Stan angry is a sight to behold: His mouth lights up from the inside (a reddish orange, like hot coals in a fire), the flames of his hair lose their orderly state and begin acting a bit more like his head is a campfire, and his eye sockets start swallowing the light even more.
“I'll tell you what…” he begins through clenched teeth (the only part of him that's actually white).
But Euler interrupts, “No deal. We know about that little ‘Planned Obsolescence’ curse that you can't help but apply to anyone who makes an agreement with you.”
And that is why knowledge is power, folks, “So I can't safely make any deals with him whatsoever, like promising safe transport if he cooperates?”
“Correct.”
“What about saying we'll stop beating him if he tells us what we want to know?” Linda seems like she's still a bit violent… I guess that's the mobster history talking.
“No deals whatsoever,” Euler emphasizes, “If we start beating on him, we can't ask him questions or tell him we'll stop if he tells us what we want to know. We just have to keep beating on him for as long as we feel like it.”
“Sucks to be…” my thoughts are interrupted by his drawing and firing his pistol at me twice… one of which actually hits, even.
It's a Disintegrator pistol. It fires a beam of energy that disrupts atomic bonds, producing an effect very much like splashing industrial acid on the unfortunate target. And it BURNS.
I manage to avoid screaming, and glance at him as the wound closes up faster than it formed: The regeneration I found in the neigh-invulnerable creature template ROCKS, by the way, “The adults are talking,” I then shift my attention back to Euler and Linda, as they're talking.
“So… what, we kill him, strip him of everything he has, toss his body out an airlock, and try to glean what we can from his gear?” Linda definitely still has some mobster in her.
“Eh,” I consider, “Viable, but it doesn't do anything about the idiot who sent him after us. Let's call that plan B.”
“I will cheerfully betray my prior ‘Lord’ if I simply survive…” Stan seems to recognize his pickle properly, now: He's volunteering things.
Pour the right magic into someone, and looks CAN kill: Euler glances at him, invoking an option from Stormrage, causing twin beams of lightning to leap from her eyes to Stan… who convulses and steams slightly, “THE. ADULTS. ARE. TALKING.” Stan seems pretty durable: He can probably take five to ten more of those before he's dead… it's not an exact science.
“Anyone have a better plan?” I deliberately ignore Stan's electrical spanking.
“I could fabricate fictitious files,” Stephanie suggests over the room's speakers, “We could give him a data core with that, plus maybe a couple of computer viruses, stuff him in that drift-enabled armor he mentioned, and throw him out an airlock alive.”
Stan wisely doesn't comment.
I consider, “That could work… we'll need to replace the Charm spell so his lord sees him as still being under control if he checks, but it’s a bad idea for me to do it.” Partly because mine don't register as magic, partly because I don't want to eat him.
“You’re no fun…” Patricia pouts.
“I don't know that one,” Euler looks at me hopefully, “... yet.”
Sadly, as a Technomancer, it's not on her class list. The Fey Presence feat could do it, but has a requirement of Fey Heritage, and Enable Function can't do prerequisites for itself. There is a way… but I'll need to renew Body to Body, which ended when she got too far away from me… “It's not one that I can easily teach you, you don't have the right background. There's a way, but you're looking at significantly more mammary tissue.”
“SIGN ME UP!” Right. BE addict. Every hit makes her chest bigger, but also makes her want her girls to be bigger still. Well, that's consent….
I sigh, reach over, grab her chest, and and cast three spells while she purrs under my hand: Body to Body (6th level, lets me share spells I cast on myself), Paragon Surge (4th level for me; I cast it on myself, and share it with her, granting her the Fey Heritage feat), and follow it up with Enable Function (3rd level) twice: Once for the Fey Presence feat (which grants three specific spell-like abilities, one of which is, yes, Charm Monster), and once for the Spell Penetration feat. One thousand, six hundred extra cubic centimeters of flesh fill each side of her chest… which isn't actually all that much compared to her pre-existing twenty four thousand and change from earlier… and it all takes less than six seconds, after which I dismiss the extras on myself.
I smile a bit as I knead her chest for longer than is strictly necessary, enjoying the feel, and then let her know as I squeeze her milk tap, getting her shirt slightly soaked in milk, “You’re all set. You should be able to just think about it hard to do so… but it will only work once per day. So if he resists, we'll just have to go with Plan B.”
“Thank you, Admiral, I understand,” Euler smiles as she turns to Stan, “Are you ready?”
Stan seems to be meditating as he nods…Linda has been through something similar, and watches on with a smile while Euler concentrates. As I'm still rocking a Greater Arcane Sight spell from earlier, I watch the Charm Monster spell-like ability take hold.
I smile at Euler, “Great; you're his keeper until we're ready to cut him loose. Please keep him away from anything important, and ideally stuck in here.”
Euler nods, “No problem.”
“Great! I'll leave you to it, then.” I start walking out the door, and Linda follows, leaving Euler and the daemon Stan behind.
Linda uses a quiet voice, “Can you give me spells?”
I stop walking, and consider; what I did for Euler is pretty quick, and gives a small number as 1/day abilities… which is all she needs, as she actually has spells of her own. For Linda… maybe the Spheres system? Basic magic training by way of Paragon Surge to give her a Spheres caster level of one, then use Enable Function to grant follow up feats: Advanced Magic Training for a higher caster level, Extra Magic Talent to grant her Spheres magic talents, and Extra Spell Points so she has a pool of spell points to draw on; I could make her basically a spheres omnicaster at half caster level.
But… “Yes, but it would require much more power - and with it, much more side effect - and you wouldn't get the exact same result.” A thousand CC's to kick it off, another three hundred per talent beyond the first, and another three hundred CC's per two extra spell points beyond the initial few.
I pause briefly, and add, “Alternatively, I could let you dip your toes into spellcasting… but it wouldn’t properly scale: You'd be stuck as a beginner… but there would be a lot less side effect.” Starfinder has fifth level feats that give two cantrips and one first level spell for each of their four casting classes: Technomantic Dabbler (for Technomancer spells), Reality Glimmer (for Witchwarper spells), Connection Inkling (for Mystic spells), and Time-touched (for Precog spells)... but they don't really scale. Oh, your caster level keeps up, and your per-day goes up slowly, but you're stuck with that single first level spell and those two cantrips known.
“I can even give you both,” I continue, “But I can't undo the side effects. If you eventually decide it's not worth it... I can turn off the abilities, but not the side effects.”
Linda takes a breath, and I interrupt, “I won't take your answer now, unless it's a ‘no’ of some stripe. Give it time, mull it over a few days. Remember what you used to be like, and what you are now. Permanent changes to yourself are NOT something to rush into. But yes, I can pretty much give you as much power as your heart desires… but I've already given you a lot - you can teleport short distances, see in many different ways, put people to sleep, zap people with electricity, fly, swim, dig, and you’re immune to nearly everything. There's very little more to add to that… making things, summoning minor servants, healing people, maybe?” I shrug.
She considers for a bit, “So really, you just gave it to Euler to cover a specific task, and I should be happy with what I have.”
I smile, “Exactly. Someone else having a bigger house doesn't make mine smaller. Someone else having a better entertainment center doesn't make mine less entertaining. Is a bigger house nice? Yes, absolutely. Is a better entertainment center more entertaining? Often. But someone else having nice things doesn't make my things trash. If you find you need more power, I can give it to you, but do be sure, as the cost isn't easily undone.”
Linda nods, “See you soon, then.”
I chuckle, and we part ways for now.
Stan angry is a sight to behold: His mouth lights up from the inside (a reddish orange, like hot coals in a fire), the flames of his hair lose their orderly state and begin acting a bit more like his head is a campfire, and his eye sockets start swallowing the light even more.
“I'll tell you what…” he begins through clenched teeth (the only part of him that's actually white).
But Euler interrupts, “No deal. We know about that little ‘Planned Obsolescence’ curse that you can't help but apply to anyone who makes an agreement with you.”
And that is why knowledge is power, folks, “So I can't safely make any deals with him whatsoever, like promising safe transport if he cooperates?”
“Correct.”
“What about saying we'll stop beating him if he tells us what we want to know?” Linda seems like she's still a bit violent… I guess that's the mobster history talking.
“No deals whatsoever,” Euler emphasizes, “If we start beating on him, we can't ask him questions or tell him we'll stop if he tells us what we want to know. We just have to keep beating on him for as long as we feel like it.”
“Sucks to be…” my thoughts are interrupted by his drawing and firing his pistol at me twice… one of which actually hits, even.
It's a Disintegrator pistol. It fires a beam of energy that disrupts atomic bonds, producing an effect very much like splashing industrial acid on the unfortunate target. And it BURNS.
I manage to avoid screaming, and glance at him as the wound closes up faster than it formed: The regeneration I found in the neigh-invulnerable creature template ROCKS, by the way, “The adults are talking,” I then shift my attention back to Euler and Linda, as they're talking.
“So… what, we kill him, strip him of everything he has, toss his body out an airlock, and try to glean what we can from his gear?” Linda definitely still has some mobster in her.
“Eh,” I consider, “Viable, but it doesn't do anything about the idiot who sent him after us. Let's call that plan B.”
“I will cheerfully betray my prior ‘Lord’ if I simply survive…” Stan seems to recognize his pickle properly, now: He's volunteering things.
Pour the right magic into someone, and looks CAN kill: Euler glances at him, invoking an option from Stormrage, causing twin beams of lightning to leap from her eyes to Stan… who convulses and steams slightly, “THE. ADULTS. ARE. TALKING.” Stan seems pretty durable: He can probably take five to ten more of those before he's dead… it's not an exact science.
“Anyone have a better plan?” I deliberately ignore Stan's electrical spanking.
“I could fabricate fictitious files,” Stephanie suggests over the room's speakers, “We could give him a data core with that, plus maybe a couple of computer viruses, stuff him in that drift-enabled armor he mentioned, and throw him out an airlock alive.”
Stan wisely doesn't comment.
I consider, “That could work… we'll need to replace the Charm spell so his lord sees him as still being under control if he checks, but it’s a bad idea for me to do it.” Partly because mine don't register as magic, partly because I don't want to eat him.
“You’re no fun…” Patricia pouts.
“I don't know that one,” Euler looks at me hopefully, “... yet.”
Sadly, as a Technomancer, it's not on her class list. The Fey Presence feat could do it, but has a requirement of Fey Heritage, and Enable Function can't do prerequisites for itself. There is a way… but I'll need to renew Body to Body, which ended when she got too far away from me… “It's not one that I can easily teach you, you don't have the right background. There's a way, but you're looking at significantly more mammary tissue.”
“SIGN ME UP!” Right. BE addict. Every hit makes her chest bigger, but also makes her want her girls to be bigger still. Well, that's consent….
I sigh, reach over, grab her chest, and and cast three spells while she purrs under my hand: Body to Body (6th level, lets me share spells I cast on myself), Paragon Surge (4th level for me; I cast it on myself, and share it with her, granting her the Fey Heritage feat), and follow it up with Enable Function (3rd level) twice: Once for the Fey Presence feat (which grants three specific spell-like abilities, one of which is, yes, Charm Monster), and once for the Spell Penetration feat. One thousand, six hundred extra cubic centimeters of flesh fill each side of her chest… which isn't actually all that much compared to her pre-existing twenty four thousand and change from earlier… and it all takes less than six seconds, after which I dismiss the extras on myself.
I smile a bit as I knead her chest for longer than is strictly necessary, enjoying the feel, and then let her know as I squeeze her milk tap, getting her shirt slightly soaked in milk, “You’re all set. You should be able to just think about it hard to do so… but it will only work once per day. So if he resists, we'll just have to go with Plan B.”
“Thank you, Admiral, I understand,” Euler smiles as she turns to Stan, “Are you ready?”
Stan seems to be meditating as he nods…Linda has been through something similar, and watches on with a smile while Euler concentrates. As I'm still rocking a Greater Arcane Sight spell from earlier, I watch the Charm Monster spell-like ability take hold.
I smile at Euler, “Great; you're his keeper until we're ready to cut him loose. Please keep him away from anything important, and ideally stuck in here.”
Euler nods, “No problem.”
“Great! I'll leave you to it, then.” I start walking out the door, and Linda follows, leaving Euler and the daemon Stan behind.
Linda uses a quiet voice, “Can you give me spells?”
I stop walking, and consider; what I did for Euler is pretty quick, and gives a small number as 1/day abilities… which is all she needs, as she actually has spells of her own. For Linda… maybe the Spheres system? Basic magic training by way of Paragon Surge to give her a Spheres caster level of one, then use Enable Function to grant follow up feats: Advanced Magic Training for a higher caster level, Extra Magic Talent to grant her Spheres magic talents, and Extra Spell Points so she has a pool of spell points to draw on; I could make her basically a spheres omnicaster at half caster level.
But… “Yes, but it would require much more power - and with it, much more side effect - and you wouldn't get the exact same result.” A thousand CC's to kick it off, another three hundred per talent beyond the first, and another three hundred CC's per two extra spell points beyond the initial few.
I pause briefly, and add, “Alternatively, I could let you dip your toes into spellcasting… but it wouldn’t properly scale: You'd be stuck as a beginner… but there would be a lot less side effect.” Starfinder has fifth level feats that give two cantrips and one first level spell for each of their four casting classes: Technomantic Dabbler (for Technomancer spells), Reality Glimmer (for Witchwarper spells), Connection Inkling (for Mystic spells), and Time-touched (for Precog spells)... but they don't really scale. Oh, your caster level keeps up, and your per-day goes up slowly, but you're stuck with that single first level spell and those two cantrips known.
“I can even give you both,” I continue, “But I can't undo the side effects. If you eventually decide it's not worth it... I can turn off the abilities, but not the side effects.”
Linda takes a breath, and I interrupt, “I won't take your answer now, unless it's a ‘no’ of some stripe. Give it time, mull it over a few days. Remember what you used to be like, and what you are now. Permanent changes to yourself are NOT something to rush into. But yes, I can pretty much give you as much power as your heart desires… but I've already given you a lot - you can teleport short distances, see in many different ways, put people to sleep, zap people with electricity, fly, swim, dig, and you’re immune to nearly everything. There's very little more to add to that… making things, summoning minor servants, healing people, maybe?” I shrug.
She considers for a bit, “So really, you just gave it to Euler to cover a specific task, and I should be happy with what I have.”
I smile, “Exactly. Someone else having a bigger house doesn't make mine smaller. Someone else having a better entertainment center doesn't make mine less entertaining. Is a bigger house nice? Yes, absolutely. Is a better entertainment center more entertaining? Often. But someone else having nice things doesn't make my things trash. If you find you need more power, I can give it to you, but do be sure, as the cost isn't easily undone.”
Linda nods, “See you soon, then.”
I chuckle, and we part ways for now.
