Pokemon Umbral Theatre 20: Where Logic Goes to Die

[Dracorion]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/fjgca17/e3791bbaf6a3195b5312267fffb2dcf8.jpg

I think Musharna is my favorite Gen V pokemon.

And I call dibs on having it on my team.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/fjgca17/34f706cdb79683ae83203810bc8ce50a.png

May, or...

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/fjgca17/sample_11f6477c5f7c968e404dd93deb5c3ea3.jpg

All of them?

I pick both options.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/fjgca17/516fc5a0dc548f055796c050f541e0fe.jpg

I think this is the Team Rocket AB wants. Can't say I disagree.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/fjgca17/sample_a49a22bb061b503f4d701ef5620a5f12.png

Hell yes.

Meet the PATCAzord Mk II.

All in favor say "FUCK YEAH!"

...

...

Anyway, I'll try and get the post up this weekend.

[Astral Harmony]

I didn't know that Charlotte and Matthias were joining Impact's side. Could I possibly get some confirmation on this? Preferably from those joining?

Also, I made a type-o again. Geminex doesn't get to choose an ally for Pierce's side. My bad.

Hell, if Charlotte and Matthias join Impact, they don't get to choose allies for Pierce's side, either.

Fortunately, there'll be some really good characters on Pierce's side at the start.

[Dracorion]

...

Well we just clogged up the piratepad for nothing, then.

Though hey, that last thing makes me smile.

[Astral Harmony]

Well we just clogged up the piratepad for nothing, then.

*pokes index fingers together and bashfully lowers head*

I'm weawwy sowwy.

Though hey, that last thing makes me smile.

Pretty ones, too.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Barring extreme circumstances, Charlotte will join Impact.

[Dracorion]

Okay, okay, here's what's going to happen.

I'll pick Fujiko instead of Chizuru. We can say Pierce and Chizuru are separated or something. That way, Pierce can bang all of his subordinates and reconcile with Chizuru before the end.

THE PERFECT CRIME.

[Astral Harmony]

The only extreme circumstance I can imagine is Impact shouting "Kill them all, including that bitch-training bitch, Charlotte!"

[Bard The 5th LW]

Pretty much.

[DanteFalcon]

Barring one particular circumstance which Gem knows about Matt will join Impact.

[Menarker]

@ Bard: By the way, if you need any help planning your future plans, let me know. ^^

Also, would be nice to know Charlotte's carried items so we can update the database on the piratepad.

[Astral Harmony]

Right, then.

Then at the start of the sequel, this is PATCA's side...

Renny, Pierce, Lola, Fujiko, and a handful of new allies.

I won't reveal these allies under any circumstances, nor will I reveal where these remnants of PATCA start at the beginning of the sequel.

...

Come to think of it, I'm suddenly frustrated about something. I kinda need Charlotte's Arceus to do something very near the location that PATCA starts in, but if she's on Impact's side...

...

Eh, whatever. I'm sure it'll work out somehow. Actually, with the concept of Dinner's character, that Arceus subplot isn't particularly necessary. Scratch that idea.

[Dracorion]

Okay, that Fujiko thing was a joke. I'm going with Chizuru.

[Geminex]

Dammit, man. Make up your mind. I just finished planning out all the evil shit I was gonna do.

[Dracorion]

Now I'm going with Dinner.

[Geminex]

He's out of controoooooool.

Dammit, I didn't even want to make it 8 o's this time.

[Dracorion]

Not quite happy with Pierce's part of the post. I would've liked to give Elan more screentime, but there's a lot of Pierce's story left and I have to get it done before you fuckers finish your battles.

[Dracorion]

Geminex made some observations, and I edited Impact's part of the battle accordingly. Nothing big, though.

Bard, it might be a good idea to take Menarker up on his offer.

[Astral Harmony]

Dinner isn't on the list because she isn't available during this RP to begin with. Even in the sequel, Dinner's going to be kept on a pretty tight leash. Power that epic is usually reserved for epic tasks.

You should probably also note that certain characters that haven't been introduced yet will also be available...

- Alphonsine Dionne: blonde bombshell, supermodel and Flying type Eevee trainer of the Thirteen Eevee Threat.
- Natalya Baskinova: Chief of the icy Wintervale PATCA branch and one of the deadliest snipers in Honmyr.
- Ciz Shevenston: Chief Shevenston's wife and a sexy bruiser.
- Miracle Shevenston: Chief Shevenston's daughter and a decent Pokemon Trainer.

Though I get the feeling that your choices are already set in stone. We're actually nearing the end of characters for this RP. At least from my NPCs.

Oh, let me take this post to tell you my schedule...

In two days, I'm off this shitty island of piss poor Internet and no Arby's. Then I have the misfortune of being trapped in the Kingdom of Bahrain for eight days. After that, I'll finally be heading back east to Guam where I belong.

The itinerary says that all the flying eastward would end up taking two days, but it should be much shorter given that we'll be going ahead through time zones.

[Menarker]

Didn't you also hint at two other eevee trainers, the poison trainer who is black and college educated, and the fighting eevee who basically is rough around the edges and probably trains in nature or such?

EDIT: Also, Drac, Renny should have 50 rage at the point that Togekiss hit two foes with its Heat Wave attack. 2 damaged foes = 2 instances of 5 rage.

Also, pokebrids who are under paradigm shift like Renny currently is immune to status changes and debuffs and such. So he cannot be poisoned like he currently is.

Also, Aria should not have defeated Gliscor by electrifying it since Gliscor is part ground type, meaning it is completely immune, even despite having a flying typing which would normally be weak to it. (I know you were being free-form, but it's completely inaccurate to how it would normally work)

Also, Kyrie's Entei's Lava Plume is an AOE attack similar to Earthquake. Hit two foes and hits an ally.

Also, Renny hit the soldier B to 9%. The Health fountain supposably gave it 60 hitpoints back. So why is it that the soldier's health is 79? 9 + 60 is NOT 79.

Similarly, Impact knocked the Medic down to 15%. The health fountain also supposably gave 60% back. Why is the Medic now at 225%! Quite a gross error from the real value of 75 to 225!

Also... while saying this hurts our chances, Mirror has 40 rage now. But building a construct is 50 rage, right? So she should have been at 0. Then when she got hit 3 times by the wretches, gained a total of 30 rage. Seriously! Your math skills are suspect!


Interesting post though aside from all those issues.

[Bard The 5th LW]

If Charlotte shot Hammond would it solve any problems?

[Dracorion]

EDIT: Also, Drac, Renny should have 50 rage at the point that Togekiss hit two foes with its Heat Wave attack. 2 damaged foes = 2 instances of 5 rage.

'Kay, missed that.

Also, pokebrids who are under paradigm shift like Renny currently is immune to status changes and debuffs and such. So he cannot be poisoned like he currently is.

That too.

Also, Aria should not have defeated Gliscor by electrifying it since Gliscor is part ground type, meaning it is completely immune, even despite having a flying typing which would normally be weak to it. (I know you were being free-form, but it's completely inaccurate to how it would normally work)

Can we just explain it as the same reason Pikachu can damage Ground types in the anime?

Yeah, didn't think so.

Also, Kyrie's Entei's Lava Plume is an AOE attack similar to Earthquake. Hit two foes and hits an ally.

Tell Bard about it. I'm going to just go on ahead and edit my post to say it was Focused.

Also, Renny hit the soldier B to 9%. The Health fountain supposably gave it 60 hitpoints back. So why is it that the soldier's health is 79? 9 + 60 is NOT 79.

My bad.

Similarly, Impact knocked the Medic down to 15%. The health fountain also supposably gave 60% back. Why is the Medic now at 225%! Quite a gross error from the real value of 75 to 225!

The Medic healed himself.

Also... while saying this hurts our chances, Mirror has 40 rage now. But building a construct is 50 rage, right? So she should have been at 0. Then when she got hit 3 times by the wretches, gained a total of 30 rage. Seriously! Your math skills are suspect!

Mirror attacked once.

All issues have been fixed now.

If Charlotte shot Hammond would it solve any problems?

No.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Curses, violence cant help here.

Also, fuck you with a spoon Drac.

[Dracorion]

Love you too.

No, I'm afraid the only way Charlotte's getting Hammond back is through the power of Love and Friendship.

[Menarker]

First, not all errors were fixed. Just ones I noticed the first run-through.

- Psystorm: Melanie -31% (19%). Matthias has been defeated. Psyshade Charlotte -106% (504%).
- Charlotte’s Team Formation Update:
[Melanie (3%)] [Hammond (Dominated)] [Pike (Defeated%)] [Kirie (19%/BadPois)] [Entei (Defeated)] [Matthias (14%/BadPois/Paral/Conf/Disable)]

You supposably knocked out Matthias with that Psystorm. So why is he showing as 14% and statused in the formation?

Also, I do feel this battle is very much unfair for Bard.

First, there are around the same number of foes to fight as there was the last time we fought Moera (and it was still a difficult fight) and Charlotte's side is half the size as back then. AND THE ENEMY FORCES ARE INCREASING EVERY TURN on top of that.
Statuses and debuffs are totally uneffective, so the only thing that is viable is sheer damage. Yet...
The ability to press the offensive and any manner of Medic support to stay alive is being neutered by the psytellites rage draining ability. (It also doesn't help that the rage draining happens AFTER the allies might have gotten any rage from being attacked)
I don't recall them getting Second Wind or any sort of support like that. Heck, this situation calls for Bard suddenly getting a Deus Ex Machina and learning how to use Phantomere's ability or something like that. (Maybe Thief could be used on that Chroma Fragment when/if we get rid of Moera's potected status?)

Keep in mind, we all agreed that Charlotte and Matthias are the currently the characters in most need of character's strength development.

I'm willing to give my all to help Bard out with the future battle plans, but this is really one-sided. >_>

[Dracorion]

Well that's fixed now.

And yeah, I meant it when I kept saying that Bard is screwed.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I agree with Menarker completely.

[Menarker]

Proposed battle plan for Bard, since I discussed with him and Drac a bit.


Melanie: Spends 75 of her 80 rage to use 5 items. 2 healing items on herself and on Kyrie (Heal the two up to full), and 1 revive on Entei (which also gives Kyrie 25 rage for being a leader). Shift to Honchrow form for immunity to psychic type (and avoiding 2 quad weaknesses)
Charlotte: Switch with Mio.
Mio: Paradigm Shift > Harpressor Form. Attack with Corpse Bomber, ignoring the charge up time due to Paradigm Shift. Target Psyshade Kirie directly for 350 power with splash damage on the psytellites on both side. Boosted Power due to Paradigm Shift. Attack is poison type and thus does neutral damage against psychic types.
Kyrie: Spends her 50 rage to use Endless Waltz on "Psyshade Charlotte" for 500 power with whatever damage is super effective (Probably Bug/Ghost/Dark).
Cecilia: Spends 50 rage to use Great Escape. Is Invincible for 3 turns. Attack Psyshade Charlotte. If she is knocked out, target Psyshade Kyrie. If both are knocked out, target Psyshade Matthias. Use the weapon "Murder of Crows" with any of these.

At end of turn:
Matthias: Revive with 1 hitpoint according to enforcer rule which everyone has forgotten but I found in my researching the discussion threads. Should stay in the back row until he gets the rage he would get on turn 3.

http://www.nuklearforums.com/showpost.php?p=1041312&postcount=30

EDIT: Drac mentioned that since Bard's team has no Second Wind and rage did not carry over from the previous battle, Mio doesn't have enough rage for Paradigm Shift. In that case, was thinking of using Cluster Fall from her Raikner form to attack 4 random targets for pretty good damage and gain 40 rage. (It is not a sync tech, but a normal attack of that ruin type pokemon which she is a pokebrid of.)

[Geminex]

Wait. Drac, that...
Oh for the love of...
I thought we were cool! I thought the guys who were supposed to die were actually going to die! One soldier surviving is okay. All of them surviving is no better than it was before.

But, y'know what, screw this. We'll do it your way.

But after this mission, we remake the combat system in a way that actually lets us use math to determine damage. Because, with apologies to AB, in a combat-centric system, guesstimates just don't cut it.

I don't even care about the mission right now. But guesstimates are just so arbitrary. Pokemon was all about numbers, and Umbral has inherited that. And in that context, arbitrary damage calculation, based on what the GM thinks is appropriate... bluh. It's inconsistent, there's massive potential for unfairness, and, well, it removes a lot of tactical depth. If a certain strategy is ineffective just because the GM thinks it should be ineffective, rather than the strategy just being flawed in some way... That just removes all incentive to plan out anything.

Look, AB, I know you don't want this. But if you want this RP to be combat-centric, there have to be actual rules govnering combat. And that includes some sort of coherent system for determining the effects of character's actions. If you didn't want that, you should have made this free-form. And you probably should have told us before we started.

And I have a few ideas on how to set this up. We don't have to use the pokemon system, that's just overcomplicated. There's better ways to do it, simpler, quicker. ANd hell, if you don't want to do the work, I will.

[Astral Harmony]

I shall be guided by you, Geminex.

And no, that isn't sarcasm.

Dracorion sent me a PM about the one-sided battle against Moera. It think that battle is going to end a lot shorter than the one Impact's team is fighting, so it couldn't hurt you to put that particular engagement on hold for now.

Bard also sent me a PM, so I need a bit of time to bend the plot a little to suit them all.

Hey, Menarker, d'ya think there's some kind of online Pokemon attack calculator? Maybe Bulbapedia has something to that effect.

I'm sure they've got something like that. After all, I saw an equation in there about a Pokeball's catch rate.

Or hell, just some equations would help, like Strength/2 + Power = Total Damage. I'd do some hardcore research and we'd have a statistically sound combat system.

But I still want to hear what Geminex has in his head.

[Dracorion]

AUGH RAUGH I DONT WANT GEMINEXS TO DO ANYTHING BLUH BLUH HE HAS TOO MUCH POWER ALREADY BLUH

Wait. Drac, that...
Oh for the love of...
I thought we were cool! I thought the guys who were supposed to die were actually going to die! One soldier surviving is okay. All of them surviving is no better than it was before.

But, y'know what, screw this. We'll do it your way.

... What? Footsoldiers A and C, Sergeant B and the HPG Engineer died. That's about half of the enemy deaths you had planned anyway.

Or are you saying Impact should've killed the Medic too?

AB, I'm okay with Gem's idea, but I feel we should leave an element of randomness when it comes to dealing damage. Like, sure, you can do all the math and have a rough idea of what the damage is going to be, but in actuality it could end up being a little more or less than what you calculated.

I just want to avoid combat turning into a great big "use only the bare minimum power to defeat an enemy" fest. Or to put it another way, I'd like to make it so that the players don't have the last word in who dies and when and how hard.

Y'dig?

[Menarker]

Hey, Menarker, d'ya think there's some kind of online Pokemon attack calculator? Maybe Bulbapedia has something to that effect.

Or hell, just some equations would help, like Strength/2 + Power = Total Damage. I'd do some hardcore research and we'd have a statistically sound combat system.



I know there are some calculators, more or less. Their reliablity for the purpose of this RP is iffy though given how hitpoints of foes are scaled and such like that.

Later on, after dealing with the database thing I will probably be happy enough to try to help make a damage formula that is more or less reliable for this RP.

One of the things I really want to put a little more emphasis on though is on the occurance of proc effects by finding some sort of random number generator that you customize. (I seen one before)
I have NEVER seen Shaymin's Seed Flare ability activate despite an 80% success rate. Those with high speed or Crit moves (or both) rely on it to determine Crit. That sort of thing. Serene Grace relies entirely on the concept.


I can understand a certain amount of randomness, but if a lot of effort, rage and emphasis is placed on a few attacks, then we hope that the output is proportionally reflective of the input.

[Dracorion]

I think it may be more the fact that AB can't be bothered to keep track of which attack inflicts what status effect and at what chance.

[Geminex]

The simplest method would be to employ the system that pokemon already uses.

I've looked around, and I've found both, damage calculators (http://pokedex-br.info/damage.html) and random number generators (http://www.virtualadept.co.uk/diceroller.cfm).


All we really need to do is put in the stats we need, and then roll the dice to determine secondary effects and crit.

Of course, entering the stats would be kinda difficult. But if we gather the relevant stats when we post the plan, it'd be fairly simple.

One reason I'm not sure if we should do it this way:
Strength/2 + Power = Total Damage.
Is the fact that Pokemon uses two types of attack: Physical and Special.
And I think we should retain that, it adds a good bit of tactical depth.
But the problem is that we can't just "normalize" attack or HP, because there's usually two different values for the two attack types.

Otherwise I'd just sum up defense and HP in one value. But that's not gonna be happening.

I think we should base this stuff on the pokemon system. We could probably simplify their thing, though, if we don't want to use the calculators. But we're probably gonna be stuck using stats.

Bulbapedia could probably be of assistance there, though...

Bluh. This is harder than expected...

Edit:
Also, Drac, are the battle results finalized now? Cause then I'll actually go on to read the rest.

Edit2: And pokemon accounts for randomness. 15%, usually, but we could increase that. And those 15 or 20 or 30% would be soley up to the DM.

[Dracorion]

This is a handy page. (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Damage_modification)

The damage formula is near the end there.

EDIT: Unless you want to keep insisting the Medic should be dead, sure, they're finalized.

[Geminex]

I am insisting that he should be, but what I want doesn't alway equal reality.

All of Impact's targets should be burned, though.

[Dracorion]

Because the Flamethrower has a 50% chance of inflicting burns and because the attack was super effective that chance was doubled? 'Kay.

[Dracorion]

So Footsoldier B succumbed to burns. The HPG Medic was also damaged, but I forgot before that his Health Serum adds a regenerative effect so that made up for some of it.

[Astral Harmony]

About those links, Geminex, allow me to say this...

Wuss-ass CDi Link: "I'm no match for the king!"

The thing I hate about my own combat system is that, despite what I say about stats, I more or less ignore them.

With these two systems alone, I wouldn't have any good excuse anymore other than maybe convenience. Starting Mission 4 (Beach!), I'd like to implement actual use of statistics.

Geminex, could I get Impact's current statistics? I'll put those into my character file.

We can use the Random Number Generator to keep the randomness factor in the RP as well, such as adding dice to each attack and giving more powerful dice to Slayers, Pokebrids, and Legendary Pokemon. Like Renny's Umbreon would have like a 1d10 for all of his attacks while Impact would rock a 2d20.

Then we can use actual Hit Points instead of percentages or the damage indicators of before.

While the scouters (the ones you wear, not the class) would give you statistics on the Pokemon, you won't always see the enemy statistics, but Daphne and other sources would be able to help you determine how best to deal with each new foe.

As for the Speed's statistic affecting both Crit and Eva, I plan to create my own equation for that, like maybe [Speed/100 + something = Crit and Eva]. 'Cause there's no way in hell I can deal with the complexity of merging the Hero and Villain Phases and using Speed to determine who hits when.

[Menarker]

So Footsoldier B succumbed to burns. The HPG Medic was also damaged, but I forgot before that his Health Serum adds a regenerative effect so that made up for some of it.

Excuse me? Impact hit Soldier C and medic. Soldier B was hit by Renny!


As for the Speed's statistic affecting both Crit and Eva, I plan to create my own equation for that, like maybe [Speed/100 + something = Crit and Eva]. 'Cause there's no way in hell I can deal with the complexity of merging the Hero and Villain Phases and using Speed to determine who hits when.

Eh? Who said Speed effects both Crit and Eva? Speed would only effect Crit and the system is easy to use too.

Admitably, Evasion isn't used very often because we tend to ignore the inaccuracy of moves with less than 100% accuracy (unless they were 50% or less moves), and few people attempt to use moves like Double Team, especially considering that we don't actually take evasion into consideration. It's kinda of a clause 22. We don't use evasion/accuracy moves because no one takes the evasion stat or accuracy stat seriously.

[Dracorion]

Goddammit I need to stop posting outta my ass.

Footsoldier B is alive, Medic is still burned.

Good Lord.

Eh? Who said Speed effects both Crit and Eva? Speed would only effect Crit and the system is easy to use too.

Admitably, Evasion isn't used very often because we tend to ignore the inaccuracy of moves with less than 100% accuracy (unless they were 50% or less moves), and few people attempt to use moves like Double Team, especially considering that we don't actually take evasion into consideration. It's kinda of a clause 22. We don't use evasion/accuracy moves because no one takes the evasion stat or accuracy stat seriously.

Geminex sent AB some PMs with his proposed changes to combat.

The only reason he didn't make them public is because they're secretly meant to give his side an advantage during the sequel, and he didn't want us to pick up on it.

I assume one of the changes was to have Evasion actually matter.

[Menarker]

Naturally, I'll expect Gem to actually come clean with these proposed changes for discussion if he hope to have them possibly dictate the rules of the RP. (If what Drac said was true.)

Anyhow, continuing on working with the database. Won't be a terribly long time.

[Astral Harmony]

Geminex sent me nothing like that. In fact, he hasn't sent me anything in a long time, like what we wants to change about the epilogue.

[Dracorion]

Riiiiiight.

I think Gem's statistics are as listed in the standard Slayer upgrades, up til Slayer 4.

[Menarker]

Standard slayer stats are 100 points across the entire spectrum anyhow.

[Astral Harmony]

I swear that Geminex hasn't sent me anything recently.

As for Speed's relation to Eva, I'll take care of that. I'm tempted to just leave it up to using the move's accuracy with the Dice Roller program to determine that, but it's mostly obvious when an attack would connect.

[Menarker]

Well, Evasion has never really been a huge problem for me. The only exception being the pokegeddon, which has plot armor.

Anyhow, the crit rules are actually very simple. I can provide it here again.


1) All attackers start at stage 1.
2) The percentages incrementally starting at 1 is 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 33%, 50%, 66%. (Stage 6 is 100% with B/W rules)
3) If the Attacker wins the Speed Clash (Has higher speed than targets being attacked), add +2 to crit stage.
4) If the Attacker wins the Speed Clash with double the speed of the defender, the bonus is +3 instead.
5) If the Attacker uses a move that has increased priority like Extremespeed, the Attacker gains an extra 0.5x increase to their Speed stat (equal to +1 speed boost) for that attack for the purpose of determining who wins the Speed Clash.
6) All other boosts to Crit stage adds +1 such as held items or accessories that boost crit rate.
7) Two types of crit exist: Standard and Massive
8) Standard crits deal only double damage. (Triple if the user has Sniper ability)
9) Massive crits deal double damage and ignore enemy buffs and own debuffs (This is the way Crit is done normally in the games.) (Triple damage with Sniper ability)
10) Massive crits can only be dealt by using an improved crit move (which raise crit by one stage and allow massive crits) or by having the ability Super Luck (which upgrades all crits to massive crits in addition to increasing crit by 1 stage).



Basically, all we have to do is provide the following info for each person that attacks.
1) Is the move the attacker is using a move that would improve crit? Like Psycho Cut or Leaf Blade?
2) Is the attacker equipping any items that boost crit rate? Like Razor Claw?
3) Add up the result of step 1 and 2. (This result can be provided in the PC's battle plan to make things easier)
4) Compare the speed stats of the attacker and all targets to determine if the Attacker wins speed clash on any of them. If the attacker does, add the respective +2 or 3 bonus to the result of step 3.
5) Refer to chart on step 2 to see what is the percentage rate of how likely the move is to crit.
6) If the attack actually crit, see if the Attacker has Super Luck or is using a move that improves crit. If so, the crit is a Massive Crit. If not, it is Standard Crit. (Once again, we can provide this data in the battle plan)

[Astral Harmony]

Hmmm.

Well, I can't foresee any problem with that currently, as long as the PCs are willing to take care of all the mentionings, like...umm...just saying "all my shit together puts me at a stage three and I have this so Massive Crit" would do just fine.

Just a moment...

*checks the Dice Roller*

Hmmm...maybe round Stages 1 and 2 up to 7 and 13, respectively. I could roll a die twice to handle shit to the right of the decimal, but I don't think that's really necessary.

[Menarker]

Sure. That's just how the game offically does it. Got no problem with rounding it up at all. ^^

But yeah, the only thing you'd really need to do is determining who wins the speed clash (Comparing speed stats after all modifiers are considered) and determining if the move actually crits. Us players can actually provide the rest of the data in the battle plan.

I just thought I should give you the more explained defination of the steps since you would have to determine the crit rates of all enemies that would attack US and such.


To make reading the dice roller easier, you should probably make the higher numbers the failure zone.

So, if I have a 66% chance of critting, if you roll 66 or less, then I crit. But if you roll 67 or more, it fails to crit.

[Astral Harmony]

To think that an RPG is so crazy technical that they would have fractions of a percent.

...

Actually, City of Heroes/Villains does that shit, too.

[Menarker]

So, AB, you said way way back that the beach mission will also be Rachel's 18th birthday, right?

*Has re-learned a bunch of stuff from the database reading*

[Astral Harmony]

So, AB, you said way way back that the beach mission will also be Rachel's 18th birthday, right?

*Has re-learned a bunch of stuff from the database reading*

...

You're a twisted little cherub, aren't you?

The premise of the beach mission is to celebrate Rachel's birthday and for a special edition of the popular magazine bizarrely called "Stress". A lot of the female characters are going to be posing for a segment called "Angels of the Agency*" along with Alphonsine Dionne, top centerfold for Stress and a well known and beloved celebrity.

Also there may be Ruin Generals, so it won't all be just a day to enjoy the hot, wet beaches.

* I suppose I could have named the segment "PATCA Pussy", but meh.

EDIT: Random Omake Attack!

The premise of this omake is that Lola runs her own Suicide Hotline.

Chizuru: "Hotline."
Red: "H-hello?"
Chizuru: "Whaddup?"
Red: "What's up...I'm not sure that I wanna live anymore, that's what's up."
Chizuru: "Hold on."
*Chizuru puts Red on hold and connects him to Lola*
Lola: "Helloooo?"
Red: "I...I need someone to talk to."
Lola: "Call your mom."
Red: "My mother died last year."
Lola: "Serves her right, bitch! Wa ha ha ha ha! Naw, I'm just playin', fucknuts. Listen, whenever you're feeling low, just page me and I'll call you."
Red: "You will?"
Lola: "Yeah. I'll call you a nerdy bitch for bothering me! Now! Don't blow your fuckin' head off."
Red: "Why not, who cares if I do?"
Lola: "The poor guy who's gotta clean that shit up. If you're gonna do it, do it outside or something!"
Red: "You-you think I won't really do it, don't ya?"
Lola: "Honestly, I could give a rat's ass."
Red: "You think I won't, huh? You think I'm kiddin'? You think I-"
Lola: "Do it! Do it, fucker! Bring me the gun, I'll fucking do it for ya!"
*Lola hears gunfire on the phone*
Lola: "Hello? Are you there?"
Red: "...Hello?"
Lola: "I knew you wouldn't do it, you scaredy bitch!"
*phone hangs up*
Harliette: "Ummm...sis..."
Lola: "What?"
Harliette: "I think you need to read the manual on how to really handle a suicide hotline."

*Sometime later, Lola receives a message on her pager. She returns the call.*

Red: "Hello?"
Lola: "Somebody page me?"
Red: "Hi."
Lola: "Who the fuck is this?"
Red: "It's-it's me, you said I could page you."
Lola: "No, no, you misunderstood me. I said 'FUCK YOU'! Nobody cares if you're dead or alive so go fuck yourself!"
*Lola hangs up on Red*
Red: "Okay, call me later. Bye."
Harliette: "That's it, Lola. No more Mollesk wine for you."
Lola: "But I'm the victim here!"

[Dracorion]

You sure it's a good idea to have a sexy photo shoot with Elizabeth around?

And I wonder what Pierce should get Rachel. Well, it's not like you can go wrong with a present for Rachel. All you gotta give her is a big box of Pocky and she'll love you forever, right?

[Astral Harmony]

Pocky is a good idea. Rachel does strike me as an otaku girl like that.

Ah, I love the relationship between Renny and Lola. Give Lola some Mollesk wine and I can make her say anything and act anyway I want her to.

Menarker, we need to get Lola drunk in the RP. The intermissions would be priceless.

[Dracorion]

You're the one who established way back when you first introduced her that she was addicted to Pocky.

[Astral Harmony]

Oh yeah, I remember. Rachel is usually seen with a Pocky stick in her mouth.

Rachel loves all sweets, Pocky most of all. And she's addicted to Pikachu, of course. A big stuffed Pikachu could probably net you her as a girlfriend.

[Dracorion]

Red: "Hello?"
Lola: "Somebody page me?"
Red: "Hi."
Lola: "Who the fuck is this?"
Red: "It's-it's me, you said I could page you."
Lola: "No, no, you misunderstood me. I said 'FUCK YOU'! Nobody cares if you're dead or alive so go fuck yourself!"
*Lola hangs up on Red*
Red: "Okay, call me later. Bye."
Harliette: "That's it, Lola. No more Mollesk wine for you."
Lola: "But I'm the victim here!"

I totally missed this Omake, but this part here with Red telling her to call him again is priceless.

RedxLola.

OTP.

And AB, we need to get Lola drunk and do something with someone that's of legal age. And have Renny find out. It'll crush his little heart.

And I know Menarker wholeheartedly agrees.

[Menarker]

Rachel may love sweets, but apparently she also loves being fairly active, going to the gym and doing dancing until she only had 3% worth of body fat.

That said I'm sure she would appreciate the food and the gesture. ^^ Although Renny would probably bring some sweets as well as something longer-lasting for the memories.

Ah, I love the relationship between Renny and Lola. Give Lola some Mollesk wine and I can make her say anything and act anyway I want her to.

Menarker, we need to get Lola drunk in the RP. The intermissions would be priceless.

Hehe, that strikes me as less of a relationship between Lola and Renny and more of an alcoholic dependancy. It IS rather funny though. However, if Lola (or anyone rather) actually starts getting in real trouble because of that wine, Renny will likely wisen up and stop making it (or rather only serve it under more controlled conditions).

Guess I'm having Renny bring some wine to this birthday party / photoshoot in addition to whatever he'll be getting Rachel.

And AB, we need to get Lola drunk and do something with someone that's of legal age. And have Renny find out. It'll crush his little heart.

And I know Menarker wholeheartedly agrees.

I know it would crush Renny's little heart. >_>
But I DO NOT agree with actually getting Lola drunk with that or any similar incident as an canon end result. >_<



Probably going to have the family Snorlax come along with Renny for fun on the beach (and helping carry Renny's stuff). Heck, with him knowing Surf and with his wide soft mass, he'd make a very nice improvised raft for those wanting to go play in the water (especially for those who have trouble swimming, since at least he can help them out). But I'll keep him out of battles for fairness sake. (Unless you want him to act as a lifeguard for anyone having trouble swimming while fighting underwater. Up to AB though.)

You'd probably have to have him assume that his body is built to ignore the "stay out of the water 30 minute after eating rule though".

Also, dibs on Renny bringing the inflatable "Mr.Gyrados" for fun!

>_> Why do I get the feeling that one of the numerous possible situations regarding the NPCs involves sexy lifeguards and people pretending to drown for attention?

... and I just know that Bretton is going to invite himself along so he can show off his buff body to bikini girls, invitation or no.

[Dracorion]

Oh come on. You're the one always looking for ways to get Renny to mature.

Having his heart broken is an important life lesson!

[Menarker]

I tend to have Renny develop through uncertainty, not fullblown disasters.

Besides, AB kinda already hinted that Renny is going to have to pay closer attention to Lola. >_> Which drives me on the edge of paranoia...

[Bard The 5th LW]

But one's first relationship is rarely the one they follow through with.

I think Renny is just a confused young man who needs to take things slowly.

[Menarker]

*Nods*

I never intended to go very fast with the Renny/Lola thing. The pokebrid mating season starting as soon as it did caught me off guard. (Although it does make for a very interesting situation since Renny just became Pokebrid).

But I'd rather not have Lola stolen away or her giving her emotional and/or bodily affection to someone else, in the same way I'd imagine Drac wouldn't want Chizuru to do the same.

[Dracorion]

Chizuru's not an established slutty drunk.

Also, my guy has a real chance of banging her within the year.

[Menarker]

Neither is Lola in canon. All portrayals otherwise have pretty much been restricted to Omakes.

As for Pierce's success rate, it is quite possible, although I still take the obligatory offense to you implying Renny has no real chance to do so.

[Dracorion]

Not until he's eighteen.

And he's, what, seventeen now?

So yeah, within the year.

[Geminex]

EDIT: Also, Drac, Renny should have 50 rage at the point that Togekiss hit two foes with its Heat Wave attack. 2 damaged foes = 2 instances of 5 rage.

Wait. What.
That... no. No, no, no. 5 rage per action, period. Has it ever been different?

Also, technically helping bard with the plans was my offer. But when he made his own, I thought he'd be allright. I'm only just reading the full battle post.

Geminex sent AB some PMs with his proposed changes to combat.
What?
When did I ever...
I never said that!
Any combat changes get discussed in the open.

Like this one. AB, I'm tired right now, but am I reading this right? You wanna introduce a D10/D20 system?

Edit:
And you guys have fun squabbling, I'll be over here with the demigoddess I'm gonna bone.

I think Renny is just a confused young man who needs to take things slowly.
"Comment questioning Renny's sexuality".

[Dracorion]

Please.

Impact couldn't bone shit if it was sitting on his lap.

[Geminex]

Oh come on. A demigod for a girlfriend? A really powerful being that he can exert emotional influence over if he only creates a relationship with her?

He is going to bone her so hard.

And yes, he gets turned on by power. Tits as well, but mostly power.

[Dracorion]

I doubt it's quite so simple.

AB, remind me, why did you let Gem call dibs on the demigoddess again?

[Geminex]

"Call dibs"?
You all went for Lola and the Kimonos. Who was I gonna pick?

Edit:
And power is actually an effective aphrodisiac. Y'wanna bone if it improves your position in the social hierarchy. Or if your bonee can support you.
Which'd explain why you keep making advances on me.

[Dracorion]

Rayleen.

[Geminex]

Or Dinner.
My point is, it's not 'dibs' if it's no contest.

[Dracorion]

Fair enough.

AB, why'd you let Geminex get Dinner as a love interest?

I should note, just to spite Gem, that Impact wouldn't actually be in love with Dinner.

<3

[Geminex]

I should note, just to spite Gem, that Impact wouldn't actually be in love with Dinner.
Once again, I am amazed at the degree of your knowlege. I mean, if you had asked me, I'd have talked about how he'd begin by helping her work to control her power via mind contact, and, as he gained her trust, how he'd delve deeper into her conciousness, exploring her mind and marveling at its beauty, at the simplicity of her thoughts, the weightlessness of her emotion, the intensity of her dreams. How every day he'd learn to read her aura better, be amazed, fascinated by every layer of complexity, every further, beautiful abstraction.

How he'd long to see her again, to understand her more deeply, how they'd exchange thoughts and ideas without judgement or prejudice, only with understanding. How their first kiss would be entirely nonphysical, just their minds meeting, stimulating each other, their gaze unwavering, their smiles gentle as they exchanged not just thoughts, but, for the first time, emotions as well.

About Impact's terrible guilt at the realization that he was going to use her. The power, the grandness of her mind that he so adored, would be employed to achieve aims that, on the one hand, seem so petty, but, on the other hand, so, so necessary. The terrible sense of betrayal he'd feel as he kept her in the dark, used what he had learned about her, what she had willingly, trustingly shared with him, used that to manipulate her, bend her to his will. The sickening dischord between exhilaration that he could bend a god to his will, influence her with just a touch, and the disgust he felt for doing so.

Perhaps even a vow, that, when all this was over, he'd confess, he'd explain and lay his thoughts and self and entire being bare before her, and accept whichever punishment she deemed appropriate. A vow to die, if it would repay what he'd done.

But no, clearly you know my character much better than that and he is a mere emotionless cardboard cutout, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't get aroused by your alter-egos massive cleavage.
Obviously.

[Dracorion]

A) He did. And so did you.

B) Yes, I do.

[Geminex]

A) He did. And so did you.
Get help.

B) Yes, I do.
Get help.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I think Impacts too ambitious to stay in a relationship for long. Like, he may be genuinely into her, but he'd probably busy himself with too much other stuff.

Matt is too reserved and quiet. Although if the time was taken for him to show some more personality, the possibility would exist.

Pierce has pretty decent chances as he is. He just needs to settle down a bit and not shag every other woman near him.

[Geminex]

Not if Dinner's the most interesting thing around. He's a very intelligent individual, and once he becomes aware of auras in the underlying forces of the world, he'll probably be the one person most capable of appreciating her nature.

And sure, there'll be other stuff. Like world domination. But she'll always maintain his interest. Or something.

In fact, that's why she's the only possible love interest! Everyone else would become a mere pawn to be manipulated! Only someone with her power and complexity can create a relationship with him! Thanks, Bard.

Your move, Drac.

[Bard The 5th LW]

So essentially, he's just staying with her because it benefits his ambitions. He has deviated from true desire for a relationship and into manipulation.

[Menarker]

Wait. What.
That... no. No, no, no. 5 rage per action, period. Has it ever been different?


Yes, it always has been "gain rage for each foe you hit". An example would be during the Faynoc's Folly mission when Pierce had Tyranitar use Earthquake and got 10 rage for hitting two foes. And I'm pretty sure there were several other instances.

That is one of the reasons why I made Renny's upgrades single target as part of my perceived balancing. I removed Sweep and I nerfed the AOE moves into focus moves from ICT so that Renny.


Had two weird thoughts occur when I was at school.

Firstly, I realized that Renny, once he gets the ICT upgrade, would effectively be PACTA's mini version (both literally and figuratively) of Kyrie. Kyrie has access to all element types. Renny would have access to 12 of the 18 elements (19 if you include Almighty, although Renny has that with Valiant Rush)

>_> Although, if Kyrie ever finds out about that, she might go chasing after Renny for a match to see who is stronger, much to his annoyance/fear.


Another thing that came to mind... was a weird daydream/suggestion for a mission to AB. And I'm not actually totally serious... but it might be amusing...

Basically, a mission with all the PATCA members and probably the Kimonos or so... Sounds excessive? Aye, but there is a catch.

Only the characters actually in the official DSS are sober (or at least have enough of their wits to not be batshit insane)! The rest are all PLASTERED drunk, hallucinating or what not. Basically, all the NPCs do something during combat, but they are... unpredictable. They MIGHT do what they are asked... they might hit the wrong target (Ooooppps, sorry Charlotte!), they might do something else entirely, or they might just do something completely chaotic and silly like strip to their underwears, start flirting inappropriately with their love interest, wallow in a nearby puddle or blurt out some embarressing story/secret/comment or anything crazy really!

Ultimately, we'd have to survive the day/night protecting all the NPCs with their support/intererence.

Ideally, we'd draw the line at them doing anything drastic like making out with someone, but it would be interesting to see how all the NPCs behave. Plus, AB could make all the innuendos he likes.


^^; But yeah, that was just a weird daydream.


Also, Bard, you seem to have left out Renny from your list of romantic intepretions...

[Bard The 5th LW]

I feel I made my evaluation of Renny when saying that he was young and should slow down. Give other people a try, and maybe pursue someone for lifelong partnership when he's more mature and has better experience.

[Menarker]

^^; Oh, right. Forgot you did that earlier.

Sorry.

[Dracorion]

Pierce has pretty decent chances as he is. He just needs to settle down a bit and not shag every other woman near him.

Do Charlotte now.

And hey, Pierce doesn't voluntarily shag every woman. The only two were Elizabeth and Shizuka. One was a serious relationship and the other was a smoking hot 750 year old demoness, talk about cougar. All the other times he shagged anyone, he was drunk and therefore not accountable for his actions.

He'll hopefully be asking Chizuru out during the next intermission, so that should put him off the market.

And anyway, Gem? What Bard said.

The idea of Impact falling in love, or being romantically interested in anyone at all, is ridiculous.

[Menarker]

And hey, Pierce doesn't voluntarily shag every woman. The only two were Elizabeth and Shizuka. One was a serious relationship and the other was a smoking hot 750 year old demoness, talk about cougar. All the other times he shagged anyone, he was drunk and therefore not accountable for his actions.

Oh, PLEASE. That's bull.

"Bar on the first floor, dance club on the second, fuck rooms on the third,"
Harliette said.
The night started off as usual. After a few drinks, Pierce was already warming up to the night. With not so much as an excuse, Pierce left the bar and was already dancing with a Beautifly Pokebrid. He wasn't hammered enough to not notice that Pokebrids were probably eighty percent of all dancers on the floor this night. He had heard about mating season, and he knew exactly what that meant.

He could get a whole lot of play for the next three months without really trying. This Beautifly Pokebrid was clearly hosed. The only thing holding her back from jumping Pierce was all the other dancers. Then Pierce remembered the third floor. Maybe after a few more dances...


Pierce went in the club KNOWING that it has dance floors and fuck rooms and knowing that the pokebrids were in mating season and what it meant. This pretty much makes him accountable for all of his actions.

[Dracorion]

Fair point.

He was incredibly depressed, so he wasn't accountable for his actions.

[Menarker]

No, In my viewpoint he IS accountable.

Mind you, his reactions are perfectly valid and not exactly to be held against him. Depression and wanting a good time with people who are in such a place and willing is not a demerit.
But he IS accountable for them since he is aware of what was going on and what his actions would generally result in overall.

[Dracorion]

Dammit just shut the hell up. They don't count is all I'm saying and if you argue again I will smack you upside the head for backtalk.

[Astral Harmony]

I don't think Impact will have many chances to score some time with Dinner at all.

First off, even though I believe Geminex did call dibs on Dinner, him doing that is not why I'm having Dinner more or less on his side. It's just more convenient that way.

Dinner is going to be spending far too much time keeping the Knomere from landing Dropships and shit all over the world, rocketing around the planet to intercept large-scale invasions and other wacky hijinks and likely wouldn't even be available for simple dialogue the majority of the sequel. I don't wanna break Geminex's heart or anything, but that's the only logical thing Dinner can do that nobody else can.

Still, it's not like he'd be hurting for women even with Dinner more or less unavailable. It's just that even though Impact seems to be attracted to power, Dinner is just something far beyond his reach, and no Magatama is going to help him soar any higher.

Still, I have a rather bizarre idea, and if Impact truely craves a powerful woman to make his own, he'll get his chance.

[Menarker]

AB: Would Full Restore cure flinch such as the ones that has stunned Lola for 3 turns? I'm just wondering because at the moment there is no item specific to cure flinch. The reason being because normally flinch only works for specific round and thus there is no logical reason to have a item specifically to cure something that goes away before the next turn start.

Just thinking of a battle plan for Impact/Renny team this turn.

[Dracorion]

Gem, just telling you no more splitting the extra Stamina Boost action like that if you want to use it again. You use the Stamina Boost, and attack twice. And even though one of them is a normal attack action, you won't be getting any Rage from it.

[Geminex]

How'd I split it? I attack twice in the same turn. Doesn't say it has to be one after another. Particularly cause we've been doing that pretty much always.