I keep getting pestered by the 1000 post limit so we're making a new thread.

Thanks.. ``

About the rule on extra attacks, what about riposte type skills, that trigger during a dodge action?

 That's a counter attack, not a multiple attack.

Sal I am so sorry.

"Update me."

"" Well we went to the land of the dead and fought some zombies. We then went to baulders gate and stole seeds from a god tree.

" Wait... like norse god Baulder.

"" Yea then we managed to barter our way out with goblin coins and postal service with the hells angels. Then we went to Never never land.

" Like tinkerbell never never?

"" Yea, we did some fighting and Noah Got bitten by a bandersnatch.

" That's alice in wonderland.

"" Yea, keep up. We did some good fighting and our dragon bit off Pans fingers right before the mage prison shanked Pan like the punk he was.

" riiigghhttt...

"" Then godzilla showed up and turned the whole place to a parkinglot.

" call the people with the funny self hug coats.

"" Then puff the magic dragon and Mistral brought back someone from the dead... twice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:01, Thu 09 July 2020.

In reply to Noah (msg # 5):

That post reads like a drug addled opium dream from the mind that is a cross between Lewis Carrol, Edgar Allen Poe, and George A Romero.

It is pretty much exactly what happened, though. Sal's version of the story skips some of the finer details, and lacks the more colorful language, but is hardly more believable. It also mentions something Noah wasn't there for, like Sal, Mist and Lola's Parisian shopping excursion, if only to reinforce the stereotype that vampires are good at fashion. Plus Sal is avoiding mentioning the mages names.

 Having some problems with the joint in my jaw. Gonna take a break from GMing for the day. Will be on tomorrow.

Sorry Hans, I couldn't resist

In reply to Jay (msg # 9):

  It was at least funny. I can roll with it.

Father Henry McCalahan eh.... there's a familiar name lol

Oops. I crossed the streams lol.

I’m lost in the joke. lol

It appears Michael and I are also collaborating in another game :)

Yeah totally unbeknownst to each other. I had accidentally used my character’s name from the other game here and he spotted it.

Good catch there Jay.. lol

Now see what our two new gents have to say about themselves before moving on or shall we continue.

Weird, I hand't seen the game get updated until just now. Will get a post out in the next couple of hours.

We'll see what they’re about first.

 Imma let the Safe Haven thread continue for a bit longer before I close it up. Most of the current threads are winding down and I'll start on the next chapter :P

 Going to end the scenes here and give out XP.

So, would it be untoward for Sal to go in armed and armored, or would it just be good sense?

 It would be good sense. However, it would likely be wise to keep any Cold Iron weapons concealed.

Michael

Who’s Henry?

mahahaha he did it again didn't he? :) You should play wildly different concepts lol, less chance of confusion
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Mon 20 July 2020.

It would appear so Lol. I picked similar concepts because of the way pbp pacing is. Double the chances of seeing the concept in action.

yeah i get what you mean, Jay is sort of a refinement of a concept I used in another game, but that one ended prematurely. Maybe just give them the same first name in future?

Edit: Alternatively give naming rights to the nearest child, I promise you wont forget what they come up with. I played characters called Nash Dilweed and Josef Krapstat (he had awful stats) based on that idea
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Mon 20 July 2020.

I take the easy way and name most of mine the same name

Can I use Dex and Athletic to jump down?  Or is it Strength and Athletic

Down is either, but jumping up is strength.

And now the old crew are within my domain. hehehehe

Parkour 2 gives me an auto success to reduce the falling damage to nothing.

Sorry for not saying hi to all the new folks posting up a storm, but now here it is... HI! :)

---

AF, I have questions about the goblin market, since it's been said that there are strict rules and things will go badly if we break them, but I feel like I still have no clear idea what any of these rules are :P  Confusion is probably the point to some extent, but just wanting to avoid any really obvious blunders!

1. What are we NOT allowed to bring in?  Are weapons banned?
   
2. Are each of us obliged to state our business before we can enter, or did Talion cover all of us?
   
3. Any particular rules that this group is likely to break by accident just by doing the things we normally do?

These are things Mist would have cleared up with Noah IC off-camera, and she wouldn't let him get away with his usual vague answers that sound intriguing without providing much clarification ;P

1. Weapons are allowed, just don't be the first person to spill blood and you'll be fine.

2. Talion covered all of you but you can have your own bargains. Fea love bargains.

3. The only thing that this group really does that could get you in trouble falls under "You break it you bought it." and "Everything has a price"

Let me elaborate a bit. Noah will be held to the letter of his deal but not the spirit of it. If he doesnt finish his deal there will be an itch that starts until it becomes something of a weight of the world on him. In the goblin market hostile action is not tolerated. An attack on a single member of the market, which Noah has merits for, is an attack on all of the markets combined.

That being said if no one finds out no one will call for the hunt. The letter of the law is upheld.

If Talion didn't say things like 'safe' or 'And back' then someone could walk up and shiv one of you and there wouldn't be a damn thing he would be allowed to do. If someone attacks you and safe passage is part of that, any attack on you in the market is an attack on Noah's person and by rights the whole market.

If you want to shop for something that is something that you can add as a part of the deal.

as far as deals go, there must be an agreement, a payment, and then satisfaction of that agreement to fall under market rules.

As a memory merchant, Noah is on thin ice acting as a guide. But no market or hawker would fault a well-worded contract. Even a thing like Talion would be massively hindered by the weight of the market's power.

But if you want to go shopping, feel free too.

All that, and if you are attacked you are allowed to fight back. Just don't be the first to spill blood.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:37, Tue 21 July 2020.

If you are looking to make a good first impression they dislike cold iron and think of his presence as taboo. Morals get a little thin with some of the more esoteric fea.

 There's also the fact that there are no written rules with the Fae. Nothing is set in stone for them (not even the laws of physics). They can, for example, choose whether nor not fire affects them (in one of the changeling stories one of the Fae Lords decided that the changeling wasn't allowed to be warmed by fire).

 That said, the Fae do not generally call mortals out on breach of etiquette. They are fully aware that mortals do not understand their rules. They are generally more surprised when someone does know the rules... and that, in itself, can cause more problems than it solves.

 Noah, having a Market Merit, is more closely bound to market rules. As a non-changeling, you or Sal could incite violence against any of the Fae and wouldn't be in breach of market rules as you are an outsider.

 You'd likely be kicked out of the Market just like you would be if you stepped into any store and started a fight, but that would be it. Noah, however, is bound by more rules than the rest of you... the downside to his merit.


 But yes, cold iron is viewed by Fae the same way a stake is viewed by vampires (or silver by werewolves). It's not considered polite to be brandishing it in public... and yes, you can buy things here. Nearly anything you can imagine can be bought or sold.

 … the question is the price that must be paid. There are no price tags like in normal markets and the cost of the item may not even be apparent until much later.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:31, Tue 21 July 2020.

So where are the robed men retreating to? Are they trying to get in the van or just run away in a random direction?

 At first it was just a panicked "back" but they are now actively trying to get into the van to get away

One is being held down by a ghostly wolf and the other two are leaving him.. smh

OH NO

Henry has returned. RUN

I swear one day I will get it right lol.

My posts will be short and infrequent, if I post at all, for at least a few more days. I was in a car accident a few days ago. No one was seriously injured, but I'm waiting on X-ray results to determine if I have a hairline fracture in my left arm. Until then, typing is difficult, as I can only use one hand.

Take what time you need. You will always have a place here Sal.

hope you feel better soon, Sal.

Take it easy, Sal!  Spend that Vitae to heal up at whatever speed you need :)

To the old crew. What is coming will be a little railroad-ish as there is a script I am sticking to, but it can absolutely flex. This is because I am going to switch to entirely audio-based responses and it will save me a lot of work. I've called in some help and it will be fairly clear when they show up for a short scene.

Bringing my A+ game to try and murder Talion. And yea, the main GM is a player for this.

 Getting some Voice Acting for the scenes :P

 You take care and heal up, Sal. Your health takes priority but we're glad you let us know.

Calling it now: the Collector’s dialogue will be provided entirely by a soundboard of Christopher Walken quotes ;D

Hope you will get good results from the X-ray. Until then rest your self up. Cause when we meet there will be a lot of chatting. Lol

Get well soon Sal

Hehehehe

No broken bones. I wouldn't want to post anything like what I posted at Victor's place right now, but I can type a decent amount without pain.

 It's great to hear nothing's broken. Post what you can when you can and rest up. Get better, alright?

Glad to hear, Sal.  Sal can be a man of fewer words for a while :)

Well, it's been nice knowing y'all, because Mist is about to be magically exploded into her constituent atoms for poking Talion's big huge sore spot ;P

Dont count yourself dead too soon.

Scratch that. He may kill you. You used his name. O.O

In reply to Noah (msg # 56):

%#@&!!  Is it too late to retcon out saying the names?  That was a player slip-up, but I think Mist would be wiser than that o_O  Particularly while saying something likely to royally piss him off ;P

Talking with MoD about it. May have caught him on his lunch hour.

I edited my post, but left a note in memory of the gaffe in case the GM sees fit to count it :P

So to be clear, how much experience does Mistral have with the rules of Fea, demons, and devils?

She has probably more experience than the average mage for the ways of demons and devils, considering that she has something of a specialty studying and exorcising dimensional outsiders.  Her only experience with fae has been during play in this game, so less for them.  However, Mist is very much aware of the power of names in general, and I think would be inclined heed Noah's explicit warnings about the market on that particular subject.

Throwing names into her speech was mostly me as a player trying to write a person talking to other people ;P  Definitely not a conscious decision to blow our cover and give us away to fae creeps!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Wed 29 July 2020.

Here is what was decided. Roll your wisdom. If you get 3 successes you can retract the names. If not they are there.

Does that sound fair? Bridging her experience in demons and devils may help her avoid issue with fea.

Fair.  Edited it into my post :)

And talion has also posted.

The audio narrative has started. Noah and Talion, planar ties are active. If any of the others in the Caretaker's realm have anything to do with Arcadia or fate it will activate.

May the Lord have mercy on you.

Mistral, your gloves still have the rose blooming but it will stop the moment you are separated from Talion. The thorns would be going nuts but they haven't activated yet.

OoooOOooo, spooky!  Very cool and great narration, both in writing and performance :)  Bravo!  Am I imagining things or did I hear indistinct whispers in the background here and there?  Not sure if those are part of the Collector's speech or what, but it's wigging me out ;P

There are four of us including Talion, but only three doors, correct?  Is Noah exempted from this little game since he has his own deal with the Collector?

Dunka, one scene I have called in about 12 diff voice actors from videogame dev, audiobooks, and live streaming. =P

There is the door out and Mistral sees one door that is just barely there. She can't see the door with a sword or stars. Each person only sees two total doors. The way out and the way forward. Each person has their own door because if you go into another hall of memories you both explode.

Well, your memories merge until you are both a mish mash of the same person.

I figured the ghostly door had to be Mist's :)  Good to know that we see only our own, though.


Hang on just a gosh-dang minute, here!  Are you saying that our wacky text-based RPOL game about wizards/vampires/dragons/androids is now being narrated by a full ensemble cast of pro voice actors?!

Uhmmmmm, wow :D  That would be wild and amazing!  It just seems like an unbelievably big production for a small private game :P

No XD. I just called in some favors to get a bunch of tiny clips for a scene that will reunite you all before the final room. I have turned games into published books before though. =P

That's pretty cool to me!  This is going quite above and beyond, so hats off for that :D

I now feel a vague anxiety that my weirdo RPG characters might escape RPOL into other mediums, though I expect the transition would be an improvement :)

Legally that cant happen.

Way cool. Too bad I don't currently have the bandwidth to stream anything. Maybe in a week or so, when the data on my phone resets.

The audio is just flavoring. Dont think you have to stream anything XD just post as normal.

Okay. Shame though, what little I did get to hear was creepy and atmospheric. Its just too hard to follow when it stops to buffer mid-word every few seconds.

It will be there forever and ever. no rush =)

If you need text that can be provided. And I was thinking the wrong streaming. X.X Sorry
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:09, Thu 30 July 2020.

 Edited Talion's appearance. Like Noah, Talion transforms inside the Supernal Realms.

Actively making the audio for the next room. This whole thing is super short but hopefully, it works out XD

Two of the next posts are written. One is recorded. Sal, did you manage to get it downloaded?

Guessing we might need some ST help in our thread..  Michael has vanished for some days and I don't think we can move forward without his input.  Or should we continue without it.

Yeah, I just haven't had a chance to listen to it, yet. Will do presently.

All good, just needed to know if I had to go another way.

Mistrals is now edited and finished. Working on recording Talions. Bringing in a buddy streamer for a line under the name GivMig on twitch for this one.

 For the new guys, a general rule of thumb is that if someone doesn't post for 2 days, we move forward. It has consistently proven to be the best and most respectful way of keeping the story moving forward.

 All I need your group to do is decide what you'd like to do:

 Find Food? Interrogate the cultist more? Try to arm and/or repair the synths?

 Something else?

I apologize for my sudden disappearance the past couple of days. Had to deal with some emergency mandatory overtime. I’m back now and good to go.

See through the dragons eye...

Rooms are all written. I plan to do the recording and finish it once the temp gets low enough to turn off my ac and lower room noise.

In reply to Noah (msg # 84):

Guess you can see who is on her mind  lol

Not without meeting you first XD.

Mistral and Talions full audio is done. Working on Sal's. Its a little harder as most sound effects and music from the 1890's is all scratchy and poppy making my audio software hate me XD

Sorry posted it in the wrong thread..

AF....
Oh my that voice.. its creepy at times and makes you turn around to see who is watching you in the shadow.

Dunka

The guest on Talions room can be found here. https://www.twitch.tv/givmig

Gotta give credit when due.

Hi guys, new player here. Looking forward to playing this game with you all. ^_^

Hi hi

Salutations... Fate

Another acanthus, huh? Interesting...

Greetings, Fate!  People are always saying there's no escaping you, so I suppose we'll meet eventually ;)

Looking forward to it! ^_^

Hey Mistral, mind hitting me with a will power roll? That was the star vampire that bit her in the background there.

Haaaaa, lovely?  Edited it into the post  O_o

BTW, is our host for this memory misadventure 'the Collector' or is he 'the Caretaker'?  We've used both names at various times, so I'm not sure anymore!

The collector is the building. The caretaker are the little versions that interact with people.

Damn it HENRY.  Go Home

In reply to Nefertiti (msg # 101):

  Why you always gotta beat a berk to the punchline? At this point I say when we are talking to Micheal we switch randomly between the two as a running joke.

I don’t know why I can’t keep the two straight lol.

Well maybe they are not straight.. lol

Michael has the multiple personality derangement, but only pertaining to his inner monologue, and both personalities are near-copies of each other :D


Oh, so we're inside a memory-eating machine... Cool, great, this could never go wrong ;P

If you would like to make an occult roll, feel free. =)

In reply to Asimov's Folly (msg # 106):

Well sure, why not?  Let's hear the good news (good for the bad guy)!

02:56, Today: Mistral rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 10(+4),10(+3),6,2,6,4.  Int + Occult.

The collector is like a fea barnacle. It found a spot and cemented itself there. It has proxy, the caretakers, that act for it. Your less in a stomach and more in a long magically speaking. The difference is active vs passive intake.

So far as Mistral can tell there are two things happening. One, he is at max capacity with Talion there. Like trying to take in a breath of air with a lung full of water.

Second, you're in a space that memories become real and you brought a space worm with you. It had been a bear trap in your head but no one tried to dig into your thoughts. Until now.

So right now there is a rogue aberration in a oil ranger at max stress.

Really, Nanobytes.. I'm scared of what all your wicked mind may think of.

But they are so adorable. Itty bitty robots working so hard.

Its sucks that my character knows nothing about them.  There is so many things I would like to have them do....

Technology is amazing isnt it?

In reply to Noah (msg # 112):

Is these your doing?  LOL

I, Noah, have not created them nor have the ability to create them myself.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to cherish them and be proud of them.

In reply to Noah (msg # 114):

Replicators? Ok get the P90s ready and someone call O'Neil he is gonna want to know.

Adorable are they not? They even do a little jig some times when they are doing their work for the pure amusement of it.

I did have a lot of stuff planned but MoD and I had a sit down to think of anything that you had been through that would show up. Talion, in a game 10 years ago, met a being that was a champion of evolution and education who could mess with thought forms and memory. You Mistral, ran into something that injected itself into her mind.

Now you are in a place that thoughts and memories are real things.

Please refresh my memory, what were the spoken conditions on being allowed to leave safely with Dr. Lennis?

 Get to the end of the museum and she will have something to say to Talion. If Talion can answer her, everything will be "A-Okay".

Ah. I see. So basically, since he pretty much controls whether or not we can get to the end of the museum, it would behoove Sal to play nice.

 Yep. Even Talion's having to play nice for now... though he did cheat a little bit. (it's the Collector's fault for setting free multiple psychic parasites :P)

 So I decided to try to give Alyssa, Atlas, Grey, and Talion a theme song and this is what I came up with:

Talion:

https://youtu.be/1IY8Npoc7bs

Alyssa

https://youtu.be/_f2y-75N1iA

Atlas

https://youtu.be/IDsCtDRV2uA

Grey

https://youtu.be/bQ5rExbFD0w


 Thoughts?

Of them I find Alyssa my favorite.  LOL  Guess its the haunting spirits that linger around me.

Chance you are correct.  I edited my post

Okay, I updated my message.

And I apparently missed that everyone headed outside. I had only seen that Nefertiti went out, and then that Fate followed. The part Nefertiti quoted in the thread was hidden text from MoD, but I didn't see anyone else narrating that they were leaving the building.

I do need to know if Fate is outside, since I'm sure Chance's mage sight would have recognized she's a mage. And I'm curious if his mage sight notices the spirits on you guys.

 Naturally, Nefertiti has no idea what the giant loud metal thing in the sky is.

Yes Fate is outside with you two.

So, when you say the plane stopped suddenly...do you mean it literally stopped completely, violating physics, or more it turned around quickly?

It's a jet with Vtol. It was going fast. There was a sonic boom. It stopped. Rotated. And took off.

There was nothing supernatural to its movement. All normal for a harrier.
This message was last updated by the GM at 22:09, Thu 06 Aug 2020.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate that little drop down menu to post as anyone?

It is really hard to use on a cellphone. X.x

 Well, new guys... welcome to your first taste of the madness.


 It only gets worse from here :P

Things only get better after meeting the incomparable and adorable Grey :D

...unless you happen to get on the wrong side of her whimsy.  Then you might be disassembled down to a molecular level and converted directly into coffee with near-poisonous caffeine concentration :)

The post I was tempted to make.....

Seeing his two companions had the right idea of it, the seven-and-a-half foot monstrosity that was Jay's human form screamed like a small child and followed the two dogs, quickly overtaking them in his fright-induced adrenaline rush.

But comedy aside I think I'll come up with something else ;)

Going to give Talion and Mistral a moment to go back and forth and then comes the next room.

Raw audio recorded for the next post.

And.... there went my streak!

He has risen... from the Undead.

Welcome back.

Soooo... Talion is using his wackadoo magic. Mistral is immune to the blowback because she is awakened.

Sal, need a willpower roll. It is advised to do everything you can to get as many successes as you can.

Can you spend willpower to boost a willpower roll?

In reply to Sal (msg # 140):

If not I will allow it this time considering your location.

 I would allow that under normal circumstances anyway, so yes.

Would a Mental Wall do anything against the wackadoo magic Sal is rolling against?  Not asking for any particular reason, just curious... ;P

 Yes, he would gain those successes as bonus dice to resist (since this is not a contested roll).

Then that’s +3 dice for you Sal, for reasons mysterious and unknown :)

What time of day is it in Cultists and Cabals?

Near mid day at this point

They say that in the marine corps, the coffee is mighty fine.
It looks like muddy water, and taste like turpentine.

Card carrying, tea drinking Englishman over here ;-) We only drink coffee when the teabags have run out

thank you. and Jay lol nice

 Grey, for her part, has consumed two farm grade silos of coffee (silos and all) in the past two weeks :P

 Talion's post edited to acknowledge that Mistral had spoken to him.

One more will roll for me Sal. This time as its a repeat just hit 2 or more successes.

Ill be posting once I get a chance to finish the final audio.

To give credit the music in the last audio is a slight remix of this song. https://youtu.be/6dVDvILxj24

So I am handing the reins back to MoD. Congrats on Surviving something that could have put Talion in the dirt, it ended up going in a way I had no earthly way of predicting the way it went.

The arc of "Care Taken: All bets are final" will conclude soon.

Boss, who are you asking for str+athletics to force the door: Noah, Sal, Mistral or all of us?

I cant move keeping the way home open. I would figure its whoever is kicking the door in. Which is everyone?

In reply to Sal (msg # 157):

Noah doesn't even know we're coming yet, so that roll is for you and I to bust out, Sal!  Go ahead and take the first shot, and if you don't get through then Mist will give it a go :)

 Yep, it's Sal and Misral needing to break down the door.

 Bear in mind that it's cumulative successes (so your successes are added together till they reach 5) so you can both go at once

MoD

I edited my post, with a question for you.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:36, Tue 18 Aug 2020.

Thank goodness RPOL is back. It is a lot of work giving people the Jitters.

 Imma giv another day in cultists and cabals before I move things forward (in case someone has a different idea on how to approach things)

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 163):

You can move us.  No one else is posting it seems.

agreed.

aye aye, we are working on it.

I’m good with the move.

Imma wait another day with cultists and cabals.

Who's still here in that thread?

 Sorry for the slow leadup but things are about to start moving fast :P

----

 For Sal, Mistral, and Noah, how was the story (naturally, AF's production was marvelous and aided tremendously :P)? Tragedies are very hard to do in a gaming setting so I was curious about your input.

Still here

I see me and fate are there as well

hey, still here. Sorry had a helluva week I'll put something together for Jay shortly. Sorry to hold things up

Still here.

I hated it! Tragedies are the worst, and this one in particular was executed to perfection :)

I kind of want to know why the collector set Talion up like that. Bad blood? Boredom? Bears? beets? Battlestar Galactica?

There is an opportunity for you to find that in about a week or so of ingame time.

BTW, does Sal remember going to Neverland? Does he still have the weapons he made to fight Pan, or even the skill he learned to make them?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:49, Sat 29 Aug 2020.

The story and character moments were tragic and poignant, and I was wowed by all the epic set-pieces!  It feels like a satisfying resolution to the Dr. Lennis situation, though I'm a bit bummed that our whole adventure in Neverland got more or less negated :/  Did Mist at least get to keep Amelia Earhart's plane in the hold?  lols.  I've already gushed quite a bit about the audio performances from AF, but I'll say again that those were pure awesome and that extra effort is of course hugely appreciated, and his talent is admired :)

Maybe we can kill Pan again!

Grey has a number of time-related powers. Did you at all remove that plane from the hold? MoD is out today but I can talk to him about it once he is roused from his Torpor.

But from what I know Mistral is still the Bane of Pan as that contract was made with Talion who was the source of the change.

Edit: I also know Noah has a direct intention to smoke one of the pixies for science. So there are some things still around. It all depends on what was within the ship and what was not.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:53, Sat 29 Aug 2020.

 Talion didn't exactly reverse time. He altered one moment in history and let the Butterfly Effect do the rest.

 There are a few things that can directly negate the change. Grey being one of them. Being present in the Observatory is another... so those present remember everything that happened, even though they technically never went because the change was never applied to you directly.

 Mistral is still Pan's bane and anything Grey picked up is something she still has.


 … and technically, the mirror that Grey and Atlas made still exists, linking them through a time paradox to the kids and Hook that escaped (which is a thing that you guys will need to make a decision on how to resolve). There will now be a few such time paradoxes occurring for the players to deal with :P

Edit: Also, sorry for being absent yesterday. A headache took me out of the running but I'm back and better now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:12, Sat 29 Aug 2020.

Imma give Mistral one more post and call it /thread and start your downtime.

Just to translate something. When you are in an area of corruption in a city that has corruption entirely scrubbed on an atomic level, you've now entered the danger zone.

 Y'all about to earn your xp.

“Highway to the danger zone! Ride into the danger zone!!!!!” Save us Tom Cruise!

In reply to Jitters (msg # 181):

Damn you, you're going to make me do it aren't you Jitters? Next fight ima have to shift into a 9-10ft 500lb slavering were-squirrel! (named Boo, Ok its not a hamster but meh [Damn I hope someone gets that reference or I'm gonna look like (more of a) dork])

… so that escalated quickly.


 … also, I'm just gonna leave this here.

link to a message in this game

 as a heads up regarding what happened the last time a party went out hunting cultists....

MoD
How bad was that bite Michael took?

Just remember, go for the eyes!

Let’s just say dice roller shook the bag too hard and Michael is floating belly up now...Good luck guys!

Edit: wait a minute! I might just have something to save my neck
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Thu 03 Sept 2020.

 Neck Saved (and posted edited to reflect said saving)

Can vampires experience vertigo?

Absolutely. Have a troll slam a club into your ear and up becomes a spinning point of reference.

Mist can help gauge your vertigo tolerance if you like, buddy!  Say the word and you'll see stuff that would make M.C. Escher's head spin >:D

 The mechanical answer is "yes but you can spend 1 Vitae to make it immediately stop."

Mist, you might be already doing that, that's why I asked.

In reply to Sal (msg # 193):

Of course!  What I was saying is that those were just test runs, and the mind-bending will only get better from there ;P

Fuuuun...

Nice rolls Michael. That could of been a Decapitation roll as well.

Hope it was enough to kill it.

Idk. I’m sure it has a massive pool for soaking damage. My last couple hits didn’t do much.

 Not so much, no. They just have a LOT of health.

Cheering for Michael to take a LOT of their health away.. .....lol

What do you roll for Awareness?  I had to edit my post to Fate cause I don't see it as an Ability in this game.

Wits + Composure

Henry has struck again.. and I'm not Fate.. I'm prettier.. LOL

Lol my bad.

@Fate
Nefertiti currently has a pair of monsters taking bites out of her if you can help her.

Updated my post...

So a quick little story. We had a few minor encounters up until we hit plot territory. We ran into an old church and Mistral managed to lock down a rift while I handled the energy overflow. And then the cross with synth parts nailed to it animated. It summoned a giant outsider and we ran. We got on the bus and I threw a massive explosive at the outsider bug that was summoned.

Been reading your thread as its something I very rarely do. But given what I can see and what I have been told, you have some real werewolves gnawing on you. And now you have forces, a lot of them, on their way to reinforce the werewolves.

As it is unsolicited advice I can only state that Noah would be doing his best to evacuate people.

Above all else I have learned in this game; not every fight can be won alone and some fights are not for me at all. I can influence the fight. But some things are so much bigger than me that my own scale has to raise just for having been a participant.

*Michael’s ghost nods* Agreed lol

*Nefertiti's soon to be ghost* Agrees as well.  LOL

*Will be dead soon* Yep Agreed

 Bear in mind, you guys that a bite is not a grapple. No one in this group is grappled or pinned (Fate was for the very first turn but now she is not). Everyone is able to move freely.

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 209):

Thanks.  I was about to ask you that.

If Nefertiti can heal Michael and run, he should be able to get away.

 Lunacy can break even the strongest of human wills :P

If Sal drastically changes his look with makeup, should I find a similar looking portrait and use it, even if it's of a different actor? I'm thinking with his new identity, he might want to try something a bit drastic, make-up wise. Besides, the dissonance of Sal and Talion both being RDJ has been impossible to ignore.

Personally I would go with flee, guys, but what do you think?

 "The Guy" that Sal goes to for IDs is a Tzimisce who joined the Camarilla. He's the city's ID guy, plastic surgeon, and barber (dude's a bit eccentric and claims lineage to Dracula). Sal has not gone to see if he is still around.

Is this the makeup look you're going for, Sal? ;)


Peeked in on the second team's thread and yikes!  I'm not sure which is worse, giant murder-wolves or lunacy-addled soldiers with heavy weapons.  Don't die, y'all! :o

In reply to Fate (msg # 214):

I posted, and didn't think they would allow Jay to come with them.  He is still in his wolf form.

Jay has had to take an extended leave of absence.

I do hope that he is alright.  And will be returning sometime later.

So Im guessing we were not able to see him following us when we took chase?

It is assumed the player is alright just tied up. We keep the light on for anyone to return.

The character will be safe and sound. We are not in the habit of killing players... when they are away that is.

No. I was thinking a good wig, and maybe some heavy eyeliner. Facial hair and piercings are a no-go, but glasses could work.

Maybe like this?



Of course, if the guy (who I'll call Karlov for now, it could be a nickname if he already has a name) can add facial hair, Sal would go for it. He wouldn't mind shaving every day, it might make him feel more human.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Tue 08 Sept 2020.

 Milo is his name (shortened from a longer Romanian name) :P

 And yes, he can add or remove facial (or normal hair) from vampires.


Edit: Also, Jay had to drop out due to RL things so it is now down to just the three of you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:41, Tue 08 Sept 2020.

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 222):

I just hope he is alright.  His character brought so much life to the game. And now I don’t have Yuka to pet.

We survived the Deathtrap.  Going to have a celebration. All is welcome to the Haven. lol

No kidding. Jeez. lol.

Hey would it be possible to get the hidden blade from Assassin's Creed? If so for how much and would Fate still be able to use the Brawl skill with it? And how much are silver weapons? How much for a trench coat too please?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Fri 11 Sept 2020.

 Well, the economy in New York is kinda borked right now so buying most things is out of the question (considering that it is pretty much a disaster area).

 However, the Adoni Institute is now re-opened and it teaches crafts. You may be able to get things made by students there. It'll actually be cheaper that way... but getting hold of silver will be considerably more expensive. That said, they do have an electrolysis machine there.

 … so, short answer is: you can't in the city itself but you can buy most anything at the institute if you have Resources ***

Okay thank you.

Michael has Resources 3 if you need him to help get you something. He also has some silver weapons if you need to borrow any in the mean time. There is the Katar Punch Dagger in Armory that is a 2L blade that uses the Brawl skill. Could be made silver too. There’s also the Equipped Grappling merit combo with a Telescoping Baton.

I’m traveling this weekend and might not get time to post.  Don’t start any new apocalypses while I’m not looking :)

I'll try really really hard.

In reply to Michael (msg # 229):

Tyvm. What is the equipped Grappling merit combo with a Telescoping Baton? I've never heard of that before.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:39, Sat 12 Sept 2020.

The equipped grappling merit allows you to add the size of any blunt weapon size 3 or smaller to your overpower rolls. Weapons traditionally used to subdue people like clubs, batons, jitte, sai, etc are considered +1 size as a Grappling Aid. Telescoping baton is size 1 when collapsed to fit in a pocket, size 2 when extended, and considered size 3 as a grappling Aid for the full bonus to overpower rolls. That is of course for campaigns when you’re not openly carrying weapons. You could probably walk around with a jitte (Size 2J, +1 Defense) since concealing a weapon isn’t as big of an issue during the apocalypse lol.

In reply to Michael (msg # 233):

Yeah maybe. Either way I think both my character and I would rather have the concealed weapon than not. Especially after that last scene. If the DM allows it I would love to get the hidden blade from assassin's creed, but it would have to still work off the brawl skill. I do plan on getting a nice trench coat too. ^_^

Pure morbid curiosity. Does Michael have any supernatural senses? Noah has the mage sights and a ley line sense but that is about it.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:39, Tue 15 Sept 2020.

Fate and Michael... RUN.. its a Dragon.. LOL

Noah's being a dragon is the least of the reasons to be worried when he's around, if you can believe it ;)

In reply to Mistral (msg # 237):

Guilty as charged.

I missed my chance in meeting a Dragon.  Darn... lol

Michael has supernatural senses when he turns it on. It costs a willpower point, so he does it when he suspects supernatural stuff is going on.

I keep forgetting you're 99% able to pass under the radar. I'll be home for real posting here in a few hours.

 So... it seems like most everyone has done the things they needed to do in downtime so I'm thinking it's time to fast forward a day or so, get everyone their dots, and get the groups back together.

 Get you your gear and get back ready for the story. Anyone opposed?

Sounds good to me. No need to play out Talion embarrassing Sal any further!

Mist still needs to bring the matter of "the test" to Talion, but that's a big enough deal that it could well be our next chapter :P  If that discussion needs to happen before the end of this chapter then I'd rather do it first, but if it can push to the start of next chapter then okay!

 Just an FYI to Sal, Noah, and Mistral... not counting the time skip (where you got flung forward 3 months in the future), you've been active for 2-3 weeks.

 This means that you three have advanced to the state you're currently in in under a month :P

 This post was just for perspective's sake :P

And that is why Mistral and Noah actively take naps. XD

To be fair, it's been a pretty dang eventful three weeks :P  We've had to constantly 'git-gud' just to survive!

 This is true. I was just pointing out the time frame :P

 So, everyone... there is no rush to move forward (get everything you want to talk about said and do done) BUT, before you guys head off to the werewolves, I want each player to make a detailed list of supplies they're bringing. If it's not on the list, you didn't bring it, okay?

Is Prince Victor an Invictus?

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 249):

I am way a lost puppy here, for there is nothing I would know about needed. LOL

 Nope, Victor is Ordo Dracul


 And Nefertiti, if you don't have anything to bring, that's fine. I was just giving a head's up to make a list :P

So we just remote-blasted a demon to smithereens from an amethyst palace, and one minute later we're off to the French Alps to buy coffee for a silvery, elfin god-child...

This game is nonsense of the best sort ;D

 That gave me a genuine goofy grin. I can only imagine trying to explain things to someone who hasn't been following.

Like all the poor new players and their fresh case of ptsd.

Lies in the corner with a blank stare drooling at trying to comprehend the story up to now

 At the very least I numbered all the threads so that they can be followed chronologically :P

Heck, I've been here from the beginning and I'm lucky if I understand half of what's going on!  Just wing it like I do, new folks, and it somehow all works out in the end ;D

But anyhow, after the coffee run we should arrange a debrief and planning session on this werewolf pack!  I confess that I didn't follow that whole thread, so I have no idea what we're looking at.

So quiet here.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Yeah, it's a bit odd seeing everyone just go silent.

 Going to echo your hopes that everyone is alright.

Sorry all, I’ve been moving since Friday and thought I’d be able to post, but haven’t gotten to :(  I wanted to post yesterday evening and fell asleep instead, lol.  I’ll try to post today, but it might end up being tomorrow.

Real life comes first. rest up.

Take care and be safe. Rest up.

 Hello?

ECHO!!!

Reeeeeee

Hello?  hello?  _hellooooo?

Heya, I'm back!  Y'all have my permission to post again, because of course everyone was waiting on my go-ahead ;P

Hope moving went smoothly.

It could have been worse ;P  The move has now stalled at the "unpack infinite boxes of stuff I should've tossed" stage.

 Congrats on the move :P



 Also, the fact that it's outside means that the smoke will fade in about 4 rounds.

Edited my last IC post to acknowledge our outdoor...ness.

Congrats on the move, Mist! I know that step very well. I've been in it for about 20 years. Of course, I've moved more than a few times in that period. Having a family with 30 acres good for nothing but storage helps.

Congratz.  Did I hear HOUSE PARTY...??

So, because it came in in a PM and a new downtime will be coming up.

You all want to go tricker treating with the orphan kids and then go to shmooze with high society supernaturals?

Ummm, I think we'd better make sure to survive the trouble Mist just got us into before we start counting our candy-corns ;P  Y'all haven't yet seen the thing that now has our number!

The island is the last place any bad guy wants to be. If we cant poof it, Grey will, if grey cant, Talion is right there with anger issues to be worked out.

Some of us maybe wanted to go slay monsters, though... and maybe prevent said monsters from imminently murdering a whole military battalion and stuff ;P

Ah, then to war we shall ride.

Sal wonders how many times his battalion was saved from monsters without him being any bit the wiser.

 Probably more than you'd like to imagine :P

 Mysterium? Michael, are you sure you aren't getting games crossed again?

 :P

Yep but first time in a while lol.

Last call. make sure the gear you are taking is on your sheet. Give me a green light once ready.

Green light

I need to know if Sal was able to find any grenades or silver bullets it the pile of weapons the others found, and if so, how many, and of what types.

 Yes, there are silver bullets for pistol and rifle and there are flashbangs (and tear gas like the ones you found yourselves on the receiving end of). Anything else would have been a bit too hard for them to acquire.

 There are about 2 clips of silver pistol and rifle ammo (2 each), 2 boxes of silver shotgun ammo, 5 flashbangs, and 3 tear gas grenades).
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:00, Mon 05 Oct 2020.

In this sort of situation where everything is hidden, how are cell phone calls and texts to other members of the group going to be handled? If Michael is sniping while somebody is inside, can they relay information to him? What about any Mage powers of group telepathy or mindlink?

The rule change only deals with rolls, and ooc stuff. No player is to see the mechanical actions of another. If you are taking ingame action and saying ingame things that is still all done the same way.

Theme music is cute. I like it. Sounds awesome. ^_^

I'll post something to this effect IC, but for OOC planning purposes:  Before departure Mistral will offer to stow extra equipment in an extra-dimensional space that she can withdraw from at any time :)  If we have anything unwieldy to carry that might help the mission, then it's an option... if you trust the weirdo mage lady to hold it for you ;P

Still working on my own equipment list!

 People announcing to the commander that they're human.

 "Hello, fellow Hoo-man. I am also a hoo-man. Let us do Hoo-man things."

 Feels like you're announcing that you're not human at all x.x

I was gonna claim to be a cricket.

I mean with dragons and werewolves running around who knows lol.

 People still think werewolves are a myth (even getting a report about them is suspect because of Lunacy).

 The presence of a dragon is a bit different... but no reason to suspect everyone present is also secretly a dragon.

 Gonna play it off as you guys saying "not a synth" :P

I think Michael and Fate had to announce their human-ness, because otherwise the commander would see how absolutely cool they are and think they were dragons too ;D

Is it just me or did rpol just change everything?

What changed?

Figured it out. At some point I some how clicked to beta test work in progress format.

Relearning all the buttons now.

I'm still on the old-school site, because I didn't much like the new 'responsive' version at first glance.  It seemed just huge and clunky, and I suppose I was too used to the original :P

I just looked at the responsive site again and it does seem better than I remember, though!  Have they been updating it?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:31, Tue 06 Oct 2020.

First I have ever seen of it. Kinda spiffy looking but less character than the dark dark setting I have had.

Does the area have any buildings nearby and how tall are they? How tall is the target building?

Most are two stories. The target building is 2nd level ruins. and there is a basement

Most of the area surrounding the ruins in question were destroyed by the storm. There are a few isolated destroyed buildings on the approach (the most notable ones being the one where you were ambushed last time) but nothing that provides an unseen approach to the building. Some of the rubble has been cleared on the most used pathways in and out of the main ruin.

I had a better post last night, but my phone ate it and so I had to throw a new one together quick, sorry!

Did anybody see something with that perception check on Noah?  I was waiting to hear back about that before posting again :P

I'm waiting to hear from AF, if I saw anything.

Friggen all Doctor Strange up in here getting ejected into the dark dimension.

Sorry y’all for holding everything up, I should be able to post tomorrow! :o

Real-life always comes first. And don't fret, I am better at narrative than I am encounters so it gives me time to violently hammer down map tiles in this mental arcade. XD

Fate, as you are keeping your eyes peeled and considering your background. I will encourage you to make an wits+investigation roll

As a heads up MoDs net is out but he will back before too long. I'm still here of course. Pays to have the cell info on your main storyteller. XD

 I have returned!

 Good thing too, I was starting to go into withdrawal :P

Oh I know how that feels.. Glad your back.

 Glad to be back :P

Welcome back! ^_^

Welcome back.

Happy Halloween all!

HAPPY

HALLOWEEN

So... is someone waiting on me?

I think maybe what’s on the other side of the door.

I would have to agree with Michael..

So we have one person pro black portal, and one says that is a no no.

Who else is going where?

I'll follow Michael and Nefertiti.

 So, just to be clear, the three of you want to enter the black portal, correct?

 Because no player has actually posted that they're stepping through any doors and I can't actually tell what course of action you guys want to take.

 Because we have:

 Sewer (door trapped)
 Black Portal
 Room with soldier (untrapped)

Does it appear Noah was dragged through the portal or the door?

Int + Survival if you're trying to track the durgun.

I rolled for you and you don't know.... and then I rolled for Mistral and she says yes (to the dark portal).

 BUT, Mistral did say that the realm beyond the black portal was not welcoming to visitors (ie. deeper shadow).

 Also consider that she said that in the presence of a sewer filled with so many spiritual sewer maggots that she's practically floating on them as a reference point.

 So... subway or dark portal?
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:37, Fri 06 Nov 2020.

Sorry for disappearing, y'all.  This has been a stressful week, for a number of reasons, and I haven't had the brainspace for posting :(

MoD, you're saying you rolled for Mist and she reckons that the black portal goes to the same place Noah got sucked into?

 Yes... but it is a Very Bad place. It is actively hostile to life and you will lose health each minute inside. If you go in, you may all very well die before you can escape. It is also a planar boundary... so, once you go in, you can't portal out.

I am reading up on some of the things I am able to do so will be posting later today.  Sorry for the delay in my post.  Never played this class before. Lots of reading and understanding.  LOL

Even Sal?

Yup

 I believe I've had a question or two regarding the soaking of the damage from the flying heads. I've been rolling your Dex + Stamina + Armor to see if you take damage from the heads. The damage that gets through the rolls is all that's being mentioned :P


Also, Michael. From now on, the thematic for your Barrier is drawing a circle with blessed salt or holy water (which may or may not have silver filings in it). You don't need to have that in your inventory for it to count… it's just, when you make your barrier, you're drawing it on the ground (which can also just be a hasty "throwing it haphazardly in a rough circle around me".

Edit: Also, any of you with the means can absolutely take a pot shot at the retreating monsters. Just be aware that they are Abyssal.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:53, Fri 20 Nov 2020.

Understood

hello?

hey there.

I'm just having my skin burnt off me from Michael.

Sorry, it’s been hard to do RPOL lately :(  I’ll post something tomorrow.

Passes Nefertiti some SPF 1000 sun screen

Real life comes first, always. Just take our gentle ribbing as we like gaming with you all. =)

MoD

Would she know the reasoning why his Ward is having an effect on her?

I know as a player.

 Yes. Nefertiti has felt this happen to her before (the last time Michael did this) and would likely have come up something similar at some point while she was exploring.

 … so she is most definitely aware of what's happening.

 Hello All!


 Happy Thanksgiving!

 Everyone Currently Present in the game (including Noah since he is present, he's just elsewhere) get a gift from the GM.

 A small china figurine of a cooked turkey (small enough to fit in your hand). If you break it, it spawns a feast. If you eat from the feast for 1 hour, you immediately recover all health, all willpower, all Mana (or vitae, or faith, or whatever else you run on) and gain a +4 bonus on all for the next scene.

 The feast must be eaten in a relatively comfortable area to get the bonus to rolls.

------

 Also, speaking of recovering. If any of you attempt to heal someone else, let me interject before you just accept the healing and move on.

Cool idea! Thanks!

Neat idea tyvm!
Happy Thanksgiving all!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:39, Fri 27 Nov 2020.

 So, what's the consensus? Kill the swarm or go see the bound man?

Seems like we shouldn't just leave these creepy head-bats to run amok, but I dunno how to get rid of so many :/  Mist can trap them, but doesn't have a way to kill a bunch at once.

Would these things die from exposure if banished to Antarctica?  Maybe not the best solution, as I'd probably just be setting up the plot for for the Thing, except in the future ;P

Random level 10 spells from the magic gun Noah made for Sal?

I will be pleased as punch to learn what each bullet does. I have a running bet with Atlas one of the bullets turns everyone into chickens for the day.

 Well... you could send them to Antartica. Even if the cold didn't kill them, it would be a bad day for the next person you sent there. Of course, if it did cause a problem... then at least it'd be a later problem instead of a right now<I> problem :P

 The problem comes in that these things don't fall when a portal is opened beneath them :P

 Also, yes. The Emperor's Tears definitely have <i>a radius. What that radius is has not yet been discovered :P


 So yes, you definitely have the tools for the job... it's only the selection and application that become important now :P

I believe we were still in the Shadow Realm during that whole ordeal, but I think Mist would've Spirit-Roaded us back to the regular world before leaving the subway area.

Otherwise we'd have to slog the magic hamster ball through the sea of corruption grubs again, and I'm not so sure now that it's worth the trouble :P  The trade-off is that we have to deal with physical traps/hazards again, like that claymore mine.  Anybody want to stay in the Shadow Realm still?

Not unless we have to

 Edit added a bit of info since the man heard you coming (as you were in the real world and there was water on the floor)

 I'm letting Noah's player take over John. Is there anything anyone else wants to do to plan your attack or is everyone ready to go to the last room?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 Merry Christmas everyone! As my GM gift to you all, you all get a limited wish.

MERRY

CHRISTMAST

Merry Christmas! What is a limited wish?

Limits wishes, so far as I have used, boost what you are doing. When I was downloading Amy into a synth body. I used a limited wish to boost the successes to make it work. A full wish does things like make your haven effect you do perm. for example.

 A Limited Wish is something a mage with every Arcanum could do with a dice pool of 20... so it's 20 dice of "yes". If something you're wishing for with a Limited Wish would fail or be less-than-satisfying when you roll for it, something different and slightly more satisfying will happen that's still in line with the spirit of the limited wish.

Thanks, GM!  Happy holidays to y’all as well :)

That provision for a “less-than-satisfying result” was probably added after the time I used a limited wish and rolled two successes on 20d10 ;P  The special result of that fail did pay off for Mist later, so it worked out in the end!

Cool thanks GM! Appreciate it!

Whoah! That's awesome, thanks!

Am I able to roll an Occult: Demon to see if I can discover some weakness she might have?

 Yes but even a single success reveals that it is not a demon. It's been using demon powers but is itself not a demon.

 Considering what I've said in the game thread, I think it's fair to mention here in the OOC that she's almost out of juice. There's no real way for any of you to know that IC since none of you have any familiarity with said monster.

 However, in the interest of you guys not potentially getting frustrated OOC, I thought I'd mention that she's been burning a LOT of power to keep herself alive and you've almost burned through it all.

Thank you. For a moment I thought this would be one of those fights we're not suppose to win. At least we know we have a chance. Appreciate it DM. Will still be sticking to what I was gonna do to keep from metagaming though. ^_-

Was John able to get her welding mask off?

 He wasn't with his first grab but he was with his current post (I haven't responded because I'm waiting for more players but you can assume the mask is now off)

Next time John goes in for a tuneup on his limbs he is surely going to ask for two more arms.

Why stop there? Who needs mechanical legs when you have four or more mechanical arms below the waist? Rearward facing shoulder arms, with independent optics so you can see and attack things behind you? Two waist hands, for holding up your pants (or cover yourself when the pants rip because they can't handle all the awesome.)

Straight up Man-tapede.

John is down so it's back to Noah. weeee

 As a reminder (since Michael wasn't asking me, as GM), the flying heads were not all killed. A few of them got away. That said, they flew off down a subway tunnel. Finding them now would be difficult.

 So, if you guys are heading back to do cleanup on the wolf head creatures, may I suggest an expedited cinematic where you all roll something and then I narrate success/failure rather than play out a whole hunt?

 The reason I mention this is that there is a very real chance you may not be able to find them all now that they've fled and I'd hate to have you guys play it out only to get a less-than-satisfying result.

We're essentially searching miles of tunnels to clean up a few little runaway enemies, so I'd be happy to play it as a cinematic rather than break it down to individual turns :P

Me too.

 Alright then. Wits + Investigation rolls for everyone present

0 dice for the roll :(

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 376):


01:22, Today: Nefertiti rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 7,8,3,6,6,3.  Wit + Inv.

15:23, Today: Sal failed (no successes) using 1d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD, Chance Die system with a target of 10, rerolling 10s.  wits+ investigation (chance die).