(CYOA) Blake Island School of Magic (Shadowrun Fifth Edition)

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Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Voting for Kenji to help out, specifics to be determined by others who are more savvy than I.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2018 05:04

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:11

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I think it�s fine! The sudden timeskip was more disorienting than the fun stuff, and even that was fine.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2018 12:50

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Butt Discussin posted:

I disagree. Dog will be very useful - as soon as Kenji learns to control him instead of being controlled by him. That's what everyone keeps telling him, and what the spirit mentor class is all about.

I agree strongly with this.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2018 22:24

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Once again the benefits of an Etiquette build are apparent for all to see! :smug:

# ¿ Oct 23, 2018 13:13

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

ThatBasqueGuy posted:

F E N G S H U I R U N

# ¿ Nov 2, 2018 21:38

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I definitely lean towards calling Julian in at this point. This is exactly what he's discussed before - going off the reservation in small ways is one thing, but when it becomes life and death Kenji needs to put his trust in Julian or Julian will never be able to trust Kenji in return.

If we go in without Julian and Julian finds out later (and he will - there's no way a toxic shaman gets taken down quietly) that's the end of any freedom or flexibility that Kenji gets for a good long time.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2018 20:32

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Also holy poo poo I was NOT expecting this twist. Well written, Ice - I felt chills running down my spine as I read that section.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2018 20:53

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Podima posted:

I definitely lean towards calling Julian in at this point. This is exactly what he's discussed before - going off the reservation in small ways is one thing, but when it becomes life and death Kenji needs to put his trust in Julian or Julian will never be able to trust Kenji in return.

If we go in without Julian and Julian finds out later (and he will - there's no way a toxic shaman gets taken down quietly) that's the end of any freedom or flexibility that Kenji gets for a good long time.

Expanding on this because I can't stop thinking about it - up till now, Kenji's rationale (especially in the last update) for not calling Julian was embarrassment over how Julian made him look bad in front of Saanvi earlier in the day. But out of our three protagonists, one of Kenji's defining characteristics has always been self-preservation/canniness (look at his ACHE experience) - the ability to know when something is too big to handle directly, versus Fuzzy who would be more likely to just charge in. I think the time for that critical re-evaluation of his earlier emotional reaction to Julian is now, for the good of the run overall.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2018 21:06

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Dr Subterfuge posted:

I seems like you're saying "it would be awful if we don't tell him, so we shouldn't tell him" and, um, what?

I read it as "it would be bad if we don't tell him and he'll be useful so we should tell him"

# ¿ Nov 11, 2018 21:00

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

jagadaishio posted:

If we don't tell him, he might punish us. If we do tell him, he's probably going to preemptively torpedo the entire thing. So this strikes be as a question for whether we're going to try to resolve this problem at all, or abandon ship, because Julian has literally never let any of these kids risk their personal safety in any way except behind his back.

I really really really think that it is worth trusting Julian here, in hopes that he respects that we reached out to him and doesn't just jump to blowing it all up.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2018 21:28

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

jagadaishio posted:

But he's literally never not blown it all up. He helps the crew out when they need somewhere safe to stay, or needs help with a mental health crisis, or needs help with schoolwork accommodations, or needs an advocate when dealing with Horizon.

But he has literally never failed to completely flip out when someone was being a good samaritan, or using study drugs, or what have you.

He has always - without exception - erred on the side of keeping his wards safe. That's a perfectly decent and reasonable thing of him, and he's helped them immeasurably when that's helpful.

But when it comes to taking risks or doing something dangerous, he drops the hammer and tries to stop it every single time.

That said, I do think the best possible outcome would be telling Julian, him supporting them, and him rewarding that trust by using the bounty to expand the scholarship program for Sasha and Oli. I just think that him reacting that way would be inconsistent with his established pattern.

Serious question and refresh my memory: Has anyone ever gone to him before going into a dangerous situation and asked for help, or has it always been after the fact? Because I feel like that's the case.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2018 22:06

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Sidebar: This has been a great series of updates, and I've really enjoyed the discussion they've sparked. Good job all around!

# ¿ Nov 12, 2018 02:10

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Gun Jam posted:

Allright, here's a plan, since y'all want to try and capture him alive:
We have Julie make the call - beause 1) she's the one that have yet to get into fight with Julian 2) It's her home, so her problem - unlike Kenji and Fuzzy, he can't tell her to go back to the island and forget about it 3) Is the one who can say "If you expel me for doing it? fine"
She'll tell him that there's a toxic mage, he's attacking people (including Kenji), and that we are planning to do something about it ASAP. But since assaulting toxic mages at their lair is a risky affair - they'll be happy to to hear if he got advice, or if he can send help. Now, even if he forbids them to do anything, fine - there's the millita, they will try and brute-force their way in, and hope for minimal losses.
That way, we hopefully get him to commit to come and help (Or, at least - OK the crew to do something, in hope that it will not result in a bloodbath)- the millitia isn't answering to him.
Note - overall goal is to get him to help/approve of us acting - if he tell us he'll take care of it, and we stay home, fine. If we miss out on the bounty - it's not worth getting thrown outta school over.

Aside - while we wait to him to come over, call Min Yun - extra firepower aside, we can use the time to get Kenji's talk with her. Also, get Pink and Fuzzy to talk.
(We need the full crew to make plan, so in the meanwhile).

And lastly, Rita. Julie needed Marco to take pictures of her home (per our meal in the ward), so she wasn't free then - she's still not in the picture, or did that change in the week since?

I do really like the idea of having Julie call Julian, for the reasons laid out here. What do people think?

# ¿ Nov 12, 2018 23:18

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Oooooh boy. :f5:

# ¿ Nov 13, 2018 17:49

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

gently caress, Min Yun went in hot. This is going to be bad.

e: ^^ lmao

# ¿ Nov 30, 2018 04:00

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Oh man oh man oh mannnnnnn. This is intense.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2018 20:29

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

What an incredible string of updates this has been!

# ¿ Dec 3, 2018 18:16

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Dr Subterfuge posted:

Going back and looking at things from the legwork phase and holy poo poo how did I not notice how funny this exchange was the first time I read this.

I actually missed the implication there on my first readthrough, nice.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2018 01:14

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Hahahahaha absolutely excellent, topnotch. Julian just got owned and loved it.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2018 03:23

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

You accidentally used Julian instead of Julie at one point in that update, FYI. Still, very nice!

# ¿ Dec 7, 2018 05:25

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

listen, then shoot

# ¿ Dec 9, 2018 15:29

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Deadmeat5150 posted:

I just realized she is probably either a dragon or a free spirit. The real Marie le Blanc is rotting in a trash heap and has been for a while. She's not visibly Awakened so there's no other way to really explain this Vulcan Mind Meld thing going on.

Does dreamwalking not exist as a thing in Shadowrun?

# ¿ Dec 12, 2018 03:25

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

jagadaishio posted:

Monkey would literally push Kenji to give his enemies fair warning and never deceive them, and Fuzzy to never sneak, ambush, or hunt, instead always issuing challenges.

Monkey is cool, but he's a terrible choice for this group.

I'm agreed 100% with this. Dragonslayer is my strong preference, since yes it pushes our group into being more active/aggressive, but that's already the direction we were going anyways.

Dog would also be fine, but we already have an "in" for Dog storywise so it's just doubling up. Similarly, Chip is kind of boring!

# ¿ Feb 5, 2019 00:38

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

JUST MAKING CHILI posted:

Oh yeah on that note - always tell Julian everything and lean on him for advice now that we know some of his background.

Absolutely this.

Ice Phisherman posted:

I'm considering having the kids reach out to a number of spirit mentors from this list and talking to them to see if they fit. More of a back and forth interview process to give the thread an idea of what they'd like. So Dragonslayer, Monkey, Dog, Oracle, Whale and any other mentors with multiple votes may talk (or bark I guess) with the kids to tell them what they're about and see if they're a good fit for the group. It'd be some pretty big magic that they're working. And save for Julie, a first time brush with something larger than magic greater than throwing spells or summoning spirits.

I'll be honest, if this suggestion came from anyone but you I would have shouted it down as way too presumptuous. But if you think it's manageable within the scope of what the kids can reasonably do, it might be really wild to see how it shakes out (and also for the thread to better see how you would depict each of these mentors instead of bandying about what the sourcebooks say about them).

# ¿ Feb 5, 2019 02:48

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Oh what the actual everliving flying gently caress.

EDIT: God drat it, yes, Octo is pack.

We are so hosed.

Also:

Deadmeat5150 posted:

Stork is an AI or an Otaku, he can see the code. Like Neo at the end of the first Matrix movie.

Nice.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2019 04:56

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Holy crap that was a wild ride start to finish. Great read!

# ¿ May 11, 2019 19:14

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Fingers crossed! I really appreciate how you've been able to frame even some of the most innocuous-seeming social encounters as very real and meaningful challenges that are going to have just as many ramifications as taking down a toxic shaman. Well done!

# ¿ Jul 31, 2019 04:24

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Holy poo poo that was intense.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2019 13:50

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Uh, holy gently caress.

I'm thinking she does tell Joyce, but this is a hideous minefield if I ever saw one.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2019 15:48

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Honestly that's about as well as it could have gone. We can only hope that once he can actually process it all later he has the presence of mind to actually acknowledge the concern Julie showed for his situation with the white noise generator.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2019 20:06

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Whew! That could have been a lot worse.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2019 02:11

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:11

Podima: Nov 4, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I actually disagree. I think now, more than ever, is the time to bring the others into this. Yes, it's dangerous. Yes, it's bigger than any of them. But they've just bound themselves together in a very real and tangible way - what better time to trust them with her biggest secret?

# ¿ May 7, 2020 01:10

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