[OOC] Round 4 Private Collaboration

[Qiksilv]

That's a lot of stuff orchestrate in one post between two people.

Future Sam might be worried with David wandering free but right now he'll be satisfied with just getting out without more bloodshed.

If David says he will get off willingly at the exodus then Sam will go there. Dave can hold Issa hostage till Worrell comes aboard.

If you'd rather have conflict we could start there, Sam could turn of the gravity once they leave the atmosphere, Issa then kicks free, allowing David to do his rage attack, and sam/mraak contains him. I like this a little better than the dive which would make Sam worry about the stress on the old ship.

Assuming I go first My post would go:
talk,
Fly up,
Gravity off,
Issa kick free
Sam asks David to surrender.

Then yours could be whatever is after that. That's one option at least.

[squirmonkey]

I'm okay with that version of events... I think probably if we're going up to the ship though it doesn't make sense for David to attack (since you're doing what he wanted).

But I'm sure that in that situation I can find something interesting for David to say or do. And then I guess it's implied (if Worrell wasn't bluffing) that the sequel to our series is some kind of ideologically divided cold civil war between a faction on the ship and a faction on the ground where David's living in Exile on the ship but Worrell won't hand him over or something like that?

[squirmonkey]

If you're going to post first, do you know roughly when you'll do that?

[Qiksilv]

I'm starting now. I need to be done tonight. Hurricane Hilary is going through my area so there is a chance that power will be out tomorrow.

Personally, I don't think it will be a good chance but still, a chance.

[squirmonkey]

Oof, stay safe!

[Qiksilv]

Alright, I'm done!

I think it will be close but I'm almost thinking you will be ahead by a little bit this round. After all, you were #1 for 2 out of 3 rounds so far and I think you played this one well too.

Either way this goes. Good luck and it's been a pleasure. I'll check this for the next half hour or so, if you have any comments feel free to throw them over and I'll see what I can tweak before the edit limit.

[squirmonkey]

Nice post. I think it's going to be terribly close. Samuel has a wonderful authenticity that I have always struggled to find in my own characters.

To clarify, you went with the betray version after all right? Where now Mraak is bringing us down to the planet, David is pissed at Samuel, and Issa is free to fight David in Zero-G?

[Qiksilv]

I wasn't sure if mraak was going to go for David or Issa.

Sam asked mraak to go down but doesn't have a way to enforce that. If David wants to ty and convince him otherwise he's welcome to.

Maybe David sees the error of ways and expresses remorse to Sam Instead of anger? Lol.

Also. Possible that Issa was Injured when she escaped which leaves Dave free to charge at Sam.

Lota ways to play that out

[squirmonkey]

@Bhelogan - I guess that leaves some question as to what the NPCs might do in this situation. My guess would be that Mraak is down for any plan that involves him getting in good with the people who are still going to be in power after this exchange. That probably means he does try to work with Sam and lower the ship to the ground. Or would he prefer to go to the Exodus, because he wants a way off the planet, and being on the Exodus puts him one step closer to that? My other guess would be that Issa is pissed and wants to fight, and would take any opportunity to try to kill David. And I would further guess that Perez has a team of marines on standby to storm the ship the second it lands and arrest everybody but Sam. Do those all roughly sound right? I know you said we had some license with the NPCs this round, and I want to be able to narrate some of their actions as part of my post (since we're trying to fit a lot of action into these final moments!) but I don't want to write them doing anything that's way out of character.

@Bhelogan also - If we end up in a situation where we're on the ship, somehow. Do you have any thoughts on how aligned David and the captain are? Is Worrell just generally anti-corporate but still maybe not thrilled with David's methods? Or might he like secretly be a member of David's cult, the Inheritors, and pretty much on board with what's going down?

@Qiksilv - Yeah. I don't think I can probably go with David seeing the error of his ways. It just feels like it would be too sudden and sharp a turn for the character who, up to this point has not only been a terrible person, but has gone out of his way to convince himself he's not to blame. I think that, with time he could get there (maybe we'll see a hint of this in a moment where he's being dragged away in cuffs or something) but we don't have a ton of time.

[squirmonkey]

Oh, also, should have asked this a lot sooner but

@Bhelogan - The rules prohibit PvP... now, we've been very happily collaborating, and it seems like we're both extremely on board for how opposed David and Samuel have gotten. I think it's very unlikely any feelings are going to be hurt, or any players are going to feel like they've had their agency taken away by the conflict between these two characters (I assume the intent of the rule is to avoid negative outcomes like those). Still, it feels like we should make sure to have your blessing that this instance of conflict between the characters is okay.

[Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by squirmonkey

@Bhelogan - I guess that leaves some question as to what the NPCs might do in this situation. My guess would be that Mraak is down for any plan that involves him getting in good with the people who are still going to be in power after this exchange. That probably means he does try to work with Sam and lower the ship to the ground. Or would he prefer to go to the Exodus, because he wants a way off the planet, and being on the Exodus puts him one step closer to that? My other guess would be that Issa is pissed and wants to fight, and would take any opportunity to try to kill David. And I would further guess that Perez has a team of marines on standby to storm the ship the second it lands and arrest everybody but Sam. Do those all roughly sound right? I know you said we had some license with the NPCs this round, and I want to be able to narrate some of their actions as part of my post (since we're trying to fit a lot of action into these final moments!) but I don't want to write them doing anything that's way out of character.

Mraak is out to save his own skin. If he can come across as the good guy to those in charge he will, but he would be perfectly happy to hijack a ship and run as well. Perez doesn't really want the aliens on the planet and will have them shipped off as soon as possible if you go to the ground. I wouldn't quite call it, having them arrested, but David she does want in custody. Issa is a little more emotional, and would likely incapacitate David given the chance. She wouldn't outright kill him in front of everyone though. In secret, sure, but not in public.

Given Qiksilv's post, both aliens are on board to help subdue David.

Originally Posted by squirmonkey

@Bhelogan also - If we end up in a situation where we're on the ship, somehow. Do you have any thoughts on how aligned David and the captain are? Is Worrell just generally anti-corporate but still maybe not thrilled with David's methods? Or might he like secretly be a member of David's cult, the Inheritors, and pretty much on board with what's going down?

I don't think Worrell is part of the same cult, but he has some shared ideologies about not wanting corporations to control the new planet. Maybe he has an agenda of his own.

Originally Posted by squirmonkey

Oh, also, should have asked this a lot sooner but

@Bhelogan - The rules prohibit PvP... now, we've been very happily collaborating, and it seems like we're both extremely on board for how opposed David and Samuel have gotten. I think it's very unlikely any feelings are going to be hurt, or any players are going to feel like they've had their agency taken away by the conflict between these two characters (I assume the intent of the rule is to avoid negative outcomes like those). Still, it feels like we should make sure to have your blessing that this instance of conflict between the characters is okay.

In this case, we have a very collaborative scene where our characters are in conflict with each other as part of the story, both parties are involved. This isn't one player trying to kill another to get them eliminated from the competition due to the narration removing them, or where the characters are fighting because the players are fighting OOC. I wouldn't call this PvP in the sense of what the rule is written to prohibit.

[Bhelogan]

You can also leave the ending a bit ambiguous, and I'll write the conclusion based on how the judges vote.

[squirmonkey]

Originally Posted by Bhelogan

In this case, we have a very collaborative scene where our characters are in conflict with each other as part of the story, both parties are involved. This isn't one player trying to kill another to get them eliminated from the competition due to the narration removing them, or where the characters are fighting because the players are fighting OOC. I wouldn't call this PvP in the sense of what the rule is written to prohibit.

This is what I figured, but thought it best to get explicit approval anyway!

Originally Posted by Bhelogan

Mraak is out to save his own skin. If he can come across as the good guy to those in charge he will, but he would be perfectly happy to hijack a ship and run as well. Perez doesn't really want the aliens on the planet and will have them shipped off as soon as possible if you go to the ground. I wouldn't quite call it, having them arrested, but David she does want in custody. Issa is a little more emotional, and would likely incapacitate David given the chance. She wouldn't outright kill him in front of everyone though. In secret, sure, but not in public.

Given Qiksilv's post, both aliens are on board to help subdue David.

Okay. I think I'm gonna have the aliens be momentarily busy with other stuff so they don't jump David right away. That gives me a little time to rant before they jump me. I figure David has no prayer of actually beating Issa and Mraak in a fight, especially when they're working together and he's using a piece of broken glass for a weapon instead of something real.

@Bhelogan - Here's how I'm thinking of writing it now. Let me know if these characterizations of the NPCs are in bounds:

• David rambles a little, asks to go to the ship
• Sam turns off the gravity. Issa elbows David in the ribs to escape his grip, David lashes out at her and cuts her face with the glass.
• Mraak is busy setting the ship to pilot to the ground, and Issa is busy reeling from her new minor-but-painful injury, so David has some time to be mad at Sam for 'betraying' him
• David launches himself at Sam to attack
• Issa intercepts David and Mraak joins in shortly afterwards and they scuffle in midair

Then I think it would be fun to resolve that doomed fight with a last roll of the dice. I'm thinking it's a humanity roll where I get 1d and -1 from my injury. Here's how I picture the results:
0 - 1: Zero successes. David and Issa are fighting, struggling for control of David's improvised weapon. Then we reach a moment in the descent where the ship slows and the real gravity of the planet kicks in meaningfully. The two fall to the ground, and the glass shard is accidentally driven into David's chest when they land. David dies unrepentant.
2: Two successes (this is if I roll a 3, and it's reduced to a 2 by the penalty). Issa's reactions are still slowed a tiny bit by the paralysis, and David gets off a lucky shot and kills Issa. This shocks him into a sobering moment where he reflects on whether or not this was what he really wanted, and if he let his own fear get the best of him. His reflection is cut short by Mraak knocking him out.
3-5: One success. David struggles against Issa and Mraak for a bit, wounding Mraak. It doesn't take long for the two of them to subdue him though, and he passes out. He wakes up as he's being dragged away in chains, giving him just enough time to share some last cynical "wisdom" with sam.

In all 3 cases, the aftermath is left open for the GM to fill in with whatever they like.

@Bhelogan - Do those seem like fair representations of the characters, and a fair use of the dice roll mechanic? If so, I'll start writing!

[Bhelogan]

Looks fine. Have at it!

[squirmonkey]

It's done!

Thanks a ton to both of you for making this last round so dramatic and exciting, and for working with me to find an explosive finale for this Outplay.

It's been a pleasure to play with both of you, and I'm never signing up for a 1/day post-rate game ever again.