"I have pierced the mind of our prisoners already, they did not hold much intel in regards to their mission parameters. I would require access to higher ranking members of the Coalition operating here in order to ascertain their minds. It is...taxing...to mind walk and we could be expecting another conflict at any moment. I must be ready to try and support you and the others." Sun Li explains. "I could try to infiltrate their base but they are on high alert already and Jingu is already scouting their location. Better to wait for his information and plan from there."
Distrust was to be expected; when one betrayed their fellows, it made their new allies wonder if they could expect the same. It was only logical to not trust him and he did not hold it against the men. It was always good to have someone that the men and women weren't sure about, it meant that the hard decisions could be left at his feet and be his burden to bear. It allowed the captain to operate more effortlessly, more heroically. Let him do the dirty work and get it done with.
"Your estimation is correct, we were surely overwhelmed. It would be costly but that has not stopped the Coalition before from crushing would-be insurgents before. The message was more important than the cost." His mind lingers back over the papers, the reading about the mission that had previously occurred here. "Perhaps it deals with the Nexus that lays nearby. It was activated by an agent of the Federation of Magic. Perhaps it has reopened and is connected to something dangerous...or even worse...useful to the Coalition."
Jace offered him the bread roll and the mind melter regarded it for a moment. Could it be poisoned? It didn't seem to fit the Juicer's personality profile that well. He would take the bread and bite into it before looking forward into the tree line. "Hopefully the Intelligence Branch can unlock the brains of the prisoners better than me. We need more information about their operations here."
Sun Li walks with the others, frowning a little when Jace comes up beside him. He shakes his head lightly, speaking a soft and calm voice.
"The battle was within acceptable losses, a mission failure is not acceptable though. This is my first outing with the Legion and to come back with a complete failure, outside of some intel, is not useful." Sun Li looks at the others for a moment, taking them in. "Morale is low despite the victory. Losing Garnet Town is a major defeat in our quiet campaign. Let us hope we do not incur the Coalition's wrath too early."
The battle was terrible and costly, not the beginning of his new career with Tomorrow Legion. The mind melter would move aside his comrades, leading the detachment deeper into the forest. The walk back would be hellish until they were safe to try and rebuild the communications tower.
Sorry for my own quietness; this weekend has been crazy and my spoons have been everywhere. I think that, if we were at a table, we could hear the results of the battle and then altogether come up with adaptions to our fight to change the modifiers and all that jazz. Fast, Fun, & Furious is the key tenets of Savage Worlds but Play by Post can slow things down quite a bit and it takes longer to agree on a solid plan before the next roll can be made.
For the record, you're doing great DM SBM! I've run Rifts a little before and to be handling us and giving us a whole slew of soldiers is a lot going on. I definitely feel like we should have a mix of missions where we have moments like this; leading soldiers, logistics, and stuff like that, while having moments when it is just the specialists. Like you said, we're basically post-post-apocalyptic superheroes. Just us on our own can cause a lot of problems and may let us travel a little more quietly when doing outreach missions and stuff.
I want to say that there are ways to lose it, such as skipping a round of battle. Battle rounds are meant to simulate minutes of combat, rather than the quick seconds of it. It can be exhausting.
Of course, I'm not looking at the book so I'm not exactly sure how they did it with SWADE.
Sun Li moves through the foliage, hiding his psionic presence entirely from the enemy. As the massive walkers come into range, he focuses all of his psionic power and tries to shock the synapses of all those within the metal machine. It wouldn't permanently disable the machine but it could afford the advantage that the Legion needed to take control of the battle.
"I can provide synaptic bursts and target the walkers. If I close the range, my psiblade can likely cut through their armor as well." Sun Li offers, looking over the rest of the team. "Full-scale combat is not my specialty but the lessons it could teach, as long as squad losses are acceptable, could be very valuable."
My sincere apologies, I totally missed that I was what was being waited upon.
"Unfortunately, I cannot Captain. My abilities are excellent for reconnaissance and information gathering. As command had said before to me, they are still...maturing."
Sweat drips from Sun Li's brow as he focuses on the lieutenant, the only other sign of effort being being his jaw's clenched. After five minutes though, he pulls away from them and gently wipes his brow of sweat.
"We appreciate your cooperation." Sun Li says before contacting the command staff to gather for a debriefing. The former Coalition State operative shares his information with the team in a calm and calculating way.
Got a migraine but don't want to hold up game. Feel free to look through the spoilers, Sun Li hides no information.
Sorry for the delay, been super busy out of nowhere. I'll be more regular from here on out.
Sun Li has the soldiers separate the prisoners so no information could be shared between them, standing before the two pilots first before moving to the psychically adept sniper. Kneeling down before the battered man, he reaches out and places his fingers upon their temple.
"This may be uncomfortable." Sun Li says before he pierces into the mind of the first pilot. He does the same with the second, moving through their mind to uncover what laid within.
Mind Walk (1st Pilot):1d8 ⇒ 7Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 5Free Reroll:1d8 ⇒ 5
Mind Walk (2nd Pilot):1d8 ⇒ 5Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 6Wild Ace!:1d6 ⇒ 5Free Reroll:1d8 ⇒ 1
Using both powers cost a total of 11 ISP. They may make a Smarts roll against my roll to try and resist. If I win, I have up to 5 minutes to explore memories, ask any number of questions, or even speak with their subconscious. If I win with a raise, they do not realize I used the power on them. My questions are in the spoiler.
Pilot Questions:
~ What mechs are accompanying the company?
~ Who are the commanders of this company and what is their objectives?
~ Are they any special attachments connected with the company?
~ Have you constructed any communications back with your homebase?
~ Did you know you were going to be killing civilians?
~ Do you feel guilt for what you have done?
~ If offered redemption, would you take it?
Approaching the Sniper, Sun Li would look over the injured figure before giving a small smile. The mind melter did enjoy a challenge. He reinforced his mind first, preparing to assault the sniper's defenses and learn what they knew.
Sun Li will spend power points first to boost his Psionics die.
I have rolled an 11, which means I pay 5 ISP for my power. They resist with a Smarts roll. If I win, I will ask the questions below.
Sniper:
~ Who are the commanders of this company and what is their objectives?
~ Are they any special attachments connected with the company?
~ Have you constructed any communications back with your homebase?
~ Have you seen a small, D-Bee child (describes mayor's son)?
~ What is your unit's specialty?
~ Who are notable figures in your unit?
~ Did you know you were going to be killing civilians?
~ Do you feel guilt for what you have done?
~ If offered redemption, would you take it?
"I have not detected anything too unusual. Before combat occurred, there was a mental ping. Likely communication between the enemy psionics. Their armor is not known to me and I had...in-depth time with a multitude of Coalition special forces." Sun Li reports, rubbing at his chin lightly.
"Captain Deloso.." Sun Li says after ensuring that the prisoners have been successfully detained by the rest of the troop. "...it seems that our casualties are limited, though the loss of the APC is a detriment and will slow our travel speeds. We also have to deal with the fact that the prisoners have showcased psionic capabilities; they are a constant danger. I will keep an eye on them at all time and, with your permission, investigate them mentally to try and form a coherent story as to why the Coalition State annihilated Garnet Town." There was a momentary pang of guilt that was quickly suppressed. It was ruthless, utterly so. It was too close to Tolkeen.
Sun Li gives a slight nod at Jingu's question; the mind melter would be busy with the captives after the captain had sorted the mess and decided what their next course of action would be. He thought that they should try to contact headquarters and prepare for a response; this assault was one of the first tests that this newborn confederacy.
Sun Li keeps an eye on the interrogation, listening in quietly and gathering whatever information he could. There would be multiple interrogations before their task was done.
"You survived Specialist Jimenez. This is relatively unexpected, I had considered the crew to be a complete loss." Sun Li says softly, if coldly. Her tears brought very little reaction from the psychic, who regarded her calmly before he looked back over at the APC. "You did well, above and beyond your service. Pull yourself together and form a perimeter. The smoke may attract unwanted attention."
Hey, hey, hey, could I maybe get a benny for being a coldly logical a~+~+*% as my Quirk says I am? I am totally fine with being disliked by her and maybe other members of her squad.
I'll get a post up soon, life has been super hectic at the moment. I don't think Sun Li is close to anyone to really do anything, so I am fine holding as well.
I'm okay with another player joining if everyone else is.
Sun Li rushes out from the cover he was hiding behind, focusing mentally for a moment to form his own psi-blade within his hand. The purple, psionic energy forms down his hand and compresses into an almost impossibly thin blade of potential violence.
I am going to move to where Elias is with the stunned swordswoman. I am going to cast Greater Smite again to form my Psi-Blade
That'll cost 2 Power Points, leaving me with 30/40 ISP left. The Psi-Blade does Strength + Smarts + 6 (1d6+1d8+6), with AP equal to my Psionics die x2 (AP 24). The blade is also a MD weapon, like the pistol
"Cyber-Knight Elias, I will keep watch on this prisoner. Please, support the front line." Sun Li says with an almost unsettingly calmness to his face. Dark eyes turn towards the woman as he presses the blade against the neckline of her helmet. It cuts in with almost no resistance.
"I suggest surrendering totally. If I think you're resisting, I will end you soldier." Sun Li says with a matter of fact tone.
My hope is to basically try and get a free attack should she try to get away again or fight back. Also free up the cyber-knight to go be all heroic. I've updated all my durations currently as well. Sun Li will position himself in such a way to use the woman as cover against the oncoming attacks, if possible.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that if you're already Shaken, that the wound you gain from being Shaken again doesn't stack again. The idea was that you're easier to hurt, not that you get hurt more.
That was back in Deluxe Edition, of course, so SWADE could've changed it.
As the soldier engages with Elias, psi-blades striking against one another, Sun Li focuses his mind upon the enemy. There was a sniper further in, which meant that they needed to get closer and flank before one of them was hit with a direct shot.
"Whitlock, can you suppress the missile launcher coming from the back at all?" He says with gritted teeth, his mind reaching out towards the warrior there. Focusing with biokinesis, Sun Li's mind focuses on creating a massive synpatic shock to drive the warrior to his knees and make him an easy target
I am going to use Stun on the warrior, adding the Greater Stun & the Fatigue modifier to the power, for a total cost of 6 ISP.
I got a raise so the power cost drops to 5 ISP and he may resist with a -4 to his Vigor. If I succeed, he immediately is Distracted & Vulnerable, falls Prone, and drops all weapons. He also gains 2 levels of Fatigue. At the start of his turn, he can make a Vigor roll to recover from Stunned. If he fails, he stays stunned. If he succeeds, he loses Stunned but remains Vulnerable. If he gets a raise, he loses Stunned and is not Vulnerable for the rest of the round
Hey guys! I'm heading on vacation from Saturday to Wednesday so feel free to bot me. Sun Li will continue to help his allies and is willing to make psychic attacks to lower the fighting of the psychic enemies. If he wins, they gain a level of Exhaustion.
From behind his cover, Sun Li easily deflects the laser bolt aimed for him with a casual disregard. The Skelebots' numbers made them dangerous but not themselves. Taking aim at one of the approaching threats, he opened fire.
As the Skelebots begin to awaken again, Sun Li's eyes narrow and he draws his laser pistol from his side. At the same time, his psionic abilities begin to activate one after another in the attempt to keep himself safe.
In the reaction round; I am activating Boost Trait: Psionic & Greater Deflection
Greater Deflection:1d12 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0Wild!:1d6 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1Free Reroll:1d12 - 2 ⇒ (6) - 2 = 4 Greater Deflection activates for 5 points. -4 to shoot/hit Sun Li
---4 of Diamonds---
Sun Li watches as the more combative members of his team immediately enter into combat. Knowing the combat prowess of a combat cyborg and its ability to draw attention to itself, the psychic takes cover nearby it using whatever he can (going prone if none is available). He focuses on the laser pistol in his hand, his mind covering it with a telekinetic sheathe. A laser, though it was practically weightless, did have some mass to it. Its speed, coupled with the surprising addition of telekinetic mass, could change a simple pistol into a terrible weapon.
I am going to take a multi-action again. First I will cast Greater Smite on my pistol. After that, I will take a shot at the surviving skelebot by Jingμ
Greater Smite:1d12 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0Wild!:1d6 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1Free Reroll:1d12 - 2 ⇒ (11) - 2 = 9 Greater Smite activates for 2 points. The pistol now does an additional 6 damage and does Mega Damage
"The commanding soldiers, these ones with the red tiger stripes, are not known to me as any specific Coalition force. We will need to identify them and learn their motives; there is no strategic value immediately available in regards to Garnet Town, nothing worth wiping them out wholesale." The knight was right, this was strange indeed.
Slowly Sun Li began to retract from the young woman's mind, leaving her subconscious to mourn what had come to pass. The mind melter's eyes opened and he would immediately ping over the communications to Arsenio, his calm voice speaking in his ear.
"It seems that the woman is Lithari. Records show that she was the mayor of Garnet Town. It seems that the Coalition Representative, a man by the name of Beehan, had stayed in the town until he received new orders. His soldiers remained. The day after his removal, the Coalition soldiers turned and fired on both Legionnaire and civilian targets. The clearing was where they were pinned down." Officer Tao's voice remained calm and subdued even as he called in the tragedy that had occurred. "It appeared that the soldiers were taking commands from a Coalition group with red tiger stripe markings on their armor. I suggest that we proceed cautiously and expect immediate confrontation at any point."
Could I make a Common Knowledge roll for the markings? I am previously CS so maybe it'll give me a bonus or cancel out a negative? Common Knowledge:1d4 ⇒ 4Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 4Ace!:1d4 ⇒ 2= 6 total
The marking of the men with the red tiger stripes gets the former CS officer's attention as he studies them carefully. It seemed they were in a position of control and authority over the rest of the soldiers. The images of her son, the playful moments of happiness coupled with unimaginable terror and worry, are casually pushed to the side. He sits with her subconscious, looking her directly in the face while a soft smile spreads across his own.
"I am sorry for your loss. I truly am. However, I need to ask you questions and I need you to tell me what you remember. Hide nothing. It is all important and could save not just our lives but the life of your son." He would let that sink in for a minute before sitting up a bit straighter. "Let us begin..."
For the ease of PbP, we'll hurry this along so not everyone is waiting for us. She does get to make a contested Smarts v.s. Psionics for Particularly vital or dangerous questions or thoughts—or exploring deep hidden fears or something of great emotional value to the target. Here are the questions that I would like to ask.
1) Who attacked her and her people and why?
2) Where were they fleeing to?
3) Who is Beehan? How does she know Burgurk?
4) Did any Legionnaires survive?
5) Does she know who the spy working for the Coalition is?
The woman's mind opens quietly for him, the damage her body had suffered letting him wander in almost seemlessly. He passes through into her subconscious, the smell of burning wood and clay coupled with the familiar sent and taste of blood on the air. He could see her searching for someone, looking frantically amidst the dead Legionnaires near the gates of this place. Burgurk flashes in his mind. A memory?
"This place was your home? Garnet Town, was it?" The pang of sadness he had felt is quickly smothered under his own coldness. He had to remain detached, a person's mind could drag you down into a wellspring of emotions and leave you with feelings that were never truly yours. "Who attacked your home?"
Sun Li loads up, falling in step with Arsenio and giving the captain a look of concern. It was obvious that the mind melter was on edge; men like him and Whitlock could be executed if they were discovered. Releasing a breath that he didn't know he was holding, he would move towards where the injured woman was being kept and loaded in there. Sitting beside her, he would focus his mind as he reached out towards her mind.
I will spend 6 ISP to activate Mind Walk. I make a contested Smarts against the woman. There are modifiers to our rolls, depending on mental hindrances, wounds, and current state of mind.
Sun Li keeps his head on a swivel and stay in close proximity of the more combat capable members of the group. The whine of high powered engines begins to come in from the East. Moving to take cover from both the hidden Skelebots and the approaching entities from the east, the mind melter will continue to focus on his telekinetic shielding.
Sun Li moves in closer towards his comrades and quietly confers with the rest where he exactly detected the sentient mind. Josie's words play in his ear but he pays them little mind at the moment; only the captain's orders mattered. Standing beside the intimidating figure of the combat cyborg, he would give Whitlock a supporting nod as his mind refocused from sensing minds to instead developing a wall of fluctuating kinetic force.
I am going to cast Greater Deflection upon myself for 5 ISP Psionics:1d8 ⇒ 4Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 5Free Reroll:1d8 ⇒ 5
"Ready when you are, Whitlock." Sun Li murmurs, the pistol in both hands primed and ready to fire.
The mind shines in his thoughts for a few moments, its discipline and patience radiating outwards to him. He calmly presses his communicator after hearing Jingμ report in about several skelebots using the brush and trees as cover.
"There is a sentient mind there as well. I do not detect any psionic, magical, or otherwise unusual effects. They radiate a steel resolve for being set up for an ambush." Sun Li communicates with the others, his voice echoing usual soft calmness. "We should strike while we have surprise and take advantageous positions, mission parameters allow for such hostility. On your word, Captain."
Sun Li waits for a few moments, the Wilk's Laser Pistol in his hand primed and ready, as he feels the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. He was certain that they were being watched but by who, he couldn't tell. Lifting his hand to his comms, he would communicate back with the team.
"I feel like I'm being watched. Sensing hostilities now." The officer says as he takes a slow breath and begins to open his mind once more.
I will activate Detect Arcana with the Exalted Detect & Presence Sense modifier for a total of 5 ISP. That brings me to 35 ISP total Psionics:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5Free Reroll:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6Wild!:1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Sun Li's mind opens up all around him, no longer requiring a line of sight for him to pick up the minds of others. He studies the area around them again, sensing for what could be watching them.
I'd like to make another Notice check if possible. Notice:1d8 ⇒ 1Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 2 I'll spend a Benny to reroll Notice:1d8 ⇒ 5Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 3
"If she is alive but unable to communicate, sir, then I will delve into her mind for more information. Just make sure the away team secures her and keeps her alive long enough for to delve into her mind." Sun Li offers. He takes up a defensive position around the caravan, his pistol raised and ready to strike.
Sun Li remains on the outskirts of the conversation, happy to be ignored in lieu of the more charismatic members of his team. Sufficiently pleased with his team's relationship with the d-bees, the mild form of empathetic precognition that Elias and Arsenio fades away as the mind-melter only focuses on his presence sense. He takes to patrolling the clearing, keeping his mind open to any approaching danger.
That comes from the Greater modifier of Boost Trait. I actually have all my modifiers and powers on my character sheet under spoilers if you want to take a look! I don't like opening PDFs more than I have to lol.
Sun Li's purpose is to make others better at the things that they do while also debuffing the enemy. Biomanipulation allows me to hit them hard with extra fatigue as well when I use it against specific targets.
I embraced the fact that I am not going to be the psychic murder machine of the party and went more for support abilities. The mindblade is pretty neat and looks way too cool to not have if s##~ goes down. It made sense for a spec ops psychic and throwing around a potential d6+d8+6 MDC weapon with AP 16 just sounds neat.
Exactly like DM SBM said. I was just reminding Elias and Arsenio that I had cast Greater Boost Trait on them since it is easy to forget buffs that other people had cast. Now if the max I can help is +2, I can definitely understand making a mistake there. My current SWADE game has us able to do up to a +4 with a really good roll but that could be a houserule.
DM SBM - Feel free to let me know if I need to pay upkeep for both my active abilities right now DM. I got the ISP for it but it is hard to tell how many rounds have passed when we're all talking.
"We are most certainly not coalition. Like yourself, we have encountered dangers in these parts and like to be properly armed. I am Sun Li. My friend, Arsenio, speaks for all of us but we're...a mishmash assortment like much of the world is these days." The mindmelter provides a gentle, reassuring smile.
I would like to assist whoever is going to do the main talking to get them feeling friendly with us. If no one posts for awhile though, I am fine with it being the main roll. Sun Li is not one to take the face roll, he much rather assist others and stay unobserved in the back.
Persuasion:1d6 ⇒ 6Wild:1d6 ⇒ 1Ace!:1d6 ⇒ 6More Ace!:1d6 ⇒ 1 Total of 13 which is a +3 to whoever makes the roll. Arsenio and Elias both have their Persuasion increased by 1 die type at the moment and can reroll once
I think that makes perfect sense Storm Dragon. We can lift them up, interrogate them, and then make a plan from there. I'm not sure how far we are from Castle Refuge but we could incapacitate them if they're a threat and have a team pick them up?
"I sense no other minds other than the ones below. They are scared, dangerously so, but they are not innately hostile. We can talk them down." Sun Li reaches over, placing his hand upon the captain's shoulder. Arsenio could feel the mind melter's mind touch his for just a moment. "Let me help you talk to them." Sun Li says, his words echoing in the mind of the captain and the cyberknight.
Sun Li is going to cast Boost Trait with the Greater Boost and Additional Recipient modifier. I am going to cast it on both Arsenio and Elias. Total cost will be 5 ISP
Psionics:1d8 ⇒ 5Free Reroll:1d8 ⇒ 1Wild!:1d6 ⇒ 5
Both get a die increase for Persuasion and may have one free reroll each time they roll it.
Sun Li provides hand signals that correlates Jingμ's observations. He signals that there are ten other minds nearby as well as a possible threat. Drawing his pistol out, he steps closer towards the crevasse and stares down it.
I am assuming the minds are all in the vehicles down below? If not, I'll definitely be activating Deflection to act as possible bait.
Looking over the men upon the ground, Sun Li tries to study and recognize whether they were assaulted from the top or if the vehicle down below fired upon the Coalition soldiers.
