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Post by Someguy on Apr 3, 2011 16:25:54 GMT
It's a sunny morning in Southampton-on-sea, and the wheeling caw of gulls fills the harbour. In a narrow jetty set aside from the concrete ones used by large ships, where independent fishermen keep their boats, a man with a sawn-off dangling from his belt is bartering for passage to Nou Havre. The fisherman outright refuses, saying that no-one is allowed to sail across the channel until the Marines have finished their clean-up operation and investigation.
"Is that your final answer?" the man with the sawn-off says to him. The fisherman mutters something and turns away, getting back to prepping his boat for some fishing up on the coast. The man looks to his left, then to his right, then plants his sawn-off into the small of the fisherman's back and blasts a hole in him. The fisherman topples off the jetty and into the water, sinking like a stone. The man reloads and waves over his two cohorts who had been keeping watch; a former marine with a grudge against pirates and a terrifyingly huge pit-fighter with a towering grudge against the one man to beat him in the ring. Both didn't bat an eye at the murder and they boarded the fisherman's boat without a word. The man with the sawn-off stepped aboard after them, eyes glinting in the direction of the European mainland. ***
You awake in the morning to the sound of a zeppelin going overhead. Your injuries have been healed and the whole of Paris is out there waiting for you. Feel free to split up if you want to, and to make use of the footlockers if you plan on going out to get stuff. On another note, if you visit the Commission Office on the 2nd floor with Starlong you can take on some side missions and dispatch missions.
Sides & Dispatch Tutorial A side mission is something you can undertake as a team. It'll have a narrative attached to it, be pretty dangerous, and offer some great rewards if you get through it. The main story gets put on hold until this resolves, or you quit.
A dispatch mission is something you send one PC or NPC to handle alone. If a PC is sent, then the narrative of that dispatch mission will be done via PM. If an NPC is sent then, after a set amount of time and some GM dice rolls, the NPC will (or may not) return to deliver a report and the rewards. Dispatch narratives tend to be short, and present one specific type of challenge.
You can also find sides and dispatches in places like the job boards of pubs, from talking to specific NPC's, or by events in the story (i.e. a character has unfinished business they want to go settle).
So without further ado, good hunting!
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Post by Fire Bear on Apr 3, 2011 20:30:11 GMT
Fire Bear goes to the pet shop. She lets people know where she's going and invites Blanka to accompany her.
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Post by McBain on Apr 4, 2011 13:16:43 GMT
I go to the nearest Tavern/Pub/Drinking Hole and the airship docks to chat to the locals. If my airship called in to port, I want to know about it.
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Starlong
The Master
I have a theory. Let's conspire about it...
Posts: 938
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Post by Starlong on Apr 4, 2011 16:59:12 GMT
"Wait!" I stop you both just before you head off. I also get Vinny's attention and we have a conversation out of the vincinity of El Cid, Willy, AND Tsunami [Keiron, close your eyes for the rest of the post please ] "Before you go I need to talk to you about what we uncovered in the Thames swamp. The journal, the plans for that machine, the truth about went on there... I have a meeting with the heads of research here, I was thinking we could exchange all the knowledge we found, and it'll likely give us enough funds to easily see us to rainbow road... Not to mention some renown within the adventuring world... (My eyes go slighty fuzzy and distant at this point, but I quickly snap out of it) "First of all, what do you think? Secondly, if you agree, do you want to be present at the meeting or are you happy for me to represent you? Thirdly, what do you think about giving a portion of whatever we get for this to our other companions? On the one hand, they weren't there in the swamp, but on the other hand they did help us get to Paris in one piece. I was thinking if we get a good sum, we can give them something to buy some decent equiptment or supplies for the road. We need to be in agreement though..." I wait for their replies (then they can all bug out and do their stuff ) [Ok Keiron, open your eyes now...]
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Post by Gunslinger Vinny on Apr 4, 2011 20:35:37 GMT
"Hey, I'm all for easy money. But don't publicise my name if we're getting renown for this; it ain't good for my business, y'know?" Vinny drawled.
---
Don't suppose the night's rest has helped Vinny's ferry-induced injuries at all? Or is there anything the medical centre can do for him?
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Post by Fire Bear on Apr 4, 2011 21:56:08 GMT
"You can do that if you want; the money would be handy. But I'm not coming along. I'm going to the pet shop with Blanka."
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Post by McBain on Apr 4, 2011 23:23:42 GMT
"Fortune and glory? Count me in."
I will accompany Starlong to the meeting. My former first mate can hear about my exploits on the grapevine and begin to wet his pants.
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Post by Someguy on Apr 5, 2011 11:41:56 GMT
Alright, then, so Pete and Starlong are headed for the Research Floor. Tsu, if you want to ask about getting some weapons made then it might be an idea for you to go along with them otherwise the Labour Office is in the city centre if you're still planning to buy some goons. Fire Bear is heading for that pet shop with a slightly apprehensive Blanka. And sorry, Vin, those injuries are permanent (?); you don't have to go with Pete and Starlong if it's just the money you're interested in. As for the other NPCs, Willy just sticks around the Communal room napping while El Cid says he is heading for the bars in the Shopping District. *** ~~Fire Bear & Blanka~~ You reach the Shopping District, which is a series of boulevards and promenades with painted frescoes and throngs of people and small stalls gathered outside the more permanent stores, one of which you see titled 'Animal Emporium'. You head inside and the bell above the door jingles as you enter. The owner, who is lying stock-still atop the counter with the look of a hunter on his face, swears at you in a hushed and urgent whisper. "Dammit! You've probably spooked it! Can't you read the sign? We're closed!" You tell him that the sign said 'open' when you came into the store. With a derisive laugh, the shopkeeper tells you to look again. You turn around and look at the sign which has 'closed' printed on the back. "See? It says 'closed'. I'm no fool; I can see it clearly from here!" rants the store-keeper. "Now do yourself a favour and keep still! One of the more exotic animals got out of it's display tank and is on the loose! It's hiding somewhere, maybe in one of the display tanks, can't tell, that's why I have to make no sudden movements, no sudden sounds, to catch it! Very poisonous! Very quick!" Blanka starts to growl at something. You ask the shopkeeper what the escaped animal looks like. He raises his head slowly, the gears of madness clearly snapping behind his eyes. "It's invisible," he replies. "And it's called a Snork-Lurk-Snurk! Deadliest animal of all AND ITS GOT MY LEG!" He screams as he's dragged from the counter and out through the backdoor. There's a drawn out yell which is ended rather abruptly. Then the shopkeeper reappears at the counter, looking a little roughed up but much calmer now. "So, what can I do for you, young lady?" he asks politely. Here's the shopping list: -) Field Mouse: 25g -) Chick: 75g -) Snake (toxicity unknown): 120g -) Suspiciously Intelligent Cat: 150g -) Super-Nimble Mega Hamster: 200g (which looks like this: yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Super-Nimble_Mega_Hamster-) GENEX-14 Parrot 300g (Vat-bred) -) Squirrel Monkey 500g -) White Lion cub 1000g -) Snork-Lurk-Snurk 2000g
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Post by Fire Bear on Apr 5, 2011 12:14:12 GMT
Aw, crap - not enough money for all of them! "I'd really love the Suspiciously Intelligent Cat and the Super-Nimble Mega Hamster! But... Do you think that's a good idea Blanka or is it okay if I just buy them?" [To be honest, for the fun of it, I would really love the Snork-Lurk-Snurk but it's just too expensive at the moment... From what I've seen of our funds, anyway...]
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Post by Someguy on Apr 5, 2011 14:41:06 GMT
I dare you to buy it.
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Post by Fire Bear on Apr 5, 2011 17:26:08 GMT
We only have 2188g left, according to the Stat Tracker, and I reckon we should hang onto some of it in case we don't get any money from that meeting...
Besides, Blanka's the leader and I'm pretty sure he would say no...
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Post by Someguy on Apr 6, 2011 10:29:30 GMT
Blanka orders you to buy the Snork-Lurk-Snurk [lie].
Just go with what you can afford. I can promise...unforeseen consequences regardless of the animal you buy. Also, Pete would like a cat and its his birthday.
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Post by Fire Bear on Apr 6, 2011 18:12:33 GMT
The cat and the hamster it is, then! [Question: does the hamster come with its flip effect? ]
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enigma
Tenacious Typer
It's OK to be not OK... And it's perfect to be not perfect.
Posts: 299
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Post by enigma on Apr 6, 2011 19:27:21 GMT
Now that's done, I take some of the remaining money and head for the labour office
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Post by Someguy on Apr 6, 2011 20:46:49 GMT
~~Starlong & Pete~~
You head down to the research floor via an elevator to B1, where weapons testing is also carried out. The elevator doors open onto a scene of carnage. The floor is crowded with scientists, researchers, gadgeteers, mechanics, and priests testing an all manner of new and unusual devices in booths and testing rooms, attributing to the sound of explosions, flames, and the occasional scream. You are met by a young apprentice sent to meet you and are led through the place, passing flamethrower ranges, a practical demonstration on why cats make for good conductor substitutes, and you duck as a grenade goes sailing over your heads and lands in a crate of what transpire to be fireworks. As that scene unfolds, you reach the hub of this floor where the head scientist, Deiter, is providing a lecture to some fresh interns. Suspended above a deep shaft is a lab assistant holding what appears to be a customised machine gun.
"Now, when the operative falls from a great height, down an elevator shaft say, it would be the end of him, correct? Well, you would be wrong, for that operative today is equipped with the gravity-defying super-sten! Observe as the output from the gun breaks the momentum of his fall while also laying down suppressing fire on any hostiles there may be below- Gentlemen! You've arrived! One moment, please."
You stand by the interns and watch as the agent is released from the ceiling. He plummets from sight, and the sound of the machine-gun firing way grows gradually more and more distant. A loud clang rings up, followed by an 'I'm okay!' several seconds later. The interns clap politely before being dismissed.
"I love it when a test doesn't result in death," says Deiter to you, as he steps through the dispersing interns. "You have something interesting for me? Something from the Thames swamp from which, ahem, no man has ever returned?"
You ignore his grin and hand over the documents you found in the AETO building laboratories. He peruses the schematics, reads the diary entries, then goes through some of the other papers in a rush. The colour has left his face at a fair speed. He looks up at you, swallows, and then asks you how much you want for the documents. He mentions 20,000g as a starting figure, demands that you hand over all evidence you might have of the D.E.X project, and that you are to never mention what you saw in the Thames Swamp to anyone ever again. This deal will be off the record, and you aren't to mention it to anyone, especially to guild-staff. Those are his terms. What do you do?
~~Fire Bear~~
You hand over the money (350g) for the Suspiciously Intelligent Cat and the Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, the latter being handed to you in an iron-welded lock-box which rattles and jumps at irregular intervals. The SIC pads across the counter and jumps onto you, perching itself on your shoulder and shooting Blanka a cold, proud look of superiority. Instant hatred between the two ensues and a low growl fills the pet-shop.
"A few things you need to know before you go," says the shop-keeper, who appears to be clinging tightly to the counter. "First of all, I advise keeping the Super-Nimble Mega Hamster in its box until you REALLY need it. Preferably in an unpopulated area, and away from any friends or relatives that are particularly dear to you. As for the cat, it seems to looks after itself. Quite intelligent, cats."
You bid him farewell and leave the store, hearing a loud crash and bang followed by a volley of swearing and an indescribable animal cry. You now have a Super-Nimble Mega Hamster and a Suspiciously Intelligent Cat. What do you do next?
~~Tsunami~~
Tsu takes some of the party funds and heads for the Labour Office in the city centre. It is a large and stately building, probably a renovated bank, and hanging around the steps leading up to the entrance are a few men and women in the various uniforms of their trade, and each wearing the same navy-shield insignia that can be seen hanging above the entrance; it is the insignia of the Parisian Labour Services, a company criticised for the unreliability of their members.
You head through the doors and find yourself in a musty foyer, about which are various people lying or sitting about as they what for a job to turn up. A few perk up when you enter, and the clerk manning the front desk peers lethargically at you through the great towering piles of paperwork he is diligently not doing. You introduce yourself and are then presented with a catalogue detailing various recruiting options:
i) Blackbarn: Marksman (Grade I, 500g)
ii) El Rey: Wrestler (Grade I, 500g)
iii) Mimi: Saboteur (Grade I, 500g)
iv) Fidus: Seasoned Farmer (Grade II, 1500g)
v) Zeus: Assault Dog (Grade II, 1000g)
vi) Riget: Assault Goat (Grade II, 1250g)
vii) Solimar: Chef (Grade II, 1500G)
viii) Blaze: Bodyguard (Grade III, 5000g)
ix) Gogo: Mime Artist (Grade III, 7500G)
x) Brown: Scientist (Grade IV, 10,000g)
They also have a special offer on, and will rent to you a BOW 'Sweeper' that's very much like the ones you saw in Nou Havre at the harbour. It'll set you back 10,000g, so if you ever have the funds then it's worth considering. Same goes for the more expensive folk on offer here. Bear in mind that NPC's can level up so if you buy cheap you can net a Grade II or maybe even III in a chapter or two if you throw them repeatedly into harm's way.
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