Question 4

[mail-mi he/him]

First Planeshift post is up! Woohoo!

I really liked that post

[Newan he/him]

Wow. This sounds really cool. I think you balanced his powers pretty well with the one copy limit and the weakness. Can a Chaos gather more than one power at a time?

Would Planeshift stay at whatever size he was when his weakness was activated?

Astoria is building up to be very cool!

 

Yes, he can.  If he kills an epic with two active powers, he gets both powers.  Two powers that came together can't be split up.  They have to be held by the same Chaos.  

Also, if multiple Chaoses chose to give their powers to one Chaos, it could hold multiple powers.  

 

No, Planeshift can still use his dimension powers even when his weakness is activated, it's just that it is very dangerous for him, since his bones are so weak.  

 

I really liked that post

 

Thanks!  I kind of broke the "show, don't tell" rule, but they needed exposition.  Future posts will have them doing stuff besides standing around. I promise.

[Voidus]

My only objection to Chaos would be that it's been explicitly mentioned that Mitosis' power is unique to him, while it would be possible for a new or not particularly well known Epic to have it, a warlord who frequently murders other Epics would be a bit obvious to miss. That said this is just an RP so it's not a massive deal.

[Newan he/him]

My only objection to Chaos would be that it's been explicitly mentioned that Mitosis' power is unique to him, while it would be possible for a new or not particularly well known Epic to have it, a warlord who frequently murders other Epics would be a bit obvious to miss. That said this is just an RP so it's not a massive deal.

 

Yeah.  But I tried to make it very forgivable for the Reckoners not to know about Chaos.  After all, he lives in the middle of the ocean on an island that didn't used to exist.  

Edited December 4, 2014 by Newan

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

We need to finish the CorpseMaker War so that Astoria can start.

 

Is Lightwards going to do his speech 'tomorrow'?

[Voidus]

I think i´ve said this before but should the attacks turn out as bad as it seems they will I think most of those will have the sense to quit the MEE.

There's a few factors preventing this, firstly that most of the MEE don't know the details of the attacks so it wouldn't be difficult to downplay what a disaster they are.

Secondly given the size of the MEE these attacks really only amount to skirmishes, they still have more than enough Epics left to pose a threat if they attacked en masse. (Although given that they basically just exist to be slaughtered they won't be doing that)

Thirdly would be the effect of Calamity on them, I think they'd all believe that the ones who died were just the weakest and least useful of them and that the survivors are much stronger/less likely to be slaughtered.

So while a few might defect (Neverthere for instance) most will remain and be handy should anyone want a fight/massacre.

[Kobold King he/him]

Agh... so much... to reply too... * white noise *

 

 

She doesn't seem Sueish to me. And if Wes bit back, that would be not only stunning, but beautiful. Because it's a dinosaur. Biting Lightwards. If anyone deserves to be bitten by a dinosaur, it's him.

 

I think it's a good thing this RP is set in Oregon instead of Newcago. Some of Nathan's more Woobie-inclined moments back at the casino might wind up reading like a Doofenshmirtz backstory if such a thing were ever Played For Drama. (Though some of Backtrack's whinier moments sound like a Doofenshmirtz backstory Played For Laughs in the grand tradition of Doofenshmirtz backstories. When he tells his story to Lightwards, I will have a very hard time not reading it in a Drusselsteinian accent. "And then, just when I thought I had crawled to safety from the terrible darkness of Koschei's mind, who should be standing before me but Lieutenant Mitchins of The Dalles City Guard. He has some problem with bikinis. I mentioned them and he got all serious when he said 'NO BIKINIS ON MY WATCH.' Seriously, who does that?"  ) 

 

Just for the record, Lightwards is every bit as opposed to bikinis as Lieutenant Mitchins, if for different reasons. The two of them would likely get along well together, despite the fact that the two would repeatedly attempt to murder each other. (Mitchins would probably succeed once or twice.)

 

 

And here is little Ari! 

 

 

I considered a pen or inkwell for her cutie mark, but since she tells the stories in her head, I figured something representing imagination was more appropriate.

 

 

I... I cannot get over how adorable she is.

 

And Blastaway is meant to be a Jerkchull Woobie.

 

 

Ok so I already mentioned this to TwiLyght and Edgedancer, but I had this idea for the Astoria thread.  Basically, there's this super-powerful epic who lives on an island, and he takes other epics as prisoners.  Some of those prisoners escaped, but they know they are too weak to fight him themselves, so they figure out a way to bring him to Astoria so the other epics will be forced to fight him.  Here are the details:

 

Chaos

Chaos is a very powerful Epic.  He lives on an island in the North Pacific called Order, where he is attempting to build a paradise for himself.   

 

Age: 50

 

Appearance:  Brown hair winged with grey, slightly taller than average.  He's the kind of guy you would expect to see driving a very expensive car.  Each version of himself wears different clothes so they can tell each other apart.  

 

Primary power: Specialized Mitosis.  Every time he hears someone swear using the word "Calamity", one of him duplicates.  The multiples of Chaos are not a hive mind, but they all agree with each other and work together.  

 

Secondary power: Power steal.  Whenever he kills an epic, he gets its active powers.  He also gets its weaknesses.  Only the Chaos who killed that epic gets the power, not all of them.  Chaoses can give away their powers to each other, but it requires skin contact.  If a Chaos is killed, any powers it held are lost.  

 

Names: In order to differentiate themselves, Chaoses choose different names, but always prefix them with Chaos.  Usually, it's the name of an epic it killed.  For example: Chaos Boyfriendpants has the power to telepathically open jars of pickles.

 

Weakness: Actually, I haven't thought of a good weakness for Chaos yet.  Suggestions are appreciated.

 

Order, Chaos's island home

Order is actually technically an archipelago, but all the islands are very close together and are connected by bridges.  They were raised from the ocean by Chaos Godforge, the most powerful Chaos, ever since he lucked out and managed to kill a volcanic epic.  

 

Here is the hierarchy on Order:

Chaos>Agents>Servants>Gladiators>Slaves

 

Chaos:  There used to be a lot more of him, but many Chaoses were killed in the Servants' Rebellion, including a particularly important one who could influence the growth of plants.  They do work to build Order, but they prefer to have the Servants and Slaves do it for them.  

 

Agents:  Chaos has a few Epics who he trusts.  They have a higher social status on Order, and are sometimes sent on special missions around the world.  A servant must tell Chaos his weakness in order to become an agent.  

 

Servants:  These are Epics who are enslaved by Chaos.  Almost all of them are weak epics.  While slaves do the menial jobs required to build Order, the servants do the heavy lifting.  Chaos often threatens to kill them if they stop being useful, and they know he's serious.  

Since the recent Servants' Rebellion, there are no more servants on Order.  

 

Gladiators:  Sometimes, Chaos brings Epics to Order who are too volatile to be given even the slightest amount of freedom.  While servants are supervised while working with important equipment, Gladiators are imprisoned between fights.  Chaos forces them to fight to the near death, then finishes the loser off himself to gain the power.  This is a rare event.  

 

Slaves: There are humans on Order.  They are forced to labor every single day, but the food and healthcare aren't half bad.  Chaos likes his slaves strong.  

 

The Servants' Rebellion (This is backstory)

Obviously, Epics don't like to be subjugated.  Servants often get fed up, but they almost never succeed in taking down more than one or two Chaoses before they are killed.  

 

That was before Planeshift arrived.  Planeshift had people skills (epic skills?) and he got the servants to band together.  They told each other their weaknesses so that if a Chaos killed one, the others would easily be able to kill that Chaos.  They arranged "accidents" for the servants who wouldn't join them.  The formed a plan to escape.  

 

Their plan didn't go as well as they hoped.  While they were successful in killing a large number of Chaoses, in the end most of them were cornered with no hope of escape.  Many committed suicide so Chaos wouldn't get their powers.  That's how much they hated him.  

 

Only three escaped.  

 

Fugitives from Order:

 

Planeshift

Planeshift worked to keep Reckoners in Idaho safe.  They were ignorant of this fact.  He encouraged the other epics he knew to avoid using their powers when they weren't absolutely necessary.  

Age: 26

 

Appearance: Almost always covered in bruises.  Light brown hair, buzz cut.  Ratty, torn servants clothes.  

 

Active Power:  Dimensional dilation.  Planeshift can stretch or contract, but only in one dimension at a time.  The dimensions are relative to his body (z-axis is up and down, y-axis is right and left, x-axis is aft and fore).  So he can contract with z and then walk through the crack under a door, or crawl under a car then expand with x to lift the car.  

 

Passive Power:  Unbreakable bones.  Note: the rest of Planeshift is very breakable.  So when he uses his powers to lift something, or to punch someone very hard, his bones are fine but his tissue is very bruised.  

 

Weakness:  When his weakness is activated, his bones become breakable again.  Osteoporosis runs in the family.  

 

Current Event: He follows Planeshift.  He can control currents.  His ability allowed them to escape Order.  

 

Memori: She follows Planeshift.  Limited telepath.  She can temporarily give people selective memory.  She is terrified of other telepaths.  

 

The plan:  

Now that they have escaped Order, the Fugitives are heading to Boise, Idaho.  Planeshift knows an Epic named Tektonix who lives there. When Calamity gave Tektonix the ability to move continents, Planeshift convinced him how stupid it would be to use that power.  Now Planeshift plans on convincing Tektonix to bring Order to Oregon.  

 

The Fugitives rode the currents up the Columbia River.  Current Event was just commenting on how lucky they were that they got through Astoria and Portland without running into trouble when he was shot by a bow-wielding panda.  

 

So what do you think?  I was thinking of having the Fugitives scurry through the Dalles, then having at least one of them escape in a car up the 84, then return for the Astoria thread.  

 

I am open to all suggestions, especially for a good weakness for Chaos.  He's supposed to be powerful, but even though he has no invincibility, I think he might still need to be nerfed a little bit.  

 

Nice! There could potentially be confusion with another Chaos, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.   

 

Did the Financier create Chaos' archipelago as well, or do we have an unrelated island-creating Epic running amok?

 

We need to finish the CorpseMaker War so that Astoria can start.

 

Is Lightwards going to do his speech 'tomorrow'?

 

Yep.

 

I don't know...should it? (S)He is just a kid, so I wouldn't think that that idea would occur to him/her...

 

I love the idea. Maybe we could nerf him/her with a Newtonian "every action has an equal but opposite reaction" effect. Perhaps using the power to cause one person to love another automatically causes another person to hate the target.

 

Therefore, if the Child Epic used the power to make someone love him, then his subconscious would pick out another, roughly analogous individual to hate him. Example: he uses the power on Lightwards, causing the stuffy green necromancer to harbor inexplicable and unshakable affection for him. But as a price, Lucentia the Diamond Queen develops a furious hatred and irrational desire to murder the Child Epic at her earliest opportunity.

[mail-mi he/him]

I love the idea. Maybe we could nerf him/her with a Newtonian "every action has an equal but opposite reaction" effect. Perhaps using the power to cause one person to love another automatically causes another person to hate the target.

Therefore, if the Child Epic used the power to make someone love him, then his subconscious would pick out another, roughly analogous individual to hate him. Example: he uses the power on Lightwards, causing the stuffy green necromancer to harbor inexplicable and unshakable affection for him. But as a price, Lucentia the Diamond Queen develops a furious hatred and irrational desire to murder the Child Epic at her earliest opportunity.

I...really really like this idea . It also provides opportunity for a civil war in the Lost Ones: the ones who hate him trying to kill him and the ones who love him (including Pan) trying to protect him

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Agh... so much... to reply too... * white noise *

Just for the record, Lightwards is every bit as opposed to bikinis as Lieutenant Mitchins, if for different reasons. The two of them would likely get along well together, despite the fact that the two would repeatedly attempt to murder each other. (Mitchins would probably succeed once or twice.)

I... I cannot get over how adorable she is.

Nice! There could potentially be confusion with another Chaos, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Did the Financier create Chaos' archipelago as well, or do we have an unrelated island-creating Epic running amok?

Yep.

I love the idea. Maybe we could nerf him/her with a Newtonian "every action has an equal but opposite reaction" effect. Perhaps using the power to cause one person to love another automatically causes another person to hate the target.

Therefore, if the Child Epic used the power to make someone love him, then his subconscious would pick out another, roughly analogous individual to hate him. Example: he uses the power on Lightwards, causing the stuffy green necromancer to harbor inexplicable and unshakable affection for him. But as a price, Lucentia the Diamond Queen develops a furious hatred and irrational desire to murder the Child Epic at her earliest opportunity.

I would pay good money to see that fight.

Thanks!

An Epic who creates islands just because. That would not be the strangest Epic in this game.

If this Epic (calling him/her You Are Going To Love Me, or YAGTLM for now) chose Funtimes as a target, who would be the fallout?

[Kobold King he/him]

I would pay good money to see that fight.

Thanks!

An Epic who creates islands just because. That would not be the strangest Epic in this game.

If this Epic (calling him/her You Are Going To Love Me, or YAGTLM for now) chose Funtimes as a target, who would be the fallout?

 

Just wait till Lightwards goes to The Dalles like everyone else.

 

Having trouble finding a character that hasn't already been ponified. :/ Maybe I'll load up the ol' creator later and try a Mrs. Trattner pony. (Whom I am morally obligated to render as an alicorn. )

 

Can the island-creator call himself Archie McPelago?

 

Setting aside my brief Grand Galloping Gala flashback--

 

 

...I'd guess one of her vanillas. Most likely Nathan, because seeing Nathan having an irrational hatred for somebody at this point would be hilarious.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Just wait till Lightwards goes to The Dalles like everyone else.

 

Having trouble finding a character that hasn't already been ponified. :/ Maybe I'll load up the ol' creator later and try a Mrs. Trattner pony. (Whom I am morally obligated to render as an alicorn. )

 

Can the island-creator call himself Archie McPelago?

 

Setting aside my brief Grand Galloping Gala flashback--

 

 

...I'd guess one of her vanillas. Most likely Nathan, because seeing Nathan having an irrational hatred for somebody at this point would be hilarious.

 

Everyone who's anyone will be there.  

 

Still a tad bitter that there's no draconequus creator.  

 

He must. There is no other name for him.

 

Mission accomplished.  

 

He doesn't have the powers to back it up, though. And at this point, all he'd do to that kid for whom he harbors an irrational hatred is stay as far away as possible, grumble to Sam, and plead with Funtimes not to invite the kid over for the eighth time that week. (Though I'm picturing that dynamic—Nathan irritated by a kid Funtimes adores—and it's pretty hilarious.) 

 

"Nathan? Could you bring that pancake mix in here? Me and my new bestest bestie need it!" 

 

"Can't you just make your own?" 

 

"That mix is special." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Please? Pretty pretty please?" 

 

Stifling a sigh, Nathan stood and went to the pantry for the pancake mix. I wonder, he thought with as much darkness as he could muster—which, suffice to say, wasn't a lot—if she'd kill me for dumping the bag on that stupid kid's head.

 

So the Astoria thread is starting in January, and we still need to get the CorpseMaker war started. Should we hammer out a rough, spoiler-free timeline of events so we can make sure to hit them all before moving on to the next logical points in the story? (Alternatively, we could cover only those events through coordinated time-skips.) 

[mail-mi he/him]

 

He doesn't have the powers to back it up, though. And at this point, all he'd do to that kid for whom he harbors an irrational hatred is stay as far away as possible, grumble to Sam, and plead with Funtimes not to invite the kid over for the eighth time that week. (Though I'm picturing that dynamic—Nathan irritated by a kid Funtimes adores—and it's pretty hilarious.) 

 

"Nathan? Could you bring that pancake mix in here? Me and my new bestest bestie need it!" 

 

"Can't you just make your own?" 

 

"That mix is special." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Please? Pretty pretty please?" 

 

Stifling a sigh, Nathan stood and went to the pantry for the pancake mix. I wonder, he thought with as much darkness as he could muster—which, suffice to say, wasn't a lot—if she'd kill me for dumping the bag on that stupid kid's head.

 

So the Astoria thread is starting in January, and we still need to get the CorpseMaker war started. Should we hammer out a rough, spoiler-free timeline of events so we can make sure to hit them all before moving on to the next logical points in the story? (Alternatively, we could cover only those events through coordinated time-skips.) 

 

Well, I was planning on Mommy allying herself with Funtimes after the MEE attack..... that could be quite entertaining 

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Well, there's a Small Mook Slaughterfest to get threw, Than the Speech, which will start the War. All that's really neeed to end the war though is Toymaker's assassination, then Project Amber. 

 

Toymaker is a lot like Wanda now that I think of it.

 

Also, Gordon post is Up, Finally. Trying to Cow Remington into Submission. That's not going to work.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Well, there's a Small Mook Slaughterfest to get threw, Than the Speech, which will start the War. All that's really neeed to end the war though is Toymaker's assassination, then Project Amber. 

 

Toymaker is a lot like Wanda now that I think of it.

 

Also, Gordon post is Up, Finally. Trying to Cow Remington into Submission. That's not going to work.

 

Meeting

Mook Slaughterfest 

Speech

WAR

Quota battle

Toymaker's assassination

Project Amber 

 

 

Are there any character-specific things (don't give specifics if they're spoilery) that anyone wants to make sure get in? I know I have a few scenes that I want to do, but they're pretty much all reactions. 

 

...

 

Yeah, Remington won't be cowed. Threatening death? He would've been disappointed with less.  How advanced is this bug, and is it auditory, tracking, or both? If Remington were to have Funtimes meet him in a darkened alley so she could find and clone/transform the bugs to something less threatening, how much tampering would register? There's no way for Remington to know any of this, but I want to be prepared for the fallout if/when he asks for her help. 

 

Also, just asking this out of curiosity—would Sightline be able to see Nathan's bruise? I know he can see through the blindfold, but I don't remember it being anything like true X-ray vision, unless I'm wrong. 

Edited December 4, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Sightline has to press his face up against it, and it's really limited. He can see threw any part of himself or his own clothing if he wants to, And he can look through Thinner walls and Doors.

 

So he could see Nathan's bruise, If he pressed his face up against it. Which probably won't happen.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Sightline has to press his face up against it, and it's really limited. He can see threw any part of himself or his own clothing if he wants to, And he can look through Thinner walls and Doors.

 

So he could see Nathan's bruise, If he pressed his face up against it. Which probably won't happen.

 

Thank goodness.  

 

(Although, if it did, that could very well be one of the funniest moments of the RP. )

[mail-mi he/him]

Wait, would the "every action has a reaction" work with his passive power? I don't think so...so if he really really hated someone, or really really loved someone, everyone else would hate/love that person too.

 

But with his active power, it would have the Newtonian effect.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Just wait till Lightwards goes to The Dalles like everyone else.

You know, if Portland really ends up being destroyed I still need something for Voidgaze to do and the Dalles sounds like a good place for them.

 

He doesn't have the powers to back it up, though. And at this point, all he'd do to that kid for whom he harbors an irrational hatred is stay as far away as possible, grumble to Sam, and plead with Funtimes not to invite the kid over for the eighth time that week. (Though I'm picturing that dynamic—Nathan irritated by a kid Funtimes adores—and it's pretty hilarious.) 

 

"Nathan? Could you bring that pancake mix in here? Me and my new bestest bestie need it!" 

 

"Can't you just make your own?" 

 

"That mix is special." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Please? Pretty pretty please?" 

 

Stifling a sigh, Nathan stood and went to the pantry for the pancake mix. I wonder, he thought with as much darkness as he could muster—which, suffice to say, wasn't a lot—if she'd kill me for dumping the bag on that stupid kid's head.

 

So the Astoria thread is starting in January, and we still need to get the CorpseMaker war started. Should we hammer out a rough, spoiler-free timeline of events so we can make sure to hit them all before moving on to the next logical points in the story? (Alternatively, we could cover only those events through coordinated time-skips.) 

Sure and then sets the problem in when let´s say Remington calls the brat out on it, he throws a tampertantrum and suddenly Funtimes thinks Remington´s a meaniface worthy of being acid dunked or Lightwards essentially buying the right to kill Nathan without repercussion.

 

Meeting

Mook Slaughterfest 

Speech

WAR

Quota battle

Toymaker's assassination

Project Amber 

 

 

Are there any character-specific things (don't give specifics if they're spoilery) that anyone wants to make sure get in? I know I have a few scenes that I want to do, but they're pretty much all reactions. 

There´s still the Thoughttown/Empire fallout after the CMwar.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Well, Altermind wants to stay in Portland, so what if he recruits ToyMaker rather than assassinate her? She'll work for anyone as long as she's allowed to keep her toys. The only thing keeping her with CorpseMaker is his control over Upgrade.

 

If the above were to happen, there wouldn't be a fallout. Portland would become Thoughtown, and the Empire would cease to exist.

 

EDIT: Wait, no, Cause Lightwards will have an army of Zombie Toys by then. 

Edited December 4, 2014 by The Only Joe

[Voidus]

I was just flicking through Mitosis and found that Obliteration can teleport. Oregons teleporters are safe... for now

[Edgedancer he/him]

I was just flicking through Mitosis and found that Obliteration can teleport. Oregons teleporters are safe... for now

Yay for Mitosis giving us one safe after the cloning strike. (The amount of worldbuilding drops about Epics powers and the like in those books is pretty impressive once you start thinking about it.)

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

How would Funtimes turning on Remington or Nathan work out badly for the kid, though? Seems like if the kid is using their powers knowingly and extensively, they wouldn't care if a couple of vanillas died.

Yay for Mitosis giving us one safe after the cloning strike. (The amount of worldbuilding drops about Epics powers and the like in those books is pretty impressive once you start thinking about it.)

Yay indeed. The amount of worldbuilding period in those books is impressive. I'm rereading Steelheart and I'm consistently impressed by how much worldbuilding Sanderson can put into just a few sentences. Edited December 4, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

How would Funtimes turning on Remington or Nathan work out badly for the kid, though? Seems like if the kid is using their powers knowingly and extensively, they wouldn't care if a couple of vanillas died.

The problem wouldn´t be for the kid, the problem would be on the meta in that you just lost at least one character and had to compromise another and the only thing you could do against it is permanent plot armor.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

The problem wouldn´t be for the kid, the problem would be on the meta in that you just lost at least one character and had to compromise another and the only thing you could do against it is permanent plot armor.

True. Though the "price" of that power is equal-and-opposite reaction (in this case, a powerful enemy in exchange for a powerful friend) so it wouldn't be a fair trade in the first place. Maybe a fairer trade would be Funtimes for the Financier, or vice versa. Both have strong, strange powers, both are pretty neurotic, and you probably wouldn't want either one as an enemy.

[Newan he/him]

Nice! There could potentially be confusion with another Chaos, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.   

 

Did the Financier create Chaos' archipelago as well, or do we have an unrelated island-creating Epic running amok?

 

Theory: Chaos is a Chaos.

 

Actually, I don't have any idea who Financier is.  I couldn't find him/her in the Epics of Oregon thread, and he/she hasn't appeared in the RP I have read.  (I've read the whole Dalles thread, but I'm still only 28 pages into Portland.)  So my idea was that Chaos had a magma-controlling power, and that these were actual volcanic islands that he raised.  But if the Financier would work better, that's even better!