(OOC) The Scout's Guide to the Multiverse ☺

[the_matrix_walker]

Red Planet - Peter Nichols of Mars

People of Interest-
Sam Armstrong - Martian Military Yaka Fighter, Peter's first Yaka instructor
Michael Williamson - Martian Military who is a "High Priority Target" for undisclosed reasons.
Haverson - The original scout, lost when Williamson was injured.
Corporal Cole - Officer on patrol that escorts them to camp, from the 237th royal dragoons
Colonel Whitmore - Armstrong's CO, seems to understand Williamsons' significance.

Master West - Peter's Yaka instructor from Virginia

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

He dreams of a vast red plains, with strange low red shrubs growing on it. Soldiers marched across it in widely spaced columns, wearing dark green uniforms and carrying riffles and bayonets. Behind them were several pillars of smoke, marking their progress across the land.


He dreams of a fortress still standing amid the smoke. Its surrounded by trenches, cannon, and soldiers. Its defended by men in faded Red Uniforms, though mostly they watch each other and take long shots at each other.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Peter's view shifts to the fortress, and a grizzled old general. He's writing what appears to be a letter or memoir. He writes about the supply situation (not quite bad yet), the strength of the fortress, and his hopes for relief. Everything depends on one of several messengers getting through, and on the Royal Alliance having a relief force. If not, he is resigned to waste as much of the enemy's time and manpower as possible.

Then his view shifts to a set of ruins, with two men camping in them, a low and meager fire near them. Both carry firearms with complex locks*, and one man carries an impossibly long and thin sword. The other man has a large blood stain and bandage on his right arm. They are wearing the red faded uniforms.

His view shifts to a group of five men in the dark dull green uniforms with three dogs, tracking something.

*These are early breachloaders, so think wild west "repeaters".

OCC: Red soil is all over the place: southern Utah, the Australian Outback, Alabama... brown is the color of decaying matter, not of rock, sand and clay.

From his Visions. Peter knows that there is a war of some kind happening, and it looks like Red is the home team, and green the invaders. The home team has a fort under siege and in need of help and the mission to get reinforcements is in peril.

He awakens not far from where two soldiers are encamped, one is injured with a gunshot wound to the arm. Peter approaches and introduces himself, offering to help. Armstrong is a Yaka, a user of the local magic, and the fighter of the group. The injured man, Williamson, is under his care. Peter is able to scavenge some local plants to serve in the place of incense for his Broken World healing magic, and with some exertion, the man is healed. Armstrong loans him a shirt and handkerchief to cover up. Armstrong explains he's a combat Yaka user, but never learned healing. He is able to demonstrate what de does know, and Peter picks it up very quickly.

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Williamson is healed.

Armstrong: "You know, the blade, the armor, the shield, and the voice. what do you want to see?"

Armstrong demonstrates the blade first: the narrow sword he carries isn't useful in combat... unless its strengthened by Yaka. Peter feels the power flow out of Armstrong and into the sword as Armstrong uses it to cut a few slices off of a nearby masonry wall. At the same time, it's flowing into his coat... especially into the wires. Armstrong isn't sure how he can demonstrate the "Armor", but says its the same effect as the blade, just defensive.

The shield is an effect that creates some sort of deflective bubble around Armstrong. He has Peter throw a rock at him and it veers off to the side. The magic is again unique, but looks similar to the magic in the blade and armor.

The Voice is a mental effect. Armstrong says he doesn't want to use it because it might compromise their position, but it effects the minds of those around him. The most common ones are "Flee!", "Down!", "Listen!", "Surrender!", and "Calm!"

The effects Armstrong doesn't know are healing and "of course, the door".

When morning comes, Armstrong prepares breakfast and Williamson discovers inact structures in the ruins and takes Peter to investigate. There they find some furniture that Peter is able to strip cloth from for additional makeshift clothing. He investigate what appears to be a wireless light fixture that he is able to activate shunting magic into, the technology here is unfamiliar. Williamson suggests they avoid the patrol using the the structure, but Peter points out the time sensitive nature of the mission means they can't get pinned down and they elect to press on.

They have lost their scout and ask if Peter can serve in his stead. He get's the rest of the details of the mission.

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Armstrong: "We think General Tessel is 20 degrees north of West, around Fort Kasei. Towards that mountain" He points.

Armstrong Grimaces: "Fort Roberts was besieged on the 20th of October by about 40,000 republican troops, mostly Greek and African, with a full siege train but only about 1500 cavalry. The 10,000 men in fort Roberts can probably hold out until mid February"

While travelling along a ravine, a patrol on horseback is seen in the distance ahead of them in their path. With the mission at stake, Peter separates from the group and allows himself to be "found" by the patrol, and he wastes as much of their time as he can begging for food, water and directions to a town, while Peter's companions made their way around the patrol outside of the ravine's edge. Once the patrol will be stalled no longer, Peter heads for the village slowly enough to allow his new friends to catch up.

They camp outside of the village and Peter goes in to trade on their behalf to keep the villagers safe from being harassed for their interaction with the soldiers. They see a patrol headed their way and assume they are tracking with dogs, and the group decides to try and outpace them. They go through the town and pass through animal pens to shake their scent trails and make off into the savannah, away from any eyes on the road.

They travel through the night into morning, and press on through the day until they finally come upon a friendly patrol. They are taken to a barn to recover and spend the night. Peter harrasses Armstrong to demonstrate the Voice now that they are in friendly territory and he finally does. Peter tries to use it immediately without training and impresses Armstrong by surprisingly being able to make him twitch. Despite the fatigue from the day and lack of sleep, Peter pushes it a few more hours for practicing what he's learned and meditating. Peter warns the men there is some possibility he will be gone in the morning, and not to worry if he is.

Peter goes to sleep, and he does dream...

.

[the_matrix_walker]

Peter Dreams...

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Peter dreams that night. He dreams of... places. His warm bed at home. Dinosaur cloning chambers. Helmut and Gerwin. The temples of Thuroma. A grand dinner table set for a king. Tents similar to those of the divine village. The Karaka Circle. Kumar's face flashes in a few times...

Peter finds himself quite lucid, but not pulled anywhere

Originally Posted by ericthered

He sees an emblem he's seen on the shoulders of Armstrong and Williamson.


Kumar appears to be conducting some sort of haggling with a man in a market. Its in the central american jungle. Kumar appears to be selling Medicine in exchange for an exquisitely carved wooden statue, and some cloth with native symbols painted on it... maybe a religious work of some kind?

Peter awakens in the morning and is disappointed by the lack of a hot breakfast, but is promised a better lunch. They are joined by Corporal Cole who travels with them to an camp about three hour march, where they are greeted by a Colonel Whitmore, a stocky man with a fierce white mustache. they are debriefed and Peter is thanks and asked what he would like, a home, a job or a commission. Peter replies that he would like to be taught the Yaka techniques he has not yet encountered (as he believes healing without "spell components" could save lives for a naked traveller).

Peter is introduced to a Master West, who is ordered to teach Peter as much yaka as his schedule permits over the next few days. He takes Peter to the infirmary to learn about the healing Yaka and they bring in man with a bone in his leg shattered by a bullet. A woman in what appears to be an old fashioned nurses uniform....







Technology Notes:

Originally Posted by ericthered

The most advance tech he's seen would be telescopes, repeating riffles, and watches. They've talked about trains (Peter hasn't seen one yet), and balloons, and they obviously have a somewhat robust manufacturing base, given the clothing and material items.

[the_matrix_walker]

Powers Of Mars

Yaka

Prerequisite Advantages:

• Unknown

Yaka Skills:

• Armor (Will/A)

  Adds DR +5 and Hardened 3 to clothing and armor with metallic components.

• Blade (Will/A)

  Adds 1d6 damage and (3) armor divisor to a cutting weapon.

• Door (IQ/A)

  Requires four Yaka users to generate a spacial door, and one to hold it open after.

• Healing (Per/A)

  Functions as the Healing Advantage

• Shield (Will/A)

  Anti-targeting Obscure effect vs projectiles, -1 to hit on ranged attacks per yard of distance,-5 maximum. Costs 1FP per minute to maintain.

• Voice (Will/A)

  Force obedience to a spoken command. As Mind Control with Suggestion and Hearing Based.

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Armstrong: "You know, the blade, the armor, the shield, and the voice. what do you want to see?"

Armstrong demonstrates the blade first: the narrow sword he carries isn't useful in combat... unless its strengthened by Yaka. Peter feels the power flow out of Armstrong and into the sword as Armstrong uses it to cut a few slices off of a nearby masonry wall. At the same time, it's flowing into his coat... especially into the wires. Armstrong isn't sure how he can demonstrate the "Armor", but says its the same effect as the blade, just defensive.

The shield is an effect that creates some sort of deflective bubble around Armstrong. He has Peter throw a rock at him and it veers off to the side. The magic is again unique, but looks similar to the magic in the blade and armor.

The Voice is a mental effect. Armstrong says he doesn't want to use it because it might compromise their position, but it effects the minds of those around him. The most common ones are "Flee!", "Down!", "Listen!", "Surrender!", and "Calm!"

The effects Armstrong doesn't know are healing and "of course, the door".

Originally Posted by ericthered

"sword and armor will work with any metal. I have a knife you can use. Its about channeling energy though the metal"



Sort of. Its physically loud, but it also is mentally loud... other yaka can "hear" it from a ways off.



Armstrong: "We'll start by seeing if you can feel the Yaka. Do you feel that?* Ok, now push back!"


*its a push from the shield.



Williamson throws a small rock at peter. It wobbles as it passes through, but hits him in the chest with a small thud (no damage, its small). Armstrong says that's really good, and to correct the push in a few ways...


They also get him putting energy into the knife. It stiffens, and appears brighter. Doing that is easier than the shield. The knife becomes much sharper and much stronger, and Peter can stick it into nearby rocks*.


*add 1d6 damage and (3) armor divisor

Originally Posted by ericthered

The flows are perhaps most similar to the "solid smoke" effect of Karana, but they're only using about half of that... the half not connected to the mental connection or the form, just the part about moving smoke and making it solid. It seems to be a lot more efficient though.



The blade is the easiest to practice. Peter has access to it as long as he's not actively using other magic.



The shield is harder... maintaining it is 1 ER per minute and he doesn't have the full deflection effect. He gets -1 to hit him on ranged attacks per yard of distance, maximum 5 yards.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I think we'll say the base advantages are including in the base magic wildcard, but you need to learn the skills.



the Voice is a will based average skill that kicks off a malediction. range penalty is -1 per yard over 2.

The shield is also will-based average skill, but it only required for activation. Possibly if you want to pull a stunt with it. The advantage there is Obscure (physical projectiles). You'll start with level 5, and you can buy it up with points. you get +4 to the roll if you take a whole action to activate it, otherwise its sort of like a defense or quick-draw. While the shield is up other magical skills get a penalty (-1 for Yaka, more for other abilities)

Of Healing:

Originally Posted by ericthered

Both cure disease. Yaka requires a working copy of what you are trying to fix, and of course Broken Clockwork healing requires incense.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Lets see, I have stats for some of the powers in notes I wrote in 2016... And they don't match what I told you. After searching through the old thread:

Voice is based on Mind Control (Suggestion only, sensed-based hearing, skill based). And other Yaka can hear it a long way off (no guarantees about other magic-users). But that doesn't give us length... I know the voice is fire and forget, and uses the normal mind control rolls for disobeying it. Basically the situation has to change for them to roll again to do otherwise.

The Shield is:

Practice could possibly improve these stats. And he needs to roll vs. skill.

Armor and the blade...I've got so many different versions of this floating around in my head. Its certainly not the version where you get +4 ST. I found the version in the thread:

The Armor effect is +5DR to appropriate armor and clothing, plus Hardening 3. Its very similar to the blade and doesn't need to be maintained.

Yaka Healing is based on the healing advantage, once again its skill based. I suppose it also has detect (anatomy) built in.

The Yaka Door requires:

Then it makes a portal that lasts for as long as a single Yaka is there to put energy into it.

[the_matrix_walker]

The Emissary's Inspection

Peter makes a short visit to Thuroma to make sure things are not falling apart in his absence, and informs them he will be going on holiday before returning to his rounds to their gods.


______________________________


I'll be Home for Christmas

Peter returns home to spend the holiday with his family and update them.

Peters dreams reveal people are looking for him, and up to some suspicious behavior... They call Mary's uncle Robert in the FBI for advice, who has heard of similar cases. Given the potential danger, they head to his home in Virginia for Christmas with the extended family and to lay low and plan.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Uncle Bob's associate is Detective Morgan Barnes, a crusty weathered old man with something of a drawl. Detective Barnes meets with them in uncle Bob's study, and offering his hand.

"Your great uncle has told me about your case, and I agree with him, that it matches a couple of very strange cases I worked. I won't be using real names here: I'll refer to them as Matt and Jenny. Matt is missing. Jenny is dead."

"Jenny was 26 at the time of death. Matt would currently by 35. Now we have you at 15, you say? All three of you went missing for extended periods of time. All three said you were on different worlds, though as far as I can tell, the worlds are all different. Matt and Jenny both reported fears that they were being hunted by someone. Matt thought it was a government agency, but had the courage to involve us. Jenny was never sure: a stalker, a criminal gang, foreign agents... None of them were tied to her death. She was found with what looked like wounds inflicted by a wild animal."

"Matt disappeared one day while in my care. I did not share the video I got of that, given his particular fears. Jenny I saw on two different occasions. I thought we had her safe. Maybe she was. Maybe the disappearing killed her and not the people looking for her."

"There was certainly someone looking for both of them, and they had resources."

Originally Posted by ericthered

Detective Barnes says no reading! He is willing to give a short description of each world.

Matt Reported:

• a pre-industrial world of giants and enourmous snakes
• The Emperor of France holding court in 19th century mexico
• An army using crystal weapons to fight giant termites

Jenny Talked about:

• preindustrial Dwarves being haunted by sinister colorful energy spirits
• strange monkey-aliens setting up a colony in the early 20th century Amazon
• A nasty war involving two chineese armies, one with modern riffles and the other with crossbows and spears.
• semi-industrial dwarves running Zeplins.
• A deserted island full of shipwrecked alien soldiers.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"I can't tell you his full name, but his real name is Bryan. If you can find him, get him to tell you the rest."

Peter selects his Great Uncle's study as a "landing zone" to aim for when coming home, so as to not endanger his parents and alert those following him.


______________________________


Peter dreams and wakes up in Tar-Bilik's hut. He spends three days in the Pristine Realm.

The gods are in disarray and deeply concerned with the lack of news of their conflict.

While there he Studies his Mathematics and Discusses magical theory, and the possibility of Substituting the Black Flame as a power source for Helmut, his undead friend.

______________________________

[the_matrix_walker]

Banestormed!

People of Interest-

Leon - Paralabs Refugee on loan from Penetration Service
Rajat - Paralabs Refugee on loan from Penetration Service
Ann - Paralabs Refugee

Incarius Black AKA Ink-Thur

Javuchi of the Porba - Vutu refugee (male)
Kiju of the Porba - Vutu refugee (female)
Chorniveebi
Torzuchi, of the Tibu, and then the Porba.

Asad Natives of Harcliff, near Minder in Cardiel
Hasan

Danny - Leader of a group of human refugees


The Dream

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Peter Dreams.

Peter dreams of a storm at sea. Lightening flashes. Huge waves drive up on the shore. Howling winds drive rain with such intensity as to impair visibility, their sound periodically interrupted by thunder. He dreams of cliffs rising above the ocean, and of a sandy beaches between them. He's familiar with only the most classic plants being whipped about, like the palms loosing their fronds in the winds.

The storm isn't only physical in nature: Peter can sense magic in the air. Brief momentary portals ripple in and out of existence in the howling storm. Peter even senses what feels like an Infinity Conveyor arrive.

He dreams of strange leather pods over four feet long thrown onto the beach, and of a giant leather and ivory structure shaped like a blimp sinking in the waves.

He dreams of a conveyor, tipped over so that its door is trapped underneath.

He dreams of a modern fishing boat caught in the storm. The men inside are terrified, drenched in their ponchos and trying to keep the boat from being swamped

He dreams of hovels made of splintered wood and galvanized sheets. Some have held up, most haven't. The inhabitants run from the beach and the site of the ruin, looking for shelter. They wear warm weather clothing, t-shirts, and sandals.

He dreams of old fashioned thick wooden table, where a single finely balanced domino-like wooded totem falls on a map. On it is carved "Minder", by hand.

He dreams of two men and a woman standing outside of a tent in the storm, watching it as it whips their cloaks and tunics. One of them is holding a tiny spell that seems to hold a piece of the essence of the storm in it. The woman appears regal in the storm. The last man Peter recognizes from statues... from the statues littered all over Thuroma. From the statues especially in the temple complex. From the statues of Ink-Thur.

Peter feels himself dragged into the storm... he's unable to steer himself. Somehow, it has caught him.

When he wakes, the storm is over. He is soaked to his skin, as is goliath. The air is brisk and cool. The short beach is littered with debris, mostly sea weed, driftwood, and the remnants of four or five of those wood and galvinized steel shacks.

He thinks he can tell which way east is: the storm was at night, he thinks. The south end of the beach has two leather pods on it, and ends in forbidding cliffs. The north end has most of the wrecked shacks, including what looks like clothing. Its cliffs end in a series of tide-pools that he should be able to walk along. The beach is only about 50 yards only. Out to sea, he can see the other side of a bay, facing south. Behind him, the beach runs steeply up, and it looks like he can get even goliath up to the top.

Aliens!

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

The seam opens when he pulls, even moving itself once he starts the action. His suspicions of Bioengineered escape pod are strengthened.

Inside is someone curled up in the fetal position. Four strange stretched appendages that spread out into webbed ends are on them... him? like pumpkin strings, but cleaner, and more deliberate. He's wearing clothing that looks somewhere between armor and deerskin cloths, with odd horns, bones, and scales adorning it. He has no hair, but weathered pale yellow-gray skin with six short bone osteoderms on his head.

He sits up, sees Peter, and looks very crestfallen.

"Mani-Zucho".

"Mani-Zucho Too Porvee Zucho Ku Keejanu"

He moves quickly, looking Peter over, looking at the beach behind him, and eyeing Peter's weapon and the dog. He doesn't seem sure if Peter is a friend or not. Or maybe if he can win a fight with Peter or not. Peter notices he's wearing at least three sheathed blades.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"I am Javuchi of the Porba. My people are the Vutu. We live the the Etherial Realm. I have fallen to the Porvee Zucho (The time-bound ground)"

Peter investigates human voices and encounters the locals

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

He sees two men coming towards the beach. One is old, the other in the prime of his life. They wear loose fitting shirts, pants, and cloaks, hand-sewn (and hand woven), colored Green and Black, with a somewhat fancy hem of thicker thread. They don't match, but something about the cut and colors suggests the same person made all the clothes. They both have dark hair about five inches long and skin tanned from hours in the sun.

Older Man: "Ho! What brings ye nigh our shores!"
The accent is thick, and the vocabulary archaic... but Peter thinks he can make it out.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"This be Harcliff, near Minder in Cardiel. I be Asad, and this here be my son Hasan. Where hail ye from? From Earth? We not been seeing the others yet."

Peter continues his search, and find more of the Vutu, and Human refugees as well, and a man is dead. Peter tries to facilitate their communication and unite his Vutu friends with their aggressive bretheren.

He meets another Vutu girl, unhappy with their status quo, and she runs off from the other group while Peter locates the Panachronic Conveyor and summons help to right it and liberate its occupants. They pick up on Peter being in the know, but not from their team.

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by ericthered

Leon: "Ok, you know what a conveyor is, but you don't have one. Just how did you get here? How long have you been here? What division are you with? We're with Paralabs. Mostly. Me and Rajat are on loan from the penetration service."
Ann: "As you don't seem to know it, this is Yirth. Its a quantum Sargasso. We can't get off via conveyor. We CAN get off, if we can make it to the right location. If that location is still where they run things. This is a bad world to land on."

Originally Posted by ericthered

"This world is called Yirth. Its on a list of Quantum Sargassos. It draws you in and then you can't get out. The conveyor is useless here. We should destroy it and then move on. The "Secret" is incompletely out on this world: the banestorm pulls people in, so they know about other worlds, and the echo-history. They don't know about homeline. We would like to keep it that way. Its almost impossible to leave this world, so some leaked secrets aren't the worst thing possible. They also have a system to assimilate modern people into their society, and they are paranoid about technology and social change: try to keep your head down. We're going to need to ditch our guns, even the concealed ones."

"We need to get to Tedroy. That's where we can at least find friends. This is going to be hard though. I'm not trained for field-work."

((Pick this up on page 190))