Sea of Stars - OOC III

[Blarghy]

I'm all set, other than the Stalker business. It'd be nice to solve the mystery if we're able. Hopefully Anika can turn up a new lead or clue here; otherwise, I can't think of another option besides to keep hanging around in this noble district for a little while longer, in the hopes of getting lucky and the killer coming to us. For a given value of "luck," anyway. I'm assuming that we'll be able to defeat the Stalker, but if not, that's what Fate Points are for.

[Destro_Yersul]

Trying to cover a lot of stuff and I obviously forgot to include something.

Given the locations of all the victims premises and the heights of all the major parts of the Spire, can we anticipate a location where the Stalker might be operating from?
Logis vs. Int 53
[roll0]
Going to spend my last FP on this one just in case
[roll1]

Too many options to make a good prediction. You did cover a lot of ground, though, wow. Might take me a bit to work through all of this.

I'm all set, other than the Stalker business. It'd be nice to solve the mystery if we're able. Hopefully Anika can turn up a new lead or clue here; otherwise, I can't think of another option besides to keep hanging around in this noble district for a little while longer, in the hopes of getting lucky and the killer coming to us. For a given value of "luck," anyway. I'm assuming that we'll be able to defeat the Stalker, but if not, that's what Fate Points are for.

I'm conflicted. I know who the Stalker is, of course, and you've been doing a lot of good investigative stuff... well, we'll see. I'm not entirely sure where all this is going to go. Truly it was said, "no plan survives contact with the players"

[rax]

I've sort of lost track of the group's plans concerning the Stalker, but wasn't part of the original plan also to sit around for a while in Macharius' swanky new digs to see if the Stalker would come after him? Or is the time frame for that already passed?

[Blarghy]

Yeah, that's been the backup plan. Just hoping that the killer comes to us. Echo and his Rings would still be hanging out at the rented apartments in case that happens. If we don't have any hard deadlines coming up, I assume we could have another week or so of off-screen downtime or something, to see if that pans out.

But if we're just not able to puzzle through this, then I suppose that does make our other victories more meaningful. There's not much accomplishment without a risk of failure. Maybe we can get the reports and rumors when NPCs solve it at some point in the future. I won't be devastated if we can't manage it ourselves, but I'm pretty curious, and the gamer in me hates to abandon a good side-quest.

[Haval]

I got distracted by (redacted). I need to post about that again when I have the energy.

Otherwise I've had ooc issues that I probably should have ignored. I wanted to wait until it was appropriate for Anika to be doing things again rather then timesplitting but it meant that a lot of potential leads fall by the wayside until I get round to rereading the thread. Admittedly I was also wondering if the party was going to develop a certain way so timesplitting seemed like a particularly bad idea while Anika was there.

Destro - The last post was an attempt to cover absolutely everything that seemed important just so I don't leave it till later again. A lot of it is very much a long shot. Don't worry about answering but at least it's in the same post now.

I think the servo skull network might be the important bit.

[Leon]

that's what Fate Points are for

First Dark heresy campaign i was in Ended with a TPK and everyone burning FPs to "survive" a Valkyrie crash

[rax]

Bah, we're Rogue Traders now. Dying in crashes is what redshirts are for.

[Haval]

Rogue Trader deaths are a lot more spectacular.

[Destro_Yersul]

Ok, got to it. This is what you're getting for now.

I've sort of lost track of the group's plans concerning the Stalker, but wasn't part of the original plan also to sit around for a while in Macharius' swanky new digs to see if the Stalker would come after him? Or is the time frame for that already passed?

It was, but based on Anika's research and the Prognosticator, the possibility of that working seems less likely.

[Haval]

I think the last post suggests that the Stalker is targeting specific nobles rather then nobles in general.

Unless I shouldn't be taking Destro literally, presumably the Stalker is either able to go into other machines and delete the data or can hack them to stop them collecting the data in the first place. Either way, I feel like if we can identify how it does that we might be able to work out how to stop the Stalker disapearing on camera.

I don't know if this approach is too vague, but tech-use in 40k is in some sense magic so maybe I can get away with it on a good enough Tech roll.

And I'm going to have Anika call Etula about her alibi on the next post because I forgot to add it.

[Destro_Yersul]

I'd like to wait for Rax before I respond again. This isn't a conversation I want to get too far ahead of.

[rax]

Regarding the Stalker investigation, the head injuries seem significant to me, especially as some of the skull puncturing was done after death. Is it possible to dig up any more information on the injuries? For instance what sort of instrument was used and were the injuries all in the same place on the victims' skulls?

[Haval]

Regarding the Stalker investigation, the head injuries seem significant to me, especially as some of the skull puncturing was done after death. Is it possible to dig up any more information on the injuries? For instance what sort of instrument was used and were the injuries all in the same place on the victims' skulls?

I assume Anika has access to all the autopsy reports. Would that be a Medicae test? Certain kinds of weapon would leave certain type of injuries.

Scrutiny just in case
vs. Per 43
(1d100)[87]

If they're being injured in the same place would that imply that the Stalker is taking something?

[Destro_Yersul]

I assume Anika has access to all the autopsy reports. Would that be a Medicae test? Certain kinds of weapon would leave certain type of injuries.

Scrutiny just in case
vs. Per 43
[roll0]

If they're being injured in the same place would that imply that the Stalker is taking something?

Yes, you have access to all the autopsy reports. Theresa went through them, but you don't compile a report without attaching your source data as an appendix. Reading the reports, though, the most Anika can tell is that it wasn't a sword. The Stalker doesn't seem to have been picky about where on the skull they went for - just somewhere on the top. As for what it implies? Hard to say.

[Haval]

Will try and get a post up tonight. Anika will pass the autopsy records over to Ravia and get someone qualified to look for a pattern.

Just want to check that they aren't all missing the same part of their brain or something.

If the Stalker is looping the security cameras, do we know enough to close that loophole so the cogitator can't do that anymore? Ideally I'd want to spread the word if it's possible. Again, this is tech-use magic so I could see it going either way.

[Destro_Yersul]

Will try and get a post up tonight. Anika will pass the autopsy records over to Ravia and get someone qualified to look for a pattern.

Just want to check that they aren't all missing the same part of their brain or something.

If the Stalker is looping the security cameras, do we know enough to close that loophole so the cogitator can't do that anymore? Ideally I'd want to spread the word if it's possible. Again, this is tech-use magic so I could see it going either way.

Ravia could hypothetically do some science magic to, if a loop command was detected, cancel it. It would need to be done to each system you wanted it to work for, though, and you'd need physical access to set it up. You can, of course, tell people about what's happening, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to fix it themselves.

Technically there's no guarantee Ravia can do it, but you've got Fate points and her tech use is really high. Odds are good.

[rax]

If the Stalker has outsourced the tech work, then that's also another lead we could try to track down. Anika's friends in low places might know if there are any local hereteks with that capability.

[Haval]

Ravia could hypothetically do some science magic to, if a loop command was detected, cancel it. It would need to be done to each system you wanted it to work for, though, and you'd need physical access to set it up. You can, of course, tell people about what's happening, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to fix it themselves.

Technically there's no guarantee Ravia can do it, but you've got Fate points and her tech use is really high. Odds are good.

Spreading the word of how to stop the Stalker hacking people's security systems would be fine as a goal even if it doesn't lead to the Stalker showing up on camera anywhere.

That one I'll leave to Leon if he wants to roll for it.

[PotatoGolem]

I have returned! And thus so has Macharius, from whatever fugue he was in. It seems that we may be able to bait the stalker by throwing a party, which Macharius is obviously all for.

[Leon]

Medicae Tn 88 (1d100)[78]

[rax]

Forbidden Lore (Xenos) test (1d100)[94] vs. 50 (Skilled, Talented +10) plus any bonus from Galimina?

Pre-emptive re-roll (1d100)[91]

...nope!

[Haval]

Forgot to roll this.

Does Anika known anything else about Edmund Hamsha
Inquiry vs. Fel 47 (+10 peer military)
(1d100)[39]

[Blarghy]

You're finding some intriguing clues here! The mystery deepens. I wish I had some new ideas or theories to offer; I agree that talking to some hereteks seems like the best next step, but Kennoch would hate the idea unless Anika plans to kill or capture them afterward. Kennoch would be down to help with that; he'd happily lend her as many Rings as she wanted. But I assume that Anika's underworld contacts would be reluctant to talk to her in the future, if she uses their tips to bring down useful criminals. Presumably she's just going to talk, and I don't think Echo would be much help with that anyway. He's a one-trick-Intimidate-pony when it comes to social matters. But the big issue is that (especially after the Galimina business) he would be fully opposed to locating any hereteks and then letting them walk away.

More power to you, though, and I think that while you're handling that strong lead, Kennoch will go speak with Sargon. Mainly because it's been much too long since I last posted.

[Destro_Yersul]

Forbidden Lore (Xenos) test [roll0] vs. 50 (Skilled, Talented +10) plus any bonus from Galimina?

Pre-emptive re-roll [roll1]

...nope!

Galimina could probably Assist, but +10 isn't going to be good enough. Hannabel doesn't recognise the readings either.

Forgot to roll this.

Does Anika known anything else about Edmund Hamsha
Inquiry vs. Fel 47 (+10 peer military)
[roll0]

Sure. His title, Master of Ordnance, means he was an officer in charge of an artillery regiment. That means he probably never saw much direct action, but did need to have very good communication and diplomatic skills, as he would have been frequently responsible for dealing with other regiments. He probably has a baseline level of competence himself, but he clearly made a lot of friends amongst said other regiments. Quite apart from many of his guests being retired Guard, many of his household are *also* retired Guard, including the majority of his security staff and his personal bodyguard. Her name is Lt. Millicent Svard, formerly of Valhalla, and it's a well known story that she was her regiment's duelling champion for most of her career.

[Haval]

You're finding some intriguing clues here! The mystery deepens. I wish I had some new ideas or theories to offer; I agree that talking to some hereteks seems like the best next step, but Kennoch would hate the idea unless Anika plans to kill or capture them afterward. Kennoch would be down to help with that; he'd happily lend her as many Rings as she wanted. But I assume that Anika's underworld contacts would be reluctant to talk to her in the future, if she uses their tips to bring down useful criminals. Presumably she's just going to talk, and I don't think Echo would be much help with that anyway. He's a one-trick-Intimidate-pony when it comes to social matters. But the big issue is that (especially after the Galimina business) he would be fully opposed to locating any hereteks and then letting them walk away.

More power to you, though, and I think that while you're handling that strong lead, Kennoch will go speak with Sargon. Mainly because it's been much too long since I last posted.

It's partially the not talking to her again, partially the chance that someone might try to kill her over handing over a useful contact to the Mechanicus or the Arbites. Not that worried about her personal safety during any meetings but she can always stand behind Macharius or Almagor.

For the record there are likely to be two sorts of heretek. If it's basically someone with Tech-Use then Anika is already that sort of person and has no interest in punishing them. If it's the worst type we can always drop some names with the Inquisition at a later date. All Anika would prefer is deniability. If Macharius would prefer to deal with them there and then that wouldn't even be a problem.

Anyway, I am trying to bring other people with me on this. If no one has a preference I'll pick someone from Destro's list.

[Blarghy]

I assume that Hannabel won't be joining either, but Anika, Macharius, Ravia (I'm interested to see how she interacts with the hereteks; that should be fun to follow), plus some Praetorians, sounds like a solid team to me. I agree that a lot of "hereteks" are just people who know the skills without the proper affiliation (like Anika herself, as you say), but as we saw on Viatrames, Kennoch isn't too forgiving of that sort either. I don't think that having him along would be productive for this particular errand; better for me to just read along and save Anika the headache of managing the self-righteous Navigator. He should get better about that as we go further down his character arc.

[Destro_Yersul]

Hey everyone, just a heads up, I won't be around for a few days. Going on a small family vacation, expect to be back on Friday.

[Haval]

Hey everyone, just a heads up, I won't be around for a few days. Going on a small family vacation, expect to be back on Friday.

Have fun

This message is too short

[rax]

I assume that Hannabel won't be joining either, but Anika, Macharius, Ravia (I'm interested to see how she interacts with the hereteks; that should be fun to follow), plus some Praetorians, sounds like a solid team to me. I agree that a lot of "hereteks" are just people who know the skills without the proper affiliation (like Anika herself, as you say), but as we saw on Viatrames, Kennoch isn't too forgiving of that sort either. I don't think that having him along would be productive for this particular errand; better for me to just read along and save Anika the headache of managing the self-righteous Navigator. He should get better about that as we go further down his character arc.

Just wait till Kennoch works out that Hannabel has Tech Use trained as well!

[Blarghy]

"I should've suspected should've!"