Vaudevillain

VV4, 17 - NPC Smalltalk

Work was the same as usual. Dylan performed his daily tasks, chatted with coworkers, then went home after finishing a few emails. At home he went through his daily chores and made sure to get a bit of exercise in before jumping onto the computer.

Jack was already online to greet him and the two jumped into a video call.

Hows my favorite villain? she asked.

Just dastardly, Dylan answered. Howre you?

Doing pretty good, Jack answered. About to get busy with some new plays at our theater but thats pretty normal.

Which plays are you performing this time? Dylan asked.

Well Im not performing anything, Jack answered smugly.

Dylan rolled his eyes. You know what I mean.

Were doing another rendition of Hamilton, Jack said with a sigh. Dont get me wrong, I love the play but its almost like the Scottish play at this point.

Im not familiar with the Scottish play, Dylan said.

The Shakespeare one, Jack answered. With the three witches at the beginning.

Oh, MacBeth? Dylan asked.

Thats the one, Jack said. You get a pass because you arent in theater, but everyone knows the name is a curse.

I didnt take you for superstition, Dylan said.

I mean, Im usually not, Jack said. But you dont mess with theater superstition. Something always goes wrong if you mess with theater superstition.

Jack said the last sentence with such gravitas that Dylan figured something had happened in the past. He was about to ask when another joined the video call.

Hey guys, Oro said. Hows it going?

Hey Oro, Dylan said. Doing good. Jack was telling me about theater curses.

Oh neat, Oro said. That our next plan in the making?

Nah, Jack said. My theater is putting Hamilton on and I was just complaining.

Gotcha, Oro said. Well if no one has ideas Im down to do more heroic ventures. I heard the next step in Dr. Zlos plan is a lot of fun.

Are we going to interfere in another heros journey again? Jack asked.

I think this ones instanced? Oro said questioningly. I can check.

Dont worry about it, Dylan said. I think its more fun to go in blind. Experience the story without any spoilers you know.

Well, lets get Dream and Rip in here then, Jack said.

The group sent a few messages over to the couple. They exchanged small talk while waiting, Oro and Jack bouncing ideas back and forth for their respective heroes.

So it turns out my character is more limited than I initially thought, Jack said. Gameset might be able to perfectly play any sport, but I have to stay within the rules of that sport. Which means I cant improve weapons past a certain point.

Yeah, but it doesnt seem like protection is a part of that, Oro said. We should test if your power works while in an exosuit or something.

Oh we totally need to test that, Jack said. Speaking of testing, are you able to clone disposable weapons? Like grenades or throwing knives?

Sure can, Oro said. As long as its in Of a Kinds right hand I can copy it to the left. The only restriction is size and complexity. Pretty much every mundane explosive is fine but anything past that is too much. I also have a stamina bar which somewhat limits the amount of items I can copy at a time. So far the limit I found is ten. At that point I need to wait a few seconds for stamina to regenerate.

Dylan chimed in with a few comments until someone else messaged him on Netchat.

D.Black:

Hey, wanted to try and get you thinking about our next event.

Superfan39526:

Hold on, did something happen with Vert while I wasnt paying attention?

D.Black:

No, why?

Superfan39526:

Oh.

Its just the only times weve done events are to get back at Vert or grab their attention.

D.Black:

What no we havent? The big race wasnt about Vert at all.

Superfan39526:

Somehow I forgot about that one.

D.Black:

All good. Anyway, since Dr. Zlo is kind of the face of Menagerie I wanted to rope you into things.

If you want to sit one out Im cool with it as well.

Superfan39526:

No Im totally down to run another event. Ill have to get back to you on the idea.

Ive got no clue where to take Dr. Zlo at the moment. What does a villain do after destroying the moon?

D.Black:

Well, technically the moon wasnt destroyed.

Maybe something with that?

Superfan39526:

Maybe. Ill get back to you.

Thanks for keeping me in the loop.

D.Black:

Anytime man.

We definitely need to find a tech-guy, Jack said as Dylan tuned back into the conversation.

Why not just use your character? Dylan asked. Isnt she a neutral mechanic?

I mean, we could, Jack said. But I kind of wanted to see what the NPCs had in store for heroes.

I can tell you that, Oro said. Its a varying mix mostly. Crafter characters are always going to have better gear, but there are a few specific designs that only a NPC can make.

That doesnt feel like its in line with the spirit of a sandbox game, Dylan said.

Oro shrugged. Maybe people havent tried to steal the plans yet. Or maybe security is just too strong.

The call pinged as Sweet Dream and Riptide appeared.

Sup, dudes, the surfer said. I hear were going hero again.

Yeah, Oro said. The next step in Verts Dr. Zlo story is supposed to be pretty fun.

We need to gear up first, though, Jack said. We were wanting to see if Gameset could use her powers with an exosuit while Of a Kind wanted to upgrade his arsenal of weapons.

Right on, dudes, Riptide said. Ive got a great idea for Firestarter!

Its not hairspray grenades, is it? Dylan asked.

Pff, no dude, Riptide said. Its gotta be more punk. Im thinking a rad guitar that shoots flames when I shred.

You cant even play the guitar, Sweet Dream said.

Thats why its punk, dude! Riptide laughed. You dont gotta be good to be punk.

How do we go about gearing up? Dylan asked. Jack was thinking of using NPCs for it, mostly to see what they have to offer.

Im fine with that, Sweet Dream said. It would give us a different experience.

We might have to do a few sidequests for them, Oro said.

How about we look up one NPC crafter that could get us everything we need, Jack said. That way we only have to do one questline instead of tons of different ones.

Easy enough, Oro said. Theres a list of the popular ones.

Wait, it would be more fun to search on our own I think, Dylan said. If we have to pick a popular one, then sure but Id much rather treat it like an emerging story you know.

That could take a bit, though, Oro said. Id much rather finish the Dr. Zlo story as quick as possible before jumping into an NPC search.

Oro, is that list youre searching have all the known NPC crafters or just the popular ones? Jack asked.

It lists the top ten but theres a link to all the known ones, Oro explained.

How about we go through the list of known ones and pick the one that best fits out group? Jack continued. If I remember right were fronting as a punk band. We could make our crafter a retired sound tech or something yeah?

Dude that sounds awesome, Riptide said. Approximo is our sound guy though. What about something else?

What if they were a tailor or something, Sweet Dream said. Maybe someone who designs for aristocrats to link to Mirror Mirror?

Or some kind of sports engineer for Gameset, Jack said. Heck, it could even be someone who worked in the mafia.

I dont think Approximo would know anyone, Dylan said. Hes not exactly well acquainted with earthlings.

So Im looking through the list, Oro said. Theres an ex-mafia and a tailor, but Im not seeing a sport engineer. I fact, nothing sport related.

Well I guess we have our two options, Jack said. Which sounds better?