Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

6156/Scavenging the Hulk

2018-11-19T03:53:12Z

MetBoy: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/11/18 |Location=The Line |Synopsis=Orchid gathers a team to loot one of the Refineries that lay along the Line |Cast of Characters=6384, 906,..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/11/18
|Location=The Line
|Synopsis=Orchid gathers a team to loot one of the Refineries that lay along the Line
|Cast of Characters=6384, 906, 711, 7, 571
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      So, while all those who Orchid has hired (and yes, there will be some pay for this day's labor, as well as pizza if all goes well) are approaching the mission site, they will be treated to a mission briefing. Mission Brief: Client: Orchid Location: Abandoned Engine Kingdom Refinery #6156 Objective: Secure the site, salvage tools, study technology, & make sure the place is safe.     <You know, I could give you pages of background on this place, how it was built by the Combustion Empire, reclaimed by the Engine Kingdom. There's a good five pages Iâve got about the riot that lead to this place switching sides. But the short version is we're going in, looking for some specific treasure, and making sure this place is safe to leave abandoned for the locals.>     So in addition to driving the cargo truck rented for the mission, Orchid will be remaining outside, both as a reserve and as a spotter. Everyone has been added to her tactical net, meaning everyone gets to see a mini-map, and a heads-up-display indicating what they are looking at actually is. (Equipment provided as necessary)     <So there are a couple of things we could be seeing, including turbofauna, bandits, or simply unstable cargo. So if you see something, speak up. With the turbofauna, there are people we can sell a body to, but they will pay more for live capture. No moral or legal issues. Same with bandits; the nearby city claims the wreck, and anyone who moved in counts as an illegal squatter. Unarmed squatters we can shoo along, but if they shoot at us, the locals would rather we not kill them, and will pay for live captures but not dead ones. Unstable bits of cargo we'll decide when we come to, stabilize if we can, or detonate at a safe distance from things we like if we can't.>     On arrival, well. It is a mobile oil refinery that has come to a stop. Thrusters on the back end, wheels along the bottom, a hole torn into one side, gigantic tanks, a row of garage doors, and what is close to an energy cannon at the front.      <Right, there has been a turbofauna sighted in the area, but that was weeks ago. It may still be here, it may have moved on. Be sharp people. Any questions or concerns? Also, what should I order on the pizzas?>      Orchid pulls the truck into a stop. Time to pose in, and decide how you want to tackle this. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang has brought her bike for this trip out, acting as an outrider for the truck. She's got an earpiece with a little one-eye visor to link up with the tacnet under her helmet as she rides along. "Suffice it to say, don't fire unless fired upon, and try to wing instead of go for the kill." replies Yang over the radio. "I'll only bring out Ember Celica if something proves too tough to just punch into submission. I remember that horror monster Zwei cooked up too well." She keeps a distance between herself and the truck. "I'll swing around the front, see if there's any movement from there then head in from that side. I'll keep in touch." she adds, pulling ahead as the truck slows to approach and vanishing around one of the titanic wheels.     "As for the pizza, no mushrooms or anchovies. Anything else is a'okay with me." she adds offhandedly. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     "So no killin' nuttin' less it makes a big problem of itself," Corona summerizes the summary as she hops down from the truck, boots clunking audibly on the surface. She pulls one of the revovler-like weapons from it's holster to remove the cylinder, tuck that away and replace it with another from her belt. "Iffen anyone needs non-lethal ammo, just give a hollar." The gun is reholstered and it's mate is drawn to do the same. If she needs to switch to real firepower she's got her scattergun. "Otherwise, ready to move out."     A pause, and a flick of the tail and a shrug. "Don't matter none." She smirks coyly. "Can eat most anything." You learn to not be picky when you grow up on the streets. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa knew the deal given what she'd been involved with the Line and bringing the horrible nightmare to a close. She's also learned a bit about Gil that left her far less angry about him. Either way here she was happy to take this job too as it was right up her alley in terms of her skills. This would be hopefully fun, right? she'd offered her ship the Bluenose for additional cargo carrying, and she was pulling up on her personal motorcycle the Knight. She would bring the craft to a halt pull off her helmet, following that up with pulling cables out of the back of her neck. <<Ham and Pineapple for me!>> Kotone was a costal savage who liked such things she noted. "As for squatters I have a good array of less lethal and riot control options. Also, leave the plugging one's brain into strange alien tech to me. It's my lot in life." She was also clad in that stealth armoured body suit she often wore. "Yang! Corona good to see you both today! Is this it for the crew for this?" 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     KA-CHUNK     <I'll try not to get too trigger happy.> Maaka radios dryly as she stows a Vepr-12 auto-shotgun, modified to her personal preference in specs. Still, Orchid's op, she needs to play by her rules tonight. Plus, pizza AND a paycheck after this? She can't argue with that. <What about salvage rights?> She asks, outriding along with Yang using her motorcycle. <I'm not picky long as it ain't anchovies. Hell, add pineapple if you wanna get frisky.> Maaka quips casually, as she gives a scan of the immediate area, her eyes alert for any hostiles on-site. 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:''' As she goes around he refinery, Yang will see more of those ground-level garage doors, some of which are open to reveal... Garages! But perhaps more importantly, she may notice some tracks, leading towards the big hole. Strange tracks at that, like giant paws, but with a strangely swept area between them. A closer look might tell her more.      Back at the truck that is their home base, Orchid is setting up what she calls her portable spotter kit: two computer screens, a chair, and a network relay. Her spiders are fanning out from her location, and into the Hulk. "I think that's it for the moment," Orchid says, looking over the data. "I'm not seeing any risk near the entrances so far... Salvage rights are mostly 'first come, first served.' This is why I have the cargo container to fill. I'm specifically looking for machine shop tools, but there are some other things I'd like to look at"      Oh yeah, that hole. It certainly looks like it was pulled apart by something with claws, and is a good 10 feet across. <You can go in through that hole, or the garages,> Orchid offers. <And it sounds like two Hawaiian style will make everyone happy.> 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang pulls hard around once she spots the open doors, but kills the throttle a little when she sees the tracks leading in. She circles in to take a closer look, then radios over. <Got some tracks over here... some of that turbofauna seems to be still around, keep sharp if you go in near the big breach... Got some open hangar doors over this side, I'm heading in to poke around.> she says, then guns the throttle and heads straight for the doors. Whether there's a ramp or not, she uses her gauntlets to launch herself and her bike up into the opening and skids to a stop in a hard sweeping turn that kicks up blown-in dust and debris in a dramatic cloud as she grinds the metal of her boot against the deck, sending up sparks. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     <Rog'. Heading toward the garage.> Maaka radios in affirmative, making her way to join Yang as the blonde pugilist maneuvers around the refinery. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the sheer *scale* of the place, taking in the fact it's also mobile at that. God only knows how much energy this thing guzzles, not that she can talk. Body-mods aren't cheap, nor are the amount of food she needs to keep herself running with the bio-fuel cell in her stomach.     She rides up the extended ramp, following Yang inside as she hits the ground and lands near the perky pugilist after a pretty sizable jump into the garage, her bike making a hard left as it skids to a stop, kicking dust and sparks everywhere.     "We're in." She messages, hopping off her bike. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     Corona finishes up by pulling her goggles down over her eyes. That despite their archaic look of leather band and brass fittings are modern tech within, giving her access to Orchid's map HUD and other features. "No sense in us all goin' in the same way and bein' potential targets." Besides she knows Yang and Maaka are more than capable than handling themselves. "Rawht, tools, stuff to work with." Stuff she knows plenty about.     Okay so some sorta critter that may or may not still be here has tore its way into the lower levels. So a lot of stuff might be trashed in there already. "Think we oughta take a looksie on the other side." The fox starts around to the side opposite of where the massive hole is, looking for an alternate access to hopefully a workshop or such for the sort of items they're looking for. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' <<Not everything is a target Alexis o/~>> Kotone certainly doesn't seem to be the fearful and self-hating girl she was when she first walked out into the multiverse. She is ready to head in and she hushes up as Maaka brings up the issue of salvage which is part of why she's here. <Don't forget the Bluenoses cargo hold is empty o/~>> At the mention of turbo fauna? Kotone will make sure the assault rifle on her back and pistol at her hip are ready before she'll head in. She then cloaks and will dash on ahead to see what she can find with someone like Yang to help with any up close hostiles she's quite confident. They should be able to endure whatever might await them. <> <<Hey Corona I need to show you my Halloween costume later>> She sees Maaka go off with Yang so she'll end up going off with Corona in the end. 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      At looking closer at the tracks will reveal what looks like tire-treads in the paws, as if someone managed to combine a car with... a bear? No, there isn't indication of claws. Between the paw-prints is what looks like the trail a giant snake would leave. Something going the same direction? Maybe.      Once Yang and Alexis are inside the garages, it'll quickly become clear that the people who used to work here probably left of their own free will. There's some dust, and only two vehicles visible inside, and those are jacked up on lifts. There are also some clear signs that this was an Engine Kingdom facility; mini-fridges, pinup posters on the walls, chairs that might have been comfortable once. But this isn't what Orchid is looking for: it is a place for repairing and storing vehicles, not for making parts. There are doors deeper into the facility. Over with Corona and Kotone, they'll find what looks like a door under the thrusters that once kept this thing moving at speed, as well as a number of... well, garbage chutes, filled with black and grey ash. The door leads to the engine control room. Lots of panels and dials related to those thrusters are inside, along with more posters and even a toaster oven, revealing that people lived and worked here comfortably. Again, doors to other parts of the refinery.      <I'm getting some telemetry, and am updating your maps,> Orchid tells her crew. Now on the maps are things labeled 'bridge' 'living quarters' a large space labeled 'cargo', and 'main reaction chamber' 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang dismounts, taking her helmet off and leaving it on her bike's saddle. <We have a couple vehicles in here... they're kinda in bits, might be something worth salvaging but I doubt it.> she says, checking out the Engine Kingdom decor. She's familiar with the lacksidaisical seeming nature of the former Kingdom, the grease-rocker stylings and the burning desire for freedom. She wipes some dust from one of the mini-fridges, before turning to one of the doors leading further in. "Maaka, on me. We're going deeper in, If this place is anything like the other refinery back when the Treasure was still running this place, there should be a machine shop off the main hangar bay for machining new parts." she deploys Ember Celica. "Keep your eyes open too, there were more than just the paw marks out there." 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     Corona taps the side of her goggles to process the update, and hmms softly. <Get any fix on what might act'ally be in the cargo space?> she asks. The pauses to look over some of the consoles, but there doesn't appear to be any actual tools in the room, just a control station. Her ears swivel a bit, keeping wary of potential warnings for danger. But most of her attention is on searching for the items they're looking for as they make their way into the abandoned (maybe?) hulk of a machine. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     "Right." Maaka nods, drawing her Vepr as she follows Yang. If they run into anything, she'll let Yang handle the brunt of it. Probably a bad idea to get in the way of someone strong as she is after all. "Way ahead of you. Check those corners." Maaka says, doing exactly that as she focuses on wherever Yang isn't looking, typical CQB training really. You always cover your buddy's back, look where they're not.     "So where we headed first? Machine shop?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is moving ahead still cloaked as she's looking about for signs of trouble but rather finds that people lived here once. She'll attempt to patch into any tactical net that has gone up. She keeps moving to check the displays and dials for anything that might hint what they did, her search is brief and unless she turns up something major she's going to be moving on for the refinery, also there's a warning about lifeforms form Yang and she keeps note of that. <<Let me look the Vehicles over later I salvaged things you'd think were nothing but scrap!>> With the warning in mind and should she have not found anything major she's going to make a push for the refinery though she makes for the refinery. 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      Passing through the passages, both parties find their way to one of the large cargo bays. The way this place is laid out it also doubles as a hub for getting around. The hole to the outside can be seen from here, light streaming in.      Judging by the nest pounded into the remaining crates, it is the home to a turbofauna.      Judging by the broken skulls around the nest, it likes to eat people.      And judging by Orchid's warning, it had been out when they arrived, and is now coming home.      Moving not as fast as the line once did, but still faster than anything its size should, it bursts in, all black with chrome accents. Making out WHAT it is will be hard, but there is the impression of a muscular creature, a panther writ large, needle-fangs, and a long tail replacing the lower body, a horrible hybrid creature.      Oh, and it's psychic, a projecting telepath, as it's radiating lashes of anger at those it found in its lair. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     "HEADS UP!" Maaka shouts, spotting the creature as it arrives. She takes a nasty slash across the chest, grunting in pain before she draws her shotgun and retaliates. The saiga opens fire, blasting 12 gauge magnum buck at the thing. The psychic anger bullets aren't helping at all here. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang brings her arms up defensively as Maaka yells a warning, and Orchid calls the incoming. The monster gets a glare of rage right back, her Aura flaring up and nullifying in lash of anger. "Oh, you think you're big and bad do ya? YOU CALL THAT ANGER!?" she snarls, letting her Aura flare brilliantly around her. "LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT REAL ANGER TASTES LIKE!"     Yang gestures to Maaka to hang back and get to cover, before she gathers her legs under her and launches herself at the Serpantheron, the deck plate buckling under the force of the launch. She ratchets her right arm back, the gauntlet reconfiguring slightly as she rams home a shell into the chamber, then a second, and a third, then a fourth as three new barrels extend to join the one over her index knuckle. "Try this one on for size!"     Yang's fist comes down, and with a rapid staccatto of blasts, punches a ball of flame at the Turbofauna, right before her fist would meet body. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     They find their way into the cargo hold at the same time as the other group.... And unfortunately at the same time as the turbofauna that has decided to make this wreck its home. "Tarnation! Thin' looks like a cactus cat had a night at the rumpus room with a sidewinde--" The prattle is broken off by a yelp as the creature spazes out and Corona instinctively dives for cover next to some of the busted crates. Though it ends up more like smacking against them as the shockwave of the psionic lash's passing slams her against the busted surface harder than she had intended.     A quick motion pulls one of the revolvers from her holster and the cylinder spins to life, revealing that it is actually some sort of generator rather than an actual load of bullets. This causes channels in the sides of the barrel to glow faintly as sparks crackle, and a bolt of electrical current zorts out for the cat-snake. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has had things in the past mentally lash out at her before, heck she's had a Sectoid control her once, which was one of the lowest points of her life. This has given her some experience a warning for the tell tales signs of something poking at her mind that is what gives Kotone the edge she needs to not just get plastered at. She breaks off from snooping about and will now move in to engage the best she's like a phantom at the moment as she moves, making sure to lay down several bits of fire trying to focus on the creature's face and upper body with the rattle of weapons fire. <<Corona I'll try to pin it down, you hit it hard.>> 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      The creature, which we might as well call Madcoil, is charging around the room, heedless of the attacks thrown its way, running directly into Yang's explode-fu, Corona's tesla shot (as an aside, don't tell Edison about that one) Kotone's assault rifle fire, and Alexis's shotgun blast.      Madcoil is slowed not at all. It is not even slowed by the fury that is Yang Xiao Long, turning and aiming its bulk at the yellow-haired fighter, vulcanized forepaws slamming the deck backwards below it as it goes for full ramming speed. For the other snaks that have invaded the beast's lair, Alexis is getting a side-swipe with one claw, the long tail lashing out; it knows where the invisible Kotone is. And the shear shaking of the room is going to topple a stack of crates over onto Corona. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang lands from her punch, feet skidding along the deck before arresting her momentum. She lifts her head and sees the monster coming in at her full tilt and braces, spreading her arms and hooking her fingers like claws, appearing like some kind of very angry and very yellow bear as her Aura flares up again.     The Madcoil smashes into her at full tilt, sending the brawler skidding backwards and kicking up sparks from her boots. But she keeps her footing... and begins to slow the thing down. "This. Really... the best... you got!?" she snarls, digging her heels in and bringing the thing to a dead stop... probaly for the first time in its life.     "My turn." she wraps her arms around the thing as best she can, heaving it up then springing with her legs. She hoists it up and over, and piledrives it into the deck using its own absurd momentum properties and a few bursts from her gauntlets to increase the impact of the attack. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     Well that sort of worked. Up until the beast starts flailing around and slammes into the cargo containers to send them toppling over. Corona yips as a jagged edge knocked loose of one of the busted ones catchs her shoulder but she manages to make quick out of the way of the entire pile falling on top of her. By doing one of the things foxes do that other canids don't and climb by using her parkour skills to bound her way up the rest of the crashing stack. Then at the top she leaps off, pulling her other gun from it's holster as she bolts and spins away from the crumbling pile. Several laser bolts buzz from the weapon, seemingly at random directions.     Until the all abruptly turn at a sharp physics defying angle to home in on the creature, trying to tag it in several spots while it's caught up in Yang's insane frontal assault on it. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka is side-swiped, sending her towards the wall with a loud thud as the impact practically dents the metal alloy. She grunts, shaking off the impact like she got hit by a truck. "Okay, asshole..." the cyborg growls venomously, switching her shotgun to full-auto. Normally she saves this for special occasions, mostly because if she needs to hold down the trigger with an auto-shotty, then things have gone to hell. Yang's assault is when she opens fire, blasting away while Blondie's got the Madcoil immobilized. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is fast on her feet and her personal manoeuvre systems seem to be doing a lot of good for her. She doubled dashes away from direct harm but even then she gets clipped pretty badly. Kotone is however ready with a few little nasty things for the turbofauna, she levels her rifle and lays down some serious fire trying to empty the clip into the thing. "Don't sit still..." 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      Madcoil is a juggernaught, a tianic thing of muscle and steel; it is EASILY more powerful than a locomotive.      But Sabin was able to suplex the Ghost Train, and, well...      Madcoil's anger only grows, a constant blare in the minds of anyone for miles around, as it is driven to a halt. Oh, it was still before, but not for many ears, not since the line further twisted it. But now it is still, still enough to be an easy target for Maaka's automatic shotgun fire, Kotone's bullets alternatingly punching through and skidding off in equal number, and the laser blasts from Corona hitting home as the creature is lifted.      Up, into the air, and over and DOWN! But Madcoil survives the impact.      Because the deck under their feet does not, smashing open, just enough to let the beast surive the mighty attack... But not enough to give the creature LEVERAGE. The upper half of Madcoil is stuck there, but it isn't done yet. The tail lashes out again, this time seeking to encoil Yang, and CRUSH the puny human's ribcage. Let it smother and die.      Oh, and did I mention that it is still pissed at the others that invaded its lair? That seething anger pounds into the heads of the others; it hurts less than direct contact, but it still hurts. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang is caught. She couldn't get clear before it managed to whip its tail around her and began to squeeze. Luckily enough, she managed to keep her arms free, but the powerful muscles in that tail are starting to crush her. She struggles, bashing at the scales with her fists, her Aura flaring and managing to keep the coils just a little bit away, keeping them from snapping bones for the moment, but it won't last. "JUST GOT DOWN YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU'RE ONLY MAKING ME ANGIER!" she howls, her eyes shifting red as she slams her fists down into the scales and starts unloading shells at point blank range. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     Heels skid with enough force to cause small sparks as Corona hits the deck and arrests her momentum, tail practically flailing to keep her balance. First at the impact of the landing, and then as the thing's thrashing about after Yang's flaming piledriver imbeds it in the deck, and it's still kicking so to speak. "Com'n gals." Corona twirls her pistols and holsters them. "We can do this, that thing can't stand up to all of us forever."     Her ears flare back and she snarls softly, but the vixen pushes through the mental wailing on grit and determination, two things besides big guns that go boom she has in spades. She reachs over her shoulder to grab her biggun, drawing it with enough force to click the lever action open and shut again to fire it up. The energy chamber flares to life with green-blue energy as the pulsarium core surges energy into the weapon and she lowers it into both hands, squinting one eye out of habit even as targeting is done mainly through the tech in her goggles. "The bigger they are...." *KRA-KRA-THROOOM* Forgesweeper fires with enough force that even in her experienced grip the recoil bucks the weapon upward after firing and sending a massive swirling stream of electrified plasma hurtling at the monster.     "The bigger the holes ya blow in the mutherfraggin!" 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka narrowly dodges, but takes a good chunk of the hit as she's assailed by that murderous anger. It definitely hurts, causing Maaka's neuralware to glitch out as she siezes up in pain. She stumbles back, avoiding falling into the hole the Madcoil makes, but it takes a moment for her to refocus and get on her feet.     "What's it take to kill this fucking thing?!" Maaka exclaims in exasperation, growling in pain before she reloads her shotgun with flechette rounds, aiming down the hole. She tries not to hit Yang by accident, and lets loose on the Madcoil with flechette shells over and over. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Dinking around like this is just going to lead them down on the path of the Turbo Fauna just wrecking all of the party bit, by bit. Seeing Yang go off the hook, that's rather scary to see her like this. The macoil mental attack does strain her but it's not quite enough to drop her. She sees it has Yang in it's clutches and it's time to do something about that. Her now-empty rifle and slings it across her back, off her belt comes several grenades which would bear the letters X-COM on them. She makes use of her superhuman mobility to make a leap for the massive Turbofauna, she's decloaked at this point and has the primed plasma grenade in one hand. She'll attempt to land on the back of the thing and shove the armed grenade down the turbofauna's throat. "LET HER GO!" She'll attempt to shove it in there. She now at risk here and she'll try to get away, but she might pay for it pretty hard. 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      Between the four sources of fire, Madcoil is going down, but it refuses to surrender, even as... and let's tally this: Yang's Blam hits, but still in those coils the pain can only be absorbed. The overcharge SLAMS into the beast's tail, severing a lower section, but not enough to free Yang. Maaka attacks the still exposed torso, the tiny blades shreding the armor, just in time for Kotone's grenade to go off. The good news? The bulk of the snake body shelters Yang from the explosion.      The bad news? Yang is still in those coils, and bits of the ceiling are starting to come loose as the creature shakes. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka gets hit by the blast, smashed by debris as the Madcoil thrashes about, threatening to tear the entire place down out of spite. Grunting, she forces herself to her feet, hanging her shotgun up as she produces her grappling gun. "YANG, GRAB ON!" She calls out, firing the line down at the brawler to latch onto, before she pulls like her life depends on it. It kinda does. 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:''' "It's gonna bring the whole place down!" Corona might of been thinking something similar to Maaka, but a big chunk of the ceiling falls before she can switch out her grappler mod. "Sunnov'bitch!" She bolts the best she can, but with things falling everywhere she has an issue with finding a safe spot. Needless to say, there aren't any, and even when she gets out of the way a girder slams into a set of lockers, crashing them over on top of her with a crushing thud. That could almost be the end of the wily vixen... Almost. A snapping hiss comes a few moments later and a plume of green energy sears through the back of the now upturned locker, carving a chunk of the metal out with her cutting torch so Corona can crawl free. Good thing she is small or she'd never fit under that thing long enough to get out. On the down side, now she's about as physically banged up as she is mentally from the screaming in her head. "A'right. That's it." The shotgun is put away. Corona grabs her hammer instead from her belt, and as she squeezes the lever on the end it extends to it's full sledge size, power core snarling to life and causing a corona (ha ha) of kirby krackle to ripple around the head. "Ya ain't the only one that can turn the environment against the enemy."     If there is one thing Corona has gotten from all the ceiling hitting the deck its the sounds from it, letting her keen in on the platings resonate frequencies. She takes a step forward, and heaves the energized hammer down hard against the deck of the rig. The shockwave is aimed so it radiates to under the madcoil and heaves the metal upward, turning it into multiple jagged spikes and edges to impale the monster from below and try to keep it from thrashing around so much. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang grunts at that tail crushes her, breaking her Aura as the thing dies, and then the body slumps across her, pinning her down.     She reaches out for Maaka's grapple, and wraps it around her arm, hauling herself out from under the dead monster. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa does some serious damage but it is not enough to bring the beast down, nay it's still fighting and might bring the house down. It's badly hurt and it needs to die though as Kotone vault away from the turbofauna making a three-point landing, sadly for her, she's caught by some of the falling wreckage she's able to scramble away and is now opening fire with her pistol. The rounds fly, Kotone gets on the move and she keeps shooting at the thing. "JUST GO DOWN!" Sadly she's not in the best state to lay down a lot of damage still every bit adds up right? 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      The psychic haze fades as the creature, indeed, dies. The extra bullets and slamming only further make sure that it will stay dead.      Light streams down from the new hole torn in the roof, the light highlighting the dust.      <Ow ow ow ow...> Hey, good news, Orchid's back on the radio! <My head hurts... are you all.. alright?> 

:'''{{#var:711|Corona Arclite (711)}} has posed:'''     Corona pants a few times. "Holy hell that thin' was a wopper. Almost makes the Landviathan look like a pushover." Gulps another breath to get air in her lungs and try to shrug off the lingering sting of the mental wailing. "Almost." She lets the hammer thud to the deck and leans on it's pole for support. "Well... it ain't alive. But Ah bet some scientist will pay for having a corpse to discect and see how speed evolution effects these thin's, right?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is panting more out of reflex than any real need she's hurt but not as bad as some of the others and she's looking about to make sure there. She'll make sure to one reload both of her weapons then put them away, she does not want to be caught with her pants down. The call that pizza was here was a happy thing. "Hopefully we have the run of the place now..." 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      And so they ate pizza. There was some left over, and someone probably took the leftovers home.      The nearby city was glad to hear that the monster had been killed, and also glad to hear that the nest contained neither young nor eggs.      The scientists studying turbofauna were glad to get the corpse, and paid well. Turns out it had been magically mutated before being mutated by the local speed force. Divided by five, the bonus involved was about as much as Orchid had paid each.      After some more searching, they were able to dig out some of the 'refuel shells' intact! Uncharged, but good examples of the technology involved.      And as far the thing Orchid came here for? Well, there is a machine shop, with the sorts of tools, mill, lathe, grinder, and a few other specialized tools that will let her shape megadiamond and hyperglass without wearing out so many shaping tools.      Oh, and the porn stash of the last guy that worked in there. 
}}

Combat

2018-10-04T00:10:08Z

MetBoy: /* Core Concepts of Combat */

==AGE and Mantles==
MCM's combat system (csys) uses the AGE system as its basis, and so uses several functionalities core to the AGE modular framework. Ours is, in fact, the progenitor of the "core" version of AGE. The most important thing to immediately understand is the Mantle system.

A "Mantle" is a cohesive package of combat data that contains all the necessary parts to be thrown into the combat system and run, analogous to a "stat block" or "loadout", and is what a player uses when interacting with the csys. They are named Mantles because the prime function of the Mantle system is the ability to exchange and put on different Mantles to allow for a player to represent entities other than their own character in combat, primarily in the case of scene and plot runners.

All character bits have a private player character Mantle which represents the character itself, which is applied for alongside the character. Mario wears the Mantle of Mario, Cloud Strife wears the Mantle of Cloud Strife, etc. This Mantle is effectively their core combat sheet, and is made to be customized, as well as to keep track of upgrades and injuries. All players also have access to a list of public, staff-created Mantles that can be picked up on the fly for use in scenes as needed. For instance, a scene runner with a character with low combat power may temporarily don the Mantle of a tremendous boss monster to present a challenging battle for a large number of combat-focused PCs.

A character Mantle is automatically assigned to the character as the default. When you feel the need to try on another, use '''+mantle/claim''' to see a list of all available Mantles. From there, use '''+mantle/claim <ID or Name>''' to pick one from the list, and add it to your personal list. Your personal list can be viewed with the '''+mantle''' command, where your claimed Mantles can be managed. Finally, select a Mantle to load with '''+mantle #'''. The next time you ready for combat, you will don the selected Mantle. Using the '''+reset''' command will load the Mantle you currently have claimed.

It goes without saying that in all scenes where you are participating as your character, that character's Mantle should be the one loaded and applied. Public Mantles exist to spoof other kinds of characters as needed, especially for GMing purposes. Mantles added to your list are effectively '''copies''' of the public template, and can be used non-exclusively. Unlike your personal character Mantle, they are non-customizable, and cannot be upgraded, but they also don't take any time to recover from damage. A player may have any number of Mantles claimed, and may use any number or combination of them in a scene, so long as they're clearly being used to the benefit of RP.

==Combat Profiles==
The central aspects that comprise a Mantle, or any combat entity in general, are the '''Archetype''', their '''Quirks''', their '''Stats''', their '''Weight''' class, and any '''Enhancement''' bonuses. These five elements together build up most of a character's combat ability, and most heavily influence how they will play in combat. All of these elements can be viewed by using the '''+stats''' command, however not all of them will be visible unless the target is your own character (no target defaults to your character).

A list of all Archetypes and Quirks can be found in this article: <big>[[Archetypes and Quirks]]</big>

'''Archetype:''' A character's Archetype is roughly analogous to a "character class". It is a large, static package of abilities and bonuses that is chosen or assigned at combat profile creation. For player character Mantles, these as chosen by the player in their application. For public Mantles, these are assigned by the Mantle creator (pretty much always staff). The Archetype typically defines the broad strokes basics of how a Mantle plays in combat, essentially forming the base of their fighting style and initial build options. Once chosen, an player character's Archetype may be changed once in the case that the original just doesn't isn't their style, but otherwise, an application is required to change an Archetype. Archetypes are visible to other players.

'''Quirks:''' Any Mantle may have up to three different Quirks assigned to it at any given time. Quirks amount to smaller packages, or individual instances, of abilities and bonuses, which are added on top of the Archetype. Quirks may be changed at any time by the Mantle owner until a battle has begun, without an application or any special rules, meaning that players are free to use them to customize their character as they wish. Quirks comprise the core tool by which players are able to put their character's own unique stamp on their Archetype, or explore different playstyles and put original twists on existing ones. Quirks are invisible to other players.

'''Stats:''' All Mantles have four base stats: '''Power''', which represents the character's ability to deal large amounts of damage, '''Precision''', which represents the character's ability to consistently apply and maximize their damage, '''Endurance''', which represents the character's ability to resist damage, and '''Mitigation''', which represents the character's ability reduce their exposure to damage. Stats are visible as a collection of descriptive tiers: '''Poor''', '''Average''', '''Good''', '''Great''', and '''Excellent'''. These descriptive terms largely represent the balance of how and where a character invests their basic capabilities. They don't account for Archetypes, Quirks, buffs, debuffs, or similar modifiers, and they don't strictly correspond to a fixed value. One character's Average Power may commonly deal more damage than another character's Good Power. These terms exist to give an idea as to the character's raw stat pool and how they've chosen to distribute it with what weight. Stats are invisible to other players.

'''Weight:''' All characters also exist within one of several Weight classes. Weight doesn't correspond to any one specific function or bonus, but influences the character's combat performance in a general sense. Higher Weight classes represent greater increases to a character's combat power, but Weight is assigned independently of all other combat traits, and thus does not summarize a character's total strength. In short: there are powerful Lightweights and weak Heavyweights. A character's Weight class may potentially change, as major events redefine their role as a character concept. Weight is visible to other players.
:'''Light:''' Lightweight characters are typically members of the underdog class of their theme. This can mean non-combat characters, but it just as often corresponds to highly competent characters who work harder than others for their wins, due to their theme's inherent cosmology, mechanics, scale, etc. Badass normals, shounen rookies, survival genre heroes, and fighters from low-combat series, are common examples of Lightweight characters.
:'''Medium:''' Mediumweight characters are typically the bulk of protagonists, and tends to be the most common Weight class occupied by players. Medium Weight represents the main combat cast of most themes, and is most often used for characters with relatively matured power, who are regularly challenged but still get by with their fighting ability. Medium Weight indicates a character who is well-suited to combat within their theme.
:'''Heavy:''' Heavyweight characters are typically the movers and shakers that are responsible for making events happen. Their stories tend to turn away from daily challenges and foes, and towards what they do to the theme as a whole and how the theme deals with them. Action defines Heavy Weight more than raw power, so it's very common to find main villains and boss characters in this class, and rare to find even the most overpowered ensemble heroes.
:'''Superheavy:''' Superheavy Weight is only achievable by Heavyweight characters using '''+keeps'''. No character sits at Super Heavyweight as a base state. It exists to maintain the consistency of the Keeps system, without allowing Heavyweight characters to become Bosses at the press of a button.
:'''Boss:''' A Weight assigned to specific Mantles by staff, mostly for the purpose of plots. Boss weight typically represent entities that are more theme fixture than character, and provides a space for beings that aren't meant to be casually challenged by individual characters, to an extent. Boss Weight is essentially "intentionally overpowered", and it can be assumed that something weighted at Boss is a big deal. Boss Weight Mantles are not mechanically unbeatable, even by single characters. They largely exist to provide tough fights for large crowds at important moments in TPs and more authentic escalation.

'''Enhancement:''' Player character Mantles can also benefit from Enhancement bonuses. Through creating roleplay and pursuing character growth, a player can accrue Enhancement Stars across their characters, usually representing that the character's power has grown in some incremental manner. These stars are assigned to a stat of the player's choice, where they provide a small, permanent boost. The total number of stars add up to the character's Enhancement level. All characters enter play with '''0''' stars, and the maximum Enhancement level currently attainable is '''3'''. Enhancement level has only a minor impact on combat, and serves to represent character growth and player effort put into developing them, rather than an inherent narrative trait. Enhancement level is visible to other players, while placement of stars is not.

==On Balance, Power, and Matchups==
The AGE system is designed with a very high degree of modularity to allow it to be tailored to the audience of an individual MUSH. As far as MCM goes, we've started on the side closer to fair arbitration, as opposed to immediately pursuing a full tabletop/video game system. That means MCM's combat system is heavily tailored to prevent the existence of gimped or overpowered characters, and to prevent players from jobbing accidentally or cheesing out wins, by their OoC mastery of said system. This is intended to minimize the amount of mechanical learning necessary to engage with the community, to establish firm and consistent ballparks for various character concepts, and to allow combat to play out in a low-stress way, rather than be a zero-sum fun mechanic. We've sunk a great deal of effort into cleaning the system of trap choices and secret options that can break a character, and are committed to maintaining the moving parts of the csys as items that don't require spreadsheets to use correctly.

That said, in order to allow for our csys to retain breadth and depth of choice in building characters and in play, our csys is designed with a minimum expectation of common sense when it comes to choices. If a character has rock bottom accuracy, we expect our players are smart enough not to stock up on Quirks that require accurate hits to be useful. Likewise, if a player is sitting at 1 HP and has piles of attack resources, we assume they know better than to throw out their puniest attack for their last ditch effort. The general rule is that if something explicitly says exactly how it works, it is presented as "use at discretion". If an expensive ability says it doubles damage, and you spend it to double your weakest attack, we can't help you.

Overall, MCM does not subscribe to the idea that automatic win/loss should exist between players. All factors being normal, the majority of battles are expected to resolve roughly around a 40% to 60% win chance, and even fairly extreme gaps in power are intended not to reach 90%/10%. The choice not to display a total power level on characters is intentional, as we much prefer that people simply play with each other rather than compare odds, and our csys is designed to make ordinary fights fairly fast and casual.

==Core Concepts of Combat==
'''Adjectives''': In lieu of filling space with reams of numbers and math equations, AGE uses a ladder of Adjectives to indicate bonuses, maluses, and most things that affect stats and mechanical resolution. Adjectives feature most prominently in Archetype and Quirk selection, but appear in core combat facets too. Though these terms don’t feature precise numbers, they are universally consistent with each other. A Minor bonus is always the same amount of bonus, it has the exact same relative impact as a Minor malus, and both have exactly the same less impact than a Moderate bonus or malus.

The ladder of Adjectives, from least to greatest impact, goes:

''Minor'' 
''Moderate'' 
''Solid'' 
''Significant'' 
''Major'' 
''Superior'' 
''Massive'' 
''Extreme''

Certain effects cannot be quantified in their impact by static and universal means. Instead, they use a second track of Adjectives that denote tight ranges of relative effect. This ladder goes:

''Tiny'' 
''Small'' 
''Standard'' 
''Considerable'' 
''Substantial'' 
''Overwhelming''

'''Resources:''' There are three resources that are tracked during a battle. '''HP''', '''Drive''', and '''Hype'''. These are universal across all characters and Mantles, and are the most important parts of combat.
:'''HP:''' Hit Points. Players of video and tabletop games should be familiar with these. If your HP are reduced to zero, you lose. If your opponent's HP is reduced to zero, you win. Characters have a default pool of 1000 HP under normal circumstances, though this may be raised or lowered by their choice of Archetype and Quirks. Unlike many games, HP on MCM does not correspond strictly to character injury. While we expect all characters to face a reasonable degree of harm in combat, hitting 0 HP does not equate to total incapacitation under normal circumstances, but rather the point at which the character ceases fighting due to being a sane actor who isn't eager to be severely wounded or killed over day to day skirmishes. The amount of HP you have left when you finish a fight factors into '''Consequences''', which are detailed later. HP is visible to other players as a percentage of your maximum.
:'''Drive:''' Drive represents a universal concept of attacking resources, whether it be a character's physical stamina, magical reserves, ammunition and gear, tactical positioning, or any combination of elements that suits them. Drive is spent to launch attacks. Retaining high levels of Drive provides passive bonuses, while scraping low levels of Drive begins to penalize the character. Bottoming out on Drive is a loss condition, as the character has spent all their resources and can no longer continue fighting. Characters have a default maximum of 100 Drive, and begin with 70, which is broken up into thresholds.
::100-81: Primed The character gains a Moderate bonus to Mitigation and Endurance.
::80-56: Ready The character gains no bonus and suffers no penalty.
::55-21: Lagging The character suffers a Minor penalty to all stats.
::20-0: Overextended The character suffers a Solid penalty to all stats.
::<0: Wavering As Overextended, and the character loses 20% of their max HP after each attack.
::-25: Spent The character loses all remaining HP. Their attack aborts, and the character is defeated. 
By default, characters recover 5 Drive each time they defend, meaning that Drive constantly refreshes throughout the fight. Managing Drive can be as technical or simple as the player pleases, however it should be understood that it is undesirable to drop to the Overextended tier or below unless you have a plan that justifies the very large penalties. Drive thresholds are visible to other players. 
:'''Hype:''' Hype is the resource used to use Pushes --unique actions that modify attacks and defenses, and apply special effects. Pushes consume Hype when used, so Hype can be considered a sort of “special bar” or “super meter” in video game terms. By default, a character regains 2 Hype each time they defend, after the attack is resolved. By default, characters have a maximum Hype of 10. Hype is invisible to other players.

'''Attacking:''' Players take turns attacking each other with the '''+attack''' command, formatted as '''+attack <target>=<#>/<Type>:<Description or Title>''' Attacks come in five levels, which cost different amounts of Drive, and deal correspondingly more damage.
:1/Light: -5 The character regains 5 Drive.
:2/Standard: 10 The character loses 10 Drive.
:3/Heavy: 25 The character loses 25 Drive.
:4/Massive: 45 The character loses 45 Drive.
:5/Finishing: 65 The character loses 65 Drive.
Bonuses and penalties from Drive only change after the attack has resolved. In addition to the attack's level, each attack is given a type: '''Forceful''', '''Consistent''', '''Efficient''', or '''Dramatic'''.
:Forceful: The attack gains a Moderate bonus to Power.
:Consistent: The attack gains a Moderate bonus to Precision.
:Efficient: The attack costs X less Drive, where X is the level of the attack.
:Dramatic: The attack has a level-based chance to generate Hype.
::1: 0-1 Hype
::2: 1-2 Hype, leaning on 1
::3: 1-2 Hype, leaning on 2
::4: 2-3 Hype
::5: 3-4 Hype
The general rule is that level 1, 2, and 3 attacks can be used interchangeably, balancing dealing damage quickly with not falling into low Drive levels. Level 4 and 5 attacks however, represent very large investments of Drive, and have an element of risk/reward to them. Casually spamming them will result in having a bad day.

'''Defending:''' When a player is attacked, they must choose a defensive action to use, whereupon the attack is resolved. This is accomplished with the '''+defend''' command, formatted as '''+defend target=type'''. The types of defense are: '''Guard''', '''Maneuver''', '''Focus''', '''Bolster''', and '''Rally'''.
:Guard: The defense gains a Moderate bonus to Endurance against the attack.
:Maneuver: The defense gains a Moderate bonus to Mitigation against the attack.
:Focus: Your next attack gains a Moderate bonus to Precision.
:Bolster: Your next attack gains a Moderate bonus to Power.
:Rally: The defense takes a Minor penalty to Endurance and Mitigation against the attack, but you gain 5 Drive.
After each defense, the defender regains Drive and Hype at their passive rate, up to their maximum. Attack/defense resolution is considered the start of a "new turn" overall. The first defender of a battle gains 25 bonus Drive to counterbalance being attacked first.

'''[[Pushes]]:''' Pushes are various action modifiers and special moves that can be activated by spending Hype. They encompass effects such as buffs, debuffs, Hype gain and drain, healing, damage reduction, super attacks, etc. Any Push can be activated at any time, including right before an attack or defense. When you do so, the opponent is notified that you have used a Push, but not which one. The command '''+push/list''' displays the complete list of Pushes, their effects, and their associated Hype cost. To activate one, the command is '''+push <name>/<cost>''', sometimes followed with '''=<option>''' in the case of Buff and Debuff.

It should be mentioned that Pushes are largely self-balancing; unless they clearly state otherwise, they result in proportionally higher gains when used with lower level attacks, and proportionally lower gains when used with higher level attacks. This is to allow people to spend Hype freely and use Pushes when dramatically appropriate,rather than being required to hoard it to spend optimally.

'''Support Actions:''' Some Archetypes have the ability to support and empower teammates in battle. These Archetypes have access to the +support command, which makes an ally the recipient of that Archetype's special support action benefits. If no target is selected, the benefits of '''+support''' are applied to your own character until one is. Once a target is set, it cannot be changed until the battle is finished. This is the mechanical compromise that allows support characters to exist without any special rules regarding who they're allowed to support and when.

'''Consequences:''' When finishing a battle below a certain threshold of HP, a character receives a lasting malus to their combat performance called a Consequence. Consequences represent that the character has taken a degree of damage that they won't immediately walk off, and are the only real way in which MCM tracks and enforces healing/repair time. Consequences come in three severities:
:'''Mild:''' When finishing a battle below 35% HP. Automatically applied when Playing for Keeps. Reduces maximum HP to 90%.
The character has one or more minor but non-superficial injuries, resulting in some degree of pain, exhaustion, weakness, or impaired mobility, which hampers them somewhat in combat. These will typically heal on their own even without medical attention.
:'''Moderate:''' When finishing a battle below 50% HP while Playing for Keeps. Reduces maximum HP to 75%.
The character has suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries, which necessitate some medical attention. Broken bones, severe blood loss, damaged muscles, or other heavily impairing injuries are to be expected. The character should try to avoid serious fighting.
:'''Severe:''' When finishing a battle below 25% HP while playing for Keeps. Reduces maximum HP to 60%. Prohibits the use of +keeps.
The character has sustained extensive or critical injuries that put them at serious risk and will require prolonged attention to see repaired. The character has likely suffered injuries that came close to killing them, and can expect to probably lose in any real fight until they get better.

Consequences decrease in severity and disappear over time, either in real time, or decreased by number of scenes. Simply RPing is the fastest way to clear up a Consequence (especially RP that gets healing-type characters involved). When a character gets into a big fight and takes some heavy hits to show for it, going out into the MUSH and actually playing the result is preferable in every way to not playing them at all until they fully heal, so we reward the former. As a general note, scenes only count towards Consequence timers once they have been closed, so if you're chronically terrible at remembering to hit +scene/finish, improve that habit!
:'''Mild:''' Expires after 1 scene or 7 days.
:'''Moderate:''' Downgrades to Mild after 1 scene or 14 days.
:'''Severe:''' Downgrades to Moderate after 2 scenes or 28 days.
Taking further Consequences does not increase their severity, it only refreshes the timer of the existing one.

==Playing for Keeps==
In most battles, the characters participating will inevitably have a mutually exclusive goal which they've come into conflict over, but not be so invested in that they're willing to die or be seriously wounded for it. No sensible actor, real or fictional, voluntarily fights to the death over anything of less than critical importance or value, and even in the combat-heavy lives of most player characters, these kinds of battles are likely to be in the minority. MCM assumes that as a general rule, player characters fight with self-preservation mind, and will concede the objective when they are persuasively injured. For those exceptional circumstances in which this isn't the case, the player has the option of Playing for Keeps.

Playing for Keeps is activated by the '''+keeps''' command, which comes with a '''<Reason>''' field, because each time it is activated, the use of +keeps is logged alongside the pressing reason the character had for doing so. When this command is activated, it indicates that a serious tone shift has occurred, and that a player character is no longer fighting an ordinary conflict, but is so invested that they're willing to put everything on the line to win. Different characters will inevitably have different reasons for getting this serious. Some might only Play for Keeps when the lives of their friends or threatened, where others might do so simply out of sheer unthinking fury, and others might do so for a grave insult to their pride or honor. Whatever the case, staff keeps track of this fairly powerful tool to make sure it's being used appropriately, rather than "because the other guy did" or "I just wanted to win". The '''<Reason>''' field is visible to staff and logged for this reason; it should be used to clearly communicate the circumstances around Playing for Keeps such that the rationale is obvious. Jokes, memes, references, attack names, five word +summaries etc. do not constitute reasons, and so then have to be looked into by staff.

When +keeps is activated, the character who is now Playing for Keeps receives an immediate boost to all their combat stats, and visibly increases one Weight class, for the entire length of the battle. If +keeps is activated partway into a battle, they gain a boost to their next attack and defense proportionate to how many turns the battle has already progressed, so as to enable dramatic triggers to happen in battle without wasting most of the command. Pressing +keeps is a considerable advantage, and will either significantly tilt a battle in a character's favour, or significantly even out one slanted against them. In exchange for this temporary surge in fighting ability, the character opens themselves up to much more grievous injury, by going past their ordinary limits and prioritizing victory over their safety, reflected in the Consequences system.

It should be noted that this boost in power is not absolute, and users should be warned that it is still entirely possible to lose after hitting +keeps. The tool doesn't exist as a win button with drawbacks, but a way to have some control over the narrative of their character, to pick out and underscore pivotal moments, and to have some extra say in the outcome of a battle with important ramifications. So long as there is a solid reason for a character to Play for Keeps, any mechanism by which they do so is up to the player. Whether it's a dramatic transformation or simply trying their absolute hardest, all player characters can Play for Keeps. Public Mantles do not have access to this command.

==Fighting Multiple Opponents==
COMING SOON™ 
In the meantime, we have the '''+tank <#>''' command, which multiplies your maximum HP by the chosen number (up to five times), which should be the number of other players you're fighting. This is a stopgap tool until the full infrastructure is done, not a finely honed mechanic. Since it just multiplies HP, the player using this is still at somewhat of a disadvantage (though not a crippling one), and should basically be using it with some level of magnanimity. Two opponents might be plausible, but it's a command to fight groups without being atomized in one turn.

==Scenarios==
ALSO COMING SOON™

==Applying and Upgrades==
<big>'''''For characters existing before the implementation of the AGE combat system, please use [http://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Csys_Application this form] to update from your Unshaped Mantle to a personalized Character Mantle.'''''</big>

When characters are initially approved for play, a large part of their combat toolset is set by staff, partly to the player's specifications, and partly as staff can best judge from the information the player gives us that informs us of the character and contextualizes their role in combat narrative. These aspects set at chargen are relatively set, and expected not to change unless the character as a concept is changed in a very significant way. Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vader, Magus relinquishing his crusade and joining the side of the heroes, Krillin gaining power from the Dragon Balls, learning techniques like the Kaioken, and becoming part of the main crew; these are examples of character-defining changes that are hashed out with staff, universally as a result of substantial RP arcs, and altered on the back end.

In most cases, a character increasing in power, experience, and ability, is an incremental process. They acquire legendary weapons, learn secret techniques, undergo intense special training, and similar things. All player characters have universal access to the Enhancement system, which exists to allow players to pursue and acquire this kind of power growth within the mechanical realm of the combat system. In some circumstances, staff or facheads may actually suggest player characters to be put up for Enhancement Stars (and notify the player), but in the majority of instances, these are applied for, so the player knows exactly what they're asking for, exactly what they're getting, and can have a clean yes or no.

The application for Enhancement Stars or other upgrades is here: [[Enhancement Application]]

MCM's standards for Enhancement Star approval can't help but be somewhat subjective, since there are countless kinds of RP that could merit or justify them. As a hard and fast statement however, Enhancements are not participation awards. They aren't given "for going to stuff and being around a while", but are a progress track and grippable, attainable goal that exists for the enjoyment and satisfaction of players who want to go for them. There is an expectation of credible and sustained effort before Enhancements are approved, and it should not be taken personally if staff says "Put in a little more work first". The typical (though not universal) case for an Enhancement Star is a character concretely and demonstrably increasing their combat ability in some way due to RP, but in all cases, this should be RP that the player has some ownership of; simply tagging along to a lot of scenes and scavenging toys isn't sufficient. The process that lead up to the upgrade should have involved either directly creating RP, or taking a lead role in fostering and/or expanding upon existing RP with the character. Because we're very much aware that the time dedicated to running scenes rarely allows the player's character to feature as prominently in them, staff will also try to acknowledge the contributions to the community of players consistently running scenes and plot and approve upgrades to their characters without them overtly pursuing a powerup on-screen.

In general though, Enhancement Stars are a fairly small benefit, and considered a luxury rather than a necessity to make a character a credible combatant. We consider upgrades of this kind to be milestones that are there for the enjoyment of building towards and achieving them, not something that will skyrocket a character's combat ability well beyond their point at chargen.

==Stance on Combat RP==

'''Lethality and Sell:''' As far as MUSHes go, MCM's csys presumes that damage and injury to player characters is handled with a certain degree of cinematic frequency and logic, and that all PCs are able to access Multiversal healing and repair some way or another. We also presume that any sane and rational character isn't eager to have their guts spilled over the pavement to get a granny's purse back from an alley robber, and have some basic concept of self-preservation. Because of this, we don't assign a strict or particular value or correlation to HP, nor do we strictly demand that players portray damage to their characters in a highly regulated way. Our default tone for combat can roughly be considered "pulp action", so players have some liberty deciding how gritty or how Star Wars they want their fights to be.

In typical, day to day skirmishes, the ground assumption is that characters will fight until they have a convincing enough reason not to. This most commonly takes the form of hitting 0 HP and picking up a Mild Consequence, which is where real people usually look to get out of a fight they're not highly invested in, but can also be due to the circumstances they're fighting over having changed, one or both characters withdrawing before any decisive blow happens, or players simply running out of time. Whatever the reason, the presumed state of affairs is that combat ends with one side conceding the goal and breaking off to fight another day, as most properties go when they have a limited cast of core characters expected to fight many times, and indeed as most real life battles go. Playing for Keeps is the exception to this, as hitting +keeps indicates a tone shift from an episodic skirmish to a serious moment where the character is putting their life on the line. Hitting 0 HP while Playing for Keeps indicates being physically unable to fight any longer, and in real (albeit hypothetical) danger of being killed.

The one big demand we have in how players treat the combat system, is that when they take Consequences, they own them and play to them. If your character takes a Consequence, they were meaningfully injured in some way, and not only is that not up for argument, it is mechanically incarnated. Rather than demanding our players be ultra serious and measure their combat sell turn by turn, have their characters mangled half to death by every attack to properly respect how big a deal other characters are, or enforce a codified set of healing downtime in which a character can't be played, we can afford to allow people to have ownership of how they want to portray their characters in combat, and we can incorporate the idea of a "casual fight", by boiling the hurt that matters down to Consequences. Be good with them. Engage with them in good faith, and treat them with some respect. Consequences are the evidence that a fight happened between two characters (at least more than a quick exchange of blows), and playing one out is a great way to legitimize the RP that happened. If players can do that, then we need ask nothing further of them, and combat shouldn't be a stressful exercise.

'''Team Fights:''' It is far from uncommon for fights to break out between numerous player characters in the same scene, arranged in two or more groups. The much preferred way to handle this is by pairing off into one on one battles that can happen simultaneously; at the moment, the tools for handling multiple vs one are still in the works. When team battles arise, people should prioritize choosing matchups they think would be interesting and fun. Where fairness is a strong concern, matchups can be judged "close enough" by letting characters of a lower Weight class, Enhancement level, and significantly base lesser stat adjectives (shared at player discretion) take first picks.

'''Dummy Testing:''' Because MCM's csys is effectively the foundational installation of the AGE system, and its tech is intended to be partly reusable by other combat systems, we simply can't have players sitting around with spreadsheets and whiteboards trying to reverse engineer its nuts and bolts. The combat system is already pulling off fifteen layers of black magic behind the scenes to ensure that it is tightly balanced regardless of advanced game knowledge, so not only is attempting reverse engineering incredibly unlikely to go very far, it also yields no significant benefit for doing so. We prohibit intensive testing of the system not so we can protect a pot of secret gold at the end of a mathematical rainbow, but because it infringes on the freedom of future installations of AGE on sister MUSHes to construct their combat systems in a sterile environment and in a way they like, and is generally a huge waste of people's time besides.

That means we do not allow players conducting coded battles between their own alts, sitting in rooms bashing on public Mantles as dummy targets, pairing up with a friend to fiddle with stats and weights, or other applications of the csys that have nothing to do with RP. There's no reason for it to be used outside of an actual scene where a fight is happening, period. This is really easy for us to notice with our back end tools and will be considered extreme ill-faith interaction with system, and concerning not just MCM. This is something we will punish.

'''Alchemists:''' The mechanical minutiae of the combat system are boiled down to a simplified user end experience for a few reasons. One primary amongst them is to lower the barrier to entry for players who aren't big into tactical systems as hobbyists, and to generally provide an intuitive "what you see is what you get" handle on its interactions. That means that trying to sell claims of secret insight into the system or special patented mastery over its mechanics, is behaviour antithetical to the environment we want to foster. Peddling a mythical guru status with all the associated tips and exploits and pro strats accomplishes nothing but making other players doubt their grasp of a fundamentally simple system and encouraging/spreading a perception of hierarchical system mastery. Helping people out and giving advice is perfectly fine, especially when asked for, but we want to pre-empt the eventuality of combat system being misrepresented as rocket science to the detriment of the enjoyment of other players.

'''Long Memory:''' The way that MCM incorporates power divide between characters in combat is intentionally in the realm of fighting games and ensemble comics, wherein characters of ostensibly vastly different capabilities come together in some roughly balanced whole where everyone is relevant to some degree. This absolutely means that it is possible for Krillin to defeat Cell/for Peter Quill to take down Thanos/etc. with only some pretty good luck, and this further means that fights between more evenly matched characters are going to be even less predictable. Nobody should win all their fights all the time. Nobody should lose fights to the same person over and over forever. 
This is something that should be understood and internalized by players in regards to combat RP as a culture, because it indicates how MCM is intentionally set up to avoid a calcified pecking order of combat power. No matter the character, who won or lost a fight is a fact that is ultimately transient. It is meaningful in the short term, but soon enough it confronts the reality that the loser still has the same solid shot of being the winner the next time they meet. There is a known behaviour when it comes to combat RP in many places, for players to hold these things in long memory and milk a victory or rub a loss in someone's face for months or years, often because one win or loss can be indicative of a character's overall chances on some roleplays. This is absolutely not the case on MCM, and so we discourage this kind of thing not only on the grounds of it annoying people and making ordinary fights carry enormous social pressure, but also because it will quite frankly bite you in the ass when they take another swing at you and get a couple of good rolls. Once a fight is a little ways in the past, it should stay in the past. Defining a reputation by a couple of cherry picked wins or losses is poor interaction that discourages people from trying their hand, makes people feel like they're gambling their career on every casual clash, and also just doesn't really work very well with our narrowly banded power scale.

==Commands Glossary==

'''+mantle/claim''' 
Lists all available Mantles. 
'''+mantle/claim <Name or ID>''' 
Copies a Mantle to your personal list. 
'''+mantle/release <Name or ID>''' 
Removes a Mantle from your personal list. 
'''+mantle''' 
Shows all Mantles on your personal list. 
'''+mantle <#>''' 
*<#> is the number shown next to the Mantles on your list. 
Loads the targeted Mantle. Will be initialized and loaded when you use +reset. 
'''+reset''' 
Resets your HP, Drive, and Hype to their starting values. Clears all status effects. Applies any Consequences you may have incurred. 
'''+scan''' 
Gives a quick summary of combatants in the room. Shows Archetype, Weight class, and Enhancement level, as well as Drive Threshold and current HP as a percentage of max. It also shows Consequences, if any are currently applied. 
'''+sheet''' 
Gives a detailed view of your currently initialized Mantle. Shows HP and its current percent, Drive and its threshold, Hype, Quirks, Stats, Archetype, Weight Class, Enhancement level, and Enhancement Stars, as well as any Consequences you may be under. 
'''+health <Target>''' 
<Target> is the name of the opponent. Defaults to user if left blank. 
Shows all status effects applied to the target and their number of remaining turns. When used on yourself, it also shows HP, Drive and its threshold, and Hype. 
'''+quirk/add <Quirk>''' 
*<Quirk> references the name of the selected Quirk. 
Used for setting Quirks. Only works for player character Mantles. Does not work during a battle. 
'''+quirk/remove <Quirk>''' 
*<Quirk> references the name of the selected Quirk. 
Used for removing Quirks. Only works for player character Mantles. Does not work during a battle. 
'''+quirk/wipe''' 
Removes all currently equipped Quirks. Only works for player character Mantles. Does not work during a battle. 
'''+attack <Target>=<#>/<Type>:<Description or Title>''' 
*<Target> is the name of the opponent you are attacking. 
*<#> is the attack level, either 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. 
*<Type> must be either Forceful, Consistent, Efficient, or Dramatic. F, C, E, and D work. 
*<Description or Title> is free text space to add whatever name or description to the attack you wish. Optional field. Accepts ANSI. 
Attacks an opponent. Costs are deducted. Your turn "ends" when the attack is resolved. 
'''+defend <Target>=<Type>''' 
*<Target> is the name of the opponent who is attacking you. 
*<Type> must be either Guard, Maneuver, Bolster, Focus, or Rally. G, M, B, F, and R work. 
Defends against an incoming attack. The attack resolves at this step. Your turn "begins" when the attack is resolved. 
'''+support <Target>''' 
*<Target> is the name of the ally you wish to support. 
Applies your Support action to a targeted ally. Once you choose a target, it cannot be switched until the battle concludes. 
'''+cancel''' 
Undoes your currently pending action and resets your status to the beginning of your turn. Cannot be used after an attack has already resolved. Otherwise, all of your resources and switches will return to how they were when your turn started. Does not undo +keeps. 
'''+push/list''' 
Lists all available Pushes. 
'''+push <Name>/<Cost>''' 
*<Name> is the name of the Push from the list. 
*<Cost> is the Hype cost on the list. This specifies which level of the Push you're using. 
Activates a Push. This can be done at any time, including right before an attack or defense. 
'''+push <Name>/<Cost>=<Option>''' 
*<Option> must be Power, Precision, Endurance, or Mitigation. 
Applies to Buff and Debuff. 
'''+keeps <Reason>''' 
*<Reason> must be filled in with the circumstances surrounding the use of the +keeps command. Use of +keeps is logged with its attached reason. 
Activates "Playing for Keeps". Your Weight class increases by one step, and it becomes possible to suffer Moderate and Severe Consequences. If +keeps is used partway through a battle, you gain a bonus to your next attack and defense to make up for lost turns. 
'''+takehit <Severity>''' 
*<Severity> must be Mild, Moderate, or Severe. 
Automatically applies the chosen level of Consequence to yourself when the current scene closes. Has no other mechanical interaction. This is just a tool to use to underscore a dramatic moment or intense fight in non-coded RP for the fun of it, or possibly to show a scenerunner that you mean business with your pose. 
'''+restrain''' 
Applies a slight penalty to your combat stats overall. Stacks with +pull. 
'''+pull''' 
Lowers your Weight class by one step. Has no effect for Lightweights. 
'''+sell''' 
Lowers your defense against the next attack used on you, or lowers your attack on the next attack you use, whichever comes first. 
'''+hardsell''' 
As +sell, but with a much stronger penalty. Does not stack. 
'''+tank <#>''' 
*<#> must be from 1-5. 
Currently, multiplies maximum HP by the chosen number. Placeholder command. 
'''+boss''' 
'''+scale''' 
To be implemented.