Shakti feels the pull from the infinite, the solution aligning with each and every one of her goals. She allows herself to be pulled into it, her essence beginning to cross the breach and flowing into something greater. As she feels herself being pulled away, becoming something infinitely greater, she reaches out with her mind, sharing her final thoughts with her Ally Burgurk; a mortal she could almost call friend.
Burgurk. It is Shakti. I have found the answer; the solution to so many questions. I have have found how to counter Ceyrana, and how to refind my divinity. I will be leaving you. What we will become is far beyond anything you can understand, but it will be glorious. Ceyrana will be no more, the breach between worlds healed, and neither any threat to you.
I have enjoyed your presence and companionship. Fare thee well.
I have no need of belongings where I am going, and so I leave what material wealth I possess to you. My Armour was accounted fine in your world, and my weapons serviceable. My staff will serve little use to one of your gifts, but it might remind you of me. It is a splinter of the all-knowing tree. If you wish, you may plant it in a place you call home. It will link the tree forever to this world so I might still see you from afar. If you come there, and meditate beneath its branches, you might even speak with me. All knowledge along the tree eventually returns to its boughs, and so, you might one day join with us if you wish it. I do not envy your struggles enduring the pettiness of so many lesser minds, but in you there is strength. You will do well.
Shakti takes a little time alone to meditate, ostensibly to prepare for the ritual. In reality, she takes the time to commune with the tree of knowledge, in an effort to find an outcome to her advantage. Perhaps she could use the breath to reconnect with the tree, to merge with divinity or prepare for rebirth, all while sealing the breach from the other side. And perhaps she might find that betrayal was the only answer, and that she might need to accept her rival's offer.
Divination:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 81d10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 Would she honour the agreement to give me a world and not reconquer it?
Divination:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 91d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 If I were to merge with her, would my influence on our new personality be strong enough to alter her plans for the world? Vigor:1d6 ⇒ 41d6 ⇒ 2
Communion:1d12 + 3 + 1d12 ⇒ (12) + 3 + (6) = 211d10 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 How can I use this breach to rejoin with divinity without betraying my allies?
Sorry, not missing, just unsure what to do next and waiting for the answer to occur to me (or be suggested by someone else.)
"I see only a few answers to this problem. First, we could ignore it, and while keeping a watchful eye, hope that what we have done has disrupted her foothold enough that she will no longer be able to break through. Without any remaining followers to work within the mines, it may be that she does not have a sufficient foothold to claw her way through.
"Second, we could collapse the mines, burning the point at which she has physical connection within the rock, making it inaccessible. Of course, as it is the reason for the existence of the town, I imagine the villagers would not be keen on our doing so. We don't necessarily need to consult them, though I'm sure doing it without them would not endear the Tomorrow Legion to them. Of course, blocking the physical access to a metaphysical point of connection may be irrelevant regardless."
"Third, we could ask for a mystical team from Castle Refuge to come and attempt to heal the damage done to the borders of reality in this place, should they even possess someone with the necesary skills to do so."
"Last, I could merge my consciousness with hers. Much as two liquids will join to form a new one, like milk in your tea, we would become a nee creature, possessing all the knowledge of both. There is a chance my more detailed understanding of this world and its emensity will dissuade her from attempting to subsume it, or that my personality will influence a more relaxed attitude towards her ideas of cnquest."
Pausing for a moment, she reflects upon how strange it feels to hide information from the universe, when her instinct is generally to try to convey as much to it as possible.
Once settled, she shares what she has learned with the group, laying it out susinctly.
"As some of you know, before coming to this world, I was deity over a small dimension of my own. Compared to this one, you might call it a pocket dimension. It was perhaps the size of a continent; not even a whole planet, but I was supreme over that realm. The presence in the mines is a being much as I was. However, her priorities are different than mine were in her position. She wishes to expand her control, and subsume surrounding dimensional space and realms. She has decided that this realm offers her an opportunity. This world is a nexus, and as such, offers her the ability to bridge to myriad other worlds."
I think it unlikely she intends to absorb this world, unless she is orders of magnitude more powerful than I remember, but neither would the process be harmless to those hereabouts. Likely, she would view life here as an expendable resource in fueling her attempts to reach out to less powerful worlds, much as she instructed her followers here to weaken the barrier with all those sacrificial deaths."
Burgurk says "Shakti, this is Captain Nerun of the Legion, he will be running things here from now on. Are you ok? Your lips were moving slightly, as if you were talking to someone."
Can I just throw that in for flavor?
Flavour is good, in my book.
Good to meet you Captain, but I am no longer a deity, though I might still be considered divine. I think you have inherited trouble here, captain."
She smiles at Burgurk, "I was speaking with someone; the recipient of all the energy harvested here. There is a being here, in a metaphysical sense. The barriers between dimensions has been made... thin, in this place. It appears that their intentions for the place are not over. Perhaps we should discuss this further from the breach."
Shakti is a Mystic, and therefore has to abide by a code. Her code is that of the hunter; eat or be eaten. Strength in numbers and loyalty to the pack are things she understands, but honour, or the traditional understanding of it, is not a factor to her.
I don't think she'd sell out this world, but she might abandon it. If she merged with her cousin, whether or not she attacked would depend on what made sense to the new creature (which would be up the GM, as Shakti would no longer be a playable character at that point).
I have been thinking of retiring the character, and this storyline actually provides some very interesting and internally consistent opportunities to do that. Having her merge with the villain and become a potential threat would have all sorts of fun storyline implications though. Fun way to deal with an OP character can be to have them evolve into an enemy, for sure.
However, this baddy is not coming across as particularly trustworthy, so unless they could create some sort of Mystic binding that assured the outcome, Shakti would be unlikely to chance the trade. In that case Unity would be the only offer that would appeal to her. Her ultimate goal is knowledge, so adding her knowledge to that of another creature like herself would be nothing but gain in her eyes, even if the creature she is was technically destroyed in the process. The new creature would have all Shakti's knowledge, as well as all of the emeny's, and any others that might have already been absorbed by her. The new creature would act in accordance with all the knowledge it accumulated from all sources, and therefore by definition be wiser than any of the individuals that joined into it.
This is all quite in line with the Hindu philosophy I based her on (at least my western-non Hindu understanding of it).
"My only desire thus far has been to regain what I've lost. I dream of it. If instead I were to join with you, what role would I serve? Would I be a servant? A lieutenant? Or would my life simply become fuel to your ambitions? Or would we merge; our experiences added to those of each other, our knowledge pooled, our purpose joined?"
To merge together with another held no distaste to Shakti. This was the fate of every creature that lived along the tree - the purpose of each life. How else could the universe learn but to experience each aspect of that creation through different eyes? At the end of each life, all the knowledge accumulated rejoined the whole, adding everything it had learned. In fact, joining with Ceyrana held a certain appeal; while divine beings should not be able to lie, some sort of betrayal seemed inherent in this creature. However, if they were the same creature, their experiences and mutual knowledge would reshape their goals, and whatever decision was arrived at for the future would be to the benefit of their mutual self; no betrayal would be possible.
Shakti smiles. "This world is a nexus; it swells and swirls with the tempestuous energy of infinite worlds, distilled down to one. Make sure you do not set your sights too high. This world would choke you if you tried to swallow it. Even if you got it down, it would burst from you like a crocodile from the stomach of an over eager snake."
"We may be kin, but there are differences too. Just as each of our worlds has its common features, each must be distinct as well. In this, our world's are more remarkable in their differences than in their sameness, as are you and I."
"Your pursuit of the infinite will likely be your undoing, sister. I am not interested in assimilated all. I believe our distinctness provides for more knowledge than our similarities."
"However, you do offer something I want. This place does not offer the existence I was born to; it is but a pale shadow. To be barely more than mortal, with only echoes of my power, is a bitter fate. I may, therefore, be amenable to a trade. My access to this world, for control of one of ours. Give me but one of those pearls, and I will cement your foothold here. We will bind ourselves not to interfere, each with the other, lest of course there are no other worlds left to subsume. What say you?"
"So, you do not want to rule these worlds, but rather just to harvest their energy?"
As a predator, Shakti is not actually opposed to the concept of a greater force eating a lesser. That she could do such to this world was a near impossibility however. This world was a nexus, and as such flowed with the power of myriad worlds. More likely it was its status as a nexus that made it appealing to Ceyrana. From here, she could vastly expand her reach to all those other worlds.
Shakti allows an eyebrow to raise in surprise at the greeting, a reaction to her that might be the equivalent of jumping in surprise for anyone else. This was not who she had expected.
Her world had been an all encompassing entity when it existed; a world in and of itself, separate and distinct from all others. She had been the supreme being over that world, ruler of every snail and insect, just as much as she ruled over the spirit of every man, dragon, and naga. However, that world could also be seen as a single pearl, on a strand of pearls extending infinitely in each direction; one of an infinite variation of worlds, each allowing the divine to see and know each permutation of reality. It was the tree of knowledge that connected all those worlds, a splinter of which formed the mystic staff that lay upon her lap. It was her connection to that tree that still granted her access to in the infinite wisdom of infinite worlds, seen by infinite permutations of the deities that ruled each variation. Ceyrana was one of these.
A cousin, a sister, or a twin, Ceyrana had perverted the purpose of her world to one of her own. Instead of exploring and fostering her world, adding to the knowledge of the tree by encouraging her world's distinctness from all the others, she had sought to merge those worlds; to expand the barriers of her world to overtake the boundaries of her neighbours. It had been a perversion of their joint purpose, and as such, Shakti had rightly opposed it.
Only now, her world was gone, and with it, her purpose. Shared divinity now held a temptation that it had not before. Her world had been destroyed by the disruptive storm represented by the one she now occupied. Ceyrana's world, presumably, had not. In that, there was opportunity. Displacing her and resuming divinity within one of the infinite worlds was possible; it would not be her world, made to her image and mindset, but perhaps it could be resculpted in to a semblance of what she had created. One deity displacing another within the infinite worlds was not unknown, just rare. Alternatively, some of the larger pearls had room for more gods... pantheons. Such had appealed to her not in the least when Ceyrana had forced her hand eons ago, but then she had been supreme over a realm of her own, with no desire to share.
All of these thoughts flashing through her mind in the barest of an instant, she found herself considering. Sending her thoughts back along the vines and branches that connected this world to the point, Shakti addressed her reflection, "Why do you still desire that which lies outside your grasp? You have all that lays beneath your gaze; all your world has to offer, and yet you still crave more. Why?"
As for recreating Shakti in SWADE, I am thinking a MARS with Arcane Background would be more appropriate for her, if we did that as a theoretical exercise.
Has there been more discussion of switching to SWADE? I thought you were against the idea? Ya, I'm sure there might be a few ways to mock up a character similar enough to feel like a carryover of Shakti. However, to be honest, I sort of feel like I am getting a bit tired of the character. Sometimes being too good at things is not fun, and the Flame-Dragon-form fixes everything problem isn't going away yet... {though she is a bit of a glass cannon. She is only of pretty typical human toughness in her own shape, so if anyone figured out she was the main threat, a concentrated attack could end her pretty quickly.)
Shakti takes the lull in the conflict, with Hollis apparent retreat, to investigate the sensation she felt before, emanating from the mines. If there is any residual infection, subversion, or presence there, she means to find it. She informs Burgurk of her intention, against the possibility she is needed if Hollis returns, or in case she should fail to return. Should that happen, she suggests they not attempt to look for her, but rather collapse the entrances to the mine with explosives, and send for a more powerful Mystic or Shifter, or a team of said specialists, from castle refuge to address the remaining taint.
There is also the factor that she was unable thus far to put a name to the familiarity of the being's presence. She had been sure at one point that the entity was one she had known in the past, perhaps even with her own world.
Moving down into the mines, she returns to the location of the rift, where the Demon Lord was initially summoned. Sitting herself cross legged upon the floor, she begins to meditate on the problem.
She also casts her mind into the greater sea of understanding, seeking the name of the foe they fought here.
Divination:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 71d10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Sorry I've been absent. I've been going through some marital difficulties and my wife and I are separating. I could use some distraction, so I will try to get reinvested quickly.
Looks like Hollis has been driven off for a second time, and we are waiting to see if he tries to take the town a third time?
Shakti looks around at the silence, and decides it's time for the obligatory speech. She steps out from the wall where she was leaning, summoning a little light to her staff, and a little boost to her tongue, to compensate for the paranoia of these simple, xenophobic simpletons.
Persuasion:1d12 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 1 - 2 = 101d6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 1 - 2 = 2 She is at -2 due to her off-putting appearance (included), -4 to any coalition type human supremacists.
"Nothing is certain in life. The magi and the demon he was summoning represented an intolerable risk to life. Before long, the creature would have exhausted their supply of easy fodder," she gestures at one of the blue-skinned d-bees. "When they were all gone, what do you suppose they would have turned to next to feed its power? Do you suppose Hollis would have volunteered some of his men, and kept your citizens safe? Now that he is gone you have choices. If you think your lot might be better with him should he return, then by all means, welcome him. Blame us for his expulsion, and live under this warlord, subject to his whims; at least in till a more powerful one comes along to displace him."
"The Tomorrow Legion has an army true, but it is small compared to the coalition or even the federation, and it cannot be everywhere at once. It survives as a pact between peoples, for mutual protection, not servitude. They'll not force your hand, but would welcome you should you choose to join."
The plan was continue holding the mind control until nightfall, when he will presumably be at least a few miles off. I don't think a dramatic challenge makes much sense here either way, as he is far away, and his choice to return or not is beyond our influence.
As things stand now, I was under the impression I was still holding the spell at the present time.
Shakti replies back into her coms from her chosen meditation space, "As you wish commander. However, due to my rather exhausted state, I suggest we triage the wounded in terms of usefulness in repelling any attempted assualt. While I am hopeful that once my control ebbs that the Hollis will keep his company away, in order to save face in front of his men if nothing else, there is a chance he will instead decide to turn around and attempt recapture of this village. I suggest this might be a good time to approach the local leadership to accept Tomorrow Legion assistance. If they decline, we should withdraw to a safe distance."
Replying to Burgurk's command Shakti says, "With your pardon commander, but I think it might be a better use of my time to sit and meditate upon my control of the erstwhile warlord, Hollis. He is removing his team from the village, but should my control lapse, there is nothing stopping him from turning around and coming back. I considered that a better option than fighting in the town square. At least then, the bystanders can be gotten to cover. However, my command to him was to get his band as far from here as possible, as fast as possible. If I maintain my control a bit longer, till dusk for instance, they are that much less likely to simply return when Hollis returns to his own wits."
Whispering to Burgurk Shakti says, "Alright, let me try something. If this goes sideways, I will try to teleport us away before the crossfire begins. Be warned; I am nearing my limits, and greater magics might be beyond me."
As she strides forward she addresses the leader, in a casual tone that would sound that belies the true command laid into the phrase, "Allow me to approach and speak for your ear alone, Hollis."
After speaking, she marches directly up to the warlord, holding only her staff, her other weapons stowed and non-threatening. Once there she wraps herself around him, many of her arms running over his face and shoulders in a very familiar fashion. She leans close to whisper in his ear.
"You will tell your men to stand down. As soon as I leave your side, you will act as though you are restraining fear. Let your fear of me show, if you like. You will leave the square and tell your men to strike camp and leave immediately. Any gear not immediately mobile is to be abandoned. If there are any among your men you feel require an explanation, you will tell them that the demon summoned in the mine was angered and breaking through, and that this entire village and its surrounds will very soon be pulled into hell. You want your company to be as far away as possible when that happens. You will order that villagers not be harmed, as the more sacrifices the demon can claim, the smaller the chunk of this world claimed will be and the more assured your escape. You will believe this. You may reveal to your men it was I that revealed this to you, but you will make them believe that you believe it to be true. Do as I command now, and command your men to use all possible haste."
She gives Hollis a kiss on the lips, and then shoves him away, just a little roughly.
"Well?
Should my mind control fail, then of course she'll take a totally different set of actions. Since the roll is good, I'm hoping this will work; let me know if it doesn't.
Is this Hollis character visible? If we can lure him out I might be able to mind-control him. If not, we could always kill him, and hope they lack enough organization without him to react. Otherwise, a hundred guys is a lot to try and take out.
Shakti smiles and shows her pointed teeth, "As long as you lot withhold your squeamish attitudes, I'd take pleasure in it; I eat my kills, and I am very tired of seeing good meat go to waste."
Shakti takes count of how many guards and mercenaries are visible, as well as any heavy weapons that might cause them trouble.
She opens up her third eye as well, looking for supernatural energies, particularly if there is any more demonic power spilling out.
Detect Arcana:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 41d10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Shakti stands by while Burgurk addresses the crowd, off to one side. She keeps a rifle at the ready in case there prove to be more demonic sympathizers amongst the townsfolk.
Shakti moves to a vantage point where she can see the Sorcerer, and targets his position with two of her rifles. Pressing the trigger firmly on each, she peppers him with laser bolts, like some primitive action hero.
Differences I've noticed are mostly polish, and dealing with a few game breaking mechanics like Quickness.
In Rifts, the main changes you notice are way fewer Heroes Journey rolls, fewer MARS rolls, a few cybernetics are nixed, etc. Just about any class that has capacity to do damage on its own (dragon, casters, Bursters, Cyber-Knight, etc) have had that damage reduced, while at the same time, most hand held weapons have been subtly increased. Some things that used to be doable by anyone (doubletap, 3 rd burst) now require an Edge.
There are others, but in general, every class is subtly different, and old builds often don't work, requiring you to find new exploits (or just play vanilla characters...).
All true, but one the whole, I like a lot of the fixes. If you were to bring it into this game, you would almost need a bit of a soft-reboot, where we skip a little time and see the characters as they are now. However, I am in no rush, and if the concensus is to stay put with how things are, I am fine with that too.
Your descriptive text said the Giant Demon disappeared, and pulled my Dragon through the Rift? Am I reading that right? Both are gone?
Shapeshifting:
DM ShadowBloodmoon wrote:
Just an interesting note. I was reading somewhere about the shapeshifting power because of the upcoming Pathfinder conversion, and I noticed there is actually a limiting factor based on character rank. I was going to look for our conversation on it, but suffice to say that we've already established that Shakti can do this in the game.
I actually asked you about that when making the character (Here and here). You are right that characters are limited by the rank at which they take the Edge. However, on the PEG boards, Clint was posed the question in regards to Rifts, and he responded that because of the Born a Hero setting rule, characters are effectively Legendary when choosing the spell, allowing them to function as if Legendary when using that particular piece of Magic, so long as it was chosen at character creation.
I find that second post especially prophetic:
Rigor Rictus wrote:
I'm not as worried about the logistics as I am about the imbalancing effect it might have. I've not seen it in action in a game, but the ability of a Novice Character to change into Adult Flame Wind Dragon, even if it does take most of his PPE for the day, turns a character into a extremely heavy hitter, albeit briefly.
As always, I am fine scaling back the power if needed, as it is pretty ripe for abuse... the options are also very limited, as the only real book of Rifts monsters is Savage Foes of NA. I've looked through the book a couple of times, and I just keep coming back to the Dragon, as nothing else really compares.
Going through the process of making a new character for Tumbler's game in SWADE has kind of gotten me interested in that version. Most of the ridiculous exploits Shakti uses no longer work in SWADE.
On a different note, I still can't log in on Chrome. If anyone out there is still unable to log in, try a different browser!
Shakti continues moving quietly towards the center of the chamber, augmenting herself and her allies as she moves.
Quickness:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 71d10 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Summon Ally:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 71d10 + 3 + 1d10 ⇒ (10) + 3 + (7) = 20 Exalted Sense Arcana:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 91d10 + 3 + 1d10 ⇒ (10) + 3 + (7) = 20 Let's me know stats, see invisible, etc. I am presuming this is a Greater Demon from Savage Foes of NA? PPE Used:4 - 0 + 7 - 5 + 4 - 4 = 6
Clone's Round A
A duplicate of Shakti, almost indistinguishable from the original, materializes ahead, just the other side of the rocks from the largest creature. She prepares herself, and then shifts into the massive form of an adult dragon, a creaturenon the scale of the chief demon itself.
The newly emerged dragon immediately calls its flaming aura into being, and charges in towards the largest demon, assaulting it mystically and physically at the same time.
Greater Lower On Greater Demon's Spellcasting skill:1d12 + 1 + 1d12 + 1d12 ⇒ (12) + 1 + (12) + (6) = 31 Fighting with claws:1d12 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13 Damage:1d12 + 8 + 3d8 + 3d8 + 1d8 ⇒ (2) + 8 + (2, 4, 8) + (4, 5, 1) + (5) = 39AP 8 If this is a Greater Demom, that 13 won't even make it past his Parry.
Shakti would agree with Burgurk on this one. She has no specific allegiance to this potential victim, so his or her fate is irrelevant to her. Her concern would be that if the demon continues to grow in power, that it might become a threat to her, or individuals with whom she does hold allegiance. The demon needs to be confronted, but before or after this particular sacrifice is mostly irrelevant.
Shakti nods at Burgurk's orders, and begins moving closer to the action, hunkered low and moving behind the rocks. She gestures to the next person to keep a 5 meter spread, so we don't all get caught in the same fireball.
Shakti gives one of the demons' corpses a kick and calls after Casey, "They are not overly common in this realm; you should take a souvenir!" She grabs a severed demon head and plops it in the dumbfounded woman's hands before following after the Simvan.
"The teeth and horns would make an impressive fetish."
Seeing the Demons close at hand and laying into them with tooth and nail, Shatki pulls out her swords, and enhances both the skill and strength with which she wields them.
I'd suggest you could get the most for the least by simply changing your main pre-made gadgets. 3-4 rounds becomes 1-2 if you make quickness one of your three known. Make the others combat utility spells like Smite and either Shield or Deflection. Raise/Lower Ability is another good one as it can both buff or debuff.
Other than that, see if you can reassign an edge to take Master of Magic. You might need to rearrange a few skill points, and or Stats, in order to make the prereqs, but it'll be worth it.
I know it, I just didn't know the fiddly extra bits like "demons take +8 damage from holy", which is what I meant when I said I don't know how to optimize the system; I don't have any idea where that's listed.
Like any game, it is usually a matter of having a few of the knowledge skills in order to have a shot at knowing the major highlights of the various baddies.
I'm on a night shift tonight. If you like, I can try to take a look and see if I can suggest any tweaks to help you out.
Hey, sorry I haven't been around much. Life has been a cruel mistress lately, but I'm not dead; at least, not yet.
That was me that made up the Psycho-kinetic; basically just a TK based re-
skin of the Burster, and not any more powerful.
I played in a irl Rifts game a while back and in that game I played a Techno-Wizard. To be honest, I think I was the most versatile character in the group. I had some heavy-hitter type options (I used Filthy rich to start with a vehicle, which I was able to use in a lot of encounters), but usually, just the insane flexibility of the TW is enough to break most encounters.
Build-wise, Master of Magic is an essential edge - it basically doubles the power of all your enchantments. Next, get your TW skill as high as possible to ensure you get a raise on most inventions.
Regardless, think of it this way; you are always within one action of having the perfect tool for any job! Demons? Create a laser-enhancer that magnifies the damage of your blaster (Greater Smite), and with Master of Magic, you can add an aura (or whatever they're called - Trapping, that's it) to it - such as Good, Holy, Silver, etc. Now your 2d6 blaster is doing 2d6+8+8* (Demon's take +8 from Holy or Silver).
Need a sneak attack? Cloaking Device. Need to get away quick or get inside the vault? Teleporter. Need a translator? Speak Language. Get through a battlefield untouched? Phase Shifter. Don't even get me started on the buff and debuffs they can access (Boost/Lower stat, Blind, Obscure, Quickness, Speed, Warrior's Blessing, and so on).
It got so bad that I actually switched characters when one session broke the immersion. It was becoming a running joke that my character could do almost anything, and if she couldn't, she could build it. We ended up at the end of a long battle that actually resulted in collapsing a town's only skyscrapper with us buried in the basement, trapped in the elevator. After I built a teleported to get us out, and we ran around for hours finishing off the remaining bad guys and rescuing all the peasants, someone asked if I had a device that could provide amazing coffee, to help deal with the exhaustion. I simply responded, "No, but I can build one." (Succor)
The whole table lost it laughing, and we had to end the session right there as the mood was just destroyed. It was a good time though.
Long story short, Techno-Wizards have the potential to be the most bad-ass archtype in the game, and with a few tweeks, I'm sure yours could be too.
It is always a shame to see someone drop out of a game. In this case however, I have more mixed feelings, as Anya was clearly mismatched with our team. While a quirky wildcard is pretty standard in any typical adventuring crew, in a military campaign, it was a very poor fit.
Shakti rejoins the group, screening her face from the dust and dirt being kicked up by the hovering mech suit, and shouts to be heard overtop of the sound of the muffled exhaust ports.
"I though Burgurk gave you orders not to retrieve your suit. Burgurk, have you decided to defy the village ordinance by reversing the order?"
I think the closest thing here to a reasonable compromise would be for Anya to ask her commanding officer if it would acceptable to remain suited up, but hang back outside the village boundaries until needed and Birgurk orders her in.
I have to side with Burgurk here. And not just a little, as Anya's actions make no sense at all from a military, or even common sense perspective. She is definately quirky and impulsive, but her actions arr reaching over into mental health kind of territory.
A) This is a military unit. Based on her bahavoiurs so far, I would expect Burgurk's first action when we get back to base to be to report her for insubordination. She has ignored and disobeyed multiple direct orders. She should probably face disciplinary action of some sort based on her conduct thus far, and at the very least I think he would have obvious grounds to have her removed from his unit. A soldier that cannot follow orders is a liability. Even Shakti, who does not consider herself part of this "quaint hierarchy" would regard the mission as under Burgurk's direction. She might defy him if she felt it was in the/her greater interest, but she would expect to lose any standing she has with the Tomorrow Legion as a result, so would weigh the advantages and disadvantages of those actions very carefully before committing to them.
B) The suit is not invisible, at all. I am on board with a Notice -2, as the other interpretation does seem like a hole in the rules. However, it still runs on turbines, and kicks up winds and dust wherever it goes. When it comes to rolling stealth with such a vehicle, I think this is more like a active firing sniper. You can hear the gunshots, tell that they are probably coming from that ridge to the south, but still be unable to spot the sniper. Hes there, hes operating a noisy piece of equipment (whether my firing sniper, or your mech suit), but you still cannot tell exactly where he is. His position is obscured. I think that is about the best result that can be achieved with this stealth system. Everybody can tell there is a flying armour in the area, but the noise is more defused and echoey than a regular suit would be, and with the chameleon system, they may not be able to track it easily with the eye, but they all know it is there somewhere (just like the sniper). I would think that like firing a gun, starting up the turbines means people will know someone is about. They may not know if the suit is on this street, or over on the next street, but they know a mech is operating. If she want to have any chance of being invisible, she more or less needs to be walking or holding still.
C) Not sure what exactly you are going for with the character. Is she delusional in regards to what it can do, or just wanting to use her toys and making excuses (which I get, but again shes been ordered not to do so)? That should be the end of discussion. If she disobeys that, we can't stop her, but if she has any idea what military protocols are required, she should be expecting suspension of duty upon returning to Castle Refuge, pending a potential Court Martial. Burgurk would be within his rights right now to order the rest of us to arrest her (if we could - none of us has a mech suit) and hold her until she can be delivered for said court martial. Just like Shakti would expect if she defies the military commander of the mission, Wraith should be completely aware of the consequences. This relates back to point A: military campaigns are not typical D&D parties. They are different in a few ways. In most games, when the rogue tells the Paladin to sod off and goes and robs the townspeople of the village, if he finds out, they fight, and work it out. As while he might be the leader, the Paladin is not necessarily the commander. This situation is very different. You are a soldier and have been placed under Burgurk's command. If you defy him, you are now a soldier that cannot follow orders. Soldiers that cannot be counted on to follow their orders are useless to a military, (less than useless actually) and will be treated accordingly.
I just really think Anya is not on the same page as the rest of us, and not sure if that is intended as quirky behaviour, or if it relates to the player seeing the game as different from the rest of us.
"I felt a bit of a... taint... on Hollis when we saw him in the saloon, as well as on the men with him. Now we have one here for a more detailed examination, perhaps I can figure out what it was."
She walks over to the man, his concentration still firmly in Wraith's hand, and looks at him with a concentrated gaze. She opens her (metaphorical) third eye, gazing through any glamours or shields against detection...
"It may be something as simple as the demon's scent, left over due to simply occupying the same space, though at different times. It could also be a marker, like a signal to other demons that this prey is claimed, find your own servants or food. The last possibility is something more sinister, that it has done something to these men to control or modify them. Mind control, subtle influence, or perhaps a portion of its essence; which might operate like a remote control, or perhaps like an egg - over time it could grow, feeding on the bodies or souls of the mercenaries until it bursts out of them, either physically or spiritually."
With that roll I should be able to tell how he lost his virginity and the subject of his first wet dream...
