[Forever Tree]Rustdeity OOC

[Hoid]

A lot less troublesome for Imperious, though!

[Sakuro]

Indeed. A lot of things could pull his attention to aquatic regions: rumors or catching sight of something curious while he is out patrolling/looking for people in duress are the obvious two. He isn't much of a bookworm, being more of goal driven do'er, but if he is ever researching something there could be mention of something attention grabbing that may also inspire him to go exploring beneath the waves. There is also the idea of one of Beaumont's comic books having a "real world" reference which in turn inspires an exploratory search of some area … and possibly an adventure. If something actually cames of all that, well, people might put even more value in them as historical documents.

[Hoid]

Do you want me to stay away from multiversal stuff? If you want this to be Earth-V-specific I’m cool with it.

[Sakuro]

Shi'Halal is designed for warfare on a multiversal scale. I did give her the Dimensional Travel power to reflect that, and to hint that at some point I would like to travel to other dimensions. Though I do want to stay away from worlds with large numbers of powerful characters. Being made redundant by the equivalent of the Avengers or Justice League never fails to irritate me.

Something else to bear in mind, Imperious is a dark character from a grim world. His showing up in a four color setting wouldn't change who he is, and they may well clash. Sometimes that clash can be good. Sometimes it is bad. However, he'd be killing antagonists that he feels are irredeemable/don't want to change and getting all authoritarian with his "benevolent dictator" approach to superheroics.

That said, I picked Rustdeity for Imperious' home because it interests me the most. I do want most of his time to be spent in the Earth-V setting.

[Hoid]

Ok! An eventual Earth-B crossover or Perpendicular-2 crossover sounds interesting. (Only as a one-shot, though.)

As to being ‘outclassed’, let me state something I tell my offline players:
You are not the most powerful characters of this setting. There are others of greater strength. This is not their story, though: it’s your story. Those other guys are not the stars of the show. You are. Your characters are the ones that matter. Sure, bigger guns are around...but it’s you guys who are the focus of the game and the center of all action.
No matter how powerful NPCs might be, they’re supporting characters. Something will always prevent them from doing the job meant for your characters. They’re there to make the setting feel more alive, but it’s your show. It always will be.

As a result, you needn’t worry. This isn’t those guys’ story, it’s Imperious’ story.

[Sakuro]

The Ban from Perpendicular-2 might pose a problem. It turns off most Demimachinery. Which could put Shi'Halal into a state of hibernation. That would cause some difficulties and Imperious would need to find an external means of leaving. I have mixed feelings about power lose stories. On one hand, they can show a character's true nature as they are deprived the abilities they have come to rely on. That is good for character development. On the other, a big reason I play super hero games is the power fantasy. The Ban aside, it would be interesting to see how Imperious reacts to, and interacts within, that setting's social dynamics.

Earth-B … there is a lot going on with Earth B. There are unique setting specific elements to it, but there are also plenty of the usual super hero setting tropes. Though it is also a very different world from Imperious' own. Leafs could do so much good on Rustdeity … maybe he could persuade one to return with him. At least to visit. Then again, I'm not sure he would try that hard. Rustdeity is a horrible hellish world compared to modern day earth. It'd be like damning someone, or at least emotionally scarring someone.

[Hoid]

The Ban does have a few notable exceptions. Maybe a cosmic entity or a unique confluence of celestial events acts as a temporary ‘buffer’? Lasting, conveniently, just long enough for Imperious to arrive, do his thing then leave right before time runs out.

As for Leafs, I designed them to be little miracle-workers. Leafs are happy, eager to help and have nary a violent impulse in their bodies. A colony of Leafs would be imnensely beneficient to Rustdeity...but, as you pointed out, it is a hellscape, compared to Earth-B.

As to Earth-B in general, it may not be post-apocalypse, but it’s awfully close. Civilizations around the world collapsed during the Mutation Wars. Mutants won, but at a terrible cost. Sure, the ecosystem is well on its way to recovery, but nearly half the mutant race died in the conflict. It was, in some respects, a Pyrrhic victory.

It’s also the polar opposite on Earth-V.
Earth-B caught fire in a massive war, and its imperiex successfully intervened, ending the conflict in one decisive strike.
Earth-V caught fire in a massive war, and its imperiex’s arrogance caused it all to fall apart.

Never mind the fact that the Dream Moth and Jax the Sleeping King know each other extremely well, and were closer than mere friendship.

[Sakuro]

Something gained, or learned, from a previous adventure could also potentially allow Shi'Halal to avoid or be protected against the Ban. Maybe they find out about this confluence of events you proposed before hand and see it as an ideal time to make the trip.

The Dream Moth and Jax were close you say? Who better to learn Jax's weaknesses from for when Imperious eventually tries to usurp the failed imperiax's power! I'm only half serious. Doubt it is even possible. But if he encountered Jax and saw him to be a cause of Rustdeity's woes, or an incompetent ruler, he'd make some kind of effort to "fix" the problem one way or another. In any event, there are likely lessons to be learned from what happened on Earth - B, that could inspire Imperious in his endeavors to make Rustdeity a better place.

[Hoid]

As to the Ban: I like your idea better! Maybe a vital component of Shi’Halal is missing, and Imperious going to get it could be a big adventure!

Overthrowing Jax is certainly possible. Unlikely in the extreme, but possible. Gaining an imperiex-essence, though, it utterly beyond Imperious’ control. As much as the other imperiex loathe him, Jax is still one of them; they’d likely view his murder with extreme displeasure.

[Sakuro]

Maybe a vital component of Shi’Halal is missing, and Imperious going to get it could be a big adventure!

Perhaps that is the spark that gets them traveling dimensions, and leads them into the wider multiverse of the Forever Tree setting. Good idea.

As for the Imperiax Essence … would Jax have to be murdered? I'm ignorant to the cosmic mechanics, though I did read up on what you have posted about Jax in the setting material. It reads as though the essence is in his gear. Not him personally. Which made me wonder why there hasn't been a series of crusades to find and recover his stuff so someone could assume his power/station.

[Hoid]

Imperiex-essence, once given, is permanent. That Jax has it in his power-armor doesn’t detract from the fact it’s still his. Others couldn’t really use it. To ‘free up’ an imperiex-essence, the imperiex in question has to die.

This was designed by the Solar Lion to prevent cosmic usurpation, but, with Jax, it’s bitten the Solar Lion in the ass. If he could, the Solar Lion would strip Jax of His imperiex-essence. But it’s not really possible...at least, not without the imperiex in question dying.

[Sakuro]

He still needs the equipment to make use of his Imperiex-ness though, right? Perhaps separating him from it and keeping him contained is enough then. If he ever became a problem that needed to be "solved".

Anyway, it isn't my goal to seek out Jax and try to challenge him. Imperious doesn't even know that he is real, and would rather that Jax continue to remain in self exile/hiding if he did know about Jax. I have a tendency of running through contingency strategies in my head though.

[Hoid]

Yes, separating him from the armor would prevent him from accessing his imperiex powers, you are correct.

[Hoid]

Will not be posting, tomorrow. Gaming offline with friends.

[Hoid]

We shall resume, tomorrow!