Overkill

Samiel

Samiel

One Thousand Club
What's the most stupidly overdone thing you've done or seen in a game? What would you regard as your most abundantly unnecessary show of force to achieve a given task?


Describe! Illustrate!
 
In a DB game I play in, I am playing a conniving sorceror of amazing talent, who employs creative exploitation of elementals and demons to achieve his ends. His real name is Kisue Diamond-Edge, though he is known more widely as Eye of the Storm.


The four DB members of our party are issued a challenge by an old rival, ex-ally god. Three of us are masquerading successfully as gods and have the worship of a whole kingdom behind us, so we answer the challenge publicly and prepare for war against his kingdom.


---


At the border, the challenge is further refined as a single battle in neutral ground. I am thinking at this point: armies + abandoned city = dramatic finale battle. I dream up the perfect ending to the battle, a sure-fire three-die stunt that will touch off the end of a battle nicely.


I learn, however, that it is to be a melee of four-on-four. Salvaging the situation in my mind, I think; I can still do this. The smaller scale of the enemy only increases the scale of the attack. I decide to proceed as planned; the cataclysmic end will finish the fight off nicely and with style.


Then I discover yet more: it is to be a gladiatorial one-on-one cockfighting session, with champions taking turns battling one another.


Damned if I'm not getting my shot off, though.


---


One of our Martial-Arts monkies slices up the first two of the four challengers, while the rival god taunts us from behind. After the second, he's injured and must retire, but he's tipped the odds massively in our favour already.


Although normally my non-combat character would shy from a one-on-one fight, I step forward as the next challenger, thinking about how I'll pull this off. My foe, as it happens, is also a Sorceror (Good, because anyone else might have killed me outright). Time to go.


---


Suke, the sorceror-champion of our foe, steps forward and draws a magical spark of flame through the air in an arc, demonstrating his command of essence as he begins to shape essence into a work of sorcery. Behind him, the Perfected Daimyo (The enemy; he had a comically lengthly name, but we'll go with "Daimyo") taunts me, saying; "Beware, Kisue, for Suke's sorcerous might far exceeds your own!".


Suke was predictably faster. Suke starts shaping sorcery.


---


Here's where it began and ended. Kisue, activating his Air-aspect anima to leap higher, hops from post to lintel to roof to spire through the empty streets of the abandoned city (Which he had arranged to be constructed for this battle the night before, through mass demonic labour). After achieving a suitable height, he held out his hand and called a ball of plasmic essence to it (Abuse of Elemental Bolt Technique), emulating the shaping of magic.


"Are you Ready, Suke?! Did you come Prepared to face Me?"


Uttering the "Go" command to the crew of the Bounty of the Skies waiting above the battlefield (See the new Airships thread in general.. she's got guns), and to the horde of cloud-people instructed to blacken the skies, he summons a great sky-covering blanket of dark clouds, ominously rotating. Bright lances of energy laced the ground at the edge of the city, spiralling inwards and spelling a mandala-pattern of his name (and his buddies).


As Suke watched, dismayed, his puny terrestrial spell was overwhelmed in comparison to the gathering forces. The rotating bank of clouds above parted and blossomed in the centre as a bright lance of searing light descended upon the hapless sorceror; the main cannon of the bounty had fired from its concealment at the very moment that Kisue's 'magic' detonated into the skies.


Suke was immediately vapourised, as Kisue cackled to the burning sky: "You were not ready, Suke! How could you have been ready?!"


As the smoke cleared, a ten-metre circle of smokey, cracked glass marked where Suke had stood, about to cast Flying Guilllotine. It began to rain, as the wound in the skies closed (And the bounty flew away). Still laughing, Kisue spun, disappearing from the scene.


Dramatic flair: Elemental Bolt Attack, Air-aspect Anima


Cinematography: 10/15 Cloud People/Thunderbirds


Spiral of Immolating Destruction: 3 Implosion Bows/Lasers, 1 Lightning Ballista


The look on the ST's face at this ridiculous overkill: Priceless.


 
Periodic shipments of firedust are run between the hub cities of the South. Laborers gather firedust using carefully-measured tools and carefully-refined techniques, reciting prayers to the gods of dust and desert that they could recall in their sleep. Collectors refine the 'sustenance of the ebon devils' using chemical and thaumaturgical processes as refined as any civilized science. And haulers move it in enormous yeddim-hauled wagons.


A few rubies, redder than the setting sun, were a waste product of Ami's orichalcum-mining efforts. In the sweaty palm of an eager-faced Guildsman, however, they are the sale price for every bit of detail Ryushi needs about the Guildsman's local rivals - who are coincidentally fueling Paragon's war ambitions by hauling firedust in large amounts to the ordered city.


The sand-spirits are old and thirsty, and they remember much of the old time. While they fear the Solar Exalted, they also groan under the weight of the Realm's ironshod boots that trample their home. One such god is willing enough to aid Ryushi, and his price is a sacrifice from (or of) the caravaner and his guards. The firedust he wants no part of, for he's been duly paid for its extraction.


And so it is that eight creaking yeddim-drawn wagons come upon a warrior meditating in the desert, whose face and features are covered by a black silk bandana. "Get out of our way, fool!" shouts the teamster. The man rises to his feet. "Surrender your cargo and sacrifice to the gods of the sand for your transgression in aiding the Realm's ally!" he shouts. "Or in Heaven's place, I'll punish you."


Two swords are sheathed at the warrior's belt. He is alone. The teamster laughs. "You want a taste of our firedust, eh?" he asks. "You'll have it!" He draws a flame-pistol from his belt and begins to level it at where the man was - only now he's standing on the wagon, facing the teamster eye to eye. He moved faster than the wind. His swords are out. The teamster's flame-piece has been cut in half, and is now missing its barrel. The unignited firedust trickles out. "Oh," he says.


Around the two, the caravan escort guards have drawn their weapons and readied them. And around them, the desert itself rises up into a furious storm.


---


The Perfect of Paragon, immortal though he may be, hates to be kept waiting. Soldiers are dispatched promptly enough. What they find is an immense wreckage - eight destroyed wagons, with half-buried yeddim tracks showing where the beasts fled to. There is an enormous pit where bodies are being picked clean by carrion birds, their gear pitted by a powerful windstorm. There are other tracks leading away - survivors, presumably, who fled to the oasis the caravan had come from. And finally, there are curious tracks. "Beast-man. The scorpid-men and jackal-men?" one soldier asks of the other. "Nah. There's only a few of them. Scouts, I expect," his comrade replies.


"Wonder what they thought was so interesting.." The soldiers shrug to each other and take their accounting, not noticing that the utterly destroyed wagon remnants show a curious arrangement. Seen from the air, they spell out words in the writing system of the Old Realm: The Heptagram Is Next.
 
Let me guess: The two with perfect defense Charms?
 
3 Solars trying to help a city (Ankh-Morpork, don't ask) defend itself from a Fair Folk army.


Army:


Giant Mosquitos (800)


Giant Winged Spiders (800)


Draglings (400)


Flying Artillery (100)


Hobgoblins (800)


Fae Beasts - assorted (400)


Fire Giants (200)


Buck Ogres (200)


Fae Nobles as Commanders and Subcommanders of each section (100)


Various Land Artillery (200)


->Total 4000 Troops


Army's Leader:


Fae War Noble-


4 Arms, Demon Wings, 3 Eyes, Huge, Inexhaustable, Resilient


Attributes:


Strength 12, Dexterity 5, Stamina 13,


Charisma 3, Manipulation 7, Appearance 3,


Perception 6, Intelligence 4, Wits 6


Abilities:


Archery 7, Athletics 4, Awareness 7, Bureaucracy 4, Craft (Glamour) 6, Dodge 8, Endurance 5, Investigation 10, Larceny 5, Linguistics 5 (Lapis Court, Old Ream, High Realm, High Holy Speech, Seatongue, Firetongue), Lore 8, Martial Arts 8, Medicine 4, Melee 6, Performance 7, Occult 10, Presence 7, Resistance 8, Ride 9, Sail 4, Socialize 5, Stealth 3, Survival 8, Thrown 5


Virtues:


Compassion (Cup - Minor) 2, Conviction (Staff - Minor) 4, Temperance (Ring - Major) 4, Valor (Sword - Major) 5, Heart 4


Dodge: 13 Soak: 29B/ 33L/ 26A


Willpower: 7 Health Levels: -0 x23/ -2/ Incapacitated


Essence: 5 Essence Pool: 50


Sword: Speed 19, Accuracy 16, Damage + 23L, Defense 12


Gossamer Superheavy Plate: +16B/ +20L


Charms:


Hundred Hand Style- Multi Actions reduced by 1


Millipede Mind- Multi Actions reduced by 2


Grace of the Infinately Revolving Spheres- First 5 Actions are without penalty


Racing Dragon's Speed x2


All Charms I feel like


Retinue of 3


Command of 6


Style of 5


His Steed:


Cereberus-


Attributes:


Strength 13, Dexterity 5, Stamina 15


Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4


Perception 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 3


Abilities:


Athletics 6, Awareness 8, Brawl 6, Dodge 5, Linguistics 2 (Old Realm, Firetongue, Lapis Court), Presence 4, Stealth 5, Survival 4


Virtues:


Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, Valor 5


Powers:


Horrific Visage (Must make a Valor roll, difficulty 2 or take a -2 to all Battle rolls involoving the Cerberus), Resist Command, No Familiar


Perfected Essence Sight (can see all Essence flows within 4 miles)


Sight of Vision Concealment (negates 4 dice of stealth due to invisibility, even through Anima or Essence effects)


Sight of Vitality (can discern whether a creature is alive, dead, wounded, or diseased)


Fire Breath (5 motes), Immune to Fire,


Inexhaustable, Giant, Tough


Base Initiative: 8


Attacks:


Bite: Speed 10, Accuracy 12, Damage 21L, Defense 10


Claw: Speed 12, Accuracy 14, Damage 18L, Defense 14


Dodge: 10 Soak: 27L 27B (Hell Hide 12L / 12B)


Willpower: 10


Health Levels: -0 x3/-1 x4 -2 x5 -4/ Incapacitated


Essence: 4 Essence Pool: 40
 
To emphasize a point, a Nova in my AEon game destroyed a gas giant and its inhabited moon systems, and sent the rest of the planetary system into chaos and ruin.  The PCs had barely made contact with the natives, but that was enough for the Aberrant Nova.


Genocide as plot device.
 
To emphasize a point, a Nova in my AEon game destroyed a gas giant and its inhabited moon systems, and sent the rest of the planetary system into chaos and ruin.  The PCs had barely made contact with the natives, but that was enough for the Aberrant Nova.
Genocide as plot device.
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And the overkill award goes to sadist Jakk! With his crazy Novas.
 
In dark ages: Vampire, my Lasombra monster elected to murder everyone in a town because some random NPC had gotten away from her. It was one random NPC too many.. just a feature of that game, I guess. So, she went to town with those potence 6 tentacles, and killed everyone.


The prior character in the same game was a Tzimisce with Koldonic Sorcery: Fire 5, Earth 5. Twice in Rome's history, he caused catastrophic earthquakes citywide just to inflict 10L dice on trivial enemies.


I'm told over a million people died in one of those earthquakes. And the damage rolls for the random mook yielded only three successes: I ended up killing him with Lava in the end. Fucking mooks, making me commit genocide...
 
Well can you really blame him? V:DA is so full of win you can't help but commit genocide. Eastern Europe grew to know horrors untold in the war I ran between the Baali, Teutonic Knights, Tzimise (I know sp is F'ed) and the loose alliance of werewolves there.
 
We discovered a win mode for Tzimisce whereby you make ghoul armies who are all flawlessly blood-bound to religious icons of yourself. It's pretty win if you play it right.


We also had a wall made of people to mark our territory. It moved a lot. It also required an unfortunate number of people to feed it regularly.
 
Too trite :P


Besides, by the end, tens of thousands were dead, most of Russia was destroyed along with the Latvian kingdoms. The Voivodate had come out on top along with the Werewolves but they got a shorter end of the stick--fighting it out with a loose Zmei dragon.


The Baali faded into the background. A new Crusade was being upped by the Pope to reclaim 'The Devil's Playground.' The game ended shortly before it got underway. But I figured the Baali had a deal to make with Jormungunder...the Wyrm itself. The Adversary (Shaitan) was getting ready to make his new debut on the block...how I miss that game.
 
My character was leaving the game, mainly due to the blatant "I'm a solar!" attitude some of the other members of the circle had, which was causing trouble. The final straw was when a member of my circle decided to flare his anima power as he was walking up to my manse. Why? cause one of my guards was not going to let him into my manse, mainly because of the trouble they had caused the last time they were there.


On his way out, one of them asked him if he could have his manse, since he would not be going back, so my character reacted by blowing up the manse, not realising it was like a f**king nuke. Killed my own characters family, nearly killed the Bull of the Norths child, and killed another PC.


The others then proceeded to torture my character, incl. ripping the teeth out of my Simhata.
 
Malachi, looks like you need a better gaming group...  Or at least need to purge some problems out of it.
 
Samiel said:
We discovered a win mode for Tzimisce whereby you make ghoul armies who are all flawlessly blood-bound to religious icons of yourself. It's pretty win if you play it right.
We also had a wall made of people to mark our territory. It moved a lot. It also required an unfortunate number of people to feed it regularly.
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Mine just had a live squirrel for a wallet.  Bugger had oversized fangs and did a point of agg to anyone besides me.


Oh, he also had a panther end table that guarded his home and the living art on the walls of his house moaned when you poked them. :D


Then there was that giant picture window in the back of his house across from the fire place that slid away to reveal reinforced chains and a metal wall for vamps that crossed him.  The window curtains opened for one hour at dawn each day.  Then the fireplace and curtains closed
 
Who was running that one? Samiel isn't THAT unconventially cruel.
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Oh no?


To be fair, it was a three-dot manse, and he'd kinda knocked out the keystone. Lots of villagers died. It was a big explosion.


As to the cruelty, that was more or less all the others, and the Eclipse oath that he'd broken with them.
 
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