Clusterfrag

Tyros looks disdainfully down at the annoying host. Standing up to his full height just short of eight feet of densly packed muscle, "brains, obviously."

((We probably should have discussed who was doing what beforehand...I could go brawn but I don't have any skills to go along with it, not sure Doc is a better choice though))

Doc stares slack-jawed at Tyros.

(( Dude, you have half of Doc's logic, and no technical skills or knowledge. You also have 11 Body, and 7 Strength. Doc has 4 body, 3 strength, and 7 logic; plus a whole mess of technical active/knowledge skills. In short, we'll be set up for major failure if we go this route. ))

Tyros breaks into a grin at the announcer's open mouth surprise. "I'm kidding chump, brawn for me".

((Tyros has the second highest logic in the group. And as many knowledge skills as Max, who probably would have been the better choice for the other brawn player. I have a feeling body and strength alone are not going to make it for brawn tests and my agility, reaction and physical skills are shit compared to everyone elses.))

Max breathes a sigh of relief. The horror.

Doc breathes a sigh of relief, his calm having been broken.

"Very funny, big guy. That leaves brains for me."

(( True, but the lack of active skills would have left you defaulting on every technical type of test, leaving you with 3d6 ))

"Add the big, scary troll to braaaaaaaaaawwwnn!"

Tyros and Doc's icons appears in their respective places on the big scoreboard.

A pair of identical, surgically enhanced women ascend from a hidden floor panel. They flash perfect veneers at Rawhide and Tyros.

Johnny gestures at the women. "Troll-dude, dwarf-guy, please follow my lovely assistants Ebony and Ivory down to the physical challenge arena!"

He turns his attention to Max and Doc. The crowd falls silent. Extending both arms, he flips his hands up with a flourish and a stack of cards appears.

"It's time for braaaaaaaaaain draaaaaaain!"

Two sets of manacles spring out of the platform and affix themselves to Doc and Max's ankles.

With a shrug, Tyros follows the twins down the ramp, giving Doc and Max a thumbs up for good luck as he leaves.

((Are there any rules? From what Mr. Lo said, it seems like we just cant bring in outside equipment, but there was no mention of not using magic))

Doc resists the urge to to tug at the manacles. He won't give the sleazy announcer the satisfaction.

Max is surprised by the sudden imprisonment, looking around with anxiety and irritation on his face. Directing his annoyance at the host, he contemptuously spews,

"Real funny, asshole."

The scoreboard vanishes and re-materializes as a grid. Max and Doc's icons appear at the top, above two columns.

Johnny Denim grins his cheshire smile at the two, showing enough teeth to get most people committed. He examines a card.

"Your topics are... matrix games! Seattle bars! Wine and spirits! Sports! Organized Crime! Electrical engineering! Biology! Chemistry! Parazoology, and last but not least, vintage cinema!"

Each of the topics appears on the scoreboard as Johnny reads them.

"The rules are simple: Answer a question correctly and you get ¥2,000. Answer incorrectly and those handy-dandy SecuroTech leg-irons will deliver a non-lethal current as punishment. If you lose consciousness, you forfeit any prize money you've accumulated. The round will end when six questions have been answered correctly or all ten questions have been read. Now, let's get started..."

Johnny's finger dances from Max to Doc as he silently mouths eeenie-meenie-miney-mo. "Ok, you there, Mr. Human. Pick a topic and... let's. play. BRAAAAIN DRAAAAAAAAIN!"

Doc's eyes bore into Johnny Denim like a drill.

"I'll take electrical engineering, John."

He gives as casual a glance as he can to the restrains on his ankles, looking to see if he can notice or think of a way to defeat them.

Johnny Denim switches to a new card and reads the question:

"In 2042, General Electric created what product that revolutionized the resistor?"

[ Doc, Engineering + LOG (3) = 5 ]

(( Success. ))

Doc snorts,

"Easy, that's when they introduced the lossless Current Filter; not really a resistor in the classic sense. It provided electrical resistance without the heat and energy loss. It's the reason your cyberware doesn't cook your head from the inside out."

He gives a thumbs up to Max.

"That is correct!"

The crowd boos in response; not quite what Doc was expecting. Apparently they're very bloodthirsty.

A green check mark appears under Doc's icon.

"Elf--what's it gonna be?"

Max glares back at Johnny, not liking to be addressed as "Elf,"

"Parasite, I'll take bars."

"Which Seattle night club was the first to serve the infamous beverage Sizzlin' Slitch Sauce?"

[ Max, Bars & Clubs (3) + INT = 2 ]

After considering the question for a moment, Max answers: "Circle 9."

A sharp stabbing sensation travels up Max's legs and into his spine.

[ Max, BOD + 3 (5S) = 2 ] **3S DAMAGE**

"Oh, I'm sorry. That's incorrect! The correct answer was Club Limbo. You're up again, Herr Doktor. What's your poison?"

Doc casts a worried glance at Max, before turning back to Johnny and narrowing his eyes. With a sneer, he says,

"Biology, asshole."

"Which genetic tag is identified with meta-humanity?"

[ Doc, Biology + LOG (3) = 4 ]

(( Success. ))

Doc rolls his eyes at the undergraduate bio question. He lists the answer off in a monotone,

"The Meijer motif defines the various meta varieties of humanity. Before it was named, it was thought to be just a sequence of junk DNA. But once it reconfigured into the right sequence, it proved to have... complimentary effects on other unused sequences. Hence, meta-humanity." He shrugs.

"Organized crime," Max growls.

"Which branch of the Italian Mafia was responsible for the Highstreet Massacre in 2039?"

[ Max, Underworld + INT (3) = 3 ]

(( Success. ))

Max looks long into Johnny Denim. The elf is having a surprisingly hateful response to this situation, and he finds himself wondering what the game show host's insides would look like scraped of the soles of his boots.

"The Gambino Family."

Doc starts feeling nervous. The remaining categories are starting to stray out of his sphere of knowledge.

"Chemistry," he says with false confidence.

Klaxons blare from somewhere in the studio and Johnny Denim jumps in mock fright.

"Yeeeow! It's time for the lightning round!! Correctly answering the following randomly selected question will allow your team to skip one question."

Johnny holds up a card.

"Which security contractor went belly up after the McKenzie incident in 2047?"

[ Doc, Security Companies + INT (3) = 3 ]

(( Success. ))

"Panicide Security. Their reputation never really recovered after that clusterfrag."

Doc lets out a breath.

Max, having always enjoyed old movies and the ability to reference them at will, picks his category,

"Vintage cinema, dick-nose."

"Which actor played Billy Freedom in the 2013 classic Samurai Transvestites?"

[ Max, Vintage Cinema + INT - 1 (3) = 3 ]

(( Success. ))

Max suddenly feels cocky in his certainty of the answer to this question.

"Fantastic film. Billy Freedom was played by then-rising star Shia LeBouf, in what would prove to be his final finished film role before his tragic death by auto-erotic asphyxiation in February of 2013. The performance garnered him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor. For nearly two decades after his untimely demise, his visage was proudly emblazoned upon the hill lording over the Hollywood sign as tribute to his contribution to his craft and profession. The actor himself was the subject of an also-Academy Award winning biopic about his life and battle with sex addiction starring Michael Cera."

"What is the average length, from antennae to tail, of an insect spirit?"

[ Doc, Parazoology + LOG (3) - 1 (Defaulting) = 5 ]

(( Success! ))