[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:28:15 PM] Mamono Force: Is Rhaps the kind of person who would seek out the energy and power from souls to gain power such that would allow her to obtain a high place in demonic order?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:28:46 PM] Mamono Force: And if she is, how far would she be willing to go?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:32:43 PM] Shrike7: Yes, she just thinks a willing 'return customer' is a much easier sell. As for how far, that's kind of vague, so i'm going to say 'as far as necessary', though I would like more specific scenarios in order to give you her full measure.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:37:08 PM] Mamono Force: Rhapsody begins her career to become a demon of the most high, respected order. She starts out as most demons, do, weak, and low on spiritual energy. She had the fortune of turning into a succubus in the realm of the humans, as a mock scenario for this example, and is near the town in which she came from. The town is current swarming with demons, and there are a few yet unclaimed humans running around, what does she do?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:38:57 PM] Shrike7: Seems simple enough, rush in to claim what she can. If she has energy to spare after the first one, use it to gather a small group around herself to 'claim them before she starts feeding again, because every time she stops to feed on one, less are around for her to take afterwards.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:40:27 PM] Mamono Force: So she embarks on her quest to claim them. A man is barricading himself in his house, but Rhapsody finds a way in. He turns to Rhapsody when she approaches him. What happens then/
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:40:28 PM] Mamono Force: ?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:40:56 PM] Shrike7: She's in a hurry, poor sod gets brutally raped.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:43:41 PM] Mamono Force: You betray my expectations by actually performing a logical choice. The human alone is no match for a demon, so even if he threw a couple knives into you, his energy was enough to heal the wounds ten times over. Unfortunately, the rest of the town was picked clean in the demonic attack, and Rhapsody was left only with this one drained guy on the ground. Does she fly away to find more energy, keep him for some reason, or something else?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:46:20 PM] Shrike7: that depends on what the other demons are doing, most likely. Are they 'friends' now? if so, what are their plans?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:48:08 PM] Mamono Force: Rhapsody investigates the other demons nearby. Talking with them, they were mostly busy doting on their catches, and others seemed very hostile towards Rhapsody, thinking she was a stray demon who didn't get a catch, and was wanting to steal from someone who did. In any case, none of them wanted to make friends with her, since most of them were starving anyway.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:51:08 PM] Shrike7: Okay, then she's effectively on her own then. wake buddy up and use enough energy to make him agreeable, then leave the rest behind and head off her own way with him. She was a local, so she probably has a good idea of who else would be around in outlying farms or such, she can keep herself sustained enough for normal activities off of just him, and the other demons have more experience in general, so she would be unlikely to beat one and take their prize.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:52:54 PM] Mamono Force: Rhapsody makes her way around the land, taking what energy she can, and eventually finds herself with a decent deal of power as she finds herself in such a state where many more options are available. It's time to decide what she's going to do with her newfound power.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:57:16 PM] Shrike7: Well, that would depend once again. Don't really know much about the island at large, assuming it's that location. Few ideas that immediately pop into my head require a large-ish city that doesn't contain people who immediately know what she is, is there one of those around?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 04:59:13 PM] Mamono Force: Given such a large population of demons and monsters in general, Rhapsody's investigations to larger towns reveal that the security is nearly air tight. A few demons had already made it into the town, but she witnesses their fates as a squad of archers let them say their final words.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:00:47 PM] Shrike7: So any of the usual stealth and misdirection plays end in immediate death?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:02:18 PM] Mamono Force: Any of the usual stealth and misdirection plays, as Rhapsody would discover, were very dangerous. She immediately discards the finality of the thought that using stealth at all in such an environment would result in death no matter what, because that's just silly.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:03:01 PM] Mamono Force: And it makes her feel depressed. And no one likes an emo demon.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:05:34 PM] Shrike7: Okay, side question relating to the actual story: If an ordinary human town is impermeable to demons using any kind of subtlety, how the hell is the 'save the princess' Ploy going to work on an Order gatehouse? I have the impression that they hate demons much more than your average townsfolk, their awareness and defenses against such should be that much better.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:06:04 PM] Mamono Force: Read: Demons got in
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:06:14 PM] Mamono Force: At some point, they were discovered.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:06:17 PM] Mamono Force: And killed
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:09:19 PM] Shrike7: well if getting in is possible, staying hidden should be easier. Largest problem would be aquiring new food. and the larger the population, the more that can slip through the cracks without notice, happens everywhere.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:10:33 PM] Mamono Force: Asides from the women of the population, who see the new sexy girl show up, getting close to people.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:10:48 PM] Mamono Force: Women of the town: "Suspicious..."
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:12:28 PM] Mamono Force: Me: And besides, she's really just ruling out any possibility. "Hey shrike, I'm gonna throw you into this situation where you're pretty much doomed." I totally do that all the time. Totally... :
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:12:32 PM] Mamono Force: Tass: she does tend to assume that no matter what she's in. you have no idea how much I've had to reassure her about her plan in her DG thread
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:12:40 PM] Mamono Force: Thank you Tass
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:17:51 PM] Shrike7: DG is a special case, because mechanically, any creature from teir 2 up can defeat almost any PC. The DMs have to play monsters stupidly in order to give the PCs any chance. back to here. Once again, you're assuming things that are far too obvious. She already has access to a small group of people from her wanderings, pick a man and woman, maybe a younger boy, and drain the rest dead or simply let them go without any memories. Suddenly, you have a displaced family from a demonic raid looking for protection, Rhaps being the mother or of'age daughter, depending on the age groups she has to choose from. Rhapsody is willing to take things slow and methodically, she could even hang out int he wilderness as she had been to train her new family properly before wandering in looking for a new home.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:19:22 PM] Mamono Force: I'm not assuming anything, I'm looking at what you're saying and wondering "Why oh why would you think that. Please stop. You're not going to stop? Well allow me to rip out my hair for a moment please."
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:20:10 PM] Mamono Force: And moreover, you just did the first part accurately. You attacked that guy for his energy. Why?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:20:41 PM] Shrike7: You assumed she would automatically take a sexy eye candy form and openly woo people in public settings, did you not?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:21:01 PM] Mamono Force: That really seemed like what you were going for
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:22:49 PM] Shrike7: I took his energy because i was on the verge of starving, having started with none of my own. And I believe i have yet to state any actual goal for entering the town, as yet. What I am going for would likely take at least a month, and would at no point require anything demonic or seductive to be done in public
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:23:23 PM] Mamono Force: And then what? After you're no longer starving?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:23:40 PM] Mamono Force: Is that it? Just have fun where you are?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:23:58 PM] Mamono Force: There are demons who do that
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:24:03 PM] Mamono Force: They're the lower class
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:25:52 PM] Shrike7: I'm already no longer starving, we're a few steps past that. And this scenario has zero to do with the demon castes at large, since this is a human city, and Rhaps has had zero experience with how Hell is run. the idea here is to keep sustained until i can attach myself to someone with influence in the city, and gain secret access to more and more from there.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:26:43 PM] Shrike7: since obviously, walkin gin the front gates and declaring herself empress would just get her shot, and living from farmhouse to farmhouse is demeaning. She has to build her power base from scratch.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:27:22 PM] Mamono Force: Okay, Rhapsody manages to do all of this. She was more clever than the average demon and makes her way into the kingdom. She seduces the Lord and pretty much ends up owning the place. How does she spend her time now?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:30:44 PM] Shrike7: making sure the city stays friendly to new immigrants, increasing in power, and looking for opportunities to learn and grow in power even more. using the lord and his diplomats to spread her influence to other cities, and generally looking for *more*
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:32:06 PM] Mamono Force: One day, a demon makes herself known privately to Rhapsody. She says her name is Etna and she's a demon who's claimed a town just as she has, and even has her own demonic army. She states her terms: Become her vassal, and she won't attack Rhapsody's town.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:33:08 PM] Shrike7: Is it possible to tell at a glance her chances in open conflict?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:35:48 PM] Mamono Force: It is clear that while Rhapsody was focusing on using diplomacy and spreading her influence to remain hidden among humans, Etna was constantly absorbing their power through force. Rhapsody is told by Etna that she snuck into a town just as she had, and held the Lord hostage. She manages to get all of the soldiers to obey her wishes, and all the demons she spoke to beforehand, telling them to follow her for greater glory, invaded the town, and with their lord captive, laid down their arms for the most part. As proof of her story, she was brimming with power.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:36:47 PM] Mamono Force: As Rhapsody calculates her odds, there was a clear difference in strength between her, the diplomatic Rhapsody, and Etna, the power hungry demon.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:37:39 PM] Shrike7: makes perfect sense. what would becoming a vassal state effectively do?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:38:03 PM] Mamono Force: She would be tasked with obeying Etna's commands.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:38:53 PM] Shrike7: that's it?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:39:42 PM] Mamono Force: Pretty much. When Etna snaps her fingers, Rhapsody is to do as she's told.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:39:59 PM] Mamono Force: And if she doesn't, she'll just invade and take it over.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:44:22 PM] Shrike7: well, there's more or less two options here. Agreeing effectively inducts her into demonic society, and she can slowly start to progress along that in much the same means as before, though she would almost doubtless lose her current herd to the first decision Etna makes, which I'm expecting to be 'open your gates and let my army feed.' which isn't technically an attack. The second likely calls in quite a few things you havent thought of yet, so I'll ask a couple questions to make sure I have as much nailed down as possible before I go assuming anything. You stated that Rhapsody was approached privately. From this, I can assume Etna showed up personally, and doesn't have a standing army at the gates?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:45:15 PM] Mamono Force: She does not have an army with her, she caught Rhapsody when she was alone.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:47:02 PM] Shrike7: Alone is a rather subjective term, I'm afraid. She is in the center of her own power base, after all. Alone in the room, almost certainly. Next question, has that short list of things she's been up to been oderately successful up to this point?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:47:04 PM] Mamono Force: Likely haven't thought of yet.... lol
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:47:40 PM] Mamono Force: Before Rhapsody could spread her influence, Etna appeared.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:48:09 PM] Mamono Force: I'm not going to argue with the above point, if this is going where I think it's going, I know how it'll end.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:49:11 PM] Shrike7: You asked how she was spending her time, is that question now moot?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:52:32 PM] Mamono Force: Diplomacy takes a while. Flying over to Rhapsody as a demon with wings does not
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:53:00 PM] Shrike7: My plan can still work either way, just need to know where to focus. How did Etna learn of Rhapsody, might I ask.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:53:02 PM] Mamono Force: This whole scenario is placing Etna and Rhapsody in similar starting positions.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:53:35 PM] Mamono Force: Etna became a ruthless demon and Rhapsody a diplomat
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:53:44 PM] Shrike7: there's a slight problem with that. Rhapsody's method should leave her invisible to outside influence for much longer than Etna's would.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:54:47 PM] Mamono Force: Not if their kingdoms were nearby. Eventually Etna leaves to see about harrassing the rulers over there, and gets close enough to Rhapsody to sniff out her demonic scent.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:55:06 PM] Mamono Force: Whereas, humans aren't so capable.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:55:14 PM] Shrike7: that works, more or less. How long is Eventually?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:55:54 PM] Mamono Force: Once she's secured her own Lord and castle and seeks to spread, about the same time Rhapsody sought out other kingdoms to spread her influence.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 05:58:09 PM] Shrike7: Okay. I can deal with that, makes sense. raises another comparative question, though. I can assume with the open way Etna took over, very little of her city's political infrastructure remains, what with demons walking the streets and everything?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:00:23 PM] Mamono Force: Etna's political infrastructure is run solely on the fact that she is powerful, so it's in everyone's interests to obey her.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:04:51 PM] Shrike7: i meant more on the human side, but that's pretty unequivocally a yes anyways, gotcha. Okay, yeah, think I have enough to backup the second option... Oh, wait, these ones are probably stupid and obvious, so I'll just rattle them off quick. They're all concerning normal human behavior on the island. Is it divided into multiple nations, or just one? How often do trade caravans run for things the city cannot produce itself? It the whole thing on your typical medievil feudal system?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:07:12 PM] Mamono Force: The island on the east side is rich with life. You'd be hard pressed to find a suffering town unless it was suffering from too much sex.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:07:50 PM] Mamono Force: And the human faction is generally only divided up into two, who are generally on peaceful terms
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:07:56 PM] Mamono Force: The Magi, who live in the mountains
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:08:02 PM] Mamono Force: And the Order, who live below the mountains
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:09:08 PM] Shrike7: okay, that should work well enough, i think. so, second option:
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:09:39 PM] Mamono Force: If she attacks Etna, I'm gonna lol
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:17:45 PM] Shrike7: Regardless of whether Rhaps has had time to personally corrupt diplomats and whatnot from other cities. the city she now owns has previous friendly relations with it's neighbors. Said neighbors have no idea she now controls it, and think the Lord is still the one in charge. Rhaps' city is obviously strong enough to at least cause a problem for Etna's army, or the woman wouldn't even be asking, given her previous methods. Rhapsody tells Etna to shove it. Etna would win on a simple one-on-one. but every castle has guards, and Rhaps can hold her own or play cat-and-mouse (The more likely of the two, given her propensity for stealth and misdirection so far) until Etna can no longer safely stay in town, since she isn't the god-awesome thing she is in the thread currently, she's just a young-un with a big belly so far. So Etna flies back to go collect her army, while Rhapsody uses the Lord's pre-existing political contacts to call for aid from the encroaching demons. human messengers run off to human towns for aid~
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:21:20 PM] Shrike7: , it's already a friendly environment, and the order is real big on killing demon scum, so they'd love to help out on that. Rhapsody can't make an appearance while all these allies are at her Lord's side, but she already knew that the man has to walk on his own two legs without her aid for a bunch of the time, so she left him actually capable of doing so, while still being under her thumb. The demons will arrive before the aid does, but again, Rhapsody's city must be impressive enough to stall them, Or Etna would have just walked in and cleaned up without asking permission. Which has the added benefit of making the demons fight on two fronts when aid does arrive, and likely without an avenue of retreat, as well.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:21:59 PM] Mamono Force: Etna's highly mobile demon army arrives before aid does, and Rhapsody is surprised to find that even though her forces were greater in number, it took several human warriors to take out a single succubus. Her town is taken over and Etna makes Rhapsody into her slave.
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:22:48 PM] Mamono Force: In another scenario
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:23:09 PM] Shrike7: Oh, so the battle is lost before Etna even shows up, is that it? How do those succubus get so powerful when they all have to share a single city worth of people?
[Tue Apr 24 2012 06:23:25 PM] Mamono Force: Etna makes her attack, and the angels come to protect the humans. The angels twart her attack, and Etna is killed. Searching for demons, Rhapsody is either discovered, or is forced to flee.
