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Obscil
Feb 28, 2012

PLEASE LIKE ME!
B

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Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



Just so I don't have to jump between pages:

A
B x
C x
D x
E x

Arkanomen
May 6, 2007

All he wants is a hug
B
Suffer not the Heretic

Wentley
Feb 7, 2012
C

He might be another investigator. Learn first. If he requires punishment we will not shrink from it, but let us not turn our backs on knowledge.

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!







He's already scared, let's work with that.

Grognan
Jan 23, 2007

by Fluffdaddy
D

It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people.
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"

Globofglob
Jan 14, 2008
C

No harm in questioning him. We can kill him at any time.

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc
D Ask his mother out to a nice lobster dinner and never call her back.

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous
I wonder if a solo version of good cop bad cop might work. Channel the inner machine to scare him straight at first to interrogate him, and then focus on our humanity, let him think he managed to get on our good side, and question him politely.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



my dad posted:

I wonder if a solo version of good cop bad cop might work. Channel the inner machine to scare him straight at first to interrogate him, and then focus on our humanity, let him think he managed to get on our good side, and question him politely.

You also have Megabite.

I leave it up to you as which one would be the good cop.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



Grognan posted:

D

It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people.
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"

Correct! 40 XP

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous

LowellDND posted:

You also have Megabite.

I leave it up to you as which one would be the good cop.

Changing my vote to E=D+C

Use binary to tell Megabite to act as scary as possible without actually injuring the merchant. Be really polite to the merchant, occasionally 'restraining' Megabite, while off-handedly mentioning that Megabite is a bit overeager since he didn't get a chance to dismember any miscreants for days.

(I'll mention the change in my first vote, but won't edit it out.)

Pinche Rudo
Feb 8, 2005

D then E. Interrogate him then servitor him. Waste not, want not.

McSpanky
Jan 16, 2005






Colonel Wood posted:

D then E. Interrogate him then servitor him. Waste not, want not.

+1

paragon1
Nov 22, 2010

FULL COMMUNISM NOW
D I think we just found the serial killer that one of our relatives tried to pin on some guy he murdered!

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous

paragon1 posted:

D I think we just found the serial killer that one of our relatives tried to pin on some guy he murdered!

Yup. Now imagine if we can talk to him long enough to get evidence that our cousin lied to the master and commander of this here fine vessel?

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



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

K, looks like we are edging towards violent interrogation (possibly with good cop/bad cop), with an option of a new servitor at the end.

Vote still open, I just like running polls :D

HiHo ChiRho
Oct 23, 2010

D Good cop bad dog works.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

my dad posted:

Yup. Now imagine if we can talk to him long enough to get evidence that our cousin lied to the master and commander of this here fine vessel?

This

MaliciousOnion
Sep 23, 2009

Ignorance, the root of all evil

HiHo ChiRho posted:

D Good cop bad dog works.

Sogol
Apr 11, 2013

Galileo's Finger
E. Always time to shoot him in the face next. First ask:
"What exactly does this look like?"

Then some follow up questions. Then shoot him in the face. One thing is certain. He is not innocent.

Kira Akashiya
Feb 2, 2013
B

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Maybe he is doing good work here and needs help. Let's hear him out.

Lanky Coconut Tree
Apr 7, 2011

An angry tree.

The angriest tree

my dad posted:

Changing my vote to E=D+C

Use binary to tell Megabite to act as scary as possible without actually injuring the merchant. Be really polite to the merchant, occasionally 'restraining' Megabite, while off-handedly mentioning that Megabite is a bit overeager since he didn't get a chance to dismember any miscreants for days.

(I'll mention the change in my first vote, but won't edit it out.)

This

ArbitraryTA
May 3, 2011

Grognan posted:

D

It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people.
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc

my dad posted:

Changing my vote to E=D+C

Use binary to tell Megabite to act as scary as possible without actually injuring the merchant. Be really polite to the merchant, occasionally 'restraining' Megabite, while off-handedly mentioning that Megabite is a bit overeager since he didn't get a chance to dismember any miscreants for days.

(I'll mention the change in my first vote, but won't edit it out.)

This. Except let's take a realistic gauge of "injury". Missing a few fingers won't kill him, will it? He's already in poo poo creek.

By popular demand
Jul 17, 2007
Probation
Can't post for 11 hours!

Cannon_Fodder posted:

This. Except let's take a realistic gauge of "injury". Missing a few fingers won't kill him, will it? He's already in poo poo creek.

"The Emperor and Lord sire both demand answers. Yield quickly and you might keep what digits you have."

Obtuse Angol
Apr 28, 2010
Just wanted to say I'm loving your writing, OP. You've managed to capture the over-the-top grotesqeuery of WH40K, but leavened it with a self-awareness and wit that's often lacking in tales of that grim, dark future.

Having just finished (what there is) of Gormenghast, I've got high hopes that you can provide my fix of byzantine machinations and awful-people-doing-awful-things-but-still-being-pretty-amusing for the foreseeable future.

One minor criticism, though. If possible, when choices are being made about things like character/skill progression could you provide more explanation of the mechanics and consequences? Thanks to a misspent youth I know enough about the 40K universe and P&P RPGs in general to get by, but the first few pages of character build discussions were borderline incomprehensible and nearly put me off the thread entirely.

Actually, not really even a criticism as far as I'm concerned, as I'm a lazy, lurking type and am content just to watch from the sidelines, but it might dissuade some of the more active posters who would join in but for their lack of knowledge.

Sogol
Apr 11, 2013

Galileo's Finger

Obtuse Angol posted:

Just wanted to say I'm loving your writing, OP. You've managed to capture the over-the-top grotesqeuery of WH40K, but leavened it with a self-awareness and wit that's often lacking in tales of that grim, dark future.

Having just finished (what there is) of Gormenghast, I've got high hopes that you can provide my fix of byzantine machinations and awful-people-doing-awful-things-but-still-being-pretty-amusing for the foreseeable future.

One minor criticism, though. If possible, when choices are being made about things like character/skill progression could you provide more explanation of the mechanics and consequences? Thanks to a misspent youth I know enough about the 40K universe and P&P RPGs in general to get by, but the first few pages of character build discussions were borderline incomprehensible and nearly put me off the thread entirely.

Actually, not really even a criticism as far as I'm concerned, as I'm a lazy, lurking type and am content just to watch from the sidelines, but it might dissuade some of the more active posters who would join in but for their lack of knowledge.

I am also enjoying the writing and the flavor of the ship/world a lot. I have not yet popped for the bux to get the source material, but I kind of like picking things the consequences of which are completely opaque to me and learning in practice.

By popular demand
Jul 17, 2007
Probation
Can't post for 11 hours!

Obtuse Angol posted:


Having just finished (what there is) of Gormenghast,

Just wanted to recommend "Gloriana" by Moorcock, it was written as a tribute to gormenghast.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



Obtuse Angol posted:

Just wanted to say I'm loving your writing, OP. You've managed to capture the over-the-top grotesqeuery of WH40K, but leavened it with a self-awareness and wit that's often lacking in tales of that grim, dark future.

Having just finished (what there is) of Gormenghast, I've got high hopes that you can provide my fix of byzantine machinations and awful-people-doing-awful-things-but-still-being-pretty-amusing for the foreseeable future.

One minor criticism, though. If possible, when choices are being made about things like character/skill progression could you provide more explanation of the mechanics and consequences? Thanks to a misspent youth I know enough about the 40K universe and P&P RPGs in general to get by, but the first few pages of character build discussions were borderline incomprehensible and nearly put me off the thread entirely.

Actually, not really even a criticism as far as I'm concerned, as I'm a lazy, lurking type and am content just to watch from the sidelines, but it might dissuade some of the more active posters who would join in but for their lack of knowledge.

Thank you! :3: I'm pleased with how the human terrain is coming out, and now that you are in the Deeps, I can start showing off all my notes of factions here. (I have a background in political science, so this is my thing :D) One thing that I really liked about Gormenghast is the pointless ritual/ritual detached from original purpose, which we saw some of with the Tribes of the Batteries (the Rite of Cleansing and Ritual of Strength), and just recently in the Full Processing of the Heretics. Ive got a couple of big Anthro books on my desk that I plan to shamelessly steal from also.

I do think I should clean up the OP, its a mess of a character sheet, and we're more focused on the story. One reason I haven't given much detail on the game mechanics themselves is, well, I don't know them. :derp: I look them up when they occur during a specific scene, or a question (What is a Cyber Mastiff?) but beyond that, my systems mastery is quite poor. One thing I can (and did) do immediately is the OP now has a "please turn to page 4 unless you want system discussion" which I think will help keep new people. I also think its funny to have votes with misunderstood consequences.

Thanks again for the review!

Meanwhile, our vote has tended towards good cop bad dog, so I'm brainstorming on what the Relic Merchant has to hide.

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

Loel fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Sep 26, 2014

Sogol
Apr 11, 2013

Galileo's Finger
In terms of influences I was sort of imagining the Peake playing out with family on the ship and Kafka playing out in the faceless unassailable bureaucracy of the Inquisition. Just a guess.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



Sogol posted:

In terms of influences I was sort of imagining the Peake playing out with family on the ship and Kafka playing out in the faceless unassailable bureaucracy of the Inquisition. Just a guess.

True, I do need more Kafka. I think as you get more noticed by your Inquisitor, we can bring that to bear. Reading Eisenhorn's trials (war40k novels) has a certain appeal to it.

Loel fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Sep 26, 2014

paragon1
Nov 22, 2010

FULL COMMUNISM NOW
SO I have been thinking, and I've decided that if we have to look all meaty then can we at least get some kind of auto-injector to put all kinds of rad space drugs into our meat?

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
+1 space drugs. Some sort of grim dark cocktail of speed, adrenaline and lsd that'll turn you into an enraged orang-utan. Inject into Flours

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

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



Ill be honest, I'm really pleased with how this one came out.

Good cop. Bad Dog!

If anything, his expression worsens, assuming a green nauseous color, when he hears you chanting the sacred binary of the Machine-Cult. He’s already falling back into the kneeling as Megabite crouches and snarls, barely held back by your whirring augmented arm. “Oh merciful Omnissiah, you are a Family Tech-Priest. I have always served, milady! … Oh God-Emperor. I know you. Everyone knows you. You lead the heretics to the Full Processing.” His face is awash in tears. “I have always served.”

“Shut up.”

He nods rapidly, still crying, his face a mess of disgusting organic fluids. You can smell the elevated emotions coming off of him, terror nearly off the scale. “You are hiding something. A loyal member of the Imperium would be happy to see representatives of Order here.” You pull a snarling Megabite back again, her face nearly entirely composed of thousands needle sharp teeth. “And Megabite hasn’t dismembered any miscreants for days.”

“Yes milady. I mean, no, milady… I am a loyal servant of the Imperium. My family has served yours for as long as written records have existed. We were here on the first Founding. We fought in the battle of the Kraken…” You cut off his babbling with a sharp gesture. “The Machine Cult always needs more organic tissue. The Emperor and Lord-Sire both demand answers of you. Yield quickly and you might keep what digits you have.”

He nods quickly, staring up at you, his entire body quivering in terror. You are fairly sure his wastes have flushed, but it’s hard to tell in a place like this. “Now. You said this isn’t what it looks like. What does it look like?” He licks his lips nervously. “That I’m the Butcher. That I’ve been the one killing all those folks.” Your eyes narrow. “What folks?”

His expression has a moment of surprise. “You don’t know? How can you not know? The Family did an investigation of it, executed someone for it. But the murders haven’t stopped.”
“Why haven’t I heard about it?”
“... We were told explicitly that the issue had been resolved. That any further incidents were ‘dreg problems’. Nothing is going to be printed after that. The Issue Had Been Resolved.”

“Of course. So you all just stopped talking about it.”
“Yes, milday. We are loyal to the Family.”
“Who do you think is doing it?”
“Who can say? The current rumor is some sort of terror weapon by the gangs, but the killings have been going on since before the current war. I try to avoid the politics of those above me.”

“And you? Who are you? What are you doing here?”
He tries to smile ingratiatingly. If anything, it makes him look worse. “I am Za’kerah, milady. I sell holy Relics to the pilgrims.”
“Oh, you just have a mauseolem tucked away somewhere that the Church doesn’t know about? Bones blessed by the Bishop?”
His smile becomes sickly. “Not as such. But there are always bones somewhere. The important thing is they believe it, right? That’s what faith is about.” Za’kerah pauses to throw up. Apparently he never expected his little con to be discovered.

“How did you find out about these bones? This is the middle of nowhere.”
“Ah. I … overheard … a small tale from another table. They said,” he closes his eyes, changing his voice and intonation, “A new source of materials has been stashed at the old house beyond the third refuse pile.” His voice drops to its normal timbre. “So I thought I would check it out. And then you found me, and here we are. All loyal subjects to the Lord-Sire.” He tries to smile again.

If you had a heart, it would beat faster. “Who were they? What did they look like?”
He pauses, biting his lip. “I’m not sure, milady. Servitors all look the same to me.”

A Well, that was a nice series of lies he gave you. Wrap this up, discredit Cruentus, process this cultist-serial killer.
B You need more information. Have Megabite sit on his chest and growl while you examine the bodies. You kind of remember your Biologis classes.
C Call Woodhouse, have him act as an intermediary to the Gangs. He knows the Deeps well, and won’t step on any toes.
D This whole thing was a waste of time, you need to be looking for cultists, not scammers and a Gang slapfight. Follow up on the original leads.
E Something else

Wow, nicely done. You got like 5 successes on Inquiry, and nearly did as well on Intimidation. Some of the best rolls of the game so far.

And yes, the Gangs have many, many drugs for sale.

Loel fucked around with this message at 13:04 on Sep 27, 2014

mepstein73
Sep 18, 2012

Whether or not you find your own way, you're bound to find some way. If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago. I imagine by now it's quite rusty.
B, because it's always good to get a refresher on such things.

Lanky Coconut Tree
Apr 7, 2011

An angry tree.

The angriest tree

mepstein73 posted:

B, because it's always good to get a refresher on such things.

HiHo ChiRho
Oct 23, 2010

mepstein73 posted:

B, because it's always good to get a refresher on such things.

This guy is of more use to us alive. We can use him against Cruentus and another way for us to find the actual murderer.

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Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
B, it hurts nothing to examine the bodies.

E, Can we ambush whoever is actually coming for these bodies?

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