Cthulhutech: You All Know This Story (System, Storytelling, and Sex)

[Muse]

   You all know this story. 

   It's the middle of the night.  The farmer's duaghter is in the outermost barn on the property making out with her boyfriend from the city.  They're both sweaty, down to their underwear, and the things that go bump in the night sneak through the barn door. 

   A few seconds of screaming later, the two kids leap out of the loft, half naked and white as a sheet, they scramble to their feet, running for the farm house faster than they knew they could run. 

   Five laughing monsters bound out of the loft after them, fangy mouths on protruding jaws in otherwise all too human face.  Their bodies are burly humans', but their fingers end in horible claws and they bound after the terified teenagers on kangaroo legs. 

   The city boy goes down, but the farmer's daughter, strong from a lifetime of solid work, pulls him to his feet and they run on, weaving between haystacks, about too pass a group of strangers with swords and guns. 

   That's part of the story you don't know. 

   "Take the ghasts." 

   The part where we bump back.

   *   *   *

   Mr. Gerald Montegue sits on the board of directors of the Crysalis Corperation.  Seemingly a law abiding megacorp, Crysalis is in fact the pawn of The Children of Chaos, a cult determined too prepare our war torn world for the coming of an elder god known as The Endless One.  Along with money and influence, they wield powerful sorcery and the Rite of Transfiguration--a powerful ritual which sacrifices the souls of their upper management and key agents for the power to become monstrous dohanoids. 

   Having aquired a New Earth Goverment contract to build an Archology here in Kansas, Montegue is able to move thousands of his people into position to do his dirty work. 

   All that stands in their way is a motorcycle collecting occult scholar... 



   ...a Nazadi sword-saint with a taste for old movies...




   ...a playful fox...



   ...and you. 

[TheLivingWonder]

Color me intrigued. I just stumbled upon the PC title Dark Corners of the Earth and am finding myself enthralled by the Cthulhu mythos. I would love to be involved. Are you dealing with character sheets? What would you need from me, if you're still looking that is?

[Muse]

Good morning and well met.  :)  I am indeed still looking for players! 

I'd be happy to help you with your character, either over a messenger, through Private Messages, or in the game's OOC. 

[Wintercat]

Interested again. I'll be putting together a tager for this, a man with a taste for speed. Got some ideas going, posting a character here or the character archive (I imagine you have one already, if your last show of organisation is to trust muse) when ready.

[ShadowFox89]

 Still interested, still looking to play an otherwise normal Nazzadi who happens to attract weird stuff.

[Cold Heritage]

*peeks in* Could I play a tager too?!

[Muse]

Sure thing, CH.  Taggers are the defualt charecter type for a game like this.  :) 

[ShadowFox89]

 Somehow, I think that just playing a simple gunman isn't going to cut it for this game :P

[Cold Heritage]

:O so we will be agents of the Eldritch Society?

[Muse]

  Indeed.  :) 

  A loan cabal sent to Kansas without imediate backup.  :) 

[Cold Heritage]

*_* Sugoi. Can we have more Cheats, Muse-Sama? Please?

[Muse]

:) 

No, but you can have 1 free rank in Pilot.  (Use it to drive wheeled.) 

[Muse]

  For those who want to play Parapsychics, I have house-ruled the starting parasychic package to make them able to keep up. 

  Likewise, I'm cutting spell costs in half. 

  (We already have a White lined up, though.) 

[Cold Heritage]

What's the difference between Regeneration 1/1 die and Regeneration 1/3? As near as I can make out, 1/3 regenerates more vitality in Tager form.

[Marie Reynolds]

I would be interested, Would a Intelligence agent be acceptable. I was thinking that i grew up the town that their looking to build the archology and  OIS  gets a hold of me and turns me into a undercover agent watching the town and watching and reporting anything of note to the OIS.

[Muse]

M.R, we've already got that roll. 

i think the big thing we're missing is a field sorceress.  Let's see if I can come up with a list.... 

*  *  *

C.H., the first number for Regeneration indicates that--in human form--you regenerate on HP/Hour.  The second number is how much you regenerate per round in Ta'ge form.  3 means a flat rate of 3 HP/Round.  1d means a 1d10 per round. 

[Muse]

If it helps: 
Game Information Thread: 
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=129884.0

OOC: 
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?action=post;topic=129876.0;last_msg=5815992

Cast Thread
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=129905.0

Supporting Cast
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=129907.0

[Muse]

Skill sets that might come in handy still:
Criminal? 
Sorcerer? 

[Marie Reynolds]

Ill take up the Criminal Slot. If no one else minds.

[Cold Heritage]

The second number is how much you regenerate per round in Ta'ge form.  3 means a flat rate of 3 HP/Round.  1d means a 1d10 per round.

I wish I could find somewhere in the book that is actually spelled out. >_< Not that I don't believe you, I just wish that the book said that in any of the index entries where they talk about regeneration or even the page on tager rules.

[Marie Reynolds]

So with character creation points and points gained from getting drawbacks is specializations in skills worth 1 point.

[Muse]

:) 

You can only do it once at the start, but to Focus in two skills costs 1 Character Point. 

I wish I could find somewhere in the book that is actually spelled out. >_< Not that I don't believe you, I just wish that the book said that in any of the index entries where they talk about regeneration or even the page on tager rules.

*Chuckles*  i wish they'd do a better job of numbering their pages.  i think what your looking for is core book page 172.  (But I had to go to 177 to figure out what page number that is.) 

C.H., knowing your normal tastes, may I recomendn checking out the Nightmare, the Vampire, and the Efreet? 

[Cold Heritage]

Yeah, I already looked at those. ;) You know me too well. I decided on Nightmare.

Say, how does having 1d10 regeneration work with being injured enough that your regeneration is halved or quartered? Do you roll 1d5, or do you roll and half the result?

[Muse]

Yeah, I already looked at those. ;) You know me too well. I decided on Nightmare.

Say, how does having 1d10 regeneration work with being injured enough that your regeneration is halved or quartered? Do you roll 1d5, or do you roll and half the result?

That one I want to check on, but I suspect it means you regenerate every other round.  ^_^;; 

[Cold Heritage]

That'd suck. Although better than the static regenerators, who have to round down and get their regeneration rate cranked down to 0. :/

[Marie Reynolds]

Thanks Muse.

[Wintercat]

I think personally I'd make it so that the upgrade is every 2 numbers.

1-2 for 1,
3-4 for 2,
5-6 for 3,
7-8 for 4,
9-10 for 5.

Eh well. That's just my style though. Skipping every other round works as well afterall. Anyway, character done and ready in your character sheets list, and waiting to see how things pick up.

[Aoife]

Well Muse, I finally worked up a character concept I'd like to run with.

I'll take a Criminal Tager. Serious issues, some insanity.  Seen too many things go bump in the night, and stood up to hunt them down.  Long history of sociopathic behavior, actively channeled, into arson and planned homicide - always cultists, always controlled damage.

Arrested, tried, and sentenced. Given the choice between a very quiet execution and working with the ES for a better tomorrow. Chose to continue hunting.

Probably rolling with an Efreet.

[Aoife]

For Review:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Name: Kacey Ashcroft
Gender: F
Age: 22
Alignment: Eldritch Society
Occupation: Tager
Race: Human
Virtue: Coldly Logical
Flaw: Utter Moral Certainty

Agility 6/8
Intellect 5
Perception 5/6
Presence 7
Strength 8/14
Tenacity 11/13

Actions: 1 / 2
Movement: 13 mph (32/8) / 21 (52/12)
Orgone: 13 (0)
Reflex: 5 / 6
Vitality: (14x5) 70 / (18x5) 90
Drama Points: 10

Skills
Athletics (Adept)
Computers (Student)
Criminal (Adept)
Dodge (Adept)
Fighting (Adept) (Efreet Natural Weapons)
Intimidate (Novice)
Language (English): Expert
Larceny (Student)
Law Enforcement (Student)
Literacy: Novice
Marksman (Adept) (Efreet Natural Weapons)
Misdirect (Student)
Observation (Novice)
Occult (Student)
Pilot (Motor Vehicle) (Student)
Research (Student)
Regional Knowledge (West Coast): Novice
Security (Novice)
Streetwise (Student)
Surveillance (Student)

Qualities 8
Tager 4
Tager: Exceptional 2
Taher: Rare 1
Tager: Variant 1

Drawbacks 10
Duty 3
Fanatical 3 (Old Ones and their servants must die)
Exaggerated Symbiont 2
Compulsive Behavior 1 (Minions of the Old Ones must have their taint burned out)
Obsessive 2

Cheats:
+1 Agility (3)
+6 Skill Points (3)

Tager Type: Efreet

Special: Firestarter – The skin of an Efreet burns with heat and the seams in its “skin” and joints glow with fire. While it can consciously dampen these effects, the Efreet still leaves char marks anywhere it walks or on anything it touches that is not resistant to heat and flame. It lights things on fire with a mere touch, if its firestarting abilities are left at full effect. Anything that physically strikes an Efreet takes one die of damage, which can be reduced by armor. However, its radiance makes it difficult to conceal – Efreets suffer a –6 Penalty to Stealth Tests in their shifted form. These effects are not dampened by water – in fact, the boiling water around it creates a three-yard radius cloud of partially obscuring bubbles. The Efreet is immune to any kind of fire, including plasma blasts.

Spiked Fists (+2) – The hot and mace-like fists of an Efreet sear anything.

Soul Stare – The Efreet can fixate a nearby enemy with its righteous stare. If the Efreet succeeds at a Tenacity Feat Contest versus an enemy’s Tenacity Feat, his foe loses 2 Actions (which may reduce his Actions to zero for a turn or two).

Dragonbreath – Range 10/25/50, Damage +4, Shots 1, Infinite Rounds. This attack ignites combustible materials.

Limit Weapon: Meteor Strike: Range 30/60/100, Damage +6; this attack calls down a mystical shower of super-heated rocks, attacking all things in a 400 square foot area. Generate only one attack roll for the Combat Contest, against which all potential targets must defend. This attack does Hybrid Damage. This uses all Actions and can be the Tager’s only Action that turn.

Armor: 2/2
Regeneration: 1/1 Die
Fear Factor: 16
Senses: Nightvision, Scan, Thermal
Movement and Speed: Climbing x2, Jumping x4, Land x1

Insanity: 1

Kacey Ashcroft has not had an easy life.  A convicted felon, tagged for execution, with a family that is unaware of her continued survival.  While her family name gave her note, no significant relationship with the Foundation meant she was not afforded special treatment - at least until the ES took notice for the 'unique' nature of her crimes.

At 13, she simply disappeared one day returning home from school - a lone, easy target for an Empty. Assaulted, savagely beaten, and left for dead it was a miracle at all that she survived.  Picked up and rushed to the ER, it took a full week for them to stabilize her condition to something less than critical.  Her first act upon regaining consciousness was to murder a nurse with a broken off shard of a cafeteria tray, amid crazed statements of 'There's nothing behind her eyes'. Despite being exonerated on grounds of youth and with temporary insanity as an explanation, she was committed to an asylum for an indeterminate amount of time. She spent three years in inpatient care, most of the time under strict observation and isolation.  Her first few months were marred with the calculated murder of three fellow inmates. One with a broken off metal table leg, one by asphyxiation in a toilet bowl, and another by a stockpiled swap of medications. Upon each incident, when again pressed for any motive behind these acts, she simply claimed that the Old Ones whispered to them.

A new regimen of medication, isolation, and care, released her after another two and a half years, with an independent panel certifying the girl's sanity. She was welcomed back into her family and community, and for all intents and purposes behaved a model citizen.  The next two years, however, showed an amazing statistical anomaly in the arson rates.  Numerous downtown locations of the Los Angelos Arcology had suffered acts of arson, with numerous individuals killed in each attack with no real discernible patterns.  One month it would be a New Age bookstore, another would see the destruction of a Crysalis Corporation warehouse or a prominent downtown gentleman's club. Furthermore, some of these crimes were listed as direct hate crimes, attacking religious institutions like the Church of All. After a time, with no better explanation to go on and suffering large amounts of pressure from numerous groups, the police widened their search to include the possibility of a serial arsonist. It was at the same time that ONI began to take notice, as their investigation sites kept going up in flames - as well as any additional leads.

Two months after her eighteenth birthday, a brothel was set ablaze. A survivor, a very rare thing among instances of these particular cases, identified a young blond woman with green eyes humming as iron bars were shoved through door handles right before the blaze occurred. Following up on the survivor's testimony (the individual in question died of their wounds) and the footage a civilian 'donated' to the investigation, Kacey was picked up at her high school graduation. Right after her speech as the Studictorian.

Charged as an adult, remanded to immediate imprisonment with no possibility of parol, he case was virtually shut the moment evidence started being put together.  Numerous pieces of evidence all came together at once, and the local police were astonished to realize that the young woman really was responsible for nearly all of the arson cases reported since her asylum release. Her parents were devastated, and her older sister - already involved in high level military research - quietly said their goodbyes.  The death sentence was swift and largely inevitable. Behind closed doors, Kacey Ashcroft was quietly executed - meriting congratulations for the police department on finally wrapping up the longest string of arson in the precinct's history.

At least, that's the official report.  Identified as a potentially salvageable candidate for the Eldritch Society, and having been noticed by both ONI and the Society for an eerie ability to target cult locations with nigh impeccable accuracy, she was instead redacted to the Societies care, and presented with an ultimatum.  Hunt real enemies of humanity, or her actual sentence would be carried out.

Ultimatum in hand, and given a backing to previously individual acts, Kacey threw herself into the lore of the Eldritch Society. A dedicated if not particularly bright student, she took to the Rite, and surprised very few when she found her match with the morally absolute Efreet.

Her experiences have made her apt in humanities underworld, able to discern security systems, identify potential entrance points, and who to contact for a safe house.  Her Eldritch Society training has made her a fearsome combatant, with more options than simple arson.  Dedicated and forged, she has a habit of stoking quietly in thought before erupting into a maelstrom of planning, preparation, and execution of acts against the servants of the Old Ones. 

Her only detriment to the Society is her claim that her symbiote has been speaking to her since she was 13, and that it continues to do so even now.

[Muse]

Awesome, Aeofie.  Bring her on in. 

I just have one question. 

This is the second time I've seen you play a character with the name Ashecroft?

[Aoife]

It is.  Sister's here.

A running gag from when I started playing this system is that somehow I'd always end up playing an Ashcroft.  I've kept true to it so far.

[Aoife]

Muse, you planning on going anywhere with this?

[Muse]

  Indeed i am. 

  Who'se still with me?

[Cold Heritage]

Still here.

[ShadowFox89]

Still here, still need to make a character.

Would you allow a Zoner? :D

[Muse]

Given the house rules I'm using for competitive parasychics, you don't really need to play a zoner. 

[Wintercat]

Still around as well. Just waiting things to get fully in motion.