Badass Dragoons of the Highlands - Turn 6 - New York City (c.1986)

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Over the next century, each of the five remaining Immortals feels a strange magnetism that draws their bodies to a far away land. The lure begins as a thought that refuses to be dispelled. As the decades continue to pass, the thought becomes an obsession.

Each of you visit places that continue to linger in memory still, visit old haunts one last time to gather the belongings squirreled away in far off places over the centuries, say goodbye to memories a thousand years dead. Slowly, inexorably, you are drawn to the streets and avenues of New York City.

The Armistice is no more. The Gathering has come.

Quick Links: Table of Contents

Turn 6 Deadlines:
Orders must be submitted by Sat Nov 04 by 2300 EDT.

Newly Exposed Game Mechanics

Turn format has changed: You are now hunting for each other on the streets of New York. Instead of a set of Travel options for each round, please PM me directly with a list of remaining immortals in the order that you would prefer to face one of them in combat. The first on the list should be the Immortal you’d prefer most to face and the last on the list should be the one you wish to avoid at all costs.

Opponents will be matched based on a combination of PER score (as usual), orderings across all lists, and a pinch of entropy. Once opponents have been determined, I will update this topic with the parings for this turn, and both of you will know who you will be facing. At that point, please submit your stances to me directly. Turn deadline remains the same due to available GM cycles.

We have an odd number remaining, so one Immortal will not face an opponent this turn.

Extended combat: Immortals must select ten combat stances this round. I’ll warn you if you haven’t selected enough stances.

New Quickenings have also been discovered:

Prescient tactics: an improvement of Visionary tactics, this quickening applies a -15 penalty to all of your opponent’s rolls.

Unstoppable: Allows you to shrug off the hit that would behead you and take zero damage instead, regardless of whether it was a regular hit or a critical hit.

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@donald_petersen

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | "Bon" McEvoy           |  5 |  4  |  5  |  4  |  4  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 543
  | Origin: Scottish
  | Weapon: Chinese Broadsword
  | b.1246 - d.1776
  | 
  | Abilities:
  |    Reflexes I (Improves combat results in first round)
  |
  | Fell in combat to Zero Demos [daneel]

@guest_account_7

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | T.D. Himself           |  5 |  10 |  2  |  2  |  3  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: Older than Dirt
  | Origin: Unknown
  | Weapon: Wicked Rapier
  | b.???? - d.1776
  |
  | Fell in combat to Jane [MalevolentPixy]

@daneel

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Zero Demos             |  6 |  2  |  8  |  3  |  7  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 3568
  | Origin: Minoan
  | Weapon: Damascus Longsword
  |
  | Abilities:
  |    Sturdy (+1 HP)
  |    Reflexes II (Improves combat results in first two rounds)
  |
  | Quickenings:  
  |   + Inspired Tactics (-5 from all opponents rolls)
  |   + Swift Reflexes (Improves combat results in first two rounds)
  |   + Unphased (Ignores first non-critical hit)
  |   + Unyielding (Converts first critical hit to a normal hit)
  |   + Unstoppable (Ignores first lethal result)
  |

@DreamboatSkanky

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Bag of Hammers         |  5 |  2  |  4  |  4  |  5  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 1047
  | Origin: Byzantine
  | Weapon: "Good Ol' #2"
  | b.729 - d.1776
  |
  | Fell in combat to Mr. Collins [David_Falkayn]

@Nightflyer

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Evelyn Wolff           |  5 |  4  |  4  |  4  |  5  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 590
  | Origin: Kievan Rus'
  | Weapon: Lovely Karabela
  | b.1199 - d.1789
  |
  | Fell in combat to Ennis [gwwar]

@old

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Mom                    |  5 |  6  |  7  |  2  |  2  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: Unknown
  | Origin: Unknown
  | Weapon: Paring Knife
  | b.???? - d.1814
  |
  | Abilities:
  |    Reflexes II (Improved results in first two rounds)
  |
  | Fell in combat to Other Pendragon [gwwar]

@MalevolentPixy

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Jane                   |  5 |  5  |  6  |  5  |  4  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: Unknown
  | Origin: Unknown
  | Weapon: Machete
  |
  | Abilities:
  |    Reflexes I (Improved results in first rounds)
  |
  | Quickenings:  
  |   + Unphased (Ignores first non-critical hit)
  |   + Unyielding (Converts first critical hit to a normal hit)
  |   + Unstoppable (Ignores first lethal result)
  |

@gwwar

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Ennis                  |  5 |  5  |  6  |  5  |  4  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: Unknown
  | Origin: Unknown
  | Weapon: Longsword
  | 
  | Abilities:
  |    Reflexes I (Improves combat results in first round)
  |
  | Quickenings:
  |   + Cruel (5% of any normal hit becoming a critical hit)
  |   + Swift Reflexes (Improves combat results in first two rounds)
  |   + Inspired Tactics (-5 to all opponent's rolls)
  |

@teknocholer

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Other Pendragon        |  5 |  5  |  5  |  6  |  4  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 1519
  | Origin: Welsh
  | Weapon: Saxon Langseax
  | 
  | Abilities:
  |    Reflexes I (Improves combat results in first round)
  |
  | Quickenings:
  |   + Prescient Tactics (-15 to all opponent's rolls)
  |   + Unphased (Ignores first non-critical hit)
  |

@David_Falkayn

  +-Character---------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | Mr. Collins             |  6 |  5  |  2  |  7  |  6  |
  +-------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 2286
  | Origin: Egyptian
  | Weapon: Papyrus Scroll
  |
  | Abilities:
  |    Sturdy (+1 HP)
  |
  | Quickenings:
  |  + Cruel (5% of any normal hit becoming a critical hit)
  |  + Unphased (Ignores first non-critical hit)
  |  + Unyielding (Converts first critical hit to a normal hit)
  |  + Unstoppable (Ignores first lethal result)
  |

  +-Character--------------+-HP-+-STR-+-REF-+-PER-+-END-+
  | The Three Sisters      |  5 |  4  |  4  |  2  |  5  |
  +------------------------+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  | Age: 21761
  | Origin: The Sea
  | Weapon: Katana
  | b.???? - d.1903
  |
  | The Kurgan capture and extinguish The Three Sisters.
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[The Archivist scribbles in another dusty tome]

“They have come. They have all reached The City. The Gathering is upon us. I shall not fail you, my long departed bretheren. I shall witness to the last.”

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New York, 1986.

No longer was I sailing the high seas, but I had found a new kind of piracy; and well did it suit me. I was in my element.

There were to be no more armistices. I could tell. There were but four others left. We would soon come together for the last time. And I would be ready.

I now had many voices clamoring to be listened to, but I resolved them, more or less.

Through them, I had learnt new fighting styles, new techniques.

I would be ready, come what may. My time had come.

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My name is Myfanwy, and I’m an Immortal.

What? Crickets? No chorus of “Hi, Myfanwy”? Ha! I wish I could see your faces. Just kidding. If we can’t have a little joke, I say, what’s the point? Relax. I’m no threat to you. I’ve been within arm’s length of a few of you over the centuries, and if you check, your heads are still there.

Let’s start over. I have rather a long story to tell, and it’s important. Are you sitting comfortably?
Here’s a song about me:

My name is Myfanwy ferch Owain, and I was born in 467 AD in the village of Llwddwll, Principality of Gwynedd, just three days before Other Pendragon, making me the senior. Call me Myf (Miv, for you English).

My relationship with Other was, let’s call it “difficult” from the start. As infants we would pull hair and throw dirt at each other, and if Grandad hadn’t hidden the sickles, I swear Other wouldn’t have kept his head past his fifth birthday. It was Merlin who first figured it out. He was just the local healer at the time, but well versed in science. Merlin picked up on the fact that no matter how many rocks I hurled at Other’s stupid head—and I’m a good shot—Other always made a full recovery (well, sometimes I wonder…).

Two Immortals in the same village isn’t going to end well, as Merlin knew, and so he began to study and experiment with ways to keep us both alive. It wasn’t until we had just turned fifteen that he came up with the spell he called “The Mirror”. Never mind the details, it’s a complicated hybrid charm involving a little brown pill and many Words of Power that you’d better not recite in the wrong order, if you’re happy with the number of arms and legs you have now. (Actually the Words of Power are just for dramatic effect. Merlin was a product of the medical knowledge of his time.) The effect was to eliminate the involuntary reaction of blind hatred that drives us to want to kill other Immortals on sight.

Merlin prepared two doses and ordered us to swallow them. I did as I was told, then doubled over in pain and nausea as Other did the same. We both fainted briefly, and when we came to we were looking at each other.

I’ve never had the experience that you call a Quickening, thank the Far-Seeing Maidens, but I imagine it to be something like what I felt at that moment. We both immediately understood what Merlin had deduced, that hate is not the opposite of love, but its mirror image. One look, and teenage hormones did the rest. From then on, let’s just say our relationship was still the talk of the village, just in a different way.

But Merlin wasn’t finished. His development of The Mirror had pointed him toward another spell he called “The Cloak”. This actually suppresses the vibe we Immortals give off that alerts others to our presence. Merlin prepared a batch but only gave the pill to me. I suspect his notion was to use Other as a control. Now I could travel unnoticed among other Immortals

We grew up, and Other went off to wave swords and bash people. I decided to divide my time between researching the origins of our awful compulsion to kill each other and finding new Immortals as children and giving them The Mirror before their lives were ruined. (In the centuries since, Other and I have been apart more than we have been together—the secret to a happy relationship, don’t you think?)

To reemphasize: this is important! There is a pill that can quickly and permanently prevent the berserk rage that is our curse. Immortals can live in harmony.

The side effects are minor: for women, we start to menstruate like mortals. The good news is that this only happens every sixty years or so. For men, your dick falls off.

Haha! Kidding! You just have a slightly increased risk of male pattern baldness and nose hair.

But here’s the thing: I have used the last of the treatment, always thinking I could get more. But Other is currently traveling among the shamans of the Arctic, and I haven’t been able to contact him. Merlin has not been seen in over a thousand years. I know the recipe for the treatment Is in the fifth- or sixth-century volume of his journals (the unexpurgated version, not that sensationalized trash put out by TrilloCom LLC). However, after Mr. Collins’ hamfisted attempt to get his hands on the journals, the monks of [redacted] won’t consider letting anyone but Other have access.

But as flies to wanton boys are we to the being known as @messana . And now he has issued a siren call to bring all remaining Immortals together to duel for his sadistic amusement. So I am breaking my silence to urge you all: Resist! Stay away from New York City! I know Other will find his way there—his precious honour won’t let him do otherwise. I will find him there and we will go to Wales and make more of the treatment. Hold on, and we will all have a better future than we thought possible. (And don’t reread the post at the top of this thread. I believe its hypnotic, droning tones are part of what compels us.)

Are you with me? HELL, NO. WE WON’T GO! HELL, NO. WE WON’T GO!

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With great intention, the five remaining Immortals created new identities, new lives for themselves in New York. Perception of others in the city leaves them on edge and tingling turning to a surging thrum once the final Immortal arrives. The Gathering pulled at them with a feverish intensity and they began to prowl the corners and edges of the metropolis.

In time, Other Pendragon (@teknocholer) would face off against Ennis (@gwwar) in a place of their choosing.

Mr. Collins (@David_Falkayn) would corner Jane (@MalevolentPixy) - or perhaps he merely fell into the trap that she’d laid for him.

Zero Demos (@daneel), always picking up on the presence of the others a little too late, was studiously avoided by the remaining Immortals as they slipped from his grasp again and again.

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[@David_Falkayn, @gwwar, @MalevolentPixy, @teknocholer - now that you know who you will be facing this round, please submit your ten stances to me directly. Deadline is extended a day to 11pm EDT Sat Nov 4]

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I will not seek out another being for willful destruction.

I will not.

I am leaving New York City, to return to the place where this all began.

Jane, I have found you many times before, and we have interacted peacefully and respectfully. Distance is little barrier to you. I am certain you can find me if you truly want to. I sincerely hope you won’t. Indeed, I have always suspected you would prefer I leave you be, which I have done in recent centuries.

It saddens me to see Zero Demos, a fellow Classical Greek and someone with whom I shared “our lake” for millennia, choose to become a New World psychopath. Such is the tragic Madness that stalks us.

I will be far way, hoping to avoid this senseless, knowledge destroying murdering spree.

Yours in Truth,

Mr. Collins.

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[letter found between the pages of the journal of Sir Other Pendragon]

Dearest Other:

Don’t be angry. I couldn’t get in touch with you, and if you are reading this you know we are facing a crisis. I know you have always tried to protect my identity*, but I had to reveal myself in order to try and forestall the Gathering that @messana has called for his own twisted pleasure.

I know you’ll make it to New York in time. I’ll wait on the observation deck of the Empire State Building next St. Valentine’s Day. (I’ll be wearing a scarlet pimpernel haha.) With luck, we’ll finally end this whole tragic story.

*(And it was sweet of you, my noble knight. /s But seriously? Sylvia? You owe me, lover.)

Yours always,

Myf

p.s. I still haven’t found a connection between Messana and the Whanker, but I have a gut feeling. Speaking of W, when I was in Paris they called the guillotine “Capet’s Necktie”. Interesting, hmm?

.
.
.

[excerpt from The Diaries of Other Pendragon © 2017 by TrilloCom LLC]

Alas, had the Erebus not become trammeled in the ice, and subsequently sunk, I might have had time to form better plans. Walking back over the seabed took much longer than I had expected. When I emerged, I felt the call of the Gathering and perforce had to follow.

And now I wait. I could not in all honour abandon my wyrd here in New York, and so I have dispatched Sylv Myf with my letter of proxy to the abbey of [redacted] to seek the cure. If she does not return in time, I can only try to use persuasion to convince my foe to relent.

New York offers few employment opportunities for an honest knight, but I have found work with the wastewater treatment guild as an alligator hunter, which has the benefit of keeping me out of sight much of the day. I only wish Nessie were here. What fun we would have had!

Mr. Collins @David_Falkayn has had a change of heart, and it is to his credit. We have had our differences, but I have always felt that he, of all Immortals, was more susceptible to the persuasions of Sense, rather than Sensibility. This may have been the reason that he found the Illuminati a welcome haven of like minds after his long association with the Rosicrucians. (And yet he has not formally renounced the Rosy Cross, perhaps preferring to keep a foot in both camps. I shall remain on my guard.)

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06E1CDEF-3C5D-4CF2-9631-4BCD33B40075

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I found the note with its farewell. I hoped the best, but feared the worst. Some of the gods urged me to pursue – T.D. Himself (@guest_account_7) chief among them – but others argued for both mercy and prudence. I had hoped not to face him, truth be told, he was both infinitely dangerous in his skill, but harmless in his way. He was curious about everything, the way I had once been before the pressure-wave turned my lungs into liquid and cursed me never to know silence.

No, I decided. I would not chase him. I lost all my people once, at my own hand, perhaps it was better not to chose to do it again. Perhaps this was what I had to learn. To know there would be at least one other out there might serve as comfort – that I would still have a tribe, even if there were only two of us and we could never meet face-to-face.

A small idea tugged at me. I would need to communicate with the others. Maybe they would not agree, at which point we could settle this the way we always had. But maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to change our fate.

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Zero (may I call you Zero?):

I understand your pain and bitterness, really I do. So do many others, some of whom may surprise you.

We’ve been there. As a child, you always knew you were different, and you wondered why you couldn’t be like the others. As you grew, you felt strange and uncomfortable urges. Always, you felt alone. Perhaps you even considered harming yourself. Finally, overwhelmed with self-loathing, you felt the only life for you was investment banking.

But I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. You have no reason to be ashamed of your immortality, and it needn’t define you as a person. I promise, you are not alone. There are those who care about you and are willing to help.

It gets better.

Affectionately,

Myfanwy

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Zero is rapidly becoming worried about the prospect of spending eternity with a bunch of hippie peaceniks.

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ghost

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Ennis has found new pleasure in eating the specialty of the region, “hot dogs”, and takes them back to the relative peace of Central Park. There she practices her katas and communes with the gods before the swarms of visitors begin to arrive. As the park fills, she makes guesses on what sort of creature would enjoy taking a Swan paddleboat out, when they had perfectly good arms and legs. Perhaps they share a bit of the Rat animal spirit, in their love of the wheel. Ennis has certainly found many examples scuttling about in the city.

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“At last. The Gathering.”

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“Peasant.”

“You’ve come this far and now think you can wash the blood from your hands? You have felt the Quickening. You are an insult those you’ve already extinguished. It’s a little late to be having second thoughts.”

“So leave the city and run, coward. I will find you in time and lift your burden from your shoulders.”

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Knowledge IS power, Kurg ( It’s ok if I call you Kurg,right)?

How do you feel abut aqua regia, you metal clad brute?

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Listen to that Scottish burr at the back of your mind’s ear.

bon-scott

No one knew
Where he came from
He never knew himself
Called her ma
Called him pa
But he was born to someone else
No one fooled
Or messed him around
Cause they were all afraid
Ain’t no lies
Ice in the eyes
Of Leroy Kincaid

Cold hearted man
One time lover heart in his hand
Cold hearted man
And you can’t trust nothing you don’t understand
Cold hearted man
Cold hearted man

Like a snake
He had no friends
He didn’t need no one
Hurt his pride
Deep inside
He was another mother’s son
Reputation
Broken glass
Everybody prayed
For their lives on the street
Where they happened to meet
Leroy Kincaid

Cold hearted man
One time lover heart in his hand
Cold hearted man
And you can’t trust nothing you don’t understand
Cold hearted man
Cold hearted man

Sometimes you can’t see
The other side
It’s too well hidden
For the naked eye
One time lover
With his heart in his hand
Two time loser
A broken man
Cold hearted man

7 Likes