Tai Ozair has changed a lot over the years, I thought I understood him once but he has been retreating into his own little world more and more. (+1 hx for a total of Hx+0)
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
Everyone: I keep my cards close to my chest. These three are a more courageous lot than most. If I cannot use fear to protect myself, I must settle for mystery.
(( Everyone gets Hx-1 ))
Jackson and I circle like sharks sometimes. Is it sexual tension? Is it just that we're both so fucking weird? I gotta get to the bottom of this, but goddammit there are all these engines to overhaul... (Hx -2 rather than -1)
Garber (Jackson Response)
Motherfucker creeps me out, plain and simple. I know what he is and what he did, and I can't see no place for him in the Fleet. He's a bad cog, a broken part in the Human Engine. Jackson has my full attention. (+1 for Hx=0)
+1
Options
GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
edited July 2013
Alright, since Acid Burn's not got any more optional things we know that the response will be the default 'whatever they say +1Hx', so in the interests of moving things along just slap your response in your next post, Void Slayer.
Now it's time for highlighted stats. Each of you take the person you've got highest Hx with and pick their most interesting stat.
For reference: Acid chooses a stat for Garber; Garber chooses for Tai or Jackson; Tai chooses for Acid; and Jackson chooses for anyone he damn well pleases.
I'll make my stat choices once you've done yours (Jackson, don't worry about choosing someone who's already been highlighted- as long as everyone gets two stats highlighted I'll just fill in the gaps.
With that out the way, let's get these engines started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garber, you pull yourself from the back of a sputtering el camino and onto a military flatbed covered in patchwork canvas. A couple of spindly guys with crude tattoos help you in by the scruff of your neck, making sure you don't bite the dust rushing below your feet. Before you can thank these kind young men a voice comes from the darkness further in.
"Garrrber. Nice of you to come meet me. I called you here to discuss a little business." Did you come willingly, or did the driver of that camino ditch you here? Your eyes adjust slowly to the dim light, but you can make a mass of dreadlocks at the far end where the woman's voice seems to be coming from.
"But first, I got a question: What d'you think of those guys up in the megas?" Her tone is neutral, if a little chiding. What do you do?
Acid Burn, you're returning from a job (what was it?) in muddy's truck, docking alongside the mega you call home. It's one of those giant quarry trucks, piled high with welded shipping crates and scrap, so it takes a little while for them to lower the anchor for you. You clamber up the handholds and try to catch the front gunner's eye to let him know you're friendly. Fucker's asleep of course, but you'll be inside in no time.
You perch yourself on the tiny step and rap on the bulkhead a couple times. A slit slides open as usual, but this time it isn't Marky or Dunner; it's York. He's looking pretty pissed and expresses as much to you in his usual verbose fashion.
"Piss off swarmer." The peephole slams shut with such force the whole vehicle lurches away from you- either that or there's been a change of course. Whatever it was, it's woken the gunner up- he's looking mighty puzzled as to why Muddy's truck is anchored and someone's climbing around outside a bulkhead. What do you do?
Tai, you're headed for the driver's cabin, snaking your way through the corrugated corriders. He's called you in for some savvy job (what's the job? What's the driver's name?) and he'll have to let you in once you get there. That's because his cabin's shut tight behind a foot-thick bulkhead of reinforced steel, with a magnetic one-side lock (did you install any of that?).
You round the corner as you think about all those technological goodies and hit the buzzer on the intercom so he'll let you in. No answer. You hit the button a couple more times before you realise there's something pooling at your feet. Something red. Blood's bubbling slowly through the bottom of the bulkhead- must be a broken seal or something. Before you can finish that thought, the whole mega lurches violently to the right and your thoughts return to the driver. What do you do?
Jackson you're riding shotgun in a pickup (who're you riding with? Are you pulling some brainer shit on them?), humming along in the slipstream behind the quarry mega-truck. The giant vehicle makes a lurching turn to the right, which looses a couple of scrap plates. Harmless, but your driver winces as they bounce off the hood. While he's recovering he doesn't notice the two vans pulling alongside and matching your speed. Their windows are boarded up and they're covered in rusty spikes.
Before you can voice any kind of warning, they slam into the pickup simultaneously like wheeled pincers. You hear the screech of torn metal as their spiked chassis latch onto the pickup. The driver's freaking out and you can hear a hatch opening on top of one of the vans. What do you do?
-For OOC stuff just put it under a '---' line like so:
IC stuff blah blah
---
OOC stuff blah blah
-If I ask a question in green it's because I want a little detail from you. Go wild with it, give people names, barf forth apocalyptica etc.
-Questions I ask in Bold (which will almost always be "what do you do?") are where you need to respond with action, rather than fluff. Make moves, make choices, just do something. I'll try to give you all the information you need to make a decision, but don't be afraid to ask if you're stuck.
You can make rolls using orokos, invisible castle or the forum dice roller, eg. Geth, roll 2d6+2 for test.
(Ok that example didn't work, but that could've just been the weird formatting.)
Tai, you're headed for the driver's cabin, snaking your way through the corrugated corriders. He's called you in for some savvy job (what's the job? What's the driver's name?) and he'll have to let you in once you get there. That's because his cabin's shut tight behind a foot-thick bulkhead of reinforced steel, with a magnetic one-side lock (did you install any of that?).
You round the corner as you think about all those technological goodies and hit the buzzer on the intercom so he'll let you in. No answer. You hit the button a couple more times before you realise there's something pooling at your feet. Something red. Blood's bubbling slowly through the bottom of the bulkhead- must be a broken seal or something. Before you can finish that thought, the whole mega lurches violently to the right and your thoughts return to the driver. What do you do?
Efficiency, efficiency. Fuckin' Bifflin and and his obsession with making things work better. Doesn't he know how much shit I have to kick around on the daily just to keep things working? Like okay, if I had this thing running smoothly, sure let's start talking improvements. But we're barely maintaining a goddamn baseline. Priorities. People get 'em all screwed around sometimes. But hell, whatever. Humoring him keeps me in rations and rigging up a maglock for his cockpit was a pretty fun challenge, but ser - what the fuck was that!?
Ho-lee shit! I gotta get through this bulkhead. Baby, don't shut me out. Just tell daddy how to make it better.
I'm driving with Frankie . He's a tall ornery son of a bitch, who isn't afraid of much except the maelstrom. Probably why he trades the occasional fantasy mindfuck for being one of a handful of my drivers. To prove he isn't afraid to be around me. He doesn't get much action on his own, so it only took a little twist to get him interested.
"I hope you keep that sawed-off loaded Frankie. Today just got a lot more interesting. See if you can shake them loose." My voice sounds hollow, almost robotic, behind the mask.
I take a closer look at the van coming up on the passenger side. Is it too close to shoot out the tires or spikes? Close enough to get a clean shotgun blast into the driver side?
As tempting as it would be to sink into the maelstrom when my life is on the line, I think a more short term solution is in order.
---
OOC:
I assume these vans are part of the Fleet's swarm? Which van is popping it's roof hatch, driver or passenger side?
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Read a Sitch
Question: Where’s my best escape route?
Jackson wants to see Tai take a walk on the Weird side. I figure early on picking people's strengths will be beneficial.
FYI, I won't be able to post tomorrow due to visiting family on the 4th until late that night, if at all.
Garber: Highlight Hot, lets see if you can actually change your ways.
Acid Burn
Bunch of half mutant farmers needed their water purifier fixed and I had the parts and know-how. When I got there they told me they could only pay with the green and blue things they grow and negotiated with a bunch of guns pointed at me.
So here I am out some parts and labor and this jackoff wants to screw around with me again when all I want is a quick nap in my cot?
I look at the gunner in the eyes and I shout over the vehicle in a scolding, "You look new to that chair so let me give you a piece of advise, mind your own business while I talk with this bolt brain and I might not tell the boss you were sleeping on the job."
minion, roll 2d6+1 for Manipulate
What I want: Him to go back to his watch and not bother me while I go crazy on York.
Manipulate:
2d6+19 [2d6=4, 4]
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
The voice in the dark goes unacknowledged as I climb to my feet and adjust my shit after getting hauled on board the flatbed. Duggie, the driver in the el camino, honks his horn twice and I wave him off. He's a good kid, and I don't mind owing him a favor or two since he's the only fucker who offered to drive me down to the ass-end of the swarm when I asked.
I tug down my bandanna now that I'm clear of the dust. "Close one, appreciate it boys," I take the time to thank the pair of grunts, then step past them towards the shadows. If there's a seat nearby I dump myself into it and and get comfy.
"Now, why you asking that? What I think of the mega riders don't matter much. The swarm needs the megas, and the megas need the swarm. Simple as that. You should know I don't buy into all that bullshit."
----
OOC: Jackson should highlight Cool. Garber needs to know if he can handle his shit when it comes down to it.
----
OOC: Looking it over, I suppose I should pick Jackson instead. I'll edit my post.
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
--
Sorry guys, running on fumes and I've got an early shift tomorrow. I'll have the next post up mid afternoon.
Nothing like two missed rolls to start though
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
Jackson, the vans are close enough to block out the windows on either side entirely. They snuck up on you pretty good too, so you didn't get a chance to see what tribal markings most swarmer vehicles have. Frankie has his hands off the wheel- you're basically being pulled along by your assailants- and is fumbling a couple of shells into his sawn-off, cursing all the while.
As for which van has opened up, you're not sure. Doesn't really matter now though, because whoever just got out is in the back of your pickup. Frankie's swearing is drowned out by the whine of a circular saw powering up as the masked figure advances. Looks like the only way out is through the windscreen. What do you do?
-
Even from this distance, Acid Burn, you can see the gunner's not impressed. He hollers over the roaring engines.
"Well my boss says shoot first, ask later. Lemme put a few speedholes in yer van and we'll call it done, yeh?"
He swings his MG round to point at the back (rather than at Muddy in the driver's seat). Are Gold or Runt in there with Muddy? Got anything valuable in there?.
What do you do?
-
"Bulllllshit..." She rolls the word around her teeth like a dusty cigar. The chiding tone is still there, but there's a definite venom sneaking in. While the word hangs in the muffled darkness, you suddenly realise there are a pair of machetes rested lightly on your shoulders. You've sat down between a couple more of those tattooed guys and you can make out their yellow teeth grinning to either side.
"Now you're a right-thinking boy. You know those megas don't treat us right. So you're gonna tell 'em they're wrong, see? Let em know what you think, eh? Tell their driver to do a little more sharrrring." The mass of dreads is leaning in real close now and you can see thin lips curling into a grin over blackened teeth. Now you don't know exactly who this is, but that's because no one does. She's a ghost in the swarm- they call her Coal.
Whoever she is, she doesn't seem like the kind of person to take no for answer. What do you do?
-
Tai, you are now the door.
It's a pretty odd sensation. Unfortunately you're 'facing' the wrong way- you can see yourself standing in the corridor outside the cockpit, looking a little more slack-jawed than usual. You can also feel something resting against your back. Maybe it's Bifflin, maybe it's a sack of potatoes, either way there's spasmodic movement that is doing nothing to help you re-orient yourself.
You also 'hear' (feel it through the floor really) approaching footsteps. They're heavy or in a hurry, possibly both. What do you do with your door-self? Whether you want to un-fuck your mind or try and get a better sense of your surroundings, you're acting under fire from a bit of brain-frying.
---
Jackson, I'm gonna highlight your Weird. Because fuck if the savvy is gonna take monopoly of that.
Tai, I'd like to see you use those appraising eyes. Highlight your Sharp.
Acid Burn, I want to see you deal with guff from both sides in the fleet. Highlight your Cool.
Garber, highlight your Hard. Show me what all that bad shit from your past has made you.
Tai-door
"Okay, door. I'm not really sure where you begin and I end right now, but we can sort that out in a sec. Here's what we need to do, okay? We need to slide into our recess, just open right up and let the two meatbags on either side of us come together. There's somebody coming, or maybe several somebodies, and odds are they won't have the kind of special relationship you and I enjoy. You know I always llook out for you, door. So c'mon, let's unlock and open up just like old times. Whaddaya say?"
---
OOC: Tai is Spooky Intense, so he rolls +Weird to act under fire. Come to think of it, I don't know if he would ever have occasion to roll +Cool as a result of my taking that play?
Jackson
"We're getting on the hood. If he rushes us, head for the van on your side and I'll get on the other."
I cover Frankie's face with my cloak as I shoot out the windshield. I reholster my pistol before climbing out onto the hood.
---
OOC :
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Acting Under Fire
Edit: I forgot that you get a +1 for acting on the MC's answer to reading a sitch. Doesn't affect anything this time, but good to remember.
Garber
I catch the first blade out the corner of my eye, and feel the second digging into my shoulder. More pissed at myself than these two fucks, my lips curl into a sneer that I barely force into a smarmy grin.
"Hey, hey, you shoulda just said so. If the swarm ain't getting its fair share then I'm the guy to come to, ma'am. Squeaky parts getting all the grease or whatever, right? Anything to keep the Engine running," I pause to lift up the spark plug around my neck and kiss her faithfully.
"Now, why don't you calm your boys down and we can dish," I advise, brushing one of the machetes off my shoulder. "Drop me off and I'll see what I can do, so long as you and your crew can be patient, yeah?"
---
OOC:
+1xp for rolling Hot
minion, roll 2d6+1 for Manipulate
The hold is full of bins of Hair Fruit from the farmers, about as appetizing as it sounds, with Gold and Runt sitting between them. I thought if I was getting a bad deal I might as well get a lot of it.
"Hey, hands off my cargo! I'm Acid Burn and I rebuilt half this damn mega, now back off or you'll see how I defend it." I unholster my 9mm and aim it at hm, ready to fire.
----
OOC:
I am going to use my reputation move to say he has heard of me as a useful scavenger and trader who has killed over a dozen people, most of them defending the megas.
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for reputation
Then I am going to go aggro on him, if he doesn't back off I am going to start shooting.
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Go aggro on the gunner
reputation:
2d6+29 [2d6=4, 3]
Go aggro:
2d6+16 [2d6=3, 2]
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
With a sound halfway between a "Yipe!" and a "Bwah!", the gunner ducks down into his turret, leaving his MG swinging in the wind. Clearly he knows who you are, but seems more concerned with the 'killed a dozen people' part. Seconds later you hear the alarm klaxon sound and York hollering over the 'com "Attacks on Port side, repeat: attacks on Port side!"
Dozens of hatches open and small arms fire is peppered across whichever drivers weren't sharp enough to hang back when they heard the sirens. Between the excitement and the mega's erratic movement no one can get a bead on you, Acid Burn, but Muddy's van is still anchored alongside. Speedholes start appearing along it's flank and you watch in horror as the lock on the back door is blown off allowing your hair-fruit cargo to start tumbling out into the dust.
Meanwhile you're out on a limb and the mega isn't getting any steadier. What do you do?
-
Frankie tries to voice his agreement, but can't due to a mouthful of Jackson's cloak. The saw-guy in the back doesn't seem to have noticed that you've broken the windscreen and has taken his blade to the roof like he's opening up a tin of mystery beans. With the wind whipping through your new escape route, you're tangled up pretty badly with your driver.
You can either cut and run, leaving him behind; or try and get him free and face down Mr Circular-Saw. What do you do?
-
"Certaaaainly." Coal's black teeth recede into darkness along with the machetes. "My boys'll give you a ride over to quarry-mega. Tell 'em we just wanna trade, eh? No need to be rough with us."
The tat-boys are a little less rough when they load you into a bike's side-car, revving off toward the mega further up the swarm. Even from this distance you can see it's swerving a little weirdly and the boy with you keeps his distance warily.
"Which side you want, boss?" He hollers through his dust-mask. You could go for a security hatch on port or starboard side; or try and catch a bait-hook hanging off the back. What kind of animal are the bait-hooks used to catch?What do you say?
-
You slide open like a charm, Tai-door, just gently enough that your meat-body doesn't go toppling into the room. Another meat-body flops outward though and you can see it's Biffler. What's left of him anyway.
Your door-eyes aren't too sharp, especially at this angle, but you can make out some movement in Biffler's mouth. His head looks like a hair-fruit with all the juice sucked out, blood slowly bubbling from his ears. It's pretty grim and the two security guys (what are their names?) seem to agree with their expletives.
"What the hell, man?!" One grabs your meat-body by the shoulders and yanks you away from the corpse. "The hell did you do?!" He's shaking you now, more in shock than anger. What do you do? (Again, you're acting under fire to get back into your meat-body, but you've got basic door functionality if you choose to stay).
"Door, I'm so glad we could work things out. Listen, I'm gonna see what the meatbags want. Something tells me there's some bad shit going down, so I gotta see what I can do to protect us..."
Holy shit, this has gotta end. Hector and Squiggs are world-class dumbasses, if they think I'm behind this mess. Like seriously, I'd fuck up Biffler's day this way? Nah, man, I don't bite the hand that feeds me. But these two are about as smart as a brahmin in rut on a good day. If I don't get them straightened out, it's off to the brig with me while Maelstrom-knows-what is going on. Time to go back to meatspace in three, two, one...
---
OOC:
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for spooky intense under fire
+1 XP for rolling Weird again.
spooky intense under fire:
2d6+210 [2d6=5, 3]
Sometimes I have ideas for things.
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
Tai, you feel your inner ears pop and are a little dizzy, but you're back in your meat-body no worse for wear. Still got those two bruisers bearing down on you and their shock is wearing off. What do you do?
A pity, the cloak manuever seemed quite heroic in my head. Ah well, survival of the fastest and all that.
"Shoot him while I try and distract him."
With any luck Frankie will survive with most of his limbs intact.
I climb out the windshield onto the hood to get a little distance between me and the saw. I don't bother yelling over the wind, I just start shooting. Only room on this truck for one masked psychopath.
---
OOC :
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Going Aggro (Silenced 9mm 2 harm)
"Hector, Squiggs! Something fuckin' happened to Bifflin! You guys gotta get him to the med bay right now! I'll try to get this mega under control. Hurry your asses up, there's no time to talk!" I gotta get these guys moving. I gotta get myself moving! I don't wait for dumb and dumber, I just move over Bifflin -sorry, man- and jump into the driver's seat. I gotta get my hands on the controls, then I can take stock of things.
---
OOC:
Don't know if this is a Seize by Force situation, but I'm gonna go with that since it seems likely getting control of the cockpit will involve Tai in the shit going down outside.
Garber
I squint steady-eyed through the sun and dust, scoping out the mega. Those hooks dangling off her ass haul in dune pythons when the season is right, bad fuckers big enough to feed a whole gang of folks for at least a week. Seen some of the ballsier kids around scale the hooklines to get in, but I ain't young enough for that shit anymore.
"Get me up to a security hatch!" I shout back underneath my bandanna. "Watch out, she's looking squirrely!"
The Everyman on
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
The tat-boy sees a lone van anchored to the port side already and veers the bike toward it. This kid is either blind or crazy, because he only sees that there's a fire fight going on at the last second. Jerking his motor away suddenly, he releases the catch on the sidecar.
"G'luck Garber! Hahaha!" Is all the warning you get as you're pitched forward into the back of the truck. You're in a pile of hair-fruit with a couple of swarmers (you familiar with any of Acid's crew?) and the whizz of small arms fire all around. What do you do?
-
Well unless you want to start beating these guys up, Tai, you're not exactly seizing by force. These seems more like manipulation and boy does it work. The big lugs snap out of it and let you past. They start moving the blood-covered corpse.
"Eugh! There's somethin' crawlin' out er his mouth!" Indeed there is. It looks like some kinda giant tapeworm and it's unwinding itself slowly. You're in the driver's seat now and it's headed right for you. What do you do?
-
Jackson, it seems more like you're seizing control than making threats. You manage to grab the advantage from Mr. Saw since the fucker seems almost blind in that mask (what kind of mask is it?) and your silenced pistol doesn't hurt the equation. Pick two of the relevant options and we'll see what happens.
Shitshitshit, door showed me something in Bifflin's mouth! I draw my knife and make ready to go to town on this aggressive annelid. You ain't suckin' my brains, fuckin' worm!
---
OOC: I wasn't sure about manipulation, since I didn't have leverage on them. Thanks for clarifying!
The mask seems pretty hastily created, just a black cloth bag or shirt covering his whole head with ragged eye holes cut out. With all the wind whipping around it's a wonder the fucker can see anything.
---
OOC:
I find Going Aggro vs Seizing by Force one of the most confusing aspects of AW. I thought I was Going Aggro because I was surprise attacking from out of his range. It seems that issuing a threat prevents using Seizing by Force, but it is not a requirement for Going Aggro. (pg 193 - 197)
If you still think it's Seizing by Force, I'll choose:
1) If I'm in danger of being harmed: I'll choose You suffer little harm otherwise I'll choose You impress, dismay or frighten your enemy.
2) You inflict terrible harm.
For Tai, the leverage could've been: No one driving O.o
---
OOC: I didn't consider that leverage, because that isn't something Tai had control over. In order to have leverage over someone, the manipulator needs to have possession over a thing such that he has the power to withhold it. The seduce/manipulate play is an explicit quid pro quo; there needs to be a "Do x for me and I'll do y for you." Tai couldn't withhold driving the mega, because he'd be putting himself in just as much danger as the security guys.
---
OOC: Fair enough. I guess I saw it more like "Believe me and I can drive or don't believe me and no one drives." Though that sort of assumes driving a mega is a special skill that you have and they don't. Manipulation does seem like the closest move, but maybe that just means no move should have triggered. Of course with pbp I would usually assume a roll somewhere so as to not delay the game. If it wasn't needed it can be ignored.
GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
---
That's basically it. Tai'd already rolled (and rolled well) so I wanted to give him some kind of move to go off of. It could have been Going Aggro, but the threat of violence just didn't seem to fit the Wiry Savvy vs two bruisers. It was more of a persuasion (which is what Hot covers).
Looking back over your move, Jackson, I'm inclined to agree that he's not able to strike you, therefore it's not Seize by Force. I'll treat it as Going Aggro and resolve both your moves once @The Everyman and @Void Slayer post.
Garber
Without time to properly thank the asshole who cut me loose, I keep my head low through the hail of bullets and scramble into the truck. The fucking floor is slick with hair-fruit sweat and it's a struggle to stay on my feet. I'm bad with faces so it takes me a sec to recognize who the pair in the back are. Fuck me if I can remember their names though.
"Burn's crew?" I blurt, incredulously. The hell kinda shitstorm she riled up now? Fucking figures. "Keep your heads down..." I hang out the back of the van and tug off my bandanna, waving it in the air as I set to hollering.
"Hey! HEY! Fucking -- hold on!" Lead pings near my face and a duck back inside. Over the roars of the engines and gunshots I make my presence known. "Cease-fucking-fire!! We got friendlies down here, with cargo for the mega!" Sure, it's a pile of bruising hair-fruit, but they don't need to know that.
"You all got one warning. Put them guns up and let us in, or I'll be hearing you beg you was dead."
---
OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Towering Presence
+1xp for rolling Hard
I haul myself up to a ledge that leads over to the gunners nest and duck low running over to above where the idiot just ducked down and leap down to the MG then turn it around towards the mega. If there is gonna be a shootout, might as well grab the biggest gun here.
---
OOC: Sorry for the delay.
Seize by force the MG on the turret
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for seize by force.
seize by force:
2d6+14 [2d6=2, 1]
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
edited July 2013
Garber, even at this distance you're intimidating as hell. The small arms fire sputters out, much to the relief of your van-mates and the surrounding swarm. You hear a few orders barked back and forth over the wind while the quarry's sec-team take a moment to think who they're actually supposed to be shooting at.
What could have been a lengthy debate is soon settled when you plonk yourself into the MG turret, Acid Burn. The sec-team all duck back instinctively as you spin the gun round, only to find the damn thing is jammed. While they're all having a good laugh York leans out of a hatch, bellows "Resistin' arrest!" and takes a potshot with his revolver.
You're not sure if it hits, or if it's one of the other dozen bullets that ricochet around the inside of the turret, but you get hit pretty bad, Acid. Runt's leaning round behind you Garber and, seeing his boss crumple under the fire, grabs your shoulder and pleads. "Y-you gotta help her! Those crazy megas're out for blood!"
What do you both do? The MG turret is sticking out 4 metres or so from the side of the mega; Muddy's van is still tethered alongside, below and 'behind' (or astern) from the turret.
-
You've seen some weird critters in your time, Tai, but nothing like this one. Your knife slices it in two no problem- well no problem bar the fact that there are now two brainworms. While the 'tail' is growing new mandibles, the 'head' leaps at you like an elastic band. You can see it on your right shoulder but you can't feel it. Hell you can't feel your whole arm- and it's spreading.
Meanwhile your right side is having some kind of reaction. Well that's putting it lightly- it feels like it's simultaneously on fire and freezing solid. Sod knows what Squiggs and Hector are doing, but what do you do?
-
You're beginning to think Mr. Saw must be blind, Jackson, because when you start firing he just keeps coming. You plug him in the arm and he drops his saw. He leaps up onto the hood of the car. This close you can see he's bleeding pretty bad, but he's not slowing down.
"Behind yer!" Frankie's apparently gotten his face untangled, but not his trigger finger. Glancing back you see another bag-head has climbed from the driver-side van. This one's got the same mask, but he's just carrying a sack. Still, two on one isn't the best odds- What do you do?
---
@Void Slayer You take 2 harm (3 harm from a small gang, -1 for armour). Make a harm roll as well as your next move.
@The Everyman Your +1 forward applies to the gang as a whole.
@OminousLozenge You take 1 harm (ap) from the brain-venom. Make a harm roll as well as your next move.
@Boozer In case it wasn't clear, I chose to suck it up and take the 1 harm (2 harm -1 for armour).
Fuckfuckfuck this shit is so far from good. Cut it off! Cut it off? My arm?! No, cut if off of my arm. Right, that's my shit you're fucking with! Give me back my arm!
---
OOC:
Geth, roll 2d6 to seize my arm by force?
Geth, roll 2d6+1 to harm
I watch the saw drop with relief, only to see another threat appear from the van. I holster my pistol, then rush the wounded one and grab him by the throat. I will bend him to my will, or make him suffer for defying me.
---
OOC:
I'm assuming the sack wielding one is still on the roof of the van, not that he climbed from the van onto the truck yet.
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for acting under fire for the neck grab
Jackson
---
OOC: Since that got an 11 I'll roll for Puppet Strings now.
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for In-brain puppet strings
Command is "Kill anyone wearing a bag mask, then jump to the ground"
If he doesn't start heading towards the bag-head sack-man on the van, I'll burn my hold (1) to harm him. If you can't use compound commands just the kill part is fine.
I see York's piss-ugly face poke out the mega and fire. Burn gets hit hard, and this kid is yelling some shit in my ear that I don't hear. I'm unslinging my sawed-off and squeeze a warning shot that peppers the hatch above York.
"Throw down your goddamn gun and let us in York, or there ain't a sawbones alive who'll be able to unfuck your face."
I got my finger on the trigger.
---
OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+3 for going aggro on York's dumb-ass
If York forces my hand, does it count as going into battle? If so,
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Indomitable
EDIT: @OminousLozenge, dunno what you're doing wrong but Geth loves me. Aren't you supposed to be the techie here?
EDIT2: @Void Slayer, if Acid Burn can find a way to help with my going aggro roll, we'll have a better chance I think.
"Listen to the man York, you and your shitty watchman are the ones overreacting here and now you got that unstable madman Garber involved. Back off before someone really gets hurt."
If I live through this they are both going to pay.
---
OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Harm
geth, roll 2d6+2 for aiding Garber's threat
Harm:
2d6+210 [2d6=5, 3]
aiding Garber's threat:
2d6+25 [2d6=2, 1]
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
Posts
Tai Ozair has changed a lot over the years, I thought I understood him once but he has been retreating into his own little world more and more. (+1 hx for a total of Hx+0)
Everyone: I keep my cards close to my chest. These three are a more courageous lot than most. If I cannot use fear to protect myself, I must settle for mystery.
(( Everyone gets Hx-1 ))
PSN: Boozer_777
Jackson and I circle like sharks sometimes. Is it sexual tension? Is it just that we're both so fucking weird? I gotta get to the bottom of this, but goddammit there are all these engines to overhaul... (Hx -2 rather than -1)
Motherfucker creeps me out, plain and simple. I know what he is and what he did, and I can't see no place for him in the Fleet. He's a bad cog, a broken part in the Human Engine. Jackson has my full attention. (+1 for Hx=0)
Now it's time for highlighted stats. Each of you take the person you've got highest Hx with and pick their most interesting stat.
For reference: Acid chooses a stat for Garber; Garber chooses for Tai or Jackson; Tai chooses for Acid; and Jackson chooses for anyone he damn well pleases.
I'll make my stat choices once you've done yours (Jackson, don't worry about choosing someone who's already been highlighted- as long as everyone gets two stats highlighted I'll just fill in the gaps.
With that out the way, let's get these engines started.
Garber, you pull yourself from the back of a sputtering el camino and onto a military flatbed covered in patchwork canvas. A couple of spindly guys with crude tattoos help you in by the scruff of your neck, making sure you don't bite the dust rushing below your feet. Before you can thank these kind young men a voice comes from the darkness further in.
"Garrrber. Nice of you to come meet me. I called you here to discuss a little business." Did you come willingly, or did the driver of that camino ditch you here? Your eyes adjust slowly to the dim light, but you can make a mass of dreadlocks at the far end where the woman's voice seems to be coming from.
"But first, I got a question: What d'you think of those guys up in the megas?" Her tone is neutral, if a little chiding. What do you do?
Acid Burn, you're returning from a job (what was it?) in muddy's truck, docking alongside the mega you call home. It's one of those giant quarry trucks, piled high with welded shipping crates and scrap, so it takes a little while for them to lower the anchor for you. You clamber up the handholds and try to catch the front gunner's eye to let him know you're friendly. Fucker's asleep of course, but you'll be inside in no time.
You perch yourself on the tiny step and rap on the bulkhead a couple times. A slit slides open as usual, but this time it isn't Marky or Dunner; it's York. He's looking pretty pissed and expresses as much to you in his usual verbose fashion.
"Piss off swarmer." The peephole slams shut with such force the whole vehicle lurches away from you- either that or there's been a change of course. Whatever it was, it's woken the gunner up- he's looking mighty puzzled as to why Muddy's truck is anchored and someone's climbing around outside a bulkhead. What do you do?
Tai, you're headed for the driver's cabin, snaking your way through the corrugated corriders. He's called you in for some savvy job (what's the job? What's the driver's name?) and he'll have to let you in once you get there. That's because his cabin's shut tight behind a foot-thick bulkhead of reinforced steel, with a magnetic one-side lock (did you install any of that?).
You round the corner as you think about all those technological goodies and hit the buzzer on the intercom so he'll let you in. No answer. You hit the button a couple more times before you realise there's something pooling at your feet. Something red. Blood's bubbling slowly through the bottom of the bulkhead- must be a broken seal or something. Before you can finish that thought, the whole mega lurches violently to the right and your thoughts return to the driver. What do you do?
Jackson you're riding shotgun in a pickup (who're you riding with? Are you pulling some brainer shit on them?), humming along in the slipstream behind the quarry mega-truck. The giant vehicle makes a lurching turn to the right, which looses a couple of scrap plates. Harmless, but your driver winces as they bounce off the hood. While he's recovering he doesn't notice the two vans pulling alongside and matching your speed. Their windows are boarded up and they're covered in rusty spikes.
Before you can voice any kind of warning, they slam into the pickup simultaneously like wheeled pincers. You hear the screech of torn metal as their spiked chassis latch onto the pickup. The driver's freaking out and you can hear a hatch opening on top of one of the vans. What do you do?
---
@Void Slayer @The Everyman @OminousLozenge @Boozer
Just a couple of format points:
-For OOC stuff just put it under a '---' line like so:
-If I ask a question in green it's because I want a little detail from you. Go wild with it, give people names, barf forth apocalyptica etc.
-Questions I ask in Bold (which will almost always be "what do you do?") are where you need to respond with action, rather than fluff. Make moves, make choices, just do something. I'll try to give you all the information you need to make a decision, but don't be afraid to ask if you're stuck.
You can make rolls using orokos, invisible castle or the forum dice roller, eg. Geth, roll 2d6+2 for test.
(Ok that example didn't work, but that could've just been the weird formatting.)
OOC: I think the Geth command needs to be on its own line. Like so (this is a test roll, not a response to the character prompt):
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for Acting Under Fire (spooky intense)
Efficiency, efficiency. Fuckin' Bifflin and and his obsession with making things work better. Doesn't he know how much shit I have to kick around on the daily just to keep things working? Like okay, if I had this thing running smoothly, sure let's start talking improvements. But we're barely maintaining a goddamn baseline. Priorities. People get 'em all screwed around sometimes. But hell, whatever. Humoring him keeps me in rations and rigging up a maglock for his cockpit was a pretty fun challenge, but ser - what the fuck was that!?
Ho-lee shit! I gotta get through this bulkhead. Baby, don't shut me out. Just tell daddy how to make it better.
---
OOC:
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for Things Speak
Edit: Forgot about marking XP. +1 XP for Weird.
I'm driving with Frankie . He's a tall ornery son of a bitch, who isn't afraid of much except the maelstrom. Probably why he trades the occasional fantasy mindfuck for being one of a handful of my drivers. To prove he isn't afraid to be around me. He doesn't get much action on his own, so it only took a little twist to get him interested.
"I hope you keep that sawed-off loaded Frankie. Today just got a lot more interesting. See if you can shake them loose." My voice sounds hollow, almost robotic, behind the mask.
I take a closer look at the van coming up on the passenger side. Is it too close to shoot out the tires or spikes? Close enough to get a clean shotgun blast into the driver side?
As tempting as it would be to sink into the maelstrom when my life is on the line, I think a more short term solution is in order.
---
OOC:
I assume these vans are part of the Fleet's swarm? Which van is popping it's roof hatch, driver or passenger side?
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Read a Sitch
Question: Where’s my best escape route?
Jackson wants to see Tai take a walk on the Weird side. I figure early on picking people's strengths will be beneficial.
FYI, I won't be able to post tomorrow due to visiting family on the 4th until late that night, if at all.
PSN: Boozer_777
OOC: I forgot to do a highlighted stat. Acid Burn's most interesting stat is Hard. She's a real tough cookie.
And since I failed the roll, you get to treat it like I opened my brain to the psychic maelstrom and missed the roll. Someone go get the Vaseline...
Acid Burn
Bunch of half mutant farmers needed their water purifier fixed and I had the parts and know-how. When I got there they told me they could only pay with the green and blue things they grow and negotiated with a bunch of guns pointed at me.
So here I am out some parts and labor and this jackoff wants to screw around with me again when all I want is a quick nap in my cot?
I look at the gunner in the eyes and I shout over the vehicle in a scolding, "You look new to that chair so let me give you a piece of advise, mind your own business while I talk with this bolt brain and I might not tell the boss you were sleeping on the job."
minion, roll 2d6+1 for Manipulate
What I want: Him to go back to his watch and not bother me while I go crazy on York.
The voice in the dark goes unacknowledged as I climb to my feet and adjust my shit after getting hauled on board the flatbed. Duggie, the driver in the el camino, honks his horn twice and I wave him off. He's a good kid, and I don't mind owing him a favor or two since he's the only fucker who offered to drive me down to the ass-end of the swarm when I asked.
I tug down my bandanna now that I'm clear of the dust. "Close one, appreciate it boys," I take the time to thank the pair of grunts, then step past them towards the shadows. If there's a seat nearby I dump myself into it and and get comfy.
"Now, why you asking that? What I think of the mega riders don't matter much. The swarm needs the megas, and the megas need the swarm. Simple as that. You should know I don't buy into all that bullshit."
----
OOC: Jackson should highlight Cool. Garber needs to know if he can handle his shit when it comes down to it.
Also, do I know who the chick with the dreads is?
minion, roll 2d6+0 for Read a Sitch
OOC: Someone already highlighted Tai's Weird. What happens when two people try to highlight on the same character?
OOC: Looking it over, I suppose I should pick Jackson instead. I'll edit my post.
Sorry guys, running on fumes and I've got an early shift tomorrow. I'll have the next post up mid afternoon.
Nothing like two missed rolls to start though
As for which van has opened up, you're not sure. Doesn't really matter now though, because whoever just got out is in the back of your pickup. Frankie's swearing is drowned out by the whine of a circular saw powering up as the masked figure advances. Looks like the only way out is through the windscreen. What do you do?
-
Even from this distance, Acid Burn, you can see the gunner's not impressed. He hollers over the roaring engines.
"Well my boss says shoot first, ask later. Lemme put a few speedholes in yer van and we'll call it done, yeh?"
He swings his MG round to point at the back (rather than at Muddy in the driver's seat). Are Gold or Runt in there with Muddy? Got anything valuable in there?.
What do you do?
-
"Bulllllshit..." She rolls the word around her teeth like a dusty cigar. The chiding tone is still there, but there's a definite venom sneaking in. While the word hangs in the muffled darkness, you suddenly realise there are a pair of machetes rested lightly on your shoulders. You've sat down between a couple more of those tattooed guys and you can make out their yellow teeth grinning to either side.
"Now you're a right-thinking boy. You know those megas don't treat us right. So you're gonna tell 'em they're wrong, see? Let em know what you think, eh? Tell their driver to do a little more sharrrring." The mass of dreads is leaning in real close now and you can see thin lips curling into a grin over blackened teeth. Now you don't know exactly who this is, but that's because no one does. She's a ghost in the swarm- they call her Coal.
Whoever she is, she doesn't seem like the kind of person to take no for answer. What do you do?
-
Tai, you are now the door.
It's a pretty odd sensation. Unfortunately you're 'facing' the wrong way- you can see yourself standing in the corridor outside the cockpit, looking a little more slack-jawed than usual. You can also feel something resting against your back. Maybe it's Bifflin, maybe it's a sack of potatoes, either way there's spasmodic movement that is doing nothing to help you re-orient yourself.
You also 'hear' (feel it through the floor really) approaching footsteps. They're heavy or in a hurry, possibly both. What do you do with your door-self? Whether you want to un-fuck your mind or try and get a better sense of your surroundings, you're acting under fire from a bit of brain-frying.
---
Jackson, I'm gonna highlight your Weird. Because fuck if the savvy is gonna take monopoly of that.
Tai, I'd like to see you use those appraising eyes. Highlight your Sharp.
Acid Burn, I want to see you deal with guff from both sides in the fleet. Highlight your Cool.
Garber, highlight your Hard. Show me what all that bad shit from your past has made you.
@The Everyman @OminousLozenge @Boozer @Void Slayer
"Okay, door. I'm not really sure where you begin and I end right now, but we can sort that out in a sec. Here's what we need to do, okay? We need to slide into our recess, just open right up and let the two meatbags on either side of us come together. There's somebody coming, or maybe several somebodies, and odds are they won't have the kind of special relationship you and I enjoy. You know I always llook out for you, door. So c'mon, let's unlock and open up just like old times. Whaddaya say?"
---
OOC: Tai is Spooky Intense, so he rolls +Weird to act under fire. Come to think of it, I don't know if he would ever have occasion to roll +Cool as a result of my taking that play?
Edit: Forgot about marking XP. +1 XP for Weird.
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for Spooky Intense
"We're getting on the hood. If he rushes us, head for the van on your side and I'll get on the other."
I cover Frankie's face with my cloak as I shoot out the windshield. I reholster my pistol before climbing out onto the hood.
---
OOC :
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Acting Under Fire
Edit: I forgot that you get a +1 for acting on the MC's answer to reading a sitch. Doesn't affect anything this time, but good to remember.
+1 XP for Cool
PSN: Boozer_777
I catch the first blade out the corner of my eye, and feel the second digging into my shoulder. More pissed at myself than these two fucks, my lips curl into a sneer that I barely force into a smarmy grin.
"Hey, hey, you shoulda just said so. If the swarm ain't getting its fair share then I'm the guy to come to, ma'am. Squeaky parts getting all the grease or whatever, right? Anything to keep the Engine running," I pause to lift up the spark plug around my neck and kiss her faithfully.
"Now, why don't you calm your boys down and we can dish," I advise, brushing one of the machetes off my shoulder. "Drop me off and I'll see what I can do, so long as you and your crew can be patient, yeah?"
---
OOC:
+1xp for rolling Hot
minion, roll 2d6+1 for Manipulate
The hold is full of bins of Hair Fruit from the farmers, about as appetizing as it sounds, with Gold and Runt sitting between them. I thought if I was getting a bad deal I might as well get a lot of it.
"Hey, hands off my cargo! I'm Acid Burn and I rebuilt half this damn mega, now back off or you'll see how I defend it." I unholster my 9mm and aim it at hm, ready to fire.
----
OOC:
I am going to use my reputation move to say he has heard of me as a useful scavenger and trader who has killed over a dozen people, most of them defending the megas.
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for reputation
Then I am going to go aggro on him, if he doesn't back off I am going to start shooting.
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Go aggro on the gunner
OOC: Acid Burn gets 2XP.
PSN: Boozer_777
Dozens of hatches open and small arms fire is peppered across whichever drivers weren't sharp enough to hang back when they heard the sirens. Between the excitement and the mega's erratic movement no one can get a bead on you, Acid Burn, but Muddy's van is still anchored alongside. Speedholes start appearing along it's flank and you watch in horror as the lock on the back door is blown off allowing your hair-fruit cargo to start tumbling out into the dust.
Meanwhile you're out on a limb and the mega isn't getting any steadier. What do you do?
-
Frankie tries to voice his agreement, but can't due to a mouthful of Jackson's cloak. The saw-guy in the back doesn't seem to have noticed that you've broken the windscreen and has taken his blade to the roof like he's opening up a tin of mystery beans. With the wind whipping through your new escape route, you're tangled up pretty badly with your driver.
You can either cut and run, leaving him behind; or try and get him free and face down Mr Circular-Saw. What do you do?
-
"Certaaaainly." Coal's black teeth recede into darkness along with the machetes. "My boys'll give you a ride over to quarry-mega. Tell 'em we just wanna trade, eh? No need to be rough with us."
The tat-boys are a little less rough when they load you into a bike's side-car, revving off toward the mega further up the swarm. Even from this distance you can see it's swerving a little weirdly and the boy with you keeps his distance warily.
"Which side you want, boss?" He hollers through his dust-mask. You could go for a security hatch on port or starboard side; or try and catch a bait-hook hanging off the back. What kind of animal are the bait-hooks used to catch? What do you say?
-
You slide open like a charm, Tai-door, just gently enough that your meat-body doesn't go toppling into the room. Another meat-body flops outward though and you can see it's Biffler. What's left of him anyway.
Your door-eyes aren't too sharp, especially at this angle, but you can make out some movement in Biffler's mouth. His head looks like a hair-fruit with all the juice sucked out, blood slowly bubbling from his ears. It's pretty grim and the two security guys (what are their names?) seem to agree with their expletives.
"What the hell, man?!" One grabs your meat-body by the shoulders and yanks you away from the corpse. "The hell did you do?!" He's shaking you now, more in shock than anger. What do you do? (Again, you're acting under fire to get back into your meat-body, but you've got basic door functionality if you choose to stay).
---
@Void Slayer @Boozer @The Everyman @OminousLozenge
"Door, I'm so glad we could work things out. Listen, I'm gonna see what the meatbags want. Something tells me there's some bad shit going down, so I gotta see what I can do to protect us..."
Holy shit, this has gotta end. Hector and Squiggs are world-class dumbasses, if they think I'm behind this mess. Like seriously, I'd fuck up Biffler's day this way? Nah, man, I don't bite the hand that feeds me. But these two are about as smart as a brahmin in rut on a good day. If I don't get them straightened out, it's off to the brig with me while Maelstrom-knows-what is going on. Time to go back to meatspace in three, two, one...
---
OOC:
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for spooky intense under fire
+1 XP for rolling Weird again.
---
@OminousLozenge
Jackson
A pity, the cloak manuever seemed quite heroic in my head. Ah well, survival of the fastest and all that.
"Shoot him while I try and distract him."
With any luck Frankie will survive with most of his limbs intact.
I climb out the windshield onto the hood to get a little distance between me and the saw. I don't bother yelling over the wind, I just start shooting. Only room on this truck for one masked psychopath.
---
OOC :
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for Going Aggro (Silenced 9mm 2 harm)
PSN: Boozer_777
---
OOC:
Don't know if this is a Seize by Force situation, but I'm gonna go with that since it seems likely getting control of the cockpit will involve Tai in the shit going down outside.
Geth, roll 2d6 for Seize by Force
I squint steady-eyed through the sun and dust, scoping out the mega. Those hooks dangling off her ass haul in dune pythons when the season is right, bad fuckers big enough to feed a whole gang of folks for at least a week. Seen some of the ballsier kids around scale the hooklines to get in, but I ain't young enough for that shit anymore.
"Get me up to a security hatch!" I shout back underneath my bandanna. "Watch out, she's looking squirrely!"
"G'luck Garber! Hahaha!" Is all the warning you get as you're pitched forward into the back of the truck. You're in a pile of hair-fruit with a couple of swarmers (you familiar with any of Acid's crew?) and the whizz of small arms fire all around. What do you do?
-
Well unless you want to start beating these guys up, Tai, you're not exactly seizing by force. These seems more like manipulation and boy does it work. The big lugs snap out of it and let you past. They start moving the blood-covered corpse.
"Eugh! There's somethin' crawlin' out er his mouth!" Indeed there is. It looks like some kinda giant tapeworm and it's unwinding itself slowly. You're in the driver's seat now and it's headed right for you. What do you do?
-
Jackson, it seems more like you're seizing control than making threats. You manage to grab the advantage from Mr. Saw since the fucker seems almost blind in that mask (what kind of mask is it?) and your silenced pistol doesn't hurt the equation. Pick two of the relevant options and we'll see what happens.
---
@OminousLozenge @The Everyman @Boozer
---
OOC: I wasn't sure about manipulation, since I didn't have leverage on them. Thanks for clarifying!
Geth, roll 2d6 to go aggro on the wormthing
The mask seems pretty hastily created, just a black cloth bag or shirt covering his whole head with ragged eye holes cut out. With all the wind whipping around it's a wonder the fucker can see anything.
---
OOC:
I find Going Aggro vs Seizing by Force one of the most confusing aspects of AW. I thought I was Going Aggro because I was surprise attacking from out of his range. It seems that issuing a threat prevents using Seizing by Force, but it is not a requirement for Going Aggro. (pg 193 - 197)
If you still think it's Seizing by Force, I'll choose:
1) If I'm in danger of being harmed: I'll choose You suffer little harm otherwise I'll choose You impress, dismay or frighten your enemy.
2) You inflict terrible harm.
For Tai, the leverage could've been: No one driving O.o
PSN: Boozer_777
OOC: I didn't consider that leverage, because that isn't something Tai had control over. In order to have leverage over someone, the manipulator needs to have possession over a thing such that he has the power to withhold it. The seduce/manipulate play is an explicit quid pro quo; there needs to be a "Do x for me and I'll do y for you." Tai couldn't withhold driving the mega, because he'd be putting himself in just as much danger as the security guys.
OOC: Fair enough. I guess I saw it more like "Believe me and I can drive or don't believe me and no one drives." Though that sort of assumes driving a mega is a special skill that you have and they don't. Manipulation does seem like the closest move, but maybe that just means no move should have triggered. Of course with pbp I would usually assume a roll somewhere so as to not delay the game. If it wasn't needed it can be ignored.
PSN: Boozer_777
That's basically it. Tai'd already rolled (and rolled well) so I wanted to give him some kind of move to go off of. It could have been Going Aggro, but the threat of violence just didn't seem to fit the Wiry Savvy vs two bruisers. It was more of a persuasion (which is what Hot covers).
Looking back over your move, Jackson, I'm inclined to agree that he's not able to strike you, therefore it's not Seize by Force. I'll treat it as Going Aggro and resolve both your moves once @The Everyman and @Void Slayer post.
Without time to properly thank the asshole who cut me loose, I keep my head low through the hail of bullets and scramble into the truck. The fucking floor is slick with hair-fruit sweat and it's a struggle to stay on my feet. I'm bad with faces so it takes me a sec to recognize who the pair in the back are. Fuck me if I can remember their names though.
"Burn's crew?" I blurt, incredulously. The hell kinda shitstorm she riled up now? Fucking figures. "Keep your heads down..." I hang out the back of the van and tug off my bandanna, waving it in the air as I set to hollering.
"Hey! HEY! Fucking -- hold on!" Lead pings near my face and a duck back inside. Over the roars of the engines and gunshots I make my presence known. "Cease-fucking-fire!! We got friendlies down here, with cargo for the mega!" Sure, it's a pile of bruising hair-fruit, but they don't need to know that.
"You all got one warning. Put them guns up and let us in, or I'll be hearing you beg you was dead."
---
OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Towering Presence
+1xp for rolling Hard
Aaand, looks like I'm taking +1 forward.
I haul myself up to a ledge that leads over to the gunners nest and duck low running over to above where the idiot just ducked down and leap down to the MG then turn it around towards the mega. If there is gonna be a shootout, might as well grab the biggest gun here.
---
OOC: Sorry for the delay.
Seize by force the MG on the turret
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for seize by force.
What could have been a lengthy debate is soon settled when you plonk yourself into the MG turret, Acid Burn. The sec-team all duck back instinctively as you spin the gun round, only to find the damn thing is jammed. While they're all having a good laugh York leans out of a hatch, bellows "Resistin' arrest!" and takes a potshot with his revolver.
You're not sure if it hits, or if it's one of the other dozen bullets that ricochet around the inside of the turret, but you get hit pretty bad, Acid. Runt's leaning round behind you Garber and, seeing his boss crumple under the fire, grabs your shoulder and pleads. "Y-you gotta help her! Those crazy megas're out for blood!"
What do you both do? The MG turret is sticking out 4 metres or so from the side of the mega; Muddy's van is still tethered alongside, below and 'behind' (or astern) from the turret.
-
You've seen some weird critters in your time, Tai, but nothing like this one. Your knife slices it in two no problem- well no problem bar the fact that there are now two brainworms. While the 'tail' is growing new mandibles, the 'head' leaps at you like an elastic band. You can see it on your right shoulder but you can't feel it. Hell you can't feel your whole arm- and it's spreading.
Meanwhile your right side is having some kind of reaction. Well that's putting it lightly- it feels like it's simultaneously on fire and freezing solid. Sod knows what Squiggs and Hector are doing, but what do you do?
-
You're beginning to think Mr. Saw must be blind, Jackson, because when you start firing he just keeps coming. You plug him in the arm and he drops his saw. He leaps up onto the hood of the car. This close you can see he's bleeding pretty bad, but he's not slowing down.
"Behind yer!" Frankie's apparently gotten his face untangled, but not his trigger finger. Glancing back you see another bag-head has climbed from the driver-side van. This one's got the same mask, but he's just carrying a sack. Still, two on one isn't the best odds- What do you do?
---
@Void Slayer You take 2 harm (3 harm from a small gang, -1 for armour). Make a harm roll as well as your next move.
@The Everyman Your +1 forward applies to the gang as a whole.
@OminousLozenge You take 1 harm (ap) from the brain-venom. Make a harm roll as well as your next move.
@Boozer In case it wasn't clear, I chose to suck it up and take the 1 harm (2 harm -1 for armour).
---
OOC:
Geth, roll 2d6 to seize my arm by force?
Geth, roll 2d6+1 to harm
E:I wish I could hate you to death, Geth.
I watch the saw drop with relief, only to see another threat appear from the van. I holster my pistol, then rush the wounded one and grab him by the throat. I will bend him to my will, or make him suffer for defying me.
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OOC:
I'm assuming the sack wielding one is still on the roof of the van, not that he climbed from the van onto the truck yet.
Geth, roll 2d6+1 for acting under fire for the neck grab
PSN: Boozer_777
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OOC: Since that got an 11 I'll roll for Puppet Strings now.
Geth, roll 2d6+2 for In-brain puppet strings
Command is "Kill anyone wearing a bag mask, then jump to the ground"
If he doesn't start heading towards the bag-head sack-man on the van, I'll burn my hold (1) to harm him. If you can't use compound commands just the kill part is fine.
+2XP (3 total)
PSN: Boozer_777
"Throw down your goddamn gun and let us in York, or there ain't a sawbones alive who'll be able to unfuck your face."
I got my finger on the trigger.
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OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+3 for going aggro on York's dumb-ass
If York forces my hand, does it count as going into battle? If so,
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Indomitable
EDIT: @OminousLozenge, dunno what you're doing wrong but Geth loves me. Aren't you supposed to be the techie here?
EDIT2: @Void Slayer, if Acid Burn can find a way to help with my going aggro roll, we'll have a better chance I think.
If I live through this they are both going to pay.
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OOC:
geth, roll 2d6+2 for Harm
geth, roll 2d6+2 for aiding Garber's threat