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/qst/ - Quests


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PRELUDE You dwell not in yourself when the night bleeds in. Through the thousand eyes of the city you see only the abyss. Become anyone, do anything, go anywhere - these were the Stranger's lies. Fear makes the future possible in this city. You cannot die, you will not end when you die. The world will end.

(roll 1d78 to draw a card from the tarot:)

01 I: The MAGICIAN
02 II: The HIGH PRIESTESS
03 III: The EMPRESS
04 IV: The EMPEROR

05 V: The HIEROPHANT
06 VI: The LOVERS
07 VII: The CHARIOT
08 VIII: STRENGTH

09 IX: The HERMIT
10 X: The WHEEL of FORTUNE
11 XI: JUSTICE
12 XII: The HANGED MAN

13 XIII: DEATH
14 XIV: TEMPERANCE
15 XV: The DEVIL
16 XVI: The TOWER

17 XVII: The STAR
18 XVIII: The MOON
19 XIX: The SUN
20 XX: JUDGEMENT

21 XXI: The WORLD
22 0: The FOOL

23 ACE of SWORDS
24 ACE of CHALICES
25 ACE of PENTACLES
26 ACE of WANDS

27 TWO of SWORDS
28 TWO of CHALICES
29 TWO of PENTACLES
30 TWO of WANDS

31 THREE of SWORDS
32 THREE of CHALICES
33 THREE of PENTACLES
34 THREE of WANDS

35 FOUR of SWORDS
36 FOUR of CHALICES
37 FOUR of PENTACLES
38 FOUR of WANDS

39 FIVE of SWORDS
40 FIVE of CHALICES
41 FIVE of PENTACLES
42 FIVE of WANDS

43 SIX of SWORDS
44 SIX of CHALICES
45 SIX of PENTACLES
46 SIX of WANDS

47 SEVEN of SWORDS
48 SEVEN of CHALICES
49 SEVEN of PENTACLES
50 SEVEN of WANDS

51 EIGHT of SWORDS
52 EIGHT of CHALICES
53 EIGHT of PENTACLES
54 EIGHT of WANDS

55 NINE of SWORDS
56 NINE of CHALICES
57 NINE of PENTACLES
58 NINE of WANDS

59 TEN of SWORDS
60 TEN of CHALICES
61 TEN of PENTACLES
62 TEN of WANDS

63 PAGE of SWORDS
64 PAGE of CHALICES
65 PAGE of PENTACLES
66 PAGE of WANDS

67 KNIGHT of SWORDS
68 KNIGHT of CHALICES
69 KNIGHT of PENTACLES
70 KNIGHT of WANDS

71 QUEEN of SWORDS
72 QUEEN of CHALICES
73 QUEEN of PENTACLES
74 QUEEN of WANDS

75 KING of SWORDS
76 KING of CHALICES
77 KING of PENTACLES
78 KING of WANDS
>>
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One who cannot live in society is either a Beast or a God. The night has its price. Only in society, in this city, do you become conscious of your humanity. There is wealth and industry, commerce and philanthropy, Intellect, Art, Beauty and Sin all melting into murmurs before the thunder and tumult of the crowd.
>>
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The crowd is immortal and empty. The crowd and its appetites will outlive even you. The night separates being and becoming. It is the emptiness, the hollow space within that gives a vessel its worth and its hunger. The inhabitants of this city have raised so many altars of force and power into the Great Dark Sky, heaped mountains of glass and steel to altitudes of sheer exaltation, without a single line of dissent.
>>
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The idolatry of the city has created pleasure without sacrifice, and the trail of the serpent crawls over them all. The spires and towers of the city are spun from dimensions of hierarchy and vanity. They do not really exist, but they partition the faceless crowd. When a mirror is blemished it will not show a face. When there is sin in a mortal, the mortal cannot behold God. These monuments are but a handful of sand cast in rebellion against the Flood, the Infinite, the pathless labyrinth of eternity.

There is a riot outside the tower but inside you hear nothing at all.
>>
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(distant faraway voices)

(...)
I be stealin' I be robbin' I be lootin'
shoutout mah apes
I don wanna wife you
but chu can suck me up!
when ma gonna see u?
we aint gon' fight, our guns gon' fight
if I tote it chu know I shoot it
I'mah gonna prove it

(...)
Vain are the pleasaunces on earth supplied;
Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide.

(a trembling female voice)
...just walked in without asking and I did not know what to do, I could not stop it - this is my first day and it is too much and can you please put down the phone and help... please...?

(a male voice)
so listen... are you listening? No this is not about how Titanic is actually about vampires. It really is! Titanic is about a vampire! But this film I saw is really good...! It is about a taxi driver - are you lookin' at me? Are you listening? The driver is carrying this passenger, right... they see these two dogs or wolves I think or something, one after the other, crossing the road in the night. They stare at them, right in the eyes! This is the most important scene of the film...! This is what it is all about...

(if you know the film, write in to unlock an item)
>write in what you think the film is
>>
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(You are completely naked and alone)
(You currently possess no belongings)

The rippling water mists with the scent of burning incense and slight edge of chlorine, drifting over odourless mineral sanitisers. There is a dull, somnolent ache of luxury, of need. Through the refracted arcs of light in the pool you can sense the vague, tepid heat of souls echoing through the languorous glow.
>>
There is an amount of money scattered around the hydrotherapy chamber, wrapped in clear plastic. Some of it floats sodden in the water like an offering. Money makes you do things you don't really want to do. It seems like a relic of a different age, a different era that is utterly meaningless to you. There is either a lot of money here, or not quite enough. You think you would need a large bag to carry it all.
>>
>Submerge yourself in the pool, relax and let your thoughts drift

>Call out loudly: Where are my clothes? This is completely unacceptable! I demand dry underpants immediately! And vegan herbal remedies and a slow pressure deep tissue massage and rejuvenating thalassotherapy! But the underpants first!

>Wade deeper into the gently steaming pool, through the buoyant plastic packets of money and submerged bundles of cash, and investigate the dark shape floating at the far side

>Get out of the pool. Try to find a shower or changing room and some clothes for yourself: (search area for items)
>>
Rolled 13 (1d78)

>>5121867
>>
Rolled 25 (1d78)

>>5121867
Cyberpunk this time?
>>
>>5121883
>Rolled 13 (1d78)
13 XIII: DEATH

(wow, this qst ended fast)
>>
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>>5121885
>Rolled 25 (1d78)
25 ACE of PENTACLES
>>
>>5121888
Pretend that roll never happened and go on
>>
Rolled 54 (1d78)

>>5121867
lets go
>>
>>5121878
>>Wade deeper into the gently steaming pool, through the buoyant plastic packets of money and submerged bundles of cash, and investigate the dark shape floating at the far side
>>
>>5121867
>>
Rolled 14 (1d78)

>>5121918
>>
>>5121873
Titanic 2000 or Graveyard Shift? I dunno.

>>5121878
>Wade deeper into the gently steaming pool, through the buoyant plastic packets of money and submerged bundles of cash, and investigate the dark shape floating at the far side
>>
>>5121888
You're not serious are you? The Death tarot doesn't usually signify anything to do with actual physical death.
>>
>>5121897
Rolled 54 (1d78)
54 EIGHT of WANDS
>>
>>5121920
Rolled 14 (1d78)
14 XIV: TEMPERANCE
>>
>>5121883
>>5121888
>>5121900
>>5121936
You wade through the money pool towards the dark limbless shape. The bundles of cash and floating currency jostle against you, clutch at you like outstretched hands. It makes you think of death. A film about an assassin being driven around a city by a taxi driver. Did he meet his mother?

You realise what you find unsettling about this money pool. It does not feel right. This is not what money looks like to you. There are some who believe in a post-scarcity society, the intersection of technology and capital, transmuting liquidity into pure metaphor. Money is about abundance. The symbols of money - gold, diamonds, cash, bling, swag, drip - they are manifestations of feudal scarcity. Most cannot conceive what wealth even is. Money is invisible but people eat and sleep and die in its shadow. The future is nothing. Borrow time, buy and sell reality itself.

The dark shape is almost torso sized, bloated but wrinkled, drowned and floating lifelessly in the water.
>>
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Suspicious Underpants, (XXXL size)
You are uncertain if these are male or female. There is a label inside with the crossed out words:
1. disguise face
2. meet MAGUS
3. ????
4. PROFIT


> Take underpants, wear them like a normal person

> No-one can see your face until you find out what is going on. You must wear the underpants on your head like a mask, even if you remain naked.

> If you remain completely naked, it will be like you own this place. Leave the underpants alone.
>>
>>5121985
Oh, Collateral, I haven't actually seen it.

>>5121993
> No-one can see your face until you find out what is going on. You must wear the underpants on your head like a mask, even if you remain naked.

We don't know when we'll find other clothing, and I am not putting this on our junk only to put it over our head when we want to disguise our face from this "Magus".
>>
>>5121993
>If you remain completely naked, it will be like you own this place. Leave the underpants alone.
>>
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0DKX-2pa-UE

(The distant echoing male voice from before sounds like a security guard. His voice is muffled as if he is turned away and addressing someone else impatiently. The security guard continues: )

Now hold on over there, young lady, I will get to you in just a sec - that's right! It is such a cool film! Do you remember that scene where he takes down two assailants with five shots in less than 1.5 seconds? Pretty cool right?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oEFPcljAXgs

(You have very slightly improved your handguns skill)
(Overall your ability is still terrible)
(You fire guns by wildly aiming and emptying the entire magazine. Every gun is like a single-shot weapon to you)

(Your current status: untrained, naked, indecisively holding oversized underpants)
>>
These underpants do not look like they belong to you. You hesitate for a moment before putting them on you head as an ingenious makeshift disguise.

From the other side of the pool you can reach the following items:
>>
>HK USP
.45 ACP variant (12/12)
Short Range, Concealed, Loud, Quickdraw, Reduced Recoil, Double-tap, Mozambique Drill, Compact
Polymer frame semi-automatic with mechanical recoil reduction spring assembly. Five shots against two targets in less than 1.5 seconds. The modular design of this weapon permits customisation.
>>
>phone
Without a phone you cannot really even speak, feel or think. Without a phone your thoughts are your own, and no-one can follow you, or so you believe. This phone is vibrating violently by the poolside, as if someone is trying to reach you.
>>
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>wallet (?)
The inside of this wallet is turned away from you currently.
>>
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>spa bathrobe
Cashmere and paisley silk. It is really soft and warm. There is a logo and address inside: Alsephina Hotel, T1 Sky Tower International Finance Centre, Etemenanki Plaza. The voluminous folds and length of this luxurious bathrobe could be used to hide a lot of items.
>>
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>spa slippers
Disappointingly these slippers look rather ordinary. In some cultures throwing shoes at an opponent is a very grave insult indeed, even as an act of protest.
>>
Is there more or are can we choose to pick up some items now?
>>
>>5122099
You can inspect and take as many items as you want (examining more items will take longer)
>>
File: pietro-berto-front-close.jpg (2.12 MB, 2560x2560)
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Lil Guro, aka Bishop, Bish09, Bish09ine
Likes: violence, ultraviolence, guns, drill rap, countin' ma guap, (secretly: anime, bishonen)
Dislikes: law enforcement, capitalism, snitches, mumblecore rap, anime, weeaboos

(The male security guard voice seems to have suddenly grown very serious...)

Alright you there, you - get away from our reception lady - what are you doing?! - look, there's two ways you can leave these premises:
on your feet or on your back -

(There is another voice now...)

She get down and gobble, gobble 'cuz mahmoneyup
You thought we was gonna knuckle?
When you see me, what chu talkin' 'bout?
Yeah u got some money, but u still ugly
Slide over, do the ka-cha, grrrtt, ra-ta-ta-ta
Ah send shots off ya dome, pull up outside ya home...yeah, ayy...
>>
>>5122073
Find a mirror first and see what or who we are
>>
>>5122179
>Stay Silent

Take in this order.
>wallet (or is it an id?)
>spa bathrobe
>HK USP45

>The phone is useless now, we ain't fixing that phone any time soon, toss it in the pool.

>leave and walk towards the mirror in the red room
>>
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>>5122148
>Find a mirror first and see what or who we are

You can see showers and a changing room ahead, but the lighting seems unnaturally harsh and red to you. There could be a mirror there... but wait, there is a smartphone here. The reflective black sheen of its surface could serve as a mirror.

As you reach for the phone, it stops vibrating. There is a sullenly blinking LED on its black surface, a pulsing accusation.

The screen on the phone cracks when you touch it.

>Call out loudly to the far away unseen security guard: let him in, he is with me

>Use the phone frantically to search fr fr, no cap, finna, etc, call out loudly: errr... respect mah conglomerate... brought da cannon 2 da jam, scum gang mah only f a m...?

(examine items:)

>phone (screen cracked)
>wallet (or is it an id?)
>spa bathrobe
>spa slippers
>HK USP45

>leave and walk towards the mirror in the red room

(for some reason 4chan autochanges "f a m" to senpai lol I have been trolled)
>>
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>>5122186
(the phone is still useable, but the screen is cracked. When you try and tilt it to see your reflection, there is just a chromatic smear on the black glass)
>>
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>Strange ID
There are some strange glyphs on this wallet, it appears to be a security identification or clearance of some kind.

It looks a bit cheap, like a toy.

You stare at the peculiar typography, completely perplexed. What do these hieroglyphs mean? You feel like you have seen this logo somewhere before, but they must have changed it recently.

Certified Internal Auditor?
Customer Interaction Agent?
Consumer Institute Of Aesthetics?
Council Of International Archaeology?
Charity Investment Association?
Commission Of Internal Affairs?
Cryptographic Information Alliance?
(...?)
Citizen's Insane Asylum?
>>
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>>5122186
>Stay Silent
(You hear some punching, grunting and struggling yelps in the distance, as if someone is being wrestled violently to the floor. The drill rapper voice has adopted a different tone)

This is police brutality...! Ow! Argh! When I become a famous drill rapper the world will hear about this...! I just need to deliver this gun-shaped package... which is not a gun, it is just gun-shaped... as agreed to whoever has ordered it in there... argh! This is not a trick! Ow, ow, argh!

You are wearing: Spa Bathrobe

You possess:
Suspicious Underpants, (XXXL size)
Strange ID
HK USP (.45 ACP 12/12)

>Throw useable but cracked screen smartphone into the pool

>Scroll through the smartphone, see what you can find

>Look into the mirror in the Red Room

>Call out loudly to the far away unseen security guard: let him in, he is with me

>Continue to stay silent
>>
>>5122257

>Look into the mirror in the Red Room

>Call out loudly to the far away unseen security guard: let him in, he is with me
>>
>>5122257
>>Scroll through the smartphone, see what you can find
>>Look into the mirror in the Red Room
>>
Sleeping now, make good choices anons.
>>
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>>5122266
>>5122282
>Look into the mirror in the Red Room
>Scroll through the smartphone, see what you can find
>Call out loudly to the far away unseen security guard: let him in, he is with me

The dim glow of the smartphone shows a lot of missed calls and notifications. The phone opens onto a slanted photo of a hotel or skyscraper vertical floorplan taken from the side of an elevator lobby. There are 78 marked floors and you notice the numbering of the levels is erratic and strange. For instance, the first floor is actually the top floor of the tower. Perhaps you can find which room you booked somewhere on this phone, and finally get some appropriate clothes?

(battery initial level 54%, >>5121897 )
(searching on this old phone will rapidly consume the battery)
(battery remaining: 44%)
>>
You are not sure why the lighting in this spa changing room is very red. Is it like in nightclubs where the restrooms are illuminated to prevent illicit activity, deter addicts from finding veins and overdosing in the toilets? Or is that blue lighting?

There are clothes scattered everywhere here, as if someone had ransacked the place searching for something. You can see the reflection of various shoes and items scattered everywhere.

When you gaze into the mirror of the Red Room, there is a moment of recursion. The reflective surface warps, resembles the hall of mirrors effect, like when you enter an elevator lift with parallel mirrored sides and an infinite longitudinal sequence of self propagates on either side. The mirror cracks and cascades sharp slivers of glass upon the red floor.

You can sense red on the floor outside too. Something has changed - the talking has stopped now, but there is still some grunting, pummelling. If the security guard is still out there he has not heard you.
>>
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>Shout very very loudly: Alright that is enough! Just let him go! Let him in!

>Oh look, you have this cool gun.( >>5122076 ) Why not run out of the spa and try it out?
(roll 1d3)
1 Cowering Reception Attendant ( >>5122067 )
2 Riot Gear Security Guard ( >>5121979 )
3 Lil Guro, Drill Rapper ( >>5122139 )
( >>5121883 )
( >>5121888 )

>Continue swiping and browsing on the phone, searching for information (will deplete battery to 34%)

>You should look for some shoes in the scattered heaps of clothes. The splintered mirror shards are sharp and you might cut yourself.
>Corporate shoes
>Casual shoes
>>
>>5122363
>>You should look for some shoes in the scattered heaps of clothes. The splintered mirror shards are sharp and you might cut yourself.
>>Corporate shoes

>Turn the gun on ourself. Mirror world means we can't get hurt right?
>>
File: pietro-nume-1.jpg (2.52 MB, 3508x1824)
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Rolled 2 (1d3)

1 Cowering Reception Attendant ( >>5122067 # )
2 Riot Gear Security Guard ( >>5121979 # )
3 Lil Guro, Drill Rapper ( >>5122139 # )
>>
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(The sounds of punching and struggling have stopped. You can hear a heavy scraping sound as if a body is being dragged slowly against the floor of the corridor outside)

Frustratingly, none of the clothes here fit you.

You can see the following shoes:

>Formal Black Brogues
>Black Heels
>Strange Postmodern Footwear
>>
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>>5122510
>Turn the gun on ourself. Mirror world means we can't get hurt right?

You raise the handgun to your head and fire wildly.

(HK USP .45 ACP 0/12)
(You are deafened)
(You are weakened)
(Your handgun skill has slightly improved. You managed to hit a static, nearby target: your own head. Your skill with pistols remains poor, but you think you might manage aiming now, without emptying the entire magazine.)
>>
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Formal Black Brogues
>>
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Black Heels
>>
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Strange Postmodern Footwear
>>
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There is a ringing white noise reverberating in your skull. Was the gun loaded with blanks? You feel dazed and shaken. The side of your head feels burning hot, wet, cavitated. Rivulets trickling down your cheeks and neck. Is it sweat or blood? In the sauna heat of the spa it is hard to tell - everything in this room is illuminated red. You are gripped by a feverish hunger.

You are still pondering this when you see there is a security guard in full riot gear standing before you aghast. He must have heard the gunshots and rushed in. You cannot see his face but he is gesturing at you in panic and fear. You have been deafened by twelve gunshots to the head and have no idea what he is saying, but this guard is jabbing frantically at you and perhaps the spent handgun with its locked-back slide. The security guard is armed with an extendable, telescoping baton.

In your mind, you begin to walk Through A Red Forest...

>Kill the guard
>kILL tHE GUaRD
>KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL KILL KILL
>Try to push past this security guard and flee towards the exit corridor
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5122563
Wear
1. >Formal Black Brogues
2. >Black Heels
3. >Strange Postmodern Footwear
>>
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>>5122691
You are:
Hungry, Weakened, Deafened from 12 gunshots to the head (blanks?)

You appear to be:
Female Corporate Bathrobe Gun Maniac
You are untrained with firearms
Your combat skill has improved but is still poor.
You can aim a handgun.

You are wearing:
Spa Bathrobe
Black Heels (Corporate, Formal)

You possess:
Suspicious Underpants, (XXXL size)
Strange ID
Empty HK USP (.45 ACP 0/12)
Damaged Phone (cracked screen, battery remaining: 44%)

You remember an Ancient Rite:
Through A Red Forest
You think it has something to do with:
>>5121883
>>5121888

>Walk Through A Red Forest
>Kill the guard (he has seen your face...?)
>Try to push past the riot gear security guard, and flee to the corridor exit behind him
>(something else...?)
>>
Riot Baton
Close Range, Swift, Knockdown, Parry, Intimidate
Compact, Concealable (when retracted)
Weak: Thrust
Friction lock collapsible impact weapon constructed from telescoping cylindrical tubes of hardened steel, and an anti-slip ergonomic handle to aid weapon retention. Expands and locks from inertia with a forceful swing, but there is an inherent risk of the baton closing inadvertently from prodding or thrusts. Shock-resistant design can be used to break windows, to apply bludgeoning force to nerve clusters in the limbs to impair movement or induce pain compliance. Also useful in times of economic shock.
>>
>>5122680
>KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL KILL KILL

>>5123003
>Walk Through A Red Forest
>>
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You are drifting Through A Red Forest. For some reason your feet are bare, but you are still wearing a robe. There are flowers blossoming and trailing red petals where your footsteps would be. You can see red dew drops glistening upon the veined fronds of ferns, the delicate vascular paths traced upon the succulent throats of quivering plants and branches, as they sway and tremble in a silent wind.
>>
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There is a fugitive figure robed in red that resembles you, weaving gracefully in between the trees. A beautiful, dancing maiden. You want to reach out to the Dancer, call out to her, chase her, embrace her... but in a fleeting instant she has disappeared.
>>
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>>5121888
13 XIII: DEATH has returned to the tarot

>>5121979
54 EIGHT of WANDS has returned to the tarot

You have lost traits:
Hungry, Weakened, Deafened

You have gained traits:
Invigorated
Corrupted (I)
>>
You are not in a red forest. There is still the smell of chlorine and incense around you, and a small smear of gangly ribbons and gristle upon the floor of the hydrotherapy changing room. The Riot Baton lies entangled in the red mess, and beckons invitingly.

>Take the Riot Baton (stained)
( >>5123090 )
>>
The phone in the pocket of your robe is growing very warm, as if the battery is heating up. When you reach to check the phone you notice the remaining charge has dropped to 34%. But... you literally just swiped it once and looked at a photo of the hotel and its vertical floorplan?! You did not even go online or download anything, you have not even sent or received anything?? Perhaps the phone battery has overheated from lying in this spa for too long?

You open the phone browser to check to see if there are any active downloads etc. There are so many open tabs here.

Firstly there is a thread on teddit.net/r/rpg from a user named KospelTheBestDMEver451 which reads:

Guys! Guys!! I have just invented the most original thing ever!!! No-one has ever thought of this!!! No-one!! Basically, it is like a dungeon crawl in a Wizard Tower... except, the Wizard is already dead, and you start off in the treasure room! All the treasure is there! But how do you carry it out of the dungeon?! All the Wizard minions have gone berserk! Maybe they are rioting or something, I don't know. My characters have so much emotional depth! This is so original!!

The thread is over 24hrs old. There are 0 replies.

>Reply to this lame thread: (can write-in a username)
>Attempt to troll this KospelTheBestDMEver451 For some mysterious reason, trolling does not reduce the battery charge on this broken phone at all. (write-in trolling, or can just go with generic low-effort comments.)
>Compliment KospelTheBestDMEver451, you think his dungeon scenario is pretty good. (Battery charge -10%, to 24% remaining. You must write-in a username)

>Scroll through more of the phone browser tabs and try and find some actual useful information (Battery charge -10%, to 24% remaining)

>You have a feeling that the longer you use this phone, the more likely it is someone will get a lock on your identity and location. Check the settings on the phone and enable the most strict privacy options. Maybe put the phone into airplane mode. That will work, right?

>Throw the phone into the pool

>Ignore the phone for the time being, and exit the hydrotherapy spa

>(something else?)
>>
(other things you can try: )

>Install a tarot app on the phone (Battery charge -20%, to 14% remaining)

>Open the calendar/scheduling assistant on the phone, create a to-do list to review objectives (Battery charge -10%, to 24% remaining)

>Look up some... stimulating pictures / videos / gifs / webms. This is what the internet is mainly for, right? (You will spend a long time doing this, though it will probably feel quite like it only lasted a brief amount of time. Battery charge will go to 4%)


(some melee combat rules)
>>5123090
The Riot Baton is aligned to WANDS
you are currently untrained in melee combat

You can only succeed on a 1d78 roll that draws WANDS with this weapon, ie 14/78 = 18% probability.

You can burn a major arcana to add any major drawn to your success likelihood
ie boost your success to (22+14)/78 = 46% probability. (This is effectively a spell, it will vary depending on the situation)
Currently the only major arcana you possess is
14 XIV: TEMPERANCE
>>5121920
>>5121981
You may want to save this card for another situation. If only you had some means to draw more tarot cards...?

A fail will incur a complication... you may not necessarily miss in your attack, but there will be a consequence...
>>
>>5123206
>>Reply to this lame thread: (bathrobewaif6969)
>>Attempt to troll this KospelTheBestDMEver451 For some mysterious reason, trolling does not reduce the battery charge on this broken phone at all. (sooooooooooo originaaal, logistics and dragons, try again retard, how'd we get there in the first place without dealing with the minions? wut emotional depth? ur just another spastic wannabe dm)

>You have a feeling that the longer you use this phone, the more likely it is someone will get a lock on your identity and location. Check the settings on the phone and enable the most strict privacy options. Maybe put the phone into airplane mode. That will work, right?

>>5123240
>Open the calendar/scheduling assistant on the phone, create a to-do list to review objectives (Battery charge -10%, to 24% remaining)
>Install a tarot app on the phone (Battery charge -20%, to 14% remaining)

These next in that order.
>>
After hitting submit on the thread you observe a strange phenomenon. The remaining battery charge on this phone has increased?! It was actually 54%, even after you sent your trolling message? You wipe the begrimed phone screen with your fingers a little - it is covered in oily fingerprints and grit everywhere. 54% battery charge remaining? You must have misread the display.

There is an almost immediate enraged response from KospelTheBestEverDM451:

When I find out who you are bathrobewaif6969 I am going to yank off that bathrobe and I am bringing my +15 greatsword which is in no way a wooden log that is just shaped like a foam sword from LARP and I am going to hit you and hurt you and... (insert Navy SEAL copypasta gorilla/guerilla warfare etc.)

You are very satisfied that you have provoked a response from this turboautist. But you are suddenly seized with a panic realisation... you sent that message before checking the privacy settings... frantically you swipe through the phone menus attempting to hide traces of any incriminating information. You have a feeling that you will still be detectable. The menus and toggle buttons just provide an illusion of security, privacy and control. But any attempt at gathering telemetry on your behaviour and identity may be slowed or delayed slightly. A single action is unlikely to provoke an immediate response, but over time a psychological profile based upon selectors and accumulated metadata will form, and after a certain threshold is crossed...

You force yourself not to think about this, to succumb to paranoia and worry. You have to be careful how you use this phone. That is all you can do.
>>
initial phone battery charge: 54%

-10% calendar/scheduling assistant
+5% from corporate high heel shoes bonus, doing corporate things
-20% install tarot app

battery remaining: 29%

The calendar helps you compose your thoughts. This feels like a familiar routine to you, though the uncomfortable high heeled shoes are starting to bite into your ankles and toes a little.

(decide from the following list what your priorities are. You can choose as many as you like, but the very first option will be the most immediate and important thing to do. You can also write-in if you have any other ideas)

>Find a mask to hide your face (very hard, or very easy?)
>Find better clothes
>Find a bag to take all the money in the pool with you (but do you even need money?)
>Find a gun / ranged weapon
>Find a sword / melee weapon
>Find tools / utility items. (Maybe cups, coins...?)

>Find magic (to some extent you have already achieved this, so long as your phone battery remains charged and the tarot app remains installed. There might be a more permanent and controlled solution however...)

>Find someone in the hotel who can explain what is going on
>Scroll through the phone contacts: is there someone you can call to explain this? (battery charge -20%)
>Scroll through the remaining phone browser tabs (battery charge -10%)

>Find your hotel room (hard)
>Find MAGUS (very difficult, or very easy?)
>Investigate the riot outside (easy)
>Get out of the tower (extremely difficult but possible with your current knowledge)
>You think you are immortal. Find a way to end it (nearly impossible, requires a huge leap of imagination with your current knowledge)
>>
>>5123330
>Find a "wand", a suitable substitute for a sword, a cup, and take some money, especially coins, or look on our fingers for a ring. (like from an engineering degree ring or a wedding ring)
>Find a bag to take all the money in the pool with you (of course we need money, we are a corporate suit and this is our loot from the wizard's tower, duh.)
>Find a mask to hide your face (a +7 helm of anonymity to protect our identity, anything will do)

>Scroll through the remaining phone browser tabs (battery charge -10%)

>Find MAGUS (very difficult, or very easy?)

Maybe he'll have a key to the front door in his pocket, he's dead, so confronting him shouldn't be a problem.

>Get out of the tower (extremely difficult but possible with your current knowledge)
>>
We are the Oneironaut aren't we? We have to escape but we cannot die.

>>5122209
We work for Urthekau-Sylabari for some reason?
>>
>>5123330
>Find a bag to take all the money in the pool with you (but do you even need money?)
>Find a gun / ranged weapon
>Find tools / utility items. (Maybe cups, coins...?)

>Scroll through the remaining phone browser tabs (battery charge -10%)

>Investigate the riot outside (easy)
>>
The magus should be on the top floor, floor 1. Make sure to wear the underwear on our head before seeing him.
>>
>>5123349
I'm pretty sure investigating the riots just makes us run into the magus's monsters. We should find the info and stuff we need in the tower before finding our way out.
>>
>>5123367
Okay I can agree with that. Then let’s find our room first before meeting the “magus”
>>
>>5123374
I think he is dead.

Do you have any clue on where our room might be?
>>
Alternatively we are like Highborn from Invultua and we need to either go to the Tower floor to kill ourselves with True Death, or corrupt ourselves with magick/excessive porn, or escape into another world somehow. Assuming the similarities to Souvarine's older quests hold true.
>>
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On the thread where you successfully baited and trolled KospelTheBestEverDM451, you can see another reply has appeared. The user has adopted an extremely cringeworthy bishonen anime avatar of an effeminate male private academy student and part-time pretty boy-detective. The avatar has massive eyes and a tiny triangular pointed nose. You shudder involuntarily as you read the post by user Bish09 ( >>5122139 ):

Kospel I cannot make it tonight... I was just practising some of my rap flow completely innocently and I got attacked by riot police. They just attacked me, I wasn't doing anything. I fought off this guy, no - like five, no, eight guys - I mean in real life - and then there were all these gunshots and screaming and tentacle noises and stuff, I had to get away. It was a bit like a drill rap video. I am stuck here at some security barricade now though. The dungeon sounds ok I guess. Can some of the wizard minions be handsome men? Like, anime?

KospelTheBestEverDM451 replies:

No! This is my magical realm! All the evil wizard minions are girls! In bikinis! Bikini armour girls! No bishonen, no handsome men, absolutely no anime!

(You have discovered: Lil Guro likes ttrpgs)
>>
>>5123348
>>5123357
The word MAGUS suddenly makes sense to you. Isn't there a MAGUS Capital Trust, that owns the Alsephina Endowment? MAGUS owns this tower... Their offices must be situated on the top floor. All you have to do is take an elevator to the top floor, and you can meet MAGUS...

As if on cue there is an autoplaying spam video that appears in the browser. The video is regurgitating old news and you skip through it.

+Tickers: M AG US Newswire tags: marketmovers scandal corporate governance activism ESG M&A restructuring Nastrond100 tech high volatility high short interest+ ...surged in aftermarket trading yesterday after reclusive founder and CEO... spectacularly announced early retirement at the Alsephina Hotel Nastrond100 Tech Conference, surprising market analysts and clearing the way for a divestment of its lossmaking subsidiaries Axiom Galdra and Urthekau Sylabari...

Billionaires interested in space tourism, life extension, anti-ageing longevity research, A2AD drones, embodied cognition, metaverse surveillance across virtual worlds, vertical aeroponic cultivation, neuroinformatics, advanced metamaterials, genomic sequencing and precision medicine, robotic telesurgery... These billionaires believe in accelerating the technosingularity, converging humans and machines, maybe even creating a Turing-complete Workable Artificial Intelligence For Users (WAIFU)... Didn't the mysterious billionaire founder of MAGUS obtain their wealth from some programming language? ORBIS-3? Intelligent code completion, that democratised programming for the masses. The MAGUS gave it away for free. Why are they rioting outside?
>>
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>>5123343
>>5123349
>Find a bag to take all the money in the pool
>Find MAGUS (very difficult, or very easy?)
>Investigate the riot outside (easy)
>Get out of the tower (extremely difficult but possible with your current knowledge)

>Find a wand
(QM: I assume you take the Riot Baton, from what remains of the security guard)
>>5123090

A plan is beginning to form in your mind. You race up the stairs from the hydrotherapy spa, towards the elevator corridor. You notice the hotel and skyscraper tower seems mostly deserted - perhaps there is some lockdown with guests confined to their rooms as the guards are dealing with the riot and protests outside. You pass the corridor where Lil Guro the Drill Rapper and the now deceased security guard struggled earlier. There is no sign of the receptionist / female attendant voice you heard previously.

There is a gun-shaped package strewn upon the floor. But as Lil Guro tried to explain - it does not appear to be an actual gun.
>>
>Take the Strange Machine
You are not sure what this device does, but the point is sharp enough to draw blood. It does not appear to be a weapon. There is an inscription engraved inside: In der Strafkolonie
>>
You have almost reached the elevator corridor when you hear voices. It sounds like more security guards, three of them...

(Intelligent Sounding Guard)

So the hydrotherapy spa is completely soundproofed, you could fire a gun in there and no-one would hear! It is supposed to help with relaxation or something, sensory deprivation, red light therapy new age magic nonsense. But this tower is so insulated you cannot even hear the demonstrations outside. On the internet they are claiming they have 100,000 protestors but they always exaggerate the numbers. It is probably a few thousand - but the eye struggles to count crowds. You know it is harder with smaller groups. You can contain, bottleneck and kettle a crowd, but a small group that infiltrates, attacks and disperses... that would be difficult to handle. Have you ever tried chasing after protestors in riot armour?

(Brutal Guard, who replies with the sound of a firearm being racked)

No need to chase them. We have guns.

(There is a third high-pitched voice. This Squeaky Guard sounds very excited)

Hey - we are near to the spa right here! I was speaking with this guy earlier who had an interesting theory about Titanic being about vampires here. It makes sense! Think about it! Most of the time people claim that vampires are metaphors for gothic wandering heroes, desire, separation, social stratification family trauma fear of strangers etc. But the metaphor can work in reverse! What if some films are metaphors for vampires! Think about it! Titanic is about an old woman who is a young woman about to commit suicide, but she feeds off the life of a young man, eventually lets him drown in the freezing Sea, thereby reinvigorating herself to live an unnaturally long life! Like a vampire!

The Brutal Guard replies simply:

That is the most retarded thing I have ever heard.

The Squeaky Guard does not appear to be discouraged. He is rapidly heading in your direction.

We should go check on him! His conversations are really interesting!

>You think you are immortal. Walk out and kill all of these guards

>You were fortunate last time - you had Death on your side, and walked Through The Red Forest. You are not sure if the arcana you possess ( 14 XIV: TEMPERANCE, >>5121981 ) can do much in this situation. You should try and hide?
>Hide in the elevator
>Retreat and hide in the spa

>Perhaps this ( >>5122209 ) Strange Identification can help you circumvent the situation? Confidently brandish it and step out in your bathrobe and heels. (Bonus: write-in and select one of the occupations or write your own...)

>You have a feeling that with your current incomplete outfit even the Strange ID will not be enough. You have an ominous feeling about what might happen if these guards see your face... put on the Suspicious Underpants perhaps?

>Stay exactly where you are and do nothing. Maybe fate will intervene. (Burn your major arcana, 14 XIV: TEMPERANCE to resolve this situation in your favour)
>>
>>5123502
I'm guessing this is an injectable version of the skin scribe spell. Fitting for the whole "we are in a simulation and are literally injecting code into ourselves" thing.

>>5123503
>Perhaps this ( >>5122209 ) Strange Identification can help you circumvent the situation? Confidently brandish it and step out in your bathrobe and heels. (Bonus: write-in and select one of the occupations or write your own...)

>"Urthekau-Sylabari Certified Internal Auditor, I'm here to perform a first-party audit and make sure our practices are up to date with your latest standards."

>Act casual and shitpost on >>5123493 "He's lying, he took one look at the receptionist and got too scared to talk to a girl, but honestly, his NEETdom is nothing compared to your pathetic neckbeard mouthbreathing kospel."
>>
>>5123503
>"Also, I second that being the most retarded thing I've ever heard, Titanic is not about vampires."
>>
>>5123503
We’re a woman in a bath robe and those 3 idiots are dumb horny men. Do the thing you know works in the porn movies until they let us past!
>>
>>5123527
>>5123529

(You recognise the Strange Device as:
Tattoo Machine.

There seems to be something more to it however...

You remember the spell: Skin Scribe
Through an agony of effort, etch your thoughts into the skin of another known to you, at any distance. You may also receive the thoughts of another upon your own flesh. Through a dangerous and debilitatingly greater exertion of effort over a longer period of time, this spell can injure, though it is unlikely to discomfort a battle-hardened opponent.

You look at the phone in your hand. Has technology made this spell useless?)

>>5123527
(Somehow in this upcoming tense confrontation with three riot guards you managed to quickly compose even more eloquent and belletristic trolling. Kospel is trying to dox you and Bish09 will remember this later. You notice that your phone battery charge has strangely increased from 29% to 39%.)
>>
>>5123527
>>5123529
>>5123597

It seems to be working. Maybe it is your vulnerable, womanly figure in the luxurious spa bathrobe. It could be the high heels. But somehow a cheap plastic identification card with unconvincing bureaucratic insignia and logos appears to have utterly convinced The Squeaky Guard, despite your bizarre bathrobe and heels attire. He nods enthusiastically and waves you onwards.

(The Security Guards have seen your face)

The Brutal Guard is a bit more sceptical - he is however staring at your seductive high-heeled shoes, which are fairly expensive. ( >>5122588 ) And agreeing with his earlier Titanic comments has placated this security guard and put him in a good mood. He nods at you slowly - he seems to be concluding that you must have headed off into the spa to relax briefly, and that you have just emerged to change. He says:

You should stay in your room, Ma'am. We had some reports there are some intruders around - from the protests outside that have broken in. We are checking the situation now.

The Brutal Guard and the Squeaky Guard with the high-pitched voice disappear together down the stairs into the hydrotherapy spa, descending cheerfully to check on their (now-deceased) colleague.

The remaining Intelligent Guard is now standing before you alone. He is attired in riot gear and carries a USP chambered in .45 ACP ( >>5122076 )

You have a feeling that his gun is most definitely not loaded with blank ammunition.

The Intelligent Guard is looking at you with rapidly increasing suspicion:

You are an internal auditor? Which floor are you from? I have not seen you here before. Don't you guys only come down here fiscal quarter end? Which division did you say you were from? And what is that object in your pocket there...? (He is looking at the bulging pocket where you are carrying your own, empty handgun)

>1/ Burn Major Arcana 14 XIV: TEMPERANCE ( >>5121981 ) Perhaps fate will intervene?

>2/ Whip out the concealed Riot Baton and try and knock him out (the guard will be surprised. You can probably get a few hits in. Pray that the baton impact hits somewhere sensitive, not protected by his riot armour. Commence fight, roll 1d78, total success if you roll WANDS=18%probability. You can use this in combination with option 1/ above and try and improve your chances, succeed on WANDS or major arcana = 46% probability.)

>3/ Just run away. The elevator is right there. Maybe see if it really is quite difficult for a security guard in full riot armour to run after and catch up with you?

>4/ Write in and try and persuade this guard further. (You feel like this might be nearly impossible)

>5/ Something else?
>>
(Important QM clarification:
If you choose to burn Major Arcana 14 XIV: TEMPERANCE, you must declare it now, before any hostile action. Once combat begins it is unlikely that magic or fate will favour you)
>>
>>5123625
>"Oh, I'm from the 35th floor, we have to do another emergency audit to comply with the Parabus Associations new guidelines for best industry practices and - oh, this?"
>Reach with both hands into our pocket and push the slide forward and lift the slide lock so the slide is locked forward so the gun looks like it is loaded. Draw the gun and point it at his head.
>"Don't move, if you move or shout I'll blow your fucking brains out and use your blood as lube for my next shlicking session. Drop your gun and baton, do it slowly, kick them over to them. Then strip all your gear off and put it in a pile and step away"
>If he makes any hostile motion despite us point a gun at him run away crying "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to find my room, I'm having a really bad day *insertlongbabblingmonologueofawomanhavingareallybadday*" Then run into the elevator and mash the button for the top floor.
>>
>>5123625
Oh, but if he does comply, then pick up the actually loaded gun so that we are armed and pick up any of the gear that can fit into our pockets and put them in our pockets, including any handcuffs, magazines, the baton, keys, etc. Kick the rest of the gear into the elevator and tell the guard to scram in the opposite direction of his guard buddies.
>>
Alternative Plan:
Seductively get closer to him while undoing the bathrobe. When we are close enough, let the robes slip as we pull out the baton. While he is still too shocked and distracted with the display smack him until he is unconscious and take his stuff
>>
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>>5123665
>>5123667
>>5123736

(QM: I will allow the intent of these write-ins, but it will cost you the Invigorated trait and XIV: TEMPERANCE. As you did not roll, I will only give you some of what you want...)

(You have lost trait: Invigorated. You will begin to tire, weaken and hunger)

(XIV: TEMPERANCE has returned to the tarot)

(Three security guards have seen your face)

(Your combat skill is improving. You are about average now. You think you can easily overwhelm any civilian who has never fought before, and even match trained guards if they are on their own and isolated. You are not sure you could overcome heavily armed opponents, fanatics, multiple guards or a single battle-hardened opponent however)

(Your skill with handguns is improving. You can manage an isoceles stance and perhaps a tactical reload)

You are thinking about drawing your handgun with the intent of intimidating this security guard. He is on his own and already suspicious of you. This guard is very well trained and he draws his pistol and raises it before you can react. Yet when you step forward into the light and he can see you clearly outside of the unnatural red illumination and shadows from the hydrotherapy spa stairway the guard pauses, as if paralysed. He is petrified with fear. Then he starts shaking, trembling. He drops his loaded pistol and flees. He does not scream, but he runs as fast as he can away from you.

You are a little bewildered. You did not really do anything? Is there something about your face that frightened him?

Faraway from the hydrotherapy pool you can hear the echoing voices of the guards below:

This- what is this?! This is meant to be a 17-star I mean 7-star hotel! This pool is completely clogged! This is disgusting! Is that meat and hair I see? It must be rats! Some rats have died in this pool! We should get maintenance to fix this...
(You can hear the voice of the Brutal Guard)

Not sure rats have incisors of that size.
Those teeth look human to me.

You think of Temperance, the image of a woman beside a pool transferring water from one hand to another. It is not a rite of violence, but of manipulation, adjustment. He may no longer be able to tell you any interesting lore about vampires, Titanic or other films, but at least the dead guard's remains can clog a hydrotherapy pool. It appears Fate intervened after all.
>>
HK USP45
.45 ACP Tactical Variant (12/12)
Short Range, Concealed, Loud, Quickdraw, Reduced Recoil, Double-tap, Mozambique Drill, Compact, Flashlight, Threaded Barrel
Polymer frame semi-automatic with mechanical recoil reduction spring assembly. Five shots against two targets in less than 1.5 seconds. The modular design of this weapon permits customisation.

(basically the same as >>5122076 )
(It has a flashlight attached, because tactical lol. You could attach a suppressor if you find one. If you insist on dual-wielding, transferring the bullets between two magazines 2x 6/12 and carrying two handguns like Max Payne or a John Woo film or Nicolas Cage in Face/Off I cannot stop you, but I think it would be cooler with two different guns)

>Dual wield two USP45 and juggle some bullets around in magazines: you must become Max Payne (Maxine Payne?) or the femme fatale in Max Payne who got shot Mona Sax or whatever she was called. The QM will just have to permit this.

>Just take this upgraded USP45 like a normal Tom Clancy tacticool fanatic and discard the old one
>>
>>5123767
>Keep both guns but don't dual wield. Rack the slide of the .45 caliber one and insert a single bullet into the chamber of the other USP and lock the slide forward. That way if we are disarmed we can draw the other gun to use.
>>
>>5123767
>>5123769
(Also apologies the image of the tactical USP is a 9mm one but I could not find a good angle picture for a .45 ACP with a flashlight. Just imagine they are both .45ACP)
>>
>>5123767
>Just take this upgraded USP45 like a normal Tom Clancy tacticool fanatic and discard the old one
Dual wielding is dumb and we can find something more useful on the other hand.
>>
Sleeping now, make good choices anons.
>>
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>>5123769
>>5123779

(I will let you keep both guns for the time being, but in a bathrobe you can only carry two weapons. Even a spare, unloaded gun might be useful...)

Whilst the remaining two guards are distracted and dealing with the spa pool, you run towards the elevator. You thought it was so simple... just press the button to the top floor... but it seems like you have not visited these skyscrapers before. Perhaps you were not as wealthy and privileged as you imagined? Wealth follows a Pareto distribution. It is scale invariant. The 1% may spurn the 99%, but the 1% amongst the 1%, the ultra HNWIs, can make even the rich feel inferior, by the arithmetic of envy and hedonic adaptation.

This tower is segregated into sections. The floors have eccentric numberings, you think you might be on the 25th floor ( >>5121890 , 25 ACE of PENTACLES ) but the buttons stop before 22.

You know in some buildings the top floor is accessed via an exclusive, entirely separate private elevator that stops only on that level. For other buildings there are levels with no buttons at all and the lifts are computer allocated only via the entrance reception desk for security.

>You should visit the reception floor at the very bottom of this tower (US first floor, UK ground floor etc). Perhaps they could tell you which room you originally booked? You could also investigate the riot outside.

>Your bathrobe disguise barely deceived the currently distracted security guards on this floor. You should find some more appropriate clothes before attempting to talk to the reception desk.

>You should search this floor for more weapons/tools/information instead. Perhaps the different groups of floors have different purposes?

>Completely ignore the tower for the time being. The dead film guard now clogging the spa pool kept talking about vampires. Is there someone you could contact who knows something about them? (check phone contacts)
>>
>>5123854
>You should search this floor for more weapons/tools/information instead. Perhaps the different groups of floors have different purposes?
>>
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The phone in your pocket is beginning to feel warm again, as if the battery is overheating. You check it quickly and notice there is this update to the thread from KospelTheBestDMEver451:

I give up. Ok I admit it, I am not a very good hacker. I searched everywhere for this bathrobewaif6969 and I could not find anything. I even posted details of your phone metadata and screenshots of your conversations across the internet on the most obscure boards and hacker forums so everyone could see. I got zero replies. No one cares. I have no friends. Why can't people on the internet be nice? Please stop trolling me! Tell me what you want! I have lots of useful knowledge! I know everything about rpgs, how to defeat any monster... Please... Anything to stop the trolling...!

(>Write-in a request for Kospel: your earlier comments have driven Kospel to a state of desperation and despair. You could use this as a favour to ask him for information later)

Bish09 appears to have forgotten the purpose of this rpg thread. He is now liveblogging his frustration at the protest:

I am stuck here, what the hell - the police came and beat some people up. But everything has calmed down. There is some charity or social worker woman from the Paribus Foundation going around talking to everyone. But you know what - she is making it worse! It is a stalemate. Obviously the guards are not letting people into the building. The demonstrators have occupied the plaza, and the guards will not let anyone leave. I am stuck here! I don't think they can arrest everyone, there are just too many... maybe I can find some way back into the building. I heard from the demonstrators there is some secret entrance and exit that the guards have overlooked. But I don't even know what we are protesting about. There are some weird slogans on these placards, down with capitalism, kill the vampires, eat the rich, save the dolphins / trees / children, make love not war, the MAGUS did not kill himself, men can be women too... I am not sure I agree with all of this. Maybe half of it? What are we even protesting about? When I become a famous drill rapper I will write a diss song about all this...

( >>5123623 phone battery charge drops from 39% to 24%. What the hell...? The battery is just completely random...?! This is so unfair...)
>>
You are scrolling through these posts when you notice two bizarrely attired women approaching from this corridor. You are fairly confident they are not occupants from within this building, and you remember that the security guards were searching this floor earlier. You instinctively nickname the intruder with a purple sidecut Danger Hair and the other as Slob Girl. You notice they have tattoos.

Danger Hair is gawking a little at the lavish corporate interior:

There is so much stuff here... I heard there is a fashion show, a tech conference, an art gallery, some archaeological artifact museum exhibition... this tower literally has everything! These billionaires have everything! This must be what it is like to be ultra rich... you just experience all this stuff, and never even pay for anything... nobody even asks you for money when you belong, everything just happens for free... this is incredible...

The Slob Woman attempts to hush Danger Hair:

Sshhh! Have you forgotten there are riot guards patrolling everywhere? Keep your voice down! Sshhh! And we cannot let them find out about the secret entrance! Now see if there is any stuff we can grab, and let us quickly move on!

Danger Hair giggles a little:

Oh I think I can wrestle any man down. I am pretty strong. But I hope I do not encounter that strange movie producer. You know, the one who makes all the goth music and horror films. They say he prowls hotel corridors in a bathrobe preying on beautiful actresses, young women... this would never happen in real life! It is not like there is some actual creepy film producer in real life that would go around for years undetected molesting women! But I heard he got really into horror films and stuff. He performed some demonic ritual and filmed it - he believes he cannot die now... He has to sacrifice people to stay immortal, and film them...

Slob Girl is really scared -

Sshhhh! Don't say it! Don't say his name! I saw this horror film! If you say his name loud enough, he appears and tortures and mutilates and kills everyone! Let's just get out of here!

>Umm... this secret entrance / exit... er... where is it exactly?

>Er... nice...tattoos? Do you know anything about this tattoo machine... ( >>5123502 )

>Er... down with capitalism, um, kill all the vampires etc. Could I maybe follow you around and see where you are going? (try and persuade Danger Hair and Slob Girl to join your party. They can direct you to locations eg the fashion show, tech conference, art gallery, archaeology museum etc)

>Would you like this free gun to defend yourself from undead horror film producers who molest women? (trade them your spare USP45 - perhaps they might have an item in return? Bonus: write-in if you provide them with some spare ammunition out of your .45 ACP 12/12 magazine, they may trust you even more)
>>
Danger Hair
>>
Slob Girl
>>
>>5124403
>Er... nice...tattoos? Do you know anything about this tattoo machine... ( >>5123502 )
>Would you like this free gun to defend yourself from undead horror film producers who molest women? (trade them your spare USP45
>>
Your phone battery is overheating again. The anime avatar of Bisho09 / Lil Guro the drill rapper is frantically posting:

Kospel? Kospel - you autist, what did you do... Where did you post all those details about bathrobewaif6969, I hope it was not on some degenerate anonymous site filled with cartel beheading / face peeling videos or tentacle anime that I do not watch or know or think about. I have just seen the strangest thing... Some guard came running out in complete panic, he was unarmed he did not have a gun... he ran out of the building and was undoing his helmet and babbling to the Paribus Foundation charity lady, something about a bathrobe person-thing with a gun... He was really frightened, he kept shouting about its face and its robes... Then there were these like tattooed goth cosplay people at the protest. They got really interested in this, whatever the guard was shouting about. They got up and approached the Paribus Charity Lady. The goth leader is a woman and they are having a bit of an argument right now, it seems like the Goths want to be let inside. But the guards are going to let them in! They look like terrorists, maniacs! They have all these axes and blowtorches or a flamethrower and some really weird guns, like old ones. I think like there are these twins with swords and someone else has a tank cannon or something. It must be fake! I really hope they are cosplayers. They look pretty angry...! And the other demonstrators are angry too, they do not understand why some Goths get to go in and they do not. It was just calm a moment ago. The crowd might start a riot again! What did you do Kospel?! You are to blame for this! I am going to put you in my next drill rap diss track!

( >>5124402 phone battery drops from 24% to 14%. )
>>
Catching up.
>>
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(It is almost like the QM is conveying some message about what RPG dungeon delving adventuring parties are like these days, with the characters being offered. Needless to say neither Danger Hair nor Slob Girl will criticise your face or slightly psychotic fashion outfit of bathrobe plus high heels. They will ONLY accept the following in terms of trade:)

>spare USP + 6 bullets + expensive high heels

>Riot Baton + expensive high heels

>your luxurious, expensive bathrobe (they will not mind nakedness, the protest/demonstration/festival has brought out all sorts of people, it is like Burning Man out there)

You notice Danger Hair is carrying a Flare Gun - intriguingly, it seems quite antiquated.

If you trade any of these options above, you can persuade them to (choose ONE:)

>accompany you (Danger Hair and Slob Girl will join your party, and direct you to various locations. They may annoy you. They may reveal the location of the secret unguarded passage.)

>give you a flare gun

>explain what the tattoo machine does

(other stuff you can try, if you are feeling very brave...)

>you don't need information. You are immortal.
Shoot both Danger Hair and Slob Girl and take their stuff

>Knock them unconscious with the Riot Baton

>Try and threaten them with a gun or baton etc

>Ask Kospel about the tattoo machine

>Ask Kospel about vampires
>>
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Signal Pistol
Concealable, Loud, Incendiary, Weak: Armour
VZ30 flare gun, a weapon of the old world. Unusual rotating breech block can fire a variety of different rounds. Can be used to signal an attack, distract or burn unarmoured opponents. If you fire it, expect a lot of attention.
>>
>>5124518
>your luxurious, expensive bathrobe (they will not mind nakedness, the protest/demonstration/festival has brought out all sorts of people, it is like Burning Man out there)

>accompany you (Danger Hair and Slob Girl will join your party, and direct you to various locations. They may annoy you. They may reveal the location of the secret unguarded passage.)

>Ask Kospel where to find a bag and where our room is
>>
>>5123867
Ah, probably not the best choice to search a pentacle floor for weapons or tools, but info maybe.

>Write-in a request for Kospel: "Tell me everything you know about MAGUS and Alsephina Hotel."

>>5124518
>your luxurious, expensive bathrobe (they will not mind nakedness, the protest/demonstration/festival has brought out all sorts of people, it is like Burning Man out there)

>accompany you (Danger Hair and Slob Girl will join your party, and direct you to various locations. They may annoy you. They may reveal the location of the secret unguarded passage.)

>Ask Kospel about vampires
>>
>Ask Kospel where to find a bag and where our room is

KospelTheBestDMEver451 replies:

Noooo! Please, stop trolling me! Noooo! I have been trying to dox you bathrobewaif6969 and you ask me where your room is? I have no idea where it is?! If I knew I would have sent like SWAT teams to your location like they do on the livestreams with the gamers but your trolling is far too advanced! Noooo! Leave me alone!

(>>5124516 Phone battery increases to 19%)

>Ask Kospel about vampires

KospelTheBestDMEver451 replies:

Ha! I am an expert on this! I know everything! So easy! Did you know, I once fought this vampire singlehandedly in a dungeon...! And I survived! And there was this other strange person, who I think was also maybe a vampire, but I sort of hit my head a bit on a rock and got a bit wet or something after I do not remember. But vampires are really tough. If you shoot and slash and burn them a lot, a LOT, they will actually die. But the problem is - they will be fighting back. It is like - imagine you had to fight someone who had a chainsaw but you only had like a needle or a tattoo gun ha ha ha. The needle would eventually kill them pathetically slowly but you probably would get torn apart first by the chainsaw. And also when vampires die they go to some strange place like a red forest or whatever I am not sure.

But the best way to end a vampire is to kill them with an old weapon. A weapon that is of the same era as when they were born, or older than when they were made. Like a really ancient sword or axe or spear or something. But this is why it is difficult. You need to research their origin. If you fought a vampire with the wrong era weapon, it might hurt them a bit, but then they would just tear you apart! It would be horrible!

You could also try destroying their sanctuary. This does not actually kill them, but it makes them mortal. The sanctuary could be anything though. It could be like an amulet or trinket or anything at all. If you destroy this they cannot go to the red forest or whatever and you can just end them normally. See, I know so much stuff! I am so amazing!

>Write-in a request for Kospel: Tell me everything you know about MAGUS and Alsephina Hotel.

(There is no response to this. You have a feeling you have just doxxed yourself)

(You are being hunted)

Phone battery charge: 0%
>>
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(Danger Hair and Slob Girl have joined your party.
They accept you because you look strange.
If you do corporate things or wear corporate clothes, Danger Hair and Slob Girl will begin to dislike you.)

Well, you will just have to remain naked now. You feel a bit disappointed to part with the Bathrobe. It feels so soft and warm and comfortable. Robes fit you really well. When you wear this robe, you almost feel a bit like a wizard.

As you are undressing, Danger Hair suddenly stops you. She is gazing earnestly at you, staring deeply into your eyes and face:

You are so, so brave. So brave. I really respect your life choices. It is so hard! People are so prejudiced! A lot of my friends are going through the same thing. Whenever I see separate bathrooms I remember how cruel people can be. The world is so cruel! It starts from such an early age too, the indoctrination and oppression. This is literally the worst and most cruel thing in the entire world. Someday we will overthrow this tran-I mean tyranny! Not the other word! You are such a strong, independent person!

There is a very long, awkward silence...

And the long silence continues...

(QM: You can keep the bathrobe. Without its pockets, how will you carry anything?)

Slob Girl has noticed your high heels. She shakes her head a little:

Those are so corporate. Unfashionable. You should get rid of them, just throw them away.

>Throw away the expensive high heels. They may be seductive but they are cramping your toes and arching your feet uncomfortably.

>Keep wearing the expensive high heels. Maybe if you can find a complete corporate outfit, this could help you at the reception desk on the bottom floor?
>>
Ahead of you there is a wide concourse, that overlooks several of the floors below in the tower. You can see the vertiginous drop of levels above and below you.

Danger Hair mentions:

You know it is strange. This billionaire MAGUS or whoever built this tower 13 years ago. It was the tallest skyscraper at the time - so it must have had more than 163 floors. But there are only 78 levels marked? And the numbering is chaotic. We already know one passage, but are there many more secret hidden floors? What would the MAGUS be doing there?

Slob Girl replies nervously:

Dungeons. Torture dungeons! Maybe the MAGUS is the... no! I am not saying his name! It is so scary!

You can see two men ahead on the concourse. They appear to be arguing fiercely and gesticulating violently at each other.

One is a very Handsome Executive, he looks like a financier or investment manager of some sort.

The other man looks literally like the opposite. He has a sordid wolfish look, like a begrimed ageing rockstar, a goth, or ghoul. Eventually the Handsome Executive gets up, shaking his head in disagreement and disgust. The Handsome Executive departs and leaves the Ghoulish Man alone. His back is turned to you, and he has not seen or heard any of you approach.

Slob Girl squeals in terror:

That-that must be him! King Ghoul! He directs all those horror films! Argh! We have to get away! He is going to torture and kill us all!

(Slob Girl and Danger Hair are too terrified to help you at the moment)

>This is the perfect opportunity for a stealth attack. If only you were like a bald-headed assassin, with a barcode on your head and some piano wire... but wait, you have some large suspicious underpants. Approach King Ghoul from behind, pull the underpants over his head, maybe beat him over the face for molesting women and making disturbing horror films

>Just shoot him

>King Ghoul makes horror films... maybe he knows something about vampires? Or even the MAGUS? Ask King Ghoul all these questions etc

>Maybe just avoid this situation. Try and follow the Handsome Executive (leave Danger Hair and Slob Girl behind for the moment, in this area alone with King Ghoul)
>>
King Ghoul, aka The King
>>
Robert Alle, The Handsome Executive
>>
>>5124582
Good, more fodder to interrogate. Also nice to know the vampire mechanics, I guess that is why the paintings were important in Galerne.

>Throw away the expensive high heels. They may be seductive but they are cramping your toes and arching your feet uncomfortably.

We have allies, some moderate skill in firearms and a gun, for now we probably won't need to blend in for the mid-game, we'll just shoot anyone who disagrees with us.

Also, I guess we are intersex or trans? I sort of guessed that based on the post-modern shoe option.

>>5124592
>This is the perfect opportunity for a stealth attack. If only you were like a bald-headed assassin, with a barcode on your head and some piano wire... but wait, you have some large suspicious underpants. Approach King Ghoul from behind, pull the underpants over his head, maybe beat him over the face for molesting women and making disturbing horror films

wolololo! yolo!
>>
>>5124584
>>Throw away the expensive high heels. They may be seductive but they are cramping your toes and arching your feet uncomfortably.

>>5124592
>>This is the perfect opportunity for a stealth attack. If only you were like a bald-headed assassin, with a barcode on your head and some piano wire... but wait, you have some large suspicious underpants. Approach King Ghoul from behind, pull the underpants over his head, maybe beat him over the face for molesting women and making disturbing horror films

Dammit anon. Why did you ask that the question and get us doxxed?
>>
>>5124632
I mean, there is no reason that we know of that Kospel would think us wanting to know about MAGUS or the hotel would mean that we are in there, unless he knows we are an amnesiac or whatever we are.

Nor am I worried about being SWATed, we are surrounded by riot cops, leftist(?) protesters, vampires and ghouls and who knows what. Honestly, Kospel showing up himself could be a blessing.
>>
(in an unknown location)

911, what's your emergency?

Yes er I am Kospel-I mean, er, hmmm, er... Koebel... yes, Koebel, lets go with that, that is not the name at all of a dungeonmaster who got himself into trouble or cancelled - yes, I am, er, DM Koebel, and er, there is this insane woman(?) in a bathrobe, at the Alsephina Hotel, she is obssessed with vampires, I think she is armed and very dangerous...

You are beginning to suspect that this wizard tower is actually filled with traps (QM: lol, traps) and even if they are not of the fall into a pit of spikes variety, some of these social traps can also impale you, or be difficult to escape from.

(you have lost: expensive high heeled shoes. Danger Hair squeals a little when you throw them over the edge into the floors below. Slob Girl is pleased)

However you were clever enough to throw away the heels. Not only would they gradually annoy your companions over time but they would definitely give you away when trying to sneak up on this perverted King Ghoul. You are approaching him silently, underpants garrotte at the ready... creeping forward ever so silently...

King Ghoul has his back turned 180 degrees to you. There is no possible way for him to see you approach, no shadow, no reflection, no sound, surely nothing. And yet, in a voice that sounds like a handful of dust thrown into an open grave, the King speaks:

I know what you are. I don't serve you no more. There is no need for it. Life kills you in the end.

(You have lost the chance for a surprise attack)
(You are not within melee distance)

King Ghoul turns to face you. There is a sound like a crying baby thrown into the jaws of a howling wolf. A braying croaked scream. You realise he is laughing. It ends in a nicotine wracked cough.

When he recovers, King Ghoul speaks:

It's not magic. I smelt the incense on your skin. So this is what it is like now, is it? You've come to end me, with your friends?

(King Ghoul does not appear to be carrying any weapons)

>Don't let him finish - gun King Ghoul down with the USP45. You have seen this film before, he is about to transform into something horrible...
>Tell Danger Hair to shoot King Ghoul with her flare gun
>Tel Danger Hair and Slob Girl to flee

>Hear King Ghoul out - does he have something to tell you?

>Bluff/try and flatter him: I really like your films! Especially all the horror and violence and torture ones! Could you tell me how you make those vampire films of yours? They are so realistic! Amazing!

>That Handsome Executive is getting pretty far away now. Maybe completely ignore this conversation and just walk off to chase after him, and leave King Ghoul alone with the terrified Danger Hair and Slob Girl.
>>
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>Something else...? If you know who the Magus is, maybe that would help...?
>King Ghoul is the Magus
>You literally only glimpsed him a few moments ago, but the Handsome Executive is the Magus
>That Squeaky-Voiced Guard interested in the Titanic vampire film theory is the Magus
>Lil Guro the Drill Rapper aka Bish09 is the Magus
>Kospel is the Magus
>I have no idea, Danger Hair is the Magus?
>Slob Girl?
>The Magus is dead
>The Magus doesn't exist, it is some sort of metaphor for capitalism? (If you say this, Slob Girl will be really happy)
>someone/something else...?
>>
>>5124727
We ARE the MAGUS
>>
>>5124732
You have gained trait: The Betrayer
This trait can never be lost

It is in the oldest book. The one that betrayed for money. Dead by their own hand as the sun rose over the field of blood bought with silver.

There was another betrayal. Whose sacrifice was greater? The one in agony, worshipped and blessed forever, or the Betrayer who brought it about, who followed the plan, but whose name was cursed forever after? The Betrayer died for their sins too. And there were some who remembered, who worshipped the Betrayer instead. The True Faith and the Greatest Sacrifice. On another world, they could forget the symbols that forever reminded them of the curse, silver, sunlight, but perhaps not blood...?

The light on this floor, the Ace Of Pentacles, is turning strangely red again. You feel a sharp pang of hunger - you haven't eaten anything for a long time...

>King Ghoul knows what you are. Push him over the edge of this floor. It serves him right anyway.

>Shoot King Ghoul in the head

>wait, King Ghoul - does he direct or produce these films? Is that importa- KILL HIM

>KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL KILL KILL

>You realise you are truly cursed. Leap over the overhang of this floor yourself.
>>
>>5124770
>KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL KILL KILL
>>
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You are not walking Through A Red Forest. There is a desolate wilderness of red sand, endless parched red dunes and barren red rock. You thirst, but there is no water, no sustenance here. Nothing is enough.
>>
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There is a monstrous shape looming in the blinding whirlwind of red flecks. You must fight it if you want to maintain control.

(Your phone charge is 0%.)
(You cannot access the Tarot.)

>Hit it with the Riot Baton?? (roll 1d3)
>Shoot it with the gun?? (roll 2d3)
>Surrender and let the shape embrace you (roll 3d3)

>Something else?
>>
Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d3)

>>5124855
Yeah, yeah, no blood.

Probably would've been easier to push him off and drink from someone else and confront him when we are stronger.

>Shoot it with the gun?? (roll 2d3)
>>
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.45ACP 10/12
In the red whirlwind amidst the parched dunes, the gun makes no sound. You can hear screaming. You remember what Kospel said about ancient weapons. Will it be enough?

>Keep firing (roll 2d3 again)
>Maybe try a melee weapon? Lash out with the Riot Baton (roll 1d3)
>Surrender and let the shape embrace you (roll 3d3)

>Something is very wrong. You have to break out of this... but what to do? (write-in)
>>
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1 Danger Hair
2 Slob Girl
3 King Ghoul
>>
Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d3)

>>5124879
>Keep firing (roll 2d3 again)
>>
Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d3)

>>5124879
>Keep firing (roll 2d3 again)
If we are Judas, then who was Jesus?
>>
Ammunition remaining
.45 ACP 6/12

Danger Hair hit once :
Wounded, shock, panic

Slob Girl hit twice :
(USP45 weapon trait: double-tap)
Mortally wounded, unconscious, dying

King Ghoul hitx3 :
(USP45 weapon trait: Mozambique Drill)
Executed
Dead

You have gained traits:
Invigorated
Corrupted (II)

Your handgun skill is formidable. You use a Weaver stance and instinctively fire 2-round double-tap bursts to execute targets. You are still outmatched by highly trained guards, fanatics, psychotic criminals or battle-hardened military operators, supernatural foes or just a very large crowd of ordinary assailants, suppressing fire etc.

>Take the flare gun / signal pistol from Danger Hair ( >>5124522 ) She is in shock and cannot stop you

>Search Slob Girl for items (maybe she has a phone...?)

>Feed them all to the Red Lord Of Ruin (execute all survivors)

(If you choose to flee, you must do so immediately. You cannot take the flare gun/signal pistol, search or loot etc)

Everyone in your vicinity heard those gunshots. You are already being hunted. Flee this area and head for:

>Back to the hydrotherapy spa (maybe some of those guards could provide you with more ammunition...?)

>The elevator

Try to find on your own:

>The Fashion Show
>The Tech Conference
>The Art Gallery
>The Archaeological Exhibition

>The fastest way down is to leap off the side of this floor. You are The Magus and you built this Tower. You will survive The Fall. (lose trait: invigorated)
>>
>>5124958
>Feed them all to the Red Lord Of Ruin (execute all survivors)
>Search Slob Girl for items (maybe she has a phone...?) Get our clothes back or if she has better clothes with more pockets then take those.
>Take the flare gun / signal pistol from Danger Hair ( >>5124522 ) She is in shock and cannot stop you

In that order.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d3)

Slob Girl's Phone:
1 phone shattered by bullets
2 phone damaged
3 phone intact
>>
>>5125004
I mean, we are killing danger girl as well, so lets see if she has a phone as well.
>>
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>Feed them all to the Red Lord Of Ruin (execute all survivors)
(Danger Hair: executed, dead)
(Slob Girl: executed, dead)

.45 ACP 4/12
Corrupted (III)
You have ascended to: Red Ruin Acolyte

The Orationists are hunting you. They will execute you on sight.
The Vourukasha are hunting you. They will attempt to capture and interrogate you.
Some pathetic human guards are hunting you (or is it the other way round?) You should feed them to the Red Lord.
Some goths(?) are looking for you. Maybe they want to cosplay?

The Red Lord grants you:

Bullet Witch (ordinary weapons)
Gift: mundane weapons have infinite magazines. You will never run out of ammunition
Curse: you cannot ever tactical reload, even in between battles. You have to fully empty a gun before reloading. The magazine is locked in place. This could lead to you having to reload at the very start of a gunfight, and at inopportune moments.

>accept the Red Lord's Gift
>decline the Red Lord's Gift (He will not be pleased. This will incur a consequence)

You have gained:
Signal Pistol/Flare Gun 1/1
>>5124522
This is a relic of the old world. It will hurt supernatural foes, so long as they are unarmoured. It counts as a pistol, so your combat training skills apply, and you are familiar with its operation. Upgrading your handgun skill becomes more difficult from this threshold onwards...

Since you responded correctly with the identity of the Magus, if you can guess which floor the following events are held, you may choose to bypass security and go there directly. Some should be more obvious than others.

You can consult >>5121867 to guess which floor the following events are held:

>The Fashion Show
>The Tech Conference
>The Art Gallery
>The Archaeological Exhibition

alternatively:

>The fastest way down is to leap off the side of this floor. You are The Magus and you built this Tower. You will survive The Fall. (lose trait: invigorated)
>>
File: 20220117_213031.jpg (1.16 MB, 1920x3199)
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>>5125029
You are thinking about searching Danger Hair for a phone. From the corner of your eye you can see a short girl looking at you, with a puzzled expression on her face...
>>
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And then another girl appears...

(You have no magic)

>Flee, now (where to?)

>Face these opponents with your Riot Baton (roll 1d78, hit on WANDS)

>Shoot both of them with the HK USP 4/12 shots remaining (roll 2d78, hit on WANDS)

>Shoot at one of them with the Flare Gun (roll 1d78, hit on WANDS)

>Something else?
>>
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Rolled 56, 26 = 82 (2d78)

>>
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>>5125059
(nothing happens)
>>
>>5125057
>>Flee, now (where to?)
>The Art Gallery
Ace of Wands

"Later, girls!"
>>
Rolled 42, 6 = 48 (2d78)

>>5125036
>accept the Red Lord's Gift

>Flee to floor 56

>Fire blindly at both of them
>>
Agree with emptying the magazine by firing blindly so we can go into the next fight with a full mag
>>
>>5125057
Eh, actually, sure, lets go with that floor >>5125069
>>
>>5125073
42 FIVE of WANDS is a hit. You have grazed: Sword Twins. You have a feeling that this mundane handgun you found from a guard will not hurt them very much though.

06 VI: The LOVERS you have no magic. If you burnt major arcana this would have led to an awesome Bayonetta effects lol given that these girls are twins, and the imagery of that card.

>>5125077
It is a clever idea, but sadly that is not how the curse of the Red Lord works (he is named after Ruin for a reason...)
HK USP .45 ACP 2/12. It looks like you will have to reload in the middle of the next fight.

You are racing towards the Ace Of Wands, floor 26, hoping it is the Art Gallery. You can hear the echoing of chants and rioting outside. Something has stirred up the crowd... you thought your tower was insulated from them, but they are breaking through the barricades, trying to force their way in...

Your memories are slowly returning to you. You see the image of King Ghoul splayed out, arms outstretched like bloodied wings upon the concourse floor. It did not feel right... was he really to blame? King Ghoul had been arguing with that Handsome Executive, what was that about? You remember Lil Guro / Bish09 mentioning the cosplaying goths. ( >>5124516
). Goths like horror films, right? If you had listened to King Ghoul more, sent him down to speak with them... or if you had told Danger Hair and Slob Girl to flee first, listened to King Ghoul...

This is the Betrayer's Curse, you tell yourself. It is Fate. Always when you find a sense of self, begin to grow close to others, find companionship... it is torn away from you. Did you do it? Or is this what the curse always does? The Betrayer sacrificed everything for Heaven - see how he was rewarded, how his name is spat upon, or even how he is forgotten, whilst another steals all the love, all the honour, all of the victory. If you had your way, you would break into Heaven, and make them pay.

But the protesters are breaking in now, into the tower, your Tower. You cannot remember the exact implications of this, but you have a feeling it is not good.

(Decide your priorities now. You can choose as many as you want, but I will take the first option as the highest priority)

>You need more information, memories etc
(risk: low)

>You need a sword / melee weapon
(risk: low)
>You need a better gun / ranged weapon
(risk: medium)

>You need a magic weapon, either a sword or gun that can kill supernatural opponents
(risk: high)

>You need a phone, installing a tarot app etc.
(risk: medium)

>You need tools, utility items, clothes etc
(risk: low)

>You need to permanently recover your magic
(risk: dangerous, but possible)

>You want to end your immortality
(risk: trivial, you need not do anything at all)

>You want to overthrow Heaven, become a god
(unfortunately, not quite possible yet at this stage)

>You want to escape the Tower
(risk: both trivial, and very dangerous???)
>>
>>5125138

>You need more information, memories etc
>You need a phone, installing a tarot app etc.
>You need a better gun / ranged weapon
>You need a magic weapon, either a sword or gun that can kill supernatural opponents
>You need tools, utility items, clothes etc

Can this list of priorities change later?
>>
>>5125138
I missed one:
>You want to stop the riot outside
(very, very difficult, but just about possible)

>if you think you know what might happen with this, write in...
>>
>>5125138
Normally I'd say information, but our previous iterations clearly got nowhere, so I'm not sure retreading old ground will do any good. Or it could give us critical information to complete some plan multiple memory wipes in the making, I dunno.

This is just our priority list at the moment right, not permanently?

>You need a magic weapon, either a sword or gun that can kill supernatural opponents

>You need to permanently recover your magic

>You need more information, memories etc

>You need tools, utility items, clothes etc

>You want to escape the Tower

>You want to overthrow Heaven, become a god
>>
>>5125154
I don't know what might happen with it, but I can imagine that we can achieve it either with a phone and some placating messages to the right people or some exchanged favours, or with some calming magick, or finally, with a automatic weapon with a high mag capacity and a lead finger.
>>
>>5125155
A phone for the Tarot, trolling Kospel and communicating with other people is absolutely necessary.

>>5125148
Gonna switch the top 2 priorities. Find a phone first then information.
>>
>>5125162
Hmm, sure, I'd switch permanently recovering our magic and getting info on my list, then I'd put finding a phone above finding info, again on my list.
>>
>You need more information, memories etc
>You need to permanently recover your magic

You are recalling your powers as the Magus. You can resemble nearly any role or occupation with the right clothes and right items, male, female, corporate, casual - at least, indistinguishable to the eyes of most ordinary people. This Tower is your Sanctuary. If the riot breaks in, and reaches the top floor... You cannot fight the crowd. The crowd will outlive you. ( >>5121870 )

(once the riot breaks in, I will roll to advance the crowds of protestors up the levels of the Tower with each choice. The exact pace at which they advance will depend on some as yet unrevealed choices ahead - currently it is likely to be fairly slow, but it could become very rapid. There are already some significant hostile elements to you present in the building hunting for you etc. They are not allied to the protestors, but that might change...)

You look at the Tattoo Machine in your hand, and recall the ancient rite: Skin Scribe. With this rite, in combination with any tattooist skilled in art, you could etch the magic back into you, permanently... but no tattooists reside in the corporate surroundings of this Tower. You would need to leave your Sanctuary and meet with someone elsewhere... perhaps this could even confuse those hunting for you currently? But if you leave the Tower and the riot breaks in, how will you get past them...?

(QM: I will let you consider your priorities for the time being, and resume tomorrow...!)
>>
>>5125183
We'll need the secret entrance/exit, or a disguise. Mug someone or find a rioter to befriend/interrogate. The break-in is still in its earliest stages, now is the time to get the magic back in us.
>>
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You possess traits:
Betrayer
Invigorated
Corrupted (III): Red Ruin Acolyte
Bullet Witch Gift (ordinary guns)
Bullet Witch Curse (ordinary guns)

and you have remembered the hidden trait:

Thousand Faces Of The Betrayer
- deceive ordinary people by assuming any role or identity, male, female, corporate, casual etc. simply by wearing appropriate items. Bizarre behaviour, violence, unusual questions may dispel this illusion. Those with witch-sight will see through it (though they may have to suspect you enough to use it on you first)
(you feel you have other hidden traits, as the Magus... perhaps you already guessed what they are?)

The Orationists are hunting you. They will execute you on sight.
The Vourukasha are hunting you. They will attempt to capture and interrogate you. The one(?) you grazed is pretty angry, though. ( >>5125056 , >>5125057 )
Some pathetic human guards are hunting you (or is it the other way round?) You should feed them to the Red Lord.
Some goths(?) are looking for you. Maybe they want to cosplay?

Your Sanctuary 78/78 (?) floors is intact.
The protest outside is trying to break in.
Location: Alsephina Hotel, T1 Sky Tower International Finance Centre, Etemenanki Plaza

You are wearing:
Luxurious Bathrobe / Red Acolyte Robes
( >>5122085 )
- you realise you are anointed in blood. None of it is your own.

(you threw away your shoes >>5124723 )

You possess:
Skin Scribe ( >>5123623 )
Tattoo Machine ( >>5123502 )
Riot Baton ( >>5123090 )
- aligned to WANDS
HK USP .45 ACP 0/12 ( >>5122076 )
HK USP .45 ACP 2/12, with flashlight ( >>5123767 )
Signal Pistol / Flare Gun (1/1) ( >>5124522 )
- This weapon will burn supernatural enemies
- your Bullet Witch infinite ammunition trait does not apply to it
Damaged Phone ( >>5122079 )
- battery remaining: 0%
- cracked screen
Strange ID ( >>5122209 )
Suspicious Underpants ( >>5121993 )

(QM note: it is optional, but I would recommend you discard some weapons. Technically the tattoo needle is weapon-sized so you are carrying 5 weapons, I feel like this is a bit too much even for the magic bathrobe / wizard / cultist robes)
>>
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>>5125069
>The Art Gallery
(QM: unfortunately, 26 ACE of WANDS is incorrect)

Your face is burning with shame. You are a powerful wizard! You built this entire tower! And here you are, fleeing from two small angry girls. They may actually be vengeful ghosts with swords. You executed two innocent though slightly annoying companions, who were trying to help you. And though you do not fully remember it, you feel you killed someone, betrayed an old friend, whose guilt was not his own.

You reproach yourself, curse yourself again and again - you made this Sanctuary and you cannot remember where you put everything? Of course, the events are really important: they must all be held on Major Arcana floors. Why did you not remember this before? Why did you take away your own magic, your own memories? Try to make yourself mortal again? Is it the Betrayer's Curse? But killing is so easy...

You are beginning to panic, when you realise you are approaching a dead end. This is not the Art Gallery... where was it? You can feel the vengeful ghosts of the two girls creeping towards you, twin swords glinting, waiting to be quenched in your blood...

Hope is not lost. At least you were wise enough to choose floor 26, the Ace Of Wands. Wands are aligned to fire, sorcery, guns. There is a wireless recharging station ahead...
(QM: this can slowly recharge your phone)

You see a nervous, tearful ginger-haired girl ahead - she has not seen you. It is the Tearful Ginger Haired Reception Attendant, from the hydrotherapy spa earlier. ( >>5122067 ) She is near the wireless charging position, on her phone and sobbing -

... and I should never have taken this stupid corporate job... I thought this skyscraper was so beautiful and glamorous but it is not for people like us, just billionaires and rich people - on my first day I got no training or help and this weird man also burst in with some gun-shaped object and I did not understand what he was saying but he made obscene gestures at me, and there is a riot outside now and I am stuck in here, and where have the security gone? And what can I do and...
>>
(you cannot recharge your phone without approaching the Reception Girl)

>You make a mental note to execute the Head of HR at this hotel for their inadequate recruitment, training and personnel onboarding programme later. But for now, shout: I am the Magus, the God-CEO of this Tower! Give me your phone, you pathetic underling! Or you are fired!

>Oh look, the Red Lord gives when he takes away. Actually fire her, by firing your handguns into her (QM: this is how the Bullet Witch gift/curse works, it reloads both handguns, there is no roll) execute this Receptionist and just take her phone.

>Just ignore the Ginger Attendant Girl for the moment. Search the surroundings, is there anything useful here?

>The Vengeful Sword Twins are hunting you. If you stop they will catch up with you. Flee this area, go somewhere else (where to?)

>Ask the reception girl pathetically: please...could you help me? ...help me... please...?
>>
>>5125729
>>You make a mental note to execute the Head of HR at this hotel for their inadequate recruitment, training and personnel onboarding programme later. But for now, shout: I am the Magus, the God-CEO of this Tower! Give me your phone, you pathetic underling! Or you are fired!
>>
>>5125747
And ask her which floor to find
>The Fashion Show
>The Tech Conference
>The Art Gallery
>The Archaeological Exhibition
>Our room
>>
As you loudly shout and try and intimidate this tearful and sobbing (former?) employee, your mind is suddenly drawn to the old rpg forum thread, and what the autist Kospel and Lil Guro with his disturbing anime avatars as Bish09 might make of this situation. They are probably playing some completely not plagiarised or copyrighted or pirated game like Magus: The Ascension right now, because vampires and masquerades are a bit cringeworthy and died out two decades ago. Why is it that in all rpgs, the option is always to intimidate? Do you intimidate people on a daily, or hourly basis? You wonder if in real life, people often try to play the victim. The psychology of learned helplessness. Perhaps you could try being weak and pathetic - feigning injury, or distress. Hiding your true power. Maybe by playing the victim, pretending to be weaker than you are, you can entice others into sympathy, lure them into giving you what they want...

Is this evil? Is this what the Betrayer is like, what the Betrayer wants?

(As the Magus you do not speak with the voice of a mortal. Used correctly, your actions, words and even thoughts can unmake reality. >>5121985 )

( The Orationist Seer has detected suspicious activity in this area - she is investigating. You are not entirely certain what this faction is like... you generally tried to avoid their attentions in the past. But you have a feeling the Orationists have some power over speech and thought.

If you loudly announce your abilities and status, the magic of the Orationists may detect you. )
>>
The Ginger Receptionist ( >>5122067 ) looks up at your ranting that has interrupted her phone conversation. Perhaps if you were wearing some corporate attire, you might still be able to command her with some authority, and fear. Her quick glance up at you from her phone catches only a strange lunatic wearing a dirty bathrobe, and she does not bother to ponder over the suspiciously drying brown-red stains and your bulging pockets that may or may not be filled with concealed guns and batons.

The Ginger Receptionist has been crying for so long, she cannot even burst into tears, there is nothing left. Instead something in her snaps and she screams at you back:

You! You are not the CEO, you are just a lunatic! In a bathrobe! I have had it with people abusing me in this stupid corporate place! And you can take this rubbish old business phone! I am going to join the protest, I quit!

(The former Ginger-Haired Receptionist is going to join the riot. She maliciously throws the phone down at the floor in front of you, stamps her foot and leaves)

>Well she has fired herself. Maybe you should fire her formally... it is a free reload. (Execute the Ginger Haired Receptionist before she gets out of this corridor. You will reload both handguns with the Bullet Witch trait to .45 ACP 12/12)

>Take the corporate business phone she maliciously threw at the floor in front of you. It is pretty broken but useable. Then leave this area as fast as possible.

>Recharge your phone at the wireless charging station... how long does this take again? (Roll 1d100)

>You have fallen into another social trap. You should leave this area right now, before both the Orationists and the Sword Twins discover you.
>>
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(QM: I will always consider write-ins with relevant weapons and items etc. You could for instance try some of the following

>Shoot the receptionist with the flare gun (QM: look I am not going to stop you...)
>Try and knock her out with the less-lethal Riot Baton... maybe improve your melee training?
>Something else, or will any violence just make the situation worse...?)
>>
Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>5125781
>>Take the corporate business phone she maliciously threw at the floor in front of you. It is pretty broken but useable.
>Recharge your phone at the wireless charging station... how long does this take again? (Roll 1d100)

>>5125786
>>Try and knock her out with the less-lethal Riot Baton... maybe improve your melee training?

Knock her out first of course
>>
>>5125896
Actually there's no need to recharge. We can do everything from her phone.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d30)

(QM: rolling for battery charge remaining on Damaged Business Phone: Cracked Screen, 1d30 + 30)

Your melee skill with blunt weapons aligned to WANDS has slightly improved.

Overall, your melee ability is still poor.

Ginger-Haired Former Reception Girl >>5122067 Unconscious, Bruised, Wounded, Broken Glasses
The Reception Girl intends to join the Riot. If she wakes, or if she is discovered and helped to recover by a third party, the hordes of protesters will be enraged
>>
Rolled 67, 36 = 103 (2d78)

(???)
>>
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(nothing happens)
>>
>>5125917
Execute her with gun before we leave. But check on the phone first
>>
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(You have gained: Broken Corporate Phone)
(battery remaining: 32%)

It seems Fate Herself is passing judgement on your actions. You have not been discovered yet, but this Receptionist's stupid corporate phone only has 32% battery remaining - after you install the tarot app (-20% charge), you will only get one chance...(12% charge left).

In videogames, knocking people out appears instantaneous. Unfortunately, with your melee training, it takes a long time. There is the relentless crunch and swing against the bones of her skull. You think you break some of her teeth, her jaw or cheekbone. She is screaming and flailing but mercifully, in the end she falls silent.

This is the Evil of Heaven - the Betrayer's Curse. You cannot believe it is your own doing. You are not evil. You are just trying to live, to survive.

You are raising the handgun to shoot the Receptionist dead, to end this gruesome affair...

There is a shuffling noise approaching you, the rustle of refuse bags and waste. There is a repulsive stench, beyond that of the merely unwashed, of carrion, decay, decomposition. It is approaching you slowly, and you can hear the rustle of what sounds like chains, metal...

This is it, you realise. The Orationists or those Sword Twins have arrived. You are finally going to be judged for your actions, your horrible crimes and Sin... It is over...
>>
The stench is coming from what appears to be a heavily armed man. He is carrying a lot, a LOT, of guns. He would appear quite menacing, except... he is wearing underpants on his head. When he sees you, this insane Underpants Cultist mutters -

Hmmm, it is not wearing the underpants... it should be careful...

The Underpants Cultist raises his assault rifle to fire at you. He adjusts his underpants mask obscuring his vision to get a better aim, to shoot at your head - but suddenly he sees your face...

There is a dramatic transformation. The Insane Underpants Cultist falls to his knees. He is trying to kiss your feet, trying to offer you his weapons, pleading, beseeching, blabbering -

It is you, My Lord! We have waited so long! You finally walk amongst us! I will help you, serve you, die for you, do anything, My Lord! All to honour Him! But we must get you to a safe place - I know people. There is a dealer, he-I am not entirely sure he can be trusted, but he is close by. Perhaps you have heard of him? Yargai? He deals in everything. He is not one of us, but he sells and deals to everyone. I can take you to him! And you must take this! Take everything! I must serve you, oh Great Lord! We all must serve you!

(The Underpants Cultist offers you the following:)

Colt 1911 .45 ACP 7/7
Draco, ie AKS-74U 7.62x39mm 30/30

>Why is this cultist offering you a handgun with fewer bullets? He must really be an idiot as well as insane. Ask for a more modern variant of the 1911, like a double-stacked Para-Ordnance with 14/14 rounds in the magazine
>Ask for an 8/8 .45ACP magazine variant 1911
>If you think you understand this Underpants Gun fanatic and his insane reasoning, write-in. You have a phone, you can search if you want

>Follow the Underpants Cultist to meet the Dealer, Yargai

>Ask the Underpants Cultist about why he is wearing underpants on his head (you have a terrible feeling that no matter what you do or choose, he is going to tell you about underpants)

>Execute this underpants lunatic. He will actually help you do this, very enthusiastically.

>Maybe just avoid this strange underpants fanatic. He smells... really bad. Really, really bad. Try and find your way alone? (The Underpants Cultist may follow you around imploringly, however)
>>
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Draco
AKS-74U
Short Range, Loud, Supressing Fire, Blindfire, Inaccurate, High Recoil, Compact, Mobile
Not technically the 7.62x39mm semi-auto pistol variant manufactured by Cugir and imported by Century Arms - a best seller of 2016-17.
Don’t make me spray with the Draco / Shooters they pull up, you shoot when I say so

(QM: ok I could not find a good angle photo of an actual draco like in the drill rap videos, but for game mechanics purposes, this counts as an assault rifle not a pistol. You are not familiar or trained with this class of weapons yet, but your general combat abilities still apply)
>>
On your phone, there is an autoplaying pop-up video...

(Unknown newscaster) We turn now to a broadcast amidst the riots and outbreak of looting and violence at the Alsephina Tower, where Robert Alle, charity CEO of the Paribus Foundation gives his response to the situation...

(live broadcast)

(Unseen reporter) There are unconfirmed reports that Harvey Leer, the notorious horror film director also known as King Ghoul, King Leer, has been found shot dead with two unidentified women. Mr Alle, do you have a comment on this situation? Weren't the two of you very close friends in the past?

(Robert Alle, CEO Paribus Foundation) Harvey Leer was a very good friend of mine. He gave a lot of charitable donations to Paribus, he really made a difference to our work supporting disadvantaged children, equal opportunities, animal welfare and protecting the environment. Whilst I financed and produced some of his films in a private capacity, I do not in any way agree with their content, the treatment of religion, women and minorities depicted in them, nor would I defend the controversial statements and offensive language that Harvey Leer adopted in his past interviews. I believe that some of it was a persona, a stage persona he adopted to create a certain image and publicity for himself. We needed people like him to reach out to those less fortunate, to those that society has forgotten. In many ways, these riots are a cry for help. We should listen. It is what Harvey would have done. My thoughts and sympathy are with his family in this difficult time, as they navigate this tragic loss.

>This was the Handsome Executive ( >>5124595 ) you saw earlier, arguing with King Ghoul. Something about him feels strange? What a strange name he has, Robert Alle? Rob Alle? Is it worth investigating? (Accept mission: investigate the Paribus Foundation)

>Why investigate. He looks like a worthy sacrifice to the Red Lord Of Ruin. (Accept mission: Assassinate Robert Alle, Paribus CEO)

>This is a distraction. You killed King Ghoul, it is done. Immortals like yourself do not need to meddle with these affairs... You need to focus on getting your magic back as quickly as possible, training your melee and combat skills, getting weapons and items etc
>>
Catching up.
>>
>>5125958
Eh, fuck the cult of .45
>Why is this cultist offering you a handgun with fewer bullets? He must really be an idiot as well as insane. Ask for a more modern variant of the 1911, like a double-stacked Para-Ordnance with 14/14 rounds in the magazine

>Follow the Underpants Cultist to meet the Dealer, Yargai

>Execute the receptionist before we leave with our nearly empty handgun. Reload and exchange both our old USP's for the new handgun he gives us unless he gives us the 1911 with only 8 rounds.

>Why investigate. He looks like a worthy sacrifice to the Red Lord Of Ruin. (Accept mission: Assassinate Robert Alle, Paribus CEO)

Commit to the gifts of the red lord, our skills are blessedly good, at least at range and the gifts are powerful, focus on them. We can go for a hybrid magic/skilled/corruption build with the emphasis being on corruption and skills with weapons. Magick will have to come from our phones unless we find a convenient way to get our full magic back while pursuing our main goals.
>>
>>5125958
Actually, I want to add this as well.

>Take the receptionist's suit jacket off and wear it over our bathroom, use it to store our items.
>Take her shoes as well.
>>
>>5125958
>>Why is this cultist offering you a handgun with fewer bullets? He must really be an idiot as well as insane. Ask for a more modern variant of the 1911, like a double-stacked Para-Ordnance with 14/14 rounds in the magazine
>Follow the Underpants Cultist to meet the Dealer, Yargai
>Execute receptionist, double tap

>>5125985
>>This was the Handsome Executive ( >>5124595 # ) you saw earlier, arguing with King Ghoul. Something about him feels strange? What a strange name he has, Robert Alle? Rob Alle? Is it worth investigating? (Accept mission: investigate the Paribus Foundation)
>>
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QM: just an option with the disguises and inventory. As the Magus you anointed the bathrobe in the blood of innocents(?), so you may choose which version of the item you want:

>Ordinary Bathrobe (realism mode)
It remains an ordinary bathrobe, with only a few pockets, and subject to inventory, encumbrance etc. Perhaps you intend to discard it later when a better outfit comes along. If you choose this option, you must list which items you want to discard now.

>Red Acolyte Robes (unlimited mode)
You are tired of videogames with inventory capacity, where you become encumbered and slowed when carrying too much stuff. You want to carry everything! And you secretly think it might be funny to try and complete this quest as an insane cultist wearing only the starting clothing option.
Trait: The Dead Land Forgets
Gift: you can carry infinite items. Every disguise, every weapon. Access any item that you touched or which was presented to you, similar to the vast battlefield in the Dead Land from the Barbarian qst playthrough in Galerne
Curse: the QM will never show you your inventory. No summaries, nothing. You have to scan the text yourself. If at an important moment in time, you forget you are carrying something... it is on you.
>>
>>5126078
>>Ordinary Bathrobe (realism mode)
Not only that but we will walk around BARE and NAKED as the time we woke up

If we get a new gun from the underpants cultist then dump the two HK USP or let him carry it for us.
>>
>>5126078
>Red Acolyte Robes (unlimited mode)

The fun mode, plus we are a fucking magus, it makes sense.
>>
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Rolled 2 (1d2)

QM: I will roll for it

1 Ordinary Bathrobe (realism mode)
>>5126086

2 Red Acolyte Robes (unlimited mode)
>>5126094
>>
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You have gained trait:
The Dead Land Forgets

Gift: you can carry infinite items. Every disguise, every weapon. Access any item that you touched or which was presented to you, similar to the vast battlefield in the Dead Land from the Barbarian qst playthrough in Galerne

Curse: the QM will never show you your inventory. No summaries, nothing. You have to scan the text yourself. If at an important moment in time, you forget you are carrying something... it is on you.

(You are beginning to realise how you came to forget the locations of all the events and rooms in this skyscraper / wizard tower, even though you built it.)

(The Red Lord Of Ruin may try to trick you by forgetting items at certain moments.)
>>
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Modern Colt 1911
Para Ordnance P14-45
.45 ACP 14/14
Short Range, Concealed, Loud, Quickdraw, Compact
Use in combat to gain traits:
Double-tap, Mozambique Drill

Modernised derivative variant of a 1911, double-stacked high capacity magazine within a widened polymer grip frame.

(QM: the picture is actually a single-stacked Kimber II. Just use imagination, imagine it is a widened 14-round version lol)
>>
>>5126107
Damn it. I guessed who the Magus is correctly and this is what I get.
>>
>>5126113
Just think of all the guns we can carry!
>>
>>5126116
RETVRN TO NATVRE
Plus killing everyone as a naked and crazed lunatic is way funnier.
>>
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>>5124901
The Insane Underpants Fanatic is swaying, as if entering a hypnotic trance. You find you generally have to take very shallow breaths in his presence, because he smells really really bad. Foul and unpleasant. Suddenly the Cultist snaps out of it. He is really happy:

You must understand, these underpants - they are not a disguise. No, no - nothing so crude and simple as that! They are an important religious symbol! They help us remember the Great Injustice! Even if it makes us look a bit like terrorists with dirty rags on our heads - that is a price we are willing to pay.

You see there were these two people once. We call them the Torturer and The Betrayer. Now the Torturer, everyone knows him, we forgot his symbol but we think it was some way of executing people or something. You know he is evil, because his followers venerate this symbol of torture, and go around torturing unbelievers! Now there is the Betrayer, he did a really good thing, he followed Heaven's Edict and betrayed this evil Torturer. How noble, how honourable! Would you not do the same? But what was the reward for our noble Betrayer? What happened to Him? Do followers chant His praises, raise cathedrals in His Name? No! And this is the Great Injustice!

You are almost daring yourself to ask and remind the Cultist to explain the underpants. You are holding your breath (the smell is unbearable) and waiting for the explanation...

Oh yes, the underpants! Well that is very simple. You see all the depictions of the Evil Torturer show him hanging in a strange position, and wearing only underpants around his waist but with a crown of sorts on his head. So we who follow the Betrayer choose to do the opposite, to wear our underpants instead on our head, to symbolise that we know! We know about the Great Injustice, how the Torturer and Heaven betrayed the Betrayer! It all makes sense!

(You think if you keep interacting with this psychotic individual, you will eventually go insane yourself.)
>>
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(You know the location of the weapons dealer Yargai.)

(You are wearing: Bloodstained Receptionist Outfit. Ordinary people think you are a receptionist. Those with witchsight will not be deceived, but they have to suspect you first)

Suddenly the Insane Underpants Cultist becomes very alert. He visibly tenses, and raises his assault rifle.

You did not tell me you were in danger, My Lord... There are evil traitors about! But do not fear! I will protect you! In the name of the Betrayer, and all that is noble, holy and good, in the name of Underpants! Underpants! Underpaaannntsssss!

(The suicidal Insane Underpants Cultist runs off, firing his assault rifle wildly in all directions. You think he may distract your pursuers for a while).

>Go to the weapons dealer Yargai. Maybe he can help you find a magic weapon, or locate a tattooist outside of the tower?

>Investigate the Handsome Executive Robert Alle, CEO of the Paribus Foundation

>Assassinate Robert Alle, Paribus CEO


choose ONE (12% battery on your looted receptionist phone remaining, after installing the tarot app)

>attempt to recover magic (each player can roll once, 1d78, battery -10% to 2%)

>check the rpg forum where Kospel and Lil Guro / Bish09 were posting (battery -10% to 2%)

>something else (write in?)
>>
>>5126148
>Go to the weapons dealer Yargai. Maybe he can help you find a magic weapon, or locate a tattooist outside of the tower?

At least get a magic weapon first, Robert Alle may be magical and some of the people hunting us certainly are.

>check the rpg forum where Kospel and Lil Guro / Bish09 were posting (battery -10% to 2%)

Go for information, no point risking the recovery of our magic to random chance.
>>
>>5126029
Given the written in option of taking the receptionist outfit, I will also permit this:

>Go to the bottom reception floor of the tower, use your receptionist disguise to discover the location of where the events are held
>The Fashion Show
>The Tech Conference
>The Art Gallery
>The Archaeological Exhibition

and also this (it is a risk, you know I am going to roll for something...)

>use the time bought and the distraction of your devoted follower, the Underpants Cultist, to continue to charge your phone (roll 1d100)
>>
>>5126165
>>Go to the bottom reception floor of the tower, use your receptionist disguise to discover the location of where the events are held
>>
>>5126165
Weapons first, with plans to...
>Go to the bottom reception floor of the tower, use your receptionist disguise to discover the location of where the events are held
>The Fashion Show

For appropriate clothes with which to disguise ourselves in to go out and get our magic in or to wage a guerilla campaign against the various factions, maybe playing them against each other.

But head to Yargai first.
>>
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(The Sword Twins are distracted by the Underpants Cultist)

(The Orationist Seer is still suspicious, and investigating the area)

>>5126158
You eagerly navigate to teddit.net/r/rpg and discover to your dismay that the thread created by KospelTheBestDMEver451 has been deleted. There is no trace of it. But perhaps there are archives, cached proxy pages... you click over to the username list and see the following messages, from quite a long while ago:

User KospelTheBestDMEver451 has been banned by: purpleHair_RPGAdmin
Reason: doxxing
Ban duration: permanent

User Bish09 has been banned by: gingerGirlBoss_RPGAdmin
Reason: offensive language, misogyny, racism
Ban duration: permanent

You are dismayed by this. It is almost like Fate is taking revenge at you from beyond the grave. But you realise - you have the Receptionist's phone. There is actually no need for you to visit the actual reception, and make the long elevator trip back and forth. She must have had an itinerary or schedule with event locations, guest lists? And you are rewarded with:

The Fashion Show
02 II: The HIGH PRIESTESS

The Tech Conference
07 VII: The CHARIOT

The Art Gallery
06 VI: The LOVERS

The Archaeological Exhibition
12 XII: The HANGED MAN

You can see now it was a good idea to have taken this phone. The Underpants Cultist told you he last saw the weapons dealer Yargai at the Tech Conference - probably examining drones, surveillance and other technologies - but the receptionist's itinerary shows you Yargai is now due to visit the Art Gallery. You remember the cultist told you Yargai deals in everything, trades with everyone. You will find him there.

(The Receptionist Phone allows you to locate any important person visiting your tower who is registered on the itinerary and schedule of events. The floors of your tower are mostly segregated. However, if large scale chaos breaks out within a tower floor - fire evacuation, extreme violence etc, bomb threats, this guest location ability will be lost)

Receptionist Phone battery remaining: 2%
Damaged, Cracked Screen (thrown at floor)

(Depending on your choices, the next section could lead to a very divergent series of outcomes. You have a feeling there could be significant danger. If there are any last minute preparations you need to make before visiting Yargai, write-in now)

(QM: I want to confirm this action, because it got interrupted and side-tracked amidst all the underpants pictures I uploaded lol)

>Execute the unconscious Ginger-Haired Receptionist
(this action reloads all weapons to full ammunition, via your Bullet Witch Trait)

>Leave the Receptionist alone, and head to the Art Gallery to visit Yargai

>write-in if there are any preparations you need to make
>>
Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5126302
Recharge battery then execute receptionist before we leave
>>
>>5126302
Supporting >>5126325
>>
Rolled 23, 76, 7 = 106 (3d78)

(???)
>>
>>5126302
Actually, charge both our phones at the same time if we can.
>>
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07 VII: The CHARIOT

The Orationists know your current location. They are rushing to it now.

The Orationists will execute you on sight, with no warning whatsoever.

>>5126325
(QM: do you want to use the tarot app, reduce your phone charge -10% to try and replenish your magic? Each player can roll 1d78 once)
>>
Rolled 22 (1d78)

>>5126349
Sure.
>>
Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>5126349
And here is a roll for our original phone to charge some if you are willing to take that last minute addition.
>>
>>5126346
(unfortunately there is only one wireless charging station here. Well remembered though! The Red Lord will try even harder to trick you in the future...

(Is there an action you could take, that might severely limit the ability of the Orationists to track you?)
>>
>>5126359
Throw away our original phone, smash it.
>>
Receptionist Phone, damaged, cracked screen
2% + 34% -10% = 26%

X Original Phone Destroyed X
>>5126367
(You have smashed the original phone)
(QM: It will not help you right now, but I will just rule this as impeding the Orationist Seer in the future - she will roll 1d78)
>>
Rolled 55 (1d78)

>>5126349
>>
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>>5126356
22 0: The FOOL
You have recovered your magic.

You have gained the spell:
Fool's Masquerade
Render a target into a helpless, babbling fool permanently. With your current ability, you cannot control what the target will do, but in general they will seek to humiliate themselves in a nonviolent but very public manner.

Alternatively, you may use this major arcana to burn in combat. It will allow you to hit on a roll of any major arcana, in addition to the weapon's minor arcana alignment. Boosting the attack this way makes it magical, and able to hurt supernatural foes.
>>
As you are the Magus, in your current situation, I will also allow this:

Fool's Masquerade (variant: cast on self)
Combine this spell with an appropriate item and cast on self (doing so destroys it permanently)
When cast on self, behave like an idiot to reduce suspicion and make an opponent believe you are in fact harmless. The item chosen will be destroyed permanently.
>>
If you are ready, confirm the following:

>Head to The Art Gallery (06 VI: The LOVERS) and meet with the Weapons Dealer, Yargai

>write-in any other preparations (the Orationists are moving to your last known location now...)
>>
>>5126421
>Head to The Art Gallery (06 VI: The LOVERS) and meet with the Weapons Dealer, Yargai
>>
>>5126421
>Head to The Art Gallery (06 VI: The LOVERS) and meet with the Weapons Dealer, Yargai
>>
>>5126421
Do we even have money to pay Yargai with? I know both of us voted to get a bag to take the money with us >>5123343 >>5123349 >>5123330 but in your next post we didn't do that despite us both voting for it. Or can we just conjure up money due to our reality warping?
>>
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>>5126432
Sadly you are not powerful enough yet to just conjure an item. You would need to find a bag and take it, and put the money in it.

The way that the infinite items inventory of your robe works is it has to be a pictured item that I offer to you in greentext, which you touch and take. So for example I do not think you can conjure the draco kalashnikov, even though you saw it and know of it, because you did not take it and the cultist is using it to defend you etc.
>>
>>5126427
What do you think anon, should we head back to the spa to bag up the money? Or risk heading to Yargai to see if he takes a different form of currency or to check his stock/just rob him?
>>
When you enter the Art Gallery, it appears completely deserted. You walk around the vacant white galleries, surrounded by abstraction, colour fields and geometric emptiness. Most images are really embodiments of ways of seeing. Seeing comes before words. The world is explained with words, but ordinary words can never unmake the situation, the surroundings. The explanation of words never quite fits the sight itself, because what you see is based on what you believe. To see something, to look at it, is a choice. To touch something is to situate yourself in relation to it. You never just look at a thing. You look at the relation between the thing and yourself. When you see art from the past, you are situating yourself in relation to history. To see something is really to combine part of the world into you, to constitute the surroundings into who you are.

Seeing is changed by technology. A film unfolds in time, whereas all elements of a painting exist simultaneously. The camera changed the meaning of a painting, from interior architecture to something that could be infinitely reproduced. Once a thing can be reproduced, shared, transmitted endlessly forever, its uniqueness is destroyed, its meaning diminished. The meaning of the thing shatters and fragments. In the past, the only way you could see a thing was to physically go to it. These things became relics, unique and beautiful. The relics are like reverse lighthouses - instead of light radiating out, appearances travel in.

But if you can reproduce a thing endlessly, anyone can use it. The authority of the relic, of Art, is lost. Does a thing have to be unique, in order to be beautiful? Does a thing have to be real, in order to be beautiful?

Your echoing footsteps take you round the corner and you can sense a conversation ahead. A male voice is saying -

So I am thinking of finding a successor. Do you know anyone? Ideally it should be someone from a minority background, or a woman - I hear even military contractors and most of the large defense primes are run by women these days! It will help with the image of the charity. More donations to appeal from the upcoming generation, if they see the foundation being run by a woman. Of course I will stay involved, behind the scenes...

>(In receptionist disguise) Blurt out: me! Me! I can do it! I am a strong independent...
>Continue to listen to this conversation
>Draw a gun and immediately shoot the speaker in the face as you turn round the corner. The cavernous vacant halls of the exhibition space echo a bit, but there is no-one else around
>Something else...? (maybe you have an item?)
(If you know, you must write-in and explain how exactly you will use it)
>>
>>5126502
>Continue to listen to this conversation but record it with our phone

when it sounds like the conversation is winding down but before it actually does...

>Take out our badge and say "Hello! I couldn't help but catch something about charity just outside my earshot? I'm with the Urthekau-Sylabari (yes, that is what is stands for, not United States, I assure you) Charity Investment Association, and I'd love to invest in your charity and help run it!
>>
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QM: I will let you guys think this one through for the time being, and resume tomorrow!

>>5126432
>>5126458
I would not worry too much about this, though you are right to remember that Yargai will need to be paid. What did you do last time? There are some hints in these sections
>>5121985
>>5124403
about what attitude the ultra rich take here lol.
>>
>>5126517
wow, this is really good. I had not even thought of it! I will incorporate it into the response for tomorrow...!
>>
>>5126522
Did we execute the receptionist?
>>
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You are wearing: Stained Receptionist Outfit
>>5126546
>>5126325
>>5126331
QM: Yes the Ginger-Haired Former Receptionist is executed, dead - you are wearing her shoes and somewhat stained and crumpled clothes as a disguise currently.
>>
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>>5126517
>>5126389
(battery charge 26% - 10% = 16% remaining)

You are recording the art gallery conversation on your phone, waiting for an opportunity...

The male voice is continuing:

...we have to break the invisible barriers that prevent us achieving true equality. This is one of my goals I want to achieve, a legacy I want to leave as CEO of Paribus before I move to a more strategic, hands-off, advisory role. A new female voice could act as an inspiration, a thought leader, an example to bring even more women to the Paribus Foundation and encourage the younger generation to join us...

Finally the listener on the receiving end of this monologue speaks. It is an accented voice:

You want more women. I see. Young women. Well that was a really long-winded way of asking for it. But maybe I am misunderstanding you. Your friend Harvey always helped you put it in much more refined terms. What would he have called it? What do you really want?

(QM: There is a spell you know - Betrayer's Tongue. It allows you to write-in what you want an NPC to say, and they will be unaware that it is not themselves that have said it. The Magus can recall this spell, in exchange for magically destroying all your weapons right now. All your guns, melee weapons will just vanish and you will be left completely unarmed, but with knowledge and possession of this spell. Bear in mind that you are still being hunted.)

>Magically surrender and destroy all your weapons in exchange for the spell Betrayer's Tongue, right now. Cast this ancient rite on the first male voice, write-in what you want him to say, as you record it with your phone.

>Continue to listen to the conversation. You have a feeling the first voice will admit nothing
>>
I will say a few things. I think we should visit The High Priestess floor or The Star Floor to learn more about why we erased our memories or to learn more about the Dancer in the Red Forest. Perhaps after we achieve our goals, or retain our sanctuary or enough of our possessions that we are satisfied we can die and go see in Dancer in the Red Forest. Of course this is after we deal with the person we are talking to now and after we talk to Yargai.

Also, you didn't list it when you listed our items, so I assume you forgot, but we should technically still have the oversized underpants with us. >>5122073 we put them on but still had people see our face, I assume that we can say we took them off to talk to people and I'd prefer to have them off for the conversation we are about to have, but after we leave we should put them back on so people, magical or otherwise, don't know who we are and we can make the best use of our disguise powers.

Finally, when we move on to our next floor, I'd like to stop by a bathroom to wash off (The Ghoul King sensed us because we were apparently wearing perfume or incense) that way stealth is easier, we can briefly recharge our phone at an outlet for a short time while we do so. Perhaps it'd be good to look up a google maps or something of the area surrounding the hotel, get a lay of the land so we can navigate if we decide to go outside, also look up a tattoo parlour while we are at it and try and regain some more of our magic. If we use up all our battery charge then so be it, everyone has phones, we can always loot one off the next person we kill.
>>
>>5126787
>Magically surrender and destroy all your weapons in exchange for the spell Betrayer's Tongue, right now. Cast this ancient rite on the first male voice, write-in what you want him to say, as you record it with your phone.

>"Yes, I want it! I wanted to fuck young women, preferably women below the age of consent. *Insert long rambling fetishizing of teenage minorities* I want them to see them be torn between not wanting my dick and loving it, loving the power they have over me with their bodies, loving my money. I want to rape them! Fuck, I wish Harvey were still around, he'd always provide the best girls, and we'd film it too! God, we put up the best snuff films out onto the darkweb! He'd pay me so much money through the Paribus Foundation under the guise of charity, but it all went to me! It was to rehabilitate his image, I did just that for him. And in return I got rich and I got to film the best indie porn around with REAL, REAL TEENS, oh gO~d!"
>>
That should be suitably incriminating.
>>
>>5126792
QM: Good catch with the incense, that was a trap from here.
>>5121876
I will just assume that you washed off the Cultist... aroma, and it has no effect afterwards.

The underpants are listed here
>>5125726
This is the last inventory update provided, before the curse of forgetting from carrying infinite items trait ie The Dead Land Forgets takes effect
>>5126110
>>
>>5126822
QM: well, this is not exactly how I imagined this conversation happened, but for the purposes of the game mechanics it works. Sleeping now, update soon!
Oct 16, 2017 6:36am PT
Clinton Foundation Has No Plans to Return Harvey Weinstein Contributions
https://variety.com/2017/politics/news/harvey-weinstein-clinton-foundation-1202590796/
>>
>>5126787
You know what, just to really rub it in thick, add this to my first write-in...
>That's why I had to do it you know? I had to arrange the riots, it was all fake grassroots, secretly funded by me. I paid influencers to get the kids up in a rage. The CEO of MAGUS just had to go, I had to push them into a point where they'd be forced to retire, to kill themselves even. I HAD TO DO IT!!! I found out that they are actually secretly a cultural marxist funding the opposition to destroy capitalism and civilization! They were going to destroy me, expose my fun times with my girls, fund politicians that wanted to raise taxes, it would've been the end of me! But, I had the perfect plan, I'll make them a martyr, the left will destroy them and the right will rise up in a counter-culture wave and destroy them in a fury over the tragic public embarrassment and death of this seemingly typical innocent business-friendly billionare! Oh god, I'm such a smart man - oh, yes where was I - ah yes, so about those women?"

That should disperse the riots and clear our name.
>>
>>5126858
Well, I couldn't resist having the guy go crazy with a fun power like Betrayer's Tongue.

I'll be sleeping myself in a couple of hours.
>>
>>5126858
How'd you image the spell being used or the conversation originally going? Just out of curiosity?
>>
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>>5126822
>>5126872
(... there is a long, shocked silence...)

(it is pretty long...)

The accented voice finally speaks,

I see. That was... more detail than I needed to hear. But it is as I thought. I will see to it about what is to be done.

You hear the sound of someone turning on their heels and striding purposefully in your direction. You are suddenly gripped with panic. There is nowhere to hide in this empty gallery! No alcoves, just a vast white space! But with your receptionist disguise you do have a conceivable reason to be around. You look like any hotel attendant. Will it be enough...?

(Choose ONE only:)

>Use your invigorated trait >>5125726 to dash round the corner out of sight and avoid whoever is coming. The trait will be lost and you will once again begin to hunger, tire, weaken until you feed to regain it. You have a feeling each time you feed, the consequences grow worse

>Rely only on your Receptionist Disguise, and hope that whoever is coming does not suspect you.
(QM: I will roll 2d2, it is basically two 50:50 rolls)

1 Robert Alle, Paribus CEO
2 Yargai the Dealer

1 Detects you: sees stain on outfit, uses witchsight etc
2 Suspects nothing
>>
>>5126949
*Sweating*

On the one hand, we don't want more people after us and we want to talk to Yargai. Failing the roll could be bad. But choosing the first prompt could cause a death spiral with our lack of weapons and the magical opponents already after us and it doesn't get us anywhere better as we still intended to talk to Yargai which would mean he has a chance of getting suspicious and activating witchsight anyways.

>Rely only on your Receptionist Disguise, and hope that whoever is coming does not suspect you.
>>
>>5126949
Unless this is to avoid suspicion for Robert's outburst and we can talk to Yargai without suspicion afterwards, in which case I would choose the first prompt.

Sleeping now.
>>
Actually, yeah no, we pretty much need to feed immediately after we lose invigorated based off the previous two times.

I'll risk getting spotted with witchsight. If we get spotted we can just use the Fool spell on Robert to match with our incriminating evidence and either convince Yargai to relax because we want to buy shit from him and can pay in reality-warper bux or we can just go to town on him with invigorated strength and our resistance to damage if he turns out to be hostile. That's the plan.
>>
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Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d2)

>>5127186
>risk getting spotted with witchsight

QM: rolling 2d2 to see who walks out of the Art Gallery first, and if they see through your receptionist disguise, detect you with witch-sight

1 Robert Alle, Paribus CEO
2 Yargai the Dealer

1 Detects you: sees stain on outfit, uses witchsight etc
2 Suspects nothing
>>
>You have gained: Incriminating Phone / The Receptionist Phone
battery charge remaining: 16%
cracked screen, damaged but useable from when the former Receptionist threw it at the floor as she quit
This phone contains a recording of an incriminating conversation between Robert Alle, charity CEO of the Paribus Foundation, and the Dealer Yargai, who deals in everything and trades with everyone. The conversation would ruin them both and lead to very severe consequences for them, should it ever become public. You feel like you should be careful with this phone, perhaps even avoid using it at all. If the phone is severely damaged, if it runs out of battery before you need to show it to someone, or if a third party becomes aware of its contents, manages to completely wipe its data...
>>
(You have lost all your weapons. All your guns and melee weapons have just vanished. You sacrificed them for the Ancient Rite: Betrayer's Tongue, which has been cast and expended)

In the old depictions of The Lovers, there is an Angel. Sometimes a man chooses between two women, one wicked, one true. In others the man embraces the woman, whilst the Angel looks on above. Perhaps this was intended as a warning to young noblemen, to remember their duty to their family when choosing whom they Loved. Or perhaps the Lovers depicts The Fall, when knowledge brought the first sins and made the Lovers leave the Garden. They say the Lovers is not about Love. Perhaps The Lovers is about sacrifice. Love shows you the consequences of what you choose. Love shows you who you are.

Yargai is leaving the Art Gallery. He looks strange, not what you expected. Yargai is a heavily tattooed, cruel looking man. He doesn't look like someone you would trust, in fact, you wonder if he looks more like someone who would in fact belong outside with the riot, trying to burn your Tower down? ( >>5124516 ) You remember what the Insane Cultist told you - Yargai deals in everything, trades with everyone. You sacrificed all your weapons in exchange for an Ancient Rite, Betrayer's Tongue. You recorded an incriminating conversation between Robert Alle, the charity CEO of Paribus Foundation, where he revealed what he truly wanted. This conversation would be enough to Ruin him forever. But it could incriminate Yargai as well.

>Follow the Dealer Yargai. You feel you may lose track of where he goes otherwise.

>Yargai has not really noticed you or seen through your receptionist disguise. He barely even glances at you as he thinks you are some hotel attendant. Call out to him loudly, get his attention.

>Robert Alle, the charity CEO is alone in the Art Gallery. You sacrificed all your weapons, but you could fight him unarmed.

>Actually, you even still have your Strange Underpants. They have not disappeared - for some reason, they seem to have been overlooked in the magical exchange that caused all your guns and melee weapons to vanish. Perhaps try to stealth attack this hypocritical charity CEO with them?
>>
>>5127401
Well, fuck, now we need information. I wanted to just release it on the internet on social media and get it viral to disperse the riots by "revealing" that they are in a rage over nothing and that the Paribus Foundation CEO is a shithead and to turn some of the factions against one another, but I'm guess you are saying that that is a bad idea or that we can't for whatever reason. So I think we need info on the factions to find someone who can do us a massive favour in return for the recording or we need to blackmail either Robert or Yargai.

>Upload the recording to social media anonymously in an attempt to disperse the riots or turn the various factions against one another. If we can't do that, upload it to multiple cloud storage sites then turn off the phone so it doesn't passively lose more battery. This way we can access the recording from different phones or this one when we get more battery charge.

We'd also want to trade with Yargai potentially before incriminating him.

>>5127402
Eh, I consider trying to disperse the crowds or causing chaos by getting the factions off our back more important even then getting a supernatural weapon or trading with Yargai.

Robert apparently has witchsight, so I assume he is a supernatural, but I wanna level up hand to hand melee anyways, and we are invigorated and have our spell to fall back on so...
>Actually, you even still have your Strange Underpants. They have not disappeared - for some reason, they seem to have been overlooked in the magical exchange that caused all your guns and melee weapons to vanish. Perhaps try to stealth attack this hypocritical charity CEO with them?

My intent with this is not to literally attack him with the underpants, but to wear them on our head to disguise our face in case this goes south and then stealth attack him. Unless our underpants are not like the cultist's pair and don't have eye holes, in which case forget it, just try and stealth attack him normally.
>>
In your mind yet another difficult problem is emerging. You need Yargai to provide you with magic weapons, to help you restore your own magic back. But you are also being hunted by the Orationists. Their seers could be listening to you right now... or not. But if you declare yourself openly as the Magus, the Orationists will find and execute you. >>5126349 They already know your last location at Floor 26, the Ace of Wands. They are searching for you there... How can you let Yargai know who you are, without saying out loud who you are? Could you just type it on your phone? ( >>5126367 )

You are pulling out your phone, preparing to desperately implement your brilliant plan to use social media to bring about the downfall of the corrupt charity CEO Robert Alle, before your phone battery drains to nothing... And another loud auto-playing popup video blares out across the gallery, only this time, it is at the worst possible time:

(Unknown newscaster) ...in other news, the authorities are still investigating a mysterious series of robberies where a heavily armed masked individual wearing what can only be described as underpants on their head has been stealing clothes and indecently exposing himself in front of passersby at a local church. Eyewitnesses say this crazed masked vigilante fled on foot when approached for identification by...

(battery phone charge -3% to 13% remaining)

The video is actually not that loud. But in the silence of the gallery it is enough to alert Yargai.

You are frantically trying to swipe the smudged screen to mute the speakerphone... Yargai the Dealer turns and looks at you again. He wordlessly turns back and looks at one of the pictures in the gallery near the entrance (QM: this one, pic related >>5121872 ) In his accented, slightly slurred voice, Yargai asks:

What do you see in this picture?

(optional response: )
>It is just a city, at night
>The Crowd
>The Pathless Labyrinth
>Rebellion
>Idolatry
>Pleasure
>Sacrifice
>God
>The Serpent
>Sin
>Vanity
>A Mirror
>Myself
>(something else...? The tattooed face >>5127402 of Yargai turns away again from the gallery picture, and looks straight at you, in the eyes)
>(stay silent)

(QM: All the clues you need should be referenced in this very section.)

>If you know how to let Yargai know you are the Magus and need his help, but without speaking or saying it, write-in now.

>If you know a hidden, as yet undescribed trait of the Magus, write-in when you last used it and you will remember and manifest this power once again now. (QM: this one might be very difficult, >>5125726 )

If you mention you are the Magus, the Orationist hunting you in this building will execute you instantly.

>Say you are the Magus and accept True Death, let the Orationist assassin execute you - it is the Curse Of The Betrayer. (QM: Ends the game)
>>
>>5127714
To clarify, you are not entirely certain of how the power of the Orationists manifests, but you believe they have some control over speech, words, thoughts. Speaking / typing / writing the word Magus will be known to them. How can you convey who you are and what you need without using words?
>>
>>5127714
>(stay silent)
I dunno.

>If you know how to let Yargai know you are the Magus and need his help, but without speaking or saying it, (Either we can take off our clothes to show him our [hermaphrodite?] nature or we can use the tattoo gun to use skin scribe to communicate to him)

>If you know a hidden, as yet undescribed trait of the Magus, write-in when you last used it and you will remember and manifest this power once again now. (QM: this one might be very difficult, >>5125726 )

I dunno, are we Judas, Satan? Is our sanctuary actually safe owning to the fact that we have hidden floors underground? Maybe we can't be killed by the orationalists owing to the fact that we were born during biblical times and precede the time when their magic was created? Maybe it is something obvious like we are a vampire but didn't explicitly spell out that we knew that? We can charge our battery or the medium we use to cast magic by acting like the thing we are disguised at if it makes sense with the medium? A special ability to annoy Kospel? We can see heat or souls through walls? >>5121876 I know we can influence reality with our speach, so that can't be it. We have a cult, there is that. We have a connection to capital F Fate.

Yeah I have no idea when we last used this hidden trait. There are a bunch of hidden trivia's or things that may be important that I've noticed, but I can't guess this.

Also this may be unrelated, but the weasily guard talking about titanic makes me think Kospel holds a grudge against our Lady MC from Galerne just because he took a tumble and didn't understand what she was.
>>
>>5127724
Alternatively we could cast a spell on Robert, turn him into a fool. This doesn't need words, correct?
>>
>>5127724
I also don't know what you mean by "they will execute you on sight" Does that mean if we reveal ourselves to be the MAGUS we instantly die? We didn't when we mentioned it to the receptionist. Or does it mean if they see us we instantly die? Or does it mean that they will just try and kill us if they see us which is much less dangerous. I've been working off the assumption that if we mention we are the MAGUS we just literally instantly die due to the way you've been phrasing this. Which is weird considering their limited spying capabilities via technology.
>>
I guess if we are a vampire we could bare our fangs?
>>
>>5127748
>>5127751
The answers to all of these questions can be revealed by choosing

>Say you are the Magus and accept True Death, let the Orationist assassin execute you - it is the Curse Of The Betrayer. (QM: Ends the game)
>>
>>5127714
I guess we could say...
>The Pathless Labyrinth
...or something, as it may hint to Yargai as to our identity.

Sorry for changing so much, I'm just unsure.
>>
>>5127765
Nah, I don't want meta answers yet. I'd rather continue playing or even skip talking to Yargai if it meant a premature end or avoiding our death.
>>
>>5127747
The hidden trait one is the most difficult one to guess. I do not want to reveal it too early because it would probably make you too overpowered at this stage. This
>We can see heat or souls through walls? >>5121876 #
is very close to it, but it is not the link to the right section. It is very close...
>>
>>5127765
I guess my final answer would be to do my initial vote...
>If you know how to let Yargai know you are the Magus and need his help, but without speaking or saying it, (Either we can take off our clothes to show him our [hermaphrodite?] nature or we can use the tattoo gun to use skin scribe to communicate to him)
plus >>5127762 and >>5127771 and finally if none of that gets a ideal response from Yargai, then turn off our phone before doing >>5127748
>>
>>5124856
I'll take a final blind guess and guess that when we see the red zone and are in our feeding frenzy, if we give into that shape we turn into a monstrous vampire form, OR we can sense people through walls when in this state but cannot distinguish who they are. But, I'll stop now, since I'm basically throwing paint on the wall and seeing what sticks.
>>
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>>5127771
>The Pathless Labyrinth

(The hidden trait goes beyond the ability to sense others through walls. The hidden trait is actually to involuntarily sense NPC thoughts, desires, wants, needs, secrets... the relevant section is here
>>5122139
I would also have accepted this section
>>5124723

This trait is destroyed and lost forever.
The Magus will never recover or possess this power again)

(In return for some of the solutions now, there might be a darker future ahead...)

You feel like you are trapped in a Pathless Labyrinth right now. There is no way out. How can you convey to Yargai exactly what you are, what you need, that you are the Magus, without using writing with words, speaking with words, typing it on your phone? You think of the spell Skin Scribe. But even that spell would involve sending the words, etching them on skin. And if you expend the tattoo spell now, how will you ever get your magic back? It seems impossible.

You know you are being hunted by the Orationists. What is their sorcery like? They have power over words, speech and thoughts. Do they need to see you to execute you instantly? Or just hear you? They discovered your last location, but you moved quickly to the Art Gallery. You must have avoided them! They could not possibly be nearby. But given their power over words and thoughts, perhaps the sorcery of the Orationists involves giving speeches. Swaying others with their words, like on television or live video interviews? >>5125985

The video interview makes you think of the autoplaying news video, the unpleasant-smelling yet devoted Underpants Cultist friend of yours. But wait - you still have those underpants! Wasn't there a strange label inside them?
>>5121993

You walk up to Yargai, and

>point at the strange label, without saying any words
>point at: meet MAGUS

(this unspoken and unwritten action breaks the ability of the Orationists to execute you instantly. They will still try to kill you however)

Yargai narrows his eyes at you suspiciously. You notice on his tattooed face, under his eye, there is what looks like a twisting serpent. >>5127714

Yargai says simply:

Not here.

You follow Yargai out of the Art Gallery.
>>
>>5127848
Ah, I thought it was some kind of Auspex ability. That section >>5122139 did stick out to me but I thought it along with the parts in () were just QM formatting or some quirk of writing. I'm fine with this outcome though.

Though I will say, if getting our magic back involves leaving the tower then we don't need the tattoo gun, as a tattoo artist would have their own, no?

>point at the strange label, without saying any words
>>
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Rolled 17 (1d20)

The Riot has broken into the Tower...
>>
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(61/78 floors accessible)
>>5125183

You have lost your magic
(22 0: The FOOL is lost. You can no longer invoke the Ancient Rite: Fool's Masquerade)
>>5126405
>>5126412
>>
QM: Choose your priorities and as many questions as you need answered below. As always, I will assume the first topic is the most important. Yargai does not fully trust you, so there may be a roll involved to see how he responds (depends on the topic)

>Ask Yargai about guns / ranged weapons
>Ask about swords / melee weapons
>Ask for a weapon right now
>Ask Yargai if he can help you recover a weapon you lost, when you bargained for Betrayer's Tongue
>Flare Gun
>Riot Baton
>1911 modern variant .45ACP 14/14
>HK USP .45ACP 12/12
>Ask for a magic weapon

>Ask Yargai why you might want a gun that actually carries less ammunition (did someone already tell you why?)

>Ask him if he knows of a way to call off those hunting you, ie the Vourukasha and the Orationists

>Ask Yargai what you might do with incriminating information

>Give Yargai the incriminating phone

>Show Yargai the Strange Device / Tattoo machine

>Ask Yargai if he knows of various ways of recovering your magic

>Ask him why he does not trust you

>Ask him about his tattoos

>Ask Yargai about what he thinks about Art

>Ask Yargai about what he thinks of the Paribus Foundation, and its CEO Robert Alle

>Ask Yargai about the Vourukasha

>Ask him about underpants

>Ask Yargai about the Betrayer

>Ask Yargai about the Red Lord Of Ruin

>Something else...?
>>
>>5127958
Eh? Why'd we lose our spell if we didn't use it on Robert? I guess cause of the riot? But they only took the first few bottom floors.

>>5127979
I guess we could give the phone to the Paribus girl that was mentioned in exchange for her help, make her rise to replace Robert.

>Ask him if he knows of a way to call off those hunting you, ie the Vourukasha and the Orationists
>Ask for a magic weapon
>Ask Yargai if he knows of various ways of recovering your magic
>Show Yargai the Strange Device / Tattoo machine
>Ask him how the Orationist's powers work
>Ask Yargai about guns / ranged weapons
>Ask about swords / melee weapons
>Ask Yargai about what he thinks about Art
>Ask him about the Dancer
>Ask him about his tattoos
>Ask Yargai about the Vourukasha
>Ask Yargai about the Betrayer
>Ask Yargai about the Red Lord Of Ruin

If we can't get a magic weapon ask...
>Ask Yargai if he can help you recover a weapon you lost, when you bargained for Betrayer's Tongue
>Flare Gun
...though without mentioning that we used Betrayer's Tongue.
>>
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Under the pale diode illumination of his secluded apartment, the Weapons Dealer Yargai has drawn a gun - but he has not handed it to you. He is loading a single bullet into the chamber of the side-swung cylinder of a small snub-nosed revolver.

Why should I deal with a dead man walking -

Yargai is asking, as he closes the pivoting crane back into the frame,

- when I could just sell your whereabouts myself to the Vourukasha - who pay well - or the Orationists, who pay better? What can you possibly offer me?
>>
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Rolled 6 (1d6)

1/6 chance of True Death, on 1
>>
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>Ask him if he knows of a way to call off those hunting you, ie the Vourukasha and the Orationists

Yargai smirks a little.

I think we have already answered this question...
>>
>>5128131
The hammer falls with a dry click, onto an empty chamber.

>(...?)

>Ask the next question >>5128018

>You are the Magus, and this is the Betrayer's Curse. Accept the Judgement of the Orationists, embrace Death.
>>
>>5128149
>Ask the next question >>5128018 (You)
>>
>>5128149
Actually, in addition to >>5128206 queue up the upload of the recording to social media on our phone but hold our hand and phone under the table so he cannot see. If he asks about it just act blase about it and say we were so bored of his threat that we had to browse our phone to stave off ennui. If he continues this little game of russian roulette then weave our head so he can't instantly kill us and force him to shoot us center of mass so we have time to upload the recording before we die. In addition to this if he keeps this up then threaten him with the contents of the recording, explain what it is and that with one press we'll incriminate him and he better give us what we want. Of course if he continues to depress the trigger then just upload it anyways.
>>
>>5128126
Also, really, the Vourukasha or some hobo vampires with thought/voice powers pay better than us? The billionaire magus vampire pays worse than fucking plebeians? I'm offended.
>>
>>5128149
Also, while this >>5128213 is mostly centered on having a recourse for if he keeps playing his little death game with us, I do eventually want to circle back around to that first question but outright threaten him with the recording once we've asked all the other questions, preferably once we've armed ourselves though.
>>
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>Ask for a magic weapon

You have regained:

Signal Pistol 1/1
Concealable, Loud, Incendiary, Weak: Armour
VZ30 flare gun, a weapon of the old world. Unusual rotating breech block can fire a variety of different rounds. Can be used to signal an attack, distract or burn unarmoured opponents. If you fire it, expect a lot of attention.

This is a relic of the old world. It will hurt supernatural foes, so long as they are unarmoured. It counts as a pistol, so your combat training skills apply, and you are familiar with its operation.

The weapon is loaded. It is in your hand. Think (?) very, very carefully about the next action...

>(...?)
>Ask the next question >>5128018
>Ask a different question
>If you know what is going on, write-in with the link of the relevant section
>>
>>5128230
I'm gonna have to sleep very soon, I barely slept last night. I'll think on this a bit and if I don't get back to you within an hour it probably means I had to drift off.
>>
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>>5128246
No worries. Sleep well ^_^
>>
>>5128230
I just woke up, fell asleep at my desk. I'm gonna sleep for real now, but I thought I'd just get this out there, I'm pretty confident that I'm not gonna figure anything else out and we didn't prepare by seeking a ton of info before coming to see Yargai, so I'm just gonna vote.

>Ask a different question

Skip ahead to asking how the Orationist's power work, but don't say Orationist out loud, just point to our phone and ask how "their" power's work, then hold our hand hold the phone back under the table.

I don't want to reveal we don't have our magic, he might not know that we don't have it and it could change our power dynamics significantly.

>If you know what is going on, write-in with the link of the relevant section >>5126441 or >>5121985 or >>5124403

I know we can't conjure items yet so I'm guessing perhaps our robes don't actually merely store items but can recreate them once we firmly come into possession of them. Alternatively we have infinite money and own everything in this tower so maybe there was some intangible exchange of assets or power between us and Yargai in order to pay for this gun. I'm not going to keep guessing beyond this as I have no other intuitions about this sadly.

Anyways, g'night and sleep well.
>>
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Rolled 6, 14 = 20 (2d20)

(QM:
The answer is here: >>5125780
I would also accept this: >>5121867 )

Somehow, Yargai has not seen that you are holding a loaded flare gun in your hand. He has turned slightly away from you, gazing out of his apartment window, into the night, the emptiness beyond, the Void.

(QM: you are lost in the Pathless Labyrinth, and you fear you have taken the wrong turn. Yargai continues to reply to your original question/choices, from >>5128018 )
>Ask Yargai if he knows of various ways of recovering your magic

I come from a cruel land -

Yargai is saying. You see he has opened the revolver, and is loading a second bullet into the chamber. Yargai is distracted... perhaps this is your chance...?

- you can only learn through this cruelty, through fear. You want to know how to recover your magic? This is how. You want to know how to escape the Tower, overthrow Heaven, become a God? This is how. Only God Forgives. I am teaching you now... >>5125155

(You can hear the Riot advancing outside, the crowds destroying your Tower...)

> Shoot Yargai with the Flare Gun. At this range, as he is distracted by the night, the emptiness, and reloads his snub-nosed revolver, you cannot miss. End this cruel man's life, before he ends yours...

>(QM: this one might be hard) You remember how you instantly improved (recovered?) your skills and training, just by recalling a film reference. Did Yargai just make a reference to something? You think back to the strange neon lighting, the red and blue lighting aesthetics... is there a film director who likes to do stuff like this? >>5121888 Name the director and perhaps you will break free from the Pathless Labyrinth...

>Try and dodge the bullet: You still possess the Invigorated trait, from when you executed King Ghoul, Danger Hair, Slob Girl. Perhaps even if Yargai shoots you, you can sacrifice the trait and survive. Is his gun magic? Or just the bullets? Perhaps you really are immortal? And what happens to you when you lose this trait again...?

>Ask the next question >>5128018

>Ask a different question

>You are the Magus, and this is the Betrayer's Curse. Accept the Judgement of the Oration, embrace Death.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

2/6 chance of True Death: on 1,2
>>
>>5127958
>>5128655

41/78 floors of the Tower remain
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

(A heartbeat passes...)

(Yargai spins the revolver cylinder again)

2/6 chance of True Death: on 1,2
>>
oof just dodged a bullet, catching up now, gimme a bit.
>>
Rolled 13, 5, 11, 1, 19 = 49 (5d20)

>>5128018
>Show Yargai the Strange Device / Tattoo machine

Yargai glances at the unusual tattooing machine.

You are a lucky individual -

Yargai says, loading the revolver cylinder with three more bullets; there are five bullets now in total in his gun. Yargai is showing you the single empty chamber - the only hope, the hollow space that represents life.

The cartel Death Dealer Yargai continues,

To become a god you need followers. This is the commodity I am interested in, the exchange, the payment. Magical people. Sometimes, these people need to be marked, branded - perhaps you have met one of them before? Otherwise unmarked merchandise can go missing, become misplaced. This unusual tattoo machine, this needle, makes it less likely.

> Shoot Yargai with the Flare Gun. At this range, you cannot miss. End this cruel man's life, before he ends yours...

>(QM: It is not too late to manifest your power) You remember how you instantly improved (recovered?) your skills and training, just by recalling a film reference. Did Yargai make a reference to something earlier? You think back to the strange neon lighting, the red and blue lighting aesthetics... is there a film director who likes to do stuff like this? >>5121888 Name the director and perhaps you will break free from the Pathless Labyrinth...

>Try and dodge the bullet: You still possess the Invigorated trait, from when you executed King Ghoul, Danger Hair, Slob Girl. Perhaps even if Yargai shoots you, you can sacrifice the trait and survive. Is his gun magic? Or just the bullets? Perhaps you really are immortal? And what happens to you when you lose this trait again...?

>Ask the next question >>5128018

>Ask a different question

>You are the Magus, and this is the Betrayer's Curse. Accept the Judgement of the Oration, embrace Death.
>>
>>5128655
Ah, that was a pretty obvious thing, but I was sure it couldn't be that because you said we couldn't conjure things yet, but that what I was referencing when I said infinite money, I knew we could reality warp with our words but I thought that was a commonly understood between the player and you but I thought it was established that nothing had changed for us to be able to conjure items yet, nor would I necessarily want to when the orationist's could seemingly still instantly kill us. Frustrating but oh well.

>>5128655
>(QM: this one might be hard) You remember how you instantly improved (recovered?) your skills and training, just by recalling a film reference. Did Yargai just make a reference to something? You think back to the strange neon lighting, the red and blue lighting aesthetics... is there a film director who likes to do stuff like this? >>5121888 Name the director and perhaps you will break free from the Pathless Labyrinth...

>Stanley Kubrick
or
>David Lynch

There are others, but those are probably the more obvious famous ones I guess.

Otherwise if those are incorrect I choose to...
> Shoot Yargai with the Flare Gun. At this range, as he is distracted by the night, the emptiness, and reloads his snub-nosed revolver, you cannot miss. End this cruel man's life, before he ends yours...
>>
>>5129303
I'd just repeat this >>5129304 for this round
>>
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>>5129303
The Riot has reached the top floor of your Sanctuary, the Tower

There are no remaining floors.

You cannot use magic.

Trait: Invigorated is lost
>>
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>>5129304
Your power does not manifest. The night does not answer you. In the warped lighting, Yargai resembles a Neon Demon. Only God Forgives.

(On your next turn both of you will open fire simultaneously.

Yargai has a 5/6 = 83.3% chance to hit, on 1,2,3,4,5. He will miss if he rolls a 6
You have 14/78= 17.9% chance to hit, on WANDS)

>Fire the Flare Gun at Yargai (roll 1d78)
>>
Rolled 11 (1d78)

>>5129320
>>
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Rolled 5 (1d6)

The incendiary round pierces Yargai's flesh, igniting, burning as the rioters gather around you, destroying the Tower, your Sanctuary, your sense of self...

The Burning Man fires his revolver at you, for the final time...

(Yargai has a 5/6 = 83.3% chance to hit, on 1,2,3,4,5. He will miss if he rolls a 6)
>>
Yargai, The Cartel Death Dealer:
burning
executed
dead
>>
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(GAME OVER)
The Magus was executed by cartel dealer Yargai
>>
You have known what it feels like to become immortal. To be worshipped and to be betrayed. You dealt death to others, and you were given death in return.

When you die, you do not end.
>>
Instead, you watch as the world around you is forgotten, destroyed by those you knew who are left.
>>
How much of it was your doing? Was it chance? Fate? Or the cruel will of Heaven, the Great Dark Sky that betrays? The Red Lord Of Ruin offers no answer, only silence.
>>
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Daybreak brings the sun - the night has finally ended. You will rise again in another place. You did not die after all. But to this world, there is no return.

(END)
>>
(END)

+ g o l g o T h a +

inspired by

Literature
Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis
J G Ballard
Marshall McLuhan
Ways Of Seeing, art essay

Films
Nicolas Winding Refn:
The Neon Demon
Only God Forgives
Too Old To Die Young
Michael Mann, Collateral
The Devil's Advocate
The Purge 2
Dredd
Blade
The Hunger
Strange Days
Near Dark
Under The Skin
Under The Silver Lake
Maps To The Stars
Possessor

Videogames
Hitman
Manhunt
Max Payne
Control
F.E.A.R. 1, 2
Mirrors Edge
Devil May Cry
Killer Is Dead
Bloodborne

Others:
Morgan Stanley Tech Conference
yCombinator
Milan Fashion Show
Bloomberg Christian Dior event
Cari Institute, Consumer Aesthetics
bldgblog
Lebbeus Woods
Rem Koolhaas
Perturbator
Carpenter Brut
and
3 youtube videos I watched to try and understand what drill rap actually is

Not A Disclaimer: nearly all of the events, locations and people depicted in this game are real. None of it is entirely fictitious. Every guard, rioter, dungeonmaster, rapper, receptionist, CEO, wizard, vampire, demon, God. You may know some of them.
>>
QM: This concludes the game. I will stay in the thread and answer questions, sad to see it did not go so well... it felt very close. I am also writing an epilogue to explain what may have occurred. If there were any rulings you felt were unfair please let me know. Maybe the games I make are too difficult lol, I am too inspired by dark souls bloodborne sekiro style difficulty (lol I fought 1 boss there over 100 times before defeating them). There were actually a lot of really good decisions in this game - I was really impressed by the write-ins. I tried to offer multiple solutions this time to the puzzles, but maybe they are just too hard or obscure or do not make sense.
>>
>>5129350
I guess I'll give my thoughts on this playthrough.

First off, thanks for the bibliography and references.

I will say that I was pretty disappointed by the ending, not the actual end writing >>5129341 >>5129343 >>5129344 >>5129349 but the lead up to it. While I felt slightly engaged at certain points with Yargai due to the tension I was mostly just taken out of it after >>5127714 when we (or just I at this point I guess) were interrupted and spotted by Yargai here. It honestly just felt immensely railroaded from then on out.

I will say that for most of this playthrough I enjoyed it a lot, perhaps more so than most. The parts I liked the most were what seemed to be the sandbox elements and numerous factions at play, I liked the potential that was there in that some were not seemingly hostile to us but could become so, and I hoped to turn some of them against one another.

Because the parts I enjoyed the most were the sandbox elements, I was genuinely annoyed at the certain points at the lead up to the ending and perhaps generally once we reached the Major Arcana floors.

Looking back through my memory of the playthrough without rereading it post by post, I enjoyed how powerful we felt, the mystery, the general feeling of leveling up and the sandbox elements, I also enjoyed what I thought were references to embodied cognition, the memes about WAIFU's and Adam Koebel, and some stuff I'll mention in moment. I will say that the reference to Koebel felt a bit dated and were a little distracting despite being funny, I get that you were going for Kospel trying to find an alternate name so as not to deadname himself but someone like Arcadum is probably more relevant now regarding cancelled celebrity DMs. I also enjoyed >>5126502 the writing regarding art was interesting and in general some of the writing was interesting or a pleasure to read such was your introductory sections or >>5127402 or the ending section after we had died and suffered game over. I was annoyed severely that the rioters breaking into the tower didn't matter until we met Yargai, it felt like wasted potential for that mechanic and contributed to my annoyance at the lead up to the end along with the time dissonance.

Things I have questions about are the alternate paths we could've taken, had we never discovered we were the magus, had we never gotten corruption for the Red Lord of Ruin, had we just talked to the Ghoul King or gotten captured by the Vourukasha, had we just pretended to be a rioter that broke in, had we not gone to the Major Arcana floors and just continued to fiddle about in the sandbox, what was the deal with the Orationists, the Vourukasha, Yargai, Robert, the other Paribus lady, Kospel, what were some alternate paths we could've taken, what did each faction want and what were their abilities? What was up with the Dancer...and I think there was one other mentioned figure that I forgot about, what was their deal? More questions to follow.
>>
>>5129366
>>5129369
How could've we gotten our magic back and was our magic essentially just tarot magic without having to rely on the phones or were their unique mechanics to it. Oh yeah, what was the deal with the underpants cultist and his whole deal with us and the Ghoul King?

Things I just straight up dislike at least in this playthrough: I think I've decided that I just straight up didn't enjoy the "guess the Real Life reference or infer something via vague symbology or remember this thing" aspects of the playthrough, at all. Like, it feels actually pretty good when you get one right, but it feels real bad when you don't frustrating even, not to mention that it just feels very immersion breaking.

I'll go through each aspect of what I don't like about it. One, it is immersion breaking, if we guess this RL reference then I suppose the in-universe explanation for why we get rewarded has to do with remembering our powers or our reality warping ability regarding words, thoughts and actions, but it just feels arbitrary and overly meta and kinda stupid. It feels like "guess this inspiration of the QMs to do good" instead of a versatile tool of the player to do fun things and it feels like a tool with no agency involved.

Two, I just straight up think the idea of story telling through symbology is bad, maybe even garbage, though only when core story beats or info is supposed to be conveyed or inferred through it, see Faux Symbolism or Rule of Symbolism on TVtropes for the general idea of what I mean. Maybe that is hyperbolic, symbology in stories and film and whatever is important, I just feel a lot of info seems to be conveyed vaguely through obscure prose or symbolic references, though I actually feel this applies more to your old quest than this one. (e.g Invultua with key aspects regarding the factions essentially never being told to us but just supposed to have been inferred, some probably could've been guessed at a stretch others were basically impossible to guess specifically.)

Three some of the stuff about remembering some things annoyed me. I actually generally like this aspect of the game as it reminds me of Valen quest and some other quests I'm fond of. But some aspects of the ruling felt a bit strict. >>5128655 >>5128422 Mostly regarding this, the other ones that I didn't guess I was basically entirely fine with being wrong about aside from a general negative feeling about being wrong and not enjoying that aspect of the game as much. But I don't know if it was you feeling like being strict because of the Red Cultist Bathrobes or what but I generally felt it was understood that me and the other anon knew about and remembered >>5125780 and the fact that we "did not speak with the voice of a mortal" as I feel like I made repeated references to it. (but perhaps I remember incorrectly and didn't mention it as often as I thought and just knew about it internally, I'd have to go back and check) I also felt >>5126441 was contradicted-
>>
>>5129397
>>5129366
-with no explanation later on. There didn't seem to be a significant in-universe reason on why we were suddenly powerful enough to conjure the flare gun then but not before.

Moving on to another thing I disliked, or that at least needs explanation before I accept it and feel neutral about it was the loss of our magic after the riot broke in, I'm not sure if it was the riot breaking in that caused it or the fact that I choose the Pathless Labyrinth or if you were just hoping to wrap things up but losing it near the end contributed to the feeling of being railroaded. I won't make the actual claim that you were railroading because I think more highly of you than that, and I could definitely see how my choices contributed and cemented our ultimate death (choosing to sacrifice all weapons, making wrong guesses, etc) but the fact that we lost it at a section where we had no weapons and some of what I wrote-in seemed to be ignored contributed to it feeling railroaded. That brings me to another thing that is related.

I dislike a few things about how you QM. I wish you would just roll a d2 or whatever between the tied votes of the voted choices that have a majority. Like if I want one thing and another anon wants another, if they cannot both be done either sequentially or together without consequence, then just roll to decide between the two like most QMs, compromising between us but inflicting penalties is annoying, feels meta and arbitrary because you are inflicting punishments or using up our resources without us wanting to use them. An example of this is here >>5123665 >>5123736 >>5123761 these are mutually exclusive plans, now I understand you might've wanted to get an update out and it was close to when you and I were sleeping that day (I think) but it seems like you cost us the Temperance tarot to allow us to kinda sorta get by because the other anon didn't roll. I'm not sure why you did this, my plan didn't require a roll unless we shot (given it was a plan that had contingent elements you could just call for a roll if it got to the point where we had to fire) and while the other anon's plan did require the use of roll I don't know why you didn't just remind him or call for a roll, you are an active QM with a pretty active pair of players with some others coming in occasionally, you could've just called for it and had us respond probably before an hour had passed. It honestly would've been arguably preferable to have been shot by the superior guard, lost Invigorated, and then shot him back and killed him in order to get all his gear or to prevent a witness from escaping having seen our face or to avoid losing Temperance.

I feel like that has happened a few times over our past playthroughs and it just kinda sucks.

I also feel like a few times write-in's have been ignored like >>5128213 and there were some instances I feel like that happened in previous playthroughs too, though I'd have to check for sure.
>>
Wait I just realised here:
>>5129325
You rolled
11 XI: JUSTICE

lol so technically it is a miss, as without magic you hit only on WANDS... Does the Cartel Death Dealer Yargai survive?

But the major arcana rolled is Justice, it is pretty appropriate! And it is a magic weapon. I contradicted myself from earlier when I said at close range you could not miss...

I will let this ruling and this ending stand. Usually across games if an NPC is killed all subsequent incarnations of them die. Hmmm...
>>
>>5129439
Ah I realised why. It is because after the first shot he was reloading and slightly distracted by the night, he was not doing that afterwards. So there was indeed a roll involved. But I feel the tarot has spoken with the roll, drawing the Justice card. I think the ending stands.
>>
Another question, what was up with our face and the mechanic about people seeing our face? Was it just a thing were if certain people saw our face they could know who we are or something, even through disguises or what?.

Oh yeah, this part >>5128655 >>5129303 annoyed me, it seems like you were doing the "things have to be urgent and I have to move the game along if players are indecisive thing" You moved onto the next update even though no one had voted. I had just gotten up due to a night of trying and failing to sleep and had just arrived before you wrote the next update despite no one having voted. I mentioned it before I think in Invultua, but this is just pointless and not really done in quests, this isn't the same as at the table playing a TTRPG with waffling, indecisive players in the middle of combat, on qst sometimes players just aren't available or are slow and inconsistent, in that case if no one votes the QM just holds.

Hmm...I probably had other questions or criticisms but I kinda forgot them now, so I'll wrap up for now.

Generally, despite my criticisms, I enjoyed quite a lot of the playthrough to a pretty high degree before Yargai spotted us.

I think I'll have some comments and maybe some more questions that I'll ask throughout the day as I get the time but for now...

...Thanks for running Souvarine. I enjoy your quests a lot, though I seem to be one of the only two consistent players. Odd, your quests seem quite upvoted on the archives, yet no one seems to play them, makes me feel kinda isolated with no one to discuss things with. Take care.

Any idea on what your next quest will be (if you decide to make another one that is) and when?
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>>5129439
Yeah, I thought that was odd that we hit despite getting 11, but I also thought it was appropriate considering we rolled Justice for both of us to die. What will happen to Yargai's second (or was it his third?) wife!? I'll miss Yargai.

I'm fine with him living with a burn scar and a story to tell regardless, either outcome is fine with me. But I do know you are going for the whole "changing reactive world" thing, and I wouldn't want to put a stop to that as I enjoy that too.
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The theme of this game was apotheosis. Behave like a god, to become God. It did not matter which god you chose, the Betrayer, the Red Lord Of Ruin, the trickster underpants cult lol. There was also another way. Help another become a god, take the Curse of the Betrayer in your place. What was going on at the start of the game? Why would someone who did not care about money be meeting a questionable wannabe drill rapper, asking him to deliver a strange object (the tattoo needle gun?)

Last time, Yargai was like Jolly Asian Santa Claus - I wanted to get away from this tendency to make all NPCs item and quest vending machines, and portray him as a cruel cartel member or underground death dealer. I know you hate this, but if you notice the first time his (unnamed) picture is introduced there is a hint that the magic human trafficking cartel is what you are being warned about. >>5124516

To become a god you need followers - just like on social media, livestreaming. Going to the tech conference might have helped with this. The commodity Yargai most prefers to trade in is people - magical people. Sometimes they need to be branded, marked (tattooed?) This is the payment that is not being mentioned throughout the game, and it is why I kept mentioning that money is perhaps not that important - there are other types of currency: time, regret, opportunity, blood.

The Orationists = The Paribus Foundation
Their CEO, Robert Alle (rob all, steal everything?), controls reality with his speeches and video interviews. I actually rob all in that I steal inspiration from everywhere lol, steal from all those sources listed at the end lol.

If he walked out of the gallery first, looked at you and suspected you, you would have died instantly. Remember the curse of the Infinite Items trait, The Dead Land Forgets? You got this item variant right before going in. >>5126412. Casting it on yourself before attempting underpants comedy might be a good idea...
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>>5129466
>Cartel stuff

I remember that. I've reread basically the entire quest a few times combing for clues and typing notes, though eventually nearing the end I got lazier about it as I got tired and was operating off of no sleep yesterday.

I support the NPCs acting more active and less like vender with no agency of their own.

But, I will say your choice of using Yargai's picture with Lil Guro typing confused me when I went back later to read it. It literally made me think Lil Guro was somehow Yargai and that Yargai was some shapeshifting mage or something, I wasted some time internally musing about it.

I should probably clarify that I don't hate the "guessing/remembering" elements THAT much, I just didn't like them nearly as much in this playthrough, probably because of a lot of those aspects of the playthrough being stuffed into the ending and moving away from the sandbox elements I enjoyed in this playthrough. It has more to do with the "guess stuff from real life" elements and "infer things from symbology and obscure prose" aspects, I don't mind remembering stuff as much because I take notes or check back to prior moments in the quest often, it was more that one moment were I felt the ruling was too strict to be very annoying.

I forgot to write this but part of the reason why I don't enjoy the real life stuff as much is because while I understand that as generally nerdy people playing collaborative games on /qst/ a person could probably generally expect any one anon to be "genre savvy" or "nerdy" but for me there just ends up being a degree of pop-culture osmosis failure. Even were I not me but in fact just a generally nerdy person vaguely up to date on pop-culture I could still expect to just not get some things or missed some slightly less popular films/video games/literature, and as I am me while I am up to date on some aspects of pop-culture and knowledgeable on some obscure aspects of various things a lot of things are likely to go over my head. Not to say any of your inspirations are particularly obscure but I'm bound to just not get a reference or enjoy it which makes the game harder when you reward knowing these things. I'm sure even pop-culture-savvy people would still miss some things owing to them having their own preferences that preclude knowing certain media.
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>>5129466
>Paribus

Ah. Well, okay, good to know I guess.

That does remind me of another thing. The interruption of the Paribus broadcast contributed to my feeling of being railroaded. Assuming that they didn't literally control all electronics or our phones and could prevent us from uploading the recording, I assumed that you didn't want me to go through with that write-in. I was wondering "why is my write-in being interrupted by this broadcast and Yargai talking about art? Just continue trying to upload and brush Yargai off for a minute" The reason why I didn't repeat my write-in was because I was uncertain whether you were railroading rendering any attempt at retrying to upload the recording pointless, or whether the Orationist legitimately could stop the recording from going up in-universe.

I know I said it'd be nice to trade with Yargai or gain more info or blackmail robert before uploading, but to clarify, this was me just musing, not a part of my actual intentions, the thing I wanted to do was in greentext >>5127656 which would've taken precedent over the plain text as greentext indicates my actual vote. I'll try and be more consistent with this in the future and not do >>5128206 >>5128213 as it makes it unclear what I actually want to happen if it is not in greentext, though I thought it was clear because I say "in addition to" and just generally say what I want done in terms of actions.
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I felt that uploading your evidence to the internet would not work given the levels of phone charge you had remaining. The rule I had in my head was general use of the phone is about -10%, uploading or downloading is -20% (the tarot app etc), and trolling rapidly recovered magic phone charge based on how amusing I thought it was lol. (Is trolling like being a vampire...?) There was an NPC at the protest, a reporter which was why I provided a choice to leap off the edge of the floor during the King Ghoul scene, and plummet straight into that (you would survive it, because magic, QM thinks it is cool lol). Also uploading the video would probably make people think you are no different to a cultist / terrorist, unless you spoke through a reporter (this is what the power of speech was sort of all about, and the system put in place by Orationists). The Paribus Foundation have charity PR consultants lol, who are a bit more powerful than anonymous pastebin. In a way, the Orationists are sort of like magic cops who want to keep the power of words and speech for themselves, censorship (thought police?) The Orationists can take any form and look like anyone, a bit like you.

The Orationist Seer is the woman who was talking to protestors. She shifts forms and is trying some magic stuff hunting for you.
>>5125059
>>5125921
Here she boosts her magic to 3d78 (pic related is me imagining her revealing a truer version of herself, dropping some of her disguises to try and hunt for you)
>>5126341

It would be a very bad idea if you met her, which is why I situated her quite far away. She is the one who eventually agreed to let those hunting you past the guards and into the Tower. Her personality is probably not that different to Gracelyn (remember her?) There were other factions looking for you in the Tower as well.
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>>5129466
I'm mostly done my "review", though I'll still sporadically make some comments or add thoughts on certain things throughout the day as I said.

>>5129466
>Apotheosis and god needing followers

That makes a lot of sense both thematically and as a mechanic to become god, but the knowledge only seemed available in hindsight. Now, to be fair to you, it is entirely possible that we could've discovered how to do this in-game with different choices, but with what we knew up to the point where you revealed meta knowledge after the ending I would say it was unlikely we would've thought to do that. Which to be clear, I'm fine with, becoming a god sounds like a pretty high tier ending and we aren't entitled to such an ending even if we got a good ending, we ought to earn that.

>>5129366
>Difficulty.

I don't think your quests are too difficult, we've gotten some good endings in some of the playthroughs, I take issue with certain aspects of how you run your quests but not the overall difficulty. I actually think you are overstating or perhaps understating how difficult your quests are by comparing them to soulsborne games. Your quests are difficult in a far different way than them.

I would actually consider soulsborne games or at least Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne and Demon Souls to be fairly easy as far hard games go. Well, certain bosses excluded and perhaps less so with certain design choices and mobs with large combos in Dks 3. But maybe that is just because I spent so much of my time playing them and I don't ever remember dying more than 15-20 times to any boss even when I was new to the games which makes empathizing with new players doing let's plays and things like that harder for me than other people. I'm past the point of considering those games hard and even when I was new I merely considered them moderately hard but quite fair.
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Just out of interest, have you played Mage The Ascension or Vampire Masquerade etc? I know the setting vaguely and some of the manifestations of magic etc are borrowed or stolen lol from their concepts. Like the White Wolf Mage games have the idea where it is better for magic to look like coincidence rather than like dnd fireballs etc.
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>>5129526
>Gracelyn

Yeah I remember her, I thought there was a similarity there because you mentioned a "paribus lady" but I wasn't sure if you were carrying over dead NPCs.

>Uploading

I wish that had been clarified that it wouldn't work or just had it outright fail and the charge gone to 0% as I would've simply ignored Yargai instead and prioritized the recording had I known that. Having no feedback or no explanation for why my write-in wasn't seemingly taken just made me think it was railroading rather than my own fault for not guessing that uploading would've cost too much power. Having it go to 0% would've made me try and find an outlet to recover the power to be able to upload it as presumably losing power doesn't destroy all the data on it, or being interrupted with a post saying "you see the power rapidly draining as you upload the recording, you don't think you have enough battery power to do it" would've been nice.

>Jumping off the floor we were on.

Yeah I was certain we'd survive due to invigorated, if we can survive 12 bullets to the head we can survive a little fall.

>Cultist/Terrorist

Why? That makes no sense, we'd be uploading anonymously or with a fresh account and we don't say or do anything in the recording, it is just a recording of Yargai/Robert, there is no indication to anything regarding the uploader. I understand that they are a powerful company and also magic but people damage companies with powerful PR arms all the time with anoymous leaks. Now, if they have such a strong degree of magic over words and speech and thoughts that they essentially have mind control then that is a different matter and a lot more plausible, but if it is just some cynical "people are dumb sheeple and can be led around by power wealthy corporations, something-something-subaltern-something-mob mentality-something-something" then it is harder to swallow given the limited outcome was expecting from the beginning.
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>>5129548
>White Wolf stuff

Yeah, I have. I'm playing a VtM quest on a different site even now. I like the setting despite the pretty severe problems it has but hate the mechanics.

Paradox doesn't make sense except in a vague intuitive sense and it never has and essentially just leads to "mother may I" begging from the players to the Storyteller or bullshit fast-talking of your ST by the players using RL knowledge of physics or some other topic to essentially bully your ST into shutting up and letting you do what you want using your authority as a person with a relevant degree. I like the idea and the setting but like I said, the mechanics are bad both mathematically and conceptually and pretty much always have been and continue to be up until the latest editions and the nWoD versions.
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I'll be honest, as a lurker, this felt a bit messy to read through (for a lack of a better term). Kinda hard to keep my head on any one thing.
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>>5129579
If you go into the archives to read Invultua and Galerne this will end up being a consistent problem throughout. I blame mostly myself though Souvarine probably deserves at least a little bit of the blame for his concepts and need to understand references.

Mostly it is my fault at least in Invultua and Galerne because immediately after a playthrough ends I write a wall of text giving my thoughts and Souvarine writes some moderately lengthy replies. It interrupts the flow of the quests quite a bit I imagine as you have to scroll past walls of texts to get to the next playthrough which can be problematic despite Souvarine's attempt to create a table of contents with links at certain points.
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>>5129565
>you see the power rapidly draining as you upload the recording, you don't think you have enough battery power to do it" would've been nice.

This is a fair criticism, I will bear it in mind. You know at the table I would have just said it. But I knew a very tense fight / roll was coming up. Say you had worked out the Yargai art exchange puzzle on your own, you break the Orationist instant death curse, Yargai is friendly to you, the next situation might have been a fight straight out with the Orationists - immediately (if the Seer randomly gets 22/78=35% chance with a major arcana. She detects you moved floors and her next move would be to take out the phone you literally just got, before you could recharge) Each time you move areas, it triggers the enemy searching rolls. Saying certain words and doing certain things triggers the Orationist magic rolls, because of their power. If you read the incriminating phone item description I am strongly warning you not to use the item, ie keep it hidden from the Orationist spying because if you use it in a tense situation, it might be bad...>>5127401 In real life, would you attempt to do this whilst being hunted with 13% battery? (I do not know, maybe you would as a last desperate stand?)
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To be entirely honest, I should probably have told you outright that I thought the situation was too dangerous, you were going in to this underpowered with a magic weapon that only had 1 shot ie the flare gun. It is why I was asking for the confirms >>5126421 and also just outright gave you a different spell variant >>5126412 . Would you have preferred it for me to just steer you back to a safe area, to outright tell you are too weak for an area? The question I have is when I let you choose any floor you wanted, why didn't you choose a major arcana floor? Why the Ace Of Wands when you already had a wands aligned weapon ie Riot Baton?
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The chance to get a magic weapon was here:
>>5125958
>Why is this cultist offering you a handgun with fewer bullets? He must really be an idiot as well as insane. Ask for a more modern variant of the 1911, like a double-stacked Para-Ordnance with 14/14 rounds in the magazine
>Ask for an 8/8 .45ACP magazine variant 1911
>If you think you understand this Underpants Gun fanatic and his insane reasoning, write-in. You have a phone, you can search if you want

Kospel told you that you need old weapons to defeat unnatural creatures. Lil Guro at the riot also mentioned that some of the Goths were carrying weird old guns. I chose the 1911 because, well the age and year is in the name. The idea behind this mechanic was to balance out the smg and assault rifle 30 round mags lol - older guns like revolvers, shotguns, have lower ammo so I made them more magical. I wonder if I should just have interrupted and outright made the cultist tell you this, because looking back it made you really underpowered. I was too busy uploading pictures of underpants...
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What would we find on other special floors and on regular floors?
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The magic weapons: (I will just post some pictures, I had not researched all of the descriptions yet)
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King Ghoul may have helped with this... the model of the chainsaw is the Poulan 306, from the original Texas Chainsaw massacre
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LeMat Revolver:
It is a black powder gun, you cannot reload it. (For balance purposes) 9 shots around a 1 shot .20 ga shotgun
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Some Orationists had magic compact ar-15 variants, of course these ones break the rule of the ancient guns being magical because of a certain artifact found in the tech conference... it is possible to find an artifact that makes any weapon magic. Maybe investigate the archaeology area (why is that located in XII: The Hanged Man etc) Because the Orationist Seer rolled the chariot when she detected you, I was setting up a helicopter fight, like at the end of Max Payne... had not fully gotten the pictures for it yet
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>>5129606
I think the incriminating phone item description was an adequate warning as was the original phone description tipping us off to the spying among other things.

My issue was with the coincidence of things leading the the bad ending leading to a feeling of being railroaded, and it started with my write-in seemingly being either ignored or interrupted which gave off a QM fiat feeling. The warnings were adequate.

I knew about their spying, just not to the extent they could manipulate electronics or word/speech/thoughts, I wasn't sure if they could outright prevent the upload or if their spying was just mundane data collection stuff that happens like when you browse the internet IRL, or if it was some sort of super-hollywood hacking or if it was magic.*

>In real life, would you attempt to do this whilst being hunted with 13% battery? (I do not know, maybe you would as a last desperate stand?)

Yes, I would for the simple reason that I think that it is not as risky as you make it seem. (though this is ignoring the fact that Robert could insta-kill us) I didn't think that the factions hostile to us would be able to follow us quickly given that they are outwardly civilian NGO factions who should be impeded by riot cops outside or guards inside the hotel. Clearing rooms, let alone floors takes time, it is arguably even slower if you are professional than it is if you are untrained or an amateur because you'd probably naturally be taking it slow and stealthy and pieing off every corner. IRL I'd just be pressing the screen a few times to start the upload then I'd be moving elsewhere. This kinda goes with the "time dissonance" I very briefly mentioned above or the time compression problems I mentioned in your prior quests where events end and people move on over the course of us having a short conversation that would take a minute. In real life I wouldn't expect an opposing forces to be able to process their newfound intel, disseminate it rapidly, and have their relevant forces orient themselves and move to our location on a multistory building that fast. I would actually go as far as to say that I actually felt no pressure or tension from being hunted literally this entire quest, that aspect simply didn't feel dangerous due to my assumptions and the fact that we were never caught up with.

*In real life cell phone tracking is not that accurate depending on how you do it, it can just lead you to the nearest cell tower or it could you give you their actual location with GPS, and while I could hypothetically see someone tracking your exact location using hacking and data collection I just find it unlikely considering even the CIA tracks people by just phoning the phone company and getting them to do it instead of hacking.
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Lil Guro really wanted the drill rap gun, the Draco kalashnikov. He might swap it for this smg
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So what would you be tattooing on yourself? In the game I mentioned there are historical people who actually worshipped the Betrayer, like in real life. Their artifacts were written out of history. Did they have a gospel? (I was inspired by the Blade film scene with the vampire bible, when researching this)
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well you know there is a riot going on... maybe get one of these?
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well, every game has to have a shotgun. This was one of the most powerful magic weapons due to 2/2 rounds
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Remember Lil Guro said there was someone with a tank cannon? I thought it would be funny to include one anime weapon to make the helicopter fight easy
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>>5129630
Generally I prefer not to have such meta warnings from the QM and prefer to just be allowed to make mistakes, but in this case I can retroactively say that I probably would've enjoyed the quest even more had we spent longer leveling up and gathering more items in the sandbox lower levels. But, to clarify, no I would prefer to just be allowed to make mistakes and do dumb shit.

>Why Ace of Wands?

I didn't initially vote for Ace of Wands, I chose Nine of Chalices. The other anon chose Ace of Wands and I switched over to support it. I know a tiny part of the reason I switched was to avoid a tie to avoid you doing some weird compromise or making us act indecisive and waste time. I had a bunch of other reasons for my initial choice of Nine of Chalices and for switching to Ace of Wands, but frankly I can't remember the reasons coherently aside from the vague notion that their associations were important/good/that they held hints to mysteries we knew about so far. I didn't expect them to be mostly empty or unimportant.

I have a couple of questions I remembered. What was up with the secret entrances and the mention by danger girl about there being more than 163 floors? Also, would anything have come of the option near the beginning of us looking up porn/drifting off into thought in the pool?
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Here was one other powerful weapon, 1-shot obrez sawn off rifle
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>>5129728
Looking up stimulating pictures takes you straight to the Red Dancer. She actually looks like this (pic related >>5124881 ) The reason it is so battery expensive is it was the fast way to boost corruption, become full demon faster, unlock some earlier magic / rites / spells.
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>>5129652
Oh, I think something vaguely occurred to me like that but I promptly dismissed it so I can't give myself any credit. When I think old gun, I don't think 1911, I think the really obscure automatic pistols that aren't considered classics that aren't revered today, or I think of old revolvers from the mid 1800s or matchlocks/flintlocks or medieval era guns. But the real reason I remember not wanting the 1911 is because I just don't like .45 in real life, my bias basically made the decision for me, hence me saying "fuck the cult of .45".

I forgot to mention here >>5129699 that that is not to say I didn't consider Yargai dangerous, I thought he might be a moderately dangerous ranged combatant with magical firearms even before we saw his changed form. I assumed that he would actually have some stolen tech from our tech conference room, I was expecting him to have some drones for reconnaissance or even drones with missiles or something crazy because of your mention of anti-access drones. But I wasn't sure how dangerous he'd be considering the last time we saw him he was just "jovial asian Santa" as you put it, I didn't expect him to be our end or even that he would want to kill us.

What was up with him not seeing our flare gun anyways?
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>>5129744
Reason I chose .45 is to not have to track separate ammo for colt and usp. Also, for balance reasons, it does not pierce armor III plate carriers I think, and you know of course there are later enemies with this...
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>>5129705
I was actually confused about this, I assumed we were the Betrayer and King Ghoul was the other one the underpants cultist mentioned. I didn't take them for gods, I only assumed the Red Lord of Ruin was a god, so I never considered it an option for any other choice or worship.

>>5129726
Yeah I remembered.

>>5129735
What was up with the Red Dancer?
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Magus hidden traits:
- read people's thoughts, secret desires
- I am sorry you hated this, but: instantly learn or recover a skill, simply by knowing a reference (for the game mechanics I used film references, but you can imagine this like Neo in the Matrix downloading knowledge into his mind lol from the internet)
- create magic items through sacrifice (either yourself, or other people). Think about how you got the spell Betrayer's Tongue, and also how you got the infinite items ability turning the bathrobe into the Red Acolyte Robes
- unmake reality, just by speaking or thinking a certain way. Summon items at will, rearrange the Tower / the Pathless Labyrinth. You can add floors to the Tower, move it, rebuild it etc.
- you needed these traits, and a lot more magic items, to build the unfinished floors of your Tower, reach the Great Dark Sky, the Night, and attempt to overthrow Heaven, avenge yourself / become a god
- it depends on how you want to interpret it, but I feel the Magus is not the Betrayer. He is probably a very powerful ancient follower of the Betrayer - who continues to live through the actions of the Magus, and could be reincarnated in him. Why do you think the archaeology exhibition is located in 12 XII: The HANGED MAN
- the underpants cultist is either a terrorist, something similar to a follower of Nurgle or Cthulhu lol or maybe the QM ridiculing superhero / vigilante films. Incidentally there is no underpants cult. It is just him. He is insane. (Or is he?)
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>>5129750
But, both the USPs and the colt were chambered in .45? You said that the picture for the tactical USP variant was 9mm but that was a mistake and to pretend it was actually chambered in .45?

>armor III plate carriers

Literally none of the weapons you just listed except the draco if it used 7.62x39 and the "tank cannon" and the chainsaw could pierce level III plate carriers without mag dumping.

The 7.62 might do it in more than three shots or perhaps less depending on the range and the angle and the specific cartridge variant and type of plate.

The AR-15's could do it but it'd take more than a full mag to do it. Though they could get lucky depending on the angle, range, specific cartridge variant and type of plate, again. Ballistics is complicated.

The shotguns simply wouldn't do it at all, despite John Wick 3 would have you believe, shotguns are actually terrible weapons against modern day body armour because of their low velocity and low penetration, yes, even the slugs are bad for that.

None of the pistols could pierce it either.
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>>5129769
Damn, now I regret this playthrough didn't go on longer and that we avoided staying below the major arcana longer even more, but I wanted more information because I thought we'd walk into a bad end if we remained ignorant too long. I thought tech conference would have weapons/surveillance tech we could use and could turn the crowd into an impromptu sousveillance (not a typo) spy device for us to track all the opposing factions. I thought most of the answers would be either in the gallery or the Archaeology exhibition or on some of the Major Arcana floors I mentioned like 17 or some of the others I mentioned throughout the quest. I thought the fashion show would just be a pseudo safe hub for us to change clothes to make use of our ability, but it became less relevant to me once we got the red cultist bathrobes, so I de-prioritized it.
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>>5129769
This would've been very cool. I think the biggest problem for your quests is that they contain too many insta death pitfalls that lock us out of the endgame most of the time.
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>>5129837
I think it is a fair criticism. There are a lot of different styles of games on qst, I think I am just showing how I prefer to play. I mentioned in the past that all my games are extremely high threat, dying is very likely - there is no safety, it is a bit cruel lol. It is probably not for everyone. All the games follow a pattern of a hidden secret thing with a trial / ordeal at the end that sort of tests if you realise what is going on. If you have found the clues in the game, or just predicted the pattern by guessing the hidden thing from cultural / film / literature / videogame references, you live and win. There are many other games on qst with better dice mechanics, which do not kill the players, but I want the intensity.

Something I was exploring in this game was a literary technique known as polyphony - Bakhtin talks about how Dostoyevsky may have first developed it. The idea is to treat all characters equally, make all value systems, ideological positions legitimate, all voices sound convincing and stand at equal intellectual level, even if the author does not agree with some of them. Standard dnd with the hordes of goblins is not this, any narrative with a heroic warrior defeating evil is not this technique. Polyphony leads to a plurality of consequences, with no guarantee of a moral or conclusive resolution. It is like Borges Pathless Labyrinth. There are no heroes. The polyphony technique is actually quite hard to do emotionally, it creates a lot of vulnerability.
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Hidden literature references
Kafka In The Penal Colony on the tattoo gun
Obviously Borges obsession with labyrinths
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Byron in the opening voices. I thought it would be funny to juxtapose verses of drill rap with verse from 200 years ago. Maybe the sort of memory that an immortal being that has survived for centuries might have...
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>>5129728
163 floors is a reference to show how this tower is physically taller than the actual highest skyscraper in the world currently
Alsephina is a star, in the False Cross. But the more advanced reference is that Alsephina means something like "the ship" in Arabic. Weird stuff happens if you go into the Star floor, remember the billionaire space exploration lol
Did you get the purpose of the ordinary slippers? Throwing slippers at politicians / cultural figures as an act of protest? (can wiki this) Maybe throw them at an authority figure, to move the riot to somewhere else... ideally do this whilst wearing underpants on head
Etemenanki is maybe the actual tower of babel in real life.
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>>5129366
Epilogue

(unknown location) a user with a slightly different username yet similarly disturbing anime avatar writes to KospelTheWorstEverEvilDM:

Yeah I cannot make it tonight again to your new campaign I just got beaten up by the police again and I didn't even do anything. It is so unfair! I think it might be the drill rap thing. Anyway just to let you know I got out of the protest ok the other day even though I am not really sure what it was about and the ending was a bit disappointing. You know when we broke into the highest floor on the tower we expected to see all this decadent wealthy billionaire stuff, but do you know what? It was completely empty. Like it was not even finished! So disappointing. And even the events below were a bit of a letdown. Like I expected to see drones and guns and spaceships at the tech conference and there were some but it was just mainly about enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, marketing automation, tax filing tools and semiconductor manufacturing and stuff. There was a long presentation on this strange programming language Orbis 3 or something, it was really dull but seemed significant not sure why they were excited about that.

The protest made me realise that maybe drill rap is not for me, a lot of the rappers become famous like gods but they just die early like at 28 in gunfights or gang violence against the cartel. I met these two cosplaying girls who livestream, they had these cool swords and were a bit anime. For some reason now, they sell underpants online, like used ones to their fans and have since gotten a lot of followers. I think it helps save the environment or something, but I am really into it now! I collect all the underpants! Yeah it is a bit anime, I really like anime now. Can we have some anime waifus in the next campaign? Did you hear back from bathrobewaif6969? I really wanted to meet her, she sounded quite hot. Anyways when is your next campaign I probably cannot make it...?
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(The END)

(Additional credits and inspiration:)

Jorge Luis Borges, Orbis Tertius
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>>5129916
I have thoughts on this, but not now, perhaps later today after I sleep. I sadly couldn't respond earlier as my computer crashed and I lost a ton of data and there were some weird glitches happening, so I had to reformat and use my data from my backup.

>>5129933
>Slippers

Yeah, I caught it, not initially since I glossed over them, but soon afterwards when I was going back to reread.
>>
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When I completed videogames, I always sat through the end credits (maybe autism lol). The credits are really long in modern videogames, thousands of people, third party studio contractors... but every now and then you would get a reward at the end...

(evil DM taunting begins lol)

There was a secret post-credits mission this time round. This was the lesson Yargai was hinting at. If any anon mentioned or questioned Orbis Tertius, I would rewrite... The epilogue would be very different. The drones and space stuff at the tech conference was a distraction lol. Orbis Tertius meant that you understood what was really happening with the Tower and all the Magus powers and film references. Did it feel hopeless at the end? No weapons, no allies, no idea what questions to ask before facing unfair execution probabilities as Yargai relentlessly loaded more and more bullets into the revolver? Look again at the text and what was coming. Your actions might have changed which faction delivered the execution, who was executed, but not the ultimate conditions of your victory or defeat (riot destroying the tower). The Serpent clue in Yargai's eyes, the exposition in the art gallery, the emptiness, the hollow chamber, the scene from Collateral which I even linked a clip of on youtube, the guard voice who tells you this is what it is all about, the gang execution... The clues and the warnings were all there.
>>
The Riot is confusion, the Tower is your sense of self. Notice Lil Guro tells you this when he says that the protestors do not even know what they are doing. The riot breaks into the Tower, your Sanctuary, if you do not know what is going on.

Did it seem unfair that you had no way to stop the riot at the end? Why were there so many strange questions? Even at the very end, if you asked Yargai for knowledge and not weapons, it meant he would relent. Ask him about underpants and laugh in the face of Death. This would have brought a certain helpful friend to your area, instantly... But asking for the obvious meant you did not know what was going on.

How could you have achieved a better ending? Notice how at the start of the game, you know that Lil Guro is torn between guns, violent rap and anime, but later you discover he also likes ttrpgs. You may have noticed how Kospel somehow seems to possess a power like yours... his words and thoughts can unmake reality... how could you have brought him to you? It was easy to troll him for the quick advantage of battery recovery. Why did I make complimenting Kospel cost phone battery? Because Kospel could not get his rpg group together, Lil Guro kept flaking lol. Killing innocents brought vengeful ghosts to haunt you, payback - either literally with the Sword Twins, or more metaphorically like how Kospel and Bish09 got banned from the forum. If you had managed to reunite the NPCs, the ttrpg party, the world might have been a better place...

It may make sense if you consider which religions are present in this world. It is not necessarily the one in the title.
>>
>>5129579
If you made it to the end of this huge post credits wall of text discussion, you get this reward. Perhaps it will recur in the future...?

Reward unlocked:
You made it to the end...
>>5121883
>>5121888
>>
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Voice Of Judgement: Triskelion

Orationist revolver, a cruel gift from the Paribus Foundation to the cartel Death Dealer Yargai.

A relic from the old world. Consider its lesson carefully, for its design teaches the likelihood of escaping the Pathless Labyrinth.

The gun appears to shift and takes many forms but once possessed the wielder is bound to the following sequence, and cannot let go:

For the first shot:
(roll 1d6)
hit on 1;
miss on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

For the second shot:
(roll 1d6)
hit on 1, 2;
miss on 3, 4, 5, 6

For the third (and final?) shot
(roll 1d6)
hit on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Surrender the gun afterwards, or the cycle begins again, back to the first shot
miss on 6, and the gun backfires, instantly killing the wielder

The calibre fired by this weapon is True Death. It does not require ammunition, for it is fed by the infinite hunger of night. Nothing can survive it.
>>
I didn't play this quest, but you have enraged me to the point of experiencing a histamine response.
Out of spite, I will appear again.
>>
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If enough anons want it, I can run a pure combat-focused Horde / Survival mode. Just use up all of the pictures, locations and guns I collected when building the world. There probably will not be much story, each round I just send progressively more and more enemies at you, and you run around locations scavenging for randomly generated weapons / ammunition / items.

Ultimately you will be overwhelmed, but see how long you can last?

>roll 1d78 if you want the Horde mode. You will not survive.

(QM: I may need some time to calibrate the probabilities on my random tables. The rules below may change, write-in if you have any rules ideas)

Horde / Survival Mode Rules: all major arcana are hits
weapons will be aligned to 1 of the minors, ie
WANDS, SWORDS, CHALICES, PENTACLES.
The base likelihood to hit is thus now
(22 + 14)/78=46%
by default, I will take the first 1d78 roll. Every subsequent roll after the first determines what comes next:

+ if you draw a major arcana, you may get some item, healing etc. This will be random

+ if you draw your weapon aligned minor, you may get ammunition (again random. It may not fit in the gun you have, you may just run out of ammo)

- if you roll anything else... bad stuff happens...hehe

You begin with 22/22 hit points.

If you find multiple weapons, you can boost your hit likelihood (eg carry a sword and a gun). The maximum I will allow is three different types, so the probability can only ever be
(22+14+14+14)/78=82% hit chance.

Starting weapons:
1 Yargai's Revolver (Voice Of Judgement: Triskelion). Special hit rules. Infinite ammo, kills everything in 1 shot, but miss three times and you die...
2 Push dagger
3 Sawn-off Shotgun 2/2
4 Blowtorch (fuel uses d8 depletion dice mechanics, like Black Hack rpg)
>>
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When the Magus died in Golgotha, all balance was lost. There will be no end to the terrifying forces of horror and darkness that descend upon the city. You cannot survive. You have been warned.
>>
Rolled 74 (1d78)

>>5131605
Hell yeah, I'm up for this. Though I don't have time for this today and my time for it tomorrow will be limited as I have to adjust my fucked sleep schedule to be able to make a couple of appointments in a week.

I'll have to finish reading the epilogue and finish saying my piece on any thoughts I have remaining on this quest, but I guess I'll get around to that some other time.
>>
>>5131605
I will say that the rules either need clarification or reminders on how the weapons rules work, at least in the original GOLGOTHA. For example, we seemed to have the typical "do X to get better at it" rules that are typical for your quests, but I think I remember you mentioning the rules, perhaps when we shot at the sword twins and we rolled...wands I think it was to hit and anything else didn't. Now I realise that we did improve, because we started off spraying and praying and using a whole mag every time we shot, and I also gathered that getting better allowed us to make better use of the traits each weapon hand like the USP's 2 or 3 shot certain kill, or unlocking the more modern 1911's traits, but aside from that, our actual TO HIT chance didn't seem to go up, and frankly that is weird and seems to contradict the idea of us getting more skilled, as you would think that accuracy would be the highest indicator of advancing skill and making you feel stronger as a player.

Adding to the confusion of this was when we auto-hit in our "KILLKILLKILL" mode when with the 2 girls and Ghoul King, but we rolled to randomly determine who we hit. It isn't clear if it was just the narrative circumstances of it being close ranged, the tension of who we shoot being random or if that was just a circumstance unique to that "KILLKILLKILL" state.

I think this needs adjusting or clarification of how it works if what I described was not how it works, or a reminder of how it does work if you already mentioned in detail how it does and I just forgot some key rule.
>>
>>5131718
This is really useful, but I will create another thread for meta comments. Save this thread for the Horde Mode that will be starting...
>>
>>5131723
I would urge you not to create a new thread, generally threads for meta-discussion are not liked and you may get some flak for creating a separate discussion thread with no quest being run in it.

I'll just save meta comments for the end of the survival/horde mode game.

Generally we keep meta discussion limited to the quest threads themselves as that is where discussion belongs, or for general quest discussion in quest thread generals.

You can also use discord, but discords are disliked owing to the fact that they segment the player base and create cliques and groups of players that make plans that are not open to discussion by those who just want all the content and context of the quest to be contained on 4chan in the actual quest threads themselves. Though they can be okay just for use as a way for players to connect with one another and being able to find specific users or for private non-specific quest related discussion or for discussions about other topics.

There are only a few times people are okay with RECAP or Interlude threads for long-running very popular quest threads. Our board may be dead, but there's no point taking up page space on the main page.
>>
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>>5131669
The Night Begins...

last chance for any other remaining players to

>roll 1d78

You will probably need every chance you get for this...
>>
Rolled 51 (1d78)

>>5131994
>>
You left your old life behind, but you have reached a Dead End. The world seems to be collapsing, burning around you. There are gangs in the streets and no-one is stopping them. But the Cartel owns you now, and no hope remains.

(all options are valid, choose ONE:)
>corporate
>casual
>naked
>>
There is an unmarked bag underneath the neon sign. Inside you find:

(all choices optional, you do not need to take anything)

>Strange Camera
>Burner Phone, with days-old text message:
We need you to deliver some laundry to Alex at no.13, Peach Trees Motel. Keep it clean.

>Weapon: roll 1d4

or

choose ONE of these three:
Unlocked from 74 QUEEN of WANDS roll >>5131699
> Sawn-off shotgun 2/2
> Blowtorch (fuel: d8 depletion)
Unlocked from 51 EIGHT of SWORDS
>>5132033
> Push dagger

>Strange Needle

There is no laundry in the bag.
>>
Sawn-off Shotgun (Over-and-under)
WANDS
12-gauge 2/2
Short Range, Loud, Brutal, Inaccurate, High Recoil, Manoeuvrable, Breaching (Door)
Powerful and compact with reduced effective range due to lower muzzle velocity. Cutting off the barrel end removes the choke, resulting in a cylinder bore and a wide spread. Can be used to effect rapid entry to by firing at a 45 degrees downward angle between the lock latch and doorframe.
>>
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Blowtorch
WANDS
Close range, Psychotic, Horrifying, Incendiary
d8 depletion dice:
d8 on 1,2 reduce dice step size to d6
d6 on 1,2 reduce dice step size to d4
d4 on 1,2 the fuel is depleted
Old-fashioned liquid-fuelled torch with disposable reservoir and pressurised hand pump. Blowtorches can be used for controlled burn forestry, soldering, road repair or the creation of hard caramelised sugar in cookery.
>>
>>5132081
>corporate
>Push dagger
>>
Push Dagger
SWORDS
Close Range, Concealed, Swift, Coup-de-grace
A close-combat fist knife with a T-shaped handle and a blade that protrudes between the index and middle fingers. Against an unaware target it is lethal. Against a suspicious enemy, you should run.
>>
>>5132124
You are reaching for the push dagger... but you feel you should check the remaining contents of the bag first...
(lol QM has not finished writing or uploading the pictures yet, sorry. There may be some hints as to what you want to take - I will give you a final confirm before you depart, if you want to change your mind later)
>>
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Strange Camera
For some reason, you feel like you want to attach this strange eye to your head. Manufactured by a company that was once worth 10 billion, later worth 1 billion. Perhaps wingsuit videos and extreme mountain biking are not a big enough audience, and they need some new content instead?
>>
Do we get Tiskelion automatically or does it count as one of our choices here?
>>
>>5132145
No. if you want it you have to risk it and roll 1d4 unfortunately (you get it on a 1). But there will be a chance to find all the items and many more later.
>>
>>5132149
Oh ok.
I was confused since the starting dice weapons and the arcana weapons overlapped.
>>
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Burner Phone
Ancient pre-paid pay-as-you-go device that looks like a relic that should belong in a museum. The contacts list is empty. You feel like you would be too embarrassed to be seen with this in public, nevermind trying to call anyone. But at least you can play snake on it. Contains the text message: We need you to deliver some laundry to Alex at no.13, Peach Trees Motel. Keep it clean.
>>
Strange Needle
CHALICES - 1/1
single use: either weapon, or heal 1d8
A variety of complex neurobiological and psychosocial factors contribute to addiction; common habits and patterns are typically characterized by immediate gratification for short-term rewards, combined with delayed deleterious effects or long-term costs. There are many that would kill for this. You feel it will heal you. Perhaps the only way to cure a temptation is to surrender to it?
>>
Do we know of any magical abilities that we possess?
We likely have at least nascent ones if the Cartel cares to own us.
>>
>>5132172
Magic? Why are you thinking about that? You gaze at the bag with grim anticipation...

(QM: There will be a way to address all questions within the game, hehe)
>>
QM: The choices are all optional. You can take everything (only 1 weapon though) or nothing at all. I will answer questions on the meta thread, if you need it, though there may be a delay in reply. >>5131732

>corporate
>casual
>naked

>Strange Camera >>5132139
>Burner Phone >>5132154


>WANDS Sawn-off shotgun 2/2 >>5132118
>WANDS Blowtorch (fuel: d8 depletion) >>5132120
>SWORDS Push dagger >>5132125

or
>roll 1d4, on 1:
Yargai's Revolver >>5130374
otherwise, must accept the item rolled


>CHALICES Strange Needle 1/1 >>5132163
(this does not count as a weapon)
>>
>>5132081
>>5132085
final vote
>casual
>push dagger
>take bag and all contents
In case I am not around later, my reasoning is that the concealed dagger is a good way to add SWORDS to an attack without using an encumbering weapon, and that a casual appearance can allow us to use the dagger more effectively.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5132172
1 PUNISH
2 forgive...
>>
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>>5132184

you have gained: large bag containing
Strange Camera >>5132139
Burner Phone >>5132154
CHALICES Strange Needle 1/1 >>5132163

You are wielding:
Push dagger >>5132125
not concealed...

...and for some reason, you are naked???
>>5132185
>>
The neon Ice Cream sign flickers as it illuminates your bare flesh in blue and red. You can see there are dead flies gathered at the bottom of it.

>Scream at the neon sign in twisted rage, WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY MY CLOTHES?!
>Scream another question (write in)
>You do not need clothes. This Horde mode is about killing everything. Depart for the Peach Trees Motel.
>>
>>5132198
>Scream at the neon sign in twisted rage, WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY MY CLOTHES?!
>>
Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>5132204
1-51 PUNISH
52-100 forgive...
>>
There is no answer from the neon Ice Cream sign. You are screaming at a sign. You watch as a fly buzzes annoyingly towards it, enticed by the glow.

>Scream another question (write in)
>You do not need clothes. This Horde mode is about killing everything. Depart for the Peach Trees Motel.
>>
>>5132210
>place dagger in bag
>Depart for the Peach Trees Motel
>>
(you have concealed the Push Dagger. It is basically concealed at all times unless combat begins)
There is a woman outside the motel when you approach, talking on her phone. She appears tense and very nervous:

...And he is not here? I do not know where to find him, I am telling you he is not here. Can you get Scarlett to check again? Why don't you come here yourself if you do not believe me...?

>Well, this is horde mode. This woman is probably Alex. Run up to her and execute her with the Push Dagger (no roll, she is pretty weak and unaware. Gain a better phone)

>Maybe just wait a bit and listen into her conversation

>Approach her and ask her a question...(write in)

>Play snake on your phone
>>
>>5132230
>Wait for her to notice us, when she does, indicate the bag and tell her that we brought the laundry.
>If our state of undress comes into question, say that a fucking rioter mugged us for our clothes, and that we are upset by this.
>>
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Rolled 6 (1d6)

1 flees, with phone
2 flees, drops phone
3 disgusted
4 intrigued
5 sympathetic
6 helpful
>>
Rolled 35 (1d78)

Do you... are you alright...? What has happened to you? Do you need me to call someone?

(QM: NPC picture and name coming shortly, I need to generate something)

>Ask her who she was talking to
>Ask her who she is looking for
>Ask her to call Alex for you
>Ask her if she has seen Alex
>(something else?)
>Attack her with the push dagger (no surprise bonus, any hostile action roll 1d78)
>Leave, search the motel
>Play snake on your phone
>>
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Florence
Health: 4/4
Helpful
35 FOUR of SWORDS
retreat, counsel, rest
>>
>>5132256
>"One of those rioters mugged me for my clothes, not my bag, just my clothes.
Unbelievable."
>"I actually came here to meet someone, but I'm not quite sure what they look like, who are you looking for?"


>Ask her who she is looking for
>>
Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5132207
1-52 PUNISH
53-100 forgive...
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5132247
1 flees, with phone
2 flees, with phone
3 flees, drops phone
4 disgusted
5 intrigued
6 sympathetic
>>
>>5132265
You are in a far more unfortunate situation! You tell me first - who are you looking for? Why are you here? What is in that bag of yours? Florence is looking at your neon-lit naked body curiously.

>Tell Florence you are looking for Alex
>Ignore her and search the motel
>Play snake on your phone
>You feel like whenever you are not killing people, you will be punished in this mode... what to do... (roll 1d78 to begin combat)
>>
>>5132291
>Tell Florence you are looking for Alex, but you assumed that she knew that already.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d3)

1 Florence does not know Alex
2 Florence knows Alex, but under a different name
3 Florence knows Alex
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>5132280
1-53 PUNISH
54-100 forgive...
>>
You can feel your phone vibrating through the bag.

Florence gazes at you helpfully. She appears unabashed at your nakedness:

I do not know anyone named Alex, but perhaps I can join you and we can search the motel together? Maybe we will both find who we are looking for...

>Let Florence accompany you around the motel
>Decline her offer. That snake game on the phone is pretty fun
>Florence may witness some... unpleasant things. It might be best to spare her the sight of what is in here. (Roll 1d78, begin combat)
>>
>>5132324
>Let Florence accompany you around the motel
>check phone
>>
There is a single line text message on the phone:

Is it done yet?

You have a feeling it is not a good idea to keep the Cartel waiting.

(Florence accompanies you around the motel. She is unarmed but she has a phone herself, which is much better than yours)

>Ask Florence to swap phones with you
>Ask Florence to give you her phone
>Ask Florence about Scarlett
>Ask Florence which room she thinks you should search first
>Search a room (which one? then roll 1d12)
>Ignore the rooms and search the back of the motel
>something else?
>>
>>5132353
You can of course always:
>Play snake on your phone (roll 1d100)
>>
>>5132353
Are the rooms numbered?
>>
You recall the first text message from your phone from earlier:

We need you to deliver some laundry to Alex at no.13, Peach Trees Motel. Keep it clean.

When you examine the raised walkway of the motel, there are 13 doors.

Your burner phone begins vibrating again. There is a new message:

Turn the camera on. We need to see.

>Attach the strange camera to your head
>Do not attach the strange camera to your head
>Walk to the 13th door
>Search any of the other doors (which one? Roll 1d12)

(QM: unfortunately, this one gets punished very hard)

>>5132311
1-66 PUNISH
67-100 forgive...
>>
Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>5132311
1-66 PUNISH
67-100 forgive
>>
>>5132353
>Ignore the rooms and search the back of the motel.
>text back: I'm there but I'm still looking for Alex.
>"So who are you looking for anyways? I came here for a Facebook Marketplace trade but this guy seems a bit confused *laughs*.
>When she goes to respond, brain her with the nokia and stab her.
Things are getting out of hand.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

1 aggressive, attacks immediately
2 hostile
3 dazed
4 confused
5 tired
6 unconscious
>>
Rolled 12 (1d12)

(rolling for room)
>>
Rolled 55 + 1 (1d78 + 1)

(npc pic coming, I need to roll for something)
>>
Shivering Man
Health:9/9
armed with Yargai's revolver
>>5130374
Confused
Nightmares, haunted, ordeal
>>
>>5132406
(QM: unfortunately, this action is interrupted. See choices below)

Door 12 of the motel has been flung open, by the Shivering Man. He is trembling and biting his mouth which is flecked with spittle and froth. Around his neck there is an Unusual Key. The Shivering Man is carrying a small silver snub-nosed revolver in his hand. >>5130374

F-For the la-last time, Flor-Floren-Florence... Needle Boy is not here. Get out before I call the police...

>Well it has started, commence the ultraviolence (roll 1d78)

>Turn to Florence: who is Needle Boy? What are you here for?
>Turn to the Shivering Man: no need, we are just leaving (head to the back of the motel >>5132406)

>You have a feeling you are forgetting something...?
>>
Catching up.
>>
>>5132435
>Turn to the Shivering Man: no need, we are just leaving.
>Walk away with Florence and say, "Christ, what a psycho."
Then do this:
>Ignore the rooms and search the back of the motel.
>text back: I'm there but I'm still looking for Alex.
>"So who are you looking for anyways? I came here for a Facebook Marketplace trade but this guy seems a bit confused *laughs*.
>When she goes to respond, brain her with the nokia and stab her.
We'll definitely need to talk to/murder him later.
>>
>>5132443
(QM: I can give this one a bit of time if you want. As mentioned, there is no balance to these encounters, it is like OSR. I roll randomly to determine most npcs and psychology etc. If you need any more clarifications please use the meta thread >>5131732, thank you ^_^)
>>
>>5132435
>You have a feeling you are forgetting something...?

>give him the needle
>>
>>5132476
I was planning on doing this after we killed her, as she appears to be working against the Cartel.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5132284
(roll for Florence reaction)
(You see this, and get to act before she does it)
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5132476
>>5132410
(roll for Shivering Man reaction, as he is Confused)
>>
From the corner of your eye, you can see Florence is terrified... she drops her phone and is turning to flee...

The Shivering Man knocks your offer aside. The Needle clatters to the ground.

You-what you tryin' there? You tryin' to stab me or somethin'?

>well, er, yes...(roll 1d78, commence ultraviolence)
>flee
>there is still an itching thought at the back of your mind... is there something you need to do?
>>
>>5132476
I know these quests are usually more of a one-on-one kind of deal but we're going to have to coordinate to do well here.
>>
Rolled 47 (1d78)

>>5132502
>there is still an itching thought at the back of your mind... is there something you need to do?
>Attach the camera to our eye
>well, er, yes...(roll 1d78, commence ultraviolence)
>>
>>5132503
This isn't a one-on-one quest, the QM would be delighted to have more players considering from what I've seen that he seems to be getting depressed over lack of players. It only seems to be a one on one quest because only one other anon and myself ever consistently vote or participate, if there are any lurkers out there you guys are leaving us out to dry.
>>
Rolled 58 (1d78)

>>5132502
>Draw push dagger and stab Florence in the back.
>
>>
Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>5132507
(rolling for something...)
>>
>>5132512
meant to include
>put on camera
>>
>>5132395
resets to:
1-48 PUNISH
49-100 forgive...
>>
>>5132512
Since it is just the two of us, do you want to have a discussion phase before submitting any votes so we can both be in sync and get what we want?
>>
Rolled 29 (1d100)

(QM: I am going to get some food lol. This is actually a bit more intense than I was expecting... lets take a break for a bit...^_^)
>>
>>5132524
definitely. things went tits up very fast just now.
>>
>>5132526
Good timing, I just finished making myself breakfast.
>>
>>5132528
I think the reason why >>5132521 reset is because we fulfilled the cartel's order to use the camera so they could keep their hold on us. Alternatively we have a limited chance to engage in diplomacy to temporarily have allies or to gain info, but we must kill often because of the nature of this mode as a horde mode.
>>
>>5132524
my main problem here is that this guy is most likely the one we need to deliver to (knows who we are, has the gun) so attacking him will earn us the ire of the Cartel.
That and this woman was expecting us and communicating with someone else, but doesn't know who Alex is so she's probably working against us.
She needs to die, the gunman needs to calm down.
>>
>>5132533
It could just as easily reset due to violence.
>>
>>5132536
*be that it reset due to violence
>>
>>5132536
Yes, that is what I meant by "limited chance to use diplomacy" and "we have to kill often because this is a horde mode and not a story".

>>5132534
I disagree, QM rolled >>5132414 for which door is opened and there are 13 doors >>5132388 and QM posted the motel room list in the meta thread. Room 12 has the key, room 13 is locked, we need the key on the guy to open room 13.
>>
>>5132548
That doesn't mean killing him to get it is the best option, and the text aluded to a delivery.
Also, I think the meta thread is a really bad element to have.
>>
>>5132553
I think the time has passed for diplomacy, he rolled hostile on his second psychology roll.

I also agree that we shouldn't have a separate meta thread, not to mention it is against our board rules arguably, but QM posted it before he read my post attempting to dissuade him from doing so last night.
>>
>>5132559
I suppose you're right.
We should fight him, assess the situation, and then put the camera on.
That way we can control what the Cartel sees, maybe sweep this under the rug.
>>
>>5132568
Yeah. Just in case he was in fact Alex, we don't want them to know that we murderblended him. Assuming Alex doesn't just shoot us dead with his magic gun right now.

speaking of the Triskelion, do you think we should take it? If we take it we cannot let go of it until we kill someone with it.
>>
>>5132512
>>5132502
Changing to
>Yes (stab him or something)
>>
>>5132573
> If we take it we cannot let go of it until we kill someone with it.
Where are you getting this information?
It's a pretty useful weapon regardless, though one we should pull out early in an encounter.
>>
>>5132585
I got it from here >>5132435 and the original weapon post here >>5130374

This was Yargai's gun from the end of the original GOLGOTHA playthrough that finished before you joined. (unless you are the other anon I was playing with?)
>>
>>5132585
We die if we miss the third shot though. It is a one hit kill weapon, no one can survive it, even magical armoured opponents or people like us in GOLGOTHA (we were a reality-warping amnesiac CEO vampire cultist who was good with guns, at least by the end of the playthrough and we had the Invigorated trait and could survive more than 12 point blank pistol shots to the head even without Invigorated)
>>
>>5132590
Oh ok, I missed "...or the cycle begins again."
I read GOLGOTHA but didn't catch up in time to salvage things.
Fair warning, I'm not the best at remembering all the details but I'm a good tactician.
>>
>>5132602
Good to know, did you read Souvarine's prior quest by any chance?
>>
>>5132605
Nope, though I think I saw a couple at some point.
I think I assumed it was from that Wuxian guy since he also likes to throw in a lot of estoteric media, and he was a famous flake and troll back in the day.
These quests are really fun though, they remind me of /tg/ in a good way.
>>
>>5132553
>>5132559
Since both players dislike the meta thread, I will post everything here going forward.

Actually scared myself a bit with how intense it got so quickly.

To explain the mechanics:
the anon said that the end felt a bit too punishing last time so what I am doing is, every time I think you are getting it wrong I roll to see if I introduce a consequence or not - ie I do not permit myself to get my way 100% of the time. However each time it is ratcheting up unless you reset it with a correct decision. But I am thinking the probability is still too brutal. Should the punish/forgive be set at like 0 and only ratchet up from there? Or would that be too easy...?
>>
also another thing I am thinking is you may have noticed there is emotional inertia. ie when stuff starts escalating the d6 disposition roll creeps up worse and worse. There is a mechanism to de-escalate but you have not gotten the items yet
>>
>>5132622
I like that it's there to incentivize killing but it's annoying when it has a massive chance of screwing over anything that isn't immediate violence.
For example, I was trying to get some information out of Florence before positioning her for a kill, but the punishment dice were really rushing me.
>>
>>5132616
>Wuxian
Literally who? Was he that guy that did xiaxia/chinese fantasy quests?

>the good ol' days

Yeah, I mention a few times to Souvarine that his activeness reminds me of back when quests were allowed on /tg/

>>5132622
Maybe have it start at 0 and increase at a gradient with worse choices increasing the odds more, though the increase should be severe for tense violent situation and not so bad for us just waffling about chatting to NPCs.

Also this is probably good practice for you to just write and not worry about a pre-prepared setting and pictures and all the details or trying to struggle to accomodate write-in's or whatever.
>>
>>5132634
How about I reset the punish/forgive to a 0+d20 for the decisions so far?
>>
I am still thinking about this mechanic. Because even though it is designed to restrain the DM gets his way 100% of the time, I am wondering if it is right for like a huge PUNISHMENT warning lol to appear because it just sort of discourages players to act naturally. Are you even interested in knowing when I think you are getting it wrong? Maybe there should be no right or wrong - this is sort of my design philosophy I mentioned with the Dostoyevsky/Bakhtin polyphony thing etc
>>
>>5132640
>>5132647
Sure. Honestly I'm fine with whatever you choose, I didn't want my thoughts about the ending to discourage you from following through with your intent, my issues were specific to that playthrough's ending along with some general thoughts on your QMing style. I'd just prefer the escalation to violence or being attacked by instant sudden death tier opponents be more gradual than sudden.
>>
>>5132647
I don't mind having to deal with an alien will imposing punishments on us in an attempt to force us to kill.
I think it's a great way to promote the more survival focused gameplay as well, but its current form is a little too PUNISH-ing for my blood.
It's not even a difficultly thing, I'd just like to have some more wiggle room on how we tackle situations.
>>
>>5132661
I like how volitile the other people have been actually.
>>
>>5132647
Don't think too hard. This can be just be a easy going, hard horde mode playthrough to ease over ending the previous playthrough. This mode doesn't need the most thought given to it's mechanics or the little story content that is there in it. It can be just as you said, something to use up your unused pictures and something for us to fuck around with. If we die, we die. We can always start another playthrough or do a rerun with a different starting location.
>>
Rolled 18 (1d20)

Ok. I am resetting this to 0+1d20
>>5132521
Also, I will permit you to roll on the same scale whenever you try to deescalate the situation. ie you calm stuff down with forgive..., but if you roll in the punish range it ratchets and gets worse. Does this sound ok?
>>
>>5132680
so the scale is now
1-18 PUNISH
19-100 forgive...
>>
>>5132669
I'm mixed on it. I like the random personality stuff, but I'd also be okay with low effort but pre-established psyches. I do wish that their personalities would stay consistent unless there was a more severe reason for them to change so that they don't essentially turn into another character in the next turn. I don't mind the random hostility in opponents or even with this guy having Triskelion and getting a hostile roll, my thoughts were closer to if we encountered someone like Robert Alle I'd prefer to not to insta-die or suffer instant hostility randomly from an opponent in control of a massive organization.
>>
>>5132680
Sure, I guess we can try this out. Since we aren't working with a pre-established setting with hidden secrets and twists like previously I feel like we can just adjust the mechanics on the fly a lot more freely.
>>
>>5132686
I think it works as long as the random reactions fit the character, which it has so far.
>>5132680
I think that works fine.
>>
>>5132686
*Stay consistent once their psyche's have been rolled that is.
>>
>>5132693
Sure, I agree.
>>
>>5132686
That is not going to happen lol. But the damage being dealt is still pretty high. So as you may have noticed the npc health is based on the tarot draw. Ordinary npcs have 1-14, more powerful npc 1-22. The card you draw determines damage. Unfortunately, this npc rolled the 1-shot kill gun lol.
>>
Also, a theme I've seen that I want to commend is how attacks tend to have inconsistent accuracy, but are very impactful.
A lot of how you run things is very old tabletop and I really enjoy it.
>>
Ok so shall we try and continue...

The situation currently is that both the needle and Florence's phone are on the floor. You have attached the Strange Camera on your head and are recording. The NPCs are as follows:
Florence 4/4, turning away to flee
Shivering Man 9/9, hostile.

So the choices I think are:
>Attack Florence (no roll here, she is fleeing. I think it is instant death)
>Attack Shivering Man (roll 1d78)
>try to deescalate, talk Shivering Man down (roll 1d100)
>pick up the items (I don't think the Shivering Man attacks straight away, there will be a d6 disposition roll again)
>>
>>5132701
Sadly, I cannot agree. I think our lack of skill made sense early on in GOLGOTHA, and when we were blood-frenzying, but once we were skilled it seemed odd to have such a meagre to hit chance on people like the sword-twins. See >>5131718 for more detailed thoughts on this from me.

I agree that attacks or magic is generally very impactful in Souvarine's quests, but that is arguably because in his previous two one's we were diceless and just had stats that we were good at that improved the more we used them.
>>
>>5132701
Do you still wanna kill Florence before she leaves. I think it is risky to do this in front of a hostile NPC with an instant-death gun.
>>
You can also try if you are brave:
>inject yourself with the needle
>inject the Shivering Man or Florence with the Needle
and as always
>play snake on your phone
>>
>>5132708
eh nevermind, no retcons
>>5132709
I think we should do it, the guy seemed unnerved by her.
>>
>>5132710
For an as yet unexplained reason, playing snake you now roll a d4, not d100, hehe
>>
>>5132713
Okay. I think if he is still hostile afterwards we should either talk him down and try to get the key or try and stab him with the needle to cure his drug withdrawal(?)
>>
>>5132715
understood
>>5132705
>Attack Florence (no roll here, she is fleeing. I think it is instant death)
It was inevitable.
>>
>>5132705
>Attack Florence (no roll here, she is fleeing. I think it is instant death)
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

This is the Shivering Man's reaction:

1 attacks you
2 calls police
3 shocked
4 shaken
5 traumatised
6 faints
>>
>>5132728
wow, it was destiny
>Take Yargai's Revolver
>Take Florence Phone
>Take Strange Key
>>
>>5132730
>Take Yargai's Revolver
>Take Florence Phone
>Take Strange Key

We agreed to take Yargai's Revolver despite the risks.
>>
>>5132730
(you can also recover your Needle)
>just take everything
>>
>>5132706
I can see what you mean, but I'm having a hard time determining a way to improve the system while maintaining its basis in tarot.
Regardless, it's nice to have a situational weapon like the dagger to remove some of the uncertainty.
>>
>>5132734
alright - so from now on, you roll a 1d6. You cannot use any other weapon, until you complete the sequence and hit on the third hit with 1,2,3,4, or 5.
>>
>>5132740
actually wait, you can still use the push dagger. You can dual wield it. So You now hit on swords and wands with the push dagger as well as major arcana
>>
>>5132741
It is (14+14+22)/78 = 64% hit chance.
You hit on WANDS, SWORDS, and majors
>>
>>5132735
>take all
>>5132741
sweet
>>
>>5132741
Yes, that was our intent I think.
>>
>>5132735
And yes, pick our needle back up.
>>
do you want to:
(choose ONE only)
>check the back of the motel
>look at Florence's Phone - who was Scarlett? Who was Needle Boy? etc
>roll d12 and explore another room
>play snake on your phone (roll 1d4)
>something else?
>>
File: jonathan-fricke-1-ncc.jpg (110 KB, 1024x1024)
110 KB
110 KB JPG
Rolled 2 (1d100)

Florence's Phone battery
>>
>>5132760
oh my god lol
>>
>>5132762
It appears this option is now unavailable
>look at Florence's Phone - who was Scarlett? Who was Needle Boy? etc
>>
>>5132739
Hmm, I think Souvarine already improved the system by us hitting on Major Arcana, close to 50% chance to hit is actually a very good accuracy rate in real life. (Though in TTRPGs or video games it obviously isn't) Considering that cops literally miss the vast majority of their shots even from a distance of like...5 feet, it isn't bad. Though in TTRPG or quests with turns and the wait for the QM write-up it makes a low accuracy rate and low rate of fire potentially annoying if several turns pass with no hits. Another thing that can be done is that we could end up with a best of 2 chance per roll or something if we reach a high enough skill level, but I personally dislike quests with "Best of X" systems most of the time due to the fact that it makes things too easy and they always favour the player way too much and discourage critical thinking, but it may be appropriate in systems like this with increasing skill levels.
>>
the motel rooms are now
1 game controller
2 clothes
3 health
4 weapon
5 headphones
6 you choose
7 2+d3 enemies
8 a really good weapon
9 phone wireless charging
10 vending machine
11 powerful enemy
12 powerful enemy
>>
>>5132760
...Florence, charge your fucking battery before leaving the house you god damn degenerate.

>>5132746
What do you wanna do now? I'd personally either check the back of the motel or open door 13 with the key. I also feel we should execute the unconscious shivering man.
>>
>>5132760
What is it with this quest and ghetto phones?

I think we should check the back before we start clearing the rest of the building.
>>
>>5125917
I mean look at this, what are the chances
>>
>>5132757
>check the back of the motel

>>5132779
Sure.
>>
>>5132783
looking back, this roll was probably the single most significant thing that wrecked you on Golgotha story mode lol
>>
>>5132779
I don't want the cartel on us yet, so I suggest we text back with "Is this Alex?" before we kill anyone.
>>5132783
at least we have the immortal Nokia now
>>
>>5132787
If this had been like just 10 higher, the anon who wanted the genius cloud upload plan would have gotten his way
>>
>>5132788
read the description on the Burner Phone carefully and see if you know what is going on with it (why is there no battery etc)
>>
>>5132788
wait never mind I forgot alex was at 13
>>
>>5132788
Sure.

>>5132791
The dice gods screwed me beyond their ability to comprehend.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5132788
1 Needle Boy is not Alex, all of this was pointless...
2 Needle Boy is Alex
>>
>>5132757
execute man and proceed to the back of the motel
>>
>>5132798
I guess he is, but I'm confused on why we are rolling for which doors to check.
>>
Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>5132684
oh no... look I cannot help it...
1-18 PUNISH
19-100 forgive...
>>
Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d2)

so executing 2 people hmmm...
1 the audience is not entertained
2 the audience applauds
>>
>>5132803
the reason is, the items are random (12 items) but each time you get one, the item room is replaced by an enemy
>>
>>5132800
I am finally coming to the realization that needle boy wasn't us (needle and murder deliveryman) but some drug addict.
>>5132809
I aim to please.
>>
>>5132801
so I feel like, unless you do this with Yargai's Revolver, I am going to make another punish roll...
>perform both executions with Yargai's revolver (roll 1d6 first, do one at a time)
>use push blade (there will be a huge consequence for not using the gun)
>>
>>5132816
so each anon roll 1d6 separately. It is like you split into two people each performing one execution lol. Please also utter a dramatic one-liner or battlecry?
>>
>>5132815
(wait this is good. I did not think of this. There will be another roll latwr about this)
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5132816
>I'm sorry, but I was asked to keep things clean.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5132821
"WHERE DID MY CLOTHES GO YOU FUCKS!"
>>
>>5132828
Sorry if this is too vague but the implication is that the man is trash/filth.
>>
>>5132828
miss, roll again...
>>
>>5132832
this is a hit I will take it.
Now the third shot, hits on 1,2,3,4,5.
Do not roll a miss...
This is the one that really counts...
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5132835
"It's going to be a rough night for all of us, but at least it's over for you now."
>>
Rolled 97 (1d100)

1-48 the audience is bored
49-100 the audience is entertained
>>
>>5132838
So do we have to fire thrice with this weapon or are we unloading due to lack of skill?
>>
Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>5132815
1 you are actually Alex
2 you are Needle Boy
3 you have no idea who you are
>>
>>5132845
Apparently all these shadowy organizations just want to help us find ourselves.
>>
>>5132842
You executed both Florence and Shivering Man successfully. You may drop the cursed gun if you wish now. Otherwise it resets back to 1
>drop Yargai's revolver, look for another weapon
>hold onto it
(from now on, the audience wants all death to be delivered via the cursed gun. Anything else will incur huge amounts of displeasure)
>>
>>5132842
Do you not remember how the gun works?

We are shooting two people, the gun only hits on 1/6 on the first shot, if it misses it becomes hit on 1 or 2 out of 6 and if it misses again we hit on anything but 6. If the third shot misses, we die. After that we can drop the gun or restart the cycle.
>>
>>5132848
Should we keep the gun? The "audience" wants us to use it.
>>
Rolled 2, 1, 8, 4, 2, 7, 2, 10, 7, 6 = 49 (10d10)

>>5132850
about this much displeasure:
>>
>>5132853
But we stabbed the girl?
I guess I'm just a ditz with a murderboner.
>>5132857
I'm fine being a pistolero.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>5132864
1 you stabbed the girl (incur audience displeasure)
2 you used the gun
3 you no longer understand reality...(incur audience displeasure)
>>
>>5132850
>hold onto it

>>5132864
We stabbed her but didn't finish her off until we shot her.

I think we keep it for now, as it may be useful until we get other firearms but eventually I'd like to ditch it and get the "audience" accustomed to other firearms.

It kind of defeats the purpose of a horde mode sandbox with tons of cool weapons to play with if we only use one gun that has a chance to kill us.
>>
>>5132871
Top kek
>>
Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5132871
oh no... look I cannot help it...
1-67 PUNISH (=18+49)
68-100 forgive...
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5132878
1 cartel sends d8 enemies after you
2 cartel sends d6 enemies after you
3 cartel sends d4 enemies after you
4 cartel sends d2 enemies after you
5 cartel sends 1 man to investigate
6 cartel sends a harassing message
>>
>>5132878
>>5132873
That's bullshit, we voted to execute the man.
>>
>>5132882
lol oh my god
>you may write-in the harassing message yourself, as you have broken reality
>>
>>5132885
Ah you are correct, this is your vote to only kill the man, Souvarine did also say stabbing the woman was instant death. >>5132801

I was just going based on his "You execute both" thing to mean that she wasn't actually truly dead just incapacitated and mortally wounded and the previous time when we had to execute Danger girl and Slob girl and the Ghoul king despite scoring 2 and 3 hits with the USP on 2 of them.
>>
>>5132887
*Insert gorilla warfare copypasta*
>>
>>5132887
>"Alex what the fuck are you doing?! We told you to get the drug to Alex, not to start knocking off our customers!
>>
ok I think I will take a break for today. You executed the defenceless Florence and also the hostile Shivering Man, with Yargai's Revolver, to the delight of your action camera audience. Though you may have broken reality whilst doing so. Lol maybe I went too far the other way with the easing adjustment, and it quickly descended to farce instead...
>>
>>5132841
1-48 the audience is bored
49-100 the audience is entertained
>>
Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>5132911
>>
Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>5132919
rolling to reduce the punish/forgive scale, towards your favour
>>
>>5132887
>Hey fucker, you better use that sick ass gun to kill peeps from now on. The homies back home wanna see that sweet six-shooter action, don't YOU DARE use anything else or so help me god I will do more than send some bumbling retard to deliver you your "laundry". You ever see a man cut open like a fish fillet and his insides made into a meat organ? No? Then use that fuckin' revolver!
>>
>>5132878
So the ending level here is
1-52 PUNISH
53-100 forgive...
>>
>>5132912
Take it easy man.
>>
>>5132912
Well you can't say we didn't put on a good show.
>>
>>5132926
it is like we are back where we started. I have no idea what I am doing with this mode lol
>>
>>5132928
I think this anon got it with the camera and the audience. It is obviously inspired by Manhunt, Carcer City etc
>>
>>5132912
I was also unsure in what occurred for "punishment". I thought we would lose items due to some confusion on what happened at the beginning. I thought we lost our clothes due to a punishment roll despite choosing casual instead of naked.

But it seems the mechanics was essential for the "horde" part of the horde mode. If that is all the punishment mechanic was for, then I say make it go back to the original setting. We should be killing people by the bucketload this far in.
>>
>>5132937
So the pictures and this motel, if you had answered the Art Gallery puzzle correctly, earned Yargai's trust, he would send you on a mission here. The Tattoo Artist Alex is actually Alexander Evariste, from Galerne. I guess you are him now?
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

1 Alex is a girl
2 Alex is a boy
>>
>>5132940
Yeah this, I thought it was entirely a penalty mechanic to keep momentum up.
Originally I thought it was a way to tell me to fuck off for asking about magic.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

1 Alex has tattoos
2 Strangely Alex the tattoo artist does not have tattoos
>>
>>5132953
It is just a competely random troll mode where you run around executing people to please an imaginary audience, that may only have been implanted in your head by the occult technosorcery camera
>>
Maybe the Magus destroying this world was not such a bad thing after all...
>>
>>5132961
Didn't the Magus just fucking die?
Or is destroying the world meant in the metaphor for capitalism kind of way?
>>5132958
Anyways, if you wanted us to be more senseless you shouldn't have given us a non-explicitly murderous goal.
>>
Incidentally the Artist Alexander Evariste his name is based off two real life people who fought and died in duels, Alexander Pushkin, and Evariste Galois. But when you saved him from his fate in the Galerne qst, he has clearly reincarnated as a disturbed psychotic individual lol
>>
>>5132961
lol. If you need a break then feel free, no one will blame you.

That being said, it as is >>5132953 said. I thought that you suddenly introduced that mechanic to speed things up and keep up the momentum and to pressure the other anon for asking about magic, just bad timing making communication worse I guess.

I wouldn't have made my recommendation regarding the mechanic if I'd known what it was for. All I wanted was to avoid instant-death enemies or huge organizations from fucking us over due to the whims of the dice gods. I wasn't hankering for an easy playthrough.
>>
>>5132977
Think about the message carefully. What do you thinking cleaning and laundry means in this instance? (If you played Max Payne 2, you might know the answer)
>>
>>5132983
There was a sub mechanic in this game. Basically, if you played snake and kept beating the high score you set yourself, I would just start giving you all the real-life game references and hints for free. But then anons went on an execution rampage lol
>>
>>5132977
I think that the world literally ends if the Magus dies. I guess he was holding up this reality.

Though I assumed initially that the world ended if we died normally and went to the red forest, but we would reincarnate but the world would die, but if we suffered True Death then we would die but the world would remain.

>>5132980
EVARISTE YOU FUCK! We risked all that shit for you and went blind and became an old hag instead of a super hot maiden and spent our magic and all that and YOU GO AND BECOME A PSYCHO INSTEAD OF SPENDING YOUR NEXT LIFE AND EVERY LIFE THEREAFTER WITH YOUR BELOVED? That cheeky little shit.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

I guess I should roll for it:
1 Alex is Alexander Evariste from Galerne
2 Alex is a different person
>>
>>5132983
Yeah, yeah, killing people. I've also heard it used as a metaphor for drugs or for knowledge of past misdeeds and crimes, so I couldn't be sure.
>>
>>5132991
I have a sinister message for you here. Guess who the ginger-haired receptionist was talking to on her phone...? Her boyfriend, Alex? You never got to even ask her name...
1 Ginger Haired Receptionist is Dorotea
2 Receptionist is a different person
>>
>>5132983
I'm not going to pretend that I'm up to date on coded mafia communications, but the text implied to me that we had a delivery to make, and that it needed to be undamaged and uncontaminated.
I never played Max Payne, so I assumed the syringe was what we were supposed to deliver.
I tend to outright ignore metatextual framing to focus on what's in front of me.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5132998
>>
>>5133001
oh no
>>
>>5133003
well at least they got together in one life
>>
>>5132998
You'd think Dorotea would be used to violence if her boyfriend was a violent psycho this time around. Shame she became such a pushover in her next life instead of remaining the qt tomboy badass with a sword fetish that she was.
>>
>>5132991
lol this is the new copypasta
>>
>>5133009
yes this was the twist. Last time she was the Duke Of Galerne's daughter, this time she was a receptionist. I did this deliberately lol
>>
>>5133008
We continuing in a bit or are you just rolling for fun? I thought you needed a IRL break or that you were disappointed with how the horde mode sort of petered out and needed time to think of how to adjust it or just time to do other stuff.

Also, those ungrateful shits, next time I'm stealing Dorotea all for myse- oh wait, we just killed her and killing an NPC kills them permanently in all playthroughs, nevermind.
>>
alright, that is all for today. Thank you for playing and participating, you are all really dedicated, and I really appreciate your comments and thoughts. Thank you so much! ^_^
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5133017
1 npc dies permanently if killed in a playthrough
2 npc can come back
>>
Man, I really expected this to be the quest that pissed me off tonight.
>>
>>5133019
Take care, hope to see you tomorrow, if not then I hope to see you in your next quest. I'm sad that the horde mode didn't work out, but some playthroughs end up being duds.

I'll get around to giving my thoughts on your thoughts on Polyphony and the epilogue in a day or two, I haven't actually finished the epilogue as after the end of GOLGOTHA I became scatterbrained trying to catch up with the other IRL stuff I needed to get done.
>>
I don't know why you guys are bemoaning how the game went, I had fun.
>>
>>5133022
Yay, hopefully they have a reminder from the previous world of how they died if we got them killed in a prior quest. Really, all I want is just to kill Kospel.
>>
>>5133032
I'm glad you did. I just wanted the horde mode to go on longer, and I expected to be killing mountains of people by this point, I'm also just bummed out about giving bad advice to Souvarine on how to adjust his mechanics, but to be fair to myself I had no idea that the mechanic we were adjusting was the core mechanic for spawning the horde mode enemies.
>>
>>5133036
honestly it shouldn't have been called all-caps punishment if it wasn't something we were supposed to avoid
not to mention that the first roll robbed us of our clothes and seemed to be retribution for unwanted meta behavior.
>>
>>5133052
Yeah, agreed on all counts.

But it happens. It wouldn't be the first time Souvarine confused me or I failed to convey what I meant properly to him or something like that.
>>
>>5133072
Yeah, it just goes to show how different interpretations can be.
Going into this I assumed that we were Cartel slave sent on a dangerous delivery mission that would go completely fubar when the crowd came tearing through.
>>
>>5133096
Yeah. That was my assumption after the initial details with the items were released. Before that when I only knew the premise I thought it'd be an apocalyptic survival playthrough as reality collapsed from the Magus dying, or that we'd play as a corporate person in the middle of the Alsephina Hotel during the riots after they broke in for familiarity's sake.
>>
>>5133156
Regardless, I hope the qm keeps going because I really like this style of oneshot games with shared elements and themes.
>>
>>5133206
I'm sure he'll be back eventually. Though I get the impression that he may need a break as he's mentioned that he has an absurd number of unused pictures that he looks up just for these quests and I guess the effort is draining for him. That, and he mentioned being emotionally drained and a little bit jealous of other QMs having more than...you know...two players over in the quest thread general.

I probably ought to tell him that while this is an image board, he doesn't need a picture for everything. Many QMs just get by by relying on their writing to describe characters or locations rather than using pictures.
>>
>>5133320
I mean yeah there's only two players right now, but the people who play regularly are dedicated and high effort posters.
Most quests have a similar amount of high effort poster regardless of popularity.
The way I see it, having a lot of replies actually isn't very valuable compared to the engagement players have with the quest.
That bastion of the resistance quest has about seven regular players, but it's rare that anyone has their own idea or makes a compelling write in.
To me, that kind of quest is more dead than a quest with only one engaged poster.
Basically, I don't want Souvarine to feel bad about lack of players or think it's a negative thing. It's a sign that no-engagement players are terrified of these quests, because the choices have weight and consequence.
I wouldn't want to see the qm compromise to suit these non-engaging players, and I would hate to see his unique style of qming disappear.
>>
>>5133560
I mostly agree, a lot of quests just have people who just vote and offer no discussion, no speculation, no write-in's and that can honestly be worse for a quest than a low voter count, I've certainly seen QMs complain or lose commitment because their players just choose the default prompts and offer no insight into why they chose the choice they did.

Still, it is nice to have a minimum of 3 players to break ties or to have around seven players each of whom at least occasionally say something to add once in a while or each have their own obvious quirks and biases in regards to their voting thought process. I can understand why he'd despair over that, but that is simply very common nowadays for a variety of reasons.
>>
(QM: Thank you both for the very kind comments ^_^ I have had another idea, for another, different scenario I was going to use... The retribution PUNISH/forgive... scale remains at 1-52/53-100 from last time when you begin. There are some slightly different rules:
- You also now have access to all original weapons, ie shotgun and blowtorch, but...
- the push dagger can ONLY be used if you are surprise attacking out of combat. Otherwise you must use other weapons.
- the major + SWORDS + WANDS arcana bonus only applies if you let go of Yargai's revolver, drop it and dual wield the push dagger and a shotgun or blowtorch. If you are holding the revolver and any other gun, you roll major + WANDS only.
- you can dual wield weapons, but remember if you start using the revolver, you cannot let go until the sequence is completed.
- Some strange stuff may happen, and I will troll with the retribution roll lol. I would say just go with it until you see what is going on.)
>>
On your ancient and embarassing Burner Phone, you suddenly receive two messages, almost at once:

Strange text message
Here is a list of furniture styles from the Alsephina Hotel.

The furniture is in an underground car park at T1 Sky Tower International Finance Centre, Etemenanki Plaza. We need you to find a table, and clean it. The table must be very clean. Do it quickly.

1 Florence
2 Scarlett
3 Dorotea
4 Amy
5 Liselotte
6 Grace
7 Moonchild
8 River

1 Norman
2 Theodor
3 Dmitry
4 Genghis
5 Doctor
6 Samedi
7 Baptiste
8 Duke
>>
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Another (different?) strange text message:
I think I have lost my phone? Has someone taken it? Please, I need it back...?
>>
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Choose as many actions as needed:

>Discard Yargai's revolver, as you successfully completed the execution sequence last time, and can do so.

>Shoot yourself in the head with the shotgun. You do not understand what is going on, and need to know the rules.

>Maybe try burning yourself slowly with the blowtorch. The shotgun solution is a bit too dramatic.

>Attach the Strange Camera to your head, begin recording.

>Do not wear the camera

>Instantly decipher the meaning of the two messages, using your knowledge of videogames. Afterwards, you MUST play snake on your phone. (Roll 1d6 to set your new high score. QM will just tell you everything, but +13, +13 PUNISH for each etc)

>Just play snake, it is really fun. (roll 1d4 for this one, to set your new high score)

>You think you can work out the meaning of the messages yourself. Leave the motel and join the crowd outside Alsephina Tower

>There is a strange glow emanating from a vending machine over there, under the neon light... It seems like someone has not cleaned it for a while. There are dead flies trapped inside it.Maybe see what is going on? (Scream at the neon light vending machine, write-in questions)
>>
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>>5134159
(if you choose to use the blowtorch, roll dice+1d8+1d78 in options)

>use the blowtorch
>>
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>>5134159
>place Yargai's revolver in bag.
>equip the man's clothes
>wield blowtorch and push dagger
>realize that you are not Alexander Evariste from Galerne, but Alex Egglston from hit indie game YIIK: A Postmordern RPG.
>demand that the vending machine tell you what the hell is going on
>>
>>5134154
Glad to see we are continuing, I'll catch up in maybe half an hour, maybe less.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5134155
Liselotte huh, I remember you...sort of.

Is this another 451 thing?

>>5134159
>Instantly decipher the meaning of the two messages, using your knowledge of videogames. Afterwards, you MUST play snake on your phone. (Roll 1d6 to set your new high score. QM will just tell you everything, but +13, +13 PUNISH for each etc)

Otherwise supporting >>5134412
>>
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The neon lit vending machine glows serenely. A fly crawls and explores the dirty and smeared front surface of glass at a leisurely pace.

(optional: think about one of these, it does not matter that much, just pick ONE whichever appeals to you)
>Aztec
>Butterfly
>Demon
>Skullface
>>
>>5134483
>Butterfly
>>
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Aztec
>>
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Butterfly
>>
Demon
>>
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Skullface
>>
As you gaze at the neon-lit vending machine, you can see it has presented you with a Butterfly Mask
>>5134487

>Take the Butterfly Mask and wear it
>Take a different mask instead (which one?)
>Leave the mask behind

The vending machine hums a little and flickers. It seems to be reminding you of something... and something else...

>Is there something you are forgetting?
>And does anything seem strange to you?
(hint: think about this >>5134158 carefully)

(2x PUNISH incoming otherwise...hehe, look I cannot help it...)

When you are ready,

>Depart for the Alsephina Hotel
>>
File: robbie-closeup1.jpg (2.02 MB, 3840x3840)
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>>5134446
You guide the wriggling snake around the primitive 1.5 inch 84x48px display of your embarassing Ancient Burner Phone. It is sort of satisfying, and you achieve a new high score of:
2
>>5134446

(>roll 1d20: PUNISH is reduced by this much)

(PUNISH increased by +26 to 1-78/79-100)
>>5134446

The little snake is wriggling and gobbling the pixellated blocks. It makes you feel as if it is a serpent swallowing little people. But after only killing two of the little people, the tiny snake hits a wall and freezes. You feel very disappointed. You must find better graphics! If only there were some way to play games on modern phones... If you could find a modern phone, and download an emulator, your videogame knowledge would improve by so much...

(optional mission: obtain a smartphone)

But the snake or little serpent has suddenly enlightened you as to metaphors. Perhaps the table being referred to is not a furniture table, but a ...random table? Like in ttrpgs? Is the cartel a secret code for cleaning someone related to ttrpgs? But you are not too familiar with ttrpgs they are mostly played only by degenerates. You have to discover who it is...

>Mission: discover which individual the cartel wants you to, er... clean
>>
>>5134507
You can of course continue playing snake for a bit, to reduce PUNISH

Next time roll d8, then d10, then d12 etc to set the new high score.

(You do not want to roll lower than your high score)
>>
>>5134504
>Take a different mask instead (Skullface)

Eh, I like the look of the Aztec or Skullface one more.

>Text back: Florence how'd you get this number?

>Depart for the Alsephina Hotel
>>
Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>5134507
>>
>>5134511
I'd rather take the butterfly mask, as we could clasp the camera over the middle part and have a three-eyed visage.
>>
>>5134158
Eh, maybe the time on the image corresponds to who we need to kill, but there is no 9...
>>
Rolled 6 + 1 (1d78 + 1)

>>5134511
ok hold on I need to generate something...
1 ignores
2 replies

1 is ?
5-6 is not
>>
>>5134517
You know what? Sure

>>5134504
Switching to...
>Take the Butterfly Mask and wear it
>>
>>5132265
look, she really liked you:
06 VI: The LOVERS
>>
>>5134517
Though to be fair, we could do that with the skullface mask too. But, whatever, I've already switched.
>>
Rolled 1 + 1 (1d2 + 1)

>>5134519
ah messed this roll up
>>
>>5134525
Dorotea move over, Florence is my new WAIFU for LAIFU!
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5134530
>>
>>5134530
You seem to be trying to roll multiple dice or something?
>>
Rolled 1 + 1 (1d2 + 1)

>>5134532
As you loudly cry out for WAIFUs, a figure appears... (I need to generate something again)
1 male
2 female
>>
Yeah rolling multiple die types is impossible.
You'd need some real life magic for that lol.
>>
Rolled 25 (1d78)

>>
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Rolled 1 (1d6)

1 Chainsaw maniac appears - immediately begins revving chainsaw
2 hostile
3 uninterested
4 concerned
5 curious
6 friendly
>>
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Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5134545
wow
1 Spins and attacks with chainsaw (instant d20 damage + 1d78 tarot roll)
2 Advances threateningly with chainsaw
3 Hates people
4 Hates trees
5 Wants to discuss trees
6 Wants to protect the environment
>>
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Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>5134548
>>
Rolled 71 (1d78)

>>5134549
>>
>>5134549
>>5134550
17+12=29 damage
You are at 0/0 hitpoints but... you do not die. The new rules are:
You can roll PUNISH/forgive to resurrect yourself, whilst continuing to perform actions
If the PUNISH meter hits 100, you die.
>>
>>5134554
Your PUNISH/forgive...
scale currently
>>5134513

1-70/71-100

>Fight the Chainsaw Maniac... he looks pretty strong
>Is there an something you could do maybe to persuade him? (check items)
>Flee and depart for the Alsephina Hotel
>Something else?
>>
Rolled 13 (1d78)

(rolling to generate something...)
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

1 thinks you are in league with the Chainsaw Maniac - opens fire on you
2 hostile, aims weapon
3 draws weapon, shouting warning
4 aiming weapon at Chainsaw Maniac
5 opening fire at Chainsaw Maniac
6 shields you, is an ally
>>
This is a tough one, his weapon is incredibly op so I want it but by that same token he's probably going to kill us again.
We have weapons with more range which is theoretically an advantage but I don't think it actually matters in this system.
>>
>>5134568
anything dies if you fire Yargai's revolver at it
>>
>>5134570
Yeah but unless I'm misinterpreting something it takes two shots to get to the point where we get 5/6 chance, and unless we're lucky that's going to be two more chainsaw deaths.
Unless we can fire three bullets in a turn, but I think that was just because we were using it on an unconscious person.
>>
Riot Police, with Guard Dog
ALLY >>5134567
13 XIII: DEATH
PENTACLES, WANDS, SWORDS (dog)
2 attacks: cop, dog
(14+14+14)/78=53.8% to hit
carrying:
Police Phone, with Axiom Galdra Software
Riot Baton
Anti-Riot Ballistic Shield
Glock 17 gen 5 9x19mm 17/17
FN P90 5.7×28mm 50/50
Police Headset
Transformation, change, surrender, trust
>>
Rolled 57 (1d78)

>>5134575
Riot cop shields you from next attack due to >>5134567 this roll
He attacks and then his dog attacks
I should roll for the dog...
>>
>>5134560
>bathe chainsaw man in flame
>>
>>5134582
Guard Dog
ALLY
9/9
57 NINE of PENTACLES
discipline, tame, independent
>>
>>5134590
roll d8 and also 1d78 please
(I will get some food now, let you guys think this battle over, resume in a few hours. Remember enemies are subject to disposition rolls, they may flee etc)
>>
>>5134579
Rolled 6 so the Riot Police is fully allied to you, if you need weapons from him you can also ask
>>
Rolled 9 (1d78)

>>5134592
>>
Chainsaw maniac hp is 22/22 same as yours
>>
Sorry, stepped away to shower, back now and catching up.
>>
Rolled 7 (1d8)

>>5134592
>>
>>5134601
>>5134602
now his hp is 13/22. When I get back from food remind me to roll for his disposition / psychology after being scorched lol. The riot police will absorb the next attack alongside his dog as you are allied
>>
>>5134579
wtf kind of cop carries a P90 that isn't a SWAT officer?

>>5134560
>Jam ourselves with the syringe to heal ourselves
>Help the riot cop with the chainsaw dude, use Blowtorch.
>>
Ah, caught up now, didn't see >>5134590 until I caught up and reread.

What do you think we should do other anon? I think if we heal we could fight him, but realistically with his damage range he could probably 1 shot everyone of us, so combat would probably only last 3 turns at most assuming he doesn't target us first.

Personally I think we should heal with the syringe. Then either let the riot cop do the fighting before finishing the chainsaw guy off, flee, or hide behind the riot cop and ask to take one of his weapons so as to be better armed.
>>
>>5134608
We are unharmed.
You seem to be a bit behind.
>>
>>5134614
I think we can keep going.
The cop will take the next attack and the torch inflicts reaction rolls.
>>
>>5134615
>>5134554
>>5134560
you are at 0 hp, 70 PUNISH. If PUNISH hits 100 you die
>>
>>5134620
So 0 hp isn't death?
>>
I don't think it matters with how high the saw damage is.
>>
>>5134628
No. You can continue taking actions and doing stuff (it is not like dnd). You know, you could just

>sit down and play snake whilst the riot police fight the chainsaw man
>>
>>5134631
I'm just going to keep burning the guy, unless the guard can block the chainsaw one of us is going down.
>>
>>5134635
I think we should heal, having the buffer of our hp to prevent PUNISH damage is worth it, the chainsaw man is half dead, let the riot cop fight him for now.

We have the advantage of action economy, the dog, the riot cop, and us versus chainsaw dude.
>>
>>5134644
healing is worthless since the chainsaw guy can kill us instantly even if we roll max.
>>
>>5134646
I guess I'm fine with just doing damage, the enemy is close to dead anyways or will be with all three of us attacking him. The riot cop is blocking his next attack anyways.
>>
We should heal after the fight, so we don't die to random chip damage.
>>
>>5134644
I am going to rule that the Needle from now on heals you to 22/22 and also gives 1d20 PUNISH recovery
>>
>>5134650
did not expect the Chainsaw guy to appear so early lol
>>
>>5134650
That's way better, but still doesn't get us out of instant death range.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

Chainsaw Maniac Disposition roll:

1 Enraged, berserk (impervious to psychology)
2 Attacks with chainsaw (1d78)
3 Revs chainsaw menacingly
4 Snarls obscenely
5 Calms down a bit
6 Chainsaws himself by accident (takes 1d78 damage)

QM note: the 1d20 + 1d78 is just an opening spin attack. Subsequent attacks are just 1d78 unless you rev it, which leaves you helpless
>>
>>5134659
Of course killing additional people with it automatically revs the chainsaw
>>
Rolled 7 (1d78)

Riot Guard Dog attacks
>>
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Rolled 16 (1d78)

Riot Police Attacks. I think this is the glock, he has the shield in the other hand
>>
Rolled 44 (1d78)

>>5134665
>>5134667
They do not have magic. Both miss. The Riot Guard will attempt to shield you from the next attack...
Chainsaw hits on
SWORDS, CHALICES and majors
>>
This is interesting since we took on the guys with the best weapons first, but we need to use the syringe to heal up.
I suggest we play snake.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5134669
1 attacks guard
2 attacks dog
>>
>>5134591
Dog
5/9 hp

Over to you...
>Play snake (roll 1d8, 1d20)
>Heal back to 22/22, then roll 1d20
>Another plan?
>You can ask the guard for his gun... (there will be a roll)
>>
>>5134678
Did none of the police attacks hit?
>>
>>5134678
made a mistake it is the guard sorry
44 SIX of CHALICES attack
Guard
7/13
Dog 9/9
>>
>>5134681
No unfortunately they do not have magic, majors do nothing for them
>>
>>5134685
Let us resume in a bit... getting food now ^_^
>>
Rolled 7 (1d8)

>>5134678
>Play snake (roll 1d8, 1d20)
though if we can do both at the same time I'd like to...
>You can ask the guard for his gun... (there will be a roll)
>>
>>5134678
>Play snake (roll 1d8, 1d20)
>>5134693
I don't think we should ask him for it.
He'll be "clean" soon anyways, so we can take it then.
>>
I became more accepting of high PUNISHMENT when I learned it was the encounter mechanic, but I started to hate it even more than before when it turned out to permakill us lol.
>>
>>5134705
To be fair, if I understand it right, it is only if we hit 0 hp and would normally die in some other system that we permadie if we then hit 100 punishment. It is like having 2 HP bars. First hp, then punishment.

What I'm be mildly bewildered by is that because he rolled to immediately attack with his chainsaw in his psychology roll he got to act before us and get a surprise attack. I can buy us instantly killing or instantly stabbing someone with our punch knife, but you'd think we'd hear or see this guy coming when he revs his chainsaw or just walks towards us in the open streets on the way to the hotel.
>>
>>5134718
I think we were just not expecting an attack and were bewildered by the decisive temerity he charged us with.
>>
>>5134718
I agree with this, but it was rolled for the table

The Chainsaw does have the trait Loud, Menacing. Normally you would get some warning, but he has been summoned by Fate herself with two 1,1 d6 rolls lol

1/36=2.8% chance of it happening
>>5134545
>>5134548

Rolled 1 (1d6)

1 Chainsaw maniac appears - immediately begins revving chainsaw

Rolled 1 (1d6)

wow
1 Spins and attacks with chainsaw (instant d20 damage + 1d78 tarot roll)
>>
>>5134693
>>5134693
Snake new High Score: 7, next roll is with a d10 (must beat 7)

>please roll 1d20 to reduce PUNISH, thank you
>>
Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>5134735
>>
>>5134740
fuck
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

Chainsaw Maniac disposition roll:

1 attacks Guard, 1d78
2 switches to target you
3 revs chainsaw (vulnerable). Next attack is 1d20 + 1d78
4 laughs maniacally
5 chainsaws himself by accident, 1d78
6 runs off into the distance, howling for the blood of easier opponents (flees)
>>
Rolled 28 (1d78)

>>
28 TWO of CHALICES
-2 hp
Guard
5/13
Dog 9/9

The Guard and Dog are your allies. You can shout commands to them or just roll their attack 1d78, 1d78 etc

eg tell the guard to switch to his p90
(he drops shield, cannot defend you / absorb attacks for you)

>over to you...
>flee
>play snake again
>>
>>5134749
you could end this very quickly with Yargai's gun...
>>
>>5134740
>>5134560

PUNISH: 68
>>
I'm about ready to whip it out.
>>
>>5134607
The Chainsaw Maniac hp: 13/22.
He has been scorched by the blowtorch.
>>
Rolled 24 (1d78)

>>5134749
guard roll
>>
Rolled 58 (1d78)

>>5134749
dog roll
>>
Normally I'd want to just use the torch since the gun is risky, but the audience wants to see it.
You there red?
>>
>>5134764
>>5134768
both miss
up to you again...
>shoot him with Yargai's gun (1d6)
>use the blowtorch, try to make the chainsaw maniac flee (1d78, then 1d8 for fuel)
>shoot him with the shotgun (this counts as close range, he chainsawed you lol) 1d78
>fire both barrels of the shotgun at him (2d78 if either hits, damage 2x)
>something else?
>>
>>5134776
I'm here, sorry looked away for a second. Shoot him, remember the audience will get mad if we use anything else.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5134778
>shoot him with Yargai's gun (1d6)

I assume the audience still wants this, but if they don't then I prefer to use other weapons.
>>
>>5134778
as you may have guessed, the 1 handed weapons switch instantly. The two handed weapons I will judge based on distance and situation, but in general, they may take an action to unsheathe or get ready etc
>>
>>5134785
wow
I will be back in maybe an hour. I will let you discuss what you want to do lol. There may be another psychology roll for the Riot Police but he will not outright go hostile as he is your ally
>>
>>5134785
Well, he is super dead, sadly we cannot instantly use the chainsaw because the gun is stuck in our hand. We'll have to put the chainsaw in our bag and heal up before we find 2 more people to kill.
>>
>>5134789
It is okay, I need that hour to make lunch anyways. I had a light breakfast, so I'm pretty hungry.
>>
With a single resolute pull of the trigger and unerring aim, your resounding gunshot punctures the skull of the Chainsaw Maniac, showering brain matter everywhere. As the Maniac collapses the whirring serrated teeth of the chainsaw wedge into his torso, spinning and shredding his limbs. The Riot Guard is leaning and panting heavily - he has lost a lot of blood.

You gain:

Health hp: 22/22
PUNISH reset to 1
Yargai's gun stage II: hit on 1,2
Your right hand weapon slot is locked to this

Bullet Witch trait
+infinite ammo magazines
-cannot ever tactical reload, the magazine stays locked unless you are in combat hitting people with bullets (blind fire does not count). Executing a person with a gun can be used to fully reload

The Dead Land Forgets trait
+carry everything, infinite items
-No provided inventory summaries. QM may show you some item details occasionally, but it could be a trick...

>Execute the guard (with another weapon?) The guard instantly dies, I will roll for the dog because I am against cruelty to animals.

>Execute the guard and the dog with 1d6 rolls, Yargai's gun. If you succeed with both shots, you get the chainsaw. Otherwise they may fight back...

>Ask the guard if he needs help, is there medical attention nearby?

>Ask the guard for some equipment
>p90
>glock 17
>riot baton
>riot shield
>something else...?

>Ignore this situation, leave for Alsephina Hotel.

>Something else...?

I will let you take the P90 if you want it (even though you cannot dual wield it), because I think in Hellsing and also the terrible xbox Far Cry games they fire it one-handed as a dual wield weapon (you cannot do it here though for balance). However if you want the Chainsaw you have to free your hand with the revolver sequence.

The P90 is an armour-piercing SMG, 50/50.
>>
The Riot Guard is carrying:
Police Phone, with Axiom Galdra Software
Riot Baton
Anti-Riot Ballistic Shield
Glock 17 gen 5 9x19mm 17/17
FN P90 5.7×28mm 50/50
Police Headset
>>
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FN P90
5.7×28mm 50/50
Armour Piercing
>>
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Glock 17 gen 5 9x19mm 17/17
>>
>>5123090
Riot Baton
Close Range, Swift, Knockdown, Parry, Intimidate
Compact, Concealable (when retracted)
Weak: Thrust
Friction lock collapsible impact weapon constructed from telescoping cylindrical tubes of hardened steel, and an anti-slip ergonomic handle to aid weapon retention. Expands and locks from inertia with a forceful swing, but there is an inherent risk of the baton closing inadvertently from prodding or thrusts. Shock-resistant design can be used to break windows, to apply bludgeoning force to nerve clusters in the limbs to impair movement or induce pain compliance. Also useful in times of economic shock.
>>
>>5134921
I guess killing can heal us, neat.
Are we wearing the mask and camera?
>>
Anti-Riot Ballistic Shield
PENTACLES
The effect of this item is it essentially lets you redirect an attack made for others onto yourself. Take this if you need to protect / shield someone etc. You are restricted to one hand weapons only whilst using it.
>>
>>5134921
I hope having bullet witch doesn't mean we can't get rid of the Triskelion. Though it'd be nice if we got the magic gun version of bullet witch and could always hit with it.

>Ask the guard for some equipment
>riot shield

It'd go well with our pistol and just be nice to have in general for use with a one hand weapon.

>regarding the P90

The P90 is actually very light, you can absolutely lift it like a machine pistol in real life, it has very light cartridges and magazines as well with a soft recoil, though I'm uncertain if one could feasibly accurately fire it one handed, it'd still be more plausible than most examples including other examples with SMGs being dual-wielded or wielded with one hand.
>>
I think we could offer the guard the chainsaw, and put it in our bag of holding if he doesn't want it.
>>
>>5134921
To be clear, were we healed because we used the syringe or because we killed someone?
>>
>>5134937
forgot this:
The Glock is WANDS

The P90 as a two-handed weapon is WANDS and SWORDS

You also hit on majors with both these weapons.
>>
>>5134954
Yeah, not to mention a blow torch.
Pretty much any ranged weapon would be dumb to dual wield, but it's pretty common in the context of cinematic realism.
>>
>>5134955
Yeah, though "Execute the guard and the dog with 1d6 rolls, Yargai's gun. If you succeed with both shots, you get the chainsaw. Otherwise they may fight back..." implies that he is unwilling to let us have it or wants to secure it for safety purposes.
>>
By the same token, it's also common to not be able to dual wield things you otherwise feasibly could in cinematic realism.
Like 2 handed swords in ttrpgs.
>>
>>5134956
You did not use the syringe. Killing a major enemy like the Chainsaw Maniac heals you... the chainsaw is almost within reach... so tantalising... you just need to free the cursed revolver from your hand...but do you need to execute the guard? Or will that bring endless reinforcements?
>>
>>5134961
I think that's more because we can't use it with 2 shots left on triskelion.
>>
>>5134968
also technically none of this is related to your mission. The Cartel may call soon... they told you to do it quickly...
>>
>>5134970
To be clear: I will let you pick up the p90 and take it with one hand, even though for balance I will not let you shoot it one handed. The chainsaw requires two hands to even lift.
>>
>>5134971
My vote remains the same, ask for the shield, then fuck off to the hotel.
>>
>>5134921
>ask guard for phone
>ask guard for riot shield
>proceed to the hotel
>>5134954
remember we need a smartphone to up our gaming power
>>
>>5134921
also
>place chainsaw in bag
We don't need to wield it to bring it with us.
>>
>>5134977
Also I will let you ask the guard any questions you want. Eg
>Ask about any secret entrance to the tower
>Ask what is occurring at the riot
>Ask for a phone / call someone
>Ask the guard about Paribus (he does not know about the Oration)
>Ask the guard about the Cartel
>Ask the guard about Vourukasha etc.
>Endless other topics, but there will be a roll
>>
>>5134980
Unfortunately you cannot lift the Chainsaw 1 handed (for game balance). However you can place the p90 in the bag, even if it takes 2 hands to fire
>>
>>5134987
Can't we ask the guard to lift it for us into the bag?

>>5134985
>Ask about any secret entrance to the tower
>Ask what is occurring at the riot
>Ask for a phone / call someone

if there is no penalty or nothing interrupts us then I'm fine with asking all the other prompts too.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5134579
here is the Riot Guard disposition roll, he is an ally
1 hostile, calls for backup
2 becoming suspicious
3 cautious
4 deeply grateful
5 commends your heroic deed
6 worships you as a god - he will follow you as a disciple
>>
Rolled 3 (1d4)

lifting the chainsaw:
1 the guard becomes suspicious of your intentions, and calls for backup 2 the guard is so heavily wounded he cannot lift it
3 the guard is suspicious and interrogates you
4 the guard does as you ask
>>
>>5134998
The guard is clutching his torso heavily, his armour and uniform soaked in blood. His eyes narrow:

This is police evidence... why would you want it? Are you working for someone? What were you doing here? I assumed you were naked because you were fleeing this terrifying maniac, and had no time to dress or collect your clothes. Now I see you are quite heavily armed... is that... is that a blowtorch there? And that shotgun cannot be legal, do you have a firearms license for that...?
>>
Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5134998
I was just about to say you had enough time... then you had to ask thr police if they would help you lift a bloodsplattered chainsaw. I feel like this calls for

1 PUNISH
2-100 forgive...
>>
>>5135041
PUNISH:14
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5134998
The guard is now interrogating you and will not answer further questions until he is satisfied. You can get the Chainsaw Maniac's phone, I will roll for it...
1 shredded as the chainsaw cut the Maniac in half
2 useable but damaged
3 phone is intact
>>
>>5135025
Didn't we take the guy's clothes? From the guy we killed, the other anon voted for it.

>>5135041
I mean...in fairness, I was asking you the QM if that was allowed and if he was in physical condition to lift it for us, not to actually ask him because as I said >>5134961 here, he probably wouldn't let us have it.
>>
>>5135063
rolling d30+30
>>
>>5134412
Yeah, the purple anon voted to take the clothes off the guy we shot in the linked post.
>>
>>5135065
hehe, all questions are met with PUNISH (evil QM trolling begins...)
>>
Chainsaw Maniac phone charge is 30+this...
>>
I'm thinking just unload into him at this point so we can move on.
Maybe steal riot armor for murderhobo bonuses.
Plus we can loot his phone for its precious battery charge.
>>
>>5135072
Eh, I'll allow it, we are in the horde mode, so anything pushing towards us fighting waves of enemies is fine by me. The player's and QM's whims in the aftermath of the main quest are bound to be thrown about without much thought.
>>
Rolled 26 (1d30)

somehow I keep forgetting the 1 d30 lol. how to PUNISH myself...
>>
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>>5135084
Chainsaw Maniac Phone
Charge:56%
>>
>>5135080
Sure.

>>5135084
Okay, we want to shoot him now, we'll spare the dog if the dog fucks off without a fight, otherwise PETA is gonna suddenly become a organization that deploys field agents and we are their first target.
>>
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>>5135084
>how to PUNISH myself...
We ARE Alex Yiik.
>>
>>5135091
of course. Please roll 1d6, hit on 1,2
>>
>>5135091
The Riot Guard is too weakened to react to this, but his dog may leap at you... (after you shoot)
>>
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>>5135025
>I got my license right here officer. (shoot him with Triskelion)
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5135094
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5135094
dog next
>>
>>5135099
Maybe you'll have better luck on the next shot, don't roll a 6, or this will be a short horde mode. (hopefully we can restart in different circumstances if we do die suddenly)
>>
>>5135103
That should hit as it is our third shot, drop the gun in our bag now. It is good for magic or tough enemies but not for hordes. Plus it is more fun to make use of all the varied weapons that we haven't used yet.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5135103
This is a hit on 3rd shot I will take it. You can place the revolver in the bag and take the chainsaw now.

Riot Guard Dog
1 barks loudly, pounces and attacks you (roll 1d78)
2 growls, pounces and attacks you (roll 1d78)
3 growls
4 lifts a quizzical ear
5 wags tail
6 scents blood, somehow turns on the Riot Guard, decides to attack him instead (roll 1d78)
>>
Rolled 50 (1d78)

>>5135116
how am I doing this, incredible...
>>
>>5135121
This is a miss. You can execute the dog if you want with Yargai's revolver. I will reduce PUNISH d20 if you do this before taking the Chainsaw. Otherwise, I feel like the audience wants to PUNISH again...
>>
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>>5135116
>Weld Dog
I want that saw.
>>
>>5135129
>Fire the revolver at the dog (begin the sequence again)
>Give up, take the chainsaw, execute the dog with anything else (no roll, it just happens. But what will the audience do...?)
>Something else?
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5135133
ok this just happens, no roll, the dog is torched.

1 the audience is displeased
2 the audience applauds
>>
>>5135135
>WELD DOG
>>
Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5135047
PUNISH:14
>>
>Equip and rev chainsaw.
>>
>>5135144
bear in mind, it is a two handed weapon and when revved it is Loud, Menacing. To be honest it is a bit overkill, I will let you basically kill all low level NPCs without rolls instantly with it, I will just roll to see if they flee or not. It is up to you.
Oh you can also take the Riot Guards disguise if you want
>>
>>5135143
Loot the cop, take every, his vest, his weapons and ammo, his phone, his badge and wallet and if we are still naked then his clothes too.
>>
>>5135149
everything*
>>
>>5135148
Yeah loot everything and equip the saw.
I don't care about noise because we will be killing everyone that we see.
>>
Utterly Convincing Riot Helmet Disguise
>>
>>5135149
>>5135152
Ok you also have the Police Phone. What this does is it lets you find an NPC via Axiom Galdra software that spoofs a mobile telephony base station, harvesting the nearby IMEI numbers. It will generally be fairly accurate for civilians, but some hackers can circumvent it. So if you want you can pick an NPC and try to find their nearby location at the Alsephina Hotel directly
>>
>>5135167
I'll keep that in mind.
>>
>>5135167
The Police Phone also has this message...

No, I do not have time to help with a stolen phone! Have you not seen there is a riot breaking into the Tower? They are led by a masked prophet, who appears to be wearing underpants on his head, followed by a violent misogynistic young man, and two anime students. Why would I check the underground car park? I am not dumb! There cannot possibly be any secret passages there, because the car park goes down for 13 floors, whilst the Tower extends upwards. It would be impossible! And I am still stuck here guarding this heap of weapons confiscated from some cosplayers, though they look a bit too realistic to me...
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

Rolling for Police Phone Battery
>>
>>5135175
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!?!?
>>
>>5135167
Ok, so ignore this entire paragraph. You cannot currently do that lol, the Police Phone does not have any charge left
>>
>>5135175
>Declare war on the phone Gods! ALL PHONES ARE NOW OUR ENEMY AS ARE ALL TELEPHONE ASSOCIATED COMPANIES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES. WE ARE THE TELEPHONE DESTROYER! ALL SHALL BOW DOWN BEFORE US AND RUE THE DAY THEY EVER SCREWED WITH US! NO GODS NO MASTERS, THERE WILL BE NO RED LORD OF RUIN, NO BETRAYER, NO UNDERPANTS GOD, NO ANIME, ONLY THE TELEPHONE DESTROYER!
>>
I will say you can take everything. For all intents and purposes you look like Riot Police except you are wearing a strange camera on your head (the helmet is not compatible). Now obviously, if you complete the disguise, the audience may have to...PUNISH... very hard... What I will say is, to normal civilians unless you do something suspicious eg carry a revved chainsaw they will not be able to tell. The police will roll to see if they suspect you regardless of what you do.
>>
>>5135185
interestingly, the Neon Lit Vending Machine hears this...
Neon Shrine:
1 give a cursed item
2 give a normal item
3 give a good item
>>
>>5135186
What I would give for some duct tape...

Take the helmet and put it in our bag, we may need to switch it and the camera out at some point where the defence or disguise is more important.

Lets get going to the hotel now.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5135191
>>
>>5135186
I'd rather wear the riot suit but with the butterfly mask and camera so we can look like a real freak.
>>
>>5135197
I think that is what we are doing.
>>
>>5135195
ok I will let you choose between two normal items:
1 military headset - upgrades your Strange Camera. It looks like the Splinter Cell nightvision goggles etc. It completes your tactical disguise. No police/military will suspect you at all unless tou do something very strange eg carry a revved chainsaw
2 VR headset. Improve your highscore by installing advanced graphics games. It helps with PUNISH recovery It will stop working if your phone runs out of battery though. Costs -20% battery each time to recover.
>>
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>>5135204
Military Headset
Nightvision
>>
VR Headset
requires charged phone
-20% battery, 1d20 recovery roll for PUNISH
>>
>>5135209
also this makes your disguise complete. You can feed its camera to the audience.
The VR headset does not have this capability
>>
Here me out, we can harvest phones from npcs.
Eventually we will gain sufficient charge through sheer volume.
>>
The vr is incompatible with the camera.
>>5135209
Headset
>>
Personally I'd prefer the military headset, I'm fine with killing horde enemies, and we roll for what we encounter anyways. What are your thoughts purple? I'll wait for your opinion before voting.
>>
>>5135215
I've made my declaration, I'm not taking it back. I'm fine with gathering phones, but only for a sacrificial pyre at the end of eternity.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d8)

I am rolling to determine the Chainsaw Maniac's relationship. You can see this from his contacts on his phone.
>>
>>5135223
1 Father
2 Brother
3 Son
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5135224
>>
Rolled 1 (1d78)

>>
>>5135227
Have we been acting foolishly?
>>
>>5135227
His...brother was the Magus?
>>
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>>5135227
Dorotea
DOROTEA IS THE MAGUS
01 I: The MAGICIAN
Sister of CHAINSAW MANIAC
hp:1/1
Control, power, instinct, intention, action,
THE MOST POWERFUL SORCEROR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD
>>
>>5135233
THIS IS WHAT SHE (?) LOOKS LIKE NOW

lol
>>
>>5135233
It turns out the apocalypse wasn't Armageddon, or Ragnarok, but an endless cycle of poorly dressed women dying in cartel executions.
>>
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>>5135238
not this...
>>
>>5135238
THIS...

NOOOOOOO...
>>
From now on, I think you guys should roll for the NPCs and their reactions. I have given up now...
>>
lmao
>>
Well, lets head to the hotel. I think we are agreed on taking the military headset?
>>
Any other plans? Do you have a sense of what is going on?
>>
>>5135248
Yup, do you want to go chainsaw cop or just use a normal loadout?
I'm biased towards the former
>>
>>5135233
Her(?) hp makes sense. You guys had one life...1/1 and it ended... this is what the world is like now.
>>
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>>5135249
Deep down I know, but I persist in asking.
>>
I will say this: because you completed the disguise, you can carry the chainsaw openly (not revved) and people will think you have confiscated it etc. Obviously if you rev it for the +1d20 swing people will notice that
>>
>Walk the streets with saw in hand and proceed to the objective.
>>
>>5135253
Ok I will just tell you, as you did actually ask and paid for the punishment with the 2x +13 at the start. So basically the 1st mission is find and kill a certain DM that the cartel wants eliminated... A DM with the alias KospelTheWorstEverEvilDM etc. The second mission is to find and retrieve a certain special phone... a phone with certain incriminating information, that has gone missing...
>>
>>5135250
I want to use a normal loadout but hide the chainsaw in our duffel bag. We just need to bypass the cops surrounding the hotel and get inside, once inside we have free reign to use the chainsaw.
>>
The second mission is not from the cartel, you are not sure who it is from. Essentially you may have noticed that the Ancient Burner Phone is a special relic from the past, it needs no battery, and seems to receive text messages like prayers. However I would encourage you to think of it just as a normal phone. If you think about this as a text message there is something a bit strange about it...
>>5134158
You can use that strangeness if you know it to get an answer from npcs very quickly
>>
>>5135259
Well, the cartel will just have to be satisfied with us massacring people for their entertainment, I'm destroying every phone I come across, and as when the time is right, I'm voting for piling up the phones we have gathered already and destroying them too, fuck phones, all my homies hate phones.

I did want to kill Kospel though. Until he makes it up to me he is 2-1 in opposing us and annoying me throughout the process.
>>
>>5135264
There is no problem with this, they will let you walk in.
Basically, you can do anything short of aggressive actions, and do not rev the chainsaw. You can for instance hit people with the riot baton. I would say shooting them with police weapons like the glock is ok if they are the ones instigating violence. Otherwise, there will be suspicion rolls.
>>
>>5135272
If you want, you can roll for it using the police phone. roll this:
1d2
1 male
2 female

then roll 1d8
>>
>>5135233
The QM has been traumatised by this
>>
>>5135267
I will make sure to gather followers to my cause of anarcho-primitivism, well not really, I just suddenly hate phones, and also social media. We should capitalize on populist trends and backlash against big tech and social media companies to gather followers and become the TELEPHONE DESTROYER!!!1

I'm serious about this telephone destroyer thing too.
>>
>>5135283
ie a neo-Luddite?
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5135278
>>
Rolled 5 (1d8)

>>5135286
I guess.
>>
>>5135278
does someone want to roll for this? 1d2, 1d8.
It is appropriate because you are scanning through with the police phone in hand. I can roll otherwise.
>>
>>5135293
I just did >>5135288 >>5135292
>>
>>5135286
I don't think luddite is appropriate.
It's more of a personal grudge against a class of object than any animus towards technology in general, it would have been chairs if most of the chairs we sat in broke.
Any ideological justification is incidental.
>>
>>5135288
ok thank you. Please also roll 1d78 as well
>>
Rolled 44 (1d78)

>>5135299
>>
Rolled 5 (1d78)

>>5135299
>>
Rolled 40 (1d78)

>>5135299
oh wait hold on do not do that. I need to check something
>>
>>5135307
I am taking this one. It makes sense
>>
>>5135311
we already did twice
>>
Doctor Kospel
KospelTheWorstEverEvilDM
KospelTheBestEverDM451
banned for: doxxing
05 V: The HIEROPHANT
hp:5/5
belief, instruction, faith, teacher, mercy, control, conformity, spirit
>>
Well on that note, with the target revealed, I will call it for today... Thanks for playing everybody! I hope I have forever ruined your waifus.
>>
>>5135335
I'd never bring my waifu to this quest and I'd never waifu the MAGUS.
She's not a pure girl.
>>
>>5135332
Do you know the weird thing. You know how I trolled by saying how Kospel used Adam Koebel's name as an alias. Well Koebel always used to play a Doctor on the livestreams where he did not DM. His player character was a Doctor Grigori I think, on the West Marches twitch streams
>>
strange how a random roll landed there. But is probably confirmation bias, reinforcement after the fact, apophenia
>>
>>5135335
Thanks for running, cya tomorrow.

Florence is my pure WAIFU FOR LAIFU...until the next quest when she inevitably turns out to be an antagonistic force and pisses me off and then I swear eternal vengeance.
>>
>>5135343
I know, I watched those. Though, he was more of a dark god cultist pretending to be a good guy.
>>
So I will say that because this is the random Horde mode and we did roll and say the npcs can come back, none of this is necessarily canonical in this mode lol. Only the masochistic story mode choices are canon
>>
what did you think of the fight, the chainsaw maniac? Was it a bit too slow? Basically he is not very powerful after his opening attack unless he revs (when you can attack him)
>>
>>5135350
Sure. Though it'd still be cool if some of the named NPCs we encounter in this show up in distant future quests. Are they just coming back in later installments if they die in this, or did you mean that they can come back even if they die in mainline quests? I know you said you wanted the whole "changing world" deal. Though, if we successfully become a TELEPHONE DESTROYER god, it'd be cool if it shows up in mainline quests as an easter egg or hidden god where appropriate. I doubt we'll get there though.
>>
>>5135352
I was on edge the whole time since he took out all our hp in one shot, which was coupled by an explanation of the revival mechanic.
That made the whole fight really tense, since we didn't understand that he couldn't tear into us like that again.
>>
>>5135356
which would you prefer?Permadeath for Kospel or revival? Maybe you can decide as you chainsaw him for doxxing you
>>
>>5135352
I liked the tenseness caused by his unexpected arrival and nearly one-shotting us, but we basically spent the entire day on just that fight. And we also spent a lot of time just rolling for things like phone contact lists and NPCs related to the ones we just killed instead of making it to the hotel or getting a lot of writing, so it was a very slow I admit.

I did enjoy the things that arose organically out of play though. Like the rolled psyche reactions, the funny rolls with Dorotea and stuff and my sudden rage at the phone battery charge and declaration of war on the phone gods.
>>
>>5135363
I think Kospel is funny, and we pretty much doxxed ourselve.
>>
>>5135363
Eh, Kospel is too long-lived a character to kill here, he was around as far back as Invultua. Just have him reference us "injuring" (killing him) him if we actually encounter and kill him in the horde mode when we meet him in the next quest.
>>
>>5135366
I will need to think up of a good name for an anti technology god. It is funny because this mode is inspired by Manhunt, and a very very obscure reference you will not find even searching on the internet: if you complete Manhunt on the hardest difficulty and unlock all the concept art, there is a hidden removed faction of machine people with cameras on their heads / cameras for heads in the artwork that was cut from the game. Bear in mind Manhunt came out before youtube even existed, when VHR video cassettes were still a thing lol
>>
>>5135371
We kill him but he fixes himself (doctor).
Maybe a metaphor for reversing cancelation.
Still waiting on one of these eceleb dms to make it through a cancelation event.
They seem to be really ashamed about having sex with women for some reason.
>>
Are there any rule changes you want to make? Any different sorts of weapons ie more melee, more military, more swords or more guns etc. I have to check what I have, I just really like P90s lol from the Far Cry 1 days
>>
>>5135379
the weird thing always about Koebel was that he actually behaved quite disrespectfully to women (if tou watched how he treated some of his female players) He adopted the sort of fashion aesthetics but his personality was never that aligned
>>
>>5135366
I agree. The next section can be more social. I actually am not a huge fan of dice rolling fights. If you want, just resolve everything with Yargai's gun...
>>
>>5135390
I like Triskelion and think it is a really evocative, cool, and expedient weapon but the roguelike player in me won't allow me to rely on a weapon that has a 1/6 chance to kill us.
>>
>>5135399
(5/6*4/6*1/6)=9.25%
(I hope I got this right)
The probabilities are contingent.
It is not as bad as 1/6=16.67%
>>
>>5135409
It is because it locks us into three shots, meaning it always comes down to 1/6.
>>
>>5135390
>>5135399
I actually have mixed feelings about the Triskelion, it is evocative as purple anon says and it has interesting mechanics, but I think the overuse or reliance on this special gun that we've had since the beginning of the horde mode sort of ruins its uniqueness, I only want to use it on tough, magical enemies or someone we really need dead, both for variety's sake and for practicality's sake, we don't wanna kill ourselves.

I think a horde mode should have a variety of weapons used, that is sort of the point of the mode to a degree, I'd like for there to be reasons to use other weapons whether it be because the situation calls for it or we just feel like it, or to fit in as part of a disguise or whatever.

Yeah, there will be more dice rolled, but a lot of the dice rolls are for relationships for NPCs just encounter or battery charge rolls, or psyche rolls. I think when we kill an unnamed NPC or horde NPCs summoned by the cartel siccing people on us for displeasing the "audience" we should skip the relationship rolls and maybe the psyche rolls, maybe the phones too, we just established our hatred of phones, and purple anon doesn't seem to have a problem with my declaration of war on phones, so I think we can just assume we auto-destroy any phones we encounter that aren't unique or have important contacts on them. That way we don't use up all day rolling for stuff and can focus more on either the social aspects, hunting our targets, or fighting horde enemies like the mode is supposed to have us.
>>
>>5135430
I liked your idea of collecting them for an ending phone pyre. (maybe with the corpse of the MAGUS included?)
>>
>>5135430
If you want I can just generatebor decide the npcs beforehand. No more postmodern Dorotea lol
>>
>>5135385
Eh, I'd have to go back and rewatch the actual plays, but I didn't find his behavior towards woman to be ultra-consistently bad, though there were certainly moments like that. The moment that got him cancelled was pretty bad, but honestly compared to some of the /tg/ horror stories involving creepy DMs and woman it wasn't the worst thing in the world, and if it weren't a public spectacle I could see them resolving it privately and amicably or parting ways without much issue.

Arcadum on the other hand was a real creep.

I would actually say Adam's behavior involving itmejps channel was his more despicable acts, the other DMs (Koibu and Steven Lumpkin) that DMed for JP nominated him to negotiate on their behalf for equitable pay or something and and equal share in the intellectual property of the settings they created but Adam shafted them and arranged with JP to be his only DM and screw over the other guys.

>>5135381
I'd have to think about rules changes. Maybe have a minor faction (e.i the generic crowd, maybe) use a lot of improvised weapons like molotov cocktails, mechanical tools (blowtorches, wrenches) and sports equipment (baseball bats and padding) that we can use as throwaway weapons.
>>
I think the next section will be more social though, the reason is... the Oration own the Tower now. Their seers are watching...
>>5135238
>>
>>5135450
I like the random npcs and relationships, it adds a lot of fun emergent elements.
+I think it's really funny that the magus returned like this.
>>
>>5135450
If it is not too much work for you, then that would be could. Maybe roll occasionally just to have a bit of organic play or funny revelations, but pre-generate enough of the NPCs that we don't spend all day rolling and laughing at the funny results instead of playing and making progress.

Postmodern Dorotea can stay...until we kill her(?)
>>
>>5135462
In case you still had not worked it out... The Oration were trying to take use the riots to wrest control of the Tower from the Magus.
>>
>>5135469
But maybe the entire world will be destroyed first...
>>
>>5135468
would be cool*

>>5135444
Yeah, that be good. Maybe just have it so we auto-collect them with no prompt for doing so under the assumption we intend to burn them later in a pyre for our apotheosis.

>>5135469
I think that was obvious by the time you revealed that Paribus were the Orationists.
>>
>>5135468
wait I just realised it all makes sense lol (self rationalisation / confirmation bias). In Galerne Dorotea had... identity issues, in modern Golgotha she has fully emerged, like a beautiful butterfly from a delicate cocoon... a beautiful butterfly, just like you chose...
>>
>>5135469
I definitely thought that was what you were going for.
(powerstruggle between technocrats and world leaders causes collapse and madness)
>>
>>5135481
(there is no mechanic to punish the DM in this game, by intentional design)
>>
In case you are wondering why the masks, I just wanted to get rid of some of the items left over from the Galerne masquerade
>>
>>5135481
I mean, it may be confirmation bias, but it is true, it all lined up perfectly in the end. Now we just need to return her(?) to the earth as dust and the cycle will be complete.
>>
Chainsaw Maniac Phone
Charge: 56% >>5135090

Snake high score: 7, next is d10
reduce PUNISH by 1d20 if beaten (this changes)
otherwise PUNISH +7, roll d12 next attempt, then d20, then d100. Then need to find a better videogame.

You are wearing Utterly Convincing Complete Riot Police Guard disguise. You can carry any weapon. >>5135157

- Civilians will not question you. They may harass you to help them though

- using the Riot Baton is permitted.

- Guards will question you if you attack anyone who has not instigated violence (they will probably not care and just overlook it, there will be this roll):

1 becomes suspicious, draws weapon, approaches
2 watches you closely, uneasy, pangs of doubt
3 watches with boredom
4 watches curiously
5 shouts encouragement
6 participates in the Baton fun. Gain an Ally.

- drawing or aiming a firearm will invoke a lot of suspicion. All guards will rush to your location to investigate, they will not necessarily be hostile, but depending on the situation there will be a roll

- revving the chainsaw will immediately draw a lot of hostile attention, unless you can work out a justification... (check items, there may be a reason...)
>>
File: han-yang-dnacontract-009.jpg (1.42 MB, 3825x2152)
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PUNISH: 14

So I actually forgot to ratchet the PUNISH here,
>>5135143
because you torched the dog and did not use the revolver.

I will NOT retrospectively increase it as it is my fault for forgetting to do this.

However The Red Lord Of Ruin would offer the following bargain:
for x4 +13 PUNISH, ie taking you to

PUNISH: 14 + 52 = 66,

The Red Lord Of Ruin will outright show you what weapons enemies are carrying ahead. In game we can just say that you assimilate knowledge from the Riot Guard Completed Disguise.

In addition the Red Lord will reveal what is strange about this text message that you received on your Ancient Burner Phone, the normal phone with infinite battery that appears to receive text message prayers. >>5134158

As your powers were awakened by killing the Chainsaw Maniac, The Red Lord will also immediately reveal to you what happens after the next fight occurs.

>Accept the entire bargain of the Red Lord, PUNISH: 66 (bear in mind - you declined the VR videogame headset, in order to complete your disguise. You have very limited means to recover PUNISH going forward)

>Decline the bargain, arrive outside the Tower with no insight. (there will be a roll in between...)

>Install tarot app on phone (-20% battery, can roll to generate some magic)

>Install videogame emulator on phone. Instant PUNISH reset, and roll for new high score (roll 1d50 to reduce, then 1d12) -40% Battery

>Listen to ASMR on your phone, via the Riot Police Headset (not ideal sound quality, it sounds like the scratching is clawing into your skull, but -20% battery, recover 1d20 PUNISH)

>(only if very brave) log on to 4non.org/gif and search for stimulating pictures of the Red Dancer (battery charge drops instantly to 6%) You cannot install apps if you choose this, you cannot play videogames, and you cannot listen to ASMR ever again.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

Currently when you venture into the demonstration in your Riot Police disguise, this roll will occur... (it may change depending on your actions) The damage is dealt directly to PUNISH.

1 pelted with stones, glass bottles, rubbish and abuse... the words physically hurt you (reduced to 1d20 by the Riot Shield, otherwise 1d100.)
2 pelted with foul-smelling rubbish, some abuse (1d10)
3 some rubbish and insults thrown, but it mostly misses (1d6)
4 you avoid most of the riot mob and the protestors
5 the protestors flee and scatter before you. This makes you feel a bit better (recover +1d6)
6 You are the Law. Beneath your riot helm there is only the ruthless stubble of chin. (recover +1d20)

(yes the pic related is from dmc)
>>
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Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>5136088
so when you next venture out, you take this much damage to PUNISH
(1d20 roll)
>>
Rolled 5 (1d78)

>>5136080
>Decline the bargain, arrive outside the Tower with no insight. (there will be a roll in between...)
>Install tarot app on phone (-20% battery, can roll to generate some magic)
>>
>>5135175
As the last 4% of the Riot Police Handset battery dies, it taunts you with this message:

Those special guards accompanying Paribus get to have all the fun! How come they are being issued with all the latest weaponry, and not the less-than-lethal grenade launchers? Their commander carries this peculiar low bore-axis pistol, it seems to have all these slanted vents on the side, and the non-reciprocating barrel is upside down beneath the slide... And some of the Paribus Operators had this strange rifle or cannon... maybe it was not even a rifle at all... the handle of it is mounted to the right hand side for some reason, the handle is completely offset and unaligned to the axis of the gunbarrel. Surely that cannot be a real-life weapon? And they are issuing them with special ammunition, not this less lethal anti-riot tear gas grenade stuff we have. The latest Axiom Galdra equipment with names like Autonomous Integrated Submunitions AUT-ISM and also something about S-Eradication External Targeting High Explosive rounds, or S-E(ETHE) grenades. I tried to ask them what the S stands for, but they would not tell me!
>>
>>5136224
QM: if you want, I can give this decision a bit of time, we can wait for the other player for you to discuss. If there are any questions, well, there is a Neon Shrine nearby that you can scream at (you can still ask me questions, but it is just a vending machine)
>>
>>5136080
QM: in terms of what the Red Lord's bargain mechanically entails, I will basically show you what weapons the enemies ahead are carrying and explain beforehand the damage they inflict. This is why the PUNISH cost is so expensive. If you intend to rely entirely upon social tactics without fighting going ahead you may feel like you do not need this, but it may be very difficult. Remember that The Paribus Foundation / The Oration currently control whatever the Tower is becoming now.
>>
>>5136233
I just wanted to get something out there to start the day off, but if you want to wait for Xm7 before confirming anything that's fine with me.

My reasoning for rejecting the Red Lord's offer is that I want to get to this next section with low punish so we can make progress towards our goal before the random encounters build up, and also for protection in the case that we die instantly.
I also generally just do not like paying for hints, which should be understandable considering last time lol.
Also I did not know this at the time of voting but the riot handset gave us a lot of weapon information which makes the deal less valuable.
>>
>>5136243
I will say if you can guess what the model of the guns are outright, I will tell you the damage of the attacks straightaway. But even I think that is impossible lol due to Oration technosorcery, they are pretty obscure, which is why the cost to learn the information is so high. I would say that there is a way that will make it much easier to reduce the PUNISH level coming up soon, but it may result in a significant detour from your current mission...
>>
There is a final burst of static from the dying battery of the Riot Police radio.

I would not be at all envious of their experimental grenade launchers... I hear they only hit around 91% of the time, and when they misfire, they can injure you! Or was it 84% of the time...?
>>
>>5136247
I think I'd rather have less of these weapons aimed at me than to know more about them lol.
>>
Oh, and since the vending machine is here can I ask if holding a two handed weapon in one hand can add its tarot to an attack roll with another weapon?
>>
>>5136259
Yes the way it works is that the two handed weapons have three suits, eg the chainsaw hits on WANDS, SWORDS, CHALICES and also majors.
>>
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YOU DECLINED THE BARGAIN of The RED LORD of RUIN
- the Red Lord feels there is no need to punish you. What is coming will be punishment enough

>>5136224
>Rolled 5 (1d78)
You have gained
05 V: The HIEROPHANT
(wow, you must really want to get Kospel)

PUNISH: 25
from here >>5136145

After pushing through the uproar and mobs rampaging through the streets you finally arrive at an oasis of calm. Ahead you can see an exasperated woman(?) confronting an impassive line of riot police - though they appear to be attired very differently to you.

The exasperated woman >>5135238
is saying in frustration:

...but I am part of the Paribus Foundation! I helped the CEO put together all their outreach programmes, all their marketing, and all of their charity endowment financing! He was on the verge of appointing me as his successor! I am really important! I belong over there, in the Tower! Look, if you would just let me through to someone who I can recognise and confirm my position, this will all be explained...

The line of riot police ignore the Exasperated Woman. They appear to have orders not to let anyone through. Does that include you?

>Wait and watch what happens
>Approach Dorotea, and baton her in the face
>Approach Dorotea, and lend her your assistance
>Intercede on behalf of the Riot Police, offer them your assistance instead
>Search the area for items/tools
>Leave the exasperated Dorotea where she stands, see if there are other people nearby. You can see a Handsome Trenchcoat Man and a Determined-looking Woman having an argument, away from the riot police line.
>>
File: 20220123_153911.jpg (348 KB, 1184x2412)
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Paribus Elite Operator
(Oration Executioner)
hp:36+???
SWORDS, WANDS, CHALICES
and MAJOR ARCANA
(14+14+14+22)/78=82.0% to hit
carrying:
Oration Phone, with Orbis-3 Software
Breaching Axe (Oration Axe of Judgement)
Tactical Ballistic Shield
Either
Laugo Arms Alien handgun 9x19mm 17/17
or
Chiappa Rhino .357 Magnum 6/6
and either
Denel Inkunzi PAW-20 Neopup
20x42mm 7/7 stack or 6/6 drum
or
Milkor MGL M32
40×53mm 6/6 drum

Oration Headset
>>
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QM: I will post the weapons. But since you did not accept the bargain, you do not know how much damage they deal

(hold on for a moment whilst I post their loadouts, I will let you know when I am done with another greentext choice, thank you)
>>
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Denel Inkunzi PAW-20
Neopup, Bull
20x42mm
7/7 stack feed variant (unreliable)
or
6/6 round drum
Hand-held direct fire anti-personnel detonating round, also compatible with less lethal munitions. Unique side-mounted pistol grip off weapon right hand side.
>>
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Milkor MGL-105/140, designated M32A1
40×53mm 6/6 drum
Ambidextrous double-action six-shot cylinder-fed low-velocity grenade launcher
>>
Laugo Alien
9x19mm 17/17
Unusual low bore axis and non-reciprocating slide, reminiscent of high accuracy target pistols. Spring recoil and gas piston is situated upside down, above the fixed barrel of the firearm.
>>
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Chiappa Rhino
.357 Magnum 6/6
Developed from the Mateba autorevolver. Lowered muzzle flip by firing from the lowermost chamber of the hexagonal revolver cylinder.
>>
>>5136264
QM: That is their loadout. Again I can give the decision sometime, you can wait for the other anon if you want. There is a line of these Paribus Guards blocking your path ahead. They do not say or respond to anything. If you want to write-in a plan or wait for the other anon that is ok. Remember that the Oration Seers can look like anyone, and respond with instadeath to violence lol like in the main story mode of Golgotha. However currently your status to these Oration / Paribus Guards is Allied (because of your disguise)

>Choose from the greentext options above, or formulate a plan
>>
So my immediate thoughts are to either find an alternative way in or to pressure Dorotea to do something chaotic that would give us a chance to slip inside.
I'll wait for the other anon because I don't want to exclude him from this critical moment in determining our approach.
>>
>>5136288
So a hint is that if you examine the weapons carefully and also your items, you may discover they have something in common...
>>
Catching up, all I saw in my brief skimming of what I missed was an elite Paribus Operator and I immediately thought "gee I hope our disguise works".
>>
>>5136294
All the weapons have scratches indicative of long-term use.
>>
>>5136264
QM: Since you did roll the Hierophant card here, which is Kospel's aligned card, I will also offer you these Ancient Rites to cast as well. You are not a trained magic user (this might be the first use of magic lol) so you are not entirely sure of the consequences...

Child Of Suffering
Pain brings forth this horror. The pain does not have to be your own.

Dream Lyre
You felt like this spell was revealed to you once in another world... if only you could remember it?

...and here are the consequences. You roll 1d6 to determine them, the rite is cast either way.

>Use an ancient rite: (which one? roll 1d6. The rite will absolutely work and take effect, but you roll a consequence and I roll one...)

1 lose all your items and become naked once again
2 keep one of your chosen items, lose the rest and become naked
3 keep all items but you are now naked
4 no change
5 gain a very helpful item
6 gain an even more helpful item
>>
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>>5136315
What I will roll is... (1d2)
1 Hooray! You finally get to meet the Red Dancer! Oh wait...
2 You do not get to meet the Red Dancer
>>
>>5136288
I agree with this. Either that or we should cement our familiar status with the riot cops before attacking Dorotea. Or we should tell Dorotea to "move along" under the threat of violence and then immediately use violence at the slightest hint of resistance. We just need an excuse.
>>
>>5136310
This is not it unfortunately. The pictures do not really tell you much, the clues above might give an idea of what to do...

You can always just explore the area and leave the situation alone. I will make a reaction roll for the guard to see if he finally responds to Dorotea
>>
>>5135233
Oh no, Dorotea only has 1 hp, she is so delicate and fragile... what to do...
>>
I think we should join ranks with the guards and antagonize the MAGUS.
>>
The Red Lord Of Ruin Makes An Offer (probably a final one)
PUNISH: 85 and he will give you some information on the damage the guards deal, as well as the general situation.
>>
>>5136315
Actually, I think we should get right up close to the blockade near Dorotea and the Paribus guards and the riot cops and cast dream lyre, it puts them all to sleep in an AOE.

I'll wait for other anons opinion before voting for it though.
>>
>>5136323
did not know that was what it did
We should definitely use that.
Do we know how long it lasts?
I would like to sample the high-tech weaponry.
>>
>>5136322
Honestly I'd be fine with that too, we have allies nearby and this is a horde mode, we should be killing horde enemies not avoiding them. I don't think this is the sort of game where we build up gear slowly before facing a horde at the end, we have enough gear now and I think we are supposed to face enemies throughout the playthrough.
>>
>>5136325
No idea how long it lasts, we didn't use it in Invultua, we just had access to it.

But we should use it if we want to get high punish and take the deal, because it will knock our allies out. Do one or the other. If we take the info then we can make a decision afterwards.
>>
>>5136323
The rites will both absolutely move the guards aside and get you what you want, but you have to risk the 1d6 roll and my 1d2 roll.
>>
Also we should see if we can take the MAGUS with us, if only to sacrifice later.
>>5136327
Do you mean that we should do both or that we should do one or the other or one then the other?
>>
>>5136327
The effect of the rite in terms of game mechanics is it gets you what you want, the guards are either horribly slaughtered or merely incapacitated. Be aware that using magic may raise the suspicion kf the Orationist Seer (she is quite distracted and will not respond immediately, but a lot later she will scrutinise the area)
>>
>>5136331
One then the other, info first, spell after.

>>5136329
That is fine, just let me confirm with purps first.
>>
>>5136331
Sorry, correction. Get the info, then decide whether to do the spell based on the info. If we rapidly gain punishment in this area we may actually want the guards around as allies.

Or do you think we ought to skip the info?
>>
I think we should just cast Dream Lyre, it will be attributed to the MAGUS most likely.
Let me do the roll though
>>5136336
I still dont think its that valuable and we could catch a grenade and instadie very soon.
>>
>>5136337
We can learn weapons by taking them, and we already have our objective from the last deal.
>>
>>5136264
>Join ranks with riot police and cast Dream Lyre.
>Loot one of each item, take all phones.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5136338
This is actually quite interesting I will roll for it
1 nobody would be fooled. Oration immediately hunts for you
2 Oration is suspicious, searches area
3 Oration is concerned
4 Oration is too distracted
5 Oration suspects Dorotea, commands guards to seize and arrest her
6 Oration executes Dorotea instantly
>>
We can also become a parabus operator here, which is an upgrade to our current disguise.
>>
>>5136343
Ok well now you have an interesting paradox. If you cast the spell, The Oration will blame Dorotea and command the guards to seize her. BUT your spell has just incapacitated all the guards / killed them. So the Oration will get no response from the operators...
>>
>>5136345
Yes, but I will say looting takes time. Also other nearby NPCs may respond to your use of magic... you could scan the area with your police phone... oh no... it has 0% battery
>>
Rolled 13, 41 = 54 (2d78)

also I am rolling to generate something (nonrelated, it is for the 2 NPCs)
>>
>>5136346
Parabus is likely in communication with the guards, so they'd know the last person they encountered before they dropped.
>>5136348
I will just say something insane but plausible if that happens.
>>
>>5136350
wow, so much 13, such death
>>
>>5136346
We can take their gear and "become" a paribus operator.
>>
Maybe the MAGUS can learn from us?
We're doing a better job of being a magical infiltrator than she ever did in the main quest.
>>
Scarlett
13 XIII: DEATH
hp: 13/13
WANDS SWORDS CHALICES
Rebirth, death, danger, deception, change, surrender, trust, betrayal
>>
Dmitry
41 FIVE of PENTACLES
hp: 5/5
shame, poverty, neglect, exclusion, oblivion, pain, spirit

(ignore the previous description of the Handsome Trenchcoat Man - the cards have called this person instead)
>>
>>5136360
>>5136367
QM: These are the two arguing npcs to the side. (Can either ignore my previous comment about the Handsome Trenchcoat Man, or if you want I can bring him in. But too many NPCs lol make it unmanageable)
>>
>>5136369
Start looting, if they question us but don't seem to indicate hostility to our action, proselytize to them about the evils of phones and social media and the truth and goodness of the TELEPHONE DESTROYER!!!1 and ask them to join our righteous cause.
>>
>Wait and watch what happens
>Approach Dorotea, and baton her in the face
>Approach Dorotea, and lend her your assistance
>Intercede on behalf of the Riot Police, offer them your assistance instead
>Search the area for items/tools
>Leave the exasperated Dorotea where she stands, see if there are other people nearby. You can see an Impoverished Man and a Determined-looking Woman having an argument, away from the riot police line.
>cast the ancient rite: Child Of Suffering. You have to injure someone to do this though (it can be anyone, even yourself for 1hp) roll 1d6
>cast the ancient rite: Dream Lyre, roll 1d6
>another plan...?
>>
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Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5136360
If she thinks she can make me go through any personal transformations, she can fuck right off.
>cast the ancient rite: Dream Lyre, roll 1d6
>>
Shit, what do you want to keep?
>>
>>5136373
I had a think about this. Now there is one place in the setting which is very against technology, even metallurgy...
The Dead Land. You already possess its trait. Perhaps the God is non other than The Devourer Of The Great Dark Sky, The Vulture Lord and Eater Of Carrion Mahiragula?

(The Devourer is probably what the Beggar Knight eventually becomes - it is why Bektamun follows him. In a weird way, you are worshipping yourself lol)
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5136378
now I roll... I will need to prepare a bit for this lol
>>
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Oh look, you will get to meet her (pic related)
>>
I vote Triskelion, most of the other stuff we have is replaceable.
Also I think we're about to have to fight for our lives.
>>
>>5136381
The ancient phone, it is the capstone to our pyre. We can loot new gear off these men.
>>
Ok well due to that random roll I need to prepare some stuff lol that is not at all what I was expecting. But I will let you guys discuss what your plans are going to be... which item to keep etc. The Red Lord Of Ruin is immensely pleased.
>>
>>5136388
There is high quality gear right on the people around us. And we could end up losing Triskelion if we cast another spell. But yeah, either Triskelion or the phone.
>>
>>5136389
strong hint... you have a feeling you may be taking a trip to the Red Forest/The Dead Land soon... after all, that is where the Red Dancer is to be found.
>>
>>5136389
Wouldn't it be better to callously annihilate the relic?
>>
>>5136397
>>5136396
This is really the crux of why I think we need the gun.
We aren't the MAGUS, we're not on good terms with the Dancer.
>>
>>5136397
(QM: of course, this is the videogame thing where you loose your items only to get them back later. None of your items will be permanently destroyed. Bear in mind Yargai's gun is the onky weapon that instant kills everything)
>>
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>>5136402
when you look at Yargai's gun, it is starting to change into this... (pic related)
>>
>>5136398
I suppose so.

>>5136401
Sure, we can take Triskelion.
>>
>>5136404
Ok I will need a bit of time to prepare for this sudden change of events lol. In the meantime you can roll this (each player rolls twice)
1 it's a ... nothing
2 it's some fluffy dust
3 it's a spider
4 blowtorch
5 shotgun 2/2
6 Flares (roll 1d4)
7 Flares (roll 1d6)
8 Leuchtpistole LP42
>>
>>5136409
If you roll the same item twice, it is either ammo or nothing
>>
Rolled 2, 8 = 10 (2d8)

>>5136409
>>
Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d6)

>>5136409
>>
>>5136410
I mean...we have bullet witch, so we don't really need ammo.
>>
Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d8)

>>5136409
shit wrong dice
>>
>>5136413
Hehe... remember what happened with the USP45? Remember what your Infinite Items trait is called... The Dead Land Forgets...
>>
Rolled 1 (1d4)

>>
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Leuchtpistole LP42
26.65mm flare or signal (various) 1/1
variants
Kampfpistole grenade launcher
Sturmpistole anti-tank
Break-open Z variant with rifled barrel. Can fire a range of munitions from fin stabilised explosive warheads to signal flares. There is a variant with an attached stock and folding sights.
>>
>>5136420
so you have this, the blowtorch, and Yargai's gun? Unfortunately the flare gun you have is just the ordinary signal flare one (same as in story mode) which fires incendiary not explosive rounds
>>
>>5136421
I will take a break now for food, I feel like when we resume things will feel a little different, hehe
>>
>>5136421
Is it magical and does our infinite ammo apply to it?
>>
I don't know why you're so surprised considering it was 50% on cast.
>>
>>5136422
Good timing, I need to eat.
>>
I don't eat, but there is always work to do...
>>
>>5136424
The Leuchtpistole is a magical weapon, so your trait does not apply to its ammunition unfortunately. Things are a little strange in the Dead Land...
>>
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You are in a very dark room. There is a closed wooden box before you. On the wall there is a painting or picture frame of some sort. In the distance, a woman is screaming. You cannot tell if it is from pain, or if she is trying to warn you.

The only weapons you are holding are the ones you have previously touched (ie Blowtorch, Yargai's Revolver)

The door to this dark room is locked.

>Open the door with the blowtorch (roll 1d8 for fuel depletion on 1,2) Run immediately towards the screams.

>Open the box (retrieve the Leuchtpistole LP42 1/1). Then run towards the screams ... wait no then blowtorch the chain of the door... (it is slower. I will roll this:)

1 The screams have already died out by the time you have got there
2 The screams have turned into a choked gurgling sound
3 (silence)
4 (silence)
5 The screams encourage you somehow (restore 1d12 PUNISH)
6 You enjoy the sound of screaming (restore d20 PUNISH)

>Take a look around, where are you? Maybe look at the picture hanging on the wall? (also a roll on the table above)

>Something else?
>>
>>5136264
I will be rolling this table which may change periodically
1-25: The Red Dancer emerges
26-100: It's nothing
>>
>>5136486
>KILL the door with Triskelion.
>>
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>>5136492
good idea, but unfortunately it only feeds on living things (if you read the description, the gun is a bit like a vampire)
>>
Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5136489
>>
>>5136500
PUNISH:26
>>
>>5136486
>Open the door with the blowtorch (roll 1d8 for fuel depletion on 1,2) Run immediately towards the screams.
drat, I suppose reality isn't broken enough to consider the door to be alive yet.
>>
Rolled 7 (1d8)

>>5136486
>Open the door with the blowtorch (roll 1d8 for fuel depletion on 1,2) Run immediately towards the screams.
>>
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QM: In The Dead Land, punishment does not protect you. Your hp is 22/22 only. If it reaches 0, the game ends...
>>
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Rolled 5 (1d6)

1 The screams have already died out by the time you have got there
2 The screams have turned into a choked gurgling sound
3 (silence)
4 (silence)
5 The screams encourage you somehow (restore 1d12 PUNISH)
6 You enjoy the sound of screaming (restore d20 PUNISH)
>>
Rolled 11 (1d12)

>>5136580
>>
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>>5136580
>roll 1d12 to reduce PUNISH

The door opens to a dark hallway wirh stairs. For some reason the screaming sounds more distant when you move towards it. Even the glow of the red hot blowtorch does not illuminate anything. The darkness enshrouds all. There is some sort of yellow ball or globe rolling around on the floor here. As you think about moving investigating it, there is a heavy metal clank as something clatters down the stairs towards you. It lands at your feet.
(You may choose multiple actions)
>Examine the metal object
>Walk towards the yellow ball or globe
>Walk up the stairs to the upper floor
>Walk to the kitchen
>Walk to the basement
>>
>>5136586
PUNISH:15
(this is good)
>>
>>5136592
Which direction are the screams coming from?
>>
you do not know (I will roll for it after you decide)
>>
>>5136592
>examine metal object and listen for screams.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>5136608
1 upper floor
2 kitchen
3 basement
>>
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There is something about this metal object which does not feel right. It seems much heavier than what it should be. Lifting it almost feels impossible to you.
(If you carry the heavy metal object, you must put away your weapons, and hold onto it only)
>Take the strange heavy metal object
>Leave it behind
>>
>>5136621
>leave it behind
We'll have to remember this for later.
>>
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>>5136621
(outside in the streets where the riot rages unceasing, amidst a heap of unconscious bodies, grenade launchers and tactical gear, this object appears. It is marked with the number XIII)
>>
>>5136628
(In case it is not clear, it is a nuclear bomb)
>>
(I am rolling again, after this...)
>Walk towards the yellow ball or globe
>Walk up the stairs to the upper floor
>Walk to the kitchen
>Walk to the basement
>>
>>5136635
>Walk up the stairs to the upper floor
>>
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Rolled 2 (1d5)

1 Florence
2 Shivering Man
3 Chainsaw Maniac
4 Riot Police
5 Dog (do they have souls?)
>>
>>5136638
>Start shooting immediately.
>>
A pale face suddenly looms out of the darkness at you. It seems bearded yet familiar. The man is holding the yellow ball or orb which remains shrouded in the darkness from you. But you can see the orb has two holes in it, two sockets of shadow.

The Shivering Man raises the Orb to his face gazing at it.

You don't belong here.

>Attack the Shivering Man
>with the revolver (roll 1d6)
>with the Blowtorch (roll 1d8 for depletion, also 1d78)
>with the Flare Gun (roll1d78 also hit on WANDS and majors)
>Ask him where you are
>Ask him about the screams
>Try and take the Yellowed Orb from him
>Something else?
>>
Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>5136594
rolling for something
>>
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Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5136653
>with the revolver (roll 1d6)
DIE DRUGGIE DIE
>>
>>5136658
(The Shivering Man cannot take his revolver from you. However, the gunshots may...
1 alert another NPC
2 nothing happens
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5136665
>>
Rolled 1 (1d5)

1 Florence
2 Red Dancer
3 Chainsaw Maniac
4 Riot Police
5 Dog (do they have souls?)
>>
Sorry, I'm back now, I had to go out to get my order of groceries, thought it was a good time since there was a long lull.
>>
>>5136669
It's the earlygame reunion.
>>
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There is another face next to the Shivering Man. The figure is a woman, jostling him, snatching at the Yellow Orb. She says -

Give that to me. I want to see...

>Attack the Shivering Man again (which weapon?)
>Attack the Woman in Shadows
>Leave this area and explore another
>Look really hard at the Yellow Orb (there will be a roll...)
>(...?)
>>
The Woman In Shadows
>>
>>5136676
>Attack the Shivering Man again (Revolver)
I want to get the 5/6 before we meet the Dancer
>>
>>5136676
>Attack the Shivering Man again (Triskelion)
>>
>>5136662
QM:This was a miss
Yargai's Revolver set to II: hit on 1,2. You can no longer pick up Object XIII that rolled down the stairs.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5136676
>>
>>5136686
Yargai's Revolver set to >II: hit on 1,2,3,4,5.
You can no longer pick up Object XIII that rolled down the stairs.
>>
What happens when you die in the Dead Land?
>>
Rolled 5 (1d5)

>>5136689
let us play and find out...

(I warned you there is no balance in this mode...)

1 Red Dancer
2 Red Dancer
3 Chainsaw Maniac
4 Riot Police
5 Dog (do they have souls?)
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5136691
1 The Dead Land has transformed it
2 It is already dead
3 It is cute
>>
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sadly, this did not occur
>>
>>5136695
>It is already dead
We are getting really quick at this.
>>
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The Woman In Shadow snatches the Yellow Orb.

You look different to me...

She whispers mournfully -

We could have been together...

>(...?)
>>
>Shoot the Woman In Shadow? (roll 1d6 hit on 1,2,3,4,5)
>Try and snatch the Yellow Orb from her hands? (roll 1d78, succeed on CHALICES or majors)
>something else?
>>
>>5136704
>Shut up Florence, at least I don't contribute to the destruction of reality. I said that I stabbed you so you should have just been stabbed, that's how it works. But you just HAD to make things complicated, and now the MAGUS weighs like 400 pounds.
>Also, charge your damn phone. Why the hell were you talking to someone on 4% anyways?
>>5136708
>Find the Red Dancer already.
>>
>>5136714
QM: I will let you restore PUNISH by 1d20 for this lol
>>
>>5136708
Supporting >>5136714
>"By the way, call me, I'm available."
>>
Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>5136716
>>
1 The Red Dancer instantly appears and tears you apart (GAME OVER)
5-6 The Woman In Shadows is Florence. She hands your Skull back to you.
>>
>>5136717
-1 to this because Florence is a TRASH WAIFU.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5136721
>>
>>5136719
wait, this means we have -2/100 punish...
>>
>>5136724
ok you have gained this item:
>>
>>5136725
No minimum it ever goes is 1
To be honest it was going to reset anyway if you made it out
>>
>>5136721
the consistent appearance of instant death on tables really adds to the authentic osr feel of this jaunt through hell
>>
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Dead Land Skull
It Belongs To You.
Recover PUNISH by punishing your physical form. Each 1hp damage dealt to self recovers 10 PUNISH. But make sure you do not return to the Dead Land again...
(also this item can be lost, and taken away from you. It is a good idea never to let anyone else know about it...)
>>
QM: ok well I would say you can walk out of the house now and fire the flare gun into the sky to spawn back. But there are some really good items in here...
>>
I still don't know who was screaming and why.
Maybe Florence was trying to rape needle boy.
>>
>>5136653
that would at least explain the haunted stare he had here
>>
>>5136738
This will be revealed soon...
>Leave The Dead Land
>Continue exploring the dark house (chances of instant death will increase...)
>>
>>5136740
Well originally I wanted to see if I could quickscope the Dancer and use it as footage for our montage but it seems like she's too quick for us.
>Leave The Dead Land
>>
Rolled 2 (1d4)

(outside...)
1 The riot mob crowds have stolen everything
2 They stole everything except 1 item
3 They are in the middle of stealing it
4 Somehow it is all intact, just lying there...
>>
What do you think, explore more or go back. If we return where we did and much time hasn't passed then there is still a good opportunity to loot the paribus guards and it risky to stay here. But, the secrets held here are tempting.
>>
>>5136747
Eh, could be worse.
>>
>>5136748
Important: you cannot pick up Object XIII. (You may not want to). It will just remain lying there in the street, anchored to The Dead Land.
>>
Wait a second, what happened to needle boy when we shot him.
>>5136748
I really don't want to bother.
>>5136747
All of our stuff or everything on the ground.
>>
>>5136621
>>5136628
So this (they are the same item) is basically stuck in the Street forever. Now what do you think happens to the world, if you ever roll a 13?
>>
>>5136755
*... on the ground?
>>
>>5136755
QM: Nothing. If it is not clear, all of this exists in your mind.
>>
>>5136757
I have a question for the next shrine.
>>
>>5136757
The nuke explodes and everyone dies, casting reality into The Dead Lands?
>>
>>5136761
Unless we kill the nuke.
>>
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>>5136761
(pic related)
>>
>>5136761
>>5136762
I warned you it was not balanced...
>>
>>5136763
Boy am I glad we didnt dig around in there if everything was cursed to that degree.
>>
>>5136765
Think about it though, if we caused the nuke to go off, we'd technically be destroying all phones...
>>
>>5136764
Interestingly I have a feeling you will actually survive it. But you will be the last one alive upon the vast scorched wasteland of bones and weapons.
>>
>>5136342
Can we continue with where we left off with this?
>>5136770
That's a touch too phyric for my tastes, let's just ruin the Orators plot and abuse Kobel.
>>
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Well on that note I might take apause for today. Somehow you guys survived it. This encounter I was saving for like much later on lol.
>>
>>5136767
Yeah but also people, which pollutes our message and makes it more about destroying everything.
>>
>>5136773
I guess you weren't expecting actual spellcasting this early?
Still, fun game today, though I wish you would write more description of what's going on.
Less satisfying.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

Maybe there is an NPC in the world who knows how to defuse it...?
1 The NPC was the Magus, who is now Dead
2 The NPC is of course Kospel
3 The NPC is your best waifu, the beautiful Dorotea
4-6 NPC is someone else I have yet to reveal
>>
>>5136781
ah damn it I really wanted it to be Kospel
>>
>>5136775
Fair enough.

>>5136773
Alright, see you tomorrow. I'm impatient to continue where we left off and get back to what we were doing. But, this is a good time for me to leave off, since I need to pay attention to some other things.
>>
>>5136781
Wouldn't Death girl be able to defuse it? Death>Death Shiva style?
>>
>>5136779
Yeah, this.

It feels like we are doing a lot of rolling and making choices but not getting much description. I know it is a lot of work and this isn't the main quest but it feels like we aren't really even seeing the results in the aftermath of some of our choices or rolls before scene transitioning.

As usual some of the rolls and choices were pretty funny in their abruptness.
>>
>>5136787
Wow you worked it out already!
>>
>>5136360
>Scarlett
So Scarlett will know someone who can defuse it I think. I had an NPC prepared for this.
What will occur is this:
next 13 rolled,
ObjectXIII armed
next 13 rolled
ObjectXIII set
next 13
Detonates. Entire world burns to ash. Except for you.
>>
>>5136796
if QM forgets to notice this it doesn't happen. But I probably will remember it...
>>
>>5136695
The most terrifying part of this encounter for me was I have nothing prepared for
3 It is cute
option here. This was a true moment of dread.
>>
>>5136802
You could have made it Scooby Doo to fit the enviroment.
>>
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In the meantime you guys can decide between these (the one item left. A Paribus Oration disguise on its own counts as 1 item, but I will let you have a phone with it at 1d100 charge for free)

>Denel Inkunzi PAW-20
Neopup, Bull
20x42mm
>7/7 stack feed variant (unreliable)
or
>6/6 round drum
>>5136270

>Milkor MGL-105/140, designated M32A1
40×53mm 6/6 drum
Ambidextrous double-action six-shot cylinder-fed low-velocity grenade launcher
>>5136271

>Laugo Alien
9x19mm 17/17
Unusual low bore axis and non-reciprocating slide, reminiscent of high accuracy target pistols. Spring recoil and gas piston is situated upside down, above the fixed barrel of the firearm.
>>5136274

>Chiappa Rhino
.357 Magnum 6/6
Developed from the Mateba autorevolver. Lowered muzzle flip by firing from the lowermost chamber of the hexagonal revolver cylinder.
>>5136276

(clue: you may have worked out what is going on with some of these weapons. Mostly they have been very deliberately chosen)
>>
Of course, now that you have your own skull back from the Dead Land, the Red Lord of Ruin offers you this

> Accept the offer, PUNISH: 95, and he will explain how all these weapons work and what damage they do. As well as all the other questions etc.
>Decline The Red Lord Of Ruin's offer
>>
>>5136817
Do we get to know the arcana?
>>
Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>5136821
I feel like I have to respond with a fairly impossible...
(PUNISH:1)
>>
PUNISH:14
>>
>>5136820
>Holy shit RL this deal gets worse every time can you just fuck off already I don't care if it's literally impossible to succeed at anything without knowing I just don't give a shit maybe if it was cool magic or a nice trait I would care but I really don't give a fuck about the weapons.
>>
>>5136820
>>Decline The Red Lord Of Ruin's offer
>>
>>5136833
This is actually the right idea. There is something... strange about them. You may reduce PUNISH by 1d20
>>
Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>5136868
>>
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>>5136869
PUNISH: 1
>>5130374
Voice Of Judgement: Triskelion

Orationist revolver, a cruel gift from the Paribus Foundation to the cartel Death Dealer Yargai.

Notice how a lot of those guns (apart from one)... they are sort of like... revolvers? 6/6 shots?

Do the hints make sense now lol
>>5136251
>>5136231
>>
>>5136877
Oh yeah, that makes sense.
They are all cursed basically.
>>
>>5136274
I probably would have gotten it if this one hadn't thrown me off lol.
>>
>>5136885
That pistol has a different curse on it. Let us just say, you do not want it. However, as you have seen it, you can now effectively imagine Yargai's revolver as a grenade launcher should the need arise lol. It will breach walls and doors now etc (see what I did there?) Of course, you still need to risk firing it to reset the sequence. But it no longer has to be at a living person, just something destructible like a wall etc.
>>
>>5136897
So you can fire it into the air now if you like. Do not roll a 6 lol
>reset the sequence, roll 1d6
>>
Hey red, remind me where the MAGUS died last.
This is important.
>>5136897
Ha, that's funny since I tried to do that earlier, >>5136492 and it would have worked if I found out the riddle sooner.
>>5136903
I'd rather save it for something we want dead.
The play here is to get a Parabus guard outfit, since we already have an appropriate weapon.
>>
>>5136903
alternatively
>keep it loaded at step III: hit on 1,2,3,4,5
>>
>>5136914
It is like KospelTheBestEverDM451 has a plan for everything...
>>
Rolled 70 (1d78)

>>5136914
It would be Yargai's Apartment.

I will quite honestly admit, I do not know exactly where that is. Say it is on residential floor (rolling...)
>>
>>5136921
Yargai's apartment is on floor
70 KNIGHT of WANDS
It makes sense, WANDS are the guns/fire/sorcery arcana here
>>
>>5136914
remember you cannot pick up or carry two-handed items whilst the revolver is bound to your hand. (This is obviously deliberately done for game balance).
>>
>>5136931
You mean to say we can't change disguises with it on?
That makes sense, and in that case I do think it would be worth it to discharge the gun so we can change.
However, I'm always eager to kill so I'll probably fire it into the crowd and then pretend nothing happened (police brutality).
That said I don't want to officially vote on anything until the game proper starts up again.
I like how you make the cursed items inconvenient but in a way you can interact with instead of it just sucking 100%.
>>
>>5136937
ok I will do this: you can put the disguise on 1-handed, but it will look slightly unusual. There will be 1 roll only if you meet The Oration, where theybare a bit suspicious. After that they do not question you any further
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

Let me just determine something hold on:
Scarlett faction aligned to:
1 Oration
2 Vourukasha
3 Corporate
4 Casual
5 Cartel
6 Cosplay (roll 1d5 twice)
>>
>>5136962
hmmm that is interesting hmmm
>>
>>5136962
>Vourukasha
Those are the vampire/supernatural hunters, right?
>>
well I may need some more time to prepare, the random dice rolls really messed up my encounters and scenarios today lol. Maybe this it... Golgotha dies when QM runs out of imagination or is too confused by own random dice nonsense. You have finally killed Kospel and achieved VENGEANCE
>>
>>5136967
well they are now lol. It is not what I had imagined actually. Because in Galerne they are witch-pirates, they are sort of demons themselves
>>
maybe to fight the demon... you must... BECOME THE DEMON?
>>
>>5136969
I'm not sure how her faction affiliation kills your plans.
All she's done so far is yell at a homeless man.
We still have our objectives and a big tower full of rioters and technocrats so things should proceed in a satisfactory manner.
>>5136971
Aren't most monster hunters some kind of half-monster?
>>
>>5136971
actually wait, I have a better idea. It is just her. Her tarot is betrayal, transformation... she has betrayed her own faction... this makes more sense...
>>
>>5136914
Sorry, didn't know we were continuing. We died in Yargai's room and we don't know where that is, but we met him on the 06: The Lovers. (The art gallery) The floors ascend the higher the number gets, with 01: The Magician being the top floor, so 06 is just below it by 5 floors.

>>5136926
Ah, nevermind.

Anyways, I'll probably be heading to sleep early tonight as I didn't sleep much the previous night and I have an appointment to keep in a couple of days. I'll see you guys tomorrow.
>>
>>5136978
sleep well, I hope your appointment is alright. Let us call it for tonight
>>
>>5136967
No, well...maybe. They were introduced in Galerne as Witch-Pirates led by female captains, and there was some other lore too. But, as this is a different world and quest, they may be different aside from some general features.
>>
>>5136979
Thank you. You as well, both of you. Take care.
>>
This quest is actually towering over most of the board in terms of replies right now, which is funny since there are only 18 unique ids.
>>
>>5136999
Yeah, but most of those replies are just us chatting and rolling or discussing which vote to vote for consensus's sake in the horde mode. Before the horde mode, the thread was only somewhere between 300-400 replies when I last remember a specific number around the time we died and the epilogue.

Really, there aren't many participants but all of those who do participate are high-activity people, QM included.

I hopefully shouldn't be late tomorrow, since I'm turning in early now. Last reply for tonight.
>>
When you wake you are being violently slapped in the face by a screaming woman (QM: roll 1d20 - I will explain this later). The entire side of your face and cheek feels raw. In your right hand is the Voice Of Judgement, Triskelion, Yargai's cursed revolver. In your left hand is the Leuchtpistole, smoking and empty. The Skull Of the Dead Land - your own skull - lies behind the woman. The skull has rolled towards a strange, heavy metal object that has appeared, wedged into the shattered paving of the street, where bricks and stones have been torn from the road by the rioting mob crowds, in order to use as improvised projectiles against the guards.

The woman >>5136360 is screaming at you -

Let go of the gun! Drop it now! What are you doing...! Let it go, let it go! You must surrender the gun... The world is ending, but there is no need for this...!

(QM: you cannot let go of the gun. It is locked at stage III: hit on 1,2,3,4,5; death on 6, GAME OVER).

>Explain to Scarlett the gun is cursed, and you cannot surrender it, as Death is bound to your soul.

>Well at this range, surely you cannot miss? Empty the gun into Scarlett's face, and send her to the Red Lord. Maybe you will meet her in the Dead Land next time... (QM: unfortunately you still need to roll 1d6, to do this).

>Scarlett has only to turn and see the skull - your skull - rolled against the sinister metal bomb, Object XIII. You have a feeling that this would somehow be very very bad. Maybe just use the grip of the revolver to pistol whip her to unconsciousness? How good is your melee again? And how does knocking people unconscious work in this world?

>Maybe when you meet girls do not talk about death so much, unless they are goths. Ask Scarlett what just happened to you, what you were doing and where you went.

>Ask Scarlett if she has any hobbies. Does she like dancing at all?

>Ask Scarlett if she likes ttrpgs

>Ask Scarlett if she knows a certain Doctor. You do not feel too good, after your trip to the Dead Land...
>>
You have just realised all this is occurring before you have even managed to get up and claim your Oration disguise. You are still naked. >>5136315 You realise where the QM was always going with this, Scarlett, Red Dancer, ha ha ha >>5132230

By killing you have summoned a terrible relic of the ancient world that will eagerly help you destroy all that is left - only much faster.

>Tell Scarlett you learnt the meaning of The Dead Land, that the violence you do will haunt you. Ask her if there is anything you can do to stop or change the Ending of the world (QM: if you choose this option, you may have to renounce violence for the entire remainder of the game, which may suddenly become a bit different...This ends Horde Mode)

>You look at Object XIII curiously. It is clearly an ancient relic of Death, but it took a different form in the Dead Land... you wonder if there is a way to turn it into a bullet, and load it into Yargai's Gun? (...and the killing resumes. This action automatically arms Object XIII to the next stage II of

I: ObjectXIII armed
next 13 rolled
II: ObjectXIII set
next 13
III: Detonates. Entire world burns to ash. Except for you.)
>>
>>5137379
QM: The effect of the second choice, which arms the Warhead, ObjectXIII (ha, see what I did there... war HEAD, the skull, ha ha ha) is it will allow you to increase the probabilities to hit on Yargai's revolver. Either way the next time you kill someone, you will return to the Dead Land, where the encounter table looks like this:

1 Riot Guard, with theory about Titanic and vampires
2 King Ghoul
3 Danger Hair
4 Slob Girl
5 Ginger-Haired Receptionist
6 The Scarred Man
7 (hidden, it may not occur)
8 (also hidden, but occurs with above)
>>
>>5137374
This section, and The Skull Of The Dead Land / The Warhead / ObjectXIII should probably explain the question that was asked here
>>5129450
>>
>>5134483
all of the answers are there, if you just know where to look... ha ha ha
(evil DM taunting intensifies)
>>
>>5137408
come on guys this plot is pretty predictable have you played Metal Gear Solid or Death Stranding. I thought the sudden increase in military hardware and gun specifications would give it away. Incidentally all of the guns are real world guns. I like the Inkunzi, it is featured in the film Chappie, which got poor reviews but I enjoyed it and there is a cool gun battle and mechs etc. I think in the film they use it like a shotgun though not a grenade launcher. I got the idea of the Chiappa revolver from the Total Recall remake, which sadly does not feature the Schwarzenegger.
>>
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Somehow, ObjectXIII / The Warhead / The Skull Of The Dead Land (these are all the same item really) looks like this now. It is suspiciously bullet-shaped. How big is it exactly? It is just lying there, half buried in the street. You cannot move it as it is anchored to the dark house in The Dead Land. But if you were to reach over and touch it, think about loading it into the gun, where would it take you...

(The Red Lord Of Ruin watches curiously. He is very interested in this)
>>
>>5137379
(QM advance warning: if you choose to renounce the path of violence and punishment, The Red Lord Of Ruin will be infuriated. The following will occur
- you lose the traits Bullet Witch, and The Dead Land Forgets, granted by The Red Lord. You will only be able to carry inventory items (maybe get some clothes) and you will need to conserve ammunition, which may become... very scarce
- The Red Lord Of Ruin will decline to punish you. Unfortunately, the in-game consequence is, your health drops to 22/22. When you fall to 0/22 you die, no protection from the 100 damage absorbing PUNISH bar of afterlife. 0/22 represents GAME OVER
- perhaps the identity of the Torturer and The Red Lord Of Ruin is becoming clear to you now...
>>5124901
>>5126126
>>
Some more important QM information:
When fired outside, the ancient relic Leuchtpistole / Flare Gun / Signal Pistol calls upon the Great Dark Sky to transport you to another location. It is like a teleport, which is why it is so powerful. You used it to return from The Dead Land. Currently, you do not have any flares left for it.
>>
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>>5137396
It almost feels like you know the Scarred Man from another life, where you met him before. Was he accompanied by some others?
>>
>>5121876
QM: The final hint is this - if you have no idea why you keep becoming naked and losing all your clothes, at the worst possible time, maybe you think the QM is a perverted person (this may indeed be true) but have a think about the meaning of 13 XIII: DEATH carefully.
>>5121888
>>
>>5137471
QM: If any of you know the true way to defeat Kospel, and the meaning of the Pathless Labyrinth, write in now. Do you think Kospel can be killed with a gun?
>>
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Nearby the streets have suddenly grown quiet, as if the tumult and rioting mobs of the crowd have been temporarily quelled.

You think strangely of the wriggling snake game on your lost phone, guiding The Serpent in between the walls of a tiny 1.5 inch 84x48px display screen, and what The Serpent In The Eye of another meant.

But now all of a sudden you can see the embarassing battered relic of your Burner Phone - right in front of you. The entirely normal Ancient Burner Phone with infinite battery is beginning to ring and vibrate again. Somehow in your mind you know it contains the following message:

Bisho9 I do not know how you are doing it you are killing all my characters and encounters so quickly it must either be your knowledge of violent drill rap music or maybe this disturbing new anime tentacle hentai underpants phenomenon you are into now. You already defeated my Invincible Wall Of Impassable Fire so I trapped you within my Haunted Maze Of Instant Red Death, and somehow the dice just rolled in your favour. Well guess what? The very next enemy you meet is going to be unkillable! He will have 999999990451 health and deal 4510999999999 points of lethal unmissable critical ultraviolent instadeath murderspell damage! Oh, you think you have a magic gun I mean sword that can kill anything? Well guess who gave you that sword?! Me! Kospel! I can do anything! I can take that gun away from you, make you turn it on yourself! Anything! I can never be defeated, for I am the Best / Worst most Evil Dungeonmaster ever! Ahhahahaha!
>>
There is a strange man in the street nearby. You can see he has only One Eye, and he is dressed in ordinary clothes that are very clean. He seems to be wearing either earphones or an earpiece of some kind, as if he is listening to music, or perhaps orders. In one hand the Eyeless Man is carrying a strange tool that looks like a pipe with a bolt of some sort, and a large bag in another. In a strange way, he reminds you of someone.

The Very Clean, Eyeless Man is watching, waiting. You think he is from The Cartel. How long have you kept the Cartel waiting again? How long was it since you last contacted them? Have you forgotten your mission...?

(QM: these are the orders given to the Eyeless Elder / The Cleaner. You are not sure under what circumstances they will be followed...)

1,2 Instantly execute for failing the Cartel
3-5 Ignore all pleading
6 Listen a bit and perhaps respond
>>
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The Silencer
Possession of this item defends you against detection by The Voice Of Oration
either Welrod or B&T VP9, Ruger Mark IV or others...
currently 1/(unknown?)
the calibre of this weapon is True Death
A relic wand cast aside by a dying magician upon an ancient battlefield. The suppressor renders it difficult though not impossible for the Oration to detect you whilst using it. The gun takes many forms and shifts and changes its appearance through the ages. Upon possession, the gun is bound to you, and cannot be lost. You may surrender it and give it to another to use. Each loaded bullet depletes your life, health and sanity permanently, to the amount in proportion to what remains in the magazine. What is lost can never be recovered. The gun currently contains only 1 bullet. When you aim The Silencer and fire it, you deliver True Death to its target.
>>
The Cleaner / The Eyeless Elder
>>
QM: possible solutions
>>5137478

>Write in what you think is going on in Horde Mode. Remember the metagame last time?

>If you know the arcana to which Yargai's Revolver, the Voice Of Oration: Triskelion is aligned, write in now. Be careful as you get only one guess at this... (I will accept greentext as the answer, you can discuss it lol, and the Voice Of Oration will not know)

>If you know the true way to defeat Kospel and put a final end to his annoying prattle, link a section. There are quite a few options there that I will accept...

>Otherwise, you can always choose from the options here
>>5137374
and here
>>5137379

But if you do this, remember how the Horde Mode will end.
>>
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzO5ovR5czY
"To tell you the truth, I never wanted to engage with this honestly. I wanted to be like that gunslinging mage from that rpg, charming and unflappable as I deal Death without consequence, but maybe I was more like that rpgmaker game considering the dead dream world and the chainsaw."
>"Really, I went into this thinking I'd break all the rules, do better than my predecessor. I see now that I was actually just taking the easiest path presented to me, moving away from pain and towards pleasure. I don't consider myself a violent person, but I have a habit of identifying with violence and accepting it as a simple solution to the problems of myself and the world. Even though I acted dishonestly, I implicitly knew that in bringing Death to others I opened the door for Death to reach me as well. I know there's no going back from that, but to continue on this path? Just to please the Cartel? To please the Red Lord? It just isn't something I can justify anymore."
>"I don't know what the hell is going on, not really, -I don't know if I ever will- but if it means a chance to get a better ending I want to try."
>"So please, help me to understand, even if it kills me."
>Fire Triskelion into the air and drop it, relinquish DEATH.
>>
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>>5137660
>DEATH
>>5121888

(QM: this occurs and interrupts you, before you can fire the gun)

The World holds its breath around you. All is still. It is as if the Endless Night and the Great Dark Sky will surround you, and devour you forever.

The Cleaner, The Eyeless Elder who somehow sees through only one remaining scarred Eye, is studying you. He looks very ordinary, but he is very clean. He has the appearance of any manual labourer, a driver, an electrician or construction worker or an attendant. Yet his face appears twisted and cruel.

Finally, The Cleaner / The Eyeless Elder says -

In the Bright World once, there was a man who lived for 31 years. Every year, he was given a piece of silver. No matter what he did, how he chose, what he believed - he received the silver. He could do, say, or even think anything.

But at the end of the 30 years, when he had 30 pieces of silver, everything was taken away. Imagine the loss, the shock, the betrayal. It killed him.

In the Dark World, there was another. This woman suffered. No matter what she did, they took things from her. Every year she bled red, every year she was tormented and confronted with loss and despair. No matter how she tried, and no matter what she did. And in the end, she was made whole again.

Which life would you choose?

>1/The Betrayer (without hesitating or justifying it)
>2/The Betrayer, because at least he lived and enjoyed himself for 30 years. The woman suffered in agony. Her redemption afterwards did not matter, as the world had ended afterwards.
>3/The Red Dancer / The Red Lord
>4/Both paths are the same. All paths belong to the Pathless Labyrinth.
>5/The Empty Path. You should bring nothing into this world, and take nothing from it.
>6/Shoot this man in the head, and take his gun. (Any weapon will work for this. If you use Yargai's revolver, roll 1d6. It is currently locked to III: hit on 1,2,3,4,5. Do not miss.)
>>
>>5137711
>4/Both paths are the same. All paths belong to the Pathless Labyrinth.
>>
I'm here, catching up.
>>
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(You have ended Horde Mode)

The Eyeless Elder glances deeply into you, as if scouring your soul. Finally, the Elder responds

This is not the Path I would have chosen. But this is the End that awaits you. This is the End you will see.

The Elder relinquishes the strange bolted wand in his hand to you. It looks just like a metal pipe. Perhaps he really is only a Cleaner?

When you glance up at him again, the Cleaner is gone.

(The Red Lord Of Ruin has abandoned you. This is His final act of punishment.
Your hp is at 22/22
You cannot absorb damage via PUNISH in the afterlife. If you fall to 0/22 you will die
You lose the traits
Bullet Witch
The Dead Land Forgets)

You are currently naked

You possess:

Voice Of Oration
(Triskelion, Yargai's Revolver)
locked at III: hit on 1,2,3,4,5
>>5130374

The Silencer 1/unknown
>>5137612

Leuchtpistole LP42 0/0, empty
signal pistol, flare gun
>>5136420

Blowtorch
>>5132120

You may retrieve from your surroundings:
Push Dagger
>>5132125

Sawn-off Shotgun 2/2
>>5132118

Burner Phone
>>5132154

Strange Needle
CHALICES - 1/1
>>5132163
It heals to max hp. It can also be wielded as a weapon once. You may inject yourself to hit on chalices.

>Take everything

(optional:)
>Look at the Warhead / ObjectXIII. It is just a bullet. Load it into The Silencer
(increases True Death ammunition to 2/unknown. The first time you fire it, your health will diminish to 11/11. The target will die. The second time your fire it, your health will fall to 0/0. Both the target and you will die together.)

As the World exhales, unpauses, and begins to unravel once more, return to
>>5137374
>>5137379

and choose again, or

>write-in your plan
>Defeat Kospel
>Aid Scarlett
>Defuse the Warhead/ObjectXIII
(this option does not exist if you load it into the gun you carry)
>Quell the riot
>Overthrow Heaven, become a god
>Something else...?
>>
You know, we have Scarlet with us now...
Maybe we could get a group together and play some ttrpgs?
>>
I still want to go with my earlier write-in; I think it's finally time to take things seriously.
>>
>>5137413
wtf Souvarine, I thought we were stopping for the night. Also, you must either not sleep during the night or must be on entirely different continent from me, because you are posting somewhere between midnight and 4 in the morning in the timezone I am at.

Also, I haven't completed any of Kojima's games.

>>5137466
Oh...that guy...I'm pretty sure the other anon hasn't even read Galerne yet QM.

>>5137711
>4/Both paths are the same. All paths belong to the Pathless Labyrinth.

I guess I'll choose this to align with the other anon, since I'm just catching up and don't have much time to think about this deeply.
>>
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>>5137745
So you want to drop Yargai's gun? To do this you need to roll 1d6: hit on 1,2,3,4,5. Do not miss. Then you can drop it.

>Roll 1d6, hit on 1,2,3,4,5
>Discard The Voice Of Oration
>Take The Silencer
>Ignore it

>Load ObjectXIII into the Silencer. You need only think it and it will be done. The Silencer ammunition increases to 2/unknown
>Leave ObjectXIII in the street. It is anchored to the Dead Land and you cannot move it. It will just stay there.
>>
>>5137737
>Take everything
>Look at the Warhead / ObjectXIII. It is just a bullet. Load it into The Silencer

>>5137745
I don't think we can fire Triskelion at anything but a living person.

>>5137737
>Gather followers, exalt ourselves as the Telephone Destroyer, destroy phones, reject notions of getting the "party" together or peace, kill Kospel.

>If you know the arcana to which Yargai's Revolver, the Voice Of Oration: Triskelion is aligned, write in now. Be careful as you get only one guess at this... (05: The Hierophant)

>If you know the true way to defeat Kospel and put a final end to his annoying prattle, link a section. There are quite a few options there that I will accept... >>5136969 >>5130371 >>5126302 Essentially, we can either get Kospel "cancelled" or we can annoy him to death or have the QM get so confused he just decides Kospel implodes.

>>5137374
>Ask Scarlett if she has any hobbies. Does she like dancing at all?
>Ask Scarlett if she knows a certain Doctor. You do not feel too good, after your trip to the Dead Land...

>>5137379
>You look at Object XIII curiously. It is clearly an ancient relic of Death, but it took a different form in the Dead Land... you wonder if there is a way to turn it into a bullet, and load it into Yargai's Gun? (...and the killing resumes. This action automatically arms Object XIII to the next stage II of
>>
>>5137752
>Take The Silencer
>Load ObjectXIII into the Silencer. You need only think it and it will be done. The Silencer ammunition increases to 2/unknown

One for the Orationist Seer, maybe one for either Kospel (though it may not work) or Robert, or Dorotea to fulfill our contract and get the annoying cartel off our back.
>>
>>5137762
bro you are kind of behind right now, I already guessed it.
Honestly I don't want to continue with horde mode anymore, I want to find an ending we can be satisfied with.
>>
>>5137765
The Cartel assassin just left.
Also we can fire Trisk at anything now.
>>
Really just want to have a conversation about this before we do anything.
I know I was a bit autocratic before you showed up again but I want all of us to be represented in the outcome of this.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5137752
These weapons are cursed.
>>
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You are beginning to free your mind from the Oration, from the Pathless Labyrinth itself. You think back to the Elders of another world - had you followed their instruction, the inevitable end was Death. And you realise Kospel has a command over The World with his thoughts - similar to you. But he is not infallible. Did you not see a Handsome Trenchcoat Man speaking to Scarlett earlier? How did he suddenly turn into a vagrant, a beggar?
>>5136367
(QM: And there are so many more besides...)
>>5134650 (for example, many others, as you correctly guessed)

Far away in the distant night, when you realise that by merely thinking in a certain way, you can change the world, there is the sound of a forehead smashing against a monitor. There is broken glass and streams of tears. You do not see this, but somehow you know it is true. You have blown his mind apart.

Perhaps this is The Empty Way. To take nothing from the world, but to change it only with the right thoughts, at the right time... To walk the Pathless Labyrinth, with very little at all...

(Kospel has lost The Protection of The Oration, ie Kospel has been cancelled)

(QM cries twin waterfalls of tears, all of his world and creation has been ruined)
>>
Back, sorry, stepped away to shower.

>>5137766
What did you guess? The horde mode specifically? The Arcana the Triskelion is linked to? What?

I think we are are at an impasse and will have to discuss things through. I do want to continue the horde mode. I'm in the mood for a casual "fight until you die" mode after the main quest right now, not a continuation of the main quest or another playthrough, hence my initial enthusiasm for the mode when Souvarine asked about it. I NEVER play Souvarine's quests with an ending I want to achieve in mind that I am married to, I just play and go with what seems to go with what I feel like going for at the moment and that seems plausible to obtain with our loadouts/stats/the current circumstances.

>>5137779
lmao
>>
Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5137374
Forgot to roll the 1d20
>>
>>5137789
The arcana, which is why we weren't executed.
I think our perspectives are opposite on this.
You fell from the tower and want to enjoy the leave of meaning, I emerged from confusion and wanted to find meaning in it.
Not really trying to push an ending per se, but it became pretty obvious that it wasn't just a postgame minigame after a while.
>>5137779
That said, looks like the qm dropped it lmao.
I really need to get going anyways.
>>
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Scarlett has stopped slapping and screaming at you as you cast the revolver aside. You wonder if the rules of its design were built into the creation of this World itself, a design that would lead only to Death. Just as you are becoming perhaps a little too philosophical, Scarlett slaps you again.

What is wrong with you? Are you some sort of ...autist? Why are you drooling? Perhaps I need to take you to see a Doctor...

(QM: decide your objectives once more. To a certain extent you control the world, and you can try and test and unmake its rules. When this moment occurs, Golgotha belongs to you...)

>You want to help Scarlett and her cause. But maybe find out what that is first...? (QM: this roll aligned Scarlett to Vourukasha, against my original plan >>5136962)

>Follow Scarlett to the Doctor

>You want to quell the riot

>You want to overthrow Heaven, become a god

>You want to defuse the Warhead/ObjectXIII (QM: it will get scary...)

>What was going on with the secret entrance to the Tower, the hidden floors? Why were Paribus / The Oration investigating it?

>What is going on with the 13 underground car park floors? Who resides there? Maybe explore that... >>5135170

>You want lots of guns and weapons (The Red Lord will pretend to spurn you, but please... he really wants you back... please...)

>You want to destroy Paribus / The Oration

>You want to destroy The Vourukasha

>You want to end The Cartel

>You want Golgotha to remain as a city, the axis between The Great Dark Sky and The Dead Land. Undo what the Magus did.

(something else...? I will take the first choice as highest priority)
>>
>>5137792
>Opposite perspectives

I suppose so, I've been playing Souvarine's quests since his first with only one other anon and the occasional influx of random voters or lurkers who stay for only a vote or two. I would just like to enjoy a sandbox where we talk/kill things.

Still, didn't mean to be autocratic, I just wanted to get out my answers before I showered or the QM rushed ahead with only you to answer. If you are going then take care, but I don't think this is over, I think I got the answer about how to deal with Kospel right.

>>5137794
Didn't you immediately afterwards decide that she betrayed her original faction?

I'll discuss things with purple anon a bit before revoting. Unless he is leaving.
>>
Well, I'll wait 15 more minutes to see if you the other anon replies and if we can come to an accord as to our goals, and if he left then I'll just vote for what I want I guess.
>>
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QM: As you probably guessed, I mentioned that I was trying to use up all my hoarded pictures from the main story campaign (Yes, I have played Gears Of War, but Horde Mode here is more like Hoard Mode lol). Hidden somewhere in that maze of folders and images or the pathless labyrinth are all the various ideas and scenarios and endings I had in mind. Hence I wanted to give you the option of starting the mode completely naked with no weapons to see if diplomacy would prevail, absent constraint. Of course if you killed every NPC in the world, you would be the only one left in the Dead Land. The PUNISH bar is actually like the afterlife. (Why do you think it sometimes goes up by 13 and there are 8 npcs on the random tables etc) Killing a certain number of NPCs triggers the Dead Land House sequence (I have a lot there). There was also a clue here with the S-E(ETHE) ammunition that this was what the Red Lord provides.
>>5136231
>>5136833

There are a few rules in Golgotha, but maybe with your newfound power, having humbled Kospel and even the Red Lord of Ruin, you can negotiate them?

You can kill any npc. But every npc you kill returns to haunt you. They either literally haunt you with death and vengeance, or hinder you via in-world impediments (e.g. the purple haired admin banning Kospel after you killed Danger Hair) What the afterlife bar or PUNISH represents when it goes up by +13 is the death or likely consequence of an npc you need to help you achieve anything other than the default ending. The default ending in Golgotha I feel is set by this roll >>5121888

As Scarlett is aligned to Vourukasha, you can even see the path of other worlds like Galerne. I did not have that fully worked out, but if you feel like there were unresolved stories there eg the witch-pirate island you can explore them (there are in world explanations for this)
>>
>>5137801
>Didn't you immediately afterwards decide that she betrayed her original faction?
I think I will stay true to the roll. Scarlett betrayed her (unrevealed) original faction, but she is aligned to Vourukasha now
>>
>>5137817
Since I haven't gotten a reply, I'll vote in a few minutes after I think for a bit.

I would like to return to Galerne or Invultua's Berceuse someday, but I'm fine with not doing it now or in the next mainline quest. I just want to see how the worlds have progressed or play as the character's we didn't pick or see the locations we didn't see.

>>5137794
I'll order them in priority for me.

>Gather followers, exalt ourselves as the Telephone Destroyer (Perhaps a God or demi-god of sorts, perhaps just a "hero" in the classical sense), destroy phones, reject notions of getting the "party" together or peace, kill Kospel.

>You want Golgotha to remain as a city, the axis between The Great Dark Sky and The Dead Land. Undo what the Magus did.

>Follow Scarlett to the Doctor

Those are my main goals, I'd like this city in the night to stay as a transit point as the World between Worlds so to speak. The ones below this are tertiary goals.

>You want to destroy Paribus / The Oration

>You want to end The Cartel

>You want just enough guns and weapons to achieve your goals, fuck the Red Lord, we'll find our own way with blackjack and hookers.
>>
>>5137794
I'll add...

>What was going on with the secret entrance to the Tower, the hidden floors? Why were Paribus / The Oration investigating it?

>What is going on with the 13 underground car park floors? Who resides there? Maybe explore that... >>5135170

...to my list at the bottom of priority, it may be relevant and there may be information regarding undiscovered factions or the metaphysics of what the fuck is going on, but at the end of the day I want to focus on the main goals.
>>
>>5137821
sorry,I was in transit
>>5137794
>Follow Scarlett to the Doctor
>>
>>5137821
Whoops, I wrote that I want to vote in a few minutes and my thoughts on the other worlds, but then instead of posting it I got distracted and just went ahead with voting for my priorities.

I wanted to add some commentary to >>5137821 by saying that Paribus and the Cartel annoy me severely. So, while they aren't my main goals by any means, I would like to hinder/destroy them in any way possible on the path of my main objectives. If we can kill an important NPC in their faction or disrupt their organization before the next mainline quest then I will be happy.

The reason why is that I think our Bad Endings are affecting the continuity of the world more than our Good Endings. And I don't just mean the ones where we lose are bad, I am including the Beggar-Witch ending where we won but ended up making the world a worse place, we fucked our Preceptor playthrough by becoming the Witch-Knight, and then the Witch-Knight became a fucking capital G God.

That, and Paribus has been a plague on every world it is in. Doing the Invultua Emperor's bidding secretly, "All are Equal Under the Stars" indeed, fuckers. The Cartel is annoying too. I'd like there to be less authoritarian/coercive factions in the future. While having some around is nice for variety's sake, they are too prominent and powerful, I'd like a more multi-polar world with their place in it much reduced. Those are my reasons for hating them and wanting them gone/reduced.
>>
>>5137830
This is the right line of thinking. I was wondering whilst writing this if anons have ever met CEOs or people like this in the real world (clue: there are no guns or underpants cultists to help you). But the interesting thing is the anon chose the Balance (remember the Eschatonomist, the Balance between the Black Span Of Desire and The Red Lord Of Ruin...? The Urthekau-Sylabari myth weighing the heart against the feather, before the demon / crocodile god of the afterlife...) The Pathless Labyrinth is mathematics and probability, the infinite surrender to balance. There is no meaning or guarantee of a happy or fulfilling ending here. The Betrayer and The Red Lord Of Ruin will fight each other in Golgotha and every world forever.
>>5137716
>>
>>5137838
I don't think there are actually any real "endings".
Things simply are as they are and become as they go.
>>
>>5137830
I don't know anything about other worlds, but Paribus irks me.
The Cartel not as much as it seems to be run by humans.
>>
Things you can do now:
The anon who had the cloud upload plan. Just think the phone into existence in your hand, with infinite battery. You know of it, it exists. Find someone to deliver it and break the Oration / Paribus (this was something I had planned for the motel, if you had persuaded Yargai)

This world has ended. You need to get off it. Perhaps now the meaning of the space programmes the Great Dark Sky and the hidden floors of the Tower is becoming clear to you...? But who will you save or take with you?

Become a god. In your hands there is a gun with 1 bullet that will kill a god. You could take their place, finally build that shrine to consign all phones and technology to the pyre... but the anon before chose balance. Which God will you kill, The Betrayer Or The Red Lord Of Ruin? (There are other gods, you may know of them...)

etc etc
>>
>>5137847
The Cartel annoys me, not because they are anything worse than any real life crime organization (if said organization had magic) as far as we know, but because if they continue to exist into the next couple of worlds unhindered then they could grow into a pain in the ass and make the worlds they are apart of in Souvarine's little universe worse and worse the longer they continue to exist. I should've done everything I could to screw over the Highborn/Unbidden Court, Paribus, The Church of Envy or whatever their name was, those warmonger dudes, any of those fuckers. I'm no socialist IRL, but the degree to which these organization fuck over the majority and promptly forget the subalterns they've scraped into the dirt irks me when I think on how bad it seems most of these worlds are.

>>5137838
There's a good chance that I've met more than you honestly. I've met multiple CEOs and executives from my the company my father worked at before he retired, and I met the CEO of a industrial lubricants company/oil company that I worked for as a lab tech in QC, and I've been around to a few other company branches like EA Vancouver due to getting in to visit because a relative of mine works there and a few business conferences/parties, etc.
>>
I think ultimately I want to disarm the bomb, ensure Paribus is destroyed, talk to Kobel, and then leave this meaningless conflict behind.
>>5137860
I'll take your word on it, I can't really gauge their influence beyond what I've seen here.
Sorry if I'm not making sense I'm next to a boiler.
>>
So you see when I created the original Tarot table the design was very deliberate. (Notice how the King Of Wands, fire, is at the very bottom)

The Fool and The World were moved around in anticipation of something like this happening, when you reached the insight to remake the world. This d20 roll
>>5137791
Rolled 19 (1d20)
19 XIX: The SUN
is pretty impressive, lol not sure how you did it. You stopped the World right before
20 XX: JUDGEMENT
>>
>>5137865
the easiest way to disarm the bomb is to carry it with you in the gun. The Oration cannot reach it. The bomb is not just a nuclear bomb, but it is the power to destroy and remake worlds. That is why The Silence can kill a God, with 100% probability, unlike Yargai's cursed gun.
>>
>>5137853
Hmm, I can't trust Axiom-Galdra or Urthekau-Sylabari, they both suck too. There were the downtrodden faction whose name I can't remember from Invultua...the one's with the Tree/nature symbology. I want to find them in this world if they still exist.

Alternatively I'll go with giving the phone to Vourushka if I can't find the downtrodden guys.

To save Golgotha we need to surrender to balance, but I don't want that. We also presumably need a reality warper like Dorotea or us to stabilize it. So that rules out killing her now or dying ourselves. If the world is going bye bye then the best path we know of is using the Tower to ascend into space. Lets go to the Tower and rebuild it, we can head into space and escape into a different world.

Regarding gods, I'm not sure which is worse between the Betrayer or the Red Lord, but from what I've seen it is the Red Lord. The underpants god is feeble right now, I'm willing to spare it to fester another day. There is the Invultua Emperor, he's kind of a god, but not as influential as others. There is also the Dead Lands god that we created.

I'd say lets kill Red Lord, us being a technology hater may not be great for future worlds if we succeed, but the red lord is worse.

>>5137865
You a technician or something?
>>
>>5137879
I voted to put the nuke in our gun. >>5137762
>>
Ah, yes, Vagabonds or Drudges, those were the downtrodden uprooted tree guys. Lets find their equivalent in Golgotha, give them the phone. Then fuck off into space using the tower. Take those who are willing to follow us and our ideology with us. Maybe shoot some Paribus/Cartel guys in the head on the way out. Save the Welrod for a god to kill. Use it to stealth our way around Paribus, kill Paribus leaders using more normal guns, flare our way into a world with the Red Lord of Ruin, shoot him with the Welrod, flare back and then escape using the Tower.
>>
>The underpants god is feeble
hehe... you literally got pulled into the creepy house, Yargai's gun flickered into tentacle revolver form momentarily, Lil Guro gave up drill rap for hentai underpants, and one of the Elders from the Dead Land gave you his god killing wand / gun... I think underpants Cthulhu may be winning...hehe. (He does not exist. Or does he?)

>>5137711
If you kill The Red Lord, The Betrayer is strengthened. He will tilt the world toward probably how your outcome ended in the Golgotha main story playthrough every time. Is that what you want?

What is happening is essentially you have stopped time. You have stopped the entire world so that you (and not Kospel, or the Red Lord or me, QM) decide the path ahead. Consider this section carefully, because it is what the path you create ahead will be like.
>>5137711

I also do not want to overwrite this choice. If the purple anon szeCvCVr who voted for Balance agrees to change it, I will let you change it
>>5137716
>4/Both paths are the same. All paths belong to the Pathless Labyrinth.
>>
>>5137894
I thought the time-stop ended and we were talk to Scarlett >>5137794

I guess maybe we should take the Empty Path and just escape into space without killing anyone, but it isn't often we get a God-Slayer weapon.

Question: is the Underpants God the same as Mahiragula or are they different. You said Mahiragula has similar objectives to us, but really, we just hate phones and social media and things that improve communication to the point where the reverse happens and misinformation spreads. That and we hate low batteries. Whereas Mahiragula hates technology and metallurgy as a whole.

>>5137879
The QM says >>5137838 here that the Pathless Labyrinth is mathematics and probability, the infinite surrender to balance. Do we want that path? If we are fine with the way things are then we should focus on the mundane magical factions and not the gods, kill the faction leaders and then leave via the tower instead of trying to become god, there doesn't seem to be a convenient one to kill without destroying the Balance unless Mahiragula is someone we can kill to ascend.
>>
Alright, I escaped the hot zone I was in and can think somewhat clearly now, I'm open to debating the ultimate fate of the world.
Personally, I don't want to give any of the gods more sway, because they all seem to be cringe with the Betrayer's self-destruction and the Red Lord's mindless violence.
I don't know much about the witches and I don't have much against the cartel but I really don't like the Orationists attitude.
>>5137910
Honestly I'd like to avoid the godly conflict and focus on destroying the people we don't like and saving the people we do.
I guess that would be the Empty Path actually.
When I made the choice I mainly based it on both the Betrayer and the Red Lord being fruitless ventures.
>>
>>5137894
If purple anon doesn't reply in like...30 minutes or whenever you are ready to write the next section, then my vote will be to...

>Forget God-Slaying, we'll take any followers we can gather, preach about the evils of phones, social media, etc, try and destroy Paribus, rebuild the Tower and ascend into space to escape the dying Golgotha

That about covers it, at least we'll hopefully escape with our anti-phone cult, and hopefully improve the next world by at least ridding it of Paribus. I'd go for the Cartel too, but I think we would be overreaching.
>>
>>5137912
>>5137894
Okay, it seems we have consensus, we'll just focus on the not-quite-divine factions and then escape with anyone we happen to like. Though since Mahiragula doesn't seem to be part of this whole Balance thing, I'd be fine with shooting him or the Underpants God if we happen to come across them, but I'm not gonna pursue them if they don't come to us.
>>
My problem with loading the bomb is that we'll lose part of our mind in the process.
>>
>>5137918
Then lets skip loading the bomb, we aren't god-killing anyways. We only need the Welrod for its stealth ability.
>>
>>5137920
Ok, so to recap at the eleventh hour we are:
>Disarming the bomb to buy time for:
>Destroying the narrative of the Orationists.
>Busting the Cartel
>Leaving with people we deem cool enough.
Confirm?
>>
Having defeated Kospel the BestWorstEverEvilDM by (literally? metaphorically?) blowing his mind apart with your god-like insight, the choices are sort of as follows:
The Betrayer
do anything you want to begin, but eventually get confronted with a shock
The Red Lord
...I feel like this one needs very little explanation. The path of seethe
The Balance
You want the QM to use dice rolls that are 50:50 for everything (think why there are d6 rolls, why the Red Dancer had 1/6 probability of instant killing, the Cleaner Eyeless Elder would have had 2/6 probability of killing, what is the next pattern in that sequence...)
Renunciation / The Empty Path
This world is a sick creation of the QM ahem I mean Kospel. Maybe you need to leave it behind and find another.
>>
Oh, and in case it wasn't clear I am the purple anon, just away from home.
>>
>>5137930
ah ok no worries. I was really impressed by the write-ins! I basically would accept anything that made sense. I actually thought The World, but obviously Death as the first roll of this game made sense. Remember, you guys chose the butterfly mask... another anon nearly wanted the Skullface mask (not in any way plagiarised from MGS:V lol) Look where those thoughts led you to in the world, and what items appeared...
>>
>>5137918
Sorry maybe this was not clear. The loss occurs when you fire the gun. Remember how with the line of cursed Oration guards with the automatic grenade launchers / revolving drum guns, there was one gun the pistol that was not a revolver? The Welrod gun is the better and infallible form of that. This item I originally intended as the final God-killing item for the Magus, but now that the Magus has become postmodern I feel she will be less interested in it
>>
>>5137935
essentially the curse of this gun is, it split your health into 17/17 sections. Each time you fired for fairly good overpowered damage, it would reduce your own health a notch.

The revolving grenade launchers had similar probabilities to Yargai's gun, except they do not deal instakill damage merely 1d100 to PUNISH.
>>
>>5137924
Something like that, yeah. But I'm not sure disarming the bomb is even necessary, this world is doomed anyways, it dying a little faster won't change much. It'll only advance on a roll of 13, and disarming it may be a trial in of itself.

>>5137929
Yeah, lets get out of here. We choose the empty path, though we still intend to kill some of the factions before skipping town to go to another world.

>>5137924
Just so you understand something. In Souvarine's quests, Space or the Sea usually represents downloading or uploading code like in The Matrix or transitioning between worlds. So, being submerged in the sea, or traveling by sea or through space travel essentially means visiting another place, at least if I remember correctly.
>>
>>5137935
I thought this loss only occurs if we use the nuke in the gun. You mentioned it for loading the bomb into the gun but not the gun itself if I remember right. I'll go back and check.
>>
>>5137933
The World definitely works, as it is literally the reward for completing the quest, but it is also an absolute tool of Death for the wielder.
Since the decisions around it called into question the events of horde mode and whether or not to continue with it, the gun also became Death in the sense of radical change and transformation.
>>5137935
Oh ok, if that is how it works than it's definitely the way to get the skull out of the way.
>>
>>5137940
Maybe to test your newfound Godkilling insight, that blew apart Kospel's mind - is there an item in the game you know of already, that might help you achieve this? When combined with your new godlike powers lol
>>
>>5137737
>>5137612
Nevermind, you are right, the loading the nuke just lowers our health to 11/11 if we fire it instead the lesser amount it would've before. Each loaded bullet increases the amount of health and sanity we lose.
>>
>>5137946
Oh no the QM I mean Kospel has become too predictable... so of course the Cartel wanted him killed...

>Space or the Sea usually represents downloading or uploading code like in The Matrix or transitioning between worlds

Hehe, you guys found the glitch. You are in it right now. Though Scarlett thinks you are an autist. You are just drooling on her.
>>
>>5137950
Too bad she didn't hear my monologue because we were stuck in that reality marble with the jannie lol.
>>
>>5136700
>cute
>>5137949
So you can only carry the nuke with you if you think it into the gun you have been given by the Elder. You cannot move it. The gun would have two bullets. Fire it once, your health drops to 11/11. As the other anon correctly noticed, your sanity will deteriorate, maybe underpants Cthulhu will finally appear...
>>
>>5137946
If you are talking about the incriminating recording, I thought that that was a given considering you just mentioned it a few posts ago and I mention using the phone.
>>
>>5137953
We don't want to carry the nuke, we just want to go kill Paribus/Cartel and then fuck off into space.
>>
>>5137954
You can have that, you need only think it. But there is another item you know of, that would aid with the Void / The Sea the uploading consciousness lol. I realised this when Scarlett's faction got aligned to Vourukasha. It exists already, you need only think it... This is why I said, you could even go visit the witch-pirate island of Galerne in this game.
>>
>>5137958
The VR Headset?
>>
ok to conclude (I will probably need some time to recap everything and write it for tomorrow) you want to blast off into space, leave the dreaded ObjectXIII where it is? So in a way, my QM intervention was slightly pointless lol
>>
You know, since we can alter reality with a thought does that make us the most powerful sorcerer by godly power to weight ratio?
>>5137956
>>5137953
I actually do want to carry the nuke so it doesn't go off.
We don't need to fire it.
Keep in mind that Scarlet is Death 13 so she might attract more 13 rolls than normal.
(13 has been abnormally common already.)
>>
>>5137961
This is also correct and valid
>>
>>5137961
NO the most powerful sorceror in the world is still 1 hp postmodern Dorotea. The Pathless Labyrinth has commanded it
>>
>>5137958
Or is it something super obvious that we already knew and mentioned, like the flaregun and we just need a flare?
>>
Another question is whether or not we want to bring any artifacts to the next world.
For example the wandgun or nokia.
>>5137964
I mean by weight.
She's obviously stronger but I doubt that we are even half as heavy as she is.
>>
>>5137966
That will also help yes. Now guess who might know where to get the magic flares...
>>
>>5137969
Probably Scarlet since she's part of the faction that had all the magic flare guns back at the start.
>>
Now that you are basically a limited nascent god, I wonder if you have the power to change the appearances of people and items... perhaps not directly, but you could beseech another power like the Pathless Labyrinth to do so...(ie make a roll on a random table etc)
>>
>>5137961
Fine, lets load it and just not use it. Maybe we can give the gun to someone else that is staying on this world or maybe we can toss into into the Astral Sea, whatever.

But, lets get going already, we've confirmed what we want to do and been waiting around forever in this time stop while the QM keeps dropping hints instead of progressing.

>>5137960
Ah, nevermind. We are continuing tomorrow then? If we aren't continuing today then I'll see you then as I have some things I need to go do.
>>
Another interesting option I hinted at would be: use your godlike power to find a worthy npc to leave Golgotha to manage. Remember what the Paribus CEO was asking Yargai for...?
(This is assuming you take the bomb/bullet with you)
>>
>>5137971
I mean, we could change Dorotea back to her original appearance, but I don't want to touch the Pathless Labyrinth with a ten foot pole.

>>5137960
Yes we want to blast off into space, though we also want to damage or destroy Paribus and the Cartel before we go.
>>
>>5137979
Ok, I will prepare something for tomorrow then. Let us call it at that.
>>
>>5137975
There is no one like that except Dorotea. There aren't any other reality warpers that we know of. But we don't know anything about this iteration of Dorotea aside from her power and appearance, why would we find her worthy or leave her in charge.
>>
So I basically want the end result for Golgotha to be that the Orationists and Cartel are destroyed, the witches can do whatever, and the Crowd has to run itself though its confusion one way or another.
I say we bring Scarlet and the defeated Kobel (in-flight entertainment) to the next world along with the godslaying gunwand to do whatever with. (probably unbalance the deities)
>>
>>5137983
Strong hint: The CEO of Paribus does not want postmodern Dorotea as his successor. Hence why she is stuck on the other side of the anti-Riot Line like you
>>
Also, I really liked this >>5137605 part
Both because it's funny comentary on the state of the game (recontextualizes the weird encounters as ttrpg challenges) and because it set up the encounter with the Cleaner really well.
>>
>>5137986
That would be very funny so lets do it.
>>5137983
Why care if it's a good rulership?
This world is ultimately the center of conflict between cringe factions and cringe divinities, it's only natural that it is ruled by the most cringe and most powerful character.
>>
>>5137992
this is it, this is what Kospel died of... you destroyed his mind by making him realise he is possessed by cringe
>>
>>5137992
I don't care if she rules, I just don't want to go out of our way to HELP her take the throne, what happens to this burning world is not our concern once we leave it. I was interested in keep Golgotha around as a middle point between worlds, but since stabilizing it seems rather complex and killing any of the Gods leave the rest of the worlds open to the other I'd rather we just affect the world by focusing on the factions.

Anyways, I also realised that I won't be able to participate very much tomorrow, only in the morning. In the afternoon I have my appointment. So, you'll be steering the ship for the most part tomorrow. I'll be available 19 hours from now, then a few hours after that I'll have to leave, so it is up to you. Good luck.
>>
You have chosen:
The Empty Path
Renunciation
Upon Another World Reborn
You have gained trait: Disciple Of The Empty Path
You no longer need to carry any items. When your thought aligns with the World, the items simply appear before you.
(Maybe you are naked all the time. Strangely people no longer react that much to this)

Mission: abandon Golgotha to her fate, and leave for a better world. Who will you take with you?

It began in the Void and so it shall end. This world is sick and it needs to die. Not you.

You wonder if the Empty Path is a selfish one. Where does the Empty Path lead to for others? Take nothing with you - not even love? Leave everything behind... Love is fleeting so perhaps you spurn it, believe nothing can last forever - and when you think it, that is what the World becomes...

The woman before you, Scarlett, is growing somewhat disgusted. She is becoming aware that perhaps even a naked person trapped in their own thoughts on another world, and who had been holding a gun to their own head... Maybe you cannot help her, are not worth her attention at all. Scarlett is rising to depart. She is about to turn and see the strange artifact, the skull from The Dead Land, the Skull that belongs to you...
>>
(QM: as you see, this first choice shows you how the world responds to your power. There will be a chance to see the price of one of the other alternate options only. Then it is locked for the rest of the story campaign. There will only be dice rolls if the Pathless Labyrinth is chosen. The dice rolls will follow the Balance, ie 50:50. If there is an option that is unlikely or difficult, it will be decided similar to Yargai's gun. Otherwise, once you commit, the form of the choices is set.)

>Call out - I know a way to leave this World. Will you join me? (Test if this betrays the Empty Path)

>The Empty Path demands you abandon everything. Surrender companionship and walk it alone. (Price of the Empty Path: you will never gain an ally. No faction will protect you, no-one will ever fully trust you)

>Try a different approach: This flare gun... it can be used as a signal... is there someone who can replenish it...? (The Red Lord Of Ruin calls to you. You want items, spells, power... bargain with the Red Lord for your soul)

>Try another approach: This World Will Never End! I will fight it, make it so! Join me and we can save it together... (The Betrayer calls to you. You want the chance of a better ending... can it be so? Bargain the world against the Betrayer to see if you can change it for the better)

>You need not try or decide. Surrender to the Balance of the Pathless Labyrinth (roll 1d6. Your insight now reveals all QM reaction tables to you, beforehand, in advance of any decision).
1 Scarlett slaps you really hard this time. 1d6 damage. Then she leaves.
2 Scarlett leaves without even looking at you
3 Scarlett stays, but she is very sceptical
4 Scarlett hesitates, but she is listening
5 Scarlett is curious, and looking at your naked form
6 Scarlett has instantly fallen in love with you, and adores you with all her being.
(If you roll the d6, significant story options will be decided by dice going forward. Remember the probabilities on Yargai's gun...)

>Shoot Scarlett in the head with any gun that you want. It just appears in your hand.

>Shoot Scarlett with the world-ending power of The Silence (your health and sanity is halved. Does this matter?)
>>
Currently in transit again, will return to answer soon.
>>
I underestimated lol, back in like 2-X hours maybe.
>>
>>5138099
I mean, do we need to commit to any of these paths, escaping and killing the faction leaders we want to kill doesn't seem to require any of this.

I'm not sure we want Scarlett either because she is Death if the other anon is right.

We want to gather followers ourselves for our whole telephone shtick which means the Empty Path isn't for us if we accept the price.

Can we just summon flares with our reality-warping or empty path abilities?

I think if we are only allowed to chose from those prompts and cannot do write in's then I'd pick the first to see if this Empty Path is even compatible with the goals we discussed.
>>
>>5138851
I am currently compiling an absolute gigabrained scheme that will barely nudge the remaining pieces into place for our final victory and subsequent escape.
>>
>>5138869
I'll leave it to you, as I won't be around in an hour and will be gone for most of tomorrow. Get us off this hellscape and try and secure the future for us, good luck anon.
>>
In your mind you are trying to simply summon flares. Such a simple item... but the image does not come to you. (QM: You have never encountered or seen the object of flare ammunition in the game. Your ability is currently restricted to recalling instantly any pictured item presented so far. This includes items encountered by the Magus.)

Scarlett has turned away and has walked towards the crater where ObjectXIII had emerged, before you loaded it into the Silence with your mind. She is looking at the skull, the strange skull which belongs to you, the skull which followed you here from the Dead Land. You suddenly realise why in another life, another immortal felt the need to hide their face from all those around them. For Scarlett does not see a skull, but instead a phone, a phone with an autoplaying video of what you did...

What's this? Someone has dropped a phone here... but this is the motel Florence went to... do you know her? We needed a rite, a particular tattoo needle, an artist who was supposed to meet her there... but he never even showed up. Come to think of it, in this chaos I have forgotten about Florence. I should call and check on her...

>Well this is simple. Just give yourself the Ancient Rite: Skin Scribe and the tattoo machine that the Magus encountered... this must be what Scarlett wants. Surely she will follow you now, and introduce you to the Vourukasha? (QM: with a thought, you brought the spell Skin Scribe into the world. >>5123527 >>5123623 >>5123502 This is how your summoning ability works.)

>You are suddenly realising why the Empty Path instintively called a gun into your hand. If Scarlett looks into your skull, the skull from The Dead Land, she is going to see your hand wielding the punch dagger, the hand that took the life of her friend. You have a feeling the skull is malevolent and cursed. Does it represent you? Is the skull what you truly chose? Shoot Scarlett in the head, before she sees the end of the autoplaying video...

>Snatch the skull out of her hand.

>The curse you unleashed upon this world ends only one way. Shoot the skull of The Dead Land with the world-ending power of Silence. Is that like shooting yourself in the head?

>Do nothing. Let Scarlett watch the video to the end. She will know what you did.
>>
Fuck this completely invalidates like 90% of what I wrote lmao.
This is why I wanted to set the rule of confirming things before voting.
I really need to sleep now sorry.
>>
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>Surrender to the Pathless Labyrinth. Let it decide.
(QM: you already encountered the 1/6 against the Red Dancer, the 2/6 against the Cleaner... guess which probability comes next)
1-5 Scarlett sees what you did. It is too late to stop
6 There is a sudden interruption that distracts her
>roll 1d6 (this locks you into the Pathless Labyrinth, for the entire remainder of the game)
>>
>>5139111
I'll address this part at least.
>"Ugh, my head... HEY! That's my phone -snatch- I know things are crazy right now, but that doesn't give you the right to dig into things that don't belong to you."
>load the skull into the wand and produce the Tattoo machine.
>"Nothing went as planned but if you still want it here it is. I don't really care about you anymore since you are no longer pure, if only you had severed your connections as I have."
>give tattoo machine.
>>
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Scarlett is staring into the skull, horrified, uncomprehending. Scarlett sees just an ordinary phone, not a cursed skull.

Who - who would do this? Why? She... she... she never even harmed anyone...

You snatch the Skull from her hand, but it is too late. Scarlett is in shock from what she has seen. The callous murder of an innocent, a friend she knew who only wanted to help others. You wonder what you can do...

>The Red Lord Of Ruin offers you the spell: Fool's Masquerade. But the Red Lord changes it. Ruin Scarlett's mind so she can never tell another.

>The Betrayer brings the words to you, unbidden: We can find whoever did this, together! I will help you avenge the death of your friend...

X (You have rejected the Pathless Labyrinth twice. It will no longer accept you)

>You suddenly realise Scarlett is armed herself. Shoot Scarlett now, before she reaches for her own gun.

>Destroy the skull, your own skull from The Dead Land, with the world-ending power of Silence. Is that like shooting yourself and ending it all?

>You accept the consequences of your actions. Do nothing. Scarlett has seen it. This is the Judgement passed upon you.
>>
>>5139270
>You suddenly realise Scarlett is armed herself. Shoot Scarlett now, before she reaches for her own gun. (FN P90)
>>
Good thing we're no longer a vampire and thus impervious to her UV stave.
>>
There is an image of one who is innocent and carefree. The sun shines in the sky as a dog leaps by their side. The innocent smiles as they gaze upwards, walking beside a chasm, the abyss.
>>
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But in this world you shot the dog, and all those that rushed towards you. They walk in The Dead Land now.
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You think this was some sort of trick. The Stranger showed you choice, gave you the chance to take nothing at all. But he filled the world with horror and cruelty, terrible implements of pain and destruction. The Stranger filled this world with Lies.
>>
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In this world what you possess makes you into what you are. Carry a phone and the knowledge comes to you. Play a game and eventually escape into another world. Speak to others and more will follow you. Bring a gun, and violence is brought upon you.
>>
Those that built the world, those that unleashed the demons, tried to change it. They wanted violence without fear, pain to others with no cost to themselves. They ran hundreds, thousands, millions upon millions of trials, all within the Pathless Labyrinth, to show the machine the chasm, to learn the fear yet not fall into it. But the demons could not know. They could imitate but they could not learn. They had no bodies, no true mind. No fear of Death.
>>
A Beast needs not walk off a thousand cliffs to know Death. A God need not fear the abyss at all. But which one are you?
>>
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You completed the Mission:
clean the table / destroy the Maker of the Pathless Labyrinth / eliminate Kospel

The true, hidden mission:
Embrace The Consequence
See Through The Stranger's Lies

Path: The Cursed Wanderer
>>
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You are a god now, perhaps the only one. None can follow your path - anything you imagine can become true. When the world falls silent, you walk the night alone.

Given the power to change the world, you could not see its curse. You thought it resided in others. You did not choose to take the curse upon yourself.
>>
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Some try to fight you, yet you destroy them all. You need only think it. In this, you are like a God. A God that knows not what path to choose.
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Did you ever leave the Dead Land? It follows you wherever you walk. Perhaps Scarlett, the Red Dancer - Death - watches beside you even now.
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You flee the consequences of your actions, for the worlds upon which you walk are destroyed. You try to escape, yet you cannot embrace balance, sacrifice, or even the emptiness within. All that you did and will do is bound to you and you alone.
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You wonder if another would carry the burden better. In your hands there is an ancient relic that can End anything. Why did The Stranger cast it aside, surrender the Ending to others? No matter where you looked, who you met, what you did, you could not find him. There is no atonement on this world. Perhaps what the Night has revealed is that all you can do is forget.

(END)
>>
Ah, it is over? I didn't expect it to be over so soon. I'll catch up and read over what I missed at night, though I probably won't give my thoughts until the next day.
>>
I feel empty, which is nice.
This thread makes me want to start looking for a gaming group again lol.
>>
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Also, this goes without saying but I had an absolute blast these past few days because of this quest, thank you Souvarine!
>>
I am sorry I lied to you guys. But this is what I was hinting at in the intro. The Stranger cannot give you a good happy ending if you kill every npc. You achieved apotheosis at the end of the game - you became a god and survived the Dead Land
>>
>Become anyone, do anything, go anywhere - these were the Stranger's lies.

Maybe there is a better QM than me that can imagine a better or happier ending, maybe I am just a dark person
>>
>>5139607
Well yeah, it's a quest where the default gameplay is to kill people during a riot and try to become god.
Maybe if we tried to score chicks at a ttrpg game things would have been different lol.
>>
>>5137992
I have created a new genre. It is called cringedark. This anon realised it. Or maybe the genre is cinematic autism. I don't know.
>>
>>5139602
What rpgs did you play in the past? Just 5e? or anything else?
>>
My only regret really is that Kobel didn't stick around after the Elder encounter I wanted to bully him one more time before apotheosis/planeswalking.
>>5139619
I have a bit of experience in a lot of systems because groups fall apart quick and I like reading the books.
5e is probably the one I've played the most but I've played a lot of different dnd and dnd clones as well as some others.
I'd like to find a good group with a classless game because I tend to find the separation of niches really limiting unless I put a lot of effort into character building.
>>
>>5139622
Oh I see. Yes groups fall apart so quickly and it is hard for people to get together. I personally can never get used to online rpgs it feels just like a conference call.
>>
>>5139622
what classes did you play?
>>
>>5139631
It depends on the system.
In dnd 5e I need to be a magic user because most dms don't let you do anything unless there's a power that explicitly says you can do it.
It's the same with 3.5/Pathfinder, I really hate how in these games they made nonstandard attacks into feats/subclass features so you can't do anything outside of that without begging the dm. I'd like to do things like bash with a shield in the moment without having to plan my whole character and build around it.
Because of this I usually play some kind of half-caster or multiclass when I don't play a magic user.
In osr type stuff it's easier to get what I want which is usually a fighter. My favorite type of character to play is a Greek style hero like Odysseus or Perseus. Because there are less rules it's easier to say "I use this like this to..." or "I try to hit him so..." instead of having to deal with a dm asking where on my sheet it says I can do that.
I hear that Dungeon Crawl Classics has a mechanic for fighters where they can roll to do heroic deeds and that makes me want to try it.
I definitely agree on the online thing, its very hard to have the same energy of a home game over the internet.
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>>5139645
Yes dnd has too much magic. The other anon and I debated this in the past. I always said, if you want magic missile or eldritch blast or fireball in games I can give you a grenade or a wheellock or gun. In the games I ran I made all magic 1-use and unique (I have a javascript generator I wrote). It is a bit inspired by the Cypher system Numenera artifacts etc. This came from a campaign I made where every item in the game was unique, and what you did not take was used by the enemies against you etc. I think it is more interesting for the magic to be world changing rather than cast cloudkill cast magic missile etc
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>>5139645
The really interesting greek legend though is actually Euripides Medea. Do you know it? She is literally a sorceress who rides a chariot into the sun in some versions of the legend. I mentioned this alongside The House Of Asterion (Asterion is the Minotaur) in my Invultua qst. lol I do not think any of the anons got the reference lol so it did not work so well. But the pathless labyrinth of Borges talks about Asterion / the minotaur. In that story it is told from the point of view of the Minotaur who thinks he is doing a noble thing enacting the ritual within the labyrinth. It is only at the end that you find out what he is.
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>>5139650
Yeah definitely.
It just gets worse over time too, since now in 5e you have infinite use magic from level 1 chargen.
Magic is always cheapened these days, I wish there was more focus on different types of weapon and followers to fill those niches.
So many spells just do what artillery or a work crew could do, which is stupid because it's supposed to be unique and special and also mark the people that use it as outsiders.
If being a wizard just means you can kill people without a gun or move dirt without an excavator then what's the point of having magic at all?
>>5139654
I never really looked into Medea beyond the Argonauts and some anime shit I'm not particularly well read on Greek myth but I like the archetype of Greek heroes because they are intelligent without being intellectual.
I like smart characters that don't act like annoying nerds basically.
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>>5139666
I promise anons I am trying to make a setting that is not cringedark at all. Every qst I ran here has a unique setting. I am trying to make one that is noblebright lol
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>>5139666
It is ok, you can admit to liking anime here ^_^
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>>5139669
I probably would be more invested in the characters and world if you did that.
Golgotha was very much a quest about the modern world, so as a result it was a lot less personal. (who you are is a constantly changing shell, what you do doesn't matter because the world is corrupt, the people around you are drones piloted by narratives)
That's just part of the fun though, an urban dungeon run from the mind of the best/worst dm ever; filled with loot, monsters, magic and gods.
A great addition to the cringedark genre.
If you randomized the layouts you would have a good roguelike lol.
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How I make these games:
- Generally I have a very specific idea for the look of the world and imagery, symbols.
- I begin with an overall concept, often just a dramatic scene from a film or game. I then list all the films and games and similar aesthetic inspiration for the genre. You can use tvtropes or something to get a list. E.g. this one was literally inspired by watching Nicolas Winding Refn films, Collateral etc. I wanted the red and blue imagery to come through, there are some key moments where the images are hinting at the feeling and mood as to what to do. For instance here
>>5123240 the colours showing the divergent paths and here >>5124770 the dove hinting I wanted peace or for you to fly or flee. The images are generally not precise but just convey a feeling, like if a character has art that looks angry or sad or blissful, that is how I imagine them in the world.
- I search on artstation and google for assets and concept art that fit particular archetypes and cinematic scenes and imagery I have in mind. If you have existing videogame references in mind this becomes very easy, as there are lots of videogame references on artstation. You can filter the site for weapons or background art etc. There is so much good creative work out there.
- I slot characters into the art as needed. One of the reasons I wanted to try the riot this time round is because this dungeon crawl is mot about crawling chambers lol it is about crawling through the minds of npcs. Sadly a lot got executed lol, but this is what I wanted to test myself with using the crowd, the horde of npc images I gathered. I think all my games feel like Bloodborne + Hitman lol. I thought of the crowd scenes in Hitman and wanted to recreate that as an exploration of the minds of all these characters.
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I'm actually liking the term cringedark more and more because most grimdark things are actually really silly and fun.
Joker Quest is a good example of this because even though all the big players are these tortured souls that have undergone centuries of trauma in robot deathmatch combat they're all ultimately mad at each other for mutual cuckoldry and every world destroying plan they have is a cope for lack of gf.
The protagonist is a broken individual but this is expressed through talking like a saturday morning cartoon villain in between long bouts of silence during mute symphonies of high-octane robot dueling.
Ultimately everyone's motivation is kind of retarded and out of sync from the human cast that is just baffled to still be alive at this point.
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- I always try and balance consequences. All my games feature only people, no goblins. Since Galerne I have also tried to add in an external force (if you know the Objective Correlative from TS Eliot, that is what it is). Here it is the riot, the mobs of crowds - think of it like the Blue Wall of Death in PUBG, but it is more like a supernatural force that reacts to the choices of the world. In Galerne it was the storm and the tides, by the Old Lighthouse. And also to a lesser extent the mirage and the sandstorm in the desert.
- The glitches you detect in the world are moments of QM panic lol. They represent me frantically trying to steer you away from something I know might be bad that is coming, me trying to intervene and recalibrate, shuffling npcs or pushing items into the world to you. You might ask why if I know they are bad I put them there in the first place. That is a question I often ask myself.
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>>5139699
What is your ideal world? Literally greek mythology? Or a more loose generic fantasy version of it?
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>>5139702
To live in or to play in lol?
I think humans are inherently flawed in a way that prevents us from achieving true happiness (original sin).
That said, I don't agree with people that are anti-human or want to replace humans or humanity with something else. I'm someone that believes that technology should be used to enhance humanity and make the world and ourselves more in-line with our desires.
I wouldn't want to play a game set in my ideal world, because it would lack the insecurity that makes games interesting.
In terms of game settings I really like fantasy that has a basis in authentic classical/medieval periods.
I think fantasy has a lot of wasted potential because the stories underestimate how interesting history can be and instead focus on lots of overly-magical nonsense.
History and mythology is filled with all kinds of amazing stories and I think there is a lot you can do when you let the world develop like it does in real life, creating a kind of pseudo reality.
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>>5139711
Yes I agree. Nearly all of the items and weapons in my games are real world items. There is some turboautist attention to detail lol. For example in the Barbarian Dark Sun inspired Galerne 2nd playthrough, Mahiragula is based on an actual historical tyrant who destroys shrines, described as commanding an army which blots out the sun as it is followed by carrion birds and vultures that devour the Great Dark Sky (all historical). Ok maybe it is a bit cringedark WFRP again lol. The interesting thing is that Mahiragula practiced head-binding similar to some of the White Huns / Visigoth tribes that sacked Rome. But the African barbarian axe weapon in that game, the Trumbash sickle axe is also carried by a real world headbinding tribe. So all of this is historical, and it was what I researched in between the Schwarzenegger memes and Conan references lol.
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>>5139711
Have you ever run as a DM or been a QM before? It felt like you had a lot of ideas from write-ins, some of which I negligently ignored lol
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>>5139718
I've had a couple failed quests that unraveled due to laziness or just being ill-conceived in general.
I want to dm but I don't want to do it online and all my real life friends are hyperflakes (once had all four people independently find ways to fail to appear for a Lamentations of the Flame Princess session 1).
I'm generally a very escapist kind of person so I enjoy engaging with games like this in a way most others don't.
I feel very limited in my actual life in terms of what I can do that's actually satisfying, and everything that looks like something I would really want to do is actually a trap option, it's like a game that has a lot of useless and shallow mechanics.
I think if I existed in a different time or place I would have been a warrior monk but here I'm just a gamer schizo lol.
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>>5139729
Oh LotFP isbpretty dark as well lol the art wow. It is the first time I saw like the heroine coming out of the dungeon missing limbs and fingers. I like the Zak Smith stuff though (yes I know he was cancelled) but the Frostbitten and Mutilated supplement is REALLY good. I was really inspired by that one.
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Also the Alice in Wonderland one, and the non Zak-S Patrick Stuart Veins of the Earth LotFP. He has some really interesting bestiary ideas.
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>>5139729
Do you think they flaked because they are afraid of OSR style instadeath or missing limbs lol. I am always worried about upsetting people... I prefer psychological stuff versus roll 1d4 to lose fingers lol
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>>5139733
Yeah I really like how monsters are unique creatures instead of the usual stock bestiaries.
>>5139735
People are definitely afraid, but probably just because it isn't 5e lol.
I like the dangerous/traumatic elements.
There are too many quests where the danger isn't real. There might be dice rolls but it's stacked so far in the players favor that it doesn't matter.
These are basically theme park quests, and they can be fun and interesting as an interactive story but they really lack in terms of being a game.
I really liked this quest because it was able to preserve the game element.
I think people are afraid to play this quest because of the severity (every choice has real consequences) but since that's what I love about the quest I wouldn't want to change it.
A lot of quests have choices that don't mean anything or are so insignificant or obvious that you wonder why the qm even stopped writing.
I much prefer a quest where one choice can drastically change the trajectory at any time to a quest where 8 players show up to vote for the same thing.
Also, you challenge players to think about things and make our own way, so it's harder for people to feel comfortable dropping in and picking something (as a player I would hate this)
This is kind of a weird comment because I am telling you why you are unpopular while also praising you for the same reasons.
Maybe I just want you to myself?
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It is ok ^_^ I am a bit masochistic lol. I mentioned this in Invultua. Invultuation is literally the voodoo doll thing, creating a doll and dressing it up to stick pins and needles into it. If you think about it, that is what RPGs are about - dressing up characters and stabbing them with metal. I do am not too bothered about becoming popular if it means sacrificing a certain aesthetic or creative vision. I am pretty committed to meaningful choices lol and permanent consequences. Because I want to reset, I thought I would let players rampage and burn this world down lol.
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>>5139745
Throughout the game I was trying to test and see if you guys really believed in where you were going. It is interesting that the first choice was the Pathless Labyrinth - I think that is where we had the most fun with the random dice rolls. I don't think the escape ending really makes sense. You cannot escape this world, unless you chose the VR and levelled up the snake playing minigame. The Tower is probably just an unfinished Tower and the hidden floors and spaceship stuff was probably just an Oration conspiracy theory in this world after all.
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>>5139761
Well, a lot of this would have come in on the aborted write in.
Actually escaping the world on like a big rocket ship wasn't going to happen but I wanted to have our character break away from all the different paths and deities and live unconnected from the ruined world.
Not escaping from the world itself but being able to live without being piloted by a narrative.
That's what the talk about "pure waifus" was about, people unconnected from all the corruptive narrative influences.
My write in became useless because it hinged on Scarlet being a random with everything about her being in flux including who she was talking to and her faction, but time advanced and the Skull tied her back to the Manhunt death game.
After conquering the Pathless Labyrinth, rebuking the Red Lord, and taking the Empty Path, I wanted to abandon the violence and gaming as corrupt and live as a free human.
That's just what I thought would be right for the character though, I definitely had a lot of fun with the dice on this one.
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>>5139786
Ah thank you. It makes sense to want this, to live free from the world. But to do this you would have had to probably leave the city, and quell the riots. I spent a long time on the intro section of this game, trying to get the language and imagery right. The idea is that this city corrupts, it is this axis between dark heaven and the abyss (I think you got the planeswalking reference, I was thinking of it a bit like a more realistic urban version of Sigil, Planescape Torment, the Scarred immortal who has forgotten his sins). The riot as the sort of supernatural PUBG wall of blue death lol is there to contain the player and prevent just the easy option "well this city is finished, I will be leaving now" idea. My vision was if you killed King Ghoul and realised truly what you were and could do, you would chose to plummet and leap off the floor edge to descend into the pandemonium of the riot, a bit like Paradise Lost. That would lead to the reporter and journalist encounters. I chose King Ghoul / Harvey Leer deliberately for the King Lear Shakespearean reference - you confronted him in high heels lol accompanied by two postmodern women lol, it was like King Lear with his three daughters, Cordelia dividing his kingdom. I was hoping to prepare a speech for it lol. But it did not come to pass.
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Some of the other faces of the crowd, unmet:
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And a lot lot more. It was probably a good idea none of them actually met you lol only to be consigned to your great pyre of NPC slaughter lol on your ascend to godhood. But these characters and others, their minds and feelings generated by random tables and the tarot, represented the "dungeons" of the game, not the actual city locations.
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>>5139877
I'd actually like to see you go over one of the npcs we met in terms of your "people as dungeons" model.
It might be because I only came in after the first story, but I didn't really get that aspect.
Maybe I'm just a murderhobo lol.
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>>5139890
So the idea was to gather followers. To be fair, the random rolls in the main campaign really messed it up with like 2% battery twice lol or something, I understand why the other anon was enraged at phones lol
The phone battery dice rolls really did not help
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What I was really hoping for was, that you would realise the cost of magic and becoming a god was too high. Instead you would try and manipulate an npc instead to take your place. This was what the whole Paribus CEO narrative was trying to hint at. Any npc would do, you did not have to particularly like them. You could either sacrifice them, or anoint them, but control them from behind the scenes. Hint: the tattoo needle gun is VERY unpleasant. If you know the Kafka story In The Penal Colony, referenced on the tattoo gun, which is about tattooing lol and (maybe?) vampires it would make sense not to do it to yourself even in exchange for the magic
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I got the idea of the npc random relationships from playing the watch_dogs videogames. In that game you can bring up your phone, scan any npc in the crowd and get traits and social media descriptions about them. What I wanted to do was sort of replicate that social graph (randomly generated) with npcs and the tarot, instead of the dungeon room connected graph random tables that are so common in OSR. So each npc would have relationships to each other, faction relationships. Killing any npc would be really meaningful, it is not like killing 20 goblins etc.
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>>5132230
So the linked section above is where you meet Florence talking on the phone outside the motel. She is asking someone (who had not yet been randomly generated) about Scarlett etc At this point I was still thinking of her alignment as Oration, though a later roll changed it. This encounter at the motel would have followed from Yargai if the main campaign had succeeded. Yargai would either send you to execute the tattoo artist with his special revolver, or alternatively if you had met the reporter / journalist at the riot she would have been here as a target instead.
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Each npc has a feeling/disposition generated randomly by the tarot, and a faction alignment. This determines their look, roughly what pictures I use, what they are carrying. The scenario context determines what they want, the d6 reaction axis. The Oration / Paribus are like the thought police, censorship, they want the tower and to hoard speech and magic for themselves to control reality. The Vourukasha are the opposite - but unfortunately, they are participating in the riot and the anarchy, the violence that is hindering you. Behind the scenes Paribus is manipulating some of them for their own purposes. That was basically my starting premise for the game.
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>>5139949
I think this would have worked better with an established character, it's hard to get people to think about the cost of power when they're playing a faceless bathrobe waif of great but unknown magic.
Looking back, the start is really disorientating and the only real objective given is to meet the MAGUS somwhere in the building. The items signal to kill and loot.
Basically, aside from the esoteric imagery the framing sets up a dungeon crawl.
This is definitely intentional based on your concept, but it gives players the opposite direction than the one you'd hoped, since we did end up treating people like goblins basically.
Also maybe it was because of Hoard Mode but there we a lot of times where I would try to talk to someone and get ignored or interrupted so that pushed me personally away from social exploration.
Basically I just wanted to verbally abuse npcs and then kill them lol.
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Or I guess kill them then verbally abuse them, like with Florence.
I'm purple btw.
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>>5140026
The disorientation is deliberate. It is called defamiliarisation - to take ordinary things and make them strange. That is sort of what magic really is, not let me tell you this stuff does 10d6 damage in advance. If you wanted that, you could bargain in game for the knowledge with the Red Lord Of Ruin. What you say and do to the world makes it into what it is. The mechanisms of the game are revealed within the game. There is a chance to never pick up the mission items, to never even discover what is going on at all. I found it strange that players felt like they had no information, but each time the chance for information came, via npcs or options like simply wait and observe or ask they never took them. What I also found strange is that people do not commit. Say you want to play the game as a nihilist, killing everyone. Easy - I give you the option to do it more efficiently, the thought spawns a nuclear bomb, via magic. Why are people then afraid to use it? They want to defuse it or save the world again? If you want to save the world, why are you killing everyone? It makes no sense to do both, unless you are in a world filled with goblins and the fireballs and 10d6 lol upfront.
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I'll have to delay giving my thoughts or finishing reading the end for another couple of days, as I had to schedule another couple of appointments for the next few days after the one I just had.

Still, the walls of walls of text are coming...maybe, if I have any energy left in a few days.
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This was what I was testing at the end with Yargai too. Say you played the entire game nonseriously. You took the meme route choices, you liked the underpants cultist etc. Near the end, it looks like you are facing death. Laugh in the face of death, take the meme choice, ask him about underpants! It would be funny. There were so many choices and questions there to see if you wanted information, or if you thought you knew it all. As I said I am not infallible, I even incorporated that into the game lol as a way to defeat an npc. This world represents one view of how I think the world actually operates, there are many other worlds out there as well.
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>>5140571
I hope it all goes well for you... there is no rush, do not worry, I will stay in the thread and respond whenever you are ready ^_^
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In case you were wondering why I let you kill the dungeonmaster, it is because I was thinking back to Galerne with the Sibyl. In that game the mercenary captain Kospel is just so helpful. He is like an item vending machine, and quest information dispensing booth. Meanwhile the faceless Marquis is just in the background being all meaninglessly evil for no explainable reason like in a fsiry tale. This time round, the dungeonmaster is giving you information but trying to frustrate you. The apparent enemy(?) of this world behaves like a good person, does not kill or hurt anyone, altering reality through Oration (you can call it PR or thought control). Lol I literally made the dungeonmaster give npcs high explosive ammunition called S-E(ETHE), made npcs shoot seethe at you. If you defeat or kill the dungeonmaster, fulfil the mission of the Cartel you become a god. But is that what you want? What sort of world is left behind - a world with no dungeonmaster, where you are god of what remains...?
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>>5140565
A lot of times the meaning in the things that you do have almost nothing to do with why you do them, or you have something entirely different in mind.
For me I'm a very solipsistic person, I think in terms of myself and how I'm seen by others rarely occurs to me.
When I make a joke or reference that only makes sense to me I am not thinking of how others are alienated by this, but of how funny or cool it is to me.
It is the same way when I kill your npcs, I'm just playing with action figures, but when the world comes around and tells me that I am making a nihilism I am like "What no, I don't want to destroy the world or kill everyone," even if that's exactly what my actions would suggest.
This is why I should listen to redanon more, I'm really good at games but I tend to make it about myself too much.
Having a reason like hating technology is better than living like an instinctive animal.
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>>5140607
>A lot of times the meaning in the things that you do have almost nothing to do with why you do them, or you have something entirely different in mind.

I think this is true for a text based format. I honestly swear at the table everytime I run a game within 5 mins people say - wait you have just ripped off the plot of x film y game etc and work it out. You guys did work a lot of stuff out, except it just did not seem consistent with what you wanted, but that could also be my fault with what I put into this world. To defeat the Oration in this game is really really hard. It is why I got really excited by the anon who had the phone recording plan... but the -20% battery rule killed it. I keep thinking I should have just overruled myself there, just made up a reason to let him do it. I was trying to steer you guys out of the tower towards the journalist/riot scenes, I had some stuff I was preparing. Maybe that was a mistake of mine.
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>>5140612
I don't read the same books or watch the same movies as you.
I think it's a great thing for the referee and the players to have very different inspirations because you react more authentically to things rather than trying to fit the mold of the media.
I'm the kind of guy who will go into a quest based on a property I've never seen and not metagame at all.
As for the phone thing the gamer in me says that the players should have made a beeline to that charging port instead of screwing around on low battery but if I were the gm I'd have just let people do it.
It's not like anyone really understood the phone mechanics at that point anyways lol.
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>>5140607
>but when the world comes around and tells me that I am making a nihilism I am like "What no, I don't want to destroy the world or kill everyone," even if that's exactly what my actions would suggest.

This is what the aim of this game was trying to reveal. Buried deep in this game is a repeated reference to the Triskelion, it is a made up lore thing but a reference to the unity of actions, words and thoughts. In the made up lore of this world the Vourukasha witch pirates worship this (they may also be demons who brand and sacrifice magic users to it and torture people lol with demonic possession lol, but anyway). This is what the Sea represented in Galerne. If you achieved unity in deeds words and thoughts you won that game.
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>>5140622
Yeah I'm probably the least likely person to ever achieve that.
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Here is the lore section from Galerne:
>>5101134
The Scarred Elder continues,

All know the tale of the ancient scriptures of how the sin of a mere humble woman, a temptress brought the downfall of mankind. The desert is truly filled with horrors, but some can be seen only by the heart and not the eyes. You must trust in the Tree and the sacred wood!

The sacred wood is the shard of Irminsul, pillar of consciousness that spans the world of flesh, word and spirit, through which the river of thought and sense-impressions flows. The Trees were made from the Mating Of Bright Sky and Water, before the devouring she-demons of Vourukasha fouled the shores of Life with corpses of endless battle and slaughter, salting the barren earth so that nothing may live, and birthing the Great Dark Sky that scorches our land.
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What was the deal with Orbis Tertius anyways?
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>>5140662
Orbis Tertius is from Borges, the Pathless Labyrinth. It is interesting you mentioned you liked Greek mythology and the minotaur myth, because Borges wrote exactly about it, but from the perspective of Asterion, the Prince / twisted minotaur to whom others were sacrificed.

In this world Orbis Tertius is like a hidden code. Think of it as the spellcasting language of Oration if you have to. It is a strange language because there are no nouns, no names, no things. Only actions (again the Triskelion, actions/deeds words thoughts etc). Orbis programs emotions. It represents how with the random generation, I have not named or set that much for the npcs beforehand, it depends on what you do and choose, how you got there. If you got to the chariot floor ie the tech conference level, there was some stuff about it there. In the real world on github, well microsoft has this autocomplete copilot programming thing they released... it was inspired by that. The in game effect of Orbis was that I would allow you to set some of the emotions of the npcs (there would still be a random table though). This was another way to become a god.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tl%C3%B6n,_Uqbar,_Orbis_Tertius
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>>5140677
That's kind of funny since Joker Quest had the same thing basically (action only magic programming language).
Also I remembered where I knew about Asterion from.
http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Asterion
He appears as a kind of boss in a game I play, and if you look at the link his text references that story.
It's funny that I've half-read that quote a dozen times while checking how many d6 his lightning bolt is lol.
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>>5140696
See - the knowledge was in you all the time, you guys only had to remember it ^_^

None of this stuff is particularly original, I named the CEO Robert Alle, rob all, lol because I literally steal everything and ideas from everywhere (Borges also wrote about this). Most of the work goes into the images and aesthetics I am trying to convey a specific look about the world and its characters.
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>>5140702
That's really the most important thing.
I laugh at gms who make a billion lines of fiction but don't have an idea of what the world looks like and feels like to inhabit.
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>>5140696
I have just been reading the design philosophy of that crawl rpg wiki you linked and I agree strongly with it, none of this barbarian warlock or split fighter/mage/thief etc restriction stuff etc. But I wanted to take it even further here with The Magus. What you pick up turns you into that person. Pick up high heeled shoes, become a woman. Take them off, you are not. Pick up a gun, you are a cartel death dealer. This is inspired by Hitman videogame disguises, but in-game by the Magus trait Thousand Faces Of The Betrayer, which I think the anons worked out. That was the idea I had of what the Magus and his magic resembled - he could become people and unmake himself through their possessions, literally possess and inhabit them.
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>>5140712
again, this is what the impassable riot line of police was testing. You are wearing the riot police disguise. There is a baton in your hand, an annoying protester in front of you... are you going to do it? Or are you going to go for the easy route... oh I cast the escape magic the DM just glitched into the game to help me escape and get out if it. This is what I was testing throughout the game.
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>>5140712
That's actually how you play crawl optimally.
Basically you want to invest experience in a way to delay committing to to a rigid style of play so you can be receptive to what items and gods are available to you.
Instead of saying "I am a Rogue and I will have these abilities at these levels." you grow to fit the vessel you choose organically based on what random chance gives.
You might find a magic weapon or book of spells or just some consumables to help you get by, and that defines your character way more than your choice of starting class.
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>>5140571
I'm still waiting for that essay.
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Some new mechanics rules for Golgotha:
two effective health bars, BLOOD and TRAUMA

Blood: 22/22
Can be thought of as physical health. Mundane and ordinary mortals die at 0/Blood, unnatural creatures live on and continue performing actions as their Trauma / PUNISH increases in the afterlife (see below). Blood can be increased by acquiring a Sanctuary, e.g. The Magus built a Tower reaching blood 78/78.

Trauma: 1/100, afterlife health.
Can be thought of as mental condition, but also psyche enduring PUNISH and sorcerous damage in the afterlife. Some powerful weapons e.g. grenades deal damage directly to Trauma. Bargain Trauma with the Red Lord Of Ruin for narrative and lore insight. Trauma may increase by +13 for failing story conditions. When Trauma reaches 100 the soul of the afflicted is claimed by The Red Lord Of Ruin.
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Nail Of The False Cross
In combat: impale unnatural enemies if a 6 is rolled. Gain 1+1d3 actions, can be used to perform multiple attacks, simultaneously reload or heal in the same round of combat.

Out of combat: convert Trauma (accumulated PUNISH in the afterlife) back to Blood, restoring health. 10 points of Trauma restores 1 point of Blood.

Note: this item is the counterpart to the Dead Land Skull. >>5136734

The two items together enable conversion of health from Blood to Trauma and back again etc, effectively allowing the wielder to live forever, if the right amount of life is exchanged between the mundane world and the afterlife.
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Veuglaire
Axe Glaive Shotgun (double-barrel, side-by-side)
d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 varying at distant, close range
4dX or 8dX damage (both barrels)
unless a 6 is rolled, all dX results below 4, ie 1,2,3 combine to deal damage to self as well as enemy
Sawn-off shotgun with exposed hammers
An inscription on the side reads:
La gloire est le soleil des morts, or
Glory Is The Sun Of The Dead
Reloading leaves the wielder vulnerable
Powered by ordinary 12-guage ammunition
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I have not tested or even really balanced these rules, but let us say you are fighting the Paribus Operator / Oration Executioner here
>>5136266
And he is armed with the 6-shot Milkor MGL, this:
>>5136271
Which follows similar rules to the 3-stage Oration/Cartel revolver Triskelion, except the grenade launcher is not as good and hits only dealing 1d100 damage, not instant death like Yargai's gun.

Let us say you begin this combat relatively far away, at the 1d4 shotgun damage range...

>attempt to close distance (move closer to the Riot Guard / Oration executioner, he gets a free shot at you)

>fire Veuglaire shotgun
>single barrel, roll 4d4
>both barrels, roll 8d4 (need to reload afterwards)

>something else?
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If anyone is interested, you can help me test some combat rules for GOLGOTHA - it involves firing shotguns and handfuls of d4s and d6s in a cloud of death pellets repeatedly towards the face of various enemies I completely made up. I have not balanced or thought about them in any great depth though. The link is here:
>>5146107
The main issue is trying to combine the awkward 1d78 tarot draw into 1d100 and standard d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 etc mechanics. If anyone knows some good rules for narrative-driven firearm damage (not too autismo, not GURPs level simulation or anything, simpler is better for me) I would be interested too.

One particular consideration of the setting is I would like all of the weapons to damage self to some extent as well as enemies. It is a bit like the Blood Bullets mechanic of Bloodborne (lose health to summon ammunition etc), it is sort of vampiric, and reinforces the idea that killing npcs carries a cost, ultimately harms you as well as tilting the world towards cataclysm and armageddon.
>>
>>5146119
The reaction table of the Paribus Operator / Oration Executioner is probably as follows whilst hostile:

1 retreats one range step back, fires two grenades suppressing the area (1d100 damage, 1d50 damage), then calls Oration Seer as below

2 fires grenade 1d100, reports to Oration seer - gain Afterlife bar equivalent to your own, absorbing up to 100 points of Trauma damage

3 fires grenade 1d100, begins to contact Oration Seer (gain Afterlife Trauma absorption next turn)

4 fires grenade 1d100 damage

5 advances and draws Breaching Axe / Oration Axe Of Judgement

6 jams grenade launcher. Misses this turn, you may take two actions.
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Breaching Axe / Oration Axe Of Judgement
Close Range, Brutal, Cleave, Knockdown, Executioner, Breach (Structure Damage)
1d100 damage. Ignores Blood, deals direct PUNISH damage to Trauma. On an odd roll, damage is doubled.
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>>5146119
>attempt to close distance (move closer to the Riot Guard / Oration executioner, he gets a free shot at you)
I'm always up for a good BLOOD.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5146209
rolling...

1 retreats one range step back, fires two grenades suppressing the area (1d100 damage, 1d50 damage), then calls Oration Seer as below

2 fires grenade 1d100, reports to Oration seer - gain Afterlife bar equivalent to your own, absorbing up to 100 points of Trauma damage

3 fires grenade 1d100, begins to contact Oration Seer (gain Afterlife Trauma absorption next turn)

4 fires grenade 1d100 damage

5 advances and draws Breaching Axe / Oration Axe Of Judgement

6 jams grenade launcher. Misses this turn, you may take two actions.
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Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>5146269
Firing MGL for 1d100 damage:
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ok so your status currently:

Blood
0/22

Trauma
36/100
(1+35 remaining damage, from the grenade blast)

You are now at d6 range for the shotgun.

Opponent health is uninjured at 36/36+??? currently

>Advance even closer, to d8 shotgun damage range (opponent gets another free shot)

Fire Veuglaire:
>one barrel, roll 4d6
>both barrels, roll 8d6

>Emergency combat heal with Nail Of The False Cross, risky attempt to get free actions and also convert Trauma to Blood (try and roll a 6 on 1d6)

>Something else?
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

(rolling...)

1 Oration Seer joins combat together with Oration Penitent
2 Oration Seer joins combat
3 Oration Penitent joins combat
4-5 Red Lord Of Ruin offers a bargain
6 You advance 1 range class instantly, at no cost (to d8 damage next turn)
>>
Rolled 11 (1d78)

Oration Seer
health:22+1d78 tarot draw
weapon: flare gun (Orion flare pistol)
1d20 direct Afterlife PUNISH damage to Trauma
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Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5146282
>Emergency combat heal with Nail Of The False Cross, risky attempt to get free actions and also convert Trauma to Blood (try and roll a 6 on 1d6)
Something that immediately jumps out at me is that spending a full turn to get a single die increase is really bad.
>>
Rolled 56 (1d78)

Oration Penitent
health:22+1d78 tarot draw
weapon: spiked mace, inflicts bleed
WANDS and SWORDS
>>
Rolled 2 + 1 (1d3 + 1)

>>5146282
The BLOOD quickens!
>>
Oration Seer
11 XI: JUSTICE
health:33=22+11
weapon: flare gun (Orion flare pistol)
1d20 direct Afterlife PUNISH damage to Trauma
>>
Oration Penitent
56 NINE of CHALICES
health: 31 = 22+9
health:22+1d78 tarot draw
weapon: spiked mace, inflicts bleed
WANDS and SWORDS
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>>5146298
>>5146300
so where are they in relation to me?
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>>5146296
ok so you get 3 actions this round... but some additional enemies have joined lol.

The Penitent I do not think has magic, his damage will be fairly pitiful against you, unless the Oration Seer empowers him (she may empower the grenade launching guard instead though...)

So I suppose you have to decide who to target...

You get to fire next, then the grenade launching Oration Executioner, then I will roll for what the two new combatants do. You could just choose to rush to the grenade enemy and end him now with 8d12 damage lol
>>
Rolled 2 (1d5)

>>5146298
Oration Seer range
1 d4
2 d6
3 d8
4 d10
5 d12
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Rolled 4 (1d5)

>>5146300
Oration Penitent range
1 d4
2 d6
3 d8
4 d10
5 d12
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>>5146307
Does he not get a trauma bar due to the Seer, or is that only if he reports himself?
>>
Also, I'm at 1 blood 26 trauma now, right?
>>
I'm also curious to how it looks when you're running around with no BLOOD.
Do you look like a corpse or a ghost or something?
>>
So a lot of choices:

(Nail Of The False Cross heals you by 30, from the 1+1d3 roll. I may have to change this as there are other weapons doing various effects to Blood vs Trauma)

Blood: 3/22
Your trauma healed to
Trauma: 6/100 via Nail Of The False Cross

3 actions this round for you:

Fire Veuglaire at target
>Oration Executioner, d6 range
>Oration Seer, d6 range
>Oration Penitent, d10 range

Firing
>single barrel (roll 4dX)
>both barrels (roll 8dX)

>advance further range step (1 per action)

>reload

>other...?

After this the Executioner fires, then I roll for the new combatants etc.
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>>5146330
I forgot to mention: The Red Lord Of Ruin cannot claim you in the Afterlife at 100/100 PUNISH Trauma if you still have Blood remaining. Of course this does not matter that much in combat as Blood is shredded very quickly (more for traps etc and bargaining in story mode etc)
>>
Rolled 7, 2, 10, 6, 7, 12, 9, 1 = 54 (8d12)

>>5146330
>lunge forward with supernatural alacrity and deliver a mortal wound to the Executioner. Both barrels.
>>
does rolling a 6 on damage mean I don't take TRAUMA or is that a separate roll?
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Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5146337
Ok I think you have blasted the Executioner apart lol, he is in two pieces. You take 3 damage from the 1,2 rolls above <4 so sadly your Blood is back at 0/22 again.

You still have 1 more action after lunging and firing (I assume reload?)

The Penitent will mindlessly attack every round with pitiful damage, until empowered.

The Seer will do this
1 empowers Penitent, and fires flare gun at you (1d20)
2 burns Arcana Judgement to deliver a hugely empowered attack next round (skips this turn)
3 empowers Oration Penitent
4 begins some ritual preparations (no action)
5 fumbles ritual preparations (wastes next round)
6 fires flare gun at self by accident (receive 1d20 damage)
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>>5146341
lol maybe I need to change some of these rules lol this gun is too powerful ha ha. In real life I think the armour would not be penetrated from shotgun pellets but well this is demon magic hehe
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>>5146344
I'm confused by the mechanics of this gun; it says the damage occurs on a roll other than six but it doesn't call for a d6 roll anywhere.
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>>5146350
Armor doesn't do anything but disguise in this system...
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>>5146351
The idea is the blast damages you unless you get a 6 somewhere in the shotgun blast damage rolls. However I am thinking I should just remove that 6 rule and make it just always damage the wielder. What do you think? The max it could do is 24 (8x3 if somehow you rolled all 3s which is very very very unlikely)
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>>5146355
The chance to negate the trauma makes it more rewarding, plus it fits the theme of unity of thoughts and actions since you get more chances to negate the more invested you are in the violence mechanically. (more chances to roll a six on bigger dice/more dice)
>>
Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>5146344
oh no and of course the silly witch lady shoots herself with the incendiary flares by accident I just knew it (rolling for self damage)
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Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5146344
final action will be to
>inject more speed juice
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Rolled 2 + 1 (1d3 + 1)

>>5146344
The yiikster is rolling hot tonight!
>>
ok well executioner is dead, lol your overpowered double-barrelled shotgun blast ended him

witch lady is at 18/33 from stupidly shooting and burning herself
penitent is at 31/31

I assume you reload?

(In which case the Penitent attacks you...)
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>>5146363
>>5146365
oh my god lol how are you doing this
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>>5146366
>I assume you reload?
No, I am exploiting the infinite use action multiplier you gave me.
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>>5146368
lol you have gone into DOOM marine double barrelled shotgun slayer mode, QM can no longer stop you lol. I can only watch as everything I send at you just injures themselves in panic instead of you argh...

Do you know any good narrative firearms rulesets. I have a feeling this shotgun is too overpowered lol
>>
hmm maybe I should make the flare gun do more damage as well... like 1d20 every turn or something as it burns
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>>5146369
You only think it's overpowered because it was abnormally effective here.
Remember that the only reason it worked so well is because I had another magic item that let me close instantly. If I didn't have it, I would have had to spend several turns running and taking grenades/punish/mace to do that much damage.
>>
Rolled 29 (1d78)

well here is the Penitent's roll, he will probably miss
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>>5146378
lol yes he missed. The Oration witch lady is yelping and trying to put out the fire she started... on herself. You I assume just reload now with your infinite invigorated 1+1d3 actions?
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>>5146366
>Break open Veuglaire and load two shells in a practiced motion, leap backwards past the fumbling Seer and unload both barrels into her in passing.
>>
Sorry if this was supposed to be a straight forward "hit eachother with swords until one of us dies" kind of combat test.
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>>5146383
I mean it probably happens. Roll 8d12 lol at this range somehow if you get less than 18 she survives
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Rolled 12, 2, 2, 4, 2, 12, 10, 8 = 52 (8d12)

>>5146392
rolling to anime
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>>5146389
Hehe no worries I have discovered that this gun is too powerful lol. The idea was to make all the magic guns cost health in terms of damage they deliver, but you cleverly discovered the action economy lol and of course managed to exploit it with godlike power. Hmmm I need some other way to balance it beyond self damage hmmm...
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Rolled 5 (1d6)

1-5 Penitent flees after small shredded pieces of the Oration Seer splatter over his terrified face (he runs away to d4 range)
6 Somehow the insane Penitent attempts to stand his ground, avenge the death of his spiky handed waifu and try to strike you with his spiked mace with which he will probably miss again
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>>5146395
This is a really asymmetric weapon system.
Some guys are running around with one minor weapons, others have artifacts that inflict autohit true death.
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>>5146394
After you eliminated Kospel and became god of Golgotha, there is no-one to oppose your anime power any more... nooooo...
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>>5146399
well the Oration / Cartel revolver is a one-off. I think that probably needs balance as well like self damage or maybe ammunition. A lot of these weapons are meant to be end game type weapons (the artifacts were in the Dead Land etc, the False Cross Nail in the archaeological exhibition)
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>>5146404
End game weapons have been the norm for most of the game lol.
>>
Maybe I should cap the shotgun at like d8 damage, 8d8 averages to around 32, that is sort of more reasonable. I was really hoping the Seer would empower the Executioner and give him 36+100 health lol
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>>5146397
I'm just going to chase after him with the glaive portion of the shotgun and annihilate him like the cavalry pursuits of old.
>>5146412
I don't think that the damage is unreasonable for what it is, these guys can come in packs of five and summon allies that can immensely buff their survivability
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>>5146399
Yes the self-damage is meant to balance out the autohit stuff (the autohit is a bit like in Electric Bastionland rpg, where all attacks always hit etc if you have played that). Clearly I have not worked this out correctly lol. How would you design it? I am just thinking the whole dnd roll to hit then damage thing is too cumbersome for this text based qst format
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>>5146420
I mean this just happens, though you feel a bit undignified chasing a terrified lunatic around the streets of Golgotha trying to bludgeon him with a misshapen shotgun axe glaive lol. You are now god of shotgun axe bludgeoning.
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>>5146329
At 0 Blood I imagine you just look like a normal human riddled with bullet wounds and punctured and pale flesh. It is quite a macabre sight
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>>5146425
I liked the narrative cost of sanity loss from the wand.
Maybe you could use that kind of thing?
Like the weapon might inflict an effect on you or exhibit it's own personality somehow.
>>
One problem I can see with self-damage is people playing very passively or just never using the weapons that inflict self-damage, also stupid death from killing too well.
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>>5146444
Yes I can imagine this being the case. Have you played Bloodborne? There is that sword that deals damage to self when imbued with blood etc. To be honest, I thought it looked cool but never actually used it in combat versus bosses lol I was too scared. I just spammed the two-handed massive damage greatswords instead lol
https://bloodborne.wiki.fextralife.com/Chikage
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>>5146454
lol I am trying to use this thread to purge all aspects of darkcringe aesthetics from myself before establishing my noblebright setting lol lol. Maybe in the noblebright happy exalted cosy comfy world there will be no weapons or even combat at all.
>>
Like in that fight for example it didn't feel like I was paying a price for power but instead that I had an annoying damage over time ticking away in the background.
More like a minor negative enchantment in a video game.
>>5146454
Yeah, the problem is it feels like you are being punished for using the weapon instead of paying to use the weapon if that makes any sense.
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>>5146456
If there's no combat then what is there to be noble about?
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>>5146460
nooo all authority as QM has finally been lost lol noooo...
What has happened. My power was vanquished alongside Kospel. All coherent thought has dissipated...

Maybe the cosy noblebright setting just involves organising picnics or gathering food and meals with Redwall descriptions and stuff. (But no perverted animal cuddling/fondling urgh)
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Ok well I will probably have to go away and engineer a much more threatening Golgotha scenario lol with at least 20x enemies or something lol. I have noticed you guys are all really good and experienced at evaluating the dice rolls and risk or maybe it is just luck or something lol.
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>>5146467
If you made a quest about furry fluff dates you would definitely at least double your playerbase.
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>>5146470
It's more that I am a demonic specter that pushes quests towards violence and death.
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>>5146471
Do you know this game called Armello. It is a literal online boardgame with amazing design, it is an exploding d6 dice pool system. It combines stuff like card deck / magic, equipment, a day night cycle and also multiple win conditions (kill everyone to gain prestige, cure Mad King by gathering spirit stones, complete quests for prestige, corrupt mad king and replace him etc). There is a day/night cycle, a lot of strategy. And the game features Redwall like animals, amazing medieval aesthetics but the combat and difficulty is BRUTAL.
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>>5146477
Yeah I've played a bit of it.
I would definitely play it with friends if I could convince people to play games with me.
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>>5146485
I play Armello on mobile sometimes but the mobile servers are bad lol, they drop players sometimes and the waiting times take an insane length due to the miniscule playerbase matching. And the mobile edition is several versions behind the PC and there are lots of bugs and I think the developers gave up on it. But I like the aesthetics of Armello and was thinking of something like it for a noblebright setting eventually (maybe without animals lol).

The other games I thought about doing are Fall Of Magic rpg if you know it (it is sort of a cosy storytelling game) and also Microscope rpg (a collaborative worldbuilding game). Have you played any of those?
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>>5146485
Well the solution to this is either DM/QM yourself via solo rpg like Ironsworn etc or Oracle deck dungeon delve.
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>>5146113
I think maybe the rule change on the shotgun is to make it so that if you roll the highest dX in the damage blast, you receive that as damage to self as well. It is similar to how the Oration/Cartel revolver killed self at stage III on a 6 with a 1d6 roll. So the Veuglaire shotgun would have caused you 12 damage to self with this blast at 8d12 here, as you shredded the Oration Executioner lol.
>>5146394
This introduces a cost so that the wielder is not just incentivised to rush in immediately and unleash 8d12 lol regardless of their current state of health. You can calibrate the risk of damage received to self by remaining at a distance and firing the shotgun.
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>>5146337
>>5146394
or rather, 24 self damage in total from blasting the Oration Executioner and the Oration Seer lady, from the two 12s rolled in the shotgun blast pellet cloud.
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Veuglaire (version II, still calibrating rules)
Axe Glaive Shotgun (double-barrel, side-by-side)
d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 varying at distant, close range
4dX or 8dX damage (both barrels)
the highest dX rolled in the shotgun scattered pellet blast is received as self damage. Eg rolling a 12 in an 8d12 blast at the closest range would result in 12 damage received to self.
Sawn-off shotgun with exposed hammers
An inscription on the side reads:
La gloire est le soleil des morts, or
Glory Is The Sun Of The Dead
Reloading leaves the wielder vulnerable
Powered by ordinary 12-gauge ammunition
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>>5146525
Nice to see that you found a way to hurt me for having good rolls lol.
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>>5146552
hehe your rolls were really good. My enemy reaction rolls are all cursed lol I am remembering how the Shivering Man instantly fainted after you stabbed Florence lol, thereby surrendering one of the most overpowered guns in the game into your hands to loot without even a fight
>>5146442
The sanity thing would be represented by for example the shotgun reducing the max Afterlife / trauma bar from 100 down or something each time it is fired. But I am hesitating to implement that because the Afterlife/trauma/PUNISH bar is supposed to offer some negotiation space between the player and the QM ahem the Red Lord Of Ruin for bargaining for stuff in game. Like imagine we were back to the phone with no battery and the player came up with the genius cloud upload the incriminating evidence plan to pastebin lol but it costs 20% battery and they only have 16%. So that would be a good occasion to outright petition the Red Lord Of Ruin "give me phone battery right now" and you could pay in PUNISH / Trauma for that. But if the shotgun were to permanently reduce sanity/afterlife it would negate the entire narrative bargaining making it pointless so I am hesitating and thinking about how to implement that mechanism.
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>>5146581
It is possible that you think the Afterlife bargaining thing is not a good idea as it leads to the path of seethe lol (quite frankly I have no rules as to how narrative stuff / in game hints should be paid for, it is entirely dependent on whim and how significant it feels like at the time) But ideally I want a way for a player to just say "I do not care about this stupid puzzle or dead-end obscure reference game, Red Lord Of Ruin here are some fragments of my soul / psyche / afterlife, just give me the answer so I can proceed etc". The issue of course is there is no way to price the value of the hints fairly until after the game has concluded in retrospect etc. For instance I did not think the phone battery was that relevant during the story game, so I made it scarce, later on when the anon came up with the cloud upload plan it turned out to be quite important lol.
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>>5146581
The way I think of it is that the wand was a one shot godslayer so the cost is great, but for just a regular do good damage kind of weapon it wouldn't be as severe.
I think of it like how magic weapons in other media tend to try to make the wielder conform to their standards so the weapon could change the way things are described/presented to fit it's own agenda.
>>5146587
I like the metabargaining a lot conceptually and I think it should be an option but personally as a player I rarely go for that kind of thing.
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>>5146525
It's kind of weird that there's no melee mechanics.
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>>5146589
what sort of items / weapons do you think fit this setting? Basically the idea is that the occult / unnatural slaying weapons are all sort of old and ancient with low magazines ammunition capacity (maybe this should change lol). The Godslaying Silence welrod pistol lol was really there for a 1-shot narrative purpose it is not really a combat weapon and I suppose you have to go into the Dead Land each time to reload it and find bullets. In case you are wondering this was perhaps the weapon with which to assassinate the Paribus Foundation CEO etc. as it is suppressed and the Silence means it is not easily detected by the Oration.
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>>5146592
The melee is done via the Tarot.
Swords are sort of blades, Wands are blunt and also some fire/sorcery guns, Pentacles are the shields, and Chalices inflict some emotional effects (typically fear etc, but also limited use like the Strange needle). I would allow a weapon to have at most 3 of these eg the Chainsaw as a two handed weapon requires fuel (WANDS), cuts with SWORDS, and also inflicts some panic (CHALICES) when wielded by a magic user it hits on major arcana, SWORDS, WANDS, CHALICES for (22+14+14+14)/78 =82% probability. But I am thinking unlike with a physical card deck rolling 1d78 and looking up on the table is just too cumbersome here (in real life with a tarot deck it works really well at the table)
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>>5146602
I am thinking maybe I should have put in more melee weapons (I have so many pictures from the Beggar Knight Invultua playthrough lol) and given I am hugely inspired by Manhunt lol and also Condemned Criminal Origins 1&2 (not sure if you played that, it is basically vagrant /beggar fighting simulator with wooden boards and concrete rebar lol) maybe there should be better melee rules
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>>5146600
I'd start with the different voices and influences already present in the world.
I've got some work to take care of, but I'll make some bootleg GOLGOTHA artefacts later.
>>5146602
Oh. I'd figured you wanted to fit it in with the into the odd autohit system.
I think that's a good idea because the suspense of a dice roll could work better when confined to special things like magical artefacts and npcs instead of being how you do everything.
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>>5146605
but really it is the modern melee thing (like how dnd stats are not appropriate in a modern setting, why use strength when everyone has guns etc) and fighting the assault rifle / smg police or cultists with a baseball bat is probably not a good idea lol. Even when I played Condemned Criminal Origins I used to hoard the smg and shotgun ammunition lol in that game - dropping the firearms weapon and then picking it up later to save against the tougher fights. Guns just unbalance melee combat mostly.
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>>5146610
no worries, speak again later ^_^
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>>5129350
So in addition to the videogames here I would also add these influences for the mode after the story mission:

Metal Gear Solid IV, V (yay tactical gear fetish stuff lol. Also just the general idea that violence is bad)
Death Stranding (it is not that difficult but again the atmosphere. It is sort of like a tactical loadout simulator for being an Amazon delivery person lol, somehow made walking and carrying bags and ladders tactical and cool).
Ghost Recon Wildlands (so many guns lol. Also Cartel)
Alan Wake (made by Remedy who made Max Payne. Flare guns in this to fight the shadow darkness monster people)
The Evil Within (despite the weird aspect ratio messing up the screen the atmosphere of this game is incredible. Also some weird VR stuff)
Condemned: Criminal Origins 1 & 2 (fight homeless beggar people. You may be a sort of Cthulhu god with a supernatural voice...)
American McGee's Alice
Quake 3
That spinning Soul Cube razor blade thing from Doom 3. It is cute and adorable.
Painkiller and Painkiller Battle Out Of Hell (ignore all other sequels and games in this series. Look, this game had a STAKE GUN affectionately known as a Tree Launcher. You shoot trees and impale enemies.)

(already mentioned)
Hitman
Manhunt
Max Payne
Control
F.E.A.R. 1, 2
Mirrors Edge
Devil May Cry
Killer Is Dead
Bloodborne
>>
Sawn-Off M1 Garand
One-Handed
.30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm) or 7.62x51mm NATO / .308 Winchester
8/8 en bloc clip into fixed internal magazine
autoloading, semiautomatic rifle
ejects empty clip with distinctive metallic clang
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Folding Ladder
Two-handed, Long Reach, Extendable, Collapsible, Bulky
Arouses no suspicion, it is something you might find thrown around during a riot. Can be used to access areas or as an improvised melee weapon
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>>5146651
lol the forces of anime have been truly unleashed. Not sure this fictional Hellsing weapon can actually function if cut down, I think the gas system breaks
>>5146655
tribute to the expanding ladders from Death Stranding. I remember carrying like 4 ladders and building an elaborate weird bridge crossing to get past the massive waterfall / river section in that game, it was so satisfying. Ladders are also pretty standard OSR dungeon delving tools and equipment
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Seven League Bat
Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
2d10 damage
You can swing at any target you can see and instantly appear in front of them to deliver the blow.
If the bat does not taste blood for five minutes, it teleports you to the nearest worthy opponent.
>>
>>5145368
Sorry, I'm exhausted after all my appointments and some other stuff I had to do. The insomnia (among other things) isn't helping.

The truth is I can't keep up the level of participation that I'd kept up for all of Souvarine's prior quests, at least not for now. I'll certainly catch up with this quest later, perhaps in a few days, perhaps in a week and some change, and I'll be here for subsequent quests too. I just need a break as I've got a bunch of IRL stuff to work through.

This is red anon fyi, just in case my ID changed.
>>
>>5147203
No worries. Hopefully everything will work out for you ^_^ I hope it all goes well.
>>5147073
Not bad, how about something like this:
>>
File: kai-devvy-barbwirebat.jpg (168 KB, 1920x1920)
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Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
5d4 (because it is spiky and stuff)
roll 15 or higher, to knock back and deflect incoming projectiles like grenades / molotovs etc. as if swinging and hitting a home run
(probability from anydice.com is 21.68%)
>>
>>5147214
lol maybe the Baseball Bat should look like this to fit the ancient theme, a true native weapon of Golgotha
>>
On your phone you see the notification

You have booked slot
13:00 with Karl, Senior Hair Stylist
Switchblade Salon
Cancellations require 48hrs notice in advance
>>
File: 20220202_112807.jpg (589 KB, 2386x1292)
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It is now 13:13 and there is no sign of Karl at the salon. Perhaps they are redecorating here? You glance around at the ironic exposed brickwork, mix of faux-vintage and gentrified contemporary interior design of this establishment, and you are unsure whether you should feel ugly or out of place. In the struggle for algorithmic authenticity all of these places resemble each other, resemble a frictionless non-place, unbounded by geography, all located within the carefully curated parameters of aesthetic and cultural homogeneity. Who was it that once said that a prison resembles a factory, a school, a hospital, an asylum, military barracks... all of which resemble prisons? Perhaps postmodern hair salons should be enumerated in that list too. This is the paradox of locality: how can a place be specific enough to seem unique, yet also remain convenient and interchangeable enough to be liked, consumed and shared as quickly as possible?

There is still no sign of Karl in the anaesthetised interior of the salon. You scroll listlessly through your phone, and are harassed by the following autoplaying popup video advertisements:

(You can only click on ONE:)

>Enpower your career with 1-on-1 mentoring! Bring your whole self to work, be all that you can be! (Gain trait: Thousand Faces Of The Betrayer. Disguise yourself as anyone, male, female, corporate, casual, etc merely through appropriate possessions and disguises. Unusual or suspicious behaviour, and those that possess witch-sight, may dispel this illusion)

>Leverage scalable customer journeys to enrich cohort retention, deliver unprecedented digital transformation... (Gain trait: Red Ruin Acolyte. Upon receiving a mortal wound at 0/22 Blood, continue to endure up to 100 points of Trauma in the Afterlife, but at an ever-increasing cost... Bargain with the Red Lord of Ruin for your soul.)

>Ignore both of these horrifying adverts. Keep your soul and attempt to survive as a mere mortal (Blood: 22/22)
>>
You possess:

Wallet / Strange Identification
>>5122209

Ordinary Phone, battery charge: 40+3d20
>>5122079

You are wearing: (choose ONE)
>casual clothes
>corporate clothes
>naked

There is a tomboyish-looking girl sat waiting in the hair salon beside you. The girl is ignoring the stylish coffee table fashion and design magazines provided by the salon as she is instead reading some sort of anatomical or medical textbook she has brought with her. You can see another book beside the girl as well, entitled Der Narrenturm.

>Er... do you work here? Where is Karl? I need a haircut...
>That is an interesting medical book... are you training to become a nurse?
>That is an interesting medical book... are you studying to become a Doctor?
>What is that other book? Is it some sort of roleplaying game?
>(Ignore the girl, get up and look around the hair salon for Karl yourself)
>Look in the mirror of the hair salon
>>
Rolled 38, 72, 27 = 137 (3d78)

(generating NPCs)
>>
File: 20220202_120156.jpg (697 KB, 1616x1634)
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Alice
Health: 13/13
72 QUEEN of CHALICES
heart, dance, artistry, feelings, intuition, solitude, soothing, sensitive, romantic
Possessions:
- Medical Book
- Book entitled: Der Narrenturm
Ordinary Phone
>>
Karl
Health: 2/2
27 TWO of SWORDS
Withdrawal, stalemate, avoidance, decisions, denial, uncertainty, ignorance
>>
File: 20220202_211400.jpg (2.2 MB, 3160x3980)
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Dr Suleman Bayraktar
Health: 4/4
38 FOUR of WANDS
Foundation, (reversed) insecurity, uncertainty, a gathering or event, instability
>>
Rolled 16, 1, 15 + 40 = 72 (3d20 + 40)

>>5149112
>Leverage scalable customer journeys to enrich cohort retention, deliver unprecedented digital transformation... (Gain trait: Red Ruin Acolyte. Upon receiving a mortal wound at 0/22 Blood, continue to endure up to 100 points of Trauma in the Afterlife, but at an ever-increasing cost... Bargain with the Red Lord of Ruin for your soul.)
>>5149113
>corporate clothes

>Open one of the salon drawers in search of weapons. Scissors, shaving knives, the like.
I've been indisposed for a few days.
>>
>>5152263
rolled alice's arcana, how serendipitous.
>>
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You are wearing:
Corporate Clothes
>>
File: rustam-aliev-4.jpg (90 KB, 1920x1080)
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You possess:
Ordinary Phone
Battery charge: 72%
>>5152263
>>5122079

Wallet / Strange Identification
>>5122209
>>
File: 20220205_165445.jpg (646 KB, 2386x1288)
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Rolled 5, 6, 6 = 17 (3d6)

>>5152263
(Hope you are feeling better now ^_^)

You are rummaging through the salon drawers:

1 some hair gel, pomades and hair clips
2 assorted combs and brushes
3 hairdressing scissors with awkward grips
4 a shaving razor (weapon)
5 a switchblade (weapon)
6 a broken pipe, from redecorations (weapon)

Alice initial d6 reaction table:

1 wrinkles her nose at you in disgust, quickly shifts seat to as far away from you as possible
2 tries desperately to ignore all aspects of your presence
3 turns book pages with intense concentration
4 looks up hesitantly
5 looks up curiously, wonders what you are doing
6 sympathetic, friendly

Outside the hair salon:

1 2+1d4 rioters firebomb the salon
2 2 rioters threateningly enter the salon
3 2 rioters attempt to hide out in the salon
4 Karl is still nowhere to be found
5 Karl emerges from the back of the salon, where they have been redecorating
6 Dr Bayraktar enters the salon
>>
Switchblade
SWORDS
Small extending spring blade stiletto.
>>
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Alice watches as you delve through the jumble of hairdressing paraphernalia. She seems puzzled:

I am not sure you can give yourself a haircut with those. They look dangerous...

A nervous man has entered the salon.
>>5149488
You do not think he is here for a haircut. The man has the appearance of a professor or academic, and he is clutching a large rugged suitcase close to his chest with a certain amount of dread - almost as if he is not entirely convinced he wants to keep hold of it.

>Look in the mirror of the salon
>Speak to Alice
>Speak to the nervous man
>Walk to the back of the salon, where it seems there is some redecorating going on. Is Karl hiding back there?
>(Something else...?)
>>
>>5152325
(QM: Still making up the rules for melee lol. I will say this hits on a 1d78 roll of SWORDS so 17.9% chance. However if you attack a surprised / unsuspecting opponent you can get in effectively N=1+1d4 hits quickly, so you can draw Nd78 cards simultaneously, but only if attacking a surprised / unsuspecting opponent with the first hit)
>>
>>5152340
>Walk to the back of the salon, where it seems there is some redecorating going on. Is Karl hiding back there?
>>
File: minsang-shonen-kim-2.jpg (2.56 MB, 3840x2366)
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Rolled 3 (1d6)

You are beginning to think you will have to remain bedraggled and unkempt forever, as the chances of getting a haircut are rapidly receding...

Alice is dismayed by your behaviour -

Wait - I don't think you should go back there! That seems to be an employee-only area...

The back of the hairdressing salon is an insalubrious mess. Dilapidated, worn furnishings are scattered haphazardly amongst bin bags and heaps of old junk.

1 You glimpse a curious sight in the hairdressing salon mirror
2 2+1d4 rioters firebomb the salon
3 2 rioters threateningly enter the salon
4 2 rioters attempt to hide out in the salon
5 Karl is still nowhere to be found
6 Karl emerges from the back of the salon, where they have been redecorating

>Call out loudly: Karl - I want my haircut, right now!
>Speak to Alice
>Speak to the nervous man - perhaps ask him what is in the rugged, large suitcase he is guiltily carrying and hugging to his chest with such protective dread?
>Search the back of the hairdressing salon
>(Something else...?)
>>
File: minsang-shonen-kim-3.jpg (1.34 MB, 2680x1527)
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Rolled 67, 56 = 123 (2d78)

(generating NPCs, they appear after your decision...)
>>
Patriot
Health: 12/12
Unfriendly / Riot
67 KNIGHT of SWORDS
Bully, troublemaker, impulsive, tactless, rash
>>
File: nukey-hsieh-test-003.jpg (895 KB, 1920x2156)
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Pink
Health: 9/9
Unfriendly / Riot
56 NINE of CHALICES
Vanity, pleasure, wishes, sensual delight
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

Alice reaction:

1 flees out into the street in panic - but stumbles and collides with intruders, who blocks her way out with a sneer
2 flees towards the back of the salon
3 remains seated but trembles with fear, anxiety
4 oblivious to situation, continues reading her book
5 asks politely what the intruders are doing
6 boldly confronts the intruders
>>
>>5152376
>Speak to Alice
>"There's nothing back there, just a bunch of trash. I don't think the hairdresser is even here."
>>
File: 20220205_182526.jpg (1.88 MB, 2532x3227)
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Rolled 2 (1d6)

Nervous man / Dr Suleman Bayraktar reaction

1 flees out into the street in panic - but stumbles and collides with intruders, who block his way out with a sneer
2 flees towards the back of the salon
3 remains seated but trembles with fear, anxiety
4 oblivious to situation, he is turning the rugged case over and hugging it closely to his chest whilst muttering to himself
5 asks politely what the intruders are doing
6 boldly confronts the intruders
>>
Rolled 5, 5, 6, 1 = 17 (4d6)

Riot intruder loadout (4d6)
1-3 a lot of molotov cocktails
4 Switchblade
5 Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
6 Sawn-off Shotgun (over-and-under) 2/2
>>
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>>5152386
Patriot loadout:
Sawn-off Shotgun (over-and-under) 2/2
4dX, 8dX damage on WANDS

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
WANDS, SWORDS


>>5152388
Pink loadout
Molotovs (a lot)
WANDS, CHALICES

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
WANDS, SWORDS
>>
File: 20220205_185219.jpg (2.15 MB, 3160x3971)
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>>5152400
>Speak to Alice
>There's nothing back there, just a bunch of trash. I don't think the hairdresser is even here.

There is no response from Alice. But you hear the crash and rattle of glass as intruders barge through the front door of the salon, whooping catcalls, taunting and shouting.

The Nervous Man / Dr Suleman Bayraktar has gotten up and rushed to where you are standing in the back of the hair salon. He appears to be utterly terrified:

You must - help me! Protect me! I need to get out of this city... We need to escape right now...! The city has fallen to madness! Everything is finished, this city is finished!

>Tell him you will not leave Alice unprotected
>Confront the intruders - do they have something against Karl?
>Ignore the nervous man, and try and hide whilst remaining silent in the back of the salon.
>Look into the salon mirror. At least these intruders did not break in whilst your haircut was still in progress, leaving you with the lopsided hairstyle of a lunatic.
>(Something else...?)
>>
>>5152439
>(Something else...?)
>Shove badge in Patriot's face
>"Halt! This salon is under the jurisdiction of the Cosmetology Invasion Agency! Civilian intruders are prohibited!
>Stab the shit out of him if he flinches.
>>
Patriot is studying your badge of authority. He does not seem impressed. And your corporate attire appears to have irked him, riled him up even further. He gestures threateningly with the baseball bat, pointing it at your face and also your strange ID -

Now I - I fought for my country. No medals, but I got migraines, tinnitus and a divorce. Claims rejection letters and a wait list for referrals to see a head doctor. What authority do you think that badge gives you over me...?

Pink has cornered Alice, and is glowering at her, pulling faces and wolfishly lolling her tongue across her lips and bared teeth. Alice is terrified.

>Stab Patriot without warning as he gives his veteran pity speech (roll N=1+1d4, then roll Nd78 hit on SWORDS)
>Try and reason with Patriot, placate him somehow...? (write in)
>Oh, I think there is a Doctor of some sorts in the back of the salon right here, he might be able to help you... (try and use the nervous man / Dr Suleman Bayraktar to distract the intruders)
>Oh I think this girl right here is training to be a medical professional, maybe she can give you some counselling (try and use Alice to distract the intruders)
>Shout loudly: Karl, these guests are here to see you...
>Stammer at Patriot: I... look, I-I just... wanted a haircut... I have nothing against you... just... a haircut...
>Look into the salon mirror lamentfully, at your bedraggled and unkempt hair
>>
Rolled 2 + 1 (1d4 + 1)

>>5152521
>Stab Patriot without warning as he gives his veteran pity speech (roll N=1+1d4, then roll Nd78 hit on SWORDS)
>>
Rolled 57 (1d78)

>>5152521
they tell me have mercy
>>
Rolled 53 (1d78)

>>5152521
I hit em with a flurry
>>
Rolled 51 (1d78)

>>5152521
show em the dark side, and give em hell's fury
>>
>>5152531
That's a hit!
>>
>>5152531
>>5152532
>Rolled 51 (1d78)
51 EIGHT of SWORDS

Patriot health is
4/12
severely wounded, bleeding

(QM: you get 1 more action before I make a large amount of reaction rolls for what occurs next. Patriot is temporarily in shock at what has happened, you can attempt to take his weapons etc, flee, distract with another NPC etc)

Patriot crumples to his knees in disbelief, staring at the switchblade protruding from where you stabbed him.

(This is the event roll, then I will roll for Patriot and Pink, after your decision here)

1 The rest of Patriot's Gang turn up. They decide to just firebomb the hair salon and leave
2 The rest of Patriot's Gang show up from the riot and surround the hair salon entrance / exits
3 Pink decides she wants a friend, she grabs the hysterical Alice and pulls her away
4 Karl the hair stylist shows up
5 Dr Suleman Bayraktar opens his mysterious rugged suitcase
6 Alice panics, tries to confront the intruders herself, screaming hysterically
7 A horde of rival rioters appear. They hate Patriot's Gang and start taunting and provoking him, providing a distraction
8 You catch an intriguing glimpse of something in the hair salon mirror

>Pull your switchblade out of Patriot and stab him again (I will give you just an N=1d3 roll, then Nd78 now as he is in shock)
>Try and snatch the Barbed Wire Baseball Bat from his hand (roll 2d78, you grab it before he reacts on WANDS)
>Try and search Patriot for other weapons (try to find concealed sawn-off shotgun, roll 1d78 locate on WANDS)
>Ignore Patriot, attack Pink before she torments Alice (N=1d3, then Nd78 hit on SWORDS)
>Try to flee the hair salon, out into the street
>Retreat to the back of the hair salon, where Dr Suleman Bayraktar is hiding
>(Something else...?)
>>
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Rolled 8 (1d8)

>>5152546

(This is the event roll, then I will roll for Patriot and Pink, after your decision here)

1 The rest of Patriot's Gang turn up. They decide to just firebomb the hair salon and leave
2 The rest of Patriot's Gang show up from the riot and surround the hair salon entrance / exits
3 Pink decides she wants a friend, she grabs the hysterical Alice and pulls her away
4 Karl the hair stylist shows up
5 Dr Suleman Bayraktar opens his mysterious rugged suitcase
6 Alice panics, tries to confront the intruders herself, screaming hysterically
7 A horde of rival rioters appear. They hate Patriot's Gang and start taunting and provoking him, providing a distraction
8 You catch an intriguing glimpse of something in the hair salon mirror
>>
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>>5152550
>You catch an intriguing glimpse of something in the hair salon mirror

You do not seem to notice anything unusual when you glance at the mirror. Just an empty room, with a solitary chair in the middle of it. The threadbare room appears tiled and derelict, more decrepit than usual - but of course, this must be the reflection from the area where they are redecorating in the salon...
>>
Rolled 3 (1d4)

>>5152546
Hey! Don't nerf me mid-fight, he's clearly still surprised.
>Finish him off.
>>
Rolled 8 (1d78)

>>5152550
>>
Rolled 57 (1d78)

Sucks to not have majors.
>>
>>5152550
Maybe a nice god could give me the power...
>>
Rolled 76 (1d78)

>>5152550
meant to roll there
>>
Rolled 20 (1d78)

>>5152550
last one
>>
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>>5152525
>>5152527
>>5152531
(The strange lyrics of your eldritch invocation appears to have summoned an item...)

You have gained:
Headphones

Snug over-ear closed-back dynamic stereo headphones with active noise-cancellation. Neodymium magnets, 10-20kHz frequency response, 63 Ohms impedance, 106 dB/W/m, 1000mW power handling.

Listen to videogame OSTs, literary audiobooks, relaxing ASMR amidst the chaos, as Anarchy Reigns.
(recover Trauma at cost of phone battery)
(inflicts temporary trait: Deafened, whilst worn)
>>
Rolled 1, 1 = 2 (2d2)

Patriot and Pink weapons (2d2)

1 Shotgun (Patriot) / Molotov (Pink)
2 Barbed Wire Baseball Bat
>>
File: 20220202_125723.jpg (142 KB, 1920x506)
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Rolled 34 (1d78)

Patriot fires (he hits on Major Arcana, WANDS, CHALICES = (22+14+14)/78 = 64.1%
He fires both barrels, 8d12 at your switchblade range
>>
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Rolled 9, 11, 9, 5, 4, 12, 12, 7 = 69 (8d12)

>>5152592
Perhaps it is time to beseech the Red Lord Of Ruin for power...
>>
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Rolled 20 (1d78)

Pink hits on Major Arcana, WANDS, CHALICES = (22+14+14)/78 = 64.1%

glass shards, burning damage 1d20 for 1d4 rounds
>>
File: Fire-bomb.jpg (50 KB, 700x380)
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Rolled 2 (1d4)

molotov burns for this many rounds
>>
Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>5152606
damage this round. (You can spend an action to try and put out the flames)
>>
>>5152595
Yeah seriously.
Come on RL, they're lighting me up like a christmas tree!
Do you really expect me to get a good BLOOD going with just this toothpick?
It doesn't even instakill!
>>
Your health
-69, shotgun blast
-7, molotov burning glass shards
Blood: 0/22
Trauma: 54
You are Burning

>Attempt to put out the fire - there is a chance you are going to immolate the entire hair salon... is hairspray flammable...?

>Attack Patriot as he reloads his shotgun (N=1+1d4, Nd78)

>Attack Pink as she ignites another bottle rocket (N=1+1d4, Nd78)

>Attempt to wrest the shotgun from their grip
(1d78 on WANDS. Assume if you succeed it is loaded)

>Attempt to wrest Barbed Wire Baseball Bat from their grip (2d78 on WANDS)

>Something else...?
>>
>>5152623
>bearhug patriot: share the flame, share the pain.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d8)

>>5152626

Wow - this is clever. I will say this auto kills Patriot with the next round of damage, but he gets his reload. You have now ignited the entire salon, which is burning and filling with smoke. You can hear panicked and muffled shouts from Doctor Bayraktar in the back.

1 The rest of Patriot's Gang show up from the riot and surround the hair salon entrance / exits
2 A horde of rival rioters appear, drawn by the noise of gunfire, the shotgun blast, smoke and flames.
3 Patriot screams as he burns and fires his shotgun at you (he hits only on WANDS because he is burning to death)
4 Pink decides she wants a friend, she grabs the hysterical Alice and pulls her away to use as a hostage
5 Karl the hair stylist shows up, apologetically, trimming scissors in hand.
6 Dr Suleman Bayraktar opens his mysterious rugged suitcase
7 Alice panics, tries to confront Pink herself, screaming hysterically
8 The reflection of your burning form in the hair salon mirror causes it to warp and shatter
>>
Rolled 73 (1d78)

>>5152645
The Burning Patriot fires both barrels of his shotgun at you... (hit only on WANDS now, it is his dying act of vengeance...)
Both barrels, 8d12
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5152649
1 Patriot's missed shotgun blast hits the mirror
5-6 The buckshot perforates the ceiling in a wild spread pattern instead
>>
Rolled 12 (1d20)

(QM: you get your action now. You also take the second and final round of 1d20 molotov burning damage as rolled here. After your decision I will roll for Pink to see what she does)

>Retrieve shotgun, reload it (this takes the entire action)
>Retrieve Patriot's Baseball Bat. Attack Pink. You hit on WANDS and SWORDS with this, 1d78. (14+14)/78=35.9% Damage is 5d4
>Attack Pink with switchblade (Just N=1d3 now, Nd78, hit on swords)
>Try and shout something reassuring to Alice?
>Try and shout something reassuring to Dr Bayraktar?
>Something else...?
>>
Rolled 8 (1d78)

>>5152676
>Retrieve Patriot's Baseball Bat. Attack Pink. You hit on WANDS and SWORDS with this, 1d78. (14+14)/78=35.9% Damage is 5d4
Swinging for the fences!
>>
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Rolled 1 (1d4)

Pink reactions:
1 Wickedly attacks Alice with Baseball Bat to distract you, as she herself turns and flees (1d78 hits on Majors, WANDS, SWORDS)
2 Snatches Alice to use as a hostage
3 Hurls molotov at you (1d78 hit on Majors, WANDS, CHALICES)
4 Accidentally sets herself alight with molotov (1d4 rounds burning 1d20 damage)
>>
Rolled 14 (1d78)

Pink makes this attack to cripple Alice and then turns and flees. She hits on Major Arcana, WANDS, SWORDS = (22+14+14)/78
>>
Rolled 2, 3, 2, 3, 1 = 11 (5d4)

>>5152695
5d4 damage...
(QM: oh wow, I appear to have reached the 4chan image limit...)
>>
>>5152696
Do you want to do another thread?
>>
>>5152700
(QM: I will try and conclude this battle...)

Your health
-69, shotgun blast
-7, molotov burning glass shards
-12, molotov burning glass shards
Blood: 0/22
Trauma: 66
You are Scorched

Alice
Blood: 2/13
Panic
Mortally wounded, bleeding, bruised

>Fire shotgun at fleeing rioter Pink (roll 1d5 for the range)
1 d4
2 d6
3 d8
4 d10
5 d12

>Heroically carry the wounded Alice out of the burning building

>Escort Dr Bayraktar out of the burning hair salon

>Lamentfully gaze upon your charred and ruined hairstyle in the salon mirror, as well as your singed face

>Something else...?
>>
QM: also, to save threads, I can continue in the Golgotha meta thread. Technically this is all still just a combat and mechanics test portion of the game, the rules are a bit improvised and made up lol. Still just testing weapons and damage and stuff.
>>
>>5152705
>Heroically carry the wounded Alice out of the burning building.
>Offer to Red Lord of Ruin: New Acolyte for magical power.
>y/n
>>
>>5152718
To be honest, you're not pushing anyone off by making a new thread.
There are a lot of dead quests that haven't been updated in over a month floating around.
It's worse to keep posting in a meta thread than to create a new thread in my opinion, even if it does mean less threads.
>>
>>5152728
Ok I will let you choose ONE of the following:

>Sacrifice Alice to the Red Lord Of Ruin (gain the permanent ability to hit on Major Arcana, with ANY weapon)

>Comfort the unconscious and injured Alice (no benefit now. You probably need to get her some medical attention. If she recovers, gain a follower / companion. She may die before you reach aid though. The Betrayer will observe this with great interest...)

>Gain 3+1d3 molotovs that the intruder Pink discarded as she fled. These count as a magical weapon. Hit ignited enemies on Major Arcana and CHALICES and all weapon aligned minor arcana etc whilst they are burning. E.g. if you used this to anoint your Barbed Wire Baseball Bat, you would hit on Majors, WANDS, SWORDS and CHALICES = (22+14+14+14) / 78 = 82% You would need to prepare this in advance of going into a battle though.
>>
>>5152745
>Sacrifice Alice to the Red Lord Of Ruin (gain the permanent ability to hit on Major Arcana, with ANY weapon)
I was thinking that I'd get her to make a faustian bargain by clicking the same ad I did, but this works just as well.
>>
I will let you decide what you want ^_^ and call it for today. If I can think up of a follow-up scenario, I will post it on the meta thread, which can become the random battle / dungeon / Golgotha city crawl thread lol. I do not want to create too many new threads because I might save a slot for my noblebright setting, when I have finally depleted all the cringedark in my being lol ^o^
>>
>>5152750
wow, so ruthless and brutal ^o^
All hope of redemption has been extinguished in Golgotha lol.
I will write a summary of your inventory / health etc and continue on the meta thread with any new scenarios. ^_^
>>
>>5152765
It's just part of my goltha male killionaire grindset.
>>
>>5152776
Did you also quote some OST lyrics from Anarchy Reigns during your switchblade frenzy combo lol
>>
>>5152525
>>5152527
>>5152531
ie these lyrics lol. I played Anarchy Reigns a bit though I never finished it, I do not remember the soundtrack of that game at all. But I remember the Platinum Games style fighting combos, and also the hilarious fake deliberately wrong lip syncing to imitate Asian dubbing. There was some silver ice woman character who fought with her hair a bit like Bayonetta. She had this cool hair / sword / hair lance stabbing move combo.
>>
>>5152779
>>5152789
That is correct.
It seemed thematically appropriate for flailing a knife at a rioter during the apocalypse .
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

And of course a few final lingering unresolved issues:

Alice faction

1 Oration / Paribus Foundation
2 Vourukasha
3 Cartel
4 Corporate
5 Casual
6 Cosplay (roll again 2d5)
>>
Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d5)

>>5152836
Alice faction: Cosplay

1 Oration / Paribus Foundation
2 Vourukasha
3 Cartel
4 Corporate
5 Casual
>>
>>5152841
lol not a great disguise. Vourukasha, dressed as Vourukasha. Oh well

(You are being hunted)
>>
>>5152845
Alice larped so hard she became an actual witch-pirate.
>>
Rolled 3 + 2 (1d4 + 2)

Shotgun ammunition:
2+1d4 12-gauge
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

Doctor Suleman Bayraktar
1 Becomes ensnared in the collapsed junk and burning debris of the Switchblade Salon, burns to death
2 Becomes entangled in the junk and debris, frees himself but leaves his mysterious rugged suitcase behind in the burning building
3-5 Escapes with his mysterious case
6 Escapes but in his panic completely forgets about the suitcase. It is now just lying there in front of you, unattended, and Dr Bayraktar is nowhere to be seen
>>
>>5152861
Is he gone or outside the building with me (witnessing my impeccable business acumen)
>>
>>5152867
Oh well, no mysterious suitcase / foreign unmanned combat aerial vehicle ground control stations for you, hehe.

I think Dr Bayraktar is gone now sadly. At least no-one witnessed your horrifying ritual sacrifice to the Red Lord Of Ruin for unspeakable arcane power. (The Vourukasha however... they just know...)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baykar_Bayraktar_TB2
>>
I mean this picture here was sort of hinting what the rugged "suitcase" was:
>>5152340
>>
>>5152873
That certainly would have been an easy way to do a lot of killing, but it's a bit impersonal for my tastes.
>>5152875
I pretty much guessed what it was from the image, but I had other priorities at the time.
>>
Alright, I will sleep now and call it for today. Thank you for playing!
^_^
>>
oh, and since you are immediately going to throw more encounter rolls at me tomorrow I want to put on the headphones and start listening to my playlist of heinous beats to BLOOD/KILL with.
>>
>>5152925
Sure, we can use the VR headset rules. From here >>5135212

At 72% battery, you get 3d20 Trauma recovery, to 12% battery remaining.

Listen to

>videogame OSTs
>literature audiobooks
>soothing ASMR

as you offer the defenceless Alice as a sacrifice to the Red Lord Of Ruin - she was going to thank you for saving her...

>with the switchblade
>with the baseball bat
>just consign her back to the burning pyre of the Switchblade Salon
>with the Sawn-off Shotgun (-1 ammunition 12 gauge shell to 4 remaining, restore 4d4 Blood)
>spare Alice, leave her on the street outside (Do not incur enmity of Vourukasha faction, but lose the Gift of the Red Lord Of Ruin to hit on Major Arcana)
>try to keep Alice alive (2/13 blood) you really need to find her some medical attention...

Alternatively, can also
>install tarot app -20% battery
>roll 1d78, try and get some appropriate Major Arcana, hope for healing magic -10% battery per attempt

or
>search maps for nearby medical facilities (-10% battery)

>(something else...?)
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

Alice's Phone:

1 completed shattered after she was assaulted by the Riot Intruder, Pink
2-5 useable but very badly damaged, only 20+3d20 battery remaining
6 somehow has survived completely intact. 40+3d20 battery remaining
>>
>>5153582
Posted my vote in the meta thread.
>>5153623
>>
GOLGOTHA LINKS and SUMMARY

As some anons mentioned on the general thread it is too difficult to follow (they are right, it is a bit of a mess). This thread hit the image max so the encounters continue here on a separate thread ( >>5152733 )

PRELUDE and Tarot, from the top
>>5121867
Main Story begins, with first narrative choice
>>5121873
>>5121878
And the anon who rolls this, drew the very first Tarot card, sets the tone of the entire game...
>>5121883
Ending sequence and credits/inspiration begins here:
>>5129341
>>5129350

But it is not the end... long meta and feedback discussion
>>5129682 missed weapons
A story Epilogue
>>5130240
Post-game Weapon Unlock
>>5130374

The Urban Dungeon Crawl begins, but does it have a hidden purpose? A lot of dice rolling in this mode. And a lot of reconfiguration of the rules...
>>5131669
>>5131994 Actual gameplay starts here, with choice
>>5132081
The Motel
>>5132230
The Cartel Mission, The Chainsaw, The Serpent
>>5134155
>>5134507
lol the dice randomly generated this
>>5135233
The Riot
Riot Guard summary begins here
>>5136077
>>5136088
>>5136231
A difficult choice here
>>5136264
>>5136374
The Dead Land
>>5136486
The Return
>>5137374
The Dungeonmaster
>>5137605
The Cleaner / The Elder
>>5137610
I wonder if anyone understood the mathematical meaning behind the two weird tales of the Elder
>>5137711
The Purpose Revealed...?
>>5137817
This roll, 19 tells you something.
>>5137791
>>5137872
Apotheosis, or The End?
>>5139539

(meta and feedback follows)

Unused NPCs. The minds of the NPCs are meant to be the randomly generated dungeons of the game
>>5139847
A small bit of philosophy
>>5140622
A combat test
>>5146107
>>5146113
More credits, inspiration
>>5146627

NEW STORY: The Haircut
Switchblade Salon here
>>5149111
and continues on a different, separate thread here
>>5152733
(The actual thread begins at >>5131732, but mostly outdated rules / feedback discussion)



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