Path of Evil (IC)

[Morithias]

So we are not in an area where we will be able to find any shards got it.

And no way to really figure out where else they would have been hidden. "Who are these Hojo Diviners."

"They're masters of the Ying-yang ways. They summon divine beings and use paper charm to cast their magic. They sealed Byakko rather than kill him, cause it was theorized that he might've regenerated in the netherworlds if they killed him. Byakko was "killed" around 6 times before they sealed him. Not sure if Miki just kept making copies or whether it was some kind of technique. They need time to cast their spells, so they were often combined with the Kenshin footsoldiers."

Spoiler

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Edit: Also please keep in mind that Kentaro was the one who broke and hid the crown, NOT the forces of good. It is highly likely that there is one or more in Leazus however due to Kentaro probably wanting to keep a shard for research or his own use.

[Tychris1]

"My plans," Lucius says as he reaches into his armor and pulls his shard out "Are to reunite the pieces of Miki's crown and with it rule the world like the Demon king almost did. I only have one piece, but as we speak my minions are out foraging for more pieces. Each of them hand picked by me, and I hope to expand my forces. That is where you come in. In order to start my ploy for power I will need a large worker base, your kobolds, and sources of income to pay for everything. Me and my minions are working on that part, but your brewery could certainly help. And lastly I came here looking for a general, a fearsome sight and figurehead that I can use in tandem to coralle the more monstrous races under my banner. That is where you come in." Lucius held out the shard, marvelling in it's power before sliding it back into it's place "So tell me, are you interested in a bid for unlimited power?"

Diplomacy:(1d20+19)[39] (I think?)

[Morithias]

"My plans," Lucius says as he reaches into his armor and pulls his shard out "Are to reunite the pieces of Miki's crown and with it rule the world like the Demon king almost did. I only have one piece, but as we speak my minions are out foraging for more pieces. Each of them hand picked by me, and I hope to expand my forces. That is where you come in. In order to start my ploy for power I will need a large worker base, your kobolds, and sources of income to pay for everything. Me and my minions are working on that part, but your brewery could certainly help. And lastly I came here looking for a general, a fearsome sight and figurehead that I can use in tandem to coralle the more monstrous races under my banner. That is where you come in." Lucius held out the shard, marvelling in it's power before sliding it back into it's place "So tell me, are you interested in a bid for unlimited power?"

Diplomacy:[roll0] (I think?)

(wow natural 20)

The dragon laughs. "You want to take over the planet? You want to attempt what Miki did and failed? I must say that certainly isn't boring!" He smiles and transforms into human form. "Sadly the kobolds are not mine, we just sort of have a deal going on. I protect them, they give me company and food. The brewery was suppose to be making explosives, but it kinda ended up as ale. Not that great at chemistry apparently, but the Kobolds love the stuff."

He checks out his hoard. It's not a huge hoard, but a fair bit of cash. "I can't blow a huge amount of coin, but I could give some money and resources. I also want to travel to your HQ and meet with your group and check your plans before I commit to this."

[Eisen_Hammer]

"They're masters of the Ying-yang ways. They summon divine beings and use paper charm to cast their magic. They sealed Byakko rather than kill him, cause it was theorized that he might've regenerated in the netherworlds if they killed him. Byakko was "killed" around 6 times before they sealed him. Not sure if Miki just kept making copies or whether it was some kind of technique. They need time to cast their spells, so they were often combined with the Kenshin footsoldiers."

Spoiler

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Edit: Also please keep in mind that Kentaro was the one who broke and hid the crown, NOT the forces of good. It is highly likely that there is one or more in Leazus however due to Kentaro probably wanting to keep a shard for research or his own use.

I guess that is enough info for today, Baldor will walk around town taking in the sights

[Tychris1]

Lucius rubs his chin "Then would you mind if I were to instill a bit more.... 'Loyalty' into these kobolds, since you hold no ties to them and all. As for my base of operations, currently we're hiding away in Tengeshima, nothing fancy, but we plan to move intk a Volcano fort. Which, might I add, would be a much better home for a Red Dragon and his hoard. Not to mention it will be a far more intimidating sight to behold for anyone so bold and foolish to attack us. A couple of Kobolds might have to die for the greater good but...." and while Lucius let Lee think about the idea of the Blackguard enslaving the Kobolds, he spun his tale. Telling the dragon about their plans for corrupting the arena, of creating their own smithy and supplying ourselves with good weaponry and selling shoddier weapons, and our other plans for taking over the goblin tribes and acting benevolent on the outside in order to cover us moving soldiers and minions into key positions. "Once you've made up your mind about the Kobolds I can show you our temporary base of operations."

(I don't think further diplomacy is necessary but eh, I feel like rolling dice while I still have power: (1d20+19)[22])

[Morithias]

snip

"The Kobolds will not be turned by brute force. Their desires are basic, feed them, clothe them, etc and they'll be fine. Many will not leave the area, it is their home after all. I will talk to them about it after I have discussed it with the rest of your group. Let us head back into the city." He turns to a few of the kobolds. "Watch over the place and report to me if anything goes wrong."

The kobolds nod and salute.

"I swear I don't know why they do that. We haven't been attacked in ever, I've maybe killed one wild animal in the whole time spend here."

[Tychris1]

Lucius shrugs "Meh. In any event, come on. I'll show you around." And with that Lucius leads the dragon down to Tangeshima to show him around their base of operations. Pointing to the volcano once in a while.

[Morithias]

Lucius shrugs "Meh. In any event, come on. I'll show you around." And with that Lucius leads the dragon down to Tangeshima to show him around their base of operations. Pointing to the volcano once in a while.

"Ah I know of that volcano, it hasn't erupted in centuries. Building there would be dangerous, but it would be next to impossible to attack. Plus lava makes a good place to place red dragon eggs. I can see why you came to the kobolds, you'll need some good miners to work it."

He walks into your headquarters. "No much for now, looks like you've got a basic income idea, but you'll need some start up funding to get a steady flow of income right? Well...I'm not doing anything with the gold we find...I don't see why other dragons sleep on piles of gold. A bed is so much more comfy."

Edit: Please refer to the OOC, I have important information.

[Jaelesh]

Jebel turns to you.

"Well as a Harvester devil I can do this obviously, but the pact is strict. We have a long few hours ahead of us before this goes through I think."

(Umm, I am just going to move right on along I guess...)

Tenting his fingers and resting his chin on them, Karsht looks at her appraisingly. "Well then, I guess we must discuss terms... I wish to form a Pact Certain. In return for my soul and service to your superior, and possibly yourself, I wish to be made a mortal agent of the Pact Primeval. To make it simple, I want to make a deal to be able to make other deals and enforce the terms as thought I were a harvester devil like yourself, or an erinyes. Hmm... I think I have a list around here somewhere..."

Fumbling around with his pockets for a bit, he pulls out a small piece of parchment "Ahh, here it is." He then hands it to Jebel.

Spoiler

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1. The ability to negotiate and form Faustian pacts. This includes a standard portion of credit for each soul, and empowers me with the ability to use various spell-like and supernatural abilities with the sole purpose of being used to hold up my end of a deal.
2. I will be allowed to live my entire natural lifespan, and if I should be killed I will be allowed to be resurrected, raised, reincarnated, etc.
3. Upon my permanent death, or at a time of my choosing, I will be transformed immediately into a unique devil with innate power comparable to the number and value of the souls I have collected and deals I have made.
4. I will be granted hunting ground rights within any land I own, as well as to any governments I create/corrupt/foster/etc.
5. A small portion of the energy extracted from the souls I send to the pit shall be set aside for my personal usage. This usage could be in the form of redeemable value (OOC: Not sure how to explain this... I guess the best analogy would be frequent flyer miles, or bonus reward points, something like that.) or services rendered.

(Let me know if any of you have suggestions/ideas/questions about the deal. I am pretty much using it as a way to solidify our power base and gain influence. As a fun side-effect, we will also be getting a decent ally (in the form of Jebel since her reputation would suffer if we fail, and she benefits from every soul I collect) as well as a potential workforce of devils if I do well enough to warrant an infernal promotion.)

Smiling, he raises his hands placatingly "I realize I am asking quite a bit for a pact, but since it is pretty much a employment contract as opposed to immediate gain, I figure it balances out."

[Morithias]

Jebel looks over the pact. "It's a bit simple, but there a lot of things I can't do."

"1. I can't overule the pact primeval, only devils can make pacts, the most I can probably give you is some kind of imp who does the deals for you.

2. The killed off thing isn't that big of deal, but keep in mind that if you're in a soul contract and you die, and you want to get resurrected, you need to go to the infernal courts. So unless you have a good lawyer....yeah, I can't promise that either.

3. The only "unique" devils are the dukes of hell even above the Pit Fiends, you would need tens of thousands of souls to pull that off.

4. Well that's not hard really. The soul goes to whoever is responsible for the corruption, you become a devil, the hunting ground is yours.

5. I'm not sure if I can do this either. Most soul energy is used for promotions and that's it. Do you realize how useless a soul is when it comes to crafting magical items? 4 vials of liquid pain is more valuable."

She scans over the contract over and over.

"All in all there isn't much in here I personally object to, but if you don't mind I need to take this contract to my superiors and get their approval. Unique pacts like this need a ton of paperwork to do. Consider yourself under appraisal for now, if you keep doing a good job, the more likely you'll get approved, got it?"

[Tychris1]

Lucius nods his head "Yes, some starting funds would definitely help. Especially in properly kitting us out for our future plans, not to mention the undertaking of equipping Kobolds and Goblins. That'll put a damper on coin. My associates should be here soon enough, they like to come in and out of here to check in on the others progress."

[Morithias]

Lucius nods his head "Yes, some starting funds would definitely help. Especially in properly kitting us out for our future plans, not to mention the undertaking of equipping Kobolds and Goblins. That'll put a damper on coin. My associates should be here soon enough, they like to come in and out of here to check in on the others progress."

"Is there anyone in this organization besides your associates? Or are my kobolds and me the first people you've tried to talk to."

Lee sits down in a chair in the house. "I'll also want to meet your bookkeeper, and talk to them. If you have an architect that would be helpful too."

For simple reference this is what the red dragon's human form looks like. (The boy on the left)

Spoiler

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New quest: Impress Lee.

Recruit an architect, and a bookkeeper.

Currect base has:

1 small house
1 Fancy forge.

Current bookkeeping reveals the following about the forge.

Spoiler

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The forge will cost 115 gold pieces a week to run. (-25 base, +1 resource, +1 risk * 5).

The forge will bring in income equal to a craft check * 5 with various modifiers.

The secondary skills of the forge are appraise and diplomacy. Other modifiers can be found in the DMG2.

The forge grants +2 to craft checks.

Money made via crafting for money is not part of the profit check, it is something else, you can make crafting for money checks, and profit checks at the same time. You only make one profit check regardless of how many people are working in the forge. However for each person aiding the main check you get a +2 to your profit check.

Upgrading the forge (+1d4 to profit checks) will cost 2000 gp, you can only do this once every 3 weeks.

TLDR: Roll a craft check subtract 23, add modifiers and get money times your results *5

[Tychris1]

"One moment, I'll go see if I can find my book keeper....." And he's off! An unnatural speed carrying the Blackguard as he walks out of the house "Where in the nine hells is that merchant girl we protected earlier?" And so Lucius went about, trying to track down Yumi with the best of his abilities.

Gather Information(?):(1d20+5)[20]
Search:(1d20+2)[14]

[Morithias]

"One moment, I'll go see if I can find my book keeper....." And he's off! An unnatural speed carrying the Blackguard as he walks out of the house "Where in the nine hells is that merchant girl we protected earlier?" And so Lucius went about, trying to track down Yumi with the best of his abilities.

Gather Information(?):[roll0]
Search:[roll1]

You find Yumi outside a tavern with her carriage, sitting on a rug peddling minor goods. Clearly a step down from trading in Zeth.

"Oh hey, you're one of the guys who helped me get back here? Geeze did you run here? What happened?"

[Tychris1]

Lucius huffs and puffs as he catches his breathe "Yes.... I did.... I'm here to give you a business proposition. How would you like to be my bookkeeper? Me and my associates are starting up business here and we plan on making a lot of gold. Course, we need someone to manage it, and you seem to know your way around the coin. Want in?"

Diplomacy:(1d20+19)[37]

[Morithias]

Lucius huffs and puffs as he catches his breathe "Yes.... I did.... I'm here to give you a business proposition. How would you like to be my bookkeeper? Me and my associates are starting up business here and we plan on making a lot of gold. Course, we need someone to manage it, and you seem to know your way around the coin. Want in?"

Diplomacy:[roll0]

"Meh. I got nothing else to do, and you guys did help me out of a bind." She gets off her blanket and quickly packs what little she had into her carriage. "Let's go back to your um..place, and talk over the terms and what exactly you're planning."

She follows you back.

[Tychris1]

Lucius leads her into the house "Here's Lee, he's one of my potential business associates. Lee this is Yumi, my new bookkeeper. We're just now hammering out our full terms and agreements so please give me a moment." He waves a hand towards a empty room so that Lucius can properly use his silver tongue on Yumi.

[Eisen_Hammer]

Bored again Baldor goes back to the house to find a person that was not there when he left the house. "And who might you be?" As he asks Baldor gets ready for a possible fight activating Detect Magic, See the Unseen, Devils sight and assumes the stance Bolstering Voice.

Edit: I assume I get back right before they do.

[Tychris1]

Lucius glances at Baldor, motioning for him to calm down "This is Lee, a Dragon interested in funding and assisting our expeditions. Now, excuse me, I have business to attend to." And with that he returns to Yumi and sits down "Alright, me and my partners are planning on building a base of operations here. We're working on several different methods of income such as gladiator work, selling weaponry from our forges, and the initial funding from Lee's treasure hoard. We hope to create a more stable income and plan on further expansion in several areas of work. I'm going to need your expertise in wealth to make sure we get plenty of coin and that no one suspects where it's coming from. Think you can do that?" He says, occasionally trailing his hand against his armor.

[Jaelesh]

Snarling in genuine anger and disgust, the little goblin hops out of the chair, turns and marches out of the casino, hood still drawn tight as it exits. Enough of this waiting around crap!

Weaving it's hands together, mumbling to itself in goblin, Narik cast's message to Karsht: "Where are you now? I am back, Where do we meet?"

The message, of course, would be sent in common.

Cocking his head to the side and listening to a whispering voice "Well then, I shall see you later Jebel, I need to go and fetch a small green thing... And possibly corrupt some politicians and children."
He gets up and leaves, thinking to himself as he goes Hmm... I wonder how I can make the deal better... And just where in the hell do I go to look for the friggin' goblin!? Damn spell doesn't let me get a response back... Wait... what spell was used on me anyway...?

Spoiler

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Taking 10 on spellcraft I think that this would count as the "Identify a spell that’s already in place and in effect. You must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell." usage.
If so Ahh, right, he used a message spell to contact me. That means that he must be within about 200 feet of me right now... well then, lets go find him and then go get him a cauldron of his choice... and he walks off in search of the little pyro that could.

[Morithias]

Lucius glances at Baldor, motioning for him to calm down "This is Lee, a Dragon interested in funding and assisting our expeditions. Now, excuse me, I have business to attend to." And with that he returns to Yumi and sits down "Alright, me and my partners are planning on building a base of operations here. We're working on several different methods of income such as gladiator work, selling weaponry from our forges, and the initial funding from Lee's treasure hoard. We hope to create a more stable income and plan on further expansion in several areas of work. I'm going to need your expertise in wealth to make sure we get plenty of coin and that no one suspects where it's coming from. Think you can do that?" He says, occasionally trailing his hand against his armor.

"That depends." Yumi starts. "I'm not that good with criminal businesses, those are less about the skill and more keeping yourself out of trouble. It's easy to make a profit stealing stuff, it's harder to make a profit stealing stuff and staying out of the guard's way."

"Crafting weapons and armour is a decent idea. I think the smart thing to do would be to register with the merchant's guild through me and open a shop so you can sell directly. It'll be expensive but cutting out the middle man and buying stuff second hand can save you a lot of money." She finishes and glances at Lee.

"How much money are we talking?"

"Probably around 25k to start off." Lee states. "I don't have a ton of gold personally, cause I let the kobolds keep a lot of it. What can you do with that?"

"Maybe one shop." Yumi replies. "But it'll be a shop in the city so it'll bring in a lot of customers. Probably have enough leftover for any accidents or problems. She pulls out a piece of parchment and does some quick calculations."

"17k? 19k if you want a fancy place." Lee looks over it.

"Yeah but the fancy place will bring in a large amount." Yumi counters. "Plus we'll have the extra money the forge brings in."

The two continue their debate and calculations. Almost forgetting you're there.

"Of course if we keep improving the shop we could corner the market and make a fair amount. All legit too, which would keep our heat down."

"Makes sense." Lee says back. "What do you think?" He turns to you two.

[Toska Moriarty]

Not long after Karsht begins his analysis of the spell, a small figure waddles up behind him. Grunting loudly and yanking at his pants(or robe hem? Whatever) Narik makes his presence, and mood, well known.

"Didja' have time to do what I asked?" THe angry goblin barks, in heavily accented, curt, Common.

Looking behind the mind rapist reader, he angrily grunts again.

"Of course you didnt! Bahh! today has been USLESS! I have accomplished nearly NOTHING! " And continuing, In Goblin, with some nice orcish profanity "Damned face-shifting mentalist can't even tell when I need him to do something! And I'm sure the other tall-ones are no better! No doubt guffawing about trying to woo any peasant girl that blinks her ****ing doe eyes at them! Idiots! Nothing worse than that beard-thing though. Dwarves, BAH!"...


...At this point it devolves into senseless, indecipherable nonsense, though (if one were, say, a Mind Bender) the thought process features much anger and very potent images that feature the crudest vulgarities for every non-goblinoid race.

Throughout the ranting he will follow Karsht to wherever he intends.

[Eisen_Hammer]

"I like the idea of having legit fronts. If need be we can buy our own things with stolen money and then reselling it that way it looks legit in the books. I say we go with the fancier shop that way we will have more costomers. And if we get registered with the guid we can have this forge. We can use income to pay for our expenses and I might know someone that we can recruit to man the forge as an actual job for when we are out of the area. Also she has some interesting plans for a weapon, she thinks that she can create a localized earthquakes. It will take a lot to create it, also she said it would need the volcano to power it. I am not sure how you feel about having an untested weapon that could backfire in our base. But if we put enough into research before we build it and fire it there should be no problems. I can go and find her if we need to I can have her bring her plans also."

Baldor explains as he drops his stance but keeps his other defenses up.

OOC: If we get Lee and Yumi we have to wait to get Maria right?

[Morithias]

"I like the idea of having legit fronts. If need be we can buy our own things with stolen money and then reselling it that way it looks legit in the books. I say we go with the fancier shop that way we will have more costomers. And if we get registered with the guid we can have this forge. We can use income to pay for our expenses and I might know someone that we can recruit to man the forge as an actual job for when we are out of the area. Also she has some interesting plans for a weapon, she thinks that she can create a localized earthquakes. It will take a lot to create it, also she said it would need the volcano to power it. I am not sure how you feel about having an untested weapon that could backfire in our base. But if we put enough into research before we build it and fire it there should be no problems. I can go and find her if we need to I can have her bring her plans also."

Baldor explains as he drops his stance but keeps his other defenses up.

OOC: If we get Lee and Yumi we have to wait to get Maria right?

Spoiler

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You cannot recruit Lee as a minion yet, he is too high of level. He is more of a "contact" for now.

You can recruit 1 minion every 2 levels, and the minion's CR must be 2 or more below the PC's level. Lee is CR 13. So you'll have to wait til level 16 before you can recruit him. Level 14 if you manage to clear him before then.

If you don't want the artificer Maria, you can find someone else.

"Fancy shop it is then." Yumi says. "Lee, can you come with me to the guild? We can cover the expenses and so on with it."

"Sure thing Princess." Lee says. "I look forward to seeing the place you setup."

Lee gets out of his chair. "But I need to go pick up the gold first. If you don't mind let's get out of the city, and I'll fly you to the kobold cave. It'll be quicker that way."

"That sounds fun!" Yumi happily says. "I look forward to working with all of you." She says as she bows, and they leave if you do not say anything else.

Quest complete: Recruit your first minion - Gain 500 xp.

[Eisen_Hammer]

"I am going to go and see if Maria the girl with the crazy plans wants a job."

With that Baldor leaves for the blacksmiths house.

"Is Maria here?" Baldor asks as he enters the blacksmiths.

[Morithias]

"I am going to go and see if Maria the girl with the crazy plans wants a job."

With that Baldor leaves for the blacksmiths house.

"Is Maria here?" Baldor asks as he enters the blacksmiths.

"In the back looking over her Tulip plans." The Master smith tells you. "What the hell did you tell her, she's been up all night!"

Maria clearly looks like she hasn't slept at all, her backroom is covered with papers and redesigns of the Tulip, and she's clearly been drinking a ton of some kind of weird drink to keep herself awake.

"Oh hi..." she says kinda half-dead. "I've been working, do you need anything specific? I can't craft wonderous items yet, but I know how to make potions...., I can also supervise buildings...." She doesn't seem to remember you, either that or she's so tired that she's just trying to be polite and doesn't know what to say.

[Eisen_Hammer]

"Hello Maria, I have come to ask you if you would like a better job than being an apprentice. We need someone to craft for us and me and my associates are planning on helping you make your dream a reality. If you want that is. We of course are more than willing to look elsewhere, just so you know we are of questionable morals and if you do not wish to see your dream become a reality because of this we more than understand."

Baldor walks up to her puts his hand on her shoulder.

If she says yes then "Good, my associates are looking to open a shop and we need items constantly being made and of course we want you to continue developing the tulip until we can be sure that it will not backfire."

If unsure then "Maria your dream awaits if you work with us."

If no then "Maria I can not guarantee your safety if you do not work with us... I would hate to have to do something we all would regret because you showed a stranger your plans."



OOC: I really see this scene with Baldor in the shadows and Maria having trouble focusing on him not sure why.

Diplomacy : (1d20+1)[9]

Intimidate if she says no:
(1d20+1)[7]

[Morithias]

"Hello Maria, I have come to ask you if you would like a better job than being an apprentice. We need someone to craft for us and me and my associates are planning on helping you make your dream a reality. If you want that is. We of course are more than willing to look elsewhere, just so you know we are of questionable morals and if you do not wish to see your dream become a reality because of this we more than understand."

Baldor walks up to her puts his hand on her shoulder.

If she says yes then "Good, my associates are looking to open a shop and we need items constantly being made and of course we want you to continue developing the tulip until we can be sure that it will not backfire."

If unsure then "Maria your dream awaits if you work with us."

If no then "Maria I can not guarantee your safety if you do not work with us... I would hate to have to do something we all would regret because you showed a stranger your plans."



OOC: I really see this scene with Baldor in the shadows and Maria having trouble focusing on him not sure why.

Diplomacy : [roll0]

Intimidate if she says no:
[roll1]

"Are you sure?" She asks. "Making magical items, buildings, and the Tulip will be expensive. And I don't really know how to craft weapons, only firearms. (Gunsmith feat), so unless you start getting a fair bit of money, I'll be dead weight for a while."

She start to go out. "I'll work for you...but can I go get some sleep....just after..I mark this..." She marks the Tulip design she's working on as "19", and get up from her chair almost falling over, this woman needs rest.

[Eisen_Hammer]

"Of course, get some rest. I will be working at the smithy when you wake."

With that Baldor waits till she goes to sleep and goes and looks at the current plans. (1d20+9)[22] to see if I can understand them.

Then Baldor gets to work at the forge. Taking 10 for a total of 19 working at the forge.

[Morithias]

"Of course, get some rest. I will be working at the smithy when you wake."

With that Baldor waits till she goes to sleep and goes and looks at the current plans. [roll0] to see if I can understand them.

Then Baldor gets to work at the forge. Taking 10 for a total of 19 working at the forge.

You understand the core concept. But that's like saying someone knowing that the concept of a nuclear generator is "create steam to turn a turbine". Basically you'll need to dig WAY under the earth's crust and install some kind of hammer-like device, that will need to be made of obdurium to take the heat from inside the planet.

The reason you understand it will be expensive, is not just the material, but also with how complex the machine is, from what you can tell she's trying to simplify and make it cheaper to make and less likely to accidentally blow up the planet.

It's clear she's put a ton of work into this machine however. She seems dedicated to it. She walks to the bed and takes her clothes off, ignoring you're there, and slides into the bed in her undergarments, and goes to sleep.