Luceti Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lucetimods) wrote2012-11-14 02:45 pm
lucetimods) wrote2012-11-14 02:45 pm
Entry tags:
Mission #12 - Plotting Post
EXPERTS: Peggy Carter, Amelia McFly
COMBATANTS: Jane Maxwell, Adell, Richard Sharpe, Phil Coulson, Lupin III, Ororo Munroe, Clove, Remy LeBeau, Bucky Barnes, Ivan Vorpatril, Rudy Roughknight, Clint Barton, Sokka, Michael Blanc, Nathan Spencer, Astrid
HEALERS: Mia, Trafalgar Law
QUARTERMASTERS: Pinky Pie, Aang, Panda, Fenimore
We had quite a few volunteers this time! In this instance, we used three main criteria to determine who would end up amongst those randomly rolled for different positions. First, we tried to fill roles -- to make sure we had the minimum amount of experts, combatants, quartermasters and (most relevantly this time around) healers. Second, we prioritized players who hadn’t had characters on the last mission. Normally, we would then make up the remaining numbers from the repeat volunteers; however, in this case, we had more fresh volunteers than empty slots.
For future reference, we certainly encourage people signing up repeat volunteers for all the missions -- after all, there’s no telling whether they’ll be room for yours or not, or even whether one position or another is in dire need of additional bodies.
SETTING & TIMELINE:
For the past few months, an FTSA militant known as Hoi Hidekan has been causing scenes around Depot 8 and the small town that shares its name. Although he began by merely handing out pamphlets and sermonizing outside the saloon, things soon escalated into outright threats against the depot, its personnel, and the town as a whole. The local administrator for the area, Sheriff Lyca Williams, contacted the Malnosso Organization in search of reinforcements. Fearing a full-scale attack against the depot which is integral in keeping two whole enclosures -- O’Connell and Pagoda -- supplied, she insisted that they send someone to support the town’s already committed inhabitants. With the MSF already stretched thin due to increasing FTSA action in all regions, the Organization looked to Luceti to balance out the numbers.
November 18th: Volunteers will arrive in the small town in the early evening and will be advised to set up a temporary camp on its western limits. Ideally, the remainder of the day should be spent by settling in and arming up. Sheriff Williams will open up the town’s outdated but not necessarily meagre armoury to the volunteers, at which point she will also be available for conversation and questions. Additionally, Foreman Hidekan will be visiting the Lucetian camp in the late evening to try and recruit for his cause. Curious volunteers may want to take this opportunity to have a strictly verbal interaction with the FTSA representative. Both NPCs will have threads at the top of the mission log.
November 19th: This is the day to use in preparation for the battle. Depending on which side your character chooses to support, they will divide up and spent the day in the company of the Depot 8 personnel or the FTSA activists. Once a side is chosen, it’s inadvisable (but certainly not impossible) that characters should run back and forth between the FTSA encampment and the town. Learn your way around your gun, do some target practice, or else search your soul in the desert heat to decide which side will earn your confidence. This will also be an excellent time for volunteers to talk among themselves and debate over which side has the most merit. However, once everyone is settled, it’s up to you folks plotting below to how either side will approach the oncoming battle. Will you set up traps? Will you assign positions?
November 20th: On the twentieth, at high noon with the sun beating down on them, tumbleweeds rolling in the distance, the battle begins. Foreman Hidekan and his posse of FTSA activists ride into the town to begin the battle. Their goal will be to plant dynamite at the heart of Depot 8’s power generator, which will cause a chain reaction that will take down the entire facility. The job of the Sheriff and her crew iis to defend the town at any cost or to die trying. Gunshots will fire and a shootout will begin. FTSA gunners will take cover and try to take the town by force. The battle itself may seem brief, likely taking place over the course of thirty minutes, but it will be a fierce battle. Who will be the victor?
That’s up to you.
NPCs AND COMBATANTS
In this log there were be two primary NPCs with which you can interact with on the log. They will be Sheriff Lycra Williams representing Depot 8 and the Malnosso. Ex-Foreman Hoi Hidekan will represent the FTSA, all in the name of bringing freedom to all enclosures. There will be additional NPCs that you are free to make up. You can do so on the Extra NPCs spreadsheet by selecting the Depot 8 or FTSA tab. Aside from Williams and Hidekan, you are free to make use and control NPCs in any way you like.
However do bear in mind that you won’t be dealing with easily defeated mooks. On both sides you will be dealing with highly trained professionals who are far more familiar with this kind of battle than most characters in Luceti will be. On top of that, many have been fighting cultists far more regularly than Lucetians have. Combined with many of them having their own enhanced strength and speed, each individual NPC is comparable to anyone in Luceti and taking down each one of them will be an accomplishment in itself. So please keep this in mind when using them as enemies in your threads!
Representing the FTSA is...
Foreman Hoi Hidekan, Ex-MSF
A new member of the FTSA and former-MSF who went rogue after he became disillusioned with the Malnosso. He has large wings, but otherwise fits the profile of a soldier. Though capable of being warm and charismatic, he knows how to be serious when the cards are on the table. He’s been partially responsible for evolving the FTSA from a protest group into a more vocal and militant organization. His last operation before going rogue was fighting on the Moon. Him and many of his other men going off the grid has been loosely associated with Specialist Foster’s recent insurrection.
As a highly trained MSF soldier, he is an efficient strategist and leader. He managed to secure enough FTSA donations to hire a small mercenary crew to assist in the mission. The rest he hand picked to train in combat. As for Hoi himself, he inherited superhuman endurance and strength from his parents. The full extent of his abilities have not been disclosed.
NPC Quotes (from the FTSA):
“Hoi isn’t like most of us, he’s actually worked with bubble people before. I heard he was so upset to see them getting slaughtered protecting a Moon of all things, that he turned his back on them.”
“Don’t worry about Hoi. He may sound scary, especially in times like this, but he’s a real nice guy. He really doesn’t like doing this, but what else can we do? Someone has to change things around here. Otherwise everything will just keep repeating over and over.”
“I think we may actually have a chance here. I didn’t even know they had enclosures in places like this! Right now we can’t do much of anything, but if we change things here, then people will start taking the FTSA seriously. And when that happens, we can really make a difference.”
“I feel bad about the people in the enclosures. Starving them seems kinda dark for us. But Gon says the company won’t do that if we get the word out. I mean, people would be outraged, right? So they’d have to let those people go free.”
NPC Quotes (from Depot 8):
“Man, I used to kind of respect the FTSA, but they’ve got some sicko working with them now. You probably don’t know about this, being from a bubble, but a bunch of soldiers tried to blow up a hospital. I heard that guy was one of them.”
“The FTSA? They’re a bunch of crazy lucies that are just a stone’s throw away from being cultists. This just proves it. Taking down a supply depot? The General came here seventy years ago to do that. Well to hell with that. They didn’t manage it then, they won’t manage it now.”
--
Among the FTSA is a group of mercenaries known as the Iron Eye. Most of them are composed of former MSF soldiers that left the army so they could wage war in their own way. Typically they’re hired for the purpose of protecting rural settlements that the Malnosso cannot afford to send soldiers to. Other times they protect towns from pirates and brigands that have not yet been brought to justice. This is their first time working with the FTSA. Most of them are born to this world and have large wings. They owe their legacy to their parentage, most of whom were great heroes in their own world and refused to play by the rules of the Malnosso. It should be noted that they all conceal their large wings under long coats, as they refuse to fly in any situation due to the association with the cultists.
Other members of the FTSA are the more militant activists who have been undergoing training with Foreman Hidekan. They’re capable enough fighters, but not quite up to the same breed of warriors as the Iron Eye. They’ll be providing backup to the real fighters and trying to avoid getting so deep in the fray as be easily shot down.
Representing the Depot is...
Sheriff Lyca Williams, ex-resident of the Pagoda enclosure
Sheriff Williams is in her mid-thirties and on her second life-cyle. Although she now works as lead administrator for the depot, she makes no secret of the fact that she once held what was perhaps a more prestigious position in the Malnosso Organization. Tired of the bureaucracy and bustle of upper-corporate life, she took a pay cut and trucked out to the desert in order to help organize Depot 8’s supply chain.
However, well before she toed the Organization line, she used to live in one of their enclosures. Cycles spent as one of the Organization’s subjects afforded her a great deal of time to study firearms. Being keen on revolvers, she carries a pair with her at all times. These days, she keeps her shooting sharp but spends more of her day caring for the depot and its attached individuals. She’s a high-spirited soul and -- although not unkind -- she has become known for her grizzled, frontiersman personality. A woman built for the desert long before she moved there.
NPC quotes (from Depot 8):
“These jobs used to all be MSFs before Lyca -- Sheriff Williams, I mean -- took charge. She’s the one what talked the bosses into hiring locals instead. Or as local as you can get in a land like this. We all owe our livelihoods to her.”
“I think she’s proud. Not in a bad way, mind you. Proud of where she’s come from and proud of what she’s achieved, coming from O’Connell. I think folks in the big city looked down on her for it but she never let it touch her. She says those that come from the bubbles are key to the Organization’s future.”
“Lyca’s not just a good shot. She also keeps a tidy book. Caught a man cutting fresh water and produce off the top of the shipments after just a few weeks of theft. The execution wasn’t public, but it was well publicized.”
“The FTSA? We’ve heard they’ve made threats against other supply points. Williams hates them, of course. Making a mockery of what it is to be from any enclosure. If they attack us, she’ll go down swinging. Shooting, too. She won’t be a martyr for their cause.”
NPC quotes (from the FTSA):
“Brainwashed. Is it any wonder? The company grooms their test subjects for what they call cooperation and what we call coercion. She may be out but they’re still treating her like a pack mule. Poor woman.”
“Williams and her crew do nothing more than protect the company’s interests. Freedom for the enclosures comes with cutting the apron strings -- and she keeps hers tightly wound ‘round O’Connell and Pagoda.”
--
The people of Depot 8 are tough as nails folk who have adjusted to the harshness of the desert and the life it brings. Though they don’t see too much action these days, they’ve managed to fend off the occasional cultist raid in the last few decades. It’s not the most peaceful of towns and there’s often fighting when there’s been too much drinking or some stranger rolls into town. Depot 8 always takes care of its own problems, one way or another. Although there’s only one Sheriff, half the town has been deputized at one point or another when the need arises. Even the kids in this town are handy with a pistol when they need to be.
Many of the adults grew up in enclosures and thus have experiences from their own worlds that shaped them into the fighters they are now. Between that and previously being drafted to fight the Third Party, there isn’t a single adult in this town who isn’t capable of delivering a beat down should the need arise. Though some of them are rustier than others, there’s not a person in the town that should be underestimated.
THE ENCLOSURES AT RISK:
O'Connell
Cycle: Third
Population: 200+
This enclosure is among those that are frequently on missions and were present for the space draft. Consequently its name is likely familiar to those in Luceti already. Their enclosure has been described by their own as being much drier than Luceti’s and being heavily dependant on the rivers as a water source. They are subjected to infrequent experiments and have traditionally displayed a grudging acceptance of the Malnosso and the situation.
Pagoda
Cycle: First
Population: 100+
A fresh enclosure, newly repurposed, and only just getting started. Little is known about this enclosure, but from what the depot townsfolk say, the people inside are ‘city folk’ and would be ‘lost without them’. In general, the townsfolk seem particularly fond of this new batch. In fact, it is because many of the townsfolk actually first arrived in that enclosure years ago, including the Sheriff.
--
As a reminder, the ultimate outcome will be decided by a dice roll. iif we have 20 volunteers and 14 side with the Malnosso, then we will roll a 20-sided die. Anything 1-14 would be a Malnosso win, anything higher would be an FTSA win. The number of casualties and the wounded will mostly depend on your own plotting; however, the grander landscape of the world outside of Luceti will be altered (however tentatively) by either outcome. As with previous rolls, this will take place in lucetiplot at midnight, before the log goes up. This will give you ample time to plot and choose sides. Note that neutrality is also an option should you feel it most IC for your character; however, we will be paying attention to the log to make sure that neutral characters don’t go around giving too much support to one side or the other! Neutral characters should ideally be rare, given that characters have to willingly sign up for the mission in the first place. Otherwise, the dice-count will be reduced by one for each neutral character. If for some reason everyone decides to be neutral, then a coin toss will decide the winner.
After the roll has been made a “Day 3” thread will go up on the log which will canonize what’s going to happen -- combining both the established plot and the plans that you guys have put forward. The thread will specifically mention who is on what side, what goes down (at least between the NPCs) and what sort of casualties (again for NPCs) we’re looking for, as well as the immediate sort of events that follow the battle, such as whether the winners spare survivors, lock them up, give medical aid, or what have you -- to be certain that even those who prefer backtags will know how their characters fared on the last day.
Please note that the Malnosso will not reward points to people who side with the FTSA or remain neutral. However, they will not punish them either.
DEPOT 8 AND THE DESERT
Depot 8 is a rustic town with little in the way of technology, save for what is in the underground complex below. The Shifts on the surface has forced the people to make do with little and they’re comfortable with that. Usually they use horses and other beasts of burden to get around. Some of these may be recognizable to characters: for instance, some of them may have Chocobos or Gul-horses. When new supplies come in, they do so through the railway that runs through the town. Although the majority of the town people work at the Depot itself, there are many on the surface who do normal jobs like running the general store, the doctor’s office, the barbershop, and so on.
The actual Depot is underground and powered by simple steam technology. The large factory is mostly automated, but requires a lot of workers to keep the gears turning. It processes food, keeps it cooled, and divides it up to be Shifted into the enclosures. Water is also purified here for both the village above and the enclosures. Hot and steamy, it’s a difficult place to work in or even spend ten minutes in, but you’ll never heard a word of complaint about it from the workers.
Both the FTSA and Depot 8 are armed with weapons most suitable to an area of high Shift activity. For the most part, they avoid anything that uses futuristic technology or relies on magic, as these things will most likely malfunction and backfire. As such, expect most of your characters’ procure-on-site weapons to be something straight out of an old western (or older). Think a classic Colt that hold six bullets and needs to be frequently reloaded. Reload times will be long and ammo will always be key -- luckily most Depot 8 homes have some sort of munitions storage. Additionally, the chosen quartermasters will be able to run extra bullets to anyone who might be low.
--
And that about wraps it up. If there’s anything we missed or you just have general questions, you can use the Mod Questions thread. The rest of this post can be used for plotting, deciding which side your characters will take, talking strategy, or planning out that totally cool thread your characters will finally have. Enjoy! The actual log will go up on the 18th.
COMBATANTS: Jane Maxwell, Adell, Richard Sharpe, Phil Coulson, Lupin III, Ororo Munroe, Clove, Remy LeBeau, Bucky Barnes, Ivan Vorpatril, Rudy Roughknight, Clint Barton, Sokka, Michael Blanc, Nathan Spencer, Astrid
HEALERS: Mia, Trafalgar Law
QUARTERMASTERS: Pinky Pie, Aang, Panda, Fenimore
We had quite a few volunteers this time! In this instance, we used three main criteria to determine who would end up amongst those randomly rolled for different positions. First, we tried to fill roles -- to make sure we had the minimum amount of experts, combatants, quartermasters and (most relevantly this time around) healers. Second, we prioritized players who hadn’t had characters on the last mission. Normally, we would then make up the remaining numbers from the repeat volunteers; however, in this case, we had more fresh volunteers than empty slots.
For future reference, we certainly encourage people signing up repeat volunteers for all the missions -- after all, there’s no telling whether they’ll be room for yours or not, or even whether one position or another is in dire need of additional bodies.
SETTING & TIMELINE:
For the past few months, an FTSA militant known as Hoi Hidekan has been causing scenes around Depot 8 and the small town that shares its name. Although he began by merely handing out pamphlets and sermonizing outside the saloon, things soon escalated into outright threats against the depot, its personnel, and the town as a whole. The local administrator for the area, Sheriff Lyca Williams, contacted the Malnosso Organization in search of reinforcements. Fearing a full-scale attack against the depot which is integral in keeping two whole enclosures -- O’Connell and Pagoda -- supplied, she insisted that they send someone to support the town’s already committed inhabitants. With the MSF already stretched thin due to increasing FTSA action in all regions, the Organization looked to Luceti to balance out the numbers.
That’s up to you.
NPCs AND COMBATANTS
In this log there were be two primary NPCs with which you can interact with on the log. They will be Sheriff Lycra Williams representing Depot 8 and the Malnosso. Ex-Foreman Hoi Hidekan will represent the FTSA, all in the name of bringing freedom to all enclosures. There will be additional NPCs that you are free to make up. You can do so on the Extra NPCs spreadsheet by selecting the Depot 8 or FTSA tab. Aside from Williams and Hidekan, you are free to make use and control NPCs in any way you like.
However do bear in mind that you won’t be dealing with easily defeated mooks. On both sides you will be dealing with highly trained professionals who are far more familiar with this kind of battle than most characters in Luceti will be. On top of that, many have been fighting cultists far more regularly than Lucetians have. Combined with many of them having their own enhanced strength and speed, each individual NPC is comparable to anyone in Luceti and taking down each one of them will be an accomplishment in itself. So please keep this in mind when using them as enemies in your threads!
Representing the FTSA is...
Foreman Hoi Hidekan, Ex-MSF
A new member of the FTSA and former-MSF who went rogue after he became disillusioned with the Malnosso. He has large wings, but otherwise fits the profile of a soldier. Though capable of being warm and charismatic, he knows how to be serious when the cards are on the table. He’s been partially responsible for evolving the FTSA from a protest group into a more vocal and militant organization. His last operation before going rogue was fighting on the Moon. Him and many of his other men going off the grid has been loosely associated with Specialist Foster’s recent insurrection.
As a highly trained MSF soldier, he is an efficient strategist and leader. He managed to secure enough FTSA donations to hire a small mercenary crew to assist in the mission. The rest he hand picked to train in combat. As for Hoi himself, he inherited superhuman endurance and strength from his parents. The full extent of his abilities have not been disclosed.
NPC Quotes (from the FTSA):
“Hoi isn’t like most of us, he’s actually worked with bubble people before. I heard he was so upset to see them getting slaughtered protecting a Moon of all things, that he turned his back on them.”
“Don’t worry about Hoi. He may sound scary, especially in times like this, but he’s a real nice guy. He really doesn’t like doing this, but what else can we do? Someone has to change things around here. Otherwise everything will just keep repeating over and over.”
“I think we may actually have a chance here. I didn’t even know they had enclosures in places like this! Right now we can’t do much of anything, but if we change things here, then people will start taking the FTSA seriously. And when that happens, we can really make a difference.”
“I feel bad about the people in the enclosures. Starving them seems kinda dark for us. But Gon says the company won’t do that if we get the word out. I mean, people would be outraged, right? So they’d have to let those people go free.”
NPC Quotes (from Depot 8):
“Man, I used to kind of respect the FTSA, but they’ve got some sicko working with them now. You probably don’t know about this, being from a bubble, but a bunch of soldiers tried to blow up a hospital. I heard that guy was one of them.”
“The FTSA? They’re a bunch of crazy lucies that are just a stone’s throw away from being cultists. This just proves it. Taking down a supply depot? The General came here seventy years ago to do that. Well to hell with that. They didn’t manage it then, they won’t manage it now.”
--
Among the FTSA is a group of mercenaries known as the Iron Eye. Most of them are composed of former MSF soldiers that left the army so they could wage war in their own way. Typically they’re hired for the purpose of protecting rural settlements that the Malnosso cannot afford to send soldiers to. Other times they protect towns from pirates and brigands that have not yet been brought to justice. This is their first time working with the FTSA. Most of them are born to this world and have large wings. They owe their legacy to their parentage, most of whom were great heroes in their own world and refused to play by the rules of the Malnosso. It should be noted that they all conceal their large wings under long coats, as they refuse to fly in any situation due to the association with the cultists.
Other members of the FTSA are the more militant activists who have been undergoing training with Foreman Hidekan. They’re capable enough fighters, but not quite up to the same breed of warriors as the Iron Eye. They’ll be providing backup to the real fighters and trying to avoid getting so deep in the fray as be easily shot down.
Representing the Depot is...
Sheriff Lyca Williams, ex-resident of the Pagoda enclosure
Sheriff Williams is in her mid-thirties and on her second life-cyle. Although she now works as lead administrator for the depot, she makes no secret of the fact that she once held what was perhaps a more prestigious position in the Malnosso Organization. Tired of the bureaucracy and bustle of upper-corporate life, she took a pay cut and trucked out to the desert in order to help organize Depot 8’s supply chain.
However, well before she toed the Organization line, she used to live in one of their enclosures. Cycles spent as one of the Organization’s subjects afforded her a great deal of time to study firearms. Being keen on revolvers, she carries a pair with her at all times. These days, she keeps her shooting sharp but spends more of her day caring for the depot and its attached individuals. She’s a high-spirited soul and -- although not unkind -- she has become known for her grizzled, frontiersman personality. A woman built for the desert long before she moved there.
NPC quotes (from Depot 8):
“These jobs used to all be MSFs before Lyca -- Sheriff Williams, I mean -- took charge. She’s the one what talked the bosses into hiring locals instead. Or as local as you can get in a land like this. We all owe our livelihoods to her.”
“I think she’s proud. Not in a bad way, mind you. Proud of where she’s come from and proud of what she’s achieved, coming from O’Connell. I think folks in the big city looked down on her for it but she never let it touch her. She says those that come from the bubbles are key to the Organization’s future.”
“Lyca’s not just a good shot. She also keeps a tidy book. Caught a man cutting fresh water and produce off the top of the shipments after just a few weeks of theft. The execution wasn’t public, but it was well publicized.”
“The FTSA? We’ve heard they’ve made threats against other supply points. Williams hates them, of course. Making a mockery of what it is to be from any enclosure. If they attack us, she’ll go down swinging. Shooting, too. She won’t be a martyr for their cause.”
NPC quotes (from the FTSA):
“Brainwashed. Is it any wonder? The company grooms their test subjects for what they call cooperation and what we call coercion. She may be out but they’re still treating her like a pack mule. Poor woman.”
“Williams and her crew do nothing more than protect the company’s interests. Freedom for the enclosures comes with cutting the apron strings -- and she keeps hers tightly wound ‘round O’Connell and Pagoda.”
--
The people of Depot 8 are tough as nails folk who have adjusted to the harshness of the desert and the life it brings. Though they don’t see too much action these days, they’ve managed to fend off the occasional cultist raid in the last few decades. It’s not the most peaceful of towns and there’s often fighting when there’s been too much drinking or some stranger rolls into town. Depot 8 always takes care of its own problems, one way or another. Although there’s only one Sheriff, half the town has been deputized at one point or another when the need arises. Even the kids in this town are handy with a pistol when they need to be.
Many of the adults grew up in enclosures and thus have experiences from their own worlds that shaped them into the fighters they are now. Between that and previously being drafted to fight the Third Party, there isn’t a single adult in this town who isn’t capable of delivering a beat down should the need arise. Though some of them are rustier than others, there’s not a person in the town that should be underestimated.
THE ENCLOSURES AT RISK:
O'Connell
Cycle: Third
Population: 200+
This enclosure is among those that are frequently on missions and were present for the space draft. Consequently its name is likely familiar to those in Luceti already. Their enclosure has been described by their own as being much drier than Luceti’s and being heavily dependant on the rivers as a water source. They are subjected to infrequent experiments and have traditionally displayed a grudging acceptance of the Malnosso and the situation.
Pagoda
Cycle: First
Population: 100+
A fresh enclosure, newly repurposed, and only just getting started. Little is known about this enclosure, but from what the depot townsfolk say, the people inside are ‘city folk’ and would be ‘lost without them’. In general, the townsfolk seem particularly fond of this new batch. In fact, it is because many of the townsfolk actually first arrived in that enclosure years ago, including the Sheriff.
--
As a reminder, the ultimate outcome will be decided by a dice roll. iif we have 20 volunteers and 14 side with the Malnosso, then we will roll a 20-sided die. Anything 1-14 would be a Malnosso win, anything higher would be an FTSA win. The number of casualties and the wounded will mostly depend on your own plotting; however, the grander landscape of the world outside of Luceti will be altered (however tentatively) by either outcome. As with previous rolls, this will take place in lucetiplot at midnight, before the log goes up. This will give you ample time to plot and choose sides. Note that neutrality is also an option should you feel it most IC for your character; however, we will be paying attention to the log to make sure that neutral characters don’t go around giving too much support to one side or the other! Neutral characters should ideally be rare, given that characters have to willingly sign up for the mission in the first place. Otherwise, the dice-count will be reduced by one for each neutral character. If for some reason everyone decides to be neutral, then a coin toss will decide the winner.
After the roll has been made a “Day 3” thread will go up on the log which will canonize what’s going to happen -- combining both the established plot and the plans that you guys have put forward. The thread will specifically mention who is on what side, what goes down (at least between the NPCs) and what sort of casualties (again for NPCs) we’re looking for, as well as the immediate sort of events that follow the battle, such as whether the winners spare survivors, lock them up, give medical aid, or what have you -- to be certain that even those who prefer backtags will know how their characters fared on the last day.
Please note that the Malnosso will not reward points to people who side with the FTSA or remain neutral. However, they will not punish them either.
DEPOT 8 AND THE DESERT
Depot 8 is a rustic town with little in the way of technology, save for what is in the underground complex below. The Shifts on the surface has forced the people to make do with little and they’re comfortable with that. Usually they use horses and other beasts of burden to get around. Some of these may be recognizable to characters: for instance, some of them may have Chocobos or Gul-horses. When new supplies come in, they do so through the railway that runs through the town. Although the majority of the town people work at the Depot itself, there are many on the surface who do normal jobs like running the general store, the doctor’s office, the barbershop, and so on.
The actual Depot is underground and powered by simple steam technology. The large factory is mostly automated, but requires a lot of workers to keep the gears turning. It processes food, keeps it cooled, and divides it up to be Shifted into the enclosures. Water is also purified here for both the village above and the enclosures. Hot and steamy, it’s a difficult place to work in or even spend ten minutes in, but you’ll never heard a word of complaint about it from the workers.
Both the FTSA and Depot 8 are armed with weapons most suitable to an area of high Shift activity. For the most part, they avoid anything that uses futuristic technology or relies on magic, as these things will most likely malfunction and backfire. As such, expect most of your characters’ procure-on-site weapons to be something straight out of an old western (or older). Think a classic Colt that hold six bullets and needs to be frequently reloaded. Reload times will be long and ammo will always be key -- luckily most Depot 8 homes have some sort of munitions storage. Additionally, the chosen quartermasters will be able to run extra bullets to anyone who might be low.
--
And that about wraps it up. If there’s anything we missed or you just have general questions, you can use the Mod Questions thread. The rest of this post can be used for plotting, deciding which side your characters will take, talking strategy, or planning out that totally cool thread your characters will finally have. Enjoy! The actual log will go up on the 18th.
MOD QUESTIONS
no subject
no subject
no subject
PICK YOUR SIDE
Reply to this comment with your character's choice so that we can easily tally the number when it's time to roll the die. You may edit your comment up until just before the roll.
FTSA
Depot 8
no subject
Depot 8
no subject
Depot 8
Re: Depot 8
no subject
Depot 8
no subject
Depot 8
Depot 8
Depot 8
no subject
Neutral
Discussion!!
Siding with Depot 8 comes with doing what they're ordered to do. They save the town and presumably the enclosures. The question for him becomes... is that what they want? If they save Depot 8, all they did is get some new points and go home with a job well done. Nothing on the outside world has changed.
I can see Sokka seriously considering the FTSA option. Having seen the messages in the new tunnel section, this quote is seriously going to bother him: “Brainwashed. Is it any wonder? The company grooms their test subjects for what they call cooperation and what we call coercion. She may be out but they’re still treating her like a pack mule. Poor woman.”
If he just blindly follows the Malnosso's orders, then he just has himself to blame for being conditioned to obey the Malnosso's orders. That's not going to sit well with him at all. No doubt if he chooses Depot 8, I think he can feel good about helping his fellow enclosures, but he's going to go back to Luceti feeling sick for just playing the Malnosso puppet when he'd finally, for the first time, been given a real option to rebel against them.
Of course, siding with the FTSA has its own problems. It's a huge gamble. As the FTSA say: “I feel bad about the people in the enclosures. Starving them seems kinda dark for us. But Gon says the company won’t do that if we get the word out. I mean, people would be outraged, right? So they’d have to let those people go free.”
It's just a hope. It's placing people in harm's way on the hunch that the Malnosso would want to save face. Sokka can't really claim to understand the world's society enough to know this is true. But he can certainly see why this would be a rallying point. This is Big Picture time. If the FTSA want to rally followers, they need to do something big to gain a following. As far as we're aware, no one else out there is really on Luceti's side. Hell, if anything, all we've managed to do is alienate potential allies in other enclosures. This would only do that more, but at the same time, it would mean there's be someone on the outside. What could a man like Hidekan do for Luceti in the long term? Is it worth the inconvenience and suffering of people they don't even know if the net pay off could be avoiding the same fates as the people who wrote those messages below Luceti?
Genuinely curious, cuz I'd like to have Sokka talk about this to people. Even if he inevitably sides with Depot 8, I know there's gonna be a lot of agonizing about this decision.
Discussion!!
Actually, an idea I had on plurk was playing with this indecision. Superficially siding with the FTSA to gather information, only to betray them at the last minute. It could be fun to work out if there are enough people who are willing to do it.
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Plus, she's very curious about these people who have broken away from the Malnosso's control (it's her first mission/first time to be exposed to these FTSA!) She may not like the FTSA's methods, but being that they were former residents of enclosures themselves and now aren't, she's going to wonder how they've done it, and if Hoi can help Luceti in that respect.
tldr storm will probably be neutral for now I think until more info is given B|a
Discussion!!
Fenimore probably won't bring up the discussion herself (well, maybe she would with Sokka since they know each other so well), but if it comes up, she will probably argue pretty heatedly against helping the FTSA with this particular plan, even if she is largely okay with them. Her arguments are likely to be largely self-centred (not wanting to risk the Malnosso getting angry with Luceti or, more specifically, her for what she sees as a low reward) and fatalistic (she doesn't think it'll change anything), with the safety of the other enclosures as something of an afterthought (she does care about not wanting to starve them, but she probably won't think to bring that up as an argument against the FTSA plan).
She's not very good at the Big Picture and she's not really familiar with how PR works on such large scales, so she can't really wrap her head around how this would help anyone. She might falter a little under the argument that they don't want to alienate people who are trying to stop the Malnosso, but she doesn't think it's worth the risk. She will also probably briefly be surprised by the argument that the Malnosso might be forced to free the people of the enclosure, but eventually she'll just start arguing that the Malnosso would probably just dump them on another enclosure the way they temporarily did with Kin'cora (this arising as much to try avoiding having to take the FTSA gamble as through actual reasoning).
So, yeah, she'll be vehemently against working with the FTSA (this time, at least), though the way she'll be phrasing herself might be counterproductive to her own argument for some -- she's using the sort of language that you often hear from the side characters as a contrast to the proactive hero-types who go on to save the world.
Discussion!!
The man will take the pragmatic route and weigh the benefits and cons of each in his mind, though he is likely not going to share his innermost thoughts on the matter casually.
Law is going to be hesistant about the FTSA's chances. There is what happened to Kin'cora (and Law will ask if there's enclosures near enough that the residents can be moved to in an emergency situation). He is also aware of, thanks to living under the World Government, what playing the PR game really means. They got to get the word out, and then... they got to deal with the spin game. The Malnosso can easily frame this incident in a way that seriously undermines the FTSA even more, confuse people on the situation on the outside, and muddle the truth of the matter so what the FTSA has to say is discredited. He's going to gather that likely? They aren't too popular right now - and the attack is going to lower them in the public eyes even more. Sure it's on the Organization not to let them starve, but the FTSA created the situation in the first place and Law could see the public rallying for a crackdown. He's also understands that the tactics the FTSA uses to try and free O'Connell and Pagoda might be used on Luceti one day, or something more extreme as the organization gets more militant. ... and after Kin'cora and the recent draft, they could gain the ire of even more enclosures.
As a side note, he will also wonder if the FTSA stretching the MSF is interfering in the war against the Third Party and will casually inquire about this as well. Because the war against the cultists is going badly enough, and the pirate is curious how much worse these people are making it.
On the other hand, sometimes you have to be the villain if you need to get something badly enough. Law understands this very well as a pirate. Change won't be won subtly, and you need a rallying point to gain followers, as Masa said. And the FTSA are the only allies on the outside (aside from Rem and Law finds her questionable at best). The Malnosso are the Malnosso and Law hates them, and it will burn him not to stick it to them, although he knows the value of patience.
Ultimately its going to come down to Law's going to be so busy in his job, he won't aid or interfere with the FTSA or anyone else unless outright attacked (and then he will defend himself viciously). If the characters or the Malnosso peg him as a neutral or a Malnosso supporter is up to them. Being a medic allows him to be either without necessarily changing a single action.
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So, Fenimore is probably going to be side-eyeing Panda and Pinkie, since she views morale-boosting to be rather secondary to the handing out of munitions/setting up of camp/reminding people of precautions part of the quartermaster duty and her view of morale-boosting in these situations are less, well, showy. (I imagine that even when Pinkie's working on the non-morale parts, it will still rather showy and ridiculous anyway.) So, as the oldest (? it's hard to tell with ponies) and wisest (...well, she's probably wiser than Panda, but mostly it's just her personal first impression), she might try to take command of the quartermaster crew. This will depend on how things end up going, of course, but even if they end up with a more democratic organizational structure, she'll probably be a little bossy at first.
Regardless, she'll likely be briskly busying herself with the more behind-the-scenes aspects of their job, with her own morale initiatives being more along the lines of giving a place for people to rest and have a good meal. I guess her approach could be characterized as simple, but largely practical. (She might also do pretty well as a go-between to the healers if that becomes necessary -- she has a little training in field medicine and has worked in triage (which is apparently prioritizing who needs medical treatment first) before, so she can probably figure out who should just get to a bed and who needs to be rushed to the nearest doctor.)
Also, for anyone who knows as little about guns as I do, these articles mightn't make a bad read, as well as number 6 on this list. Not that I can be sure they're all accurate (they're from Cracked.com, after all), but they are at least worth looking into if any of those situations arise.
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Espionage!!
Espionage!! + wrong account -- tagging elsewhere
since there are others on board, lets go for it!
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I didn't realize someone else had already gotten a spy plot up, sorry! o: I've been missing out on a lot of things because RL rose up and kicked me in the face. ;A;
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Just have to find maybe one or two more who could volunteer for missions where the FTSA is involved.
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Still thinking about what would Spence choose - all I know is that forgoing points for some potential juicy deets on the FTSA is an easy exchange for him to make. From the compelling way you've phrased it, though, he may very well just join in, not engage in conversation beyond curt, stiffly formal shit, and open his ears.If/when poop hits the fan and the FTSA folk discover some rats in their midst, Spencer would be happy to help with defense in the hopes that no bailing Luceti-folk are shot in the back.
Further commentary on FTSA Infiltration
He's not a good samaritan.
But that's where this idea comes into play. Though he can't support the FTSA this time, he wants to leave them an opening for future opportunities to try a different approach. He wants to see what they can do first, because he ultimately will side with Luceti, regardless of the affiliation. He also has come to rather like Hidekan, and he won't be able to easily forgive himself for sentencing someone who is essentially a good man to a fate that Lupin himself would consider torturous.
My idea is to try to safeguard the Depot, because that is clearly what everyone is after, but also find a way to safeguard Hidekan and some of his men so they can make a clean escape. It will open more options for Luceti in the future, should this go well, but it may also heavily change the playing field.
I'd like to get an idea of what people think, and open discussion here. We can transfer it to lucetiplot on AIM if we're all talking above and around eachother. The planning might be handwaved ICly, for simplicity in threading, but I am honestly curious. It seems like much of the reason why people are siding with the Depot is because of the lives at risk...but we also have several mavericks on board.
And so, I leave the forum open for ideas and suggestions.
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This might not affect anything, since Fenimore doesn't exactly have any particular skills or experience in subterfuge and thus I don't know if anyone would take the chance of involving her in it. But I was thinking while reading the threads with Hidekan that if she did talk to him, she would be trying to convince him to leave while he still could, so yeah, this plan would be up her alley.
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Finding an opening and giving them cover to escape, should they choose to, is a possible third option. Even if it turns out that Fenimore can't be much of a help in the actual doing, thanks for offering her assistance and support.
...what are her combat skills anyway? I'm painfully canonblind to most Tales games
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Haha, in her canon, she has no combat skills at all (well, there is room to suggest she could have magic, but since it never comes up I just assume she's absolutely terrible with it, so at best she could surprise someone). In Luceti, she's been getting some training in a style that uses hand-to-hand, combat fans, and swords in something of a "use your opponent's strength against them" sort of methods for going on a year and a half and she knows how to fire a gun thanks to an experiment that she spent thinking she was supposed to be training with it, but she has no actual battle experience. That's probably a problem since it was noted that the people fighting here would give most people trouble, let alone a beginner.
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Wow, that? Wow. At least she has the skills to defend herself then, which can be equally important.
I thank you for your support in this crazy debacle then. If you have any ideas that come up, feel free to drop them here or PM me. :3
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But I'll see how this plays out and if I see an opening, I'll do just that! And, if not, I'll just watch and enjoy.