route666rp | JULY EVENT

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JULY EVENT

Ahead of the Convoy, a city perches on the flatlands with a hazy mountain range beyond. But there’s no glow of activity as evening draws in; no lights in the windows, the streets, or even from a stray car. And soon it becomes clear that the entire city is in ruins. Husks line the streets like spilled metal beads, contorted in poses of pain and terror. The buildings have chunks taken out of them, barely standing. With various streets winding through the city, there’s no shortage of things to explore.

And things NEED to be explored, as the Convoy comes to a stuttering halt outside a skyscraper. While the shield and electrics still work, the Convoy itself can’t move. A quick glance at the screens shows that the new shield is draining a lot of power from the engine, and needs time to adjust and recalibrate. About several weeks worth of time.

01: URBAN WARFARE

Between the Zolom attack and the brain swarm, the Convoy has taken a few knocks. It’s a similar story with many vehicles. At least here there’s no shortage of parts and materials for repairs.

And then there’s the matter of the monsters and the cyborgs. The cyborgs see clear wear and tear, and the machines in their bodies seem to be the only thing keeping them going, and hunting monsters. As for the monsters, they carry plenty of wounds and scars inflicted by cyborg weapons and traps. Both groups prowl the streets, clashing and fighting whenever they encounter each other with single minded ferocity. Strange gargoyle-esque lizards called Iguions prowl up and down the buildings or burst out of Husks. Their skirmishes damage the city even further, with crumbling buildings and broken glass.

And none of them look tired of fighting, with how they react to Drifters.

01-A: URBAN SALVAGE, OIL

1-A: Oil Pumps
It seems the Convoy isn’t the only thing running low on fuel. Various cyborgs and robots litter the streets, the lights in their eyes fading as their power runs down. A few of them may try to spit sparks or take shots at Drifters, but that seems to break them down even further.

Some cyborgs have a little more juice in them, and are trying to harvest fuel from oil pumps. These oil pumps grow out of the city… Often literally, as they are located on buildings and grow from the sides. It’s in defiance of how gravity should work, not to mention geology, as they continue to pump up fuel for the taking. Given how the Convoy is running low, it might be wise to harvest those tanks.

If Drifters can figure out how to scale the buildings and reach those tanks. There’s the climb up the walls, along with the proximity mines and razor shards the cyborgs have set down. There’s also an odd glow to the fuel tanks, reminiscent of the moon, though that’s probably just a quirk. And same with the cyborgs harvesting the fuel and exploding; probably just another quirk.

01-A: URBAN SALVAGE, METAL

One might wonder where all the cars are, given this is an abandoned city; the answer soon becomes clear as more roads are explored. There’s vehicles sunk into the roads and pavement, like the ground turned to liquid before freezing into place. If any Drifters opt to explore the subway beneath the city, they’ll find that the cars are sticking through the ceiling… And currently melting and forming pools of sheet metal.

The metal itself is curiously cool to the touch, and can be sculpted into parts for the Convoy.
And somehow, that isn’t even the strangest thing. The bodies here grow more numerous; robots and Husks alike, which are arranged and frozen in a way that makes it clear a battle happened here. The Husks themselves have the remains of more ornate clothing… And occasionally still find the strength to burst open. There's also still cyborg hands clutching guns, and they occasionally twitch from either a husk burst or a skip in the cyborg programming and let out a splatter of bullets.

01-A: URBAN SALVAGE, TIRES

Compared to everything else, investigating broken shops is a little easier. The only cyborgs and Husks here are all broken down and burnt out; navigating broken glass and a few old bear traps and proximity mines is the major issue.

Food, assorted retail, is all still available in these shops. Though there is one shop that appears to specialize in tires. Or at least used to: now it specializes in piles and nests of tires and odd trinkets, strewn about all over the store front. And while Drifters could easily grab some new tires (or odd items) for the Convoy or their vehicles… There is the matter of the blue reptillian shape moving through the mess of tires and giving off sparks. A young and scrawny Behir appears to have hatched from the Husks and made its lair here. And doesn’t want to willingly part with its hoard.

02: MOON CALL 

Drifters have to contend with a few more problems in the city. And one of them is changes brewing in their own bodies. This grows worse at the middle of the month, as a Moon Warp tears through the city.

Buildings twist like living things, roads undulate and flow like rivers, causing things to sink into the surface. Some parts of the city don't hold up to the strain, and introduce the hazards of falling and collapsing buildings.

The Convoy remains a safe haven during this, allowing Drifters to shelter during the worst of the Warp. Though during the Warp, and after it subsides, there's a new addition to the buildings: Statues of hellhounds and gargoyles alike dot the city. Normally such sculptures don’t have glowing beacons normally fixed to their mouths or in their claws. Those who get close enough to the glow experience symptoms similar to a Moon Warp. Complete with two monster forms to prowl the city.

02: MONSTER SHIFT, GARGOYLE

Those afflicted with Gargoyle can access to all Gargoyle species traits plus:
+Night Activity: Symptoms increase during night and Drifters feel lethargic during daytime.
+Summit: The statue beacons also produce a strange call to Gargoyle Drifters. This call usually involves climbing up buildings with new claws strong enough to dig through stone, and attacking those beacons. The beacons explode into a storm of wind to knock Drifters free from the climb…
+Flight: But Drifters can find themselves growing wings capable of flying or gliding. Which is just as well, since the city can turn various passages into wind tunnels.
+Summit Pull: Gargoyles can feel a pull upwards, to the top of the buildings. The various statues fixed to the skyscrapers offer a roosting place, fit for observing potential targets below.
+Protection: Gargoyles feel a compulsion to protect the Convoy and other Drifters nearby, particularly against threats looming in the city. Guarding them against danger becomes a priority.
+Light Sensitivity: Gargoyles are sensitive to bright lights and total darkness; both of them can draw more changes out. Unfortunately there are flashbangs in the form of traps lingering in the city, ready to trigger a fast shift.

02: MONSTER SHIFT, CERBERUS

The afflicted will have access to all Cerberus species traits plus:
+Ravenous Drive: With extra mouths and muscle, there’s also a powerful hunger and a need to hunt and consume any prey a Cerberus can find.
+Graveyard Synergy: if a Drifter encounters large amounts of dead Husks or cyborgs, their transformations increase. They also hear voices from the dead, but the words are fragmented.
+Sensory disorientation: any frantic movement, bright lights, or loud noises cause a sensory overload, if the Drifters are growing extra eyes/ears/etc.
+Depth Draw: There is something in the subways drawing Cerberus afflicted. It’s a combination of moon shards in the tunnels, as well as the masses of Husks down there. They emit a call that’s difficult to ignore, and demands investigation. Even if it’s to break or exorcise things for silence.
+Doom Echo: Drifters may hear echoes of violence from other Drifters: either their fellow Drifters are turning violent, or something unpleasant is about to happen to them. It can be difficult to distinguish which is which.
+Pack Loyalty: Cerberus feel a compulsion to bond with a Drifter or a collection of Drifters as their pack. They may feel they are the pack leader, or treat another Drifter as leader. They also feel an intense loyalty and protective streak, determined to carry out the will of other Drifters.

03: SUBWAY

Eventually, Drifters are drawn to the subway, whether by Cerberus traits, protective compulsions, or just plain curiosity. And what lurks in the tunnels is going to require a lot of Drifters.

There’s a few tattered subway maps left on the walls that Drifters can use to navigate the tunnels. The tunnels themselves are large: large enough for most cars to fit in, though they may have a bumpy ride down the access stairs and tracks! The tunnels themselves are also rife with Husk monsters. It’s clear that various citizens ran down here to try and escape the chaos aboveground, but still became Husks. These can burst open to show mutated rats, ratmen, and worm-like Varghidpolis.

Those with Doom Echo active will hear voices pleading, directly beseeching Drifters for a way out and a release from where they’ve been trapped.

03: LABYRINTH

Gradually Drifters are led into the deepest reaches of the tunnels. Paradoxically, it only gets brighter, the further they go. It culminates in a massive chamber underground that looks like someone plopped a cathedral in the middle of a subway tunnel. In the center of the chamber is a massive moon shard: one more than capable of causing a Warp as Drifters get closer.

On top of having to deal with forced transformations, there’s also phantom shapes rising off the Husks. They plead with Drifters for release and mercy, trying to rise up… But it’s clear there’s something stopping them.

That something is a strange mechanical ring circling the moon stone, laced with wiring and harshly carved runes. It looks like the work of Wardens, and their seal of a sword piercing the moon is stamped into the binding circle. The phantom voices scream for it to be destroyed; and with all their abilities, Drifters should be capable of destroying the ring.

…Though there is one more thing standing in their way.

03: CY-CERBERUS

The Wardens have left a few of their machines down here, in the form of Chromehounds. They haven’t escaped the Warping effect either, and have fused into a giant three headed cyborg dog.

A set of screens around the ring flicker to life and begin to relay text, and the rails that run through the chamber crackle with electricity. The text reads off the mantra of the Wardens, with a few additions: “Purge the corruption brought by the moon mad. Anyone altered by the touch of the moon must be cleansed and removed, lest the world fall into ruin.”

While the Cy-Cerberus is imposing, it appears to have a weakness to electricity; directing it onto the third rail can deal some serious damage to it, and weaken it enough for more monstrous characters to tear through. After the Cy-Cerberus is dealt with, the ring it was guarding can easily fall apart, and the moon stone in turn crumbles to glowing dust. The screams of the Husks dims, as their spirits released from their prisons, before drifting upwards and towards the exits of the subway. It’s easy enough to follow them back out, and leave the labyrinth behind.

04: SUMMIT

Gargoyles and those bonded with them, or those with a head for heights will find themselves drawn towards a large skyscraper dominating the skyline. The very top glows with bright light, making it clear that another moon shard is fixed to the summit. This building can be scaled either externally or internally.

Rather worryingly, the moon opts to glow bright at this point, and the higher drifters climb, the more they are affected by a low-grade Moon Warp. This one is not as strong as the Warp that occurs in the middle of the month, but can still make parts of the building shift and change around, and draw out transformations.

(Drifters might also run into new arrivals, as this is also the location of this month’s Test Drive Meme.)

04-A: CLIMB

External:
Between the bullet marks and the weathering, it’s easy to find claw holds and slowly scale up. Broken windows also make it possible to jump inside and outside of the sky scraper, to vary one’s ascent. The other constant is the stone Igueon statues dotting the outside. As Drifters draw close, they come to life and act like a stone swarm defending the building.

Internal: (CW: Meat buildings with teeth) The interior is far more claustrophobic… And fleshy at times. Networks of veins line the walls and ceilings. It’s almost like the building is alive. Or possessed. And that theory gains more credence, the more Drifters climb to the upper floors.

Teeth start to grow in doorways, sharp edged and ready to draw blood. The building sometimes gives the sensation of traveling into a throat… And there is also the Husks merged with the walls. While they may try to burst open, those monsters can quickly become absorbed by the upper levels of the building.

It’s advised to travel in pairs, to avoid becoming another part of the scenery.

04-B: APEX

The summit of the skyscraper is a bit unconventional. Rather than a simple tower or the like, it looks like a temple has been set down. There’s scrolls that have merged with columns that reach skyward; some of them broken, but many of them standing. And on the columns still legible is writing:

“Woe to the moon, to the madness fostered. The world frays without the guidance of the lost God. If we must be broken, let us shatter the prison in the process.“

There’s one last thing lingering in the center of the altar; a statue of a person growing out of a gargoyle’s torso and a Cerberus melted together. On the bottom of it is an inscription: “Those who reject the Moon’s blessing pay the price in blood and identity. Leave your tribute on the claws.”

Drifters can offer their blood to the altar and gain a vial containing a rejuvenation elixir. This can undo one transformation, but requires Drifters to sacrifice one aspect of themselves: it could be a memory, or a personality trait, or simply a large quantity of blood that leaves them weakened and lethargic. Drifters will only be able to regain this aspect on the next month.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Car Trip: Fast cars are capable of doing both events! And tough cars can sweep the streets for traps, easily tanking flashbangs and even proximity mines.

Scars: The city is clearly scarred from many battles and calamities. Moonstones are embedded in the buildings and statues, bullet holes trace through the buildings… And in the case of the main skyscraper, draw blood from that building.

Cross Fire: On occasion, Drifters will find themselves in the midst of a battle, with vestiges of monsters and cyborgs fighting each other. They are both clearly weakened, and are focused on each other rather than the Drifters; such battles can either be avoided or won… Just watch out for stray bullets and monster attacks.

Traps: The cyborg hunters are running on autopilot and broken programming code. The same can be said for their tools and traps; locations holding valuables frequently serve as bait, with snares and foot holds carefully hidden amongst broken parts of building. These traps are designed to heavily wound or outright kill… Though with all the moon shards littering the city, the effects have a 50% chance of instead triggering changes in Drifters.

NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. Urban Salvage (Metal) | Never Can Have Too Many Weapons

[ It probably makes sense that Danse would gravitate toward the steel, in one form or another. Not that he's ever seen anything quite like this before, and he's not entirely sure what to do with it, but he can imagine someone like Jayce might know.

It's far from the most important salvage on his mind, though. He remembers when the cyborgs had attacked the convoy, how ill-maintained their weapons had been to the point of uselessness, but if these ones are still intact enough to fire, they're in good enough shape for him to use. Were he still in his power armor, those periodic sprays of bullets would have bounced harmlessly off and just rendered this a simple matter of kneeling to pick one up.

As it is, it's tense and tricky and he narrowly escapes a shot straight through the toe of his worn boot, but when he does have the gun safely in hand, he feels more confident and complete than he has in weeks. It's small, not particularly efficient, certainly not his preferred type of giant fuckoff rifle, but this does not deter him from sighing audibly with relief and a quiet "thank god" under his breath.

Now to the issue of the molten metal. He tilts his head at it, a gesture more comically canine than it would be without the wolf ears fixed to the sides of his head. ]

Does the convoy have some kind of...receptacle for this? How do we get it to solidify again when we want it to?

II. Subway | I Don't Plan On Getting Buried Alive Today

[ It's a double-edged sword to be completely unarmored down here, in the kind of ominous crumbling metro tunnel that always sends a deep chill down his spine regardless of the temperature. On the one hand, it makes the tight spaces feel slightly less claustrophobic, but on the other, it makes every one of these husks feel somehow like more of a threat than it would be above ground, raw as his nerves are with fearful sense-memory.

Close quarters means no retreat. He tells that to every soldier under his command. It doesn't always save them. ]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the first thing that jumps out at us is getting shot in the face. I'm not messing around.

[ He clicks the safety off his newfound gun, and goes suddenly tense and still in the process as a pleading, otherworldly scream reaches his ears, making him feel almost nauseous as it reverberates unnaturally like every sudden noise has begun to do. ]

--Did you hear that too? You must have heard that.

III. Apex | All I've Done for the Brotherhood, All the Blood I've Spilled In Our Name

[ Danse is far more in his element traveling up to the summit of a building than having to descend under the city streets, though as with literally every single other thing about his entire life here, he would be more in his element if he had his power armor. That could withstand a fall from the top floor of this place without so much as spraining his ankle inside it, and he's tested limits like that for fun under happier circumstances.

Nothing about this is fun, and none of these circumstances are happy. The not-infrequent experience of walking into a tall building and finding that super mutants have strung bags filled with dismembered human limbs and organs all along the walls and ceiling has prepared Danse for this fleshy nightmare in the way that playing Zeta Invaders on holotape prepares one for shooting a minigun out of a helicopter.

Nonetheless, here he is at the top. The temple looks like the sort of ruins he's seen and admired in books about the ancient world--the truly ancient world, thousands of years before his time, not what people back home sometimes mean when they talk about the "ancient world" of two centuries ago before the bombs fell. The dried blood on the claws of the statue speaks of nothing good. But he's been complaining about "cultist nonsense" since he got here and it doesn't help, so he keeps that much to himself as he reads the inscription quietly aloud. ]

"Those who reject the moon's blessing--" Some blessing. None of us asked for it. If you can't reject an unwanted blessing, I fail to see how that doesn't materially make it more of a curse.

[ He reads a bit further, frown deepening. ]

But the price they're demanding for exercising personal freedom sounds almost...spiteful. However much we might feel like we're losing our identities as it is, this sounds even more drastic, not to mention less predictable. Do you really want to chance it?

IV. Bonus | Get Some Clothes On, You're Embarrassing Us

[ It hasn't been that much more difficult here than it was back home, to make do with just a few items of carefully hand-washed clothing and simply put up with what damage can't be easily mended. It's just how things are in the wasteland, even if Danse is used to having more backup options than most if his uniform gets really shredded. He doesn't have the uniform here, but at this point, the coveralls he came in wearing are pretty damn beat-up, and his efforts to procure replacements that actually fit his unusually sizable lab-engineered frame have been in vain.

But this place is almost an embarrassment of riches. A shop with clothing like this would probably have been looted to emptiness decades or centuries ago back home, though lucky finds are always still possible. He grabs a couple three-packs of socks and underwear with the attitude of someone finding a fifty-dollar bill on the street, conscientious of leaving some stock for others, and he's browsing the pants selection while keeping an ear out for anyone else. ]

If you want to try something on, I'll stand guard for hostiles and we can trade off when you're done.

[ This to anyone he recognizes as a fellow drifter, either by scent without looking up if they've met before, or after a quick glance if not. Trying on clothes for fit is also a luxury rarely afforded where he comes from, but what the hell, they can all indulge a little. ]

V. Wildcard

[ If you've got ideas for anything else, go for it here or hit me up at layonmacduff! Danse has a Tough truck for potentially disarming traps, and Ravenous Drive, Graveyard Synergy, Sensory Disorientation and Doom Echo active from the Cerberus traits. As above, he'll be in the subway and the skyscraper at different times, so I'm up for doing anything in either of them! He'll also be glad to back anyone up for any kind of monster-fighting or cyborg-fighting. ]

[One would expect someone who's undergone so many changes to be tempted by the offer to revert some of the changes.

Large, hooked horns sprout from his hair. Feline ears fold back in contemplation. Black feathers cover everything from his face to his waist, though his clothing covers most of it. The large, black wings and back spines, not so much.

Crow-like talons protrude from the fingertips of his leather gloves. White tiger paws stick out against his black slacks. A scorpion-like tail flicks in mild irritation.

And still, he makes no move to draw blood, instead folding his arms.]

I see no reason to try and revert the changes to begin with. Those who have tried eventually changed once more, and until our business is done, we might as well take advantage of the abilities that come with our transformations.

[ One would expect that. Danse certainly has visible enough transformations of his own, inconvenient and embarrassing ones at that even if they're all at least reflective of the same animal, but he thinks privately that if he'd gone through as much as this kid has, he might be singing a different tune about the altar.

But he respects the steadfastness nonetheless, and he won't argue with...half of the logic. ]

I suppose. Until they become more liability than advantage. I still don't disagree that it would be foolhardy to try and get rid of them this way, especially if it won't last, but you're telling me that none of this has ever...backfired on you, in any way?

[ He gestures vaguely, at "this," to...all of the everything that's going on with Akechi. ]

[Akechi snorts, wings flexing and tail swishing.]

It's required quite a bit of tailoring, if nothing else. Extra limbs and protrusions hardly mesh with attire made for a human frame.

[He casts a brief glance down at his feet, now digitigrade paws.]

Shoes certainly aren't an option, short of something custom made. The feathers get itchy and occasionally shed... but these are minor inconveniences. Not enough for me to want to shed the changes until we are certain we've reached the end.

[ And here Danse thought he had it rough with just a tail that won't bend enough to fit down a pant leg. He supposes he can stop complaining about how awkwardly cramped it gets when he's driving. He's been stoic about the ears when people make fun of them, so far, and he's at least given up by now on trying to shave off the overgrowth of fur. ]

That's all well and good, and I admire your attitude about it, but I'm not talking about inconveniences. A good soldier can withstand some bodily discomfort in the service of the mission.

I'm asking if it's compromised you in a dangerous situation, forced you to adapt on the fly when you needed to fight, that kind of thing.

Paladin Danse | Fallout 4 | Werewolf

Apex

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III. Apex

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Wildcard! You know what's coming.