Speedrunner 1.15

Author's Note: To try to make this more readable I've put full character information at the very end instead of throughout, although Chloe does give them a thorough once over. Hoping that works best for those of you who are interested in the mechanical choices (which I assume are the people who actually read these between-scene updates in detail.) Three choices in a poll at the end!

Also, I continue to tweak the language on abilities, gear, etc. to make it consistent and clear. I'm doing my best to go back and update the language in past chapters, but I'm sure I've missed places. If you notice some minor inconsistencies, it's not Prometheus making a mistake, it's your only-human author. :)

---

As we moved away from the gated wall, the adrenaline from the fight finally dumped out of me. It left me feeling shaky at just how close I'd come to dying.

Being eliminated, I tried to correct myself. But while that was true, my body didn't seem to understand the distinction; it was certain I'd just survived a near-death experience.

And I definitely had a bone to pick with someone.

I turned on Becky, stopping in my tracks so abruptly that she ended up almost running into me.

"You almost got me killed." I stared her in the eye.

Becky was taken aback. "I-I was scared, okay?"

"Yeah, well, it almost got me fucking killed. You don't think I was scared every time that thing took a swing at me? I'm pretty sure it would've killed me in one hit. I need to know I can count on you."

"You can!" Becky protested.

"Yeah? What if we've got to fight a dragon or something even worse, and you're scared again? How can I trust you?" I crossed my arms.

"Ugh. You know what? Whatever. I saved your life, and this is the thanks I get?" Becky stomped past me.

There was silence for a moment.

"Easy, Chloe," Ted said, mildly. "She froze up, okay? We're all going to make some mistakes."

I gave Ted a baleful look, irritated that he was taking her side. "Whatever. We should pick up a fourth team member at some point. That way if she freezes up again we've got someone else to help carry the load."

He sighed. "Not everybody is as comfortable with the game as you are, Chloe. Try to be a little kinder to her, she's doing her best."

I rolled my eyes. "What a surprise that you're defending the hot blonde with big tits."

He gave me a frank look. "Hey. If Becky really turns out to be unreliable, if this is a pattern, I'm with you, okay? We'll replace her. But this was pretty understandable. That thing was scary, Chloe. If you asked me to run in front of it and get its attention, I'd have been slow to do it even if my Satisfaction was 50."

That mollified me a little. "Okay. I take your point. As long as you know that if it keeps happening, she's out."

Ted nodded. "Agreed."

Becky had a little ways ahead of us. "Ted, you think +2 Appearance is better than +2 Performance, right? I'm just going to pick the Appearance."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fuck, Becky," I muttered. I tried to say it quietly, so she couldn't hear me, at least. I looked, meaningfully at Ted.

Ted hurried after her. "Hey, Becky, hold on before you pick anything..."

---

The area just past the gate seemed like some kind of no-man's land, with relatively few buildings; perhaps it was intended for use as a staging area for defenses if the city were being sieged. We stopped, eyeing the buildings ahead of us in the midmorning sun. The Inner City was a lot quieter; there were people moving around in the streets we could see, but many fewer than in the part of the city we'd come through. The castle loomed ever-larger ahead of us.

"Let's stop here and make some choices while we've got a breather," Ted suggested.

Becky and I agreed.

The first thing we took note of was that all three of us had gained a new perk from the war troll.

Formidable [D]
You've triumphed in a challenging situation, and it gives you a persistent self-confidence that blunts the influence of others. I mean, if you've beaten a war troll, you're not going to be impressed by some smooth-talking pretty boy or a nice pair of tits, right?
This perk modestly reduces the unwanted influence that the abilities and stats of other players. It can be upgraded.

"Huh," Ted observed. "Now that's interesting."

"That's a pretty unique effect," I observed. "We probably need to keep an eye out for other important foes like this one."

"Why?" Becky grumbled. "It'll just piss you off if we don't all charge it right away or whatever."

I bit back the retort I had in mind, even as Ted jumped in. "Yeah, but it means that defeating enemies like this might give us a leg-up on other players. We'll want that; at the end of the day it's a competition, after all."

Then our attention turned to upgrade options. We all shared all our character information in turn; a habit that now felt commonplace and normal.

I was silent for a long moment after reading through their stats.

They bothered me.

Both Ted and Becky were lagging behind me on Overall Score pretty considerably. And I wasn't sure this would be their diagnosis, it was hard for me to avoid a conclusion about why.

It was my fault.

Each of them had an ability that was consistently giving me Connection or Satisfaction. But I didn't have anything that was giving them Dominance in return.

We needed to figure out a way to help them get more Dominance. Both of them were lagging pretty far behind the Objective to have an Overall Score over 200. It certainly seemed like there was plenty of level left -- but their Dominance scores were also so low that any inadvertent damage I caused to their Dominance with my new ability was going to have a huge impact on their score.

I didn't want to be the reason they didn't clear the level.

Worse, I didn't like how this made me feel like I wasn't pulling my weight on the team. Basically what you just accused Becky of doing, my brain helpfully pointed out. I knew it wasn't exactly the same thing, but it was a little too close for my liking.

Sighing, I put that out of my mind and asked them to share any upgrade choices they had.

Ted didn't have any upgrade choices; he'd gained stats, but hadn't hit any new breakpoints.

Becky, on the other hand, had hit Satisfaction 10. She shared the first option.

Becky With The Good Hair [F] -> Becky With the Great Hair [C][UPGRADED] (This is Becky's perk.)
I mean, look, if the name fits, right? You're hot enough to leave people tongue-tied.
Add +2 to your Appearance. While a participant is the sole focus of your attention during an encounter, their Verbal statistic is reduced by your Appearance.
(Currently, this reduces the target of your attention's Verbal score by 3.)

And then she paused.

"I...don't want the other one," she said, flatly. "Can't I just pick this one?"

"C'mon," I said. I tried to be patient; the fact that I was outpacing them so badly made me regret my outburst earlier. "Look, we're not saying you have to pick it, okay? But the more we know about the kind of options the game is giving us, the better off we'll be."

She shook her head, looking away.

"Becky, why not?" Ted's voice was kind. "Is it like...embarrassing or something?"

She nodded. And then, relenting but redfaced, she shared the second option.

Blowjob Becky [D]
I mean, look, if the name fits, right?
Add +2 to your Performance.

"I-I don't know how the game knew, but it's a nickname some of the guys on my floor gave me during college," she said. "Um, word got around, a-and even though I hated it when they called me that, t-they kept..."

I felt a sudden surge of protectiveness towards her. "Thanks for showing it to us, Becky," I said, firmly. "I think it's a common play on your name; the system's just being a dick. Let's look at my options and then we can decide all at once."

She nodded, but I could see that she really didn't want to pick that one. That first ability did look good.

But I had to admit that I was torn on her behalf; a +2 Performance would bump her Sexual Prowess up significantly, putting her above 10 and giving her a new Talent. And who knew what the upgraded version of Blowjob Becky would offer...reducing Verbal might come in handy, but

I shifted my attention to my own stats. I had what turned out to be some significant choices. I'd passed Sexual Prowess 10 -- that had been the upgrade I'd gotten before the war troll showed up -- and the latest encounter had taken my Overall Score all the way past 150, which was now glowing also.

SELECT A NEW OR UPGRADED SEXUAL PROWESS TALENT FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

The Voice [D] -> The Voice [C][UPGRADED]
Once per encounter, you may add your Dominance score to your Verbal score for three seconds.
(Currently, this talent will temporarily give you +10 Verbal when activated.)

Cruel Edge [D]
You get off on humiliating others, huh? You use it like a weapon to get your way. We've all noticed. It's kind of fucked up.
When you successfully identify and attack an insecurity, vulnerability, or flaw in another participant, all six of your core characteristics are effectively three points higher for the purposes of interacting with them for the duration of the encounter. This does not affect your Overall Score or Sexual Prowess.

I really didn't like the way the description made it sound like the system was keeping an eye on me.

"Jeez," Becky said, aghast. "Plus ten Verbal? That's a ton! We saw what it did to that guard captain, a-and it'll just keep getting better? That seems super strong."

Well, you knew an ability was good when even Becky could see it was good, I supposed. That doubled The Voice's effectiveness.

Ted's response was more measured. "So, uh. Quite a description on that second one. Do you get off on humiliating other people?"

Now it was my turn to redden. "No," I protested. "That would be fucked up. Prometheus just...puts stuff like that in, to mess with us. Like the name of Becky's talent."

Becky was considering it now, too, though. "I mean, the way you played with those guards back there..."

I swallowed, hard, and admitted, "I...just...like it when they can't control themselves, okay? I-it's hot to know you're too much for somebody." A thought occurred to me. "A-and they weren't people anyway! Those were just AI, computer generated or whatever!"

They were both silent at that. I hastily shared the next options.

SELECT AN UPGRADED OVERALL SCORE TALENT FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

Chloe's Inspection [C][BASE] -> Chloser Inspection [B][UPGRADED]
Your interface reveals additional information about game mechanics. Descriptions of other characters, your environment, and similar systems will also be more robust. Gamers like you just have an eye for this sort of thing, y’know?
This now also reveals player talents that might reduce or increase your stats during an encounter -- whether those players want to share them with you, or not.

What Do You Think, Chat? [C][BASE] -> Chat, Am I Cooked? [B][UPGRADED]
Once per competition level, you may ask chat a question. Asking the question starts a five minute timer. When the timer reaches zero, you’ll receive an aggregated summary of responses and reactions to your question from viewers in the chatroom of your live stream. Chat may be wrong, uninformed, hostile, sexist, rude, and/or unhelpful. But you knew that already – it’s chat, after all.
In addition, this now also offers viewers the ability to vote to proactively reach out to you. If the vote succeeds, you will receive a notification that a course of action you're about to undertake may, in fact, leave you cooked. Viewers may only warn you once per level.

"Huh. Tough choice there," Ted mused. "Both might help quite a bit to protect us from doing something stupid."

We continued discussing it, weighing the various options.

---

OBJECTIVES AND CHARACTER SHEETS
(Note: These are as of the end of Speedrunner 1.1, to the best of Chloe's knowledge, prior to the choices above. I'm including the level Objectives as well since it's been a while since I referenced them.)

NAME: CHLOE

ARCHETYPE: STREAMING SPEEDRUNNER
Some people are born with incredible gifts. Mathematical brilliance; the ability to understand numbers and equations as easily as the written word. Athleticism that stretches our understanding of what the human body can achieve. Charisma and eloquence that lets them sway the emotions of thousands, close deals worth millions.

You, on the other hand, were born with a superhuman talent for beating videogames as quickly as possible. Fueled by energy drinks and parasocial relationships with strangers, you’ve honed it to exceptional heights. It’s always been about the destination, not the journey, for you, and this competition is presumably no exception.

ORIGIN: DASHING VAGABOND

Riffraff? Street rat? I don't buy that. You've just had a difficult life, that's all. A quick wit and a cheeky smile have gotten you everything you have. You never get invited to the nicer parties, but you've got a knack for getting inside anyway, and there are invariably plenty of easy marks. Vagabonds receive a +1 to Verbal and Performance; a facility with light melee weapons; the disdain of the nobility; and a knack for talking their way inside places -- and people -- they probably shouldn't be in.

STATISTICS
Appearance: 2
Verbal: 3 (+1)
Performance: 3 (+2)
Sexual Prowess: 18

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 11
Satisfaction: 6
Connection: 2
Overall Score: 132

TALENTS AND PERKS

Formidable [D]
You've triumphed in a challenging situation, and it gives you a persistent self-confidence that blunts the influence of others. I mean, if you've beaten a war troll, you're not going to be impressed by some smooth-talking pretty boy or a nice pair of tits, right?
This perk modestly reduces the unwanted influence that the abilities and stats of other players. It can be upgraded.

Girl Next Door [F]
You've got the kind of approachable good looks that people love.
Add +1 to your Appearance.

Great With Your Hands [C][UPGRADED]
Whether you've spent too much time playing bullet-hell shooters or giving handjobs, all that experience is starting to add up. Not only are you great with your hands, but people remember what those hands can do.
Add +2 to your Performance. Additionally, when you use your hands to finish a participant, all other participants in an encounter permanently lose one point of Dominance.

The Voice [D]
Once per encounter, you may add half of your Dominance, rounded down, to your Verbal score for three seconds.
(Currently, this talent will temporarily give you +5 Verbal when activated.)

Chloe's Inspection [C][BASE]
Your interface reveals additional information about game mechanics. Descriptions of other characters, your environment, and similar systems will also be more robust. Gamers like you just have an eye for this sort of thing, y’know?

Any% Completion [C][BASE]
Always on the lookout to set a new record, aren't you? Encounters in which someone finishes faster than they expect will award you one additional point of Dominance or Satisfaction. Encounters that end faster than anyone expects instead award two additional points of Dominance or Satisfaction.

What Do You Think, Chat? [C][BASE]
Once per competition level, you may ask chat a question. Asking the question starts a five minute timer. When the timer reaches zero, you’ll receive an aggregated summary of responses and reactions to your question from viewers in the chatroom of your live stream. Chat may be wrong, uninformed, hostile, sexist, rude, and/or unhelpful. But you knew that already – it’s chat, after all.

CURRENCIES

Minor Favors: 0

GEAR

Sampler: Statement Lipstick [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
A lipstick that helps you make statements. Get it?
+1 Verbal until the end of your next encounter.

Exceptional Jian [GEAR][MELEE WEAPON][FINESSE]
An extremely well-made sword. Put the pointy end into your enemies.
This is a finesse weapon. Your competence with this weapon is based upon your Performance statistic.

Lockpicks [GEAR]
For picking mechanical locks. Lockpicks have a small chance to break upon each use.

Vagabond Outfit [GEAR][ATTIRE]
This attire combines performance and aesthetics for the woman who needs to go from Pilates, to dungeon-delving, to a cocktail party on a single outfit. Featuring thoughtful details like reinforced seams, hidden pockets, and patented no-rip fabric, you'll look -- and feel -- effortless and elegant, from boardroom to battlefield.

...That's how the marketing execs will pitch the spinoff clothing line they'll make if you survive this level, anyway. For you, it just gives +1 to Performance.

NAME: Becky

ARCHETYPE: ASPIRING ACTRESS
Most rational humans find former theater kids who're trying to make it in LA annoying. Their constant need to be in the spotlight; their deepseated need for validation, to have an audience. But, hey: this is, after all, an entertainment production. Maybe someone who's trying to make it big in entertainment could be useful to have around?

ORIGIN: ELVEN BATTLEMAIDEN
Becky has chosen, in a predictable turn of events, to be an elf. The frontline of elven forces, battlemaidens combine magic and weaponry into a defensive, protection-focused fighting style. Of course, here, just like other elves, she's at the bottom of the social hierarchy, but she's got magic and good looks on her side, so it could be a lot worse, right?

STATISTICS
Appearance: 3 (+2)
Verbal: 1 (+1)
Performance: 2
Sexual Prowess: 6

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 1
Satisfaction: 10
Connection: 3
Overall Score: 30

TALENTS AND PERKS

Formidable [D] (This is Ted's perk.)
You've triumphed in a challenging situation, and it gives you a persistent self-confidence that blunts the influence of others. I mean, if you've beaten a war troll, you're not going to be impressed by some smooth-talking pretty boy or a nice pair of tits, right?
This perk modestly reduces the unwanted influence that the abilities and stats of other players. It can be upgraded.

Topping From The Bottom [D] (This is Becky's talent.)
Sometimes it's fun to switch things up and be in charge.
Once per level, raise your Dominance score to equal your Satisfaction until the end of an encounter.
(Currently, this perk will temporarily raise your Dominance to 10.)

Becky With The Good Hair [F] (This is Becky's perk.)
I mean, look, if the name fits, right?
Add +1 to your Appearance.

Amateur Costuming [C][Base] (This is Becky's starting perk.)
You've got the kind of eye for costuming that is shared by cosplayers, community theater enthusiasts, and historical reenactment nerds all the world over.
If another player in your party lets you make minor adjustments to their attire, the statistics and other benefits offered by the attire are increased by 50%, rounded down, until the end of the level.

Crowdpleaser [C][Base] (This is Becky's starting perk.)
You love an audience, and the audience loves you.
Any time you complete an encounter in which someone else watches you but doesn't touch you, you receive an additional point of Satisfaction, and so do they.

The Love Interest [C][Base] (This is Becky's starting perk.)
You certainly know how to play opposite a leading man…or woman.
In any encounter in which you gain a point of Satisfaction, the other participants gain an additional point of Dominance or Connection.

CURRENCIES

Minor Favors: 0

GEAR

Spellscribed Armor [GEAR][ATTIRE]
The elves like their battlemaidens to look good, and that starts with the right suit of armor. It's shiny! It's revealing! If it weren't magically enchanted it would be totally impractical!
Wearing the armor gives you +1 Appearance.
This particular suit of armor is inscribed with two minor spells, including:
Refresh Appearance: repair your armor, don it, heal any minor wounds, and reset your appearance. As befits a battlemaiden.
Draw Attention: puts the attention of participants in an encounter on you. Targets one participant for each point of Connection you have.

Remarkable Aspis, Unremarkable Truncheon [GEAR][MELEE WEAPON AND SHIELD COMBO]
This shield is fucking awesome. Enchanted to withstand dragonflame, the mighty blows of ogres, the crashing tide, the crushing avalanche; it is an impenetrable, immovable object, a force of nature itself.
The truncheon, on the other hand, is, well...a club. The kind used by cavemen and law enforcement professionals the world over.
Effective use of the shield is based on your Satisfaction statistic. Effective use of the truncheon is pretty unlikely.

Scroll of Lust [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
A poorly-scrawled goblin spell is on this scroll. Calling it parchment would be generous, and the material has clearly deteriorated with each use of the magic channeled through it. It has but a single use left.
Targets up to one participant for each point in your Verbal statistic. For those participants, your Appearance is increased by your Dominance until the end of the encounter.
(Currently, this targets up to 2 participants, and adds 1 to your Appearance.)

NAME: Ted

ARCHETYPE: TED FROM ACCOUNTING
This is Ted. You know, from Accounting. It's kind of his entire personality. Which is kind of sad. But he's good with money and numbers. Can he win a competition that's mostly about being good with people? I doubt it, but you never know, do you?

ORIGIN: POTIONS MERCHANT
Potions are a booming business, because everyone needs one. Need to sleep better? There's a potion for that. Need to run faster? There's a potion for that. Need to set something on fire? There's a potion for that. Having trouble getting hard because you're getting a bit on in years, and the missus doesn't look quite as good she once did? There's definitely a potion for that.

STATISTICS
Appearance: 3 (+5)
Verbal: 1 (+1)
Performance: 1
Sexual Prowess: 3

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 2
Satisfaction: 4
Connection: 7
Overall Score: 56

TALENTS AND PERKS

Formidable [D] (This is Ted's perk.)
You've triumphed in a challenging situation, and it gives you a persistent self-confidence that blunts the influence of others. I mean, if you've beaten a war troll, you're not going to be impressed by some smooth-talking pretty boy or a nice pair of tits, right?
This perk modestly reduces the unwanted influence that the abilities and stats of other players. It can be upgraded.

Expensive Style [F] (This is Ted's perk.)
You can afford to wear the very best, and it shows.
Add +1 to your Appearance.

Supportive Partner [D] (This is Ted's talent)
Once per level, add your Connection to a single party-member's Satisfaction or Dominance score (you choose) until the end of the encounter.
(Currently, this talent adds +5 to a party member's Satisfaction or Dominance.)

Bull Market [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
At the end of each level, double your currency totals. Easy to make a killing in a bull market, isn't it?

Looks Money Status [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
Some people believe that wealth, for men, is what beauty is for women. Reality is probably a little more complicated than that, huh? But let's run with it. Add your total Major Favors currency to your Appearance stat.
(Currently, this perk gives you +3 Appearance.)

Breadwinner [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
Everyone wants a man who's a good provider. Encounters with allies who have less total currency than you will reward you and them with one additional point of Connection.

CURRENCIES

Minor Favors: 25
Major Favors: 3

GEAR

Mercantile Robes [GEAR][ATTIRE]
These robes offer little in the way of protection. But they mark you as a merchant. And hey, there's loose change in the pockets!
You gain +1 Appearance. You also permanently gain three Minor Favors, and one Major Favor.

Potions Belt [GEAR]
A random assortment of your wares is belted around your waist.
In any encounter, you may draw potions from the belt until your Connection is exhausted. For one point of Connection, you may choose to pull out a random potion. For three potions of Connection, you may select a potion with intention.

Goblinette Statuette [GEAR]
A trinket that goblin priestesses carry on their person. It looks like a busty little goblin.
While you have this equipped, you can speak the goblin tongue fluently, and goblins will treat you as if your Appearance were two points higher.