Adventures in Saint-Trotez - On Set (Episodes 1 - 3)

Pingcode wrote:

Spoiler:

(After intensive research, it is not intended for Headshot to double the damage of other things. As such, you only do 18 damage, which is still pretty darn impressive...)

The brown pony goes flying. When he finally lands, it takes him a while to get back on his hooves. He's incredibly injured, and pretty scared, although he limps back next to The Breaker. It seems he is more afraid of him than he is of another blast like that...

(Bloodied)

Aces looked over at Moonshot. "I go' the big guy if you can finish off the little one," he said calmly, activating a different switch on his leg. Said leg immediately started humming with an ominous noise, panel sliding upwards to reveal a sequence of digital numbers slowly dwindling downwards.

Spoiler:

Despite the ominous humming, The Breaker and his accomplice are completely focused on Moonshot. His impressive shot has raised a red flag. In the blink of an eye, The Breaker has lunged at the officer and placed his hooves around Moonshot's neck. "Je n'aime pas ponies petit that do not know their place." He crushes your windpipe with his hooves, which sound like a loud crash of thunder when they squeeze your neck. In your moment of weakness, he slips behind you and strikes your back leg, once again accompanied with the sound of thunder, crippling you to the ground...

The brown pony follows his leader's example and bucks Moonshot in the face. It hurts even more due to the position The Breaker put you in. He looks at the Light Blue pony with some sort of sick anticipation. The Breaker gives an evil smile, and nods. With that confirmation, the accomplice runs back, then suddenly turns around and does a running leap high up into the air, finishing off by landing straight onto Moonshot's back. The ponies surrounding the fight gasp in horror. As the brown pony gets up from his landing, the adrenaline in his body has made him ignore most of the injuries he has taken. The heart is pumping, and he's ready for a brawl...

(Ringing Blow: 2d10 = 10 (Crit) + 7 = 17)
(Moonshot: Dazed (Ends after The Breaker's Next Turn)
(Crippling Strike 10: Moonshot)
(Moonshot: Blinded and Weakened (Save Ends Both))

(Syphon Life: 1d8 = 7 (+ 2 Vulnerability Damage from Daze))
(Drain Blood: 6 (+ 2 Vulnerability Damage from Daze))
(No Longer Bloodied)

"Or...we could go tha' rou'." Aces nodded his head to the side, acknowledging this most recent turn of events. Poker faces aside, he was more than a little worried. Okay, these ponies are a lot tougher than they look," he thoguht to himself. "Should've guessed so much if they were giving the police ponies trouble...argh, I let appearances deceive me instead of looking a' wha' was actually going on!"

Ping.

"Bu' I've still got one las' trick for emergencies jus' like this." Aces smiled as various hatches began opening up on his "bad" leg. "Guess it's time to reveal my hoof now tha' all the bets have been placed, huh? Gotta warn you, though, fellas..."

He brought his arm up high, resting it on his other arm and balancing precariously on his back legs. The effect was much like a minotaur holding a gun of some sort, especially with all the various gun-like barrels sticking out of almost a dozen open hatches.

"This hoof's the bes' in the game! Ten!"

A blinding lance of bright light roared out from the rightmost barrel, striking the blue pony in the chest.

"Jack!"

A series of missiles blossomed forth next from three or four of the gun barrels, spiraling lazily around before aiming a direct course at the ponies in front of Ace and exploding.

"Queen!"

A blast of flames spouted out from the nozzle at the bottom, blazing the street before Ace with light and storm and sound.

"King!"

A spray of metal shrapnel darted out from what hatches remained, flying with such speed that the wind they created behind them extinguished the fire Aces had just set.

"ACE!"

Finally, the red ball at the center where the hoof normally would be glowed with a dull light, sparkling cracks of lightning kissing across its surface before it shot itself outwards, landing at the feet of the two ponies and exploding in a manner that would be decsribed as "Crimson" even if it wasn't bloody, considering how red it was.

Aces's smile retreated into a small smirk as the barrels in his leg retreated, hatches sealing themselves back up as he gently, tenderly, placed his weight on his other foot. "Royal Flush," he murmured to himself.

"I really hope tha' scared 'em off," he thought, not changing his experssion. "Not in the mood to go actually shootin' nopony with explosives today...but bluffing don' ge' you ou' of trouble unless they take the bai'."

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:

Spoiler:

The crowd scatters as you launch your assault. As the smoke begins to clear, everypony returns to the fight, watching in anticipation of the outcome. The first thing you notice is that the accomplice is standing to the side. He seems to have fled when you started firing, and now waits like everyone else to see what happens. When things become clear, you see the light blue pony, barely able to stand on his own hooves, but still standing, his head facing the floor. He isn't just coughing out blood, the stuff is gushing out of his mouth like a small fountain. Eventually, he begins to speak. "How... dare you." A few seconds later, he raises his head, and you see his eyes are as bright as spotlights, and he is furious. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Before you can react, he dashes to Moonshot at blinding speed, sinking his teeth into the unconscious pony's neck, and quickly flings the body straight at you, knocking you down onto your back. Before you can get back up, The Breaker has already leapt towards you and lands on your ribs, cracking them slightly. The enraged pony screams in your face, his blood dripping everywhere. He then begins a flurry of attacks, stomping his hooves all over your body as if he was squashing fruit into juice, before eventually just jumping on your body like a trampoline. As he does this, he shouts Prench at you. Even if you understand the language, the speed he is yelling at makes it hard to know what he is saying, if it is even real sentences. It all sounds like one long word. Your face takes a good chunk of hits, as does your chest and forelimbs. Soon, every part of you is in agony...

All the surrounding ponies watch silently. Young foals have their eyes covered, hiding the onslaught from them. Some ponies start forming tears in their eyes, even though you are a complete stranger to them. Even the brown accomplice is slowly backing away. Eventually, a stallion decides that he has had enough of the pony's madness, and goes to pull the bloodthirsty pony off you. As he gets close, The Breaker turns and roars in the pony's face, whose bravery immediately vanishes as he retreats back into the crowd. It somewhat works though, as the light blue pony, who seems calmer now, decides to get off you, kicking you one last time for good measure as he heads to his accomplice, the crowd breaking away and making a path out for the beast, least he decides to attack one of them...

To your side, you can see the chevaudarme officer. The unicorn is still breathing, but very weakly, and his body is all messed up. If he doesn't get help soon, or if The Breaker becomes enraged again and decides to strike him once more, he's a goner...

(Bloodied)
(Thundercrash: 1d20 = 13 to both of you (+2 Vulnerability Damage to Moonshot from Daze))
(Stunned (Ends after The Breaker's Next Turn) (Also Defeated, but not Dead))
(Stunned (Ends after The Breaker's Next Turn))
(No Longer Dazed)

(Syphon Life (All of the accomplice's attacks here, flavour-wise, was a part of The Breaker's Onslaught): 1d8 = 5
(Drain Blood: 1)

(Turn Skipped from Stun)

(Stab: 1d10 = 4)
(No Longer Stunned)
(No Longer Stunned)

(Syphon Life: 1d8 = 2)
(Drain Blood: 1)

(Aces High actually did not use All or Nothing! after all, looking back at the post I made.

I had forgotten I did not take it into battle, you see.

Even if I had, it's possible I still wouldn't be out of battle due to the effect of my Iron Arm. All or Nothing! says specifically that you are "reduced" to -15 HP. Iron Shield specifically protects you when you would be "reduced" to 0 HP "or less".

I'll attack as soon as I know which of us took those damage amounts you listed. Because I sincerely doubt, to the point of being enraged if it does turn out to be true, that both of us took all those attacks.)

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:(I'll attack as soon as I know which of us took those damage amounts you listed. Because I sincerely doubt, to the point of being enraged if it does turn out to be true, that both of us took all those attacks.)

(Oh, sorry. Thundercrash damaged both of you for 13 damage, Moonshot taking an extra 2 damage from vulnerability. Everything else hit you. According to my calculations, Aces High is on 5HP, and Moonshot is on -24HP. Both The Breaker and his accomplice is currently leaving battle, but you still can attack them if you want to take the chance...)

Aces High slowly stood again, taking shallow breaths. He swallowed, reaching over and flicking another switch on his arm.

Power reserves low. Dang. This wasn't going to end well.

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:

Spoiler:

The ponies don't notice you do anything, they just continue to leave the street, the brown pony heading into the alleyway they surprised the officer from, and then heading out with the bag of bits in his mouth again...

The crowd start to swarm you and the downed pony, helping you stay up (although you don't need it), and blocking your view of the two criminals. Everypony seems to be talking at the same time...
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, you are so brave."
"Is anypony here a doctor?"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have chased them if I knew this would happen."

Aces barely heard the crowd praises, or their sympathy, or anything. All he could focus on was the retreating form of the two nameless ponies who had just...brutalized two other ponies with barely a second thought.

Walking away.

Away from the police they held power over, away from their victims, away from the consequences because nopony was trying to stop them!

Aces started to move, pushing through the crowd of ponies as he felt the anger burn inside of him. All that they did, and they were just gonna walk away? Like that? Not on his watch. Never again. They were not gonna hurt anypony el-

His hoof hit flesh.

Aces looked down at Moonshot, lying on the ground and bleeding.

A brief pause in his thoughts, and then a sigh. "Played the best hand in the game and I still los'. Believe they call i' 'knowin' when to fold 'em'." Of course, technically, that actually wasn't Aces' best hand, but hey, the less ponies actually knew about what he could really do, the better.

"Besides," mused Aces as he bent over and attempted his best to stem the loss of blood, "That's jus' besides the poin'." Aloud, he gamely attempted a smile even as he worked at a very serious task. "Would somepony mind calling on an actual doctor? I ain' much for healing ponies up, you know?"

Spoiler:

"Don't worry, help is on the way."
"Is there anything we can get you? Food? Water?
"What's everypony crowding around?"
"Mommy, what's the matter with the police pony?"

Eventually, doctors do arrive. After looking at both your injuries and those of the downed officer, they, with the help of the crowd, manage to get you to the local hospital. After more check-ups, they say you've got some injured bones, but you'll recover soon, though you'll have to spend the rest of the night here. The pony who fought alongside you wasn't as lucky. The doctors tell you that, in addition to a number of broken bones, and is in a coma. They're going to send him to a larger hospital that can provide better care, before lamenting that it isn't the first time this has happened...

Storm Blade and Sparks, about an hour after your fight, you see a chevaudarme officer run towards Golden Wall and whisper something to the Captain. Golden Wall pulls you both to one side and tells you about something that has happened in Saint-Trotez, how Moonshot, the pony who has been your guide to the city, was brutally assaulted by a pony he calls The Breaker. A brief description of the pony and his actions tell you that this isn't the first time this criminal has done such a thing, and your Captain warns you to avoid engaging him. While that settles in, he tells you about a second pony who fought and is in a better condition, but Golden Wall fears may be targeted by The Breaker at a later date. As such, he appoints you two to watch over this pony until further notice. He then heads towards the city...

Later in the night, Aces High is visited by the armoured pony you say on your first night in Saint-Trotez. He introduces himself as Golden Wall, Captain of Saint-Trotez's Defence. He tells you about the pony you had just fought. He says that, while The Breaker doesn't usually go for the kill, he has been known to, well, let's just say he goes back to improve on his work. As such, Golden Wall tells you that he has appointed two guards to protect you for a while, just in case. He tells you that he'll send the guards over to lead you back to where ever you are staying at daybreak...

Necrar, during this night, you kinda stumbled within an amateur theatre group's performance...

"How could it been signed by my professor? He's been dead for seven years!"

"Or have I?"

Needless to say, you don't see what ponies could possibly like about this...

(Episode End)

---

It's been about a fortnight since The Breaker fight. At this time, the streets should be alive with ponies having a great time. However, tonight is different. Over the last few days, ponies have been picking up illnesses. And not just a single illness that everypony has. There's been cases of colds, food poisoning, hay fever, pony pox, the trots, everything. Rumour has it that somepony in Saint-Trotez has somehow picked up the Cutie Pox...

Necrar, as you are not a pony, but an element of darkness (read: your Mechanical trait), you're not ill. You are aware that almost every other pony is ill...

Sparks, because of a strong immune system not regularly seen in unicorns, you've managed to avoid any illness (healthy)...

Aces High, you've got some symptoms, but your perfectly fine (healthy, but I'm gonna be throwing endurance checks at you to see if your condition deteriorates)...

Storm Blade, you haven't been as lucky. In fact, you're pretty unlucky. You've got Feather Flu. Despite its name, it affects any creature, but its effects are only seen on winged creatures, including changelings. It's an illness that affects blood vessels, causing capillaries to "lock up", slowing how fast blood travels around the body. This usually isn't much of a problem, but creatures with wings generally need to pump blood faster than other creatures, so their wings can flap as fast as possible, meaning Feather Flu really cripples them. For some reason, it also causes feathers on wings to moult, which is why ponies call the illness Feather Flu...

(Guys, trust me, I'm totally a doctor or something...)

Normally, Feather Flu hospitalises pegasus ponies due to how crippling it is. However, be it from strong will and conviction, or possibly because it doesn't affect changlings as much as the blood doesn't flow into their wings, you somehow manage to not require immediate medical help, but you look and feel sick as hell (take a -6 penalty to skill checks, and a -3 penalty to in-combat rolls, a heal check from an ally can put you in a better condition)...

Around the empty city, there are posters asking for ponies brave enough for a mission on behalf of the guard, directing those interested to the town hall in the north-east part of Saint-Trotez. It's signed by Captain Golden Wall, and stamped with a seal of approval...

Aces exited his apartment, looking around at the devastation around him.

Not literally, of course, but when ponies were coughing that loudly it might as well have been.

And of course the sickest pony on the island was one he knew personally, so that didn't exactly help his assessment. He may have been a tiny bit biased about knowing the "sickest pony on the island".

Aces looked at a nearby poster, stuck on a pole next to him. Bravery. Heh. Nah, he wasn't gonna be signing up for any missions anytime soon. But seeing which ponies were - and if any of them might fancy a game of chance while waiting to sign up - might be a profitable way to pass the time.

He headed towards the northeastern end of town.

Sparks had been wandering the seemingly empty city searching for anypony who was in dire need when he saw one of the posters. Without a second thought he sets out for the town hall. As he runs only a single thought passes his mind “Why are the things she said ringing in my ears... I'm not supposed to be thinking of her now...”

Hmm... It's been several days and these diseases are still boring me. That "Cutie Pox" sounds interesting though. Necrar thinks, hanging out near the city graveyard that he had decided to live in. After all, no normal pony would bother checking just how many skeletons were in a mausoleum against how many there should be. Noticing the poster on the fence, Necrar laughs. Well, if I'm going to fulfill my promise to Rose and the Light-Bearer, I might as well volunteer. Abyss, how I hate the Light. With a final chuckle, he heads off in the direction listed on the poster.

You all head to the Town Hall. You've all been in the city long enough to know your way around the main parts of Saint-Trotez, so you don't have any difficulty. Inside, there is only a sign, pointing to the right. For those who decide to follow the sign, you are led to a conference room, with a wooden stage at the end. At the moment, the only pony in the room is a dark blue unicorn with a dark purple mane. He is waiting on one side of the room...

"Now, is this where we volunteer for duty, or where we audition for the opera?" Necrar asks, nodding his head towards the stage.

Aces, meanwhile, was attempting to shake somepony (or some other sapient creature) down for a game of blackjack.

Spoiler:

Figures... too many ponies are too sick to do anything... Wait a second... " Hay you with the cards! Weren't you in the Mental Magic revenge thing! Oh and you were part of that attack two weeks ago!"

Storm Blade inspected the unicorn that was already in the room when he arrived, trying to get a feeling about him. He noticed others turning up and reconized them all. When Sparks realized who one was, Storm Blade spoke up.

"His name Aces High and yes, he did end up slightly involved in the Mental Magic case, as well as the pony we where tasked to keep an eye on in case the Breaker came for him. This Pony -" Here the pegasus gestured at Necar "- Was also involved in the Mental Magic case slightly, Necar was it?"

(On phone)

Colter Bolt wrote:"Now, is this where we volunteer for duty, or where we audition for the opera?" Necrar asks, nodding his head towards the stage.

"I'm pretty sure this is for the volunteers," the unicorn answers with a small laugh, "But if you want to audition for operas, I know a nice little amateur performance group you can join." You don't seem to remember him from the play you accidentally saw two weeks ago...

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:

Spoiler:

All the diseases that have struck the city have made Saint-Trotez a ghost town. You don't see anyone on the streets, let alone anyone who would be interested in a game of cards...

Fury of the Tempest wrote:Storm Blade inspected the unicorn that was already in the room when he arrived, trying to get a feeling about him.

He's leaning lazily on the wall. He seems to be in a bit of a good mood...

(If you want to properly analyse him, roll a Perception check...)

Fury of the Tempest wrote:I know. I said I was on my phone. Can't exactly use rolz on it.

Spoiler:

(I know, but deep down, I didn't want to make the roll for you...)

Your illness prevents you from making a good analyse. You kinda feel too dizzy to really focus on the unicorn...

Fury of the Tempest wrote:
"His name Aces High and yes, he did end up slightly involved in the Mental Magic case, as well as the pony we where tasked to keep an eye on in case the Breaker came for him. This Pony -" Here the pegasus gestured at Necar "- Was also involved in the Mental Magic case slightly, Necar was it?"

"Ah that's why he looked kinda familiar... wait a second there is no way that you are well enough to do anything but sit in a bed! You have what The Feather Flu?" Sparks then looks at the other ponies in the room checking if any of them were visibly ill.

Spoiler: