(1/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)06:04 No. 1093729 ID: 127310
File 172001189388.png - (15.15KB , 700x700 , u1p1.png )

A figure enters the closed-off female bathroom of a once thriving store on Edgar Street.

(2/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)06:04 No. 1093730 ID: 127310
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The far wall of this bathroom has had a hole smashed in it, large enough for the average person to comfortably walk through it. The wall next to it bears the Mark of the Lower House, signifying classified information, or worse, politics, beyond the threshold.

Being a Civil Servant, the figure has no qualms with dropping through into the space below.

(3/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)06:04 No. 1093731 ID: 127310
File 172001189814.png - (17.09KB , 700x700 , u1p3.png )

The Government has known about the Edgar Street Catacombs for a while now. It was a point of discussion in the Lower House for a few weeks, until the Minister for Spatiotemporal Anomalies professed to do something about it.

The topic settled after the Government became familiar with all the ins and outs of the Catacombs, and something was never done about them.

Having become frustrated by the Government’s inaction, or, more likely, bored by the lack of spatiotemporal anomalies in the City Centre, the Minister decided to investigate the Catacombs himself. He has since gone missing.

You are the aforementioned Civil Servant, a member of the Ministry of Memetic Philosophy, and you have been sent to find the Minister for Spatiotemporal Anomalies.

(4/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)06:05 No. 1093732 ID: 127310
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You are now in the main chamber of the Edgar Street Catacombs. Three tunnels line the right wall, with a small amount of light coming out of the furthest one. There is one tunnel directly opposite you, but you will have to crawl through it. Two tunnels are on the left wall, though you can hear the hoots of the Mole People emanating from those.

The Mole People (officially known as the Edgar Street Humanoids) are an odd group of beings that inhabit the Catacombs. They are territorial, but mercifully slow and weak.

Regrettably, their numbers mean that combat with them will likely be inevitable, though you probably can avoid engaging with them for a while. Just don’t kill them. There is an irritating amount of paperwork associated with that. Just rough them up a bit with your baton.

What exactly is our mission down here? I’m definitely interested in that glowing tunnel on the right, but if we’ve got directives to go somewhere else, then we should probably do that instead.

What doth right?

>>1093734
I wonder if we're some sort of memetic creature, but yeah right

>>1093732
Check the light.

(1/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)19:45 No. 1093750 ID: 127310
File 172006111932.png - (48.44KB , 700x700 , u2p1.png )

>I wonder if we're some sort of memetic creature, but yeah right

You are not some sort of memetic creature. You are nothing more than a Civil Servant.

>What exactly is our mission down here? I’m definitely interested in that glowing tunnel on the right, but if we’ve got directives to go somewhere else, then we should probably do that instead.

Your mission is to find the Minister for Spatiotemporal Anomalies, and get him back home. Ideally alive, but he can be replaced.

You go into the glowing tunnel on the right. The glow is being softly poured into the tunnel by a small device called a beacon. Ministers typically carry beacons in order to communicate with the Government in case things become too difficult or scary. This one is transmitting an ongoing distress signal to the Lower House. Probably how they knew the Minister had gone missing.

You deactivate and pocket the beacon. You could probably use it to communicate with people outside the Catacombs. It only has 24 hours of battery life at full charge, though, so use it sparingly.

(2/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)19:45 No. 1093751 ID: 127310
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This tunnel seems to loop around to join the middle tunnel you saw earlier, so you decide to investigate around the bend.

There is a Mole Person sleeping on the ground here. It doesn’t seem to be sleeping very deeply. It gets more restless as you draw close. You back off slightly, but it still looks as though something within it knows it’s being watched.

Your impulses tell you to knock it out properly. It’s still a threat as long as it can still get up, and dealing with it now means you won’t have to later.

I give you a 75% chance of knocking it out with no problem. (D100 must roll greater than 25 in order to pass)

(3/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)19:45 No. 1093752 ID: 127310
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>What doth right?

You leave the slumbering humanoid be for the moment and go to have a peek at the right tunnel closest to the entrance.

The tunnel looks to keep going for a while, but you can see an end to it. The subtle light dimly illuminating the very far wall makes you think that it’s another entrance to the Catacombs, further up Edgar Street, perhaps.

A Mole Person is standing here, facing away from you, slightly hunched over.

(4/4) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)19:45 No. 1093753 ID: 127310
File 172006114692.png - (19.35KB , 700x700 , u2p4.png )

It turns around to face you, startling you, but doesn’t look aggressive. Presumably, somebody had instructed it to prevent anyone from coming in through that entrance. You are already in, so you must be alright.

Once it has made this connection in its mind, the placid humanoid continues pretending to study several scraps of paper.

They look like the Prime Minister’s sketched maps of the catacombs from when they were first investigated. They were eventually brought back here to preserve the secrecy of the Catacombs.

You could probably take the maps, but it’s not clear whether your new friend would be all too happy with that.

>>1093750
Is that writing?

>>1093753
Look at the maps. Study them and commit them to memory and you won't have to take them.

Read over his shoulder. If he doesn't like it that's the perfect excuse to knock him out and take the map.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)20:52 No. 1093758 ID: 127310
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>Is that writing?

No.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/07/03(Wed)20:52 No. 1093759 ID: 127310
File 172006514591.png - (24.05KB , 700x700 , u3p2.png )

>Look at the maps. Study them and commit them to memory and you won't have to take them.
>Read over his shoulder. If he doesn't like it that's the perfect excuse to knock him out and take the map.

You manage to memorise the first two chambers (including this one) and part of the third one, before the humanoid realises that what he has is valuable and refuses to let you peek.

>>1093759
This writing is hard to read.

Let's go knock out that sleeping mole person I guess.

Yeah, sleeping mole ko seems like our best option. They seem at least semi-sapient. I’d love to study them, but that’s not what we’re here for.

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/07/04(Thu)07:06 No. 1093772 ID: 127310
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>This writing is hard to read.

The Prime Minister is not known for having good handwriting.

>Let's go knock out that sleeping mole person I guess.
>Yeah, sleeping mole ko seems like our best option. They seem at least semi-sapient.

You head back over to the sleeping mole person and raise your baton.

D100 rolls 82 (>25). Success!

With one fell swoop, you have knocked the humanoid into deep unconsciousness.

>I’d love to study them, but that’s not what we’re here for.

Nobody says you can’t later.
Unconscious Mole Person has been added to your inventory.

You can hear the sound of the other Mole People shuffling towards the main chamber. Whatever meeting they were having must have just ended.

Lurk in wait to see if anyone comes in this chamber that you can pick off.

Do these beings speak our language? Because if they do, we could probably make our argument to retrieve the Minister and leave immedeatedly without them accosting us.

At any rate, pick a corner out of view where we can see without being seen.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/07/06(Sat)23:11 No. 1093896 ID: 127310
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>Do these beings speak our language? Because if they do, we could probably make our argument to retrieve the Minister and leave immedeatedly without them accosting us.

All testing so far has indicated that they don’t. If they do, they are very good at pretending not to. Negotiated agreement is probably not an option with these guys.

>Lurk in wait to see if anyone comes in this chamber that you can pick off.
>At any rate, pick a corner out of view where we can see without being seen.

The other Mole People come shuffle into the main chamber single-file. There must be about six or seven of them. You recede further into the loop so that there’s even less chance of them seeing you.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/07/06(Sat)23:11 No. 1093897 ID: 127310
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Oh dear! It looks like a Mole Person has stumbled into this tunnel and is about to realise that you are not where you should be! You can definitely run away from it, and you could also run around it, but by then it will put two and two together and alert its buddies.

If you stay and fight, it will not alert any other Mole People.

You have the initiative. Roundhouse kick!

Fight it!

Yeah, stealth is key here. The more mole people we alert, the more we risk potentially having no choice but to kill at least one. Imagine the paperwork for more than one Mole Person Murder… I shudder at even the thought! Better to fight this one here and now where it’s easier to be non-lethal about things.

Wait! Maybe this is a trick. This might be a philisophical quandary regarding the measure we value our objective over the well-being of this creature. Maybe we will later leave a trail of corpses and the realización we were the true villains all along.

We should likely broaden our philosophical horizons and base our next course of action on Kant's postulation that all people are good.

With this in mind, the decition is clear: we will hug the mole man!

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/07/09(Tue)23:36 No. 1094044 ID: 1e982e
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>Wait! Maybe this is a trick. This might be a philisophical quandary regarding the measure we value our objective over the well-being of this creature. Maybe we will later leave a trail of corpses and the realización we were the true villains all along.

Thankfully, your training has prevented you from needing to have thoughts like this. Besides, you won’t kill the Mole Person, that I promise. Hugging the Mole Person would also end poorly for you.

>You have the initiative. Roundhouse kick!
>Fight it!
>Better to fight this one here and now where it’s easier to be non-lethal about things.

You initiate with a kick! You catch the Mole Person with your shin, dealing 1 damage.

Alright, now I have to tell you about memetic philosophy. Basically, your opponent opens with their Thesis and comes up with new Arguments each turn to try to support their thesis.

If you want to avoid damage, you should try to logically reject their arguments. You must then also provide your own arguments to attack their thesis. If your opponent cannot reject your arguments, you may damage them. You don’t usually have to disprove an opponent’s thesis, you just need to deplete their health. Theses and arguments don’t necessarily relate to what’s happening at the very moment, some can get very abstract.

Think of it as using your psychic powers to break your opponent’s stance and open them for an attack.

Lots of enemies will also have Passive Abilities that will complicate the fight. I’ll provide a link to a google doc where you can read the passive abilities. Make sure to stay on top of them!

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/07/09(Tue)23:38 No. 1094046 ID: 1e982e
File 172059351274.png - (27.23KB , 700x700 , u6p2.png )

Battle against Mole Person

Turn 1

You [20/20hp]

Opponent: Mole Person α [4/5hp]
Passives:
Protected https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gEJkxaTXmFsiHQ2f43KKy0jS5DrTCnQO2wMtecQU2HM/edit#bookmark=id.qn1mggc71iip

Thesis:
You should not be here.

Arguments:
You do not look like me, therefore you should not be here.

Alright, now’s your chance to use your Sick Rhetoric Skills.

Seems like we have a pretty easy start! Counter Argument: It is possible for me to not look like you and also belong here.

Also, this is a pretty nifty combat system! Love it!

>>1094046
Mole People look different from one another, yet they belong here. Is he judging you on your appearance? RACIST!

>>1094049
This one gets it

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/07/10(Wed)01:32 No. 1094051 ID: 1e982e
File 172060036848.png - (27.76KB , 700x700 , u7p1.png )

>Also, this is a pretty nifty combat system! Love it!

Thank you! I hope you enjoy all the stuff I have planned for it.

Turn 1 (Continued)

>Mole People look different from one another, yet they belong here.

Conceded as a rejection of Mole Person α’s argument.

You do not look like me, therefore you should not be here.

>It is possible for me to not look like you and also belong here.

Conceded as an attack on Mole Person α’s thesis on the basis that it was never conceded that you have to look like a Mole Person to belong here. The opponent provides no counterargument.

You lunge forward and strike the Mole Person. It winces at you.
1 damage dealt.

Turn 2

You [20/20hp]

Opponent: Mole Person α [3/5hp]
Passives:
Protected https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gEJkxaTXmFsiHQ2f43KKy0jS5DrTCnQO2wMtecQU2HM/edit#bookmark=id.qn1mggc71iip

Thesis:
You should not be here.

Arguments:
You have not been permitted in here.
You are attacking the people here, so you should not be here.

When responding to multiple arguments, please specify which of your counterarguments corresponds to which of the enemy’s arguments. Please also specify if you intend to directly attack the enemy’s thesis.

Thesis: You should not be here.

Argument 1: You have not been permitted in here.
Counterargument: Permission to be in this area has been granted by the relevant authorities.

Argument 2: You are attacking the people here, so you should not be here.
Counterargument: The usage or application of force is unrelated to the concept of belonging.

>>1094052

Seconded

>>1094052
concurred

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/07/11(Thu)20:52 No. 1094152 ID: 1e982e
File 172075636497.png - (28.06KB , 700x700 , u8p1.png )

Turn 2 (Continued)

>Counterargument: Permission to be in this area has been granted by the relevant authorities.

Conceded. You follow up your lunge with a smack from left to right.
1 damage dealt.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/07/11(Thu)20:52 No. 1094153 ID: 1e982e
File 172075636848.png - (36.25KB , 700x700 , u8p2.png )

>Counterargument: The usage or application of force is unrelated to the concept of belonging.

Conceded. The baton retraces its steps, injuring the Mole Person such that the bruises will be symmetrical.
1 damage dealt.

Turn 2 Summary:
Mole Person α [3/5hp] → [1/5hp]


Turn 3

You [20/20hp]

Opponent: Mole Person α [1/5hp]
Passives:
Protected https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gEJkxaTXmFsiHQ2f43KKy0jS5DrTCnQO2wMtecQU2HM/edit#bookmark=id.qn1mggc71iip

Thesis:
You should not be here.

Arguments:
(Not acting this turn)

>Seconded
>concurred

It doesn’t really matter right now, but in future you may want to come up with your own arguments. The Mole Person could have been defeated a turn earlier with just one more conceded argument. Future encounters will also try to rebut your arguments, so having multiple arguments will prove useful.

Violently sagacious fanfare! Win for rhetoric! We were here to find the minister right? If this mole person can talk after the fight, we should find out what they know.

Whoops shit early celebration. They still have a hit point remaining.

To attack the thesis directly, according to our own authority assigned to us, this is explicitly the location where your work requires to be. We act according to this authority. Thus, we are supposed to be here and we should be here.

Arguement: the mole person is not here in any official capacity and thus has no say on who should or should not be here.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/08/01(Thu)07:27 No. 1095091 ID: 127310
File 172252244304.png - (41.81KB , 700x700 , u9p1.png )

>To attack the thesis directly, according to our own authority assigned to us, this is explicitly the location where your work requires to be. We act according to this authority. Thus, we are supposed to be here and we should be here.
>Arguement: the mole person is not here in any official capacity and thus has no say on who should or should not be here.

Though some foes could construe these arguments as fallacious, the thoroughly battered Mole Person concedes this. 1 damage dealt.

Turn 3 Summary:
Mole Person α [1/5hp] → [0/5hp] (Unconscious)

Since the Mole Person was [Protected], they fell unconscious, and you won the battle.

You gained 5 TP. Your current TP count is 5.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/08/01(Thu)07:27 No. 1095092 ID: 127310
File 172252244566.png - (19.21KB , 700x700 , u9p2.png )

I don’t want to alarm you, but the other Mole People in the corridor seem to be sticking together. You may want to avoid them. Unless, of course, you think you can handle a group?

>We were here to find the minister right?

Yes, the Minister for Spatiotemporal Anomalies is your VIP.

>If this mole person can talk after the fight, we should find out what they know.

Even if this Mole Person was awake, it’s generally accepted that Mole People don’t have the capacity for speech, and may perhaps only respond to basic commands after some training.

You may do well to seek a more… human interlocutor.

How is mole person eyesight? Could you sneak around the edge of the room to the next doorway?

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/08/09(Fri)06:56 No. 1095586 ID: 127310
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>How is mole person eyesight? Could you sneak around the edge of the room to the next doorway?

Mole people can see well in the dark but are such lumbering brutes that it doesn’t really matter. Considering the next doorway is more of a raised vent, sneaking into it will be a bit tricky.

Let me put it like this. I will roll a d20. 10 or above will get you through, 15 or above will get you through without alerting the mole people.

The mole people in the hall stop meaninglessly chattering to each other, and for a moment, you think you can hear muffled human speech coming through the vent.

Your sneakiest parkour into the vent then

That’s definitely where we need to go then! Let’s roll those dice and see how well our vent sneak goes!

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/08/20(Tue)06:46 No. 1096153 ID: 127310
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>Your sneakiest parkour into the vent then
>That’s definitely where we need to go then! Let’s roll those dice and see how well our vent sneak goes!

Best of luck!

D20 rolls 20. Critical Success!

You effortlessly jump from your doorway to the coffin thing, to the vent, and slip in like letters into a mailbox. The Mole People in the corridor don’t even know there’s anyone here.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/08/20(Tue)06:46 No. 1096154 ID: 127310
File 172416157272.png - (17.13KB , 700x700 , u11p2.png )

The smell in here is not lost on you. Thankfully, the high ceiling of this room probably helps contain it, or something, since it hasn’t spread beyond it as far as you know.

The centre of the room is home to many a carelessly discarded bone. Most small. Some larger.
There are also some other seemingly meaningless odds and ends here.

A Mole Person shuffles towards this room. You can hear it.

Hmm, could we hide around the corner? We might not be able to sneak past him, but we can at least get the jump on him if he misses us on the way in.

Hide, they'll probably just carelessly discard a bone and then leave.

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/08/23(Fri)09:36 No. 1096355 ID: 127310
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>Hmm, could we hide around the corner? We might not be able to sneak past him, but we can at least get the jump on him if he misses us on the way in.
>Hide, they'll probably just carelessly discard a bone and then leave.

…

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/08/23(Fri)09:36 No. 1096356 ID: 127310
File 172443099201.png - (21.12KB , 700x700 , u12p2.png )

You sock the hapless mole person directly in the side of the face and it crumbles to the ground. In a very non-lethal way, of course. Your record continues to stay clean.

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/08/23(Fri)09:36 No. 1096357 ID: 127310
File 172443099609.png - (19.94KB , 700x700 , u12p3.png )

Before you struck the mole person, it was carrying a length of green fabric. A tie. Not unlike the ties mandatorily worn by those who sit in the Lower House. Exactly like those, actually.

Confirmation we’re on the right track. Excellent~ Is there any way to track where that thing came from? I can only assume more twists and turns lie ahead, so the further we can get without guesswork, the better.

Hmm, none of the bones on the floor look ministerial, right?

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/08/27(Tue)06:44 No. 1096552 ID: 127310
File 172476626755.png - (19.76KB , 700x700 , u13p1.png )

>Hmm, none of the bones on the floor look ministerial, right?

You’ve never seen the inside of a minister before. Your experiences tell you that some of these bones are human, or close to human, however.

The tie still looks mostly clean, which it wouldn’t be if it was handled by too many mole people. It must have been removed recently.

>Is there any way to track where that thing came from? I can only assume more twists and turns lie ahead, so the further we can get without guesswork, the better.

You burst boldly into the next room, since that’s obviously the most recent place the tie came from.

The most immediately noticeable features of this room are the mole people along the floor. Asleep, about as deeply as the fella you knocked out. There’s room enough to get to every exit without stepping on a potential hostile.


Speaking of exits, not counting the one you just emerged through, there are four in total.


The leftmost has sounds like you’ve never heard coming from it. There’s also a trail of detritus and lesser rot trailing from that one to the one you’re standing in.

The next is silent, but you can make out a peculiar and pungent smell coming from it.

The next is silent, and has no identifiable odour. It’s definitely darker in there than any of the other rooms, though.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/08/27(Tue)06:44 No. 1096553 ID: 127310
File 172476627033.png - (19.50KB , 700x700 , u13p2.png )

The final exit, directly across from the one you’re standing in, has a draught coming through it. The first echo of fresh air you’ve felt in a while, actually. You can also hear the occasional murmur.

Wiped prints of dirt track from where you’re standing to this exit.

Check out one of the rooms that would connect guy with the tie to here. Investigate the tracks in dirt door first.

>>1096553
Whoa that looks spookier than the other openings. Let's check it out.

The rot trail clearly leads to their charnel pit. If the Minister is there, we don't have much time before they kill him. Best to prioritize it.

Also, in all likelihood, the dark, odorous passageway is their dumping grounds. Ulikely to find him in there, unless he really, really favours hiding tactics over hygiene.

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/09/02(Mon)07:32 No. 1096829 ID: 127310
File 172528757352.png - (24.23KB , 700x700 , u14p1.png )

>The rot trail clearly leads to their charnel pit. If the Minister is there, we don't have much time before they kill him. Best to prioritize it.

Perhaps, but what does that make the other room you were in before? The other voices have spoken, I’m afraid, but you’ll leave a mental bookmark on that opening.

You hope that if the Minister is in there, he’ll be able to hold his own until you show up.

>Investigate the tracks in dirt door first.
>Whoa that looks spookier than the other openings. Let's check it out.

Alright. You head through the spooky opening.

Intersecting the corridor you now walk through is another tunnel, full of mole people on both sides. You quickly head beyond that so that the mole people don’t realise you’re there.

Now you come to a fork. Noise emanates from both tunnels ahead of you.

On the left, the cacophonous shuffling of what you can only assume to be mole people. The occasional vocalisation you’ve been hearing before too.

On the right, a cheerful humming. You’ve never heard a mole person hum before.

You must choose a path. Unless you choose to go back and investigate something else instead.

The humming seems ominous. Well, admittedly both seem ominous, but I somehow find it hard to believe that the Minister, in his predicament, would be cheerfully humming.

Either way, it seems better than lunging into a den of Mole People for now. Head right, and pray that it's the Minister.

If it's not the minister then it should at least be someone you can question. stalk the hummer.

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/09/06(Fri)05:41 No. 1097039 ID: 127310
File 172562646569.png - (22.12KB , 700x700 , u15p1.png )

>Head right, and pray that it's the Minister.
>If it's not the minister then it should at least be someone you can question. stalk the hummer.

You head carefully into the room on the right.

In this room is the hummer, a lady musing over some marks on the wall and making a cheerful noise while doing so.

Her black and red attire tells you that she works for the Hazard Association, which is like this organisation dedicated to categorising and ranking different hazards. Although it’s not officially affiliated with the government, it is generally respected by the government and community alike.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/09/06(Fri)05:41 No. 1097040 ID: 127310
File 172562646886.png - (20.80KB , 700x700 , u15p2.png )

“Oh, hey.” she says “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

You ask her your burning question.

“No, no, I haven’t seen the Minister. He’s actually why I’m here though. Since he disappeared, we need to re-evaluate the catacombs’ hazard level.”

You can see that she’s carrying a clipboard with some notes scribbled on it.

“I still haven’t seen everything here yet, so I can help you look if you want. Reckon the Association would get that kind of thing done faster than the pollies anyway.”

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/09/06(Fri)05:41 No. 1097041 ID: 127310
File 172562647147.png - (17.68KB , 700x700 , u15p3.png )

You look at the wall she was inspecting before. The marks actually seem to be drawings. You didn’t know that mole people had it in them to draw. You didn’t think that they knew about most of the things they’ve drawn here.

Compare notes, what has she seen out of the ordinary so far. And what does she make of this diagram.

An ally! Yay! Do we get to learn her name? Or shall she remain a nameless HA member in our eyes? As for game plans, we should definitely catch each other up on what we know. Being on the same page information-wise is the first step to successful collaboration~