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

[Kacie]

Mirror's main priorities are 1) guard Malek until Fangs lets him loose (leaving all questions of whether Malek is mentally healthy enough to turn free to Fangs's discretion), and 2) return to just outside the Cross to collect Flicker, and thence proceed to Ankss.


She'll be very interested in talking to Siham once she meets him, presumably upon returning to just outside the Cross.


Regarding the unresolved social attack - I understand Cyl's point about it not feeling right story-wise, yet mechanically there's huge incentive to slam Malek with social attacks right away. He's low on willpower, and Fangs spent motes to make the attack. Can we bank the attack for next scene, with the same setup? (ie, Fangs hugely attractive, same number of successes, Malek with same amount of willpower)


Mirror will not let Malek sleep. Very happy to open a new scene with philosophy.

 

[xarvh]

I'll let cyl make his case (there are mechanical limits on social attacks) but I'd say that the attack having a delayed effect, as Malek slowly makes sense of all the new influences, would make everyone happy.

 

[cyl]

Indeed !


Okay so I'll keep this brief (because I'm @work):


story wise:


- Fangs / Mirror can't know unless they probe Malek what has been done to him (even though she can slowly realize how he feels about the Circle)


- he seems lost and confused, but still has his priorities straight


- Fangs charmed him and he isn't really resisting her


- it feels "cheap" to build an intimacy within a single "act" with NMI just through spamming social attacks... I'd rather have it built over a few scenes, the consented way.


fluff wise:


- Fangs doesn't have what it takes to rewrite Malek within a day, she has is her beauty, but that's it. If she wants to rewrite Malek, she's going to have to do it progressively


- I do have a problem with delayed effects, on principle but I have absolutey no problem with montaging the crap out of this


- if we follow the confrontation schedule, Fangs is at a disadvantage. 1wp allows me to neutralize her attempt for a whole scene, and I can regenerate it with stunts... no need to sleep for that


- it doesn't have to be a battle since I don't see a reason for Malek to refuse the influence given that it is transmitted "gently".


Without his dot of compassion and his curse, there's absolutely no reason for the angry Malek to resurface.


Fangs & Mirror just saved his life, so he's not going to turn on them unless they start threatening him (not letting him rest for example is a very bad idea).


Technically, Mirror isn't part of The Exalts of Cross (so Malek cannot hate her through his corrupted intimacy), and I guess since Fangs kind of backed out from Cross during the Monster Thread, she may not be a target for that intimacy anymore... I leave that interpretation to the ST.


All in all, Malek isn't going to fight / resist the "woman of his dreams" & her mate who helped save him (even though building an intimacy for Mirror is going to be harder on account of Big K's demise)... unless they push him in the wrong corners.


We can even start the next scene considering (whatever type of intimancy) for Fangs has been built through extensive uses of the L'Oreal charm, I have absolutely no problem with that... and I'm even willing to pay the extra xp cost... as long as it is built through "kindness and nurturing" instead of pressure.


Because pressure's not going to work out for anyone.

 

[cyl]

Okay that wasn't brief... screw this... I'm underpaid anyway

 

[cyl]

Very happy to open a new scene with philosophy.

Seconded.

'd be keen on having you three back to Cross, mostly to have the party back together, especially to have Mirror accepted in the party.

Seconded... but it's not going to be pretty.


@other players: prepare to feel the cold hatred of the Void >


I'm still pondering how I should rationalize this for each character and where each hatred should come from.


Any news from Wlfsam ?

 

[Kacie]

Setting aside mechanical quibbles, I get the feeling Xarvh would like to consolidate the PCs once more, instead of having multiple far-flung scenes.


How about a montage on the way back to show Malek at least getting to a slightly more neutral/wary stance towards the other PCs, instead of hating them? Then there can be plenty of awkward finger-pointing, but we can at least try to start working together again.

 

[cyl]

Well honestly, it's up to you guys.


If getting a glimpse of Darth Malek and observing the radical changes in his methods is less interesting than going forward with the game, then let's go with that.


Since he's less passionate now I wasn't going to be all bile anyway, just extremely cold and distant so in a way I'll just have to tone the cold down a couple of notches.


In any case the final result will be exactly the same: Malek is going to go out there and work his ass off.


I don't particularly enjoy playing a PITA (no... seriously... I swear ! O) so I'm cool with that solution even though it didn't feel completely right at first to have that kind of damage being absorbed / repaired that fast.


Do let me know which intimacies you leave out of the restoration process if applicable.

 

[xarvh]

I'm fine with montage or whatever.


Cyl, play malek however you wish as long as you can do teamwork without too much hassle.

 

[cyl]

Well that settles it then


Still up for an out of time "philosophy" thread between the three, although it could be more interesting to involve the others since we are, after all, all in the same boat-soon to be flying warship !

 

[cyl]

Can't post a new thread as a "Main", so I'll let the ST create it that way we can montage (and I'll let Kacie & CI have the first posts since their pcs are in charge of mine).


Really want to follow up on that Neverborn discussion we were having though.

 

[xarvh]

I'll wait for CI to post in Crossroads, so that I can close it.


Today I should be able to open the new scene in Cross just outside of Cross.

 

[cyl]

Well if you want to do it in Cross so anyone can jump in, I wouldn't want to stop you ^^

 

[xarvh]

Not sure I want to drag Arynne and JayTee in the insanity.


Unless they ask otherwise, of course.


But mostly, I like fluff-wise the idea that the Drama Trio can discuss during their travel back to Cross.

 

[Kacie]

CrazyIvan has been adamant about Mirror not entering Cross for protection reasons. I'm sure the others can get to the chosen boarder when they're alerted we've arrived.

 

[xarvh]

@Kacie: yes, that's the idea.

 

[xarvh]

@Kacie: http://www.rpdom.com/threads/the-mask-and-his-minions.54416/#post-816239

 

[xarvh]

New Scene's up, all together. =)

 

[cyl]

How much time passed since we got out of teh labyrinth ? (for the purpose of healing)

 

[Kacie]

Thanks, Xarvh!


Folks, betting dollars to doughnuts that the 10th Legion on its way to the Walker's realm is going to be attacking the Cross. Either that or seizing some other asset in the region.

 

[cyl]

I'd bet on Great Forks.


Without Zenjo and his men, and with Mask's knights, the Walker can take it.


It's the ideal target to stop the River Trade both from and to Nexus and if successful it will effectively split the Scavenger Lands in two fronts: east and west.


While holding the center and controlling the river, the undead will have a massive advantage over anyone else and from there they can take Nexus and other major cities.


I'd be them I'd leave Cross & Mirunda for last and cover as much ground as possible to cut us off from any potential allies and smother a coordinated retort in the crib.

 

[Kacie]

Great Forks is definitely a possibility.


I can see the Mask wanting to take the Cross in order to take the Library -- if the Widow stole Agatha's notes on the Bloom, the Mask may want to take the Library instead, in order to reverse engineer a solution.


Once again, we need more intel. At least we have options; we've wanted to take out the Legion for a while, and she'd know what the plan was.

 

[xarvh]

@cyl: malek is at full, he just looks battered.


@Kacie: the Legion works for the Walker

 

[cyl]

Learning who Mask's knights are and what they are capable of is probably more interesting strategically at this point.


The Legion we know, they are the unknown variables we have to discover quickly before they can blindside us.


We know of Words, Void, that white dude who didn't want to kill anyone at the Cathedral Factory in Lookshy and two more guys (one that visited Fangs and the one he was talking about )... but I don't recall anything past that and practically nothing about "Mask's knights lent to the Walker".


As you said, we need moar intel.


Malek's usually good at getting it, and I'm going to make him even better... but I don't think it's safe for him to go alone.


Mirror's cover is kind of blown... but... I have an idea to go behind enemy lines.


Either Malek could try to pose as Mirror's next incarnation (followed by Fangs to back him up and "verify the story"), or he could pose as another deathknight following her exact same template (no Deathlord).

 

[Kacie]

I figured the Legion might have heard through the grapevine on which place the Mask was going to target. She might not, but really, killing her is just a big plus all the way around.


My plan was to go find another corpse and kidnap/interrogate it, after smashing its unit. A very Dusk/Dawn sort of plan, really.

 

[xarvh]

Guys, the Legion work for the Walker.


Check the Mask thread for info on his Knights.


So far you have 3:


Words of Gentle Passing


Mirror's Ally (the one you meet in lookshy)


The Void Heart