Kobold King

Here's what I want to ask Brandon Sanderson-- "If there were multiple sapient races on Earth, would Calamity grant powers to all of them, or only to humans?" This question might shed some light as to whether Calamity is extraterrestrial in nature, or whether it has a special connection to the human race.

I may or may not have a hidden "Project Jurassic" that involves breeding the dinosaurs and setting them loose on Oregon, just because Lightwards thinks his group is most likely to survive the ensuing ecological disaster. So the fight would just go on and on until Nathan persuaded them to stop? I actually like how many Epics have been popping up... it casts the game in a new atmosphere. Having all the minor Epics picking sides highlights the fact that Portland is essentially on the eve of war, with battle lines being drawn with every new post. But I do look forward to the patrol scene.

The infiltration idea is really cool, but I will say that Lightwards is unlikely to fall for the trick. He's essentially doing it himself, to a much smaller and less useful degree. Chimera is definitely the most combat effective of the animal-controlling Epics, but Lightwards has a prime invincibility and Nighthound very nearly has one. Eventually the pair of them could probably out-weather him. (The only way to settle the debate, of course, is by actually carrying out he battle at some point. ) I'm not entirely sure what Thoughttown could do at the moment. For that matter, I'm not entirely sure what Lightwards will be getting up to today. Maybe Altermind could recruit a few minor Epics, or perhaps start setting up patrol routes for his armies? The latter could give us a lot of insight as to what life in Thoughttown is like.

Well she's an agile young woman. I'm sure she can scoot her chair faster than Lucentia can grow crystals. Finally ponified Sam and Revolution!

Approved. "Be Prepared" is still his theme though--like every line fits perfectly. "My teeth and ambitions are bared"--"Listen to teacher"--all just perfect. So at this point have Sam's legs been completely surrounded by diamond, or does she have a chance to avoid the spreading crystal?

Maybe he dabbled in clinical hypnotism, researching it as a hobby? He also has an advantage over other hypnotists in that his enhanced observational skills allow him to pick on on near-imperceptible facial expressions, which could guide him through diagnosing and patching Phoenix's issues. Anyway, I'm off to perform the arcane art of Googlemancy.

True, but Aldo functions better with an audience anyway. I foresee a four-way battle between Lightwards, Chimera, Saccharine, and Nighthound in the future. Why? Rule of Cool, that's why. EDIT: Aldo's hypnotism scene would be easier to write if I actually knew anything about hypnotism.

There are few things more ominous than secret GM conversations. Also, I love Saccharine's first post! I wonder how she'd interact with Lightwards; would the professor of ecology get along with the biologist, perhaps even convincing her of his cause? Or would they get into a Claudius vs bird friends fight moments after meeting one another?

Awesome! I'm heading to bed now, but I will post again tomorrow. Pinkie promise.

Aldo found himself in the unusual position of not knowing what to make of a man. "I am... um... Purple Phoenix?" the man said, apparently trying to sound confident. His dress and assumed confidence screamed of an Epic, but the rest of him just seemed like a very confused man. He moved with the clumsy pace of a man just waking up, or perhaps of a vanilla who'd just been released from some sort of mind control. Was that what had happened? Mind control? Phoenix put his hand to his head absentmindedly, looking surprised to feel nothing but unkempt hair. "Do you know where my hat is?" he asked, sounding confused. Whatever this man's history, I'll figure it out eventually, Aldo thought. For now, best to smile and take things one step at a time. So he beamed widely and took a step forwards. "I'm afraid I don't, good sir. I truly feel sympathy for you--losing a good hat is one of the greatest tragedies that can befall a man." Cricket snorted, but said nothing. Aldo continued. "You seem to be having trouble keeping your thoughts together, my good man. What seems to be the problem? Perhaps I could lend you a hand."

Interesting topic! Take an upvote for the rational way you approach the matter. My gut reaction is to say no. Romance is a very human trait--monogamy appears in only a small fraction of Earth-based species, and even animals close to us in intelligence are not prone to the behavior. Bonobos, for instance, are considered some of the most intelligent primates, yet are notoriously promiscuous. The concept of romantic love is strongly tied to human biology, and most likely would never occur to a non-human. You could shackle a bonobo and a human together for years, and even if the bonobo looked human, it would most likely never reciprocate any romantic tendencies expressed to it. The concept of romance might be as alien to non-humans as Pattern's love of lies is to us. Spren do not appear to be particularly human in their manners of thinking--Pattern is a good example of this. His psychology is one of complete detachment from humanity, not understanding any human customs or ways of thinking. Spren appear to be every bit as different from human beings as the fore-mentioned bonobos. And at least bonobos share a corporeal status with us. Sex and sociality are biological traits, hard-wired into certain species as survival mechanisms. Spren are living concepts, and are thus exempt from the rules of natural selection that govern other living things. The likelihood that they could understand romance, much less participate in it, seems to me very slim. That would be my two cents on the matter.

Good point. Has the added bonus of making me seem slightly less ditzy for not coming up with it sooner. Have an upvote.

Nighthound actually met a kind-hearted character in the RP who was unanimously proclaimed to be the Epic equivalent of Fluttershy. Without going into the gory details, Nighthound brutally murdered her twice. He's not really friendship material, is what I'm saying.

Hmm... those are some interesting thoughts. Thoughts I hadn't really considered before. The interactions between Lightwards' and Chimera's powers seem right. As for why Lightwards doesn't simply kill his Warriors over and over until he can control them mentally... honestly, I don't think I've ever thought of that before. Usually I'd just shrug it off and say Lightwards didn't think of it either, but he's had these powers for years and that's exactly the kind of trick his twisted mind would come up with. So I guess we'll just say that by a fluke of fate, he got out of the habit of doing it. He can start it up again now that he's preparing for an earnest war with CorpseMaker. The recording suggestion is really cool and brilliant. I would say yes, provided his voice isn't taken out of context to twist the meaning of his words. The Warriors all have a mild link with him and can understand the intent behind his words, which is how even the dumbest of animals like Claudius can carry out relatively complex instructions. And since controlling attacking Warriors with a recording really is brilliant and awesome-sounding, I would heartily support someone actually doing it at some point in the RP. I think Chimera would be cool either with Thoughttown or Black Fist, but overall I'd lean towards making him a gifter. How will Max feel about having an Epic on their side, though? Suggestions? Crocodile + bat/pterodactyl + bombadier beetle = dragons.

Thanks. She's not quite as filled with villainous potential as the Trimmer, but she still sounds cool. I like Phoenix's scenes, by the way. Should we set up Aldos hypnosis solution in this scene? Aldo could notice he's having some troubles focusing, and after a brief quiz he might be able to get him straightened out a little.

Thanks. TwiLyght wrote the song lyrics. Funtimes got Alice singing carols back during her brief career as a zombie.

Ooh--Twi, can I reference Aldo's mysteriously powerful rope made of handkerchiefs as being crafted by Arachne? I'd already assumed it had been made by an Epic, and I only just now realized how perfectly it fits with her super-weaving powers. I mean, he mentions that it's part spider silk and everything.

Nothing can separate me from my disrespectful short pants! Don't try to stop me, you curmudgeon-impersonator you! (Just so I'm not lynched by an angry mob, I assure you all that the GM knows the weaknesses now. )

That's what I love about this RP. It brings even the wildest dreams to life. Posted a Cricket bio + her pony in the Epics of Oregon thread. Also I should probably send Aldo and Cricket's weaknesses to TwiLyght before too much longer. I can only cheat the system for so long.

He doesn't have the ability to mentally command Warriors until he's raised them three or four times. It takes a while to build up a mental rapport with them, and even then it's a dodgy process. He's only raised Alice once, so she wouldn't respond to orders unless he delivered them vocally. Claudius is the only Warrior with which he has a strong enough rapport to deliver mental commands. I love Chimera! He's looking like a really interesting villain--can't wait to see him in action! Particularly if he gets some dinosaurs at some point.

My interest was piqued as soon as Nathan gave her the order; it just took some time for me to figure out what the logical progression from that point would be. Until then I hadn't considered what such an order would do to a Warrior. It's just another example of how the characters and setting details expand as other members of the group add details. Remington/Alice is a ship I still support, by the way. Max seems to be in the best position to meet up with her first, but if we can get Alice, Max, and Remington to the same place soon, I will be a happy pony indeed. Thanks. I feel obligated to keep saying "Sponsored by the Super Speedy Comic Squeezy" whenever I post these. It really is a cool web app that allows the creation of large and artsy looking panels without much labor or skill.

It's interesting how the significance of a lot of game events are only really apparent later on. As I recall, the fight with Nighthound erupted because we were bored and wanted something to do while we waited for other players to return. It may come to pass that Revolution's bacon scene will wind up being the integral scene of the entire RP before all is said and done. Also, I decided I wanted a crack at making an Alice Reg-hay.

Cool. I plan on doing the same for the extended Sam flashback, though I'm really not sure when or where it will be posted. I'm sure that if I'd waited any longer to post that, somebody would have guessed that. I wanted Lightwards to find out about Alice being AOL, so I thought a brief side scene with Aldo and Cricket would be a good way to set that up. Purple Phoenix fitted the scene perfectly, because before we arranged that bit I was worried about a dull ending to the scene. No scene is dull if it includes PP. And thanks. I actually re-read all the posts that had Zombie!Alice in them. The fight with Nighthound was a major narrative event in many different ways, it seems.

I'm guessing that his prime invincibility was no match for Remington Springfield. Anyway, posted. I'm trying to flesh out Cricket a little more, and I revealed what Lightwards' "belonging" is.

Aldo the Enigmatic took his time in gingerly climbing back down the handkerchiefs. "You know, someone really needs to teach these people about stairs or elevators," Cricket observed, watching the magician inch downwards. Aldo merely grunted. Moving down on the line of hankies looked a little more difficult than climbing up. For her own part, Cricket faced the very edge of the Museum and looked down. It had been years since heights had bothered her--while Caitlin Didsie would probably have passed out at such a view, Cricket enjoyed staring down at the city. It gave her a sense of power and purpose, surveying the grey metal and stone of the city as the distant roar of a jet plane came to her ears. Seeing that Aldo was over halfway down, she stepped off the Museum. She dropped like a stone, falling through the air. The sound of air whooshing past her filled her ears, and she enjoyed the sudden breeze that seemed to wash over her body. Poking fun at Aldo's drama was enjoyable, but nothing really compared to the sensation of falling. She grinned, turning a couple of somersaults in the air before the ground came rushing up to her. At the last second, she angled her body and let her feet hit the concrete. A rumbling shock ran up her legs, but as usual she survived. She brushed off the dust cloud that had risen up over her and walked to where the handkerchief rope hung over the ground. Aldo had very nearly reached the bottom by this point, and allowed himself to drop for the final yard. He landed substantially less gracefully than Cricket had, but quickly pulled himself to his feet and pretended it hadn't happened. "Right then," he said cheerfully. "Time to play fetch." The magician fished around in his pockets before pulling out what appeared to be a toy. Cricket knew better, though; as soon as Aldo fingers touched it, the object became a small white moped with an "A" and a top hat painted on one of its sides. -------------- It didn't take long to travel through the city. Aldo's moped traveled at something less than an impressive speed, but Cricket was fast enough to keep ahead of him. She jumped from the roof of one building to another, keeping an eye on the path ahead. Though Aldo seemed perfectly fine with it, Cricket wasn't too happy about running errands for the necromancer in the Museum. She didn't enjoy the feeling that Lightwards thought of them as simple servants. Finally the suburb came into view, recognizable by the smashed houses and the strong smell of maple syrup. Cricket wrinkled her nose and leaped into the center of the street, glaring as Aldo parked his moped beside her. Aldo was beaming like an idiot. "Seems like a sticky situation went down here not long ago," he proclaimed, peering around the suburb. "Haha," Cricket said mirthlessly. "Let's just find that Jeep before I throw up." "Not a fan of syrup, my dear?" "Not Epic syrup that's been sitting in the sun all day," she replied, staring at the crystalline mess that lay on top of the ruins. Aldo the Enigmatic continued smiling, peering around the block. "All kinds of interesting stuff here," he observed. "Sticks all over the place, oak by the look of it. But not a tree in sight. And that mess there." He gestured at a pile of pink scrap metal laying in the street. There were a few vanillas here and there on the sidewalk, but they all avoided the wreckage. "Excuse me, sir," Aldo said grandly, taking a teenage boy by the shoulder and pulling him close. "What can you tell me about this mess?" "Uh, I don't know anything about it," the boy said nervously, licking his lips and looking around in a panic. Cricket leaned against a wall and fixed the teen with a glare. "Just tell the man what he wants to know, and maybe we won't turn you into a dingo." The boy's eyes widened. "I really don't know much about it," he whined. "There were some Epics here the other night. They fought, they killed some people. They ruined some houses. And then when Jack the salvage man came around to clean up, one of the Epics killed him. So nobody's wanted to touch any of it." "Makes sense," Aldo said warmly. "Would you be so kind as to point me towards a white Jeep parked hereabouts? It should have a young woman with red hair in it." The boy pointed around a corner. "There's a white jeep over there, but I don't think anyone's seen a woman in there." He looked at the magician pleadingly. "Can I go now?" "Eh, why not?" Aldo asked, ruffling the boy's hair. He gave the boy a shove and turned away from him. The white jeep was just that--a white jeep, pristine and undisturbed. It was parked by the side of a building, facing the main street. Cricket wasn't usually into cars, but she had to admit that this one was pretty snazzy. Aldo walked over and rapped on the side of the jeep. "Mrs. Regway?" he said loudly. "My name is Aldo the Enigmatic. Lightwards sent us." There was no response. Aldo opened the door and peered in. "Huh. That kid was right. No Alice Regway in here." "Sparks," Cricket groaned. "Someone must have dragged her off. Those zombies don't seem to have a lot of volition." "I'm not so sure about that," Aldo said thoughtfully. "No signs of struggle or physical coercion. It looks like she just opened the door and walked away." "Why would she do that?" Cricket asked skeptically. "No idea." Cricket sighed. There were plenty of things she didn't like about this mission, quite aside from the principle of it. For one thing, she was generally unsettled by Lightwards calling this Alice lady "his belonging"--being an Epic was one thing, but being a disrespectful slontze was quite another. She'd been willing to put up with it as long as it was a simple mission, but she wasn't keen on the idea of spending her day trying to find a malfunctioning zombie. "Let's just head back," she suggested finally. "Empty-handed?" "Why not? We're not his butlers." Aldo sighed. "I wanted to make a good impression." He cupped his hands around his mouth and started shouting. "ALICE REGWAY? ALICE REG-WAY!" There was no response, though a few passersby speeded their steps as they walked by. Cricket shook her head. "Not gonna work. She could be miles from here. Let's just head back and tell him his zombies are broke." "Alice Regway?" a voice mumbled from nearby. "No, don't think I know an Alice Regway..." Cricket and Aldo glanced up sharply. Wandering into the street was a bearded man dressed in purple, looking thoroughly confused. By the look of things he'd just been wandering around in a trance and had heard them yelling. Undoubtedly an Epic, but not looking like a particularly sane one. "Hello," Aldo said cheerily, taking a step forward and tipping his hat. "My name is Aldo the Enigmatic. And before you introduce yourself, let me just say that you have the most magnificent beard I've seen all week." A giant robot stomped down the street, sending out a rumbling sound each time one of its titanium feet collided with asphalt. Alice Regway watched the robot with a bemused expression. Beside the robot was a rugged-looking man with spiky blonde hair. He looked confident, though Alice wasn't quite sure how she knew. Her head was still thick as glue and her eyes were drooping from lack of sleep, but somehow she was beginning to feel good. That professor's voice was getting softer in her head, as was the man in the front seat. She felt a little like herself again, though she really couldn't say what herself was. "Starscream, how do you feel about going for a ride?" the blonde man said. He turned to the soldiers standing nearby and told them to meet him at an armory somewhere. Then he jumped into the giant robot, which transformed with a whirl of moving parts and motors. It became an enormous jet plane, which took off from the city with the thundering roar of a jet plane. Alice stared up at the plane and watched as it receded into the distance. Then, fixing her eyes ahead at nothing in particular, she put her hands in her pockets and walked straight through the crowd of soldiers. They looked at her incredulously before shaking their heads and cautiously moving away. The last of them to step out of her way heard her singing in a low soft voice. "Jingle bombs, jingle bombs, 'sploding all the way..."