Keychain #336-340

Who knows, maybe there here on official duty? In such a state of civil unrest, why not throw a couple DB on a bridge to watch for enemy troops/spies. It would be the equivalent of a platoon of mortals, but slightly less noticeable.
The toll collecting could both be a way to entertain themselves, as well as skimming a little of the top (if only enough for a night's liquor). Or the toll could be equally official, but they try to have some fun with such a monotonous task.
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And that would be great! Counterespionage and anathema detection is A-OK!


But if they are there as purely toll collectors then that's still stupid.
 
Thanqol said:
And yet they're both wearing the equivalent of several million dollars of Jade?
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You're assuming that Jade armor is a liquid asset. If the monetary worth of said items truly is equal to the upper limit of existing cash in the Tri-State Area, I'd argue that your items are very non-liquid.


The other thing to consider is that these are warriors. Selling their armor would be equivalent to taking away their Man Card, plus they would be absolutely naked and defenseless if some punk wannabe decides to take out a member of House Armor-Worth-All-the-Tea-in-China.


tl;dr this is being done out of need more than greed. Even if it isn't, it'll be spun that way once they get embarrassed.
 
You're assuming that Jade armor is a liquid asset. If the monetary worth of said items truly is equal to the upper limit of existing cash in the Tri-State Area, I'd argue that your items are very non-liquid.


The other thing to consider is that these are warriors. Selling their armor would be equivalent to taking away their Man Card, plus they would be absolutely naked and defenseless if some punk wannabe decides to take out a member of House Armor-Worth-All-the-Tea-in-China.


tl;dr this is being done out of need more than greed. Even if it isn't, it'll be spun that way once they get embarrassed.
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Yes, it is an illiquid asset. However, the point remains why do they need money and why would they acquire it in such a horribly inefficient way? It's not like they'll starve. Everything about the Realm says they could go into any high class inn and say, "MORTAL, I AM AN ENLIGHTENED TERRESTRIAL EXALT. PREPARE YOUR BEST ROOMS". And if they don't pay, what is the innkeeper going to do about it?


This is basically like the Archangel Michael, decked out in golden armor with wings and halo, using his flaming sword to jack a car. It's beneath these guys. They could get whatever basic needs they wanted filled at no cost, and any higher needs - like raising an army - they will not finance by holding up peasants.
 
Thanqol said:
This is basically like the Archangel Michael, decked out in golden armor with wings and halo, using his flaming sword to jack a car. It's beneath these guys. They could get whatever basic needs they wanted filled at no cost, and any higher needs - like raising an army - they will not finance by holding up peasants.
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If we assume the Archangel Michael is a /b/tard I could totally see him doing just that for the lulz. But yeah, I definitely see your point. I'm going to assume based on past performance that there's something more substantial in this encounter (though we have previously seen Exalted [or at least semi-Exalted] petty bandits in this comic, also appearing at a similar point in the story, in the form of the proto-Alchemical outside of Novaville [and the one we saw couldn't have been unique, given that Misho and company were told that the muggers were forming a union... and he must have been expecting the profits to be substantial, as he was attempting to buy Alchemical Exaltation with it (which can hardly be cheap, even if Nova's healthily subsidizing her people's Exaltation in order to obtain more test subjects)]... also arguably powerful enough to deserve better, even if he was absolutely no match for our protagonists). I'm especially curious to see if the "toll" might be Marena. Could be they spotted her in the wagon from a distance by happenstance and set up this trap in response... her Appearance should certainly be at levels sufficient to inspire that sort of response even in DBs.
 
Ascension said:
If we assume the Archangel Michael is a /b/tard I could totally see him doing just that for the lulz. But yeah, I definitely see your point. I'm going to assume based on past performance that there's something more substantial in this encounter (though we have previously seen Exalted [or at least semi-Exalted] petty bandits in this comic, also appearing at a similar point in the story, in the form of the proto-Alchemical outside of Novaville [and the one we saw couldn't have been unique, given that Misho and company were told that the muggers were forming a union... and he must have been expecting the profits to be substantial, as he was attempting to buy Alchemical Exaltation with it (which can hardly be cheap, even if Nova's healthily subsidizing her people's Exaltation in order to obtain more test subjects)]... also arguably powerful enough to deserve better, even if he was absolutely no match for our protagonists). I'm especially curious to see if the "toll" might be Marena. Could be they spotted her in the wagon from a distance by happenstance and set up this trap in response... her Appearance should certainly be at levels sufficient to inspire that sort of response even in DBs.
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That's my hope! This could play out in a very interesting way, and Juk's great record has indicated it probably will. It's just that there has to be some clarification that the general occupation of Realm Dragon Blooded isn't to guard random bridges.
 
Thanqol said:
Dragon Blooded are viable PCs. Would any PC Terrestrial ever consider doing this for money?
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In a heartbeat, for the pocket change in the peasant's pocket. Just because they can. Probably with a ten-obol bet riding on how much cash the peasant has.


If you spell out a scene and an NPC, the PCs will interact with it. See, the problem is, the ST rolled on a random encounter table - but you don't know who is getting the encounter.


This is a case of two Terrestrial PCs rolling on the random encounter table, getting the Awareness jump on what seems to be a wagon full of peasants with a particularly hot peasant on the front, and deciding on the spot to levy a "leaving the bridge" fee.


Unfortunately for them, the ST didn't roll 11: Wagon full of peasants, he rolled 100: Wagon full of Anathema.

Who knows, maybe there here on official duty? In such a state of civil unrest, why not throw a couple DB on a bridge to watch for enemy troops/spies. It would be the equivalent of a platoon of mortals, but slightly less noticeable.
The toll collecting could both be a way to entertain themselves, as well as skimming a little of the top (if only enough for a night's liquor). Or the toll could be equally official, but they try to have some fun with such a monotonous task.
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That would be the equivalent of posting a couple of Abrams battle-tanks on the entrance to the New Jersey Turnpike to make sure nobody gets on without paying their toll.


I expect these guys are just Dragon-/b/looded assholes playing silly buggers. What do you want to bet that, if what they want is Marena, she'll lead them off into the bushes and walk back out, tisking and exclaiming that she thought Terrestrials had endurance and skill in the bed. Then she looks up at the top of the wagon, and Ten Winds makes himself scarce.
 
Thanqol said:
But if they are there as purely toll collectors then that's still stupid.
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I was thinking more of the toll as an excuse. "Stop sir, pay the toll, and let us search your wagon for spies contraband."


Still, it seems that everyone agrees that the "D/b/" are more or less doing this for the lols.
 
Thanqol said:
This is basically like the Archangel Michael, decked out in golden armor with wings and halo, using his flaming sword to jack a car. It's beneath these guys. They could get whatever basic needs they wanted filled at no cost, and any higher needs - like raising an army - they will not finance by holding up peasants.
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No, this is like a very low-ranked bottom-feeder angel, stuck on an island with thousands of other angels all competing for the same resources, where the other angels include multiple archangels that are far more powerful, and god has vanished and society is crumbling, so the angels are on the cusp of going Mad Max and scrambling for anything they can get.


The same problem is being ignored in the Apache Helicopter simile, in a situation where Washington DC has just vanished from the map with no explanation, and every military division has been trained for years to distrust every other division, and already there's a certain level of sabotage and covert ops attacking your division from the others as they jockey to try to form their own new USA government, a couple of soldiers abandoning their posts to go off and rob some civilians, taking a humvee and a heavy machine gun worth more than they can rob for with them, is totally reasonable.
 
But even Outcastes would be able to make enough money from just being Exalted that something like this is less than pocket change to them.
 
No, this is like a very low-ranked bottom-feeder angel, stuck on an island with thousands of other angels all competing for the same resources, where the other angels include multiple archangels that are far more powerful, and god has vanished and society is crumbling, so the angels are on the cusp of going Mad Max and scrambling for anything they can get.


The same problem is being ignored in the Apache Helicopter simile, in a situation where Washington DC has just vanished from the map with no explanation, and every military division has been trained for years to distrust every other division, and already there's a certain level of sabotage and covert ops attacking your division from the others as they jockey to try to form their own new USA government, a couple of soldiers abandoning their posts to go off and rob some civilians, taking a humvee and a heavy machine gun worth more than they can rob for with them, is totally reasonable.
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You understand the power of Terrestrials relative to each other, sure. But you don't get how they are relative to mortals. And they are all-powerful relative to mortals. This isn't a 'couple of soldiers' going into banditry, this is two four-star generals going into banditry, in an environment where their skills are highly in demand.


The financial gains of raiding these carts is negligible. Commoners aren't allowed to own Jade, period. A single obol is pocket change for Dragon Blooded and a vast store of savings for the average mortal. It's like Donald Trump holding two black guys in the ghettos of New York up at gunpoint for their wallets.


Yes, the current chaos pushes a lot of Dragon Blooded out of familiar routines. They are still regarded as demigods by every single man, woman and child on the island, to be feared, worshipped and obeyed without question. Most things a Dragon Blooded could simply take for free - food, shelter, fine clothing, women - and anything they couldn't take for free would be so immensely expensive you'd need an entire province of taxpayers to afford - like an army, or bribes for the Deliberative.


The Realm is structured in such a way that it is impossible that any Terrestrial Exalt would choose banditry because it's a good financial decision.
 
If every dragon were as wealthy as you claim, then resources or even wealth would be an automatic background at chargen the way it's counterpart is for alchemicals, but it's not. It's perfectly possible and legal to stat up a dragonblood with resources 1 or even 0, and yet still own a suit of jade armor and a powerbow. This argues against the notion that merely by being exalted, any dragonblood must automatically be so rich that banditry cannot possibly pay for anything, particularly in a universe where, as already pointed out, it's possible to make enough off banditry to afford to buy a form of exaltation.


For that matter, I think you overestimate the power of terrestrials vs. mortals. Not only will mortals in towns by protected as a source of taxation, making terror or mercenary work dangerous, but since mortals are explicitly a major part of the wyld hunt, they must be powerful enough for a pack of mortals to be useful in a fight right alongside the dragonbloods. If they were totally useless there'd be no reason for them to be included in that most dangerous of hunts.
 
If every dragon were as wealthy as you claim' date=' then resources or even wealth would be an automatic background at chargen the way it's counterpart is for alchemicals, but it's not. It's perfectly possible and legal to stat up a dragonblood with resources 1 or even 0, and yet still own a suit of jade armor and a powerbow. This argues against the notion that merely by being exalted, any dragonblood must automatically be so rich that banditry cannot possibly pay for anything, particularly in a universe where, as already pointed out, it's possible to make enough off banditry to afford to buy a form of exaltation.[/quote']
Pretty sure that's oversight in the rules. I've certainly houseruled in something closer to Salary for DB finances. EDIT: And I'm not claiming they're wealthy, I'm claiming they don't need wealth.


And just because a guy says he's going to pay for his Exaltation by being a bandit does not make it so.

For that matter, I think you overestimate the power of terrestrials vs. mortals. Not only will mortals in towns by protected as a source of taxation, making terror or mercenary work dangerous, but since mortals are explicitly a major part of the wyld hunt, they must be powerful enough for a pack of mortals to be useful in a fight right alongside the dragonbloods. If they were totally useless there'd be no reason for them to be included in that most dangerous of hunts.
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Okay, you don't know how Wyld Hunts work, right?


I believe the technical term for mortal Wyld Hunters is "Abalative People Shielding". Edit: Or "Damage Sponges". Or "Blood Piñatas"
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Mortal Immaculates with Five Dragon Style can be quite solid. Similarly, Ashigaru or the like with Shock Pikes or Fire Lances can be a quite useful resource in battle as well.


Joe mortal with a stick or the like...not so much. Is it possible to have no Resources as a Realm Dragonblooded? Yes. There's a simple reason why. Two specific groups within such are specifically forbidden any form of wealth at all. Immaculate Monks and Magistrates. Neither is allowed any personal income. However, the 12 Background dots generally results in anyone who is NOT specifically unable to have such being pretty well off. Now, Outcastes on the otherhand...with their base 7 background dots, same as a starting Solar...can come out quite screwed in Resources.


However, all these assumptions of one form or another are a little premature. We don't know what's going on right now. We've hardly seen any part of the situation in its entirety. So...you know? Let's step back and watch.
 
Joe mortal with a stick or the like...not so much. Is it possible to have no Resources as a Realm Dragonblooded? Yes. There's a simple reason why. Two specific groups within such are specifically forbidden any form of wealth at all. Immaculate Monks and Magistrates. Neither is allowed any personal income
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unless I'm mistuderstanding what you say here you're also in "Dragon-Blooded being wealthy"


what Thanqol is trying to say however is that for them Money is in a certain way,useless.Due to insignificant fact that they EXIST as Dragon-Blooded they can just order someone to give them what they want,even if they are fromn the Immacualte Order or Magistrates they don't need the resources


what makes me wonder,did Ten actually paid for that stuff or he just Anima Bannered and said "GIVE ME YOUR BOOZE AND WOMEN NOW!"?
 
He'd have gotten a lot more booze and women for an obol. An obol is enough to buy a parcel of land large enough to farm multiple crops on, as well as the crops to be farmed. A peasant might save up a full obol after a year if he buys absolutely nothing but food (peasants of the Realm would frequently be Resources X, which is about this pay grade).


Basically, for an obol, he would have filled the entire magic wagon with booze, and they'd have had to force women into prostitution just to satisfy the payment.


I imagine that didn't happen.
 
Or he broke the economy.It's not like he needed anything else from the place now that they were out of booze and women
 
I'll just say this. Even if the DB:s do indeed turn out to be a random encounter (doubtful, since they've got two introductory strips so far) it will all be worth it just to have heard Thanqol's wonderful metaphors.
 
Thanqol said:
...not to mention the hilarious risk/reward ratio involved in assassinating an armed and armoured Terrestrial in order to corner the busking market.
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That sounds like the germ of an idea for an awesome campaign, actually. :mrgreen:
 
TEN WINDS JUSTICE SMASH!


"Uh, I think it is his business" is probably the best line ever.


So, two random punks picked a fight with probably the worst wagon they could have short of the Empress' own wagon-train, and they're getting an Immaculate Beat-Down. Think Karen and Secret will join in?


I hope so. There's nothing quite like a no-holds-barred curbstomp beat-down against unambigious asshole bad-guys to get the spirits up.


Man, I can just see this brewing. The sky goes gray with storm clouds forming, lightning starts to crackle among the clouds' undersides, thunder rumbles, and que up the Latin Choir!


(I think One-Winged Angel and/or Advent One-Winged Angel is apropos.)
 
Would they really join? Ten's the only one that won't cause a civil war to stop just to put enough people on his tail by showing off exaltations.
 
If you saw Chuck Norris laying the beatdown on some teenaged punk, would you help him? I wouldn't, because he'd probably roundhouse anyone for acting like he needs the help.


Also, one of them has a name now, so I doubt we'll be done with them too quickly. Names give you more Health Levels.
 
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