Okay, just as a reminder, Defenders HQ is where Mercy and Wingblade go to see the therapist as well, correct? I just want to make sure that it's someplace that they're familiar with.
I've always assumed that the therapist has her own office somewhere downtown. And while she's connected to the Defenders, she doesn't work out of the HQ.
But the Defenders HQ is a prominent building downtown. It's been around for a long time. I think we can safely say that some time off-panel Alexis was told about the building's location, if not even given a tour at some point.
I'm still around, but between leading a project that keeps having last minute changes at work and the various games I'm DMing taking more creative energy and/or prep work than I had anticipated, I don't really have the energy to be more proactive in writing things for Kaoru.
Doesn't Matrix use she/her pronouns?
An Android walks into the room, its soft silver body distinctly features feminine features. She's most likley the AI that runs the Defender's network and provides support from base, Matrix.
Yep
Welp that's my screw up for getting her mixed up in my head.
Maybe Matrix can be a genderfluid AI?
I'm not really sure as a player what y'all want me to do with this. Like, I get the impression this is an attempt to involve me except that it's not clear to me how as a player you want me to be involved. Am I just supposed to make something up? Am I being a mouthpiece for information? I basically have no idea what I'm supposed to write other than something like, "I do what you already did and see if I come up with anything new." I don't think I have anything I can roll and the description of how Matrix got the data was "I did some digging." I could come up with more tech-y ways to say that but asking for me to come up with something Kaoru could find that Matrix couldn't or didn't feels like a pretty narrow target to hit.
Alexis is "running" this adventure, so they may have more ideas for what they were expecting Kaoru to do, but at the very least you could try a Move, like Assess the Situation or maybe even Unleash Your Powers.
Trying out a Move is definitely something Kaoru should do here. It plays on him strengths of analysis. What happens will depend on the results. Matrix found the most obvious leads, but further efforts by the tech savvy Kaoru could find another hint.
As I was trying to imply with Kaoru's thoughts, there isn't really something Kaoru wants him to do. Or at least, he's of two minds about it. He's simply laying out what he thinks Sidney's options are and is planning on judging him based on his decision. Kaoru wants to know what kind of a person this guy is and he doesn't get that information if he's manipulating that through a roll.
"You're the one who rushed in here acting all threatening. I wouldn't have had to take action to get you to stop hurting Mrs. Lemmons if you hadn't, y'know, hurt her. Now the way I see it, either you can continue acting like a thug, beat the crap out of me, and then get arrested for assault. Or you could start acting like a reasonable human being and try actually having a conversation."
Regardless of Kaoru's thoughts behind the words, this is definitely a provocation towards Sidney to think about what he's doing. So I'm calling it a Provoke move for Kaoru. If you'd like, you can roll in the discussion thread and I can work from there.
Since K's using this conversation to try to get a sense of what kind of person Sid is, perhaps a Pierce the Mask? With a success meaning that he's able to appropriately respond to Sid's intentions without being surprised?
Since K's using this conversation to try to get a sense of what kind of person Sid is, perhaps a Pierce the Mask? With a success meaning that he's able to appropriately respond to Sid's intentions without being surprised?
That could work an an interpretation of his move. I'd accept a Pierce the Mask instead if Kaoru wants to lean in that way. I could even see an Assess Move if he's looking for any advantage to leverage in the situation.
On a side note, I left an open vue for Bronwyn in the post before last. Hope that it didn't get lost in the shuffle.
Alexis, I hope that was okay with me doing the Killzone that way. I'm not sure if that was the optimal solution for her challenge, or if you had a plan for Wrath to try to intercept her, or if I completely threw you for a loop. I'm kind of ready to go back to Halcyon at this point so I'm keen to wrap the Killzone side mission up. Unless you want to showcase your other villains you introduced, I'll have Shayera bow out after this, even if she was considered to have won against the Triakosia. (I don't care if Selene says she technically lost, hopefully enough in the audience will be impressed.)
Regardless of Kaoru's thoughts behind the words, this is definitely a provocation towards Sidney to think about what he's doing. So I'm calling it a Provoke move for Kaoru. If you'd like, you can roll in the discussion thread and I can work from there.
It's really not. From Kaoru's perspective, Sidney came in overly aggressively for really no good reason. Sidney also clearly wants information. Kaoru is playing those two against each other to see what wins; he's given what he sees as the options as well as warned him about some potential consequences. If Sidney chooses not to think about his options and just reacts, that's fine because that's his choice. It demonstrates that Sidney operates on base instincts and can't take a mental step back even when it's (in Kaoru's opinion) in his own best interests. The problem with Provoke is that it's actively influencing Sidney's reaction, so by the nature of rolling it, it's ruining whatever information Kaoru gets. If Sidney's choice means Kaoru gets beaten up, then so be it; Kaoru is just as happy trying to file a police report as he is for the situation to de-escalate (and the spiteful part of him would be happier even). As far as he's concerned, both options are a win and all a Provoke is really doing is forcing me to choose if Kaoru's spiteful side wins over his "better half" as it were. Because if his spiteful side wins, that Provoke is probably going to be to escalate the situation to make Sidney's crimes look more egregious.
I'm not really sure what questions I would ask for a Pierce. Kaoru isn't trying to get any sort of advantage. At best, he finds out about Sidney's intentions and then what? Sure, he may know what Sidney will choose but the point is for Sidney to take an action because it's the action that he's judging, not the intent behind it. I suppose I could roll Provoke to get Sidney to take an action/any action, but what's the alternative there? That they just stand around in this woman's living room all day?
If a Provoke is going to be insisted upon, I'd honestly rather just rewrite my post to something that's more likely to be interpreted in line with my how I mean for it to be interpreted.
I'll concede that it's not a Provoke move from your explanation. But from the gist of it, you're trying to get Kaoru to judge his character from his actions, which I would consider a Pierce the Mask move as he's looking for information - specifically, what are they planning, what do they want me to do, and what do you intend to do?
Also remember that Sidney's inflicted the Insecure condition on Kaoru because he's seen through his bluff as a intern. I'll proceed with the scene along with Wingblade's, and finish up this side adventure within the next couple of posts.
Kaoru's probably about to drive off, but I want to give Bronwyn a chance to show up before he does.
Eábha, you still with us?
FYI, I'll be going be on vacation starting on Wednesday Sept 22nd and I'll be out for about 2 weeks during which I don't plan to be checking games.
Not sure if you're back from vacation yet Kaoru, but as for your involvement in this next part, I wanted to see what you think would best get Kaoru involved (since he's distancing himself from the team).
My initial thought is that Ellen Lemmons calls him in desperation, trying to figure out where her grandson's gone and the police aren't helping at all. We could also have a message come from one of her mystery patrons on the net to get them into action.
I am back from vacation, though I'm still fighting off jetlag and catching up at work. As a result, it might be good just to keep Kaoru in the periphery for now. If you have something concrete you want him to do or something you want to use him as a mouthpiece for, I could probably manage that.
Since it's about time for Bronwyn's official Janus -> Legacy change and normally the 'what do you keep, what do you drop' thing is a conversation between player and GM, I figured I'd toss up my thoughts on what stays and see if anyone disagrees :-)
The Mask (aka, swapping Mundane for Freak). This one's gone. Even though Bron's gonna keep fighting incognito, the split between her goals isn't the center of her story anymore.
Mild-Mannered (slip past people using Mundane). More debatable, but gone. It's not her story any more, and she's a lot less concerned about never being seen caping in her civvies.
Dangerous Web (trap people). Gone. it was hard to use in PbP and didn't sync with her powerset as much as I'd envisioned.
I Am Not My Body. Gone. Being downgraded from bodyswapping to enhanced healing means she can't take a mortal wound and walk away in the same way as before.
Game Face. Sticking around. Bronwyn's sheer determination and focus are still very present.
There When It Matters. Sticking around. Bronwyn's still got her protective instincts backed up by her Guardian's Vigil.
Still want to wait on a Bronwyn response before I post a continuation, but if there's nothing by Saturday I'll go ahead and move the scene ahead.
I've got a bunch of Potential that I haven't spent. I'll take an advancement now. Taking a second adult move, Persuade With Best Interests.
Was there any Team to spend to help Mercy's roll?
I think that we may have been out of Team to spend, but I'll admit that it's been a while since I've actively tracked it. I'll say that Wingblade can boost the result as if using Team, and Mercy will take away his sword, if Wingblade spends her Influence on Mercy. Which I think has a similar effect as well?
Sometimes, you choose this to change the actual situation so your teammate has a chance to do something they couldn’t otherwise do. Other times, you’re just giving your teammate a boost. If it’s the former, then choosing this option gives your teammate that chance. If it’s the latter, though, then you should add a Team to the pool.
Spending an influence affects a roll targeting the one with influence, sadly. So I don't know if that can work. But as for if we have any Team, it all depends on if the opportunity I created literally gave Mercy an opportunity to do something they couldn't before, or if the assist just added a Team to give them a boost.
I could see it going either way, but it's up to you.
Of course, there's still the question of whether we entered battle against a dangerous foe as a team. Our opponents are dangerous, of course, but I don't know if we're really much of a team.
If we are, there's at least one Team in the pool, and as many as three if Wingblade's the leader and everyone trusts her.
Of course, there's still the question of whether we entered battle against a dangerous foe as a team. Our opponents are dangerous, of course, but I don't know if we're really much of a team.
That's something I've been hung up on too - they certainly got there as more or less a team, but Wingblade was specifically warding everyone away. Mercy disobeyed those orders and Bronwyn's been left not knowing what to do. I can't say that Mercy trusts Wingblade in the moment because they disregarded her instructions, so I think that's one Team that we won't get.
You did say that you gave Mercy an opportunity with your previous post, so I'll rule it that it gave an added +1 to the roll to ensure that it took something away from Wrath - he'll be surprised to find out his sword breaks on the next hit thanks to Mercy cracking the blade with their super-strength. ^^
Okay, so for Bronwyn's terrible loss of control - well, seeing as she's Angry, and Mercy is the one right there, I feel that she must attempt to clear angry by hurting them, spending Influence to inflict a condition on them or to give them -2 to their last roll.
Mercy's been wearing her face, strutting around like a better version of her, failed to follow orders and Bronwyn's gotten caught up in their foolishness. Let her spit the venom brewing up in her at Mercy.
Do note that with Wingblade's Team, Mercy's last roll would have been a success. So your options also determine whether it continues to succeed but Mercy hits five conditions, or it fails and Bronwyn is still pinned under the steel beam.