Instantly your hand gripping onto Elizabeth goes lax, as she stands up, pulling herself free from your grasp. Her magical aura - suppressed and dampened through years of practice and training - begins to flow out of her, a small but noticeable violet glow surrounding her body. Her glowing hands reach up into the air, arms stretching as far as they can, eyes glowing with raw Magic. Mikheil leaps at her, clawed hands outstretched for her throat, as the hanging clouds of mist above you begin to coalesce and begin turning into more vampires.

"Liz!" You scramble after her, trying to pull her away, but she continues her spell, unmoving. You swear you see Mikheil's hand slash through her throat, taking her head clean off, as waves of anger, sorrow, and regret begin to crash into you. And suddenly everything around you stops moving, his hand being mere inches from her throat, the half-formed bodies in the air stuck hanging there. She turns to you, and at the same moment you see her eyes look over to Jemma and Sarah, both looking around in a mix of awe and fear.

"You have 30 seconds to get ready," her voice echoes out, body beginning to fade and shake, as though she is moving a fraction of a second slower and faster at the same time. "After that..." She flexes her left hand, tapping a glowing magical rune inlaid upon her wrist. The rune shatters, as the magical words begin to change shape and coalesce into a large handgun, her left hand grabbing it instantly. She pulls the slide of the gun back, loading it with a metallic click. "It's time to fuck up some vampires."

> Write-In

File: mage quest resource document.pdf (4.31 MB, PDF)

4.31 MB PDF

> Meta Post

> Previous Quest: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/37203480/
> Quest Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=MtA%20Quest
> QM Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MageQM
> Previous Q&A Thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/36531585/
> ask.fm link: http://ask.fm/MageQM

If you guys want to suggest something for spells you want Michael, Elizabeth, Jemma, and Sarah to cast (either on themselves or the others,) go ahead and do so. Otherwise, they will take this time to prepare spells of their own for the situation at hand.

The wards she had in place did go off: every person that entered through the main doorway is protected from the Time Stop spell that just went off throughout the Library. Michael and Sarah are ok, as Elizabeth adjusted the wards to allow for Sarah and whomever else she brings with her to also be protected once it was revealed that Sarah could Teleport. The rune she used was another ward (this one on her person) that allows her to gain access to the stored handgun she had Diana make. The glow she gave off was to activate other wards that require her "magical key" so to speak, which will proceed to do their own, off-screen things.

In the timeframe given, you can get at most 6 spells cast upon you and the others.

Finally, we are sitting on 29 points of experience. No one's come to a consensus just yet on what to spend it on. The main ideas so far are:

1 Dot in Occult
Buying a Dot in Fate
Getting the Familiar merit
Getting Gnosis 4

Otherwise, the resource document is still up to date.

>>37531625
Also, the previous quest link in the meta post is wrong. The most recent quest link can be found here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/37424248/

>>37531625
I guess we should summon some spirits to help us fight, I assume we have know some friendly ones.
Putting up a shield or something probably couldn't hurt either.

>Getting the Familiar merit
I vote for this

>>37531556
>>37531822
This I suppose. I usually just lurk because I'm unfimiliar with the mechanics. Do we have any spells that could better protect Liz?

>>37531625
I vote getting a dot in Occult then getting that rote for our spirit gun so we can fire away without spending mana.

>>37531822
You can summon up some spirits to help out just fine. Your Forces magic also lets you make a kinetic shield to soften or stop physical blows, or turn your fisticuffs (which do bashing damage) into lethal damage.

>>37531907
I thought spirit was one of our watchtower's arcana so it's spells don't cost mana

>>37531919
we should try and summon a fire spirit if we can. Can we use Force to give us Fire fist or is that too advanced?
Vampires are scared of fire.

>>37531900
Unseen Shield is Forces 2, you gain Armor equal to the dots in your Forces. So you can grant 2 Armor to Liz for any physical, non-grappling attacks on her. The other shield spell you know (Ephemeral Shield) does the same thing, so you can grant 5 Armor to Liz, yourself, or the others.

>>37531900
all shield spells are pretty much the same and don't stack, she's got 5 dots in multiple arcana herself. She can shield herself, we should worry more about ourself.

>>37532039
Can they stack? If so, I'd say cast both on both and summon some spirits.

>>37532113
Oh. I'll just leave it to you all then.

>>37531958
You can Influence Fire at Forces 2, you just need an existing source of fire to do so. Controlling fire is Forces 3, but if you guys are willing to risk a Paradox I have a "house rule" that lets you over-reach by 1 dot by risking Paradox upon yourself and burning 1 Mana to do so.

Spirit Blast (the spell you guys are talking about) will use 1 Mana no matter if we make it into a rote or not, it's just the benefit of the Rote is that it can potentially become much more damaging, due to higher dice pool:

> Spirit Gun: Spirit + Intelligence + Occult vs. Resistance, Covert. You create and discharge a small, focused bolt of Spirit energy, breaching the barrier into the Shadow World (if you are not already in it) and striking the spirit where they are most vulnerable. At Spirit 4, it does Lethal damage to spirits, Bashing damage to any being in the Fallen World. At Spirit 5, it turns into Aggrivated damage to spirits, but remains at Bashing damage to any being in the Fallen World.

>>37532143
I've never actually played Mage, I just read the corebook pdf once this quest started

>>37532143
Don't be afraid to ask questions or make suggestions, anon. The whole point of the quest is to give new people an idea of how a Mage quest can be done.

It's just that right now, the scenario set up is one where it rewards you for knowing the system.

>>37532151
>You can Influence Fire at Forces 2, you just need an existing source of fire to do so.
do we have a lighter? If not we should start carrying one so we always have a source of fire.

>>37532119
They can't stack.

So far, the only thing I've seen some general agreement upon is using Ephemeral Shield on ourselves to gain 5 Armor.

Other suggestions made are:
Summoning spirits to help out
Summoning a fire spirit to generate/control fire
Risking Paradox to grant ourselves Fire Fists

>>37532234
>Summoning a fire spirit to generate/control fire
this sounds good. I don't think risking Paradox is a very good idea, we're not that desperate yet.

>>37532199
Michael doesn't smoke nor is he a pyromaniac, so he can't reasonably carry one around for Sleepers to potentially see.

>>37532280
How would sleeper notice that he's carrying a lighter around with him if it's always in his pocket?
We could always start smoking, I assume life magic lets us stay healthy.

>>37532320
Lighter to Influence Fire is fine, but if you cast it around a Sleeper, you can "ease" the spell into existence by saying it's a trick lighter, or one you use for smoking.

And yes, Life magic can help you stay healthy, though you'd need to get more dots in Life (or talk Liz into healing you) to keep healthy.

>>37532320
I know people that carry around these fancy zippo lighters you can snap open just to play with them.

Do you think a fire spirit would like to life in one?

I got a question about arch-mastery. I would appreciate anyone's opinion on the subject.

Could an archmage use the practice of excision to remove his personal Gnosis cap and thus allow himself to attain archmastery in all schools?

So far, the plan of attack is:

> Ephemeral Shield on ourselves
> Summon a fire spirit to generate/control fire

Do you want to turn your fists into lethal damage, or try to fight at range by using Influence Fire generated by the spirit to throw balls of fire at the vampires?

>>37532437
stay at range

>>37532422
it's the world of darkness, I'd say it has a 90% chance of not working while horribly maiming his spirit and making him insane and a 10% chance of working while horribly maiming his spirit or making him insane.
I'd probably be an act of hubris, too.

>>37532437
try to stay at range

>>37532422
His personal one? Probably not, as the odds of it succeeding are like how >>37532492 suggested.

However, if he made a Quintessance that said Gnosis cap upon all Mages was unlimited (and your Will is strong enough), then in theory, given enough time, experience and quintessances, you could attain archmastery in all schools.

Quintessances are rather difficult to work with, as once you attempt to make one, you are telling Reality that this one thing always has, had, and will exist. So the more specific the quintessance, the harder it is for Reality to accept. An overarching, general theme though might be easier to have Reality "accept" as true.

Any other suggestions or spells you want Michael, Elizabeth, Jemma, or Sarah cast? Otherwise I'm going to write the next scene.

You begin working your Mana, the first thing being to form a small but dense Ephemeral Shield around your body, and within seconds your body begins to give off a small, white aura as the shield spell completes. You see similar auras encasing Liz (hers being a violet color), Sarah (a blackish hue), and Jemma (a red aura). Jemma then begins summoning up small orbs of fire, having them hover around her body as orbiting orbs. Sarah begins throwing out small, black balls of Magic up into the air, aiming them towards the half-formed vampires in the air.

You call out to the Shadow World, asking for the aid of any fire spirits in the area to come to your aid with the reward being Mana. Three agree to come, and you make a small portal from the Shadow World into the Material World, and within seconds they join you.

"<Can you guys summon up small flames for me to control with my Magic,>" you ask them.

The three all nod, noting that they have limited pools of energy to do so, and once they run out they will be forced to retreat back into the Shadow World with the Mana you give to them to recuperate.

"There are 13 vampires in the room, and another 8 in the vents leading into the room," Elizabeth's voice echoes out. "15 seconds left."

"How many others are in the building," Jemma asks, producing her firearm from Diana way back when she helped you save Elizabeth.

"76, and I'm sensing others outside the building proper interacting with the wards," she replies, as more auras and her actual person begin to distort further. At this point she looks like a glowing violet ball of light and less like her actual self. "10 seconds."

> Reassure the others
> Caution the others
> Be confident

Also,

> Go after whom?

>>37532926
> Caution the others

>go after the closest

>>37532926
>Reassure the others
it's only 89 vampires

> Go after whom?
go after the leader, the guy Liz recognized

>>37532926
> Be confident
Say somethin snappy, love to the wife, then kick some ass.
> Go after whom?
Mikheil

>>37532926
>Be confident
>Reassure the others
>Flirt

> Go after whom?
Mikheil

>>37532926
>> Be confident

> Go after whom?
main vamp first, no one messes with the missus.

Writing.

"Relax, it's only 89 vampires, we got this," you say aloud, while internally you're freaking out. It's 89 vampires, like what the fuck? They really don't like Mages if they are bringing out this many guys to take you all out. "Be confident in your skills and spells and we got this."

"6 seconds."

You issue a silent command to one of the spirits, who spits out a small ball of fire, which you begin to magically influence, stepping to the right a bit to get a clear shot at Mikheil, still frozen in place, Elizabeth herself moving out of the way. "Time to roast some bitches and bang these bones."

Everyone looks at you, three pairs of eyes piercing your form. "Sorry... Sounded better in my head."

"3... 2... 1!"

Slowly everything around you begins to move, and all at once the prepared spells go off. The hovering black orbs balloon out, the pull of gravity lifing your shirt up ever so slightly, as the half-formed vampires all scream in shock as they are sucked into the multiple singularities. Mikheil's clawed hand swipes at empty air, as your ball of flame strikes him in the chest. He screams in terror and pain, patting his chest to try and put the flames out. Three shots ring out simultaneously from Elizabeth's gun, all three hitting Mikheil in the face. The singularities collapse upon themselves, as severed limbs and pink goo rain down upon all four of you. From out of the vents more clouds of mist form, and small chunks of the fire orbs Jemma had created fly up into them. As soon as they reach the vents they explode, the mist dissipating and not reforming.

You look over at Sarah, who is plucking some guy's finger out of her hair. "Eew... Vampire bits," she says, throwing it to the ground.

"Lets get going, we're not done yet."

> Leave the room first
> Stick together
> Split up and start evacuating people inside
> Other

>>37533434
wow, did Mikheil really think he could take an entire room full of mages? I mean why lead from the front instead of sending expendable pawns?

>Stick together
never split the party

>>37533434
>Stick together
can we seal the vents somehow?

>>37533513
Who's to say Mikheil isn't also an expendable pawn?

>>37533434
> Stick together

>>37533571
You're welcome to ask that in-game.

>>37533434
We need to seal those vents if we can, limit their options so we can bottleneck the bastards. It worked at Thermopylae, it'll work here.

>>37533646
Agreed, but how? Could the fire spirit melt them shut?

>>37533727
or we could have jemma melt them shut she has like 4 or 5 in forces.

>>37533577
who's to say expendable pawns can't have their own expendable pawns?

>>37533787
Let's not shut all of them, leave one open so we know where they'll be and can kill them easily
do we have enough air in the building to survive till morning?

>>37533787
We need her fire power though. I think we can still throw fire even if the fire spirit is doing something else.

>>37533787
Semi-meta knowledge here:

She's Forces 5, as she can fly.

Three guesses as to what the orbs of fire are. You should only need 1.

>>37533859
miniature suns?

>>37533880
Forces 5 - Create Sunlight. She has mini-suns around her. There's a reason why you want a Forces Mage on your side during a vampire attack.

>>37533950
those guys are soooooo fucked

Also, writing.

>>37533950
Well, that settles it, we need to up Forces in the near future.

"Let's stick together," you say as Jemma sticks her head outside. Two of the orbs fly out from her and into the Library proper, and the pained screams of people burning alive echo into the room. The orbs sort of remind you of the fireball she showed you on the first day you Awoke... Wait, are those miniature suns? "Jemma, are those-"

"Yes," she replies, as she forms two more to replace the ones she launched. "Vampires never fuck with a Forces Mage, because this happens." She motions for you three to follow her out into the hallway. Outside there's at least two dozen piles of ash and bone lying on the ground within your lines of sight as the two orbs now hover in the air, larger in size and radiating out light and heat. You see several other, similar sized orbs down the ways, as more screams and the echoes of battle ring out around you.

"We need a way to seal the vents," you say to the others. "As much as I like seeing us wrecking the vampires, eventually we're gonna run out of Mana, or they're gonna sneak up on us before we realize it."

"The controls for the heating and AC ducts is this way," Elizabeth says, pointing to the left. "Raguel, could you be so kind as to alert the people in the Library as to what is happening?"

"Uh... Sure, but how?"

She points to your right, where a corded phone is resting upon the wall. "Dial *0, wait for the click, and start talking. The PA system will carry it out through all the speakers in the Library."

> Tell them the truth about the vampire attack and the numbers you're facing
> Tell them it's a vampire attack but you are dealing with it
> Practice caution and urge them to stay indoors
> Other

> captcha: inest

>>37534221
>Tell them it's a vampire attack but you are dealing with it

>at least two dozen piles of ash
It's a shame we don't get xp per defeated enemy.

>>37534221
>> Tell them it's a vampire attack but you are dealing with it

i dont want to scare them to much but i want them to under stand the danger.

>>37534221
>Tell them it's a vampire attack but you are dealing with it

>>37534221
> Tell them it's a vampire attack but you are dealing with it

Anyone else getting long delays when posting?

>>37534597
yes
I blame it on moot's reitrement

>>37534597
I have had some delays, yeah. Which sucks when you're the QM.

Writing.

You pick the phone up off the receiver and dial in the numbers, and a couple seconds later you hear a click echo out from both the speaker on the phone and the speakers in the ceiling. "Hi folks, as I hope you're aware of now, the Library is currently under attack by a cabal of vampires. However, we are dealing with the incursion right now, so please exercise caution for the time being. Oh, I also would recommend staying indoors until the situation is resolved." At that, you hang the phone up. It's rather odd hearing yourself talk over the speakers, and the noises around you pick up in pitch slightly, as though the Mages or vampires are now working faster or harder.

"Lets get going," Jemma says. You nod in agreement and follow Liz to a maintenance room. Inside is a series of ducts, spinning fans, furnaces and AC units, with a control panel of buttons and switches on it. Elizabeth clicks several of the buttons, and the fans slowly spin down to off. You hear the slight sounds of motors moving in the ducts, and several seconds later the loud thud of metal snapping shut, as the furnaces all shut down.

"There, now the only way inside is through the main door."

You barely have a chance to sigh before the building begings to shudder, dust rattling down from the rafters. You look over to Elizabeth as several magical runes light up in her face, blinking red and yellow at her. "Don't tell me..."

"Fuck," she replies, dismissing the runes with one glowing finger. "They just blew open a hole in the southwest corner of the building, now they don't need the vents to get inside."

> Stop them at the new opening
> They really want you dead
> Should we consider evacuating everyone now?
> Other

>>37534930
>> Stop them at the new opening
Never surrender, never retreat!

>>37534930
>> Stop them at the new opening
>> They really want you dead

>>37534930
> Stop them at the new opening

>>37534930
>Stop them at the new opening

Writing.

>>37534930
> Stop them at the new opening

Woulda been here sooner, but I drew the short straw to see who'd get dinner.

"Well, time to stop them at the new opening," you say to the three. "Any idea on the size of the hole?"

"No, it's just a warning about a breach and the location of it, not the size." She scowls at the re-appearance of the red and yellow runes. "Yes wards, I know about the breach, leave me alone!" She disables the alarm again.

"They really want you dead," you, Sarah and Jemma say at the same time.

"Well, time to return the favor," she replies, as she leads you three out into the Library proper and towards the southwest corner of the building. As you get closer, you see several vampires charge you guys, which you, Sarah, Jemma or Elizabeth dispatch rather quickly. Even at this distance you can see the hole is rather large, as the sounds of the elevated train run by, and you can see the building across the street.

You walk up to it and see at least two dozen vampires all surrounding the hole, as though they are waiting for you to arrive. Some are rather human-looking, while others give off an unmistakable aura of bloodthirst and rage. However, none of them move to attack.

"Sorry for the intrusion," one of them says, way in the back of the horde, out in the street. She walks her way forward, the crowd of vampires parting for her to walk forward. "But I knew of no other way to get your attention."

> You got it now, so what do you want?
> Attack her
> Stay silent
> Other

>>37536176
> Other
> flirt
All this, just to get my attention? You really shouldn't have.

>>37536176
> You got it now, so what do you want?
add "We are in no mood to be fucked with, so make it short."

>>37536176
> You got it now, so what do you want?

>>37536176
>> Other
you could have made phone call an e-mail,fax hell a fucking candy gram.

Writing.

File: 1418274122736.jpg (1.05 MB, 3000x4645)

1.05 MB JPG

"But all this, just to get my attention? You really shouldn't have," you say to them, amplifying your voice ever so slightly so it projects a bit further out. "You know, we do have a working phone, you could've just called and talked to us.

"But that isn't very exciting, is it?" She steps forward into full view, and compared to the other people here, she looks like she belongs at a gallery opening or opera. "Ah, but where are my manners?" She curtsies very slightly, smiling all the time. "My name is Althena Trimonti."

Well, guess we know who runs the Trimonti corporation then. "Hi, I'm the Mystic," Elizabeth says, cocking the gun and pointing it at Althena. "Consider this your only warning. Leave this city right away, otherwise I'm going to kill you, your friends, your family, and all of your cabal."

At that, Althena merely smiles. "Yes, I had heard you were rather... Uncouth to the Blessed." She snaps her fingers, and a lackey from outside runs forward, carrying a rather large briefcase. "However, I am hoping to convince you otherwise." He clicks it open, revealing a stack of $100 bills. "I am not like others of my kin; I see the value in keeping the... Sleepers, I believe you call them, 'in the dark,' so to speak."

"Don't startle the herd of cows, keep feeding them well," Jemma says. "And getting your prime cuts of beef."

"Something like that," Althena smiles back at you four.

> Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk
> Give us a moment to talk it out in private
> No deal
> Other

>>37537121
>> Give us a moment to talk it out in private
this is a surprise i want a quick meeting on what to do.

>>37537121
Let's talk this out. If they can agree to not kill anyone then they may be workable. We'll work that into a Geis contract if she proves reasonable, wifey here's got the fate dots for a really nasty one if she breaks her oath.

>>37537121
>Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk

>"Don't startle the herd of cows, keep feeding them well," Jemma says. "And getting your prime cuts of beef."
I thought she was the diplomatic one

>>37537121
>> No deal
if its between ending the vampire threat now before someone else gets the idea to clear out all the mages and keeping them around so we can do this all over again later, i say end it now

> No deal
"It's too late for words. Even before this attack, your intentions have been clear. You want everyone who's not your clique or your food source out of the way."

>>37537121
>Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk
We can at least hear them out

>>37537121
> No deal
Because fuck 'em.

>>37537121
>> Give us a moment to talk it out in private
i want to gauge ever one else before we make a choice

>>37537244
Jemma's form of diplomacy is usually dealt with her on the right end of a gun, her target on the wrong end.

Elizabeth is usually the diplomatic one, but her impartiality is a bit compromised at the moment.

>>37537121
>Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk
Mostly because I want answers. Like "Why the fuck attack us before you try talking, wtf!"

>>37537121
"I want 1 good reason why I should ignore the fact you and your cabal have targeted and attempted to kill people I care for and listen to you, instead of nipping this problem in the butt right now before the next vampire who thinks they can try this again does something stupid."

So by my count, I see 3 votes for each option. I'm keeping voting open a bit more going to the RNG option, mainly because it's a big decision.

lets talk with our group first then we can decide to tell them to fuck off or make a deal.

>>37537452
does >>37537221
not count as a vote?

>>37537452
For the record my vote here >>37537221 is basically

>Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk

>>37537501
It did, I classified it under the "lets talk business" option. Though maybe I miscounted...? Lemme re-count now.

>>37537209
>>37537367
For talking in private.

>>37537221
>>37537244
>>37537346
>>37537411
For business talk.

>>37537294
>>37537333
>>37537363
For no deal.

Yeah, I miscounted. Writing.

Note: I consider this >>37537447 as a 'Other' or 'Let's talk' option.

>>37537452
Let's talk, but be very leery of commiting to anything

Well we pissed off our friends and possibly might let the vampires talk over the city oh fun.

>>37537826
listen to what they have to say and maybe find out why they're doing what they're doing != letting them take over the city

>>37537906
ya and we might have missed some useful info to help with negotiating.

>>37537906
I just thought we'd get some info out of them. Just... make sure not to look them right in the eyes. And one of us knows mind arcana right? Mind Shield, it does that. We must pre-empt mind fuckery.

You place a hand on Elizabeth, urging her to step back a bit. After a long moment she acquiesces, stepping back but keeping the gun raised at Althena. "Alright, you want to talk business? Let's talk."

"Very well," she snaps her fingers and within seconds she has her aids brought forth a collapsable table and several folding chairs, and they are set up in front of you. She sits down first, as another aid brings forth several pages of prepared documents. "Consider the suitcase here a small token of the overall payment of the contract," she says, as the aid quickly delivers it to your side and running back to the group.

For their part, Sarah and Jemma are remaining emotionless and stoic, keeping one eye on Althena and the other on the dozens of vampires not even 20 feet away. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is pacing back and forth, trying very hard to not burst out in a yell of rage and fury.

"I tried to be as reasonable as I could, though I am willing to discuss certain points of contention." You give the document a quick read-through, and indeed it reads like a rather clean cut business transaction. In a general sense, it breaks down into four major points:

1. All vampires that operate under the Trimonti name are afforded a chance to present their case before being attacked by a werewolf, Mage, or Sleeper, and will not attack any of the aforementioned parties without provocation.

2. The Trimonti corporation will host blood drives in specific neighborhoods to keep the vampires' blood thirst sated.

3. No Sleeper will be turned into a vampire or killed by one unless they themselves desire to become one or killed by one.

4. Vampires will pay reparations in the form of favors and monetary value to any prior offended parties with an equivalent amount, and visa versa for any party that offended a specific vampire or the Trimonti cabal as a whole.

The only thing that seems off is that the contract wishes to activate retroactively, as though it were in effect at least 30 years ago, and you are just "renewing" the deal.

"Well, what do you think? Are my terms acceptable?" She slides a pen across the table to you.

> It seems fine to me
> Let me talk it over with my allies
> We'd need the other Mage parties to agree with this
> No deal
> Other

>>37538100
>> Let me talk it over with my allies

these points are so open end to loophole bullshit dont even take it.

>3. No Sleeper will be turned into a vampire or killed by one unless they themselves desire to become one or killed by one.
because you can mind fuck some into wanting that.

>>37538100
>Let me talk it over with my allies

>before being attacked by a werewolf
I don't think we can speak for the werewolves or Sleeper

>No Sleeper will be turned into a vampire or killed by one unless they themselves desire to become one or killed by one.
We'll need to add in a clause about using mind control. They made that other guy come to the blood drive

>>37538100
Talk it over, this is a surprisingly reasonable deal coming from a vampire. If they're cool with it we can slap this puppy on a Geis contract. Sorry, but you can never really trust a vampire, or any other supernatural, without an insurance policy.

>>37538166
Those are the general, overall terms of the papers. The majority of the pages are written to try and prevent loopholes and all conceivable forms of breaking the spirit of the law, which is what those terms of the parts break down to.

Michael deals with this paperwork for a living, and to the best of his ability there are no loopholes he can identify to be abused by one side or the other.

>>37538100
>1. All vampires that operate under the Trimonti name are afforded a chance to present their case before being attacked by a werewolf, Mage, or Sleeper, and will not attack any of the aforementioned parties without provocation.
clever, it forces all vampire in the city to work for her or be hunted down. She's using us to gain control of all vamps in the city.

>and visa versa for any party that offended a specific vampire or the Trimonti cabal as a whole.
>activate retroactively, as though it were in effect at least 30 years ago
They're going to demand money for that cabal that used to be here and was wiped out, aren't they?

>>37538189
The third part specifically mentions mind control and that each person who wishes to Turn or be killed by a vampire be analyzed by a neutral third party before such a thing can occur to prove no mind control or lack of information has occurred.

>>37538100
> No deal
I see no reason to deal. They were trying to wipe us out and we killed most of them anyway. Lt's finish the job.

>>37538100
>> No deal

>>37538100
>4. Vampires will pay reparations in the form of favors and monetary value to any prior offended parties with an equivalent amount, and visa versa for any party that offended a specific vampire or the Trimonti cabal as a whole.
who decides how much money something is worth?
I dislike this part, they wouldn't offer it if it didn't benefit them.

> Let me talk it over with my allies

>>37538236
except the "renewing" part makes it so the vampires can claim reparations from the cities mages for the "30 years of oppression and Liz wiping out the cabal before"

>>37538365
they'll probably expect compensation for all the vampires we just killed, too

Writing.

I'm doing it based upon the, "let me talk it over with my allies first" option.

>>37538398
>>37538365

Exactly. We really should get that cleare up.

Speaking of which, what about escape clauses?

>it seems fine wi-
I can't even finish that line as a joke.

>NO DEAL
If they had come to us before starting the blood drives and the property buyouts, there may have been peace.

Don't let your anger blind you.

We can magically enforce contracts, we're already friends with werewolves. Being on good terms with more supernaturals is always an advantage, you never know when some giant world-destroying threat needs you to call in every friend you can think of.

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it looks like we're gonna talk this over with the gang, so for those wanting to talk I'll say this. Any contract so carefully worded to avoid loopholes is 100 times more suspicious then one with obvious loopholes, they'd only go through the effort to avoid loopholes and make the deal seem fair to hide the real reasons behind the deal
>part 1- all vampires must now work for them or be fucked
>part 2- we already know they're using the blood drives for more than they seem to be for, this just gives them cause to open more
>part 3-yeah like Henry was "convinced" to become one, calling Bullshit
>part 4- renewing only gives them an excuse to milk the mages for what happened to them in the past, especially what Elizabeth did in the past and the vampires we killed just now

>>37538541
if its a world ending threat it dosent matter if your enemy's or not if they want to live through it as wel they need to help as well.

"Give me a moment to talk it over with my allies," you say, setting the paperwork down and motioning for the others to gather up.

"Take your time, I've got nowhere else to be," she replies back.

You catch the others up to speed on the contract, giving them an overall idea of the contract's four main points, the ways to prevent loopholes written in it, and the odd stipulation about the 30 years prior part.

"Shit," Elizabeth says, glancing back at Althena. "That means they'll want something for the cabal I wiped out 20 years ago."

"How many vampires we talking here," Jemma asks.

"About 400."

At that, Sarah whistles. "Dead man walking," she sings out.

You can't help but agree; there's no way you and Elizabeth could give reparations for over 400 vampires killed, so the only acceptable form of repayment in the contract is the life of the person who caused all these deaths.

> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)
> Provide a counter-point about the stipulation to try and save Liz's (and any other Mages) life
> Accept the deal
> Other

>>37538630
>> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)

>>37538574
>part 1- all vampires must now work for them or be fucked
not actually a bad thing, if they police the vampires that means we don't have to bother policing lone stragglers all the time
>part 3-yeah like Henry was "convinced" to become one, calling Bullshit
mind control is one of the loopholes they covered

>part 4- renewing only gives them an excuse to milk the mages for what happened to them in the past, especially what Elizabeth did in the past and the vampires we killed just now
that's the only one that worries me

>>37538626
it matters if they can't help you because you killed them all. We're already killing vamps by the dozens already

>>37538630
> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)
I don't even know why you guys took so long to get to this decision.

>>37538630
>> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)
ya they can go fuck them self's.

>>37538630
> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)
We have no good reason to deal with them and several very good reasons to kill every last vampire we can see right now.

>>37538630
>Provide a counter-point about the stipulation to try and save Liz's (and any other Mages) life
drop the "it extends into the past or say hello to mister mini-sun"

we can at least state an ultimatum before we fight

>>37538630
>> Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)
>suspicions confirmed
>they want Elizabeth at the very least
>no deal
>>37538652
>not actually a bad thing, if they police the vampires that means we don't have to bother policing lone stragglers all the time
assuming they would agree to do that at all, what guarantee do we have they'd actually do their job and not just say they are?
>mind control is one of the loopholes they covered
plenty of ways to do it without mind control, i'm still not convinced they even messed with Henry's mind to make him want to change

>>37538703
>we can at least state an ultimatum before we fight
>ultimatum
>basically announcing we've seen through their ruse and they have no reason not to attack us anymore
i'm just saying, this is their final gambit. they know they're fuck if this fails

>>37538630
>Provide a counter-point about the stipulation to try and save Liz's (and any other Mages) life
Counterpoint: One mage killed over 400 of you, your bargaining position is shit.

when that fails
Well then, lets begin round 2 (fight the vampires)

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>>37538630
>"Shit," Elizabeth says, glancing back at Althena. "That means they'll want something for the cabal I wiped out 20 years ago."

Yeah fuck these guys. We worked too hard getting Liz back to let some fucking necksuckers kill her on a 20 year grudge. Times like this makes me wish we could bullshit up some riple-style vampire slayer martial art.

So the overall consensus seems to be a, "no deal" type of mentality. Do you guys even want to consider an ultimatum like >>37538703 suggested, or just begin with the throwing of mini-suns?

>>37538917
fuck no

>>37538917
ultimatum.
She seems to be a talky vampire, not a fighty one. We've been slaughtering them easily, it would be suicide to fight us.

>>37538917
Nope. Shields up then mini suns and blackholes for everyone.

>>37538917
Roast the lot of them.

>>37538953
>>37538995
>>37538997
there goes our wisdom

>>37538917
hell no.

Ok, writing.

>>37539021
>wisdom
>letting a cabal of vampires live that want you and your loved ones dead
how is that in anyway wise

>>37539021
no that would only happen if we were drunk own our own power and disregarding all around us.

>>37539021
I don't know if you noticed, but they were in the middle of a hostile takeover of allied territory and just sent a goonsquad in to kill us.

>>37539070
>getting angry and murdering people in the middle of a negotiation

>>37539021
even if that did happen
>vampires die+ lose wisdom so what-
>vampires live- lose loved ones-
seems a pretty clear chose

>>37539118
But they aren't people, they're vamp trash that attacked first.

>>37539126
you can do murder and not lose wisdom. You just can't murder because you're angry. Planned, cold-blooded killing is okay

>>37539118
>>getting angry
compleatly justified when they try to murder you
>and murdering people
>people
i see soulless vampires wanting to kill us
>in the middle of a negotiation
more like a back stab waiting to happen but sure i'll concede its a form of negotiation

>>37539169
>You just can't murder because you're angry. Planned, cold-blooded killing is okay
whose angry, so far Liz is the maddest one and Michael been the most cold headed, if anyone would lose wisdom in this situation its her and she has way more to spare

>>37539160
to be fair, we let a werewolf get away with almost murdering us, Jemma and another police officer.

>>37539202
True, but it's painfully obvious they intend to have our wife pay for her totally justified asskicking of the previous cabal.

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"Alright then, get ready for my signal." You turn back around at the table, picking up the contract.

"Well, are the terms acceptable," Althena asks, still maintaining some level of a smile.

You lift the contract up to the fire spirits, who spit out small tufts of fire, setting it ablaze. "No deal," you say to her. Instantly Jemma launches three of her mini-suns at the group of vampires, and another one at Althena. Elizabeth fires at Althena, and Sarah expels out a wave of black magic from her hands.

For a moment, you think you see Althena smirk, before instantly dodging all the bullets shot her way, appearing next to Elizabeth, a glowing blue hand clenched around her throat. The suns rush forward into the vampires, who all fade from existance as though they were never there to begin with. the black pulse reverberates around you all, reflecting back onto you as a wave of weakness crashes over you.

You turn to see Althena, her facade shifting into a new form, one cloaked in blue and yellow auras. "How disappointing," she smirks out, as the auras around Elizabeth dissipate, her other hand grabbing the gun brought up to her face by Liz. "But then again, I never expected you to go along with it." She lifts Elizabeth into the air, and she struggles to break free of this person's grasp.

> Let her go!
> Who are you?
> Attack her (with what; write-in)
> Other

>>37539273
> Who are you?
shouldn't she be ash from all the sunlight those suns are putting out?

>>37539273
>> Let her go!
>> Attack her (with what; write-in)
Spirit Gun, that'd work on her right

>>37539328
Yes. But she looks perfectly healthy, and is even breathing.

>>37539273
>who are you
"You'd be ash by now if you were a vampire."

Bye Liz.

>>37539273
>> Attack her (with what; write-in)
swarm her with spirits, toughest we can find
>>37539351
add this

>>37539273
why do all our enemies have to be beautiful women?

>Attack her (with what; write-in)
spirit gun, she's obviously not a normal vampire

>>37539273
>Have Sarah teleport to Liz then teleport her away from here

>she probably had time to set up that ward to block our magic cause people insisted on talking
>even said she expected it to fail
>great job guys
>>37539273
>>37539467
do it

>>37539273
this>>37539467

>>37539273
So she wasn't actually a vampire, and there weren't even any vampires, and it was illusions and a trick.

Goddamnit, I really should have seen this coming.

I wonder if any of our sight powers would have revealed the trick if we'd used them before/during the negotiation?

Writing.

i wonder if we up life death and spirit that we can resurrect some one, just in case.

>>37539747
this is probably one of those settings where resurrection is impossible and bound to go wrong horribly.

You instantly shape some of your Mana into a bolt of Spirit energy and fire it at the woman. It strikes her clean on and she flinches in pain ever so slightly, but maintains her grip on Liz. "Let her go!"

She glances over at you, eyes flashing blue, before looking back at Liz. "Oho, so you finally found one, Elizabeth." She throws her at you, and you barely have time to catch her before her blue aura glows brighter. "I suppose she never talked about me... Then again, she probably thought I was dead."

"Who are you, really," Jemma asks, one hand crackling with lightning, the other bringing her handgun to bear on this 'Althena.'

"I'm surprised you don't remember me, Jacklynn," the woman replies, her glowing blue eyes looking at her, then shifting to Sarah. "My my my... An archmaster in our midst and you didn't tell us about it? Tsk tsk tsk."

Sitting up in your hands, Elizabeth grasps her throat, hands glowing green with Life magic. "Fuck off, Tsukuyomi! I don't work for you or the Free Council anymore!"

"But you do hold reign over one of our Libraries," she says, looking at you both. "Or at least, you did. Consider this your eviction notice. Now get out, we've come back to take what is ours."

> We're not leaving
> Eat a fist, bitch! (6d10, Strength + Brawl, +1 die from brass knuckles)
> This isn't over (leave)
> Other

Rolled 2, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10 = 41 (6d10)

>>37539819
>> Eat a fist, bitch! (6d10, Strength + Brawl, +1 die from brass knuckles)

I dunno. Doesn't really seem like we can do anything to her. She's facing all of us down with no fear.

>>37539862
how did i do i cant remember what are successes and fails.

Rolled 5, 1, 9, 4, 7, 6 = 32 (6d10)

>>37539819
>> Eat a fist, bitch! (6d10, Strength + Brawl, +1 die from brass knuckles)

YELLOW WALL RIPPLE OVERDRIVE

>>37539887
8 and 9 are a +1, normally a 10 is +1 and reroll, I'm weighing 10's as a +2 to not have to worry about rerolls.

Rolled 7, 5, 5, 3, 5, 3 = 28 (6d10)

>>37539819
>Eat a fist, bitch! (6d10, Strength + Brawl, +1 die from brass knuckles)

>>37539819
> This isn't over (leave

Regardless of what wins, I vote we still have Sarah get Liz out of here.

>>37539920
if i remember correctly you said this is how you determine successes
1 = -2
2-5=-1
6-9=+1
10=+2

Rolled 9, 9, 7, 4, 5, 6 = 40 (6d10)

>>37539819
>> Eat a fist, bitch! (6d10, Strength + Brawl, +1 die from brass knuckles)

Writing.

You don't know who this 'Tsukuyomi' is, but you do recognize the Free Council name as one of the Mage parties that came back into town recently. And if this is their Library, then they probably have a right to contest it.

But not after this type of entrance, and not after hurting Elizabeth.

"Eat this, bitch!" You lunge at the woman with your clenched fists around the brass knuckles, but your swing goes wide as it collides with an unseen force field.

At that, the woman pouts. "How disappointing..." She points a glowing finger at you, and you feel yourself being lifted into the air by an unseen force. "Maybe try again in another 30 years, Sleeper." She flings her hand into the air and you feel yourself fly up into the ceiling, crashing into the rafters with a loud thud. You barely have time to yell out in pain before you feel the same force pull down, slamming you face first into the ground, the cement cracking at your impact.

"Raguel!" Elizabeth runs over to you, hands glowing green, expecting to heal you.

> Turn on Mage Sight
> Over-reach, risk Paradox and attempt Dispel Magic
> Retreat for now
> Other

> Meta post:

Michael's shield absorbed all the damage, it just looked/felt painful. The shield is about ready to break, though.

>>37540253
>> Over-reach, risk Paradox and attempt Dispel Magic
We have not yet begun to fuck shit up.

>>37540253
>> Turn on Mage Sight

>>37540253
> Retreat for now
That's twice she didn't outright kill someone when she probably could have. We should get out of here for now.

>>37540091
Success table was listed back in Quest 9. For those not wanting to go back, here's the copy+ paste:

Success = 8 and 9 (+1).
Exceptional Success = 10 (normally you re-roll, for quest I'm weighing it +2).
Failure = no successes on our die.
Critical Failure = rolling a 1 on a chance die.

>>37540253
> Turn on Mage Sight

Hold off on the fireworks until we know what we're dealing with.

Wait for a clear shot, THEN blast her.

>>37540253
>> Over-reach, risk Paradox and attempt Dispel Magic

>>37540253
>> Turn on Mage Sight
>> Over-reach, risk Paradox and attempt Dispel Magic

Do you want to go for Mage Sight then attempt Dispel Magic, or just go for Dispel?

>>37540573
sight then dispel

>>37540573
Yeah, sight then dispel

Ok, writing.

Rolled 10, 5 = 15 (2d10)

Also, rolling for Paradox.

>>37540851
crap, or yay if that's good

>>37540881
Crap, Paradox die are the one things you want to fail on.

>>37540881
Nope. I'm pretty sure a 10 is very bad.

>>37540915
so we're fucked is what you're saying, great...

>>37540915
Eat it as bashing damage, we really do not need this right now and we're at full health I think, we can eat 2 bashing.

>>37540937
We had to try.

>>37540915
we can take it as damage right?

>>37540958
ya we did it during the Christmas special.

>>37540945
We really didn't. Plenty of chances to get away and come back later.

You look up at Elizabeth as you tap into your rarely used Prime magic, as it is by far the weakest type of spells you can cast, though it does grant you the opportunity to read the various spells cast upon a Mage. You see that all the spells upon Elizabeth were removed, as she realizes what you were doing and are about to do. "You're crazy," she murmurs to you, as you feel her channel her Fate magic into you. "But good luck."

You glance over and see her, as your sight reveals several auras and spells cast upon her person at the moment. You spend Mana to dig deeper into your Prime magic, trying to tap into enough raw power to cast a Dispel upon her. You feel Reality crashing upon you, attempting to stop your spell, but trudge through the pain and sling it at the woman.

She looks over at you, her glowing eyes slowly fading. "Do you really think such a spell will work against me?" She goes to throw you into the air once again, only the spell is stopped by something. You look back and see Jemma's empty hand no longer crackling with lightning, instead glowing with raw, primal Magic.

"Fool me once, shame on you." She throws her hand into the air, and this time Tsukuyomi is the one who goes flying up into the rafters. "Fool me twice, shame on me!" She slams her hand into the ground, and Tsukuyomi comes crashing into the concrete, a crater forming at the impact.

"Time to go," Sarah says, grabbing onto you and Elizabeth, as Jemma grabs onto Sarah's shoulder. You see Tsukuyomi clamber out of the crater, eyes glowing with yellow light, hands crackling with lightning.

"I won't be so kind next time, Elizabeth," she bellows out as your vision distorts and shifts, and within seconds you appear lying on the floor of your apartment. Instantly Elizabeth begins casting various spells, throwing out wards and obfuscation spells, Sarah joining her in the casting.

> Mind telling us who the fuck that is, Liz?
> I wasn't done with her yet!
> Other

>>37541049
>other
"Alright, cards on the table, folks. Liz, care to fill me in about that snake?"

> Meta post:

Dispel Magic did work, it turned off Tsukuyomi's Mage Sight. You ate 2 points of bashing damage from the Paradox, as you willed the spell to exist. Tsukuyomi tried to repeat her Forces attack upon you, but Jemma Counterspelled it and cast it upon her instead.

>>37541049
>> Mind telling us who the fuck that is, Liz?

>>37541049
>> Mind telling us who the fuck that is, Liz?

>>37541049
>> Other
"So who was that, and how badly are we going to have to break her before she takes a hint and disappears?"

>>37541049
>Wait for them to finish then,
> Mind telling us who the fuck that is, Liz?

Writing.

You wait a few minutes while Sarah and Elizabeth cast their spells, as you make a pot of coffee for you and the others to drink, expecting this to be a long, long story, while Jemma begins watching outside onto the two decks for your apartment, half-expecting someone to fly up and attack them.

The pot finishes brewing just as the two finish their warding, a heavy sigh escaping from Elizabeth's lips. Sarah for her part just curls up on your couch, pulling a blanket over her body and yawning. "Thanks," she says as you hand her the cup.

"So, mind telling us who the fuck that was back there, Liz?"

"Tsukuyomi," Jemma says, closing the doors to the decks behind her. "I'd only met her once, back when I first came here. She was working with Elizabeth on something, but I never knew what. A few days later, only Elizabeth came back to train me."

"It's... A long story," Liz murmurs out, sipping her coffee, eyes trying hard not to look you directly in the face.

"Well start talking."

"I Awoke when I was 4. Tsukuyomi saved me from a rogue Mage shortly there-after, and began to mentor me in Magic. She and the Free Council in the city raised me as their own child, as my parents were... Rather terrible," she says.

"Ok, I've yet to see the problem here..."

"Over time, I began to notice things, and the Free Council members were rather focused on their own agenda and not following the core belief of the Council. Tsukuyomi assuaged my fears, telling me that I was young and couldn't see 'the Big Picture...'" At that, she looks up at you. "You don't think..."

> Guess we know who the mystery caller is
> Let's worry about that later
> Other

>>37541593
> Let's worry about that later
We need to focus. We need to know how she thinks, how she kills, and how she runs.

>>37541593
> Other
why start other "issues" if they were just going to attack why not do it at the start and why send me information on your location when you were missing to save you only to attack you later.

>>37541593
>> Let's worry about that later

>>37541593
>> Let's worry about that later
i really hope it not her that was calling, I want it to be some big PLOT person who shows up later and beats Tsukuyomi/explains what the fuck is up with Michaels' tower

>>37541776
My theory is that if our mystery caller never gave us our heads up, we'd have found Liz far too late to stop the initial takeover tonight. He wanted Tsukiyomi halted.

>>37541873
no it was stated in the quest when he first called that he was the one who sent the letter that made Michel go and find Liz.

>>37541836
>explains what the fuck is up with Michaels' tower
thank you, like 70% of the reason i'm still here is to find out wtf is up with that

>>37541873
ignore this >>37541914
im to tired to comprehend anything right now.

>>37541593
I don't think our mystery caller would be her, not unless she's been pulled into Liz's second mystery play for her awakening as an archmaster.

Writing.

"Let's worry about that later," you say to her. "Now, what changed with the Council?"

"Well... Previously, their core beliefs were that humanity never truly lost connection with Magic, just had it hidden behind the Abyss. And that all of society's technological and political movements in recorded history were in fact just hints and whispers of true Magic, and that the Council members could help guide Sleepers to Awaken and usher in a new era of Atlantis, lead not by a unique, powerful few but by all."

"And what changed?"

"Well, it was small stuff... They started closing down groups and organizations to try and help identify freshly Awoken people, they started hiding their local stores of information behind red tape and bureaucracy, and started promoting various members to higher positions of political power, even creating new titles to be called by."

"So what straw broke your back," Jemma says.

"Right after you came into town, we'd been informed that the cabal of vampires were making a power play on the city's Sleeper political figures, to try and convert some of them into Vampires and kill or blackmail the others. I tried to dissuade them from such a course, and have Tsukuyomi and some of the other Council members help me try and talk reason into them. Instead they just killed them all."

"But you said you killed them all," Jemma says. "You boasted that it was almost 400 vampires you killed!"

"No, that was Tsukuyomi and her group... After I saw the carnage and destruction, I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted out." She looks over to Jemma. "You were so young, and I didn't want you to be corrupted by these people... So I committed the one sin a Mage never should do..."

> [1/2]

> [2/2]

At that, Jemma drops her cup of coffee, the drink spilling all on the floor. Sarah snorts and flutters her eyes open, wondering what made the noise. "Who broke what," she murmurs out.

"N... Nothing broke," Jemma says, sitting down next to her sister, rubbing her shoulder. "Go back to sleep."

"Kay..." And within seconds she's back asleep, snoring slightly.

You think back upon all the things she's tried to teach you. About how rare this Gift is, and the responsibility of a Mage is to it's fellow kind. "You mean..."

She looks up, staring you clean on, resolute in her desire to not weep over her previous actions. "Tsukuyomi. Heimdall. Smokey Bandit. Rusty. Tomas. Hawkeye. Judas. I killed all 8 of the Council members in the city... Or at least, I thought I did."

> Console her
> Remain silent
> Reassure her
> Scold her
> Other

>>37542294
Seven, I mean seven, not 8. Miscounted and thought Smokey Bandit was two people, not one.

>>37542294
>> Console her

>>37542294
> Console her
> Reassure her

>>37542294
> Console her
> Reassure her
"You did only what you thought was right, and I don't think any of us would have acted much differently in the situation."

>>37542486
this

Writing.

You set your cup down, as Elizabeth takes a sip of hers, before scowling and looking down at it. "I'm gonna need something a bit stronger than coffee, hun." She walks over to your various bottles of booze in the cabinet, pouring herself a rather hefty stream of whiskey into it. Before she can even take a sip however, you pull her in close and hug her tightly.

"You only did what you thought was right. I doubt any of us would have acted much differently given the same situation."

"... Thanks," she says, breaking the hug. "But it doesn't mean much now. Tsukuyomi is back, which means the Council knows what I did. Which means I'm expecting the Veil to burst through that door any second now, and either kill me on the spot or arrest me, put me on a sham trial, THEN kill me."

As if on queue, there is a loud pounding on the door. You motion for her to stay quiet, then look through the peep hole (installed after the Acamoth incident) and out into the hallway.

Waving her hand at it is one Diana, your Powersmith friend and a member of the Guardians of the Veil. "Let me in! I gotta talk to you guys!"

> Let her in
> Point a gun at her, THEN let her in
> Turn her away
> Stay silent
> Other

>>37542658
> Point a gun at her, THEN let her in

Rolled 1 (1d2)

I'm torn between trusting her or pointing a gun, so I roll.

On a 1
>let her in
on a 2
> Point a gun at her, THEN let her in

>>37542658
>> Point a gun at her, THEN let her in

>>37542658
Activate mage and spirit sight, no chances.

>>37542658
>>37542694
>>37542770
Supporting this too.

>>37542658
this>>37542770

Writing.

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You turn on your Mage Sight, making sure it's Diana and she doesn't have any other spells on her. After confirming that, you motion for Jemma to come to the door, hand raised in the form of a gun. She produces it, pointing it at the door. You mouth out "don't shoot" and after confirming the order, you open the door.

"Holy fuck Gemini," Diana yells out, hands raised in the air. "I swear on Nikola Tesla's grave that I'm not here for the Mystic!"

You share a look to Jemma, who shrugs before holstering the gun. "Well, come on in then."

She sighs, lowering her raised arms. She enters and looks at Elizabeth, who tenses for a moment before you give her a reassuring nod. "So is it true? Did you really kill 6 Free Council Mages 20 years ago, and now Tsukuyomi, one of the Council's most powerful members is here for you and your Library?"

"She's got the Library already," you say to Diana. "We barely got out of there with our lives. The whole fucking vampire thing was a ploy to get us all wound up, probably track down where Liz was hiding at and get her all flustered."

"Well, she did a damn fine job of doing that," Liz replies, taking a long drink of her spiked coffee. "And it's only a matter of time before they track me down and finish the job. You know how Mages tend to hold grudges," she says aloud.

"Well... I may be able to help with that." Diana grins, looking around at you all. "But you have to trust me."

> Well, what have we got to lose?
> Liz and I could always go on the run...
> Let's hear your crazy plan first before we go along with it
> Other

>>37542952
>> Let's hear your crazy plan first before we go along with it
> Other why help us you are most likely to be killed if this supposed plan fails.

>>37542952
>>37542995
+1

>>37542952
>let's hear it
"You haven't let us down yet, and I don't think you're the type to start now."

>>37542952
She's been solid so far. Let's trust her, this will make or break our trust in her. She's legit, we trust her like a close friend henceforth, she's not, and we keep an eye on her forevermore if the fallout doesn't get us killed.

"Well... You've yet let us down, so lets hear your plan first."

"Ok, you remember that stupid helmet I made for Chrom?"

"Your plan isn't starting off with a ton of good ideas," Elizabeth says to her, taking another drink.

"I know, I know. But what if we modified it to only read your memories? Specifically the ones related to the event when you killed them. We can have TA help you recall everything clearly, and I can use the helmet to record everything that happened and present it as evidence to support your claim."

"But memories can be altered, especially with the Mind magic that TA knows," Liz replies.

"But that's the thing. You turn yourself in to me, and the Veil will being in an unbiased third party once you make this claim. I've already got the helmet, I just need to tweak the wiring on it a bit to have it only read and record them, not read and re-write them. I can suggest TA as the third party, the Veil Mages can confirm your memories have not been altered up to this point even before she reads your memory, and you present it as evidence. So unless Tsukuyomi is willing to have her mind verified as true and her recollection of the events have her claim of you starting the fight, you get off scott free!"

"But there's a problem with that plan," Jemma says. "Tsukuyomi can just say, 'fuck it, lets kill all you Mages,' and I doubt there's much we could do to stop her."

At that, Diana remains silent.

> Liz, you didn't throw the first punch, right?
> What else can we do to clear her name?
> I don't like this idea
> Lets do it
> Other

>>37543296
> What else can we do to clear her name?
Cause while this is an ok plan to me, we need to know all the options. There has to be clues. Something else we haven't noticed.

>>37543296
>> What else can we do to clear her name?

>>37543296
> What else can we do to clear her name?

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>>37543296
She has a 666 firewall/Xenosaga's Kos-Mos memory option! Fucking hell man, it don't get more definitive than that. Let's do this.

>>37543296
>> Other
Liz knows the most about her, what magic does she know, any major/minor weaknesses, how'd you beat her last time and such

"Well, lets consider that plan B," you say to Diana. "No offense, it's a decent plan, but we have to look at all the options available to us."

"Nah, I get you. So, let's brainstorm."

The next hour goes by with you spitballing ideas across the springboard of Liz, Jemma, and Diana. Most of them are shot down rather quickly, but eventually two ideas come forth. The first is that Liz challenges Tsukuyomi to a duel, where either she or a champion of her choice fights Tsukuyomi or one of her champions until the other Mage is killed or admits defeat. The other option (besides running away) is trying to get Tsukuyomi to rescind her call out for her head, though this entails challenging Tsukuyomi at the Library, fighting her and whoever else she has to call to her aid.

You look at the clock as a yawn escapes from your lips. "Holy shit, it's almost 2 am... I'm going to bed, lets go Liz."

"Seriously Mike? After everything that's gone on today?" She looks over at you, her cheeks rather flush as she downs another cup of her spiked coffee.

"No, I mean we're going to sleep... You're drunk, honey." At that, you help her up and off to bed, as Jemma escorts Diana to the door. You lie her down and help her change out of her clothes, and she is quickly fading to sleep. But in the privacy of your room, one final question you've been meaning to ask her can't be held back any longer. "Liz?"

"Mmmyes Mike?"

"What did Tsukuyomi mean when she said you finally found one as she looked at me?"

At that, she turns to look at you, eyes glazing over as she begins to fall asleep. "You're special, Mike... I always knew you were..." Before you can get any more out of her, she slips into a liquor-fueled slumber.

> Quest end

8 exp. gained

Anything else from here-on out is meta discussion.

I recommend spending some of your 37 points of experience.

Also, thread's archived on suptg, so no worries about losing progression.

>>37543547
Let's get our shit upgraded, son.

I vote we buy another dot in Brawl, since we end up being PUNCH WIZARD a lot.

>>37543572
Thanks for the thread. It was definitely an eventful one. And it was nice to see more people show up this time. See ya next time.

>>37543619
that and forces or prime

>>37543547
do we have enough for
>Brawl
>Occult
>Prime

>>37543662
You'd need 45 exp for 1 more dot in Brawl, 1 dot in Occult, and 1 more dot in Prime.

The resource document has the exp. table in it.

>>37543662
It looks like we can either do a skill and a point of Prime, or three skills.

So, if I'm reading this right and we have enough XP, we should get Brawl and Prime

>>37543719
Correct, you'd be left with 2 exp. afterwards.

Anyone left here got an opinion? Big fucking fight coming up, damn good time to get that upgrade from +1 to +2.

>>37543719
Level Prime and Brawl. After that we focus on "forces" to get hardcore brute force "kill em' all" mode on anyone we not like. Damn, hate having "Prime" as our inferior arcana, but sometimes it happens. Good thing we can draw from an "Obrimos" mage's knowledge. The dream is heavily influenced by your reference points. Good thing that, after saving her sister from death and oblivion, she owes us HARD!

For those unaware, Prime 2 grants us Counterspell Prime, which basically means that you have a chance of weakening or even cancelling out another Mage's spell. It's the main reason why so many Mages will dip into Prime for two dots, especially if they expect to be going up against other Mages.

Level Prime and Occult.

>>37539660
It`s possible, but someone skilled in Prime can add spell cloaks to all their magic making it difficult to detect without forensic level scrutiny.

>>37541941
There's a 6th watchtower mentioned briefly in the books whose themes match with the ones later revealed to be the God Machine. This quest uses the Ruling/Inferior arcana of that, but probably something novel as the ultimate reason.

>>37540253
>>37541049
>>37541106
Dispel Magic is Prime 1, which we have and requires conjunctional arcana of at least 1 dot. Was the overreach to dispel a Mage Sight of one of the 6 arcana we don't know? To dispel with Prime alone we'd need Prime 4 for Supernal Dispellation.

>>37543619
>>37543662
>>37543715
>>37543719
>Brawl
Brawl is a really shitty skill for us. We have no martial arts, a meager Strength of 3, need to be in melee in order to make an attack and opponents get to subtract their Defense (at least 2 for the average human) from our dice pool. In addition, of the 4 Arcana we have, Brawl is only used for 3 rotes
>Kinetic Blow [Vulgar Forces 2] damage code becomes Lethal for [Successes] attacks
>Optimize Kinetic Attack [Covert Forces 3] spend Successes between number of attacks affected and benefits of bonus dice and 9/8 again
>Unseen Hand [Vulgar Forces 4] what we just got hit by

If we want to be real punch wizard, it's time to make that a Legacy. What little we've got now just isn't worth it.

>>37544041
Getting a second dot in Prime sounds good, despite the high price. Voting for getting Prime 2 and Occult 1 so we can use our chargen Rote dots on either Dispel Magic (Prime 1 + Intelligence + Occult) or Counterspell Prime (Prime 2 + Composure + Occult).

Damn missed the quest.
Jemma already has Prime and it's not our watchtower arcana, so we'd bleed mana out the ass without rotes.
Maybe we should level Forces now, since those spells are free.
I'm still against Brawl and still for Occult.

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>>37543547
Ok, grab another dot in Forces. That seems to be our BBEG's favorite way to kill people, must be able to competently counterspell her shit. For you only need to know the Arcana coming at you to fuck it up. The reason mages go into Prime is that, well, you can fuck up ANY spell with it. It's easier to get high in Prime than in every fucking arcana except it.

Except for us sadly, our watchtower is the only one with that as the inferior arcana. Every other watchtower has it as common, with Obrimos mages lucking out by having it as ruling.

Against brawl too

So there's two main threads of thought:
> Prime 2 + Occult 1

Uses up most of our exp, but it affords us Counter spell Prime and Occult 1 means that most rotes we can actually cast and have it be higher than spell school + Gnosis.

> Forces 3 + Brawl 3

Leaves us with more exp to save or spend, also let's us become a better punch wizard. It also let's us control fire and call lightning down during a thunderstorm, which can be pretty useful.

Personally, I say Prime 2 and Occult 1, and then we proceed to max Forces, leveling Gnosis as needed.

>>37547421
As further evidence to the mehness of Brawl/Punch Wizard, I went through the arcana scanning for rotes that use Brawl:
>0 Death
>0 Fate
>3 Forces
>0 Life
>0 Matter
>0 Mind
>0 Prime
>0.5 Space (just one rote that enhances Brawl/Weaponry attacks specifically at the cost of 1 mana per strike)
>0 Spirit
>0 Time

>3.5 Total (none of which actually involve punching, but are buffs for future punching)

On top of that, there is only one Legacy that deals with Brawl and that's the Perfected Adept (Life Primary | Forces Optional). The attainments are underwhelming and Brawl only comes in as an optional attainment on tiers 2 & 3.

That said, a usable punch wizard would be cool. It would just require custom Rotes and/or a custom Legacy.

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>>37550180
Anything involving punching can theoretically become a rote that involves brawl. A rote is actually identifiable, it's certain motions and sometimes even words that help the mage form a more perfect Imago of the spell he wishes to cast.

For example, we could create a rote where we literally punch a ball of lightning at something as a projectile attack or even attain the Hadoken for ourselves! It's totally possible to make up your own rotes, the book only gives you a few examples to get that imagination going, and says a bit about how certain orders have an easier time using certain skills with rotes because of their overall mystical praxis (i.e. their philosophy).

We could always design a spell/rote to amplify our Brawl somehow. And in a way Life can buff Brawl (by buffing our Strength).

The most generic answer would be using Forces to imbue our fists with fire/lightning/kinetic energy, but we could use our Spirit to make "holy" fists and punch their soul, as its been noted that most people don't seem to have much in the way of defenses from a Shadow World attack.

>>37539819
>y my my... An archmaster in our midst and you didn't tell us about it? Tsk tsk tsk

Can;t believe this. Sarah was an archmaster the whole time?

>>37550352
Except you must be a master in an arcanum to design rotes and order rotes are considered to be trade secrets. Either way, it would be difficult to find rotes outside of chargen.

>>37550772
That was covered in meta a while back. She has 7 Spirit.

We don't even know what a Spirit 7 can do, though apparently it allows a person to touch another person's soul, as Sarah asked to touch Michael's during the campfire scene.

>>37551448
Don't worry about it. Imperial magic is hella difficult to pull off and is always a ritual requiring metaphysical components. It still gives you the usual benefits of having more dots, so using advanced spell factors, speeding up casting and using sympathetic range.

The soul thing is more likely her low wisdom talking as she is quite deranged at the moment.

Guys. Listen, guys. I know how to solve our problems, guys. We need, guys listen. We need to summon a dragon. Prime 5, anyone?

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>>37552312
>eslap
Correct, Capcha.

For those unaware, pic related helps show what the current limits are for how experienced we can get with the various Arcanum.

And overall consensus seems to be Prime 2 and Occult 1. If that's ok with people I'll spend the exp. and update the sheet for next thread.

I also get to update Liz's sheet, as she's been sitting on a pool of exp. since we rescued her.

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>>37552611
I suppose it would help if I actually added the picture...

>>37552611
I really wish we coulda got brawl, since we use it so much, but I'll consent to this.

>>37552673
>since we use it so much
How?
We haven't been adding the Defense penalty on what few Brawl rolls we've made

>>37552673
We use it a ton because its the only real form of offense we have. Once we get Forces higher I can see us throwing lightning bolts as often as Jemma wants to.

Though the anon in >>37550411 is right, we can certainly attempt to use our magics to alter or amplify the damage we do for when we go to fist people.

>>37552830
Life 3 can give us extra Physical dots and rerolls of failed dice of physical skills. Mind can do the same for mental attributes and skills as well as grant skill dots in any skill.
Fate can give 9 and 8 again on all rolls.

>>37554952
Eventually a far-off goal will be to get to Life 5 or even Archmastery of it, just to gain immortality. But for right now I can only suggest we get access to some higher level dots in Arcanum we know first than dump our exp. into Life when we already have people with such a mastery over Life magic.

Not to mention Garen, who we know is something like 140 years old and readily exercised his skills in Life magic on himself to buff himself up.

>>37555510
Isn't living forever one of those high hubris things that makes you an NPC? Without crossing the Wbyss and becoming an actual Archmage that is.
Living a very long time is possible with Life 3 or an imbued item.

>>37555510
I think we should rush Forces to 5 and another point of Gnosis ASAP. The first thing a mage tends to do is master his ruling arcana. Y'know, because it's the cheapest thing to do experience wise. You're the "expert" on those arcana, best live up to the title logically given to you.