[BC] The Blackest Heart (OOC)

[Machine God]

1 hour ago, Lysimachus said:

I do have another question, but might be easier to ask it here.

 

Was the revealed spoiler from @Mazer Rackham Kraggan's first interaction with the AL, or did Kraggan approach them prior to that?

 

 

Edit: to clarify, I'm not asking whether it was Mazer or MG's idea to bring the AL into the story. I'm just asking was Kraggan already an AL asset before any of the PCs met, or was his induction initiated in the post above?

 

 

No @Mazer Rackham sent the Carrot Message and then we communicated by PM. 

 

1 hour ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

It doesn't matter, I know how it ends. 

 

 

No need for that, I'll clear up some stuff with the game being up.

 

 

When Kraggan met Valex, he said 'Hydra Dominatus'

 

Valex said; 'You had me at hello.'

 

I'll clear up some stuff once I have read the thread, I'm up to my eyeballs.

 

 

Kraggan has heard things but he doesn't know things. 

 

Like someone thinking that they know stuff about the Freemasons just because they have watched The Man who would be King a dozen times. 

 

1 hour ago, Lysimachus said:

 

Ok, yep, see the logic.

 

 

 

Ok, that makes the next bit:

 

 

...tricky.

 

If he wasn't forced in any way, he made a conscious choice to betray the team, and that makes it much harder to justify keeping him* alive (as anything more than Xerxes' test subject, that is)

 

 

*Kraggan, I mean, not MG. Treachery and betrayal is part of the game, so no judgement on him for choosing to play it that way - in fact, it's been a fun subplot!

 

 

I was going to put in some about player knowledge vs character knowledge. But I don't think I need to. 

 

41 minutes ago, Necronaut said:

@Lysimachus Kraggan's value proposition for being kept alive is he is going to be our spy from now on (and/or Hagga's servant) if he wants to keep his blood and internal organs inside of himself. He will now inform upon Valex and his crew on our behalf and feed them false reports. Ideally we would use him to lure Valex's warband into a trap whereby we could wipe them out and steal their gear, or perhaps broker a treaty with them (I prefer the first option).

 

Wait until you hear Kraggan's reply. 

 

 

Edited April 14 by Machine God
Typo

[Mazer Rackham]

2 hours ago, Machine God said:

Kraggan has heard things but he doesn't know things. 

 

This is true.

 

2 hours ago, Machine God said:

No @Mazer Rackham sent the Carrot Message and then we communicated by PM. 

 

Oh, I'd hardly say that. More like a case of you dangling the carrot, and I proffered an...'Invitation to Treat' as the lawyers say.

 

2 hours ago, Machine God said:

Like someone thinking that they know stuff about the Freemasons just because they have watched The Man who would be King a dozen times. 

 

A very interesting observation. In fact, this whole little operation has been quite enlightening.

 

EDIT: To avoid double-posting gents, I will just drop this here - once Kraggan's Dilemma is resolved (and apart from ACQ's) what are we wanting to do?

 

Edited April 14 by Mazer Rackham

[Iron Father Ferrum]

We're going back to murder Bounty, right?

[Mazer Rackham]

29 minutes ago, Iron Father Ferrum said:

We're going back to get murdered on Bounty, right?

 

Uh...yeah, something like that.

[Lysimachus]

Question - do we know IC that the Alpha Legion is operating on Bounty? I know we've figured it out OOC, from interlude posts and Sarge being there, but I'm not sure we've heard it in a way that confirms it in-universe? 

 

Unless that is part of what Kraggan can reveal?

 

[Mazer Rackham]

3 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

Question - do we know IC that the Alpha Legion is operating on Bounty?

 

No.

 

3 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

I know we've figured it out OOC, from interlude posts and Sarge being there, but I'm not sure we've heard it in a way that confirms it in-universe? 

 

Correct, you do not.

 

3 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

Unless that is part of what Kraggan can reveal?

 

No. Kraggen would have been kept in the dark. Alpha Legion compartmentalise to the extreme, operating in cells in the same way all "effective" terrorist networks do. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing so that no simultaneous operations and existing cells can be compromised.

 

If only you had some kind of, I don't know - sneaky bastard who wasn't easily recognised, who could follow up on a lead and be self-sufficient, some kind of man who could, oh, quite possibly traverse all manners of terrain, deal with impossible odds and who isn't covered in armpit tentacles (yes, even if they're coming out of your butt - it's an armpit tentacle. Do not question the dark gods, fool!).

 

Shame really.

 

This could also be a nice little byway back into the game @Trokair

 

Edited April 15 by Mazer Rackham

[Lysimachus]

Yep, that's all good then.

 

I was just concerned that if we know the AL has been messing with our stuff, and we know the AL is operating on Bounty, why would we go to Bounty before we are 100% sure we've removed their influence? That would be a really bad idea. (I'm sure I keep saying that... )

 

But if we only know the first half, there's nothing to stop us IC from continuing the plan.

 

(And OOC we'll walk 'happily' into the trap )

 

I don't know, MG may be working on a post for this, but if we know all the systems he has inflected, can we remove the code and know that it's gone?

 

 

Edited April 15 by Lysimachus

[Machine God]

Post edited:

 

https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383296-bc-the-blackest-heart-part-ii-ic/page/65/#findComment-6166447

 

 

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

I've completed the Infamy Sacrifice roll for Kraggan - who on top of all his other indignities, loses 19 Infamy total. This comes off before the awards above.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Ouch.

[Mazer Rackham]

Two Characters 'dead' in one Campaign. This is quite a score. Usually we hardly manage one.

 

Well, you know what they say in Poke-a-Man - gotta kill catch 'em all! 

[Necronaut]

[Machine God]

On 4/13/2026 at 10:54 PM, Machine God said:

 

Thank you. I will do that.

 

Infamy Burn:

 

https://orokos.com/roll/1071044

 

 

@Mazer Rackham - I shall the above Burn that I did on Monday and use your roll. 

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

1 hour ago, Machine God said:

 

@Mazer Rackham - I shall the above Burn that I did on Monday and use your roll. 

 

My apologies, forgot you did that. Cap it at 18, which is your Orokos roll. I know it's only one difference, but it's my bad on that one, so some small compensation.

[Machine God]

17 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

My apologies, forgot you did that. Cap it at 18, which is your Orokos roll. I know it's only one difference, but it's my bad on that one, so some small compensation.

 

@Mazer Rackham - Thank you. I thought that I'd mention about taking your roll, as you do all the rolls. Perils, Gifts and Mutations etc. 

 

Oi, I told you once MG, I'm not gonna tell you again son,

I do the one, two, three, four. 

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

2 minutes ago, Machine God said:

Oi, I told you once MG, I'm not gonna tell you again son,

I do the one, two, three, four. 

 

Well, I can only hope I am distributing my tyranny equally.

 

Rule #170 of What I Would Do as An Evil Overlord:

 

'I will be an equal-opportunity despot and make sure that terror and oppression is distributed fairly, not just against one particular (Player) group that will form the core of a rebellion.'

[Lysimachus]

In the OOC, gentlemen I need you to give me a go/no-go for Bounty, or something else.

 

From an IC perspective, there isn't anything that we know that would hold us back from the Bounty Op... so I'd say it's still on?

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

There has been mention of a couple of ACQ's - Xerxes Scrap Code Generator parts, IIRC amongst others (fulfilled). These can be done during the hours the ship is docked, but you're going to have to trade for them, since Strabo is disinclined to assist at the moment.

 

Whatever you trade in loses -10 in the value due to seller's market, daemonic stuff is off the table due to location - so if you're trading Extremely Rare (-30/+30), it only counts as Vey Rare (-20/+20)

 

Edited April 16 by Mazer Rackham

[Lord_Ikka]

25 minutes ago, Lysimachus said:

 

 

From an IC perspective, there isn't anything that we know that would hold us back from the Bounty Op... so I'd say it's still on?

 

 

 

If we could get any more demolitions or armaments before we hit Bounty I think that would increase our success chances, arming some of the fodder and giving the Vale loyalists some more punch to distract from our doings.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

I would like a comm leach, a multi-key, and a stummer.  Since we're trading, is there any change to the process or is it still just acquisition rolls?

 

[Lysimachus]

3 minutes ago, Lord_Ikka said:

If we could get any more demolitions or armaments before we hit Bounty I think that would increase our success chances, arming some of the fodder and giving the Vale loyalists some more punch to distract from our doings.

 

Good idea. Varne does still have 2 of the 8 Opal demo charges, I think(?) so that goes a little way towards such needs?

 

Maybe a few mortal sized special weapons?

 

[A.T.]

 

1 hour ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 In the OOC, gentlemen I need you to give me a go/no-go for Bounty, or something else. If you want to propose another Op, now's the time to order it up.

 

Time / resources available before the attack - getting the scracpcode generator online to offset the loss of Kraggans magic codes, fitting our resident pyromaniac with bolt-shell resistant armour, perhaps a big cameleoline tarpaulin or cardboard box for the non combat types to hide under...

Edit - saw the message after posting. Will make decisions/rolls later today.

Edited April 16 by A.T.

[Mazer Rackham]

You will need to offer a trade-in item along with your Infamy roll, which might make it easier, but also means you have to lose something (look at Ukalegon's trade-in for details). In criminal circles etc, your Infamy would be your 'Bad Mutha' rep so you could get away without doing that, but you can't here and fly under the radar.

 

Alternatively, you could ask one of the mortals to go and barter for you (suitably disguised if feathery), and they can get it using Infamy Score alone, and a kind word, and maybe a gun in an ear. However, this will cost you Infamy (it's in the Core somewhere) but you'll get the item without having to sacrifice gear.

 

If @Lord_Ikka wants to enter into a series of negotiations with me for folks, then give him a shopping list and we will prepare something. Further, if as above Ikka has mentioned demo charges, I may permit more ACQ than normal as long as it is for the Op and not personal use. I will be the final arbiter on what is permitted/excessive.

 

The alternative is to use Infamy rolls straight up, boosted if you like, using Infamy Points. However, be advised, this is a continuing session, and whatever you spend on your buys, you will not have for Bounty, and the people you're trying to avoid will know you're here. The more weight you throw about, the more notice is taken.

 

What I will say, is that we have 10-24 hours in which you will be docked to do 'stuff'. Certain equipment will be more available at an 'Imperial' station than elsewhere, so anything Imperial standard issue, or nature (I will be the arbiter, naturally) will have less modifiers for Quantity - so for example, you want a crate of 10 Lasguns? That's usually -10 on top of the roll, but here, that is waived to (+0).

 

That kind of thing.

 

Don't forget though, that Infamy can buy you services. Here, Infamy will work as normal, so if you want to hire Mercs, for example, you can trade on your 'Bad Mutha' rep. Should be a couple of criminal gangs about. Obviously acquiring services is like anything else, quality is everything. You can hire a plot of rebel scum, or even talk a star ship captain into handing over a parcel of mutant slaves armed with clubs.

 

Does this track for everyone?

 

Edited April 16 by Mazer Rackham

[Lord_Ikka]

I think, since both the Plantation soldiers and the Vale soldiers are armed, we would just have to supply some extra explosive/incendiary items. Whether or not those can be made (Molotovs out of Fuel/Supplies maybe?) or have to be sourced is up to the GM/our ability to make them (maybe??). This was more of an idea I thought up to give us some more leverage with the Bounty fighters and show that we are giving them some support.

 

Whether or not we need more troops is going to be a decision I leave up to the more military minded characters. Crux'as is a schemer and agent provocateur, not a soldier, so his input here is not especially valuable. 

 

One thing I personally need to remember (ie - someone yell at me when this occurs) is that when we get to Bounty we need to work on the blackmail/bribery of the PDF commander/LT so that we can possibly get the compromised LT in charge of the armory guards for the date we are going to hit it, and then try to use the Commander's affairs to trigger some sort of disturbance between the commander, the noble father of the girl he's with, and the two women (noble daughter/subordinate PDF member). If we're lucky maybe we can get the commander side-tracked/removed entirely and make the PDF substantially more useless, making the Arbites the main threat for the op.

Edited April 16 by Lord_Ikka

[Mojake]

43 minutes ago, Lysimachus said:

Varne does still have 2 of the 8 Opal demo charges

 

For emergencies, special occasions and flights of fancy.