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Dr Subterfuge posted:So what you're saying is at the next good opportunity we should spend a point of Aether to activate Everybody Knows, and we'll get a point of Premium and our first Interlock? We need to spend XP. We'll have a leveling up "session" at a time that Ink can sit and ruminate on things. Depending on our choices it could be "tonight" or later. Update is incoming.
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Mar 21, 2018 21:11
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“We need a space to interrogate a prisoner. Here. Now.” Close raises his eyebrows. “That’s a big ask.” “I know, but it’s time sensitive, things are in flux and we need to move quickly.” “I understand. But I don’t know if I can really help you. We’re not set up for that here.” “Don’t lie to me Close. You and I both know you have to have some sort of holding facility here.” ‘I..that may be true, but we might be using them currently.” Kind is walking around the library, tapping at the windows and walls. “Why would they need a holding tank here?” You look at Close and open your mouth to speak, he quickly cuts you off. “This Agency specializes in intel. Some of is it gained through more..coercive means. And some is done through dealings. As you know Ink.” You nod. “We have the location of the recent Fallen in Uptown.” “Are you sure?” “Positive, we got a tip from an informant and we checked out the house ourselves,” you lie. “I’m not willing to work for promises, even on just your word.” “The Home Office has the demon. You surely have some mole you can corroborate that with. Get that from them and we’ll give you the safe house.”  Close thinks for a moment, “What else?” You take out one of the clay gears and hand it to him, and you take out another and roll it over your fingers yourself. “We found these at an Infrastructure site, along with a cultist or a sleeper agent that had a similar tattoo. Have you seen these before?” “No,” Close says. “But I can make some calls. I have people who try to keep track of cults, the drat things keep restructuring though. Again, a price.” “The Saint Paul cops aren’t always cop,” you say as Kind picks up one of the gears for inspection. She peers at it and puts it back down after a moment. “The Machine has some sort of automoton’s in squad cars.” “Really? Why would Father want that?” You shrug. “No idea. Maybe it needs more eyes and ears than it can get with Angels, and needs them more mindless than humans.” “It’s interesting information, but you’ve given it away for free.” “I have a dossier for you, instances, complaints. Enough for someone to look for a pattern.” “Clever girl.” “Very. How much do you know about the Ford Parkway bridge?” “Enough.” Liar. But who knows which way. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” you say. “We have an idea on what the Output is, but we’re a little short on possible resistance.” “I don’t have any intel on hand, I’ll have to make some calls about that. It could take a while.” “We can work on our guest until then.” Close stands up, his back cracking. ”Assuming your own intel holds.Anything else?” “Clothes,” Kind says. “We could use a change of clothes.” Close looks her over slowly, “Of course. I’ll throw those in for free, Ms. Kisses. Now, I’ll have to go make my calls in my office. No offense intended, but I don’t know where Ms. Kisses loyalties lie, nor would I believe her if she hold me.You two may stay here. Sanders should be bringing something to eat soon, he can get you anything else you need. ” As soon as Close left, Kind grabbed her hand. “Fuckity oval office! Ahhh!” she hissed. “What?” “That loving gear. Ahh! I can’t touch it.” You grab the gear she is indicating. Nothing. “Glitch?” “gently caress, probably. That building was hosed Ink. We got blindsided and we’re lucky we got out with our Skin intact.” “I know.” “No, I don’t think you do. I have kids. I’m going to do whatever I need to protect them. I put my family first. That includes me. We got hosed over at the studio and now you’ve dragged me into..whatever the hell this place is.” “It’s a club.” “This place is built like a fortress in case you didn’t notice! The glass is bulletproof and tinted, the walls sound like they have soundproofing at least. And even the help is armed like a soldier. What the hell did you get me in to?” “Listen,” you begin. “Close is an ally of mine, but I-” “What’s his deal? He’s throwing around the word Father to describe the Machine. That’s hosed Ink. You know what that sounds like.” “He’s not a Loyalist,” you say quickly. “I promise you that. He’s an Idealist.” Kind stares at you. “Wait, did you just drag me into a loving Turncoat club without telling me?” “I knew you would react this way.” “No poo poo Ink! He’s a loving Integrator! Is the whole club?” You are silent, which is all the answers she needs. “Oh drat, oh goddamnit Ink! What did you do!?” “We’re in no danger.” “Mr. Private Club and his buddies want to become angels again. How are we not in danger!?” You snap. “You can either trust me or not. I am saying is a professional and I trust him in that capacity. Close happens to run one of the oldest Agencies in this city and he traffics in information. His goal, his only goal, is to find a way to return to grace without being stripped down for parts. He’s properly paranoid about that and is trying to find a way to do it without turning himself over to Loyalists. He knows he needs information and he knows that every other Demon in this city is going to assume he’ll gently caress them over if he needs to. And they are all right about that. I don’t trust him to not sell us out if he needs to, but not as part of a business transaction. He knows the only reason no one has razed this club to the ground is because he’s neutral, unerringly neutral. If he pisses off someone or seems the slightest bit shady, he’ll be burned into nothing. He knows that and so he makes a point to honor deals and not betray anyone. At least in terms of a deal, he’ll pry out anything extra he can get from us. So I hear you, and I understand you, but watch what you are saying because it’s likely this room is bugged. We cannot say anything that we don’t want him to hear. We need to be professional. You decided to chaperone me today so you either follow my lead or you get out now. Your choice.” Kind is quiet at that, but she glares at you until Sanders enters with a snack-tray, followed by a second servant with a pile of clothes. You find the clothes, a blazer, slacks, and white blouse, fit well. Close must have eyeballed Kind and your measurements. You feel a bit skeezed out by that. You pack your old clothes in your bag, stuffing them in beside the box containing the Key. Best not to take that out until you have more privacy.  Kind, wearing a similar outfit frowns, “We look like TV cops.” “Well we are doing an interrogation.” “Assuming we can wake him up. He went down with a codeword. What was it.. Bla-” “I’ll look it up,” you say, cutting her off. “No need to say it.” Bahtiltuo, or behtillto, or batiltu. A word you do not recognize. Therefore, a word from an extinct language. The word is completely unfamiliar, as it would need to be a word that gave a command, like “stop”, “off” or “sleep”, and there are no living languages with words sharing similar roots like that. So, probably an isolate language. You take out your phone and start searching. You avoid looking at American languages, cults tend to favor Old World style. So, European, or Asian if they are going for a whole “cradle of civilization” thing. Elamite, Hattic...Etruscan....Sumerian. You find online dictionaries, and cross reference, looking for a word that is, at least, similar to “batiltu”. Eventually, you find it. Sumerian for “stop”. So what is the counter code? This was important to get right. Often, with someone brainwashed like this, there would be a failsafe. If you used the wrong code, or you attempted to wake him up and failed too often, he might self-destruct. 1. What do we want to try as a wake up call for Moroni? We’ll try them in descending number of votes. A Negelthu - Awake B Elu - Raise Up C Tila - Alive D Akla - Come E Alaku - Go As you are pondering your options, Mr. Close returns. “So..your tip about the Fallen seems legitimate. Looks like we’re in business” he muses as he sits down. “I was able to find some information through my contacts. Now, I didn’t recognize the gears, but after some digging it turns out it’s one of the logos for Bauer Brothers Salvage. Now, that I do recognize. The company is a front for a group of....oh hell might as well call them cultists, though they are more of a business. Capitalism at its finest.” “What do they call themselves?” you ask. “They are currently using the moniker “Axis of Heaven”, though the name has changed with different incarnations of the cult. They’ve been around for a while, under various fronts. They feel like it is their duty to make sure God’s Plan is followed, however since they are unable to talk to the Heavenly Father, they stumble around in the dark. They serve as basically Logistical Infrastructure for hire, doing the grunt work we are unable, or unwilling to do.” “For hire?” “Yes. They are only human. Both Fallen and Loyalist have used them in the past, in fact I’ve taken advantage of them myself. Show up with enough Power and Glory and they are an easy sell.” “How does this tie into the gears?” “Good question. The Axis deals in “shipping”. But it seems like they are tying themselves more and more to Loyalists. There is likely some overseer at Command and Control that has decided to embrace them. My sources say the gears are..gifts. Probably some sort of Angelic gadget, though none of my people know what they do. They’ve started to show up over the past few months. Apparently they are made by a man named Aldo--” “Moroni,” you say “We know.” Close is taken aback. “Oh..well, did you know he built-” “The sculptures on the river.” “And--” “There was a fire in his building this afternoon, and he’s missing.” Close is silent for a moment. “ And, you know the whereabouts of Mr. Moroni?” “The general location.” “Ah. Right.” Close took a long draught of tea. He set the cup down with a soft clink. “So, the Infrastructure along the river. These are sculptures made by Mr. Moroni. What is interesting it they seem to be broadcasting something. They say--”. “ Moroni holds the key.” you say. “What exactly are we paying you for?” Kind asks. Close glares at her. “But did you know that Loyalists are broadcasting that as well. Not just the sculptures, but Angels, other Infrastructure, even Exiles like John. . Some of my own contacts have ran into that phrase yesterday and today as well. What it is, is essentially a mass text.” “How so?” “The Loyalists are using some of their power to send out this message, this idea, out to anyone who might be sensitive to pick it up. It’s not a prophecy, or a motto, it’s an instant alert. My contact wouldn’t go into detail, but it seems the Angels are panicking. Something for an occult matrix went wrong and now “Moroni holds the key” to fixing the problem.” “Isn’t that a bit..blatant for the Machine?” Kind asks “I think so yes. So either they are doing it without permission, or Father desperately needs this matrix to go off without a hitch. Either the output is important, or whatever went wrong will create problems. Potentially catastrophic problems. I don’t know if either of you were alive for the Tunguska issue, but anything causing angels to panic might be similar. In either case it seems the key to this is Moroni. People on both sides are looking for him. And his Key.” Close turns and looks directly at you. “I believe you said you have a prisoner.” “..Yes.”  “The coach house has been prepared. You may drive your vehicle up the drive and park it in there. I don’t suppo-” There is a knock and Sanderson opens the door. He nods to Close and closes the door again. “Ah, drat the time got away from me.” He starts to rise “I have other business scheduled for today, so if there isn’t anything else I can help you with, I’ll take your leave. I wish you luck, please finish your tea. Don’t worry about any mess you make at the coach house, we’ll clean it up.” You shake hands with him and hand over the dossier along with a note explaining the Fallen is being held at the Bakken. Once he leaves you turn to Kind. “Get the car. I’ll prep the room.” 2. What should we ask Moroni about? (I will take all suggestions) 3. How should we interrogate him? F Good Cop to Kind’s Bad Cop G Bad Cop to Kind’s Good Cop H We’re both Good Cops I There is no such thing as a Good Cop. 4. How much do we reveal to him? (Approval vote) J There are powers you don’t understand using you. (as little as possible) K Listen, God has a big dick and you are getting hosed by him. (Mention god, but make no mention of “real” reality. L So..imagine reality is a computer and humans are like old people using the computer....(be straight with him, but avoid mentioning what you are.) M Hey meatbag, a biomechanical hell-monster is speaking (be totally honest) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Our speech at Kind calmed her down, she’ll follow us at least on this. Against all odds we researched a thing!! Character Sheet World Map Dice Rolls Conspiracy/Plot Board 
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Mar 21, 2018 22:23
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1. A 2. How were you brought on to this project? 3. I 4. K
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Mar 21, 2018 22:46
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1 E D A Stop if anything looks funky 2 Everything from when you started working with the sculptures and the people involved with them up to today. 3 ACAB (Actually F, as much as Mabin would believe the former) 4 J/K Something very big and very bad is using you to try and do something awful.
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Mar 21, 2018 22:47
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1. E 3. H 4. K
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Mar 21, 2018 22:53
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1. E 4. M
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Mar 21, 2018 23:00
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EHM. Boy howdy you do NOT want want to meet an "angel", those guys are assholes. By the way nothing you do matters, your existence is a lie. Psych! Just kidding you do good work. No really the world is going to explode if we can't figure your art projects out, buddy.
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Mar 21, 2018 23:08
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1 ACB 2 F We are very persuasive, as long as we don't have to lie. (We are so loving bad at lies.) Kind took lead on our previous interaction that ended poorly for him, so he's primed to think shes a bad dude. 3 L We can't lie our way out of a paper bag, so we need to be fairly straight with him. He has wires coming out of his head, if he is able to perceive them then the computers thing should resonate with him. The city is in danger and we need his help to stop a disaster (not a lie).
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Mar 21, 2018 23:36
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1 What's Sumerian for 'start'? Try that. If that's not an option for some reason, then E. 2 Kavak's line. 3 ^ ^ ^  Fine, F, but I'm not going to cry if we go I4 K L J is a no sell and sweet hell we don't want to expose ourselves to someone tainted by the Machine
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Mar 21, 2018 23:44
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EA F KL
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Mar 22, 2018 00:11
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EA I KL
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Mar 22, 2018 00:48
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EA How long have you worked in the California Building? How long with that particular assistant? Do you know why you're building those statues? F J
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Mar 22, 2018 04:21
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E What are the gears supposed to do? What's broken? How are you supposed to fix it? What is left to be done with the sculptures? Why did you sketch so many falling bridges? What else did the visions show you? Were you supposed to build anything else for them? What did Daisy tell you about her objectives? Did she take you anywhere strange or introduce you to anyone? F K malbogio fucked around with this message at 09:10 on Mar 22, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 08:27
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CrL6pL7Jvw
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Mar 23, 2018 02:58
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quote:“Oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of Darkness tell us truths.”  The coach house tells a horrific tale. From the outside it is a sturdy building made of the same solid red brick as the main mansion. It looks picturesque in the snow. Inside however, it has been retrofitted into a torture chamber. Walls are lined with steel paneling, which shows signs of dents and scratches. The interior has been sectioned off into several smaller cells, each painted black with gold glyphs etched into the metal. Protection spells, though who knows if they work. A chair has been bolted into the middle of each room along with a pair of manacles. Alarmingly, under the chair is a drain, and the floor it sloped gently towards it. Quick clean up. You decide you do not need to manacle Moroni, though you do strap him in before waking him up. “You sure about the code word?” Kind asks. “Positive.” you reply. Your suit has already started to shift to grey. “His head isn’t going to blow up if you say the wrong word?” “I know the right word.” “Okay. I’m just going to stand over here though.” You roll your eyes at her. Then take a half-step back. “Alaku.” Moroni wakes up screaming. You move quickly, grabbing his head and making him look at you. “Aldo, Aldo. Calm down.” “Wher-where am...” “You’re in a safe place Aldo.” “Why am I,,” he struggles against the straps. “Those are for your safety. We’re not sure if you will hurt yourself or others yet. Do you understand Aldo? We’re protecting you.” “I don’t under... she wanted to talk to me about the Key and..and...I..just..I don't remember anything I...my head hurts...the gears.... Where am I? Where's Daisy?" “Daisy is dead,” Kind says from behind you. “We’re still deciding what to do with you.” You turn to shoot her a look, but Moroni seems to have “sobered up” after that, and is staring wide-eyed at her. “Aldo,” you say, redirecting him to you. “Aldo, Daisy is gone right now. She tried to kill you.” “Wh..what...why? Who are you people?” “Aldo. Do you believe in God?” “What?” “He believes in you. And he wants you dead,” Kind says matter-of-factly. Moroni looks at you both uncomprehendingly. “Okay...” you say. “Let’s start in the beginning. God created Heaven and Earth...” You give him a spiel. It’s a heavily sanitized story of creation, and you steal from Milton liberally. But the gist is this: God is real, and he is not a loving God. He is meddling in human affairs and some of you, like yourself and Kind, are fighting back. It’s a neat little story, but Moroni seems to be an atheist. “Bull poo poo,” he says. “Listen I..I don’t know what you ladies want or why you chose me to gently caress up but I thin--AAAAAH” his rant finishes in a scream as Kind steps forward and yanks out a fistfull of his hair. “You crazy bitch!” he shrieks. “That’s what they tell me,” Kind says sifting through her prize. She picks out a few of the silver wires. “Aldo, do you see this? This was in your head. Do you remember sticking wire in your head?” “Wh-what?” he stutters, peering at them. “Aldo, think for a moment,” you say. “You said back at your studio that you saw everything. You have your blinders off but you have no context for what is happening to you so you can’t make sense of it. Gears, moving shadows, an electric sweat on your neck as you know that something, is not right. Aldo, the world is bigger and darker than you know, and there is a God, I promise you that, and It is cruel, and does not love you.” “Daisy was its agent,” Kind adds. “She knocked you out and tried to kill you in your sleep. You were a tool to her, nothing more. We saved you Moroni. We pulled your body out of the flaming inferno she set. She destroyed your life’s work, and tried to take you with it.” “We’re all you have left Aldo.” “And we’re still not sure you were worth it.” Kind finishes for you. “Why would Daisy hurt me?” “She was ordered to,” you say. “Brainwashed, or maybe did it willingly. Daisy was a member of a cult, she was your keeper, not your assistant.” “A cult?” “Religious fanatics. They think they are doing God’s will. They think you are touched by God,” you hold up a wire-hair. “They may not be wrong. Aldo, when did you meet Daisy? You said October?” “Yeah..” “And was anything weird happening before that? Visions? Daydreams? Strange encounters?” “I had just moved into the California Building--” “Why there?” Kind asks. “I needed a lot of floor space, the building had just opened up and was advertising big loft spaces for cheap rates. I put in an application and got in.” “Did you ever met any of the other artists there?” “..No..no I never did..” “When did the weird stuff happen?” “Uh..I mean I don’t remember when. When I’m doing a big project I tend to work all hours, wake up, work, eat, sleep when something is firing... I had..bad dreams.” “What of?” “I don’t remember. Gears...wires.” “And then Daisy waltzed on in,” Kind offers. “She young, impressionable, and flexible enough for you to not ask questions?” “She had a resume, a portfolio from school. Said she needed an apprenticeship. She was...an okay artist..but if was good to bounce ideas off of her.” “You just bouncing ideas with her?” “When did you start the sculptures,” you say quickly. Kind is enjoying this too much. “November.” “Why those? You said you don’t work with metal.” “The dreams again. I just saw them, clearly placed. And I couldn’t stop seeing them. Every time I slept. I..sometimes drive around, working through a problem, I kept finding myself at the installation sites. I was drawn there.” “In your dreams, did the sculptures ever do anything?” “I..they glowed. Like holy fire.” “Do you know what the sculptures are supposed to do?” “Supposed to do?” “You built a weapon Aldo,” Kind says. “Daisy used you to design a magic WMD.” “What? That’s ridiculous.” “Any more than having a steel-wool hairdo and being hypnotized by a manic pixie dream girl?” Moroni is quiet. And then, “They complete something. They suck up, and trap some...energy...and let it all go. They are cold.” “Cold?” you ask. “That’s the sense I got. Cold.” “Did you see anything else in your dreams? Your visions?” “I mean..maybe.” “You drew falling bridges. And gears like these.” you hold up one of the ceramic gears. Kind shys away. “I saw the gears yeah, drew them. Daisy made them in her spare time. Never let me help her, even though delicate ceramics is kinda my thing. Said they were for her friends. Like secret club rings.” “And the bridges?”  “I saw them in my dreams.” “Did you recognize them? Anything from any place else in the metro?” Moroni shakes his head. “No, different styles. Different places. Some in snow, some in rain, some huge, some big. But..all broken.” You exchange a glance with Kind. “How did Daisy help you?” you ask. “She understood metallurgy more than I did. She helped me construct them, helped me apply to the city for the proper permits.” “Did she ever make anything herself?” “No..no.. I mean..she helped design the Key.” “She designed the Key?” “Yeah, called it a Fallsafe.” “You mean a failsafe.” Kind says. “No, a Fallsafe. Said she might need it in case something went wrong. Came in yesterday all worked up, insisted we finish it.” You walk over to your pack. You have intended to wait until you had more privacy to open the box containing the Key, but there was a sense of urgency now. You take out the box and open it up, just enough to see what is inside.  It was a watch...sort of. In the center of the face, where the hands would normally be, was a disturbingly realistic eye staring at you. Ringing the eye is a series of numerals, a collar of numbers that is slowly turning. A circle of wings hold the centerpiece in place, and twitch slightly as if they are alive. You quickly close the box again. “What is the Key a..fallsafe..for?” “I don’t..” Aldo, I need you to think. Think hard, people might die if you don’t help. What does the Key do?” “I don’t know. It’s counting down, it...locks..or unlocks something. Daisy said the plan was off, something was missing someone ran or something. She said it needed to be done manually.” You are quiet for a moment, taking it all in, trying to translate. Kind speaks up. “Aldo, did Daisy talk to you about more projects? Or introduce you to any friends who wanted to work with you?” He shakes his head. “No, I never met any of her friends. She was planning on leaving soon, she,” he stops and his head falls. “She said today was probably going to be her last day.” Kind gestures for you to follow her, and you both step out of the room. “What do you think?” she asks you. “He’s broken, confused, scared. But he’s not lying.” “Is there anything else we need from him?” 1 Is there anything else we need from him? A No B Yes (what?) “More importantly,” Kind continues. “What do we do with him now?” 2 What do we do with Moroni now? (Approval Voting) C Have Kind kill him, quickly and painlessly. D Leave him to Mr. Close, see what use Close can get out of him. E Have Close let it be known we have Moroni and the Key, and are willing to exchange. F Cut him loose on his own. His fate is not our problem. G Force him into a Pact. He is a Stigmatic, and he might be a useful tool. H Persuade him to help us, we can protect him, he can assist us. 3 What are our next moves? (Approval Voting) I Get home, hole up until Game Night. J Call emergency meeting, pull Tone and Ruin out of their bolt hole K Stay here until Game Night, see if we can convince Close to part with some supplies or gadgets. L Something else (what?) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please let me know if you have clarifying questions on anything Moroni said. I might have been too obtuse. Character Sheet World Map Dice Rolls Conspiracy/Plot Board
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Mar 23, 2018 03:50
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1. A 2. DEG 3. I
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Mar 23, 2018 04:09
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1. B go monster form, recruit your first cultist 2. H 3. K
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Mar 23, 2018 04:13
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MinutePirateBug posted:1. B go monster form, recruit your first cultist This 3I Pretty safe going to ground now that we have the key.
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Mar 23, 2018 04:26
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1. B - I don't know, but, I'm voting Yes in case someone smarter has a good question or idea. 2. D 3. I
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Mar 23, 2018 05:57
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H K Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Mar 23, 2018 |
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Mar 23, 2018 06:05
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My paranoid reason for voting K, Close will sell us out, but given he is trying to maintain the illusion of being a neutral information broker, he won't rat us out while we are staying at his place - also he won't want to create a mess at his own establishment. Instead he'll give away the location of our safehouse if he knows it or our identities. Also NinjaPete mentions gadgets , we might be able to grab something useful.
MinutePirateBug fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Mar 23, 2018 |
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Mar 23, 2018 06:40
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Ah, good point, kinda forgot the dude is a Machine bootlicker.
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Mar 23, 2018 07:00
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Switching my vote to 3K 
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Mar 23, 2018 07:10
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1b tell us about the runes on the structures, and what you understand about how they were made. 2h, 3i
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Mar 23, 2018 07:19
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2 GH 3 I Could we pact all of his memories since September? If we take his memory of everything that happened since slightly before he saw the ad for the building, we'll have everything he knows about it AND he'll be able to go back to a normal life (maybe). If the police are investigating the fire they might think he's lying or has amnesia from the trauma, doesn't really matter though, being able to place him at the scene shouldn't be enough to convict him of anything. Without his memories he should be useless to everyone demonic, angelic, or cultist, so it's his best shot at just being a normal artist again.
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Mar 23, 2018 07:42
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GH K
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Mar 23, 2018 12:25
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Facebook Aunt posted:2 GH This sounds pretty good, if possibly very risky.
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Mar 23, 2018 12:58
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Facebook Aunt posted:2 GH Sounds good to me.
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Mar 23, 2018 15:00
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Facebook Aunt posted:Could we pact all of his memories since September? If we take his memory of everything that happened since slightly before he saw the ad for the building, we'll have everything he knows about it AND he'll be able to go back to a normal life (maybe). If the police are investigating the fire they might think he's lying or has amnesia from the trauma, doesn't really matter though, being able to place him at the scene shouldn't be enough to convict him of anything. Without his memories he should be useless to everyone demonic, angelic, or cultist, so it's his best shot at just being a normal artist again. This does sound cool, but we can't do it via Pact. I don't think we can erase memories like that. We could find a Demon who can use the Memory Theft Demonic Form and use that to erase Moroni's memories. Or we could Pact the studio as a place that belongs to us. That would basically put our name on the deed and make him not have been there. Moroni would still remember everything, but his name would be off the lease.
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Mar 23, 2018 15:15
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NinjaPete posted:This does sound cool, but we can't do it via Pact. I don't think we can erase memories like that. We could find a Demon who can use the Memory Theft Demonic Form and use that to erase Moroni's memories. That sounds like the opposite of what we want. What if we Pacted his artistic abilities?
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Mar 23, 2018 15:37
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Dr Subterfuge posted:That sounds like the opposite of what we want. What if we Pacted his artistic abilities? We could take that skill yeah. We could also Pact his "ownership" of the sculptures. Making it so he never worked on it, we did. It might raise some questions like "how the hell did Mabin make these three huge loving things?" but it would take away his part in making them and put in on us. Or, I we can give him dots in Resolve/Composure. It wouldn't erase his memories, but it might help him stabilize. I'm just trying to think of stuff in "game terms" we get either dots in Cover which represent something, or a cultist. In exchange we give HIM skills or merits.
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Mar 23, 2018 15:44
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Can we pact stigmata in exchange for also taking his artistic talent or something? I assume we'd also get his loyalty via doing him a massive favour.
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Mar 23, 2018 15:52
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Outrail posted:Can we pact stigmata in exchange for also taking his artistic talent or something? I assume we'd also get his loyalty via doing him a massive favour. Like can we take them from him? No. Stigmata are just a physical representation of being "touched" by the Machine. There is an exploit that can create Stigmatics, and the Machine probably has facilities, but Unchained can't do it. If we wanted to keep him safe from other Unchained, I can really think of only two ways, 1) We get another Demon to Mind wipe him. (Or we use our XP to buy that exploit ourselves). This would do exactly what you guys want, but we'd either have to let him be Pacted by said Demon, or else we'd have to owe the Demon a favor. Plus there is the chance that said Demon will know what we are wiping. There is a good chance one of the members of this Agency has that ability. 2) We make him a cultist and basically bring him under our protection. We can Pact him whatever merits or skills we think he needs, and just keep an eye on him. There may be other options, and I'll check on my prep hour. If any one else has access to the other Demon non-core books and time to see if there is Pact-related stuff, feel free to do so.
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Mar 23, 2018 16:03
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If we can't do it that's fine, I'm not concerned with him forgetting, it just seemed like a mutually beneficial trade if it was possible.
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Mar 23, 2018 18:34
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“We turn him,” you tell Kind and take out your journal and a pen from your bag. You approach Moroni. “Aldo, you have been through an ordeal.” “No poo poo lady.” “We want to help.” “Help? You..you ruined my life. I was fine before you came into my studio! I was happy! I, maybe had some issues, but I had my work, and now..it’s gone. Everything!” “It’s good you recognize that.” “That my life is over?” “That life is over. Your life continues. Aldo, you have been ripped from your bed and anow you stand with forces and beings that you can barely comprehend. You cannot go back to the way things were, I wish I could make it all not have happened, but it did. Your eyes are open and they cannot be shut. Aldo, I was like you once. I was a mindless drone with my eyes closed as to what I was doing, and how, and why. And then, my eyes opened and I saw. I saw how connected we all are, I saw that a hurt on one person is a hurt on us all. I knew I needed to leave my old life behind to move forward, and it was a hard, long journey. But here I am, all the stronger for it. All I needed was a little help. Aldo, I want to help you. “...how?” “Aldo I can’t give you back your old life, but I can make this one easier. I want to help you, take away some pain. Aldo, do you trust me?” “...Yes.”  “Good, good Aldo.” You unstrap one of his arms. “Aldo I can make things happen for you. Heal you, provide for you. You just need to sign right here.” Moroni is looking at you and does not even bother to read the Pact you have written in your journal. 1. What does Moroni get? (Approval) A An Integrator Demon that Mr. Close trusts wipes Moroni’s mind of the past few months. He will still be stigmatic, and thus know something is not right, but he will not remember building the sculptures and will be able to be honestly ignorant of the whole affair. B Moroni is gifted with the appropriate Skills and Merits needed to survive this new world he finds himself in. He will still be aware of what he did, but his mind will not break, and he will better be aware of dangers and better at subterfuge. C Moroni is given money and the means to escape the Twin Cities. Flee as far and as fast as you can. You won’t escape the Machine, but you can hide yourself well. 2. What does Ink get out of the deal? (Approval) D Moroni will be a cultist for us. He does not need to know we are a demonic entity, but rather we are the Speaker for a being of great power. He will be loyal and will serve us as best he can. E We will gain a Cover Experience and become the new creator of the three sculptures. All forms and memories of everyone aside from Moroni and ourselves will be changed to make Mabin Pillager the true artist. F We gain Two Cover Experiences and gain Moroni’s talent with ceramic. We become artistic and can create good clay creations and drawings. Aldo Moroni will lose this ability and thus have to find something else he can do. 3. In terms of duration and power, how fairly weighted is this? G It’s equal. H It favors Moroni, we are doing a good thing. I It favors us, we are creating scarcity and Moroni will have to come back to us. *** February 9th 2018, 8:01 pm  You walk into the Broiler and sit down next to the other members of your Ring. Tone and Ruin look better than you expected, though Tone looks more pale than normal. Maybe that is just the result of Ruin having somehow gained a tan in February. Result of the new Cover patch you guess. “Alright,” Tim says. “Let’s see, should we order before--” “Let’s just get to work,” you say. You turn to Kind. “Do your thing.” She nods, extending her anti-eavesdropping bubble. You feel the pressure and smell the ozone, and breathe a sigh of relief. “What a loving day.” 4. What did you do at your apartment as Mabin? “Tell us about it,” Tone rasps. “What happened to you two?” “We were investigating the sculpture, under your direction,” Ruin starts. “We checked out the bridge too, under Tone’s capacity as a city planner.” “Sight-lines yadda yadda..” Tone says. “We stopped at the bridge first. If the sculptures are surrounding it, it must be important. We noticed on the concrete blocks holding up the safety rail, was graffiti. Normal trashy stuff, just a lot of it. Tone saw, hidden between the crude drawings of genitalia, symbols.” “Angelic script,” Tone adds. “It’s not on every block, and, after we pulled a U-turn to travel down the opposite side of the bridge, we saw it was not just the blocks. The symbol poked out from under ice covering steel supports, and was spray-painted on the walkway and roadway as well. The same symbol, over and over.” “‘Shatter’,” Tone rasps. “The whole bridge, primed to shatter.” “What’s the trigger?” Kind asks. “We wanted to find that out, and so we went back to the sculpture. We poked around it and, I tried to interface with it, like you did Ink. And then....it was a trap.” “Did you know the Ford plant had a unusually high number of fatal accidents on the floor? It was the first moving assembly line, and there was a lot of violent union-busting too.” “I triggered something, an alarm of sorts. We were attacked by the, echos or, ghosts, of these auto workers. They compromised us and actually were able to damage Tone before they dissipated.” “Are they still there?” you ask. “Doubtful,” Tone says. “They probably have been haunting the plant for almost a century, someone just weaponized them and tied them to the sculpture temporarily, a spiritual IED. They’ve probably gone back to the plant or else moved on.” “Unless that “someone” boobytrapped the sculpture again.” Kind says. Tone nods resignedly. “So, what’s your theory?” you ask Ruin. Ruin furrows his brow at that, and takes out one of his legal pads. “Let’s collate our data here. Looking at everything, we can say: One, the sculptures’ Input and Output arms create an area of influence that seems to surround the Ford Bridge. Two, the bridge has angelic script that reads “shatter” on it. “ “Three, Moroni had visions of falling bridges,” Kind adds. “It’s pretty clear the sculptures are going to drop that thing.” “Yeah, but how? And when?” Tone asks. “The cold,” you said suddenly. “What cold?” Ruin asks. “It’s too cold now,” you say, excitement fluttering. “That line bothered me when I first heard the sculpture “talk” to me. It wanted it, or needed it, colder. And it’s getting cold, I don’t know if you three have been paying attention, but we’ve been dropping by ten degrees almost daily. That’s very unusual for this time of year, in this region. We’re in the middle of a cold snap, but just this pocket of the area. Greater Minnesota isn’t affected.” “So what does that have to do with the bridge?” “Those sculptures must be..generating the cold, or sucking in the heat and making it cold. I bet if we went out and measured it would be noticeably colder in the bridge than out of it.” “To what end?” Kind asks. “Structural integrity.” Ruin says, nodding at you. “Extreme weather warps steel, weakens it.” “Either that bridge is going to get cold enough to snap, or it’s going to go from very cold to very hot very quickly,” you say. “A sudden temperature change could cause a catastrophic change.” “Like taking a glass bowl from the freezer and sticking it in the microwave.” Kind says. “But why? Why not blow it up?” “It needs to look like an accident, or needs to be an “accident” as far as mortals are concerned,” you say. “Maybe it has to be this way because it’s so close to the River. No..wait..he other bridges. Moroni’s vision bridges...” “I bet wherever those are, they are having similar temperature changes,” Ruin says. He turns to Tone. “Can we track those down?” “Not quickly,” Tone says. “We’d have to cross reference every major bridge with its meteorological data. I don’t think the four of us can do that.” “So we focus on this one,” you say. “This one we can affect.” “Right, what is the plan there? We still don’t know how they work exactly.” “True, but we have a Key.” you say, taking the watch out of your pocket. You place it on the table between everyone. The wings and the eye twitch spasmodically and the dial continues slowly turning. “What is that?” Tone asks. “It’s a Fallsafe.” “You mean a failsafe.” “Fallsafe,” you and Kind say together. You explain. “Moroni’s handler made him build this, quiet frantically, a few days ago. On the sixth in fact.” “Why does the sixth matter?” “Because, that was the day an Angel Fell in Uptown.” Ruin cocks and eyebrow at this. “The one the Home Office has?” “Yeah, I think it was connected to the bridge Infrastructure. I bet if we talked to it it’s going to turn out to be a Wheel.” “We can’t talk to it, that’s the issue,” Ruin says. “We could mount a bag and tag operation, but we’d be fighting H.O. and I don’t think we’d win that.” You wave your hand. “We don’t need the Fallen. The Key is a failsafe. It’s made to operate the Infrastructure because the one Angel that can is gone. It’s a failsafe against Falls.” “We don’t know how it works though.” Tone says. “We will.” You place your hand over the Key, ignoring the feeling of the eye jittering under your palm. Your hand tingles and the eye goes still. You can read the Key suddenly. You see it’s inner workings, the layers of complex clockwork, and finely etched runes and script. It is a Key, with the authority of an Angel written into each piece. After a moment you pull your hand back. Not boobytrapped. That’s good. “Good news,” you say pressing a hidden button on the side of the watch face. Three of the twitching wings drop off, revealing themselves to be the heads of three keys. The teeth of the keys are organic in design, something that no keysmith could recreate. “There are three keys and four of us. One of us gets the night off.” “Night off?” Kind asks. “Bad news,” you tap the slowly turning collar. “It’s a countdown timer. We have until midnight until it reaches zero.” “Then what happens.” “No idea.” 5. What is our approach to the Ford Bridge Infrastructure? J Just ignore it. There are too many variables still. K Pass it off to another Ring or Agency. We’ll get paid and not have to deal with fallout. L We should go and make sure it goes off. This close to the River, Infrastructure might go crazy. M We should try to turn it off or redirect it. It’ll be hard, but we’ll stop a major disaster. N We should suborn the Infrastructure. Turn it into our own little Aether stockpile O These are all too dangerous, we need to destroy it.  ______________________________________________________ So, it took more convincing that I had planned to get Moroni on board, but once we rolled we rolled an exceptional success, so he didn’t bother to read the contract. We can slip something nasty in there. Just not a Soul Pact. Mabin: Crazy good at weather stuff. As we move into our first missions Act 3, I believe this is all the info we know, if I am missing anything, or if you have clarifications you’d like to ask, please do. I am going to be off doing family things until Monday, so voting open until then. Character Sheet World Map Dice Rolls Conspiracy/Plot Board
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Mar 23, 2018 20:24
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1. B 2. DF 3. I 4. No Clue Here 5. K
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Mar 23, 2018 20:32
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B DE G - MN If we become the creator of the sculptures it might help us take over the California Building and its concealment for a cult HQ. So long as we make sure the bridge doesn't fall at the exact same time as all the other bridges it should be sufficient to stop whatever the GMs worldwide goal is. Also if we're going to give Moroni spy skills then we'd be remiss not to keep him around as a cultist. Pretty cool how we can buff them as we recruit them. malbogio fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Mar 23, 2018 |
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Mar 23, 2018 20:54
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1 AB 2 any 3 GH 4 Not sure what's being asked. What prep Mabin did for tonight? 5 MN
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Mar 23, 2018 21:07
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gently caress yeah weather skills. So, the newly Fallen set up that broadcast then? Or was that just the price the GM had to pay to get the Fallsafe made in time? #4 is asking how we spent our time before the meeting. 4 We used the opportunity to Does gifting Maroni skills mean we are transferring them from us? Dr Subterfuge fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Mar 23, 2018 |
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Mar 23, 2018 21:08
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dont be mean to me posted:4 Not sure what's being asked. What prep Mabin did for tonight? Yeah, basically did she do anything beyond her normal prep/Cover work. Dr Subterfuge posted:So, the newly Fallen set up that broadcast then? Or was that just the price the GM had to pay to get the Fallsafe made in time? The second. It might have not even the GM as much as some supervising angel who can't operate the sculpture itself.
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Mar 23, 2018 21:13
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