Priya was studying to be a doctor when Chan-Chan first got there. Also Creed was teaching her how to understand and use her magic which would involve study of the various tomes and such there. So there are probably a lot of books on magic and medicine of all sorts there that Priya would have used.
Now, Priya is a character who comes into the game knowing every spell for every level (every caster's dream). However, that does not mean that she has any first-hand experience using the magic so study is highly important for someone like Priya. Even if she innately knows and understands magic (like dragons do, especially the Chiang-Ku), the library might be her "Harry Potter" place to explore and excel.
Since they'd be meeting in the context of the Unkillables, it probably doesn't come as a great surprise that Jeanne-Marie has killed people, probably in the area of a dozen, certainly no more than fifty. She does not enjoy killing. Depending on what constitutes a "healer" to Sense Life, she might also register there since she has healing psychic powers and have used them on both fellow soldiers and occasionally civilians of one persuasion or another.Esbilon Same here for Jeanne-Marie. I imagine the vibes she would get from Jeanne-Marie (like death-sense) would be something she could not ignore (but likely come by it innocently - I get the feeling sometimes her powers do their own thing?). What do you want her to know?
Chan-Chan is less concerned by those things than her wondering if someone is fair or foul-hearted. Chan-Chan doesn't judge a book by its cover and Jeanne-Marie (and Col. Unkillable) are far more to her than just soldiers with guns.
EmperorNorton1
(You have double-post. Delete one?)
Oh! I forgot to mention - this is done and it was a good rough but I like it better now.
Epiphany
Is there any such place we know about?
Heya! Here are my most-recent Chan-Chan related notes and ideas. She is nearing completion! =)
Hmm. Hoard of 1st-5th level goodies. Some useful but non-rune sword Chan-Chan can rely on. Every last word of this post is subject to Pips's discretion. It is only in if she wants it. =) These are not necessarily items that Chan-Chan wished for or even knew existed - they are simply what is - the collection she has accumulated.
So... Chan-Chan's a 30-year-old highly-active Chiang-Ku dragon hatchling Grey Seer and has literally been adventuring from the week she was born (maybe even the day given how hatchlings can be)... what has she accumulated in her hoard? Well, everything she hasn't given away to those less fortunate (Grey Seer). But to build up a hoard? Where has she been to collect things? Well, she's born in China, has visited Atlanteans in one or more of their strongholds, but has been based in Tolkeen for years. At least a decade, I'm guessing.
Just today, she received the surest sign of all that Tolkeen and its shadow-filled king are going to fall if the times keep as they are. She has received hints before. How long before? Don't know. But I imagine she started kicking up her "collect what you can and get it out of Tolkeen" goal the very day that started up.
So... in that spirit, what has she been pulling together all this time? Maybe this.
Chan-Chan's hoard.
A small library's worth (4 to 5 living rooms' worth) of flatscreen TVs, a few laptop computers, Blu Rays, books, maps, hard drives, perhaps even some servers of Pre-Rifts data - some of which was on the Internet when it existed and some private. She has three trunks filled with Pre-Rifts "life before the Cataclysm" papers, catalogues, advertisements, maps, magazines, and the like. There is also a collection of National Geographic magazines with their excellent photography and video articles in Blu Ray form.
Perhaps Chan-Chan raided a house (or several) belonging to college campus professors or administration. We're talking collections of popular Pre-Rifts series like Sagan's Cosmos, DeGrasse Tyson's Star Talk, on the same shelves as Schoolhouse Rock, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and PBS Digital Studios (go go melodysheep!). Musical collections range from the (then) easily-found Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to that crazy Austrian guy singing about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to many music-makers in-between.
Other forms of Pre-Rifts entertainment include cartoon collections (like Teen Titans Go!), anime (like Azumanga Diaoh), and movies (like anything from Jackie Chan) and TV series series classics like (O.O.C.: Spoiler in this one. Matt Smith, very 1st episode) Doctor Who. Chan-Chan's favorite series among them all is, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. And what would a collection like this be without video games? Especially fighting games and horror games. She is still on the lookout for large piles of other universes that she hasn't gotten her happy little claws on. But if you are wondering if she has something to do at all times whilst cooped in her lair? The answer to that is yes. Always yes. Whether or not she has a particular title, series, or collection or how many copies she might have on hand is up to Pips.
Weapons
Pips mentioned a 4th level NPC baddie with a rune axe. Everyone else is at least 7th level all the way up to 14th and this being Rifts, the sky is the limit). Rune axe, huh? Sounds cool, right? So how about this? Chan-Chan has yet to find an Asian magical sword beyond that of a simple practice weapon, she uses a Western blade at the start of game. But... why make it something bland?
Magical double-edged short sword called "Flare."
Forged by master bladesmith and longtime warrior, James Rissoli, this adventurous soul traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to one of the world's most active volcanoes, Stromboli Volcano in Italy, which today is near a powerful ley line. During the hottest time of the year not long after yet another eruption from the famous volcano, Master Rissoli, chose to forge several weapons, Flare being the first and hottest of the bunch. This blade was given as a gift to his longtime friend, Vicki Sarbez, a rogue scientist whose physical disabilities prevent her from trans-Atlantic travel. She passed away in the 1st century P.A. in her home in what was formerly Ann Arbor, Michigan near her favorite dig site, the University of Michigan (a public research college before the Cataclysm). It was here that Chan-Chan, on a solo mission to U.M. found Ms. Sarbez's home, her own research, and hanging inside the fireplace still dimly lit and "holding the flame," Flare. This weapon which easily doubles as many a useful tool is Chan-Chan's most prized in her hoard.
Flare has the ability to control its own smokeless fire-magic for a number of useful functions. Simply by thinking of the desired temperature or function, Flare's wielder can instantly activate any option as long as the wielder is touching it. Flare can glow softly or shine like a dimmable lamp, comfortably warm an area with a 20-foot radius, serve as the heat-source for a portable stove, become red-hot to cause Mega-damage to whatever it comes into contact with, or cool itself to lukewarm temperature in an instant. Flare can start fires by touching combustible material and cut or weld M.D. metals like a welding torch (minus the blinding sparks - no protective eyewear required). When not being used to warm a fireplace, Flare is kept in a custom-made Mega-damage fireproof sheath along with a second, smaller non-magical S.D.C. knife which is kept in a second sheath bound to the outside of the first. This much-smaller knife otherwise looks exactly like Flare minus the heat.
Mega-Damage: 2D6 M.D. Blade damage + 2D6 M.D. Fire damage. (Note: Chan-Chan's Skills add another 2D6 M.D.)
Special Abilities: Variable heat. It is a magically-enchanted blade which provides a +1 to Strike and Parry in combat. Cannot be damaged by fire. Flare never burns, slices, or otherwise harms its wielder even if the wielder grabs it by its red-hot edge.
Weight: 2 lbs. (0.9 kg)
NG-B50 "Thunderer" BigBore Combat Hammer (Rifts Northern Gun Book 1, p. 208)
Weight 14 lbs. (6.3 kg).
Range: Melee only.
Mega-Damage: 2d6 S.D.C. + P.S.; double damage to vampires (silver plating). Blunt M.D. Weapon: 1D6 M.D. + M.D. P.S. DAMAGE.
BigBore Shotgun Shells: 2D4 M.D. per single shell/bullet. See the BigBore Shotgun Shells in Rifts Black Market for the knockdown effects.
Rate of Fire: 1D4 (Roll 1d4 to determine how many shells go off with each hit.).
Payload: 8 total (4 on each side). Loading a single shell counts as two Actions. (Wonder if a speed-loader could be made for it?)
Cost: 17,000 cr. (includes silver plating). 120 credits per shell or 16,000 for box of 144.
Manoan "Fireball" TW Rifle (Book of Magic, p. 313).
Mega-Damage: 4D6+6 per blast.
Rate of Fire: 1/Action.
Range: 1,600 feet (488 m).
Payload: 24 shots per P.P.E.-Clip or 15 P.P.E. per blast.
Cost: 20,000-35,000 credits in Manoa, rarely found elsewhere in the world.
NOTE TO PIPS: TW Sonic Rifle OR TW Storm Rifle? I think asking for both is too much?
TW Sonic Rifle (Book of Magic, p. 326).
Mega-Damage: Unleashes a modified version of the Shockwave spell (p. 123)
Rate of Fire: Single shot only.
Range: 600 feet (183 m).
Payload: 5 per P.P.E.-Clip.
Cost: 320,000 credits, P.P.E. clip: 40,000 credits.
TW Storm Rifle - Non-Tolkeen version (Book of Magic, p. 326).
Mega-Damage: 5D6 M.D. lightning bolt or unleashes the equivalent of a 3rd level Wind Rush spell (p. 119)
Rate of Fire: Single shot only.
Range: Lightning bolt: 2,000 feet (610 m). Wind Rush: 1,000 feet (305 m).
Payload: 6 per P.P.E.-Clip.
Cost: 280,000 credits, P.P.E. clip (40,000 credits).
Strange Tools
1 small P.P.E. battery (holding 50 P.P.E.).
8 P.P.E. clips. (no E-clips. Has nothing that uses them at the moment.)
3 small P.P.E. generators (for small homes) to keep her lair powered.
3 TW Silencers (Book of Magic, p. 333).
1 Thought Projector (Book of Magic, p. 333) - (ought to come in very useful for post-mission debriefings.)
Atlantean Crystal Items (from Secrets of the Atlanteans, pages 137-142). Item/Quantity (power/P.P.E. cost). Credit cost.
1. 2 Water Crystals - points to water for 2 hours - 1 P.P.E., creates 1 gallon of drinking water - 8 P.P.E., points to body of salt water/sea or ocean - 2 P.P.E.). 10,000 cr. each.
2. 3 Campfire Crystals (provides dimmable light and heating for 20 foot area for 2 hours every 4 P.P.E.). 8,000 cr.
3. Sheltering Crystal (casts Sheltering Force per Book of Magic, page 114. - 20 P.P.E.,). 45,000 cr.
4. Crystal of Civility (creates a civil, cool-headed, and fair atmosphere in 12-foot radius - 20 P.P.E.). 30,000 cr.
5. 4 Communication Crystals (magical communication, 20 mile range for 10 minutes, double range on ley line, triple on nexus point - 1 P.P.E.) 40,000 cr. (I imagine she'll give 3 of these to our non-Atlanteans to borrow if she feels she can trust them.)
Credits
12 credsticks of varying age and quality totaling 6,548 credits.
Chan-Chan's lair.
Chan-Chan's lair of many years is the inside of an unusable, irreparable, completely-stripped, blasted-out hulk of what used to be an early-model Coalition States Death's Head Armored Transport (top section only, see Rifts Ultimate Edition, p. 252) converted into suitable and comfortable living arrangements for one dragon hatchling plus hoard. It is located outside of Tolkeen, northwest of the city in the direction of Xiticix territory where hardly anyone with brains or sense wants to go.
A long time ago, it appears someone out there sent the flying and badly-damaged hover-less transport straight into the ground where some grand battle took place resulting in the incapacitating, but not the complete destruction of, the 100-meter-long transport. Then it was wholly-stripped of every last weapon, electronic device, and piece of data down to the last E-Clip until all that was left of the ship were mechanical functions (doors, hatches) that were evidently too much trouble to be removed.
At some later date, other people unknown to Chan-Chan discovered the hulk and after no small amount of effort, turned it into a rather comfortable living space for some kind of creatures smaller than Chiang-Ku dragons but clearly larger than humans. Here it stayed in secrecy for a great long while with little comforts, some magical, some technological, added in until it no longer required outside support.
Some time after this, perhaps years, the transport was then somehow sunk into the earth until it was swallowed up entirely as if by magic. However, underneath its crash-landing site was a gigantic underground cavern with no way out and devoid of all life except plant-life. Into this spring-fed domain, the transport gently fell and now remains, surrounded by glowing lichens, underground plants of many varieties, and complete secrecy from anyone and everyone so far as Chan-Chan knows. The air inside is neither moist nor foul but kind of sweet thanks to an underground-growing plant that smells similar to jasmine. Since she does not need to eat, there is no food here (but plenty topside if you can catch it). There are 3 small P.P.E. generators here that help her keep everything powered.
There is but one complete tunnel into the place - the spring hidden at the bottom of a nearby river. Entering or leaving her lair, she will either fly as a mist or in her natural (wingless) form using Invisibility: Superior until she reaches the river, then she will transform into a smaller shape that swims. Would-be guests (for she has never had any here) must use Breathe Without Air spells and swim via skill or use Swim as the Fish spells. Chan-Chan will use metamorphosis to transform into some native wildlife and swim, following the spring tunnel to enter and leaving through the exit channel. Inside her lair, she has created two more tunnels as emergency escape routes. They are meant for her to use her dragon-form and supernatural strength to quickly smash through to the surface should she have to flee quickly These two tunnels 95% dug up from the inside and some meters from the surface beneath large, old trees which she will have to uproot to leave from.
Chan-Chan always leaves a number of Mystic Alarm spells to tip her off (and use her Blazing Comet tattoo to get her back home). When she has to deposit items into her lair, she either delivers them herself or she might cast Teleport: Lesser on the items. She hopes one day to discover the Wards spell to keep this precious place safe.
Grey Seers start with no vehicles, preferring to walk. That's perfectly fine. Chan-Chan has no piloting skills anyway, but if she gets one in the future, I have a feeling I know what she would go after. But that's later, not now.
So yeah. The only thing I'm really drawing a blank on is this - Chan-Chan's really missing stuff from her birthplace, China. She was born and raised in China and every time I look up something in my collection of Palladium books, either its temporary lasting only a year or so (Green Scarf Taoist Sect - barf!) or it is not 1st-5th level stuff but the heavy stuff. Not sure how to proceed here - it doesn't need to be powerful or rare or even magical - just preferably... Chinese, useful, and lasting?
Chan-Chan would like to spend 10 I.S.P. to activate her Enhanced Perception power, please?
And to everybody - sorry for the big introduction post - after editing it down a good 15%, I didn't know how else to say it all. I will try to keep my future posts "down to a dull roar" so as to not overshadow anyone. Hope everyone liked the post! =)
Oh! I forgot to mention - this is done and it was a good rough but I like it better now.
If Pips says that Chan-Chan can see (with her own awesome dragon sight) and hear filtered through the crowd, I imagine she'd like to gather everyone up and take them to some safe and quiet place where the "walls don't have ears" and grab a cold 12-pack on the way there (because humans and alcohol often mix turning strenuous times, don't they?). I can't imagine that would be the library or pawn shop and Chan-Chan will not invite anyone to her lair (if it is approved; I can create another if it isn't - I just think the whole thing is a really cool idea)!
Epiphany
I don't own it or I would! I have (I think) Coalition Wars 1-2? Plus, they're NPCs - I can't think of a single book where the Palladium NPCs are outfitted like Players (AD&D on the other hand...). But yeah - as for Flare and two rifles, yes, please! Thank you for liking and allowing Flare (I had a lot of fun making that)!
Hurray! I love it! Thanks a bunch! =)
Oh, it doesn't have to be anything powerful or rare - just something Chinese or Chiang-Ku or... just something that reminds one of home, you know? I'm sure most of us have been away from home long enough to miss it at least once in our lives.
I thought as much! Yes! Ellis is a true rock star! Only true rock stars make it on the "U Make CS Veddy Unhappie!" list! *insert giant white skull with big sad frowny-face here*
Maybe we don't have any to start?
I figured, but the thought hit me - I don't know the scene or what might bring Silmarillion Stadium's security's attention. Had you come back with, "Maybe you don't want to do that?" I would have understood quite reasonably.
Quiet, beautiful spot with primo tea and Mexican food? That's all you had to say! Sounds ideal! 8D
I don’t know why but this bit made me laugh. As a tea lover myself, I do understand the sentiment.
Hell yeah!!! I mean- I shouldn’t be celebrating my fictional oc being a target of a fascist regime, but if they’re scared of Ellis, then Ellis is winning.
Revenge of John Brown, the stabby tank, could totally be kitted out with a radio broadcaster.
The waitstaff do not get paid enough to deal with the bullshit we’re gonna put them through.
Then perhaps Ellis might be so kind as to tip them extra for their inconvenience? Chan-Chan, being what she is, tends to think well of people who display proper manners.
Yeah I was not sure when to make that event happen, but I wanted to do it before the actual war...so that just seemed like the best time to do it.
Eonivar
Ah, forgive me, but after what Chan-Chan just went through, the stage is the last place Chan-Chan is paying attention to right now. She is not about to leave these distraught Atlanteans along with the human, especially after her Grey Seer magic seems to have pointed all three of them out to her in no small way ("black and white" in Pips's post). They are her priority, not the stage.
EmperorNorton1
Sorry? I can't make sense of this statement. Alex, please correct or rephrase? (I really want to know what you're saying.) =)
Purr
my fingers seem to be having a stroke. “if they can get somewhere quieter and closer to Priya, they remember the sound of her footsteps.”
Thank you for taking the time, Alex! 8D I have always tried to care for the thoughts words of others as only they can provide them! Nowhere else can you get them!
