catalina for the next battle if he is willing to let me go. He informs me though that he would rather keep me around if I’m willing to stay nearer the squad next battle, and so he will leave the decision up to me.


>Should I accept or refuse Sergeant Reinhold’s request? She IS the ranking infantry…woman.
>Is there anything I should do to prepare before the next fight tomorrow?
>Anyone I should talk to? All of the Thirty Second squads are nearby except the injured or dead, and talking is better than nothing but talking to my wounds… if not an annoying person. I have time for even other squads really if I want.
[Next post with be combat beginning again unless requested for focused conversation. EXP and mission completion will be held until after at least next battle, due to his lack of rest and reflection time. Present EXP can be spent though.]
>>
No. 289105 ID: a76809

Welp, explain to Sullivan that sorry, but you MUST honor the chain of command-that is integral to the belief set you started out with, it would be quite strange to abandon it here and now. So, off to Reinhardt on this mission-make it clear you are doing it not because you want to, but because you genuinely HAVE to, based on your schema. Considering how the Empire rolls, they should get it, respect it-and maybe try to be clsoer to your area should you field at the same time. Would make for a harder job,-but one where a wily individual might save everyone.

But ultimately that isn't as important as what Lysander leaving the battlefield means. Consider that military rank MUST have a predetermined command structure-consider that there are rigid chains of command, and that you place, while low, on that command chain. If you study who is above who, how you could reach ranks by default authority with the existing individual injured and forced to leave, you could advance VERY rapidly, get to pull off bigger missions, better pay-it could mean your freedom and proving the worth of your existence much earlier than expected.

All of this is just for the future-but it all starts with the here and now-and siding with Reinhardt to get a potential in with more officers. You will rise-either by valid skill, or tactical removal of those above you with 'accidental' collateral to war efforts.

For what to do with your extra time, talk with Reinhardt-figure out what the objective they're shooting for is, so you can best protect in accordance with their own priorities, rather than just assuming the highest ranking officer is the most important. Your interest could also yield vital information for your planned climb through the ranks.
>>
No. 289204 ID: 69bee4

>>289105
[Sergeant Reinhold is not Reinhardt.]

“Chain of command must be honored sir, I shall accept Sergeant Reinhold’s request.”

”bah, this coming from the kid who is the biggest source of chaos in the entire squad, but I’ll let the lady know. Form ranks with the Beta squad tomorrow instead of us, Luken will have to serve as acting Force Champion in case I go down then... fekk, it’ll have to do”

“Luken sir? he dosen’t seem the…t ype”

”Apparently the squirt though proved himself something fierce in that battle, it was more as a sternguard, I guess he has a knack for those things or somesuch. Anyways, you need to work on healing and I’ll have Gee report in.

Continuing my march, I consider for a while the ranking system, seeking a method to exploit possibly someday. In the same way Luken had an effective rank improvement, such actions are often the harbingers of a true promotion I could easily wager.

Vague categories exist as far as I know as ‘sections’ of the army. Cavalry, Infantry, Artillery, Garrison, and Waterborne are all fairly independent sections of the military force, and overlap between ranks is a bit… awkward. Particularly since organizations I know exist, such as the Shades, Morgren, and R&D, with subfactions such as MAGE where I have the most experience, have a battlefield presence.

Particularly the actual Mage’s I suspect, of which I know next to nothing about their rankings but that there are Apprentices, Mages, and High Mages. Being a mage, even with a Cavalry Captain around, could probably on a whim say we all must run back to base and be obeyed in the middle of battle.

Obviously, me and everyone else I know graduated from my program are all infantry. As of right now, we are under command of a Cavalry Captain, but probably only because there seems to be a lot of ranks wandering around. It starts in part because Captain Lysander is a Captain III, or a Captain that has three squads under his control. Only squads under a Captain III are considered to be a ‘True’ Alpha, Beta, and Theta squad, Squads under a Captain I or II will both have an Alpha, or in the later case an Alpha and Beta, but they are not ‘true’ Alpha and Beta. When Lysander was around, we had a true Alpha Sergeant running the infantry; however, his loss means that despite we have a true Beta Sergeant in Reinhold, the gap between Captain Solincus and her is considered too large to have her in true control.

In general really, Cavalry are considered higher ranking than infantry (especially Warboars, Dragoons, and the Curiars), Nadeah as far as I know was just a private of the Warboar cavalry, but it’s likely she technically outranked me, possibly even Sullivan, on the battlefield. Morgren sergeants I suppose probably outrank even a true Alpha, but that may be in part because no one really says no to the guy with the giant killing machines under their charge. Somehow being reassigned to closer involvement in Cavalry, Morgren, or Mages, or maybe those outside organizations could be a ticket to ‘gaming’ my way farther up quickly. Other than that, I suppose of Reinhold, Sullivan, Kyon, and Catalina all end up dead, I technically AM a true Theta Force Champion, and would be only below Captain Lysander at that point. I also consider that I was assigned a temporary rank of Alpha Champion, that was never formally revoked, I could attempt some claim, or lie my way to a form of effective control, as I suspect part of why doors keep opening to me is that it is assumed that if someone talks like their in charge, they probably are. Only being in Garrison would be probably considered a real downgrade.

------------------------
“Sergeant Reinhold.”
(Reinhold)”…”
“I asked you a question madam. I feel I am being reasonable… Catalina, can you please get her to talk?”
(Catalina)”Sergeant, his questions are valid. I know your mad with him about what he did to me awhile ago, but…”
”Fine, fine, Kyon, report to the Captain we will be ready to march again in a half hour, that my offer still stands for his reinforcements, and we still expect the arrival of promised aid before tomorrow if he is willing to wait.”
(Kyon) “Yes Madam.”
”As for you Thirty Two, just because you accepted, that it notes that I expect actual, professional behavior from you. Artur speaks highly enough, and your work has been commendable, but I will not accept more ‘accidents’ like with Catalina.
“yes Madam, now about my…”
*sighs* Yes, yes. You are entitled, Catalina, please listen also.
”Madam.”[/code”] The major objective is fairly simply elimination, the early stages of the attack call for us to build up infrastructure so that we can build up actual supply lines. The empire is to grow, and we are to be the first strike of its holy blade. These creatures, they are irredeemable offences to its glory, and shall be dealt with accordingly. However, their ‘villages’ are also generally situated on the largest quantities of dry land in this currently defiled place. In my opinion, purging with fire is among the only acceptable results; however, preservation for Categorization and Technological Sector (an R&D group) is presently requested. There are two known significant threats in these villages, and they are our highest priority targets. Thirty Two, from reports, you are familiar with the first… some of these abominations grown a truly gargantuan size, and Sergeant Lysander informed me that they are lumbering behemoths, slow to move, but if fully active a true threat. As such, your protection of my personage is less about keeping me alive, than that we need to eliminate such things with deliberate speed. The second is what apparently caused the mist you two likely noticed, these… things, insult our dignity by daring to mimic the true magics of the empire. Even I am not privy to much else, but their sheer ignoble blasphemies should be enough I believe. In battle, our mission is the elimination of such targets and victory for the empire. Do these answer your questions? “I believe so mam” [i]”The only other thing to keep is mind is that we are expecting reinforcements, one a survivor of the large loss, seeking redemption I assume, and… feh… Morgren I am told. Anyways, enough blasphemies to even think of, dismissed.” The Sergeant walks off towards the rest of the Beta squad, leaving me a bit confused with Catalina. “I never knew the Sergeant was so… “ [code]”Zealous? Yeah, shes a hoot like that, I hardly know why she even puts up with us when she is so righteous. Also, I’ll just say now, I think she less has issues with you over… well, you know, than the fact you remind her of her abominations.”
“Is that so? Insulting, I am as loyal a sold.. fekk, morso than”
”I know, I know… look, I have no doubts in your streng…er fine… er… whats the word? I guess loyal. Just learn to deal with her is what I would say”
“feh” as I turn to walk away already, the girl I can only assume just zoning out in front of her or something.
”So anyways, wanna stick around with the Betas tonight? We have this…”
At that point I was already halfway gone, feh, too many annoyances. Me?! Me? A traitor, feh.

--------------
Day 28, Rathday, Cycle 3 of Perennius

No real cover for our approach this time, regardless, we are ready. Though reinforcements are lower than expected I suspect, as we received only one retainer, and three Morgren. Though I was a bit surprised to see I recognized Gorth… he was covered in some sort of new marks on his body, looked some odd circle of stab marks, and he didn’t speak a word to me or anyone I saw, but it was definitely him to my recollection.

I stood with Reinhold, Catalina, and Kyon in the ostensible middle of the army, the Captain taking head again, apparently against Reinhardt’s wishes as she has mentioned far too many times.

We wait for a few minutes, expecting movement towards us, but there is… nothing. Reinhold and Solincus meet for a moment, and the ranks are shuffled some, Morgren put at the Vanguard with the Warboars, and the order to charge is given.

I find it almost humorous, my speed and ability to not sink leaves me easily able to get tens of feet ahead, forcing me to slow my pace with the constant yells from Reinhold. Catalina on the other hand quickly begins mimicking me, a big grin on her face for a moment as she catches up to me. Kyon on the other hand just… walks, methodically, but yet with seemingly no resistance, unlike our more armored breatherin. He seems even calmer than usual too, his eyes just… gazing out mostly, like some sightseeing venture that has gone on too long.

One of the Morgren are ordered to throw a rock at the village, which it complies with silently, the froggrock beginning to burst out in nearly groups of tens from multiple directions, larger ones to be found in the mix, but no sign of the target.

In the center of mass, our specialized guard waits while Cavalry charges and infantrymen begin to fight, Reinhold silently pacing, her longsword drawn, a crimson bloody color I have not seen before. Yet, we do nothing right now as others fight.

To the east stands the village, ahead of me, a much larger number pulling out from my left on the villageside, our thirtysomething troops engaging at least two dozen froggrock, two Majors among them. The West stands with Gorth, who seems to be in a sad game of attempting to hug crush the darn things, but is unable to grab them. Fortunately, the 94th are able to land a few hits, and sheer numbers between them and the 35th are holding fine.

Yet… its so, boring, and she says nothing.

>Should I continue to wait, request permission to aid our allies, or just… GO.
>Captain Solincus rushes ahead to the east with the cavalry, and I can just see it in my mind, he has left himself open to being flanked AGAIN, remembering the Majors last battle.
>Do I consider or do anything else?
>>
No. 289337 ID: a092ef

Hum the national battle anthem of Mosmordren Empire
[wish we had suggested something similar when giving the last course of action during the previous battle. With out 'Hot-Blooded' and 'Speechmaking' skills it would have been a piece of cake to raise the morale of troops and lead them by example]
>>
No. 289351 ID: a092ef

>>289337
>Hum the national battle anthem of Mosmordren Empire

Why?
Because we are going into the battle
Because it is something we live for
Because we love to deliver Death
Because it is our Destiny

Focus on this. Delight yourself in the thoughts of coming carnage. You will show your virtue. You will show your worth to the Gloriest Empirw of them all!


>Should I continue to wait, request permission to aid our allies, or just… GO.
Wait. She probably has something planned and you might fuck everytging up.
>>Captain Solincus rushes ahead to the east with the cavalry, and I can just see it in my mind, he has left himself open to being flanked AGAIN, remembering the Majors last battle.
You might want to point that out to Reinhold and ask permission to help if you really want to
otherwise ignore it.
>>
No. 289354 ID: b83150

Considering that her orders were to kill the Majors before they could become a serious active threat, you could easily just run off to fight without asking for permission; afterwards, if asked, you could just say truthfully, your orders were to demanded you do so.

So, go towards the Majors, the two on your left. Hopefully, given your ability to catch the attention of the beasts, you would be able to distract them, thus relieving pressure on the other Mosmordren troops, and perhaps maybe utilize the tunnel vision of the Majors to your benefit - from the past observations of their behavior, once something gets them going, they will ignore all other targets other than the attention-getter, and care little for anything that gets in their way. Therefore, if you were to somehow position yourself so that the two Majors will hit each other with their attacks, it would aid significantly, I think.

As for actual attacks, I think that it would be good if they knock themselves out with the wild flailing of their clubs, or otherwise fall and entangle themselves together, and then use That Which Reaps (rope mode) the tie them up - perhaps also grabbing their tongues and wrapping the tongues around their heads/necks before tying the tongues into a knot - to obtain specimens for the Research Department. Otherwise, the standard spearing out their eyes/ripping their muscles and joints/etc. and That Which Reaps (chakram mode) to cut their tongues, with perhaps an additional clubbing from their nominal fellow soldier.
>>
No. 289427 ID: a9629e

Don't just go, but do request permission. You don't want to screw up her plan, but watching and waiting for an enemy to let you carry out someone else's plan isn't really your style, is it?
>>
No. 289568 ID: 69bee4

rolled 13, 6, 20 = 39

>>289337
A thought flits through my mind, and it strikes me as odd for a moment actually that the sounds consist only of the wages of death. Truly, in my time in Duras, there were almost always musicians on hand as part of the infantry regiments, and the Anthem rang loud and true. Such things are usually part of the infantry, and yet no one I have seen, or even heard around camp, seems defined as musician… huh, odd. Though there is no way my humming would be loud enough to influence things, and I am not willing to sing it on my own, I begin to hum it to myself, using it as a focus I have long associated with the perils and essence of war.

>>289351
>>289427
“Sergeant”
”Yes?”
“I feel obligated to note that the Captain has left all of his flanks dangerously exposed and that Majors have taken the field. I am requesting permission to engage the Majors as per the primary mission objective.”
”You think the… arg.
hoo boy.

Reinhold’s voice immediately becomes that of the irritated fury I had seen before

”First off, I am… obligated… to respect the Captain’s… strategy, loathe as I am to leave such obvious issues stranded. You however, are needed for the main objective. As you somehow COMPLETELY managed to miss, something I expect brainless Morgren to even get, we are going after the BIG one. These are nominally called the commanders, or the really big one you and Sergeant Calus dealt with in the last battle. I must say I should be surprised that you somehow missed this, despite the large gathering of Sergeants and Champions, while you were riding on a tree, but apparently you did. Either way, your request is denied, and it is from so forth until I can prove to myself that your not an incompetent danger. You will stay here, you will engage the proper target, and you will prove yourself competent of your title I hope.

Catalina just looks sheepishly away from the two of us, Kyon is pensive, and I am a small inferno lighting underneath my feet. HOW DARE SHE, fekkin unclear orders and… bleh. I have my anthem, and I have the knowledge that my purpose is correct. Things shall stand as is then.

Minutes pass at the ready, a slow advance of the inevitable victory against the tide of foes, who keep up their futile efforts to push against us. The village leeches more and more of the creatures, I note that Gorth has been singlehandedly pummeled by at least Three majors with charges, kicks, and body slams, and yet refuses not only to go down, but to fall at all. Unfortunately, he seems completely unable to do much more than take hits, and has probably inflicted more damage to the enemy by letting himself be hit. Though I do note the one he did finally get a hold of was practically torn in half. As of this point though, it seems the Froggrock have been intentionally ignoring him, going after the normal soldiers.

Ahead of us, the tide of battle teeters it seems on the brink, normal soldiers and the few force champions pushing against a force that half again outnumbers them. Feh, its forty five or so of the frogs, and thirty of our men? And yet it seems only a few people are actually able to land telling blows, a disgrace. They have killed about fifteen or so of the frogs, most of which seems to have stemmed from the two Sergeants in their midst, Calus for whatever reason seems to have the right idea, not even bothering to despoil his axe with such creatures, instead merely punching the things like the lowlives they are. Though his high spirited antics, like yelling out every attack is a bit… grating, I can’t argue he doesn’t have enthusiasm. The other Sergeant seems to actively not engage in combat, unless the enemy gets too close to him, his double sided broadsword wielded in a single hand, instead yelling out commands, probably trying to instill some brand of competency into such incompetence.

As expected, the Warboars were surrounded; however, I guess I needed to give the captain slightly more credit, as it seems to have done nothing to slow them down. Working as a large group, I don’t think I’ve seen a single Warboar or rider go down, and in fact from what I can wager, it seems their being surrounded has allowed them a sort of brutal efficiency where riders use their long spears to hit the Froggrock, while they keep running at them. Well, for awhile that is… Similarly to Gorth, the Froggrock seem to have backed off, Majors and all from the Warboars, but the Mosmorden cavalry remain in formation and wait.

Standing around, I take in the sounds of combat, the clash of flesh and flesh, metal on wood, yells of fury and despair. This area, like a select few others I have noted while we travel around, has a slightly fragmented... spice-y scent, with some sweet undertones. On top of a somewhat pervasive… charring smell? As if the ashes of a campfire I suppose, after being used to cook. We don’t have to wait too much longer though before something finally happens, a huge croak announced the arrival of our target, the lumbering, huge Commander Froggrock just… walks out of the village, towards the Warboars. Reinhold seems to just… light up.

”The foul creature has made itself known at last, let it know our righteous fury! FOR THE EMPIRE!”

For a moment it’s as if all eyes are on hers, even I feel compelled to look in her direction; her sword lifted into the air, almost a halo of burning fire seems to erupt from her. Every person nearby just seems to absorb her fury for a moment, and their efforts redouble, even I feel my hearts beating slightly faster, all but Kyon it seems is really effected within a few tens of feet.

Catalina”haha, japdeem, finally, lets do this!”
Kyon”Understood.”

The three Force Champions of the thirty second begin our charge, Sergeant Reinhold not able to exactly keep up, I can actively hear her not too far behind though. Catalina and myself both just look at eachother for a moment, and her grin tells me all I need, as we both let go of pretenses and begin rushing to see who can get to the hundred yards or so that separate us from the Warboars, leaving Kyon and our charge in the dust.

The Froggrock Commander looms ahead, dressed in a similar style of ‘armor’, or door plate mail, or whatever one could call it. In its hand is a similar style of club/slightly refined tree as the other one I previously encountered. Standing a good eleven feet tall while still hunched over, probably fourteen if erect, I do note a difference to this one’s armor, it seems to have black scorch marks in fairly random patterns about it, and the wood is a slightly darker wood. The club also shows signs of this darker wood, but without the markings on it, feh, stupidly superstitious posh. Though this one also has an impressive collection of random bones, and… a few large canines it seems added to the teeth. Huh, the phalanges on the arm piece of that Commander are unique, never seen bones like that, and never seen a jawbone like that bef… feh, whatever.

The warboars stand fairly resolute as is, me and Catalina closing within thirty feet now, the Froggrock once again forcing the Warboars back with its effective twenty five or so feet of range, though between the seven of them, this time it seems they are preparing to begin a slow effort to surround it.

Ten feet before we hit the lines of the Cavalry, both me and Catalina almost stop completely as a blue blur takes up on our side, ready to leap into action, only to see Kyon stop, carrying the Sergeant and gracefully dropping her off.

Kyon “we have arrived madam”
Reinhold[i]”... at least one of you is a decent bodyguard, Catalina, prepare protocol repentia, Kyon and 32, you are to strike as needed without risking allies. Captain! We are at your service.”

The Captain seems to take no heed of us; his massive, obviously alchemically augmented warboar just keeps stepping backwards towards us, as the Captain lazily keeps a spear on hand.

I prepare my own spear, That Which Reaps in its wire form along my belt, most of my other gear secured in my backpack. Taking note of the area, the Froggrock is actually only just outside the boundary of the ‘village’, and it surrounds us on many sides within a few tens of yards. The area itself smells… actually pretty good, in an odd change, caught them cooking something maybe? Definitely smell smoke. No immediate dangers though nearby, except some fully cowed Froggrock that had given up fighting the Warboars, no Majors though, who seem to be moving back into the village, all of them walking/leaping around us if need be to head to the West end.

All is quiet for a moment, the smell tempting my stomachs to growl, when suddenly the Commander Froggrock begins swinging his club in a wide ark, seemingly short of any real chance of hitting… until the front half of the club suddenly erupts into flame! Though the club itself falls short, the flames all lick at the front of the armored riders, and the only partially armored warboars faces. Only the Captin seems to be entirely unaffected, and three of the cavalry right themselves in short order, if a bit caught off guard. However, one warboard has bolted completely, squealing mixed with a gutteral roar, as its rider helplessly tries to steady the beast, one of the riders has jumped off the warboar into the watery mud, and three warboars currently seem to be risking breaking, a series of backwards movement, head shakes, and disoriented riders.

The Captain instead throws his spear at the creature, it lodging in a gap of the armor near the creatures right shoulder, which causes it to take its second swing directly at him, which he dodges by slightly falling back, and grabs another of two full spears still mounted on his boar’s armor.

Catalina was outside of the range of the creature, and leaps towards the enemy Froggrock’s flank, though slowed by losing her footing dodging the falling back Warboar. Kyon stands near my side, while Reinhold stands pensively muttering something, sword at the ready.

I shake out of my stupor of boredom and grin, huh, this is a bit more LIKE IT! Now, what shall I do with a flaming club wielding Froggrock giant, whose brazen act of living offends my sense of fate?

>What shall I do to engage the foe?
>Do I find anything of note in the beast, environment, or others actions to consider in this plan?
>What will be the best way to kill the creature? Shame explosives aren’t really an option with this many superiors around.
[D20 for Froggrock attack, ???, and ???, higher will be better for all but the Froggrock. Counter-Attack dice does not have to be rolled, but could help out a good plan.]
>>
No. 289581 ID: d3dfb8

Simple, you and Catalina circle around behind while it's distracted by the warboars. When you're good and behind it jump up his back and stab it in the back of the head. Have Catalina slash at it's legs, specifically the tendons. Try to take out it's mobility.
>>
No. 289582 ID: a76809

>>289568
Reinhold's making with the magic-that whole 'eyes drawn to her' thing? TOTALLY magic. So you give her time to do that.

Okay, few things, a good test for combat perception-

Those scorch marks-are they just arranged in a pattern, or is each individual scorch mark in some way not just a large blob of burnt wood? As in, were symbols or glyphs burned into the wood?

If so, assume there to be some sort of magic in the beast's gear.

Also-wide variety of trophies. This suggests a seasoned warrior.

So only attack in waves. You, kyon and catalina attack all at the same time, from different directions, and if repulsed cover eachother as you rise. Quite frankly, if you can't appreciably wound it in successive three-point attacks, you aren't going to wound it anyway.

Any time you think you have a good shot available for some stabbing, go with a two handed grip, all your weight, using the running tricks you've picked up for these swamplands, and make an upward thrust as you try to wedge the spear's haft against the ground, the hard part beneath the more mushy parts.

If you pull this off right, it will feel both pressure and pain from a given direction, and feel compelled to move away-which could compromise its footing.
>>
No. 289583 ID: a76809

rolled 20 = 20

>>289582
And why not, I shall roll.
>>
No. 289588 ID: a9629e

rolled 20 = 20

Don't really have anything to add other than a dice roll. Seconding Bob's post.
>>
No. 289781 ID: f85e4f

Told ya to keep quiet and have Reinhold do her thing,
now we appear as an idiot
>>
No. 289951 ID: 69bee4
File
Removed

>>289582
I decide that I need to leave the sergeant alone, my instincts telling me that what she is doing might be some form of incantation or magic. I for a moment consider sticking around and trying to listen in actually, but with another swing of the club, I see that only a few of the Warboars may be holding steady for very long, and I know action needs to be taken. But what… what could I do under these…?

>>289583
>>289588
[Roll = 20, Second UNECESSARY roll = 20. Artificial Instrument of Fate and Burning Blood invoked: Minor-Major Moment of Inspiration
Burning Blood: Talent associated with the Hot Blooded emotional set, May be invoked when 32 acts in a manner that particularly personifies whatever his Hot-Blooded-ness is geared towards. Randomly risks invoking a Medium level Moment of Inspiration relevant to the situation.

I suddenly hear in my head a groundswell of the humming I had been doing under my breath, the empire’s glory given note. Truly if this not alone was sign enough, a plan enters my mind, and I decide I must act immediately.

“Kyon, however you got here so fast, do it again, and get on the other side of that thing!”

I recall something that Samir had told me, and decide to try saying it.

“I need an equilateral triangle, you, me, Cat, GO!”

Kyon “Yes, Sir.”

And with no other words, I see his hands and feet glow brightly once more, as he just sprints on top of the water, as if not only it was land, but aiding his ability to move. I turn now to Catalina, who appears to be headed almost exactly where I need her, but is instead in a wrong position with her sword drawn, waiting. No, no, no, this cannot do. Fate refuses, I refuse! That is not her place.

“Catalina! I need you eight steps northeasternly towards it, we are attacking it in waves, you, me, Kyon, Now.”

”huh? No, not now, Reinhold orde…”

I can’t be bothered to listen to her complaint, I have a place I need to be, my steps have been preordained, I must be at the front. I begin the mental invocation towards my Magitech heart, and just glance at her direction with all the fury and knowledge I am right I can muster. It is like a form of magic, one that cannot be resisted, she must obey her fate. Orders have their place, but this… this… “Catalina!”

For a moment, I almost… see perfectly the effect I have. My spear is readied, my footsteps are a font of strength, my form that of a beacon of death across the chaos of war. My eyes are molten steel, my movements those of a warrior god personified, my intent lethality with no escape. I can tell, to her eyes, at that moment, despite being twenty five or so feet away, it is as if I am looking at her directly.

“You must trust me. Attack when I give the opening.”

I swear I almost even see a tint of red come across her face from this distance, perfect, the fury has overtaken her too. I see her eyes look at her blade, as she begins moving as I commanded, her Broadsword now becoming sheathed in an essence of rock before she disappears behind the Commander’s bulk.

I continue my movement, and watch the world seem to slow ever further, the fiery club rising up for a third time in this battle, as I dash, both hands on my spear. I can feel the heat begin to pass overhead, as I dash to the predestined left, the club bypassing me mostly harmlessly, besides errant heat. I prepare a moment, and jab my spear forward, smashing into the doorplate-armor. Figments splinter, but my spear refuses to go further, fortunately it is not me who needs to deliver the first blows, as I hear the thudding and tearing of flesh behind the beast as my plan comes to fruition, a croaking roar of absolution. I feel some disappointment, even if it is ordained as such, I fall back. If only I could get an actual grip on the mud somehow… I find it problematic, I can only swing my spear at full force when I am on the ‘ground’, a good foot deep in the mud. Yet I cannot retain any real ability to move while this is so, and I would have been crushed otherwise. I suppose one must learn to rely on others at times it seems…

Yet, I find this unsatisfactory, and I make my demands of my body, a solution must be found. The creature begins to fall to its ‘knees’. Good, Catalina and Kyon knew their role in this attack, though I hear Catalina yell a bit even through the Commanders croak of anger, and the anthem of my mind as it turns slightly and swings at the two of them. Resolution must come, fate has decreed it, and I shall do it. Though fate gives me no answ…

>>289568
[3rd Roll = 20, GORTH arrives]
When suddenly I hear a deep, inhuman, roar tinged with anger, war, and sadness, as I turn my head and see the Morgren Gorth is…. Rampaging like a madman, breaking out from the southern side of the village, smashing buildings with his… with his?

… the fekk? Is he using two FROGGROCK MAJORS AS CLUBS!? Fate must have some sense of humor, as I nearly break out into laughter at the sight, and Emperor… I think one of them is still alive despite being smashed into wooden buildings, literally trying to kick Gorth. I guess he found some way to grab them after all…

Gorth literally leaps from the side of the village, the last dry spot before the entrenched mud we fight, as he bellows out another roar and begins SMACKING the Froggrock commander with his improvised… weapons? The first smack dropping the Fiery club/tree, and making it fall into the water.

GorthF’ER LURY AND MOED! RAWGGGGGG! LURRRRRRRYYYYYYYYY” he says as he smacks the Commander with the first Major right in its face.
MOOOOOEDDDDDDD” as the second smashes and partially impales the Major on the doorplate’s bones

Gorth looks in hella bad shape though, his body is covered in bruises, and those spear marks I noted earlier from a distance appear to be nearly as big as my spear apiece, in a large circle, and are opened and bleeding at this point. His body is covered in purple-black bruises, and he has javelins sticking out of his body in places.

Nobody dares get in the way of the behemoths in battle, Major smacked like some sort of fish weapon against the doorplate a few more times. An oddly entrancing scene of sheer inane vigor as the Majors beat up uselessly against the Commander against their will, but keep the Commander unable to do more than uselessly flail fists that do nothing against Gorth, merely taking the blows.

Fekk! I feel it, my heart is beating rapidly already, its probably been nearly ten seconds… no, no, Fate has set this in motion. I must, I do… YES!

I am an instrument of fate.
The purifier of the unworthy.


I grab my spear fully once more to attack, and begin moving forward, slowly, and methodically. I fear not the loss of control, and embrace it, for it is my gift from the eyes of death.

I sate death, remove the failures life creates.
For to pierce in deaths name, is a gift much worthy.


I feel the lack of resistance as I move forward, but fate decrees my steps forward. I see the still smoldering club, defying the water, I see the Froggrock Commander, teetering from the assault, and I direct Gorth with but a word away.

To see death is to see all,
To see man live is to see man fall.
I shall sing the solem fifth
To see my spear become your scythe.


Gorth obeys, glancing at me but a second, while moving as I command. The setting is clear once more, and the Froggrock teeters on the edge of falling. I feel my heart and Fate tell me what to do, as I match my beating hearts to my steps, and force the vibrations down, and I feel… something change, as my steps become easier. I no longer hold the anthem I sing in, even as my mind says its prayer, demanding the foe hear the words of power, the words of those who have true divine providence.

So for it to be, that all things begin
I have arrived, to show you its end.


I reach the slightly staggered foe, who dares the audacity to swing at me. I swing forward in a slash with my spear, the land doing as I demand as I for that moment no longer sink, the beat of my heart having not ended. With ground not giving, my slash once more finds itself once more splintering the wooden plate of hardened wood, only to this time have it cede fully as I find the full force of a true thrust once more. Cutting a gash as deep as the entirely of my spear across a length of five or so feet, the pathetic creature at last gives into my plan and its fate, falling backwards on useless legs. I take a short leap as it falls, demanding once more from the land its solidity.

I watch it fall, its body slightly sinking into the same mud that me and fate called land, I pull my arms backwards, and thrust fully forwards, far into what would normally be danger for me with the beating of my heart, as I thrust forward to meet its fall. A solid wooden choker of sorts meets my silvery-metal blade, coated in mud and the ichor of the beast. I strike the femur in front, the bone surrendering in fragments as its owners death claims it as it should have, and meet the wood that befuddled my strength once more. The froggrock sinks slightly, the water gods daring to sap my strength, but it is for naught, as wood splinters like the thickest of bones, and my blade plunges into its neck. Blade at first only, as muscles and bones dare to resist, but it still only futile, as before I am done another foot of metal enters its neck. I believe it see it make an attempt for a croak, an act of defiance, only to feel nothing as its body deflates below me. A few moments later and I remove my spear, striking this time from the side in a pendulum motion, as my scythe cleaves a sheer half of its neck off at the head, the ichor pus blood of deaths sacrifice appeased for now.

My heart itself even calms, the Magitech stopping down on a simple command though far over any timeframe I had ever use it. I walk across the floating body as my ramp, as all stand in a sort of stunned silence that contrasts so horribly with the sounds of war around. I turn to Reinhold and grin to myself.

“Sorry Sergeant, did you want to handle that?”

Reinhold’s face goes from anger, confusion, mouth opening like a gaping fish into silence, to fury, and silence again.

I look though out of the corner of my eye, huh, that’s odd, how the fekk is that club still smoldering while on wat…

Suddenly the entirety of the club itself erupts into a fireball, as people dive for the cover of the muddy water, I find myself only averting my eyes and turning away, as the heat turns from unbearable, to uncomfortable, to only a fading reminder on cloth. I turn to the club to see a sillouette of a Froggrock in the fire. Some almost incomprehensible speaking of common coming from it.

(???/Froggrock?)“GRoakth! GURN! GRUN!”

Suddenly the fire dissipates from the club, and I see a Froggrock. Slightly smaller than most Majors, wielding some sort of odd walking stick, it sort of, shimmers with an odd… I don’t really know. However, everything now smells of char and fire not surprisingly, and most of the Warboars but the Captain are in full panic. Almost everyone else but me is standing, having dove into the water, except Kyon I note, who removes glowing hands from his face. Gorth also stands, but certainly not any better off having dealt with being hit by fire, he seems… conscious enough though. I begin to move towards the Froggrock, when suddenly the Froggrock says some nonsense again, and the body of the Commander begins to erupt into fire in seconds, as I desperately dive towards the mud, landing solidly, though without grace on my feet, sinking fully in a moment. I suspect this is the pretend magic Froggrock Reinhold mentioned.

>How should I approach the situation?
>Do I attempt to get the others to do anything?
>I still have probably three seconds on my heart, but It will be usable by the time I reach it.

------------------
(Learned/Used with talking to Catalina)
Talent Learned: Death Before Dishonor: A talent that normally requires 2 Command skill. Soldiers will always respect a commander that is personally willing to lead them into the coldest depths of the afterlife personally. Whenever Thirty Two is directly involved in an action that is considered dangerous in some way by nearby persons, and is willing to actively be involved, his effective Speechmaking/Command will be improved for convincing others to follow or obey, acting as a bastion of hope to the fearful soldiers. However, to have your beacon of hope fall can lead to unforeseen consequences, persons affected by this who see Thirty Two fall will generally act either in one of two ways, immediately disengaging and fleeing, or being filled with hopeless fury and attacking no matter the losses (depending on the level of effectiveness, wording used, etc).

(Learned/Used in order to attack with more force on the mud)
Talent Learned: Congealing Vibrations (lvl 0): As long as Thirty Two’s Magitech heart is active, and focus is given to causing the effect, all immediate local surfaces are granted a greater resistance of force. In effect, all solid surfaces have more friction, and thus allow him to have a weak brace where even none may be found, all semi-liquids (such as mud) become more solid-like. Knocking down and throwing Thirty Two off the ground require more force against also. Requires at least 3 seconds of time with Heart activated to use. Level 0 allows a minimal manipulation under non Moment circumstances. Cost can be lowered for upgrades by ___________.
>>
No. 289960 ID: 69bee4
File 130076614425.jpg - (86.66KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
289960

[Corrected Character Sheet, with spelling and an exp error fixed.]
>>
No. 289991 ID: a9629e

Well, this thing seems to be fond of fire, and from the looks of it Kyon's power has something to do with water. Since you personally showed these things the inevitably of death last time, perhaps you should provide a distraction this time to allow Kyon to prove their false magics are no match for the tiny bit of power the Empire has seen fit to grant him with. More specifically, perhaps a few mock charges turned feints.

Failing that, Reinhold seems to know more of these false magics, so it would make a great deal of sense to allow her to take charge of the situation. I'm a bit worried that her anger and dislike of what she deems "Abominations" might lead to her needlessly sacrificing you and Gorth though.
>>
No. 290117 ID: 2aed7f

Despicable worthless things
refusing Fate to take her due
resisting against Deaths embrace
their fire is but an imitation of the real thing
it is just a cold breeze compared to your fury and hate
show them your rage
show them your fury
let none stay in your way


Try to run, run as fast as you can, ignoring the burning heat to impale the fucker!
You might also want to throw chakram at its neck and try to sever its head.
Maybe there is something besides Gorth that is big and heavy which he can throe at it, tell him to do that.


Also,
>I see a tint of red come across her face
>perfect, the fury has overtaken her too.

lol
>>
No. 290276 ID: 69bee4

rolled 4 = 4

>>290117
First things first, impaling this pathetic creature should more than suffice to eliminate this problem. I begin pulling my feet out of the both thick and thin muck, and begin to move myself more normally, seeing that Catalina and Reinhold have recovered their need to dive for safety, and now begin to work towards standing. Riders stare at mud, as Warboars rampage away from the burning commander, and the less than half that actually maintain their rides attempt to hold and calm them. The Captain stands pensively, an odd point of calm in the fiery maelstrom of combat; having yet to do anything that I can recall, not even give an order.

However, this thing refuses fate her due, and I am the answer to such things. Imitation magic, imitation fire, all pale before my power. Gaining once more the speed I had lost, I begin to move towards the creature, I feel heat disappear from behind me, only to find that fire now erupts in a circle around the creature, almost directly in front of me, as I leap over the wave of fire, a slight burning protest from my legs, and some pain, though once leather hits the water again this lessens.

To only find ANOTHER wall of fire erupt in front of me, my body acting instinctively as I stop and fall towards the mud, catching myself slightly, and instead only sinking into the cooling mud.

Feh, so the thing dares to throw up obstacles to impede my path? Hmm, Gorth and Kyon eh? I can make this work I suspect.

“Gorth! Throw something big and heavy at this thing”

I hear the small giant rumble out of his sort of stupor, feh, he don’t look too good. I’m not a cloak of any sort, but I’d expect most people to be dead with that sorta stuff in em. The fekk is he still even standing?

Gorth”Ja? Me… throw wot good one.”

I see him begin to pick up one of the Major bodies nearby, as I turn towards Kyon.

>>289991
[Moment of Inspiration: Minor. One upgrade to a characteristic or skill may be purchased in combat at a 10% discount, or 5% (.05) automatically added towards a level 0 skill.]
I speculate that whatever it is that Kyon uses, there is evidence that it seems to be water related, water powered even? Essentially walking on this mud terrain, the glowing of blue, it’s a reasonable conclusion and quite possibly a sign that this time… it is a worthy goal to let water its chance to overpower fire.

“Kyon! There will be an opening, take it, show this creature the glory of the empire!”

>>290117
I decide that the best way to give this promised opening will be to combine two things I have on hand. I take one hand while I free myself from the mud, and loop the Wire until the handles touch, forming the Chakram around my left hand. I suddenly see a Froggrock Major flying through the air, quite a bit off of the target I told Gorth to aim at… but it’s enough for it to leap into the air, its alacrity sending it another eight feet from me, as I sigh inwardly… though, the fire disappears near me, and I find it anew now near Gorth, the giant lumbering away from the flames, though they begin to threaten him from all sides… just floating on the water? How the fekk does… well, it’s an opening.

I do my minor leaps, gaining speed once more, as I close the distance, the Froggrock… leaping from one foot to the other, swirling its cane, I throw my Chakram a good twenty feet away, and continue a run at the Froggrock, my silent fury burning far more than mere flames. I see the Chakram head to the body, and the Froggrock turn, about to leap, but without time to…

Only to see the Chakram turn back into a rope and fly into my hand, mere feet from the creature, as it leaps into the air, and fire is summoned in front of me, as I leap/run away from it and towards more water. However, I see that the opening I promised was made, as within moments I see Kyon almost turn from an unseen blur to a fully formed punch into the Forggrock as it lands. The Froggrock goes flying, croaking some words similar to before as fire forms around Kyon now, who just… walks right through it and reengages his assault, his hands and legs glowing brighter than ever. Another series of three blows, and the Froggrock is staggered, sent scrambling to the ground, blood bursting from what look less like punches than impact points on its body, as Kyon’s glow begins to fade somewhat.

(Frogrock)”I_II()I-H”

Suddenly, fire begins just… eminating from the Froggrock despite its being on the ground. A steamless blaze begins to form an aura of heat that I can partially feel from a good fifteen or so feet away. Kyon even seems to back off, walking away, unsure of what to make of this.

Though I find it decides to move towards me, though the aura of heat makes it somewhat oppressive to look at, I see that it still has the injuries Kyon inflicted. I also note that unlike before, it longer leaps.. but walks on top of this aura of fire, no sign of water when looking from above.

“Hey Sergeant! Any idea what this thing is doing?”

With no response, I am beholden to the situation as is.

Heh, so it dares to challenge my fury with its fire? Let it come. I have a rope on hand, a spear that slays the boldest of Froggrock, and a good five or so seconds before the heat becomes a real problem with its slow movement.

>What should I do against the creature?
>How will I bypass this aura of fire?
>I don’t know who else is up or not, but maybe someone else has an answer I need?
[Dice for Froggrokk's attack, Dice is not needed from players, but can be rolled to counter.]
>>
No. 290297 ID: a9629e

rolled 19 = 19

Tie the metal rope to the bottom of the Spear. Activate the magitech heart. Use the Spear as a javelin while using the rope to swing wide while it's in the air and then retrieve it. The rope is twenty feet long, the aura fifteen, so you should be able to maintain your distance.

These false magics are weak and pathetic. The Empire would never allow it's powers to simply be bypassed by mere rope! And yet, despite it's lack of any sort of redeeming value, this thing dares to try and deny death! This arrogant piece of scum is going to find out just how horrible a fate it is that befalls those who attempt to mock both the Empire and Death in such a manner. [i]We're[/] not going to kill it. It's not worthy of Death's Champion. R&D is going to, eventually, after we knock this thing out and deliver it to them.
>>
No. 290352 ID: 26a796

That pest is mostly likely using somekind of imitation of Word magic.
If we attack we should try to render it mute and if we are capturing it for R&D we need to make sure it can't make noises.

Maybe the Captain of warboars has something in mind?

Anyway, I don't think that thing can hold that kind of power indefinetely, otherwise it would have started up with much more powerful attacks.

Deep dammit that bow would have been useful right now, if nothing we would harass it. Doesn't anyone around here have a bow?
>>
No. 290355 ID: d3dfb8

Increase CWOMBAT REFLEXES by 5%
>>
No. 290370 ID: a9629e
File 130091285412.jpg - (9.76KB , 220x147 , 220px-Vombatus_ursinus_-Maria_Island_National_Park.jpg )
290370

>>290355
They see me strollin, they hatin'.

But no, seriously, add the 5% to that.
>>
No. 290454 ID: 69bee4
File 130094128782.jpg - (87.73KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
290454

>>290355
>>290370
[Combat Reflexes improved, Wombat reflexes improved.]

>>290352
A series of thoughts about the situation enter my head, some tactics are worth considering.

Bow? Yeah, that would be useful right about now probably. I consider though, Reinhold has a longsword, Catalina a Broadsword and her claws, Kyon I’ve only seen use his fists, and only his fists, not a style like I do. Warboars using bows? Heh, that’s kinda humorous, giant freakin boars, and using them to hold a bow and arrow. Those guys all use oversized spears, the captain using multiple, and carry swords in case they fall off if Nadeah is any indication. Bows and arrows are generally reserved in my experience only for garrison troops, or situations where we know the enemy is coming, and prefer a ranged ambush, such as one time in Duras. Too much fondness anyways to get up and personal, this IS the Mosmorden army! And we don’t need to fight from range… unless its fireballs or artillery, those are just cool.

I can approve of rendering it mute, the only question really is how? Capture is not really my forte per se, though I’m sure R&D would far more approve of a living specimen. Plus, most injuries that would render something mute are lethal in my experience, though maybe the thing would like its lungs cleaved in two. Yes, I feel fate likes that idea.

Though I have not asked the captain any orders, and I am feeling badass at this moment.

[Combat Reflexes bonus for upgrading]

I simply leap into the air and do a form of backflip, landing on the ground and retaining my movement as I turn to Cavalry Captain Avery Solincus II, truly a sole spot of calm in an area of combat where Warboars are bucking, riders and infantry scramble to stand, and charred remains of attacks surround.

“Captain Solincus! Any orders sir?”

A few seconds passes, the Froggrock creeping forward again towards me, as the Captain slowly lifts up the visor of his full helm, revealing a dark bearded, tanned skin, and somewhat aged face.

>(Captain Solincus) “Hm? Orders? Things proceed within acceptable states, continue as you were.
As he shuts down his visor, taking the same pensive stance, his boar grunting in a form of almost approval with his rider’s words.

… well, fat lot of good THAT did me. Oh well, do what I want? I can approve of that.

>>290297
[19 vs 4, MAJOR SUCCESS, no majors delays or failures occur]
[Effective and consistent use of Fatalism arguments and imagery has taken root, Hot-Blooded and Fatalism upgrades permanently lowered by 1 exp for all levels.]
I become more convinced though that death is just… too good for such a creature. Fate seeks to balance its debt I suppose, for what it delivered to me, it wishes now to deliver to my enemies. Although I am loathe to admit that MAGE did me anything worth rewarding in my gut instinct, I take into account what I have been thinking, and decide that I must put this base set of feelings aside, and abide by what fate shows.

An idea comes to mind, and with a skill of dexterity I hardly knew I had, I within seconds have successfully tied the rope with some level of security to my spear. I note quickly that it seems almost as if the knot... melted together? It’s a thin knot, and easier to make than any metal rope of such thickness I would have ever suspected at least.

I pick up the spear and consider where to throw it, leg is near the fire… but non lethal? Feh, Fate likes challenging me in new and interesting ways, less fun immediately, but I can approve.

I activate my magitech heart, contempt for the creature’s insolence flowing through me like my lifeblood’s own lifeblood. How dare this thing defile the sacred magics of the empire? How dare it attempt to mock the Empire and Death?!

I throw my spear, readying the other end of the rope in my left hand to pull it back, I have little knowledge of how to make this non lethal, but I aim for non vital parts of its body. The creature seems to stall, almost stopping as if in indecision, as the oversized javelin pierces right underneath its left shoulder, and I dramatically pull back, tearing flesh, and having it spew ichor. Though I note it to stay silent on the matter, glaring at me until it begins moving closer.

Fekk, I begin diving backwards from the aura of heat, moderately oppressive and enough to make me definitely sweat from even the maximum distance of twenty feet. Grabbing onto the haft of my spear, I note that even though the spear splashed in the water, the shaft is weakly hot to the touch. I suspect I do not want to get any closer to this thing than maximum distance, unless it’s a very brief encounter, or I can bypass that aura of fire. Another thought enters my mind, can it keep that aura going forever? Why else wouldn’t it have used it earlier? something to consider.

>Should I attempt to wait it out? Or continue attempting to ‘non-lethally’ stab it from a distance?
>Do I have any plans for a less lethal form of attack?
>Though the Captain wasn’t notably helpful, He, Reinhold, Catalina, Gorth and Kyon and standing, and seem ready to go finally… though are they any better off than me?
>>
No. 290489 ID: a9629e

rolled 15 = 15

You can worry about shutting him up once you've knocked him out. As for you you're going to do that, you're going to want to use your spear as a flail. No, seriously.

Make sure you've got a bit of rope in your throwing hand. When you throw the spear, deliberately go off target, and let the rope slide through your hand. You actually have more than twenty feet of length to work with, given the fact that your spear is nine feet, three of it's blade, so keep this in mind. Now, before the rope reaches it's full length and grows taught, adjust your footing, grip the rope sliding through your throwing hand, and swing it in a wide, low arc that will eventually come up and then down into a full circle, careful to keep in mind the position of your allies. Hopefully this will build enough momentum that a crack to the side of the head from your spear's haft should knock this thing out, and with any luck without snapping it's neck and killing it.

So it's a crazy plan, but it's a crazy plan. And since my dice rolling has been so lucky in this thread, I'ma rollin'.
>>
No. 290492 ID: 354b07

Yeah, I'm not sure either how to take that thing down without killing it.

Captain can certainly throw his back-up spears (I think) so that he has some form of ranged attack.


Eeehh, if we aren't killing it, I say we try to wait a bit. Lets see what other have in mind.
Otherwise just impale it or something. You can certainly try to puncture its lung-pipe so that it can't make noises anymore.

Ah... also, we always keep forgetting that we have illusion runes. Use them to distract it for making openings to attack it, either for you or your allies.
Ummm... I forget, do the arm-illusions inflict damage?
>>
No. 290678 ID: a16536
File 130102494397.jpg - (26.12KB , 450x368 , Crash.jpg )
290678

rolled 3 = 3

>>290492
[Neither the body or the arm runes inflict any direct damage as is. They are purely visual illusions, that look completely real, including the weapon being held in the illusion, but inflict no harm directly.]

It is around this time I wish that my illusions I created actually did some form of harm, 500 marks and I seem to forget about thing things all the time anyways? Though to be fair, I used them much more readily in Duras I suppose, as I found them incredibly useful when dealing with situations where I was outnumbered, or needed only a momentary distraction. Fighting larger creatures in a one on one might have limited my real use of it, but who am I to deny Death’s whims?

I consider impaling the creature, much simpler, but that aura might fry me before I could actually get close enough, and throwing the javelin hard enough to impale would ruin such a good ‘just rewards’ plan involving R&D.

>>290489
[Challenging Test (downgraded from EXTREME difficulty test due to remembering to call out), Roll = 15, BEARLY PASSES.]
[Moment of Creativity: Minor ‘beginners luck’, Bonus to attack result.]


Truly, innovation in combat is the best kind. As I find myself absolutely IN LOVE with the plan that forms in my head. I always found a flail a commendable weapon in some respects durning training, and I have all the materials I need to make one on hand as is.

“|-_/-\|_<|E” I call out, conjuring forth in my mind my right hand wielding my spear, and I command it to go towards the Froggrock as I begin readying my arms to put my idea into practice.

“Everyone get away, far away!” I yell out, if this works I will have an effective range of nearly twenty nine feet in a circle, nearly enough to risk engaging not only all those nearby, but to risk even some persons nearby in separate combats. There is no way in this chaos to be certain I can avoid people with such large radius of attack, but I do hear the splashing feet of movement.

Eh, at this point, Fate will sort them out.

I take a bit of rope in my right hand, and deliberately throw far off to the left… I actually note that while in my hand, my hand illusion is a spear, but as soon as I threw it, it became about six feet of straight metal rope that mimicked that I held. Though this seems to have been enough to make the creature stop for a moment, and take notice.

I pull back slightly on the rope, adjusting my stance as I fairly accurately predict the time of its reaching its full length, and my augmented strength more than adequate.

I also find that that wasn’t particularly difficult, with javelin training and the concepts I am beginning to form to projectiles, though I dare not think about the math involved before I risk a headache.

I begin to twist, swinging it in a wide ark, it nearly smashes into a Warboar, if I did not FEEL my muscles pulse with power and vigor I doubt I could turn as fast as I need to make this work through the mud. It’s definitely a bit of an if, since it’s a few seconds since I’ve been able to look perfectly in the right way, it’s definitely learned to ignore my illusion at some point… but…

CRACK!

Haft meets head of the creature directly on, the aura of fire fading within moments as Froggrock goes flying a few feet with the flow of the spear, landing itself face down in the mud. I dispel my illusion, a sort of self satisfied smugness as a grin plasters my face, and I deactivate my magitech heart. Fate has truly chosen me as its deliverance, and Death has allowed me part of its will in choices.

I hear a heavy set of footsteps behind me, as I turn to see the Captain headed towards me.

>(Captain Solincus) ”I must admit, that was certainly more of a display from a single soldier than I thought I would see today… though only your haft hit, and I cannot approve of taking such a risk with so many allies around. Though no one was harmed, as such, acceptable for now.”
>(Thirty Two) “The haft hitting was intentional sir. I want take this creature in alive.
>”Is that so? I don’t sense any excuse making… taking it as your trophy I suppose? Very well, that’s an acceptable reward, provided you keep it under control. You are dismissed from this battle if you wish, you have done more than enough Soldier, and I suppose it is time to end this. Though it’s been disappointing so far I would say. Though do me a favor and watch after the survivor would ya? No needs to have the guy die after all he’s been through, one of the few survivors of a hundred, whoowee.”
Though such an order makes me feel a bit conflicted, I know better than to take it in any other way than the path of least resistance in at least verbal agreement.
>”Sir! Thank you”
>”Sergeant, gather up your bodyguards, the mission is at this point effectively done”
>(Reinhold) ”but.. but, SIR! He… *sigh* yes, sir.”

Everyone begins to move out towards the western and eastern fronts of the battle, effectively leaving me here alon… no wait, Gorth is still here. Was… he who the Captain mentioned? Maybe there is someone else? I don’t see anyone else… Gorth was a survivor of the attack? Kills a bunch, nay a ton, of others and he’s who lives… Fate really does have a sense of humor.

Well, the world is my plaything, what to do now. Gorth is a bit out of it, but he can still move. The others are only about thirty five feet away anyways, and closing in on the enemy flanks. I have a… unconscious I hope body nearby, it’s probably fine just staying there, but I’ll check it in a minute. It was only suffering a nearly ripped off left arm anyways, should be fine.

>Should I stay out of the battle as is, or charge into the fray regardless?
>I AM right next to the Froggrock village, and no one is watching me… that sounds like first choices of pillaging the enemy rights to me.
>Should I do something with my… hopefully still living captive?
[my D20 roll is on well-being of the Froggrock, lower is closer to death, 1 is auto-death, 20 is borderline conscious, and yet Froggrock ‘vocal cords’ ruptured. A D20 is needed with any suggestion to stabilize or bind the Froggrock by 32 personally, D100 if you decide to go to the village or continue fighting.]
>>
No. 290734 ID: 736dd1

rolled 10 = 10

>rolled 3 = 3

Well derp, I doubt that frog is going to stand up on its own accord soon. We must have hit it pretty damn hard.
Still, we have very, very basic understanding of medicine so we might try something ..... at least we'll get some experience out of it if nothing else.
First stop it bleeding by burning the wound or binding it if possible, though I don't think shoulder wounds bleeding will be possible to bind shut.
Other than that, I don't know what else we could do for it so that it doesn't die.

But still, we need to take precautions.
Bind its mouth shut so that it can't speak... bind its eyes too for good measure.
Bind its hands behind its back and legs.

Take away its staff.
I know it might sound crazy but I think it holds some magic in it. Maybe it will become useful in the future and allow you some very basic will/world magic. Probably fire related.

Then go and take a look at Gorth. See if there is anything you can do for him with your small Medical knowledge. Try to stop his bleeding at least ... but don't take any unnecessary risks.

If there is a medical support staff with you on the field, go there with Gorth and the frog. They will see that neither of them dies.
If not, Tell Gorth to sit down and take a rest near the frog. Tell him to look over it and if it tries something to put it down.

Oh and see if the frog has any trinkets, charms or anything else valuable or questionably magical on it.
>>
No. 290736 ID: 736dd1

rolled 64 = 64

Since the Captain dismissed us from the field but did not actually give any immideate orders, I think we have grounds to do as we please for now.
SO lets go to the village and see if we find anything of value there.
But don't go expecting that there will be no trouble, maybe some of the frogs were left to defend the village, maybe the younger and females will fight you if they have been conrored.
Be very careful when entering homes. Keep you senses and reflexes working.

Go to the biggest and most "regal" looking homes first, those of the commander and "shamans". They should hold more valuable stuff.
>>
No. 290739 ID: 3058cf

rolled 88 = 88

HELL YEAH!
This was the best fight yet!
We never had everything go so smoothly before!
We sure did show Reinhold a thing or two, she'll never live this down.
Fate has favoured us this day

HECK RIGHT!
You feel pumped
hot blood flowing throught your veins
The battle still pumping in your muscles
Deaths hand still guiding your hands
Empires Song still loud in your head
Eyes still hot from fury
This is your day,
Your battle,
Your song

Show your comrades how it is done.
Fill their hearts with your mighty deeds
Fuel their passion by taking the front lines
Never falter
Never slow down

Delive Deaths holy judgement on everything that stands before the Glorious Empire

>[basically use Hot Blooded and Commanding skills and personal involvment to raise everyone morale and battle efficiency]
>>
No. 290772 ID: 3058cf

rolled 63 = 63

Hmm
it seems that the most involved part of the battle is effectively over and the rest will be going on auto-pilot (since the major threats have been removed by us).
I really liked the tying of the rope to the spear and using it a a javelin. So I suggest the 32 does that as much as possible to improve his spearthrowing accuracy and speed.
Also, while in melee with lesser frogs he should continue with his single handed spear-fighting. More experience will never hurt (though if anything more substantial come out, he should use it as before).
Try to focus on helping out your comrades and saving their lives if possible, or if you notice that someone is in a pitch you can revert your attention to that.

When the battle ends and you are marching back again, try to learn more about Beta Squad and their members. I'd like a small list of people like we got from our squad. Maybe we'll find someone useful August.

Speaking of him. Keep trying to use your Combat Senses and Reflexes at the fullest.
Using sound, tremors and air-shifting to your advantage to "feel" your enemy. And favouring deflection and instinctive reflexes over offencive fighting.
Rather than pure carnage, we should see this as opportunity to improve ourselves in areas the we find ourselves lacking.
>>
No. 290789 ID: ecee87
File 130109485888.gif - (41.56KB , 193x217 , Bear.gif )
290789

>[Challenging Test (downgraded from EXTREME difficulty test due to remembering to call out), Roll = 15, BEARLY PASSES.]
>Roll = 15, BEARLY PASSES
>BEARLY PASSES

WHAT!?
Where? Which way did it go?

That damn Bear. Always with its smug smile hanging around somewhere in the background and clapping when something amuses it.
Always ellusive.

Someday we are going to get him ..... some day
>>
No. 290910 ID: a9629e

You're supposed to be protecting Gorth, who's rather beat up at this point, so you should probably avoid getting involved in the battle. If you do decide to get involved, keep your distance and use your spear as a javelin, retrieving it with the rope as before. Don't even think of it as a battle. It's field training with ranged weapons, to help aid you in your role as Death's Champion and Soldier of the Empire.

>>290734
Do this first though. And to build on it, remember that you need to ensure that the Froggrock survives, otherwise the effort you went to in order to ensure it got the fate it deserves will have been for naught. Remember both your time watching R&D in the tent and the damage you've been doing to them. What things did R&D most avoid damaging? They're not human, but given that you've cut into both before, hopefully you can remember where you've seen those things in the Froggrocks. Also, what areas you've attacked seemed to bleed and seem to injure and weaken these things the most? These things are what you need to keep in mind when deciding the areas you need to bandage first and best.
>>
No. 291017 ID: 69bee4
File 130118631434.jpg - (59.40KB , 600x450 , SwampBear.jpg )
291017

[Part 1 of 2 for update, feel free to post.]
>>290678
[Roll = 3, CRITICAL CONDITION]
[Roll to stabilize = 10]
First things first, I better check on my prize. No point knocking it out if it ends up dying before I can get it there.

Examining the creature’s head… well, I am not an expert, but last time I saw something with its neck like that he definitely did not survive. The side of its head is basically entirely discolored, I don’t see much sign its really even breathing, and it’s a bit… pale offish green than what I am used to seeing, and that wound on its shoulder is flowing pretty darn well with its blood. Almost surprised it didn’t fall off, the clavicle is shattered, a bit of muscle made it though.

I think back to what I know about medicine… which is all of nothing but some basic field stabilizing I am expected to perform if I am injured. Good enough. Burning the wound? If only that fire the thing was so readily making was actually still around, the entire place is basically water or at least wet. Tying it up? … bleh, I have some waterlogged clothes, that’s like a bandage, no way it’s really going to hold though.

Binding though, that I have rope and the knowhow for. MAGE required you to know at least seven different knots for various occasions, including the taking of a captive. Plus you had to learn various ways of escaping your own capture. Ahh, good times, back when they tied you up, threw you out into a wooded area, and expected you to arrive back unharmed, Thirty Three was always the best at escaping those, shame he didn’t do so well when the bear found him, kinda surprised they kept him on with only one arm, but eh. Lets see, probably best to lay it down first, going to need at least three lengths… hey! I’m pretty sure if I do this right it will hold that shoulder wound closed, sure it’ll probably hurt like the deep, but not like I’m gonna care unless it starts screamin. Cloth and rope for the eyes, only need a more basic knot for that.

Now for the hands and the legs to the back… hmm, slightly odd to get this overly secure in any way I feel confident, the thing’s leg and arm joints don’t seem to be particularly easy to parallel with humans. Might have broken a bone in the process or something. I’m sure at least R&D will appreciate its bone structure.

Now for looting, hopefully none of its dangerous… well, dangerous for people who aren’t me at least, heh.

Let see, the cane it was using… basic wooden cane, though of the darker tan color that distinguished the armor of the Commander Froggrock and its club. The top of it is interestingly different, the surface of it is smooth, a pure white with hints of brown and green, that occasionally has patches where the white feels rough, like it was powdery or granular. However, it seems to have something… inside of it almost? Though this white outside is certainly solid, I can… see, a glowing bit of blue-ness from the inside of it. It’s a bit hard to notice without focusing on it, but it’s almost as if something is trapped inside of the material? That thing seems emanates the blue light; it seems to be very small whatever it is, a few inches total in size. This top part is very warm to the touch, and shaped approximately like an elongated skull, about eight inches long, and six inches tall. The cane itself is probably about seven feet tall, including the six inches of the top piece.

The creature also wore a necklace made of teeth far larger than any human’s I have seen, a choker around its neck made of the tanned wood. Its clothing, if you could call it that being mostly tatters, seems to have essentially disappeared, and probably tore off or something. It seems to have no sack or backpack to loot, disappointing, though it had punches of something on its front; whatever was inside was ruined along with the pouches when it fell. I’m not sure exactly, one holds a now soggy set of… blackened wood it seems like? Smells like timbers vaguely. The second is a green-yellow-brown mixture of rock and soil it seems, also now soaked. The last one is entirely empty best I can tell.

Considering everything of mine is fairly soaked as is though, I reseal them and store them away also. Free pouches can be nice I suppose.

I consider what now to do, spending a good minute or two at that, medical staff? Hmm, there would have to be someone who has some level of medical training in this operation, can’t generally field one without at least a person or two semi-competent. That guy in the Beta’s helped stabilize me, I’ll send him here if I get a chance.

“Hey Gorth!”

”huh? Wot?”

“Come over here, I need to look at you, and I need you to smash this guy if he tries to escape.”

Following my command in a lazy, deadpan sort of walk, I have Gorth sit down and take a look.

Huh, he’s actually not that bad off really except the bleeding. Even where he was hit point blank I KNOW by the Commander’s fist, he only has really minor bruising. No signs of a broken bone, he dosen’t complain of pain, only that the world is “Spinny, and keep movin eben when I tellz it ta sitdow.”
>290910
I actually did not get a chance to watch R&D perform the autopsy, as the major part of it had been completed before, that was mostly spent in conversation. In hindsight a minor shame, might have been useful. Though Guimu seemed fully human, and honestly, I feel I have a fine grasp of human biology and parts without it, at least for dead things. I try to consider where the injuries might have been more significant though.

For humans, I certainly know that eyes are a weak point, almost all joints, particularly because I can usually smash bones apart, any place where the ball and socket bones meet. Piercing the chests of the creatures actually seemed moderately effective, or at least shut them up, maybe they have big lungs or something? Problem mostly boils down to that the biology is hard to notice without time or a proper dissection, and they have all died rather effectively to wounds that would take down any normal human. I can certainly approximate the location of vital organs on a human, but these things could be totally different, and unless I want to finish off the Froggrock captive, I couldn’t really learn much. This trijn of thought reminds me of something the Eyes of Death once told me early on in my training, “One time of intensive, true study, is worth more than a million times you pretend to try”. I’ve always found that to be fairly true, and thus part of how I survived.

Examining the cuts, I take some minor pride in noting that the wounds are about as large as my spear as I had guessed, though significantly wider. Looks like the wounds were likely burned shut at one point, but I guess he somehow caused them to reopen, might have been a shoddy job? Though I note only about a quarter of the obvious wounds reopened. The wounds though are almost in … a circle? Nah, its skewed, not a real circle. I’ve never seen a weapon able to do that though, as all the wounds have spaces in between them.

I decide for now to tell Gorth to put his hand on it and keep the wounds closed. Not perfect, but rope would be pretty ineffective, and I have nothing large enough really to cover it all.


I resolve I shall get them some help.

>>290736
[Outvoted]
>>290772
>>290739
[Battle selected, EXP bonus]
[Effective Hotblooded use, roll stays at 88 instead of using average.]

Just as soon as I finish what fate has set forth for me.

I glance at the raging battlefield, and feel the blood that had calmed under my time examining begin to pump fiercely again.

Reinhold will never live this down. A sense of glee. Battle still rages in my muscles.

Empire decrees, so shall I fight.


With a charge and a yell, I find myself within moments thrust back into battle, losing myself for a moment as I immediately flank two Froggrock on the Outload’s side of combat, striking one down with a cleaving slash, while the other falls onto the ground as I slam into it, slashing at its fallen body, and making it into a corpse.

Truly, does death’s hand guide me.

Never falter
Never slow down
Delive Deaths holy judgement on everything that stands before the Glorious Empire


Yes! I no longer care if I sing, as I begin to bellow the Anthem of the Empire, striking down its foes. I no longer care who hears, only that death hear its offering.

NONE WHO DEATH DECREES TO DIE SHALL LIVE!

I strike down a Major and two more Forggrock in short order, before enemy attentions returns in my direction at all.

I decide these things deserve so little of my true effort, taking the still roped spear into my hand and tossing it into their ranks. I take efforts to try and work on using non sight based efforts, to find very minimal success, but a slightly growing degree of accuracy, and somewhat hilarious reactions from the soldiers, who dive and sway out of my misses way into the mud. Dodging the Froggrock Is fairly nonsensical, as I find them almost completely inept at harming me, but I find my reflexes much better suited to actually hitting them, their improved speed as noted from the second encounter though still seems to hold.

I find throwing my spear far less effective to say the least than merely striking at them, they are much more apt to dodge, and I single handedly only kill another five. However, with their focus on me, and a growing swarm of emboldened infantry in all the nearby areas they can land, at least twenty five more are killed with some help via my form of ‘aid’ at the center of combat.

With their leadership destroyed, the battle in many respects was already over, the enemy only was unaware of that truth until the last one we could find was felled. Fate had given us another victory over the pathetic creatures.

The West front had the enemy fully broken first, when we went to support the East. Keeping my word to myself, post battle I found Catalina, who led me to Blanche of the Thirty Second Beta’s, carefully avoided the Sergeant, and led her to where Gorth and the Froggrock lay. Gorth was stabilized, and the wounds resealed in short order, though with a loss of almost all the bandage supplies she had. With my eyes on the Froggrock, who still refused to wake up, Blanche declared its condition was probably as stable as could be done without a Cloak’s aid, but that its odds of survival did not look good.

I feel myself invigorated though by the end of combat, and raring to do more honestly. I note that I did not suffer anything but superficial wounds, the death of the Commander and the Pretend Mage coming so quick as to be meaningless.

>>290772
I decide that if they have someone like a medic though in their squad, that maybe it is worth learning more about the Beta squad. Asking Reinhold if I can join them for any period of time earns me a “NO” within seconds, asking Catalina instead yields an enthusiastic “Yes”, and a almost hilarious barrage of verbal fire between Catalina and Reinhold as they both try to win the argument. Eventually though, Reinhold cedes when the Cavalry Captain comes by, yielding Catalina victory, as I suspect Reinhold knows that was where Catalina would go next. An odd thing to have someone fighting furiously on my side for something so trivial, but, it accomplishes what I wish.

>>290789
[Do I hear BEAR!?]
As we head to the village to begin the reconnaissance and ensure its safety, I run into the still waiting Gorth while once more at the Vanguard.

Who has…

A bear? Why is he holding a… that thing must be hundreds of pounds!? I mean, it’s not attacking, but that’s only because Gorth’s arm is too long, and that bear is only probably… four and a half feet tall? Only really a threat to a normal human probably.Gorth seems bemused by his acquisition, I am a bit stunned, but it’s going to be a minute or two before anyone else gets here. I better nip this in the bud before Gorth gets hurt or ends up dead.

[Gorth]”Bwahahaha, iz cute! I names it Lurod! Like Gorth’s new’z pet? I watch youz little thin’, now I gots one also!”

>What do I tell Gorth to do about the bear?
>>
No. 291020 ID: a9629e

Clearly you need to help Gorth tame the bear. Is there a Froggrock corpse nearby. If so, maybe rip a leg off and hand it over to the bear.
>>
No. 291049 ID: 69bee4
File 130119386505.jpg - (87.95KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
291049

[Post 2/2 of update. Please look above for the full options.

The night watch would be spent with the Beta squad, Catalina a mixture of quiet and extremely talkative at various points of the night. Kyon was invited, but felt he was needed to watch over the Alphas and declined. Although initially exceedingly obvious they did not like me, being invited in by Catalina, and her jovial attitude seems to phase out a lot of the issues. In addition, I expect camping on relatively dry land, and having a decent fire, food, and victory is also having an effect. It is a more awkward experience to be outgoing with these persons, but I find their attitude on the whole is actually a similar level of boisterous as the group in the bar.

Most issues I would have also are handled by Catalina, who is apparently a real social navigator in some respects, at least in the squad. I learn quickly that she, Blanche, and Reinhold are the only females of the squad. Reinhold glares at me quite a bit, but I get the same feeling as when I ran into the Beta’s before, that she prefers to stay out of the social events, and just watch over… though she still glares at me. Jeez. What did I ever do?
Either way, I learn a fair amount about the squad while listening, and in my own part contributing. Mostly, a lot of them get caught up in wanting to hear about how Catalina and I took down the Froggrock, and a bit of ooh-ing over the announcement the Captain gave, which in large part was about me.

Members of the Beta Squad:
Blanche- Medic and actually considered one of the better fighters of the squad. However, she notably comes off as a lot shyer than almost anyone else in the squad, she spends a lot of time near Reinhold’s fire instead.
Catalina- Obviously, the Force Champion and the best fighter. I get the impression she is also considered the ‘beauty’ of the squad, as with a few drinks flattery that even I can catch gets put on her. Though she mostly laughs and passes it off along with everyone else, it may be more a game they all play? The squad claims they once all attacked Catalina at once for training before, and she beat them all, she neither confirms or denys, and just laughs. Her talent in combat seems to be speed mixed with strength, and an inability to ever be without a weapon. Squad gave her the nickname ‘clawed’.
Robert’e: An immigrant from Duras, with family from elsewhere. Partially joined the military to feel he ‘earned’ his citizenship he says. Apparently known as one of the more ‘swave’ members of the squad, but avoids flirting with Catalina despite their claim. Maybe wiser about it? Heh.
Jacoby: Poison and scavenging expert, apparently served with Reinhold in a previous deployment, and knows the area and plant life to a certain degree.
Chester: Navigation expert, him and Jacoby apparently make it nearly impossible for the squad to get lost, which is part of why they arrived among the earliest to the Base Camp.
Marcel, Mark, and Marchesque: Brothers, and all members of the Betas. Are considered the sturdiest of the bunch, and are called jokingly Reinhold’s ‘hired muscle’.
Jermain: Messenger of the squad, although built nothing like Gee, with a much more average build.

With cheers around, even during the night shift, the soldiers begin to dispatch one by one to the tents, claiming Catalina is volunteering to take the last part of the shift, and as the big hero I am obligated to watch over her. Feh, lazy asses, but the night air is pleasant enough. My blood though still races, as if I could feel my body becoming stronger and growing. Catalina asks about my veering off, staring at nothing, after a solid amount of time, and I relay to her my thoughts. With a light laugh… a… giggle? I guess is the word, she tells me that she has felt the same before. Most notably when she first learned to manifest her claws, and how it has grown in some levels to encompass her arm.

I do not know in the end how many hours passed, certainly we risked the fire’s death, and probably slept far too little, but we both ended up relating the feelings of growth, comparing, and challenging each other to dare our strength, to the point where post shift we basically ran into the swamp and fought silently as a final challenge. Energy finally waning at least some on both sides, we bid farewell, and she did this sort of awkward hug on me, being that I have too much mass to wrap arms around for anyone ‘normal’. Not knowing what to do I, returned it for the… minute or so I suppose? Feeling suddenly very… large I guess? As her relatively lithe form was such a contrast. Awkward in many ways, but not awful I suppose, a much more social night than I am used to.

With much for my mind, body, and soul to reflect on though… even my dreams I suspect will only fuel growth.
------------------


[Mission Two Complete: The First Step on the Road to Victory]
Bonus Objective: BOSS BATTLE(S): Froggrock Commander, Froggrock Mist Mage, Froggrock Commander w/ Hardened Armor, Froggrock Fire Mage. (3 of 4 completed)
Bonuses: Major improvement in 32’s renown due to his large role in the offences, Major EXP bonus, 1 of 2 Magical Artifacts obtained.
[Primary Objective Completed: Successful takeover of Villages. Conversion to forward bases will not be delayed.]
[Primary Objective Completed: Be primary damage dealer to all combined boss fights.]
[Secondary Objective Completed: Allow no one of higher rank to die through failure to act (includes Catalina and Kyon, all Sergeants, all Warboars, and Captain)]
[Tertiary Objective Completed: Never make Captain Solincus feel the need to fully enter combat (ie: never invoke the Deus Ex Machina)]
[Tertiary Objective Completed: Defeat over 20 Froggrock total.]

[Secondary Objective Failed: Engage all possible boss fights]
[Tertiary Objective Failed: Personally find evidence of the missing squad [35th].]
[Tertiary Objective Failed: Successfully bring back a living Froggrock prisoner (treat as secondary if a Mage).]

Bonus Experience: Continue the battle after being dismissed by Cavalry Captain Solincus.
Bonus Emotional Experience: Get to know the Theta’s and Beta’s.
Bonus: Two talents unlocked due to double 20 roll.

Total Result: Victory (MASSACRE)
Massacre x2 Bonus: (choose two of three)
The Tempest of Battle: The flow of battle will always lead to a variety of emotions, even love can bloom on the battlefield, as such, Unlock 1 unknown Emotional Set (can allow me to randomize, or choose by [row, column]). In addition upgrade (or downgrade) a single known emotional set that costs 35 or less Emotional Experience.
Alchemical Flux: 32’s Alchemical modifications are most active when in the heat of battle, feeding on his own personal thrill. Upgrade School of Hard Knocks to level 1, and unlock the knowledge of (but do not learn) a talent related to his modifications.
Accidental Fanbase: 32’s ability to make such major changes in the result of battle has earned him the attention of a small group of soldiers who have credited him with personally standing for all that their group stands for. 32’s opinion with a the lower ranking members of a random, involved, and non hostile group will vastly improve. (In this case, your only options will be Infantry squads, Morgren, or Warboar Cavalry, and will not include their commanding officers except through the fervor of their own men’s influence. Under more normal circumstances of larger combat, this could affect a singular Commander also, such as a single Sergeant, Captain, Mage, or Special Operative (such as R&D) instead.)

Combat Experience Gained: 212 [Skill Plusses: +.26 Combat Reflexes, +.27 Diplomacy, +.25 First Aid, +.17 Bluff, +.24 Combat Senses. All other minor bonuses from rolling with attack go to Cexp total]
Emotional Experience Gained: 58

End Battle Statistics:
‘Normal’ and Major Froggrock killed by Thirty Two: 9 (17 Soldier lives saved, due to mostly morale and assistance)
Commander Froggrock and Fire Mage Killed: (25 Soldiers, Kyon, Catalina, 2 Sergeants (including Reinhold), and 1 Warboar saved.

Local ‘Global’ News
------------------------------------------------
Overall morale post-battle is reported as extremely high, with only two soldiers killed in battle, and a half dozen injured to any notable degree.

R&D was pleased to hear in part due to this level of control post battle, the structures are intact, and have dispatched two senior members to gather resources for the village just taken.

the Cavalry Captain Solincus and Replacement Sergeant in charge Reinhold have been commended for the high level of success in the mission by Sergeant Lysander when the report was received.

Cavalry Captain Avery Solincus II has publically announced his intent to advocate reward of the Silver Order of the Sword to Force Champion of Theta Thirty Second, the ‘Warboars’, Thirty Two “For actions above and beyond the call of duty, that directly and pivotally resulted in the completion of the mission”. In addition, he has requested a seventy Mark cancelation of an Alchemical Warrior’s debt to be awarded. He has also stated that he is requesting directly to Captain Magnus Lysander, and Captain Superior Eden Lardarius a promotion for the Force Champion.

In note due to its relation, Captain Magnus Lysander with approval of Sergeant Artur Sullivan requested a Bronze Order of the Sword to the same Force Champion previously for actions in the taking of Base L-III, but notification to the Force Champion was delayed due to first being send to Base L-III, due to sudden redeployment.

The 35th’s Banner was found in the village, and with no sign of the bodies, are assumed dead. Investigation of the village for further evidence will be done upon destruction.

A Froggrock captive was reported to R&D as having been successfully captured , and as having been able to conjure false magics. A representative has been sent. (note: Captive will die before arrival, but relatively intact body has some merit. 32 will be invited to the dissection.)

>Suggest any upgrade you wish to do, but feel free to delay until you know what Massacre bonus you get also.
>32 will have time while marching to talk to up to 3 persons (though talking to less will get more effect from that particular person, as you have more time to devote), post a person and general topic or approach to conversation.
>32 will be aware of his Bronze Order by the next non-bonus only post, when he returns to camp.
>>
No. 291052 ID: a76809

Alchemical Flux and Accidental Fanbase-just as our knowledge of our own body slowly grows, so to does our understanding of how to socially interact with others-Combat and diplomatic abilities rising in concert. Should maximize chances of getting promotions-and surviving, which is nice.

Upgrade Congealing Vibrations, so that it and School of Hard Knocks are level 1 (since getting Alchemical Flux does that). This is thematically appropriate, as with your vibration control improving, it would be sensical for you shock resistance to increase-leading to a harder-to-stagger warrior.

All other experience is reserved until we know what the new Alchemical ability for unlock is-could go to that, could go to Agility and Strength, who knows.
>>
No. 291062 ID: a9629e

Okay, Bonuses. I say The Tempest of Battle, downgrading contempt, and Accidental Fanbase with the Morgren. Then use emotional experience to downgrade it again and upgrade curiosity.

Use the last of the emotional experience, and if I'm guessing the right amount fifty-six combat experience to get the first levels of diplomacy, reflexes and bluff. Upgrade agility and strength. That should leave you with sixteen combat expereince.

I say talk with Kyon, Gorth, And Blanche. Kyon about the nature of his powers and asking about how he views his role in battle, Gorth about the Bear and Morgren in general, and Blanche about medical things.
>>
No. 291069 ID: 903f16

>>291049

>Suggest any upgrade you wish to do, but feel free to delay until you know what Massacre bonus you get also.
Alchemical Flux and The Tempest of Battle, with the latter lowering contempt down a level. Let's leave spending experience until the next update so we have everything laid out in front of us.

>32 will have time while marching to talk to up to 3 persons (though talking to less will get more effect from that particular person, as you have more time to devote), post a person and general topic or approach to conversation.
Seconding >>291062 in terms of conversations.
>>
No. 291081 ID: 46c430

If we take Tempest of Battle, I say reduce Contempt.
>>
No. 291093 ID: a9629e

Okay, anytime anyone anywhere asks what you hope the promotion you get or promotions you want are, you say Morgren sergeant.
>>
No. 291105 ID: 903f16

>>291069
Switching my vote for bonuses to >>291052.
>>
No. 291106 ID: 903f16

>>291105
Oh and voting to spend some experience to lower Contempt a level.
>>
No. 291107 ID: 76a2b7

Puttin' in a vote for Alchemical Flux.
>>
No. 291124 ID: 69bee4
File 130120395554.jpg - (91.82KB , 800x600 , 32CharacterSheet.jpg )
291124

>>291107
>>291106
>>291105
>>291093
>>291081
>>291069
>>291062
>>291052
[Alchemical Flux and Accidental Fanbase selected.]
[Fanbase Randomized, only thing immediately known is that it is INFANTRY, and thus only eliminates Warboars]
[Contempt Lowered, 35 Eexp spent.]
[School of Hard Knocks upgraded to level 1, Improving his skull’s durability, and providing a basic, but fairly effective resistance to head injuries and their after effects. Talent Unlocked: Reactive Augmentation]

Reactive Augmentation (Level 0): 32’s augmentations were made in part from an extremely dangerous process, where cheap but powerful augmentations were first made too strong, and gradually reduced until subjects were able to endure at a somewhat consistent rate. As such, 32’s augmentations are actually extremely advanced for their cost, and have the potential to become reactive to a combat situation if unlocked by a competent user. 32’s willingness to rely on his own fervor for battle, and his body, instead of ‘crutches’ such as a mass of magical items, have made him an excellent candidate to unlocking these hidden elements. While in Combat, 32’s Augmentations have a random, but fairly large, chance to begin reacting to what they ‘learn’ of the situation, and attempt to respond accordingly.

For example, if 32 is suffering injuries that hamper his movement, his passive healing will augment, with focus on the injured limb. If 32 lacks the strength to push back an enemy, his strength would temporarily improve.

Improving levels minorly improve the odds of the reactive augmentations occurring, and extends their duration. It also provides it with more ‘accurate data’ about the situation, and more possible widespread effects of the benefit. 32 will generally now when an augmentation is aiding him, even if it is usually slightly subtle.

Unlocking this represents 32 coming to a greater understanding of how his body work with his augmentations and changes, mostly having occurred passively. Each level counts as an improvement of understanding for purposes of ‘knowledge’ about how his augmentations, Magitech Heart, and their interplay with Magic work in a very brute-force personal-feeling general sense also. Level 0 grants no benefits, either in knowledge or power.

>[Conversations and After events after next round of upgrades.]
>>
No. 291126 ID: a9629e

>>291062
Going to vote for these upgrades again, minus the Contempt lowering.
>>
No. 291143 ID: 903f16

>>291124
This, but swap out upgrading Strength and getting the first level in Combat Reflexes for Reactive Augmentation.
>>
No. 291163 ID: a76809

I say upgrade:

Purchase-----------------------Cost
Congealing Vibrations: ---C70
Reactive Augmentation:--E40 C180
Speechmaking/Command: E40 C220

Sure, you are only left with s7 Combat experience and 9 Emotional experience, but:

-You are at a largely stable emotional state, Contempt lowered, and with your act of heroism poised to gain enough extra Diplomacy experience with just the gunners to reach level one, let alone all your other contacts-tales from last outing are always great.
-In the telling, you could practice bluff by rephrasing what you had accomplished to lead people to believe you were even more capable than you were without deviating from what the official reports on the incident say. So that's TWO social skills that would upgrade.
-With three total (Including Command) social skills upgraded, AND the newfound knowledge and complexity of the Magitech heart, you have a great case for going to R&D-and as they monitor your heart, they may deem it NECESSARY to instruct you in some combat magic to test magic interaction theories-so, after upping all those social skills, gain access to legitimate Combat Magic/magical theory as the Heart is studied.

Somewhere in there the consideration for promotion will come-possibly an interview? I mean, permanent staffing decisions are important-and how better to shine than with verbal acuity AND magic knowledge/use?

My thoughts on how to get 32 climbing the ranks.
>>
No. 291191 ID: f606b6

rolled 56 = 56

upgrade agility and strenght. this is a comlete MUST. Everyting else comes in second.

i am somehow opposed to using exp for upgrading lvl0 skills as they are the most easiest to train. we can get more diplomacy by just taking part in social stuff.
if we do upgrade them use up emoexp first then cexp.

talk to Blanche. ask her about medicine and such, get tips about first aid.
talk to kyon about his alchemical augmentations. maybe you will learn something useful about yourself and your augmentations.

since you are invited to r&d, reflect about the battle with the commander and shaman. try ti give as much of information as possible. show them the staff but tell them you want to keep it (unless they give you some valuable offer for it. preferably some kind of alchemical upgrade)
also ask them about your illusion runes. tell them you find them lacking and ask if they can become better in future.

actually, it kind of sucks that the frog is going to die. since everyone is marching back together we could try to find someone who could help us with this. remember that there was this expet of froggoks in your squad. he might help. or maybe someone else is aroind who can.
testing the Fate if we cam do something to ptevent frogs death. rolling a die
>>
No. 291201 ID: d6c8c7

Wait, Naive, you have completely confized me.
I thought we already had the 1st lvl of the school of hard knocks. Doesnt the lvl inside the brackets represent the current level?
Does it mean that when "skill"(lvl1) is on the character sheet that 32 doesnt actually have that skill yet? that it shows the cost for the next level?
I believe our strenght is at lvl3 or is it at 2 and the number on the sheet shows the next level?
or does that apply only to talents?
I suggest you use the same format for skills and talents..... I cant be the only one who is confuzed by this I hope.


Anyway, this fight got me thinking that we dont have enought alternate weapons. So I thought we should get several throwing knives.Comissioned spevifically for us, taking into consideration or size and strenght, the weighyed knives will probably be short-swords for regular people. We could get about 3 of them and strap them on our tight or something, preferably so that they can be reached easy and quickly so that we can get them when in a tight spot.
Also, some kind of dagger or a sword if we lose our spear or need to parry with off-hand.
We need better pouches and backback which don't get soaked and ruind their holdings. Would suck if we found that ou 9-20s are unuseable because they got wet or something.

Blanche commented about someone called Cloak. I got the impression that he/she is a better medic or doctor that hersels. Can we find him and have him help to keep the damn frog alive till r&d gets here?
>>
No. 291231 ID: 69bee4

>>291201
[As this is apparently an issue, I will be changing the character sheet in an attempt to make it more clear.]
[Also, Cloaks have been referenced a few times before, it is the Infantry slang for a 'true' Medic, or a Curiomancer, as most low ranking infantry/cavalry/etc do not know the difference. They are called this due to white cloaks they tend to wear while on duty.]
>>
No. 291450 ID: 69bee4
File 130128628998.jpg - (90.55KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
291450

>>291231
[A note on the new character sheet: Levels changed to resolve certain levels of confusion. All level numbers from now on will be in the parenthesis listed, and the cost associated to move to the next level. 32’s Rank and a brief descriptor of something he is known for will be on the first line, granting some insight into how he is viewed as a whole.]

>>291201
[32 actually knows that 9-20’s are water resistant, and thus unlikely to have been ruined. Those are not at issue, other things are though.]

>>291126
>>291191
>>291163
>>291143
[3 votes Agility, 2 Strength, 2 Reactive Augmentation, 1 Bluff, Reflexes, and Speechmaking. Agility is upgraded, others come up to revote. Another set of ties and 32 is upgraded in accordance with what I deem makes the most sense considering his experiences thus far, using the most voted for options.]

---------------------------
Day 29, Rathday, Cycle 3 of Perennius

>>291020
I wake up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my dreams entangled somewhat in the memory of how I found the corpse of a Froggrock and had Gorth feed it to the Bear. I then came to the conclusion that babysitting a Morgren is out of my paygrade, and continued forward.

>>291093
Though that line of reasoning does linger some in my mind, with such signs hanging over my head, and high word from the Cavalry Captain… it is likely I will see a promotion someday soon enough. A Morgren Sergeant on its base though is basically a babysitter though; something Sullivan had thrown in my face in order to threaten me mildly into showing up to the meetings early on. Yet, there is some appeal I suppose, though their antics are somewhat nonsensical, there is no denying that there is a level of strength that rivals even mine in these creatures. Plus, tales of Morgren Captains speak of much higher things, defeating hordes of golems, of Veteran Morgren facing alongside the most elite of the Dragoons, of siege and felling cities without the aid of mages. It is not ideal possibly… but maybe something more suited to my talents? I am not sure.

Either way, the day begins slowly enough, motions around the 32nd area of the camp beginning slowly, though with a few visitors. A few members of the Beta and Alpha 32nd congratulate me, about half of the 37th Curriles apparently wanted to meet me, and the 94th Outloads even had a single person pop on over. Fortunately, Sullivan shoos people away with a huff, and commands everyone, even the squads not his to get ready to pack up… Sergeants have an interesting power to make soldiers run like girls, heh. Though despite this constant interference, I must say I feel positively lively and light today… my muscles somewhat burn, but I feel empowered, like the world has slowed so that I may move amongst it more.

It is not too long before I am packed, wandering as the poor silly squad mates need actual time to pack up things that weight fifty plus pounds… feh, weaklings.

>>291062
>>291069
[Kyon, Gorth, and Blanche selected]

I decide that first things first, I need to find Gorth, as on some levels that duty to make sure he didn’t kill himself still holds. Plus, he has a bear, which although I still think is odd, is in some sorts interesting. Though I doubt he got to keep it.

Gorth Conversation
-Apparently Captain Solencus decreed Gorth could in fact keep the bear, overruling the objections of Reinhold and two other Sergeants.
-Gorth doesn’t have a lot to offer on Morgren in general, except I figure out that his use of multiple names is a sign of respect among Morgren. A ‘higher ranking’ Morgren will have more than one name.
-He also informs me that the Morgren have been real nice to him since his surviving the attack by the ‘demon’ as he calls it. They have doubled the amount of times they knocked him in the head, and tackle him at least every few hours for a good ‘scruffle’. I both suspect this is why his wounds may have issues healing, and wonder how much Morgren seem ter… I mean to fight.
-Gorth has kept the name Lur-od for the bear, apparently in the attack with the ‘demon’, Lury and Moed were killed, and he seems to be doing this in remembrance. He trails off after this though, and I get no more out of him.
[Diplomacy +.10]

As we begin moving out, trudging once more through the mud… well, most people are trudging, I find myself now able to navigate the mud with a certain level of precision, despite being laden down, and needing to keep up with others. I invite myself for awhile with the Alphas, their group having moved ahead of our ranks and seemingly keeping a higher rate of speed I note. Though this is not surprising, as Kyon is still walking on water, I call him aside for a moment though, keeping pace.

Kyon Conversation
-Kyon has difficulty at first describing his role in battle, thinking a moment, before declaring it as “I seek both to obey orders, to minimize loss of life’.
-Kyon gained the nickname ‘the Ward’ after protecting Sergeant Lysander for the third time. The Alphas have a high opinion of him it seems, calling him their ‘protector’.
-Pointing out to Kyon that he walks on water, I ask about his powers. He can only describe them on vague terms, stating that ever since his family paid for augmentation; this has been part of the effect. He says that he feels most at home on or near water, and that it further augments his strength and speed bursts he can control while this is the case. He says that the walking is less about him walking on the water, than ‘my body does not bother it’.
- He has apparently served in the Garrison previously, and is a ‘veteran’ of similar time in the Infantry as myself. He saw promotion after receiving his minor augmentations out of Garrison. This is his first major campaign, having previously served with the Alphas in some minor missions.
[Diplomacy +.06]

As afternoon turns to dusk, I find myself invited again by Catalina to join the Betas for the evening, apparently something about having a good brew taken by Robert’e, and the excuse in his culture, the last days of the month are celebrated. Deciding to accept, I find this time even Blanche has joined in, Reinhold nowhere to be found. Considering for a moment, I decide it seems an ideal time to talk to her, and review if I remember various things about field stabilization properly.

Blanche Conversation
-Blanche confirms most of what I believe was my training for stabilization. Raising of the legs, importance of clean bandages, sealing of wounds via fire, etc. I feel much more confident about my minimal level of knowledge.
-Apparently her own training is not as a medic, but her father is a decent ranking Cloak, and is the first Mage Apprentice of her family line.
-I am not given much more time to talk to her, as Reinhold descends and orders me out of the Beta camp.

[First Aid +.16, Diplomacy +.02]

Having been kicked out of Beta’s celebrations, I return back the Theta camp, and so the night shift begins once more… feh, it is what it is, fate can be boring at times.

>Another upgrade attempt before return to camp.
>Minor actions can be performed including some level of investigation or examination of items, reorganization, etc.
>Any strategy for dealing with R&D, or requests about things from R&D during the dissection.
>>
No. 291454 ID: 69bee4
File 130128804517.jpg - (95.06KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
291454

[corrected Character sheet]
>>
No. 291457 ID: a9629e

Hm, I guess I'm changing my vote to upgrading Strength, Curiosity, and Speechmaking.

Anyway, try screwing around with That Which Reaps some more. For instance, change it into a chain, and see if you can bunch or tie up the open end into a ball. The rope melded together, maybe the chain can too, and you'll get a proper flail out of it.

When it comes to R&D, try and be friendly with them, and especially express interest in their work. I mean, as much as it may have been unpleasant, they were in fact the one's who more or less made you Death's Chosen of the Empire. The challenges they brought to you have kept you from being found wanting in the toughest of hours. You were never coddled like the soldiers around you, and you are better for it. Hmm, maybe ask if a free Apprentice or newbie to them could be nearby during the dissection to help explain things to you.
>>
No. 291458 ID: 903f16

>>291450
>Another upgrade attempt before return to camp.
Buy Reaction Augmentation and the next level of Curiosity. Use the change left over to bump up Bluff and Diplomacy.

>Minor actions can be performed including some level of investigation or examination of items, reorganization, etc.
Look into that weird staff you found. Try asking around and see if anyone has a clue on what it is. Either that or try and requestion a new bed roll, or just steal a couple other bedrolls and try to sew one together that's your size.
>>
No. 291462 ID: 62a478

Voting againsylt bluff or diplomacy, they will come natutally anyway. no need to waste exp on that.

voting for strenght and reactive augmentations.

examine the staff more thoroughly, try to really "own" it. maybe then it will show its secrets to you.

as for r&d
tell as much as possible about the magic frog and its fighting.
tell them about all the new stuff you found out about your augmentations and the heart.
Ask them if they can upgrade you in anyway or tell you secrets about your current augmentations
>>
No. 291475 ID: d3dfb8

Strength 100 CXP
Speechmaking 40CXP
Congealing Vibrations 30CXP/40EXP
Only leaves us with 2 CXP and 9 EXP but it allows us to use massive amounts of awesome.
And if we're getting a promotion in the near future command will be extremely useful. Think ahead people.
>>
No. 291619 ID: a76809

>>291475
I support this-we stockpiled a goodly amount of XP, lets make our improvements more noticeable by spending EVERYTHING.

Should make getting further experience EASIER.
>>
No. 291766 ID: 69bee4
File 130145768478.jpg - (95.68KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
291766

>>291457
>>291458
>>291462
>>291475
>>291619
[Strength- 5 votes, Speechmaking-3 votes, Curiosity, Congealing Vibrations, Reactive Augmentation- 2 Votes, Bluff, Diplo- 1 Vote]
[Strength and Speechmaking/Command leveled, Congealing Vibrations selected as final upgrade, due to the fact that 32 has generally focused on his heart’s capabilities in the past, in addition, learning Vibrations meshes with his rapidly growing ability to ‘walk’ on the terrain of the swamp, and his unlocking Reactive Augmentation.]
[Congealing Vibrations (lvl 1): Thirty Two has discovered a method by which without full activation, he can influence his Magitech to beat subtly using the blood flowing from his other two hearts. 32 may act as if he has a level 0 Congealing Vibration with focus at any time now, or may act with the improved lvl 1 effects by invoking his Magitech heart for three or more seconds.]

[Bonus: Due to having two levels in talents related to his Augmentations, 32’s knowledge of self and his augmentations has grown. Note that this is still a very weak knowledge.]

Day 30, Randinday, Cycle 3 of Perennius

I stare off slightly for a moment towards the rising sun, once again finding myself one of the earlier ones to rise. I note with some satisfaction that my efforts at paying attention to the world around me have paid off, as listening to the sounds of the swamp, I hear nothing out of the ordinary, and for once know instead of merely guess this is the case.
[+.9 Combat Senses for actions in past]

The morning ends up fairly boring, though slightly more active than usual as the group meets up with the small excursion force that is headed to the village we took recently. An hour or so is wasted on protocol, confirmation of directions, and such pleasantries. I look off at he group of soldiers, claiming form of hated to sitting out in the heat, ready to travel, but not doing so… feh, its weak, though I guess I can see where it is coming from. Not that I can truly sympathize, with the coming of dawn, the feeling of weakness in my muscles is not only gone, but is replaced with a profound sense of strength that emanates from my entire body. I have never truly struggled to carry my weight, even when I have had to resort to carrying my tent on my back, but as of now, it is as if my pack is weightless instead.

Truly, fate has rewarded its champion well. Though I note having played around some with bunching That Which Reaps, I have yet to do anything but probably look somewhat stupid. Balling up a large mass of chain I note is rather difficult.

Eventually, the group begins moving once more, and by the late afternoon the looming figure of our semi-formal mascot… the looming figure of death that is The Scars of Yesterday, comes once more into sight.

The return to base camp is at first fairly uneventful, Sullivan yelling out where our location for out stay is, my squad mates mostly panting in some near exhaustive state, while though my legs itch some, I feel little else.

Unpacking and dinner is also uneventful, another day, and mess food is much more bearable than the stuff half the time made on the move at least. During the evening though, we are paid a visit by Captain Lysander, congratulating us on the victorious mission, reporting on the speedy recovery of his brother, and formally reporting on the loss of a member of a squad, in a scene that makes Minnie by the end get up and leave… no one stops her, considering it was Bertha we lost and we all know it. He states an expectation of a reassigned soldier in by next Randinday if all goes as planned for the area.

“… and lastly, with some apologies about an unexpected delay delay, I am pleased to award Force Champion Thirty Two the Bronze Order of the Sword, for his successful actions in control of the squad when Sergeant Sullivan was incapacitated. Please come with me to receive the medal and the small ceremony that goes with it.”

A series of about five claps echo around the fire of the camp, as I stand on my feet, grab my pack quickly, and meet up with Captain Lysander. Walking alongside the Captain, his steps brisk, but fairly short, and an upright posture at all times about the man I note.

[Cpt. Lysander][i] “Judging by the report Captain Solencus sent in, and a few other factors, I have to say it seems you did an impressive job Force Champion.”

[Thirty-Two]”It was only as I needed to, Sir. They are, were, enemies of the empire, it was only their fate to die as they did.”
”An admirable point. However, considering I have more than one thing to go over with you, and have read the report, I am going to drop this for now.

The Captain leads me to his tent, where he starts speaking somewhat in less hushed tones, and walks over to a small pile of papers, and pulls out a decent handful.

”Usually there is quite a bit more protocol to this; however, to go over all the ceremony would cut far more time than I suspect either of us has at this time. I am to leave on the silver of the month (the 2nd) by orders of the Exalted High Mage to act as a lead to a scouting excursion to unmarked territories into the south, and I need to pack up once again. I am to inform you as your acting Captain though, that for the Bronze Order of the Sword, you have received twenty marks off your debt to the empire in addition to a three mark stipend for your service.
“Thank you si…”
Please hold until I finish, there is significantly more to discuss. Captain Superior Eden Lardarius has also authorized you already to be awarded the Silver Order of the Sword, without reservation, due to the direct report from Captain Solencus.
“Already? But it’s only been…”
As I said, please hold. To answer that though, you would need to understand exactly how high in regard many hold the Cavalry Captain… this is not a surprise in many respects. The Medal itself is not prepared due to this expedited process, but it will be ready by the afternoon of the bit (1st), to be picked up. Please come as early as you can, as stated, I will be leaving soon, but only I or Captain Lardarius are authorized to handle it as is. Captain Lardarius has also authorized the full seventy marks, with the maximum of five to be granted as stipend. These stipends will fall under your next month’s payment, to be received as you normally have.
“Si…”
”but! Really, trust me when I say there is a lot to this. I would order you to sit down for that, but I suspect I lack a chair for such an occasion, nonetheless. I have taken the liberty at the Captain’s request of also doing what I can to expedite your equipment request. It can be completed in less than a cycle I am told, but they will need measurements of you. Either way though, the smith requested will be busy until tomorrow at the least, and is only free in the evenings, so keep that in mind. In addition, you have four letters, all but one of which have B-1 level clearance, at your rank, that means I need to be here while you read them, and you cannot take them with you. And to why we need to rush, you need to read and memorize these tonight, or you can refer to me tomorrow, but beyond that they will be destroyed. The lamp will be by the desk, I will be here as needed.”

Handing me the bundle of notes, and with some flourish pulling out his sword, which I note to be of similar style as the Sergeants, he hands me the Bronze order of the Sword. To me it’s a fairly tiny medal, though I do read on its tiny form the Mosmorden characters for a three and a two. Heh, even the medal recognizes my place… a sort of odd thing to have all this ceremony, yet still be less than, I wonder to myself, heading to the desk.

There are three letters addressed to my person, one though seems more a series of documents, and does not seem to mention me by name.
Letter #1: A formal request from Exalted Mage Heinrich Hildebrand, requesting the services of the Force Champion spoken so highly of during the last mobilization of forces. The initial set of orders requests a Force Champion’s services as a bodyguard for Mage Hildebrand, as the mage will be acting as a diplomatic envoy to a village in the swamplands that “In times of thrice decennium (decade), sought our protections and adequately was serviced the deed, in exchange for the resources of honor.” Apparently some time ago this tribute ended, and as we ARE in the neighborhood or somesuch. The documents inside detail some of the events and resources used in the engagement. My response is needed by Washiday.

Letter #2: A request from an organization to 32 called the ‘Section of Preserving Eternal Cohesive Ties within Reservist Elements’, stating I am invited to a form of orientation at blah blah on Corday, that is expected to take up a… CYCLE OF MY TIME!? When I question Captain Lysander ‘the fekk kinda orientation is this’, he tells me I know them as Spectres. This actually causes even my blood to chill just a little, as the Spectre’s are a fairly creepy set, even by my standards. Though I have very limited interaction with them, they are known for constantly wearing a full outfit of dark blue that generally includes a hood. I’ve heard people have seen their faces, but their essentially bogeymen/enforcers who best I know have it as their job to ensure punishment is ‘enforced’ on people who flee from battle. My memory is sketchy, but it may have been one of them that was the executioner when I was young. Though to be fair, I actually do not know much about them, except I have never seen more than maybe three ever. Apparently, if I have any questions, I can talk to any of their friendly representa... I almost wonder if their messing with my head even now.

Letter #3: A letter from a Morgren Captain called Hal Nelvin (or Lurk Mekk Nal Nag apparently), requesting that I act as a temporary Morgren Sergeant, due to losses sustained during Incident-O194. Asking Captain Lysander confirms it is the recent event where we lost about a hundred men and Morgren, or as Gorth called it, the ‘Demon’. Apparently a Froggrock village has been found with an unusual level of resistance, and claims of Clay Golems from the Infantry force have required him to be sent in. Apparently Mekk Gurk is part of his squad, and noted me as being a good fight. Requested acceptance or refusal as soon as possible to be sent in person or messenger, with final day being Corday.

Letter #4: A letter from Captain II Victoria C. X of the 16th Swordbreakers, stating that she has received permission from Captain Superior Balari Reiseid and Lardarius’ approval pending my own to immediately have me as acting Beta Sergeant under her command. Having heard of my pivotal efforts in the recent campaign, and having lost both of her Sergeants in a recent parallel campaign, she would be pleased to have a Silver Order of the Sword serving under her command. She requests either approval or refusal in person as soon as possible, and is free any afternoon to talk. An X for a last name? weird.

With the moon long having come out, I take what I have read to mind, thank Captain Lysander briefly, who informs me as I was reading that the dissection of my prisoner is to take place in the morning tomorrow, and I am excused from duty to participate.

------------------------------------------------------
Zakday, Cycle 1 of Praeclarum (Spring)

Waking up, I head to the long day that is likely to begin involving a dissection. If I know them as much as I pretty much do, any event where there is new data to be gleamed yields this result.

>>291457
>>291462
Entering the R&D area of the camp, I seem to be fairly quickly led to where all the action is, a good few dozen Cloaks, R&D senior members (told apart by the red marks on their clothing), and normal members litter around the large medical-like tent. Quite a few turn to me for a moment, expressions ranging from apprehension to interest. One of the senior members shakes my hand and thanks me for my acquisition and coming, I nod, and with my attempt to spin this in my mind as these people… helping me, I find some decent mood is to be had.

A few field questions at me, which I attempt to answer, about the nature of the magic thrown at me. However, I can tell their not exactly overly thrilled, as my explanation I suppose lacks… something they would want to hear? Though I can outright hear them say to each other that it’s not surprising I can’t be more helpful about magic-like powers really.

As the dissection begins, I request the aid of an assistant to help lead me through the terminology and events. A sense of palpable relief seems to have fallen into the area, and they gladly send me off a kid of around sixteen to act as my interpreter.

Though I find actually that I guess I really didn’t need one that badly. A lot of the bone structure is fairly familiar to me. The Scapula’s though are enlarged it seems, the ribcage is actually a lot smaller than I expected, and almost all horizontal only, not bent like a humans? Huh. There’s the joint I missed out on combat, the bones are melded together differently I guess. Jeez, listening to the kid stutter I suspect I know more about this than him.

[Curiosity = level 1]
Either way, about an hour after the gory parts, when the R&D begins going over a few points, something about urostyle’s, and clavicles melding with… and ZZZzzzzzz. A lot more self appreciation for themselves, and if you really loved his paper so much, why do you need to say it THREE TIMES?

Bleh… at least it’s a good way to waste a morning, and more of an afternoon than I would have liked. I do ask the a more senior member if my body could be further modified, to which he only states “I am not authorized to do so, your classification is too high”. An odd answer, but I’m already bored enough by this to not care overly much. Working though with a few mottled answers from the R&D staff, with some of the feelings though I have had in combat, I grow to recognize something about my augmentations. There is definitely… more than one foci I would say. They speak of multiple processes going on in my body, and I note that I can feel… different changes being ‘sourced’ from different parts of my body, but little else. All in all? High point was definitely the food I would say, and the really easy nap. Deep damn it’s a lot better than our mess though. I am though apparently invited back to R&D to speak with them if I have any other business I could like to do concerning then, and they appreciate my ‘gift’.
[Diplomacy reaches level 1,??? improved]

With it actually threatening to be evening soon, I find myself with only so much time before my night shift begins, and a lot of possibilities waiting in the near future with at least four people I could immediately work with.

>What should I do with my evening? [between 1 or 2 events/people, depending on time spent]
>What do I think of these offers? There is a lot of interesting choice.
>>
No. 291772 ID: a9629e

Head on over to the smith to get that done as soon as possible. If you have time afterwards, some more blind dodging training I guess.

As for your ideas on the letters... Serving as the bodyguard for a mage seems kind of boring. Optimally, the mage won't be physically entering combat, and you'd have to stay near him. The spectres sound interesting. You don't know too much about them, but anypart of the Empire that seems more like a myth probably leads to some nice advancement opportunity. The Morgren position is one that you'd be well suited too, and would likely throw you into some tough combat situations repeatedly, which should help you improve. it also seems like a good way to advance as well. The position with the Swordbreakers seems like it'd have a good chance for combat situations and a possibility of helping you build up your popularity, which would help in getting promotions, but seems a bit samey to me. A safe, but less interesting choice.
>>
No. 291773 ID: 76a2b7

The first and last letters seem as though they might have some promise, #1 especially might have opportunity for advancement. Might do to follow up on them, get those details from the first and chat a bit with the Captain from letter #4.

More info on that orientation thing might be interesting if you can get any, but it's not a priority, especially if they just intend to make you a morale enforcer. Better things to do with your time and career than squashing chickenshits that would be ineffective anyway even if they were booted back into combat.
>>
No. 291775 ID: a76809

Personal bodyguard is kind of do-or-die in terms of how useful it can be.

You COULD end being pivotal to the Mage, and he could come to rely on you, giving you massive clout. OR he could just need a new guard, and this could become a dead-end job around a mage that stays behind the front lines. You don't know-and the chance it could fuck your career is a big detractor in my eyes.

Then there's the Specters. Well, advancement could be hard as shit in a shadow organization-but by the same token, the skills you could gain from them in terms of infiltration, stalking and assassination would be amazing-hell, they'd probably love your multitool.

Morgren seems an interesting choice-you know their power, and gaining their actual respect in addition to the magical form, all while giving you access to the best sparring partners around-well, I'd say this one has merit too.



For the last on... Miss X COULD be something interesting-but kinda sounds like just another outfit.


So-Armorer for refitting, speak with Miss X, find out if her offer has anything that makes it worthwhile-

Otherwise, I would say its down to Morgren Sergeant/Specter deliberation, as each is the epitome of its respective field:

One is stealth, study, stalking.

The other is overwhelming brute force and implacable power in stand-up fights.
>>
No. 291781 ID: 8acd30

Are those tasks mutually exclusive?
can we accept two of them?
>>
No. 291797 ID: 903f16

>>291766
>What should I do with my evening? [between 1 or 2 events/people, depending on time spent]

Checking on that smith sounds good. You could also spend some time looking at that staff you found. I bet the R&D guys could help with the staff, unless they'd just take it from you. Is that thing officially yours anyway? If there's a chance they confiscate it or promise to examine it and just never return it then just spend some time looking at it yourself.

>What do I think of these offers? There is a lot of interesting choice.

The mission that the mage is on sounds pretty interesting, but the actual body guard aspect seems a bit boring to me. I really dig the sound of the Specters. We don't really know much about them, but they sound like an interesting group. I'm thinking they do more than finishing off deserters, I'm kind of getting the covert operations vibe from them. It could be really fun, those kinds of guys usually get the best missions and toys. Being a Morgren Sergeant could be good, get to lead the heavy muscle and grab some more glory. It probably lets us investigate that incident a bit more, which would be great because I really want to know what the hell went on. And moving up as Sergent of another squad sounds decent, we get a little promotion in exchange for doing more of the same. All in all I'm between the Sergeant position with the X lady and the Specters, heavily leaning towards the Specters though.
>>
No. 291892 ID: 81f32a

Continue paying attention to the world as you have been till this becomes your second nature and you do it passively.

Don't forget to claim your silver medal as soon as possible. Lysander said he will not have much time left.

>Either way though, the smith requested will be busy until tomorrow at the least, and is only free in the evenings, so keep that in mind
Don't forget this too.
Also, my suggestion on getting several throwing knives still stands, either through requisition or purchase. Better backpack and pouches too.
Also, several nets for immobilizing and capturing enemies would be a plus. Never know when we might deem that an enemy must be taken alive.

>90 Marks from our debt
Damn, those would have been really useful if we got them in our hands. Especially considering that we aren't planning from paying off our debt for now but continuing serving The Glorious Empire indefinitely.

>hat is expected to take up a… CYCLE OF MY TIME!? When I question Captain Lysander ‘the fekk kinda orientation is this’, he tells me I know them as Spectres
A Cycle?
This to me sounds like they are setting you up with some kind of test or trial which you will have to pass to join them or something. And I bet it is going to be something about subterfuge, trap detecting/dismantling, moving in shadows, etc..
You just know few basics of that but those kind of tests are not for you. You are more of brutal, direct approach of a guy. While I approve of having as much of skills as possible, and having rogue skill-set is a huge plus, the thought of having you go through some meaningless trials which could have you end up dead makes me vote out this course of action.


I'm not too hot on mage task either. But considering how high and important mages are (I suppose everyone we have met so far would play to the tune of even the lowliest mages) it might not be too smart to refuse him.
I'm kind of neutral to this. Could be awesome, could be our death.

So I'm going to vote for becoming sergeant.
While Morgrens provide massive strength and power, I don't like the baby-sitting aspect of them.
Besides, they make rather lousy characters and there is not much room for interaction with them (besides fighting, I guess). I like meeting new people.

So go meet Captain X. See what she has to offer.
... Hey, maybe we can get them to agree to have Gorth come with us to this new squad we will be leading? A single Morgren in otherwise normal infantry seems much better to me .... but I guess there's a reason why it is not done. Try to find out if it is possible. If it is, use your moderate bureaucratic skills at exploiting the holes to have Gorth. We could argue we have a lot of history with him and that it would be easy for us to work with him. (also, arm-wrestle with him when you get a chance. I want to see how our strength compares to Morgren)


Continue training on your Combat Reflexes and Senses for all the free time you can muster. Remember the trainings you had before, the tips you got from August and tricks you learned yourself to form best possible training method you can think of.
>>
No. 291977 ID: 2a2f6b

Sneaking? Guarding? Leading normal troops? Pshaw. Wez gonna smash wich da best of em! Waaaaaagh!
>>
No. 292014 ID: 69bee4
File 130154411505.jpg - (151.96KB , 800x1132 , Victoria X.jpg )
292014

>>291772
>>291797
I consider heading over to the smith immediately, just go get that out of the way.

>>291892
When I recall that they are supposed to be busy today, but they should be free tomorrow evening I suppose.

>>291781
>>291775
I instead find my mind positively flooded with thoughts about the letters, I consider briefly doing something such as practice with my blindfolded dodging again. Yet I feel much more mental pressure to mull things over in my head, lest I forget something important.

I find myself walking fairly mindlessly back to my tent, about half the squad lounging, Luken has Gee and an outside squad member and is playing cards. I take up a spot near my own tent, and pullout a stone and a small metal cylinder. Taking my spear in hand, I lay the entirety of the blade’s length across my thigh, taking my two instruments and examine the blade closely. Feh, more nicks are beginning to form on the blade, though they are pretty small ones, I still see only three of any real notable size. Judging by how it’s performed anyways against the Froggrock and the wood, I doubt it’s in severe need of sharpening, but better safe than sorry with your major tool of war.

As I grind lightly against the blade, I consider a few things,

Are the offers mutually exclusive? I ponder the deadlines and times resulting. Not necessarily, Captain X appears to have no default timeline to the work, but I suspect she would want me to not run off immediately. Only a suspicion though. Acting as a Morgren Sergeant is also only a temporary status according to the letter, so it could be only that. I also could always seek other opportunities, though at the moment I am not sure where, other than maybe waiting for what Captain Solencus suggested to go through.

I jokingly considering bringing in Gorth and demanding he be allowed in as a condition for my service, but I suspect this would not go over well. Everything I have seen of Morgren points to them being well… easily as strong as me, and though they seem to obey orders, around a bunch of normal people I suspect it’s considered too dangerous. I’ve heard tales of Morgren going berserk and killing their retainers, and the kind of enemies they tend to fight often can risk collateral damage, as a fragment of clay golem that once cut into my flesh can attest once it got smashed.

Spectre’s are well… a wildcard as is. I’ve never seen one operate, except on the sidelines of a battlefield. I have only ever seen one working ever at a time, and had no idea they had a larger group until now. A cycle of time certainly points towards more than just a talk though, maybe a full fledged mission of sorts? I could probably find one to talk to, I mean, the letter does say I can speak to them if I have questions.

Working with an Exalted Mage though is… a mixture of emotions. At first it seemed like nothing more than a great honor, the empire is built on the backs of mages, and truly the emperor is the greatest mage of the world. Yet it comes to mind, it could be quite boring, a diplomatic liaison’s bodyguard sounds like a slightly boring venture. Maybe I could find out more, or talk to the mage? Would asking such questions though end up with me on fire though?

I consider also the cane I have on hand, with the skull shaped head. I could ask R&D about it, and it certainly is mine as anyone who tries to swipe it from me will get their face pounded in. Though I honestly never told anyone about it, and it was never formally granted to me, though like most spoils of war, it is rare anyone will bring this up, as no one truly owns it anymore. If anyone though was to find it interesting and have the authority to take it from me though it would be R&D, in my experience, petty things like getting the face smashed in is not always enough of a deterrent to them.

Finishing off my spear, I check its sharpness against the cylinder I ground near the edges, and find it adequate, making a small mark on its edge. With night advancing towards the dawn once more, I retreat from the quiet of the camp, to the still quieter of the inside of my tent. Deciding that tomorrow I will seek out equipment, and then talk to Captain Victoria X, and in the evening get my measurements taken for my bow.

-------------------------------------------------
Day 32, Morday Cycle 1 of Praeclarum

The sun arrives and heralds the silver of the month. I take a form of disgust though as I look around, such a putrid place… I have been in many places of the empire more colorful than this swamp in this time of year. I hope the empire’s glory brings some decent existence to this place, or at least mercifully finds a way to make its waters burn. Though that may be the effect of another night on the ground for me, feh.

I find myself at the training grounds in the morning, a few silvers pulling out the amounts I need to give myself a decent challenge, beyond just some volunteers.

Though things do not go particularly spectacularly. It is… improvement, and I find myself able to more rapidly both detect when hits are likely to come, and to dodge. However, I find my body in some ways is not responding how I need it to, bending over can be slow, moving only upwardly from the hips, or falling to the ground can cause stretching, minor pains.

[Combat Senses +.06, Combat Reflexes +.03]

I also decide that I need to gear up once more, knives and a net coming to mind. The major issue I discover quickly is that almost all items are made with ‘normal’ sized persons in mind, ‘throwing knives’ are silly enough in size as to be comparable to my fingers. Nets on the other hand, are easy enough to carry actually in their more normal size, but it’s a bit hilariously small also in its default form. A bedroll and blanket is essentially one made for a Morgren, and costs a few rounds to get the process handled immediately, and so I get that easily enough.

I consider that an improved, waterproof set of pouches or backpack would be useful… but I have no idea what to ask for in that respect. An enchanted sack of some sort sounds like the most immediate answer, but I cannot fathom where or how to get that. Is there something more mundane I could ask for, or maybe someone who might know better? For most of the other items, the most mundane form of the throwing knife is half a round each, made of basic iron, and for a net, they sell un-weighted string based nets for a round (as most are made by hand from a crafter, or more likely apprentices). Most stuff though I would need special ordered to be fit more towards my size, either by requisitioning it, or hiring a crafter to do it for me on their time. Hiring a person generally costing more, but being much speedier.

In the afternoon, I head towards where the 16th Swordbreakers camp is to be, greatly appreciating the grid-like circle that is used to organize the squads. I find the area fairly empty that I first come across, with only two soldiers, both male, lounging around in a card game. Asking for the location of their Captain, I am pointed further in towards the Captain’s area and told ‘eh, she’s there somewhere’. Not exactly… the attention I am due, but I find myself fairly uncaring as I head off.

Requesting the aid of a messenger I see leaving another Captain’s tent, I am sent to the right area.

Where upon I spend a few moments outside, realizing I really have no idea of prudent things to ask her. The responsibilities are sort of… obvious, but do I have anything of substance to ask.

The evening though goes less eventfully. Measurements are taken, my identity is confirmed, and a timeline is five days is given about my requested bow. I am shuffled off to an apprentice, and it takes longer than I would like… but I keep in mind my reward.

>What sort of things do I need for my equipment, and how do I want to go about them?
>What questions and approach do I take with Captain Victoria X?
>Do I do anything tonight? Too late for training on its face, but eh.
>[Current bias in choices: Fairly equal, 32 is highly indecisive]
>>
No. 292031 ID: a76809

>>292014
I would say you need to get her talking a bit, so you can get a feel for her character-SOMETHING, at least. that level of Diplomacy should help with that.

Then start asking some specifics-this is a serious thing to consider, treat it as such and few would find that objectionable. Such as-what kind of time commitment is she thinking, when does she want to start, what kinds of missions they usually end of doing, how their recent military track record has been-play the part of the serious, earnest soldier-it fits reasonably well with your previous publicly offered actions, and fits your age. Be what they want to see-and top off that bluff just a bit more.
>>
No. 292201 ID: 81f32a

I never put effort to understand Golem settings cycledays.

Which option will grant us the most free time before deploying? We could use that time for self-improvement and generally dicking around.

I guess that before we actually make a decision on anything, we should meet all of those people and get more information.

>However, I find my body in some ways is not responding how I need it to, bending over can be slow, moving only upwardly from the hips, or falling to the ground can cause stretching, minor pains.
Oh,
I think I see your problem. You have gained a lot of muscle but it is restricting your movements as you have never done flexibility training before.
From now own I suggest that you spend 15-30 minutes every morning doing exercises to increase your flexibility and mobility. It might seem impossible with your muscles at first, but as far as I know it should not be.
You could seek out more flexible people in the camp and have them give you some tips on which exercises to do.

>>Do I do anything tonight? Too late for training on its face, but eh.
Are there places where you can buy books and stuff? I would like you to continue with the small mathematics base that you have built on. Fate has stored a lot of things for you, friend, and being a great mathematician is one of them.
Some other books could be useful too. Maybe something about combat ... not sure what a books could teach you what you don't already know about fighting though.

Also, we might go and talk with somebody, socialize a bit. Heck, we should visit a bar and when somebody asks tell of our fight adding stuff and modifying a lil' bit to improve our skill at Bluffing.
Or, remember that girl from artillery division? She said that she'll repay you somehow for finding their mascot. Maybe we'll run into her?

>>292031
We could do the same for all requests.
Also, see what kind of pay or debt reduction you will be getting.


>What sort of things do I need for my equipment, and how do I want to go about them?
Definitely anything you get should be modified for your size and strength.
I say medium or large weighted (or extra weighted for us) nets, which are easy and fast to equip and deploy.
Several throwing knives (like 3-6, strapped on our thighs and belt)
A short-sword incase we lose our spear and a hidden dagger or two.
First try to requisition them, see if your promotion and new rank can give you permission to get equipment on your own without asking higher ups. Actually, if we chose Madame X or Morgren Sergeant, we will officially gain sergeant status which will give us more weight when asking requisitions.

>don't forget your silver medal, you airhead
>>
No. 292289 ID: a9629e

Hmm... In terms of equipment, how about some sort of proper flail head? I figure there's probably a way to turn That Which Reaps into a flail, but until you figure that out, just tying it to a proper head should work. And I think the first place you should to check for equipment would be the camps black market. We don't want to get into the habit of trying to requisition everything we want. Hell, we should probably check that out anyway, since there's a chance of finding some equipment there that we wouldn't even think to ask for.

>>292201
>Which option will grant us the most free time before deploying? We could use that time for self-improvement and generally dicking around.

Well, combat is probably the quickest way for us to get experience, so I'd go with the quickest actually.
>>
No. 292330 ID: d3dfb8

Go talk to Catalina.
Maybe you can figure out why she's suddenly very friendly with you? Considering how the first time you met went, this isn't how I imagined things would turn out.
>>
No. 292434 ID: f3fe9b
File 130162976497.jpg - (90.50KB , 800x600 , BlackMarketOfferings.jpg )
292434

>>292201
[The Golemquest wiki page has all of the calendar info on it. Knowing the basics will be helpful, as persons in quest will consider the calendar commonplace.]

>>292031
[Approach to Diplomacy: Successful, Diplomacy level acts as minor bonus]
Recalling the afternoon, a few general ideas entered my mind. I needed to get a broad sense of who Victoria X was, her sense of character, if she was worthy of acting as my superior in some sense.

Entering the tent, I find a somewhat shorter woman, standing only a bit over a meter and a half I estimate. Longer than usual brown hair for military life and a fairly stern set of eyes stare back at me as her most defining features. I note that her tent is significantly smaller than Captain Lysanders, her desk flanked by a full set of segmented plate mail, including a full helmet, and the other side a series of three blades, one a broadsword, one an extremely thick blade the length of a normal shortsword, and one a Castellan make of Longsword. Though the woman herself, whom I expect to be Captain X, stands in much more casual attire of a tunic and pants, primarily green, with red and gold trims defining it outside of a normal outfit. She looks to be late twenty’s in age, and much more casual than I had seen most Captain’s wearing, even in office.


“Ma’am, are you Captain Victoria X?”
”At ease soldier, considering I don’t see many Alchemical types of your… stature, I assume you must be the Force Champion, Thirty Two I believe?”
“Yes Ma’am. I came here regarding your letter, and wanted to ask you about the squads under your command. I find this a serious decision to consider, and an honor to have been asked, and require your assistance in the matter.”

She takes a seat behind her desk, placing her hands under her head and looking up at me.
“To get the question I assumed you would ask first, call me Captain or Victoria, or if urgent yelling X usually works. Though I must say, I have a certain respect for a younger soldier wanting to get to the point. Either way, you have my attention, ask away.

She leans forward, with a sort of earnest way that you can tell she is listening. With a few things coming to mind, she readily addresses all of my questions fairly succinctly.

-Time commitment of a Sergeant, she informs me, is generally significantly higher than that of Force Champion or Soldier [in time terms, your ‘free time’ falls from a max of 4, to a max of 3 unless you neglect sleep]. Especially early on, she expects me to actively work with the soldiers daily, to review various mundane but important documents that need to be handled usually a few times a cycle, and to be able to report to her at least briefly once per day by messenger or in person, unless actively engaged in campaign movement.
- She expects me to start as soon as I accept the position, willing to recall all of the soldiers from their current break if I so wish. Telling her vaguely I have possible immediate conflicts time-wise, she states she is willing to work out a longer timeframe if need be, but needs a Sergeant soon, and though I was her immediate first pick, the offer cannot be promised if delayed for too long.
-Mission-wise, she states that in general, she prefers to have the troops see direct combat over things such as scouting and recon. Recently, they have been support troops for envoys to human settled areas of the swamp, which went fairly uneventfully despite concerns. Missions for the immediate future are not certain, as the battlefield is ever evolving, but she says that she suspects a native human controlled area is likely to rebel, and a show of force to be sent out. I would have say in mission choice as a Sergeant, but the final call she notes would be hers, or her Captain Superiors.
-Their recent track record she confesses has been slightly less than she desired. Entering the conflict, she had requested heavier armor for the soldiers than the standard, intending to act as a Sternguard, not knowing the full effects of the swamp, and found themselves unable to engage Froggrock effectively. Polearms similar, but on smaller scale to my own have now been made the standard armament, and it seems to have worked slightly better, superior armor and reach making casualties and injuries near nonexistent. Morale though is low, and she complains of the soldiers complaints about the heat and slow movement, while she finds their lack of casualties and the need to have a defensive guard more important.
-Asking about pay, she just sort of grins in a ‘aha’ sort of way. She states that she cannot immediately tell me, as she is aware Alchemical Soldiers payment is primarily made to their debts, but in higher amounts than most soldiers normally, and not how much of it I get in hand. She tells me to expect at least twice as much though for living stipend… which puts me at around at least Two Marks every month in hand.
-She outright asks me if it’s true that I owe more than the average Alchemical from the program, to which I only confirm, without stating much more. I cannot read her reaction or why she immediately asked this though.
-I find myself able to display a greater sense of excitement I believe than I really felt, and I believe she accepted that. Her overall demeanor towards me was somewhat cool to start, but she outright says that she thinks a distinguished soldier such as myself is what the squads need.
-As to Captain X herself, I get the sense of a fairly professional woman, though with a strong sense that her decisions are the correct ones. Though I cannot tell too much else, having not probed her history, I get the sense she must have some strength not visibly obvious if the armor and weapons on display are her own.
[+.06 Bluff]

>>292031
Excusing myself, I thank her for her time, stating that my official rewarding of the Silver Order needed to be taken care of. Responding with a nod and a light smile to my statement, I exit her tent. Deciding I should avoid being an airhead, and get the Medal.

Arriving in the late afternoon, Captain Lysander quickly hands off the silver medal. An impressive little trinket, dual swords crossed, and the Emperor’s name and the insignia of the Empire etched in. Though considering I walk around wearing a breastplate, I do not know exactly where to put it, and stow it for now in a more secure strap of my pack.

----------------
>>292330
Considering what to do for the night, I consider talking to Catalina, pondering why it is she has treated me in such ways. Yet, I find this not of too much concern, Kyon himself described her as an excitable girl if I recall correctly, nor did she ever seem to hold a grudge at all. I find it of little immediate concern.

>>292201
>>292289
I instead decide with the black market open at all hours, that there is little to stop me from shopping around for items I feel I need. Though for now, I decide I will only look, with possible promotions and powers to requisition around the corner, no need to be overly spendy. I know not though where to get books, I have certainly seen people with books in hand, but I am not sure particularly for math… though it could be helpful I suppose to get my hands on. I am certain I could get one from the market, or have one stolen, if I can get a better idea of what to ask for.

>>292201
[Flexibility Skill unlocked: SWEET CATCH!, starts with .15, passive upgrades slightly easier.]

Walking though towards the shadier parts of camp, I realize that I had overlooked something crucial over my last few battles. Though my muscles have grown, and my movement quickened, I have neglected to make sure my flexibility was in line with my body. I resolve that before I rest tonight, I will get into a routine again to compensate.

[Flexibility: Whereas Combat Reflexes revolves around such things as leaping, and readying muscles for split second decisions, flexibility focuses more on purposeful, and more precise movements of his body. Things included under the skill would be reaching for objects in awkward locations, moving only small parts of his body to dodge while retaining combat stances, and making rapid movement that could cause discomfort in muscles. Unlike most skills, this only goes to level 3 without major bodily changes occurring, with a certain level of diminishing returns starting past level 1.]

I begin perusing and asking questions, coming up with a list of various items and services related vaguely to my needs.

>What, if anything, do I buy now? (up to 2 Marks can be spent now, 32 has 5 on hand)
>What things should I do tomorrow, having a small part of the morning and afternoon only, but most of the evening free. Though I must deal with night watch unless I have new orders.
>Do I have any more thoughts knowing slightly more about the offer from Captain X?
>>
No. 292480 ID: 903f16

>>292434

>What, if anything, do I buy now? (up to 2 Marks can be spent now, 32 has 5 on hand)
With 2 Marks to spend there isn't anything worth purchasing. If we come back later I would like to buy the leather backpack and the bastard sword. That Morgren sized net sounds good too, the last time we tried to request Morgren equipment we got rejected pretty quickly. This black market is probably the only place we can get a nice net like that without going the Morgren Sergeant route or getting a lot better at Diplomacy and Bluff. I don't think we have an urgent need for the throwing daggers or flail head, those could probably wait until we get a promotion and can requisition them.

>What things should I do tomorrow, having a small part of the morning and afternoon only, but most of the evening free. Though
Check on our other prospects. Go find the Morgren we may be leading, check on their dispositions, gauge how hard it would be to control them. Ask around about Specters, in a way that won't get you stabbed preferably. What kind of information can you gather on them and how many are in the area right now. Also find out where people are getting their books.

>Do I have any more thoughts knowing slightly more about the offer from Captain X?
I'm not exactly impressed, but at the same time I feel this could be a very good place for us.These guys need help, if we can whip them into shape we can show everyone we are a capable leader it will open up opportunities for advancement. I'm still pushing for joining the Specters though.
>>
No. 292490 ID: a9629e

>What, if anything, do I buy now? (up to 2 Marks can be spent now, 32 has 5 on hand)

Talk with the apprentice willing to forge stuff. See how long it will take, and if soon enough, say that's not quick enough for the price, and someone else has offered both a lower price and time. Maybe talk about, how as an apprentice, the opportunity to make more unusual equipment is a good chance to learn more about his trade. Basically, try and barter with a bluff to back it up. Oh, and make sure to lean over him while talking, but don't actually say or do anything too aggresive. Be firm, but polite about it. You won't be able to lower it to two marks, but get it as low as you can, then split it into an upfront payment, which should be no more than half the price you talk him down to, and an upon completion payment.

>What things should I do tomorrow, having a small part of the morning and afternoon only, but most of the evening free.
I agree with >>292480, especially in regards to checking out the Morgren.

>Do I have any more thoughts knowing slightly more about the offer from Captain X?
She seems likable, and perhaps personally capable, but she's not too smart. She failed to consider the effects of the environment when re-equipping her men. It's one thing to go into a conflict with less than optimal gear, it's another to request inoptimal gear before going into a fight. One mistake isn't a lot to go on, but the fact that you got the impression that she has "a strong sense that her decisions are the correct ones" makes that one mistake worrisome. She obviously painted her group as one who could go places with your help, but any group could go places with you assigned there. Frankly, you've got better options. But this did make me realize something. I do think leading a group is where you belong, so I'm now fairly against the Spectres. The Morgren is now the only position I'm in support of.
>>
No. 292616 ID: 81f32a

Ahrgh, all of that shit is way too expensive.
Come on, 1 mark is a shitload of money, right? I think it was equal to 40 heads of prime cattle or something. You can't really tell me that a single throwing knife costs the same as 40 cattle.... unless it is heavily enchanted.
I hope books wont cost too much.

Anyway, we should get the promotion and see how much realistically we can get away requisitioning stuff.

Actually this narrows down our choices to two: Morgren or X.....
And now that I think about it, becoming Morgren sergeant might give us more perks than I thought.
For one, 32 is somewhat the same size and strength as Morgren. That means we can use equipment meant for them for our own use. And getting special requisitions will be easier. Heh, we could even bluff our way into more personal requisition, claiming that we are requesting stuff for Morgren and then go and use them for ourself. Since Morgren aren't so smart, they will be easy to convince to play along.

Another great plus would be that we will get a squad of big and strong units. Units which will have to follow our orders.
Since the beginning we had hard time finding good sparring partners, and now we can get a whole bunch of them. Reminds me of our "heavy-kicking" training which we never put to use.
Also works perfectly with "baby-sitting" aspect, as we will be spending a lot of time beating them into behaving properly.
If we are going for Morgen sergeant, we should make sure, or at least try, to get Gorth in our squad.


On other hand, Miss X doesn't seem so bad either.
I looks like she has 32 in high regard and has positive disposition towards him.
And the squad we will get might hold several interesting and useful characters like in other squads (August, Blanche...) who we can pester to share their knowledge and quickly get our 0.xx skills to level 1

I'm leaning towards Morgren though.

When you make decision don't forget to inform others of it as soon as possible. You might get reprimanded if you take too much time.


>I have neglected to make sure my flexibility was in line with my body. I resolve that before I rest tonight, I will get into a routine again to compensate.
I will repeat again
Do these exercises each day.... maybe twice a day, so that you get in proper shape quickly.

>>What things should I do tomorrow, having a small part of the morning and afternoon only, but most of the evening free
I suggest that we try to train our skills while we still have the time.
We could go and pester medical tent or r&d and have them teach us more about First Aid.
Further flexibility exercises
Could get some time socializing with someone to get our Bluff up (only lil bit to go).Actually, we should do it whatever conversation we get into next update. Nothing too serious, just a little modification of truth here, a different body language there.
During our night watch, we could practice Concealment/Camouflage by blending into the shadows and the night, making little noise. heh, we could mess with lower ranking people by sneaking up to them or following them while trying to stay undetected (though this could go against the night watch duty)
And the Combat Reflexes and Senses. If we get our own squad, we will not have to pay anyone to spar with us, we can just order them to do so. And as for the Senses, during the night watch don't let you senses dull, stay alert as much as possible, trying to see through the night, making you eyes adjust to the dark and listening to every sound and movement.
>>
No. 292799 ID: 903f16

>>292616
>I think it was equal to 40 heads of prime cattle or something.

Nah man it's more like one Mark is worth one head of cattle, I'd say a good throwing dagger would be worth that much.
>>
No. 292984 ID: d4d07d
File 130172130213.jpg - (97.15KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
292984

>>292480
>>292616
[Due to 32 now knowing where to get various items, any stop to purchase the listed items will only take up a minor amount of time.]

>>292616
[The prices here are in fact a bit high, if you were to compare to for example the price at a reseller in a major Empire controlled city. There are multiple economic reasons for this, which could be brought up in the discussion thread if you wish next time if you want details.]

>>292490
Before I leave I decide to see if I can… ‘negotiate’ my way down though in the cost of the daggers and flail head. Asking the apprentice, he gives me a timeframe of about a cycle to complete it all, add a mark if I want it in less. I fake a certain level of indignation, despite my moreso real apathy, and tell him this is absurd. I explain that I have had at least one offer that both have a lower price tag, and a promise of less than a cycle. He at first seems insulted by my remarks, but his face changes noticeably to worry, and he mutters slightly to himself for a few moments.

I offer also that as I can tell he is not a full smith, that this is a prime opportunity to work on an unusual weapon for the future. He counters with a bit of spite that it’s just an oversized version, somewhere between a Morgren weapon and a normal one. I find myself unable to really counter this, and negotiations towards a lower price break down to the 4 Mark level, with a promise to have it by Rathday. He does accept though 2 marks upfront, with 2 marks upon completion, this apparently being seen as fairly standard.

--------------------------------------------------------
Day 33, Atenday Cycle 1 of Praeclarum.

I wake up, opening my day with a continuation of the flexibility training I began last night. Though I note a few persons look in my direction, it seems that most get the basic idea, and move on with no real incident.

Morning drills today involve essentially each member of the squad individually sent against me in hand to hand combat. Where I am forced to use only minor force and defense, and they are allowed whatever they wish withholding weapons. Needless to say, their efforts against me are even more pathetic than usual for the most part. I find myself able to dodge almost all the attacks thrown my way, and almost everyone strength is nothing but feeble, not even making me really need to try to resist. I in the end actually close my eyes just to make it a bit harder. Only two of the entire squad have any impact on me, Luken of all people, who apparently hit a reflex near my knee, and used that to at least drop me to a knee while pulling full force, and Sullivan, who apparently unable to decide if I am awesome, or everyone else was doing oddly poorly threw himself in. Old man’s a bit tougher than I expected, making me use actual effort to break out of his attempts to hold me still.

[Combat Senses +.05, Reflexes +.04]

After such training, I head over to the outskirts of the camp, where Morgren and wide open swamplands can be found intermingling. Asking various persons of between none and obviously some rank, I eventually find a relatively dry area, mostly dirt sort of small arena, surrounded by tents with at least a couple dozen Morgren all around, and a ton of tents.

Afternoon: Hal Nelvin Conversation (Morgren Captain)
-First running into the man, apparently ‘supervising’ the area for that particular moment, though with a half dozen other people around not engaged. I found him physically fighting a smaller Morgren, attempting to get it to throw its weight properly.
-Captain Nelvin appears to be a bear of a man in stature. Though only maybe a meter and two thirds, his build is quite muscular, his face defined by stubble of a beard, and his body screams a form of sturdyness.
-Asking about my role as a Morgren Sergeant. He explains that he has between ten and fourteen Morgren usually under his command, a Sergeant will receive between one and four under his direct command, and it is their job to prioritize where the Morgren go so as to break flanking attempts, target high priority enemies, and generally kick ass.
-Captain Nelvin, or Hal as he prefers to be called, actively encourages getting into the fight with the Morgren, as long as you can keep your responsibilities well enough, and make sure the Morgren don’t go off on their own (unless its deemed to be a good idea).
-Outside of battle, he states that there is a revolving shift of watching over the Morgren between the various Captains and the people under them, and that he prefers to see the Morgren mentored or kept busy in some way ‘else they roughhouse like a bunch of kids, causes too much collateral damage at times, though it is a hoot’
-He states that if I were to join, I would be the third Sergeant under his command for the time being, which is his preferred number ‘leaves someone around even if the fekk gets goin’. He also states that he views this as a trial run, and he would be happy to have someone who looks strong enough to have given Mekk Gurk his impression as long as I prove myself decently capable. He understands if I prefer this temporary though, as he remembers he didn’t come to the job voluntarily.
-Overall, I get the impression of the man as a fairly informal guy, but who demands a level of seriousness when it comes down to the battle itself. Though I have to wonder how one keeps such things are Morgren in line.

[Evening (a lot of time spent looking), ??? SPECTRE]

It takes me a good hour and a half of actively looking to find a Spectre, but I eventually find near the officer’s tents, walking briskly, the dark blue cloak that contrasts somewhat starkly against the slight colors that glimmer with the setting sun. He seems intent at first, but seems to immediately pick on that I’m looking at him, and turns slightly in my way, slowing his steps. I suddenly hear a voice, a chuckle, though I can tell when she actually beacons me over and speaks that she sounds female.

“Your one of the candidates then? I have to say, your along the least subtle I have run into then, though I have to say, C has a sense of humor, an alchemical? Hehheh. Either way, follow, cannot talk about such things here.

She eventually leads me to a very quiet area, off somewhere near the jailhouse actually.

-I note that even while she talked to me, she easily kept her face concealed from me, and unless I was to actively bend down and try to look, she like all the others avoids being easily seen. [Combat Perception] I also note now in a less lit area, and as time passes, she blends very well into the darkness.
-The woman (or what I assume to be at least) never introduces herself, or gives a name of any sort.
-In short, she states that Spectre’s have two major responsibilities, First, one must always bring to justice any who would dare attempt to destroy the Empire, from within or without. The second she says on some level I have already accomplished, with a small laugh, “to give one’s life and body to become a weapon.”
-She states that as a Spectre, I would generally work either solo, or in small groups of either Spectres or various support groups.
-Asking about their number in camp, she grants me no other answer than “At Minimum? One less than we need at this time, obviously.” I think I feel her grin under her form of disguise.
-Asking about the ‘Orientation’, she says it’s exactly what it says, nothing more, nothing less.

Closing the talk, she says that it’s understandable that it’s hard to ask proper questions, as there are few proper answers. However, if I have any more, she tells me to try the Orientation area, which is about a quarter mile from where we now are more on the outskirts of camp. Either in the morning or evening, someone will find you and be able to help.

I do suddenly though hear her voice coming from seemingly every direction, stating that she hopes I accept the invitation, “You who are already halfway to where you need to be”. Turning towards the darkness though, I no longer find her by sight or sound.

>>292616
I find though her disappearance perplexing, slightly curious about how she pulled it off, I make an effort, slowing myself drastically, but with little else to do coming to mind, to try sneaking my way back… to make myself one who lives with the shadows.

… only to find my efforts nearly comically ineffective. I get many looks in my direction, I think my breastplate actually shines somewhat, and I find myself far too bulky to hide in any real way most of the time. Perplexing… annoying.

[+.02 Camouflage/Concealment]

Arriving back in camp, I find the Theta camp fairly quiet, Thermun, Gee, and Luken on the ‘watch’ around the fire. Fire’s also burn around the Beta and Alpha camps, but all in all, it’s fairly quiet.


>Did I take the offer from the apprentice, or end the negotiations as is and seek other? [can attempt with others, or another time]
>Any other actions for tonight , or what to do for Washiday?
>[32’s present opinion: Mostly equal, minor bias against Mage, minor bias in favor Morgren.]
>>
No. 293003 ID: d3dfb8

Specters seem like pretty cool guys. Imagine if you could do what she did and suddenly disappear. That would be fekkin terrifying, a guy as huge as you just straight up disappearing? Deep yeah you're going for that!
Ask Catalina if she's flexible. Women are generally flexible right? She's a woman, and she also seems like the one most likely to talk to you.
>>
No. 293184 ID: a76809

Honestly?

I'd say go for the temporary Morgren Sergeant position. The chance to BRIEFLY immerse yourself in a field that looks like you could learn a great deal from, and then move on to a more permanent choice, potentially with better offers to look at. If you continue to build on your close combat unarmed sparring with the Morgren as their Sergean, you could then doff armor and eschew weapon entirely in many potential SPECTRE missions, while still remaining highly lethal-an immense bonus to passing more unobtrusively, simply a large man and not a giant warrior. So not only would you get a chance to really refine your idea to use tower shield/1h your spear to really use your full strength, you would prep in case you did end up going SPECTRE-and you could potentially tell them that, to further attempt to keep their offer open to you.

And come on, you could get to work with Gorth, you know you love the guy!
>>
No. 293238 ID: 593f2d

>>293003
Yes, it would be.
But you seem to neglect several important points to this:
the specter 32 just met for example. She is a woman, meaning that she is much smaller, leaner, she can move with more flexibility and fast. And dont forget the years if not decades in service and practice that she probably needed to perfect her craft.
32 on the other hand is built lile a brick warehouse and punches like a train. He spent his entire life becomming what he is right now. He is a fighter that prefers overwhelming pover over sumbtility, at least for now.
Getting him into the line of work that spectres do will be extremely hard, if not leathal. At least, I suspect he is going to fail half a dozen of assigments in a row due to his incompetence. Imagine what kind of a morale hit would it be for him, especially considering his world view.
Stealth is good and all, and I suggest we try to increase it every chance we get but lets not join assasins guild just yet.

I am going to agree with Bob. Morgren seem to be the perfect choice for 32, they will allow endless sparring sessions which we can can even claim are one of our duties as a retainer. Besides that we can use their equipment as our own.
So when we accept the position, firtst see what we are allowed to take from armory. Then how much we can get away requisitioning with our new rank (also be sure to wear your medals, they ought to give more weight to your requests. put on plain clothes if your breast plate is in the way)
>>
No. 293398 ID: 903f16

>>292984
>Did I take the offer from the apprentice, or end the negotiations as is and seek other? [can attempt with others, or another time]
I'd take the offer, unless you think you can play off the competing blacksmith to get an even lower price. Like telling him you haggled down the apprentice down and if he wants the order the deal would be something like three marks and seventy or so rounds.

>Any other actions for tonight , or what to do for Washiday?
Let's have ourselves some fun, is the arena up and running again? I say we compete again and get ourselves a good fight and earn some money to pad out our coin purse. That or we could try to go drinking, maybe hang out with the cavalry or something.

>>293238
He's not neglecting important points, you're just exaggerating the importance of minor concerns. So what if this isn't what 32 is built for? We shouldn't just be playing to his strengths, we should also be working on polishing away his weaknesses. That doesn't mean fucking around camp and pretending to sneak around. These guys are offering a full cycle long orientation, which no doubt includes some training. If he gets through this he won't just be a brute who relies on his immense strength to overpower, he'll be a fighter who can direct his power precisely.
>>
No. 293421 ID: a9629e

Well, for Washiday you need to officially decline the assignment for guarding the Mage. You should probably inform X that you'll be declining her offer too, since it seems all the posters are either pushing Spectres or Morgren. And of course, I fall into the latter group.

If we by the next post we've decided to go with the Morgren, I say decline the apprentice's offer, since that would give us better access to appropriate equipment. If we haven't, go ahead and accept it.
>>
No. 293681 ID: 7f017c
File 130188457050.jpg - (75.78KB , 640x480 , Arena.jpg )
293681

>>293421
>>293398
[Although the votes are not overly strong, the general feel of ‘we can get this gear later’ will be the overriding factor.]

I recall striking down the Apprentice Smith’s offer, ending the conversation as it stood, finding some cause that I could do better than this, particularly with such promise constantly around me. Such gear I want and more will be mine, but not at such prices as the military underground is wont to have.

-----------
I spend the rest of the evening in contemplation; the choices seem to be coming in much more clearly to my mind. Though the promise of being a Morgren sergeant is often framed as a punishment, I quickly conclude that this is more so because of the incompetence of most persons, and that to someone such as myself, having soldiers of actual brute force strength is less an issue, than the results of investment from the Empire. In many ways, the meeting with a Spectre went about as well as could be expected, with few answers, and arguably more questions than before. I sort of wish to know how one does such tricks, but I see their slinking in the shadows as an antithesis to my build, a fair bit more concealable than about a Morgren, but that is all. Yet, I suspect there must be cause why they sought me out, and they truly do see as loyal as it comes in some respects. Immediate promotion to a Sergeant has its appeal though, though less and less as I consider it I suppose, the squad may be more of a hassle than it is worth, though I know I could turn it around. At this point though, I am fairly certain that being a bodyguard, even if in the service of an Exalted Mage, is not what fate has in store for me. I prepare a short letter to the department listed that had found me, make a short statement of rejection, and mark it with a small set of symbols, the alchemical’s rune, a three, and a two.

I shall send this off with Gee in the morning, feeling no need to disrupt the card game for now.

>>293003
Though before I begin my flexibility training before sleep, a thought occurs. Catalina by my recollection did seem like a person of impressive agility, with a style built around a certain level of flexibility… she may know something. Two fires still glow from the Beta camp, it becoming fairly obvious that they tend to sleep a fair amount later than anyone of my squad. Eh, Reinhold’s a minor pain, but since when has little trifles been any reason to stop me from improving myself?

Heading over to the Beta camp, I see a good seven persons still hanging around, including Catalina, and not including Reinhold. Seeing my approach, I hear Robert’e’s accented voice calling out that ‘the big man has arrived’ with various members of the group raising drinks and using my entry as an excuse to drink once more. I give some quick hello’s, attempting to decide if I want to remove myself quickly and just ask, or deal with it later. Finding a lack of desire though to deal with the shenanigans at their near peak, I end up delayed nonetheless probably an hour by the inability to find a way to navigate the conversation… feh, groups, would dragging her to someplace to talk alone work?

Eventually, I find a moment and ask Catalina if I could ask her something, discerning that it is impossible to talk serious with the drunken group around, though the festivities beginning to die down somewhat.

Leading me to the second campfire, she takes a seat on the ground cross-legged, looks up, and with spirit and cognition that apparently is neither dismissed from time, or from drink, asks.

[Catalina]”So, whatsup? I guessed by how uncomfortable you looked you wanted to ask whatever it is in private.”
[32]“It was not necessary, but anyways, I wished to state either way, that you have a flexible body, yes?”

She stops for a moment, her facial expression changing. Looking up towards me now, instead of being more so jittery on the ground.

”er, repeat that please? I must have… misunderstood”

I decide to lean in and speak more directly, apparently I spoke too quietly to be standing.

“I asked, are you flexible? Looking at your body, I assumed so.”

Catalina’s face registers a level of confusion even I can catch, staying oddly quiet for a moment, when I catch that her face begins to tinge red, she opens to speak, says nothing a moment looks worried for a moment. A bit of a stutter, and even sweat forming on her.

”Er... Yes… umm, no wait, yeah… yeah, I guess so. I like to think so, not that um, I’m overly special or anything.. heheh, I mean umm.
“Ah, I had hoped that you would say as such, I had something to ask related to that then. If you’re feeling alright?”
“NO! no, no… I’m fine. This is just, ack, brain, not, working. It’s just that umm, well I… no no, just go ahead and ask I guess,” as she seems to giggle nervously, her hands becoming now a mess of jittery movement, her hand on her knee as she sort of hides her face, pulling up a knee to cover it.

“I had hoped to work on a form of flexibility training, and wondered what advice you could give. I have noticed your style in combat to be… flexible, fast, you seemed the best person to ask.”

An odd look comes over her again, more confusion, as she stays silent a moment, looking down at her knee, before stating somewhat silently ”Oh.. well, umm, ah. Really, Its honestly been little more than making sure I stretch every morning, you could just wat. Er! Um. I mean, well, it’s also I’ve naturally alwaysbeenthiswaytoobut heheh. Plus, fighting always seems to work well for me. Umm, guess I am not overly helpful, either way, well… Thank You.” she says with a shining bit of sincerity, looking at me, before just breaking out in a giggling fit and laughing some to herself, pulling up her other knee for a moment.

Standing up abruptly, she looks at me with a sort of intensity, before rushing off with little other words. Though I vaguely hear her talking to the rest of Beta, a series of hushed whispers and laughs, someone yelling out about a sly dog, probably talking about Robert’e I guess, eh, I guess it is time to leave.

A somewhat… odd encounter. I guess she really wasn’t feeling into talking and trying to be polite? I have heard overheating and drinking too much to be a bit of a haphazard combination too, either way, it is more than ample time around others than I usually spend, as I retire towards the Theta camp and rest.
-----------------------------------
Day 34, Washiday Cycle 1 of Praeclarum

Finishing my morning stretches, I take my note stating refusal to Gee, and direct him to paperwork, not being certain if it needs to g there or directly to the mage. Although my request and a casual mention of a mage seems to get a slightly odd reaction on Gee’s face, he heads off, and Sullivan calls us together for training once more. Nothing more than basic martial drills, but I find using a spear one handed is beginning to diminish in its awkwardness, its weight is almost completely irrelevant, even held only in a single hand, including switching a bit to my left hand. I still lack a certain degree of accuracy, and certainly the force is reduced, but it is enough to be expected for a month or so of work.

>>293398
As the afternoon approaches, I consider an arena fight. Certainly there would be quite a few options in the Camp, and arenas are in effect always open, with the exception of the late nigh possibly, but I expect if the stakes are high enough, even then.

Looking over the list, I attempt to decide who, if anyone to fight, standard bets… three champions right now, that’s not too surprising considering the size of the camp… huh? Really? Catalina… actually, I find this only marginally surprising on some levels.

>Do I have anyone else I wish to talk to, or questions to ask related to positions? [note: Final Decisions can be made now also]
>Do I take on any arena challenge? If so, which one? [Current money: 5 Marks,25 Rounds, 33 Bits]
>Is there anything else to do this afternoon/evening, if not fight?
>>
No. 293727 ID: d3dfb8

First off stretch motherfucker. Don't forget to every morning.
Second, bet 2 marks 25 rounds with Catalina.
When the match starts tell her "I saw your name and couldn't resist, sorry. Say, after the match would you mind showing me some of your stretching techniques? What I was taught wasn't very comprehensive."
Hopefully we'll be able to learn something new.
Oh, after the match and before the stretching remember to offer to buy her a drink or two. You remember how those artillery guys were extremely more eager to tell you about their jobs after you bought them drinks?
>>
No. 293730 ID: 903f16

>>293681
>Do I have anyone else I wish to talk to, or questions to ask related to positions? [note: Final Decisions can be made now also]
I think you've checked out everyone you need to, so if you're going to make that final choice now I say go for the Spectres.

>Do I take on any arena challenge? If so, which one? [Current money: 5 Marks,25 Rounds, 33 Bits]
Yes, either fight Catalina or the offer for 4 Marks, 97 Rounds, and 7 Bits.
>>
No. 293768 ID: a9629e

>Do I have anyone else I wish to talk to, or questions to ask related to positions? [note: Final Decisions can be made now also]
Noone else to talk too, but I'm voting for Morgren.
>Do I take on any arena challenge? If so, which one? [Current money: 5 Marks,25 Rounds, 33 Bits]
What Grail said. And if you fight Catalina, remmeber to grapple. And people tend to worry a lot about modesty when in front of a bunch of people. Use that to your advantage by gripping clothing and armor during the grapple, making any attempts to get away risk losing them. It could help you win, and more importantly it could teach her a valuable lesson about keeping ones mind on the fight. She's been nice, and making sure she understands that rule could very well keep her alive in her future battles.
>Is there anything else to do this afternoon/evening, if not fight?
Not much I can think of. But keep and eye out and talk to Gorth if you see him around the arena.
>>
No. 293769 ID: 2532ff

votin 4 leadin the smashies.

>>293768
>Use that to your advantage by gripping clothing and armor during the grapple, making any attempts to get away risk losing them.
that could be bloody hilarious. fight catalina and do that.
>>
No. 293773 ID: 81f32a

Hahaha
32, you socially inept buffoon!

This kind of makes me think of an anime plot, but instead of thick-headed 16 year old, Thiirtituo-kun, was a normal school-boy till one day a mystical girl fell out of the sky and changed his life forever, he is a sociopath who has hard time understanding people but loves murdering the hell out of them.

I say go for Morgren, if shitsux we can take solace in the fact that it will be just temporary position.
If this gets finally decided, check out your squad, get to know them a little bit. Look at the equipment available and stuff you could use for your own. Have a training spar with Morgren, as always, focus on Senses and Reflexes.
Then think over how much you can get away requisitioning for yourself keeping in mind with your new rank and your experience with The Bureaucracy.

I say we don't fight at all. Especially I don't want to fight Catalina now.
But lets bet on her, 2.5-3 Marks.
>>293727 do this in friendly manner.
Try to bolster her confidence. Encourage her in the fight and wish her luck. Maybe make an off-hand mention that you would like to see what she meant by fighting when you asked her about flexibility training.
[I think with Hotblooded1 and Speechmaking2 we could make some difference. The fact that 32 is watching could have her fighting better].

Don't forget to notify other parties of your choice, whatever it will be.

Then figure out how much free time we will have before next deployment.
Then spend majority of your time training, exercising and sparring with Morgren.
Do some throwing exercises with your Chakram, javelin throwing with your binded spear, one-handed spear fighting (if you find a shield in Mordren stash, use that too), and if there are some throwing weapons for Morgren, use them too.
Also, you should get more comfortable with your 9-20. Search for a rock or a wooden bar of similar weight and sizes and throw them around for a bit. It would suck if you mess up next 9-20 attack because you couldn't measure your strength and threw it too far.
Also, fiddle around with that staff you got from Froggok for a while.
(how long till we get our bow anyway? I want 32 to practice it for a while)
>>
No. 293791 ID: 7173f6

>>293769
seconding this sooooooo hard
>>
No. 293850 ID: 7f017c
File 130195026228.jpg - (99.09KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
293850

>>293727
Although I had already stretched this morning, it becoming a part of my normal morning routine, the thought occurs to my mind once more, not wanting to suffer any issues on the field of battle certainly. I take a moment to stretch a bit more, and double my resolve that this will be kept as a routine.
[ie: It is assumed to happen in a ‘basic’ form as a default from now on, with small passive skill growth. This will remain the case until either a new routine is ordered, or 32 for some reason loses the habit, or becomes scatterbrained.]

>>293727
>>293730
[Decision to fight Catalina, with more votes supporting via ‘if you fight, do this’.
>>293773
[Only one real vote against, and instead bet on her fight.]

I see a ripe opportunity for relatively easy money, and possibly a decent battle in fighting Catalina. I know the essentials of how she fights, and have a new feeling of limberness and strength, victory should be nothing but certain.

I throw down my two Marks, and a messenger is dispatched towards the camp I just came from, heh, it could only be a faster case if I had directly challenged her to a wagered duel. Stepping into the waiting area of the arena, about seven or so minutes pass, I glance out at the crowd… certainly a decent turnout, I see signs with Catalina’s name on them in large letters and a general feeling of excitement in the crowd that comes with Champion fights. Generally a champion as far as I know is a person who will be fairly experienced and popular in the arena, eventually asked to serve as a champion whenever they are off duty, with permission to be called in whenever, and guaranteed a certain amount of the money submitted for the privilege, as the crowd drawn is usually moreso than a random fight, it seems to work for all sides. I had never really done much in the arena, but an old squad member in the Duras campaign was apparently a Champion for awhile, until the clay golem got him, heh. Fan’s will never save you from those.

An announcer steps into the middle of the arena, a small man, but with a booming voice as he announces a fight for the “Clawed Champion, the Warrior Princess of Pain, the Graceful Giant of the arena! Catalina the Clawed!~”

I see the familiar face practically hop into the arena to a wave of cheers, a grin plastered on her face I can see from even the makeshift ‘gateway’ to the arena. Feh, traditions of not seeing the challenger meets the hope for a good fight. Either way, the announcer turns towards my end, and motions me to enter, with a corroborating soldier pointing to go. An odd lightness to not have my spear or gear on, but if you can’t trust the black market arenas to keep your stuff safe, there would never be a fight.
“Introducing the challenger! The Morgren who is a Man! An Alchemical Soldier of some reclaim, INTRODCING! Thirty Two!

A series of claps follow my entrance onto the battlefield, and I can tell a certain level of surprise is on Catalina’s face. The cheering is infectious enough to make even me smile lightly, and I step onto the raised platform that more ‘serious’ events like to take hold in… though that never has stopped a fight from continuing if someone ‘accidently’ trips and falls off, heh. Catalina is wearing her usual breastplate and legging set, though with a half helm unlike my own armor.

[Catalina]”And here I thought I knew everyone who fought in the arena, should have known you would too though””

I decide to be polite, but my mind readies itself for the thrill of combat once more, and I keep it short for now”
“Not particularly, but I saw your name and couldn't resist, sorry.”

Catalina just seems to laugh at that, grinning once more, and we take our positions as the announcer waits for some of the sound to die down.

“Victory is at first blood, unconscious, or surrender, Catalina the Clawed Versus Thirty Two… Champion versus Challenger...BEGIN!”

Catalina’s arms ripple in my eyes for a moment, and then the expected rocky exterior begins to form around her arms, making her slight natural armor. Her fingers become two foot long claws of what appears to be rock, as I have seen before.

>>293768
>Victory Conditions include First Blood, We know Catalina can summon Earth ‘Claws’. Combat Magic explicitly mentioned as alright for this fight.
>Grapple her and threaten to rip off clothes to continue teasing her!
[Haha, ok, that’s funny, and everyone liked the humor of miscommunication/flirting of last update, but I’m sure people want to see what the battle is…]
>>293769
>Seconded!
[Alright… I guess that can be his first action of combat and he avoids doing anything too stup…]
>>293791
>Thirded!
[(/mild sarcasm) … this is why we can’t have nice things. But hey, free small bonus]

[Emotional Set Unlocked: Scatterbrained
A condition of forgetfulness or lack of focus on a particular idea or action.
Pros: Allows 32 to forget events he finds embarrassing over time [generally the sting of defeat], and recover morale lost that way in combat. Synergizes with Curiosity if attempting to work with skills in a ‘Jack of all Trades’ format. Required along with Curiosity to access certain Talents.
Pro?/Con?: 32 is slightly less likely to trust his own judgment, and thus more likely to accept the suggestions he perceives as meeting his beliefs. [depending on highest Emotional Set]
Cons: 32 is less likely to recall specific pieces of information without player’s aid, less likely to keep to a consistent routine, and is slightly more likely to ‘critically fail’ instead of just fail with certain skill checks [to represent forgetting what he was doing in the middle of it.]


I decide that to take into account what occurred last night, that maybe Catalina actually has a slightly high sense of modesty, and that this triggers when she feels the circumstances are one versus one in a social setting? Plus the general senseless tendency to get modest when ones well… modesty is threatened, leads me to a surefire plan. A pity this will be so short, but once she is off balance for any reason, fate speaks to my victory.

Lumbering ahead with a purposeful slowness, I see Catalina begin to take speed, leaping on the ground, and waiting for what I guess to be a moment to leap in and attack before I could react. I ready myself, my body honed by recent combats to both be faster, and react swifter… I see her begin to relax a moment, and dive in, taking a speedy set of steps I suspect she doesn’t know one my size can really make. Within moments I have closed the distance, my one hand restricting her via the back of her breastplate, the other restricting her mobility of her leggings, its just a moment to wait, react and…

Suddenly I feel a momentary, sharp pain on my unprotected shoulder, I blink, and Catalina’s face is nothing but a huge grin of victory, a single bloodied claw now held up high in the air where all can see it. Can see my speedy defeat.


…. Well, FEKK!

My mind sort of shuts down and I want to slap myself, the claw disappearing and blood droplets falling onto the ground as I just sort of… let her go, I don’t even really think of it, my mind a minor haze as I back off.

(Announcer)”And you saw it here folks! Catalina wins by first blood again in her similar record times! The challenger fell a bit too hard and a bit too fast for our lovely champion it seems! Remember challengers, Past and Future, the pretty ones are the most dangerous, and they will always sink their claws into you. EVERYONE! CATALINA THE CLAWED!”

The cheering crowd ebbs into the background of my mind, I feel a bit dazed… the fekk I could lose? How the deep, how did I do something that stupid!? ARG! I feel my face begin to flush with frustration, giving Catalina a quick congratulations… I think, before I stumble out of the arena, touching the mark on my left shoulder and just making sure, but yes… the small cut still bleeds. I feel no desire to talk to her now, flexibility wise, drinks, anything… I just need to go. I gather my things quickly, and just keep walking.

I spend the rest of the afternoon a fair amount riled up with disappointment, silently wandering the camp, except for the sounds in my head. Why did I do that? I almost felt fate telling me what to, I could have sworn… feKKIN ARG!

>>293773
Though in my mind as I wander, I do find myself in the Morgren area, near where Captain Nelvin was awhile ago, only at a different arena.

[Morgren Sergeant temp. position chosen by overall popularity over multiple posts]

As I consider it, I find that truly this has been the place that seems to have most appealed to me, outside of arguably the Spectre’s. Maybe It will turn out for the best, maybe the orientation will be offered again, right now I know only one thing… my level of irritation can probably only be handed by the constitution of a Morgren against punches.

I give my acceptance of the position to Captain Nel… or Hal as he reminds me, which he seems pleased about. And venting my anger for the rest of the afternoon on Morgren isn’t exactly perfect, but they take the hits oh so well.

The evening is spent informing Captain Victoria, and leaving a note to the Spectre I find at the orientation spot like the other mentioned, stating an acceptance of another position at the time, thankfulness for the opportunity, and the other made up stuff you’re supposed to put down to please the researchers at MAGE about progress. Returning to the Theta camp, Sullivan seems a bit displeased, knowing from the Captain that this was possible, but his lack of being informed he notes being just like “The pissant cocky kid ya are, but do smash some faces with the Morgren, you deserve being around your kind kid.”, with a hearty bit of laughing.

The transition over to a tent in the Morgren area is about as simple as packing up and taking my slightly oversized, Sullivan states my acceptance of a temporary position as a Morgren Sergeant, and Luken as temporary Force Champion, to a mixed amount of applause. Checking on the time for my bow as I head over, I am told to expect it by approximately Enduday or Rathday this cycle, or anytime after should work also. There are a lot of orders apparently, and this is considered expedited for the requisition system… which sounds about right really.

As night falls, the Captain calls together the presently eleven Morgren under his command, and my fellow two sergeants.I note to some odd feeling I see no signs of Gorth, though I vaguely recognize the scarring on Mekk Gurk to separate that particular Morgren. Introducing me as the new Sergeant, and to take my word as important as any other Segeant on the battlefield. He also tells them to introduce themselves to me, while slowly backing awa…

There are few sights more terrifying, than an imminent dog pile of Morgren ~Attributed to the unknown High Mage who invented Morgren

------------------------
Day 35, Corday Cycle 1 of Praeclarum

I wake up to an overly bright sun, a massive headache, and muscles aching I had only thought to see in overviews that R&D loved to do on anatomy. Pretty sure I have felt worse, though no idea when the fekk that was.

Sitting up, I see a note stating that I am free to do as I wish for today, directions to the nearby Cloak tent if I wish (huh, really close… like, within 200 meters. Actually, that’s not a surprise when you think about it) and that by Lorthday we move out to deal with the Froggrock that are rumored to have golems in employ, along with an Infantry Captain named Drako Einsword and his three squads of the 81st ‘Blasters’.

>Should I go visit the Cloaks (medics)? I suspect I should be fine by tomorrow either way.
>What should I do with a free day? [Note that it is already Afternoon]
>>
No. 293999 ID: 903f16

>>293850
>Should I go visit the Cloaks (medics)? I suspect I should be fine by tomorrow either way.
Eh sure, if only to try and learn more about medicine while they're patching you up. I hope none of the cloaks are arena fans, if they are you'll have to tough it up.

>What should I do with a free day? [Note that it is already Afternoon]
You should learn how to tie better knots. In all seriousness though you could try hanging out with the Morgren and doing some more unarmed training. Maybe push your luck and requisition some new gear, might be a bit early though.
>>
No. 294013 ID: a76809

>>293850
Definitely visit the medic.

You train Morgren-you are GOING to need to get to know them. And, in these introductions you could lay the groundwork for the medics to EXPECT you to ask questions when you are in for frequent 'tune-ups', and every time you visit you can expand on your knowledge of first aid/healing/anatomy.

With the free day-

Finish off that Morgren-themed Kick idea you were clunking about with BEFORE the strength improvement-you had something going there, and the extra Oomph should make this something that could be armor-breaking. That plus getting a Morgren Tower Shield (no way a Sergeant cannot requisition that), and you can finally establish that full combat style you were musing over, spear, shield, kick combo

Hey, you can even use that initial meeting with the Cloaks as a chance to see what they have in terms of vigor restoratives-that way, you can make a legend for yourself on the first day, exhaustively honing unarmed against your own Morgren all damn day and late into the night-maximize chances of learning the knack of some real heavy duty melee blows.
>>
No. 294016 ID: a9629e

You just woke up, so stretch.(We're scatterbrained now guys, we have to remind him)

See if you can find out where Gorth got assigned, and if he hasn't been, see if he can get assigned where you're at.

Talk to Hal. See if you can convince him that it'd be good if the Morgren under your command were a bit more consistent. A good commander has a good idea of what those under his command can do, and becoming that familiar with the Morgren is a bit hard if the ones under your command are always changing. Given the way Sergeants switch around "babysitting duty", maybe offer up the idea of taking care of these specific Morgren even when it's the other sergeants turn at the rotation. Play up the fact that you'd be mentoring them, since he said he prefers that.

I completely agree with training with Morgren, but if you can get the captain to agree with the above, make sure it's the Morgren who'd be under you.
>>
No. 294041 ID: 81f32a

Oh God. I'm not even going to read the battle fragment to save myself from embarrassment. Gonna pretend it never happened and suggest the same for 32. Hopefully, we didn't strain our relationship with anyone.
Bob, why didn't you share you wisdom? your suggestion would have been more constructive and would have saved us from failure.... I think

>Should I go visit the Cloaks (medics)? I suspect I should be fine by tomorrow either way.
No ... it's too embarrassing D:


What do?
Well, like i said before see what kind of equipment Morgren have that you can use for your own. Learn how much requisition you can get with your new rank, rep, etc..

Then spend the whole day training. See >>293773 for more on this. Add, hand-to-hand fighting to this too. Do everything with Morgren, of course.
Don't forget to stretch once in a while.

I wonder if we can figure out a way to train camouflage without making fool out of ourself?
>>
No. 294042 ID: a9629e

>>294041
The damage we took was from the Morgren dogpile, not the battle. We only got a cut on the shoulder from that. Visiting the cloaks has nothing to do with the embarrassment of losing so quickly. Which we shouldn't forget about, because it's a valuable lesson in remembering the rules of a given conflict for 32. And in my case, checking the pictures attached to Naive's posts.
>>
No. 294088 ID: d3dfb8

Head over to the Cloaks, get that headache healed up, we've got shit to do.
You've dishonored yourself. What are you going to do about it, cry?
NO. YOU ARE 32. NO ONE DISHONORS YOU, NOT EVEN YOURSELF. GO BACK OVER TO THE ARENAS AND RE-CHALLENGE CATALINA.
How about this time we not be fucking retarded. Open with a charge and feint with the illusions. When she moves to intercept nothing give her a light love tap to the nose.
If she isn't fooled by the illusion [COMBAT REFLEXES] to make her only hit your breastplate.
>>
No. 294160 ID: adb08c

[Would you believe if I said that I tried to post yesterday against fighting or at least give better battle plan if I was outvoted but due to connection problems I gave up and went to sleep?]

Talk to Gorth? Ask him about the demon thing.
I think the incident back when we were sparring against Morgten and this demon thing are somehow related.
>>
No. 294297 ID: 7f017c
File 130206964146.jpg - (101.12KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
294297

rolled 15, 19, 17 = 51

>>294016
[Scatterbrained at level 2 does not mean he needs to be reminded daily, more that he needs a reminder or two every cycle or so. At higher levels it may need daily reminders though. ]

>>294042
[This is also correct, Catalina only inflicted a small scratch on 32, which easily healed. The actual damage involved a dogpile of ogre-sized creatures that all outweigh 32 as individuals (ie. Morgren).]

>>294013
>>294088
Standing up, and stretching some minor pain out of my muscles, I decide if for no other reason than to get rid of this headache, I should go see the Cloaks.

Entering the tent, I find it to be fairly surprisingly large at first, until I realize the circumstances of the area… easily twice that though of about any tent I have been in before, except the temporary buildings that house paperwork. A full staff of three people looks up towards me, all of them male, and fairly average. The tallest one by a small margin welcomes me and introduces himself as Levin, stating accurately that I must be the new Morgren Sergeant, and that they were expecting me… ‘Though arguably earlier, and in slightly worse condition’, as he tries to laugh it off.

>>294088
Taking me to a seat oversized even for me, and asking me to wait a bit, walking off a short distance while they rifle through cheap cabinets full of unknown things, conversing amongst themselves.

I consider briefly the notion of immediately challenging Catalina again, demanding a rematch, only to feel my chest tighten slightly… memories of the loss flashing into my head for a moment as I try to force them out of my head. How could I find myself wanting? How could I lose? How will I ever be able to pilot an incarnation of death if I can dare failure, even in such a mundane thing… how… how.

I seek a calm spot in my mind, and recall my dream. I recall the battlefields of Duras, a battlefield where one could disappear in the chaos of battle, where one’s life was meaningless, where only death reigned in the end. I remember the all pervasive cloud, an enemy that taunted an effort of victory.

All that broke though, all of it, when the one things I can truly say I admired showed up on the field. I had received no notice, only another promise of aid, victory, and other such lies that came with so many others as loss threatened all around me from incompetence. Then without warning, it was as if the cloud of death had formed into one whole… a black carapace seemed to dominate the sky for a moment, moving faster than anything I had seen in my life. It jetted towards the ground, and a ripple rent the air apart, and its scream made enemies tear apart like nature itself at that moment. Golems that had confounded even Morgren, shattered back into the earth they came from. It rushed until its version of the front line had surpassed any I had seen in my year of fighting, an unstoppable force, as if fate had personified itself.

A calm falls over me as I remember, the day my life had some greater purpose than to not fail, when I needed to seek, instead of merely live.

Seeing the arrival of the Cloaks again, I shake out of the past.

>>294013
“Considering what I sort of signed up for, I suspect this won’t be the first time I see you. I am Temporary Morgren Sergeant 32.”
Levin ”haha, yes, we end up seeing about all the officers on a fairly regular basis. Though you seem like a more advanced alchemical than I’ve seen before. At least more massive, so hopefully a few less injuries… they keep us fairly busy as you might suspect. Anyways, what are your particular problems, besides the fact you were welcomed into your new position?”

I briefly explain the muscle pains and headaches, and Levin introduces me to his assistants Alphonse and Fynn in the meantime. I hear him briefly discuss the use of a rune, but rules he doesn’t know if the runes on my body might interfere. He takes a Mortor, grounds… something and makes essentially a tea that he tells me to drink. Which I find some relief from, and states it is all he is willing to do really as I seem to be overall fine. He does however give me the advice before I leave, that Morgren will always obey a direct command, and that this can be a lifesaver to remember if they ever seem to be going off on their own. In addition, he hands me a singular, somewhat small, corked vial with a vaguely red liquid inside of it. Asking what it is, he states that its fairly standard for a Sergeant and Captain to have one with Morgren, and that it is essentially a ‘healing potion’.

I recall these having been used on the battlefield before, though quite sparingly to say the least. Levin informs me that in an emergency, the potion can be consumed for a fairly rapid recovery of some organ tissues, but mostly skin should regrow and avoid additional bleeding issues. He also notes that he’s not sure exactly how effective it will be on someone my size, and that I will wear out badly a few hours after the fact for an hour or two, but that it is far preferable to death, or losing control over the Morgren.

Exiting the tent, I feel a fair amount better, a series of minor pains I have easily pushed through many times in my life my current status. And consider what to do with the day.

>>294016
>>294013
And decide quickly that I really don’t feel any need to go anywhere, it is my new duty to serve as a Morgren Sergeant, and so I shall. Two immediate questions peg my mind, the distribution of Morgren, and which will be under my control, and for some reason the location of Gorth. With fate’s method of trickery, I almost expected to run into…

I turn around quickly, but see nothing. Darn, I thought I knew what fate was going to do there, feh.

I talk to Captain Nelvin, or Hal. He states that in general, Morgren are assigned to each person depending on the tactical situation generally. All sergeants will receive at least two, unless being sent on a solo mission with a Morgren for a good reason (attempted assassination/infiltration usually, anything beyond 1 Morgren has no chance of stealth, and even then it’s iffy). In general, the Captain assigns them as he sees fit, though upon my asking, he says I, or anyone else, can request specific Morgren, though it is at his discretion generally. Asking if I could have a particular group, explaining a desire to mentor them now, and become familiar with a small group for the first assignment.

Asking about Gorth, he states that Gorth is actually well known, one of the few survivors, and currently really without a squad, acting until reassigned under a retainer. Apparently the mess hasn’t still been fully sorted out, and the paperwork is more a pain when Morgren are involved, as they can’t submit paperwork well. If I want to find him, assuming he isn’t wandering, his present ‘retainer’ should be at the camp directly to the east, one arena over.

He thinks about it a moment, and says he cannot promise me anything until we arrive, as he won’t restrict himself, but he will give me three Morgren he states he thinks he could keep at least two with me at the time of combat.

Setting up on the large ‘arena’, the size of many conventional ones, and more a large dirt field than anything standard. Ollie, the ‘actual’ Morgren Sergeant along with Yal (the other in our group of three Sergeants), sets me up quickly enough with three Morgren at Hal’s insistence, and the promise I as a result had to watch some of the other Morgren.

I decide to start where I had sort of left off, and attempt to get some basic level of ‘feeling’ about these Morgren.

[i]Mekk Gurk
: The Morgren I fought previously, and the only one with two names, implying a certain form of veterans status. He seems pleased on some levels to see me acting as a Sergeant, probably as he suggested me. I learn quickly though in the kicking/combat basics exercise, that he seems to be among the least… zealous to fight I suppose? Unlike the others, who act immediately, or kick without a single moment of thought, he tends to delay a bit more, and try for a certain level of actual precision, or to copy what I’m doing, or to think of an answer before blurting it out when I ask about specifics.
Lurt: Slightly squatter of a build than the other two, Lurt seems to actively make himself known as really liking kicking. Making boisterous sounds with each kick, stomping on the ground on his landing. He’s about as subtle as you expect of all Morgren, but seems very… animated would be generous, loud would be the real word that comes to mind.
Crak: Comes off as very… bored to just work on one particular thing, losing focus fairly frequently, and I can tell in his eyes that he wants to probably fight more than just sort of do a form of drill.

Either way, I make some progress, and get a better understanding of the Morgren…. Style? Of combat.

[Talent Unlocked, [i]Morgren Style Fightin: Morgren fight with a style that relies on their ability to generally easily overpower any opponent. Shoving, tackling, and very high powered punches and kicks that cause even the Morgren a certain amount of pain, and can leave them off balance if poorly done. Despite this, no one can argue that Morgren aren’t effective, willing to try new ways ‘to put da urtin’ on enemies, or unwilling to use a cheap shot to grab victory. Taking this talent represents 32 learning techniques that generally abuse his larger mass and thicker bones like Morgren. All attacks used with Morgren style tactics in mind will generally be more brutal in damage, likely to throw off balance an opponent with less mass, or inspire 32 to do something more ‘unsportsmanly’, using the environment, allies of the enemy, etc. to gain an advantage. On the downside, Morgren are willing to hurt themselves in the long run of a battle in order to have a good fight in the short term, and such attacks carry extra risks of 32 accidently hurting himself (ex: by punching so hard as to hurt his own hand, in order to send a foe flying), throwing himself off balance, or attack in a way that is deemed ‘unsporting’ by the broad outsiders. Higher levels represent more familiarity with the style, and maximize benefits, while lowering risks of downsides.]

>What sort of training should I attempt with the Morgren?
>Do I try and go see Gorth in the evening? Or do more with the Morgren?
>[rolling to see if ‘outside’ Morgren get involved.]
>>
No. 294308 ID: 903f16

>>294297

>What sort of training should I attempt with the Morgren?
I like what Mekk Gurk was trying to do. Let's get all of these guys to try for more accuracy in their attacks. Get a bucket of paint or something else that is visible and adheres to skin. Use it to mark vulnerable spots on all the Morgren and then ask them all to try and hit these spots on the other Morgren. This of course means they will have to defend their own marks at the same time. The winner should get something, like he gets to put on a blindfold and try to defend himself from us.

>Do I try and go see Gorth in the evening? Or do more with the Morgren?
Let's go talk to Gorth, maybe invite him for a training session or something.
>>
No. 294333 ID: a9629e

rolled 17 = 17

>What sort of training should I attempt with the Morgren?

Well, they like to be thrown, don't they? SO here's what I'm thinking; Have two throw one, who then lands and has to push back against a sort of dashing charge the other two started as soon as they threw him. The chargers keeping low with their arms shielding their heads and just bulldozing, not swinging out or anything. I'm sure the Morgren would love this, and if they got used to doing this sort of thing, throwing one over a golem or into an army and the throwers immediately charging while the other sows chaos where it landed, you might be able to break a unit damn near instantaneously due to the craziness of it all.

Given the rolls, I assume three other Morgen are going to show up. So lets turn this into a game once that happens. Have them throw them just past each other, and then the lander has to stop the throwers from getting to the guy they threw. First throwers to get to their lander gets a point. Think up some sort of reward, maybe some sparring matches with you, for the team with the most points.

Also, rolling for this training because I love me some unnecessary rolls.

>Do I try and go see Gorth in the evening? Or do more with the Morgren?

Maybe once all that's done, see if you can find Gorth and help him fill out some paperwork to get transferred to your unit. Talk about the above training with him to get him psyched for it if you can.
>>
No. 294649 ID: a9629e
File 130216154950.jpg - (157.18KB , 1500x1500 , morgren.jpg )
294649

Heh, no update means I get to use this. Lurking friend of mine commissioned fanart from his sister, so here you go.
>>
No. 294754 ID: 81f32a

>>294649
>Heh, no update
What?!
Ah, come on!

Naive, if you keep doing this, I will be forced to file in a complaint.

>What sort of training should I attempt with the Morgren?
>>294041

>Do I try and go see Gorth in the evening? Or do more with the Morgren?
Yes, see him. Ask him about "Demon" thing..... hopefully he will not freak out by the memories, but be ready (you can never know with Morgren) to calm him down by any means (try using diplomacy, hot-blooded by talking about the virtues of Empire or a good solid kick something ... if all fails just roughhouse a bit... try not to break anything)
>>
No. 294933 ID: 7f017c
File 130223738534.jpg - (431.43KB , 600x849 , OvercaptainDavinStrider.jpg )
294933

>>294649
[Fanart Bonus! And tell your friend his sister can toss my Morgren any day! Heh. Nifty though]

>>294308
>>294333
[In the battle of ideas, 32 finds the second idea more amusing. Defaults to second idea.
Training roll: 17
>>294297
Morgren Rolls: 15, 17, 19. Roll > 10 = Arrival, Roll > 15 High Quality arrival, Roll >= 19 Morgren minor superstar opportunity.]

I take a cue from my fights previously with Morgren, remembering how impressive they seemed to find my being able to throw one of them, and how all of them wanted me to throw them in order to remove them from the pile they had tangled themselves into… though even just the memory makes my arm muscles wince a little.

“Lurt! Crak! Pick Mekk up and get ready to toss him like a ragdoll.”

Mekk Gurk just blinks a moment, all sides seem to not almost believe the words coming out of my mouth… unfortunately for Mekk, Lurt and Crak seem to get it a bit faster, and before he can react is now being held a good five feet in the air by his arms and legs.

“Alright, here is what I want you all to do, Lurt, Crak, when I say so, I want you to throw Mekk and…”

Suddenly I hear a small whooshing of air, oddly akin to what one would suspect if a giant creature was getting thrown in the air. I sigh inwardly, I should have seen –that coming-, impulsive fekkin things. I decide to act quickly.

“Mekk! Land, down on a knee, brace yourself, stop them from tackling you.”

I get what I think is a grunt of understanding, before the ground shakes from impact, and without hesitation or needed instruction, the other two Morgren are barreling towards the downed Veteran. I sense though a certain resolve though, as the small giant quickly plunks itself to one knee and attempts to brace for collision.

Watching the ensuing entanglement, I have to give the Morgren credit for at least trying… and paying some level of attention. The other two… well, apparently Morgren tackles look like they HURT. Mekk though seems to get up though not really any worse for the wear along with the two others. Attempting to calcify though that I want them to do this, I repeat my instru… oh good, so Crak tried to throw Lurt without listening again, but Mekk didn’t…

I never knew the borderline between hilarious and annoying, until I saw a Morgren spin like a top, while holding onto a Morgren attempted to be thrown into the air.

[Roll = 17, Fan Art Bonus grants a larger crowd, greater involvement by 32, and greater interest, Highly Successful end result. Due to rolling, only 2 direct Cexp gained.]

However, by the end of the afternoon, I can feel a vast improvement has been made. Not only do all of the Morgren by the end have improved throwing distances, I note what seem to be improved reaction times, Mekk Gurk in particular seems to have grasped how to hold his ground, and can with the most consistency handle the barrage of Morgren tackles. More hopefully, the Morgen also at a point seem to be listening to me now, as I have Mekk Gurk and Crak throw me and attempt the same exercise, using my Magitech heart upon landing to give myself more of what I know I need as a chance. Not only do I not end up being thrown like a spinning top, but the exercise goes flawlessly, and though I cannot hold back both bashing into me completely, both seem surprised that I do not go flying back, but instead only slowly pushed away.

In a way, I find myself not overly surprised to see a small crowd of Morgren gathering, cheering with each toss. Another round goes by, with me now in the place of the other Morgren at times, which seems to make the outside Morgren positively giddy both to see me tackle, and be tackled by Morgren. For this round I keep the Magitech up for each maneuver, using only a few seconds to keep up with the demands of the exercise. A single attempt without my Magitech heart pumping finds me holding, but just barely against the minor giants. By the end, all sides of the exercise are panting, myself included.

Looking out in the crowd though, taking a break at the end of the afternoon… huh, I see Gorth. That certainly saves me the trouble of looking for him later. The crowd is boisterous, but considering what I’ve been through, I feel little immediate need to police it.
[Roll > 15, Veteran Arrival]

Though the somewhat normal series of events suddenly breaks when a new Morgren arrives… the largest one I’ve see, easily a foot taller than Mekk Gurk, and as thick as a brick wall in sheer mass… Not only that, but a series of pale blue armored segments that seem to just form around the girth of the Morgren, making a series of metal outer muscles above the Morgren’s real muscles, its hands wrapped in a pair of massive gauntlets that are mostly a similar blue-ish metal, with thin lines of black in seemingly runic designs. Two of the Morgren crowd seem to dive at him in ‘introduction’, where he almost nonchalantly grabs their skulls in midair, collides their bodies into eachother, and tosses them aside. This seems to rile up the other Morgren, and before it’s all said and done, a circle of ten Morgren are on the ground around this one. Gorth in an odd calmness walks up though, and the new Morgren pounds a series of five blows into the Morgren… only to have Gorth fall back a little, a huge grin now plastering his face.

(Gorth)”Haha! Fud Urk Ach Lunt! Iz good thupin times again!”
(Fud)”Bwahaha, itz da bestest Gorth. I ‘eard dere was little man and flying funz ta be ‘ad. And ya’z all gettin betta at da scraps, not ‘own wot for goodz dis time it seems.”
(Gorth)”Yaz punches are weak old won! I ‘ear dat ya makes up ya stories of dragon punchin, Iz fought down a demon ya git!”
(Fud) ”Wot you say little one? Iz couldn’t ‘ear ya, yas as tiny as yaz name!”

Gorth at this dives at the larger Morgren, fists flying, with Fud dodging or just catching every hit the smaller Morgren throws and tossing them aside. In what I’ve slightly come to expect, this does nothing to stop Gorth, Morgren caught in the way blasted away between the relentless torrent of mass. I sigh a little, but it seems like this is a standard enough result, no time to bother em quiet yet…

[Roll = 19, Fanart Bonus. Meet your Overcaptain]

(???)”My apologies for my charge’s interference, but he seems to find that Gorth an amusing one. He insisted all day that if he did well in the last engagement I was obligated to let him visit.

I turn around to address the voice behind me.

“Eh, it’s not that big a deal, I’ve been dealing with Morgren tackling all day as is.”

Turning around, I see a man of fairly impressive physical stature, probably only a half meter shorter than myself, far taller than most humans. He sports a rather impressive and ornate set of modified plate mail, that I somewhat pity to see him wear considering the blasted heat around here. At me looks the face of a fairly young man, probably no older than myself by a few years, with short brown hair, and a set of stubble on his face. On his back are a pair of twin blades, each as tall as the man himself, of a much darker color than any steel I have ever seen, but seemingly of about the same material? I can almost feel a level of force exuded from the blades themselves, and the helmet in his hand at the moment hints at an impressive armored motif.

”I can certainly understand that, I am sorry to state though, I do not recognize you and I generally see all the Sergeants, at least at the sentencing hearing if nothing else.”
“Ah, I did not come from the usual routes. I am a temporary Morgren Sergeant, and volunteered at Captain Hal’s request.”
”A volunteer? Really? And I didn’t hear about it? I haven’t heard of anyone volunteering since well… myself really. Hahaha, did you know about the intro…”
“Not at the time no, but I obviously survived.”
”Hahaha, well, I knew I was getting into at least that because of an older brother. Now that’s a shame.”
“Exactly who are you though?”
”Ah yes, my apologies, I always assume to just be known at this point. I am Overcaptain Davin Strider, also known as ‘The Demonbane’ at times, and technically your Overcaptain while you’re under Captain Hal’s command.”

I feel my stomach sink for a moment, fekk, I should have known this was a superior officer, fekk… really superior if this is the Overcaptain.

[Diplomacy >= 1]

“Oh um… my apologies sir, I didn’t..”
”haha, no worries, volunteering certainly isn’t a normal channel… Mr?”
“Not Mr. Sir. Alchemical, designation Thirty Two.”
”I suppose I should have known that too, next time I have to read my letters before the evening hits. I appear to be blundering today, also let me guess, Force Champion before this eh?”
“Correct Sir.”
”Haha, knew it. Sounds just like the path I took, makes me confident you will have good fun around here. Should have known though things were different if there was talk of Morgren tossing, not exactly a lot can do that.”
“Benefits of serving the Empire Sir.”
”Hmm, looks like this may be over soon, nice meeting you there… Thirty Two, bleh, an odd name… er, um, no offence. Heheh.
“None taken.”

He takes my hand and shakes it briefly, a notable amount of strength in even the grasp, as he points off a short distance where I see Gorth and Fud still. Gorth ramming at the larger Morgren, who grab’s at Gorth’s horns, Gorth going for a low kick, rearing his head back to ram into Fud and…

Right into a mailed fist that appeared almost out of nowhere. Gorth staggers back, seemingly dazed.

”It’s about the fourth time I have seen those two at it within a month, and Gorth always falls right for the feint to headbutt. Usually a good sign it’s about to be over. FUD! Ya had your fun, and you know Ludd wanted to do weapons before the evening is over, get over. ”

The giant Morgren ‘pats’ Gorth on the back while walking back, causing Gorth to fall on his face, to the laughs and cheers of the group around, a large amount of ‘punch/pats’ going onto the Morgren.

”Ind you! Ah, yous da one? Throwin da boyz wot good, wants ta get into a scrap? Iz even go easy on ya, let ya get first ‘it yeah? Cap’in let uz do won quick”

Overcaptain Strider shrugs

”You just love showing off for the smaller ones you lug, but eh, if it’s alright with the Sergeant. You have five minutes. Feel free to go all out Sergeant, any injuries are Fud’s fault, and no serious injuries on the Sergeant Fud, NONE.”

The Morgren nods, the same silly grin I see plastering its face of all of them who expect a fight.

I’m now sure it’s asking me if I want to fight it… feh, I was a bit tired, but that was all of the break I needed for a second wind, but I still feel good minus some muscles aching. Four name Morgren eh? Definitely not the kind that’s usually around here I suspect, could be worthwhile. Overcaptain of all people around too to see me fight, I doubt that’s an opportunity one gets all that often.

Looking around, there isn’t much of any real ‘terrain’ to the environment… Five Morgren around, including Mekk, Crak, and Lurt five meters away, anxiously listening for my response, Gorth ten meters away, beginning to stand up, the rest are a good twenty meters or so in about all directions, talking amongst themselves. The ‘arena’ is mostly a patch of dirt, all plantlife killed by trampling Morgren.

>Do I accept Fud Urk Ach Lunt’s challenge? If I bow out, what should I say?
>If I do accept, do I take the ‘free’ first hit, do I use my Spear?
>What broader strategy should I use for the fight?
>>
No. 295022 ID: a9629e

It all makes sense now. Fate has been building towards this opportunity. This is an opportunity that will likely have lasting impact upon your life. A chance to make your worth known to the Overcaptain, earn the respect of all the gathered Morgren, who so often serve Fate in culling the weak from the worthless enemies of the Empire. So much went into this moment. Meeting Catalina, seeing the blaze of true passion from Reinhardt, watching Kyon's movements on the battlefield, learning to move in the swamp, the new function of your heart, learning about the way things fly through the air, throwing Morgren, learning to kick, Gorth showing up to allow you to watch his little sparring with Fud. And even your loss to Catalina, which in your anger led you to the Morgren. Fate only decreed that you should lose, as to gain a greater victory. All of it was building upon this moment, which your fate shall build upon.

You will not take that first blow, as Fate has no need for such thing. You will not use your spear, as you are the instrument of Fate, not some piece of metal. And take off your breastplate. It'll do nothing to protect you from Fud, and it will only restrict your Fate guided evasion.

Your reflexes may not be up to the task of avoiding his blows as of yet, but reflexes are for reacting. Fate shall guide you so as to know what shall come from your enemy so as to preemptively evade. First, remember what Fate has shown you of his movements. When you feint, provided you don't intend for your follow-up to utilize the momentum of the feint, your muscles don't contract as much during wind-up, and more during follow through. His metal armor moves with his muscles, and Morgren have much more muscle mass, so you should've gotten a very good look at the difference while he was playing with Gorth. You must focus on his whole body, watching his muscle-like armor closely so as to know when to move. As for how to move, you've also watched Kyon fight. While you mostly focused on his augment, remember the whole thing. The way he stepped and maneuvered to avoid blows. You will move like him, keeping in mind the way you stayed light on your feet in the swamps. Fate has given you these gifts so as to ensure you avoid the punishing blows of this Morgren.

Defense may only be one half of the battle, but things have preceded in a way that quite clearly shows avoiding his blows will be the foundation of your offense as well. Amidst your evasion, you will feint with the runes of illusion, which while rarely used, must be meant for this fight, while putting some distance between you. This veteran Morgren will see through this, if not the first time surely the second, and seek to capitalize on it with a powerful left cross. This will be the moment you strike for the first time. Turning on your magitech heart, you will take a quick, short step forward with your left foot, focusing on hardening the ground to provide further support for the large step forward and to the outside of the punch with your right foot. You will grab his arm mid punch with one hand, as you pivot harshly to avoid it. Grabbing his body at his center of gravity with your free hand and sliding your left foot into a proper stance while focusing on the vibrations to give your action the added support you need. Yanking his arm forward during his punch, and pushing with your other, you will begin to throw him, adding your strength to his momentum. But that is not all, you will use the strengthened ground to push off, bringing yourself forward into the air as well to add your weight to his for this. The Overcaptain, unknowingly speaking for fate, decreed you would go all out, and you shall oblige. Fud will land headfirst on the very spot you first hardened with vibrations. You will utilize all you have learned of throwing, Morgren and not, in this one smooth action.

The Morgren is tough though, being blessed by fate for it's long service, so this will most certainly not end the fight. You will deactivate your heart and fall back a bit. He will remember the way you threw him though, and attempt to bait you into try again, only this time he will be prepared. You will oblige, being even more so. His cross will likely come farther outside, so as to account for your movement. Your movements, ever guided by Fate, shall account for that as well though. Watching his muscles, he will do one of many things. If he does not punch with as much weight, he will either swing wide with his arm to catch you off guard, or step into a kick or headbutt. If he puts as much weight into the blow, he will wrench back, reversing the blow and using the momentum for a powerful right hook. This is what you're waiting for, but he may instead attempt to grab rather than punch in this instance, which you will avoid at all costs. Activating your heart again, and moving in a similar manner as last time, you will step into him rather than to the outside, turning around and gripping his wrist and into his armpit while once more hardening the ground for support. You will yank him forward, while kicking out with one foot into his leg. With his momentum, it will give and he shall once more be in the air. Focus on the way his leg gives, as you will be using such information soon. You will not jump this time, as that will give him too much time to react now that he has an idea of what to expect. Your feet will brace backwards and you shall lurch forward, ensuring that he lands on his head once more, rather than simply lying flat. Move away, deactivating the heart once more.

You have led him into two traps now, and he will be prepared to grab you if you were to try and throw him from a hook again. You could counter such an attempt, but he would likely be prepared for that as well now. As such, Fate decrees you take a different path. This time, you will wait for him to try to headbutt you. You are shorter than Gorth though, and he will have to lurch forward quite a bit in the attempt, so you will use his strength and momentum against him once more. You will activate your heart a third time, sliding low and to the side, grabbing his head and yanking it forward while you kick one leg out from under him. This throw will land him on his back. While no where near as effective as the last two throws, it will serve it's purpose. To seemingly establish a pattern, and once more so how his leg bends and braces. He will be expecting another throw. Fate has other plans.

This will be the last of your attacks, as the five minutes alotted for sparring draw to a close. You will wait for a kick. Activating your heart as before, you will step aside, as you have done before, to his bracing leg. This time, however, you will not seek to throw him. You will focus the vibrations for support, and kick hard to the outer thigh, using what you've observed from his leg to do your best to twist the joint. But more so, you will try and use Congealing Vibrations in a new way. You can reinforce solid and semi-solid surfaces by focusing. Now this time, you're going to try to force the opposite of this as your foot makes contact with Fud's leg. It may or not work, but it is your duty to find ways to make the most out of what Fate has given you. If it does, the leg may give. If it doesn't, the blessings of Fate have still let you guide this match in your favor.

(Have a Haiku)
The Morgren Will Fly
Quickly Towards the Hard Ground
This Fate has Decreed

(And while I'm not really one to talk, nobody roll. I want whatever combat experience we can get out of this)
>>
No. 295058 ID: 81f32a
File 130228922242.jpg - (168.72KB , 800x600 , 32.jpg )
295058

Remember when you fought Morgren before you used techniques which used their strength against them (not blocking the attacks but redirecting them and throwing them around). Do that.

Actually beating him would be really hard. Remember how we never could beat Mekk. This one has 4 names, two ranks above Mekk. Morgren have notoriously resistant heads so beating him into unconsciousness would be near impossible (save for the act of Destiny herself)

Frankly, I have no idea how we would beat him. We could fight on even grounds as long as possible, or just keep punching and throwing him around just to impress the onlookers.

Don't forget to use Illusions. Morgren are pretty think headed, so you could keep surprising him with your use of the illusions and he would probably keep falling for them.

I say we fight with no weapons or armor. Request the same for Fud. Lets fight with only our pants on.

>(And while I'm not really one to talk, nobody roll. I want whatever combat experience we can get out of this)
Yeah, I agree
Even if we lose this, we will probably get some CExp. So I'm voting against rolls.

>Whipped up some Fan-art too..... not overly good though. ... Eh, I should really invest more time in drawing if I ever want to be good at it D:
>>
No. 295142 ID: d3dfb8

Yeah sure, give him a fight. Spend the first minute or so being defensive, get a feel for how he fights and FOR THE LOVE OF FATE DON'T GET HIT.
See how he manages being distanced from his opponents; morgren don't seem to have evidenced any long ranged attacks. Perhaps a veteran of this status will show us something we can teach to our underlings.
>>
No. 295144 ID: a76809

>>294933
Since there is already an immense emotional synchronization post and a fanart post, I offer the following.


Before ANYTHING else, activate your Magitech Heart, and use Congealing Vibrations to constantly assure that no possible muck or ANYTHING fluid will slip under your feet and leave you prone, the following will take nimble movement.

Okay, you had some moves that could draw blood on bare Morgren-the supported thumb-strikes, the extended knuckle pairs, the elbows.

You have also learned you can create a hammering effect by triking a weapon already in contact with the foe.

Add to this the fact you have gotten stronger and have congealing vibrations, which may be able to semi-solidify the blood in the arm that strikes the first blow to make a better shock transfer pillar for the SECOND arm, which will strike your first.

Basically, replicate the spear double tap weapon ability-only do it with your arms.

Just keep dodging around with Agility and knowledge of Morgren range of motion, reach and combat styles, and go to strike in between those metal plates, wherever there is not a bone plate covering the pelt-covered Morgren hide.


Now obviously this will do no lasting harm to him-

The point is to show you can make him bleed, and do something that is safe enough you can see if your rough knowledge of Morgrens applies to this guy-consider he is the longest named one you know, and Gorth did not get so rattled with Mek Gurk.


Actually, that leads to what to do beyond the harassing tactic-as this will obviously grab his attention, have your flight bring you over towards Gorth, and stay aware of his position-look to have Gorth punch him. Should make Gorth think the fight is still going, and open the possibility of you two tagteaming the bigger Morgren for a greater chance at victory, an impressive bonding moment, and a chance to make a truly loyal Morgren out of Gorth.

That all hinges on wounding him and getting him swinging enough he hits gorth so this stops being one on one.


Don't bother with the other Morgren other than maybe Mek, they will just be moving blocks in this fight, I doubt many but Gorth could take this guy's hits.
>>
No. 295159 ID: 7f017c

rolled 9, 4, 10 = 23

>>295022
[Fate => Fatalism Theme Bonus, Haiku Bonus]
I stare up at the giant among Morgren, and think. Fate has indeed brought me to this moment, no other explanation [Authors Note: you know, except BS good rolls] makes any traction in my mind. A loss has granted me a chance for even greater victory, and so shall I seize it.

I hand my Spear to the Overcaptain, who takes it, seemingly knowing that I intend to fight the creature with only my fists. I also discard any need for a first blow from my mind. Such things are for the uncertain, the non-destined. It is time to show everyone, my new charges, my new boss, everyone, both what I am made of, and that destiny leads me forward.

>>295144
I first invoke my Magitech Heart, concentrating on the vibrative effect that has been growing since the last battle with the Commander. To find that I have a reasonable degree of control, I feel friction forming below me, dust that once would have been borne by the weakest of winds now grasping solidly. Merely a reflection on my own strength I would argue, bracing against it, fists ready.

“Bring it on. I don’t need a first attack. I’ll make you eat my fist either way.”

The Morgren seems to laugh at that implication, and as my mind rushes in a flurry, I try to gather what little I remember of Morgren tactics. I try to consider longer range attacks, not likely, it only has gauntlets.

>>295058
[Fanart Bonus, DYNAMIC PUNCH ENTRY!]
It has been fairly warned, and now I shall show it what fate has to offer.

Three quick words are mumbled under my breath, and three illusions coat my body, with but a thought, I send each flying at the Morgren separately, giving them some space, and snting them at the creature’s face. I see it taken aback for a moment, as I use the distraction to pily my actual self in underneath, gripping as much as I can from the earth beneath me.

I recall a punch thrown by Crak earlier against Mekk. Its effect apparently devastating in sheer force, but sending the Morgren falling face first into the ground as the other Morgren fell away from the blow. I rear back my hand, along with almost the entire rest of my body. The Morgren, blind to what is going along beneath him, has placed his gauntleted hands in front of his chest to protect against my fakes, and seems ready to head butt my false oncoming attack. In on the other hand plant one foot far forward, and throw my entire augmented body into what against such a huge foe would be a blow that would send me barreling forward.

“WAH!” I yell, rage and power transferring from my body to my fist as it collides with the blue-ish metal.

Air bursts out from the collision audibly, my advance only stopped by a wall of metal and muscled mass, that quickly it seems begins to cave. Metal dents into the Morgren’s body, the Morgren’s arms go flying off of its defensive posture, and breath is notably forcibly knocked out in a small gust. A silence falls over the area for a moment, the laughing gone.

Yet… despite that punch, neither of us have moved. The Morgren solidly planted into the ground, and each risk of the blowback knocking me back instead is held fast instead by the ground. Vibrations rattle up my arm painfully, and my head begins to feel off for a moment, my balance threatening to give despite the ground not yielding. I force my mind into focus, as I see the Morgren lift up his arm, and not so much throw a punch, but lift it up high, and throw it down as if to squash me with his shoulder.

[Combat Reflexes >= 1 FAIL, Fatalism Bonus, Fanart, Haiku, PASS]
I move my leg forward, prepared for what comes next, I impact my body extremely close to the Morgen, too close for his shoulder to realistically reach unless he falls to a knee easily, and I instead of dodging, reach up. Grabbing the arm, and refocusing on the vibrations from my heart, I begin to toss with all of my might from the pivot point I try to make against his body and his shoulder with me between.

Muscles strain, the mass of the creature being a notable amount beyond that of the three I was tasked with, I find myself unable to do a true toss of the Morgren, as I find it adjusts its body’s mass downwards upon my grab, and the best I can do is to throw it to the side, muscles pulsing slightly on my left side from strain.

To find that the Morgren had taken an unexpected attack into a counter, and proceeded to roll his body into the shape of a ball. As its horns dig into the dirt, and I stabilize myself, a large cloud of dust kicks into the air, two deep gashes in the ground, and I find the Morgren FLIPPING itself back up onto its feet.

I back off slightly, letting the ebbing of my muscles fade with each beat of my hearts. Searching my mind though briefly, I find that my illusions… are gone? Impossible, I never recalled them, and the time passes has been half a dozen seconds, time has not run out, and I can feel the magic is still there.

I can tell it is going to press the attack, but in added surprises, I find that the armor around the Morgren is… fixing itself? The dent I left in it has already disappeared, that will no longer be bothering him. Fekk, that thing is impressive.

Huh.. I note myself being rather close to Gorth at this time, the Morgren dusting himself off as it now begins to stand, and an idea strikes me. Its range is a bit longer than I am used to, but this shouldn’t be impossible if I am ready.

“Not laughing now, are ya?!”

[Agility level 3, Pass]
The Morgren, already moving towards me, begins barreling like the lumbering behemoth it is, raising both of its shoulders, it once more seems to strike me it seems beyond the gauntlets it wears, but instead its shoulders… or maybe its body odor, hack.

Diving nimbly out of the way, the charging Morgren almost barrels into Gorth, but instead sort of ‘smacks’ the smaller Morgren with its gauntleted hand. Acting instantly, Gorth throws up his body and pushes into Fud, throwing the larger Morgren back some

(Gorth)”Yaz goin down ya nandy ass git! Puttin Gorth Lurk Ant Eurt Plt…”

With what sounds like a booming cough from Fud, he smasks his hand into the smaller Morgren, shutting him up, but causing Gorth to send fists into the slightly off footed already Fud. Perfect...

Winding myself up from the ground swiftly, I prepare the trick I used with my knuckled previously, finding on the side of the larger Morgren that his armor only has straps. I plunge my makeshift bladed form of my hand into a meaty thigh, meeting resistance comparable only to when I tried it on Gorth. Smacking my other hand into it, Magitech still pumping, I find myself in maybe a centimeter or two, but enough to draw blood onto my hand. This is ended though soon enough as I find that Fud seems to have at least noticed this, and has thrown Gorth…

A close encounter of the Morgren kind, Gorth’s body being tossed into mine
My hand forces out, and I am sent hurtling back at a collision much more than my own mass.
I find myself though with clarity of focus, and I will my vibrations once more
The first collision with the ground stings, and I feel small wounds open on my skin
But the earth nearly grabs me, my risk of spinning on the ground gone.
My head risks a crash with the ground, but my skull takes more than just vibrations from before fine.
Another crash, another series of cuts from the friction slashing my body.
Yet, a form of reassurance, fighting on dirt and not mud,
My head clears rapidly enough, less severe than I expected


I stand up quickly enough, finding Gorth a meter or so in front of me, still on the ground, laughing in an oddly high pitched tone for one so large. Fud, a good six meters distant, almost in range to strike slams his gauntlets together at the fists, and I feel my chest tighten for a moment, something feeling off…, a shaking in my body, as he lifts into the air, diving with his shoulder aimed at Gorth… and I foresee a kick from the diving slam heading my way, willing to sweep far from my right side and intersecting with me on the left, giving me little chance to do a rolling dodge. Fek, I can’t get hit by that.

>How do I respond to the attack headed my way?
>How should I press the attack, assuming I can dodge that sweeping kick, or endure it.
>My heart has gone on a fair time [12 seconds], and its vibrations went irregular a second, do I continue to use it? [D20 roll to with action to deactivate, on a 5 or lower fails]
>[Dice rolled are for Magitech effects, and not Fud]
>>
No. 295214 ID: a76809

rolled 13, 7 = 20

Okay, you've got a decent sense of a few critical things now.

-You know what he is allowed to attack you with, per the Overcaptain's orders-and his gauntleted fists are not on that list.
-You know of his ability to snap off a counter much faster than the other Morgren you have faced-and from having been subjected to it multiple times, you have a reasonable sense of his counter's timing.
-You know just how long his reach is, and that he can regain solid footing QUICKLY.
-You have also seen that if you stay in the mid range he will mess you up, since he is used to operating by his own range increments.
-His metal armor will repair itself.
-Any time you stop moving his chances of hitting you skyrocket.

So, he can't hit you with his gauntleted hands, and if you stay at middle to long distance things don't go very well. What you want to do is keep a calm head going, and get in deeper. Like-damn near molesting level close-hug that fucker. He can't punch you, if you stay that close you will see a headbutt coming a mile away, he can't elbow you thanks to that caution about no serious injuries-

So get in close to his sides. He will be able to hip check you and attempt shoulder drops, but being at the side of his leg he won't be able to kick effectively, at most able to try to disrupt your footing-and even that will be difficult, since you have Congealing Vibrations and can shift direction faster thanks to the lower mass. From there, keep doing the double taps to any exposed skin, every time he shifts move to stay at either of his sides and keep hammering any exposed area.

Your foremost priority is addressed in your body positioning-use your sense of his fighting style and limitations to minimize chances of getting hit-followed by keeping your senses tuned enough that if he tries something new you spot it before it's too late. Third priority is keeping an eye on Gorth, and to keep your body out of the way of his attacks-see him gunning for Fud, and vice versa-force Fud to fight two one on one fights at the same time. Between you going for irritatingly squirrelly, hah-you-can't-hit-me / death-by-a-thousand-wounds tactics, and Gorth constantly hauling off with massive hits, it should get very difficult to juggle all the different responses demanded of him in this combat situation.

Hopefully your rising power from sustained Magitech heart use should let your hits get a bit more penetration as time passes, and Gorth should get into the swing of things-at SOME point he will get aggravated he's the one getting knocked about, not Fud.

You've had your magitech heart active for far longer than 12 seconds before without negative repercussion-your emotional/mental state then, the more you can make your current one match it the longer you should be able to safely use it.
>>
No. 295254 ID: a9629e

>How do I respond to the attack headed my way?
Leap
>>
No. 295318 ID: 81f32a

Well, use all of your power, heart included, into speed to dodge that attack

...

or use Gorth as a shield.
>>
No. 295371 ID: 7f017c

rolled 13, 2, 19, 14 = 48

>>295318
I consider jumping and dragging Gorth, using him as a shield. However, I discard this quickly, as unlike just a leg that is presently likely to swing at me, Gorth is about to become the landing pad of Fud’s entire body. I do not want to suffer the effects of another dogpile.

>>295254
Jumping though makes sense.

With a large thud and a shaking of the ground, the giant Fud lands on top of Gorth, and sweeps his leg as I suspected towards me. I brace and leap into the air as the foot heads towards me.

..Only to find that apparently Fud is a bit smarter maybe than I gave him credit for, his leg is three feet off the ground, and damn thick and meaty. This is still going to slip me at this rate.

>>295214
[Multiple Correct Predictions (Gauntlets, Range, General Combat): Moment of Inspiration: Minor Invoked]

I decide that I have to act quickly, stopping moving is not a real choice now, and getting hit is out of the question when I could only probably take two or so. I take the rudimentary math in my mind, and try to predict when his leg is going to… fekkkkkkkkk, this hurts my head, but a lot less than that leg.

Taking a cue from my approximation, I take my being so high compared to his leg, lift my legs, and then plant them on the top of the Morgren’s leg as he passes, using it as a second jumping point.

Landing on the ground, I find myself falling towards the ground, and at the moment grasping the importance of movement when I am the comparatively small one, refuse to fall as my lack of balance wants to dictate, but instead force myself into a roll. I can’t do the acrobatics of Fud, but I land on my feet, solid ground a nice respite compared to a Morgren’s foot.


Rushing over to where Fud still lays on Gorth, I find a large series of openings, the Morgren apparently not having planned on me actually dodging. I throw my double tap maneuver into his exposed side of his armor, and sink my finger in a bit deeper, but its still about as superficial I suspect as the series of sand/soil lashes that sting mildly on my leg from the landing due to Gorth. Backing off, I find the Morgren trying to get up and engage me again, but finding Gorth to be a very bad choice apparently to use as a surface, slipping up and falling down to another thud on Gorth.

…and here I had been hoping to be able to use Gorth to keep this two on one… feh, I doubt anyone is getting up after a flying drop from something that big, even a Morgren.

Taking the advantage on the fallen Morgren though, I get another two jabs into his body, before he sweeps his arm in, and apparently attempts to give me the worst case of my face into Morgren odor ever, fortunately I find this easy enough to dodge, just jumping on his body and leaping to the other side.

Apparently though this is enough, as he rolls off of Gorth to the East where I had been, standing up in short order. Feh, now im farther away than I wound want to be, and Gorth is in my…

The FEKK! How is he standing up? Does the Morgren not know what just happened to him.

(Gorth)”Yaz been ‘oldin back on me ya git, well, IZ NOT GONNA HOLD BACK!”

Gorth charges forward, fists flying at Fud, and I take the opportunity to move in behind the nice living shield of sheer mass… who somehow is standing, but I will take whatever miracles Fate decides to grant.

When Gorth’s punches connect, I dive in, connecting and tapping into Fud’s other thigh, this time at least I suspect the wound is not superficial, an oozing blood coming out of the mark as I pull back slightly, making sure to stay in the awkward closeness, seeking more attacks of opportunity with Gorth throwing a small tempest of uncoordinated blows.

[Combat Perception and Senses Bonus, Combat Reflexes >= 1, Agility >= 2, Bearly Pass]

I suddenly see that Fud is bracing himself back, and I suspect a body slam headed towards me and Gorth, as his arms are locked due to my proximity and the Overcaptain’s words. I take the moment of his bracing to land another blow on his thigh, hammering it in and breaking the sturdy skin, ad I immediate fall back.

Gorth on the other hand takes the blow head on, and gets sprung back, scrambling to regain balance, and I breathe a small sigh of relief that Gorth is now directly in front of me. Though this is exactly the sort of range I did not want to be stuck at, Fud precisely where he needs to be to strike, and Gorth grunting as if about to charge.

I feel my Magitech heart beating very quickly, speeds I had associated with danger… probably a bit past 20 seconds now. Its thumping making my head feel as if it has an additional heart of its own.

Directly in front of me lies Gorth’s bulk, and two meters past that Fud, though he seems hesitant to act for a moment. Before he beats his Gauntlets to his chest armor and the ground it seems shakes once more, as he roars a very primal yell, getting in a fighting position. The background is filled with the noise of excited Morgren, but I pay it little attention. With the circumstances as is…

>What method of attack should I press?
> Do I use Gorth as a shield, or try something else?
>Do I risk deactivating my Magitech heart? [Note: Can be turned off immediately automatically, since Bob averaged a 10. Else roll a D20 to use it any further, and on a 9 or under fails to stop.]
[Rolling 4d50 for Magitech this turn, will not be used if choice is to turn off Heart.]
>>
No. 295373 ID: d3dfb8

Gorth is about to be tackled. And you're directly behind him. Stop it.
>>
No. 295500 ID: 81f32a

ah, dang it forgot to mention for previous update:

Concerning your illusions. I think you just lost the sight of them, this had happened to you before during a battle (frog commander, I think?), they flew off somewhere.
Use your command word to recall them (we are wasting precious seconds) and then call them up again to use them as distraction against Fud.

The fights with Morgren are always bothersome as it is hard to knock them out or subdue them without killing or inflicting grievous wounds with weapons.
I want to suggest roundhouse kicking him right in the face (using illusions to distract him) but I remember when we did that against Gorth... it hardly mattered...
Well, this time we are at least stronger ... but our enemy is also much stronger.

Dah, I'm really out of ideas. I guess you should fight till you can't anymore.

>[Rolling 4d50 for Magitech this turn, will not be used if choice is to turn off Heart.]
>rolled 13, 2, 19, 14 = 48
Eeeh, those are some bad rolls.
Will something Bad happen now?

I guess you should turn off your heart. After a little bit you can turn it on again, right?
Well, during those downtime seconds you should focus on dodging and avoiding him. Use everything you have learned about Fud during this battle to get best possible results.
Then turn your heart back on and go at it again!
>>
No. 295506 ID: 81f32a
File 130247073365.jpg - (174.37KB , 900x726 , 32 - Dive Kick.jpg )
295506

Since I don't have any good fighting suggestion for this one I made a simple, quick fan-art to boost our result.

How the hell is 32 going to perform Dive Kick? .... Well, he should use Gorth as a platform to jump off for the kick (and as always, 32 should make Illusion distractions)
>>
No. 295526 ID: a9629e

If you can't throw him yourself, team up with Gorth to do it. And make sure you throw him straight up, and have Gorth jump up after him, with you helping to launch him. Gorth can grab him in mid air and land on top of him. His weight plus Gorth's has got to make the fall do some sort of damage, which you'll be ready to jump in and capitalize on.
>>
No. 295549 ID: a76809

>>295371
Turn off heart, keep dodging, continue to use Gorth as an obstacle/wall/something that will hit Fud back, or try to during cooldown, as you WILL slow down.

During your evasion, which should be switching between getting to zero range and getting on Gorth's far side so Fud has to keep adjusting (and really is a great use of an active combat stage, I think it should get some sort of combat Perception bonus or something ANYWAY), use your bit of 'spare' time to see if you can summon your illusions again.

[It can't be Black steel in his equipment, it doesn't allow runing or even being shaped in runes (unless the black metal is not shaped in rune patterns and is just decoratively arranged, a possibility), and Black Steel/Crystal antimagic only dispels for a short time. So does most antimagic. So, a test to see if this was anti-magic (which is irritating but not so bad) or magic-draining/discharging (which is MUCH more irritating)

Attempt any illusion. If it works, great, you know your foe has SOME way to negate active magic when you touch them, and that it DOES recover over time. Of it doesn't work, you know your foe has a means of forcibly discharging stored magic in foes-in which case you are going to have to mentally review that moment you lost your illusions and think precisely when the first time you touched Fud BEFORE losing your illusions was.


Once you've danced around for a bit this way, the blood-loss should have done one of two things:
-Done what it will in any non-magically healing thing, and made stamina plummet as blood is lost (making Fud easier to fight)
-Not caused any change in Fud (In which case you can either note the wounds still present and oozing, in which case he is hardy, or sealed, in which case he is a regenerator of some sort)

Really, just use your down time to go on the defensive, keep building your sense of Fud's timing, attack methodology, footwork patterns (which foot does he lead with when attacking with left/right arm, or does he alternate? Does he turn knees in, keep his stance bowed/wide?) Since you have the basic sense of what Morgrens can do, and a founding grasp of Fud, you should really be able to pick apart his whole movement style-and on the defensive, he can't do much to figure out your attack patterns, and with Gorth constantly interfering it will be very hard to keep straight what you are doing and what Gorth is doing in the heat of battle.

To the unpracticed eye, the coming ten or so seconds as your heart recovers won't look that impressive (especially since you will lose your magic traction/congealing vibration's full power, watch out for that), and will in fact look like you drawing back and retreating, running from blows, hiding on the far side of someone bigger.

But those well versed in battle will see-you are slowly building your mental image of Fud, ratcheting together a plan to assure victory before even re-engaging. Fate can only do its duty when you do your own-and how better to serve fate than to assure your victory first, rather than hoping to find it during battle.

Win first, then fight.
>>
No. 295567 ID: 7f017c
File 130249363963.jpg - (102.63KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2.jpg )
295567

>>295500
[It merely means something that I need to know. High may be good, low may be good, both may be bad or neutral either way. This and one other post makes it irrelevant.]

>>295549
[Correct estimation on non-gauntlet source of Illusion disappearance issue, Moment of Inspiration- Minor Bonus sustains, 32 learns about existence and risk of anti-magic/magic eating
Bonus Information (due to sustaining the MoI): Fud’s nickname is ‘the Mage Masher’, and is often sent by Overcaptain Strider to deal with the summoner’s of lower class golems in combat by himself]

I deactivate my magitech heart immediately, its unknown processes pushing back against my will briefly… before I feel something change, a turn in the tide, a moment that my heart stops to breathe, and it lays itself silent again. I note though that with the pulsing of my body fading, a creeping set of sensations begins to filter through my leg and arm, the lashing from my fall previous a niggling pain now.

One concern gone, now to figure out what to do ne…

>>295373
Oh fekk… Gorth is about to be tackled, and his sense of balance has not struck me as good. I need to do something, fek.

(32) “Gorth! Don’t let him push you”

Gorth seems to straighten up some… only to meet a gauntleted hand first, slapping with the backside of Fud’s right hand.

(Fud) “Ya pip! Yaz only allured to uze da name when ya earn it! Ill beat dat into ya this time.

Well… that could have been worse, and talking is better than attacking when time is presently Fate’s counter. I take the moment to quickly say the command word, and I feel the presence of my right arm rune pop it’s illusion into existence, a moment later and I dispel it, not having need at this time. Hmm, something just… ended my spell? Feh.

>>295549
I decide that it’s not unreasonable to stall out a good seven or so seconds until my heart readies again, as long as I use the time wisely. As long as Gorth acts as my shield, I should be able to gather some information, keep out of danger, and be better prepared for the next attack.

I look over Fud for a moment… he still suffers a few injuries, but I am almost certain that the first injury I inflicted is no longer bleeding on his thigh. It could just be how superficial the wounds were though.

I don’t get a lot more though, before I find that my shield has vanished, Gorth plowing himself into Fud once more, fists flying in a tempest of fury again. Fud merely grab’s one of Gorth’s hands and throws him off balance after a few moments, pushing the smaller Morgren down towards the ground.

>>295506
[Fanart Bonus, MoI Minor]
I suddenly see fate’s hand though once more lead me to where I must go. All I need is the proper setup. I take my first steps towards the back of Gorth’s form

“Gorth! Headbutt him in the chest! Then pull his pride out from under him”

Gorth seems to need no further encouragement, thrusting his horned head forward and smashing into the metal chest plate of the larger Morgren. I take my cue, things set up as they need to be, and jump onto the back of Gorth’s calf, then jumping with full strength, targeting Gorth’s shoulder with one leg, and luge forward with that stepping stone. Landing now onto Fud’s shoulder, staggered slightly from Gorth’s headbutt, as I feel the familiar whirring in my chest… my heart is now active again, perfect. A moment’s focus, and I feel the pain that began to bother me disappear, and once more I leap, augmented fully, from Fud’s shoulder.

I speak the words of command, and my illusions once more pop out…. I can’t focus enough to make this do anything complicated, but its enough to have that much in its line of sight.

I feel a sense of weightlessness, and ready my body, streamlining it for descent, aiming at the larger Morgren. Speed picks up, and within moments gravity’s immutable will has me rushing as fast down as I had up.

I try to aim for Fud’s head, but I find it impossible to hit perfectly as is… that is until Gorth pulls out the legs from under Fud, and instead of a tiny target, I find the entire massive body of the Morgren as a target.

With a cracking sound like a series of priceless religious glassworks shattering, my feet land on the chest and armor of the Morgren. The armor beneath me accordingly I see is cracking a spiders web of fissures like glass to my surprise… except held together somehow. My legs burn horribly, and I wonder if part of that cracking was my own legs, but as I fall to a knee, I decide that stopping now is no option.

I smash my fists against the armor of the Morgren, dents and resistance of metal smashing against my fists. Yet infuriatingly, I can feel the muscle beneath tremble slightly, gasps of air coming from the Morgen, and yet it doesn’t break. Impossible… it’s… getting better? NO! FATE SHALL NOT BE DENIED! I smash further into the armor, but its cracks continue to repair slowly… teasing my victory, daring me to fail even now.

I suddenly feel it… the runes on my arms extinguish first, all of my active illusions vanish, then the illusion’s power on my body… the fekk? A few seconds later, my body begins to shiver uncontrollably, breath becomes hard to grasp, my magitech heart begins to for the first time besides deactivation slow, and the armor’s cracks seem to have completely vanished. The fekk… is it feeding on me? On the magic of these runes or the magitech that must use something? Does such a thing exist?

More wracks hit against my body, a series of spots seemingly burning, one near my default heart the hottest, before some form of stabilization seems to occur temporarily… the pain ebbing away as rage turned into a form of fear and I backed off the attack.

(Overcaptain Strider) “END THIS NOW! Gorth, get the Sergeant off!”

Gorth almost reflexively seems to obey, and I am thrown off Fud’s body in short order. I see the Larger Morgren standing up, seemingly sweeping his now repaired armor as if to ensure that I had not somehow accidently left a piece of myself behind.

heh, stupid armor, had to cheat to beat me… I beat it good though, right?
I last think deliriously, before collapsing into a sleep.

Victory (via creativity and knowledge): 25 Combat Experience gained, Major Morgren respect gain, +.14 Combat Reflexes, +.11 Combat Senses, Scatterbrained lowered to level 0 at no cost, ??? minor negative

------------------------------------
I awake to find that I had been out for about ten minutes, the Overcaptain I learn quickly having ordered a higher quality potion used, my body feeling as if nothing had happened… except that I am really hungry. I suspect though food is not in short supply at the Morgren side of things though. Overcaptain Strider apologizes, stating it was stupid of him to believe that the runes on my body were my only source of magic. Asking for further explanation, he explains that Fud’s armor is enchanted, and feeds on the negation it causes of magic in order to repair itself, and uses any overflow to Fud, him being used to deal with enemy magic users as part of the squad. Apparently my illusions were being negated by the armor, and when I was standing on it, it must have been feeding on some level something unsafe within my body. He apologizes again, but states he has to run, already being extremely late for getting Fud back for training. Fud though, who I also see in the tent, quiet for awhile, states before he leaves “Ya fight like a crazy git, ya should be az big as Gorth! It even ‘urt a little at times! Fun times Ee’ To’” Before being pulled out by the Overcaptain.

Stepping out of the tent, I find almost all of the Morgren of the squad standing outside, Captain Hal among them, and a series of laughs, cheers, and slaps from Morgren that threaten my balance each time, as a celebration is declared for Gorth and my own’s performance against a veteran Morgren like Fud. I am soon proven right on my suspicion, seeing Morgren eat some impressive quantities of food, making me almost think they’re going to eat the buckets some of the food comes in at times.

Evening approaches, the sun nearing its crest against the horizon. Captain Hal reminds me we move out tomorrow, claiming my performance shows we have little to worry about, as we apparently have two extra Morgren in a Sergeant body at this moment. With that being reminded though, I do have to wonder…

>Is there anyone to talk to this evening or night?
>anything I should do or acquire before tomorrow?
>[next post will likely include the march out, unless requested otherwise.]
>>
No. 295570 ID: a76809

>>295567
I'd say talk to Gorth.

Use:
-Diplomacy
-Previous interactions with Gorth
-Recent fight in which you fought alongside Gorth

And attempt to make GORTH like the idea of working for you-someone to help make those tougher opponents hold still long enough for Gorth to beat the daylights out of them, or having someone else to tie up decent hitters that otherwise would just keep Gorth too dazed to do anything-Working for you would let him fight to his best, and you both know it, as a general gist of conversation.

The fact he got some good hits in on Fud that he might not have had a chance for without you should help the case, and your prior fights with him/subsequent growth (he can't NOT notice how much more capable you were this time around) should make it work.

Then, give it until tomorrow morning-

Gorth will have been bugging EVERYONE so he can follow you-check in with the captain, what's that he wants to know if I'd take Gorth? Oh certainly....

This talk with Gorth should be priority one.

As for the rest of the day, ask the rest of your squad to give honest feedback on how they think I could have approached the fight better-when I could have done something more advantageous. Lower average verbal skill and possible lower than average mental intelligence means nothing against combat experience, and they were literally brought up fighting other Morgren-so if anyone could tell you what you missed, it would be your own squad. Use this as a chance to get more used to the Morgren jargon as well as further brushing up on its combat generalities.

Who knows, if you keep fighting alongside/against Morgren and learning from it as deeply and analytically as possible, you may be able to shift the Morgren Fighting talent into an Archetypal Mastery version of Morgren fighting, as a sum representation of your observations of and fights against a hundred Morgren.

It seems entirely possible, and learning it could act as your terminating point of employment as a Morgren Sergeant, a culmination of the secrets to be hidden within. The time it would take to learn such an unarmed style easily allows for you further improving your heavy spear/Morgren Towershield. And since fighting against Morgren is improving dexterity to varying degrees, you would end up more able to approach the SPECTRES or have other, potentially more lucrative opportunities.
>>
No. 295670 ID: 81f32a

Damn ... our bow will not be ready next day.
I hoped we would get it during next deployment.

Anyway, I had suggested this before, now that we have become Morgren Sergeant, what kind of equipment has become available for us?


Nothing more to do till the deployment, I guess.
Do your stretching.
Ask Captain for more information about the next mission.
>>
No. 296073 ID: a9629e

>>295570
I agree with this, but I think you should get Mekk, Lurt, and Crak in on the conversation. Might help to reinforce the idea that working for you will be fun since they just spent most of today throwing each other, plus the camaraderie built with Gorth might rub off a bit on the others.
>>
No. 296215 ID: 7f017c
File 130267222465.jpg - (147.79KB , 500x333 , WalkingThroughAllthisisFekkinAnnoying.jpg )
296215

>>295670
I hold the Captain for a moment, and ask him how the requisition of goods works, not having experience with it as a Force Chamption really, but noting it as an important role of sergeants.

Captain Hal briefly explains that Morgren Sergeants are a bit… different in how such things are dealt with, as equipment for Morgren is generally more pricy, and unlike many other divisions, Captains almost always will be accompanying the mission.

In most infantry settings, Sergeants I learn generally are given a moderate amount of free reign for any gear expected of their charges, with monthly allotments for more expensive and optional materials such as explosives, non-essential requests for aid, helth supplies beyond the norm, etc. Anything above a general price level, must be approved by their Captain, or not uncommonly, the mission will be requested with the gear made available immediately in preparation for specialists.

With Morgren, most of them don’t even like carrying all that much equipment. Young ones Hal informs me, are particularly brash and stupid about it, and it has been found by about every captain, that the crucible of battle is the best incentive for getting Morgren to realize the important of gear. It also gives an opportunity to weed out any possible problem cases before they have a giant halberd and a mindless rage issue he jokes, slapping me on the back and laughing. He states that as a Sergeant, if you believe you see a true opportunity in a Morgren to effectively use gear, to make a case, and then you have a few options. The traditional route is to convince the Captain, then the Overcaptain, get approvals out, hope they aren’t denied for some reason, and then a cycle or two later, the Quartermaster will likely have your stuff ready for you. In fact, he informs me that for conveniences sake, around here the messengers area, the local Quartermaster’s assistant, and the cloaks are all nearby each other as a general rule. Asking about the need for a messengers area, he points out the obvious that Morgren make terrible messengers… tend to forget things easily, lack details, eat the paperwork. As such, a common lower level punishment is to be made a Morgren messenger for awhile, it’s a lot of running and such he explains, but far more reliable then Morgren, and less time wasted by people who can actually babysit.

Asking about requisition for myself, he states it’s on a similar general principle, but that he finds for minor things in particular, it’s so much easier to just go to the Quartermaster’s usually, the formal route a waste of time. Asking for clarification, he states that in reality, the Quartermaster’s hold a lot more power than people recognize, able to expedite paperwork, hand off equipment immediately if they deem it necessary, for such mundane cogs of the bureaucracy, he states the in reality for equipment’s sake, they are like Overcaptains or similar ranks, maybe even higher for some.

In general, I learn the following about the concept:
-For mundane equipment, it’s often not unreasonable to ask the Quartermaster directly, especially if its likely to be on hand, and something necessary like a bedroll. Even a soldier can do this, but most are too shy or worried.
-A person who is better known, or is known for heroic acts, can often ask for more specialized equipment and is more likely to receive it.
-However, becoming known for your tendency to run to the quartermaster can be a death knell to getting things out of them. No one in a relatively good job wants to overly risk being known for giving stuff away, and blacklists are shared for good reason.
-[In game terms, 32’s rank and renown allows him to ask from the Quartermaster directly as an alternative. Different ‘levels’ of people can only acquire certain levels of goods. The place you ask has an impact (Morgren sized things being more prevalent in the Morgren area, one closer to high ranked persons more specialized equipment, etc.). Bluff or Diplomacy can be used, talking to a Quartermaster/Assistant is valid, but inevitably relies on a combination of how willing someone is to give up things, if 32 seems like a valid recipient and bit of luck]

>>296073
>>295570
Thanking the Captain, I consider for a moment the implications… It makes sense to I suppose ask the weapon givers directly, and it’s far from impossible to lose things and avoid a big fuss. It’s worth certainly keeping in mind as an option.

I decide to stay in with the Morgren for now, the bow will sadly not be ready, and celebrations are still underway informally.

I call together Mekk, Lurt, and Crak, pulling along Gorth, as others around continue to say how awesome the fight was. Opening with requests for an honest assessment of how the fight progressed, I learn quickly that Morgren at least… are AWFUL, or at least these are, at giving you any useful feedback. Anytime one opens their mouth to speak, another is as apt to begin recreating something they found awesome, with liberal use of sound effects, jumping, and slapping of other Mogren. Gorth keeps the most control of the conversation, head locking persons who tend to try talking over him to a mixed level of effect.

Ollie and Yal though, coming over to see what the big gathering is about, are quite a bit more helpful in offering something of substance. Both immediately agree that my getting Gorth involved was the best move I could have made. Fud apparently likes to fancy himself a ‘mentor’ to the younger Morgren, and his fists inflict wounds that even Morgren find take quite awhile to heal, Gorth though is the only one who seems able to handle more than one.

Ollie though adds that he feels that what I should have done is attempt to flank close up Fud’s back. He notes that in his experience, Morgren have no issues really with numbers when the opponent cannot hurt them, but that Morgren are just as bad if not worse than most when outnumbered by people of a remotely similar class of fighting.

Yal states that I should have done two things, One, not having m weapon was stupid. Two, that if your choice is extreme pain versus victory, never be too proud to give an order to a Morgren. It may not be fair to stop the attack by use of command, but he states that Morgren are dangerous, and he expects he has more intent to live than I do.

Talking through the night though, there seems to be broad agreement in the squad, Morgren and myself, in trying to get Gorth to try and join up with us. At first he states his disapproval in terms that he has no place to go, and paperwork is annoying, recounting though the fight with Fud and the Morgren throwing in flourish about how he could fight whenever he wanted, Gorth seems more excited with the idea. Before the night ends though, and he leaves to return to another part of the camp, he says if he survives the paperwork, he would be willing to stomp all our faces another time.

------------------------
Day 36, Lorthday, Cycle 1 of Praeclarum

We group up soon enough with the 81st Blasters, led by Drako Einsword. I find it a slightly odd sensation, as when we march, instead of being the largest around, I am in a group of creatures who tower over even me. The Morgren, although fairly lumbering, easily keep pace as they trudge through the mud as if it was nothing. Though I note that it easily takes all four of us on hand to make sure no unwanted fights break out… the Morgren easily distracted, prone to loud outbursts, and with them around, stealth is a laughable concept. I definitely understand though why Hal would want three sergeants on staff fairly quickly, and the Morgren as long as you keep an eye on them, stay under a relatively comparable level of control as the thirty or so marching soldiers.

As wish all journeys though in the swamp, there is much distance to travel it seems. Which does leave me some time, the drudgery of the march making even myself open to a certain level of socialization.

>Choose one of the following to learn more about: (Hal, Ollie, Yal), (81st Blasters in general, least 1 Sergeant and Force Champion, possibly Drako), or (between 1-6 other Morgren in the squad and characteristics/strengths.)
>I need two separate rolls of 2D20 by two different posters for events. Higher numbers result in more potentially positive events. (for a total of 4 dice)
>>
No. 296217 ID: a76809

rolled 4, 4 = 8

Learn your squad-they are your weapon.

So, I'd forgo blasters or sergeants for now, and really get more familiar with the Morgren themselves-

More field data for you to start that idea of Archetypal Morgren Fighting going-keep smoothing out the rough edges to what you know of how Morgren fight, and learn more about your squad.
>>
No. 296251 ID: a9629e

rolled 18, 9 = 27

Agree with Bob, so just adding a 2d20 roll
>>
No. 296267 ID: 81f32a

Might as well talk to other sergeants and find out more about them.
This information might be useful during the mission.
>>
No. 296594 ID: 7f017c
File 130275811419.jpg - (57.04KB , 800x600 , 32InventorySheet.jpg )
296594

rolled 47, 99, 77 = 223

>>296217
>>296251
[Roll = 8, Roll = 27 stored]

>>296267
[Outvoted, Morgren Chosen]

11 Morgen total presently of the 6th ‘Skull Smashers’ led by Hal Neville.

Known Morgren:
Mekk Gurk, Krak, Lurt

Other members
Plid, Murk, Zuh, Auz, Lak Tin, Tuf Eurt,

The travels of the afternoon are sweltering, the area still a boggy set of mud. Fortunately, some monotony is broken when Captain Hal assigns me to two particular for some portion of the afternoon. The conversation goes as well as can be expected of Morgren, and I get a fair impression I believe of these two.
Xvin: Honestly, Xvin is about as much a Morgren as a Morgren gets. Extremely excited about the chance to fight, I get an immediate sense Xvin may be among the newer members of the squad, as he talks in excited tones about being finally able to crush golems with his bare hands.
Tal Hurg: This one is a bit… odd. Apparently a fairly respected and older member of the squad, his attention seems to have a tendency to wander, and he just occasionally asks if we hear something. Sometimes I do, but usually nothing out of the ordinary… I am not certain if it’s a mild paranoia, scouting instincts, or an odd extension of an urge to fight.

[roll = 27, Night Patrol]

Continuing on towards the south west of camp, the weaker humans of the Blasters tire out annoyingly quickly, demanding rest easily an hour before the sun sets. Neither Captain though feels like pushing the weaklings harder through the swamps to my disappointment, and we end up stopping to rest instead. First shift though for the late evening is given to the soldiers, but with a certain level of pent up energy, I decide to take a shorter night shift, which I suspect in part to be a good way to get some good graces with the groups.

I find the growingly familiar sounds of the swamplands a form of comfort as many of the others sleep, perched in a multilimbed tree to avoid the fekking sinking of the mud.

I do suddenly though notice something odd… a very small light under the water of the swamps. Leaping slowly down, I head to where the light disappeared, searching for a minute… before I momentarily see it again. Grabbing under the water a few times, the slight motions of the water making me miss the first times, my hands find the smooth feeling of glass, and with slight resistance from water and mud, I pull out. In my hands I find a well sealed flask it seems, pulled out of the water, the next time it glows a minute or so later, it glows once more in a greenish-blue tone before fading. I can only suspect this is magical maybe? Some sort of potion. Uncorking for a moment, a slightly delicious small of… hmm, I’m not sure, but it’s a good smell, reminds me of food, before I reseal it.

I feel some sort of etching on the flask while it’s in my hand, some sort of symbol I cannot recognize placed on the glass. Feh, I’ll figure it out later.

---------------------------
Day 37, Castiday Cycle 1 of Praeclarum

[Roll = 8, DOUBLES, AMBUSH!]

The travels of the next day are similarly uneventful, and my morning question to the Captain and Sergeants about my acquisition leaves me with no answers. None of them know what the etching is, and none of them come up with anything more useful than glowing = magic for conclusive information. The Captain though informs us to expect to arrive by the evening to near our destination, when it is likely we will engage in a nighttime raid if need be, the Morgren not particularly bothered if the moonlight is good unlike humans.

It is late afternoon though when suddenly the Vangaurd of the Blasters yells out an alert, running for his life, as we all quickly enough see a small tree mashed out of the way of the path by a massive club, wielded by a golem that I quickly surmise is likely a clay golem from my experience, seven feet tall. Though the club itself seems to be made of wood instead, though the wood seems more mundane, likely taken from more local trees than the clubs of the Commanders I note.

Quickly though, we suddenly find this is not the only issue to be concerned with. Suddenly from both flanks, similarly equipped Clay Golems pop out, Froggrock flanking them in a charge, javelins flying through the air on both sides, the soldiers, and even some of the Morgren inevitably are going to be caught between. Fekk, it’s time to get into action, Fate has thrown a surprise this time

[DOUBLES RESULT: Special Enemy]
Suddenly, from our position in the stern, the sound of stamping feet calls out even among the screams of soldiers and disarray. From the front, dwarfing the Clay Golem, stands an easy three meters of golem of unknown make to me. My best guess is some form of wood, similar to the clubs that the Clay Golems are presently carrying. What is notable though is that there is a person… a human standing on a platform on the right shoulder of the Golem. It also seems to have no weapon, which is a minor reassurance I suppose.

Feh, so directly through thirty something soldiers to the southwest, pinned down by a barrage of wooden javelins, stands two golems, one with a few Froggrock nearby, the other, a much larger one, with a human, but no weapon. To the North and the West separately, with less friendlies in the way, we have a singular Clay Golem with wooden clubs on each side, barrages of wooden javelins. The closest. side to myself at the moment is the West flank, but I find that only Lurt is directly beside me at the moment, Morgren scattering towards combat. Ollie has control over Tuf Ert and Krak, heading to the West, Yak has Auz, Zuh, and Plid, and seems to be barreling to the North, Hal seems to be observing for now... waiting for something I suppose, or maybe flat footed. I need to act though I suspect, and fast.

>Should I attempt to corral more Morgren to my side? Or take Lurt, and get going for time’s sake?
>Where should I go, and what should I target?
>Is there anything I should take priority on focus, ordering, or observing, even in the flow of battle?
[D100 for Blasters post ambush, Unclaimed Morgren, and ???]
>>
No. 296729 ID: 81f32a

Okay,

Tie That Which Reaps to your spear for doing the javelin trick.

take Lurt and the next most closest Morgren order another Morgren to hold off the Golem at the West. Because of the high roll we shouldn't be concerned about other Morgren, the rest can take care of themselves.

Go to the Wooden Golem. That seems to be the biggest threat as (I suspect) they are much more tougher than Clay golems. You can't really shatter them as easily.

Giver order to Lurt and another Morgren to attack the Wooded Golem from the front while you try to flank it from behind. Try to stay out of sight when moving behind it so that the operator cannot see you.

When you get behind it, activate your heart.
Now, I want to take out the controller on the platform. If his back is not obstructed, then throw the javelin at him. Try to kill him.
If you can't get decent shot, then try to climb from behind and then attack the driver. If you feel confident, try to knock him out so that we can take him as a prisoner. If you feel that you will fail to do so, then make your offense deadly and as quick as possible.

If you don't kill him in one shot, or if you get discovered while flanking don't be shy to give the 2 Morgren you took with you orders which will keep the wooden golems attention divided, or can give you advantage (for example, ordering them to tackle its legs just when you attack to try to get the operator bare-footed, or have them move and attack specific sides/areas of the golem so that you can anticipate its movements and use them for your advantage)

What I really want to do, is to take out the golem controller and then immediately claim the ownership of the golem before anyone else does. Of course this is assuming that the guy on the shoulder is the operator (I hope he is).


If the things go really sour, don't forget you still have those 2 9-20s. But this time, please alert your allies in advance so that they have time to make cover.
Oh, and give the all of the orders in Mosmordren. It is less likely that the enemy will understand them (but don't put it entirely out of the question)


Fire in my blood,
Burning coal in my body
My eyes full of hatred
My veins pulsing with rage

I sing the song of vengance
I sing the song of Death

My spear burning,
Guided by Destiny's light
The righteous inferno,
blinding my foes

Let them strike my skin
Hot blood, burn them to the bone
Let them feel my wrath
Coming violently from my flesh

Drive them deep, the cowards
Hammer them tight,
Inside the desolate swamp
Where everything is Rot.

>>
No. 296808 ID: a76809

>>296594
Order all your Morgren at the same target-you already have evidence that bigger dudes feel the weight of comparably sized numbers more so than normal people, so have them group curbstomp their way through the Clay Golems.

As they do this, you will be tying up the wood golem-use the time it takes them to drop that first clay golem to go on the defensive/evasive side, figure out how the golem moves and how the guy prefers to give it orders/what he commands it to do in terms of combat.

And make note of every detail you can when the guy tries to use magic-he may have weaknesses, flaws to be exploited.

The only offensive thing you should attempt should be seeing if the Wood golem could be so easily toppled as using the multi-weapon as a wire or chain to tangle its legs.

Once the Morgren under your command are properly directed to maximum-force assaulting the clay golems in order, the pressure should be easing up on the Blasters, and you should learn about the likely heavy target here, without revealing much of your own abilities.

Basically, set up the battlefield, give your morgren orders they can go on to stay effective, and start buildinmg data.

Remember, you observe, you learn, you win the fight, then you actually partake in combat. Chance is for losers who don't know how to find their own fate.
>>
No. 297138 ID: 81f32a

Another day
another missed update
>sigh

):
>>
No. 297380 ID: 81f32a
File 130305511843.jpg - (280.91KB , 800x625 , OH GOD MY SPEAR IS ON FIRE.jpg )
297380

Oh, Shit!

You made 32 angry!
you shouldn't have made 32 angry
>>
No. 297486 ID: 903f16

>>297380
Holy crap that's so cool, but 32 is going to need to lay off the tanning, we're starting to look like a guido.



...in before someone proposes we turn 32 into a guido warrior who attacks people with a boxing style comprised of fist pumps, with hair gelled into spikes so hard they could pierce shields, and abs that act as personal armor.
>>
No. 297530 ID: d3dfb8

>>297486
> turn 32 into a guido warrior who attacks people with a boxing style comprised of fist pumps, with hair gelled into spikes so hard they could pierce shields, and abs that act as personal armor
This.
>>
No. 297596 ID: 81f32a
File 130315198701.jpg - (275.74KB , 1000x700 , WHAT HAVE I DONE.jpg )
297596

>>297486
>>297530

Ask and ye shall receive

>it's 32 getting ready to battle
>>
No. 297598 ID: 81f32a

>>297596
>and yes, he bleached his hair white
>>
No. 297612 ID: 903f16
File 130316083456.jpg - (19.03KB , 324x241 , oh_god_what_have_i_done.jpg )
297612

>>297596
>>297598
Why...
>>
No. 297679 ID: 7f017c
File 130318527576.jpg - (468.42KB , 701x1000 , UnknownArcher.jpg )
297679

rolled 5, 52, 43 = 100

>>296729
[My missing these days was noted on Discussion. Please check it occasionally, as I will post my absences there and alert persons on IRC usually]

>>297380
>>297596
>>297612
[Fanart Bonus x2, Non-bonus-bonus for ‘what have you done’. I mean really? REALLY?!]

>>296729
[Poetic Bonus]

>>296808
[Wood vs Clay, Clay takes priority, as Wood has many more obstacles in the way at the present.]

I make a broad call out to the Morgren, commanding any near me to follow, and directly telling Lurt that we are headed to the West flank, and to engage the Clay Golem immediately. We head out, the Blasters scrambling to get into some form of cohesion as a few more javelins begin to fly towards the ground. I take That Which Reaps into my hand, and pull it into its rope form, tying it to the end of my spear, as I see that Tal Hurg has answered my particular call. Following behind Lurt, I see no other Morgren headed my way particularly.

[Blaster’s wellbeing = 47, REELING, but stabilizing.]
I see that the Blasters though are growing some semblance of order. Sergeants are yelling out orders, people are picking themselves out of the ground, and a Force Champion has rushed towards combat on the West flank without need for motivation. A fiery two handed axe attempting to slash into Froggrock, but not finding any real hits with their fekkin dodgyness.

[Unattended Morgren = 99, No issues, Inspired Leadership]
I see though that Mekk Gurk is leading the Morgren, Murk and Xvin, towards the West through the southwestern Blasters also. However, unlike the lone Force Champion, Mekk and the others appear to be effectively making a surrounding sort of maneuver. Mekk presently has many of the front row Forggrock pinned down by fear of smashing against his fists, while Murk and Xvin are looping around the group, beginning to corral them into a tighter area. With Lurt and Tal’s arrival a bit ahead of me, the Froggrock are effectively trapped between the density of their own allies bodies and death by our ogre-like own. I suspect this flank through Mekk’s actions, even if we are focusing on the Clay Golem, has effectively shut down completely from attacking the other infantry on this side.

We act, commanding the two Morgen with me to press the attack all at once, leaving Mekk to his own devices.

Tal Hurg leaps into combat, slamming into the almost equally large golem, which causes it to careen back, a punch from Lurt sends a chip of the Golem’s body off, which quickly seems to almost… reform, nearby clay parts of it sloughing back towards the open wound. But still sending it careening into a tree. I leap in with my spear, only to find to my chagrin that it quickly recovers, a series of croaks, panic now abounding the area as Mekk finds himself able to land hits. In this time though, the Golem plows itself off, and I find my spear jabbed deep into the tree. A black ozzing substance begins to coat my spear from the wound in the tree, and I yank out quickly.

Fekk, all over a good foot plus of my spear… it doesn’t seem to be doing anything though. I hear more croaking screams, the Axe wielder and the Morgren pinning in the Forggrock. When suddenly a light shines, and fire engulfs a small area, making Mekk fall back.

I see a slightly smaller Froggrock in that direction… teeth necklace, more ornamented than the others, fekk. I command the Morgren around me to continue pushing back the Clay Golem, as I head for the mage.

Mekk appears to have shrugged off the fire though, small black patches on his body, and a slight wince for a moment, before he starts trying to kick the Froggrock. I see the Foggrock trying something with its arms, as I come in from behind and prepare to stab it before it gets the chance.

Suddenly, a small orge flame erupts in the withheld right hand… it begins to expand rapidly…. Fekk, gotta kill it now, as I stab for the back.

>>297380
[Fanart 1 used]
Only to find suddenly the ball of flame flickers, and it arks towards my spear’s tip in an instant. Before I can react, I find my spear alight, the Froggrock turns around slightly, seemingly surprised that nothing has happened, and I deliver it the last look on its face as my now alight spear plunges into the Froggrock from its back. Spinal collum shattering, the flame continues to burn though even as I pull out, the smell of cooking and burning flesh wafting into the air. I hear from behind the shattering of clay as if it had hit the ground, and turn to see that the Morgren had bodyslammed from opposite directions, the Golem refusing to act, as they collided into it, cheers and a headbutt towards each other in celebration.

“Good work Mekk, finish them, I have a bigger target to handle.”
>[Mekk Gurk]“Yus sirs, we smesh em wot good!”

“Lurt! Tal Hurg! Were going after the big one”

Between the croaks of despair, I hear cheers from the Morgren, as we rush off, a huge opening in the enemy lines from our actions, as Mekk continues to draw them in.

I observe the Wooden Golem now, it no longer has a lack of weapon, as it tosses a javelin into the infantry that attempt to regroup. It proceeds to pull out another one, just reaching into its body, and grabbing, with a swift motion it grabs another javelin as if drawing a weapon.

For the moment it is relatively unmolested, the clay golem at its front, sword and spears from a few Blasters attempting to keep it at bay, but they are smashed aside by the clay golem, and they find Froggrock punching into them from almost all other directions. There is almost no chance for hope at this distance I suspect, not even I can get there in…

[??? Roll > 75, Help From an Outsider Source occurs, Poetry bonus spent.]
Suddenly, a see a shining light from my periphery, traveling at an impressive speed from the further Southwest, behind the wooden golem. I see for a brief moment, a dark blue cloaked figure, a few strands of brown hair, and an oversized longbow before the figure fades back into the darkness. The arrow I can assume only to be shot from the figure is headed for the wooden golem at first, and with a guttural groan, a series of creaks as if a thousand twigs snapped, the wooden golem dives out of the way.

The bolt of light… an arrow of approximately a foot longer length than any normal arrow, spinning gracefully in the air, instead seems to slightly change its course towards the west… and smashes directly into the Clay Golem at the right shoulder. The golem’s arm falls clean off, and a small explosion of light and some heat I think I can feel from even here goes off, cracks forming all across the torso of the clay golem, and a myriad of Forggrock diving now into the water along with the soldiers, pausing the attack for just a moment.

I hear a guttural groan loudly from the wooden golem.

[combat senses >= 1, FAIL]
But cannot discern what is being said, except it sounds vaguely like common mixed with a groaning yell of the dead? Feh.

>>297596
[guido/fanart bonus!]
I begin to close distance, and I need to decide what I need to do. I cannot just enter without a plan this time… I need action, I need a plan, I need… a ONE LINER!

>[Choose a 1 liner for 32 to say against an opponent, 32 receives a large combat bonus on one general target based upon BADASS FACTOR if he can live up to the line.]
>Ayoo! What club am I gonna hit dese bitchs with tonight? (wait, what? Odd… thought process, and I could have sworn That Which Reap’s chain form was gold… huh)
>Do I engage the presently injured clay golem? Or goafter the odd human presence in the wooden golem? Or I could seek out the interloper.
>>
No. 297801 ID: 81f32a
File 130325370006.jpg - (156.19KB , 800x600 , 32 - TERMINATOR.jpg )
297801

What?
A one-liner?

Oh man, I'm not good at this ...
hopefully someone else can get something great.

"That's a nice Golem you have, mind if I borrow it?"
And then kill the operator and claim the ownership.

Or
"That's a nice Golem you got, would be a shame if anything happened to it"
And throw your still burning spear at it so that it catches fire (at least I think it is still on fire)

Argh,
I said I am bad at this...

>Or I could seek out the interloper.
Nah, as long as he is helping there's no need to search for him..


I had an "excellent" idea:
Lets have the Morgren with us throw 32 like a cannon-ball (like in X-men, where Colossus throws Wolverine at the target) at the operator of the wood golem.
The golem has shown its excellent ability to dodge, so we would need to be extra careful with that and have perfect timing.

ah
look at this too >>296729
most of my ideas haven't changed
>>
No. 297840 ID: 059fc4

>>297801
>Lets have the Morgren with us throw 32 like a cannon-ball

32 is a tad more fragile than the Morgren, so how about we throw one of them instead.
>>
No. 298122 ID: a76809

>>297679
Stay focused on the wooden golem and it's operator-it has been shown Morgren can at least tie up the Clay golems, and the wood seems the biggest threat.
>>
No. 298159 ID: 7f017c

rolled 86, 79, 42 = 207

[Major Note: due to fairly critical computer issues at the present, 32's character sheet, inventory, and other forms will not be able to be posted. Posts also are less likely to happen. This will hopefully be fixed by Tues of next week.

>>297801
>>297840
>>298122

[So little FEELING yo! One Liner bonus minimal, liner defaults to author]

[Blasters roll = 5, critical issues beginning.]
[Morgren w/ other Sergeants = 52, no real issues, assisting Blasters minimal]
[??? rolls too low to assist]

I consider taking a very direct approach to the combat, and it doesn't get more direct than throwing either me or the Morgren directly into the combat.

I first though glance off to the side, seeing no way at the moment to deal with the conflicts of interest in throwing Morgren or myself, and not getting someone hurt (particularly my own muscles, short throws aren't bad, but this is a good distance).

I see that the Blasters are under direct siege at this point, the Clay Golem from the south apparently has ignored or broken the lines of the Morgren and their Sergeants, and are actively tearing into the Blaster's lines. At least a dozen Froggrock are terrorizing the lines, and though the clay golem nearest me is still cracked horribly, the Froggrock seem to have recovered quickly enough to catch the Blasters flat footed. The troops are already beginning to form a desperate defensive circle, and one of the people who was yelling is now on the ground. Unless Ollie and Zak get more useful and fast, its not going to look good.

Either way, for now my priority is the Wooden Golem, I suspect this thing in the long run is a much larger issue. I try to decide how to enter the fray, if I throw a Mogren, I suspect my arms will really hurt, if I have them throw me... well, that looks pretty fekkin solid. If only I...

['Lets Rock' chosen, Fanart w/ sunglasses bonus- minimal bonus turns into CSI moment.]
I suddenly see something oddly perfect for my needs, a good three foot diameter oval-ish rock sticking out of the mucky water. I quickly call over Lurt, and have him pull out the rock from the mud. At the meantime, I ready my spear, timing my heartbeats for when exactly we need to swing.

I turn to Lurt, nodding, and aiming once more mentally.

“Alright Lurt”

I nod, activating my magitech heart, the world darkening slightly as bloodflow changes and muscles tighten.

“Lets Rock.”

[Lurt] “Yurah!”

With the Morgren tossing the rock, I cock back my spear slightly, and swing for the heavens. The rock splits into a series of three large fragments, and a bunch of smaller fragments, launching a good twenty five feet and hauling towards the Wooden golem.

Pieces crash against the Golem, as it takes its attention off Tal, splinters flying off from where medium sized rock fragments crash into the body. It takes these hits, dodging one of the largest pieces, and summoning a hunk of wood from its body that collides and shatters against one of the other pieces. The third large fragment though, collides where the shin would be on its bipedal form, cracking and splintering horribly. I surmise quickly the thing is likely barely standing on such damage with that leg, and I begin sprinting after admiring the cracks on the enemy's body. Twenty feet from the creature, it has a fist into Tal, but the Morgren seems only stunned at worst, and has the left arm in its grasp. Lurt is side by side with me, and its time to deal with this...

>Having closed the gap and made an impression, what should I do now?
>What orders should I give Lurt and Tal? Or do I leave them to their own devices?
>>
No. 298302 ID: 8b0de1

>[Major Note: due to fairly critical computer issues at the present, 32's character sheet, inventory, and other forms will not be able to be posted. Posts also are less likely to happen. This will hopefully be fixed by Tues of next week. ]
Oh shit. That sucks
I hate when that happens to me

[So little FEELING yo! One Liner bonus minimal, liner defaults to author]
This was on my mind for days but I couldn't come up with anything.
I hoped that Bob would come up with something awesome and save the day.



>I surmise quickly the thing is likely barely standing on such damage with that leg

TOPPLE IT!

Wait
Have the Morgren TOPPLE IT!

Get into position, summon your body double and when the golem hits the ground quickly move to kill the operator (or knock him out if possible). Have your double approach the operator from other side so that the guy becomes momentary confused making an opening to strike him.

Also, the fact that he doesn't have weapons on him doesn't make this good. It makes this actually worse because he might have some hidden powers and abilities, so be prepared for some nasty surprise.

If you do kill him, try to take over his golem.
>>
No. 299660 ID: 8b0de1
File 130393559913.jpg - (118.80KB , 700x600 , 32 - aftergolem.jpg )
299660

Is your computer still bonkers?


Look, I made an art.
Was trying out something different ... didn't work out that well.
Don't ask me why 32 looks so sad in this pic. Maybe he realized that wedging his spear in the golems head so that he cannot take it out again was not the best idea.
>>
No. 300074 ID: 7f017c

Author's Note:[Computer boondoggle is finally over with after a myriad of headaches, Dreamer will resume and go back to a consistent update schedule starting tomorrow.]
>>
No. 300076 ID: 5eaca0

But not today?
aww


alright.
Congrats with fixing your computer
>>
No. 300202 ID: 7f017c
File 130411307953.jpg - (148.52KB , 550x413 , SwampTrees.jpg )
300202

rolled 26, 6, 12, 68, 100 = 212

>>299660
[Fanart Bonus]

>>298302

I quickly call out the orders to the Morgren tomake the leg break, Lurt charging in with a child-like glee, Tal following up a moment later. I feel all my hearts beating in excitement, moving into an approximate pos... er, wait, so its the left leg thats breaking, so it falls to the... left? No wait, all the weight in on the right? So right? Fekk, the Morgren are just going to make it fall backwards probably? Note to self, work on some better teamwork concepts I guess?

Either way, I decide my immediate priority needs to be the driver, I don't know much about Golems, but I suspect killing off the one person who isn't a blubbering frog creature might end this immediately anyways. Killing off person's who seems to be in control of the golem's was noted as a method of dealing with the issue, fortunately, with giant things such as Morgren fighting with me this time, I think I can take either option.

Regardless, Lurt charges in, throwing an uncordinated set of punches towards the cracked leg of the wooden Golem and rider, who easily reads the effort it seems and dodges out of the morgren's way. This continues for a few seconds, Lurt swinging unchangingly at the Golem's leg, quite a few times absurdly out of range even with his stature, a few times though in response to the attempted punches, I see sudden sharp wooden 'spikes' seem to jut out a foot or so above the golem's knee and spike towards Lurt's arm. Fortunately I suppose, these spinter uselessly against the reinfocred body and bone of a morgren's fists, but it seems useful to note. Fortunately, the reassuringly more experienced Tal takes the opportunity to hit the Golem the next time it attempts to dodge at the lower end of its torso, which causes the already injured leg to shatter, and I see the golem begin to hop on one leg momentarily before it teters and falls.

I move in, the forceful beats of my heart reverberating inside, as I see that it is going to smash its right side into a tree, the side with the human assuming driver... heh, if he falls, this is over.

Regaining my stride in the mud, Tal and Lurt following from the sides, the golem reaches out to stop its fall, clutching into a large, heavily rooted tree. I make a small jump onto one of the large, exposed roots about fifty feet away, ready to intercept as it crashes.

Catching onto the tree, I suddenly see splinters erupt as a large chunk of the tree as large as the golem's hand shudders and splinters. I see the golem jump itself slightly into the air with its one good foot and point towards the approaching Morgren, its stump suddenly turning into a cube of wood shaped vaguely like a hammer at the end, and 'punch' into the torso of Lurt, causing the smaller morgren to go reeling back as Tal avoids the sudden risk of collision. I still see my chance though, and refuse to not take it.

I find the human, disoriented, off balance on a platform not intended at this angle holding onto a makeshift railing of wood, blood pooling on his hands, and at a height only around the top of my head... easy prey, heh. I make a small jump ten feet away, and drive my spear towards my sacrifice.

Only to find the Golem jolting away, turning its shoulder and placing its wooden head as a physical shield, but one I find paltry within moments as my spear contemptuously finds a meager resistance, solid wood splintering and giving way to my strength, numerous cracks forming on the body as a good five feet of spear finds its target and skewers the entire head through.

I find my efforts to pull out though hampered, and my mood slightly soured as the golem begins to stand, all sense of footing and force quickly lost as I dangle from my spear, staring at the back of the golem's splintered head as it ignores me. I hear crunching sounds coming from nearby, cracking of some sort on the other side of the golem I guess as I survey for my target. I see him about twelve feet away on his platform over the right shoulder, before he puffs out his chest and begins yelling in what I gather in inflection to be that odd vague, very deep toned, common, but its nonsensical.

“Greeemninsclis! Grrowwwnnnn! Rommmm Rintron, RINNNNNT! RINNTOOO”

I can't hear much else around with the yelling and the sounds of battle, nor can I see much on the backside of a golem, and I feel like I have returned to some insane form of training somewhat dangling like the pulling bars from long ago. Four feet of handle still support me next to the golem's head, but I see nothing else from this side... no weapons, no mechnisms, not even nonsensical magic like thingys. I may be able to make an attack, I surmise I can hold even my bulky weight one handed for awhile, particularly with my heart pumping. He's so close, I just need to think of a good way to attack, or get down and take down this golem maybe...?

>How should I approach this situation, abandon my spear and fall? find a way to retrieve it as is? Attack somehow with something else?
>Do I give any comamnds? Deactivate my heart at any point (9 seconds since invocation)?

>[5D100, first 3 for Magitech if not deactivated, other 2 for event and general wellbeing of allies.]
>>
No. 300479 ID: 8b0de1
File 130419733262.jpg - (386.26KB , 900x700 , 32 - golem.jpg )
300479

>“Greeemninsclis! Grrowwwnnnn! Rommmm Rintron, RINNNNNT! RINNTOOO”

Seems like this guys is shouting orders to Froggoks. I have no idea what he is saying but this pretty much cements our hunch that he is the leader here.

Alright, this is a good position, better not let go of the spear I say.
Jerk yourself, spin around, jump or climb on the Golems head or shoulder. You'll have better position to attack the driver.

Do we have any other weapons except the spear.
Hmm, I don't think so... except That Which Reaps, but we attached it to the spear, right?
Well, if it is possible, detach it.

If you managed to get TWR, you could use it from this position.
Transform it into the chain and "lasso-up" the guy. After binding him, you could try to pull him to yourself or just get to his position (the chain would help you stabilize or whatever)
Or transform it into Chakram and throw it ..... though we run into the risk of losing it.

If you didn't get TWR, there's always option of brute force.
Get onto his platform and try to kill him with your fists.


Oh, and whatever you do, use your Illusions, they will provide good distraction.
>>
No. 300862 ID: a76809

>>300202
Deactivate the Magitech heart-its getting clunky again.
>>
No. 300880 ID: 7f017c
File 130431327348.jpg - (99.94KB , 1152x864 , 32CharacterSheet2T.jpg )
300880

rolled 16, 12, 11, 91, 27 = 157

>>300479
[… Fanart has officially exceeded any expectations I had for fanart. Also, yes, That Which Reaps in rope form was attached to the spear]
[FANART BONUS]


I decide first things first, I am not in a bad position really, but it could be made even better. I make a large grab, and wrap my arm around the golem's wanna-be neck as if I were going to choke it to death... shame I don't expect that would work, but eh. I pull myself off of the spear and onto the much easier to support myself platform of the golem. I reach down with one hand and yank off That Which Reaps, finding it actually somewhat easier than I expected, I had noted before that the rope does not form knots, but instead sort of fuses at points of contact, but it was actually quite easily removed from my spear.

It is at this point though, before I can really instigate my plans involving it, that I realize the human had really been pretty much watching me the entire time, as a wooden spear jabs into my left arm, the one now the only holding onto the golem. Though it pierces my skin, my foe quickly finds my tensed muscles a shield that even holding the spear two handed cannot breach. I grin inwardly, a decently muscled man in what I estimate to be his early thirties, even if he has the beard of an elder, cannot hope to harm me even if all my hearts did not beat, fool. The world shifts beneath me as the wooden golem swings forward at some unseen target, wooden fragments dig into my skin, and I feel some pricks of pain awaken my fighting spirit more. I reach across my body and grab the fool's wooden spear while holding onto the rope, and yank in return.

I laugh boisterously as the man is crushed against his protective railing. He tries to hold onto his weapon, his face reddening, for only a moment he succeeds as he slams backwards, coughing loudly and dazed. It almost feels a disappointment to call this a foe, but if fate so decrees, so I shall obey.

I lack a good platform to stand on to use That Which Reaps appropriately I surmise, but I can easily crush this person, all I need is to get to that platform. I consider dropping my weapon, searching with my feet for a place for a foothold. I see the man glare at me and point, to suddenly find myself with nothing to hold onto as I fall the few feet to the ground, spear as my side, fragmented splinters of the golem embedding into my hand.

With a splash I hit the muddy waters, my spear landing next to me, and holding onto That Which Reaps. Attempting to regain my balance, I see that the Morgren were likely the ones who reentered the fight, Lurt with a wooden spear lodged in his torso, essentially just flexes his body and forces it out. Feh, is everything about this guy so weak? Can't break even skin, heh.

I hear something though and turn,

[Roll = 68, outside event fails]
[Roll = 100, MOSMORDEN ALLIES RALLY, A HERO IS BORN]
[Fanart bonus (Bonus Info, slight improvement): Hero Upgrade, Alpha Sergeant Calline Miseri, To begin being known as: “The Swamp Slayer”post this battle. Many soldiers will report that wherever her gaze held, the wooden spears of the Froggrock shattered in fear, that her blade swing was so graceful and accurate that the Froggrock themselves fell into it willingly, lest they ruin her rampage. By herself, accounted for between seven and two dozen kills, depending on the report.]


I glance a true sight to behold, obviously a women, normal looking enough... but with speed that makes her look like a mirage even from this distance. Soldiers that once were pinned to the ground by fire have all unanimously come to an agreement it seems, as all the soldiers have begun to stand and charge forward. I see the Morgren Sergeants coming from the side to reinforce, their foes similarly vanquished, and what I assume to have once been Clay Golem returned to the earth. Only one clay golem stands, the maybe three dozen Froggrock in their way are being, single handed it looks like, mowed down by this woman, having taken down four in about a second. With her leading, and everyone who isn't a few morgren and me charging forward with zeal, this combat has already been won.

Yet, there is one last thing I need to deliver, the death of this wooden golem and its pilot. I pick up my spear and reattach That Which Reaps to it, ten feet away, the two Morgren pummel into the Wooden Golem, who shudders backwards, throwing now a hundred it seems smaller spears at the Morgren as they advance. They do an admirable job though of pushing it back, as the back of the golem smashes into tree after tree, causing cracks on both the golem and tree, but sadly seemingly disappearing the damage within moments. Though I surmise, hearts beating furiously, head slightly beating with them at this point, that the slivers are likely going to harm the Morgren slowly if I let this happen. I grin inwardly, so a foolish weakling once more dares my might, and the might of an entire empire that is his better? I only wonder what the least merciful way to kill him shall be...

With many 'tiny' spears being thrown towards the Morgren at its front every second, I find myself at the wooden golem's side, facing the shoulder of the rider, as it recovers from its third collision. I do also find myself in an interesting flanking position between the remaining clay golem, and an encroaching horde of soldiers that could be almost as deadly as me with their force combined.

>How do I want to take this worm who dared to attack the empire down?
>Do I say anything to the Morgren under my command or take any time towards the tide of approaching soldiers? [May roll for assault or command skill use, use D20 and specify. ]
>Do I keep my heart going? Or does this worm not even demand such things? (15 or lower to deactivate)
>>
No. 300992 ID: 4c7f89

rolled 12 = 12

So you're at its side, near it

I say you stick with trying to kill the rider.
If you think you can manage and if the distance isn't too far, attach TWR to spear again and throw it like a javelin to kill the controller.

If that is too much to ask, try this:
Tell you Morgren to keep pushing it the same direction. Pick a tree. Climb it and wait till they push the golem near it and jump at the platform. Try to impale him while in mid-air.

turn off your heart after this and head to deal with the clay golem
>>
No. 301086 ID: 903f16

rolled 7, 7 = 14

>How do I want to take this worm who dared to attack the empire down?
Depending on how our various plans go either skewer him with your spear while you're in the air or try to disembowel him and cut his throat.

>Do I say anything to the Morgren under my command or take any time towards the tide of approaching soldiers? [May roll for assault or command skill use, use D20 and specify. ]
How about we do the whole getting a Morgren to throw us plan now? Get them to fling us right into the controller or onto the platform. One of them just needs to back off, might be a bit difficult so rolling for it.

>Do I keep my heart going? Or does this worm not even demand such things? (15 or lower to deactivate)
I guess I'll second the notion of turning it off after we finish, but normally I'd prefer to err on the side of caution. My second roll is for turning off the heart.
>>
No. 301282 ID: 20a66f

>>301086
>rolled 7, 7 = 14


DOUBLE LUCKY SEVENS???

Oooh boy, here we go!
>>
No. 301294 ID: 7f017c
File 130447387691.png - (476.60KB , 701x1024 , AlphaSergeant CallineMiseriCasual.png )
301294

>>300992
[32's lack of innate teamwork skills and contempt biases towards this post's first choice]

>>301086
>>301282
[Sadly, too much luck has happened already in general with a 100 roll for double 7's to do too much, get TRIPLE 7’s though for the slot machine jackpot! Minor bonus though included!]

I quickly once more form a loop around my spear with the rope held in my left hand, finding it once more as simple as melding two points of contact near the end. I grab hold of my spear one handed and prepare to throw it at the rider of the wooden golem, not wanting to risk crossfire between the Morgren and golem, nor the hail of small shots flying off nearby.

[Rolls 16, 12, 11]
[Player Roll = (12 + 9)/2 = 9]

I take quick aim, timing my breath like I had learned about my archery, using my next heartbeat as a marker. Yet, when I am about to throw, my heart itself feels as if to shudder a half a beat too early, a sudden breeze pops up in the area, delaying me as I stop to assess. A small, unnatural, chill travels up my spine, and a hazy sense of foreboding permeates my mind. This is not the sense of fate I have come used to, this is more... sinister.

I reach a quick conclusion, and the chill spreads further still up me, as I see even the Morgren have slowed down, this presence all too real it seems. Death.... death itself has graced me on the battlefield? Is this sense of doom that dares to enter my mind the sort that plagues the weaklings, the unworthy each day of their worthless lives?

Yet it is so, harsh.... angry almost, as if it attacks me. I find myself momentarily confused, does death wish me to feed it this sacrifice? Have I angered it? Is this truly death itself? Maybe this was supposed to be my time? Maybe... Maybe....

NO! This is no time for maybe. I have known fate and death as constant visages too long to surrender to it now. I hastily throw my spear at the next beat of my hearts, having lost sense of its constancy, aiming at what I presume to be Death's desire for a sacrifice. I quickly shut off my heart, and as the spear flies, I feel the sense of foreboding disappear, my mind feeling much more normal. The others in my sight snap back into action also. The human figure glares in my direction once more, then a look of fear comes to his face as he sees the incoming projectile. With the yelling of an incomprehensible word, the golem I see momentarily loses its limbs to become as if large series of sticks, as a shield of wood pops in all directions around the rag dressed man. My spear plunges deep into the wood, easily four feet completely ignoring the wood as some slack still exists in my rope. With a shudder, I feel my spear lose all of its tension, as the wooden shield disappears. The golem begins to flee, dodging the Morgren attack behind a tree, as more of it collapses on both the Morgren side and the golem's side. The golem and rider begin to retreat in earnest, the legs of the golem becoming massive extensions that rival nearly the eighteen foot fall trees of the area, that extend back and forth like some demanded toy or multi-sectioned spear.

Reeling in my spear, I note an odd resistance in the water, and upon pulling up, I see a good third of a meter radius ring of wood has surrounded my spear in a cylinder reaching from the speartip to down some of the shaft, easily an additional... twenty five or so kilograms of top heavy-ness, bleh. Yet, I find the wood to be fragile, cracking in places already, and a sharp fist to the haft causes most of the wood to splinter off, enough for now at least.

I turn to look at the battle behind me, knowing by what I hear that the troops are already upon it. I see the woman once more spearheading, most of the grunts it seems are too frightened for some reason, feh, cowards. I do note though that the golem seems to have new damage, but not some I saw before, repaired itself somehow? Either way, it seems pointless, but I run forward, amused by what I see.

This girl, is of a similar build to Catalina, a certain level of thinness and grace, though much more... solid looking I suppose? Whereas Catalina is more twig-like, I see a woman with a similar grace and a small bit more height [Authors Note: 32 is wrong about this, Catalina is about 5' 5”, Sergeant Miseri is nearly 5' 9”, but he has a very bad time dealing with heights since he towers over all 'normal' persons], and massive speed on her blade. I see a cold fire burning in her eyes, even from my distance twenty feet away, a contempt for the enemy that almost echoes across the air. With one strike she almost supernaturally hits a leaping Froggrock, before I lose sight of her as she dodges the clay golem with a jump I never really expected from someone wearing such heavy looking greaves on her frame. An odd fit at first, until I see under

Landing with what almost seems like a slide on the water's surface; she turns and fires a series of strikes with her curved longsword on the arm of the Golem. At each point of contact, I see the golem's arm begin to form a series of cracks that expand rapidly, with her fourth strike the golem's arm just shatters almost entirely into dust from accumulated cracks, before it could even truly react for another real attack.

It is at this time my whirling spear collides into a few of the nearby Froggrock, and for a moment the girl's eyes blink at me, before she smirks with almost sinister intent I feel, and turns back to the golem and begins striking again as it seems to have itself ceded and surrendered, just taking her hits.

A total of five Froggrock are killed from my surprise attack, most of them first bludgeoned by my spear, and then struck down with one handed spear kills once having lost their momentum. With that rout and a good few dozen more frog bodies in the area, the defeat of the enemy is completed.

Battle Condition: Victory (Minor)
[Minor Bonus: Bluff levels to 1, +.10 Combat Senses and Reflexes]


Local 'Global' News

Morale was expected to be low post battle due to higher than expected losses; however, the troops have rallied around Alpha Sergeant Miseri and Morgren Captain Nelvin's forces. Multiple reports state her leadership and the Morgren force's central role in dispelling the ambush's attacks on the forces.

Theta Sergeant Elinst, Beta Force Champion Gus, and a total of two other soldiers were reported killed in the ambush attempting to rally troops during the ambush. Five soldiers have been removed from the field due to injuries. Captain Nelvin reports no Morgren or staff were injured enough to be removed from the battlefield.

A strange attack was noted to have occurred from no known source, no consistent or reliable details have been extracted, and further investigation denied resources due to lack of leads.

Sergeant Miseri has been recommended for her second Silver Order of the Sword, noting her pivotal role in the assault.


With the stunned silence, the girl sheaths her sword and walks up to me, looking up with much softer than before hazel eyes, her arm outstretched.

”You have my thanks, commendable work with the 5 or so Morgren you did, from what little I saw. Initiative I think…
She turns away a moment and faces the dozen soldiers…
YOU ALL NEED TO GET USED TO! BACK IN FORMATION!”


I take her hand, almost laughably tiny compared to mine and shake her hand for a moment. I take a moment to note her cerulean armor, consisting of a skirt like series of plates, that keep a silver and blue motif through the segmented plate armor with shoulder-pads, and gauntlets that end near her elbow, though her helmet is off for now, it appears to be a half helm modeled vaguely on the near-legendary Dragoon cavalry, a few spines of metal on the back. Her armor also holds two bronze and a silver order of the Sword melded on… probably a Sergeant, good to know.

[Bluff lvl >= 1, 32 realizes benefits of not correcting Sergeant about independent Morgren]
[Diplomacy lvl >= 1, minor improvement to conversation]
“Just doing my duty, Sergeant, mam.”
”Ah, yes, Alpha Sergeant Calline Miseri of the Blasters, and yourself?”
“Alchemical Soldier. Designation Thirty-Two. Temporary volunteer Morgren Sergeant”
”…A temporary volunteer? I didn’t even know that was an… Either way, if this is the place you want to go, you have my support after that display. I leave you to your duties Sergeant.”

With that, she begins walking off, the never-ending dance of getting soldiers to act like soldiers back in full swing. I gather up the nearby Morgren, and much of the afternoon is spent accounting for the results of the post-battle. We do get a bit further though before evening hits, and night shifts are to be doubled not surprisingly, but there is some time as the sun sets.

>Do I want to speak with anyone post battle?
>I ponder the ominous force that felt like death to me, and wonder if I make anything of it.
>[2D20 rolls needed for 32’s night shift, higher is more positive result for 32]
>>
No. 301416 ID: 8b0de1

rolled 6, 6 = 12

>Sergeant Miseri has been recommended for her second Silver Order of the Sword, noting her pivotal role in the assault.

*sigh*
Oh well, we can't always be the Prom Princess I guess...
though she did high-jack my latest fan-art bonus. Btw, glad that you liked it, I thought it wasn't that good to be honest ... I'll have to try to make something even better next time.


>I ponder the ominous force that felt like death to me, and wonder if I make anything of it.
Well, since that feeling disappeared when you turned of your heart maybe it is attracted by it? Maybe it uses some kind of magic that turns attention of otherworldly beings to you (*cough*Dream magic*cough*)?
Maybe the incident we had when sparring with Morgren way back is related to this?

>Do I want to speak with anyone post battle?
Lets speak with our sergeant and ask him about the battle. Have him asses our performance and notify of any shortcomings from our part and tips.

Also might as well get to know Miseri better if you get a chance. Just some small talk about this and that. Get to know her abilities and such (you should have adequate social experience from previous interactions to do this without embarassing yourself)
>>
No. 301417 ID: 8b0de1

>>301416

>301416
>416
>6

>rolled 6, 6 = 12

>6, 6, 6

Oh God, did I summon satan?
>>
No. 301555 ID: 903f16

>>301294
Miseri is an up and comer, I think trying to develop a friendship with her certainly wouldn't hurt our chances at advancement. Hell even a rivalry would be good for us, give our soul a bit of a chance to grow. Either way the more interaction with her the better.

Also, reminder the bow is due to be finished tomorrow or the day after that.

>>301417
You know we used to get devil bonuses in GQ proper way back when. Maybe NaiveOne will revive them? Then again those were always kind of iffy on whether they were helpful or not, they were kind of plot points we could either make go really well for us or really poorly.
>>
No. 301572 ID: a76809

>>301555
The best kind of special bonus-the kind you don't know if you really want or are terrified of.
>>
No. 301577 ID: 7f017c
File 130457430880.jpg - (19.74KB , 413x310 , Darkness.jpg )
301577

rolled 84 = 84

>>301417
[Summoning Satan? that would be silly. Guy is a weakling! 32 deals with much better forces.]
>>301555
[And the point is made, and was accounted for. 32 does it... differently though, have fun. Good Luck. You'll need it.]

>>301416
[I assume you mean Captain Nelvin instead of sergeant, and yes, more I say. I enjoy the work.]

I make a note to myself as the sun sets, reminded by the brief glimpse of the bow and arrow that came from the prior combat…. My bow will in fact be ready upon our return to camp after this mission. It would be a shame to forget that.

I find though a small desire to see the Sergeant again, from the words floating around camp and the general performance in the fight against the clay golem, I find a general relief that someone competent exists it seems around here. I resolve to find where her camp placement is and speak to her later, as I have seen some sense in gathering some level of competent allies.

It is simple to find the Captain in the makeshift camp, it being his turn at the present to watch over the Morgren. Asking him about my performance, he states that things went fine, but that he could tell it was less about my command per se. He makes a strong note that if I want to get better, I have to get more willing to give a broad sense of tactics to the Morgren that makes them avoid tripping over themselves. He suspects Lurt and Tal could have taken the golem on their own, but Lurt kept getting overly pushy and in the way. The simplest mistake Morgren make is that teamwork often gets knocked out of their mind,, because they get so pumped up to fight he explains. In really bad cases, they might end up fighting themselves instead of the enemy!

That said though, he puts his hand on my arm and sort of shakes it, telling me I did a good job, and that he saw I did a fine job for such a rush job on the time. He tells me though he doesn’t want to keep me, that I have a long shift for the night and that I should take a chance to relax, ask him again another time.

Taking my leave, it takes me less than a quarter of an hour to find the proper Blasters camp for the Alpha Sergeant in such a relatively small area. She sits on a large root near the campfire, with about a half dozen troops. I note her now to be wearing a mixture of what I could only call a… robe meets an overcoat? I only find it odd as it extends nearly down her entire height, which seems impractical as anything for this environment in both temperature and not being a constant muddy mess. Eh, female have such eccentricities though I have heard.

On my approach, she seems surprised slightly, but takes it in stride, introducing me to the soldiers at the fire as a Morgren Sergeant, which seems to get grins from a few of them. Talk devolves mostly into questions about the morgren and the battle, yes Morgren are tough as nails, no Morgren don’t eat people that I know of, yes, Morgren hella hurt to be punched by, even by a big guy like me, blah blah. Some report seeing me engage the Golem, some ask what a human was doing on the battlefield, and speculation of a few things abound.

As for the sergeant herself, I learn she is a four year veteran at this point (which gets her teasing remarks of being an ‘old lady’ from one, who shuts up from her glare). As a Force Champion, she served in an earlier engagement against Duras, and some disputed territories with multiple claimed names in the west of the empire before being promoted. I note that from her own telling, she seems to prefer one on one engagements, her present weapon is about two years in her possession, called her ‘crescent moon’, and was looted off an enemy commander she defeated in the westward campaign, and she seems to hold it with pride. Things go cordially enough, and thankfully the Sergeant seems to get I need much more in terms of rations, but within a few hours she dismisses herself in need to handle the guard. Noting my own shift soon enough, I do the same.
----------------------------------
[Night Watch Rolls = [6, 6], DOUBLES BONUS]
[666 = DEVIL BONUS, SPECIAL EVENT]

I am given charge of three soldiers of the Beta squad, one noted to be trained in tracking under my charge for approximately three hours to cover the western and south edge of the ‘camp’. I set a fairly simple perimeter, telling each soldier to report in at the same time about once every half hour.

The night is already pitching dark, and things are quiet enough. Two meetings with my charges pass without incident, and I find myself lazily engaged in blending in with the crannies of an overhanging tree, idly attempting to improve my sense of hiding self and becoming one with this area.

Yet… I sense something a few minutes later, where nothing had been wrong before. I look around, breaking my hiding place. I am confused for a while… I see little to begin with, but soon I find myself thankful for my perseverance in getting to know what will be the empire’s one day. Slow…

Agonizingly slowly almost, things are getting quieter. Almost in a wave, things are becoming quieter. I give off a slightly echoing clicking sound, running my tongue over the roof of my mouth… a classical sign for the empire. Within a minute the others have arrived, and I report on the silence, to agreement by the one who matters enough for others to defer to… and a glare when they seem to discount it at first. In hushed tones we discuss possibilities, I decide soon enough it is irrelevant, and that the fastest is to go and wake up the Captains. The others look at one, and he seems unwilling to go by sheer cowardice, stating that the darkness at this point is too much and death will get him. Stating that death is always around and that I will inflict it unless he obeys, he quickly turns to leave…

Only to find that the silence that was growing has now caught up to us.

I feel… something indescribable to my senses, as if all of them had been overwhelmed at the same time. Some sense of omnipresence to this silence.

Everyone it seems has frozen, I feel myself unwilling to move myself… as I feel something both familiar and foreign. I see terror etched on the faces of the men, even in the darkness… and I feel it too, if I was a lesser man, I would flee also in my mind, and yet in this terror… I feel some level of, comfort? Familiarity?

Soon, the darkness that once existed is gone, replaced only by a deeper, all-consuming darkness. I see none of the others, not even the tree I once stood on that was inches away.

I glance in all directions, gazing only into more darkness. All directions only more. I feel my mind daring to get lost in it, to surrender my eyes to uselessness and declare them dead.

Until… something different.


I see one spot in the darkness, even darker than the rest. I see a silhouette of a deformed humanoid. Slim, then wider, until it reaches near the end, where it slims once more. Things jut out of where its head-proxy is, nearly a foot in length. I hear a voice begin to speak, as everpresent as the darkness now around me, as inescapable.

”…Speak, speak of truth. Why should I not kill you now where you stand?”

A voice that is simultaneously as freezing as ice, tinged with biting sarcasm, a cacophonous softness I associate with a feminine voice, I feel the breeze in this voice, tinged with things I have never experienced in my life, and a blunt solidness as real as my own body, and yet it is compelling, familiar…. An icon of my many travels, I hear this voice, and feel I know Death itself, and would dare to shudder, if I had not met this voice before if it truly is Death.

>How do I respond to its question? Do I dare ask one of my own?
>Do I try to escape? I still believe I know what directions things –should- be in.
>(A D100 can be rolled with any action, countering the figure’s roll)
>>
No. 301578 ID: a76809

rolled 4 = 4

"First I'd need to know why you believe you should kill me, as there are far too many reasons to not kill me to list them all."

You have acquired skill in speechmaking, in Bluff and Diplomacy alike-between all your skills there, this type of wordplay should come to you.

She may or may not at this point stop, since a bunch of supernatural beings DO follow rulesets-you've heard THAT much of general lore, at least, I mean all those legends of monsters underground, general folklore-there is a lot for you to draw on there. If she DOESN'T stop there, couple ways I figure she may go.

She could be amused, but still question your value, live v dead. To this I'd say an approach of practical dissertation-with your first comment an 'icebreaker' so you have her attention long enough to keep her talking and better understand what is going on.
>>
No. 301580 ID: d3dfb8

rolled 5 = 5

>>301578
This
>>
No. 301700 ID: 8b0de1

Feck, wordomancy is not my strongest forte.

>rolled 4 = 4
>rolled 5 = 5

Oh shit, we're screwed!
Nice knowing you guys.

Any chance you could forgo update today? I will try to draw something sufficiently awesome to get better chance of coming out of here alive. (I couldn't do it today, as I was visiting my sister. She had birthday today)

On the other hand, answering it with another question might not be the best of plans. Probably will make it more angry. Probably.
>>
No. 301744 ID: 903f16

rolled 22 = 22

>>301577
I'm at a loss for something to say and with the other propositions and their rolls I don't think we'll be able to talk our way out of this. So let's just go, preferably away from Death. I don't see running straight in the opposite direction working though, so how about trying to go up? Just fall and miss 32, you can do it. Rolling to fly away like a bitch, failing that this roll is to run as fast as we can in any direction that is not towards him/her/it.
>>
No. 301751 ID: 1854db

rolled 96 = 96

Wordplay against Death Itself?

How about you be honest. You know Death. You wish to live so you might know it better.
>>
No. 301821 ID: a9629e

rolled 92 = 92

>>301578
Yeah, that sounds solid. Ignoring rules supernatural critter may be bound to, the fact that she's asking that means either she's playing into a role, or is trying to get some amusement out of you. I'm not too keen on trusting 32s sense of humor, so trying to make the conversation interesting would be good.
>>
No. 301832 ID: 8b0de1
File 130469414986.jpg - (250.72KB , 1000x700 , 32 - tatoos.jpg )
301832

Alright,

Here it is!
>>
No. 301857 ID: 8b0de1
File 130470607573.jpg - (200.66KB , 1000x700 , 32 - death.jpg )
301857

And here is another one.
This is a quick, half-assed drawing though.
Always wanted to draw 32 attacking and having a vision of Death manifesting behind him as if guiding his blade.
>>
No. 302424 ID: 7f017c
File 130483115906.jpg - (2.27KB , 120x96 , SwampNight.jpg )
302424

>>301578
[Roll = 5]
[Oh… ow… that’s gonna hurt.]
>>301580
[Roll = 4]
[… well, looks like this goes really badly.]
>>301744
[Roll = 22]
[Well… erm.. do I want to kill 32? I mean, it kinda… jeez.]

>>301751
[Roll = 96]
>>301821
[Roll = 92]
[Ok, whew.]

>>301832
[I never viewed 32 as quite... that… pretty? Really neat though.]
>>301857
[FANART BONUS x2]

I decide quickly, trying to think of a mix of wordplay that might be compelling. I consider running for a brief moment, it seems valid, and until I realize that I looked around constantly until I found this one singular darker spot. That is all I really have for a sense of direction, and I have no idea where… Death came from.

I go with the first thing that comes to mind, a mental force thrusting it out.

"First I'd need to know why you believe you should kill me, as there are far too many reasons to not kill me to list them all."

I can FEEL the thing just sort of… grin with amusement, as if emotions were something one could touch. Shivers up my body confirm the feeling further, and I take some measure of relief. That is until it… she? I guess I will go with she, speaks again.

”You exist. That is enough of a reason to kill you.”
ךתוא גורהל ידכ תקפסמ הביס אוה יכ םייק התא

An omnidirectional voice that seems to reverberate off the darkness itself, closing in on me. I feel my body weaken, the enormity of the words descending upon me physically, as I fall to knees I cannot even see on my body. I feel something in some direction, something getting colder, biting as if in the windiest of storms, and I see in my mind’s eye a torch of life burn out.

Fekk, so Death is psychotic and powerful? I wonder for a moment how this even comes as a surprise. I mean, it only makes sense as I face it now.

>>301751
Yet, I know this Death. It is the shadow that has haunted so many battlefields, a shadow I had thought I had known. It was death that was tangible; a death that I thought would lead me to victory, demand sacrifices to its vistage. Not to be feared, but to be lead. Yet some of this feels so wrong even as I think it. Though some of it as clear as the darkness around me as true.

“I wish to live! To know you better!”

The figure stays silent a moment, my own words echo around me as I yell ominously. Each time I hear them it begins to feel as if I am mocking myself, my face beginning to heat in embarrassment despite the ever-present cold. I see a part near the top become even darker for a moment, before I hear something.

Laughing, soft… made of the sound of fragmenting bones, of screams of pain, of gurgling blood as a man bleeding to death takes his last breath. Laughter that comes from the outside and shakes my body, reminding me that these are all ailments I am not immune to.

As the second, the eternity, the inescapable finality of the laugh ends, I know now it is certainly true. I see now… Death.

[Fanart Bonuses]
”You have promise, to both see and seek. You stand before Raqel. For your answer one must be given. Speak at any time where I lay.”
יתבכש הבש תע לכב 'רבד ןותנ תויהל בייח ךלש תחא הבושת תלבקל ינפל תדמוע תא שפחלו תוארל ינשל החטבה ךל שי

And suddenly, the spot that was once darker than even the pitchest dark disappears, as if it had never been. My eyes sear in pain for a moment as the brightness of the night surrounds me once more, on my knees, in the muds of the swamps… having moved no discernible distance from where I once was. I look around, one man is still standing, covering his eyes as I had just done, one is on the ground, breathing, but out of it… and the third is motionless. I chick with my knowledge on basic aid… no beating of the heart, no breathing. Yet there is no injury on his body, I find it only marred by the mud I found it in.

The one soldier, fekk if I remember even his name just looks down at me. Horror has still not ebbed from his body, a condition severe enough that I had only seen before when fools thought loss and death was inevitable. Yet he only stares at me in a dazed confusion.

A dead body, a man unconscious, and onewho seems fixated on me, all while having been cast by the eyes of death. Even ignoring that the impossible has happened, I have a body in my hands, the charge of the watch, and yet no attack, though for all I know one has occurred and the silent campgrounds are as dead as this man.

>What do I tell the man, apparently fixated on me?
>What do I even DO in this situation?
>Did… did I really just see Death? What… can one even make of this?
>>
No. 302430 ID: 1854db

Ask the conscious man what he saw, and heard.
>>
No. 302626 ID: 8b0de1

>[I never viewed 32 as quite... that… pretty? Really neat though.]
It's just that I am not very good at making faces yet, so I took a default face which has no flaws and looks nice.
Also, I focused on tattoos more.
---


Alright...
..
we could have handled this much better. But still, great that we are alive.

Not too surprising that 32 had loss for words. He haven't encountered such overpowered creatures before, especially his biggest star.

Thinking about this, 32 should have known that Death wouldn't just kill him like that. Why would it(she?) talk to him otherwise? And she had helped him several times in the past.

And to answer her why she shouldn't kill us:
Because killing us would have been a waste. Because unlike others we appreciate Death. Because through us, she can claim more than without us. Because we serve death whenever she knows that or not.... or something like that.

If this kind of thing happens again, 32 might have better chance saying something useful.

Overall this was a useful experience.
Now 32 definitely knows he has deaths attention, and in the good sense. She might have been a bit malicious, but it is her nature (to take lives) so the fact that it did not means she holds 32 in higher regard.
Heck, he should be happy about this.

>What do I even DO in this situation?
I don't know what to do.
Report the incident to the best of your abilities

>What do I tell the man, apparently fixated on me?
bring him to the medic tent. Poor guy has a PTSD
>>
No. 305131 ID: 0cc9b1

Dammit, Naive, you ass!
Are you going to update or not, it has been over a week now!!
>>
No. 305150 ID: 7f017c

I guess I should have made it formal instead of just on ICQ. My apologies.

However, with alot of things being done as I plan on moving and securing various finances, Dreamer will be going on hiatus. Reasonably probably about a month? maybe more.
>>
No. 305212 ID: 8b0de1

Aw, bullocks

This sucks. I was looking forward for more....

Anyway, good luck with your ventures, Naive!
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