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

Agris thoughts: Siham has the university under control and Argis mostly wants a good reason to show up every now and then which seems covered at this point. He'll make a sweep of the grounds of the school while Siham is speachifying and then eventually head for home and start pulling together information on the current state of things in Nexus. He's got a couple of goals: Make some good investments, evaluate the political and power situation in more depth and get a better understanding of this Lion character. Argis is very much not looking for a fight, but looking to evaluate these new players and much like Siham, try to figure out their motives. At the same time he's looking for ways to build bridges and find allies for Cross.


Should I start posting in the shining ones thread again or will that be confusing? PPS: new character likely to use very similar sheet as previously proposed, I'll be working on backstory and double checking the character creation bits to make sure its ready by the end of this week.
 
Xarvh, I kinda feel like I'm getting skunked here. I made a very good effort to avoid getting detected, yet suddenly I'm getting called out IC for spying. What gives?
 
You got under the radar as soon as you answered the question about the book.


Further, they're Solars, basic Socialize/Linguistics Charms will give Siham away, and they used far more than that. I warned you that you were against a circle of Celestials.


But most importantly, sometimes shit just happens and it's not my punishment for your shortcomings.


Sometimes you are against powerful foes and you lose a battle.


But the war is still yours to fight.
 
That's... not really my point. I made it pretty hard for the drone to be traced back to me, but then all of a sudden I'm getting a face full of inquisition without even a reasonable chance to cover my trail or anything.


I'm starting to feel like the only way for me to succeed at anything is to go full murder hobo and butcher my way to victory.
 
JayTee said:
That's... not really my point. I made it pretty hard, if not impossible, for the little spy drone to be traced back to me, but then all of a sudden I'm getting a face full of inquisition.
Click to expand...
This assumes that the drone is what gave you away.


Also, you don't know what they know.

JayTee said:
I'm starting to feel like the only way for me to succeed at anything is to go full murder hobo and butcher my way to victory.
Click to expand...
That would be a terrible idea, if amusing.
 
xarvh said:
That would be a terrible idea, if amusing.
Click to expand...
It's an option I've put no small amount of thought in to, including making a list of charms, artifacts and spells that are most efficient at helping me murder everything in my path, if need be.


We're surrounded by a very lengthy list of powerful NPCs who seem intent on stonewalling everything Cross does, and now a full Circle of Solars is being thrown in the mix with unknown motives. Operation: Murder Everything is rapidly becoming the best and only solution.
 
@JayTee : if you need a social infiltrator and profiles, Malek's your guy.


Going to Great Forks to figure out what's going on was on our to do list once we're done with Two Worlds, from there it is rather easy to go to Nexus and snoop around if you've smelled something fishy.
 
If they really are a hidden Circle of Solars or even Lunars, the situation perhaps isn't as dire as it looks. Remember, they have good reason to be wary of someone investigating them -- you might be from the Realm or the Bronze Faction for all they know. By the same token, they would also understand why you've been so covert about it. Your best bet is to be candid.


Of course, they could be a bunch of Sidereals, in which case you're screwed. :P
 
Could also be a bunch of abies impersonating solars, or solars working for a deathlord... or just regular solar a-holes with delusions of grandeur.
 
You're still better off being up-front -- Abyssals or corrupt Solars would squash a puny mortal spy with a flick of their hand, but even they recognize that a fellow Celestial's circumstances are different.
 
Granted he's a DB and I've been AWOL, but Argis is in Nexus as well.


Still, you have found out rather a good bit about the Solar running the school, and now you are being given a chance to find out more about the circle. I rather doubt that they would resort to trying to kill you. Even given Solar investigation charms there is only so much they can know about you. Granted it would be unlikely for sidereals to not be operating in the are. You are probably also a rather large mystery to them.
 
If they wanted him dead, he would be.


Paranoid solars don't screw around (see JT's Operation: Murder Everything), and what happened in Lookshy may have made them even more paranoid.


Resisting or trying to escape means guilt and they'll hunt him down, surrendering means they may hold him captive for a while and "convert what they can, kill what they can't".
 
Arresting a fellow Solar without talking to them first is asking for trouble.


JayTee, have Siham flare his caste mark, and see what they do. You're pretty sure they're Solars, but they may not be aware that you are. If they still try to arrest you, then we know they're assholes and stupid to boot.
 
They know he's a Solar. Even a Celestial would have troubles pulling out a disposable, intelligent, miniaturized automata without a 1st age workshop and magical materials.
 
Okay - home now, calmed down from the crummy work day, and giving this more proper and calmer thought.

xarvh said:
This assumes that the drone is what gave you away.
Also, you don't know what they know.
Click to expand...
I'm not the GM, but this is really key. (I confess I do like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and other John LeCarre.)


Cyl's correct, if they wanted violence, they could have gone that route already.


They could be trying to scare/fluster Siham into panicking and giving away more information, or they could be using this to set the scene for justifying why you disappeared from the college, and so forth.


Siham can always point out that they're not running Nexus up front and out in the open, and just as Soap invaded his personal space something awful to find out more about him, well, that's effectively what Siham has done to them. No harm, no foul.


If they have an Eclipse, they could be ham-handedly trying to get Siham to swear an oath.


Basically, not enough information to know what they want or how to react to them. I feel your frustration, JayTee. I'd keep that drone to yourself unless they present you with it, and otherwise, play it cool but smart. I don't think you have anything to gain by pretending to be dumb or not a Solar; everyone has a pretty good idea that the other party is Solar. You're a Power in and of yourself, and treating you poorly has consequences. They have to know that - and if they don't, then they're going to get a nasty lesson.


Mirror's conducted one jailbreak already, and Nexus ain't no thing after daring the Mask's home base. (From her POV, that is. Going against a full circle of solars gives me pause, not her.)
 
This.


Also, they probably don't know there's an "international" to have an incident about. Mentioning you belong to a Celestial-governed principality which will take a dim view of your imprisonment might give them pause.


(Or it could make it look even more like espionage, thus getting you into deeper shit. It's even odds. :P )
 
What Arynne said.


Further, the drone is still out as the current events unfold.


I'd like to point out a few things:

fly-sized spy drone that would follow the Director and record his comings and goings before sending it back to Siham on a periodic basis. He made sure that it would be impossible to be traced back to him, and likewise designed it to self destruct if detected.
Click to expand...
Writing that it is "impossible to trace it back to him" is not enough to actually make it impossible.


Following the drone or profiling its maker with Evidence Discerning Method are definitely within the capabilities of a Solar, as well as following Siham and seeing him using Words As Workshop Method.


But again, they were already on him.


What gave him away was 1) A mortal not showing much deference to the accompanying Dynast Exalted and in fact doing all the talking. 2) His incredible skill and knowledge despite his youth, he managed to stand out against the best mortal minds that money could buy 3) Manipulation 1, Socialize 0, Larceny 0. Seriously?


Again, it's not like you can be prepared for everything and many times your best efforts just won't be enough (going alone against a circle of Celestials also doesn't help) so it's not your fault nor shame and it's not end game.
 
On the flip-side, Xarvh, just because they could have hit Siham already doesn't mean that they aren't being ham-fisted right now. There's a reason nations go to lengths to preserve face even when spies get caught.


They have to know this is a highly unfriendly greeting to a fellow Solar. Certainly not diplomatic in the slightest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Back
Top