Kallisti
2012-03-19, 12:18 AM
My status as the 'good man' in this war is ambiguous, by the way.
So, I'm in this nWoD game. There have been ups and downs, but on the whole it's been basically amazing. And then something really, really very important happened, that I'll get to soon enough. (The game is still amazing, it's just possibly very different now.)
My character for this game--Wilhelm van Orman Taylor I--was a terrible human being. He was a cartoonishly evil and utterly selfish businessman; think the unholy spawn of Richie Rich and Snidely Whiplash. You're welcome for that mental image.
He's also a Sin-Eater, which is nWoD speak for someone who died and had a ghost/archetype...thing...called a Geist bring them back to life and give them super-GhostBuster-powers in exchange for being allowed to live in their soul. This game was originally to be a one-shot, so I chose a Geist described in the core book: the Transfixed Man, a spirit of industrial accidents who chose Wilhelm Taylor--a source of industrial accidents--out of a vague, inhuman crazy-Geist desire to redeem him.
In the prior session, he got started on that redemption; he made peace with his father as said father lay dying of cancer, and finally breaking through those walls unleashed a torrent of genuine human emotion of the sort he hasn't experienced for years.
Anyway, more background (I swear this is all actually important): all of us in this game are members of Project Mignola, which is a faction of Task Force: VALKYRIE we invented specifically for this game. (For those not in the know, TFV is essentially The Initiative from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a somewhat amoral governmental/military branch, officially nonexistent, which captures supernatural entities such as the party for study or use.) As members of Project Mignola, the parahuman members of the party are expected to abide by certain rules.
Wilhelm has repeatedly and blatantly ignored them, mostly by passing information to Atlas Enterprises, his absurdly-wealthy international megacorporate group. And now he's been thrown into a TFV holding cell to await trial, which will almost certainly result in execution.
I've sent an e-mail to the player of John C. Darden--the Hunter who is in charge of the daily operation of Mignola, serves as our party leader, and made the decision to arrest me--to see what he wants to get out of the next two sessions, which will be the finale because our ST is going to India for two months on a charitable mission. Contingent on his answer, though, I'm getting ready for all-out war.
I want your help; how do I survive the next two sessions?
Dramatis Personae: The Major Players
Note: I don't know for certain which PCs will be at which sessions; I know I can make both, and I'm 99% certain John will make both.
Wilhelm van Orman Taylor: My own character. Wilhelm is a Sin-Eater with Psyche 3; he has the Industrial, Phantasmal and Pyre-flame keys, and has Boneyard 5 and Curse 2. My die pools for my Boneyards tend to be between eleven and sixteen; Curse is...not that high, but decent.
He also has 9 XP to spend at present; the ST may or may not award me more before the next session begins based on some other stuff, so I might have more. I will almost certainly have at least 10 XP, but I can't count on it.
Lastly, he has the Krewe Fate merit regarding the party; there are three dice left in the pool.
Currently, Wilhelm is in a cell; all I really know at this stage is that the cell is painted with some...substance...that has proven able to serve as a barrier against my Sin-Eater powers in the past. I also know that it's just paint--last time I encountered it I was able to scrape it off with a screwdriver.
John C. Darden: A Hunter. I know that he's a pretty good shot and pretty good with a sword, that he will not hesitate to use lethal force if we're throwing down (which Wilhelm might, perhaps even regarding John), and that he carries Etheric Goggles and Munin Serum, as well as wearing full riot gear. I don't know a whole lot else about the character mechanically. Oh, and he owns a Mjolnir Cannon, so I'd rather he did not get within shooting range of me.
John knows this base very well; his player is pretty smart, and can probably do some interesting things, but John just doesn't have the supernatural firepower to counter a lot of the magic floating around.
He has this box. The contents are classified, but I think it's safe to assume it contains at least one supernatural surprise and a ton of military gear. I only know for certain that it contains a parachute.
I don't really know where John would be.
Israh: PC. Israh is an Osiran Promethean--beginning to find her humanity, but still somewhat...off. Israh is extremely loyal to her friends, but she considers both John and (I think) Wilhelm as friends. I'm certain that she likes John better than Wilhelm, but she might well side with Wilhelm, or at least remain neutral, if he doesn't intend to kill or main John. That prohibition may or may not extend to the rest of the team/the NPCs. I suspect it won't--Israh's generally pretty amoral about killing unless it's someone she actually likes--but I don't know.
I know that Israh is healed by electrical damage, has a power that lets her run very very quickly and a power that grants armor; the rest of her supernatural abilities are largely unknown, but she's deadly with a knife; I believe she has the full Spetznaz fighting style. I know she's pretty scary in melee, probably scary enough to hold off John. I also know that I can use Industrial Boneyard to trigger the shock collar she wears and heal her effectively infinitely. If she sides with me.
Israh lives in a bunker deep beneath the main base, accessible only by an elevator.
I think Israh will be at both sessions.
Soren Kierkegaard: PC (and yes, named after the philosopher.) He's our other hunter, but he's always treated the party like human beings, which John has not. I know he's a good shooter, I think he's a decent swordfighter, and I know he has etheric goggles and etheric rounds.
I honestly don't know how Soren is going to act if we throw down; he's treated us all like our powers don't make us inferior beings, and he's played a lot looser with the rules than John, but he's still TFV and he doesn't like Wilhelm much--Wilhelm's not terribly likable. I think he understands that Wilhelm's much less evil than he seems, especially now, but I get the feeling that he'll cleave to TFV.
I don't know a ton about the mechanics of Soren, but I suspect he's not optimized to the same degree as the rest of the party. I'm pretty sure Soren will be in the first session, but not the second.
Scott Thompson: PC. Forces mage, with 5 dots in the Forces Arcanum and (I believe) no other Arcana. I know that his Rotes include Transform Energy, Mage Sight, Lightning Bolt (or, at least, a spell that shoots a lightning bolt), and a spell that allows him to control and shape fire, including by using it as a lazorattack.
Scott's a laid-back dude who really just wants to burn stuff and chill out; his player is still sort of finding himself as far as roleplaying goes, so his characters tend to vary wildly between well-fleshed-out and fairly generic; Scott is the latter. That said, he does have in-character opinions of the party separate from his out-of-character opinions of the group; out-of-character all of us get along quite well. I don't think Scott likes Wilhelm much, but I don't think he dislikes Wilhelm either. I suspect he'll side with me if this turns into a war, but I can't be sure. He might well sit it out. I kind of doubt he'll actively seek to harm me, but no guarantees.
Scott's not crazy optimized, but as a 5-dot-forces Mage he doesn't need to be. He's probably the most powerful character in the party by miles and miles, but he almost never improvises spells.
Scott's ability to make both sessions of the finale is doubtful, but I think he'll make at least one.
Jeff: PC. I never learned his surname. Jeff is the party's other Sin-Eater; he's a Reaper, I don't know what Threshold. He's a really, really good shooter--he typically dual-wields revolvers at 14 and 12 dice respectively, with Incendiary Rounds. He also has a 5-damage sniper rifle that grants him 8-again on attack rolls.
Jeff has Rage and Oracle, both at 3; the only Key I've ever seen him use is Stigmata.
Jeff also has two dots in Subterfuge; he is, I believe, one of two people in the party.
I think that Jeff will be able to make the second session, and possibly the first; he's explicitly stated that if we throw down he's on my side.
Kenyan: PC. I highly doubt Kenyan will be at either session.
If she is, though, she's a massive, damage-machine Werewolf. Kenyan's player can rarely attend sessions, so generally I don't know much about her (the character, that is). I know that she's a crazy big meatshield/beatstick Werewolf, and I suspect she'd fight with TFV.
Rose: PC Vampire. Almost certainly going to attend both sessions. Rose is not actually his name--the character was originally to be female, and was so when she was introduced, but was quietly retconned to being male during one session I missed, and I don't know what his name is now.
Rose is not a combat character, although he does have a Defense of 8. His one big trick is that she has Majesty 5, which is obscenely awesome, although it does have friendly 'fire'.
I...think...Rose will side with me if it comes down to it--I doubt he'd side with TFV, and I doubt he'd remain neutral. He's pretty new to the party, though, so I can't be sure.
Jeremy: PC. Changeling. I'm almost certain he will not be there.
That said, if he were, it'd make things very interesting. Jeremy is incredibly sneaky, and his player is the most cunning in the group. He gets stuff done, and he works towards exactly one agenda--his own. He and I are often matched in terms of cleverness--although he's been gaming a lot longer than I have, and has the skills and cunning to show for it--but he cares a lot more about subtlety than I do, so he generally does much more power-behind-the-throne, behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Also, there is some possibility that, since I've had it established since day one that Wilhelm would definitely make a Pledge with the changeling, I may get to work with his player to design a Pledge between sessions. Nothing too onerous, of course, but I could get a few free skill points or merit dots.
If Jeremy is there, he'll work towards his own interests, which I imagine would coincide with mine over TFV's. That said, he might just sit it out and see how it progresses before he even shows himself, let alone commits to anything, and he has the stealth powers to back that up.
Other Stuff
Spoilered to keep length down, and because the party members have the most mechanical power. I...think. There may be at least one NPC present who's scarier than any of us, actually.
Adrian Thompson: No relation to the mage. He's the superior officer in the facility; also, we had him with us for today's session, and he consistently rolls eight or nine dice for most tests, so he's not a chump. Also, I pretty much guarantee he's got Tactics all over the place and all the TFV Endowments. I'm not at all hesitant to kill or maim him unless it will cost me the loyalty of a party member.
The Collars: All parahumans--so everyone but the Hunters--in Mignola get outfitted with a shock collar that if active, when they attempt to use any supernatural power, deals one point of lethal damage and prevents the activation. John and Adrian, and probably the rest of TFV, can also activate them manually, or trigger the monofilament wire that decapitates the wearer. (Israh is healed by the electricity damage, and can use her powers with the collar on. TFV hasn't really cared yet.)
The collars are painted with the magic-proof paint, but I peeled a tiny sliver off the paint on all the collars worn by PCs, allowing me to use Industrial Boneyard to sabotage them. I can activate and deactivate them at will, trigger the monofilament wires, or just use my powers on the collars. John, at least, knows I'm able to use some of my powers while my collar is still on and active, but I don't know if he knows the true extent of my sabotage, or that it extends beyond my collar. I also don't know if the collars have been replaced; I know mine is still good, but the rest could have been repaired.
The Tzimisce: Our target from today's mission--a very old, very powerful Tzimisce Fleshcrafter, on the run from Aegis Kai Doru, Chiron Group, the Malleus Maleficarum, and probably the Lucifuge, Network Zero, and Null Mysteriis. He was running from them because he'd learned some sort of great secret of Vicissitude (ostensibly from Aegis Kai Doru, but I suspect a catspaw). He was looking for help from the Sabbat, and got us instead; we tricked him into thinking we were the Sabbat, but I imagine he'll know better by now.
He'll be wearing a collar; I won't have sabotaged it, presumably, unless it was with the original batch.
He's straight-up evil, but he also has straightforward motivations: survive, escape, leverage his secret, become very rich.
The Heart of the Faerie/Jeremy's One Wish: One session--one I missed--took the party to Arcadia. Jeremy's player is awesome at changeling. He walked out owed a favor by one of the True Fae, and we got the heart of another True Fae into TFV for study. I have no idea if this will be a Chekov's Gun, but if Jeremy shows up it'll add a whole new dimension.
Atlas Enterprises: If I can get a hold of Atlas, that'd be sweet. Atlas has effectively unlimited funds, Chiron's top surgeon turned, the son of the US Ambassador to France blood-addicted, and a number of Ventrue operatives working in security, mergers & acquisitions, and most of all lobbying. I also have complete scans of a textbook on Vicissitude written by a Tzimisce, complete studies of a batch of nanites that I know can be used for mining or surgery, a number of Sin-Eater operatives blood-addicted, and the telephone numbers of some nameless Malleus Maleficarum operatives who the party has...encountered.
A group of four of my Ventrue mind-controlling lobbyists tried to compromise Adrian Thompson and head off this entire crisis; they went missing, but I don't think Thompson knows I was responsible.
So, I'm in this nWoD game. There have been ups and downs, but on the whole it's been basically amazing. And then something really, really very important happened, that I'll get to soon enough. (The game is still amazing, it's just possibly very different now.)
My character for this game--Wilhelm van Orman Taylor I--was a terrible human being. He was a cartoonishly evil and utterly selfish businessman; think the unholy spawn of Richie Rich and Snidely Whiplash. You're welcome for that mental image.
He's also a Sin-Eater, which is nWoD speak for someone who died and had a ghost/archetype...thing...called a Geist bring them back to life and give them super-GhostBuster-powers in exchange for being allowed to live in their soul. This game was originally to be a one-shot, so I chose a Geist described in the core book: the Transfixed Man, a spirit of industrial accidents who chose Wilhelm Taylor--a source of industrial accidents--out of a vague, inhuman crazy-Geist desire to redeem him.
In the prior session, he got started on that redemption; he made peace with his father as said father lay dying of cancer, and finally breaking through those walls unleashed a torrent of genuine human emotion of the sort he hasn't experienced for years.
Anyway, more background (I swear this is all actually important): all of us in this game are members of Project Mignola, which is a faction of Task Force: VALKYRIE we invented specifically for this game. (For those not in the know, TFV is essentially The Initiative from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a somewhat amoral governmental/military branch, officially nonexistent, which captures supernatural entities such as the party for study or use.) As members of Project Mignola, the parahuman members of the party are expected to abide by certain rules.
Wilhelm has repeatedly and blatantly ignored them, mostly by passing information to Atlas Enterprises, his absurdly-wealthy international megacorporate group. And now he's been thrown into a TFV holding cell to await trial, which will almost certainly result in execution.
I've sent an e-mail to the player of John C. Darden--the Hunter who is in charge of the daily operation of Mignola, serves as our party leader, and made the decision to arrest me--to see what he wants to get out of the next two sessions, which will be the finale because our ST is going to India for two months on a charitable mission. Contingent on his answer, though, I'm getting ready for all-out war.
I want your help; how do I survive the next two sessions?
Dramatis Personae: The Major Players
Note: I don't know for certain which PCs will be at which sessions; I know I can make both, and I'm 99% certain John will make both.
Wilhelm van Orman Taylor: My own character. Wilhelm is a Sin-Eater with Psyche 3; he has the Industrial, Phantasmal and Pyre-flame keys, and has Boneyard 5 and Curse 2. My die pools for my Boneyards tend to be between eleven and sixteen; Curse is...not that high, but decent.
He also has 9 XP to spend at present; the ST may or may not award me more before the next session begins based on some other stuff, so I might have more. I will almost certainly have at least 10 XP, but I can't count on it.
Lastly, he has the Krewe Fate merit regarding the party; there are three dice left in the pool.
Currently, Wilhelm is in a cell; all I really know at this stage is that the cell is painted with some...substance...that has proven able to serve as a barrier against my Sin-Eater powers in the past. I also know that it's just paint--last time I encountered it I was able to scrape it off with a screwdriver.
John C. Darden: A Hunter. I know that he's a pretty good shot and pretty good with a sword, that he will not hesitate to use lethal force if we're throwing down (which Wilhelm might, perhaps even regarding John), and that he carries Etheric Goggles and Munin Serum, as well as wearing full riot gear. I don't know a whole lot else about the character mechanically. Oh, and he owns a Mjolnir Cannon, so I'd rather he did not get within shooting range of me.
John knows this base very well; his player is pretty smart, and can probably do some interesting things, but John just doesn't have the supernatural firepower to counter a lot of the magic floating around.
He has this box. The contents are classified, but I think it's safe to assume it contains at least one supernatural surprise and a ton of military gear. I only know for certain that it contains a parachute.
I don't really know where John would be.
Israh: PC. Israh is an Osiran Promethean--beginning to find her humanity, but still somewhat...off. Israh is extremely loyal to her friends, but she considers both John and (I think) Wilhelm as friends. I'm certain that she likes John better than Wilhelm, but she might well side with Wilhelm, or at least remain neutral, if he doesn't intend to kill or main John. That prohibition may or may not extend to the rest of the team/the NPCs. I suspect it won't--Israh's generally pretty amoral about killing unless it's someone she actually likes--but I don't know.
I know that Israh is healed by electrical damage, has a power that lets her run very very quickly and a power that grants armor; the rest of her supernatural abilities are largely unknown, but she's deadly with a knife; I believe she has the full Spetznaz fighting style. I know she's pretty scary in melee, probably scary enough to hold off John. I also know that I can use Industrial Boneyard to trigger the shock collar she wears and heal her effectively infinitely. If she sides with me.
Israh lives in a bunker deep beneath the main base, accessible only by an elevator.
I think Israh will be at both sessions.
Soren Kierkegaard: PC (and yes, named after the philosopher.) He's our other hunter, but he's always treated the party like human beings, which John has not. I know he's a good shooter, I think he's a decent swordfighter, and I know he has etheric goggles and etheric rounds.
I honestly don't know how Soren is going to act if we throw down; he's treated us all like our powers don't make us inferior beings, and he's played a lot looser with the rules than John, but he's still TFV and he doesn't like Wilhelm much--Wilhelm's not terribly likable. I think he understands that Wilhelm's much less evil than he seems, especially now, but I get the feeling that he'll cleave to TFV.
I don't know a ton about the mechanics of Soren, but I suspect he's not optimized to the same degree as the rest of the party. I'm pretty sure Soren will be in the first session, but not the second.
Scott Thompson: PC. Forces mage, with 5 dots in the Forces Arcanum and (I believe) no other Arcana. I know that his Rotes include Transform Energy, Mage Sight, Lightning Bolt (or, at least, a spell that shoots a lightning bolt), and a spell that allows him to control and shape fire, including by using it as a lazorattack.
Scott's a laid-back dude who really just wants to burn stuff and chill out; his player is still sort of finding himself as far as roleplaying goes, so his characters tend to vary wildly between well-fleshed-out and fairly generic; Scott is the latter. That said, he does have in-character opinions of the party separate from his out-of-character opinions of the group; out-of-character all of us get along quite well. I don't think Scott likes Wilhelm much, but I don't think he dislikes Wilhelm either. I suspect he'll side with me if this turns into a war, but I can't be sure. He might well sit it out. I kind of doubt he'll actively seek to harm me, but no guarantees.
Scott's not crazy optimized, but as a 5-dot-forces Mage he doesn't need to be. He's probably the most powerful character in the party by miles and miles, but he almost never improvises spells.
Scott's ability to make both sessions of the finale is doubtful, but I think he'll make at least one.
Jeff: PC. I never learned his surname. Jeff is the party's other Sin-Eater; he's a Reaper, I don't know what Threshold. He's a really, really good shooter--he typically dual-wields revolvers at 14 and 12 dice respectively, with Incendiary Rounds. He also has a 5-damage sniper rifle that grants him 8-again on attack rolls.
Jeff has Rage and Oracle, both at 3; the only Key I've ever seen him use is Stigmata.
Jeff also has two dots in Subterfuge; he is, I believe, one of two people in the party.
I think that Jeff will be able to make the second session, and possibly the first; he's explicitly stated that if we throw down he's on my side.
Kenyan: PC. I highly doubt Kenyan will be at either session.
If she is, though, she's a massive, damage-machine Werewolf. Kenyan's player can rarely attend sessions, so generally I don't know much about her (the character, that is). I know that she's a crazy big meatshield/beatstick Werewolf, and I suspect she'd fight with TFV.
Rose: PC Vampire. Almost certainly going to attend both sessions. Rose is not actually his name--the character was originally to be female, and was so when she was introduced, but was quietly retconned to being male during one session I missed, and I don't know what his name is now.
Rose is not a combat character, although he does have a Defense of 8. His one big trick is that she has Majesty 5, which is obscenely awesome, although it does have friendly 'fire'.
I...think...Rose will side with me if it comes down to it--I doubt he'd side with TFV, and I doubt he'd remain neutral. He's pretty new to the party, though, so I can't be sure.
Jeremy: PC. Changeling. I'm almost certain he will not be there.
That said, if he were, it'd make things very interesting. Jeremy is incredibly sneaky, and his player is the most cunning in the group. He gets stuff done, and he works towards exactly one agenda--his own. He and I are often matched in terms of cleverness--although he's been gaming a lot longer than I have, and has the skills and cunning to show for it--but he cares a lot more about subtlety than I do, so he generally does much more power-behind-the-throne, behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Also, there is some possibility that, since I've had it established since day one that Wilhelm would definitely make a Pledge with the changeling, I may get to work with his player to design a Pledge between sessions. Nothing too onerous, of course, but I could get a few free skill points or merit dots.
If Jeremy is there, he'll work towards his own interests, which I imagine would coincide with mine over TFV's. That said, he might just sit it out and see how it progresses before he even shows himself, let alone commits to anything, and he has the stealth powers to back that up.
Other Stuff
Spoilered to keep length down, and because the party members have the most mechanical power. I...think. There may be at least one NPC present who's scarier than any of us, actually.
Adrian Thompson: No relation to the mage. He's the superior officer in the facility; also, we had him with us for today's session, and he consistently rolls eight or nine dice for most tests, so he's not a chump. Also, I pretty much guarantee he's got Tactics all over the place and all the TFV Endowments. I'm not at all hesitant to kill or maim him unless it will cost me the loyalty of a party member.
The Collars: All parahumans--so everyone but the Hunters--in Mignola get outfitted with a shock collar that if active, when they attempt to use any supernatural power, deals one point of lethal damage and prevents the activation. John and Adrian, and probably the rest of TFV, can also activate them manually, or trigger the monofilament wire that decapitates the wearer. (Israh is healed by the electricity damage, and can use her powers with the collar on. TFV hasn't really cared yet.)
The collars are painted with the magic-proof paint, but I peeled a tiny sliver off the paint on all the collars worn by PCs, allowing me to use Industrial Boneyard to sabotage them. I can activate and deactivate them at will, trigger the monofilament wires, or just use my powers on the collars. John, at least, knows I'm able to use some of my powers while my collar is still on and active, but I don't know if he knows the true extent of my sabotage, or that it extends beyond my collar. I also don't know if the collars have been replaced; I know mine is still good, but the rest could have been repaired.
The Tzimisce: Our target from today's mission--a very old, very powerful Tzimisce Fleshcrafter, on the run from Aegis Kai Doru, Chiron Group, the Malleus Maleficarum, and probably the Lucifuge, Network Zero, and Null Mysteriis. He was running from them because he'd learned some sort of great secret of Vicissitude (ostensibly from Aegis Kai Doru, but I suspect a catspaw). He was looking for help from the Sabbat, and got us instead; we tricked him into thinking we were the Sabbat, but I imagine he'll know better by now.
He'll be wearing a collar; I won't have sabotaged it, presumably, unless it was with the original batch.
He's straight-up evil, but he also has straightforward motivations: survive, escape, leverage his secret, become very rich.
The Heart of the Faerie/Jeremy's One Wish: One session--one I missed--took the party to Arcadia. Jeremy's player is awesome at changeling. He walked out owed a favor by one of the True Fae, and we got the heart of another True Fae into TFV for study. I have no idea if this will be a Chekov's Gun, but if Jeremy shows up it'll add a whole new dimension.
Atlas Enterprises: If I can get a hold of Atlas, that'd be sweet. Atlas has effectively unlimited funds, Chiron's top surgeon turned, the son of the US Ambassador to France blood-addicted, and a number of Ventrue operatives working in security, mergers & acquisitions, and most of all lobbying. I also have complete scans of a textbook on Vicissitude written by a Tzimisce, complete studies of a batch of nanites that I know can be used for mining or surgery, a number of Sin-Eater operatives blood-addicted, and the telephone numbers of some nameless Malleus Maleficarum operatives who the party has...encountered.
A group of four of my Ventrue mind-controlling lobbyists tried to compromise Adrian Thompson and head off this entire crisis; they went missing, but I don't think Thompson knows I was responsible.