Okay, here are the choices for the team:
A. Darius, Tosh, Finalon, Lyla, Elaine, 3rd White Mage, 1 Psion, 1 Abjurer, 6 KI

B. Darius, Tosh, Finalon, Lyla, Elaine, 3rd White Mage, 3 Psions, 3 Abjurers, 6 KI

C. Darius, Tosh, Finalon, Lyla, Elaine, 3rd White Mage, 5 KI

I am voting for option B.

>>17206876
Some questions:

"Dr. Spengler, would your slime-thrower be effective against negatively-charged undead? And could your proton pack be modified to fire a stream that is able to replicate the properties of sunlight and turn a vampire to ash?"

>>17206896
We're looking at Darius, Tosh, Finalon, 5 KI, and all three White Mages, plus any of our Abjurers or Psions are blonde and female. We can't go in with twice the people we left with.

>>17206943
So that will include not casting Reraise, Haste, Cat's Grace, or other spells before the meeting, since doing so will make Strahd realize we plan to attack him?

Ok, so we've got two main lines of thought:

'Kick Strahd in the Cunt' as soon as he makes a move for Lyla.
And
Drop the Overlord and pile out the troops to get Strahd to send his forces out, then jump him.

I'd say we prep actions for each version, and let Strahd's actions determine which form we take, if he holds off on going for the girl, we do the fake out plan, if he goes straight girl, we bring forth upon him a righteous beatdown.

Either way, we go in with Darius, Tosh, Finalon, 5 KI, and all three White Mages. If any of our Abjurers or Psions are blonde and female, we bring them too. We explain the extra people as more women rescued from the interloper's castle, he must have cast a wide net for blondes.

Everyone on the transports on standby for immediate action.

As far as when we time our return, I'd either say now (now being 6 hours since Dracula's defeat) or, if it is not currently daylight, return at dawn. We want the fighting to just down during the day to limit his options. If we could actually be lucky enough to have Strahd outside when we blow the Dayheart, that would be awesome.

All opening attacks on Strahd should focus on getting an early hit with the Voiceless Spear, that would almost completely neuter his magical options.

>>17206917
"I don't know how the slime would react, but I would think not. I've fought vampires before. My pack already hurts them a little bit, but I suppose I can make an upgrade to make it even more effective."

Things we may want to have our secondary teams look into:
Chapel: Icon of Ravenloft. We don't have anyone that turns undead, but extra healing once a day is handy.

Treasury: Pretty much straight-up loot, which with all we've lost, I say we go for. Get a team in there with teleport beacons and grab it.

Wine Cellar: Just because damnit, plus some of it is magical too.

Kitchen: Rare Spices, Firebreather, and a +1 meat cleaver. Why? Why not?

The Necromancer has a decent stash of platinum, but I'd say leave her alone and we won't have to worry about her joining the fighting. Seems she doesn't trust Strahd any more.

Looking through the crypt there doesn't seem to be much of particular interest, unless we wanted the Saint's thighbone (one time use), or the Shroud (cures disease, curses evil). There's few lesser things of interest as well, but don't disturb and of the tombs except for a couple 'good' ones, we don't need to waste resources mucking about with spectres and guardians for little things.
But, apparently if we defeat Strahd his body reforms in his tomb and we have to truck down there to finish it off. So, on the upside, that means more time to loot the place while we go after him, but don't dick around. Well, unless we can manage another parting Holy like we did for Wesker.

Let's avoid the Hall of Heroes, pissed off spirits are annoying to fight. Also avoid the warlocks' area, one more 'ally' that isn't likely to really help Strahd is we don't give them a reason to.

Also many chances to come across the Sunsword or Tome of Strahd, but hell if we know if they'll happen to be anywhere.

>>17206990
Since part of the plan is to find and destroy the Dayheart, making Strahd vulnerable to sunlight, have Egon make the upgrade to the proton pack. One of the Knights that will be part of the attack team will need to be equipped with it.

>>17206980
We can do Reraise, that has a 'until dead' duration. Casting the rest would seem odd, and might run out before we'd have a chance to use it.

>>17207034
Main reason is to make sure we don't have to worry about Strahd trying to escape the castle, and cuts down on where any of the vampires can go. Several unused sections have collapsed roofs and there are open courtyards. Plus the ol' shot a hold in the ceiling, trick.

Additional Equipment to bring for this fight:
1. Give the 10 Proximity Grenades to the Delta Green and SCP teams so they can secure areas with explosives.
2. 5 X-COM High Explosives to the Delta Greens, 5 X-COM High Explosives to the attack team.
3. If the Psions and Abjurers aren't going with the attack team, have them go with the Delta Greens as they loot the castle.
4. Transporter beacons to be attached to loot to beam up via Al'Kesh (and Inde if the transporters are fixed)
5. Upgraded anti-vampire Proton Pack equipped to a KI in the attack team.

>>17207046
The White Mage that's not going can cast it on everyone until he runs out of mana.

>>17207034
A proton pack, despite appearances, is an extremely complicated piece of equipment. Currently only Egon is qualified to operate it.

Also, the mists are currently blocking most sunlight.

>>17206984
So the 'Cunt Kick' plan would be:

Strahd turns on us, or tries to dominate Lyla.
Then Lyla bitch-slaps him with holy while we do everything we can to get the Marine with the Voiceless Spear a successful hit on Strahd.
Al'kesh (or Inde is we really want to roll heavy) blasts Ravenloft's top tower and disgorges those KI, Psions, Abjurers, and MI (remember we wanted to put a team on their to spread out the heavy guns).
Meanwhile the Leopard flies in and does much the same.
Land the Overlord. Just for sheer psychological effect rather than actual use.
Teams bust through the castle, mainly to hit the Treasury with teleport beacons and disrupt any reinforcements from reaching Strahd.
Meanwhile we fight Strahd, either to the death right there, or more likely getting lead around the castle a bit before he is defeated and lands in his tomb, which we will then have to go into and finish him, possibly doing some more wide-spread looting.

>>17207180
Fortunately we should have him off guard, his go to moves are Dominate and Cloudkill, both things our advanced bio-stabilizers render moot.

>>17207180
>>17206984

Now, if Strahd plays the gentlemen, then we go for landing the Overlord and Leopard near where Castlevania was and unloading all the things except the KI. Make it appear a hostile new force is moving on Castle Ravenloft, which is true.
Get Strahd to send out forces again, or really, outright surrender might be an option, we have containment facilities, though I doubt Strahd's pride would allow it. Anyway, then, with him and his forces distracted, then we hit him in much the same way as the 'Cunt Kick' plan, expect certain elements are already in play.

>>17207153
Actually, having the Psions and Abjurers with them would be best, if they do disturb something incorporeal they'll need them.

So,
>>17207261
>>17207180
>>17207153 -#5, we want to keep Egon away from this mess.
>>17207046
>>17207018
>>17206984
sound good to everyone?
We forgetting anything?

>>17207329
Keep Egon in orbit, Psions and Abjurers go with the looting team, which will be Delta Greens.

Are we having all 3 White Mages go with Darius and the attack team?

It seems like most people are for it, and casting Reraise on the entire attack team before speaking with Strahd.

>>17207329
Casting Reraise on everyone prior will expend all the MP from one of your White Mages. Please select whom and if they are tagging along despite having no MP.

>>17207369
We really need to get Ethers on our next shopping run.

I vote that the Unnamed White Mage cast the Reraises, and that she sits things out on the Al'Kesh, resting to get her MP back.

>>17207369
>>17207385
Well, Unnamed was with us when we met Strahd, so I guess he and Lyla would be going.
Sorry Elaine, I guess you're resting on the transport to save up for post-combat heals and raises.

Ok, so no other blonde women with the Psions/Abjurers, what about pretty women period? Maybe we can stretch it just a little further.

>>17207437
There's always hair dye, or sci-fi equivalents. We don't need to stretch too hard.

>>17207461
Wait, can't the Sandmen shapeshift a bit?
..
But they're all in orbit. D'oh.

>>17207385
Considering some of our losses against Dracula, I favor this caution. Damn Medusa Heads.

>>17207018
>>Chapel: Icon of Ravenloft. We don't have anyone that turns undead, but extra healing once a day is handy.

Raise (FFT WHITE MAGE SPELL) doubles as Turn Undead.

>>17207437
Sure, there's bound to be a few lookers among your staff.

Is that all the voting?
Looks like it's:
2 for Unnamed White Mage to stay behind
1 for Elaine to stay behind

Ideally we want Elaine to earn Hero status.

or do we earn it for Elaine on low-intensity world grinding?

>>17207628
Incorrect. Raise (FF white mage spell) casts as Instant Death to Undead. Cure/Cura/Curaga/Curaja act as damage.

>>17207385
That reminds me, we should of had someone check out the local church, see if it had the suped up alchemist lab hidden under it, considering that there's been some talk of add an alchemy lab to our resources.
There's one in the Castle as well, but we'd have to go through a trio of warlocks to claim it's contents.

OK, so Elaine is staying behind, everyone has Reraise, and you're returning to see the Count with all your forces on standby to drop in if he pulls the inevitable betrayal at this time, yes?

>>17207688
Turning doesn't cause damage (without extra feats), either drives away or destroys (or fails).
Not real important, the turning feature of the Icon raises your effective level for turning by 3.

>>17207729
>OK, so Elaine is staying behind
We have 2 people asking for the Unnamed White Mage to stay behind, and 1 person asking for Elaine to stay behind.

Are you seeing posts that I'm not?

>>17207744
I mean, it seems like people want to argue about whether the FFT White Mages have Turn Undead because their Cures and Raise spells are effective against undead, rather than voting on something important, but they're not voting so they don't count.

Elaine comes. Hopefully we can promote her to Hero.

Or is everyone wanting to just grind her to Hero later?

>>17207729
Yes. Al'kesh hovering with top spire targeted. Leopard warmed up and ready to go.
Overlord, really big and ready to make a landing.

Anyone want to bring the Inde down here besides me? They got roughed up before, be nice if they could take some starship phasers to any flying baddies just as pay back.

Wait.
Phasers.
We have a 'proton pack' setting for those phasers now.
Hey Egon! We found a way to use that extra-sun-like idea without putting you in the line of fire!

Hey, I had a brief idea from browsing the SCP wiki: might we at some point set up our own version of the Olympia Project (to paraphrase the SCP page:'To successfully create an artificial humanoid through the use of several [meta technologies], and use it to the benefit of the [Transpace Guard].') I mean, we recruit and equip our personnel from the Meta, why not build a better operative from composite parts?

>>17207766
See, that's what I'm asking, and the guy saying Elaine should stay behind has a point that Strahd would be expecting us to have Unnamed with us, rather than Elaine.

But it's just him, and no one else seems to care.

>>17207779
Then Lyla will be our Lt. Clusterfuck!

>>17207744
>>17207766
No, Elaine has to stay. We met Strahd with unnamed dude, and Lyla is the striking lookalike.
We need to do this smart, not damage our chances because you wish one or the other would manage to hero up.

>>17207766
He who succeeds today, lives to level people another day.

>>17207819
So your vote is to keep Elaine back and send in Unnamed?

>>17207789
I...think I missed tht reference.

I already have some plans, though.
1.Reverse engineereed Biotech from umbrella
I mean, may as well use it, if we decide to go for biological
2.Lal 2.0
Get data to build a droid brain, in case we decide to go down the cyborg route. Have him study designs of our Star Wars droids for inspiration. Heck, just have him build an android for use to upgrade at a later date.
3.NO using any SUE data Rex and Wesker obtained.
This should be obvious.

>>17207647
Do we have one Psion and one Abjurer that, if we dyed their hair, would look like someone that could have been grabbed by people looking for the woman the Counts sought?

So what, we're now tied at 2 for Elaine and 2 for Unnamed?

Is there no one else left to vote?

>>17207839
Alas, yes. Those Reraises are a godsend with RED supplies getting low, and will save on having to cast Raise during the fighting.

>>17207744
Derp. My bad.
>>17207802
Or not? Well, I'm going to go ahead and say Elaine and Lyla go since apparently that was the agreement before I mucked things up.

When you return to Castle Ravenloft, the creepy butler is waiting for you at the drawbridge. He looks up.

"The master is waiting for you inside. Come along, now..."

The undead servant slowly leads you back through the labyrinth of abandoned halls and empty rooms to the main hall, where Strahd sits with a triumphant smile on his face.

"My esteemed friends from Londinium return," he says, standing. "Allow me to offer my most sincere thanks. I felt the interloper's presence fade from this world even as I beheld his blasphemous castle collapse in upon itself..." Strahd's smile widens as he pauses for a moment. "...and I see you even managed to rescue that local healer that had been aiding you. Ah, she has a sister?"

>>17207018
Get to that wine cellar, dammit! Alcohol's the only thing keeping Holtz alive! GOGOGO!

>>17207863
I don't think Data will to another Lal, just for it to be used in combat.
As for the Vampire SUE-rum, leading thought was that it would be a cure for the lady in the tank. And then we sell the research and probably the woman off to HQ for more store credit.

>>17207907
Have Darius say that they were both rescued from Dracula's clutches.
Let's see what Strahd tries. All teams on standby.

>>17207907
Ok, we'll go with the story that Unnamed died in Castlevania and we found these two held to be his harem.
Sisters, not a bad idea.

Crap, I'm now thinking about Big Trouble in Little China, and that guy's response to two candidates..

>>17207964
>>17207966
"We found them held... prisoner by Dracula, but were able to free them before anything could be done to them," Darius reports. "Our own healer was lost during the fighting."

"My condolences," Strahd says, snapping a finger. The butler shuffles in with a small chest, full of scrolls. "These are copies of all the maps at my disposal, along with a trade proposal between my nation and yours, and a sealed letter to be given to your emperor. That is what you wanted, yes?"

>>17208027
Respond positively, Darius.
Let's see how Strahd approaches Lyla and Elaine.

Are we required to remove both entities from this world to reset it back?

>>17208043
"It is," Darius states.

"Then return home with my gratitude," Strahd says with a dismissive gesture. Then he motions to Lyla and Elaine. "However, you two... please stay. I would have words with you."

>>17208099
This could be used as the trigger for this fight. Lyla and Elaine could simply refuse, and turn to go.

>>17208099
Beg pardon for a bit of rest, and an offer to hire on the women, as we are without healer now.

>>17208072
I am but a mere probe droid, and mean this with all due respect...
But yes.

>>17208099
Is it necessary for it to be said alone?

After saving their lives, we feel like we owe them the courtesy of ensuring their safety

>>17208131
Maybe it would be better said that such talk of employment had already taken place on their return from Dracula's castle, and that the two have already signed on with the Londinium expedition?

>>17208218
Sounds good to me

Vote time!
Say that Lyla and Elaine have already signed on with the Londinium Expedition, and that as its leader, Darius would like to know what the Count intends to speak to the two ladies about.
That now that the Expedition's business has been concluded, we must all return to the Brittanica Empire at once, without delay.

All in favor?

>>17208309
Aye

>>17208309
Strahd visibly bristles at the declaration.

"Since you are FOREIGN here, you obvious do not know and I will ignore the insult your ignorance presents. All the people of Barovia are mine, and I alone may give permission to leave my country to the native-born. These women do NOT have my permission to leave. You will have to find another healer."

>>17208309
Sure, why not? As long as I'm not being put anywhere near the front lines, I'm cool with you guys plans so far.

>>17208309
Nah, let's let the ladies have their say first, rather than Darius.
As in 'What words might those be? We'd prefer to keep our new friend nearby. We've had a bad time of it and feel uneasy in cold castles with pale men right at the moment. You understand of course."

>>17208341
>I alone may give permission to leave my country to the native-born
I knew that saying it was a native and not one of our own expedition members that was kidnapped would lead to a problem.

Now how are we going to resolve this?
Just say "Then it appears we are at an impasse." and immediately attack Strahd?

>>17208341
OK, add this: >>17208383
We should see violence or mind control attempts shortly.

>>17208402
Let the women speak.

>>17208383
Yes that seems about right

>>17208416
>>17208405
>>17208383
Alright, but I don't think the ruse will work. The ladies won't have the native accent, after all. Unless Elaine reveals herself to be a skilled actress.

>>17208436
Well they don't have to be natives.

They just have to be captives.

Who knows where Dracula got them from? It could be he brought them with him from someplace else.

>>17208436
The one we were traveling with we claimed to have met 'near these lands' and didn't speak much of where they were from. So we can spin shit all kinds of ways.

>>17208405
>>17208383
>>17208341

Command to all transports, standby for Operation Cunt Kick.

Command Crew, did we want to go with >>17207770
and send down the Inde with phasers set for anti-vamp protonic?

>>17208567
>send down Inde
Too difficult. Any attempt to blow open a hole large enough that the Inde could target through would be dangerous to our attack team.

>>17208491
Yeah, sounds good. Shake Strahd a bit with the accent.

>>17208341
Explain that the God-Emperor watches over all humanity.
And that it doesn't include twisted creatures such as those that dwell here.

"But we're not from here," Elaine says. "We're from Ivalice."

"Ivalice?" Strahd asks.

"A country far away, like Londimoneum or wherever it is these guys are from," Lyla says, hooking a thumb at Darius. "We were more or less just wandering the land, helping people in need."

"Your offer is generous, Count, but we really must be going. Much like these men, we should report back to our home," Elaine says. Strahd stares intently at her.

"Are you sure... you don't wish to stay here for a while? There are many things I wish to discuss with you, and you would do well to hear them."

"Nope!" Lyla happily says. Strahd blinks in surprise, then scowls for a second before his countenance returns to impassive neutrality.

"Very well... Then..." Strahd snaps his fingers again and a small number of servants enter the hall. They are tall, pale men with sunken features, and bear silver trays on which are set several silver chalices of dark red liquid.

"Let us at least drink to your health before you go. One last gift from me to all of you for your great service," Strahd says as he plucks one of the chalices from its tray and holds it aloft.

((Which reminds me, you guys need to make 2 talents for Lyla now that she's a hero.))

>>17208590
No suggestion to fire through the castle, just picking off anything that sticks it's head out.
Though it would be cool to back Strahd up to a window and give him a blast.
Really, it's all psychological, same reason the Overlord is being sent. Can't really use it but, hey, fuck Strahd, just grappling with not being the biggest fish in the area has to be fucking with him.

SIDE NOTE: Hey guys, I realized we overlooked something during our downtime: Egon and the X-COM scientists, etc need to analyze the Brasta and it's VX system. Need to figure out how to harness the VX's power properly so that it can do it's intended role and NOT power up it's opponents by accident.

>>17208637

>>17208637
Any chance we can get an analysis/detect poison spell in before offending him?

This could just be an extended way of Strahd testing if we trust him, or if we're going to stab him in the back

>>17208637
I'm suspicious of those drinks. We know they're a trap, but will they work on the Marines and on the White Mages who have the Stabilizer Masks that prevent mind control?

As for Talents, 1 would be something like Holynator, let's Lyla chain together Holy's in her fury. 2 for a last-shot kind of thing, where she can get off one last spell regardless of MP cost when she's down to zero.

>>17208637
It's a trap. Strahd is going full-on-crazy over the Tatyana dealie.

GUYS.

Check for any Ravenloft campaigns that indicate this red serum!

>>17208637
"God no, thank you, not more red stuff please. Dracula was always trying to get us to drink such things, I think we are quiet sick of seeing it. Oh and what that horrible beast did with his wine.."

>>17208657
It didn't power anyone up. It had an 1 in a 100 chance of causing a dimensional tear.. which Azalin was ejected through.

I wonder how their actual research is going though.

>>17208728
This sounds good for Elaine or Lyla to say.

>>17208722
Well, typically he either serves really good food or a zombie infection, but I wouldn't put simple or magical drugging past him.

>>17208759
We really need to figure out how to stabilize the VX properly so we can _properly_ do crazy things like KILL the likes of Azalin or Greater Daemons with it.

>>bait Azalin with the VX
>>"ooh, goodie!"
>>it kills him instead
>>welp

Considering what the LAST goblet of red did to someone, I don't think we should play our chances here.
Even if most write-ups don't give much to Strahd poisoning his food, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

>>17208792
This.

>>17208728
Elaine does a pretty good job of acting distressed and repeating the words you told her to say. Strahd frowns and drinks his glass before turning to the others.

"I can understand the woman's hesitation. But surely you knights are made of sterner stuff, yes?"

>>17208822
Get an analysis, STAT!

If that fails, sacrifice one of the unnamed grunts!

Note to self, no more away teams without at least one tricorder running in a pocket.

>>17208822
Have Darius and his Knights make to drink, but as he upends the goblets, beam the contents out and dump them in the swamps.
It'll be a small transport, so there should be minimal light.

>>17208822
Beg his pardon once again, but after the other count's hospitality, we might be off wine for awhile.. he had the power of undeath condensed into just a single goblet.. that is how we lost our healer.
It was not a pleasant affair, that meeting."

>>17208832
No sacrificing grunts! Bad command crew, bad!

>>17208878
"What? You'd compare my hospitality to that monster you slew in the other castle? This is pure Barovian made, not whatever he concocted!" the Count says, offended. "Surely you will reconsider laying such an insult at my feet!"

>>17208839
I don't think it'd be possible for the transporter to lock onto everyone's goblet at once.

>>17208832
An analysis with what?

>>17208637

Lyla talents:

Fiery Piety - Lyla is especially skilled at purging unnatural things from the world and her allies. Offensive holy-based spells and status-clearing spells (I.E. Esuna) are more potent and cost less MP. In addition, Lyla gains a small bonus when using curative items/artifacts to cleanse people or exorcise evil spirits.

Mental Bluntness - Lyla has an increased resistance against mental attacks directed at her (i.e. Psionics, mind-control). She can also vaguely sense the origin/direction of mental attacks directed at her. In addition, Lyla's abrasive personality and irreverent mannerism may fluster opponents, making them more likely to act foolishly.

Man, if Strahd keeps his cool, we might actually end up on the fake out plan.

>>17208948

Are we trying to piss Strahd off or keep him calm?

If the latter, then say that we mean no disrespect and apologize if we have caused offense. But after seeing the especially graphic transformation of our companion into one of Dracula's cronies... it may be a long time before any of us can touch the stuff.

>>17208948
OK folks:

A) Do we cue the Overlord and go with Operation Fake-Out?
OR
B) Drink it. We've got Reraise up, Immunity to Mind Control, and two White Mages right there. Plus Stradh doesn't have a history of employing poison.

>>17208819
We have Reraise, so we sacrifice one of the grunts to the drink.

>>17209032
Not just immunity to mind control:

>Advanced Bio-Stabilizer
>Immunity: Mind-Affecting
>Immunity: Poison
>Improved Saving Throws: Specific: All 1

>>17209032
>>17209018
At this point I say we apologize and drink.
I think we missed the Cunt Kick start, he tried to Dominate Lyla, we should have jumped him then.
Then again, if we've missed that boat maybe we should go ahead and trigger plan fake out.

Damn, undecidedness, Thoughts anyone?

>>17209157
We never should have said >>17208948
Have Darius step forward and take the drink, but have the contents beamed out as he makes the motion to drink.

>>17209157

DO THIS
>>17209061

>The Vintage Merlot and Barovia Red Mountain radiate magic. A glass of the Vintage Merlor (4 glasses/bottle) is equivalent to a Potion of Heroism, while a glass of Barovia Red Mountain (4 glasses/bottle) is equivalent to a potion of Greater Magic Fang +5.
His redish wines.
Maybe a drink before battle isn't a bad idea.

>>17209254
Alright then.
The Space Marines have the advantage of Reraise, the Stabilizer Masks, and their own superior physiques.
Have Darius take a drink, and if everything is okay, have the other Knights follow suit.

Dammit you fucks, hurry up and make a decision! You're the reason this is dragging on so slowly!

>>17209314
Fine, drink!

More than likely, if Strahd is following his normal patterns, this is the delicious meal while he tries to ply us for information and figure out how much of a threat we are and how much we know. If fighting breaks out, he'll try a few of his normal tricks and gaseous form through some cracks to evade us with his knowledge of the castle layout. What he doesn't know is that we also know the layout.

rolled 12 = 12

>>17209320
>>17209276
Darius steps forward and takes the drink, downing it in a few short moments. It tastes pleasant, though oddly salty.

>>17209329
>12
Fuuuu!!
It was poisoned, wasn't it!

A unique taste, Darius? Are you feeling alright?

>>17209329
Darius quietly reports that he feels a little strange, but not in a bad way as he drinks.

>>17209327
Probably, it seems we're more or less playing the adventurers in the 'Brook No Rivals' version of Strahd's goals, replacing the witches coven with motherfuckin' Dracula.

>>17209351
Can we beam out a small sample while no one is looking, and have the Inde and the X-COM scientists do a fast chemical spectrograph of the wine?

>>17209351
Well as long as you aren't a vampire, things look on the up and up. Just don't let your guard down and play along for now.

>>17209371
This might be possible. It's far more workable than trying to beam out the liquid while drinking.

>>17209380
Do it!

>>17209390
>>17209380
Have the beamout occur when Darius is returning the goblet to the tray, his hand covering the top of the goblet and hiding the beamout.

>>17209329
Salty.
Blood.
Hrmm.

He doesn't feel more heroic or damaging?

Either Strahd is slipping us the cheap stuff or something is a foot. Still, we've got protection from death, toxins, and mind-control up at the moment.

Have the others beg off as noted in >>17209018
and admire their commander for his sterner stuff.

>>17209380
You beam out the liquid from one of the Knight's goblets in the short time you have. Analysis will take about three minutes for a quick scan.

>>17209414
"Gentlemen, you slew the monster Dracula in his lair and you want me to believe you are afraid of WINE?" Strahd asks. "I suppose I could take the time to prepare a different toast if you truly are that squeamish. What WOULD you drink?"

>>17209445
Quick, name some oddball brews of your home canons!
Then someone add, 'or just something that isn't _red_' and look pale.

Darius, it's probably too late to change course for you. Hope that analysis comes back clean.

>>17209474
>>17209445
Romulan Ale or Saurian Brandy are ever-popular. The Knights, of course, would recognize Amasec.

Maybe brandy would be safe?

>>17209474
"Gerritol Mead!"
"Chocobo Punch!"
"Moondrop Dew!"
"Very small rocks!"

Strahd looks unperturbed at this sudden simultaneous outburst from his guests.

"I have some mead, if that will do. It may take a while to retrieve it, however."

>>17209500
I suppose mead will have to do.

And the extra time will give us a chance to finish our analysis.

>>17209507
As Strahd collects the wine and the servants go back, he begins to ask various questions about Londinium which the Knights answer swiftly.

The report comes back from the labs before the mead arrives.

"There's nothing chemically poisonous in the wine, but it has several unidentified substances within it, plus... well, plus a significant addition of blood. It looks like human blood, but it's subtly different. We haven't been able to identify it yet. Continuing analysis."

>>17209542
Have the Aurors assist in the analysis, since there might be a magical component.

And that fucker Strahd is probably doping all of the mead right now.

>>17209554
>>17209542
I think he's trying to get Darius to become a Thrall.
Fuck that shit, he's space marine, your Tzeentchian plans will fail!

>>17209562
Alright, but what do we do? Have Darius complain of a sudden dizzyness, and have Lyla cast Esuna on him?

>>17209542
Play nice for now boys. We've got backup in case things go sour.

Damnit, as much as I wanted to kick him in the cunt, I think we get to go with the secondary plan.

Land the Overlord over there and make like a new invader.

I have a question. Why did we just risk poisoning/vampiring/otherwise losing a hero unit when we are planning to kill Strahd anyway? Are we waiting for him to back stab us first? That kind of defeats the whole preemptive, counter back stab plan. Unless I am missing something here.

So,
>>17207261
then?

>>17209597
I think we got hung up. We expected Strahd to trigger plan A, and that didn't really happen.
So now it is time for the prearranged plan B.

>>17209554
>>17209562
When the Aurors examine the wine, they swiftly come to the conclusion that it is a concoction designed to turn the imbiber into a vampiric thrall under the creator's sway! Furthermore, it seems that the effects are designed to be greatly accelerated by the casting of a certain spell, though they don't know what spell.

>>17209597
It's a narrative thing. The Count must come out and attempt to betray us, when we show him that no, WE were going to betray HIM.
In hindsight, completely unnecessary.

We could, and probably should, attack him right now, as rude as it would be.

>>17209604
Then wait until Strahd's forces are about couple hours away, then turn a bit more hostile and land the rest of the KI at the castle while the MI, dropships, and mechs introduce the enemy force to a new definition of long range combat?

gg guys, GG.

CAST ESUNA!

>>17209635
Can the Aurors tell if the Esuna spell will be able to break the Thrall curse?

If it will, have the attack commence immediately, with Elaine casting Esuna on Darius, the Knight with the Voiceless Spear Silencing Strahd, and Lyla doing what she does best by hitting Strahd with Holy.

>>17209635

If there's one thing that Admiral Ackbar left wanting, it was not sensing when a trap was afoot. And all of our curative mages have zilch MP. Great.

Aurors, how can we counteract the effects of the concoction?

Do we have any holy water left or something?

>>17209635
Drink some holy water. Should clear it right up.
But wait until everyone is distracted by the metal castle landing across the way.
Or cast Esuna if they are really distracted.

>>17209669
They are not sure. If cast before the enhancement spell? Perhaps. If not? Probably not.

I was wondering why we didn't wait a while before returning to Strahd's castle. We could have recovered MP.

>>17209669
If a Space Marine Hero doesn't get a Will Save that would make an epic level Paladin green with envy, I will scream in outrage. Especially since we have Knight Inductors, who are especially resistant to mind fuckery.

For any physiological effects... they are Space Marines. Their immune system is so aggressive it's a wonder it doesn't leap out of their bodies to attack foreign bodies around them.

>>17209687
We don't have any holy water left. There was only one vial that we picked up at the chapel, and we used it back in Dracula's castle.

>>17209685
>>17209719
What are you two talking about?
We had the White Mages rest for the past 6 hours in the Al'Kesh.
Their MP should be back.

>>17209690
>>17209687

Alright then, quick vote everyone~!

A) Drink holy water and bust out and Esuna, "I say Lord Zarovich, that tasted suspicuosly like a concoction to make a thrall out of me. HAVE AT YOU!"
Initiate Operation Cunt Kick.

B) Initial Operation Fake Out, and get the water/esuna while everyone is distracted?

Leaning toward A, myself.

Kill Darius. Make Reraise kick in. That should basically dispell Strahd's enchantment.

>>17209690
>Esuna needs to be cast before Strahd's spell
Alright then.
Elaine, cast Esuna on Darius.
Lyla, cast Holy on Strahd.
As soon as Elaine casts Esuna, have the KI that has the Voiceless Spear strike Strahd to silence him.

>>17209732

Oh. My bad.

Esuna on Darius right quick, then!

>>17209732
Sure we do, we put what we found in small vials for the white mages to throw at people. We used one at Dracula. Or so I thought.

>>17209740
A, with a side order of hitting Strahd with the Voiceless Spear.

If Esuna fails, KILL DARIUS ASAP and trigger Reraise.

>>17209727
You did get a save with a very high modifier. Then the TG Dice said, "Let there be a roll of 10."

ANON: "The science team reports that this liquid is not poisonous or toxic in the conventional sense. According to the Aurors, it is the magic within that is dangerous."

>>17209763
No need for the side order. That's part of the main course! >>17207180

>>17207180
>>17209740
>>17209752
>>17209763
>>17209772
Gentlemen, we are go for Operation Cunt Kick.
Al'kesh: Weapons free!
All tranports converge and unload.
We are confirmed for HAVE AT YOU.

>>17209768

Let's cast Esuna on Darius, then. Removing abnormal magical status effects or diseases is one of the reasons why the spell even exists.

>>17209762
>>17209760
"a small stock of holy water"
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/17137538#17141481

That's all it said. It's vague, because 'a small stock' could refer to a small number of vials, or simply a small amount.

>>17209740
Make with the speeches and esunas.
All else fails, Reraise cancels out doomed and reverses death effects.
Lyla, Holy.
Spear Dude, make with the stabbing.
Tosh, give him a brain lashing to distract him from evading the Spear.

>>17209812
>>17209823
I still say do both, no reason to fuck around.

Hit Strahd with the Voiceless Spear as in SWIPE/stab him with it or throw it at him?

Are there any other weapons in other canons that inflict Silent status ailement?

>>17209851
Well, overkill does ensure termination. We will EX-TER-MINATE the attempt to subvert Darius.

>>17209740
"I say Lord Zarovich, that tasted suspicuosly like a concoction to make a thrall out of me. HAVE AT- oooooh..."

Darius stumbles to a knee, Elaine hastily begins chanting.

"Heavenly wind, carry us to the fountain of power! Esuna!"

rolled 97 = 97

>>17209859
Forgot mah roll

>>17209859
>>17209864

Welp. Time for shit to hit the fan. Lets hope this counts towards the massive amount of firepower that is descending upon Strahdland.

The /TG/ dice giveth...

>>17209864
>Elaine casts Esuna
>97
>mfw

>>17209864
Fuck year Space Marine physiology.
Have Voiceless Spear Marine silence Strahd, and Al'Kesh to lay down the ground-fire! GO GO GO!

>>17209864
>97
Fuck yeah. Plan A is go.

>>17209853
Stab, with a vengeance.

>>17209890
Al'kesh is blowing away the top-spire with his protection from sun. Even if it is super foggy/cloudy, I just enjoy dicking with him like that.
And providing cover fire for the piles of KI and MI team piling out while the Leopard pulls up to drop off Delta Green, MI, and some other shit.

>>17209916
Don't forget the Overlord roaring down during the fight.

rolled 79 = 79

>>17209864
Green sparks flash around Darius, not only cleansing his system of the insidious magic, but the aftereffects that were beginning to debilitate the Space Marine.

"Impossible!" Strahd hisses. "What sort of magic... What sort of MORTALS are you?!"

"The awesome kind!" Lyla shouts as the castle shakes, the Al'Kesh beginning its bombing run and blowing a nice hole in the keep's upper levels.

"You shall PAY for your insolence!" Strahd hisses, snapping his fingers as suits of armor come to life around the group, and death knights begin to march towards the throne room. Bats flutter down from the ceiling and begin to morph into other vampires, while soft moans indicate incoming zombies and other undead.

"Dey always say dat," Tosh says with a sigh as he turns and blasts a rushing death knight to pieces with a gauss burst.

"Not for long," a Knight murmurs as he rushes in with the Voiceless Spear.

>>17209970
Go! Go!
Fire all the things and send in all the doods!
Fire at will!
And by 'will' I mean Strahd!

>>17209991
>>17209970

>>17209970
That Marine has a pointed message for Strahd.
>pic related

>>17209970
>"Not for long," a Knight murmurs as he rushes in with the Voiceless Spear.
I hope this guy becomes a Hero soon.

As soon as the Al'Kesh blows open a hole, have the KI and Delta Greens drop in, with the Psions making sure no one falls.

The Leopard can just drop off its payload, then begin taking the castle apart with lasers and PPC's.

Let's see how a Death Knight handles being crushed by 95 tons of endo steel.

And the Prawns, covered by the Mobile Infantry, can start tearing up the place.

Did we remember to order the air strikes by the VF-25's?

>>17210029
Do we pay the prawns in catfood, or are we helping them with their addictions?

>>17210029
There were no VF-25's in the plan.

>>17210037
I'm honestly not sure if they're prawn-piloted, or if TG jailbroke them and they're human-piloted.

>>17210004

FIRE EVERYTHING!!!!

>>17209916
>>17209922

Also with these.

Should we have the mechs/destroids advance and start shelling the top portion of Strahd's castle to remove his immunity to sunlight? Or should they be deployed and intercept Strahd's forces outside?

>>17210044
Dammit, I knew we forgot something.
We shouldn't have left the VF-25's out.

>>17210029
Hey now, we aren't trying to destroy the building just yet!
1) We're still in it.
2) We have a team detailed toward getting to the Treasury and beaming it out while we kill all the things.

In Marines, MI, Prawns, and Delta Green, I believe we're dropping more people into his castle than Strahd has left.

>>17210049
The Al'Kesh and its complement of KI can handle the Dayheart.
The mechs should be in the courtyard destroying undead.

>>17209970

Give that man a freaking medal. Or a name. Actually, lets go with a name, those are worth more.

rolled 53 = 53

>>17209970
The ancient spear plunges into Strahd's side, stealing his voice. The spear suddenly glimmers with new power as it does this, lines of dark electricity crackling along its shaft. Strahd is silent but screaming as Darius follows this up with a strike from Ringil, all the while the remaining Tactical Marines lay down a torrent of suppressing fire with their bolters that succeeds in reducing four of the animated armors to scrap metal.

The Overlord crew is asking whether to land at the castle or crater.

I have a feeling that the Voiceless Spear can actually steal spells with the way it behaves.

>>17210079
At the castle. If they land at the crater, they'll miss all the fun.

Okay, I hope some of those silver arrows and wooden shafts are enough for Finalon to actually be of some use in this fight.

>>17210049
Hell, I don't even think we were seriously considering even unloading the battlemechs and destroids.
Bit large for the job. But great intimidation value.

>>17210071
Al'kesh's opening shot was taking that out.
Not that it really matters since there is no sunlight to speak of.
KI are pouring in along to disrupt an reinforcements from helping Strahd, and distract everything while the DGs sweep in the rob the objectives.
Everything else is on general kill duty.

>>17210079

If by "crater" you mean the former site of Castlevania, then no, don't land there.

I propose that the Overlord land at the Castle and provide withering hails of PPC, laser, LRM, SRM, and autocannon fire to utterly annihilate any forces Strahd has outdoors. The Leopard will stay high up in the atmosphere, strafing priority ground units (i.e. death knights, powerful undead, etc) with missile fire and PPCs, and observing the flow of the battle; if they see anything unusual going outside of Strahd's castle, they'll be the first to see it and relay it to us.

>>17210108
If we're doing that, then 1 Abjurer and 1 Psion should stay with the KI, and the remaining 2 Abjurers and 2 Psions should go with the Delta Greens in case they need magic support.

Agreed?

>>17210079
Plan A, Overlord, land by the castle.
I don't believe there is room to land in the castle grounds.

Though I doubt it: Is there room in the courtyard?

>>17210122
Right.

>>17210121
I think we'll need all the room in the court yard to land our troops from the Leopard and Al'kesh.
Overlord could blast the outer wall down, though.

rolled 42 = 42

>>17210079
>>17210097
The Overlord slams down before the castle, causing the ground to shake even further as it begins to unload its cargo of mecha and soldiers. The many cannons and missile bays of the great ship are turned upon the fortress of Strahd, its lone drawbridge hastily being drawn up as undead defenders rise only to be instantly cut down by weapons developed to destroy towering robots. A look of outrage and confusion has settled on Strahd's face, but it turns to pain once more as Darius drives Ringil through the vampire's midsection. Strahd glares at Darius coldly and a greenish fog begins to ooze into the chamber from cracks in the floor. However, the gas does nothing to the team, who are wearing their bio-stabilizer masks.

The vampires and death knights have finally managed to press through the suppressing fire and launch an attack!

>>17210079
We will have to figure out what that new power is, but for now with stick with the stabbing and the Holy-ing.

>>17210185
Elaine on medic duty, conserve your MP.

How is Finalon doing? Are his arrows effective at all against our foes? He may need to pick up a sword or something else.

rolled 63 = 63

>>17210185
The death knights and vampires press hard on the Knights Inductor, but between Elaine's healing, their mighty armor, and their superhuman physiology, they simply cannot manage more than a handful of light wounds.

The animated armors have slightly better luck, closing in on the lone Psion and cutting into him with blade and axe, deeply injuring the mentalist before he managed to slip behind the protective bulk of a friendly space marine.

rolled 82 = 82

>>17210208
>>17210193
Finalon swiftly draws and fires three arrows of wood. Each arrow finds the heart of a vampire and with a shriek, three vampires each are reduced to dust.

"Holy light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!" Lyla calls out. A shining column of pure light burns Strahd further, the head vampire's clothes and flesh beginning to burn under the assault.

A mob of Strahd zombies begins to pour in from every entrance to the room, blindly stumbling towards the smell of fresh meat and blood.

>>17210185
I'd almost say that seeing a look of confusion on Strahd's face has been worth this whole operation.
Haha!

KI, introduce those things to your machine spirits. Rip, tear, and blam.
Tosh, let's see some psychic whiplash!
Ladies, let's provide those brave fellows with some Wall protection, yes?

>>17210225
KI Squads, looks like Strahd is focusing his forces on our ground team! Push for them and rip those zombies apart from behind! Strahd's not the only ones with back-up around here!

>>17210225

Zombies? Meet dakka. Dakka? Meet zombies. You two were made for each other.

>>17210238
DG teams, hurry to your objectives and get out. Shit is getting hot around here!

>>17210209
>>17210225
Have that Psion protect himself behind a sphere of ectoplasm, and assist the KI's by using Telekinesis and Walls of Ectoplasm to stop enemies, or funnel them into killzones.

Lyla, Elaine, cast Wall on Darius and the Spear-wielder, and Protect on yourselves if needed.

Should we have Finalon dig into the bag of boom and introduce those zombies to krak and proximity grenades?

>>17210209
and Elaine see if you can resurrect that Psion.

>>17210267
What?
The Psion's not dead, just wounded.

>>17210267

The Psion is not dead, just heavily wounded. He's currently hiding behind a friendly space marine meatshield.

>>17210267

rolled 74 = 74

>>17210238
The Al'kesh soars overhead once more and begins dropping off the rest of the Knights Inductor, who begin turning the 'super zombies' into mincemeat with their .75 caliber guns even before they hit the ground.

Strahd roars as a psionic explosion knocks him off his feet, Tosh grinning at making the vaunted Count squirm.

"You tried to make me a slave," Darius mutters, bringing Ringil down and cutting an arm off of Strahd. The arm hits the ground and immediately dissolves into green mist. "I do NOT appreciate that."

Strahd utters another silent howl as his body begins to dissolve into gaseous form.

>>17210254
"Roger, control. Double-timing search."

>>17210271
Ah my bad, I had though that the Psion and the mentalist were diffrent people.

>>17210289
>Strahd utters another silent howl as his body begins to dissolve into gaseous form.
Lyla! Elaine! Hit the bastard with a double Holy!

keep in mind those could be strads super zombies. killing them might not be doable with infantry scale weapons. aim low and try and blow there legs off, slow them down enough and it doesn't matter how immortal they are.

>>17210289
See if we can get him before he slinks away:
Elaine, Lyla: Holy Double Team Attack!

>>17210225

Finalon, keep doing what you do best. Pump those vamps full of arrows.

Tosh, if you have enough breathing room, focus a psi-lash on Strahd to disorient him and/or mess up his thinking ability so that he sees fuzzy, hears orange, and tastes bright.

>>17210301
They are perfectly killable with our weapons. Only thing keeping them alive after any hit is a coin toss between dead or not.

rolled 27 = 27

>>17210303
>>17210299
"Holy light!" two voices cry out in unison. "Shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!"

Twin columns of light burn Strahd's gaseous form to nothing, a low moan of pain seeming to echo from the very castle itself as suddenly the rest of the zombies collapse. The remaining death knights and vampires begin to flee in terror as the castle begins slowly shaking.

"I don't appreciate the slave thing either!" Lyla shouts at the spot where the Count met his end.

>>17210310
All hands abandon castle!

>>17210310
>flee in terror as the castle begins slowly shaking.
Shit! We brought too much smackdown, and didn't give the DG's enough time!

Everybody, get moving!
Delta Greens, what's your status?

>>17210310
Al'kesh, Leopard, prepare for pick ups.
Overlord, try to open your ramp across where the drawbridge use to live. Mechs: Keep anything uninvited out.

>>17210310

Fuck the loot. Everyone out now! Party is over and we need to ske-daddle before the cops show up. And by cops, I mean the dimensional void that will rip the castle from reality.

>>17210310
>>17210315
The Al'Kesh swoops down to pick up the strike team, while the Deltas radio in.

"We've only managed to find a few stashes of coin so far. Do you want us to keep looking?"

>>17210329
The roof's coming down around us. We'll pick over the rubble when the building has settled. Hopefully the cellars and crypts will be clear.

>>17210323
We got 'em a good plan, layout of the place, and heavy covering activity. I think we did all we could for them. Looks like we only get to reach those few preplanned spots instead of everything that's nailed down.

>>17210329
"Damn the loot! Get out of there now!
"Get to the dropship!"

Damnit, it should have been a beeline for the treasury, just wasn't enough time..
Alright teams, pull out with all due haste!
Al'kesh: I've got a risky teleport for you, lock on the the cooridinates that treasury is supposed to be at and do a beam out. Go, go quick acting Asgard beam out!

>>17210329

ANON: How much time do we have before the castle is gone? Keep in mind your analysis can't take longer than the time it takes for the damn thing to fall apart.

All troops beside DG get out now. DG start running for the exit. If we have enough time to keep searching we will let you know. We can get treasure elsewhere. People are not easily replaced.

>>17210367
Well, if we have it right, that should work.
We're looking at K41 on the map.

Hell, looking at the map, we could just ram through the wall and beam at point blank. It's on an upper story.

>>17210412
We could have the Al'Kesh use its staff cannons to blow open the wall if it can't lock onto the treasure inside to beam it out.

But getting our men out takes priority.

>>17210344
>>17210412
>>17210367
Get the troops out, try crazy tricks for treasure. I like the ramming right into the room idea. Hard to miss the teleport then.
I'll have to admit, I wouldn't have looked for a hidden treasury on an outer wall of an upper story. Usually expect those to be buried of something.

Can we still try the teleport trick for the wine too?? <insert puppy-dog eyes here>

>>17210438
Aye, everybody out. Fortnately the DG were riding the Leopard, so the Al'kesh and it's load of KI can ride over and try that stunt while the Delta Greens load up.

>>17210338
"Roger that. Exfiltrating."

The Al'Kesh finishes loading up its cargo of troops and begins flying to a nearby wall, where the Delta Greens leap from the battlements and onto the already very full dropship. The vessel flies away just as the castle begins to vanish in a huge cloud of black mist.

"You are more resourceful than I had thought," a basso voice rumbles through your minds. "This will be worth the cost, I think."

The black mist then vanishes as the greater part of Eurasia begins to slowly emerge from the mists that had been concealing it.

The neutral voice of A.N.O.N. comes over the comms.

ANON: "Confirmed cessation of reality distortions in area. Well done."

Background music and sounds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRenRwWDuDc

The Delta Greens produce a small sack of treasure they managed to gather during the short time they had.

You received Small Treasure Sack.

>>17210490
Were we able to pull off the teleport??
>>17210465
>>17210448
>>17210438
>>17210412
>>17210367

>>17210516
If you really want me to have the Al'Kesh loaded down with troops ram itself into a castle to try and get treasure, I will.

Do you want me to?

>>17210547
No.

But could the sensors get a lock on the stuff inside the treasure vault and beam it out?

>"You are more resourceful than I had thought," a basso voice rumbles through your minds. "This will be worth the cost, I think."
That can't be good. He's using us, or trying to use us, or planning to use us.
I do not want him/it using us.

>>17210550
>>17210547
Yeah, try for the blind port, but we can park right outside the wall where it should be.

I'd like to take the shot at it.

rolled 72 = 72

>>17210560
>>17210550
The Al'Kesh attempts to blindly beam out some of the treasure before the castle vanishes...

>>17210553
sounds like... G-MAN.
Or that Alizarin dude. Or even Ebon Night.
Welp, guessing that the last 2 is close.

>>17210573
Shame we can't pull that trick with the wine.
Holtz would have married us.

rolled 96 = 96

>>17210585
A massive pile of gold coins appears within the Al'Kesh, a few precious art items and jewelry dotting it.

>>17210594
>Bank Error In Your Favor
Mysteriously, a large wine rack was also teleported aboard...

>>17210594
>>17210592
>96
Hot damn, maybe we did grab the wine too.

>>17210594
Alright, let's have the dropships regroup and redistribute weight and personnel, pick up our Probe Droid, and then have everyone return to orbit for medical healing, re-armament, and rest.
We still have one nanny-bagged Knight Inductor to see if we can resurrect him technologically.

>>17210607
>>17210598
Ha Ha!
Put aside a couple of bottles for Holtz.

>>17210598

The various wines Strahd has, for our report to Holtz later.

>>17210614
Aye, pack up. Do a flyby of where the village was, see if anything was left behind.
Good work people.

After the metric ass pounding we've been taking here, it's nice to see something go well for a change.

And with that, I believe I am off for tonight. I'll be busy tomorrow, so Thursday at around 8 PM will be the next session.

See you then!

>>17210690
Thanks man, have a good one!

Okay, let's determine Lyla's Hero Talents. These two are the best articulated ones so far:

Fiery Piety - Lyla is especially skilled at purging unnatural things from the world and her allies. Offensive holy-based spells and status-clearing spells (I.E. Esuna) are more potent and cost less MP. In addition, Lyla gains a small bonus when using curative items/artifacts to cleanse people or exorcise evil spirits.

Mental Bluntness - Lyla has an increased resistance against mental attacks directed at her (i.e. Psionics, mind-control). She can also vaguely sense the origin/direction of mental attacks directed at her. In addition, Lyla's abrasive personality and irreverent mannerism may fluster opponents, making them more likely to act foolishly.

I like Fiery Piety. Could we make it so that her Holy spells are cast faster, or would that be too much?

>>17210727
Bit too tired to think clearly. Weren't these getting based on something or other?

Also, Totally voting that the Voiceless Spear totting Marine gets a name, whether he has hero status or not.
>"You shall PAY for your insolence!" Strahd hisses
>"Dey always say dat," Tosh says
>"Not for long," a Knight murmurs as he rushes in with the Voiceless Spear.
He's even got timing and personality.
And he robbed two asshole vampires of their last words, saving our asses both times.

Here's a list of possible things we might have wanted to get, in the last thread:

-
ITEMS:
Economizers (probably expensive. Ethers until then)
Nethack Holy Water
Heartgold era Pokegear with all upgrade cards (specifically Itemfinder)
Alleria's Flute of Accuracy (ranged damage up)
Staff of Negation (dispels)
More Nannybags
More RED-2
More Small Soldiers

TROOPS:
another EMH
More X-com engineers
More White Mages
Replenishment of killed troops
More very useful and expendable droids
Some kinda mage or sage good at identifying shit

MECHA:
GetterRobo from Shin Getter Robo (it fits our requirement for a vehicle with drills, and it's strong)
Salvage Corvettes from Homeworld

HEROES:
Agrias Oaks
Zero
Warcraft III Paladin lvl6 +
Pathfinder or D&D magical item crafter
Alpha 7 (Power Rangers)

SHIP:
Engineering Workshops
Alchemy Lab
-

The only ones I think are a bad idea are some of the heroes. Zero's weapon stealing ability only works on reploids. Without that ability, he's not as strong as a pack of space marines.
As for Alpha 7, I don't see any use for him when we already have Data.
Everything else has potential use. Most of them probably aren't worth our money but they have potential use.

In addition to these, I'd like to add:
The Good Luck virus from Red Dwarf
Any generic $Hero_that_can_grant_good_luck
If we're getting the +10% damage aura flute, might as well get the +10% damage aura drums that stacks with it.

Any opinions from the rest of /tg/?

>>17210727
I feel like we might be lacking in diplomatic skills at the moment, can we not give her something in that direction?

Paragon of Virtue - As a truly pious being, Lyla exudes an aura of honesty and goodness that makes other want to follow her example. People in her vicinity are more honest and more likely to act on good intentions than ill.

>>17210780
Doesn't seem to fit her attitude so far. 'Fiery' is a good word for her.

Maybe something to play to her striking resemblance to people involved with vampires?

>>17210778
Do we really need more mecha? I know some people want as many as possible, but how useful are they?

>>17210794
What about something playing on her role as an object of desire for both of the vampire lords? Powerful men want her wherever she goes? Or maybe she's just got one of those faces that can be easily mistaken for someone else?

>>17210794
Brush With Evil - Being pursued by powerful evil vampires has not left a good impression on Lyla. All of her attacks now do extra damage and cost reduced MP when facing evil or undead enemies.

>>17210820
Heavenly Beauty - Lyla is very beautiful, and men (and women) will be more inclined to treat her nicely because of this. Lyla's unique beauty will also occassionally cause people to become utterly besotted with her.

One of Those Faces - Wherever she goes, Lyla is mistaken for someone else. She has learned to use this to her advantage, developing a knack for vocal and physical impersonation.

I think I suck at this.

>>17210778
>Any generic $Hero_that_can_grant_good_luck

Longshot is all I can think of.

>>17210778
Much of this list I disagree with, but I must rest.
Go look up the arguments about Zero in the old planning thread. Short version, he's central to all the plots. Plus, we have enough SpecOp warriors.

Also, we don't need workshops, we need a fabber. And someone to help run them. X-Com isn't needed there.

Ships, blarg, I gotta sleep. Someone dig through the ol planning thread while I crash, g'night folks.

Besides we got bigger fish to fry: Japan & The Mountains of Madness.

Good luck, and God speed.

>>17210727
>Okay, let's determine Lyla's Hero Talents.
#1: Super Raise. Can cast Raise dead on people, even if their bodies have been greatly damaged to the point of torn apart, as long as we have all of the pieces. Owing to the greater difficulty of casting, "Super Raise" takes more mana to cast.
#2: Efficient Healing. All Healing and Raise spells take less mana to cast.

>>17210573
Also, there's a +1 ghost touch sword in there, we should give it to someone.

>>17210901
I'd give her heightened initiative against beings of darkness/death, and bonus damage against them.
[Suffer Not the Taint] or somesuch?

>>17210898
>Plus, we have enough SpecOp warriors.
I disagree with this. The whole purpose of the TG is to be an inter-dimensional black ops group that assassinates undesirables before they can damage the Canon too much.

If we have a large low-power conventional force, then they'll just suffer casualties that we'll have to spend resources on reviving.

>>17210911
>Also, there's a +1 ghost touch sword in there, we should give it to someone.
Well, then it's too bad that it's gone then, isn't it.

>>17210927
Yeah, but we are crazily short on heroes for other categories:
Medical.
Magical Research.
Magical Combat or Anti-Magic.
Engineers!
Fleet officers. My vote? Admiral Henry J Gloval and the Bridge Bunnies.

I think recent evidence has shown us that less is definitely more with regards to recruitment.

Whenever we try to steamroll with all our strength, we get fucked over. Small groups of skilled operatives have given us much more success. I say when the time comes, we recruit skills, not numbers. Heroes, not grunts.

>>17210943
Accept that it's not. Keep up mon.

>>17210949
>Engineers!
>Magical Research.

These are both things we have been talking about for a long time. Either engineers or some sort of fabrication facility. We definitely need both of those.

>>17210958
*Except.
Damnit, I said I was going to sleep, and I'm going to go do that now.

>>17210965
>>17210958
The castle is gone. We only got gold, some jewels, a piece of artwork or two, and the wine rack.
Where does it say in any of the posts from OP that we were able to recover any weapons, or that there were ruins that could be scanned?

>>17210949
For engineering, magic, and magical combat, I recommend Maya Terrasdottir from Frost Giantess Quest

>>17210949
Fleet officers? We have Grand Admiral Pellaeon.

>>17210989
Wasn't he on loan? Or is he coming back when we get the SSD?

>>17210989

But Pellaeon was just Thrawn's bitch.

>>17210989
Aye. Pellaeon's going to be on staff once we've got the Super Star Destroyer and the Antaeus. The manner in which we ripped him from his canon (replacing his corpse with a body double) means he's gonna be on the Transpace Guard's payroll.
>>17210976
The problem with taking a Canon's protagonist is that you destabilise that Canon much more than you could repair anyone else's. Maya eventually ascended - so it's either "Prevent a god from coming into existence" or "Recruit a god". Neither of which is particularily good on the canon they come from.

>>17211004
>>17210949
Nah, Maya never ascended. She reincarnated to frost giant form, and, from what I remembered, the Quest was left on "The adventures continue..." note

>>17211004
On the other hand, perhaps recruiting a pair or three of Dreamwood's tech-mages from about 100 years after the Battle of Kharok might be possible. They'd be already trained as mage researchers able to work equally well with science and magic, and given Maya's revelation that there are other worlds out there would make them receptive to the idea of the Meta.

>>17211039
At the very least they should be familiar with the idea of alternate dimensions where their own reality would be considered fantastic

>>17210974
Goto the post before the wine rack.

>>17211056
What, this post?
>>17210594
>A massive pile of gold coins appears within the Al'Kesh, a few precious art items and jewelry dotting it.

The post only says that a pile of coins, some jewelry, and art objects was transported up. There's nothing about the sword.
It could be there, but it's just as likely, if not more so (since the roll was a 72) that it's not there.

>>17210989
Right, he'll be running the SSD, we need a bit more though. I rather we had more named personnel running these ships in a serious fight.

>>17211091
Then it'd be better to try to promote the captains of the Relentless and Indefatigable up from nameless mooks, since they actually know the capabilities of their ship and can use them effectively.

>>17211101
I've been meaning to suggest that we get Star Lord to review our standard crew, do a troop inspection and let us know if there are any slackers who we should cut and any bright sparks we should keep an eye on.

It'll be good for morale, good for our Leader Hero to know his comrades and it also gives us some idea of where we might get a hero from.

>>17210778
>Ethers
If Mana is useful, then Ethers are useful, especially if we can make more of them.
>Nethack holy water
Holy water that can bless any item. A bucket of water is an item. Infinite holy water!
>Itemfinder
Between a tricorder and a repaired ring of Sindri, superfluous.
>Flute of Accuracy
+10% ranged damage to every friendly within 40 meters. Useful. There's an item that increases ALL damage by 10% and stacks with this, so get both, for 20% more shooty and 10% more choppy.
>Staff of Negation
Dispels all effects, both helpful and harmful, from all targets in about a 10 yard area, both friendly and hostile. A useful item, but keep it away from the Clumsy Auror.
>More Nannybags
Always need more Nannybags.
>More RED-2
It's gonna be expensive to keep getting this as it's getting scarce in its native canon. Might want to skip this so we can afford more stuff.
>More Small Soldiers
Get Recon Droids and Observers instead.
>another EMH
He's been very valuable in the past. Yes. He's an equipment choice, so perhaps cheaper than a troop requisition.

>X-com engineers
Yes. Between the Antaeus, a Fabber, some X-com engineers, and Data, we can make everything!
>More White Mages
Very yes.
>Replenishment of killed troops
Are the Psions, Abjurers and /tg/ recruits worth replacing? Definitely replace the X-commies, the Knights Inductor and the Drooooones!.
>More very useful and expendable droids
Observers! Droids! Drones! Lots of disposable recon. They are a very useful item and whoever suggested we should get them was a smart man.
>Some kinda mage or sage good at identifying shit
From Nethack, there are many spellbooks. One of the more common ones is Identify. A spellcaster trained in divinations (read: Farseer Council) can learn to identify items using it. It's cheaper than buying a whole new mage, and it works on EVERYTHING. It even tells particular types of completely mundane gemstones apart.

>>17211325
Good call. Most fantasy canons seem to have some sort of Identify spell. I'd say this is a priority item, either to teach one of our troops, or just get a handful of Identify scrolls. Maybe both if its cheap enough.

Can we get Materia for our White Mages? Because there's some Materia that would be awesome for Lyla and Elaine to have; such as MP Plus, MP Absorb, MP Turbo, and Barrier. Perhaps the Restore if they don't have the Regen spell, and All Materias if they can't multi-target their spells. We need to pimp their magic out like crazy, and Materia's one of the best ways to give them some serious boosts.

>>17211325
Furthermore, if we're raiding the wonderfully cheesy world of Nethack, then a Wand of Polymorph zapped over a pile of blank scrolls and some plastic containers of water will create a bunch of magic scrolls and a bunch of magic potions.
It'll also create Paper golems and Plastic golems. These are as strong as Grizzly bears.
Be careful with Golems, though. Iron Golems are as strong as Mecha. Golems made out of the futuristic steel in our spaceships could take on Asmodeus in a fight and win. So, watch where you point the wand!

>>17211854
This sounds expensively OP...

>>17210778
Do you have ADHD or something? We need the VB-6's and the Atragon, not Getter Robo.

>>17210778
We don't need Zero, we don't need Alpha 7.

You know that those Getter Robo have trouble carrying extra passengers, right?

>>17212275
Gotengo, you mean. I vote for the refitted Gotengo from Godzilla Final Wars, complete with a captain indistinguishable from Don "The Predator" Frye.

>>17210778
>>17211325

Can it and save it for later. We've already planned out what we wanted in the previous planning thread.

We still have a couple more locations to deal with on this planet ---- there' still the Middle East, Antarctica and Japan to deal with.

>>17210778
>Getter Robo
Powerful Mech. If we need Mech power, it's a decent choice.
>Salvage Corvettes
Surprisingly fragile and weak; we have an Antaeus for salvage purposes.
As far as Space Fighters go, the typical choice is to grab a "Hits like a relativistic meteor from 10,000,000 kilometers away" craft. Can't think of a specific example, though.

>Agrias Oaks
Hits things with a sword to Stop time, Instant-kill or Silence. Very useful in a small team of assassins. However, important to her timeline and happy with her current situation, meaning she might not want to be recruited.
>Zero
>Alpha 7 (Power Rangers)
Lolno
>WC3 Paladin
Cheap to recruit for a hero, being out of a job and not canon-important. Lots of useful abilities such as resurrection, healing, reducing the damage that all friendlies in a 40 yd radius take, and short duration invulnerability (on itself only). Worth getting.
>Magical Item Crafter
Unless we're mass-producing items then it'd be cheaper to requisition them. If we ARE massproducing magic items, I can't think of a person that we could get for that.
>Any generic $Hero_that_can_grant_good_luck
Can't think of any of them that aren't smack-bang in the middle of their Canons, utterly content with their lives (as any lucky person would be).

>Engineering Workshops
Those, along with the Antaeus and fabricator, should serve us well.
>Alchemy Lab
We already have a regular lab, and some of Azalin's equipment. We can probably get all the results of an Alchemy lab without needing to buy one.
>Communications Array
Because OP keeps telling us that we forget to get one. It'll let us talk to Holtz while we're on a mission. I don't see it as useful, but if the OP nags us, it's probably a good idea.
>The Good Luck virus from Red Dwarf
Finding the Red Dwarf will be next to impossible.

>>17212311
Yes. FINAL WARS Gotengo can both drill underground and is spaceborne.

>>Agrias

OP said we already have a discount to recruiting her.

>>17212315
Then repost it so it can be discussed. Everyone is playing here pal.

>>17212275
>>17212302
>>17212311
>>17212315
I honestly don't know. But as you argue, remember that a mech that can drill through the earth, travel under the sea, transport cargo, and be able to effectively fight a wide variety of things (Melee opponents, Giant monsters, Artillery cannons) is more effective than just straight damage.
Remember: Dealing with a wide variety of different situations, and filling holes/gaps in stuff we need, is more important than adding one more gun to our existing 100.

>>17212334
Captain Douglas Gordon comes with the package - and he has bigger balls than Godzilla.

>/tg/ quest gradually becomes weeaboo quest

Can't say I didn't see it coming.

Okay you weeaboo faggots.

Our planning thread was here:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/17161163/

Read it and stop adding stupid ideas.

>>Egon and the X-COM scientists, etc need to analyze the Brasta and it's VX system. Need to figure out how to harness the VX's power properly so that it can do it's intended role and NOT power up it's opponents by accident.
>>1 in 100 chance of causing a dimensional tear

This sounds better.

>>17212362
What particular things don't you like?
I'm just one person, but I'll listen to what's upsetting you, and change my opinion if you can tell me what's particularly upsetting.

As far as I can tell, we're mostly western with only a few eastern influences at the moment, the White Mages (which are useful) and the Mech Heroes (which thus far have been a complete pile of ass).

>>17212372

*reads why we needed more mechs*

*reads why we need more artillery instead*

>>17212379
Every time the topic of recruitment comes up, half a thread gets devoted to discussing in great detail a bunch of japanese anime characters that only weeaboo fans have ever heard of, a bunch of different mechs always get suggested, despite the fact that we have some already and they spend most of their time completely idle.

It's like buying an espresso machine that you use maybe once a year, and then someone suggesting that you buy two more.

>>17212414
Hm, you're right.
How do we get people to cut down on the anime fanboy-ing?

>>17212334
So, it can burrow, go underwater, fly, and its main weapon can freeze things solid? Seems useful. The problem is that the original is canon-important, and it'd take a long time to construct a copy from scratch. How we get around this?

>>17212444
I think everyone should contribute, but not if you don't have any decent suggestions. Just thinking "what shows do I like?" is not a good way to recruit new troops. I suggested X-com scientists way back, but I can't actually think of anyone else specific I have really pushed for, because I think more in terms of what the team needs than what characters I think are cool. e.g. "we need another medical hero" not "snake plissken is cool, lets get him".

>>17212517
Commander Data and the Seer Council were my ideas. I think they've both been useful. I intended Data to be used more for research and intiution, giving us hints on where to go. Instead he's been killing zombies with a katana. Still, turns out he's quite good at that.

>>17212517
Yes, I see where you're coming from.

But part of me always thinks 'would this make a good story?' How would the various characters interact? Who would get along well? Who would be rivals? Granted, we focus primarily on the missions, and character interaction isn't necessarily the main focus (although when it does happen, OP knocks it out of the park), but I guess that's the attitude I take to it. Otherwise, what's the point of following a Quest?

>>17212549
He's pretty damn useful. Thats the key. He's not just a walking weapon.

We have a shitload of firepower. We can rain down fire from orbit if we need to. Recruiting for firepower alone is largely a waste of time.

rolled 25 = 25

>>17212561
Oh. I didn't think of it that way.
Maybe OP can do a section on character interaction in future? I enjoyed Silent Hill.
You make a good point that we don't really have a Talker on our staff.
Do you people think a Talker would have use on our team? As in, a dedicated speaky-type that convinces other sentient creatures to do what we want them to do, or get better deals out of them?

If so, then there's one obvious choice. The biggest issue is that we can't take the incarnation in the video game, we have to take one of the previous ones with no written story, and it's a crapshoot whether the said incarnation is "Sensible person" or "You just went full Player Character, never go full Player Character".

And if it's a crapshoot, then it's /tg/ dice, and if it's /tg/ dice, then it's between 1 and 20. Isn't that right, /tg/ dice?

In that case it may be worth looking up people who are good at thinking on their feet, we have walking firepower,but having someone who is reactionary could be handy.

>>17212549
Pretty sure I suggested Seer Council, though its nothing worth arguing over I suppose.
How usefull have they been? I havn't been in the thread since we worked out that the second castle was ravenloft.

Crazy idea, we could always try picking up Xanatos.
What's the worst that could happen?

>>17212622
Do we want a flat talky person? Or a mind cotroly dominaty variety of talky person?

>>17212630
It wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of people recommended them at various different times. I suppose I just suggested "Clairvoyant Troop Choice" and you elaborated further.

The Seer Council thus far told us not to instantly punch Cheryl/Heather Mason in the cunt, and that she's essential to this world's survival. She outputted a massive reality distortion, and with things that make reality distortions, "Punch it in the cunt" is our standard reaction, so they may well have saved us some grief.
Speaking of which, I wonder exactly how Heather can further help this world's recovery?

...

Please tell me she doesn't act as the Can in which we Seal the Dark Presence.
She does, doesn't she.

>>17212649
There's a guy in the Wild Cards novels called the Envoy (David Harstein? I think). He exudes pheromones that make everyone like him. It's pretty god tier as superpowers go. Something like that would be cool.

>>17212649
Name ONE Mind controlly dominaty talky person that won't instantly try to take us over from within.
Just one.
Has to be a standard flat talker.

>>17212673
>He exudes pheromones that make everyone like him.
JESUS CHRIST IT'S A MARY SUE, KILL IT WITH FIRE.

>>17212622
I'm glad you see where I'm coming from. Maybe we should strive for the middle ground.

I've never played Planescape, but i think picking up any incarnation of the Nameless one would be a bad idea, assuming we have to return him at some point. If he were to remember the Meta at a later date...that could either be a)very good or b)very bad. It would start the debate we had over Zero all over again, except that wouldn't be any ambiguity whether he's needed for future events in his own canon.

>>17212622
>>17212630
>>17212677
Well, to be honest, one name came up for all of these suggestions, at least in my mind: Commander Shepherd. Unfortunately, the only ones we would be able to safely recruit would ones who died on the suicide mission, which indicates a cockup of monumental proportions on their part. We'll have to wait and see if ME3 allows for us to recruit a more competent one.

>>17212622
>>17212703

Not to mention that recruiting TNO at a time where he can't really impact his canon (i.e. after the endgame) would be *really* expensive. At that point he's at least a level 20 every class in DnD 2e save for cleric and paladin. At that point, he also has the power to outright refuse us and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

>>17212703
As you read the novel on the table, about the lycanthropes that sparkle in direct light, you instinctively turn away in revulsion from the astonishingly bad writing contained within.
In fact, you turn away TOO QUICKLY, as though there were something painful in here. Something painful stirring within your thoughts...
1. Focus on the thoughts, try to remember...
2. Let the thoughts pass.

>1. Focus on the thoughts, try to remember
UPDATED MY JOURNAL
... You're standing in a clean metal room. Heroes that you don't recognise - not from any tale you've heard - all gather around a table discussing their plans. While you don't fully understand *why* they plan, or *how* they hope to accomplish their goals, you at least get a glimpse of *what* they're planning to do...

Echo: "She be sendin' shivers down ma spine mon."
"Yes. There's no doubt in my mind that this is the S.U.E. we're looking for."
"Damn Sues. Inter-dimensional retards with no sense of *plot cohesion*, that try to charm everyone and get everything their own way, with no regards for who they walk over in the process. The day we're rid of them all is the first day when I stop fighting."
The Memory becomes hazy, but you catch glimpses - of multiple Planes, of the People that inhabit them - all indistinct and too hard to determine. But at the center of your revulsion, there is one common thread of disgust and hatred...

>>17212785
Echo: "S.U.E."
UPDATED MY JOURNAL
Though the beast takes many forms, they are all people from the "meta", a world where authors write and artists create. The beasts enter into works created by other people. Entering into new settings, new canons. While you don't know exactly what a 'canon' is, or how to reach a new 'setting', the perspective of Life as a Story gives you new insights into your own life, and prompts you to keep watch for anyone who would wrap Your Story around themselves, and in doing so, tear and twist the world that you exist in.

>XP Gained: 65,000
>Wisdom increased permanently
I FEEL STRONGER

>>17212790
>>17212785
D:

>>17212630
The Seer Council has been very useful in determining that Cheryl Mason will be a key figure in resolving this Crossover, and that her survival needs to take priority over others.

But if you haven't read any of the threads after we identified Ravenloft and Castlevania, then you have missed an incredible amount of material.

>>17212561
>>17212622
Intra-party interaction is fun and all, but we are playing as the command crew of the Oncoming Storm. We're the ones making the choices and going over dialogue options, and giving people on the ground direction.
We're the ones that come up with a plan, tell our people to execute it, and tweak things as the situation changes.
'Will this make a good story?" shouldn't be what you ask yourself, you should ask 'Is this a decision the Command Crew would make to further their mission?'
Otherwise you're making decisions which aren't in-character for the Command Crew, and which fall into the territory of the Shipper and even the Fixer, wanting to see characters interact solely for the purpose of watching what comes out of the interaction.

>>17212785
>>17212790
Excellent. by that I mean, 'I like this story, but fear it coming to pass.'

Quick question: Who are the other heroes in the flashback? I got Tosh right away, but the others...

>>17212813
Egon and an Author-self-insert delivering the rant.
After all, I'm on the ship SOMEWHERE, loudly complaining about animes and weeaboos.

>>17212809
University got in the way, I am currently reading the backlog.

In that case, as command staff what are are we weakest in? What is it that during a mission we kick ourselves over and wish we had requisitioned last opportunity?

>>17212813
>'I like this story, but fear it coming to pass.'
Perhaps the same could be said of all religions...

>>17212828
>What is it that during a mission we kick ourselves over and wish we had requisitioned last opportunity?
MORE RECONNAISANCE. MORE INTEL.
That's been a common thread ever since the first thread and it'll be that way up until we kick Chaos in its genitals so hard that the warp collapses.

>>17212828
As stated earlier, we are pretty short on people with Social-Fu who aren't eight-foot superhuman hypersoldiers from the 41st Millennium. On-ground blend-in smooth-talking would be a plus. And no, Spike doesn't count. Sadly.

I know our anti-weeaboo contingent is gonna shit porcupines over this... But perhaps we could look into someone from Legend of the Five Rings? Courtiers, obviously. Sure there'd be the whole issue of "zOMG I HAVE BEEN ABSCONDED WITH BY CRAZY GAIJIN", but I'm sure we could find *someone* who could stomach working with us once the broader situation is explained to them, and some ego-stroking that we're intending to let them wield their Social-Fu without getting jumped by the rest of Rokugan's courts for any slips here and there.

And for the love of the Canon, none of that 11 year old shota Crane musician reverse-trap nonsense or however the meme goes. Though the Crane would be a good place to start looking....

>>17212871
Crane or Scorpion if we are going that route.

Scorpion may be sneaky bastards, but if we can convince them that it is for the good of the empire and the clan they should fall in line.

Would we be going named characters or unnamed if we went this route, as I can suggest some scorpion personalities as I collect a ninja/courtier deck for the ccg.

>>17212871
We could possibly go back to the Fallout world and find the Courier.
While not a dedicated talker, there is no other entity in the world that can talk to an evil supercomputer that has been planning something for a decade, and go [SPEECH: 90] "Dude no, I'm serious bro, dude, no" and have that argument be convincing.
I mean, most people have to actually USE WORDS to convince people with words. The first-person fallout protagonists can turn an entire political faction in his favor by saying [SPEECH: 80%] Hurp derp blorp.

>>17212828
Recon and intel. Being able to know what's around the corner before we turn it, or knowing what's behind the next three doors so that we could properly plan for an ambush.
Having that information would have saved us quite a bit of grief when we were going through Umbrella's underground complex in Raccoon City.

Also, actually taking advantage of what we have, rather than pining for more troops and equipment.
For example, if we had equipped Star-Lord and Soldier with exographic scanners and micro-transporters, I'm sure that we would have had a much easier time in Raccoon City.

>>17212871

Also, at the risk of sounding equally infatuated with Japanese animation, we may be able to satisfy our need for Giant Stompy Robots and a diplomancer at the same time by recruiting Roger Smith from Big-O.

Big-O is a giant stompy super robot. Roger Smith is a smooth-talking and very well-paid negotiator when he isn't being Batman with a giant robot and no MY PARENTS ARE DEEEAAAAAD. He may not like tomatoes, though.

>>17212871
Rokugani people are at a level of crazy xenophobic/racist that a Monodominant Inquisitor would approve (if they didn't also place themselves above the rest of Humanity). The idea that "crazy gaijin" managed to achieve technology/magic so far beyond even their gods would break their brains.

And if not, then the previously mentioned 8 feet tall superhuman hyper soldiers of mostly Caucasian ethnicity would.

But seriously, TG would be the absolute worst place for Rokugani to work in. There has to be other kinds of Diplomancers we can hire. Like high level Bards from D&D, for instance.

>>17212809
True, but from a meta perspective, we the players, should care about the characters we're sending into the fray. That's why we need to balance between characters we want to see, and characters that will be effective for our mission. Fortunately, we seem to have struck the balance well so far, looking at the list of suggestions (although we seem to be missing the Medical guy from Schlock Mercenary, though.) I will grant that mechs are probably a bit much at this stage in the game.

Mind you, if it gets to that level, I think we all know we're getting Mechagodzilla back.

Ok, so the consensus seems to be that we need recon/intel and social characters.

What do we already have with regards to this? And how effective are they?

>I really need to finish reading that backlog, I have no idea what we have anymore

>>17212926
Recon:
UAVs, Protoss observers, recon drones.
Sensor upgrades to the Storm
Aurors for scrying
Farseers for seeing the future
The willingness to send our existing troops to the ground and have them poke around for a bit

Talking:
... The command staff.

>>17212895
So you're suggesting we get a Player Character.
And why exactly would the Courier have any inclination to obey the commands we give them?

>>17212871
My concerns about recruiting such a person from Rokugan would be culture shock, the courtier applying their own social mores and cultural shortcomings when dealing with Canon natives, and being too arrogant for their own good.

>>17212905
Besides that we don't really need Big O, Roger Smith is a highly paid negotiator. His price tag would be well beyond that of our other employees, and would severely distort our budget.

>>17212947
>So you're suggesting we get a Player Character.
... You're right, my idea was stupid.
I know Player Characters. Bunch of self-important derpy shits that treat their inane retarded half-assed 'plans' as though said plans came from the mind of god himself. In between bouts when they're being dicks to everyone, killing anything they feel like, or causing mass destruction with the physics engine. If I never see a player character again in my entire life I'll be a happy person.

>>17212934
Don't forget Darius, he's a pretty good talker, although obviously not inconspicuous. Also the sandmen can influence people to some degree.

We appear to be in autosage. May I suggest starting up a new planning thread? We need to be ready for anything in the Antarctic or Tokyo, after all.

>>17212926
>>17212934
>UAVs, Protoss observers, recon drones.
Worked pretty good so far in giving us good intel of areas. However, since the probe droids can't go into buildings, that has been a problem. Another HK-50, and smaller combat droids that can handle recon in buildings with hostiles as well as to support human troops, would be our next step.
>Sensor upgrades to the Storm
Working well; we can see what we can through the mist only because of the upgrades.
>Aurors for scrying
Don't use them enough.
>Farseers for seeing the future
We use them, but sometimes the future is cloudy.
>The willingness to send our existing troops to the ground and have them poke around for a bit
Usually results in casualties.

Talking:
>... The command staff.
Dialogue options are ultimately up to us and the /tg dice. Can't really do anything about this, except tell people to become better writers.
>Spike
Worked out okay in the Fallout world brokering an arms deal, and did okay in Rivendell.
>Darius and the Knights Inductor
They got Ahriman to talk rather than fight. I think that's pretty good. Also has been the team leader in Transylvania.

>>17212934
If it counts as recon, we have A.N.O.N. (shipboard AI), Egon, and Data for just generally being intelligent and intuitive, allowing us to get more knowledge per information.
If wanted to be Meta, we could talk to our crew and say, "If you were an evil presence and you wanted to take over this planet, where would YOU start?". We get lots of sensible suggestions from most of them, then Char will say something totally batshit and random and Char's guess will turn out to be correct.

>>17212993
> except tell people to become better writers.
Is it possible to spend a ship upgrade on Smarter Players, or is that too meta?

Ok, quick question: Should we start planning for our next deployment? I mean, recruitment is well and good, but that comes after this.

We know that the Antarctic is something to do with the Cthulhu mythos, I believe. Maybe we should discuss what might be a good idea to send?

>>17212993

>Talking Skills

Don't forget that Data can bring negotiating skills to the table, too. While he's no Picard or Kirk, he's spent a long time on the Enterprise fulfilling a variety of rolls. As I recall, there was at least one episode where Data had to do some convincing.

Although I will admit that he may not be as great as a dedicated talker.

>>17213039
We've seen evidence of a massive alien city in the Antarctic. Its description fits that of the ancient Elder Thing/Old One city from the Mountains of Madness. We have a Probe Droid searching for the remains of Peabody's Expedition, so we can determine where in the story this is taking place.

If it's after the Old Ones come out of cryo-stasis and they're killed by the shoggoths, there may be a few more Old Ones in the area we could attempt to bring out of suspended animation, and form an alliance.
For team deployment, I suggest Egon with his proton pack (the Elder Things used electrical weapons against the shoggoths in their war), the Delta Greens, and Star-Lord. We'll need to replicate cold-weather gear for them, and we might have to leave the mass rifles behind because of the extreme cold.

>>17213039
We've currently sent a probe to scout the continent for traces of Peabody's expedition. We'll be able to plan further once we have that information. The Probe's had 2 days or so of searching, since we've spent time in Transylvania, Silent Hill and Pennsylvania.

Anyone up for a Planning thread tomorrow at 7pm-8pm or so? OP won't be there but we can talk about what equipment to buy, how to Antarctica, how to Japan, who might make a viable talker/negotiator.

At the moment, it seems most of our wishlist is specific item requisitions, more of the troops that have been useful so far, and engineering/manufacturing gear. No real objections to any of those.
Talky, negotiating hero?
Submersible and tunneling mech?
Some of the group buffs from Warcraft?

>>17213132
Well, this thread seems to be in autosage, so maybe start the planning thread now?

>>17213061
We're going to need more Datas. I had no idea how useful a Data was.

>>17213146
Well, we could always attempt to replicate the transporter accident that created Thomas Riker.

But where's the fun in that?

Besides, the Datas might have ethical qualms, essentialy being reduced to mass-produced clones or even slaves.

>>17210490
>The black mist then vanishes as the greater part of Eurasia begins to slowly emerge from the mists that had been concealing it.

Hooray!
This means there's still fog over Japan, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica.
I wonder what could be in Australia and Africa?

>>17213178
More to the point, what other Darklords might we wind up facing?

In both previous cases, they've been imported from ravenloft, so we might find more of them.

>>17213199
So...did the thread just die?

>>17213243
It's late. We can discuss more of these Transpace Gardenings later!

Diplomacy characters:
>The Envoy as already mentioned http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envoy_(Wild_Cards)
>a Truthsayer from Dune (can tell when someone is lying)
>a jedi diplomat? They must exist
>that guy from Lie to Me (same deal as above, but an asshole)
>Phoenix Wright (mite be cool)
>A Gray Ajah Aes Sedai from *shudder* the Wheel of Time (their entire life is devoted to diplomacy and negotiation)
>Spacey's character from the Negotiator?

>>17213272
I'll read over those and see if any of them are decent. Note that we're not trying to see if anyone's lying or telling the truth, we're trying to convince them to work with us and make favourable deals with them. Phoenix is a lawyer, not a negotiator.

>>17212516
IIRC, hardware acquisitions work differently.

>>17213300
>Phoenix is a lawyer, not a negotiator.

Yeah, but most of his job is talking to people, so I thought he was worth mentioning. That's just a list off the top of my head.

Our deadline is two weeks right?

>>Africa
>>Australia
>>Antarctica
>>Japan

Oh boy. TIME TO GET UP TO SPEED!

>>17209970

'Will this make a good story?" shouldn't be what you ask yourself, you should ask 'Is this a decision the Command Crew would make to further their mission?'

I think some of the anime choices were for mission efficiency and not for LOL SHIPPING.

Unfortunately, those choices fell in the mechs category.

>>17213272
Also, pic related.

Kidding.

>>If it's after the Old Ones come out of cryo-stasis and they're killed by the shoggoths, there may be a few more Old Ones in the area we could attempt to bring out of suspended animation, and form an alliance.
For team deployment, I suggest Egon with his proton pack (the Elder Things used electrical weapons against the shoggoths in their war), the Delta Greens, and Star-Lord. We'll need to replicate cold-weather gear for them, and we might have to leave the mass rifles behind because of the extreme cold.

This is why people keep telling us to get Getter Robo. That thing is made for fighting shit like this because [spoilers]Getter Energy is sort of like them, except working in humanity's favor[/spoilers].

That being said, this is also why we have the Brasta. If the VX was specifically made for killing dimensional monsters... then >>17208657


>>Dialogue options are ultimately up to us and the /tg dice. Can't really do anything about this, except tell people to become better writers.

The option is to go CYOA, and it's basically anonymous magica all over again with Magia Rebuild/Vapor Tale

>>If wanted to be Meta, we could talk to our crew and say, "If you were an evil presence and you wanted to take over this planet, where would YOU start?". We get lots of sensible suggestions from most of them, then Char will say something totally batshit and random and Char's guess will turn out to be correct.

NOTED FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: Ask Char what would he do.

>>17213396
And how do we deal with the mutagenic properties of the Getter Rays? Getter radiation is what drew the Invaders to Earth, what they feed off of, and what ultimately lets them keep coming back.

Also, it doesn't matter in this case because we need to deal with the situation at the Mountains of Madness with what we have, not what we wished we have.

>>17213456
>>warping all humanity into human/getter machine hybrids who constantly fight in a "survival of the fittest" battleground until they are strong enough to go into space and join Emperor in destroying all life in the universe

It doesn't happen until very very far off in the timeline, and it can be averted by DESTROYING everything Getter when it's time is due.

Anyway, our mech options for Eldtrich abominations right now is only the Brasta, and we need to tweak the VX a bit more.

>>17213338
If our actions are weakening the mists to any degree, we'll be able to see reality distortions on Africa, Australia, and the Oceans. We should scry and send probes to Africa and Australia - scanning first a major population center (e.g. Sydney, Lagos), and then moving on to scan for distortions.
If we can't find the source of the distortions, we could ask people in the cities if they have any news for us.

Japan's mists are extremely strong, and are able to damage or kill an observer. We'll need to send a heavily armored dropship, with a PKE meter and a reality distortion meter, to fly by Shanghai, Seoul, Fukuoka (city in Southwest Japan), Kyoto and Tokyo, sending visual, reality, and PKE readings to the Storm every step of the way. Once you lose contact, or start taking hull damage, turn right the fuck around and get the fuck out.
We'll see how close we can safely get, we land a team in whichever city we can safely reach, and ask people for more information.
That should allow us to get a much clearer idea of what's going on.

In Antarctica, we already have a probe workin' hard, we should wait to see what info it sends back to us before we take action.

We should ask the Farseers whether splitting our efforts between these places is wise, and if it's not, which we should focus on.

This should give us an initial plan for where to move to next.

>>17213503
So our order of tackling the next locations in descending order are:

Australia
Africa
Antarctica
Japan

right?

I think we may need to split up the team again because we still are on the two-week deadline.

>>17213483
You're forgetting proton streams, singularity laser and phaser array orbital strikes, phasers set to maximum, and mass rifles.

>>17213503
>Once you lose contact, or start taking hull damage,
It will be too late by that point, and we'll have lost the dropship as well as anyone aboard.

>>17213530
Since I haven't got any clue what could be in Australia or Africa, I'm not making a decision on where to put those yet.
We don't have nearly enough information on Japan, aside from "Bad shit lives here", so the only thing we should do (at least for now) is gather more info.
Antarctica, being the only place where we have a clue of what shit we're abound to land in, is what we should focus on. Remember, Antarctica is really fuckin' cold. The weather will kill you before anything else can.
>>17213551
There isn't a Safe way to find out what the fuck's going on over Japan. But, if a Dropship can't make it close to the area, then I'm at a loss as to how we're meant to proceed.
I honestly hope the foe here isn't "Hurricane that kills anything entering it before it can reach the middle", because if that's the enemy, then the area is unwinnable.

We still need info on Africa and Australia.

>>I honestly hope the foe here isn't "Hurricane that kills anything entering it before it can reach the middle", because if that's the enemy, then the area is unwinnable.


You're referring to Walpurgis Night, right?

>>17213571
>But, if a Dropship can't make it close to the area, then I'm at a loss as to how we're meant to proceed.
It doesn't seem too difficult.
Have Data, the Inde's replicators, and whatever engineers we can scrape together from the Relentless and Inde put together a submersible droid with a space inside to release a ground rover once it shore. Send one to Yokohama, another to the naval base at Kure, and a third to Tokyo Bay.
The atmospheric disturbance will tear apart anything in the air, but it can't do jack shit to things underneath the ocean surface.

>>17213656
Good plan. We should put those together immediately, because they'll take a day or so to swim into Japan then swim out with the data.

While Operation: Land and Sea takes place, we can investigate the Antarctica, Africa and Australia.

The Plateau of Leng isn't actually that bad in the Mountains of Madness. A few Elder Things and a shoggoth right at the end. For your average CoC player thats pretty bad, for us it's a tuesday.

How many more days have we got in our two-week deadline?

I think we need to go faster because we might need EXTRA TIME in Japan.

Well, we've discussed everything we could. See you next time!

>>17213764
Probably 11, maybe 12 days.
We need confirmation from OP on how many days the Silent Hill/Raccoon City/Barovia operations took in total.
If we had done them sequentially, they would have taken 5 or 6 days. But since we did them in parallel, it should only have been about 3 days.