Acid Reflex Gauze
- System: Mythic
- Tone/Theme: Running Man, Cyberpunk, John Wick
- Scenes: Seven
- Duration: ~1h30m
S1 Roaring Applause
? 4W
-> Who: Important/Beautiful, What: Relinquish/Misfortune, Where: Open/Fortunate, Why: Reward/Disadvantage
(Chaos Factor: 9)
Sarah DeLevine walks across the podium, and announces the latest Maelfactor release. Brand new brain chips, that eliminate your attachment. Stoicism streamlined — no longer must you have any feeling of anxiety in your life. Keep it simple, and abolish cortisol from your mind.
Thousands of rich roar in applause. Their wallets drain, as purchases are made. The auditorium reeks of greed and self-absorption.
Sarah prevails. She is revered, thanked, and even wonderfully accepted.
? Is someone here to kill her?
-> Yes -> Swift/Agree
? Does Sarah get shot?
-> Yes -> Quarrelsomly/Dirty
BANG!
Thick bullet hole bores through Sarah’s forehead. The pristine public figure businesswoman, CEO of Maelfactor tech, falls backwards onstage.
Elmo packs up his pistol, stows it, and disappears away into the audience. They won’t know a thing. His silenced weapon dribbles smoke, and he rubs shoulders past people who gasp and scream. He’s gone as quickly as Sarah died.
(Chaos Factor 9 -> 8)
S2 Alleyway
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Interrupt Scene -> Current Context -> Combatively/Feeble
Nearly gone, Elmo is. He finds his luggage in the alley way. He stows his pistol, and equips his modded rifle. Ensuring that he’s alone, he takes a scan up and down the alleyway. Then, figures appear.
? Are the men enemies?
-> Exceptional Yes -> Inquire/Path
“You yet live, Professor.” The head hound retorts.
“Aye, Johnny.” Blood red eyes. Dripping hair, covered in the downpour streaming down from sky to alley.
Raising their weapons at the man, the head hound, Johnny, smirks. “Cats and dogs, Elmo. They never meant to coexist. You should’ve listened.”
? Does Elmo make it out alive?
-> Yes
Pattering bullets stream into the narrow crevice between buildings. Coat comes up — Elmo’s assistants have always looked out for him, giving every latest new gadget one could think of — and the bullets don’t penetrate into him.
He starts running up the wall. A necklace jingles to and fro from his neck — vials, dozens of them, filled with shimmering green. One of the capsules cracks betweens Elmo’s rotten teeth, and his veins and skin pop with vigour. The hounds track him with their weapons, they don’t have the acid and can’t follow up the wall. So, Elmo makes it out alive.
(Chaos Factor 8 -> 7)
S3 Leaving the Premises
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Expected Scene
On the rooftop now. He dials his assistant, on his beeping Blackberry. The assistant picks up.
“Sir, your helicopter is on the way.”
Elmo stows his phone.
The city lovingly bestows migraines to those like Elmo. Its horrid stench, people, and culture ought to be grabbed by the neck and smashed down into the nine hells.
? Is Elmo's wife home?
-> Exceptional No -> Return/Cooperation
He dials Tabetha. No response. Must be busy. Then, the chopper arrives.
? Do the hounds try to attack the chopper?
-> Yes
Gunfire, as Elmo mounts the chopper.
? Is the chopper unable to get off because of it?
-> Exceptional No -> Naturally/Rustic
“Sir, takeoff is too hot! We can’t get outta here!”
So Elmo nods, and dismounts once again. “Wait here, Riland. You sit down and wait for me to clean up the rabble.”
? Does Elmo fail at killing all the enemies?
-> Yes -> Energetically Fragile
Elmo manages to pick off a few of them. Shots fall down from above, sniping a number of the men away.
But their tower shields manage to deflect the bullets and a handful of survivors remain. But it’s likely enough for Elmo to get outta there.
“Alright, Riland! Get us outta here!”
(Chaos Factor 7 -> 6)
S4 Hacked Mind
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Interrupt Scene -> NPC Action -> Usurp/Danger
High above the city now, Elmo gets comfortable in the chair. Then, Riland’s voice changes. No longer a smooth, melodic tone. But abrupt, and stern. “Cats and dogs, Professor.”
? Does Riland fail to gain control back over his body?
-> Exceptional Yes -> Bravely/Lacking
Riland lets out a final shout, unable to regain full control but enough to say something of his own — “Professor Elmo, I have a death vial in my right pocket. Use it! Thank you for —”
The head hound takes back over the pilot’s body. The chopper, careening down straight down toward the buildings of the large metropolis. Downpour of rain, and Elmo is struggling to gain footing.
? Does the Professor fail to get the vial?
-> Yes
“Riland! Come back! Johnny, you petty little idiot. Even if you kill this clone, I have a lot more to go! This won’t be enough!” Elmo shouts, still slipping and sliding in the heli, which shifts weight to and fro. The buildings fly closer to view.
“Then we’ll keep doing this til it’s enough.”
Explosion, red hot fire, then blackness.
(Chaos Factor 6 -> 7)
S5 Test Tubes
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Interrupt Scene -> Ambiguous Event -> Expose/Victory
Maelfactor symbol. Then, as the commercial break ends, the program comes on. Loud announcer’s voice, thanking the audience. More applause.
Then there’s Elmo. His 98th death. Only 2 more until he runs out of clones.
? Does Elmo wake up in the Maelfactor studio, rather than at home?
-> Yes
Coming to. Bright blue lab. Empty. Single metal table in the middle. Dim cool lights. Wet new body. Sinews of metal tubes attached. Elmo pulls them out of his toned self.
? Is there a bodyguard waiting for him?
-> Yes
Immediately ahead, a strong-built hound stands waiting.
? Is this Johnny?
-> Yes
“Professor, just obey my commands unless you wanna die three more times. You need to listen.”
? Does Elmo refuse to listen?
-> Exceptional Yes -> Assist/Animal
The Professor just nods.
“Good. Now, I’ll have to take you to the fighting pits. I know you’ve done it before, but the audience has been wanting this. I’m sure you knew this was coming.”
The Professor, again, just nods. He is helpless to resist.
He plans to kill Johnny, now, using his plan with the animals.
S6 Captured Animals
(Chaos Factor 7 -> 8)
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Expected Scene
Thousands of augmented men and women are piled into the jail cells adjacent to Johnny and Elmo. They look with feigned anger at Elmo. They all know what the plan is.
? Does Johnny know that they're planning something?
-> No -> NPC Action -> Celebrate/Comfort
“Boss, thanks for the new adjustments! We’re doing great in here!” The voices from the other side of the bars comment invariably at the keeper. The head hound. Maelfactor’s top dog. Johnny. Elmo’s old pal. Elmo’s recent foe.
Johnny just smiles, and says various comments of “told ya so” at them. Then, while he’s not looking, they begin to strike.
? Do the animals' jailbreak fail?
-> Exceptional No -> Close A Thread -> Innocently/Empty
Elmo’s Blackberry beeps. The text reads “Activated, Sir.”
Then, the once nullified augments of all the animals activate all at once. Whirring, joyous screams, then the destruction of the metal bars. Johnny and Elmo are swarmed from both sides.
A jailbreak starts.
(Chaos Factor 8 -> 7)
S7 Last Breath
? Testing the Expected Scene
-> Altered Scene -> Add An Object -> Miserably/Important
The animals and Elmo beat the top dog down. He is at his last breath.
Then the far door opens. Mist pours in. There she is — in fresh steel — Sarah DeLevine, CEO of Maelfactor.
“No …” Elmo whispers.
Neck cracks, and knuckles pop, while Sarah responds “Yes, Elmo. It’s me. And these filthy dogs will die for your choice.”
? Do the animals all die?
-> Yes
A single blast of effort. Then the corpses of all the men who had just helped Elmo are sheared at a single level, while a beam of red light extends forth from Sarah’s eyes. Elmo reels.
“Surrender to Maelfactor, Elmo. This never had to happen.”
? Does Elmo surrender?
-> Yes
Devastation fills him. Elmo can do nothing but shakily drop the pistol he had attempted to raise. His stone cold visage has long been melted and shaken.
Sarah takes Elmo to his fate.
? Does Sarah just kill Elmo?
-> Yes
BANG!
Reflection
Little one-shot I did with just Mythic! Interesting outcome, I did not write most of what I was imagining down, suppose you’ll have to imagine the other details yourself. This is mostly a practice of roleplaying this time around, than trying to capture it in prose. Sorry, I was feeling a bit lazy. However, it’s cool to see how Mythic can work on its own, independent of a system.
I’ve been toying with the above system so far. All the Mork Borg tables and rules are so usable even outside of Borg. Try them out!