PL: The EPIC OOC XI [closed]

[Giovenith]

I have a question:

In the OP, it says that gods are no longer permitted.

Does this apply to godlike beings (a la Q) or gods of alien worlds (a la L'Zoril)?

Yes.

[Mincaldenteans]

Ditto. I'm not letting any of mine anywhere near this fight!

That said, I see no reason why squishy but smart chars couldn't help suggest tactics pre-battle or even be consulted during via radio, assuming that their tactical abilities are good enough to warrant this when presumably some of the heavyweights know some tatics.

Assuming we also have the time for that. IC'ly, characters are strapped for time, we're only in a slight lull due to real life concerns - and that always takes priority as we all know. For the planning, the warning is given, and its likely that tactical analysis and strategic planning will be on the fly/en route. Sure there'll be some chatter before getting the convoy going, but its short, as it should be.

That said, there is nothing to stop the rest of the characters in the building to come up with a plan on how to effectively defend themselves for the coming second horde of fiends.

• Which characters in which quadrant to defend?
• What happens when one defense area is compromised?
• Do you rearrange and reinforce, or do you fall back?
• Do you put your "mundanes" (I use this loosely) in the front, or do you put your heavier hitters in the front first? Or a mix?
• Where are the healers when the second wave comes?
• How do you split triage/medical care with the defenders that need to hold the line?

And that's just me spitting out questions here now that I realize there's only a spikey ice wall and few defenders positioned because characters inside are still licking wounds. We're exposed, so to speak, but we're safe for now. That will expire.

[Lavan Tiri]

I have a question:

In the OP, it says that gods are no longer permitted.

Does this apply to godlike beings (a la Q) or gods of alien worlds (a la L'Zoril)?

Yes.

Dammit.

Glas I asked before I started working on an app though

[Torsiedelle]

.

Glad I asked before I started working on an app though

Have you considered something in between, like a demigod or something?

[Lavan Tiri]

.

Glad I asked before I started working on an app though

Have you considered something in between, like a demigod or something?

Nah, I'm thinking an incredibly advanced alien or powerful magic-user. Not godlike, but not a wimp either.

[Primordial Luxa]

There's also Aegis. His powers have the potential to cause insanity. That won't affect Minerva. The Conservators have proven that they have the ability to block it. FUBAR and the nifid won't be affected by it. Ocho's alien physiology grants him somewhat of an immunity. Mab is Mab, a god in the Fae pantheon.

Prim shouldn't have to choose between Aegis using his powers or dying.

Actually, I think Ocho might end up dead. LOL His 'powers' are his xeno shit and his cybernetics.

Yes that is a worry but my things causing insanity in others has always been handwaved a little.
I wont force anyone to go insane due to my stuff.

[Fvaarniimar]

@L. Tiri: You might want to read through Prim's characters. (Not sure if new app is on this thread's front page yet, you could look at our last OOC front page under Dramatis Personae.) The reason: your concept sounds pretty similar, and you don't want a clone.

[Highfort]

For whoever's in the convoy and hasn't posted yet (Min and Slo have), please either post or tell me you're not posting so I can get a response out. Thank you!

[Torsiedelle]

I'm not going with the convoy.

[The BranRiech]

I don't really see there as being much left for Bran to do at this point.

[Monfrox]

I don't really see there as being much left for Bran to do at this point.

The convoy will need support.

[Cerillium]

Torsi and anyone waiting on a reply from me: I rushed a response to Sep to keep things moving up top. Ocho still needs to reply to Torsii. I have not had time due to the move.

People can send their mundanes with the team. Combat will happen in rounds, per usual, and everyone will need to read the posts prior so they're aware of what others are doing. I expect mortals to function as mortals, of course. Spectacular effort is always good but common sense says Ocho will still take damage while standing in the path of a cone-shaped blast. He can't outrun it.

Swith was correct. I'm going to hit characters hard. An epic story includes tragedy.

I won't post today. We're down to the wire with the cousin's move.

[The BranRiech]

The convoy will need support.

Well I'd rather not have Bran be the sacrificial mundane that dies to give the abhumans more time to win for us.

[Fvaarniimar]

The convoy will need support.

Well I'd rather not have Bran be the sacrificial mundane that dies to give the abhumans more time to win for us.

Are we maybe referring to air support? Just keep him out of range.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

The convoy will need support.

Well I'd rather not have Bran be the sacrificial mundane that dies to give the abhumans more time to win for us.

Fiends can't fly right? I'm pretty sure you're safe.

[Fvaarniimar]

*begin Imagine Spot*
Me: I'll clean my room WHEN FIENDS FLY!
Parental Unit: Um...
*end Imagine Spot*

[The BranRiech]

Eh, fair enough. I'm just a little antsy is all. I'd rather not lose a character in the first 5 minutes of the new RP

[Northwest Slobovia]

Eh, fair enough. I'm just a little antsy is all. I'd rather not lose a character in the first 5 minutes of the new RP

That's perfectly understandable, and I can't blame you for that. I haven't decided if Amanda will go or not; it depends on IC events.

It seems that the real danger is going to be where the heavy fighting is, around the powerful characters. We'll need to stay well clear of that, since some of them have powers that affect large areas and/or act at range.

[Monfrox]

I went and rolled dice to decide if anyone else in my group will get injured should we get hit bad again.

Well...this'll be interesting.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Objective:
Extract Nila and Neste.

Plan:
The exos are badly damaged and their pilots in a state of cryptobiosis. Take the trucks down the road. Break through the advancing swarm. (Perhaps Bran can make a hole for them?) Locate exos, extract pilots, and load everything onto the trucks.


Alterations to plan:
Players are welcome to come up with a different plan. The truck scenario isn't set in stone.

Let me propose an alternate plan. This plan does require char!Bran's help, so it's entirely up to him if it can be done. It may not be a good plan anyway. To paraphrase the movie Argo, "This is the best bad idea I have, sir. By far."

Char!Bran is flying a Ka-65 Twinblade. According to that page:

The most strategic use [for the Ka-65 Twinblade helicopter] is as heavy haulier for Soviet forces. It can haul infantry, tanks, and support vehicles while maintain its speed, providing Soviet with "jumping" element that enable them to deploy leapfrog styled tactic or surprised assault on enemy base from any directions. This capability is somewhat related with its intermesing [sic] rotor and dual engine. However, its capability is limited to medium weight vehicle (such as Hammer Tank) and cannot haul extreme weight vehicles such as Assault Destroyer, or MCV.

That's the key part: it can move people and stuff by air. That means that in order to rescue Neste, we don't necessarily have to succeed in punching through the enemy horde and holding a patch of ground while Thaddeus does his thing on Scel.

I propose to land a team behind the enemy horde to rescue Neste/Scel, who's already down. I'm going to assume the Twinblade has cargo hooks already rigged, as that makes this easy. We land a small group, they hook Neste/Scel up (yes, without touching her; cargo hooks are handy for that) and they uncermoniously haul her back to the Building's roof, where Neste can be gotten out of Scel at our (relative) leisure. Time on the ground is minimized, and the assault group just has to link up with Nila/Buttons and FUBAR, which is a bit simpler than punching through the whole enemy force.

The "air rescue team" will need some protection. The enemy will react to them. Neste is already some distance behind the enemy, and that distance will increase by the time the assault group hits the enemy line. However, I'm not sure if we'll have enough space and time to get Neste out before the Fiends can reach them.

I don't know if there's spare powerful characters to accompany the air rescue team or not. If not, we'll have to think about dividing our assault force. This adds complexity to the plan. However, even with that, I think it's still easier than the current plan.

---

Other tactical comments:

* Amanda is willing to take a diversionary force with her in the jeep if she's not part of the air rescue team. Their goal would be to stand off the enemy with long-range fire, and kill as many Fiends as possible from a safe distance while the assault group pounds on the main body of the horde. Varona has an AT rifle; that's a fine weapon for this purpose. If we have a machine gun as well, that would be great.

The diversion can work even if the Belas' jeep is restricted to moving along the road. That just requires the assault group hit the enemy some distance away from the road. They may have to do that anyway to link up with Nila/Buttons and FUBAR.

* Sandy is going to finish up triage, treat the most severely wounded of the injured¹, and then return to planning defenses for the Building. Constructing the defenses will require more magic and/or a lot of strong backs. Also a bit of cleverness, since we should fortify the front doors of the Building, and consider the possibility that we may have to fight in the lobby as well.

1: Or show somebody the proper uses of the Balm of Gilead and Ox Blood so that they can treat people with them.

[Monfrox]

If the Fiends can be distracted by what's in front, then we can have the more powerful characters hold their attention while others drop in to rescue Neste and the other exos. All things considered, that's a gunship Bran's flying. And as such, that could theoretically hold off the fiends for just enough to allow the rescue team to get everything prepared and ready. When that time comes, it drops down and picks the team up while still giving fire support. If the resident abhumans can get them out and into the helicopter, then really we don't need any other teams to risk their skins.

Of course, this is best-case scenario.

[Torsiedelle]

I imagined Bran's chopper to be an Mi-24 Hind.

[The BranRiech]

I imagined Bran's chopper to be an Mi-24 Hind.

Nah, it's been a Twinblade since the beginning.

And I approve of the plan, obviously. It'd give me something to do.

[Northwest Slobovia]

If the Fiends can be distracted by what's in front, then we can have the more powerful characters hold their attention while others drop in to rescue Neste and the other exos. All things considered, that's a gunship Bran's flying. And as such, that could theoretically hold off the fiends for just enough to allow the rescue team to get everything prepared and ready. When that time comes, it drops down and picks the team up while still giving fire support.

I think the helo will have to land, since I don't think we have anybody with special forces training to come down on ropes. I expect that it can still provide some covering fire on the ground, though, since its gun is in a turret. Or is that what you meant?

[Northwest Slobovia]

I imagined Bran's chopper to be an Mi-24 Hind.

Nah, it's been a Twinblade since the beginning.

And I approve of the plan, obviously. It'd give me something to do.

And char!Bran gets to stay in an armored cockpit with his hands on the throttle and collective.