Deathwatch: Murderers in Black (IC Thread)

[Lysimachus]

Orochi Initiative: Ag7 x2(Lightning Reflexes) = 14 +1(Fury Like Lightning) +d10(5) = 20

Hmm, Vafri (the only one left to roll) won't be able to match that, so…

 

Orochi's utter confidence is… odd, given his being outnumbered seven-to-one. He smirks, rises quickly to his feet, and begins to speak in a voice loud enough to be heard by all.

 

“Duty.”

 

His tone is soft, but nevertheless insistent, somehow impossible to ignore. Strangely, you find you cannot do anything but wait for the next word in the sequence.

 

“Sable. Thirty-eight. Forge. Lantern-bearer. Ten. Rhino. Passive. Homecoming. Alpha.”

 

The droning words are somehow hauntingly familiar - seemingly random, but as each is spoken it fits perfectly, like pieces of a steel puzzle locking together. Or a cage. Somehow, they might remind you of your Deathwatch training - strapped to indoctrination tables, seeing the myriad images inserted directly into your minds, being forced to listen to your Watch-Captain's hypnotic voice… what was it he had said…?

 

“You cannot move.”

 

The words come together with the impact of a bolt round to the head. This command cannot be disobeyed. Your muscles lock, as though wrapped in bands of hardened plasteel. Hands that were raising weapons, legs that were preparing for a leap forwards to attack - all are halted.

 

Asterius: Even as he is speaking, Orochi looks irritably at Asterius and presses something on his belt. There is a quiet ‘pop’ and the Blackshield notices a sudden surge of power from within his bionic limb, before his armour loses all power and freezes into total immobility. Anyone who had ever been hit by a haywire device would immediately recognise the effect. You can still see and hear, but all movement is impossible until the machine spirits of your armour can restore themselves.

 

Orochi smiles.

 

STRUCTURED TIME DOES NOT BEGIN… YET…

 

OOC: Firstly, all players gain d5 Insanity Points as you are affected by the hypno-conditioning Orochi has secretly implanted. I will allow the mental reinforcement provided by the Corruption Resistance Defensive Squad Mode instituted by Omoc to affect this, so you can all take 1 away from the roll (and Omoc can take 2 away) just as you would with Corruption Points.

 

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, none of you can move. At all.

 

However, don't panic! Orochi is not currently doing anything to attack you, and no-one will take any harm from this temporary paralysis (aside from the above mentioned Insanity Points).

 

In a moment, you will all get the opportunity to break free from the hypnotic suggestion. At that time, you will benefit from any and all appropriate Talents (I vaguely think a few had taken Orthoproxy?) and I will also allow a +10 bonus to Wp from Omoc's Squad Mode to apply. However, note that abilities like Resistance: Psychic Powers and Abhor the Witch will not apply, as this is not a psychic/warp-based effect.

 

But before we get to that, this little bit is just an opportunity for some final plot point development/ interaction/ Q+As/ name-calling/ villain monologuing/ whatever, as seems appropriate. Feel free to begin (narratively) struggling with the mental conditioning, and address Orochi (or not) as you see fit.

 

 

P.S.

 

I'll be honest, the bit with the haywire device hidden in Asterius’ bionic leg is simply a bit of fudging on my part in order to include him in this bit. As a member of the original team, he was already indoctrinated well before Orochi came to the Bulwark, and thus there would have been no reason to have him re- hypno-conditioned. Hence I had to figure out something else.

Now, I know that Zidemi checked your wargear for signs of tampering, but if you check back, you'll notice in my reply I was very careful to say that your armour and weapons were clean… but I didn't say anything about items concealed within bionic limbs! That was perhaps a little deceptive of me, but such sneakiness is sometimes a necessary part of GMing for such a canny bunch of players, and I hope you will forgive this duplicity in the name of storytelling - I promise there aren't any other issues with any of your wargear! 

Anyway, just like the rest, Asterius can't move yet. However, on the plus side, I won't make him roll for any Insanity Points!

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 06:46 AM by Lysimachus

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

Insanity = D5 -1 = 2

The enforced indolence aggrieved his restlessness.

 

It was, however, merely the jungle's silence; a pregnant portent before atrocity unleashed.