Woman

inb4 herm

man.

man

Woman

Oh buck, I think I know this one.

Man!

woman

Oh, by the way, I hope you guys enjoy this thing.

Woman~

WOMAN IT IS.

Throughout the Sands there are many kinds of people, with many talents.

Allocate ten points among these skills.

SCIENCE: Knowledge and application thereof of advanced sciences.

SHOOTING: Marksmanship, maintenance, knowledge of guns and ammo.

MAGIC: Knowledge of spells and powers derived from drawing from the Taint.

STRENGTH: Power in the physical sense, in terms of combat and application of upper and lower body strength.

SNEAKERY: Knowledge of bypassing security, locks, and people without notice, as well as more dextrous forms of combat.

PSIONICS: Knowledge of supernatural powers that do not touch the Taint and are instead fueled by the mind.

I say we dump all our stat points into one stat.

Actually, buck that, my suggestion is 5 Magic/5 Shooting.

Any agreements? It sounds the most INTERESTING at least. o wo

>>374744
Agreed... with the exception of science and sneaking the other 4 are all different ways of doing the same thing (killing people) and it is best to specialize at once as there is no synergy (except perhaps if it is more efficient to enchant an item, like a gun, then it is to kill directly with magic/psi).
Not only that, science AND sneaking can both be replaced with magic and psionics which are the UR abilities. Actually EVERYTHING on the list can be replaced by magic and psionics.

And the difference between the two is really that magic means being tainted and psionics means not.

So I vote 10 Magic and play a "practical person who understands that morality is an illusion" who is trying to harness the taint, demons, evil etc to your own whims to conquer the world...

If you must be all moralfag though then put 10 Psionics but it is certainly a second choice here.

>>374752

Might be a LITTLE more complicated than that for all we know, at least with regards to the whole Magic vs. Psionics dilemma.

Either way pouring all our stat points into magic DOES sound hilarious and awesome. I still like shooting stuff, though. XD

I'm goin' with MAGIC 10 too. FEAR THE TAINT!

>>374754
No it is better to go with a minor and a major. If you don't expect there will be immunities and opponents for which psionics and magic will be invitations you are way too optimistic.

I'd say Science 7 and magic 3.

Switching my vote to 10 MAG, then.

Your skills are as follows:

SCIENCE: You understand basic robotic theory and how to properly dissassemble devices from pre-Calamity. (Gained Perk: Construction 1)
SHOOTING: You are proficient in the weilding and firing of small arms, but you're no sharpshooter. (Gained Perk: Lucky Shot)
MAGIC: You are highly proficient with magic and know several spells. However, past use and contact with the Taint has warped you. (More on this later, and the Perk as well.)
STRENGTH: You are physically weak, and cannot carry much. Melee combat is frightening to you. (gained Perk: Cowardly)
SNEAKERY: You are not very sneaky, in fact, your prescence practically broadcasts itself. (Gained Perk: Frightening Prescence)
PSIONICS: You were not born with Psionic power. In fact, you are bereft of psionic influence entirely. (Gained Perk: Null)

What Discipline of magic are you a part of? Keep in mind that every Discipline comes with unknown attendant mutations, no matter how careful you are with Taint.

White Magic: The magic of the Angels. Healing, ailment curing, and some Light-based spells.

Black Magic: The magic of Demons. Harm, ailment-causing, and darkness-based spells.

Fire/Heat: Harnessing the heat of the Sands. Fire, warmth, heat, fury are your domains.

Ice/Chill: Harnessing the cold of the nights. Ice, cold, quiet, and calm are your domains.

Wind/Sand: Harnessing the terrible winds of the Sands.
Sand, wind, bluster, and weight are your domains.

Water/Salt: Harnessing the power of the scant Waters.
Water, Dehydration, nimbleness, and swiftness are your domains.

Due to high skill, you may also select a subDiscipline:

Hate, Love, Anger, Betrayal, Destruction, Beauty, Mutation, and Lightning are your choices.

>>374773
Is this Magic 10?

Oh, and BLACK MUTATION MAGIC.

FOR CHAOS.

My vote goes to White Magic/Lightning.

But then I'm a Paladinfag.

>>374776
Actually, scratch that.

White/Mutation could be very, very fun.

Ice/Love.

After all the embrace of cold can be a versatile tool.

>>374783
You're missing the awesome implications of the fact that WHITE MAGIC IS TAINTED TOO.

>>374774
upvoting Black magic and mutations!
We would summon demons and upgrade our minion hordes!
Destruction remains a second choice here (go nuclear!)

So what is the actual point breakdown? It looks like 1 or 2 in science and shooting each, and everyhing else in magic; which seems like an auto compromise between the various sides

>>374780
There is an erase button at the bottom right if you change your mind
Also if we wanted a paladin we should have not gone full taint

fire, ice, wind, water and lightening are just your basic elementals and seem kind of a waste to take.
White magic seems to go against the plan of being a tainted mage to begin with, so pass.

Hate, Love, Anger, Betrayal - nice to manipulate emotions, but those are all rather specific. All, including love, would be interesting to manipulate if we go with conquest.
Beauty sounds underwhelming.
Lightning sounds like an overly focused aspect of destruction that is less likely to synergize with our black magic then destruction would.

White mutation!

you are a skilled student of Black Magic and the mechanics of Mutation. You can, with effort, summon demons to this world - but they will not be immediately obedient.

Spells:
Inflict Pain: 3 Taint, causes target to suffer pain of 4 on a 1-10 scale.

Summon Minor Demon: 10 Taint, summons a minor demon to the Material plane permanently.

Cause sickness: 5 Taint, Induce vomiting and nausea in the target.

Darkness: 6 Taint, causes a zone of darkness to appear and persist for 10 minutes. The zone cannot be penetrated by mundane light sources, but will be destroyed by sunlight in ten seconds.

Muddle Mutation: Cause (free) or reroll (3 Taint) a mutation in a target (including oneself).


HOW MAGIC WORKS:

Suggest a spell and its application.
If the spell is used, its Taint is added to current Taint.
WARNING, THERE IS NO WAY TO REMOVE TAINT.
Every 100 Taint, a new mutation will be rolled.

Be warned, each mutation will usually be highly visible, and will impact social interactions.

Current mutations:

Long Horns: A pair of horns, each a foot long, jut from your forehead like long, thick spikes. These are strong enough to hurt enemies.

Tail: A tail as thick as your fist at the base and four feet long extends from the end of your spinal cord. It affords additional balance.

Extra row of teeth: Exactly as described, an extra row of teeth juts out behind your usual one. This mutation has little use, and is disturbing.

Finally, you gain the Magic Perk: Mutation-inured.

Finally, do you hail from a pre-Calamity Vault, a bandit camp, or a shanty town?

VAULT! VAULT! VAULT!

And we totally sacrificed all those naive little bitches to Satan or something.

VAULT. And due to a flaw in the vault's Water Recycling system, everyone was MORE mutated than they would have been in the wastes.

>>374803
Okay I lol'd.

Well, that was easy.

Those were my first thoughts on emerging from my home of twenty years. The air smelled of strange new things, and the yawning, dizzying sky welcomed me. The vast, wide desert before the Vault seemed to call to me, and behind me, the mountain almost seemed to be so terrifyingly tall it would curve overhead. In the distance, I can see creatures moving about the blood-colored sand.

My jumpsuit used to be gold and white - now, it's red and black. Well, at least to my waist. The Lion over my breast has been spattered, too, and up to my elbows is dyed. The blood of a thousand men and woman covered my outfit, and I think... Yes. I like this color. They never really meant much to me, anyway. I was an orphan since the day I was born, and no one had the mind to care for me...

So I cared for myself. I worked and lived on my own merits, repairing failing systems, working on machines. Then one day, I found a book, bound in white leather. I spent day and night reading it - what secrets it contained! To this day I clutch it in one hand, its soft whispers comforting me in the worst of times, and laughing with me in the best. I used it to summon my first demon - Legion - and learned its powers of sacrifice and might.

Using the White Book, you can sacrifice individuals. The process takes ten minutes, and requires the victim to be restrained. However, every ten people you sacrifice in this way nets you a new spell, which is recorded in the Books endless pages.

Now that I am free to roam the sands...


Where should I go?
What should my objective be, or do I even have one?
Should I keep my given name, or take a new one?

Holy buck, we actually DID sacrifice them to Satan.

BUCK.

... Or.

... No, BUCK.

That's not it at all.

Sera sacrificed them all to US.

TO US.

>>374830
No, if we'd sacrificed a thousand men and women we'd have a thousand spells. We have... five.

>>374834
No, according to the spell book's properties we'd have a hundred.

... Which means she sacrificed fifty people to us, sounds like?

... Awesome.

I propose we keep our given name and look for some clothes that aren't a blood-spattered jumpsuit in gay Paladinfag colors.

(I know I'm a Paladinfag, but this obviously isn't a Paladin run, so...)

>>374840
Right you are. My mistake.

Keep your name, but don't tell it to others. Move towards whatever creatures that you see; your objective must be to find victims and gain in power. Soon, perhaps, you will learn the necessary methods to bind demons as well as call them up.

Jeeze, we make a small and ineffectual Legion.

>>374828
Current objective- get a gun. Or do we have some manner of weapon aside from horns? Current magical abilities do not lend themselves to offense, and casual use could be bad. Inventory check please.

Also consider rerolling the teeth. The taint cost is very low and we may be able to get something more useful.

>>374854
>Inventory check

You currently own:
A small 9mm handgun.
Five clips of ammunition (73 bullets total - one in the chamber, twelve in the gun, 60 in backpack)
Vault Jumpsuit [Bloody]
The White Book
10 Healing Stimulant Syringe Packs
Vault Jumpsuit
Vault Jumpsuit

Taint Check: 446

I don't see any humans nearby, just... creatures. They look like shambling mounds of flesh, covered in eyes and mouths. There's at least ten of them on the way down the mountain...

Looking in the distance, I can see a large building, however, flanked by the remains of several others. It stands starkly out compared to the piles of rubble nearby.

>>374860
Well, obviously we aren't behooved to change NOW, but since we already HAVE a change of clothes available, it may behoove us to use it at the first sign of civilization.

People tend to abhor blood-stained demonic-looking mutants.

In fact, maybe change now and start towards those buildings?

Much less foreboding than those gibberlings.

>>374860
>They look like shambling mounds of flesh, covered in eyes and mouths.
If they are made of flesh and capable of independent motion, you can likely sacrifice them. Personhood is rather relative.

Unfortunately, the time and force required to restrain them for sacrifice is not available at the moment, so head for the large building instead.

>>374854
>Reroll teeth
Upvote on the teeth

>Where should I go?
Back inside the vault, and use its sturdy doors as containment measures as we summon some minor (this is important) demons and get them to serve us with threats of pain (which we can easily cause) and offers of power (conquest and mutation). Then we could have some disposable assets.

Find some restraints such as cuffs and rope inside too for yourself and minions. nets hopefully. After that, send the demons out to scout the land and see if there are settlements or bandits around. Bandits are an excellent first conquest as they will allow you to conquer further once you mutate them.

>What should my objective be, or do I even have one?
Power is obvious, the question is really are you a destroyer or a conquerer. I say conquerer is more interesting and also the reason we chose mutation. Slaves are where its at, they breed too and thus provide a steady source of sacrifices and new minions.

A mid term goal is to sacrifice enough victims to get a spell to bind demons to serve us.

We should also be powerful enough to capture scientists and perhaps other type of mages to help us with research.

>Should I keep my given name, or take a new one?
Definitely new one (we will have to name her either way), but it has to be a really good one and I can't think of one at the moment... can anyone help?

How many people have we sacrificed since getting our last spell?

That is a LOT of taint, looking back at that level, there.

>Muddle Mutation casted.

I close my eyes and then open them, drawing on the power of the Taint. My eyes bear witness to the most horrible of things - rotting blood and seas of writhing maggots, spiders with foot-long spindly legs dancing across the muck, eyes bobbing in the maggots as they turn to look upon me, and turn into mouths, feasting on the whiteness around them -

And I return, the teeth gone. I quickly check myself over... To find a second set of ears behind my normal ones. I sigh, and turn...

To return to the vault and scavenge. Bodies lay everywhere, most dead from bullet wounds, some from knives. A few are missing their necks, and my fingers twitch in recollection as I gather rope, handcuffs...

I emerge somewhat heavier and feeling more safe.

> + 6 sets of handcuffs
> + 100 ft of rope
> + 24 9mm bullets


>>374863
As the combined manifestation of the White Book, you know instinctively that you must sacrifice sentient beings.

I change back into the clean jumpsuit, tossing away the bloody one. my horns annoyingly get in the way, as does my tail - this might grow to be an issue, I imagine.

Equipped as I am, shall I now head to the large building through the Gibberlings?

Time to get our asses in gear! Let's explore that building and see what the Eldritch Horror wannabes are protecting!

... Well, okay, they're probably not protecting it so much as they just happen to be nearby.

>>374901
Sounds good.

oh goody, we have the rope. now we can begin properly.

sure, the building is as good a place to start as any other.

>>374901
>dead, some from knives

There wasn't any knife in the vault? You should try to find one.

Either use the knife or a horn if you find no knife to modify a jumpsuit with a tail hole. Free moving tail gets balance bonus, stuffed tail will be a hindrance. Construction 1 should suffice for that.

Also question, if we go for cause with Muddle Mutation, can we target a body part? Similar for Cause Pain.

>>374923
Have you forgotten we SUCK at melee?

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>>374923
I quickly retrieve one of the steak knives, and cut a hole for my tail. That feels much better...

Making my way down the mountain is surprisingly easy - while the beasts seem to notice me, they don't seem to wish to attack me.

[Null Trait Utilized]

The way they stare at me is pretty creepy, though.

Time passes as I cross the sands to my next destination. The sun is halfway from noon to night by the time I arrive.

I expected more looks of shock, to be honest. Almost no one pays any mind to my appearance - a few stares from children, but that's about it. The town itself seems to be built out of a massive transit hub - husks of trains sit on the rails that split the miniature city, and out the windows, I notice the former parking lot on the other end is filled with houses built out of spare timbers and sheet metal.

A quick surveyance notes that the town has two working trains that go out in the morning and at night, respectively. Appaerently my Vault was not the only one - they litter this area, and the spoils from raids into them are plenty for commerce to flourish between three towns along the rails. There's an ammo and weaponry shop here, a medical office, a bar and... brothel, whatever that is, called the Dark Tunnel, and finally, a mercenary office.

Where should I go?

>>374937
Keep the knife. You'll probably want to use it on any sacrificial victims you find.

Go to either the bar or mercenary office. You gotta find some work or quests to get you some cash and hopefully victims.

Wewt! Gibberlings are wusses! Maybe we can go tear them apart for kicks and XP later? (Does Sera GET XP?)

Also, YAY, Mercenary office! What needs killin'?

>>374939
>[Null Trait Utilized]
We got past them because we have immunity thanks to zero psionics. We'll have to test if we can harm them with Magic or Shooting before we make plans hunting them.

>>374937
Bar first. It's best to get the lay of the land before we go to the Mercenary Office. If only to get info about the quality of the Mercenary Office.
If we need some petty cash and connections, we can try the Brothel for work making use of our Frightening Presence and the occasional Pain spell.

heh, a brothel... that gives me an idea. go there later, about half an hour before the night train departs. when you're alone with the lady in the room, bind her mouth and limbs and proceed to sacrifice her. then leave the brothel, get on the train and run away.

by the way, you should totally remuddle that ear mutation because it's not particularly useful or cool.

>>374945
Bad idea, for now. A town like this there is the brothel is a major factor. If the owner of the brothel isn't running the town, they have at least connections. You wanna start a hunt while we are practically naked?

If medical office is much better place to look for future sacrifices. They should know some people that can't be helped. We go to them offer them a wergeld for their family in exchange for making them sacrifices. Advances our magic and gets us browny points with the locals.

avoid killing anyone for now, we cannot afford to make careless mistakes.
You should visit every one of the town's major locations, from medical to brother. Your goals are information, you need information to make good decisions.
1. Ask in each business, who owns and who runs it. Starting from the largest and going smaller.
2. Ask the train station where you can travel from here and the cost for each, udner the guise of just traveling you gettting free info about local areas.
3. Find out who is in charge by asking people
4. Ask the local police if they have many bandit attacks, if there are any active bounties, and if they know of any bandits in the area.

>>374948
We're WEARING a Jumpsuit. Granted, it's entirely soaked in the blood of the innocent, but hey. We'll be fine. We can just cast Muddle Mutation 50 times on whoever attacks us, until they degenerate into sludge. That's the beauty of 0 taint spells.

>>374951
Actually, we went back into the vault and swapped it out for a clean one to reduce the chance of getting lynched.

>>374951
Oh, sure, assault our own senses with horror and mindrape while potentially giving our enemy extra weapons to hurt us with.

Nice plan there, boss.

>>374955
Then just cast it MORE until they die. We killed ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE. WITH OUR HANDS. EVERYONE WE EVER KNEW. I think we're past the point where trauma has an effect.

>>374958
We're not even sure people CAN die of mutation.

I mean, if we were, would we really want to mutate OURSELVES so badly?

>>374959
Well then. This calls for SCIENCE!

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>Learn about the place.
>Go to the bar.

I walk into the bar, which is set up in a moved passenger traincar that is attatched to another building. The place is muggy.

[Null Trait Utilized]

I sit down at the bar and the barman looks up, grey yet pallid face smiling at me as he leans a little forward.

"You new in town? I'm Johnathan Utah. Folks around here just call me Utah, or bartender. What's your poison?"

"Actually, I am new. Can you tell me about the place? And some water would be fine."

"Water'll run you five chips."

"... I'm sorry?"

"... You really are new. Chips're how we pay for things these days. If you have anything of value, I could trade you. But while you think on that, I'll fill you in on the area.

His stool creaks as he shifts a little.

"This here is my bar and forget-the-world. I keep the stocks and brew my own stuff, and I do some trade here or there. Denmark, in the back corner there, keeps tabs on the boys and girls who are in my employ." he points to a tall, thick man in the back with eyes that glow a soft blue. "Don't piss him off or he'll freeze your whatever off."

"My what?"

"He ain't choosy. Whatever presents itself." Utah drawls. "Now, across the road, we have the medical pavilion. There you can get stims and more extensive treatment. One visit is fiddy chips, so make it worth it. He can cleanse radiation, but not taint. Down the street on this side is Guns, Ammo, and Repair. Billy Buckshot runs that place with his sister Tam. They do about a good quarter of the trade here. The Vaults round here are fulla nasty, and fulla treasure. That's where Nickel comes in - across the street from Buckshot. Nickel will give you a price for anything. Good place to get started, but I'm flattered you chose me. At the end of the hall is Lion Claw Mercenary. They contract out the down'n'dirty work to folk for chip. Things like killin' raiders, trappin' gibbers, and guardin' the rails, like. Finally, Finagle runs the trains out to Tinsel Town and Jamestown, which go out mornin' and night, respectively."

"Don't go to Jamestown right now. Extended siege by the Nobles." pipes up a woman you swear has lion in her family tree - and not too far up.

"Thankee kindly." the man nods. "Might want to tell Finagle dat."

"Damn fool's armoring up. Thinks he can make the trip and assist."

"Well, it's his hide. Anyway, young lady... Anything else you'd like to know?"

>>374970
Johnny Utah? Seriously? Whatever.

Thank him politely and go see the Quest Giver Merc. Tell them you are good at DESTRUCTION. Ask if they have any jobs.

>>374970
Ask him why people do not seem surprised at your level of mutation and if there are certain aspects of magic that are frowned upon.

>>374970
Compliment the nice greyskin on his cane.

Also, guns! We should see if we can get more guns. Couldn't hurt.

People trap those weird gibbering thingers? For what possible purpose?

Also who are these Noble chaps Utah is talking about?

... Wait, we have no money.

>>374972
Actually this may be a good question to ask.

We're from a vault. Knowing how the outside work works is probably going to save our life.

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>>374972
"Uhm... Are people unnerved by..." I gesture to my horns and he laughs.

"Lady, trust me when I say most people going through here have seen worse. Much, much worse." he smiles.

>>374973
"Why do people trap the Gibbers?"

"People trap'em to stickem in tubes and hand over to Olneigh for the lockup. They're right effective at keeping Psions like me in their place." he says. "Get near one of them and they'll set your brain bubblin'."

"Oh... I didn't feel anything."

"Likely 'cause yer null. Can't hear, can't feel psionics. Good and bad thing, I suppose."

"Ohkay... Who are the Nobles?"

"Caligula and his merry men are some of the worst arseholes this side of the Salt Flats. They prance about as noblemen, but they're slavers, assholes, raiders, and rapists to the bone. Watch out for them."

"How can I tell them apart?"

"They wear fancy shit." he says. "And they ride horses. Purple, gold clothes... gold chains... Things like that."

"Well, thanks for your time, Utah."

"One other thing, piece of advice. A lot of folks round here blame the Calamity on demons and those who collude with'em. Don't make yerself a target."

"...Thanks."

"Not a problem."

I leave the bar, following the instructions to the mercenary office. It's a simple affair, with a single room and a single desk manned by a single person - who is still in combat gear.

"Hello, miss. Come to sign, or inquire?" he asked. "Last mission to Tinsel had a fatality that no-one's claimed the tags and gear of. Speaking of that, the next train that way has an opening for guard duty. Free transit and three hunnerd chip if you'd like to sign on - hundred in advance." he seems awful eager to fill that spot.

The nameplate on his desk says MARCUS PROUNE, Recruitment Specialist.

>>374983
Enquire about jobs here. We might as well get a feel for our powers first.

>>374983
Sounds like we've got a half-decent job available already. Any idea what killed the guy whose stuff is unclaimed?

Hmm, we now must become very obvious with our "pro-demon" attitude. That way, the prejudiced bastards will come to us to be sacrificed.

Wonder if we can become a demon with enough taint..

Anyway, check if he has any other jobs as well to see what all our options are.

>>374989

>That way, the prejudiced bastards will come to us to be sacrificed.

Let's at least wait until we've got the kind of power to withstand hordes of demon hunters before we take that attitude.

>>374991
Ah, yeah, I did not really mean right away, but as more of a half-way goal. A way to avoid becoming a completely evil "will sacrifice anything that moves" mage by becoming a "will sacrifice anything that tries to harm me" mage.

>>374992
We've also got to consider if people have seen worse than us out here that maybe there's other demonologists out there.

Maybe at least make it a distant goal to look into them, even if we later decide joining up isn't for us.

What should we call this quest? "I put a spell on you?" "Black Magic Woman?"

"What kind of jobs are available?"

The man sighs and puts away the papers for the train job... pulling out three others.

"We've three other jobs. This one, we got a broadcast from Jamestown a few hours ago - it needs help against the Noble siege. The pay is 500 on completion, 200 advance. Only the skilled need apply.

"This one has you trapping Gibbers out on the mountainside. Stuff them in provided receptacles and deliver them to Olniegh. No advance, hundred on completion.

"Finally, there's a small bandit camp northwest of here. Bring the head of the leader there - a man known as Greyface - and you'll get three hundred. No advance here either.

"If you want to take the job for Jamestown or to Tinsel, let me know as soon as possible so I can organize your tickets and ride."

So...

We have guarding a train, helping a town against a siege, killing a camp of raiders, and trapping harmless goo piles.

I still say we go back to the brothel.

>>375061
We were just there talking to the barkeep guy.

Anyway! I say we go kill this bandit guy, then take the train job and go see Tinsel (and hope the dead merc's gear isn't claimed), and then ask ourselves after all that if we're ready for Jamestown. This whole Siege mess sounds pretty intense to start on it.

>>375048
Hmm, while the gibber thing seems like something we could easily do, due to being a null, the bandit thing seems more fun.

The siege is a bit out of our league right now and the train can wait until we do our first job to see how good or bad we are at it.

>people have seen worse than us out here that maybe there's other demonologists out there.
Any mage that reasonably active with spells will look worse after a year or two. Even a healer.

>>375048
There is no guarantee the train guarding job is still open by the time we get back from hunting the bandits. How far is that bandit camp estimated to be anyway? Is it close enough we can get there, spend a few hours and get back in time for the Tinsel train?
The Bandit guy has no advance. Does that mean it also doesn't have a time limit, penalty or exclusivity? Could we get the info for it and then not do it right now without gaining a black mark with the office?

I suggest we accept the Tinsel job now and claim the tags and items for the job and get the info about the bandit Greyface if we don't have to complete the job right away.

After that visit the brothel to talk with the owner/manager. Still no on killing a brothel employee.

>>375066
>Any mage that reasonably active with spells will look worse after a year or two. Even a healer.

Which is part of why I'd hoped that we'd go White/Mutation instead of Black. That would have been cool.

>>375069
Hmm, actually curious about this. Do different spheres of magic mean different types of mutations or will everybody end up looking like a monstrosity from the deepest pit of hell, no matter what they do?

>>375076
It's a pretty decent assumption. I mean, we use Black Magic and we look like a bucking demon. Makes sense White Magic-users or Fire magic-users or whatever would look different.

I mean, White Magic was clearly stated as being the magic of Angels. Maybe we'd have started looking like one.

Which raises interesting questions about Angels if ALL magic gives you a taint score.

>Angels. Maybe we'd have started looking like one
So.. They have eyes all over their bodies and wings coming out of their head and feet, Have body parts that glow bright as molten brass, Have characteristics of eagles, lions, oxen, etc?

>>375106
We dunno yet, but maybe. I guess we'll just have to see what happens if/when we ever run into one.

Probably won't like us though.

I noticed that granting someone a mutation does not leave any taint on US. But we get a mutation every 100 taint.
Presumably we channel 100 taint and all of it to the victim without it touching us. It is then quite possible that taint is transferable to victims.
Furthermore, we might be able to weaponize it more effectively then giving someone a random mutation, by giving them a blast of injurous taint without getting any taint ourselves; this is something to investigate.

Also say:
"This train job seems to pay best, and is much less work then sneaking into a bandit camp and killing their leader. Yet there was a fatality and you seem awful eager to fill the slot... So what is the catch on that one?"

I say that unless the catch is too bad, we take the train job. But we ask for something more, knowledge. We want a map of the local area with the towns and hazards marked, hazards being the gangs, monsters, and natural dangers. As well as some info on how many mages they see, what kind of powers, what known powers and abilities the gangs have.

>>375066
"Do you know how far the bandit camp is?"

"Eh - Oh, I getcher. Don't worry, both the Jamestown and Tinsel jobs are ongoing. It'll take the better part of a day to go out to the camp, though."

Hmmmmmm.

"There's no advance... No real exclusivity, or time limit, or any of that?"

"Nawp. We have programs for the guard duty, where you can take the job for a certain number of days and get paid for each in a bundle, but the bandit camp is just in case you run into him or some shit. Plus, uh, people tend to die on that job, and that means the bandits get money, and that means they can get armed, so we stopped the advance on that."

...Ah.

"Seriously speaking, you don't want to go that one alone."

>>375076
Given what I've seen, it seems that way.


"I'd like the information on the bandits..."

"Alrighty. Just sign here."

He pushes the paper forward.

...

Should I sign my real name (Sera Heartfield) or... take something new?

We don't know if there is magic that deals with names. So a pseudonym might be wise.

Lets go with Amy Wong for now, I think.

>>375132
Personally I think trapping Gibbers would be right up our alley. We're null so their main avenue of attack doesn't do anything. Going to the bandit camp would get us killed, unless we plan on joining them.

Amy Wong sounds like a good enough pseudonym.

>>375138
Sera Heartfield doesn't seem like an asian name. I seriously doubt we're asian.

Let's try something more, uh, believable?

Maybe Molotov Cocktease?

>>375141
People can give their children a name of a "different race" you know... there is no "race police" that arrests you for that. I met a ton of people whose name was "the wrong race". And it serves as another layer of obfuscation. Furthermore, Wong is an Asian name. Amy is not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy
The assumption is that there some Asian in our family from which the last name came, while Amy is a common english name.

>>375143
I'm only suggesting that it'd be easier to guess that it's an alias if it was something that was unusual for an obvious reason like that.

>>375132
Hmm, shouldn't due the bandit thing alone, eh..
Whelp, there is our excuse to summon and befriend or coerce a demon.

On the name part, Amy Wong is fine.

An Alias should be easy to remember. And we need to be able to react to it fast. It won't work if there is a half second delay till we remember Amy Wong is us. Since our actual name isn't known anyway(everyone else who knew it is dead), we can use an Alias that's somewhat close to it. Something like Serina or Sarah for first name, Hartfall for a last name.

Sharon Stuart.

go with Jane Smith just to piss him off.

I sign the contract under Amy Wong, and he takes it, nodding, then hands me another folder.
"Your info." he says. I pick it up, and flip through it, skimming. It seems he's related to the "Jesters" whomever they are, and has a significant following - estimates put it at anywhere from ten to twenty men, all armed with at least melee weapons. Yeesh, no wonder he said not to go alone.

I make my way back to the bar and sit down heavily to speak with Utah again - when the woman with lion's blood taps my shoulder. She radiates confidence and power, though something about her intense green eyes... seems oddly familiar. her clothing is predominantly leather and denim, metal plates here and there. Brown fur coats her face, and blood-red hair frames it.

"You took the Greyface job?" she asks.

"Yeah, in case I went out in that area."

"..." she sighs, then puts down a sack on the counter, which clinks with chip. "Buy some armor." she says. "I have that job, as well - and I need some backup. I want to take him down before he becomes a real threat, and clearly, you need the money and experience. What do you say?"

Nice kitty lady~

Thank her for the chips and do what she suggests. This jumpsuit is gay even on a lady.

Also, while we're talking to her, it may be a good idea to ask if we should be worried about these Jester cats.

>>375227
Hmm, we know that most people do not take kindly to demons and presumably black magic, considering that it is theirs. It would be prudent to calmly ask what her opinion on it is before setting out so as to avoid a knife in your back due to clashing beliefs.

On the discussion on using cause mutations offensive, we cannot use ourselves as yardstick for what mutations do to people. We have 'Magic Perk: Mutation-inured', which likely gives us a bonus dealing with mutations. An example on how I think it works: a second row of teeth was purely cosmetic for us, for other it would be a serious speech impediment from constant tongue biting. Same with the tail: we get a balance bonus, others would tangle tail and feet and fall on their nose quite a lot.

>>375227
I am inclined to accept. But there are some things to clear beforehand.
First is it just us two or will there more people?
Second how do we share gains? If that sack of money and the experience is all she offers, I'd like to negotiate for an actual share of the loot.
Third our best skill is painful magic. Does she have a problem with that?

>>375265
"I, uh, have a few questions, first."

"Shoot."

I take a breath as I call to mind what I need to say - she's a little intimidating...
"Is it just us?"

"Yeah. Unless a certain someone shows up, but I've learned not to count on him."

"Do I get a share of the reward and the loot?"

"Naturally. You're just getting started - you need it more." she says, though you hear her mutter, "I'll probably regret that."

"What about my magic?"

"Use what you have to do what you need to do. I'm not a fan - but whatever works."

Finally...

"These guys are... jesters?"

"Jesters... A bunch of folks who think the world a merry joke. Don't like them. No hope in them - no... life. Makes me a little sick to see. Other than that attitude, they're like a lot of other raiders - selfish, violent, and rude. They won't hold anything back - neither should you."

Okay. Okay then.
"W-well. I'll take your offer. When do we leave?"
"As soon as you change out of that outfit and into something that can turn a sucking bullet wound into a cracked rib and a nasty bruise."

"Ah."

"I'll be waiting here with Utah."

I look inside the bag as I leave, blinking at the chips. I'm not sure if I remember what colors mean what...

>+ 300 Chips

Where should I spend these?

Armory, you need some armour to protect you