Well, sorry that took so long. My computer broke down, though I managed to get a new one quite fast, luckily enough. Good being able to... know when people contact you, work, all that.
Did I not already look for orifices? I'm pretty sure I did and didn't find anything, or I put it in an action and you didn't say anything so I assumed there was nothing.
Steal a bunch of chocolate and see if it likes sweets by putting it in front of the thing. Maybe I can poison it like a dog.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine_poisoning
The ideal would be to get a few big sacks of raw cocoa and mix it with something it likes. If sugar doesn't work, try meat. Then some tied up live animal, though I doubt that works because humans can be around it just fine. If none of that works it probably eats some form of magic energy, in which case fuck.
You have seen a couple of things that might well be mouths, but they're closed at present.
Your attempts to get it to open wide fail miserably. It does seem unlikely that a being like this would feed on sweets or filet mignon, magical energy is a lot more likely. Pretty hard to actually get hold of a meal-sized chunk of starlight or whatever... does that mean you won't be able to make the thing open its mouth?
Are my chaos insects still recharging?
If not, sic them on the golem.
Regardless of whether or not my chaos insects are charging, cast Heal Burns on myself (and on Sen, if he's burned too).
Order the golem to "cease all operations" in a commanding voice (I used to be an aristocrat, maybe this golem will respond to my authoritative voice on some instinctual level?).
If I have not significantly harmed or affected the golem after performing those actions, get the heck out of dodge.
You call upon the chaos swarm, and your inner flame flares as a buzzing and crackling mass of red-hot dots pour into existence, the air around them distorting with the incredible heat.
4+3 vs 3+2
The golem blunders towards you, running straight into the burning cloud of furious insects. He stumbles on for a few steps swatting great handfuls of the creatures from the sky, and then they are upon him. Stingers filled with molten steel plunge through crumbling limestone flesh, the massive stone figure engulfed in pink flame and incandescent chitin. Your assailant bellows with pain, ignoring you in his attempts to rid himself of the biting, scorching insects. The stone features crack and melt as the man-shaped thing staggers away desperately, smashing through a wall as tiny flies and wasps swarm about him. Lost in the traffic outside, the sounds of agonized screaming and maddened stone flailing recede slowly. The tough might survive, but he sure as hell won't come back for round two.
You stroll away, feeling pretty chuffed about your own abilities, while the fire spreads through the market behind you. Sen rejoins you outside for healing, looking rather shamefaced about his actions. Funny how fast people forget they've been made into a slave.
((Rewaitlisting with a different character.))
Name: Ennis Therebus
Backstory: He doesn't remember anything past the age of 7, despite being at least 10-20 years older. He does, however, remember an old, leather-bound book in his family's house, full of creepy things and weird symbols, that he has in a backpack now...In addition to some sort of survivalist kit.
Physical Description: Tall, thin, bespectacled out of habit for some reason despite not actually needing a corrective implement.
Stats:
Magical Stats:
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 3
Banal combat - 0
And physicals:
Aim - 0
Melee - 0
Agility - 0
Practicality - 3
You're in now, I have time enough. You can have the Suspicious Tome, though it may be something of a crapshoot.
You wander into Vince's with six runes already scrawled across your brain. God knows where you picked some of them up, you certainly don't.
Phlegmatic: you have no memory of the last decade, and are dealing with it remarkably well. Increased resistance to mental assault; a passive rune coiled around the inside of your skull.
Arcane Researcher: you're less likely to accidentally kill yourself, summon a great one, or set the room on fire when reading arcane texts. Applies especially to Suspicious Tome.
Amnesia: when written, causes mentally weak beings (non-magicals, for example) to forget their recent experiences. A rune inked over the innermost folds of your cereberum.
Usquebaugh: a rune that gives water healing properties and magical strength. In great doses, such draughts may damage one's soundness of mind.
Potential: a rune that draws out the power latent in objects, often damaging them in the process. Tattooing it on oneself would lead to a shorter life but greater charisma and power.
Cardoon: a rune that enhances the growth of plants, especially weeds.
For any more, you'll have to wander around London looking at magical stuff.
You also get the usual $50 from Vince, and two
puissant clots (upgrade materials for weapons).
The ConfrontationTake the rifle and a knife, but ask what they'll give me for the rifle if I return it in good shape. Half? More?
bird size =0
Half. You take the goods and go back to the canalside, where you meet Ben being all stealthy-like. And you haven't got a bird yet.
Don texts Vince that he's heading to the canal.
Wrap hand in jacket, steal the guy's wallet, keys, and any weapons. Drive to one block from the canal, park a block away in a secluded location, walk to join the others. Keep an eye out for enemies on the way over.
You get a good £100, the guy's wallet and keys, and take the car. Bit of blood on your jacket, but oh well. You drive over to meet Ben and Nanami.
"Hey, hey, don't throw him in the river! Bodies float, drag him to a dumpster. We might want that weird backpack thing, too."
Take the machine gun out, but keep to the shadows. Just stay back and watch for enemies who spot us. Shoot them if they raise an alarm or attack.
Try stabbing the corpse with my phylactery, then search it and dump it on the lake. Search the area for more enemies while trying to avoid detection.
"They don't even know we are here. If we are lucky, we might be able to kill them all without a fight."
Doing this XCom style, eh?
Zamenis advances to the body, crouching, and thrusts his weapon through the leather armour. His puissance refills as blood soaks into the dragon's tooth, while his vision sharpens momentarily as he looks round the corner.
Steve, Ben and their allies are on a road parallel to the canal. Zamenis and the body are further along this road, on a streetcorner. Turning right, Zamenis can see another road leading to the canal, albeit through the rubble of a hastily demolished wall. The corner Zamenis is on is the corner of a housing estate.
Half in and half out of the canal lies a large object shining brilliantly, giving off waves of heat and magical energy. Zamenis instantly gains a puissant clot, just from being around the thing.
Near the glowing object are four leather-clad figures, identical to the one now bleeding out on the ground. They seem to be pulling at the shining object with chains of some sort. A person in scuffed yellow leather rags and goggles eggs them on, his tapering hood and overstuffed pockets swaying as he gesticulates. A little closer to the coven's lich stand three twelve-foot man-shapes, assembled from trash and citystuff, eyes blinking traffic lights, shopping trolley jaws above mighty garbage-bag pectorals.
Closest of all is a dark mass of bodies, mage-fucked machinery and lab equipment atop a flatbed truck. To one as necromantically attuned as Zamenis, it resonates with undead energy, seemingly as powerful as the glowing shape down the road, although its arcane might is more contained, concentrated ominously in one human-sized stone coffin deep within the tangle of wires, alchemical vials and skeletons. It's like there's something in really deep sleep in there, something you really don't want to wake up.
Stealth: 4+2
You drag the leather-covered corpse out of sight around the corner, and rummage through the pockets of the blue boiler suit inside. You come up with £20, a set of car keys, a length of shimmering, crystalline rope, and a plastic bottle filled with swirling purple liquid that's probably magical.
Well, looks like you found
something. And it hasn't found you, yet.
Name: Nanami Adachi. (Nanami)
Unnatural beauty granted by demonic contract and the adoration of mortals. Slight charisma/popularity boost.
Power from mortal media.
Can create illusions.
Conscripted into twenty-nineth legion of Amdukias.
Puissance: 2 +1 not from Amdukias
Ritual: 0
Runic Sight: 0
Banal Combat: 0
Aim: 1
Melee: 0
Agility: 1
Praticality: 2
Inventory: £25
Backpack, expensive camera + memory cards
Quality sketching paper, art pens+pencils, charcoal, etc.
Sketches of self as main character, Amdukias, the non-mortal world, etc.
[Glass Rod Crystal Wand] - Enhanced slightly through media
Mediocre Pistol (4/6)
Large, fist-sized mind-controlling spacerock fragments.
Painting supplies, a glass cutter, battery powdered soldering iron, eighty feet of red cloth, white rag and thread
Diving gear: masks, suits and some scuba tanks.
Armour-piercing Amphibious Assault Rifle
Knife
Puissance: 13/13
Puissant Clots: 2
Goethe T. Helle
Puissant fettle - 1
Ritual potency - 2
Runic sight - 1
Banal combat - 0
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 2
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £20, clockface minus one hand, highlighter pens, two kitchen knives, half-empty cologne bottle
From the beast: one bone,
Italian Dinner suit, stored at Vince's place.
[Dog Collar Pendant][Molasses Clockhand Wand]
[Icecream Beast Blood Fur Chalice][Beast Remains Wand]
Runes:
Isolation: you never had many friends or allies, so are used to poor odds. +1 to rolls when outnumbered and alone.
Stoicism: a rune that calms those dealing with shock, tragedy or injury.
Perseverance: despite all the odds, you managed to kill a huge beast using nothing but hot syrup. Bonus to attack and extra damage to powerful or resistant enemies after several turns of combat or aggression.
Dwarven Weapon Storage: learned from a dwarf carrying a small armoury on his back. Increases load of weapons and tools that can be borne without being hampered or slowed down, or collapsing outright.
Ruination: when written, it makes a bad situation worse, and an irretrievable one more so. Learned after the second mission.
Puissant clots: 1
Puissance: 5/6
Name: Sir Worthington the Fourth
Has a demonic leg. Old leg is in possession of monarchs of hell.
Enslaved young man under demonic contract, wields katana, wears combat pants + green sweatshirt.
Stats: Ritual Potency: 3
Practicality 3
Horrific burns
Inventory: £22, Pint of royal blood (stored at Vince's), blood covered knife, Cursed String
Stored at Vince's place: mortal's tendons, skull and leg bones.
[Glass Eye Pendant] [Paintbrush Wand]
[Toad Demon Battery Acid Tupperware Chalice]
Competent's Pyromancy Flame - Heal Burn (1P), Create Flame (1P), Flame Claw (3P), Mesmerising Flame (2P)
One shot, recharging: Chaos Insect Swarm
Wears tinfoil hat.
Puissant Clots: 0
Puissance: 3/5
Ben Breeze
Stats:
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 0
Banal combat - 5
Aim - 1
Melee - 1
Agility - 2
Practicality - 0
Inventory: knife, 2xtaser, handcuffs, police baton, stab vest, torch, incapacitant spray, and a first aid kit. All in sports bag.
Also a bag of athames, 2.5 legs War Bacon (Vince's Fridge), a worn face-concealing hooded coat, bin bags.
Concealed: knife in one boot, knife on a leg, and one on his torso.
Two generous Roast Beef and Horseradish Sandwiches
Two bin bags of assorted pills from pharmacy.
£20
Set of keys and passcard
Gunfarmer P90 (2/50) (in bag)
FN Minimi light machine gun, 2 magazines
Puissant clots: 4
Puissance:5/5
Steve
Banal combat - 3
Agility - 3
Inventory: £50
Rusty, shard curved sword
Puissance: 5/5,
Clots:3
Name: Bella, the Speed Witch
Runic sight: 2
Banal Combat: 2
Melee 1
Agility 2
Inventory: £0,
Delicate Rune-engraved Machete: heavy bonus when facing multiple weaker victims. Likely to break on misshits/heavy armour.
Benflesh Bullet, Concrete bullet x3, Cloud bullet x2, organic armour x1
Large gardening axe
[Tier Four Racing Broom]
Runes:
Speed lover: +1 to doing anything while moving faster than you need to. Does not prevent (but can negate) maluses from trying to do things while moving faster than is sensible.
Slaughter: enhances speed and efficiency of murder when facing many opponents/victims. Passive boost, but can be written on things.
Broom Dodging: makes you better at dodging things while on a broom.
[Sub Nosed Glock Wand] 9/9
1 Organic Armour Bullet
Nascent Pyromancy Flame: Create Flame 1P
Puissance: 5/5
Clots:0
Name: Zamenis Paean
Puissant fettle: 2
Agility: 2
Aim: 2
LICH: feeds on the bleeding hearts of his enemies.
Undead. Necromancy bonus.
Inventory: £25, Certificate from Belial (valid for one sample of occult substance)
Duct tape, Large Knife, knife.
Surgical tools: scalpel, a first aid kit, a saw, and tweezers.
Dead Guy's pockets: a set of car keys, a length of shimmering, crystalline rope,
{Unknown Potion}
Tier 1 Broom, Dragon Tooth Phylactery on End
[Human Leg Wand]
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance: 9/9
Name: Don Joe
Ritual Strength - 2
Runic Sight - 1
Aim - 1
Agility - 1
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £130
Murdered guy's wallet
Keys to Maserati
Card of Mortal-mind cleanup guy
[Chain Coin Pendant]
[Giraffe Wine Chalice]
Runes
Market Savvy: You know what things are worth, and who will pay for or try to get them. From your time spent as a banker, a passive rune.
Acid: a rune that eats into whatever it touches.
Puissance: 5/5
Puissant Clots: 0
((Rewaitlisting with a different character.))
[spoiler]
Name: Ennis Therebus
Runic sight - 3
Practicality - 3
Inventory: £50
Suspicious Tome
Camping Equipment: tent, canned food and snack bars
Runes:
Phlegmatic: you have no memory of the last decade, and are dealing with it remarkably well. Increased resistance to mental assault; a passive rune coiled around the inside of your skull.
Arcane Researcher: you're less likely to accidentally kill yourself, summon a great one, or set the room on fire when reading arcane texts. Applies especially to Suspicious Tome.
Amnesia: when written, causes mentally weak beings (non-magicals, for example) to forget their recent experiences. A rune inked over the innermost folds of your cereberum.
Usquebaugh: a rune that gives water healing properties and magical strength. In great doses, such draughts may damage one's soundness of mind.
Potential: a rune that draws out the power latent in objects, often damaging them in the process. Tattooing it on oneself would lead to a shorter life but greater charisma and power.
Cardoon: a rune that enhances the growth of plants, especially weeds.
Author
Topic: COVEN: Gulled Goldsmiths and Lost Locomotives (Read 145616 times)