Dawn of the Jedi ~ Act I: There is no Emotion, There is Peace

[Rettu Skcollob]

Still gripping his sword, Li gesticulates resignedly. "Okay, so I have a problem with lust. So what? Everyone has faults. There are certainly worse ones out there. Now I know that this can't be real, these are too many illusions for anyone to use in real life without some serious power. So why are you screwing with my head? Nice pants, by the way."

[Minchandre]

Jo

"And yet it is not he who disrespects me, but rather you. I suppose that I could forgive you, if you wished. That is, if I were to regard you as simply his tool, an egoless cog in the great military machine that carries out his will. Then you would have no say over your treatment of me, or, indeed, much at all. Tell me, are you a tool? A trowel, perhaps, or a spoon?"

[Ascension]

Li

"No one's screwing with your head," the man replies, "Your head is screwing with itself. That's the beauty of it. How would I know how much you'd like these pants if I wasn't a part of you?"

He laughs.

"A person's worst enemy is never an external force. One will never face a greater foe than oneself."

Jo

"Of course I am a tool, merely a small piece in the Lacaean military machine. We are all tools... no, more than tools. We are weapons. Bred and raised for war. You cannot triumph over us through force of arms."

[Rettu Skcollob]

"So, what part of me are you then? Am I some sort of mental masochist? And, more importantly; how in the Nine Hells can I get out of here? If this is my mind, then I need serious help. I'm pretty sure that most peoples minds don't have flaming corpses strewn about the place."

He casually takes a swipe with his sword at the man, finding him easier to attack than the woman from before.

[Minchandre]

Jo

"Come now; this is the vaunted Lacaean pride?" Jo adopts a high-pitched voice, obviously mocking the officer, "'We're all tools in the giant military machine.' No wonder you keep losing wars despite all the battles you win. Besides, I'm not trying to triumph over anything right now except your exceptional rudeness. Honestly, I cannot believe that they beat you so hard in basic training that your forget your common decency."

[Ascension]

Li

He holds up his arm to block... the blade stops when it hits bone... no sooner.

"Quicker to strike a man than a lady, I see. But masochist? Don't flatter yourself. Everyone has a little self-loathing. A little guilt. A little fear. That would be me. He didn't create me, he just made the parts of you that usually keep me in check lie down for a while."

Jo

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Wait for Rosa and Rover. We'll continue this tomorrow.

Err... today?

Time is weird.

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li pulls back the blade, surprised that he was able to score a hit, rather than the speaker simply dissolving again. "Self-Loathing, eh? And He? So my antagonist is a man. Hmm. Disappointing. So, how does it feel like to be my self-loathing? Do you think? Feel? Or are you one-dimensional, consumed by only the desire to hurt me?" He looks at the blade, examining it. "Have I drawn blood? Do you bleed?"

[The_Snark]

Rosa

Rosa's fear at the troopers' appearance is quite obvious to anyone who looks at her, but as Jo bickers with the officer it starts to shade into annoyance. "If you were sent to bring us in, why are you bothering to ask us?" she breaks in. "If you're going to give us a choice, no, we don't want to go with you. We just want to go home. If you're not going to let us go, it doesn't really matter what we want, so just say so." She stares at the officer angrily.

[Liliedhe]

Rover watches this exchange with a resigned face, his eyes widening somewhat as Jo talks down to the soldier. He keeps his hands from his weapons and tries to appear not aggressive.

"We certainly can't stop you now. I am not willing to join you or to submit to anything, but it doesn't seem like I have a choice now."

To a careful observer, his nervousness will be obvious, but he tries to seem as calm as possible.

[Ascension]

Jo, Rosa, Rover

"Okay. I admit it. We're rude, rude people and we're not going to give you a choice. Give 'em two!"

A pair of stun grenades are tossed at the trio. Jo is caught in both blast radii, while Rosa and Rover each only take half the punishment.

Jo and Rosa:
Att: (1d20+3)[21]
Dam: (4d6)[15] [Stun]

Jo and Rover:
Att: (1d20+3)[14]
Dam: (4d6)[17] [Stun]

Li

"One dimensional characters only exist in badly written fiction," the self-loathing replies, "But that's beside the point. You want blood? I can give you blood."

The man explodes, soaking you and the surrounding stone with his blood. Then the walls themselves begin to bleed. Crimson puddles spread over the ground.

"The blood of the innocent. The blood of those you could not save. I'm sure it will be more than enough to drown you... I wonder how long you can hold your breath..."

[Liliedhe]

Rover stumbles, when the blast hits. His survival instinct is kicking in and his blade is in his hands before he has the opportunity to think. He stops himself from attacking, though, and moves to drop the weapon...

[Minchandre]

Jo

Jo is so caught up her posturing that the grenades take her completely by surprise. Still, she acquits herself somewhat well, managing to mostly dodge the first before being quickly dropped by the force of the full blast from the second.

She falls to the floor, completely unconscious.

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Jo had 19 HP, and has just taken 15 damage from the first grenade, as well as 9 from the second (half damage 'cause she made her save), if I'm working this out right. Anyway, she's out.

[Ascension]

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The stun damage rules are... complicated. You take half damage, and if you're reduced to 0 HP by that half-damage you get knocked out, but first you compare the full stun damage to your damage threshold, and if it's exceeded by the full damage you move two steps down the condition track even if you're not fully knocked out. Jo would only take seven real damage from the first grenade and four from the second (if you round down in SWSE like you round down in D&D), but she would still end up at condition -2 because the first grenade's full damage exceeded her threshold.

Or we can just play it the way you played it. It's easier that way.

[Liliedhe]

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I actually understand it the way Jo played it. If the stun damage reduces you to zero, you are knocked out - and you can't die that way, because only half the damage is 'real'.

[Ascension]

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Ah. Good. Let's do that, then. It makes stun weapons more useful.

[Minchandre]

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How about these are special "plot grenades" that simply work the way I rolled? Makes life simple. Besides, do you really need another week-long combat scene

[Ascension]

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Grenades fall, everyone's unconscious.

[OldSchoolGamer7]

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Ascension, someone really needs to do something about those puns of yours.

My posting will be erratic until Friday evening; I'll be around most of tomorrow (one final to go,) but not much, if at all Thursday. My apologies beforehand.

Bricriu

"And well that may be. One man can see power where another sees weakness. In truth, you have shown yourself to have no power here, if this truly is a void. Even if you manipulate the world into a void, you have warped yourself into a corner. If there is nothing there, there is no way to go back, according to your theory.

"However, using power to mold and force the world to conform goes against the natural order. Everything has it's place; yes, even the practicioners of the Bogen. They are here to teach us that we must better ourselves and reexamine the master's teachings to grow and counter this threat. We are both dynamic forces, opposed to each other because it must be so.

"And where do I stand? I am the fulcrum that both turn on. I have walked through the tranquility of the Ashla and drunk from the well of the Bogen. I know my choices carry great danger, but it must be done if equilibrium is ever to be reached." Careful...philosophical debates have never been your strong suit. You're getting too close to becoming one of those stodgy old monks you swore you would never become.

[Liliedhe]

Seeing Jo fall, and realizing that further resistance on his part might get her and Rosa seriously harmed, Rover drops his weapons.

"I surrender."

He allows himself to be incapacitated or led away...

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li's face contorts in horror, almost dropping his sword. He had just been beginning to feel more comfortable, trying to get the upper hand, and now this? "I couldn't save?" He falls to his knees, the vibroblade splashing to the floor. Those he had failed to save. The self-loathing obviously knew more about Li than he would like. It had always preyed on him, his failure to protect others. "Of course I did my best to save them... I failed them. Like I failed Bricriu on the road. I have failed in my mission... Struck down, and captured? I just... Wasn't strong enough..."

[The_Snark]

Rosa

Rosa doesn't have nearly the combat instinct Rover does, and turns to run rather than drawing her sword. The grenade's impact has made her disoriented, though, and she doesn't get far before soldiers are on either side of her.

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We could play it out, but Rosa has poor Constitution, untrained Endurance, and is -2 steps on the condition track, so it's easier to just say she gets caught.

[Ascension]

Jo, Rosa, and Rover

The three of you are loaded into a truck like the one that took Li and Bricriu to the General's citadel. Any of you who are not unconscious are willed to sleep before being removed from the vehicle... but your journeys only begin with the loss of consciousness...

Bricriu

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What pun are you complaining about this time? Be specific, man!

"You lecture the voices inside your head. How quaint. But you miss the point. My power is not the question here... what power do you possess? Here you are, in a world ready to be shaped... can you shape it?"

The voice laughs mockingly.

"Or are you afraid to shape it? Afraid of what might happen if you let yourself exercise your power? Afraid of strength? Afraid of the Bogan?"

A world suddenly stretches before you, a world like Tython, but scorched bare... the vegetation burned away, the earth cracked, the magma swelling up to fill the parched seas with flowing fire where once cool waves licked the beaches.

"Is this your world? The world you would create if you had power?"

Li

"How very right. You've never been strong enough to save a life... not even your own. You almost died back there, you know... when that man struck you down... when his sword bit deep into your flesh... But you could be strong enough... The Bogan has the power to save the ones you love."

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Congratulations, your self-loathing is Ep. III Palpatine.

Jo

You wake to the sounds of a formal tea in progress. You stand before a long table adorned with fine china and antique silverware, surrounded by nobles in fine attire, in your family's palatial estate. In the midst of all this sumptuous finery, though, you are clad in ragged burlap. A scarecrow sits at the head of the table, a scarecrow clad in your best dress and decked out in your finest jewelry. A simple sign hangs around its neck, proclaiming it to be Lady Norala. All the nobles at the table defer to the scarecrow, and your house servants attend to its every need.

You, on the other hand, are completely ignored. Their eyes slide over you... gaze through you... as if you're not there at all.

Rosa

It's overwhelming. The pressure. The fears, the hopes, the dreams, the emotions, the power. The whole world is suffused with a terrible, blinding light. You see everything, hear everything, feel everything, are everything. A million people laugh through you, cry through you, love through you, hate through you, heal through you, hurt through you... all in a moment's time.

Then. Suddenly. Silence.

All. Is. Silent.

All. Is. Dark.

You are finally.

Alone.

You finally are.

Alone.

"You've felt them all your life, haven't you?" a voice asks, and a girl about your age walks out of the darkness and sits down beside you.

"Whether you realized it or not, you've felt their feelings all your life. How does it feel to not feel for once? Oh, sure, I'm here, but I'm just an aspect of you, a little delusion who's here to keep you company. But aside from me..."

The speaker vanishes.

"Aside from my voice, you're finally alone. How does it feel?"

She is right. Your empathic abilities, which were on fire just a few moments ago, do not speak to you at all. They've been silenced, deadened. You can feel nothing but what's inside your own soul.

Rover

You stand beneath a funeral tent, beside an open grave. The casket is not here yet... nor are the mourners. A few rows over a gravedigger lounges against a headstone.

A page of newspaper is carried on the wind, blows up against your leg as a stiff breeze sweeps through the graveyard. Rover's home county back in Foretia had a press... they never had the funding to keep it running year round, but they'd run off these papers about four times a year, big thick packets detailing all the important events of the last quarter. Several pages would always be dedicated to obituaries...

This particular obituary page has one brief entry circled in red ink.

Rover Tanna
Rover Tanna, 33, of Silver Lake, passed away Sündertag, Vala 13, 1388. Tanna leaves to mourn his wife, Tally; his sons, Dart and Brick; and his daughter, Ilia. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM, Sündertag, Vala 27, 1388 at the Silver Lake Township Cemetery.

[Rettu Skcollob]

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Excellent! *Guitar Riff*

Li's mind immediately returns to what he has seen the Bogan do. Corpses and fire were all they seemed to leave in their wake, in his experience. "But... The Bogan... It only destroys! It's evil! What good can come of death and destruction? Besides... Who do I have to love? No family... Everyone I felt for is in that sketchbook... And they're all dead, have moved on from me, or are too far away now."

[Minchandre]

Jo

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To fit into the theme of things, and the fact that the introspection is presented in second person, I'm going to switch to first person, if that's alright. Actually, I'm assuming it is, and so will post in 1st here, returning to 3rd if the idea's vetoed.

I am slightly little confused at first, not entirely sure where I am. Still, I've sleepwalked a handful of times in the past, and so that seems to be all in order. I then take in the scene, becoming first very angry, and then slightly amused. After all, a scarecrow? The sack I am wearing is a nice touch, too, though perhaps a little over-the-top.

As I walk about the room, searching for the likeliest perpetrator of this prank (my brother), I keep a careful watch for anyone to betray themselves via a stifled giggle or some similar action, but they are remarkably well in character. That I recognize many of them means he cannot have hired a troupe of actors, but I had no idea that Lady Meillard has such an excellent straight face.

Incidentally, I catch a glance of myself in a nearby mirror: unwashed and clad in ragged burlap, and the slight tinge of annoyance I'd been feeling takes on a strong tone of humiliation mixed with anger. For everyone to see me like this, even as a joke...

With renewed vigor, I set out to search through the crowd for my brother, or whoever else may have decided that such a prank was 'funny'.

[Liliedhe]

Looking around mildly interested, Rover catches the page, just to read his own obituary. He frowns. It doesn't really make that much sense to be present at his own funeral, does it? He feels a stab in his heart at the thought of Tally and the children being left behind... But mostly it is simply to unreal to weigh at him for now. His predominant feeling now is confusing, while he walks out of the tent, looking around...

[Ascension]

Li

"How extraordinarily pathetic. The objects of your lust are the only people you care about? I thought you wanted to save innocent lives, not simply to obey your baser urges. And you've not begun to see the power of the Bogan. It is not good. It is not evil. It is merely a path of strength, not a path of weakness like the Ashla. It is up to the wielder to choose whether to use it for good... or for ill..."

Jo

Your brother walks into the room, goes right past you, and begins to chat cheerfully with the scarecrow-Jo.

Rover

"Whatcha lookin' for, friend?" the gravedigger asks.

[Liliedhe]

The unreality of the situation kicks in quite nicely. "Nothing."

What is this supposed to be? His gaze strays between the open grave, the gravedigger, and the sky.

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li clenches his teeth angrily, standing back up. "They're not just objects of my lust, damn it! They were people with feelings, and no matter how short our time was, I loved them. A choice? Forgive me for being suspicious of that, because I haven't seen anyone use the Bogan for any reason you could... Describe as... Li stops, thinking. He had seen Bricriu choke someone almost to death in front of him - surely that must be a power of the Bogan? "Bricriu..."

[Ascension]

Rover

"Wait... yer the dead feller, ain'tcha?" the gravedigger asks. His voice is quizzical, but not at all fearful.

Li

"Yes. Bricriu knows how to use the power of the Bogan constructively. It is possible. And it could be possible for you. Do you wish to walk the path of strength?"

[Liliedhe]

Now Rover's confusion is very obvious on his face. "Dead? Do you mean I'm a ghost?"