Once and Future Kings - Friday Nights on Exalted

The Once and Future Kings come from many worlds - some call technology 'magic', some call magic 'technology', others various wonders. All have one thing in common: they ruled their world. And somehow, somewhere, someone took that from them.

They have all managed to come to this world. This time. This place. And each instinctively knows the only hope to return to their rightful place is to either dominate this world entirely as a group, or work as a true team to get each other home.

We all know which choice they're taking.

Those who have not mastered time - yet - has managed to bring with them one trusted lieutenant. The others tend to look down on those without the mastery of time, but realize their own lieutenants would be threatened as well should those thoughts become words. What concerns them the most is that, despite their mastery of time, and despite their awesome powers, they do not know who is directly responsible for their current situation - or how they got HERE. All attempts to find information in any form have resulted in static.

Someone wants them here. And out of the way.


As for the group, anyone is welcome to join. We are an RP-optional group - I won't wig out if you don't want to rp - and we do have a few rules

1) Please enter and stay in SG mode at all times. We need to grow our base, and even low level toons supply a LOT of prestige.
2) You are allowed a maximum of ONE alt for the VG.
3) One of your two toons MUST have Time Manipulation (any valid AT): the other toon can be any AT and have any powers.
4) OOC stuff should be in some sort of double bracket i.e. ((blah)) or [[blah]]. I'll accept ** as the lead-in as well.
5) Pl34s3 n0 l337sp34k. I will send you back to the dawn of time and you will find out PERSONALLY what happened to the dinosaurs if you use l33tsp34k. We are Time Manipulators - we have made this happen already!

When you hit level 20, capes are a thing of fashion. While it is common for groups to have a universal outfit, it is not necessarily possible. We have standardized the cape requirements for group play - and ask that one of your costumes (for use in missions) has a cape. The others, be it 1 or 9(!), do not need the cape. The cape should be in VG colors during missions.

For female toons: Cape - Full Mantle - Brooch 19 Short Cape - Circuitry pattern

To quote Mister Fribble:

"For male toons, I have just gone with your choices, Plant. Except I made it a long cape. "
(aka Cape - Full Mantle - Brooch 19 Long Cape - Circuitry pattern)
Thank you.

@Plantatia

aka Jane Tempus, aka Magmetar

Mission Log #6 (missions 1 thru 5 missing, assumed destroyed due to temporal maniupulation)

As usual, we who follow the Centre were waiting for something interesting to happen. We managed to create some of our own excitement, however, be working with a ghost. Now, ghosts really creep me the heck out, but if it had a clue as to who was behind my being removed my righteous place of power, I was not going to miss an opportunity to find out. As usual, Maxed Out and Focus Fire were the first to respond to the call, and we were joined by Temporal Librarian, who sought to add to her already impressive collection of lore by talking with the ghost. Alas, the power source we managed to acquire was corrupted and useless, so we quickly left once the realization had set in.

Temporal Librarian then asked us to assist her in collecting a series of books that she had managed to peruse via this world's ethernet. I still don't understand why they aren't using bihexi systems logic yet, but then again this world is still working out how to get beyond the moon, so I'm willing to be patient - especially when Murphy's Law showed up with her small mindlessly loyal army. It turns out that the books - something about special relativity by some white-haired scientist - was what the Librarian needed to solve one of the first pieces of the puzzle of our existence here. For whatever reason, we were pulled into a world where a different set of physics applied. This will have far-reaching affects - best to discuss it in a group after this entry.

I felt it best to get a better feel for the physics here by having the group run a hard test of our battle abilities. The Centre informed me that a certain Mortimer Kal would provide us with the true test of our abilities, but warned us we would need more than just beam rifles and minions. I soliticed the services of Moonshiver. and Lee-bot - locals, it would seem - and we proceeded to defeat the threats. Lee-bot, as it turns out, was a OAFK himself! It will be interesting to see how well he pans out, but I could sense that his power levels were exceedingly high, so I decided not to push the issue.

Lee-bot went on his merry way, but not before Moonshiver. asked us to assist in his quest for power. While this went against everything I stood for - I do NOT help others, THEY help ME - I decided it would be best, since I knew it would also boost my power. He enlisted one DK Voltimoor, and we trounced several local groups. This could become very interesting.

End log

Next week, we'll have more fun. Members should meet in the VG base at the usual 6:30 starting time for a meeting. Those who wish to join us are more than welcome, even if you are not a member of the group.

Carp - I forgot I would be in Tokyo during the day Friday, and may be late. I hereby give @Metacore permission to get things started if I am late.

and Metacore becomes the ruler and deposes Plantatia in a coup.
LONG LIVE METACORE!!! HOOAHHHH HOOAHHHH HOOAHHHH

With that in mind Im hoping we can do some of our 2ndary toons to get them levelled up also.
In addition this will allow our ONLY melee toon 'Royal Guard' to buff up as we are sorely in need of some aggro management (and I dont mean Jamie Dunn).

Mission Log #7a

I was smiling. Before me was the first person of this realm who decided they should usurp MY power. Magmetic had warned me that one she had run into would attempt a coup with my absence.

I looked down on his form. Broken. Beaten. Frozen in time - or at least, close enough to it.

"So, will do attempt to anything that foolish again, Meta?"

Mission Log 7b, with young Miss Tempus' permission

I awoke from my groggy slumber, my bed a pile of ashes again. I sighed. One day, they'll create a material in this miserable world that I can SLEEP on. I stretched, resetting 9 vertebrae, and after a hearty breakfast (whose contents Miss Tempus has begged never to reveal on pain of reliving my youth), I set out to find the others.

Fortunately, most of the active members for the day were not the Temporal Paladins of the Once and Future Kings, but simply their companions, like myself. I came in time to discover that Chief Wriggleclaws, Harrigato, Everest and Royal Guard were actively following the orders of Mr. Masters. As a companion myself, I knew where my place was - obeying the orders of Mr. Masters while making sure Miss Tempus' grand scheme was not disturbed.

Most of the day involved the looting of large portions of the city where the heroes reside and protect. I had no problem with this - I grew up resenting the heroes that were supposed to protect our world, and failed, leaving it to the 'villains' to come together and protect it. As well, any loot I would gladly turn over to Miss Tempus to expand the base as she saw fit.

We struck hard and fast in Kings' Row and Skyway City. I was quite pleased with the haul we acquired, as the banks were bloated with the savings of several heroes, I'm sure. The chaos we spread reminded me of home, so I was quite happy.

I wonder, though: why should we be interested in improving our base of operations here, when our goal is to go home? Unless the Centre has grander schemes that Miss Tempus is unable to share at this time, shouldn't we be working on leaving this saccharine world as soon as we can before it rots us?

I'll have to ask her when I get the chance.

Ummmm yes... well... ahem.
After careful consideration (and a lot LESS alcohol in my system) I came to realise that taking on Plantatia at this TIME and place was not the best thing to attempt.

So instead I faked a medical emergency and didnt show up (what, you'd expect me to just stand there in from of The Plant after my threat? Im a Villain not some Lawful Stupid Hero). I made a small cubby in the base and stashed myself there - not even Plant knows where it is

Mission Log 8

After the snafu with the invites being sent to the wrong time - curse this backwater world and its lack of a sensible 33-day calendar! - the others arrived at the base mostly on time. Thanks to benefactors donating their considerable wealth to the cause - apparently, my lead mines were of little value on this mudball - our base was considerably large, and well-stacked with things we would need. I felt we would need some time to get acquainted, but others had plans. Focus Fire remembered a temporal commitment he had to take care of and winked out. I've gotten used to this by now.

Maxed Out suggested we visit another world linked to this one - one that was under attack by some massive oversized amoeba, and its mutated vegetation and minerals. This was somewhat disturbing -this world, but all rights, should not EXIST according to Hertzinger-Compton Laws of Reality! Nonetheless, we explored it relentlessly, and reveled in the senseless violence we were causing in our quest for power. Cold Storage and Chief Wriggleclaws were extremely happy to slay new targets in particular.

Mr Chronos and ArchChronos were not as interested in the newcomer as I was. Morgana le Fae - apparently, an ACTUAL fae! - had just stepped into our timestream. This leads me to wonder - will there be more new victims of this insidious plot to remove us from our worlds? And what is the plan of the Centre, that we should continually hop worlds?

I hope to get some answers soon.

ArchChronos here.
After my Lt Focus Fire returned from the mission I gave him as disturbing posibility entered my mind.
Everyone being deposed from their seat of power has some control over Time.
These beings come from various worlds, dimensions and time-lines.

It makes sense to me that it could be 'Time' itself that is guarding its power and flinging the strongest of us from our Thrones (or whatever device you rule from).

This leads me to a further thought - if one were to become so powerful in the art of Time Manipulation would they become a god? The God Of Time? Is in fact the myth of 'Old Father Time' simply a creature that in fact become that powerful?

I need to dwell on this some more - as if Time itself (or Old Father Time perhaps?) is in fact the thing behind all this then I am worried. How do you defeat something so powerful that can simply go back in time to when I am not powerful enough and dispose of me. And why didnt whoever did this to us simply do that? Why are we still alive?

"Focus Fire!!!! Bring me a mug of Arctic Juice"



[[As a flavour idea should all our /Time/ characters take Fly. I mean Time Flies when your having fun right?]]

Message to Jane Tempus:

"Chronos here. I have acquired the level 30 IO enhancements we discussed and have stored them in our base, so all of our colleagues can take advantage. I think I was able to source a nice selection. If we need anymore, just let me know and I will see what I can do. My source seems to be reliable. Chronos out."

Message to Jane Tempus from Harrigato:

"Supreme One. My Master sent me on a mission to acquire exploration badges, as I have stealth. master said that this would make it easier for our esteemed group to travel. I have done the best I can, but I fear I have failed everyone, by not being able to get the Beacon for Rikti War Zone or Pocket D. As there are some points inaccessible to an individual at this time, I have not visited these maps, so have not been to any of the pre-determined points. I shall endeavour to do better next time. Please do not expel this Unworthy One."

Mission Log 9, with young Miss Tempus' permission

After the young Miss led the minions (and a few lower members of the Temporal Core) on a mission to improve their powers so that they could be of more use to the Centre, I was asked to take her place while she attended to other things within the base. I ate my lunch from (this entry deleted after Miss Tempus discovered it) and joined the others. Mr. Masters was serving as guide and point for us, and Royal Guard - the pompous arrogant punk - and ArchChronos were following. Royal Guard insisted that he take point, and I was not going to argue, although Miss Tempus may be upset that I let another lead. We served notice to one Willy Wheeler (seriously, what is it with same initial syndrome?) that we would serve his needs if they served ours.
Although being joined by Kreep was a small boon to our power, I can not help but feel that all we are doing is marching alongside the drones of evil in this world. I am sure Miss Tempus is aiming for higher goals, and our current actions are designed to keep us out of sight of this world's secret overlords.

But I am curious - what does the Centre have in store for us? And when can we show this world's supposed leaders who the real powers in this world are?

I (this entry deleted after Miss Tempus discovered it and was violently ill from reading it).

From Jane Tempus to all Once and Future King members:

"Chronos here. I have acquired the level 30 IO enhancements we discussed and have stored them in our base, so all of our colleagues can take advantage. I think I was able to source a nice selection. If we need anymore, just let me know and I will see what I can do. My source seems to be reliable. Chronos out."

Excellent! We shall use this source to improve our capacity in the field. At this point, this will do nicely. If we need more, we should find other methods to improve ourselves. My lead empire may not have any value in this world, but I still have other sources I could use.

"Supreme One. My Master sent me on a mission to acquire exploration badges, as I have stealth. master said that this would make it easier for our esteemed group to travel. I have done the best I can, but I fear I have failed everyone, by not being able to get the Beacon for Rikti War Zone or Pocket D. As there are some points inaccessible to an individual at this time, I have not visited these maps, so have not been to any of the pre-determined points. I shall endeavour to do better next time. Please do not expel this Unworthy One."

Your master has trained you well. The Pocket D and Rikti War Zone beacons are not of significance at this time, but the other beacons are of great importance. Know that you served the Centre well in this respect, and they are quite pleased with your efforts. Expulsion for failure when success beyond our current capacity is attained is inconceivable.
I am curious, though, if you can attain beacons for other zones in Primordial Earth. I understand that this may put you at some risk, but the Centre is MOST interested in information in this twisted reality. Any efforts you can put in would be appreciated, and should there be beacons for that world, it would greatly aid our efforts.

As for the Once and Future Kings, we shall begin our great quest for the attainment of power. Mortimer Kal, a wizard of some renown in this world, may have the clues we seek to figure out why we are on this backwater world. I suggest that we split into 2 teams for maximum coverage and efficiency. For the Centre!!

Mission Log 10

Recent discoveries by Temporal Librarian let us discover what I feel is the very first piece of the puzzle to our current dilemma. A significantly powerful mage with the name of Mortimer Kal has not only a daughter who is easy to kidnap, but has access to powers with a league known as the Midnight Society. This should prove to be interesting.

Since I fully expect his lack of co-operation, I called in all the members and declared we needed to get outside help and run in 2 groups. Group 1 would consist of myself, Maxed Out, and Cold Storage; group 2 would consist of Magmetic, Mr. Masters, Royal Guard and Harrigato. I've already warned Magmetic that she should refrain from making any personal references at this time, as I've reviewed her recent behaviour and she is proving to be more tempermental than usual.

To aid the first group, we managed to acquire the help of Avantia, Arantha, Blood Red Sundown, Radioactive Renee, and Staggering Violence. The result of our work was a broken Midnight Society, the pounding of some fools calling themselves the Warriors (they look NOTHING like the gangs of the historical holoflick), and the defeat of not only Infernal and Numina, but the radioactive Positron. And it was from HIM that I got the first real hint of what we're up agai...

Magmetic reporting. Along with Mr. Masters, Royal Guard and Harrigato, is was able to convinve Bubblegum Mayhem, Staggering Violence, Abbi Normal and Barbarian Kat to join us. I was able to confirm that while this was a simultaneous mission, Staggering Violence was the same person who was working with the young Miss Tempus. Perhaps he is another minion shipped here? Will need the youn Miss to investigate. And while we only captured Numina, we still managed to crack Positron's shell and get to the nut inside.

I fear the Centre will be revealed very shortly. And when they are, what will be the reaction of the Temporal leaders of the group? And will w...

Mr. Chronos here.

Mr Masters and I think we have found a way to acquire some Shivans. We think that it may be wise for us to acquire some of these "things" for both ourseleves and our underlings.

What do you think?

Chronos out.

From Jane Tempus to all Once and Future King members:

"Mr. Chronos here.

Mr Masters and I think we have found a way to acquire some Shivans. We think that it may be wise for us to acquire some of these "things" for both ourselves and our underlings.

What do you think?

Chronos out. "

What I think is that this will be useful.
However, I am becoming alarmingly concerned with your attachment to this world. These things may not function well in your home time - or worse still, will function better. I strongly advise against doing this more than once, since temporal corruption may be the result. As well, I would prefer to consider our temporal powers more useful than relying on unexplainable alien technology - or unidentified aliens!

Mission Log 11

After significant consultation on the usefulness of being who the so-called heroes could barely contain in this world as weapons, we decided to acquire a collection of the 'Shivans' for use in our future struggles here. I have no doubt they would be worthless in my world - they would decay far too quickly to be of any significant use - but in this world they seem to have more practical applications. So, after making sure both the Temporal members and our loyal minions have access to them - almost every last OAFK showed up - we decided to do some quick missions to boost our power and understanding of this world.

What truly concerns me is the effect our powers are having. While we are not the only Time Manipulators in this world, we are the strongest - and we are beginning to form quantum fractures. If we aren't careful, we may get the attention of those who sent us here - and I get the feeling they would be very upset with us should we get it...

End log

This Friday, we will aim to run several missions. Bring whichever toon you wish. I'll hopefully have the first OAFK AE arc up this weekend for testing, and hopefully before Christmas we can start into the story concept I've got.

Mission Log 13

After assembling our forces, Maxed Out suggested that we deal with the Freak Show in the area encroaching on our secret lair entrance. After all, it would do us no good to have such low-tech ruffians skulking about, would it? Royal Guard, Harrigato and Chief Wriggleclaws took point due to their combat training, whilst Focus Fire and a potential, Victoria Escondida, provided ranged support and extra melee distractions. Apparently, there is a Freak Show doctor who is attempting some sort of mad science, and we were doing errands for her.

I will have to speak to Maxed Out about lowering our villainous standards to being errandfolk later.

Note to self: suggest we hire better members if we are to run efficiently. Magmetic, while an asset on the battlefield, is frightening many potentials away with her powers.

I am getting a succinct feeling that we have attracted greater powers to deal with us. If it is who I fear it is, the others will soon find out what kind of power we are up against - and why I fear them.

End log

This Friday, the AE arc is ready! I've error-checked it already, and am in the process of giving it the finishing touches to assure player annoyanc...enjoyment. I sincerely hope you come out and enjoy it.

NEXT Friday is the 23rd - and I will not be able to participate, since I will be about 1000km away on a short visit to my old work for Xmas performances (and to take advantage of the hot springs in the area). I will be back on the 30th, snow or shine.

<<Hi all, next Friday 23/12 I too will not be online so someone will need to step up and lead the group.
It may be TIME for us to see whats occuring in the Winter Realms?>>

Mission Log 14

It is precisely as I feared. All the careful planning that I have done to prevent the unthinkable has been for naught.

We have been noticed.

While setting up a tachyon detector - a diversion from its TRUE nature - some local mages of a Thorny type decided to interfere. We displayed our usual displeasure at their efforts, and managed to convince them that now would be a good time to leave. Especially once we interrupted their attempt to steal our powers. Fools! Such things are not for their minds to know!

Alas, when they set us up to deal with the one who told THEM about that ritual, we ran into both Clockstoppers and TikTok, he with the horrid time-based puns and fighting. It took a significant amount of our concentration not to just beat him up on principle - but rather to beat him up because he represents a real threat.

One I had hoped to avoid...

Why can't I avoid my past...?

I will, alas, be unavailable this Friday due to a prior engagement. So Happy Festivus!

Mission Log 15 (log delayed to the celebration of the Feast of Festivus)

I managed only to get a small team together for a quick raid - in this case, to check out the magical manipulations of the Midnight Society. While this was a short run with strange beings, this was hardly worthy of notice. Perhaps in the future, I will get more interesting challenges.

Mission Log 16, with young Miss Tempus' permission

Magmetic reporting. Recently, Focus Fire, Mr. Masters, Cold Storage, Chief Wriggleclaws and myself decided that an opportunity to raise our collective power levels might be in order. I naturally agreed, since it is my goal to (CENSORED).

I apologize, but the REAL purpose was to get the power in OAFK up so that we could deal with the incoming threats. Wilma, ArchChronos, Royal Guard and Maxed Out joined me on the trip into the Thorn Tree to steal some of its power. I am beginning to understand more about the nature of this reality, and why we were abandoned here. If they wanted to entice us to stay here, this is the kind of stuff I would expect weak-minded fools to accept as payment for imprisonment.

I will not accept those terms.

OAFK base, secret room:

>Cold Storage:Come, Royal Guard, sit. There is something I would discuss with you.
>Royal Guard: My liege?
>CS: The more we work with miss Tempus the less i trust her and this "Center" we have been working for. I am King, my rightful place is to lead, not to serve, not In this time or any other. Especially one who may be responsible for me being in this wretched primitive space-time. For now continue your efforts with them, and watch. The time is not yet right. We will have to wait until I can make it right. Until then we will use them to gain what power we can.
>RG: I will do as youu command my liege.
>CS: Yes, that much at least I can count on. Even in this time the blood oath is strong. Now, go about your duties lest we arouse suspicion.