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smuchmuch · 01-23-2017, 04:27 AM

One thing i have to wonder about here:

Quote:Lagantis: I’m going to call Homeworld to see if they can spare a new Orbital Artillery Cannon. If we can get that installed, we won’t have to do this ammo-switching process.

How would that work anyway. Is the canon a seperate sattelite or ship that can be connected ours ? Because I'm pretty sure you can't just /add a whole system as complex as that to our spaceship without some extensive passage in drydock.

Also wouldn't that cost a looot of money to get another one of those ? Like at least thousand nightmare level of spending ? Imean it's been told that those Durangium canons are very high tech and a big Saramis secret.

And finaly, what about Reinard's ship, the Deathman ?
I know it was in drydocks for repairs but it's been a while. And it shoumld come with a canon and reactor of it's own...

Mayu_Zane · 01-26-2017, 01:31 AM

(01-22-2017, 11:38 PM)LoverIan Wrote: »>What about airlifting Horror Blob? Send a Seeker in close to see if we can project the rate of heat increase, and if we can move it to a more controlled environment.
>What Battalions have the best track record with bodyjackers, and which have the best projected success rates?
>Could we use the Sonic Mechs to kite the bodyjackers and stalkers across the toxic river? If the Mechs can cross it reliably with minimal damage, get the bodyjackers following up to the river banks, we may be able to get them into firing range of a battalion or two.
>Can a Volcano Tank be modified to take liquid source from the toxic river, and arc a stream directly into the factory?

Airlifting Horror Blob could work. Its current temperature range is 80 to 90 degrees Celsius.

Regular Army Troops are sufficient for dealing with Bodyjackers as long as they have enough distance to engage the enemy with explosives before they get into melee range.

Using Sonic Mechs to trick the monsters into the toxic river is a viable option.

The Volcano tank cannot use toxic water; it is meant to use lava, and only lava. The toxic river itself is host to a lot of unknown bacteria and gunk, which could ruin the firing mechanism.

(01-22-2017, 11:44 PM)Arcanuse Wrote: »>I don't trust the Chamber of horrors. Move it towards our territory, but away from anything important.

You: Good idea, Ghulls. If this thing turns out to be some kind of bomb we’ll want it miles away from anything important.

(01-23-2017, 04:27 AM)smuchmuch Wrote: »And finaly, what about Reinard's ship, the Deathman ?
I know it was in drydocks for repairs but it's been a while. And it shoumld come with a canon and reactor of it's own...

Rainhar: Wait, Lagan, I have better idea. My ship should be almost done with the repairs now and I can call it in to work as another orbital artillery platform.

Lagantis: Almost done?

Rainhar: They just need to replace a few pipes now and it should be able to arrive here within 3 days.

Lagantis: Hm. When the Deathman arrives, are you gonna move there?

Rainhar: Well, yeah. I like being here, but in the worst-case scenario, if this ship goes down for whatever reason at least there’ll be a Commander still up here in space.

You: Makes sense.

~~LoverIan~~ · 02-24-2017, 09:52 AM

>airlift horrorblob first, and then the chamber of horrors.
>send sonic mechs to lure hostiles to the toxic river, at which point they will be engaged by battalions 1-5 if possible.
>additionally what if we just attached enough cords to the bottom of the factory all from one direction, and then used all of our airforce to airlift it? The idea essentially goes that we'll lift it into the air so it faces upside down, lift it high as safely possible, and then drop it so it crushes itself under it's own weight

Mayu_Zane · 03-17-2017, 02:17 AM

(02-24-2017, 09:52 AM)LoverIan Wrote: »>airlift horrorblob first, and then the chamber of horrors.
>send sonic mechs to lure hostiles to the toxic river, at which point they will be engaged by battalions 1-5 if possible.
>additionally what if we just attached enough cords to the bottom of the factory all from one direction, and then used all of our airforce to airlift it? The idea essentially goes that we'll lift it into the air so it faces upside down, lift it high as safely possible, and then drop it so it crushes itself under it's own weight

You send out a Spec Ops team along with all of your Sonic Mechs in two Skyshadows in an attempt to abduct the monster. Numerous people tell you this is dangerous, but you point out that you will allow forces to retreat if the situation becomes untenable.

Spec Ops Team 1 and the Sonic Mechs land nearby. Spec Ops move forward to get a visual, but the HorrorBlob somehow notices your cloaked troops. It responds by becoming hotter.

Ghulls: We’re reading past boiling water temperature here!

Steam bursts out from it, as well as what looks like gallstones. Some of them strike three of your soldiers hard enough to make them scream.

You: RETURN FIRE!

Spec Ops open fire on the monster, and numerous bits of flesh flop out of its newly-made holes. After more shooting, it stops generating heat and the remains stop moving.

Cpt. Selev: I think we killed it.

You: Captain, I’m sending a Seeker to examine it. Stay vigilant for any further surprises!

Cpt. Selev: Will do, ma’am!

The Seeker inspects the carcass, and it finds no sign of life. To everyone’s relief, it was not bullet-proof.

The Spec Ops turn their attention to the Chamber of Horrors.

Cpt. Selev: Commander. It moved.

You: Say again?

Cpt. Selev: The structure, it… it wasn’t there just now- AAAAH!

Something appears in front of his camera. Actually, it’s showing up on everyone’s camera.

A… mouth?

You: What the-

The image vanishes, and so does the Chamber of Horrors.

You: Where did it go?

Ghulls: Ummm, Vora, it’s inside Clouder. Our Skyshadow.

You: Are you telling me it just teleported inside?

Ghulls: Yes.

Lagantis: That’s convenient.

Rainhar: Are we sure it’s safe? Is it affecting the pilot?

Intruder, as usual, rudely jumps into the conversation.

Intruder: Toss it out.

You: What.

Intruder: It’s a decoy. Look at the symbol on it closely. It’s not the Seal of Cosmic Truth.

[Image: artofdomination_386_SEALOFCOSMICTRUTHfake.png]

Intruder: That thing will open a portal as soon as it reaches your base. Toss it out, destroy it, either way works.

You: So what happened to the real Chamber of Horrors?

Intruder: It grew legs and ran off into the walking factory. You’ll have to send your troops inside to get it now, if you still think the knowledge inside the Seal is worth it. It seems our foes are still unaware that I am here, assisting you on this planet. A welcome advantage.

Rainhar: In that case, we should focus on bringing Chaos Bed down!

You: Agreed. Everyone, here’s the plan. We’ll get the Sonic Mechs to draw out the monsters and lure them into the toxic river. Ghulls, can we confirm the river won’t harm our robots?

Ghulls: Confirmed, the river won’t cause much damage to the Sonic Mechs. The river should be enough to kill off whatever comes out.

You: All right. Spec Ops, you still have the cables?

Cpt. Selev: Yes ma’am!

You: Good. While the enemy is distracted by the mechs, tie the cables to Chaos Bed’s legs and then to the two Skyshadows. The Skyshadows will pull up, and the force should be enough to cause the factory to lose balance. The factory is moving slowly enough for you to pull this off, and the Braintrees shouldn’t be able to detect you. Is that clear?

Cpt. Selev: Loud and clear, ma’am!

The Sonic Mechs are first sent out to draw out the monsters hiding in wait. They are easily baited, and Spec Ops move quickly. The Skyshadows remain out of range for the factory’s defensive Braintrees.

Chaos Bed is lifted up, but it’s still too heavy. The Enderfist launches metal rods into the rear of the factory, tilting it and then turning it upside down at last!

The plan succeeds! The Chaos Bed is immobilized, and the factory is crushed. As for your Sonic Mechs, you only lost two to a pair of very fast Bodyjackers.

Intruder: Well done.

Lagantis: Are you actually praising us?

Intruder: Yes. I did not think that solution would work, but I’m beginning to understand why my rivals are having trouble winning against your forces. Now then. The Seal of Cosmic Truth. You should be able to recover it from the wreckage. The Cloner is still trying to make new creatures, but it’s been structurally compromised.

Rainhar: Nice. We still have this problem of a giant cave full of nukes though.

Ghulls: We could recover the nukes and use them to set up an artillery platform.

Lagantis: We could set up a trap here.

You: How do you figure?

Lagantis: If the enemy’s trying to take these nukes, it’s likely they’ll open another portal. When that happens, we can send in unmanned units to the other side and wreck their shit.

Lagan’s always been Mr. Offense; he hates going on the defensive and prefers taking out threats ASAP, taking every chance to strike back when he can.

Should you attempt to recover the nuclear material from Vault Ghastly?

- Yes. Commit two battalions and all Sonic Mechs to oversee the operation. (After 8 days, Nuclear Artillery becomes available, enabling you to attack Region 1 and 2 from Region 4 without the use of Enderfist strikes)

- No. Collapse the vault. It’s not worth our time and manpower, and we should deny it to our enemies.

- Leave the vault alone but keep observers and drones in wait in case the enemy makes another attempt to take the nukes. When they open another portal nearby we can launch a counter-attack by sending combat drones into it.

- Build a new base on top of the vault.

>_

Units available:

SpoilerShow

Arcanuse · 03-17-2017, 07:18 PM

I cant say I trust dumping the fake chamber of horrors wherever wont lead to problems later. On the other hand, it may be just as much trouble for our enemies as it is to us. I'm inclined to either give it the same sort of treatment as the real one, keeping it away from our main base and monitoring it, or dump the thing in the vault before collapsing it as a surprise if they attempt something to access it from underground. Going to need some input from other posters on this one.

Dragon Fogel · 03-17-2017, 08:16 PM

I say we destroy it. Ask Intruder if there's anything we need to know about doing that.

Mayu_Zane · 03-18-2017, 01:55 AM

(03-17-2017, 08:16 PM)Dragon Fogel Wrote: »I say we destroy it. Ask Intruder if there's anything we need to know about doing that.

Intruder: Burn it or crush it. Melting the decoy in acid works. The fake symbol is only detrimental to us.

~~LoverIan~~ · 03-18-2017, 02:45 AM

>destroy the decoy

>recover half of the nukes
>Hawkeyes can we set up the remaining nukes to be remotely detonated without the enemy noticing? I like the idea of letting them open a portal to attempt to recover the nukes, but I think we could trick them into revealing the location of the base they're using for that purpose in addition to heavily damaging it

Mayu_Zane · 03-18-2017, 05:05 AM

(03-18-2017, 02:45 AM)LoverIan Wrote: »>Hawkeyes can we set up the remaining nukes to be remotely detonated without the enemy noticing? I like the idea of letting them open a portal to attempt to recover the nukes, but I think we could trick them into revealing the location of the base they're using for that purpose in addition to heavily damaging it

Hawkeyes: WE CAN TOTALLY DO THAT!!!

The level of excitement in her voice is through the damn stratosphere.

smuchmuch · 03-18-2017, 01:24 PM

Quote:Intruder: It grew legs and ran off into the walking factory.

....But of course !
When you have a factory on leg who poop monsters, you want your magic outhouse to have legs to keep up, make sense to me !
(... Even in context there's something incredibly goofy about that line that jsut conjure the cartoonishest of images

SpoilerShow

Sorry)

Quote:you only lost two to a pair of very fast Brainjackers.

Brainjackers ?
Are those like bodyjackers or are those another class of monster i forgot about ?

Anyway I think this planet has enough of one radioactive hellhole with region 5 that nuclear artillery is an option rather kept as last ressort. And two bataillons and ALL sonic mechs for 8 days ? We /really can ill afford to divert so many troops at the moment, not when we'll have to take care of Pioneer in region 4 soon.

...Still I suppose it'd be nice to have the option, leaving these things here is leaving them for the enemy to eventualy recuperate and besides waste not, want not.

two questions:

1) Could the nuclear fuel in the nukes also be recuperated for others uses. Research or extra power for our civilian infrastructure or some cleaner weaponery maybe ? (Nuclear even civilian is alway a bit of a double edged Damocles' sword long term but on the short term, it's still darn efficient.)

2)We still have a bit of a reserve of RP, could we get some more specialised bots schematics and production for these kind of salvaging/building/logisitcs heavy operations ? lightly armed but with some serious environement resistance and adapted tools for such things ratehr than our sonic mechs that are combat oriented chassis ?
(because if memory serves, sonic mechs are just big chicken walkers, I don't even remember them having /arms in illustrations. And if they do (whigh i guess would make sense to give them at least a small pair of manipulator jsut in case) they can't be all that adpated to move some unstable nukes.)

I am not fond of the option of exploding nukes and then wait for an attack. for starter if the enemy has even half decent competent spies they'll know about it reguardless. And two didn't we want to avoid exploding the nuke to avoid a massive cloud of radioactive dirt. Nop reason Hawkweyes could explode them more safely without some serious work done for days first.

------------------------------------------------

We should have our scientific team pick bits of the cloner while we're at it.
And hey would we actualy study that fake seal to learn to open our own portals ?

-------------------------------------------------

With the tumorhide armor completed, can we have the list of all vailable research options (I mrean what they do, how much they cost and how long they'll take) and Rehynar project (I remember his silly battleship on leg idea and his (in my opinion) much more usefull infiltration drone swarm idea but beyond that...) ?

Mayu_Zane · 03-19-2017, 05:21 AM

(03-18-2017, 01:24 PM)smuchmuch Wrote: »Brainjackers ?
Are those like bodyjackers or are those another class of monster i forgot about ?

Whoops, typo!

SpoilerShow

EDIT:

Arms can be added to Sonic Mechs. Simple arms, but capable of menial tasks like lifting objects. Requires 1 day for full upgrade completion. A measly 20 RP will be spent.

If allowed, Hawkeyes will set up the bombs to explode in such a way to limit as much radioactive fallout as possible. There'll still be some, but it shouldn't threaten anyone outside of a ten-mile radius.

smuchmuch · 03-19-2017, 05:22 PM

Well at 1 days and only 2O RP, those arms are a bargain that should be installed weither we intend to recuperate those nukes or not.
Heck I'm willing to make it 2 days and a 100 RP budget if they can make those decent arms strong and with enough controll that they could be used for restraining suspects rendered onconcious by the sonic weapons or carrefully carry wounded soldiers outside of frontlines. (since sonic mech are also used as support for our peace keeping forces , human bataillons a,nd frontal assult, that could come in handy.)

I still say we need some more specialised bots for heavy lifting in hazardoud conditions and helping with civilian engeneering, A polyvalent units with a modular design allowing them to be specilasied for a non combat tasks as a 'forece' multiplier' for our engineering crews, they'll be more efficients and can free our sonich mech (or other forces) for patrolling, attacking and military duties.
Also something for tunnel exploration and assault (the enemy fond of tunnels as we've seen inr egion 4 and most of region 1 is underground)

~~LoverIan~~ · 06-25-2017, 07:40 PM

(03-19-2017, 05:22 PM)smuchmuch Wrote: »Well at 1 days and only 2O RP, those arms are a bargain that should be installed weither we intend to recuperate those nukes or not.
Heck I'm willing to make it 2 days and a 100 RP budget if they can make those decent arms strong and with enough controll that they could be used for restraining suspects rendered onconcious by the sonic weapons or carrefully carry wounded soldiers outside of frontlines. (since sonic mech are also used as support for our peace keeping forces , human bataillons a,nd frontal assult, that could come in handy.)

I still say we need some more specialised bots for heavy lifting in hazardoud conditions and helping with civilian engeneering, A polyvalent units with a modular design allowing them to be specilasied for a non combat tasks as a 'forece' multiplier' for our engineering crews, they'll be more efficients and can free our sonich mech (or other forces) for patrolling, attacking and military duties.
Also something for tunnel exploration and assault (the enemy fond of tunnels as we've seen inr egion 4 and most of region 1 is underground)

Seconding this motion

Mayu_Zane · 07-14-2017, 01:42 PM

(03-18-2017, 02:45 AM)LoverIan Wrote: »>destroy the decoy

>recover half of the nukes
>Hawkeyes can we set up the remaining nukes to be remotely detonated without the enemy noticing? I like the idea of letting them open a portal to attempt to recover the nukes, but I think we could trick them into revealing the location of the base they're using for that purpose in addition to heavily damaging it

WEEK 6 DAY 7

07 00 hours

It took a lot of work, but half of the nuclear material has been recovered from the Vault. With Hawkeyes’ supervision, a trap has been set to detonate remotely in case the enemy tries taking it again. The decoy has also been properly disposed of.

This has been a major setback to the enemy’s plans, and it doesn’t seem like they’re aware their preparation has been foiled.

As you prepare to assess the overall situation, Ghulls hands you a report about a ’minor’ operation:

Quote:== Operation Angry Nurse ==
Submitted by Captain Selev

Operation was initiated in response to intel that indicated local terrorists sympathetic to the old regime were planning an attack on Monroe Hospital. We contacted local law enforcement and co-ordinated with them.

Operation was a success with no casualties. With cooperation from local law enforcement, we were able to locate and neutralized the terrorists before they could attack Monroe Hospital in Region 3.

In total, there were 14 suspects. 8 were killed, 6 were wounded and captured. Early interrogation indicates that Robert North has been sending secret psychic messages to potential candidates for terrorist attacks. We have already asked Intruder about ways to counter-act this, but he insists that we stop asking him questions until he finishes his project.

===

You decide to contact Intruder for yourself.

You: Intruder? What exactly are you working-

Intruder: I will not repeat myself so listen very closely.

You: Intruder-

Intruder: I am going to die of starvation. Soon. My strength is fading. Listen.

You resist the urge to ask further questions.

Intruder: Underneath your Omni-Factory I have built a facility. You may call it the Author’s Forge. It builds machines no one in your universe, not even your Wisdom Cabal, can. It operates by temporarily replacing a part of this dimension with another, allowing it to construct matter under different physical rules.

Your ship’s screens are flooded with a burst of information! Ghulls shields his eyes; the flashing lights are giving him a headache.

Intruder: My people were built. They put us together. The Audience. We don’t know why. We’ve never even talked to them. How could we? To compare us to them would be like comparing an electron to a star. We don’t know why they care. Why they chose US. We only do what they want us to. To tell stories. Using the lives of smaller beings to play roles for us.

You think to yourself. The Audience. All of this was because of them?

Intruder: The Auditors, The Redactors, The Authors. It’s a deliberate system. We’ve been doing this for so long. I think we were all born just for their amusement. Some sick monsters enraptured with the tales of tiny creatures destroying themselves. Monstrous demons too big to fit even in our cosmos. My conscious mind hates them even though all my instincts tell me to obey. And now I am dying for my disloyalty.

Lagantis: Intruder…

Intruder: Our time together has been brief, but I’ve done everything I wanted. If there is a life after this, I will surely be laughing loud enough at my peers for the living to hear. The survival of Koda Serivi and the creation of hybrid children is an enormous setback. So is Alone’s survival. You can create food for it using the Author’s Forge. When Alone recovers, sic him on our foes. The failure of the Magnum Opus will end my people’s savagery on your kind.

You: Wait, but what about the Audience?

Intruder: They’re not watching anymore.

You: What?

Intruder: They’ve been gone for a long, LONG time. We all know it, yet we continue to behave like they’re still there, even though they stopped talking to us for eons.

You: Then why are your people, The Authors, still doing this to us?

Intruder: Because it’s the only thing they’ve ever known. We are instruments. Born for a purpose. There is nothing else that makes us… happy. It’s been burned, deep into our soul. We are cursed to tell stories. The Redactors and Auditors have more freedom, but they are still bound to Authors. Bound to their role. They too still behave as if The Audience never left.

Intruder pauses for a moment. His voice now sounds almost like a whimper.

Intruder: That is why you must defeat them. Defeat Robert North. Destroy the Magnum Opus. Defeat The Authors. We don’t have a purpose anymore. We’re scared. We’re scared because we just don’t know what else to do. Even this, my act of rebellion? The only reason I could do this was because I used a loophole.

You: A loophole?

Intruder: I made a story of my own, using ‘characters’ from an already ongoing tale. I took you, your husband, and many others from the Magnum Opus to fill in my own blanks. I MUST use real people to tell stories, I MUST influence them, but there is nothing stopping me from using characters who have already been ‘assigned’. The Redactors and Auditors allowed it. So I did everything I could to keep you all away from being completed taken over by the Art of Domination, their primary tool.

Lagan: So what’s going to happen to us after you die?

Intruder: Write your own story. The Magnum Opus is already collapsing. I… I envy you.

The stream of data stops flooding your systems. It’s everything you need to operate the Author’s Forge.

Intruder: You are free.

[Image: n0vTrwC.jpg]

Intruder’s connection to our cosmos has shattered.

[[TO BE CONTINUED]] ==>

Gnauga · 07-17-2017, 03:56 AM

It's been a really long time since I've thought about MSPFAs or Eagle Time, but I just started thinking about Art of Domination for no particular reason. I think the last thing I remember was you going on hiatus to focus on art.

It's really cool to see AoD still happening after all these years! It's still every bit as gross and weird as I remember. I'm pretty sure I was the one who was doing the MSPFA archives, so sorry for letting them fall outta date six years ago! I guess this is old news, but it's a shame the forums went down. When I have more free time, I'll see about updating the archive from the dropbox.

Hypevosa · 07-24-2017, 01:15 PM

I keep checking this thread regularly. It's been a loooong year. Thanks for coming back Mayu - this is the only single story I'd hate to see unresolved.

Onward to the Author's Forge?

~~LoverIan~~ · 08-06-2017, 09:43 AM

>The Author's Forge should first be used to feed Alone

Mayu_Zane · 08-08-2017, 08:35 AM

Thank you, everyone, for your encouragement and support! And take your time, Gnauga!

(08-06-2017, 09:43 AM)LoverIan Wrote: »>The Author's Forge should first be used to feed Alone

You order HQ to begin inspecting he Author’s Forge as soon as possible. With instructions left behind by Intruder, they manage to operate it with ease, though no one in your R&D teams quite understands how it works. There are no buttons or switches; it reads your thoughts and will only build what has already been pre-programmed by Intruder. Your scientists note that the Forge might be self-aware on some level, as it responds to conversational cues.

[Image: LHO1WWH.jpg]

Making food for the creature known as Alone is the first task assigned to the Author’s Forge. Your staff toss in a dead rodent and the Forge transforms it into a floating green goo. They quickly bring it to Alone, and the dying entity heartily absorbs it. However, it will take more time and more meals before Alone can speak coherently. Or, at least as coherently as it ever was.

You look at the list of other options the Author’s Forge offers you. These things sound like outright magic.

You also notice that it doesn’t use Resource Points (RP) at all, but something called ‘Author’s Signatures’, or AS. According to Intruder’s notes, AS can be harvested from dead monsters created by the enemy forces. Just toss them into the Forge and it will process them into AS. 1 AS seems to be equal to ten human-sized monsters.

AUTHOR’S FORGE - UNITS AVAILABLE

- Cloner Blob: Born as an enormous bacterial colony, the Cloner Blob creates a copy of any dead enemy unit that it touches. It is completely loyal to your cause. The Cloner Blob will revert to its original form on command. Though it is incapable of copying memories, Cloner Blobs can make excellent infiltration units.

Cost: 5 AS

- Void Sphere: A levitating sphere that functions as combat aircraft. Small and fast, but provides the same protection as a modern combat tank and impervious to heat and radiation. Its weapon creates a miniature black hole that lasts for two seconds within line of sight. It requires a living pilot.

Cost: 30 AS

- Overmind Armor: Protects its wearer from all psychic attacks. If the wearer dies or exits the suit, the Overmind Armor will automatically attack enemies. Gives a substantial boost to a person’s movement speed. Wearer must be humanoid in form.

Cost: 15 AS

- Usurper Colony: Related to the Pretender worms, Usurper colonies travel in rolling balls that can then disperse to engage targets. Unlike Pretenders, Usurpers can be ordered to subdue targets non-lethally. They are also capable of using firearms, arranging themselves into hands or tentacles. Just like their Pretender cousins, they can extract information from their targets’ brains, though this process is lethal.

Cost: 10 AS

- Usurper Knight: A Usurper Colony clad in modified Overmind Armor, the Usurper Knight is essentially a super-soldier that can serve alongside shock troops. Extremely effective in close combat and against psychic enemies. Can be equipped with weapons, increasing their potency.

Cost: 20 AS

- Phantomic Repeater: An auto-shotgun with endless ammunition that fires indestructible projectiles moving at half the speed of light which can pass through any material except organic matter. Its only weakness is that it cannot harm anything beyond 30 metres as the projectiles vanish once they reach that distance, teleporting back into the Repeater.

Cost: 2 AS

- Portal Wagon: A gigantic brain on wheels that can create portals. It can assist in evacuation as well as sending units to deliver a surprise attack, though it requires exact co-ordinates. The Portal Wagon can defend itself by creating tiny portals to send projectiles and enemy units away from itself. Needs to eat meat or blood as sustenance.

Cost: 20 AS

- Abyssal Artillery: A five-legged machine that fires black holes that somehow travel through the sky as if they were solid objects, but unaffected by wind. With a maximum range of 2 kilometres, the Abyssal Artillery can provide fire support against any target.

Cost: 12 AS

- Truth Extractor: A living device that extracts information from a living creature and can relay the information back either by speaking, writing or drawing. It only needs to touch the creature’s body, and does not cause any mental harm. The Truth Extractor requires blood for sustenance.

Cost: 5 AS

- Sentinel Orb: A levitating, sentient orb that provides support for frontline units, with an area of effect radius of 40 metres. Detects all traps, enemy units and weapons within range. It also increases damage dealt by your weapons, turning even a primitive handgun into a weapon capable of tearing through modern shields and armor. The orb can open up, releasing a cloud that slows down enemy projectiles to a snail’s pace, protecting friendlies. As a last resort, the Sentinel Orb can slam into foes.

Cost: 20 AS

The Author’s Forge has 20 AS already stored within. You can go ahead and build something to test this parting gift.

Rainhar: About goddamn time we got our own nightmare factory!

>_

Available forces:

SpoilerShow

Dis_Aster · 08-10-2017, 12:40 AM

ahahahaha fuck you, north, we've got our own fuckin' nightmare factory now.

Oh, Intruder, you magnificent bastard. I'll be sure to pour one out for you. RIP in peace, my dude.

Anyways, on a more serious note... Hrm. A lot of these sound really cool and I'm kinda sad we've only got 20 AS to throw around here. Guessin' we won't be able to start gettin' into harvesting until tomorrow, so... Hrm. Makes me wonder if there's any way we can upgrade the forge's efficiency in refining it or if it's just... the best it can do. That aside, what I'm thinkin' is... we get a Truth Extractor, because I just really like the idea of being able to just get info without any of the bullshit in the way.

Secondly, I think we should invest in an Abyssal Artillery. Partly because I love how ludicrous it sounds, and partly because I'm a huge fan of something that can provide fire support against anything. And, lastly... I'm thinking we get a Phantomic Repeater, because that's also kinda beautiful in how ridiculous it is, and also because it sounds really interesting and I want to see how the hell it works. Probably not the best reasoning, I'm sure, but... It just fascinates me, I guess.

Mind, I was also thinking of going for a Cloner Blob and an Usurper Colony instead, but... I figured it may be best to have at least one AS left over, just in case something even cheaper than the Repeater comes up later on down the line. Y'know, just in case.

no I didn't make any name mixups at all why do you ask

Holomorn · 08-13-2017, 01:21 AM

Oh thank god, i thought i never would see this adventure ever again. And bloody hell Intruder's gift oh man we soo going to abuse that.

Can we use AS to feed alone, or its a process happening outside this appointed list? If not then I suggest we just spent every point feeding the Alone thing. Without Intruder as our eldritch guide against nightmares, we need to prepare ourselves very soon for future encounters.

Dis_Aster · 08-13-2017, 04:03 AM

Honestly, I just figured feeding Alone was more of a thing we don't really need AS for. We just need to scrounge up more dead vermin and whatnot to convert into goop. At least, that's the gist of what I'm getting from Mayu's post.

smuchmuch · 08-15-2017, 12:27 AM

Huh.
okay first, if i may critique the narrative a little, I'll say that storry wise I'm not a huge fan of how intruders kind of pretty much helped Lagan, dropped exposition, gave us a nightmare factory for free and then nicely took himself out fo the picture. i mean it feel a;little .. rushed in how it all happened. It lifted a lot of the meanace and mistery of the plot in a way that feel a little premature.
I don't mind the seqeunce of event, just feel ike it all kind of happened fast, same way we rescued the two Ais, then real Smith then assaulted region 1 in almost one fell swoop before
But I understand than in advaenure that can't update often things need to mave quickly once in a while.

Anyway, i was ging to do along post analysing the pro and cons of every option we can produce with the author forge and what seemed the best but then I realised one thing first..

We just neutralized Chaos bed.
The thing that has a cloning plant womb thing that poop more smith abomination everytime you shoot it with energy ?
And even if the cloning tube was destroyed when we neutralized the factory (i'm going to say it's likely for story sake given how farming AS would break the storry), it still birthed like dozens if not hundreds of monsters before that our sonic mech took care off in the recent battle.

So before making our shopping, I gotta ask:
Mayu once all these monster corpses are processed,
including also the corpses of these bodyjackers that North sent us as a 'surpise' when we were attacking addlebear and any let over from cobalt and those faceless from 'protocol Godzilla' (assuming they aren't complelty rotted or it isn't what intruder used to make his forge (wouldbe an elegant solution for it)), and any remains of McBeth,
how much AS does that make total ?

Hypevosa · 08-15-2017, 03:22 PM

So for the phantomic repeater - if I'm reading it right, it essentially ignores anything that's inorganic (read a tank) but will still end up hitting organic matter (read driver) at half the speed of light likely just resulting in a super heated, clean hole since at that speed molecular and chemical bonds would just break before energy could transfer to the rest of the target. Then after 30 feet the shell teleports back into the gun, but the super-heated block of melt-flesh it took with it would continue onwards. (If the round hit a wall before the flesh was gone it would punch holes in inorganic matter too)

I want 10 of those but I have to say that our troops should come first and the sentinel needs to be our first exchange.

Alternately a portalwagon might be ok depending on how it works; does it need to create the opening portal in close proximity to itself or can it create a portal between any 2 points with the proper coordinates? I assume this is limited to portaling with regards to the planet it is currently on and not something that has any use for intergalactic travel or can we give it a galactic coordinate and a planetary coordinate which it can combine for that use too?

If the portalwagon doesn't need to be on the front line, I would rather have that - but I don't want a meat/blood eating brain being the face of any civilian evacuations ya know?

I also think since we're fighting an information war it's not in our best interest to make the more visible monstrous nightmares at least for now.

Combining a portalwagon with a group of sentinels would also be extremely powerful, an almost impenetrable shield for friendly forces as sentinels can pop in and out of where they're most needed and the army can up and disappear if needed.

@Smuchmuch - Aside from the updates being sparse meaning we need key content more regularly than when the adventure first began, Intruder was dying that entire time which puts a natural rush on things from his perspective. I'm happy to not have someone be "dying" forever as sometimes happens in fiction.

smuchmuch · 08-15-2017, 10:26 PM

I also think since we're fighting an information war it's not in our best interest to make the more visible monstrous nightmares at least for now.

Eh, it's not like most of these thing wouldn't be too hard 'disguise' by keeping them in containers and vehicles until they are needed.

(Also We already have tumorhide armor over our tanks which is litteraly a layer of tumurous heat resistant flesh. By comparaison, the giant brain on wheel probably look positively pretty. But we can tie a little bow around to make it more presentable :p)---

but thinking about it, we should keep these things hidden, even if jsut for our image, jsut to keep the nemy in the dark about the fact we have author tech too untill ias late as possible..

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The phantom repeater
...sounds very good int heory but is only midly usefull when you think of it.
It's fairly short range make it useless in any open battlefield, it'll be useless and even in sayan urban one, you'd like to ba abal to , say, be able to fire on theother side of a rather large street. Especialy now that our infantry troops have laser rifles, who already a but load of damage to organic things. Also it'd be useless agint robotic drones and author dornes (since they are made of obisidian ?)
And it's comparatively high cost to produce means that even if say we gave only one per bataillon, we'd still come as very expensive in AS (depending on how many AS we can scrounge that may change.)

I think our troops who would profit the more of it tho, would be our stealth team, our mercenaries and spies (particulary talbat, I think) and , on a slightly diferent note, human bataillons.
our Stealth teams are often used to infiltrate building were the ability to fire through walls would be invaluable and often fiind themselves in close quarter. Not to mention it would be /great to deal with biological abomination, Max, another encounter with triple cores and such.

As for our human bataillons and law enforcement, this is more a thing of being good Smith abomination killer, maybe an afficient way to prevent and contain things like bodyjackers paradrop on civilain centers while freeing sonic mechs (our current better option againt Smith biological abominations) for the frontlines.

But while having a couple would be nice, they are really low priority compared to what to the other stuff can buy.
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Cloning Bob and usurper collony might be great for inteligence but the thing is, we kind of have a lot of stealth and spying options already. And seeing as the enemy has stuff like preteders and other psychic powers on it's side too, there is not telling ho well the cloner bobs might work.
If we really must get one of these two, the usurper colony seems the much more usefull and versatile option. But frankly Reynar has those swarm inteligence insect drone project that can do inflitrationa and neutralisation of targets so I'd rather keep our AS for othert things.

UNLESS we get a portal wagon and truth extractor as well. Because /then a very devastating combo appears. Use the portal wagon to create a portal in the middle of an enmy base. abduct an enemy somdier with an usurper colony, extract all their inormation with the information extractor and then send a cloner bob with allt hat information to take it's place.
We could remotely infiltrate any Smith base whose coordinate we have.---- The possibilities are insane.
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The truth extractor is a must tho.
Get information from prisoners without resistance possible or torture involved. Yes, please.
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At least one Abyssal artillery would be good. We are crually lacking in land based atillery among our forces. The closest we have are needlefishes but they are limited by being y'know, submarines, not great to strike deep in land. And the only option to buy any would be the effin billions or one thousands nightmares thing which are both expensive.
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Detector sphere would be a great support for our specialist teams but very expensive so while I'd like to buy one, might as well wait for it
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I'm waiting for the answer to my previous question but if we get enough AS, we MUST get a Void sphere.
Just look at how much use we got from our Reaver gunships, this is basicaly thse same exept armored like a tank and shooting miniture black hole. Seriously it is the ultimate air support/domination/harassement unit.
If there's even a chance we could buy one I want one to attack pioneer.
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I'd like to ask: Is there any limitation on how much/how many people can pass through a portal wagon and how long a portal wagon portal stay open and seeing as a skyshadow can lift entire house, could they lift a portal wagon ? Because if these things can be airlifted by skyshado they are he best choice. Point. it's bsicaly door to deploy/retrat any number of troops ont he planet in a matter of minutes (since the skyshows can go about naywhere int hat time when going at max speed). it's only vulnerability then ould be AA defense but jsut being able to telport our troops en masse about everyhere would trump that by orders of magnitude.

(As far as i understad it doesn't need to be where it creates the portal (just to gave the coordinates) but I figure it's simpler to send the thing near the frontline and have it make portal to or HQ (whose coordinate will alway be fixed)
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Quote:@Smuchmuch - Aside from the updates being sparse meaning we need key content more regularly than when the adventure first began, Intruder was dying that entire time which puts a natural rush on things from his perspective. I'm happy to not have someone be "dying" forever as sometimes happens in fiction.

I understand and doesn't disagree with this, to be clear.
But ui can't quite shake the feeling that, could this adventure have afforded it, Intruder appearance in itself woud have worked better a little later int he storry as well as a number of events and devellopement and exposition that happened around.. the whole Lagan in the Saramis capital, would have benefited from happening at a slightly slower pace.

Mayu_Zane · 08-17-2017, 03:06 AM

Answering questions right now, still working on next 'episode':

AS is not necessary for feeding Alone. Just toss a hamster or a rat into the Forge every once in a while.

Total AS gained from processing all monsters killed and still viable for the Forge: 900 AS. Will need 4 days to collect and process it all.

Portal wagon requires a portal to be opened directly next to it. The other end can be at any point in the universe, as long as there are exact co-ordinates. As you might figure, there is a lot of use for it as a quick reinforcement rally point. There is no limit to how many units it can transport as long as the brain is intact, but they must be human-sized. No vehicles.

You can have it even open a portal to Earth, no problem. Even right into the enemy's base here on Planet-117 but there is an inherent risk with the enemy opening fire on the Portal-wagon from the other side, destroying it. I DO love the idea of abduction using Usurpers though!

Also, I will devote more time to this adventure since my contract with my previous employer has expired and now I have more income coming in from other sources (no it's not drugs). So, good news for everyone!

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