[Emperors of the Fading Suns] [Emperors of the Fading Suns] OOC Thread

[CrazyIvan]

Mirror aims and fires, Fangs is the gun.

I am now super-tempted to work up to the Dreams of the First Age knack that lets you turn into a Magnitude (Essence) unit. Cunning Fangs isn't a soldier, she's a weapons platform.

 

[CrazyIvan]

But I wonder, how does she consider beastmen in general and Tirana's people more precisely ?


Because they do not exactly come from irreproachable procedures and selfless science.

If you don't think "Where do babies come from" is reproducible, we need to talk . But she's not at all a fan of Tirana, if for no other reason than Fangs is positive its predicated on snacking on her mate.


But the answer for Tirana is a combination of distrust, horror and revulsion. She just finds the game she plays with Tirana to be useful enough to tolerate it.

 

[CrazyIvan]

@JayTee what CI says is also true... Fangs/CI had a knack for scaring the crap out of Siham/Midboss, and that was funny as hell !

One of my favorite scenes was Midboss responding to Fangs showing up in Sihams dreams with how he perceives her. It was hilarious, and awesome.

 

[Feantari]

Which scene are the dreams in? I was trying to find that the other day and totally failed.

 

[cyl]

It can still work. The warstrider is a special character. The leader directs the rest of the troops as normal and the special character does its thing. Magnitude might be the only wonky part for that, but that's why you have an ST right?

It can, both heroes and sorcerers (melee and ranged fighters in MC terms) can make individual attacks (in our case, the M/F unit attacks and then Fangs can attack AGAIN !)... so the only thing the unit will benefit from is the warstrider's punch which is equivalent to what it would do if it was standing on its own.


In exchange strangely, it's not the warstrider that protects the soldiers, it's the soldiers who protect the warstrider.


The damage being dealt to the unit, if the warstrider is a special character just tagging along with the unit and giving it one extra super attack per action, to damage the warstrider you'd need to target him, and not the unit, so called shot penalty (50% of drill or Magnitude)... to hit a target that's 7 times bigger than a man.


I know mortals were good, but they turn out to be the most awesome shield ever invented !


I wonder why they even bothered to put armor plates on warstriders in the first place... really.


But that's not over, since you can get up a number of special characters in a unit equal to its Magnitude (normally its Magnitude x 2, but you also need as much relays as you have in dots of Magnitude), with a Magnitude 3 unit, you can have 100 men + 3 warstriders, and you get 1 unit attack + 3 warstriders attacks... per action, and if not targeted, the warstriders will only start taking damage when the last man has died.


Basically the big ass war machines hide behind the little people, step forward to hit the opponent, and then quickly hide back to where it's safe and let the stupid humans die.


I don't think the mechanics should work that way.

 

[JayTee]

@JayTee: You don't have to invest heavily in Sorcery, but a few things will come handy.


Solar Circle will allow you to cure the Behemoth.

You're hurting me, Xarvh, right in the XP

One of my favorite scenes was Midboss responding to Fangs showing up in Sihams dreams with how he perceives her. It was hilarious, and awesome.

This might not work out so well anymore, for better or worse Agatha's phantom personality is reinforcing Siham's own chutzpah.

 

[xarvh]

@CI: reproachable =/= reproducible.


Also, I ended up watching Pacific Rim.


I was expecting the crimes against logic and consistency, but no amount of decent combat and good CGI will ever atone for crimes against drama.


But every now and then it's good to remind myself why I don't pay for movies.


Damn, I'm becoming a snobbish intellectual impervious to entertainment.

 

[Arynne]

Yes. Yes you are.

 

[JayTee]

You really weren't supposed to watch it for the silly things like "drama" and "characterization". Those things are framing devices or backdrop at best. You're supposed to watch it for the GIANT ROBOTS FIGHTING GIANT MONSTERS!

 

[Arynne]

HUMUNGOUS MECHA FIGHTING GODZILLAS!!!!!


I have friends way more pretentious than you babbling that they've been waiting their entire lives for this movie.


Also, Burn Gorman.

 

[JayTee]

I was very partial to the image of Stringer Bell climbing aboard a billion dollar mecha and punching a giant space fish in the face.

 

[xarvh]

@JayTee: Yup. For example, I wanted to see the Commie Jagers kick some ass, instead they were there just to suck. Hell, did they even have any weapon?


I wanted to see some cool adaptation to have them fight in the water, instead they suck even more.


I wanted to see strategy and tactic, I saw "wait, what did just hit us?"


Also, Yet Another Cliche Scientist.

 

[JayTee]

Wait, you actually paid attention to them? I guessed from the moment they were introduced that half of them were going to go down like chumps to showcase how badass the new Kaiju were. Especially when that one scientist guy started making predictions about how they would show up with more numbers.


Yeah, it would have been cool to see Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon in action, but it's not something I find myself overly concerned about.

 

[xarvh]

Nope.


They showcased only how much the Commies sucked.


You are *told* that Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon are awesome, but you never *see* it.


If you had seen them kicking ass before, then it would be believable.


But rather than showing actual fights, the movie was busy with Marshall's speech and other useless shit.

 

[JayTee]

Hm, well like I said, it's not something I'm going to spend too much time worrying about. This is a movie where you're supposed to let your inner six year old run wild and enjoy stuff getting smashed, not scrutinize it with the critical eye of a well educated adult.


But, to each their own.

 

[CrazyIvan]

@CI: reproachable =/= reproducible.

I blame dividing my time between PbP and science blogs.

@JayTee
Also, Yet Another Cliche Scientist.

Have I said yet that how happy I was that they kill Cliche Microbiologist in World War Z super fast?

 

[CrazyIvan]

You're hurting me, Xarvh, right in the XP

Don't worry kid, I got this.


Just need to utterly rewrite the laws of Creation to do it. No biggie.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Posting shortly. Sorry for the delay.

 

[WlfSamurai]

So, what do you think would be the best way to do this? Walk into the middle of town and attack the first large group of undead I find? Blow some motes to get the aura going?

 

[cyl]

Nope.
They showcased only how much the Commies sucked.


You are *told* that Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon are awesome, but you never *see* it.


If you had seen them kicking ass before, then it would be believable.


But rather than showing actual fights, the movie was busy with Marshall's speech and other useless shit.

Well for one, they survived until after the intro.


IIRC the Kaijus are getting bigger and bigger and their attack cycle accelerates at an alarming rate.


Even Gipsy Danger got its ass kicked in the first five minutes, so you can assume that during the 5 years of absence of the Becket Bros and their elbow rocketed assemblage of pure awesomeness, shit just got real, and only the strongest managed to survive.


That's how I interpreted it without even really thinking about it.

Damn, I'm becoming a snobbish intellectual impervious to entertainment.

No, you always have been, you probably smothered your inner child with a pillow when he/you was around 4 years old, and you're only slowly realizing it now


Anyone seen the latest Wolvie ?


I'm tempted but pals of mine have said it was even worst than the first one.

So, what do you think would be the best way to do this? Walk into the middle of town and attack the first large group of undead I find? Blow some motes to get the aura going?

I think it's better to focus on supplies for now


If you don't have much to add on that part (I'm sorry if I haven't left you enough room for that part), you can always write about Rhapsody's reactions to working with her circlemates and how she feels about the state of things in Lookshy, that's always interesting and entertaining.


Right after that we do the rescuing bit, and then Rhapsody & Siham stay behind and harass ghosts while Malek takes the captives away... and at some point Xarvh will say "stop" and shit will go down in flames

 

[WlfSamurai]

Ah, right. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to make the distraction here or not. Thanks for the clarification. On it...

 

[Arynne]

Hm. Most of my acquaintances have said this Wolverine movie is actually a lot better.

 

[CrazyIvan]

Which scene are the dreams in? I was trying to find that the other day and totally failed.

The one with Argis is in The First War:

It was meant to focus her mind, as soothing as any mantra and considerably more useful. She let her mind wander, settling on Argis' attempt to create a civil defense force. A worthy project - a cousin to her own civil service, a permanent replacement for the Baidak when the time for using demon auxiliaries for basic security had passed, and a force far more useful for everyday defense than Flicker's skirmishers.
One of the advantages of working with committed Exalts was they could be relied upon to be considering something, perhaps only in the depths of their mind, at all times. Even while they were sleeping. Closing her eyes, she exhaled, and let a flicker of her Essence reach out to the Terrestrial like a ribbon.


She found herself standing on a training field unlike one she, or anyone in the Cross had ever seen. From the looming peak in the distance, and the orderly sound of disciplined voices, she guessed they were on the Blessed Isle. Argis was standing on the field, watching some faceless figures drill. Approaching him, she looked down at herself, cracking a slight smile. She was dressed in an administrator's tunic, a sensible, practical garment of white linen, though she could not recall them normally being quite so low cut, nor slit at the thigh.


She spoke, standing slightly behind the Terrestrial and to the right, a traditional place for an aide or advisor. "An excellent idea Argis, training a civil defense force. We will need them, and few have the background in organization that a Realm dynast does. But you should remember, it is not just fighting that is a threat to this town, and not just a blade that might kill it if attacked. Fire kills more civilians than soldier's blades do, and a panicking civilian population gets in the way of troop movements and spells."


She sighed softly. "Train them to fight. But train them to lead, and bar doors, and project calm. Against the Abyssals, fear and panic are deadly enemies."


Leaning in, she planted a kiss on his ear, and whispered softly. "And dream of more pleasant things."


A moment later, she was gone.

The one with Siham is in Miracles of Life:

Content, she lays back, straightening the stacks of her books and smiling softly, her eyes closed. Mind fixed on the project, she reaches out until she finds Siham, asleep. She appears suddenly in whatever dream he is having, an amused smile on her face, seated in a comfortable chair, legs crossed.
"How goes your work, little Water Buffalo?"

His dreams took him to a strange land where buildings were made of giant mushrooms, turtles of all sizes flew the skies and giant chocolate fishes swam the water. An informed observer could notice that the place was some strange reflection of Cross, notably in the layout of the place. In the background, a fully working moonsilver warstrider can be seen walking around, moving things with no apparent function other than adding to the athmosphere.
Siham was riding a giant version of Tama in the sky when Fangs suddenly appeared on a chair right in front of them, causing him to hit the metaphorical brakes. If looking at a reflection, Fangs would notice that her appearance is somewhat more intimidating, her features sharper and her demeanour more oppresive.


"Errr what ?" answered a confused looking Siham, his mind still not back in real land.

Cunning Fangs rises from her chair, her movements smooth, predatory, and oddly seductive in that 'ohgodohgoddon'teatme' way. She smiles, the grin full of teeth.
"I like this look..." Her tone is thoughtful. Perhaps wondering how she could nudge her form in that direction. "I must thank you for supporting studying the moss. It's tiresome to be the only one arguing against righteous certainty." She gives him a gentle peck on the forehead. "See? I'm not all teeth and claws. Just mostly. More entertaining that way..."


She wanders around his dream, a small path of dried leaves allowing her to keep pace with the flying turtle, an unfelt wind blowing them away behind her. Musing, she reads through dusty old sheets of parchment - the results of Siham's work.


"Interesting. But why build a necrotic essence engine? And why place it here, instead of the Underworld, which she would have had free run of?" She taps the papers with a finger. "If I may suggest a tactic? An argument by analogy? If I gave you a pitch fork, you could just as easily test it against a warstrider, Tama's shell, a stone house and a man, and conclude definitively that it was meant as a weapon. Yet we would be wrong."


"But if I told you it was made by a farmer..." She smiles. "Understand the tool maker, and you will understand the tool. Agatha was a First Age Twilight Solar. Put yourself in her shoes. What would you make with the knowledge here, if you were unburdened by the constraint of resources or mortality? If you had everything at your fingertips." She looks down at her somewhat more sinister image. "Or if that proves uncomfortable, ponder what I would do with such a thing."

Siham blushed as a reaction to the peck, somehow thinking of River at this moment for no apparent reason. He regained composure and answered:
"Well, while we may not see eye to eye on all issues, I agree we need to understand that fungus before doing anything with it. As I tried to argue, releasing a bioweapon who's effects we do not fully comprehend is a receipie for disaster. Most prudent course of action considering circumstances. I suspect both you and Malek have... personal reasons for your positions. He has a personal grudge against the deathlord forces and a desire to bring back his home city to its former self while you... have an attachment to Walker. He sees the opportunity while you see the danger. A scientist must consider both in order to come to a judgement."


Siham looks at the parchments Fangs has, somewhat marvelled at her ability to bring items and information from the real world in a dream. He thought of her implications and found them to be most sound, maybe the abyssal essence reaction wasn't necesseraly a weapon but... an overactve fueling system.


"Interesting hypothesis. Fungus not weapon, but powered by abyssal energy. Therefore all the more reason to study its effects. If destruction of abyssal elements isn't end goal, then something else is. We have established the link between the behemoth and the fungus as have we more or less determined in what circumstances it was created. For the next phase we must go the other way, find out what the end goal is. Also, as fungus isn't directly created by behemoth currently but an apparent derivation, then we must find where the fungus in Mirunda originates from. Notes I have read suggest that after having gotten what she wanted out of the behemoth, she left site with the result of her experiments. Finding her destination will bring answers to more of our questions"

Fangs nods, the dried leaves spiraling up around her. "I will leave you with your thoughts then little water buffalo." Her smile, and the slightly...pointly...teeth that create it seem to linger in his dream an instant longer than the rest of her does.

 

[CrazyIvan]

Also, I tried to leave Stone, Rain and Silence in a place where Argis can call a halt to the proceedings if it's running long. Things have already been learned

 

[Feantari]

Also, I tried to leave Stone, Rain and Silence in a place where Argis can call a halt to the proceedings if it's running long. Things have already been learned

Oh, I was waitin for crazy spell stuffs. :-P


But yeah, his style is pretty much wait for you to do things. So if she stops attacking we can call it done. One of these days he will pick up a more aggressive style I think...