Eternal Rains (OOC) [M] - Closed

[techmaster-glitch]

I feel like there's been a bit of confusion, as far as where the party is and what the area we're in looks like. So - I've made a map. I'm not exactly an artist, but I think it gets the point across.

I hope this helps clear things up for everyone.

Map of Holiday.

That seems...umm...rather small for a port town, especially considering it's supposed to be a major hub for the Isle of Rains

[Cogidubnus]

I feel like there's been a bit of confusion, as far as where the party is and what the area we're in looks like. So - I've made a map. I'm not exactly an artist, but I think it gets the point across.

I hope this helps clear things up for everyone.

Map of Holiday.

That seems...umm...rather small for a port town, especially considering it's supposed to be a major hub for the Isle of Rains

Well, the technical answer is that the druggie who made the map had no sense of scale (absolutely no sense of scale - none whatsoever, at all. It's not to scale.) and that it was mostly designed for reference, and was most certainly not cartographer-approved. For example, those rows of metal docks (yes, the gray is supposed to represent metal) would be able to accommodate several very large container ships (i.e. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Cargoship06b.jpg) each.

The real answer is that I'm not an artist and I got tired of drawing streets, and this is to let people know where we are more than anything.

[lucas marcone]

sorry about the whole not being on much today. i was dead tired and had absolutely no creativity to speak of....in all honesty i kinda avoided the forum for the day.....ill catch up edit and post tomarrow.

[e_voyager]

no worries life does that to all of us. especially  me when i'm on the bus.

[Tapewolf]

This is to remind me to take Cog's update into account tomorrow

[Stygian]

...suddenly, I really don't want to be around the cops in Holiday...

[Cogidubnus]

Damien, you need to edit your post, somewhat. You seem to completely ignore the harpists knives that he's throwing at you - I'm not saying they have to hit you, or that you need to get injured, or anything, but some sort of description as to how Damien responds to his attack would be appreciated. Unless you're saving your response for your next post, you seem to somewhat ignore the attack.

[Lushin]

Sorry about that, for some reason I couldn't think of a good reaction. So hopefully that will fit for the time being. I'm not trying to get Sheabus killed or anything it's just looks like that's how things are gonna end up.

[e_voyager]

i know how you feel. as for myself it seems i've been forgotten and that may open up a few opportunities for Epyon to strike and run.  and i'm still not sure where the bear (Dani) got to be fore now i figure that gun mean are the more pressing problems. and if i can take a few of them out i might figure out just want i'm going to do next.

[Cogidubnus]

i know how you feel. as for myself it seems i've been forgotten and that may open up a few opportunities for Epyon to strike and run.  and i'm still not sure where the bear (Dani) got to be fore now i figure that gun mean are the more pressing problems. and if i can take a few of them out i might figure out just want i'm going to do next.

Sorry about the lack of interaction, E. Again, I'm going to try and remedy that as best I can.

I will say, your latest post will probably attract a great deal of attention.

[lucas marcone]

I edited my earlier post and use the latest one to try and show the extent of the damage done. I gotta say Cog you really put me between a rock and a hard place opening fire on Dani like that. On one hand he isn't faster than bullets on the other he isn't invincible then on your left foot you have the fireing rate and calibur size of the gun. in all honesty Dani should be dead right now.

[e_voyager]

if i can find you i'll try to saw you but first i need to get past this gunman i found while looking for you. and remember not all hits have to be critical. even in furrea they have armor that should lessen the damage from bullets i'm sure. after all if Jy corp builds guess i'm sure they manufacturing gun resistant vest, in many case Kevlar thong week without metal support can look like normal cloth and stop small caliber bullets

[Cogidubnus]

I edited my earlier post and use the latest one to try and show the extent of the damage done. I gotta say Cog you really put me between a rock and a hard place opening fire on Dani like that. On one hand he isn't faster than bullets on the other he isn't invincible then on your left foot you have the fireing rate and calibur size of the gun. in all honesty Dani should be dead right now.

I have reasons for making this battle inordinately difficult, believe me. I also realize that the mooks, the dress guy, the insect and the guitar hero have proved themselves extremely resilient. They are meant to be. The feeling I'm trying to evoke is the first time you fight Balio and Sunder from Breath of Fire 3, if anyone's played that. Or, alternatively, the first time you fight Golbez from Final Fantasy.
*coughs pointedly*

E makes a good point. If he were to have, say, dodged, that would be fine. What I'm trying to avoid is godmoding, or having characters that sprout abilities all the sudden. Trust me, I'm not trying to kill anyone's characters.
Wait, I guess I am. 

Truly. I'm not trying to kill off anybody. Just try and keep it realistic. Romantic realism - not how things are, but how things -would and should- be, if you get what I mean.

[Tapewolf]

Truly. I'm not trying to kill off anybody. Just try and keep it realistic. Romantic realism - not how things are, but how things -would and should- be, if you get what I mean.

I gathered that, but this approach raises some big problems of its own, as I've hinted in-character.

Realistically, the best thing for Cross to do now would be to take Keaton and run.  In fact, the option with the highest chance of success would actually be to kill her and stuff her soul into a soul-stone to interrogate later etc.  She's currently very weak, and is unlikely to be able to prevent him from doing this.
Now obviously I'm not going to do that because (A) it would be an incredibly nasty thing to do to any other player, let alone a GM, and (B) it would basically end the game (if the GMs allowed it, which they wouldn't).

The snag is, as more obstacles are piled against the team, it becomes increasingly difficult to offer a plausible explanation as to why he won't do this.   

[Stygian]

Perhaps I can be of assistance there?

Sal, being a great Creature-loather, in spite of being one herself, and standing in such a position that she can see nearly all that is going on right around you all, even under her cowl, could interrupt quite a few things. Mostly, this is thanks to her silk. I was actually planning to have her stop that bloody rat with his gun and web down Izria, but if Cross makes a move and... oh, wait...

Damnit. She'd probably assume that he's trying to pick her up and get her to safety. Well, in that case, I could settle for simply disrupting the scene. A good few lengths of elastic wire that's hard as steel and sticks like superglue will get in the way of most things, won't they?

[Tapewolf]

A good few lengths of elastic wire that's hard as steel and sticks like superglue will get in the way of most things, won't they?

Not if he teleports away with Keaton.

[Stygian]

A good few lengths of elastic wire that's hard as steel and sticks like superglue will get in the way of most things, won't they?

Not if he teleports away with Keaton.

I was thinking he'd be interrupted before that.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I doubt it would stop him even if you -did- catch him before. After all, if he teleports away, he's then got as long as he likes to clear up the strands that go with him...

And even if he takes the lot, and the buildings it's stuck to, so what? Sal still doesn't know where he will be... :-/


I sympathise with Tape, though. Witt is going to -want- Wilson's gun, if he ever sees it fired. (and that has all it's own problems - f'rinstance, what do you do with a paranoid berserk freak with a gun that can take out battleships? Send him out front and hope you don't get ambushed from behind? ;-] It's not like you can even disarm him, cause he'd turn it on you...)

[Sunblink]

Truly. I'm not trying to kill off anybody. Just try and keep it realistic. Romantic realism - not how things are, but how things -would and should- be, if you get what I mean.

I gathered that, but this approach raises some big problems of its own, as I've hinted in-character.

Realistically, the best thing for Cross to do now would be to take Keaton and run.  In fact, the option with the highest chance of success would actually be to kill her and stuff her soul into a soul-stone to interrogate later etc.  She's currently very weak, and is unlikely to be able to prevent him from doing this.
Now obviously I'm not going to do that because (A) it would be an incredibly nasty thing to do to any other player, let alone a GM, and (B) it would basically end the game (if the GMs allowed it, which they wouldn't).

The snag is, as more obstacles are piled against the team, it becomes increasingly difficult to offer a plausible explanation as to why he won't do this.   

It would be much appreciated if you didn't steal Keaton's soul. There are big things planned and we kind of need Keaton (soul included) in order to do them. So her being sans-soul will be very much out of the question. I need my crazy little jackal.

There might be something which could prevent Keaton from getting her soul extracted. Over time and as Keaton started edging her way more into Kytharion's favor, thus allowing her to be more trusted with difficult adversaries and assignments, she may have been granted certain amounts of protection. This "protection" consists of an artifact reminiscent of the collar and cuffs Keaton was originally forced to wear before her liberation, which resembles a small ornamented gemstone carved into a stud piercing on Keaton's clavicle (sounds like an unlikely place to put a piercing, but I've seen it done). It's a bit of a guinea pig artifact, also created by Naerik Damanius-Sabanethei, and therefore somewhat volatile since he is still experimenting with the product, but it is designed to protect Keaton's soul from being stolen.

Mind you, the presence of the artifact-piercing does have some logic behind it, since Keaton is an assassin and later will have been assigned to attack other Cubi. Plus, Kytharion wouldn't have wanted anyone to rip his mind-toy's thoroughly-imprisoned soul out of her body after the effort he put into her. If anything, he'd want to do that himself if Keaton fucked up badly enough.

...

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

There might be something which could prevent Keaton from getting her soul extracted.

True, but Cross won't know that.  What I'm really looking for is excuses as to why he wouldn't seriously consider doing it, not physical ways of preventing him.  Actually, the most sensible reason is that some of the concealed entrances and so forth which they are likely to be using to gain access to Kyth are liable to be enchanted such that only her (or others like her) will be able to open them, and Cross is likely to realise that, being smart.

In any case, having read llearch's truly horrifying scenario, I think you're going to have bigger problems with him 

The point I was really trying to make is that since the game consists almost entirely of evil characters, they are likely to make increasingly strange, self-centred and destructive decisions as things get more desperate.

[Cogidubnus]

The point I was really trying to make is that since the game consists almost entirely of evil characters, they are likely to make increasingly strange, self-centred and destructive decisions as things get more desperate.

This is true. Unless, of course, they're all getting picking on by something bigger and more evil than any of them. The Sabanethei family, for instance.
A good reason for Cross not to cut and run, or teleport half the town out, is that very simply he's been marked. Everyone has, actually. The Guitar Hero never forgets a face, and while Cross is invisible, that's not going to help him out very much there. Unless he thinks he can take down the -entire- organization himself, or take it down with his buddies, he may not want to leave everyone behind.
"They will find you, and when they catch you, they will kill you..." - believe me when I say that Kytharion would find him eventually.

[Tapewolf]

A good reason for Cross not to cut and run, or teleport half the town out, is that very simply he's been marked. Everyone has, actually. The Guitar Hero never forgets a face, and while Cross is invisible, that's not going to help him out very much there.

Interesting.  That the Family would want to take down Keaton's associates is logical, but he of course knows nothing of the jaguar's capabilities.  In fact, I don't think he's registered his existence at all, other than the fact that someone in that kind of direction is throwing pointies at him.

[Cogidubnus]

A good reason for Cross not to cut and run, or teleport half the town out, is that very simply he's been marked. Everyone has, actually. The Guitar Hero never forgets a face, and while Cross is invisible, that's not going to help him out very much there.

Interesting.  That the Family would want to take down Keaton's associates is logical, but he of course knows nothing of the jaguar's capabilities.  In fact, I don't think he's registered his existence at all, other than the fact that someone in that kind of direction is throwing pointies at him.

I'm sure Keaton will explain in-detail who that was. Later. 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Assuming that she doesn't get her soul ripped out in the mean time, of course.

Oh, well. Should be fun.

[Cogidubnus]

Assuming that she doesn't get her soul ripped out in the mean time, of course.

Oh, well. Should be fun.

Well, she can't get her soul ripped out - assuming that Johan manages to stay in one spot until it's explained to him, however, I think we should be alright.

[Tezkat]

Interesting... so should we have heard of guitar hero in our line of work?

I edited my earlier post and use the latest one to try and show the extent of the damage done. I gotta say Cog you really put me between a rock and a hard place opening fire on Dani like that. On one hand he isn't faster than bullets on the other he isn't invincible then on your left foot you have the fireing rate and calibur size of the gun. in all honesty Dani should be dead right now.

I don't think any of us are faster than bullets, though Mask is obviously pretending to be for dramatic effect. Then again, if you remember his speech, the point is to outpace hand and mind, not bullet. You do have the option of having the enemy flat out miss from time to time, or at least (as e_voyager pointed out) miss the important bits. Tommy Guns are fairly accurate by SMG standards thanks to their weight and construction, but that sorta means that fully automatic fire will hit the broad side of a barn at close range.

Speaking of which... shouldn't they be running out of ammo soon? The larger drums are only worth about eight seconds of continual fire.

I sympathise with Tape, though. Witt is going to -want- Wilson's gun, if he ever sees it fired. (and that has all it's own problems - f'rinstance, what do you do with a paranoid berserk freak with a gun that can take out battleships? Send him out front and hope you don't get ambushed from behind? ;-] It's not like you can even disarm him, cause he'd turn it on you...)

But then you'd have to hit the guys trying to disarm you before they take away your toy. Of course... that same logic applies to poor Deputy Wilson as well. You shoot it, we loot it.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

But then you'd have to hit the guys trying to disarm you before they take away your toy. Of course... that same logic applies to poor Deputy Wilson as well. You shoot it, we loot it.

I believe you misinterpret Witt's intended use thereof.

If there's anyone left in front of him, they're going to be left in very small pieces. Cog and I discussed how Witt would be required to use it (against his right shoulder, firing pin in left hand. And flip on it's side to re-cock it using, again, his left hand. Because his right wouldn't reach...) although we haven't discussed the ammo load-out yet, I'm sure it would come up fairly soon. Probably shortly after Witt started figuring out how fast he could re-cock it...

Big holes in the scenery. But then, Witt is the sort to go for rule #37...

[Cogidubnus]

Interesting... so should we have heard of guitar hero in our line of work?

I edited my earlier post and use the latest one to try and show the extent of the damage done. I gotta say Cog you really put me between a rock and a hard place opening fire on Dani like that. On one hand he isn't faster than bullets on the other he isn't invincible then on your left foot you have the fireing rate and calibur size of the gun. in all honesty Dani should be dead right now.

I don't think any of us are faster than bullets, though Mask is obviously pretending to be for dramatic effect. Then again, if you remember his speech, the point is to outpace hand and mind, not bullet. You do have the option of having the enemy flat out miss from time to time, or at least (as e_voyager pointed out) miss the important bits. Tommy Guns are fairly accurate by SMG standards thanks to their weight and construction, but that sorta means that fully automatic fire will hit the broad side of a barn at close range.

Speaking of which... shouldn't they be running out of ammo soon? The larger drums are only worth about eight seconds of continual fire.

I sympathise with Tape, though. Witt is going to -want- Wilson's gun, if he ever sees it fired. (and that has all it's own problems - f'rinstance, what do you do with a paranoid berserk freak with a gun that can take out battleships? Send him out front and hope you don't get ambushed from behind? ;-] It's not like you can even disarm him, cause he'd turn it on you...)

But then you'd have to hit the guys trying to disarm you before they take away your toy. Of course... that same logic applies to poor Deputy Wilson as well. You shoot it, we loot it.

It's possible you've heard of him. He doesn't exactly hide, although his relationship with the Sabanethei family is purely that of a valued assassin.

In point of fact, here:

The Harpist

   Name: Linos Maurits
   Nicknames: The Harpist, Just a Musician
   Age: 34
   Eye: Milky White (blind)
   Species: Jaguar
   Race: Mythos
   Hair: Long and Black
   Family: Yuminorus and Eschele Maurits (deceased)

   Appearance:
   
   Dressed in simple attire and for all intents and purposes looking like a simple jaguar being, Linos Maurits could almost be passed over as unremarkable, excepting for the strange eye-shaped marking on his forehead, and the strange, glowing tattoos that cover his body. Always carrying with him a guitar, the Harpist has not had to play a song for a meal in some time – a renowned assassin, he makes his living playing his unique talents.

   Combat Abilities: He carries with him no weapons, and has to his name only one skill – the playing of music. Because of his special abilities, with the right instruments, he can wreak a great deal of havoc.
   Strengths: Preternaturally aware of everything around him despite his profound blindness, Linos has the ability to make his music real. It is not that he plays well, but that he is able to literally move an audience with his song, sometimes straight out of their chairs and into the next row. Using his guitar, he can manipulate the emotions of others to a far greater degree than any music should really be able to, and with the right music he can physically manipulate things around him, from pushing to creating a literal wall of force around him. It isn't entirely Linos, and it isn't entirely his guitar, but a mixture of the two. His most deadly technique is called the Deadly Melody, in which through his song he can manipulate the air around him into razors and bludgeons of force. He has an affinity for songs of lamentation, especially dirges, which sometimes contrast with the mellow sound of his guitar. As well, putting a bit of himself into the music, either by blood or tears, can dramatically increase his power.
   
   Weaknesses: Linos's music is not omniscient, and neither is he – if he is trying to bring someone down, he must aim the notes, and it is possible for him to miss. His technique is a mixture of himself and his instrument, and Linos can only do what he does with an instrument of fine craftsmanship at least – and even then, it takes a deal of practice. His own personal guitar is enchanted to be light, never need tuning, and for greater acoustic improvement. The range of hearing is the range of his power – the closer you are to him, the louder his is, and the more powerful his technique. By completely deafening yourself, it is possible to negate most of his power, excepting for the technique of Deadly Melody, which does not require it's listener to hear it.

   Weapons: His personal guitar, which he's named Elena.

   History: Born blind at birth, at first it didn't seem like Linos might amount to much. His parents nearly didn't keep the child, instead wanting to put him up for adoption, where his looking like a being might get him into a nice and caring family. However, something made them keep the boy, and they cared for him and loved him as a family should.
   One day, the boy sat down at the family piano, and began to try and play. Blind as a bat, the boy of course could not see the keys, and only managed to produce a cacophony of earsplitting noise. Still, the boy's parents thought that music lessons might be good for the boy, and after finding a teacher that was willing to teach a blind child, they sent him off for his first music lesson.
   After the mechanism of the piano was explained to him, and he was shown the technique, the boy still managed to only produce cacophonous noise. It was, however, better cacophonous noise, and as the teacher continued to teach, the boy got better and better. He began to even show a great deal of aptitude for the instrument, and the teacher recommended that he try some others to broaden his skill. So he took up the guitar.
   Strings were the boy's enemy for awhile, but soon he began to get good at those too, and fairly quickly the boy was really turning into a musician. Tragedy struck the small family, however.
   Anyone could tell you that Linos had a talent for music. It wasn't that he could always play it right, or that he was some sort of genius – but what he played really sounded almost more real than any other sort of music. It somehow spoke to you more, it gave the air itself a texture. It was somehow better than music played by anyone else.
   One day, Linos cut himself on the strings of his guitar. He didn't think anything of it, and it was a small cut anyway. He began to practice one of his favorite songs, Verdant Cuffs, a rather sad, slow song, yearning, longing and infinitely sad, as well as being somewhat slowing and calming. He played this way for some hours, truly getting into the music. He didn't stop until seven hours later, when he began to get tired, and wondered if his parents were ever going to stop him for dinner. He set his lute aside and began to stumble through the house.
   Both of his parents were cold and on the floor when he found them. The autopsy indicate that they had died in their sleep from some sort of nonviolent asphyxiation.
   It wasn't long after that until someone put the pieces together, and the Sabanethei family found him alone and blind in his parents house. They took him, and trained him – they gave him his magical tattoos and the eye that let him see again, and they trained him until his power was as taut as a harpstring. Used as both as assassin and a guard, Linos serves the family as best he can, although in his blindness, he perhaps sees them as the only family he has.

   Disposition: Hardly aware of the world outside the one he lives in – has almost no distaste for any form of life. In person, he is somewhat distant, and exudes a sense of pleasant calmness, with an undertone of tragedy.

   Trivia: Although he can somewhat see, he cannot see color, and he does not see in the same way others do. It can, however, let him read, and he loves to do so. He still has trouble with sheet music, however, and must resort to braille versions of the notes.

   Quote: "I try and avoid the sharp notes..."



That's the guy. Just to let you know, Tez, he hadn't even seen Mask before you said something. Tez's...uniqueness means that he can slip through a crack in his sight. He sees physical objects and consciousnesses - however, not having a body, Mask is as far as I can see an illusion, with a mind - he doesn't often run into a seventh of a consciousness with no body. 

As far as the ammo, yes, they would be, I suppose. Of course, it isn't as if they don't have more clips elsewhere...

As far as Wilson's gun, I think you might be rather busy with other things.

[Lushin]

Damn, go figure being deaf would be one of the best ways to beat him and crocodiles can close their "ears" so as not to get water in them when they dive, but I never said he had that ability. I'm not just gonna say he does it now, even more so after reading the character profile.

[Aisha deCabre]

Interesting profile indeed.

There's something I just have to point out, as a joke.  It must be a record to have three black jaguars in the same RP.