Mystery Box

bit hard to tell under the clothing really

while i appreciate the anomalocaris i think we should stick to being a human or at least a humanoid

Alternatively

yes please, hat & all

Gods. We're horrific. I hope we get some hammerspace stomach with those spacey pics.

I think I'm ready for the Binding Ritual on my end. You might wanna take some notes on this next part. The power of Doppelmancy that comes from being Bound to that Orb of Faulty Replication is gonna work best if you get good at Rhyming Incanatations. Good rhymes make better magic, that's what I always say.

Anyway, hope you've got your look figured out. Just remember; hold those images in your mind. Once we get this Ritual started, that's what's gonna shape the orb into the new Pawn you're gonna inhabit. For however long as you can survive down there in The Crawl, anyway.

Well that's enough banter. Time to start Incantating. Lemme see here...

*ehem*

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Mirrormancer, copy-cancer, duplicator, aye.

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Ball of Twain. An echo-voice that is it's own reply.

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May your matter be the mold, to hold a hero's mind.

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Be the Pawn to capture King. Imbue this vessel! Bind!

There we go, Miss Bootz. For better or worse, you've been Bound. You're now your very own Pawn, to guide and control as you will. And conveniently back in the box too.

You like how I did that all in one go? What can I say, I'm good at my job.

Anyway, uh... one more thing. Before I send you on your way.

The place you're going to... well, anybody'd tell you The Crawl is a rough place to be. Shifting spaces, tricky traps, mean monsters, and worse. All kinds of nasty types have set up shop there too, waiting to use you if they can, or get rid of you if they can't. But there's a kinda beauty there too, if you look in the right places. People just living and struggling, helping one another, and defying that cold march toward Nothingness just by keeping on existing. People who want to make The Crawl a little bit better for the next guy to come along.

That's the sorta thing I'm all about. As it happens, it's also what I'm hoping I can count on you for.

Supposing that Somebody wanted the world to be a better place. Supposing that, some time ago, this Non-Particular Entity made a powerful Mystery Box, what people could reach into, and pull out whatever they wanted. And let's say that this person gave it to the people to use, and everything was hunky dory for a while.

But then, suppose that instant wish fulfillment is actually kind of a two-edged sword. Imagine that people started to use what they pulled out of The Box to hurt folk before they could cool their head, or even hurt themselves in ways they didn't even notice. At this point, it's looking like that Mystery Box is working against the whole reason it was made in the first place, right?

Well... say that because of this, that Somebody from earlier went to take The Box back, so it could be reworked a bit. And say that the Masters in charge of The Box at the time weren't too keen to give it up, or the power it gave 'em over other folk. And, long story short, let's say that in the end, that poor shortsighted Somebody got banished by the very folk they were trying to help.

Though they probably couldn't make you do anything, I bet that Unspecified Person would really like your help getting The Box back. Even if that would mean going up against the folks using all that power to prop themselves up, and drag everyone else down. And, as it happens, I do believe those very folks happen to be down in The Crawl, where you're headed once we're done. So, if maybe those suppositions we were just talking about turned out to be real, and seemed like maybe a bit of a wrong that oughta be made right... well, I'd hope I could count on you to do your best to put it to rights.

Anyway, enough chit-chat outta me, eh? Have a good time down in The Crawl, newbie. Try to last longer than the last guy. And, if you find any Horned Statues while you're down there, feel free to drop me a line. Heck, send me another Package if you gotta. Normally I wouldn't encourage it, but for you Miss Bootz, I'll make an exception.

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Best wishes, bon voyage, happy hunting, et cetera et cetera

You are Flannery Bootz III the Copycatburglar. "Over-Easy" to your friends, but... hardboiled to your... enemies? You're still workshopping that catchphrase. Also, you've only been around for under a minute, so you could probably cut yourself some slack.

You're sitting in a Cardboard Box. It's where you woke up after being created. You don't remember the details of whatever happened before, but something tells you this place is The Crawl. More specifically, your keen Cat-like Sense of Smell has deduced that your current location is a Garbage-Filled Urban Alleyway.

What do you do?
>

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Character Info: Flannery

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Name: Ms. Flannery "Over-Easy" Bootz III

---

Pawn Status:
• Grazes: 0/4
• Wounds: 0/6

Class: Copycatburglar
• Skill: Lucky Break
• Grace +2
• Presence +1
• Insight +1

Relic: Orb of Faulty Replication
• Skill: Doppelmancy
• Insight +2
• Presence +1
• Logic +1[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Inventory:

---

Equipped:
• Blue-Collar Cloak (Evade +2): The stout denim shroud of the Working Class.
• Boots of Stomping (Jump +1, Stomp +1): These boots lend a boost, whether you're going up or coming down.
• Cat's Ear Hood (Listen +1, Charm +1): With this on your head, you hear more acutely, and look cute too.
• Replica Courier Bag (Container, Disguise +2): From your "Day Job" as a "Mail Courier". Opening a real Courier Bag is illegal, so law-abiding folk shouldn't snoop inside.
• Steel Scalemail (Armor +2): Flexible body armor made out of little metal plates.
• Steel Clawntlet (Hand-to-Hand, Climb +1, Lethal +1): A glove ending in retractable knife-sized claws.
[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Lucky Break (Grace):

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When you find yourself in a bind or out of options, you can always look to sheer dumb luck to see you through.

• Triumph (20 or more): You not only get out of the situation, but take something good with you, or leave behind something bad.
• Success (16-19): However improbable, something solves your problem for you, with no strings attached.
• Compromise (11-15): Fate gets you out of trouble, but you leave something good behind, or take something bad with you.
• Failure (10 or less): Luck just isn't with you right now, and your troubles take a turn for the worse.[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Doppelmancy (Insight):

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You have the power to copy virtually anything. Trouble is, they're bad copies. Pick a nearby object or being, and say a rhyming Incantation to copy it. The copy generally looks and acts like the real thing. The copy lasts until it's damaged, for as long as you concentrate on it. Take -1 to all actions, for each existing copy.

• Triumph (20 or more): The copy is either indistinguishable from the original, or permanent and real despite 1 Minor Flaw.
• Success (16-19): It's a pretty good copy, but has 1 Major Flaw, or 2 Minor Flaws.
• Compromise (11-15): Your copy has some issues; namely 2 Major Flaws, or 3 Minor Flaws.
• Failure (10 or less): Something has gone wrong with your copy. Very, very wrong.

For each Flaw, the copy you create...
• ...isn't quite normal. It may be the wrong size, color, smell, weight, or have wildly different physical properties.
• ...isn't quite real. It may be insubstantial when touched, shimmer like a mirage, or vanish at inopportune times.
• ...isn't quite the same. Something about the way it works and behaves is worse, opposite, or just plain wrong.[/box]

> Cut eye holes into the box so you can spy on the surroundings while still being incognito.
be solid snake

>Jump out of the box and inspect the pages.
.
.
.
>Also be mildly annoyed how there are no ramps. We can't exactly balance on rods, now can we?
...mumble mumble dumb ladderlovers mumble...

>Explore the trash

>Open dumpster like a treasure chest. There's surely treasures there people decided to throw away.

>Open dumpster like a treasure chest. There's surely treasures there people decided to throw away.

yes

>Pursue the way of the urban hermit crab, flip the box over and scuttle on out of the alley.

> Perhaps we could get some burglary done? Head up that fire escape and break into one of those doors.

>Open dumpster like a treasure chest. There's surely treasures there people decided to throw away.

>Climb ladder without leaving box

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Suggestion: Flip the box, and wear it as a disguise

>Pursue the way of the urban hermit crab, flip the box over and scuttle on out of the alley.

> Cut eye holes into the box so you can spy on the surroundings while still being incognito.be solid snake

Without leaving the concealment of the Cardboard Box, you rock it back and forth, hop off the ground, and nimbly flip the box over. If anyone was around to see, they'd be pretty impressed by this demonstration of your Above-Average Grace.

Once you're fully flipped over and re-situated inside, you deploy a single claw from your Steel Clawntlet, and begin to slice peepholes into the front of the Cardboard Box.

With a few deft cuts, you successfully craft it into a suit of Cardboard Camo, and immediately equip it.

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]New Gear Recieved:

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• Cardboard Camo (Container, Restrictive, Disguise +2, Clumsy -2): A cardboard box with eyeholes. Ideal for impersonating a container, though it makes some activities quite difficult.[/box]

Emboldened by your new disguise, and your newfound ability to see things while wearing it, you stand and survey the Trash-Filled Alleyway. Obvious exits are the End of the Alleyway to the Southwest, and the fire escape to the Northeast leading up to the Second Story Door and Third Story Door. There's various Trash Bags, Bins, and piles of Assorted Refuse around.

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Suggestion: Investigate Assorted Refuse

>Explore the trash

>Jump out of the box and inspect the pages.

You'd like to explore the Alley Garbage more fully, but your hands are trapped inside your Cardboard Camo. Until you unequip it, exploring the garbage in full would be very difficult.

You can, however, see a series of Discarded Fliers, worn away by rain and time. Some of the text has faded, but you do your best to read what you can.

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A Decorated Flier...Announcing the GRAND OPENING of Bigg City Bungalows!

Looking to get a fresh start here in Bigg City? Got more sense than Red Cents? Well, look no further than the Bigg City Bungalows line of rental properties, brought to you by Bigg Business Enterprises.

Recently renovated to meet the needs of a better class of consumer, Bigg City Bungalows have the amenities for you. Water, light, air, and more! Even pets* can be welcome here**, so be sure to bring them along too. Our floor plans start at a cozy 5x5m, ranging all the way up to...

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A Decomposing Flier......finest employment opportunities for children, teens, young adults, adults...

...no prior skills required. Be your own trainer and train on the job, as you work exciting heavy equipm...

...a place to spend all the rest of your days, with the kind of dignity a dutiful Citizen like you deser...

...no reimbursements. The Dough Factory is not liable for any and all injuries or de...

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A Doodled-On Flier...ABSOLUTELY NO PEDDLERS OR SOLICITORS! >:(

You're not sure what to think of these fliers, but you can tell they've likely been in this alley for a while.

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Suggestion: Investigate Dumpster

Trade up to a better box (dumpster). Dumpster is yours now.

>Open dumpster like a treasure chest. There's surely treasures there people decided to throw away.

You take a look at the big, sturdy Green Dumpster in the alley. If there's trash worth picking through, it's probably kept in there. You also admit to fantasizing a bit about upgrading your flimsy box for an armored dumpster. Though rummaging through the Alley Garbage is tough without hands, you're pretty sure you can nudge the lid open with the corner of your Cardboard Camo. You walk over, and give the lid a tentative nudge.

It doesn't move.

You try again, pushing harder this time. Something metallic rattles and clatters, and the lid lifts just a touch, but it still won't open. A Lock? How vexing! Dreams of powerful Relics sealed away inside this lowly, Forgotten Trash Vault plague your thoughts. Ever just outside your reach... why must they taunt you so?

You prepare to give the lid it one last heave, when you hear a new sound, from within the Locked Dumpster.

[2x1] [|] [box=https://solifuge.github.io/mysterybox/text/grey/box.png border=16]Can't ya see the sign? It says no solicitors, so go away![/box][/2x1]

What do you do?
>

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Character Info: Flannery

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Name: Ms. Flannery "Over-Easy" Bootz III

---

Pawn Status:
• Grazes: 0/4
• Wounds: 0/6

Class: Copycatburglar
• Skill: Lucky Break
• Grace +2
• Presence +1
• Insight +1

Relic: Orb of Faulty Replication
• Skill: Doppelmancy
• Insight +2
• Presence +1
• Logic +1[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Inventory:

---

Equipped:
• Blue-Collar Cloak (Evade +2): The stout denim shroud of the Working Class.
• Boots of Stomping (Jump +1, Stomp +1): These boots lend a boost, whether you're going up or coming down.
• Cardboard Camo (Container, Restrictive, Disguise +2, Clumsy -2): A cardboard box with eye-shaped peepholes. Ideal for impersonating a container, though it makes some activities quite difficult.
• Cat's Ear Hood (Listen +1, Charm +1): With this on your head, you hear more acutely, and look cute too.
• Replica Courier Bag (Container, Disguise +2): From your "Day Job" as a "Mail Courier". Opening a real Courier Bag is illegal, so law-abiding folk shouldn't snoop inside.
• Steel Scalemail (Armor +2): Flexible body armor made out of little metal plates.
• Steel Clawntlet (Hand-to-Hand, Climb +1, Lethal +1): A glove ending in retractable knife-sized claws.
[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Lucky Break (Grace):

---

When you find yourself in a bind or out of options, you can always look to sheer dumb luck to see you through.

• Triumph (20 or more): You not only get out of the situation, but take something good with you, or leave behind something bad.
• Success (16-19): However improbable, something solves your problem for you, with no strings attached.
• Compromise (11-15): Fate gets you out of trouble, but you leave something good behind, or take something bad with you.
• Failure (10 or less): Luck just isn't with you right now, and your troubles take a turn for the worse.[/box]

[box=#808080 width=full border=2]Doppelmancy (Insight):

---

You have the power to copy virtually anything. Trouble is, they're bad copies. Pick a nearby object or being, and say a rhyming Incantation to copy it. The copy generally looks and acts like the real thing. The copy lasts until it's damaged, for as long as you concentrate on it. Take -1 to all actions, for each existing copy.

• Triumph (20 or more): The copy is either indistinguishable from the original, or permanent and real despite 1 Minor Flaw.
• Success (16-19): It's a pretty good copy, but has 1 Major Flaw, or 2 Minor Flaws.
• Compromise (11-15): Your copy has some issues; namely 2 Major Flaws, or 3 Minor Flaws.
• Failure (10 or less): Something has gone wrong with your copy. Very, very wrong.

For each Flaw, the copy you create...
• ...isn't quite normal. It may be the wrong size, color, smell, weight, or have wildly different physical properties.
• ...isn't quite real. It may be insubstantial when touched, shimmer like a mirage, or vanish at inopportune times.
• ...isn't quite the same. Something about the way it works and behaves is worse, opposite, or just plain wrong.[/box]