Retreat! (OOC)

He is, and he is close(ish). Fights don't take long, so we might be able to have him there around this time... but Benji thinks that Persephone is big and strong and that Emma is still down here and vulnerable. Communications! People! :)

I assume you didn't do that till you have imbued hands?
They were quite content with victimising Percy, or the other, unnamed, man in the victim pool. They actually had four potential victims, and only two of them were women (Kat and Emma), they quite forward-thinking cultists.

Would you like a little good news with your bad?

No I wasn’t planning on grabbing him until I was empowered or whatever.

And sure I’ll take whatever I can get

I hope that counts as 'good news', that you are not a demon and can be redeemed [ref]. That is does not break the character at this stage of the story. Let me know if we need to revise this realisation.

@Drgwen: I don't know if you want to risk another roll (surely your luck has to turn at some point:), but Chaudry must have a way out of here.
Your ability to '• move through or past a physical obstacle created by mortal hands' might still work, it may be something innate to you, and you may be able to find and make use of Chaudry's way out (the caves you are trapped in don't count as an 'obstacle created by mortal hands', but his transport mechanism does).

Just a thought.

From a pure stats point of view, maybe you can RP finding his way out, and then use that as an opportunity to Escape a Situation [ref]. You would first need to find it, though, while the Let It Out [ref] would encompass the whole thing.

Maybe Benji can help... unless he needs your help. :)

I like it! I knew, obviously, but I think that Persephone didn't. So yeah, I like it!

And of course I want to risk another roll! I see this situation, and I think, 'oh, this is dark, like pitch black. And I remember the immortal question posed by Nigel Tufnel, who asked, "How much more black can it get? And the answer is None. None more black.'"

Haha Nope! It can indeed get darker.

Hey, the dice tell part of the story, and they are trying to make sure Persephone's story gets extra dark here. SO what do you think, @vagueGM ? Let's brainstorm something really awful to happen to Persephone here that is nonetheless fun for all involved!

Some ideas: Chaudry's demonic patron shows up (I assume he was planning to offer a sacrifice to a demonic patron?) and forces Persephone to become some kind of demon double agent; Persephone is badly injured, but escapes (harm and corruption, etc); Persephone is killed outright.

What I would rather not happen are (1) sexual assault or (2) something that robs her of agency entirely (taken captive, put under mind control etc).

What do you think?

To be clear, I was thinking that the Escape the Situation move here was more to escape Chaudry and this room, not discover the portal out and leave the whole area.

Wow yeah that's a helluva big payoff for a Debt, but sure, if it comes to that, good to know! Could be fun and dramatic, certainly.

Also, @vagueGM: If Pers survives this, I'd like her to start getting more explicit info from her patron. One reason she's been floundering is that she is SO in the dark about what this being is, wants, etc, what she's supposed to do a lot of the time, and so on. Perhaps this experience has demonstrated that Persephone is willing to act creatively to advance her Patron's interests, to go above and beyond, etc, and does;'t need to be treated like the dumb peon who answered the 'info line' she called. She may be messing things up, but at least she's showing initiative, right?

Right?

lol.

Indeed, that second was not supported by the fiction, even the first was not really there. You need to 'take advantage of an opening to escape' and there was not really an opening there. We can say he was distracted by trying to not look at you, allowing an opening to get out of the room.

As you say, that would not get you all that far. But it would turn you from 'captive' to 'prey'.
He isn't a Tainted, he is a wizard, "I control demons, not the other way round!" (or so he believes).
Uh, no. To something else, which you don't know yet... but ask yourself: Why here? What's with the hellhound? (You still don't have enough data to understand, maybe you never will (... but not till the result they are aiming for becomes public? (in a small-scale Faction Move (which your actions down here will heavily influence)))).
That is interesting... You already sort of are a double agent (or an agent and a half?). There were possibilities for you to work with these guys against your Dark Patron, but the dice tell a different story. :(

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Well, given the reminder:
That does seem like a big payoff 'for 1 Debt', but remember this is not part of the Debt mechanics, this is part of your sheet, this is your End Move. Emma is hot, you have supernatural abilities and can't die! :)

I had forgotten about this (I am not looking at your sheets, that is up to you), this does make the situation a lot easier. I actually can think about killing you, which I was trying to avoid before, even though the dice sure keep saying it should happen. :)

We can talk about it.
Rest assured, none of those were on the table.
We have just worked out that she will, she can't die. :)

The timing on that we can work out together if we go that route. There will be upsides and downsides to making your return quick vs having them think they succeeded and your coming back 'tomorrow'.
That was on purpose. Remember your Dark Patron is not overt and explicit, they:
 • they seduce all who come into contact with them with pleasantries, gifts, and vices
 • they manipulate their friends, allies, and enemies alike into conflicts that serve their secret designs
I was playing with your choices.

This was set to change as you go up in Status, but this is still the nature of your Dark Patron, you will need to take active measures to pierce the veil.
Is this a character problem, or a player problem? The character is supposed to be so. As a player we want this to be fun for you. We can talk about how to change things. Maybe this current experience will lead to a change in the nature of Persephone's understanding of her Dark Patron, and might change the bullet-points on the sheet, or, maybe better, may result in Persephone having a better understanding of the bigger picture behind the apparent nature?
Hmm... I am a bit loath to have your Dark Patron reward you for doing so badly. You are not exactly acting on their orders, or necessarily in their best interests, for all you know this is Wentworth's petty rivalry. A hint that this is not your Dark Patron's business might come from it withdrawing its favour from you when you tried to act in an official capacity?

The fact that it would still —despite your being 'off the reservation'— bring you back to life (with no (extra) strings attached) should tell you something about your value, though.
That will comes with Status, I think.

By the rules and mechanics it will be a while before you can get Status-2 in your Faction. But Status is also a thing you can get or lose in the fiction, separate to the Advancement rules.

Maybe, through the experience of death and rebirth, Persephone gains some deeper understanding of these things and sees a (in firction) way forward to increasing her Status and gaining more access?

If the fiction fits, I am also always happy to ignore the 'only After five advances, may you select:' Advancement rule, especially in PbP. But this could be done purely in fiction.
As I write this post that is seeming more and more like the obvious way forward. It flows from the string of Misses, and, in the grand scheme of things, does not cost you much (just 1 Debt), and could further the story in the ways you asked for above.

What do you think? We give Benji one last chance to get to you and 'save you', else we have him find you ... 'dead'?

Ha, yeah, lots of moving parts. :)
OK. Doing it!
Cool. I will present some options in the RP and here.
"they manipulate their friends, allies, and enemies alike".

Maybe we can change this for Persephone, now that she has 'met her maker'? Let's see what happens with the resurrection and the near-death experience.
'Plausible deniability'. [ref] :|
We can do something with that. This seems a good time for it.
Do we need him to get your body out? That puts him at risk, but Chaudry may be distracted enough to be vulnerable.

Else your resurrection may also involve your transport to a comfortable location. This also establishes the 'rules' for future 'deaths'.
OK. So you want an 'out of body experience'? One that yields concrete answers?
You don't 'go to hell' for the duration? Or do you also go to hell after seeing a little of what transpires? I think we can arrange that, but some of it will depend on what happens with Benji and his roll (not sure what, but sounds like Escape a Situation [ref] to get away from the current fight [ref]?)
Do you want a hazy view of what happens, as an 'out of body experience' without explanation, or do you meet you Dark Patron (or their representative demon) and have them 'explain' how disappointed they are that you let a rival 'gain an advantage' and let slip something about what they gained? The first does not seem very traumatic (aside from the dying... and you don't know you get to come back, Persephone also has not read her sheet:).
I will call on you to describe your experience, and also to provide a lot of the specifics of how it happens. Provide as much or as little as you like, I will have to fill in the rest.


We can deal, here, with any of the points in this post that need to be clarified for the RP, as needed.

Oh! Would you like me to add a roll to my post?

This is probably an Escape a Situation [ref], right? Add that roll unless you can think of something else you would rather use?

Of the options, some are obvious, and some would need a lot of work to make them work.
• 'owe an NPC a Debt' seems like it could only be Persephone's Dark Patron, but it has things well in hand with her impending resurrection, and does not need you to help, so I am not too keen on that.
• 'suffer Harm' would be another 1 Harm, and you are running low. But you might be able to feed on Chaudry if everything goes your way?
• 'Corruption' is simple and easy.
• 'leave something behind' seems like it would be leaving Persephone (and, in Benji's mind, Emma) and abandoning them. That seems like the most obvious one for the GM to pick, though. If you pick it and pick something else, remember that it should be something valuable, and not easily replaced, it needs to have some impact on the story.
• 'another dangerous situation' would probably mean that you don't manage to get the drop on Chaudry, and that he gets the drop on you. This does not sound desirable in your current state, it could also be about the hellhound, but that might be even worse? You may have opportunities to avoid a confrontation with the hellhound if you end up where it is sleeping, but we have to deal with that in the fiction.

Another option could be to Let It Out [ref] to '• perform a fantastic feat of vampiric strength or agility' to get away, but that seems a weaker option and only leads to Corruption.

No matter what, I think you will smell the blood [ref], and know, from the sheer amount, that someone is dying (maybe you can identify who from the smell?).

What do you think.

Escape a Situation seems right to me too. I added a roll to my post, but... yikes lol
Benji and Persephone are having a very bad time :P

These dice are brutal! Definitely no saving her now. Best to try save your own skin?

There will be another way out. But it will take time and work. And you are hungry and hurt and there is no one else down here for you to feed on.

Okay, good to know!

I want to apologize for the length of my post. I was having so much fun writing it that I kind of got carried away! I only realized how stupidly long it is after I posted it, but I don't want to fall afoul of the No Editing rule, so I left it as is.

I'll try to rein it in next time! And yeah, I took that in a weird direction, I know.