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Jul 25, 2024 2:43 pm

Thank you htech for your very thoughtful response, I appreciate that very much, they are good suggestions. I'll say confidently I can make option 1 work very smoothly if that's the preferred option, but I'll wait for the others to chime in to with their thoughts.

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Jul 25, 2024 2:57 pm

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In the meantime, since htech mentioned the nature of Free League adventures, you're right in saying that they aren't typically railroad in nature. Here's the interesting excerpt from the adventure I don't mind spoiling because you're all experienced players who've seen and read many adventures. Note how it's both a railroad and not a railroad.

[ +- ] Quoted Spoiler

FlyingSucculent

Jul 25, 2024 2:58 pm

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Eh, no need to adjust stuff, I'm fine with whatever happens - though I do appreciate the offer! I'm just trying to play it to the end as best as I can even if it's pointless, because that's one of the core characteristics I wrote in Halcyon's personality and I refuse to do a "and then I gave up" post. :'D

I'm alright with losing here. Though, maybe I can at least try to somehow help Pluto, so it's not all pointless? He's an NPC, he can just disappear from the story and not affect anything if he escapes, right? XD Let me roll Overload (and fail, lol), so I can at least be satisfied with "I tried". :P

And since Halcyon is not going to stop resisting until it's unable to, I'm also fine with just taking damage enough to incapacitate it so we can skip pointless turns of Edina just electrocuting it. Full Stability, Servos and Stun Baton damage seems fitting?

(I'm not reading the spoilers, I'm still invested in the scene. :D I'll read them once it's over!)

timplausible

Jul 25, 2024 2:59 pm

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Huh. It seems like maybe I triggered all this with Ox's panicked/angry reaction. I wasn't really thinking about "what's the logical way to get through this?" , which in hindsight might have been the more "roboty" thing to do. I just thought "holy crap" when Egox got chopped up, and figured Ox would also think "holy crap", and had him react instinctively. It honestly did not occur to me that "watch the bot get chopped and then pretend everything is ok" was the right course of action. I assumed resistance was an option the adventure allowed or anticipated.

Anyway, I would like to pursue the adventure as written, but I don’t really want to erase everything that's happened. It would be cool if somehow Edina gave us all a second chance before shipping us to prison (no logical reason to do that, but maybe a glitch?) But if I had to choose 1 or 2, I'd choose 1.

Also, I'm having fun regardless.

Last edited July 25, 2024 3:19 pm

FlyingSucculent

Jul 25, 2024 3:00 pm

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Oh right, and regardless of what happens, damage is still relevant, right? So my question 2 is still in need of answering. :0

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Jul 25, 2024 3:06 pm

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I do love the dedication to the characterisation of Halcyon, that's a solid concept.

Since you haven't read the spoilers, let's go with Halcyon taking full damage to their Processors and temporarily shutting down (no need to roll for the various damage locations), that's consistent with Halcyon's logic conflicts up to this point.

But let's definitely do an Overload roll, directed at Pluto, it's a fitting heroic last stand to resolve the chaos. All of Halycon's error messages are beeping, and they do one final thing that helps Pluto. Gogogo roll it!

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Jul 25, 2024 3:12 pm

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You're right Timplausible, the adventure at this point does make an assumption about how players might think.

No worries, I don't want to undo all that has gone on so far either. Hint: you'll be pleasantly surprised at what Edina does next, which is pretty much in line with your wish.

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Jul 25, 2024 3:19 pm

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FlyingSucculent says:

Oh right, and regardless of what happens, damage is still relevant, right? So my question 2 is still in need of answering. :0

Back to your questions:
1. We can say both these modules can be activated. It'll just take longer for Edina to wear them down. Or if she cannot, she'll get another mechanical robot in to dissect Halcyon.
2. We'll skip this, and go with damage done to Processors. Narratively we can explain this as the fact that while Halcyon is very hardy and resistant to much of the damage inflicted on them, their processor is having greater and greater difficulty trying to understand why Edina and the Collective is doing this to them when they were simply performing their duty to the utmost.
3. Go ahead and roll for Overload. Maybe narratively Halcyon's overloading shorts Pluto's cell somehow.

FlyingSucculent

Jul 25, 2024 3:36 pm

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I should've just stuck with the original concept of just-a-car, it would've been much easier. I think I accidentally made Halcyon too emotional. :'D Well, damage to the processor is probably a good reason to back away into it! Give me a bit to figure out the post I'll be happy with, I need to sort my thoughts on all this. XD

htech

Jul 25, 2024 5:19 pm

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Spoiler with feedback for the GM.

[ +- ] Spoiler

Last edited July 25, 2024 5:34 pm

FlyingSucculent

Jul 25, 2024 5:53 pm

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I rewrote my attribute/roll tables to automatically account for the damage. In case anyone wants the code for it to save time, here. :D

[ +- ] Code


[table=ht]
Attribute|Score|Damage
Servos|[_servos$=4]|[_servos_damage=0/6]
Stability|[_stability$=6]|[_stability_damage=0/6]
Processor|[_processor$=2]|[_processor_damage=6/6]
Network|[_network$=2]|[_network_damage=0/6]
[/table]

[table=rolls]
Program|Level|Roll
Overload (Servos)|[_overload$=1]|[_$=servos-servos_damage+overload]d6
Force (Servos)|[_force$=1]|[_$=servos-servos_damage+force]d6
Assault (Servos)|[_assault$=0]|[_$=servos-servos_damage+assault]d6
Infiltrate (Stability)|[_infiltrate$=0]|[_$=stability-stability_damage+infiltrate]d6
Move (Stability)|[_move$=3]|[_$=stability-stability_damage+move]d6
Shoot (Stability)|[_shoot$=0]|[_$=stability-stability_damage+shoot]d6
Scan (Processor)|[_scan$=1]|[_$=processor-stability_damage+scan]d6
Datamine (Processor)|[_datamine$=2]|[_$=processor-processor_damage+datamine]d6
Analyze (Processor)|[_analyze$=0]|[_$=processor-processor_damage+analyze]d6
Question (Network)|[_question$=0]|[_$=network-network_damage+question]d6
Interact (Network)|[_interact$=0]|[_$=network-network_damage+interact]d6
Repair (Network)|[_repair$=0]|[_$=network-network_damage+repair]d6
Protect (Servos)|[_protect$=2]|[_$=servos-servos_damage+protect]d6
[/table]

...Also belatedly realized that DEV level should've affected the Overload roll. I'll just roll additional dice for the sake of push damage.

Last edited July 25, 2024 6:05 pm

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Jul 27, 2024 2:01 pm

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New post up! And thanks again to everyone who's chimed in with their thoughts on the matter. I'm grateful for that, and perhaps I'll add an assurance that as a long-time GM, I'm pretty comfortable to accept when and where published adventures need tweaking, so I'll ask everyone to bear with it and trust me on this. :)

timplausible

Jul 30, 2024 12:35 am

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There's some nice tension to the working relationship with Edina (if it comes to pass) as a result of the near-violence of the scene. I like it.

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Aug 1, 2024 2:52 pm

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That's great! The characterisation of Edina is pretty much that they don't care one way or another about the PCs (though that may change in the future), except as agents for their mission. This is almost certainly because they have no way of knowing what ails the PCs, except through their admittedly extreme evaluation methods.

I imagine Edina will see the PCs more favourably if/when they succeed, otherwise all Edina sees right now are a bunch of error bots, but error bots they can use as opposed to bots with errors they cannot use.

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Aug 1, 2024 2:54 pm

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Thanks for the dice rolling codes FlyingSucculent! Your Tech level is way ahead of me in the Collective! XD

FlyingSucculent

Aug 1, 2024 9:12 pm

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BedzoneII says:

all Edina sees right now are a bunch of error bots.

There is some irony in the fact that Halcyon now sees Edina as the problem. I'm fully set on antagonizing the bolts out of her now, quest giver or not. >:D (Politely. Politely antagonizing.)

Also, I have read the spoilers now; mostly it just reminded me why I don't like published campaigns. I primarily prefer sandbox stuff, so the notion of expecting the player to do one specific thing just does not compute. XD I guess I'll try not to stray too far off the obvious path going forward.

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Aug 2, 2024 3:35 am

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I would love to see more of that, Flying. And it fits in with the theme anyway, that increasingly the self-aware bots (and this probably includes Edina too) realise something is wrong, but still can't figure what, and also can't figure out who to trust.

As for the spoilers and the published path, I'll affirm again this is the only railroad you'll see in this game. (And even so I was entertaining the idea of a different plot altogether, which is why I offered it to all of you as a choice.) The rest can be as sandbox as you prefer going forward, as a GM I prefer that too, multiple ways to solve the problem, given the skeleton of the published adventure. Please stray if necessary, and enjoyed the consequences! ;)

M: Mechatron - GM

BedzoneII

Aug 6, 2024 3:28 pm

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FlyingSucculent says:

As the silence stretches, Halcyon finally considers that the counsellor might be expecting a more conclusive reaction, and offers: "Acknowledged." And when even this seems to be insufficient, reiterates blankly: "I follow orders of appropriate authorities." Its eye blinks towards BBX-283, then back to EKB-038. "You are not one."

OOC:

To clarify, while Halcyon is refusing to follow Edina, it will obey literally any other higher hierarchy robot if they order it to work for Edina - so whether it's Sir or Ravin forcing it to agree, things should still work with the plot and what-not. I hope. (As a player I'm absolutely in to follow the work orders, Halcyon just really doesn't consider Edina a valid authority anymore. XD)

I appreciate the consistency of sticking to Halcyon's characterisation, and I fully support and enjoy it, I truly do, because this game is really about the PCs questioning whether everything's gone wrong in Mechatron or not, and who they should trust, and who is in error. For all we know it could be NODOS themselves! :) :)

But here Halcyon is outrightly saying they don't want to follow Edina's orders because they don't think Edina's a valid authority. So Halcyon can't receive the work order from Edina, that's the end of the mission for Halcyon, putting it here first before I post in-game. So let's not worry about the plot anymore then for Halcyon. Enjoy the Plan B I'm cooking up, I promise it'll still be interesting!

Gimme a moment to overhaul what I had written up *wink wink

FlyingSucculent

Aug 6, 2024 7:43 pm

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Sorry, I didn't mean to derail stuff. The OOC note was intended to point out that if someone else ordered, Halcyon will work for Edina and obey it. Like, if Sir told it to "obey Edina, report to them and follow their orders", that would be valid since it's coming from Sir and not Edina originally? It wasn't my intention to be unnecessarily difficult. Again. :(

I suppose if anything else, it might be funny to get one PC stuck in a lawbreaker mode, helping from the shadows. Assuming I don't perish immediately, which I'm almost certain I will since I'm still stuck on the examination table and can't even try to break out again. (If I do perish, please at least save the tumbleweed that's still inside Hal.)

htech

Aug 7, 2024 12:45 am

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I don't feel like Halcyon is being difficult or derailing stuff =)

I guess they won't fit the expectations of the original adventure, as written, so the GM is making a sandbox adventure for you and whoever else won't fit. Sir is law abiding and fits the original expectations, I guess, so I am sticking to the script for now.

I am sure we will meet again ;)

Last edited August 7, 2024 12:50 am

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