Messages

Just took delivery of a pallet of M2 machine guns.  In broad daylight.  Legally.

This is my United States of Whatever.

The Resistance™ is already a neutered, safe, shrink-wrapped Conspiracy™ product.  The Church of Discordia doesn't exist.  The Subgeniuses are too old to care, and Lemmy is dead.

Yeah at the moment the "resistance" and discordia are looking less and less like a savior,
Hell the church of the shrike is looking more like it has some kind of well being for us

Discordia is a pile of radioactive butthurt.  It is useless.

Please note that I do not exclude myself from that.  It is what it is.

The resistance is what Discordia was in 2003.  People cosplaying resistance to an evil government, patting themselves on the back while Cenk Uygur and John Fetterman go on right wing media to kiss MAGA ass.

What's next, you ask?

Oh, my.  So many things.  It's a bad time to be Gay or transgender or have too much melanin in your genetic make up.  It's a bad time to talk about the republic, even in a closed room all by yourself.

Your laptop and tablet are probably spying on you.  Your cellphone IS spying on you.  It is a race between your electronics turning you in and your children turning you in for a gold star and the praise of the Perfect State™.

Our new president, Elon Musk, and this Mr Trump fellow that works for him are seriously talking about annexing Canada and Greenland and having military adventures in Mexico.  Tariffs will eat you alive.  People around you will disappear seemingly at random, swooped up by ICE and dumped on the Mexican side of Nogales, even if they are American citizens.

Your paperwork is not in order.  You will not be able to explain yourself in a satisfactory manner.  You are in fact DOOMED, and it is against my religion to tell You People that you will be okay when you are doomed.

You cannot win, They own the ball AND the ballpark.  You cannot even break even.  Every day is a further erosion of your rights and your standard of living.  You can't even quit the game, because everywhere you could run to is America™.  Even countries that hate America. Especially the ones that hate America.

You will in fact lose, and you will be consumed by the monoculture and made safe.  Made to be not so threatening, with your unregulated running around and hollering.  You will not freak the mundanes, because they could - and have - changed the rules in a shockingly short amount of time to ensure that you SIT DOWN and SHUT THE FUCK UP.

The Resistance™ is already a neutered, safe, shrink-wrapped Conspiracy™ product.  The Church of Discordia doesn't exist.  The Subgeniuses are too old to care, and Lemmy is dead.

There is nothing for you here.  So enjoy your stay.

[Republicans block bill to outlaw bump stocks for rifles after Supreme Court lifts Trump-era ban]

I have never fired a rifle equipped with a bump stock. But, it is my understanding that bump stocks severely reduce the accuracy of such a rifle. So, that make a rifle equipped with a bump stock unsuitable for target shooting. In any case, automatic, and even semi-automatic rifles can not be legally used for hunting game in, at least, my state. (There used to be an exception allowing handicapped hunters to use semi-automatic rifles, and that exception may still exist.)

So, what is a rifle equipped with a bump stock actually good for? Well, as has already been well proven, it's a great choice for an indiscriminate mass shooter.

"Republicans block bill to outlaw bump stocks for rifles after Supreme Court lifts Trump-era ban"

As per this article:

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would have outlawed bump stocks after the Supreme Court struck down a ban on the rapid-fire gun accessory used in the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

Democrats tried to force a voice vote on the bill to ban bump stocks, a tactic often used by both parties when they know that they don't have the votes to pass legislation but want to bring an issue to the Senate floor. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, would ban the sale of the devices, similar to the rule issued by President Donald Trump's administration after a gunman in Las Vegas attacked a country music festival in 2017 with semiautomatic rifles equipped with the accessories."

And, as per further along in this article:

"Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts objected for Republicans, blocking an immediate vote on the bill. He called the legislation a "gun grabbing overreach" that could be interpreted to include other gun accessories beyond bump stocks."

Here's this link:    Republicult™ Blocks Bill Outlawing Bump Stocks

As surviving a mass shooting, as well as initiating one, is becoming something a 'rite of passage' in the US of A, the Republicult™ is certainly doing its part to make sure it actually becomes another 'Merican tradition.

someone facing a lynch mob is also an "indiscriminate mass shooter" That particular situation gets ignored by Dems and GOP both, but an automatic weapon is extremely nice to have if you are facing a mob.

A Halligan tool is better.  Both options still wind up with you dead, but if you use a Halligan tool, people will talk about it in hushed tones for three generations.

B12  Library

This hexagonal room has several large tables with chairs scattered throughout.  There is a door on each wall.  Books removed from the library complex teleport back to their original location when left unattended for more than 1 hour.  Exception:  See area E.  This complex and the hallway leading to it are not subject to wandering monster checks for any reason.  All noises made in the main library room are reduced in volume by one level.  Jack cannot communicate to people in this area, even if a mirror is present.

a.  Magical repository.  This library of tomes on magical theory functions at -1 knowledge (arcana) and -1 spellcraft if permission to use it has not been granted by the mad emperor, as the library itself obstructs research (books move to incorrect areas, etc).  If the mad emperor has given permission to use his libraries, it instead grants a +5 to research, as the library actively assists in research.

b.  scriptoriums.  These rooms hold writing stands and were obviously intended for use in copying texts.  People copying spells or text do so in 1/3rd the normal time required.  This is a transmutation and morale effect.  This effect is not modified by permission.

C.  History repository.  -2 knowledge (history/nobility) without permission, +4 with permission, as above.

d.  Cultural repository.  -2 knowledge (local/geography/religion) without permission, +4 with permission, as above.

e.  Restricted room.  This room has a sign on the door, reading "Restricted Stacks.  Keep out."  The door is locked (DC30) and trapped with a persistent maze spell and an alarm spell (Search DC 30, Disable DC30, CR5) that alerts the mad emperor and the magical warrior for this level.  This room offers no bouses or penalties for any research, but has several books that have been proscribed as dangerous and/or heretical [ADD TITLES/DETAILS].  Each book is itself trapped [TRAP DESCRIPTIONS WITH EACH TITLE].  Unlike the rest of the library, books taken from this room teleport back to their original location, while also resetting its trap.  A dimensional anchor will delay this for the duration of the spell, and a mage's disjunction will end the effect.  This is a conjuration (teleport) effect.

Monsters:  None.

Traps:  See area E.

Treasure:  None.

Needs a threat.

 

The Mad Emperor
N Medium make human (augmented, mythic) Wiz(U)20/Archmage 10

Dryas III still considers himself the actual emperor.  After he arranged for the current emperor's grandfather to fold the palace Dryas lived in, he got down to the more serious concerns he had, leaving the day-to-day operation of the empire to what he considers underlings.  The various crisis the city has faced in the intervening 80 years have largely been beneath his notice, but he is pleased with the current emperor's habit of taking his job very seriously.

Dryas should be considered a dungeon feature, not a creature, not least because he could annihilate a party leveled 5-7 with no effort at all.  He is included to give the party information about the threat, and possibly give them permission to use his libraries and labs.

To gain his favor, the party must gain influence with him as if he were an organization, not a single individual.

Influence rank
0 - Dryas ignores the PCs, but at some point will give them a task.
1 - Dryas tells the party about the threat caused by folding.  Also informs party that their mutant dog is carrying a hag's eye in its stomach, put there by the changelings "familY" to spy on her.
2 - Dryas gives permission for the party to use his libraries (see library area, permission vs non-permission).
3 - Dryas gives permission for the party to use his laboratories (as library)
4 - Dryas describes the exact nature of the current folding threat and what is going on behind the scenes.  He also gives the party full permissions in the palace whenever they want to make use of the facilities.  This does not prevent monster attacks but does keep the magical warriors from attacking (they will simply ignore the party).

Dryas is unconcerned about the PCs having killed his magical warriors, as he just puts them back when he gets around to it.  Likewise with damage to the palace (which rebuilds itself the following night).  Lastly, he doesn't care if they loot the place, as he has no need of wealth, and he can just make more if he has reason to.  He in fact replaces wealth when a party is done exploring/gets killed, so there will be something for the next group.  He approves of adventurers as the are for the most part not "decadent layabouts and drones."

Tasks from Dryas:
1.  Convince the Marid Shezarade to get over her snit (see her room entry), as he misses her stories.
2.  Check up on something in the city that he has lost track of.
Add at least 8 more as I go.

Since the summer there's been an automated system registering bots here, they are easy to spot so able to cull them in groups so it doesn't take any time at all but they do inflate the stats on the bottom of the page

That doesn't seem like a very productive way for the coders to spend their time.

Bump because I have another use for this.

Traps

Wedge pit (put near dwarves)

ankle breaker (On any staircase, best near dark mantles)

Glue pit (put near minotaur)

(DONE) Mummy with alternate curse (alone)

(DONE) ghost bard, uses inspire courage on both sides of any combat she witnesses.  Method of putting to rest (easy) proper burial.  Finding the body (hard).

(DONE) Id ooze ochre jelly (this is what caused the Eaten Ones).

(DONE) minotaur fighter 2 with trip weapon.

(DONE) cultist wizard with 2 fighters.

[TWO DONE]

Monster ideas for the mad emperor's palace:

(DONE) Eaten Ones:  Corporeal undead caused by people being eaten by any acidic ooze.  Partial skeleton covered in acid that floats around.

(DONE) Tunnel Hag

(TWO DONE)5 magic warriors:  Emperor's bodyguard, each attuned to an element (air, earth, fire, water, void).  Level bosses (one per level, fire first).

(DONE) wizard shades:  Basically shadows with spellcasting ability.  Replace Str drain with Int drain.

(DONE) Evil pixies that attack and damage on Dex.  (weapon finesse, weapon focus, fencer's grace)

(DONE) Insane dwarves with one level of stalwart defender.

(DONE) ELECTRICAL DARK MANTLES!

(DONE) The rag mage.  Shaman (slums).  May or may not be hostile.

Whoops.  So much for medicare.

THANKS, PROGS!   

Anyone reading the news tonight?

Thanks, progs!