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RandomPauI
Nov 24, 2006


Grimey Drawer

Tran posted:

A&E: Stall for time, provide just enough truth to keep them interested. Treat this as a hostile interrogation until they offer up something concrete to confirm they work for Kozilek. Their knowledge of Mother is somewhat reassuring, in that it narrows down the field quite a bit. However, they're still a very real and present threat until confirmed otherwise.

This gets my vote

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VanSandman
Feb 16, 2011
SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER
Time to quit playing the idiot tech-priest. E+A.
Immediately cease our babbling. Ask for clarification regarding the entities known as "Mother" and "Abraxes." Also ask for any proof, any at all, of their identity and more importantly that of their employer. Freely admire their handiwork disabling your security, but once we've regained control, suggest politely that it's time for a more equitable chat, as we are quite prepared to go to war in our own house. However, war is a destructive business. If they offer proof of their identity such that it is clear their boss is also our boss, admit that we have no proof as such of contact between Limosa and either entity but would be more than happy to fabricate some if they so desired.

Pirate Radar
Apr 18, 2008

You're not my Ruthie!
You're not my Debbie!
You're not my Sherry!
A+E, the first question is past and the jig is up. Drop the dummy act, and politely and respectfully ask them to identify themselves before the discussion continues--and just to be safe, part of our question should be to feign ignorance of those two subjects for now. When we regain control of our security systems, let them know, politely and respectfully. They are, at least, very well-informed, and they have earned some courtesy from us.

Tran
Feb 17, 2011

It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.
As an aside, I'd like to compliment you on how well produced this game has been Lowell. A lot of CYOAs end up with the protagonist ending up sort of schizophrenic, but Ohone actually seems fairly coherent. Paranoid, ruthless, and sociopathic, but coherent.

Pinche Rudo
Feb 8, 2005

D+A

By popular demand
Jul 17, 2007
Probation
Can't post for 7 hours!

Tran posted:

A&E: Stall for time, provide just enough truth to keep them interested. Treat this as a hostile interrogation until they offer up something concrete to confirm they work for Kozilek. Their knowledge of Mother is somewhat reassuring, in that it narrows down the field quite a bit. However, they're still a very real and present threat until confirmed otherwise.

Edit: If they do prove their loyalty to the boss, give them everything on a formatted and summarized dataslate. Progress reports, notes on Mother and all interactions, biological data on the psider, all available information on Limosa's movements, and of course detailed reports on Abraxus' cult and eventual banishment. For a competent tekpriest this should take a fraction of the time necessary to actually relay any of that verbally.

+1

Kegslayer
Jul 23, 2007

Tran posted:

A&E: Stall for time, provide just enough truth to keep them interested. Treat this as a hostile interrogation until they offer up something concrete to confirm they work for Kozilek. Their knowledge of Mother is somewhat reassuring, in that it narrows down the field quite a bit. However, they're still a very real and present threat until confirmed otherwise.

Edit: If they do prove their loyalty to the boss, give them everything on a formatted and summarized dataslate. Progress reports, notes on Mother and all interactions, biological data on the psider, all available information on Limosa's movements, and of course detailed reports on Abraxus' cult and eventual banishment. For a competent tekpriest this should take a fraction of the time necessary to actually relay any of that verbally.

A + E as well and this is a good plan. They still haven't formally identified themselves and for all we know, they could be part of Limosa's trap so we shouldn't throw him under the bus just yet.

Ask them to provide the necessary security credentials to access both knowledge of specific warp entities and the relevant Imperial authority to access military intelligence relating to the war effort.

If they have the legal authority then give them a dataslate but make sure the information is heavily encrypted. An Imperial Rosette or verified Inquisition codes should override any of the Imperial security protocols we possess so even if they do turn out to be fake, we can at least cover our rear end and protect our data.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Tran posted:

As an aside, I'd like to compliment you on how well produced this game has been Lowell. A lot of CYOAs end up with the protagonist ending up sort of schizophrenic, but Ohone actually seems fairly coherent. Paranoid, ruthless, and sociopathic, but coherent.

Thank you! Im trying my best to work with the source material - and the fact that I have great players helps :D

A
B
C x
D x
E
A/D x x x x
A/E x x x x x x

Pirate Radar
Apr 18, 2008

You're not my Ruthie!
You're not my Debbie!
You're not my Sherry!
We the players definitely seem to have a scattershot approach to skills rather than a coherent build or class progression.

Lowell, I have a question that can totally wait: in a future update, can we get a reminder or rundown of the sum of our assets? Thinking about Megabite again made me think about all the friends we've made or bits of loot we've picked up, so when tackling future challenges it might be nice to be sure of all the tools at our disposal. And of course, our equipment requires upkeep and our social assets come with their own obligations. What can we do to shore up the alliances we've made?

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Chantilly Say posted:

We the players definitely seem to have a scattershot approach to skills rather than a coherent build or class progression.

Lowell, I have a question that can totally wait: in a future update, can we get a reminder or rundown of the sum of our assets? Thinking about Megabite again made me think about all the friends we've made or bits of loot we've picked up, so when tackling future challenges it might be nice to be sure of all the tools at our disposal. And of course, our equipment requires upkeep and our social assets come with their own obligations. What can we do to shore up the alliances we've made?

Sure! Its actually the top of my outline notes

Retinue

1 Jeb
bloody wet coughs

1 Fluuors Cat
toxic claws

1 gunslinger Tanya
blond adolescent punk

1 Cyber Bullpup Megabite
stryxis implants

1 Riding Servitor

1 Dana Skully Servoskull (from pilgrim)

12 (twelve) unnamed servo skulls
use as scout perimeter
modular properties

1 Sergeant Matthais
possible romance with PC
in training for techpriest

1 master sergeant kraig
father militant

1 xeno cloak device
loaned to Amacita

Resources

15k troops, divided into 3 regiments
focused on tech, currently in training

HQ and lab on golgotha

secret lab in between (cryonics, processor, security system)

weird poo poo: vial of damork serum, psider brain

allies:

high technician/elders of Tribes

gang lords in the deeps (three groups)

captain astri of the grey cloaks

amacita, cousin/quartermaster

magos on the beast

enemies: Limosa (astropaths/navigators)

Devries (comissar, vulture, snake, electrorpriest)

Abraxus (demon of slannesh)

associates:

Lord Sire

Inquistior Kozilek

General Quint

Magos Ram

Mother

quests:

Get money for Lord-Sire

Cultivate local nobles for Lord Sire

Win reputation for Lord Sire

Find labs for Magos

I think thats all of it.

Loel fucked around with this message at 08:25 on Feb 3, 2015

Esper
Nov 23, 2004
Killed a baboon, once.

VanSandman posted:

Time to quit playing the idiot tech-priest. E+A.
Immediately cease our babbling. Ask for clarification regarding the entities known as "Mother" and "Abraxes." Also ask for any proof, any at all, of their identity and more importantly that of their employer. Freely admire their handiwork disabling your security, but once we've regained control, suggest politely that it's time for a more equitable chat, as we are quite prepared to go to war in our own house. However, war is a destructive business. If they offer proof of their identity such that it is clear their boss is also our boss, admit that we have no proof as such of contact between Limosa and either entity but would be more than happy to fabricate some if they so desired.

Sounds good to me.

Waci
May 30, 2011

A boy and his dog.
A+E, Plan VanSandman.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



And all the masks fall away

You could feel the temperature drop at the naming of a warp creature. Memories flickered through your brain, unwillingly. Hundreds of corpses, smiling in death. Dissection tables and xeno implants. The loss of Woodhouse, of Fluors. Could you smell ozone? The flickering of golden eyes at the edge of your vision?

A voice that vibrated in your bones?

Rapidly and almost without thought, you activate the security systems, bring them to bear. A cultist would know as much as an inquisitor, and you wanted no chances. Almost below the range of hearing, the humming of energy banks spooling up, vents ready to disperse lethal chemicals, horrific mixes of light and sound that would tear apart a standard human. Not to say what would happen to someone infected by a Damork.

One of the guardsmen shifted, a faint startlement. They made no other reaction, though - you felt that they were very cold, very professional people. The one that startled had a mild expression of surprise, and respect. It was almost too faint to tell, but your heuristics were trained by the best - understanding human unconscious cues was a central part of your core programming.

Other than that, though, they seemed utterly blase about the whole thing.

“Dangerous words.” You said. “Dangerous names. You understand my precautions.” The words hung in the air, outlined by the memory of those names, and you continued. “You were quite skilled in disarming my security, but understand that you are speaking of Anathema in my own house. Do not think I won’t go to war on this.”

After a moment, the one in the center spoke. “Quite reasonable. We would have been disappointed if you had not. I am going to reach into my pocket. Initiating conflict will … go badly.” The figure slowly reached downwards, and there was a moment of crystal tension. The guardsmen were watching you, fingers half on the trigger, and your security systems strained in anticipation. And then the figure pulled out what you had been half expecting.

An Inquisitorial Rosette.

The face was still warped by the disguise modulator, but your brain had been picking at it. It was almost human, now, and the voice that came out was familiar. Sarcastic, irascible, old. You nodded to yourself, having won the bet, and the figure continued. “I am Inquisitor Kozilek.” You let that hang in the air for a moment, and said, “That does appear to be the Rosette, but how do I know you are Kozilek? There are many Inquisitors, and many who serve them.”

Was there approval in that voice? It was hard to say. “You were made my Throne Agent approximately six months ago. You have sent transmissions to this location,” he rattled off the datapoint, “and you have shown considerable success in dealing with the Enemy.” You nodded. “Very well, then. I have continued my research in this matter. I am going to place it in a data slate and hand it to you.”

Slowly, you reached for the device, shrieked binary for a space of time. Even though you both had revealed yourselves, the innate tension of deeply wary creatures had not lessened. As such, every movement was slow, exaggerated, even narrated. Without it, a sudden move could activate any amount of muscle memory or security mechanisms.

Even without any gunfire, you felt more in danger then in some of the battles you had been in.

The data transfer complete, you carefully handed the dataslate over. In it was all your notes, memos, speculations, analysis. It was all the information you wouldn’t trust to the Astropath, wrapped in the most powerful crypto and self destruct mechanism you could manage. Everything you had collected on Mother, biological data on the psider, Limosa’s habits and movements, and detailed reports on the Abraxus’ cult. It was quite comprehensive, including various amounts of footage, photos, maps, recordings. With that accomplished, you said

“I have no data supporting Limosa’s reaching out to either the Warp Creature or Mother. However, I will be happy to fabricate some if needed.”
The Inquisitor grunted. “Has he made any contact with xeno? Does he work with nonhumans?”
“It seems likely. He is known to favor Eldar wine.”
A flash in the eyes, almost faster than you could follow. You wondered what emotion went through him, rage, hunger?

“Repulsive. Humanity should destroy them at the first opportunity. I’ve long said that Warrants of Trade should be surrendered to the Inquisition, we know what to do with xeno.” He spat the word. You waited silently as he continued.

“We should have done this long ago, but we frankly expected you to die to the cult. Give me your hand.” When you outstretched it, he grabbed it in a viselike grip. His companion held out a stapler of some sort, implanted a device deep in your wrist. “Electoo print. If you need to show someone you are an Agent, use that.

“Now. You’ve done more in six months then most of my agents do in a century. I am granting you this.” He placed a device on your palm with his other hand, clenched your fingers over it. “Do not reveal it unless it is the most dire circumstances. Not your life. Not the life of a city. The most dire.

“You are to make Limosa your highest priority, but do not reveal your affiliations. He is under suspicion of the Inquisition. He has powerful allies, more than I can summon here now. Find out what’s he’s doing. Get proof. Don’t think you can just wave your rank around and solve the problem.”
Interesting. A question rose in your mind. “Inquisitor? Is that why you questioned him?”
You almost missed it, but it was there. A flash of surprise.
“Don’t question the methods of the Inquisition. Do your duty, Interrogator.”

Where do we want to focus next?

A Rage - Find Devries / prioritize Limosa
B Avarice - Go make money for the Lord-Sire
C Pride - Work on your own aggrandizement
D Envy - Head to Gamma for the Magos Lab
E Something Else


Only had to use one fate point, so that worked out

Waci
May 30, 2011

A boy and his dog.
A. What's the point of making the family rich if we let it drat itself while we do it?

Sogol
Apr 11, 2013

Galileo's Finger
Ok... Edited out my late vote.

D


Clearly we need to go make some money with Limosa both investigating him and eliminating De Vries in the process, which is A, B & C as one set of actions.

Probably the Magos first though.

Sogol fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Feb 3, 2015

Tomn
Aug 23, 2007

And the angel said unto him
"Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself."
But lo he could not. For the angel was hitting him with his own hands
A+B. Potential Chaos, from a psyker, at that, is a major issue that needs to be dealt with. I'd really like to handle the Mago's requests while I'm at it, but we're in a tricky position here - we've already been responsible for the downfall of one of our rivals, and if we knock off another one, and the leading heir at that, without doing a lick of work to benefit the Family, the Lord-Sire may begin to suspect us of overweening ambition and ruthlessness - which would be fatal.

So, do something to keep the Lord-Sire happy. Pour a few Thrones into his lap so that he is satisfied with our conduct. We don't care only about ourselves, we care also about the Family, and there is no need to put us down as a threat just yet.

Lanky Coconut Tree
Apr 7, 2011

An angry tree.

The angriest tree
Sloth - Sit in our den and play video games

RandomPauI
Nov 24, 2006


Grimey Drawer

Tomn posted:

A+B. Potential Chaos, from a psyker, at that, is a major issue that needs to be dealt with. I'd really like to handle the Mago's requests while I'm at it, but we're in a tricky position here - we've already been responsible for the downfall of one of our rivals, and if we knock off another one, and the leading heir at that, without doing a lick of work to benefit the Family, the Lord-Sire may begin to suspect us of overweening ambition and ruthlessness - which would be fatal.

So, do something to keep the Lord-Sire happy. Pour a few Thrones into his lap so that he is satisfied with our conduct. We don't care only about ourselves, we care also about the Family, and there is no need to put us down as a threat just yet.

I'm voting with Tomn again

Ralith
Jan 12, 2011

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
Plan Tomn I really don't want Devries to get a foothold, and continuing to get in good with the inquisition seems prudent. Tomn's right about staying balanced, though.

What did he put in our palm? It wasn't the electoo, and I can't see any description other than "device".

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





Tomn posted:

A+B. Potential Chaos, from a psyker, at that, is a major issue that needs to be dealt with. I'd really like to handle the Mago's requests while I'm at it, but we're in a tricky position here - we've already been responsible for the downfall of one of our rivals, and if we knock off another one, and the leading heir at that, without doing a lick of work to benefit the Family, the Lord-Sire may begin to suspect us of overweening ambition and ruthlessness - which would be fatal.

So, do something to keep the Lord-Sire happy. Pour a few Thrones into his lap so that he is satisfied with our conduct. We don't care only about ourselves, we care also about the Family, and there is no need to put us down as a threat just yet.


Close.



Go after Devries & Limosa with an eye towards confiscating their wealth and income streams for the Lord Sire

Three birds, one shotgun.

Sogol
Apr 11, 2013

Galileo's Finger
Overweening ambition and ruthlessness are positive character traits.

Ralith
Jan 12, 2011

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
We'll not be getting the Lord Sire's favor if we don't show some willingness and ability to benefit the family as well as ourselves, and we'll be far more useful to the inquisition long term if we have that favor.

Tomn
Aug 23, 2007

And the angel said unto him
"Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself."
But lo he could not. For the angel was hitting him with his own hands

Sogol posted:

Overweening ambition and ruthlessness are positive character traits.

Oh, in the world of 40K, agreed. As long as it's not pointed at you. And if we steadily knock off our rivals without benefiting the Lord-Sire...well, what is he to think of our next target? Would it not be himself, now that we are in the best position to benefit from his death?

We need to show enough ambition to want to become his heir, but not enough to want to off him and expedite the process. We need to show enough ruthlessness so that he'll know we'll get the job done, but not so much that he thinks we'll go after all our personal ambitions the same way. We need, in short, to convince him that all we want to be is the perfect officer under his command - talented, decisive, ruthless, and yet loyal and dedicated to the needs and goals of the Family.

It'll make it all the easier to take him down once he thinks that.

Tran
Feb 17, 2011

It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.
A > B: We need to make some money to keep Lord Sire happy, but when the inquisitor tells you something is your top priority it better goddamn be your top priority.


Ralith posted:

What did he put in our palm? It wasn't the electoo, and I can't see any description other than "device".

They stapled the electoo on, but he also gave Ohone a token of some sort. I suspect a personal symbol of his that can be used to show we act with his authority.

Waci
May 30, 2011

A boy and his dog.
Basically we got a promotion, and a badge.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



A x
B
C
D x
E x
A/B x x x x

VanSandman
Feb 16, 2011
SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER

jng2058 posted:

Close.



Go after Devries & Limosa with an eye towards confiscating their wealth and income streams for the Lord Sire

Three birds, one shotgun.

Devries, let us murder horribly. Limosa, let us blackmail. It is my belief that there are multiple agents of the Inquisition at play in our own dynasty, and that our Inquisitor may be using us to take out the agent of another - Limosa. The last thing we want is to get caught in a war between two inquisitors. That's how minds and dynasties are broken.

White Noise Marine
Apr 14, 2010

A - B
We need to get these two thorns out of our side, and make some cash also.

Pirate Radar
Apr 18, 2008

You're not my Ruthie!
You're not my Debbie!
You're not my Sherry!

Tomn posted:

A+B. Potential Chaos, from a psyker, at that, is a major issue that needs to be dealt with. I'd really like to handle the Mago's requests while I'm at it, but we're in a tricky position here - we've already been responsible for the downfall of one of our rivals, and if we knock off another one, and the leading heir at that, without doing a lick of work to benefit the Family, the Lord-Sire may begin to suspect us of overweening ambition and ruthlessness - which would be fatal.

So, do something to keep the Lord-Sire happy. Pour a few Thrones into his lap so that he is satisfied with our conduct. We don't care only about ourselves, we care also about the Family, and there is no need to put us down as a threat just yet.

Yes, this.

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

LowellDND posted:

1 Jeb
bloody wet coughs

Poor Jeb. We should do something nice for him, like installing cybernetic lungs.

Edit: Plan Tomn

What was the second device given to Ohone?

Green Intern fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Feb 3, 2015

Kegslayer
Jul 23, 2007
Voting A.

Before he leaves, can we tell him about Devries and his Xenos sneaking on the ship? Someone helped Devries get passed both imperial and the Beast's internal security and now there are Xenos hidden among our ranks.

That way if Devries seeks out Limosa for help we'll have more rope to hang him by since consorting with Xenos is a big no no

If we have time we should ask Amacita and perhaps the Magos what kind of protection and favours Limosa has. An inquisitor should easily be able to :commissar: someone like Limosa since he's not even a Rogue Trader but the fact that Limosa is protected is a major concern.

More importantly, how did Amacita know that Limosa was being questioned by the Inquisition?

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
B

I'm honestly not trusting of Amacita, even though you placed her under allies. She's far too trusting to survive in this family, something is up with her.

We want to ensure that our bread is buttered with the Lord Sire regardless. We know what happens to those who fail in their duties.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Kegslayer posted:

More importantly, how did Amacita know that Limosa was being questioned by the Inquisition?

The other stuff Ill answer in post, but this I can answer now - she just sat in the room with Limosa and listened to them while using the xeno artifact.

Its basically an invisibility cloak (possibly with downsides), its awesome.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

LowellDND posted:

The other stuff Ill answer in post, but this I can answer now - she just sat in the room with Limosa and listened to them while using the xeno artifact.

Its basically an invisibility cloak (possibly with downsides), its awesome.

Didn't we find her while she was holding it? Is it a SEP field generator or what?

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Volmarias posted:

Didn't we find her while she was holding it? Is it a SEP field generator or what?

Yes, essentially. When you used it on the crawl to Abraxus, the firefight/rioters completely ignored you.

You did have a muted/grey effect though, and it did have some addictive properties.

Its probably fine though :)

JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

LowellDND posted:

Yes, essentially. When you used it on the crawl to Abraxus, the firefight/rioters completely ignored you.

You did have a muted/grey effect though, and it did have some addictive properties.

Its probably fine though :)
As long as we don't use it on the reg it's probably fine, Amacita is probably way past the point of "my precious" with that thing

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



JT Jag posted:

As long as we don't use it on the reg it's probably fine, Amacita is probably way past the point of "my precious" with that thing

She did seem pretty distraught at not having it (you grabbed it when she was unconscious), and pretty much the only thing she's asked of you is getting it back.

So, that might be a thing down the line.

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous
One thing to rule them all, one thing to find them,
One thing to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them...

VanSandman
Feb 16, 2011
SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER
I'm convinced Amacita is playing us. If my plans had fallen apart horribly and I was in a Rogue Trader dynasty, the first thing I'd do would be to suck up to the 2nd most powerful heir and let them destroy heir numero uno while I rebuilt my power base slowly.

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Tomn
Aug 23, 2007

And the angel said unto him
"Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself."
But lo he could not. For the angel was hitting him with his own hands

Volmarias posted:

I'm honestly not trusting of Amacita, even though you placed her under allies. She's far too trusting to survive in this family, something is up with her.

I was initially inclined the think the same way you did, but if she's playing the long con she's playing the VERY long con - for the sake of the con, she was apparently willing to sacrifice decades worth of work and infrastructure in the form of Abraxus et. al. That's a pretty huge thing to set up and then throw down the gutter (and to taint yourself with by association) all for the sake of looking like a gullible idiot to one tech-priest who hasn't been involved in family politics for years. What, in the end, did she actually GAIN from the Cult?

It seems more plausible that she really is in fact that dumb and has been getting by purely through overuse of the xenos artifact. We shouldn't take her (or anything else) for granted, of course, but we can probably put her in the tertiary suspects category.

Unless she's a cultist of Tzeentch, in which case all bets are off. But hell, that's potentially true of everyone in the drat Imperium, isn't it?

Come to think of it, say, Lowel, whatever happened to the Explorer's Guild, anyways? Did they get caught up in the purges?

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